by Belle Aurora
The dilapidated warehouse was old news. I’d been here hundreds of times before. It was actually where Tama and I first met through a mutual friend, who told Tama Hariana about my specialty. A specialty he just happened to have need of.
I was a mercenary. A gun for hire, and a damned good one too. I learnt from the best, training with the worst of people who gave me the edge I needed to get a foot up in a world that wanted to step on me, weighing me down until I sunk into the cold, hard ground.
Made a name for myself by sixteen, and by eighteen, they started to call me Quickbeat. I don’t know who started that, but it caught on, and while, once upon a time, people would shout my name openly, they started to whisper it.
I’d by lying if I said I didn’t like that.
They were waiting for me outside. There were four of them, huge Maori men, but I only had my eyes on one.
The one.
I sped into the lot, Cardi B’s “I Like It” blaring from the speakers. The subwoofer made the entire back windshield vibrate with the heavy bass that made my heart stop. I needed to get revved, and music helped me out in that department.
It had been a while since I’d done this.
Big Red roared when I hit the accelerator and spun the steering wheel, leaning into the door as the car drifted sideways, and I watched with a smirk as gravel sprayed the men, forcing them to cover their faces with their arms. I stopped the car suddenly, switching it off and stepping out with a shit-eating grin, bumping the door closed with my butt and slinking over to them confidently.
I looked over the guys. I knew them all.
Hemi, the giant teddy bear, was there. He jerked his chin at me.
Amoho did not spare me a smile. That was fair. I looked at him hard as he glared at me.
Kawana’s face was soft, but he didn’t greet me either.
That sucked.
I loved Kawana. He was my boy.
When my eyes landed on Tama, I stood in front of the huge, muscled man. His 6’3” height was a contrast to my 5’5”, but I held my own, standing tall and folding my arms across my chest. My melodic voice was so deceiving. It always had been. “Tama.” I looked him up and down, pausing over his crotch before lifting my eyes to his. “You look good.”
He did. My God, did he ever.
Tama was 275 pounds of pure muscle. His chest was wide. His shoulders were wider. I’d always considered this man a god. A vengeful god, and his black stare was on me. The tattoos on his face made him look terrifying, but all I wanted to do was run my fingers over them and trail them with kisses.
When he opened his mouth, the words came out rough and my entire body broke out in goose bumps. “Why did you come?”
Because you asked me to.
Because I’m sorry for the pain I caused you.
Because I will never love anyone the way I love you.
I shrugged, my eyes never leaving his. “The price was right.” My tone lowered. “Speaking of which....”
Tama reached behind him, and momentarily, my heart stopped.
I was outmanned, outnumbered, and outranked.
Oh, wow.
It was stupid to come here.
Faster than a lightning strike, I had both of my Glocks pointed at him, unblinking, and the asshole grinned, throwing the bundled wad of cash at my feet.
He did that on purpose, and with my idiotic display, I had revealed my anxiousness. And Tama was counting on it. He knew me well.
Shit.
Tama was mocking me. Even more so, when he said, “What do you need money for? Nappies for that boy of yours?”
I didn’t respond. I barely blinked. But I lowered my weapons and holstered them. Trying to peer around them, I uttered, “What’s the go?”
His hair was immaculately pulled up into a traditional topknot, worn immaculately, and when he let out a soft sigh, he lowered his massive arms. “I want her dead.”
My brow furrowed. “That all?”
He could have done that himself.
Tama looked down his nose at me. “I want her to suffer.”
Ah. There it was.
Tama didn’t torture women.
No. He left that to me.
I nodded. “No problem. Who is she?” His response was to give me no response at all, and after an intense staring contest, my feet moved. Leaving the money on the ground, I passed him, whispering, “Fair enough.”
The warehouse was dim except for the single light trained on the woman strapped to the chair in the center of the empty floor.
Poor bitch.
I wonder what she had done to warrant the wrath of Tama Hariana?
But then my mind went to the money and only one thought stuck.
Who cares?
It was a rough life, ours, and not many people could understand how we did it. Ethics were just blurred lines to me, to Tama. They weren’t rules exactly, just suggestions we chose whether or not to follow.
Sometimes we did; sometimes we didn’t.
For the right price, anything could be bought. Even death.
And that’s where I came in.
I strolled over to the woman, who was dressed in an oversized black jacket, black, generic sweats, and her feet were bare. Her head was covered with a loose calico bag, and from the way she struggled and strained, her screams muffled, they had taped her mouth over.
Good.
I didn’t want to hear it. It could be fucking distracting at times. I didn’t need that.
“Sorry, love,” I told her quietly. “Nothing personal. It’s just business.”
Taking the knife out of my leg wrap, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the leather gloves, putting them on before reaching to my neck and pulling up the black face cover up over my nose. The only reason I wore this was to protect myself from infected blood touching me. I was always careful, but you never knew the people you were dealing with.
As I pressed the tip of the knife into the woman’s hand, and she tipped her head back and shrieked from behind the covering.
My heart raced.
Her entire body shook, and I removed the knife from the center of her hand, then muttered, “I don’t know what you did to piss him off, but I promise I’ll end it as soon as I can.”
I didn’t dig cruelty. I wasn’t cruel by nature.
I was made this way.
When I peered back to find all four men forming a wall, my heart jolted.
That was odd.
Why did I feel they were locking me in?
The woman in the chair called out around her cries, and I swear, there was a familiarity about her. My brow lowered and I looked back to Tama, wiping the blade of the knife clean with my leather gloves. “Who is she, Tama?”
Tama shook his head. “Someone who needs to die.”
I twisted back to the woman and frowned at the way she tried to move her hands. They shook so badly, but she tried in vain to move them, making the motion over and over again, but I didn’t see what she needed me to.
Something made me feel uneasy. Looking back at how the men were guarding the exit, I peered back at the woman, and when I stepped closer to her, reaching out for the calico face covering, Tama warned gently, “You touch that mask and I swear to God, Molly, I’ll fucking kill you.”
My heart raced. My breathing turned heavy, and I watched the woman with wide eyes. When she moved her fingers into a twisted motion that took me back to my childhood, a choked gasp left me and I rushed forward.
It was an M. She formed it with shaking fingers and my heart stopped.
When the sounds of heavy footfalls followed close behind, I rushed to her, threw myself onto her lap, using her as a seat while I shielded her and, legs spread, my entire body shook with pent-up rage. I lifted my Glocks, and they stilled in their tracks.
Tama walked forward, and my voice shuddered. “How could you?”
He simply watched me, and he did this a while before he spoke calmly, “That’s the price you pay, Molly.” The words were em
otionless, cold. “A sister for a brother.”
Motherfucker.
Standing on shaking legs, I held his stare. “I’m taking my sister and I’m leaving.”
“No, you’re not,” said Tama.
But from behind him came a barely audible, “Yes, she is.”
My heart thumped.
Twitch.
Tama and his men stepped back from the unarmed man, and when Twitch spoke again, he looked directly at Tama. “You know me?”
Tama’s jaw tightened. “Yeah, bruh.”
Twitch scratched at the neatly trimmed scruff on his jaw. “Good.” He looked around the men and spoke to me. “Let’s go.”
I don’t know how he knew where I was, but right then, I was relieved for him turning up unannounced.
Tama’s voice was blazing white fiery rage. “Listen here, bruh. If Molly’s in your house, she’s there to infiltrate.” He warned Twitch, “Someone’s gonna end up dead, and it won’t be her.”
“That what happened to you?” Twitch asked Tama, but he didn’t respond. “I think if Molly did that to you—specifically you—you’re not asking the right questions. Namely, why?”
Tama shook his head. “You’re making a mistake.”
But Twitch just stared the huge man down. “Sounds like you already made a couple of those concerning your girl there.”
The second I had the head covering off of my sister, I looked down at her tear-streaked face with wide eyes. “Lenka.”
My older sister broke down in sobs, and I carefully removed the tape from her mouth. Her voice quivered. “I thought you were going to kill me, Mol.”
I was.
The thought rocked me to the core.
Tama turned, clearly infuriated that his plan was ruined, and he roared, “You killed my brother, Molly Te Wiata. And that will not go unpunished.” He pointed a stern finger at me. “Mark me.”
My sister turned to face me. “You never told him?”
“Shut up,” I muttered, walking her along.
But Lenka would not be silenced. She pushed away from me, and her voice carried out through the entire warehouse. “Your price has already been paid, you fucking dog!”
Tama stepped forward. Being called a dog was the lowest of insults. “What did you just say, bitch?”
Lenka was furious. She shook with it. “Your brother Uri was a pig of a man.”
“Say again.” Tama stepped closer and his voice shook.
But Lenka was not to be intimidated. “My sister loved you, you asshole. You think she killed your brother for fun? Ask yourself what the fuck he must’ve done for Molly to have taken his worthless life.” She panted. “We were on your land.” Her voice croaked. “We were promised protection.” She pointed a shaking finger at the giant man, and wailed, “We were promised protection, and you let us down, Tama Hariana!”
Tama looked confused. I lowered my gaze, refusing to look at him.
Lenka’s voice quavered. “He touched her. She was just a child. He did things to her, and she was not prepared for him. He wrecked her, and no matter how hard we tried, the nightmares consumed her.”
Tama sounded perplexed. “Who?”
“Keisha.” My voice was detached.
My little sister, Keisha. The baby of our family.
Lenka tried to keep it together. “Uri raped her. He took her by force. She was just a little girl.”
Tama laughed then. “You’re fucking crazy.”
The other men laughed too as Twitch watched on, and Lenka’s eyes widened as she screeched, “You weren’t there!” My sister fell to her knees and wailed like a wounded animal, holding her throat. She wept out, “You weren’t there.” No one was laughing anymore. Lenka closed her eyes and her voice was weak. “I found her hanging by pink floral sheets. The sheets of a thirteen-year-old. A thirteen-year-old who found out she was pregnant and felt she couldn’t come to us.” Lenka’s eyes leaked as she blinked at Tama, her emotional state frail. “He did that to her.”
Tama shook his head.
And we were done here. “C’mon.” I helped my sister up and walked her towards the entrance, towards Twitch.
Towards freedom.
When I had Lenka safely stowed away in the passenger seat of my car, I strode over to the men, making sure to keep my distance as I slowly pulled out a Glock and pointed it at Tama’s head. My tone was low. “I loved you. At one point, I would have done anything for you. But when I brought up my concerns about Uri, you brushed them off.” I lowered the gun, holding it at my side. “You let me down. You let Keisha down.” I stepped backwards. “Her death is on you, Chief.”
When he watched me carefully, his gaze suddenly unsure, I muttered, “A sister for a brother?” I looked him up and down, lowering my weapon. “You got it. Consider my debt paid.”
I accidentally took a step back too far and ran right into Twitch. He stood at my back, putting his arm around my shoulders, and I allowed it.
The words he spoke were overwhelming.
His voice was low, rough. “I think you fuckers need to let it be known that Molly is under my protection.” His tone was deadly. “Far as y’all are concerned, she’s my adopted daughter. She’s family. You come for her—you come for me and all of mine.” The arm tightened around my shoulders, holding me still, and I hadn’t realized I was shaking until then. “Spread the word.”
My anger got the best of me.
Panting, I lifted my gun and unloaded the clip, the echoes of gunshots reverberated around us, and when the sound faded to nothing, Twitch spoke from behind me. “Nice shooting.”
“What are you talking about?” I slipped out of his hold and turned back to look at the bullet holes surrounding Tama and his men, leaving them completely untouched and looking irritated as hell.
As I walked back to my car, I uttered a cold, “I missed.”
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
Twitch
I stepped out of the car and walked over to Molly.
“Wanna talk about it?”
“No,” she muttered, sulking.
I paused to look at the other woman in the car and didn’t want her in the house. She looked unstable. Didn’t want that shit around my son. So I pulled out my keys and handed them to Molly. “Take her to my place. Clean her up. Let her sleep it off,” I spoke with caution. “But tomorrow, she’s gone.”
Molly looked back at her sister a long moment before she nodded subtly. I knew she got what I was selling.
She might be your sister, but we’re your family now.
They walked across the street, and when I saw them close the door behind them, my watchful gaze scanned the empty street. When I was sure they were safe, I made my way inside, and the second I got in, both Happy and Lexi stood. I put my hands up. “She’s fine.”
Lexi’s entire body drooped with relief before she straightened and used her momma voice. “What was she thinking?”
I unzipped my hoodie and shrugged it off, throwing it onto the sofa. “She loves him.” Once, I would have mocked her for that. Today, I got it. “You do stupid things for people you love. Anything to make ‘em happy.”
Happy grunted out a laugh. “Ain’t that the truth?”
I strode over to the man, arm extended, and when I got close enough, he put his hand in mine and reeled it in, slapping me on the back at the very same time my hand connected with his. “Owe ya.”
Happy laughed. “I know.” When he pulled back, he grinned. “I got a tally going.” He held his arms out to Lexi and she went to him, hugging him tightly, and then he was gone.
My angel stood, watching me carefully before she took a step forward, holding out her hand. “Come here. Talk to me.”
Well, shit. That didn’t sound good.
Every time we talked these days, we ended up arguing. I didn’t want to argue. I wanted to go to bed with my woman and sleep breathing in the sweet vanilla scent of her thick hair.
But Lexi wanted to talk, so we’d talk.
Making my way over, I ignored her hand and stepped closer, putting my hands on her hips and bringing her into me. “I can think of so many better activities to be doing than talking,” I whispered huskily.
And although she looked thoroughly affected, her lips parted, but she shook her head.
My lips thinned. “Okay, baby.” I sighed. “What do you wanna talk about?”
***
Lexi
I looked up at him and felt my heart short circuit.
Shit. He should not have affected me the way he did. Not after all this time.
I loved the way he looked at me. I never knew how he was going to use that mouth. Would he simply talk to me, or devour me whole?
Honestly, I was fine with both options.
When I licked my lips, his watchful gaze landed on them. His hooded stare made my heart beat faster.
He looked at me as though his cock was already inside me, and strangely enough, I felt it.
Clearing my throat, I tugged him toward the sofa, and when I sat, I was pleasantly surprised when he lay back across the length of it, with his head in my lap.
It made my heart warm to see him using me as he needed. He’d always been so full of pride. Six years ago, he would have never allowed himself to be put in a position of weakness. And he gave that to me.
I must’ve watched him a second too long because when he reached up and gently rubbed the center of my brows, he made a sound in his throat, and then muttered, “No frowning.” His own brows furrowed. “Nope. Don’t like that.”
The last couple days had me noticing I was falling back into Twitch too hard, too fast, and the last time I did that, I got my heart broken. So we needed to talk.
I took in a deep breath, and started with a quiet, “I have concerns.”
The second I said it, I felt his body stiffen. He spoke cautiously, “What kind of concerns?”
“The kind of concerns that make you question whether you’re making the right decisions for yourself.” My heart was racing, when I added, “For your son.”
At that, he sat up and looked straight ahead a long moment before he took in a deep breath and spoke on an exhale, his tone rough, “What is this?”
My voice trembled. “I need to let you know that even if we can’t be together in the end”—God, it hurt—“I’m happy that you were a part of my life.”