His hand covers mine. “It is.”
I smile up at him, and then turn to look at Enzo. He’s downright mouthwatering — dressed nicely, dark hair that matches his dark eyes, which make him look mysterious. And that tan skin looks so soft. I long to run my hand along his backside.
“Why don’t you come to the house for dinner tomorrow night? If you’re going to be working so closely with my husband, we should get to know one another.”
He smiles and nods. “I’d love to.”
If I could change it all now, I would. How dare he go after my daughter just to get back at me? I never once lied to him about what we were doing. He knew I was married and completely in love my husband from the moment we met. If his heart has been broken, it’s his fault for having one… especially in this business.
It’s pouring down rain when I stop in front of his apartment building. Fits my fucking mood. At least the rain will help me look like a mess. I get out of the car and slowly walk to his door, not happy about this whole situation. I’m not happy I have to pretend nothing’s wrong. I’m not happy he took advantage of my daughter. And I’m not happy that I’ll be the one delivering him to his death. I’d prefer to keep my hands clean in this bastard receiving what’s coming to him.
By the time I make it inside the building, I look like a drowned rat. My hair is soaked and hanging down around my face. My makeup is smeared, and my clothes are hanging off of me from the weight of the water they’ve absorbed.
I knock on his door and wait.
It takes a few tries, but finally, I hear him stumbling down the hall. He opens the door with bloodshot eyes.
“Amelia?” He has to do a doubletake. “What are you doing here? It’s late.”
I shake my head. “I… I don’t know. I just missed you. I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to see you.” Tears fill my eyes and fall over the rims.
“Come in here. You’re soaked.” He places his hand on my shoulder and pulls me inside the dark apartment.
Words escape me as we stand in the dark hallway. For the life of me, I can’t think of what to say next. So instead of saying anything, I reach out and pull him against me for a lip-crushing kiss.
He doesn’t fight me. Instead, he gives in like it’s the air he needs to breathe. His tongue slides into my mouth, and I want to gag just from thinking about what he did to my daughter. But I push every thought away. Internally, I give myself a pep talk. I’ve done this before, and I can do it again.
I break the kiss. Staying in my role, I coo, “I’m so sorry for everything. I love you.”
He almost growls. “I love you too, Amelia.” He picks me up and carries me through his apartment and into his bedroom. He places me on my feet and goes about pulling the wet clothes from my body.
“Does Madden know you’re here?”
I shake my head. “I haven’t seen him since that day in his office. He went on a business trip… and I left. I needed time to think everything over.”
He drops down to his knees and plants a kiss on my bare stomach while his hands work my wet skirt and panties down my legs. “Have you made your decision?”
I let a whimper escape. “I want to be with you.”
He stands and hoists me back up, carrying me to his bed where we fall on top, tangled up together.
His hands travel my body. His lips kiss over the sensitive skin of my neck, and he inhales my scent deeply. “God, I fucking love you, Amelia.”
I thread my fingers into his hair, pulling his head back so I can look into his eyes. “I love you too, Enzo.”
His mouth devours mine again until he starts to slowly crawl down my body, kissing and nibbling on the way.
“Enzo?”
“Yes, my love?” He lifts his head to look at me.
“I want you. But I don’t want this life anymore. If we’re going to be together, we need to leave. Mad… he won’t take this lying down. I want to run away. We need to run away. Just you and me.”
He freezes. “Where will we go?”
I roll us over, so I’m sitting on top of him. “Anywhere we want. We have enough money to go anywhere in the world, Enzo. We can have breakfast from our balcony as we gaze upon the Eiffel Tower. We could have sex on the sandy beaches in Jamaica. We could go to Japan, Thailand, India. We can go anywhere, Enzo.”
“What about Harper? Will you be able to leave her?”
Hearing him say my daughter’s name makes anger bubble up in my throat. I stuff it down. She’s the reason I’m doing this.
“She’s eighteen. She doesn’t need me anymore. I don’t even talk to her most days.” I lift my hips and position him at my entrance. “What do you say?” I ask, sliding down his length.
4
“Go ahead and hop in the shower, love. If we’re leaving at sunset, I have some calls to make,” Enzo says as I head toward the bathroom.
I’m almost done washing him off of me when he finally comes in and steps into the shower behind me. “Are you going to tell Madden, or are you just going to leave?”
“I want to go by the house and grab my belongings. I’ll leave a note for him in his office.”
His brows furrow together. “Is he still out of town?”
“He knew I wouldn’t talk to him, so he emailed me a copy of his itinerary. He won’t be back until late tonight.” I wrap my arms around his neck and tug him closer. “And we’ll be long gone by then.” I smile and lean in for a kiss.
I step out of the shower while he cleans up. “Let’s celebrate.”
I wrap the towel around myself. Drawing a deep breath, I glance at myself in the mirror. You’re doing good. Keep it up. He has no idea you’re about to fuck him over. If you do your job right, he won’t even know until it’s too late. Then everyone, especially Harper, will be safe from him.
Doubt creeps in for a half a second. Straightening my spine, I turn from my reflection. I have to do this. It’s for Mad. It’s for myself. No, it’s for my daughter.
“There’s a bottle of wine in the fridge,” he says as I step out of the bathroom.
I walk through the bedroom and into the hallway to head to the kitchen, but the sight of Big standing in the living room causes me to jump.
My hand flies up to my heart. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
He smiles. “What? I thought this was a threesome.” His smile turns into a wicked grin.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Enzo asks, walking into the living room behind me.
I spin around to face him. “Did you know about this?” The hand on my towel gets tighter, causing my knuckles to whiten.
Enzo walks up to my side, angling his shoulder in front of me as he shakes his head, not taking his eyes off Big. It’s only now that that I see him in nothing but a towel that I notice the bandage on his shoulder. Did someone shoot him?
Big lets out a long, deep laugh. “Give it up, Amelia,” he nearly sings. “You know who I am and what I’m capable of.” He reaches into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulls out his phone. He taps around, not looking at anything but his phone. “Remember those cameras you had installed a few years ago?” He grins. “I have access to them.” He holds his phone out and shows me. Madden is on the screen, sitting in his office, going over paperwork.
Big looks at Enzo, still holding out his phone. “She was going to deliver you to Madden. She’s playing you, you dumb bastard.”
I rush to my purse and grab my phone, immediately calling Mad.
“Hello?” he answers.
I look at the screen and see him holding the phone to his ear.
“Hello?” he says again.
I hang up the phone because I got what I was looking for. It’s a livestream, not pre-recorded.
Big walks over to me and takes the phone from my hand. “Believe me now?” He puts both phones into his pocket and looks at Enzo. “Are you done with her now?”
His lips purse and his brow wrinkles in consideration. He nods. “Yeah, I think I’ve finall
y had enough. You can have her.” The animosity in his voice startles me.
“What?” I yell, looking back and forth between them. Oh no! What the hell’s happening?
Suddenly, two big men come rushing into the living room, each of them grabbing one of my arms.
“You’re going with me,” Big says, pulling a syringe from his pocket and stepping closer.
“No! Stop! Enzo!” as much as I hate it, fear makes my voice tremble. I writhe and jerk trying to get away from the hands holding me captive.
The needle gets jabbed into my arm, and my vision blurs as Enzo steps in front of me. “Sorry, love. If things were different, I’d love to take you up on the sex on the beach. Maybe when Madden is dead, and this all blows over.”
Everything goes black.
When I open my eyes, I find that I’m in a strange bedroom I’ve never been in before. Since I’ve been in every room of Enzo’s apartment, I know they’ve taken me somewhere else. But where?
My head is so groggy, and I’m thirsty like I haven’t had a drink in years. My mouth is dry, my head hurts, and I can’t move. I look up and find that I’m tied to a bed.
“If you promise to be good, I’ll untie you,” Enzo says casually without a care in the world.
My eyes shift and focus on him standing directly in front of me. Under different circumstances, I may have liked this. He’s wearing a pair of black jeans and a dark blue shirt with his leather jacket on top. His hair is now styled as it always is. I must have been out a while.
“Why?” My voice is hoarse. I try to swallow, but there’s no saliva left in my mouth.
He grabs a glass of water and sits down by my side, offering me the straw.
I take a long drink and clear my throat. “Why are you doing this? I thought you loved me?”
He sets the glass on the table. “I do love you, Amelia. I know it’s hard for you to see it right now, but I’ve done all of this for you.”
“You delivered me to Big!”
He flinches from my tone but doesn’t move to give in to me like he used to. “You were going to deliver me to Madden!”
“Madden will never give up. He won’t let Big win. Why can’t you see that? You’ve been by his side for years. You of all people should know what Madden is capable of.”
He stands and starts pacing. “I’m fighting for my life here! It was either get killed by Madden and his men or get killed by Big when Harper decided to put a hit out on me. I’m just doing what I was pushed to.”
“Harper did what?”
He stops and looks at me, tilting his head with a frown. “Don’t act like you don’t know about your slut of a daughter. It’s because of her I’m in this mess! Madden wasn’t happy when he found out about us, but after Harper…” He shakes his head and continues, “He was going to kill me. And it wasn’t even my fault. She fucking drugged me!”
I try to sit up, but the restraints hold me down. “You went there knowing she’d be there. You sought her out. You planned everything you did to her! She’s only eighteen-years-old! Don’t blame a child! You’re the adult!”
Confusion paints his face. “I didn’t know she’d be there. After I left the office, I ran into Kong and the guys. We sat around drinking, and one of them suggested going to that club… Ranger, I think. I was fucked up, so I agreed. Finding Harper there was a surprise to me.”
“Are you telling me that Ranger set this whole thing up? He tricked you into sleeping with my daughter?”
He collapses next to me. “I don’t fucking know anymore, Amelia. I just know that I’m going to get killed if I don’t play my cards right. Ranger suggested we go to the club. When I got there, Harper gave me a spiked flask. I didn’t know what it was. I just took it because I figured, why not? I lost my job. I lost you. I didn’t have anything left to lose. I was so fucked up, I didn’t know what I was doing. But when I left the club, she was with Ranger and has been every day since.” He lets out a long breath. “That’s why I thought I could bargain for my job back. Ranger’s up to something and Harper, whether she knows about it or not, is in on it.
5
I wake in the morning, and Dad is pacing the floor of his office. I stop, leaning against the doorframe. “What’s going on, Dad? You’re wearing the varnish off the floor.”
He stops and looks up at me. “Nothing. I was just expecting your mother to be back by now.”
“Where has she been? I haven’t seen her in a few days.”
“She took a trip. She got in last night, but then I sent her out on assignment. Now, I’m starting to get worried.” He looks at his watch, checking the time.
“Is there anything I can do?” I stand up straight.
“No, I don’t want you involved with any of this. If you hear from your mom, please call me. I’m going to the office.” He brushes past me.
I stand back and watch him walk out. When the door closes, I head to the kitchen and pour two cups of coffee. I take both cups back up to my bedroom, handing one to Ranger.
“Thank you, gorgeous.”
“You’re welcome, sexy.” I grin before taking a sip and setting the cup down. Then I climb onto his lap and wrap my arms around his neck.
“My dad just left for the office. Something’s going on.”
He rolls us over and presses his erection against my center. “Let me take your mind off of it.” His lips land on mine, and his tongue slides inside.
“Hey, what’s bothering you?” Ranger asks when he notices that I’m lying completely still, lost in thought.
I force myself to look at him. “I’m worried. Something may have happened to my mom… And it’s all my fault.”
His stare intensifies. He pushes himself up on his side, propping up his head with his hand. “What’s going on. Talk to me.”
I roll to face him. “So you know when you told me that Enzo planned the whole thing. I was mad. And I went to Big to ask for his help getting rid of Enzo.”
He nods. “And he texted that he would help you. That’s why you left early last night.”
“Well, when I got there, Enzo was there. Big wasn’t going to help me after all. Instead, he hired Enzo. He’s trying to take down my family as we speak.”
“Damn. So, what did your dad send your mom to do?”
“My best guess? To try to get Enzo back on our side.”
“Do you think he’d do anything to her? I mean, the guy’s in love with her.”
I shrug one shoulder. “I hope not, but what if… you know?” What if he’s not really and he hurts her? Or helps Big hurt her? If Enzo’s working with Big, everything could be a lie.
He flops back over onto his back, looking at the ceiling. “So word has it those drugs that were stolen from your dad was all a setup to catch this new dealer in town.”
“My dad was pissed. He definitely wasn’t involved in any of that.”
“Oh, I know. Luckily, I wasn’t around or I’m sure I would’ve been the first person he came to since I’m the newest.” He turns his head, so his light blue eyes are on me. “But… the rumor is that your mom and Enzo were working with Big. And Big set it all up to catch this guy.”
“Okay, but what’s the point in all of this? I mean, let’s say my mom, Enzo, and Big were working together. What does that have to do with what’s going on now?”
“I’m just saying that if Enzo is working with Big now, he may have always been working with him. So, if Enzo is really on Big’s side and not your dad’s, he may have been stringing your mom along this whole time. Who’s to say that he really loves her? I mean who’s to say that Enzo and Big aren’t using your mom as leverage right now?”
He’s right. That’s possible. And if that’s the truth, then my mom’s in trouble. I sit up and toss the blanket from my body as I stand and rush toward the closet.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re going to find my mom. She’s either with Enzo or Big… or both,” I say, hobbling around the room, trying to put my jeans on.<
br />
Ranger drives my car to Enzo’s apartment while I call her cell over and over. “Nothing. It’s going straight to her voicemail.”
“Call your dad and see if he’s found her. We don’t want to go fucking around with these people for nothing.”
With a few taps, I pull up his number and hit send.
“Harper?”
“Dad, have you heard from Mom?”
“No, I’ve got my guys tracking her GPS, but her phone’s been shut off. The last place it pinged was Enzo’s apartment.
“I’m on my way there now.” I pull my phone away from my ear to hang up but yelling from the other end stops me in my tracks. I lift it back to my ear.
“No! No, Harper. I told you, I don’t want you anywhere around this shit. Go. Home,” his voice is equal parts stern and concerned.
“We’re here,” Ranger says.
“Sorry, Dad. I have to go.” I hang up the phone before he can argue any further.
I lead Ranger up to Enzo’s apartment. He pauses at the door, holding his finger in front of his lips as he sticks his ear against it.
“Do you hear anything?” I whisper.
“No. Nothing. I don’t think he’s in there.” He takes a step back and twists the knob, but it’s locked.
Next, he runs his hand around the top of the door frame but comes up emptyhanded.
“Alright, fuck this. Stand back.”
I take a step back, and so does he. Without warning, he runs, jamming his shoulder into the door. The wood creaks and gives, causing the door to fly open.
Ranger stands back and looks at me. I motion him forward. We creep down the hallway, and once we get to the end, Ranger holds up his hand while he peeks around the corner. His shoulders slump. “The place has been cleaned out,” he doesn’t bother whispering this time.
“What?” I rush around him and into the living room. He’s right. Everything’s gone. There’s nothing. All the furniture is gone. I turn and look into the open kitchen. It’s bare too. I rush down the next hallway and into the bedroom. The bed has been stripped of its bedding. Running into the bathroom, I discover all his personal items have disappeared as well.
Dirty Chicago_Season One Page 10