by Blue, Kaye
He didn’t seem like one given to laughter, though I could almost see it now, amusement bubbling in his eyes.
It pissed me off, and I only barely managed to keep my temper in check.
“What could I possibly help you with?” he said.
“I have a problem.”
“So what? So does everybody.”
True, but I wasn’t going to allow his dismissal to turn me away.
“A problem you can help me with,” I said.
Before, I could tell he was intrigued, had seen his amusement, but something in his expression changed. He was interested, and I knew that counted for something.
“That problem being?” he said.
I didn’t answer immediately, trying to think about the best way to frame my response.
I’d thought I had worked it out before, but the little speech I had practiced as I’d gathered the courage to come here seemed totally ineffective in the face of this man.
“Your…employees,” I said, scorn dripping from my voice, “have been harassing me. Asking me to pay protection for my store. I’d like you to put a stop to it.”
There, I’d said it.
Yes, my words had been a little closer to an order than was wise, but I’d said what I needed to.
After I spoke, I watched him, ready to be disgusted, angry at the person who’d caused me so much trouble ever present in the background.
But his reaction—surprise, which he quickly hid behind the impenetrable mask of his emotionless face—was something I hadn’t been expecting, something that reminded me I couldn’t get too comfortable or be too certain.
“My employees?” he finally responded. “My chef, the maître d’, the hostess?”
“I’m not talking about people who work at the restaurant.”
“Then what employees are you referring to, Erin?”
Warning was heavy in his tone, his unspoken advice that I drop this matter and leave impossible to miss.
Which made sense.
It wouldn’t be smart for him to acknowledge being a crime boss, just as it wasn’t smart to accuse someone of being a crime boss. But I’d done that and wouldn’t let his warning send me away.
“I’ve heard of your…reputation,” I said, not a direct answer to his question, but answer enough.
“What have you heard?” he asked, his voice giving nothing away, the interest in his eyes still there but otherwise nothing in his body or his expression revealing his thoughts.
“That you handle other business than the restaurant and that you can call off the men who’ve been coming to my store.”
“Really?” he said, voice causal, though I wasn’t fooled.
I nodded, my knees feeling like they wanted to wobble.
He could have offered me a seat, and I would have taken it, but I supposed manners weren’t high on the list of qualifications for his particular job.
“Say I was the type of person who had ‘employees’ that demanded protection. Not that I am, but say that I was. Why would I help you?”
I stared at him a moment, again considering what to say.
Decided truth was my best, my only, option.
“You have no reason to. I’m as unimportant as they come. Just trying to scrape out an existence. I have nothing that anyone wants, and I can’t afford the price that they’re asking. So this is my last shot,” I said.
“Why haven’t you gone to the police?”
I looked at his expression, and though he didn’t give it away anything away, I knew this question was also a test.
I chuckled, the sound dry, brittle.
“I did. Twice. The last guys who came by the shop were officers in uniform. Just to prove a point, I suppose,” I said.
Even before I had gone to the police, I’d known it would be futile. There were bigger problems for them to deal with, and my little situation wouldn’t rate with them, just as it likely wouldn’t rate with him.
“Unfortunate, but not surprising,” he said.
Of course it wasn’t surprising to him. He’d probably paid them off, after all.
“Erin, I can’t help you,” he said.
I’d braced myself for that answer, had expected it, but when he delivered it, I still felt a rush of sadness and defeat.
But, as tiny as it was, I also had a kernel of hope.
“I…I know you don’t need my money,” I said.
He nodded.
“I don’t. And despite what you may have heard, I don’t run pathetic little protection rackets.”
It was the first time I seen anything like pride in his demeanor, and it was amusing in a dark sort of way that he was seemed offended that I had compared him to the people who were currently tormenting me.
“It’s not you?” I asked, mostly to buy myself time to think.
“No.”
“Then, do you—”
He shook his head, the move barely perceptible, but between that and the fire that now sparked in his eyes, I cut off quickly.
“What were you going to ask me?” he said. Then he continued before I had a chance to speak. “Ask who runs the racket so you can go to them for a reprieve? Try to do with them what you’re doing now?”
To have him say I like that, with that particular inflection in his voice, made it seem silly, but nonetheless I nodded.
That had been exactly what I’d planned to do.
“Stupid,” he said.
I bristled, taking his words personally, something he didn’t miss, but I didn’t say anything.
“Why not just give up the money?” he asked, curiosity in his eyes again.
“Because I don’t have it. And even if I did, if I give what they’re asking for now, in two weeks they’ll ask for more, two weeks after that even more. Then everything is gone,” I said.
“Well, that’s one smart thing you figured out. Most people don’t until it’s too late.”
“So you’ll help?” I asked, the hope that had been so dim moments ago growing.
“Erin, do I strike you as the type of man who does anything for free?”
“No, but I told you I don’t have any money, and I don’t have anything else of value,” I said, my hope starting to fade just that quickly.
He stood, and I couldn’t help but watch as his massive frame unfolded from the chair, couldn’t help but be impressed by the sight of him standing at his full height.
“That’s not true,” he said, his gaze dropping, seeming to caress me from head to toe and back again. “You have something of value, something I want very badly.”
Three
Erin
He didn’t mean…
He couldn’t.
I looked at him, my gaze roaming his huge frame before settling on the bulge between his thighs before I pulled it away. But not quickly enough to stop the clench between my own thighs, my body responding even as my mind tried to reject his words.
My breath had sped, but I consciously slowed it, waited until I was in control of myself before speaking. “Are you suggesting…?”
“No, Erin. I don’t suggest things. I’m making you an offer. I’ll take care of your little problem if you take care of mine.”
I snorted. “Your ‘problem’ is not so little,” I said, his rough chuckle making me realize I’d said it out loud.
Not for the first time, I was grateful for my dark skin, glad that he couldn’t see the blush I could feel breaking out over my entire body.
We stood, still and silent for a moment, until I realized that I hadn’t given him an answer.
That I hadn’t said no.
Wondered what the fuck was wrong with me.
I figured it was stress, that maybe I was cracking a bit, but his offer was far more tempting than it should have been.
Besides, what did I have to lose?
It wasn’t like outrageously sexy men with an air of danger that I had seldom encountered asked after me.
In fact, I could count on one finger the number of t
imes something like this had happened.
If nothing else, I instinctively knew Sasha would fulfill the promise his body and eyes offered, knew he would give me pleasure I’d never experienced before.
I’d be foolish to pass up the chance.
But then, no one had ever accused me of being smart.
“I’m sorry for having wasted your time, Sasha. Have a good evening.”
I didn’t look at him again, didn’t dare risk it.
Instead, I turned, gave a silent prayer that the door was still open, and made my way out.
I reversed the path we had taken to enter and again passed without notice.
Strange, but the walk felt different, empty, without him in front of me.
I shoved that feeling off, told myself it was just a reaction, because after all, I didn’t often find myself walking through restaurant kitchens after being propositioned by a criminal.
I sped up, fled like a terrified mouse scurrying away in the darkness, but not out of fear, at least not entirely.
As I made my way out of the restaurant, taking care not to make eye contact with anyone, it hit me that his offer, as outrageous and surprising as it was, was even scarier than the men who were threatening my shop.
My reaction to it was the reason why.
On its face, the very idea was ridiculous—to say nothing of the dangerous—but despite those reasons, which were crystal clear, I was intrigued and more turned on than I had ever been in my life.
I left the restaurant in a hurry and made it two blocks before I finally slowed.
My phone vibrated, and I smiled when I looked at the screen, keeping alert as I answered and continued down the block.
“Adora, what are you doing up at this hour?” I asked my best friend.
“You answered, so that’s a good sign,” she said, not answering my question.
I smiled again, hearing her voice, having the reminder that someone cared lifting my spirits.
“I’m fine,” I said.
She tsked. “I’m putting on hot chocolate. It’ll be ready when you get here.”
She hung up, not bothering to wait for a response, and I chuckled and changed directions to head for her place.
It was funny, because at first Adora had seemed so sweet and quiet, things she actually was, but when she cared about people, she could be pushy.
I appreciated that, glad to have kinship with someone who would stand up for people they cared about.
I glanced at the large window and the silent bakery beyond it, ignoring the melancholy that tugged at me as I went up the flight of stairs that led to Adora’s place.
I hadn’t even reached the top of the stairs before she held the door open.
“Tell me everything,” she said as she pulled me into her apartment.
“Can I take a sip of my hot chocolate?” I asked as I sat and then settled on the couch, a place where I had spent many an hour.
“Make it quick,” she said, tapping the watch I’d never seen her without, her brows raised with impatience.
I laughed, shaking my head at my friend who stared down at me from her impressive nearly six-foot height, a hand on her full hip.
I took a sip of the hot chocolate, and she gestured at her watch again. When I took another, she glared.
“You’re alive, but that can change, and not because of whoever it was you went to see,” she said when it was clear I was taking my time.
“Of course, I’m alive,” I said, deciding to give her a break. “You were the only one who worried about me dying.”
“For obvious reasons,” she replied, settling on the sofa.
“I told you I’d be fine.”
“Easy for you to say, but if something had happened because I couldn’t talk you out of—”
I shook my head, cutting her off.
“Adora, I’m an adult and make my own decisions. You bear no responsibility for that. I probably shouldn’t even have told you.”
I definitely shouldn’t have, but I’d wanted someone to know where I was going, just in case. Not that she would have been able to do anything, and not that I’d want her to try, but if I disappeared, she’d know why.
“Of course you should have.” She looked offended that I’d even suggest not telling her. “And anyway, I told you I would help you.”
She would have, even though she was barely scraping by herself, working ungodly hours at bakery and never making enough to get ahead. I refused to add to her burdens.
“You did, and I appreciate it, but I’m not going to pay protection.”
“So why not close the store? You’re online too, so you don’t have to sell from there.”
“No,” I said, my words coming out faster and more fiercely than I’d intended. “No,” I repeated, my tone softer now. “I worked hard for that store, and I’m not going to let anyone chase me away.”
She nodded, though I could see she didn’t really understand. But, good friend that she was, she’d support me anyway.
“So what happened when you went?”
“I met him, the boss. Sasha.”
“And what was he like?”
“Umm…” I said, fishing for words to describe him and the encounter, something my life hadn’t prepared me for. “Intense.”
Even that word didn’t fully capture the experience of meeting him. All this time and distance later, I could still feel my reaction to him, one that scared the shit out of me.
“Will he help you?” Adora asked, pulling me from thoughts of him.
“Not for free,” I said, knowing I probably shouldn’t tell her that.
“He wants money?” The surprise in her voice was unmistakable.
“If only it were that simple.”
“What then? Does he want you to do something illegal?” She sounded positively scandalized.
I remembered the way he had looked at me and couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.
“Some of what he has in mind might be illegal in some states.”
“Wait what? You mean…?” Her eyes were wide, a flush starting to creep up her cheeks.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Oh my!” Adora said, her sweetness and the shock on her face making me laugh.
Adora was a great baker and better friend, but she could be a little naive.
And though my own blush hadn’t shown, I didn’t miss the blush that continued to spread under her golden-brown complexion.
“You gonna faint? Should I get the smelling salts?” I said, chuckling.
“Don’t tease. It’s just…”
“What?”
“I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Me either.”
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“Well, you didn’t see him, but he’s…a lot. Glamorous, even though that feels like too soft a word. And I’m…me.”
“So?” she asked, her tone verging on offended, reminding she always had my back even if I didn’t have my own.
“So this man could have anyone he wants, and as I stated, I’m just me.”
“You, who is beautiful and kind and amazing.”
“Thanks, Adora, but I doubt he picked up on all those admirable traits.”
“What then?”
“I don’t know,” I said, and I didn’t.
As much as anything, Sasha’s offer was confusing.
“Well, you’re here now, so I guess you didn’t take him up on his offer. But this doesn’t seem like it’s over. What are you going to do?” Adora asked.
“I’m going to drink the rest of this hot chocolate and let you get some sleep. After that,” I said, smiling trying to lighten the sense of confusion and despair that threatened to overtake me, “who knows?”
* * *
Sasha
I lingered far too long after she’d left, my reaction to her and the desire to see her again making it impossible for me to focus on anything else. When I finally returned to the dining room, my men were still ga
thered. I dismissed them all and then returned to the office and picked up the phone.
Even though it was nearing one in the morning, Ghost answered on the first ring.
“Who handles protection around here?” I asked, knowing the line was secure. Ghost made sure of it, just as he made it his business to try to know everything about everyone we might come into contact with.
This was especially true since Etienne had sold off rights to some of the lower-level activity in the city, and it was Ghost’s job to keep tabs.
“A couple of new operations have popped up over the last couple of months, but nothing of note for us,” he said.
“Can you get me all the details? I want to know everything.”
“Yeah,” he said, and then he hung up the phone.
Within a day, I’d know everything there was to know about the protection business in the area, a subject I was determined to become an expert on.
The question was, why?
I had no doubt it was because of her.
But the question of why her remained.
I still didn’t know, couldn’t say precisely, but also couldn’t deny it, couldn’t ignore the reaction I felt even now.
My hard-on had relented, thank God, but the impression she had left on me only grew stronger.
It had been so stupid of her to come here, and I knew when I got the opportunity, I would spank her ass for doing so.
But coming had also been brave as fuck and only made the woman that much more intriguing.
A feeling that was novel these days.
My business was dangerous, could change at any moment, but it also had a level of predictability. The business would roll on and occasionally people would try to screw me or the Brotherhood.
I’d handle it and return to amassing power and wealth and keeping order.
I’d been at this long enough to figure out what motivated most people and could sense trouble even when it was distant. I wouldn’t have been able to survive if I hadn’t.
But this woman, Erin Nelson, was a complete wildcard.
And I realized I liked that.
My cock thickened, yet another sign of my lack of control when it came to her, but I pushed thoughts of fucking her aside for the moment.