by Sam Crescent
“Boss. Who else?”
“When?”
“Hour ago.”
Shadow pushed past him, Bain still keeping him at gunpoint. When he reached the body handing by its ankles, Shadow spun it around to get a good look at the bloodied and beaten face.
It wasn’t Boss.
“Boss called you—what did he say? Where is he?” asked Shadow.
The big boy shrugged and scratched his balls. “Said to make it spotless. The mess was contained to the pool house. He said something about not fucking up his marble floors.”
It sounded like Boss all right.
“Where is he? He pulled a code black.”
Spade pointed to the bedroom when Lola came in the front door, stepping over debris, dragging a mop and bucket with her. “I just clean, Shadow. Ask someone else.”
Lola passed by, winking at him. “When you taking me on a date, Shadow?”
“Not going to happen, Lola. I have a woman now.”
“Promise I’m better than her,” she said.
“Ain’t gonna happen.”
“Shit, are none of you still single anymore?” she complained as she moved to the bedroom, cursing when she saw the disaster in the other room. “Spade, you need to call Mikey. This is going to take a while.”
As soon as Lola mentioned a date, Shadow’s thoughts immediately went to Riley. He still owed her that date he promised, and she was cuffed to a radiator.
Shadow was confused as hell. The bloodbath in the pool house was courtesy of Boss, he had no doubt about that. So where was he? Where was Killian?
Until he knew more, he’d head home, then contact Maurice and see if he’d dug up anything on their locations. At least he had hope that Boss had made it out of this alive.
They cautiously made their way back to the main house. The alarm was no longer whining, and the lights were on. Shadow had his gun at the ready. Bain moved in front.
El Diablo was in the front foyer, a bloodied knife in his hand. “I want my money,” he said, tossing the knife on the tiles.
Viper and Bain rushed in, ready to bring El Diablo down. Chains approached him. “You make that mess out back?”
“What mess? Boss said I’d get paid for every head. Since there’re five in my trunk, I’m here to collect.”
“Where the fuck have you been?” asked Chains. “You left without a word.”
“Cleaning up this guy’s mess.” He nodded to Shadow. “And now I’m done.”
Shadow gave him the middle finger.
“Boss is MIA, so until we find him, there’s no payday,” said Chains.
El Diablo ran a hand through his hair, blood smears on his arm and cheek. “I saw him this afternoon. He told me where I could find the last half dozen.”
“You said you had five.”
“Boss wanted me to let one live, so that pinche culero only has gunshot wounds to the kneecaps. This Boss of yours is one twisted fuck.”
Shadow couldn’t stick around. He needed to get home, wanted to get home. Riley would be waking up soon, and he didn’t want her to panic when she found herself bound.
“I’ll contact Maurice,” said Shadow. “He must have picked up something on Boss or Killian by now.”
He took a breath once seated in the driver’s seat of his car, calling Maurice on his cell phone.
“Maurice, did you track anything?”
“Killian’s with Boss. They were at the docks an hour ago. I picked them up on the CCTV cameras,” he said. “They’re usually there to dump bodies.”
“Well, his pool house looks worse than a slaughterhouse. Why would he call in a code black if he had things handled?” Shadow asked.
“I don’t even pretend to understand that man. I can only speculate it was part of his strategy. He’s only human, Shadow, like you. Maybe he just needed to know his men had his back.”
“Call me once you make contact.” Shadow ended the call and hit the highway.
****
Riley heard the front door open. She was beyond pissed off and ready to give Shadow a piece of her mind. When she’d woken up on the floor, unable to free herself or even stand up straight, she’d panicked until she convinced herself Shadow had to return at some point.
When he peered in the doorway, she frowned. “Why am I handcuffed? I told you I was okay with you handling your business, didn’t I?”
“I know you, Riley. You’re too curious for your own good. I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“I wasn’t going to do anything.”
He bent down and unlocked the cuffs, massaging her wrist once she was free. “I’m sorry, baby. It’s been a fucked-up day.”
“Look, you have to trust me. How can we have a relationship without trust?”
Shadow smirked. “You’re right. I’m so used to relying on myself, not trusting anyone. It’s a hard way to live.” He helped her to her feet, and pulled her close.
There was something in his eyes, something different, almost defeated. She didn’t like it. As much as she’d love to ream him out for everything—the assassins, the cameras, the handcuffs—she couldn’t. She just wanted to love him, to be the rock he needed. He’d given her a sense of security and belonging since coming into her life, so she knew how precious that feeling was.
“Things are different now,” she said. “At least I hope they are.”
He kissed her on the lips, just once. “I do trust you, I’m just terrified of losing you.”
She cupped his cheek. “I’ve survived this long. You won’t be able to get rid of me that easily.” Then she thought about why he’d been gone in the first place. Had things gone well? Did she still need to stay cooped up or could she return to her bakery and live her life? “So, what happened? Did you find out what’s going on?”
He released her waist and ran a hand through his tousled hair. “It was a mess. I need to hear from Boss himself. Until I do, we need to wait this out.”
She scowled, but at least Shadow had come back to her alive. When she’d first woken up all she could think about was something terrible happening, never seeing her man again, and dying of starvation on the floor because he had the key.
“I don’t know how I’m ever going to get used to this,” she said. “Your life is crazier than my murder mystery books.”
“How’s the romance?”
Riley bit her lip. Just thinking about their emerging love life made her cheeks flush. “I guess it’s better than the books.” She couldn’t believe she’d just said that. All her adult life, she’d convinced herself that true love didn’t exist. Now she was living the dream.
Immediately, her thoughts drifted into forbidden territory. She’d never get enough of Shadow. “Did you kill anyone today?” She pushed his jacket off his strong shoulders, exposing his harnesses. One by one, she disarmed him, placing the weapons carefully on the counter.
“Not today.”
She ran her nails down the front of his t-shirt, then proceeded to work on his belt. “Maybe next time,” she said, focused on her task. The idea of fucking Shadow in his weapons room was an instant turn-on.
“I thought you were mad at me,” he said, holding her wrist in place before she could unzip his pants.
“Well, think of this as your chance to make it up to me.”
“You’re gonna regret those words.” He had fire brewing in his eyes now, his concern shifting to something dark and dirty. She swallowed hard, anticipation making her entire body hum with need.
He hoisted her up onto the counter, positioning himself between her legs. Shadow tugged off her shirt and removed her bra. “I love these tits,” he said, holding them up in his hands. She knew he wasn’t trying to be nice. His desire was palpable, and she felt drunk on the feeling of being wanted unconditionally.
His tongue flicked her nipple before he engorged himself, sucking and licking her breasts until she was holding his hair and panting his name.
“Are you wet for me, baby? You want me to fill your tig
ht little cunt with my cock?”
She nodded, her lust taking over, making her almost light-headed with desire. Riley loved how her big, stoic beast had such a dirty mouth during sex.
“I want to make you feel good, too,” she said.
“Trust me, all you do is make me feel good.” He suckled her neck, teasing her erogenous zones until her eyes lolled back in her head.
She reached between them and roughly palmed his cock. “I want your big dick. I want to feel you in my mouth.”
Shadow groaned, placing his hand over hers. “You’re a bad girl, Riley.”
Holding his shoulders, she slipped off the counter and went down to her knees. “It’s only fair. I want to know every inch of your body too.” She smiled as she released his erection, a bead of pre-cum glistening on the tip. It felt empowering knowing that she was about to make a hitman beg—her hitman.
Chapter Twelve
Flicking the tip of Shadow’s cock, Riley tasted him, wanting more. She licked along his cock, following down the vein at the side, and pulling back up to take the head of him into her mouth. She moaned around his length as she slowly sank her mouth onto his cock. When he hit the back of her throat, she looked back up at him, seeing the frown on his lips.
Pulling off his cock, she began stroking up and down. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to come yet. Do you know how sexy it is to see your lips wrapped around my dick?”
To torment him even more, she took his cock back into his mouth, tasting him, wanting him to come because of her touch.
Shadow ran his fingers in her hair, clenching his hand into a fist to hold her head. She felt the strength of his hand as he began to pump his cock into her mouth, hitting her throat with every plunge.
Suddenly, he pulled away, shaking his head. “I want your pussy on my mouth. I want you to ride my face.”
He always got what he wanted, and within a matter of seconds, he had her pants off, and he was lying on the cold, tiled floor.
“I want you to put one knee there, and another there.”
She shook her head at his instruction. “No.”
“I’m going to hold your hips as you ride my face. I’m not going anywhere. Come on, baby. If you loved me, you’d let me taste that pretty pussy.”
Riley didn’t know why she was nervous. Being a bigger woman, she didn’t think about doing a sixty-nine position. She’d even recalled cruel jokes from an old boyfriend about this very thing, saying she’d suffocate him if they tried. But, she knew Shadow wouldn’t budge until he got what he wanted, so even as she was nervous, she moved so that she was over his head, facing his feet.
His hands moved down the curve of her ass, and he tugged her down even more so that her pussy was directly over his face.
“You’re feeling like a little virgin right now, babe,” he said. “All nervous, even though you and I both know how much I love to eat out this cunt.”
He spread her pussy lips, and then his tongue flicked over her clit, making her gasp, and with his touch, she completely forgot that she didn’t want this.
“Suck my cock, baby.”
Wrapping her fingers around the length of his dick, she covered the top, taking him into her mouth, bobbing her head up and down. More of his creamy pre-cum leaked out of the tip, and she closed her eyes, enjoying the taste of him as he slid in her mouth. He was hers, and she loved everything about him.
He ravished her pussy, licking her clit, sucking the bud into his mouth, and sliding down to plunge inside her. He’d fuck her with his tongue, only to draw back up, and tease her clit once again.
The pleasure was insane, utterly dirty, especially as he began to stroke across her anus, reminding her of how good it was to have him sliding his dick into her ass.
She began to rock her pussy onto his mouth, unable to keep still as he teased her, bringing her close and closer to orgasm with every passing second.
His cock, still rock hard, filled her mouth, and she sucked him in deep, wanting every single part of him.
She wanted him to come apart, to fill her mouth with his release so she could swallow him down, tasting him, becoming one with her man.
As she wriggled on top of him, he started to thrust his cock up, making her take more of him, and she didn’t deny him.
Their licking and sucking became more frenzied as they neared climax.
Riley cried out as Shadow brought her to her peak first. The shock of her orgasm rocked her body to the very core. She took more of his cock into her mouth, her need driving her actions wild. He held her steady, prolonging her beautiful orgasm.
Slowly, he brought her down from the peak as he found his own. He thrust inside her mouth, and his cock swelled a second before his cum flooded her mouth.
Swallowing him down, she licked his cock until he shook, unable to handle anymore.
A wave of unadulterated satisfaction flooded her veins, calming her raging libido. She savored that post-orgasmic bliss.
Shadow lifted her up, and moved her so that she was straddling his legs. They were on the floor in his weapons room, but it was such an intimate moment—quiet, just the two of them. He cupped her cheek, and smiled. “I knew I could get you to be as wicked as me. You have the prettiest pussy I’ve ever seen, just so you know.”
“You’re not supposed to tease me with that.”
“I can’t resist.” He ran his thumb across her bottom lip. “I was only half a man until I met you. I can see that now.”
“It must be love.” She smiled. “You’re the first man to cuff me to a radiator, and get me to suck his cock all in the same day.”
Shadow laughed, and she loved the sound he made. Running her hand down his chest, she began to feel a little worried.
“Do you think something bad has happened to your friends?” she asked.
“I don’t know. With the mess I saw, I doubt it. I don’t know why they didn’t stick around though.” He rubbed at his eyes, and she cupped his face this time.
“Whatever it is, we’ll handle it together. I can promise you.”
He smiled. “You’re the love of my life, woman. Who would have thought I’d fall for a girl who likes to stalk people?”
She chuckled. “Investigate, not stalk, and I’ve only ever done it with you.”
Seeing that he needed a distraction, she moved over his body, pushing him down to straddle his waist. His cock was still flaccid, but she knew how to get him all excited again.
“I want you to stop thinking and to focus on me.”
“You’ve got my full attention, baby.”
Taking his hands, she placed them on her breasts. She knew how much they’d both been through in life, experiencing some of the same nightmares and letdowns in their childhoods. Finding each other was a godsend, and she knew they both understood the value of having someone love them unconditionally.
“You’ve got me, Shadow. No matter what happens, I’ll stay by your side through thick and thin. I’ve got your back, and I’ll do everything I can to take care of you.”
“You’re getting all mushy on me here. What happened to my hard-ass neighbor?”
“I’m still your hard-ass neighbor. I’m just letting you know you’re not alone anymore. And neither am I.” She kissed his lips, and as his cock began to swell. She smiled.
The love she felt for this man surprised her at times, but she knew their love was the kind that lasted a lifetime.
****
One week later
“You bought this?” Shadow asked, looking at Boss.
The owner of Killer of Kings didn’t even have a scratch on him. Shadow had been mid-way through fucking Riley when the call came in that Boss and Killian were alive and well.
What pissed him off was the fact he didn’t have a clue what the two men were doing, or why they’d gone off the grid. Boss was a mean motherfucker, and the way he’d taken out all of those men had surprised him.
Most of the time he wanted to kill Boss for hi
s interfering ways, but when he got the code black, he’d been worried. Killer of Kings was nothing without Boss.
Every single man who worked for him was better for Boss and what he did, and Shadow didn’t want to lose him.
“Of course I bought it. Not only have I done that, but I’m giving you the largest unit, rent free, Riley,” Boss said.
“What?” Riley asked.
“I did speak English, didn’t I?” Boss asked. “I thought you’d like this investment. I got rid of that dirty fucking bar. I like coming to this plaza, and that place ruined it for me. I happen to like your sugar cookies, Riley.” He winked.
This was all news to Shadow, who simply smiled, shocked at what Boss had given Riley. It was perfect.
Boss handed her the keys. “There’s a designer in the old bar waiting for you. It’s a huge unit. He says he can have the bakery and shop you want within a month. Get what you want, and don’t let him bulldoze you into doing what he wants.”
Riley’s mouth was open in shock as she took the keys, staring at them for a moment. Shadow laughed as she threw herself at Boss, and in that moment, he saw the tenderness on Boss’s face, which was gone within seconds.
If he hadn’t been watching, he’d have missed it.
“Go on. I don’t have all fucking day.”
Boss had called him that morning, and ordered him down to Riley’s old bakery. Shadow never expected this, but he saw what it meant to his woman.
“She’s a good one. You’ve got to keep the kind that can bake close. In my line of work, a chocolate pie cures all problems,” Boss said.
“Are you going to tell me what went down?”
“You don’t need to trouble yourself over it, Shadow. A hit on Killer of Kings was expected. I don’t think they knew what they were dealing with. It was good to have my men come and help me though. That was … worth it.”
“Where did you and Killian go? We were all worried.”
Boss smiled, and it was a wicked smile. “We went to pay some friends a visit, Shadow. You know there’re cameras inside my buildings. They record and see everything. We made sure that no one else ever gets the idea to try and take me out. I run an organization of killers who get the job done right. I don’t run from threats. Never have. I stand and I fight. Let’s just say anyone else who thought they could win by taking me down, they’ve been warned.”