by Mia Knight
“You forget to tell me something about you and the new crime lord?” Kiki asked.
“It’s nothing. Send him someone who will take care of him.”
“No problem.”
“I’ll see you later.” Carmen hung up and dropped her head on the steering wheel. Her harsh breaths filled the silent interior of the Aston. Her legs were shaking, and her underwear was soaked. “Fucking Angel.”
11
Tires screeched as Carmen pulled up to the Pyre fortress. She stepped out of the Aston and tossed the keys to the nearest guard before she ran up the steps and slammed the front doors.
It had been three days of house hunting, one of her favorite pastimes and none of the properties they visited piqued her interest one bit. She was a fucking millionaire, so money wasn’t an issue. All she had to do was pick a place, and it was hers, but she hated every place they visited. The massive estates were ridiculous since she had no one to share it with, not even a goldfish. She didn’t want an apartment because it was too small, and she didn’t want any rules. She sounded like fucking Goldilocks—too big, too small, not enough light, not enough space, too much space … Charisse was beyond frustrated, and so was she. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard! Years ago, she knew exactly what she wanted. Now, she had no idea, and it was driving her crazy. She decided they needed a break. Charisse couldn’t hide her relief. Carmen went on a short shopping spree, which made her feel marginally better. She was in love with her new black and white snakeskin stilettos, which paired well with her black leather wrap skirt and thin black sweater.
“Lyla!” she yelled.
Gavin would have to take one for the team if they were fucking. She was restless and manic and needed girl time.
Blade appeared at the top of the stairs. “What’s going on?”
“I need Lyla. Where is she?”
“Backyard.”
She marched in that direction and saw Lyla sitting in the sunken cabana in the middle of the pool with Nora on her lap. She relaxed a little as she watched Lyla bounce Nora on the cushions with Beau nearby.
“What’s your problem?” Blade asked.
She turned to the fridge. “What do we have to eat?”
She was hungry as fuck. She stopped at two fast food joints and a Greek place she used to love, but nothing was hitting the spot. She fumbled through Lyla’s fridge and sniffed some of the meals. Rosemary chicken, enchiladas, and ravioli. She scooped a little of each on a plate and tossed it in the microwave before she located her stash of marshmallows in the cupboard. She popped a few into her mouth, grimaced, and spotted a jar of peanut butter. She scooped out a spoonful, swallowed, and then grabbed chocolate syrup and squeezed a dollop on. She grabbed honey and put an amber drop on the peanut butter. Better, but still not what she was looking for. The microwave dinged, and she grabbed the plate, took a forkful of ravioli, and blew on it before she put it in her mouth. She burned her mouth, but that didn’t stop her from trying the chicken and enchiladas as well. After one bite, she knew it wasn’t going to do it for her. She just couldn’t think of a food that would satisfy her craving.
“What drugs are you on?”
She turned and found Blade watching her suspiciously. She held the steaming plate out to him. “You want this? I just took a bite.”
“I saw what you did. What are you on?”
“I’m not on anything. I’m just hungry.” She tossed the spoon in the sink and poured herself a glass of root beer.
His lip curled in disgust. “You have to be on something to mix those foods together.”
She waved her hands dismissively. Her taste buds were just alive and clamoring for flavor. Was she acting a bit crazy? Maybe. So what if she ordered thirty dollars’ worth of food off the Burger King menu and took one bite of everything? At least she gave it to some homeless teenagers on the side of the road and gave them a ride to the nearest shelter. She could be psycho and helpful at the same time. She was having a manic episode. No big deal. She had never been diagnosed with bipolar disorder; it was just what Mom always called it when she got like this. She hadn’t had an episode since she had been imitating the walking dead, but now she was awake and with that came her endless episodes of restless cravings. Her thoughts raced a million miles a minute, and she obsessed over strange, inconsequential things like painting her tiny bedroom in her parents’ house gold or redecorating the RV with a leopard theme. Neither of those things were relevant or helpful at all, but she couldn’t stop thinking about them. Sleep had been nearly impossible the past couple of days, and her frustration increased with every property fail. Her mind couldn’t articulate why the homes weren’t right, but she knew they wouldn’t do. Once she found the right place, she could settle … She just had to figure out what she wanted.
She poured herself a glass of grapefruit juice and swished the bitter drink in her mouth and rolled her eyes when she saw Blade hadn’t moved. She decided to give him a show and arched her back to elongate her body and licked her lips after she swallowed. Blade’s gaze didn’t waver. He was too much of a pro to be distracted by sex, which intrigued her.
“When’s the last time you had sex?”
He didn’t react to her question.
She pursed her lips. “Like, you’re always here. Do you ever take a day off?”
“No.”
“So you haven’t had sex in months.” She cast her eyes over his rockin’ body. “Years? Is that why you work out so much?”
“I like to be in control.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“I heard you were dancing at the Red Diamond the other night. You want to explain that to me?”
She gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Just visiting my roots.”
“You’re asking for trouble.”
“Worried about me, Blade?”
“Lyla needs you. She can’t take another loss.”
She gave him an over bright smile to cover the yawning feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wouldn’t survive another loss either. “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
She turned her back on him and headed outside. Beau barked in welcome, and Lyla smiled as she rushed toward the cabana. She gave Lyla a tight hug and a kiss on her temple before she took Nora who beamed at her.
“Oh, I missed you so much. Yes, I did,” she said as she bobbed the baby from side to side.
“I’m glad you came over. We’ve been playing phone tag for a couple of days now,” Lyla said.
“Yes.” She cast an eye over her cousin who was looking much more like her old self. “How’ve you been?”
“Sleeping a lot. Gavin’s working in the office, so I came out here. I went to see Mom yesterday.”
“How is she?”
Lyla grimaced. “She didn’t say a word.”
“Give her time.”
Lyla nodded and took in her outfit. “You look fab. What have you been up to?”
“I’ve been trying to look for a new place.”
“Why?”
“Mom’s engaged, and I don’t want to live in that house by myself.”
Lyla straightened. “Aunt Isabel’s engaged? How? When?”
“They’ve known each other for years, but they started dating six months ago. She didn’t know how I’d feel about it, so she kept it on the down low.”
Silver blue eyes locked on her face. “How are you taking it?”
“I want Mom to be happy.”
“Who is this guy? Did you check him out?”
“Of course. He’s clean as a whistle. Marvin Armstrong’s never even had a speeding ticket. I talked to several of his former employees. He used to run a mechanic shop, which he passed onto his son, but he goes in on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. He owns his house, goes on hunting trips once a year, and can’t golf even though he loves to watch it. His wife passed away from breast cancer eight years ago.”
“Is that all?” Lyla asked dryly.
“And he loves anything lemon flavored. I d
on’t want to stay in the house by myself. It was bad enough without Dad there.” She pressed her cheek against Nora’s and willed her restlessness away.
“Do you want to move back here?” Lyla asked.
“No. I need my own place.”
“Have you found a place you like?”
“No. I haven’t found anything. Charisse thinks I’ve gone off the deep end.”
“Give yourself time. There’s no rush.”
“There is a rush. I need to settle somewhere and not toss five thousand dollars shoes in a pile on the floor. I need a place to decorate and sleep and be. Vinny deserves a better place than my dresser.” She made happy faces at Nora even as her insides shriveled into a ball. “I need, but I don’t know what.”
Lyla leaned into her. “It’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna find exactly what you need.”
“I woke up at two this morning and went to the RV park,” she said. “I went to visit Sally.”
“You did? How is she?”
“She’s good, but I’m thinking about redecorating her in leopard print.”
Lyla laughed. “I’m sure Sally would appreciate that.”
“I think so too.” She stared at Beau, who rested his head on Lyla’s feet. “Maybe I should get a dog.”
Loyalty, love, contentment. Nothing else existed for animals. Beau was with his pack, and no matter what drama came with it, he didn’t want to be anywhere else. She had no pack anymore. It was no wonder she was acting a little nuts.
“Maybe you should get a dog.” Lyla leaned down and kissed Beau. “I love him. He’s great.”
“Are you coming to the animal adoption this weekend?”
“No, I don’t think I’m ready to go to anything with a crowd yet.” Lyla made a motion with her hands as if she was smoothing a tablecloth. “I just need more time.”
Carmen noted her trembling hands. “Nightmares?”
Lyla closed her eyes. “Every fucking night.”
A nightmare had woken her in the wee hours of the morning. It had been a replay of the night in the canyon, but in the dream, Nora was slaughtered in front of her. She woke with a gut-wrenching scream. She hadn’t been able to go back to sleep, which was how she ended up at the RV park.
“I’ve been talking to Luci. She’s great,” Lyla said.
“Me too. I talked to her on the way here.”
“She really wants to visit, but I agree with Gavin. It’s going to take time to see how the underworld adjusts to Angel.”
Kiki’s words about Lyla’s exploits in Hell tickled the back of her mind. Did Lyla know she was now as notorious as her husband? She probably wouldn’t appreciate that little fact, so she kept it to herself. “Luci saw a picture of Cormac and me on the internet. She thought we were together.”
“Cormac Hart? Oh, my God. I haven’t seen him in years. How is he?”
“Same. I ended up at a party with him. Someone snapped some photos of us. Luci was over the moon for me. She’s a fan of Cormac’s, and she thought I would divulge his fucking routine.”
“What’s a fucking routine?”
“Like does he always fuck in the morning? Does he like blowjobs on Wednesdays? Handjobs under the table at certain restaurants?”
Lyla raised a brow. “And what did you say?”
“I never fucked Cormac; you know that.”
“Just checking. What about Kody?”
“Just heavy petting at the hospital, nothing more.”
Lyla’s eyes tracked over her outfit. “Besides looking for a place, your mom, and this party you went to with Cormac, what else have you been up to?”
She hesitated, and Lyla’s eyes narrowed. It was almost as if she knew about Marcus … He had been on her mind this morning. If it wasn’t for the Kody incident, she would have visited him on the off chance that he was available for a fuck. She opened her mouth, but Beau interrupted whatever she would have said when he barked to get their attention as Blade and Gavin approached.
Nora got a little hysterical when she saw her father. Before she could attempt to calm the baby, Gavin took her. Nora tucked her head under her father’s chin. Gavin wore a gun holster on his hip even though he was home, which was an unpleasant reminder that Vega might be gone, but the danger the underworld posed would never disappear. Lyla went to talk to Blade who was down on a knee petting Beau.
“I heard you were at the RV park this morning,” Gavin said.
She jerked. “How do you know that?”
He ignored her question. “What are you planning, Carmen?”
“I just went to visit Sally.”
“Sally?”
“My RV.”
“Are you planning to go on the road again?”
“I don’t know.”
Gavin glanced at Lyla, who laughed at something Blade said. “I think it’s best if you stay put for now.”
She had been planning to anyway, but she didn’t like him ordering her to do so. “We’ll see.”
His attention snapped back to her. “Don’t make me freeze your accounts again.”
“What do you care what I do?” she demanded and then it hit her. “You think she’ll still want to come with me? You’re high.”
A muscle clenched in his cheek. “I didn’t say that.”
“But that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Stay put, and we won’t have problems,” he said through clenched teeth.
“You have someone following me?”
He hesitated and then said, “I keep tabs.”
“Why?”
“You and your fucking wild hairs. You could decide to convince Lyla to go skydiving or travel to Bermuda on a moment’s notice. After you took her from me twice, you think I wouldn’t have you watched as closely as I do her?”
“So you have someone following me?” she pushed.
“I don’t employ someone to follow you, but I will if you force me to.”
“What I do is none of your concern.”
“It does when it concerns Lyla.” The light bouncing off the pool made his eyes appear gold instead of hazel. “She’s been through a lot. She needs you, and until things settle down, I’m telling you to stay put.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You’ll get your own security detail who will keep you grounded in Las Vegas by any means.”
She lifted her chin defiantly. “If I want to leave, I will.”
He crowded her, but she refused to back away.
“You talk a big game,” he said quietly, “but you love her and wouldn’t add to her burden.”
She went on tiptoes to hiss, “Then why threaten me at all?”
“Just in case you decide to be selfish and go on the run.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because you have to deal with your life, and you don’t like it, and when you don’t like something, you do stupid, impulsive, and sometimes dangerous shit.”
That hit far too close to home. “You know what, Gavin? You can suck it.”
She stepped around him and stalked to the house. With Gavin’s words ringing in her ears, the last person she wanted to see was Angel. He walked through the front door looking like something out of GQ magazine. Today, he wore a slate gray suit. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone and mirrored aviator sunglasses shielded his eyes, but she didn’t need to see them since his smile spoke volumes.
“Carmen.”
His voice was smooth and intimate and pissed her off even as it turned her on. The memories dancing through her mind were proof positive that she was as wild and reckless as Gavin said she was. It didn’t help that the memory of Angel leaning down to smell her made her nipples tingle. Some women would have been mortified, but it turned her on. A man who liked the way a woman’s pussy smelled was a man who sought to taste and therefore savor. Angel would kill between the sheets. She regretted not taking him up on his offer of no-strings sex. It would have been dirty, raunchy, and glorious. So what if she did two different guys a da
y apart? She wasn’t going to run for office or apply to be a nun so what did she care? She blamed Vinny for training her to be monogamous.
She went to the Red Diamond to reclaim her womanhood and feel a modicum of power after having her life manipulated and torn apart by Vega. She went on stage to work out her demons and let it all hang out. Angel ruined that. He ruined it by tempting her, by making her wonder if hooking up with a crime lord wasn’t the worst thing in the world. He made her question her sanity by turning him down. Over the past couple of days, she speculated more than she cared to admit about what might have happened if she gave Angel the green light, and now here he was, in her face, taunting her by looking like a million dollars.
“Hey,” she said dismissively and tried to go around him.
He blocked her way. “What’s the rush?”
She gritted her teeth. “I have somewhere to be.”
He took off his sunglasses to show gleaming blue eyes. “Great. Tell me where and I’ll make sure to be there.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m sure you have more important things to do than stalk me through the city.”
He grinned. “I can work and stalk at the same time. I’m talented like that.”
“Is that what you were doing at the Red Diamond? Working? You weren’t there to ogle strippers?”
“They’re dancers, not strippers. I would’ve thought you of all people would use the correct terminology.”
She made a big show of looking at her diamond encrusted watch. “Time is money, Angel.”
“Right. And you know all about that.”
She frowned. “What does that mean?”
Angel swung his sunglasses idly between two fingers. “You’ve made some lucrative investments in this town.”
She froze. “Excuse me?”
“Local businesses, real estate, but most interesting to me is Red Diamond, the most successful gentlemen’s club in Las Vegas.” He paused for a beat and then finished, “And also a hot spot for underworld information and blackmail.”