“Did something happen to make him disappear for a couple of weeks?”
“I don’t know. I never got a chance to ask.” My gaze flicked to hers, and I saw understanding cross her features. She knew why I never had a chance to ask him, but she didn’t actually come out and say it. “But he did seem off. I know something happened, I just have no idea what.”
“Just please be careful and listen to what he said. Stay away from Jose.” Keisha paused a moment and seemed to choose her next words carefully. “Are you falling in love with Sebastian?”
“Uh…well…I…” I stammered. I knew that I was falling in love with him, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to say it aloud yet, especially if I hadn’t said it to Sebastian.
She sighed. “For you, I will give him a chance, but if he fucking hurts you in any way, I will castrate him and shove his dick down his throat.”
My eyes went wide at that visual. “Okay…thank you?”
Keisha laughed and then turned serious. “Please stay away from Jose.”
“Well, I don’t plan on searching the guy out or anything, but I’ll do my best.” A moment later, my phone rang. Picking it up, I saw that it was Brett. “Hey,” I answered. “It’s your brother,” I mouthed to Keisha.
“Hey, yourself.” His voice sounded different.
I frowned, looking at Keisha. “What’s up?”
“I need you to stop by the club.” It sounded more like a demand then a request.
“You don’t want anything to do with me for weeks, and now you all of a sudden want me to come to the club?”
Keisha frowned.
“Just get your ass over here, Tori.”
“No, I’m having coffee with your sister. I’ll get there when I get there.” I disconnected the call and threw my phone on the table. Who the hell did he think he was?
“What was that about?”
I looked up at Keisha and shrugged. “Brett wants me to come to the club for some reason.”
Her brows rose suspiciously. “Why?”
“I have no idea.”
“Did he say what he wanted?”
I shook my head. “No, just for me to come to the club.” Which I thought was very odd. Suspicion rang through my body.
“Are you going to go?”
I looked at her and thought a moment, contemplating what I should do. I sighed. “A part of me wants to be a bitch and just not go, but then the curious side of me wants to know what the hell he wants.”
Keisha laughed. “Sounds like a struggle.”
I smiled, and it instantly fell as my phone rang again.
“Here, let me.” She swiped across the screen. “Hello?”
I giggled at her attempt at putting on a sexy voice.
She looked at me, her demeanor becoming serious. “Um…yeah…”
I frowned.
“Yeah, she’s sitting right across from me.” A moment later she handed me the phone, apology written in her eyes.
I huffed and reached for it. “What?” I snapped.
“Oh, cochina, is that any way to greet a friend?”
My stomach dropped. I needed to get a new cell phone. Jose having my number really creeped the hell out of me, especially when I had no idea how he got the number in the first place. “What the fu…”
Jose chuckled. “Did you ever kiss your mother with that mouth?”
My jaw clenched as anger tore through my bones. “What do you want?”
“Turn around.”
Keisha’s face paled, and I followed her gaze.
Turning around, my eyes widened at seeing Jose standing at the large bay window.
“Now, stand up and come outside.”
“Why?” My heart raced against my chest. There was no way I was going to go outside…
“’Cause I fucking said so.”
Shit. “What if…”
“You don’t really want me to cause a scene, do you? ’Cause I fucking will.” He moved his hand inside his jacket, revealing a gun in the waistband of his jeans.
“Is that a fucking gun?”
I turned to Keisha and looked around the room to see if anyone else noticed the psycho asshole at the window flashing his gun. No one seemed be the wiser as they went about their daily business of drinking coffee and serving customers. Sighing, I rose from the chair.
“Tori, you’re not seriously going outside are you?”
“Give me a minute,” I said into the phone and then hung up.
“Tori, you can’t do this. Jose is fucking crazy.” Her voice rose frantically.
“I have to go. It’ll be fine. I promise. I can handle him.” I wasn’t sure who I was convincing, her or myself but I wouldn’t let Jose win this game he was playing with me.
“Tori.”
“It’ll be fine. Call your brother and tell him I’m on my way. Please.” My heart pounded against my chest as I turned towards the door.
“Okay.”
As I neared the door, the grin on Jose’s face widened. As he watched me, it made my skin crawl in disgust. What the hell am I doing?
Chapter 17
Leaving the coffee shop, I turned left, walking past Jose, and headed in the direction of Brett’s club.
Jose came up beside me and placed an arm around my shoulders. Bile rose in my throat as the smell of sweat and cigarettes filled my nostrils. “I’m going to Brett’s club.”
“I know,” he said smugly.
“How did you know that?” Swallowing past the hard lump of fear in my throat, I ignored the way his arm around my shoulders made anxiety swirl in my belly.
An evil grin spread on his face, and he leaned down to my ear. “’Cause I was there when he called you originally.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I sighed. “Of course you were.”
“You know me well.” A hot kiss was pressed on my cheek, making my stomach clench.
“No, I just know what an asshole you are.” I pushed him away and he laughed. I sped up my walk, getting a couple of feet ahead of Jose. I cried out as a tight grip squeezed my neck.
“The next time you walk away from me, cochina, you will fucking regret it.” I whimpered as his fingers dug into my neck.
“I’m gonna have a talk with my boy. He’s becoming a bit of a pussy. I think he feels something for you.”
I dug at his hand on my neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He pulled me toward him. “Stop.” His fingers squeezed my neck harder, making tears form in my eyes. As we headed to the club, Jose turned to me. “Now are you going to behave?”
I glared at him.
Fury flashed in his black eyes before he pushed me through the open doorway.
I stumbled inside, almost losing my footing. My head was yanked back by my hair, and a hand covered my throat, squeezing. Tears formed in my eyes at the tight hold. I cried out as I was pushed up against the wall. “Jose, please stop.”
Bile rose in my throat as Jose leaned his hips into me. “You are so fucking hot,” he said, growling in my ear.
“Please. Let go of me.” My voice was raspy, and I pried at his fingers wrapped around my throat, relieved when the big hand fell from my neck.
Spinning me around, he held me up against the wall. He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at him. He held onto my hip with his other hand, fingers digging into my skin.
Pockmarks and light scars covered his face and neck. He smirked before bringing his mouth down on mine. Bile rose in my throat as his tongue entered my mouth.
I whimpered and pushed at him, but he wouldn’t budge. He groaned and deepened the kiss. Trying not to gag, I continued pushing him, but that only seemed to make him hold on tighter. Desperation took over as he continued molesting my mouth. Not knowing what else to do, I reached down between us. He moaned as I cupped him over his jeans.
Grinding his hips into my hand, I smiled against his mouth and then with everything in me, I squeezed the shit out of him. He cried out, releasing me. I
took that as my chance, and bringing my knee up, I hit him square in the balls.
“You fucking bitch!” He doubled over, gasping for air, one hand holding the wall while his other was between his legs.
I panted. “Don’t ever fucking touch…”
“What the hell’s going on here?”
I turned and saw Brett standing a few feet away. I looked back at Jose. “Why don’t you ask him?”
Turning around, I shouldered past Brett and walked to his office. Walking through the narrow, dim hallway and entering the vast club during the day was always weird to me. It usually had people milling about, cleaning or getting ready for that evening when the club would reopen.
The bartender, who I now knew as Alex, was nowhere to be found either, and that bothered me. I’d become used to seeing him behind the bar every time I showed up here. It threw me off for a second that he wasn’t around.
I walked through the empty club and headed down the hallway to Brett’s office. The door was cracked open.
Yelling sounded from behind me, but I didn’t turn around.
I pushed open the door and sighed, relieved. Leaning against the wall, I brought shaky hands up to my face. I frowned when I looked down and saw that my fingers were wet. I hadn’t even realized that I was crying. No man ever scared me like Jose did. Even when my mother had brought home all of her douche bag boyfriends, none of them compared to Jose Alvarez. He was sick and demented and filled my nightmares.
Wiping my face, I took deep, cleansing breaths while I waited for Brett and Jose to join me in the office. I walked over to the minibar and leaned against the wall.
“She fucking kneed me in the nuts, man.”
“Yeah, well, knowing you, you probably deserved it.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Jose, you’re an asshole. You can’t expect her to drop everything for you if you force yourself on her.”
“Yeah, I can.”
I shivered at that thought, not wanting to know how far Jose would go to get what he wanted.
Brett and Jose entered the office. Once Jose noticed me, he glared in my direction.
I rolled my eyes, biting my inner cheek.
Brett walked over to his desk and leaned against it. “Are you two going to play nice?”
I looked at Jose. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“As long as he stays far away from me, I won’t be tempted to rip off his dick and shove it down his throat.”
Jose sneered. “Oh cochina, I am going to have so much fucking fun with you.”
“Stop. You leave her the hell alone,” Brett warned him.
Ice-cold shivers traveled down my spine as panic and anxiety took form in my belly. Ignoring him, I turned back to Brett. “What do you want?”
Brett turned to Jose and then back to me. “We figured it was time you knew what your lover boy was up to.”
My heart picked up speed. “Okay.” I motioned for them to continue.
“First off, Sebastian isn’t who you think he is.”
I rolled my eyes at Jose’s cliché-filled statement.
“She’s got some serious attitude,” Jose said to Brett. He turned back to me a moment later. “If Sebastian doesn’t beat it out of you, I will.”
“Fuck you.” I took a step forward, clenching my fists.
Jose laughed and Brett smiled. What was with him? I didn’t understand this whole thing with Brett and Jose, but I had a feeling that Brett only put up with Jose to get what he wanted, whatever that was.
Leaning against the wall, Jose said, “As you know, Sebastian and I are partners. Well, we have a secret third partner that works with us. Can you guess who?”
I sighed. “Hmm…let me guess, is it Brett?”
“Ding, ding, ding. Wow, you sure are quick.”
I rolled my eyes. “What do you want? An award?”
Jose walked toward me. “I want you to fucking stay away from Sebastian.”
“And why the hell would I do that?”
“Because you’re distracting him from getting his job done properly.”
I frowned. “I don’t know what sort of business you guys run, and I don’t think I want to know, but I thought Sebastian was the boss…”
Jose laughed. “Please, that fucker is anything but the boss. He’s the muscle. He makes sure we get paid and on time if you get my drift.”
My stomach dropped. “Okay, well, I don’t see how I have anything to do with this.”
“You’re fucking distracting him! But…” He looked at Brett and then back at me, his black gaze roaming over me, making my skin crawl.
“Jose, maybe we should wait until later. I just got a text from Sebastian,” Brett called from his desk.
Worry settled in my belly that these two had something up their sleeves to get Sebastian. I didn’t want to be there. I just wanted to be at home, snuggled up against him, protected by him. He told me to stay away from Jose, and then what happened? I practically fell in Jose’s lap.
Jose took a step towards me and stopped. “Brett,” he called while looking at me.
“Yeah.”
“Leave.” Ice cold fear ran up my spine at being left alone with Jose again.
“What the fuck man? This is my office.”
“I said leave. Now!” Jose continued walking toward me, his eyebrows narrowing on me.
Brett grumbled as he left his office, slamming the door behind him.
I backed up until I hit the wall. “Jose, please…”
“I fucking love it when a woman begs.”
Oh God.
Chapter 18
Jose slapped both of his hands on either side of my head and leaned into me.
I turned my head away from him and squeezed my eyes shut. I heard him inhale, and bile rose in my throat. “I fucking love the way you smell.”
Grabbing my jaw, he forced me to look at him. Covering my mouth with his, he placed a hard kiss on my lips. I squirmed against him, and he released me. “I should beat you for what you fucking did.”
I glared at him. “Try it, asshole. Touch me again and I’ll cut your balls off.”
He chuckled. “You can’t do anything if your hands are tied behind your back or…” He licked up the side of my neck. “…above your head.”
Cringing, I pushed him.
He grabbed my arms and spun me around, pushing me up against the wall. Hot breath scorched my skin as he pulled my wrists behind my back. “You would look fucking hot tied to my bed.”
My heart thudded against my chest, and cold sweat ran down my spine. “Jose, stop. Please.”
Squeezing my jaw in his hand, he dug his fingers into my cheeks. “I have a message for you and one for you to give to Sebastian.”
“What?” I bit out.
“You better fucking stay away from each other.”
My eyes widened. He couldn’t control what Sebastian and I did. “Or else what?”
Holding my wrists in one hand, he leaned an arm against my neck, pushing my face into the wall. I cried out at the pressure. “You don’t want to fucking know what would happen if I found out that you were seeing each other.”
“You can’t stop us from…”
“Try me, cochina.” I jumped as he slammed a hand by my head against the wall before leaving the office.
Turning around, I sank to the floor, letting out a breath that I hadn’t realized I was holding. A moment later, I felt hands wrap around me. I jumped when I realized it was Brett. “Don’t fucking touch me.” I scrambled to get out of his reach.
“Hey, hey. Calm down.”
“No.” I pushed him and he fell on his ass. “No, you called me to come over here when Jose was here. You fucking set me up.”
“Tori, no, I didn’t.”
“Yes you did!” I screamed. My chest rose and fell with my rapid breathing. Questions and confusion coursed through me. Who the hell did Jose think he was in thinking he could control whether Se
bastian and I saw each other? There was no way Sebastian would let that happen. No one controlled him, not even me.
“No, I fucking didn’t. Yes, I called you to come over when Jose was here, but I didn’t set you up, not intentionally anyway. There are things going on that I can’t explain. You need to have patience.” Brett rose to his feet and rubbed a hand down his face.
“Whatever, asshole.”
“Tori, if anyone should be mad, it should be fucking me. Do you remember the shit you said to me the last time I saw you?”
I looked away guiltily.
“Tori, listen to me,” he pleaded, grabbing my hand.
I huffed. “What?”
“Something big is going to go down. I don’t know when. It could be days from now, weeks, even months, but I need you to fucking trust me.”
I frowned. Everyone kept asking me to trust them when in turn they didn’t trust me enough to tell me what the hell was going on. “That’s what Sebastian keeps telling me.”
He paused, his gaze searching my face. Several emotions spread over his handsome features, but the one that stuck out the most was guilt. What the hell was going on?
My heart sped up. “What?”
He took a deep breath.
“Are you going to tell me to stay away from Sebastian too?”
Brett frowned. “No.”
“Really? Why not?”
“Because I know you won’t fucking listen to me.”
I smiled tightly. “You got that right.”
“Tori.” He sighed, running his hands over his head.
“What?”
“You have to be prepared.”
Uncertainty swirled in my belly. “Prepared for what?”
Brett sighed deeply. “You have to be prepared for the fact that you might not hear from Sebastian again.”
My eyes widened. “What? Why?”
“I’m just warning you” was all he said. He walked back to his desk, his demeanor slouched as if he had given up on getting me to understand what was going on.
“Why would you warn me? What did he say to you?” I followed him and tugged on his arm, trying to get him to look at me.
“I don’t talk to him.” Shoving out of my grip, he sat in the chair behind his large desk.
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