“Dani?”
I looked back at Abri, and the concern in her eyes made me feel bad about doubting her. She was my friend. I looked around quickly, to make sure nobody else might hear. “I killed someone.”
Abri’s eyes widened for a second, and then she did the last thing I expected. She laughed.
“Abri!” I was shocked, didn’t know what to do. I had just confessed the darkest secret I’d ever had… and I was being laughed at.
“Okay,” Abri said, laughter still in her voice. “You killed someone and…”
“And what?” I asked, mystified. “Jasper called some people and they took care of it.”
The laughter stopped like someone had hit the ‘Off’ button. “Wait,” Abri said. “This isn’t a joke? You’re serious?”
“Yes,” I hissed. “I wouldn’t joke about something like that.”
Abri reached across the table and took my hand. “I’m so sorry, Dani. It’s just the idea of you killing someone…” She shrugged.
“I didn’t have a choice,” I said, telling myself I really believed that.
“What happened?”
I told her. She shook her head, taking a sip of her drink. “Sounds like a slimeball… and it doesn’t sound like anyone will miss him. You did the world a favor.”
“It’s still murder.”
“It was self-defense,” Abri said. “Any judge would see it that way.”
“Would any judge sentence him to death?”
“No.” Abri shook her head. “A judge would slap him with a fine, maybe a little jail time… and then he’d be back on the street, ready to terrorize again.”
“I don’t know if I should tell Cole.”
Abri was quiet for a few minutes, sipping her drink and thinking. “That depends.”
“On what.”
“On what Cole is to you?”
“He’s my stepbrother.”
Abri made a shooing motion with her hand. “You’ve moved beyond that. Is he just a friend? A fuck-buddy? A future husband?”
“I can’t marry him, Abri. He’s my stepbrother.”
“I know, Dani,” Abri said, a slight trace of irritation in your voice. “What you’re not figuring out is that it doesn’t matter. It’s legal.” She downed the rest of her drink. “Legal to fuck him. Legal to marry him. Legal to have a baby with him… if that’s something you’re interested in.”
I stared at Abri as if she had just revealed the secrets of the universe. “I can marry him?”
Abri smiled. “Yes, Dani, there’s no law stopping Cole from making an honest woman of you… but if things are that serious between the two of you then you need to tell him the truth. Lies will kill a mafia marriage quicker than a hailstorm of bullets. The truth is everything when it comes to family. If a person’s word can’t be trusted, that person can’t be trusted. It’s as simple as that.”
She made it seem so simple, and maybe it was. Considering what he did for a living, he wasn’t exactly a boy scout. I remembered him leaning forward and whispering something to Billy; something that put the fear of God in Billy’s eyes. Yeah, Cole probably wouldn’t be too upset that my ex was no longer around.
“Uh-oh,” Abri said, sitting up straight and looking towards the golf course. “That can’t be good.”
I turned in my chair to see what she was looking at. Cole and Sonny were in a golf cart, racing towards the clubhouse. Without the chief of police.
“Oh no,” I gasped. I looked at Abri. “They didn’t kill him, did they?”
Abri chuckled. “We’re at a posh golf course. Of course they didn’t kill him.” The small smile fell from her face. “At least I hope they didn’t.”
Deciding it would be best to be prepared for a quick exit just in case things were as bad as we imagined, we grabbed our purses and headed for the door. Abri called the limo driver as I looked around anxiously, half-expecting the entire police force to suddenly show up. Sonny and Cole appeared from the back of the clubhouse, headed our way. The grim looks on their faces didn’t make me feel any easier.
The limo had pulled up by the time the men reached us and we climbed in with nobody saying a word. “Cole’s place,” Sonny said, his voice missing the usual light-hearted tone it usually had.
Cole and I were sitting across from Abi and her husband, and the tension on Sonny’s was plainly visible. He looked out the window, his fingers digging into the leather armrest. “Stupid, pompous sonofabitch.” His fingers dug deeper into the leather. “Who does that asshole think he is? His fat ass is parked behind the desk because we put him there.”
Abri rested her hand on Sonny’s knee. “Honey, what happened?”
Sonny continued staring out the window. “A stupid, useless prick got the idea that his opinions actually matter. That’s what happened.”
“The chief wasn’t very open to talking about strengthening our relationship,” Cole said.
Abri looked at him. “Cole, baby, I’ve been at this a lot longer than you so cut the coy crap.”
Despite his dark mood, Sonny chuckled. He looked over at his wife, taking her hand in his. “It’s nothing.” He shrugged. “One of the chief’s snitches has apparently fallen off the planet. He’s pissed.”
“Can’t he just use someone else for whatever it is?” Abri asked. “Snitches are a dime a dozen.”
“Exactly,” Sonny said, nodding. “No big deal, except the chief is whining about it taking so long to get his boy in good with these people… and how long it would take to get someone new in the same spot.” He sighed. “And the idiot is apparently the chief’s nephew.”
“I’m sorry,” Abri said. “I must have missed the part where this is your problem.”
Sonny chuckled again, looking over at us. “See why I love her? She keeps me sane.” He patted his wife’s leg. “It’s my problem because the chief’s rat relative had wormed his way into H-Town Tango at my… request.”
Abri’s lip curled in distaste. “That grungy street gang?”
“That grungy street gang has a finger on the pulse of things going on. If we get them in our corner, it goes a long way in solidifying our hold in the state.”
Abri shook her head. “I told you it was a mistake to try and work with those thugs. They’re unpredictable.”
Sonny nodded. “I know, but they’re also easy to control… and easy to blame whenever anything goes sideways.” He glanced at Cole as the limo pulled up to the house. “I want this fixed. Soon. Find that Cruddup guy.”
I gasped and Cole looked at me, concern on his face. “Hey, it’s okay.” He reached over and took my hand. “I’ll find this guy, we’ll make the chief happy, and everything will be right as rain.” He looked back at Sonny. “Right?”
Sonny nodded. “Right… and if we can’t find the loser we’ll just find some other way to make the chief happy.” He shrugged. “Or kill him.”
Chapter 13
I walked into the house with Cole, Sonny’s last statement bouncing around inside my head like a ping-pong ball. “Would Sonny really kill the chief of police?”
Cole shook his head. “No. He’d have me do it. I’m the one that’s supposed to be in charge, and having our people, even our unofficial people, get the idea they can say no is bad for business.” He pulled his shirt off and my eyes were instantly drawn to his bare chest. “I need a shower.” He glanced at me and grinned. “You can join me if you like.” I watched him as he walked down the hall and had to hold back a gasp when his slacks fell to the floor in mid-stride. He looked back towards me, lowering his boxers. “It was really hot out there.” The boxers joined the pants on the floor. “Aren’t you hot?” He grinned and walked into the bedroom.
I watched his tight, toned ass until he disappeared and then suddenly remembered to breathe. Holy hell! The man had given me the most incredible orgasm of my life but I had never actually seen him completely naked… and that ass. Damn! Maybe I did need a shower; a nice cold one to soothe my suddenly too-hot skin… or maybe
I should choose another way to put out that fire. After all, Cole did invite me to join him. It might be rude to refuse.
I stood in the living room, looking around as if I had suddenly appeared somewhere I had never been before, as I heard the shower turn on. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. An image of Cole’s throbbing length immediately popped into my head. My eyes shot open.
I needed to tell Cole what I did, not have sex with him. But I wanted him so damn bad. Just the thought of his hard cock had my nipples hard and my panties wet. I took a step towards the bedroom. This was wrong. I had done something terrible. Another step closer. The limo could be counted as an accident, a sudden over-whelming attack of lust. Another step. I reached up, my fingers tugging at the strap over my left shoulder, the tingly heat between my thighs begging for release. He would be in the shower now, rubbing soap over his muscular body. Was he thinking about me? Was his cock hard? I slid the strap off my other shoulder and tugged the dress down, letting it pool around my feet. I had to know.
I stepped out of the dress and kicked off my shoes. My panties landed on the floor just a few feet from my dress. I walked, naked as the day I was born, into the bedroom, looking towards the bathroom. I could see a distorted view of Cole through the frosted glass of the shower. He hadn’t noticed me yet. There was still time to turn around. I shook my head. The time for turning back was gone as soon as we slid into the back of the limo. Maybe it was gone the moment I called him for help.
I walked quietly into the bathroom, staring through the glass, watching his hands slide over his skin. I licked my lips, my throat suddenly dry. “Need help scrubbing your back?”
“Yeah.”
No hesitation. No doubt. He knew what he wanted. So did I. I stepped around the glass partition and entered the shower. Cole stood under the showerhead, his back to me, water cascading down his body. Taking a deep breath, I walked up to him and reached around. He placed a bar of soap in my open hand. I rubbed the soap in my hands, building up a sudsy lather and then slowly, gently, as if I was scared he would break, began rubbing the soap across his back, tracing the outline of his muscles. He stood perfectly still as my fingers slid across his skin, my hands slowly sliding lower.
A soft moan escaped my lips as my hands slid onto his ass, my fingers kneading the firm flesh. I wrapped my arms around him, stepping up against him, my breasts pressing against him, my hard nipples rubbing against him. One hand encountered something hot and hard, and I wrapped my fingers around his shaft as my other hand slid lower. A moan – the first sound he had made since I entered the shower – filled the air as I fondled his balls.
As I gently fondled his heavy sac, I slid my hand back and forth across the full length of his shaft, holding the thick rod gently near the base and then tightening my grip as I slid towards the thick head. I placed a kiss between his shoulder blades, stroking him faster, when he placed his hand over mine. He turned towards me, holding my hand on his cock. I looked into his green eyes as he leaned down and kissed me, his tongue teasing mine, and then moaned into his mouth as he reached up and took an erect nipple between his fingers, squeezing it firmly. His other hand slid down between my legs, his fingers sliding up and down my wet slit. “Yes,” I gasped as his fingers found my hard clit, tracing circles around it. My legs trembled as Cole drove me closer to orgasm and then he suddenly spun me around and picked me up.
Caught by surprise, I squealed as Cole carried me into the bedroom and dropped me on the bed. He quickly lowered himself to his knees, wrapped his arms around my thighs, and pulled me to him. “Oh fuck!” I gasped as his mouth met my sex, his tongue sliding between my folds, licking me from clit to ass and back again. I grabbed his head, running my fingers through his hair as his tongue slid inside me. I pulled his hair and squeezed my thighs tight against his head as an orgasm tore through me out of nowhere. “Yes, Cole, yes,” I screamed, trembling beneath his talented tongue. He quickly crawled up my body, reaching for the nightstand. I ran my hands across his firm chest, anxious to feel him inside me again.
After quickly sliding the condom on, Cole rubbed his cock up and down my slit, coating himself with my juices. I thrust my hips towards him. “Fuck me, Cole. Please fuck me.” He looked at me, his emerald eyes burning with desire, and I moaned loudly as he slid deep inside me with one powerful thrust.
As he filled me with his throbbing length, he lowered himself over me, his lips claiming mine in a passionate kiss that took my breath away. I wrapped my legs around him as his hips surged up and down, his lips kissing a trail of fire from my mouth, along the line of my jaw, and down my neck. I ran my fingers through his wet hair, gasping with the force of each powerful thrust.
Tension built within me, coiling like a snake getting ready to strike. I closed my eyes, digging my heels into the back of his thighs, urging him to go faster, deeper. His breathing became heavy and he lifted himself up, looking at me with eyes dark with lust. “I love you,” he gasped, and then slammed into me one final time with an animalistic grunt. The sensation of him throbbing within my sex snapped the spring within me, sending a tidal wave of pure pleasure through me. I grabbed Cole’s shoulders, digging my nails into him as my body shook uncontrollably, moaning and whimpering as my inner muscles held him tight.
As I shook beneath him, Cole leaned down and kissed me softly before rolling over to lay beside me. A strong arm wrapped around me, pulling me to him. I lay against him, enjoying the feel of his firm body, the words he spoke replaying over and over in my mind. I wanted to say those words back to him… but I couldn’t. I looked over towards the bedroom door. I had killed someone just a few feet from where we were now cuddling. Would he feel the same way once he learned that horrible secret? I closed my eyes, turned towards Cole, and snuggled against him. I had to tell him. There was no choice now.
I opened my eyes as Cole sat up. He looked over at me and smiled. “You should scrub my back more often.”
I smiled at him, but my insides were slowly tangling into knots. “Cole, I need to tell you something.” I stood up and glanced at the spot on the floor where Billy had fallen. Suddenly, I wanted to get away. I couldn’t reveal my secret here, not where it actually happened, not where Cole had said he loved me. “I need to tell you something, but not here. In the living room.” I walked out of his room quickly, feeling his eyes on me, and retreated to my bedroom, closing the door behind me. Tears stung the corners of my eyes. My heart was beating so hard I thought it might explode. I heard Cole walk by my door, pause for a moment, and then continue. Might as well get this over with.
After putting on a pair of denim shorts and an over-sized t-shirt, I walked into the living room. Cole sat on the couch in a pair of boxers. My eyes crawled across his body and I couldn’t help wanting him again. Maybe I could say I had been mistaken, that I really had nothing to say and just forget I said anything and make love to me again. He stared at me intently, worry etched into every inch of his face. No, it was too late to back out.
I sat on the couch next to him. He reached to put his arm around me but I shrunk back, shaking my head. “No,” I said softly, barely above a whisper. I cleared me throat. “Not until you hear what I have to say.”
He waited, his emerald eyes trying to peek behind my fear. I took a deep breath. “This Cruddup guy you’re looking for –”
“Don’t worry about it, Dani,” Cole said. “It’s just business. It’ll get worked out.”
“Is his first name William?”
Cole leaned forward. “Yeah. How did you know that?”
“He goes by Billy.”
Cole shrugged. “A lot of guys named William do.”
“You met him recently.”
Cole wasn’t an idiot. He made the connection immediately. “Fuck,” he whispered.
“And I know what happened to him.”
Cole tilted his head, curiosity in his eyes.
At first I didn’t know how to tell him but then it all came pouring out in a
rush of words; everything from the knock on the door to Jasper calling the people he knew to come clean up the mess. Cole leaned back in the couch, rubbing his hand down his face.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, unable to hold back the tears any longer.
“Dani,” Cole said, his voice filled with worry. He reached out to me and this time I didn’t pull back. His arms encircled me and pulled me close. I buried my face in his chest, crying uncontrollably. “It’s not your fault,” Cole said softly, holding me tight.
“What happens when Sonny finds out I’m the one who messed up things with the police chief?” I sobbed. “What will he do to you?”
Cole chuckled. “Sonny isn’t going to do anything to me because a low-life prick was killed. If he found out the guy was attacking you, he’d probably dig up the body just to shoot him again.”
“He was the police chief’s nephew. You said he’s pissed.”
Cole shrugged. “He can get unpissed… one way or another.”
I sat up and looked at Cole. “No, you can’t do anything to him.”
Cole sighed. “Dani, it’s the business. Sometimes, certain unpleasant things have to be done.”
I shook my head. “No, Cole. If you do anything to him, it’ll be because of me, because of what I did. I’ll be responsible for two deaths.”
Cole laughed softly. “My sweet Rugrat. The chief isn’t some noble cop like the ones you see on TV. He beat confessions out of guys as a dirty patrolman. He backstabbed his way up the ranks. And he’s looked the other way numerous times just to put some extra money in his pockets.”
An idea popped into my head. “Then blackmail him. Threaten to expose all of that stuff if he doesn’t do what you want.”
Cole shook his head. “Old news, and he doesn’t care. He’s dirty but he’s not stupid. Socked away a lot of his extra cash. He didn’t even mind sharing that bit of info, saying he had various offshore accounts. Said if we torpedoed his career, he’d just take off with his wife and kids to some tropical destination and live like a king.” He got a thoughtful expression on his face. Slowly, a smile appeared; the same lopsided grin that used to infuriate me. “I think there’s still a way to make the guy squirm, though.”
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