Skepticism (Life. Destiny. Fate. #4)

by LK Collins

  “’Cause these businesses are the key to our future. We have to help them out so they are on board with the security.”

  “Speaking of, have you had any luck getting any more on your books?”

  My head is spinning from so much alcohol, and I roll the window down to get some cool air. “I’ve got Max making calls, Vincent and C.J. agreed to an incentive for him with every new account that he gets, so he’ll come through. I’ll handle the rest.”

  “What are you planning on telling the guys happened to the funds for the security portion?”

  “I’m going to make it sound like Reid gets the full amount and we’ll get a percentage once it’s up and running.”

  “Aren’t you worried he’ll tell them?”

  “No.”

  She turns onto Broadway and asks me a question I haven’t even thought about. “What if you and Reid can’t come to an agreement, or we need more money in the end?”

  “Nat, I have to keep pushing forward and staying positive that this is all going to work out. If I live focusing on the what-ifs, it’s only going to set us up for failure, trust in that.”

  She stops in front of Tony’s dispensary and looks at me with eyes full of worry. “I won’t fail us, Nat, no matter what.”

  She gives me a tentative half smile, and I know that even though I’m reassuring her, she still has her reservations. All I can do is prove to her that we are going to get through this. “Will you pull around back?” I ask her.

  She proceeds around the building and parks right behind the back door. I grab her thigh telling her, “Stay here. I’ll be right back, baby.”

  Hopping out of the car, Tony opens the door before I can knock. He looks left and right down the alley, then at me. “Wanna open the back of your car?”

  Walking to the back, I lift the gate and catch sight of him walking out with a duffel bag of money. “There’s a lot of twenties,” he says. “Sorry about that.”

  I close the gate and shake his hand. “It’s all good. Be safe heading down to the Springs.”

  After dropping the cash at my office and refraining from fucking Natalene on my desk again, I’m enjoying sitting in an actual public establishment with Nat. Watching her eat her dessert, I can’t help but feel so lucky.

  “Do you always lick your forks like that?”

  She nods her head. “The chocolate is all gooey, what else am I supposed to do?”

  “Mmm, I bet it is.” I raise an eyebrow at her. “I’ve got something else gooey for you,” I say reaching underneath the table and clenching my cock through my pants.

  “Micah,” she scolds me.

  “My name is Liam,” I correct her, having fun playing in public pretending to be someone else with her.

  She licks her fork again as the waiter brings back my credit card and the check. I sign a copy and pull the fork from her hand, dropping it on the plate. It clangs against it loudly, but I don’t give a shit.

  She reaches her hand out to me and I help her up. Getting to my car, I’m tempted to throw her in the back and make her ride me. But my cock wants her fucking lips. She’s been teasing me with them all night. Licking and sucking on everything that she could while we ate. Opening the driver’s door, I usher her in and walk around. My dick is swollen and straining for her affection.

  Resting an arm behind her seat, I look at her and bump my hips upward. She grips me hard and I reach down undoing the button to my pants. She looks around the abandoned parking lot before reaching in. Her warm hand sends a chill up my spine. She pulls out my cock and strokes it slowly. Her touch feels so amazing. Then she slides her hair over to one shoulder, molding those sweet lips around me.

  “That’s a good girl,” I say, holding tightly to the back of her hair.

  She moans on the way up and I recline the seat a little. Her soft lips are so tight, like the inside of her cunt. She has her eyes tightly shut, and I’m not sure who’s enjoying this more. But I know it’s me as my body tightens, full of eagerness.

  She moves quickly, bobbing harshly on my cock before popping her mouth off, looking at me breathlessly. I pant, holding back my cum, my cock so angry that it’s throbbing in her grip.

  “Do you want my cum?” I ask her.

  “Do you want to give it to me?”

  “Yes,” I growl, squeezing her hair, guiding her mouth back towards me.

  With a grin on her face, she goes as slow as possible, keeping a tight hold on the tip of my cock and then working her way down with those magnificent lips. A fire ignites in my feet and spreads through my body. I grunt in pleasure, a surge of electricity releasing from my balls as my cum shoots into her mouth. She licks it up, swallowing it all, and then the aggressive beast that I have become in this moment slowly fades away. The things that Natalene does to me are unreal. The hold on my hand is gentler as I cradle her head letting her take her time with me. Licking, then sucking and kissing my cock.

  Watching her enjoy this motivates me even more to make sure that everything works out. She deserves the world and I’m going to do everything in my power to give her that.

  “So things with Reid went well?” I ask Micah.

  “Yeah,” he says loosening his tie. “I mean, as good as they could have.”

  “What’s that mean?” I take his tie and hang it up in the closet with his jacket.

  “It went well. There are just a lot of moving parts to this thing and it’s got me really fucking stressed!”

  “I know, baby,” I lull, unbuttoning his shirt.

  He looks down at my fingers a little agitated, which is not like him. “You don’t have to undress me.”

  “I want to.” He kisses my forehead and holds on to the back of my head as I flip each button through the soft fabric of his baby blue shirt. Once the last button is done, I slide it down his arms, looking at the yellow and green bruises that still cover him. Leaning in, I kiss the darkest one and he winces.

  “Still hurt?

  “Nah.”

  I hit him over the shoulder with his shirt and then throw it in the laundry. He changes into some sweatpants and flops down on the bed.

  “Really, why did you squeak then?” I ask sarcastically.

  “I didn’t squeak. I’m tired, come lay with me,” he says holding out his open arms to me.

  Lying in the comfort of his hold, neither of us speaks for a few moments, and I can feel his heart beating hard against his chest. He’s making me nervous.

  “What’s going on?” I finally ask, needing to get inside of his head.

  “Nothing, baby.”

  Running my hands over the skin of his chest, I plead with him to let me in. “You know you can tell me anything.”

  He doesn’t respond, instead he strums his fingers over my arm like he’s thinking about something. “Moretti called me today.”

  I almost fly out of the bed. “He did not!” I screech.

  He nods his head. “Yeah, he did.”

  “What the fuck did he say?”

  “You know Moretti – he was being a prick, wanting to egg me on and intimidate me.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  He rests his forearm on his forehead. “I just said that we would have his money at the end of the deadline.”

  “I don’t get it, Micah, why would he call you now?”

  “’Cause he’s Moretti and was probably bored today.”

  “Do mobsters really get board?”

  “When they’re old as dirt, yeah.”

  “Do you still think that he doesn’t know about Michelle?” I ask.

  “I’m not sure, I want to believe that, but I’ve been thinking about it…”

  “And?” I ask, scared. I know Micah and how he ticks. If something’s on his mind, he gets it handled.

  “I’ve been thinking about calling my grandma, to let them know that—”

  I cut him off and put my hand in front of me. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Please don’t go jinxing things.”

  “I’m not jinx
ing anything,” he says.

  “But it could. Look what happened after you called Tomas. Let’s handle what we have to handle here. There’s no point in rushing things. We have to believe that we are all safe until the deadline.”

  “You’re right, I won’t contact them yet. I just want to keep them safe.”

  “And they are. If Moretti called you today just to talk trash, then he’s not going to do anything.”

  He contemplates my words, then takes in a deep breath, like he’s about to hit me with another bomb. “We do have a little dilemma.”

  “Okaaaay…” I respond, waiting for him to proceed while my stomach drops a thousand feet.

  “The dispensaries want ’round the clock surveillance. Reid said he doesn’t have enough manpower to station guys through the night, so I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do. But we have to figure something out.”

  “Can’t he bring on some more guys?”

  “He only hires ex-military, preferably SEALS. So no, not the easiest to find, and the price it would cost these dispensaries would start to get into our cut. We can’t have that happen.”

  “No, we can’t.”

  “So, I’m lost. I feel like we’re going to get fucked. Between this and the call from Moretti today, I’m just a bit rattled.”

  I hate to see Micah this down as he’s normally the upbeat and positive one, but clearly the effects of the day have taken a toll on him. I try and think of anything that I can say to help remedy the situation. “Do most of the dispensaries already have alarm systems?”

  “It really depends, some do, but they are just motions or door alarms, which doesn’t give them the peace of mind they need, since those things can’t protect against well-planned smash and grabs.”

  “Okay, well, what if you install your own cameras that are linked to a centralized server they can watch? You could tell Reid it’s the only way to close the deal, which at the end of the day gives them the ’round the clock surveillance. Set the cameras up and some motions to dial Reid’s guys, in case anything happens. See if he can have some manpower available at night, maybe just hire five more guys. If a motion sensor triggers the alarm, they’ll be all over it.”

  “Fuck, you’re so smart,” he says, flipping me over on the bed. I submit beneath him, not putting up one ounce of resistance. His eyes are devilish and I like it. If we stick together like this, we are sure to accomplish what we need to.

  “Yeah, I can hold,” I tell the man on the other end of the phone line.

  Waiting and listening to the boring hold music, I check my email. It is blowing up with all of these dispensaries wanting to get on board with the security business. Max has done well getting new clients on board too, and as soon as he does, I’ve had an easy time selling them the security that Reid is offering. The problem…there’s not enough time in the day for me to find businesses for them to buy to launder their funds, plus get the cameras installed, and simply do my job as an attorney. Vincent and C.J. have understood as it’s money in their pockets too, but there’s only so long this can go on.

  “Hey, Liam,” my guy answers at the security supply company.

  “Hey, Rich, sorry to bug ya.”

  “Nope, you’re never a bother. How can I help you?”

  “I was looking for some wireless cameras and motion sensors.”

  “You know we have plenty of those, why didn’t you just come down?”

  “Well, ’cause I need four hundred of each.”

  “Ah Christ, let me see what I’ve got.”

  “Great, thanks.” He puts me on hold and Nat sends me a text message, Any news on the cameras?

  I’m on the phone with him now.

  Rich gets back on the line, “I don’t have that many in stock. But I can check my order history; I might have a shipment coming in today.”

  Crap, if he is short on stock then we’re fucked.

  I hear him clicking on the keyboard and breathing into the phone. I’ve known Rich for years. Ever since I came to Denver, I’ve used him for the things I need to keep on top of my safety. He’s discreet and has just about anything anyone could ever need. “You’re in luck, I’ve got an order coming in today. It might not get you to the four hundred of each, but it’ll be close.”

  “Great, what time can I pick them up?”

  “Wanna head up after three so I have time to get everything together?”

  “Sounds great, Rich, I really appreciate it. See ya later.”

  We hang up and I call Nat right away.

  “Wanna take a drive up to Fort Collins this afternoon?” She pauses and the silence makes me nervous. “Nat, you there?” I ask.

  “Yeah, sorry. It’s just—”

  I cut her off ’cause I know she’s gonna give me the lame ass excuse about going out together. “I’ll pick you up at three?”

  “Micah, I don’t—”

  “See you later, baby, love you.”

  Hanging up, I know she’s fuming, but at this rate, I’m sick and tired of living scared. We have to remember that Moretti needs us in order to get his twenty million, and God knows that he loves his money, so he’s not going to do shit…for now.

  Compiling another mass email to the dispensaries, I’m interrupted by C.J.’s dumb ass.

  He lies on my couch like always, throwing his little blue stress ball in the air, and I just stare at him. “Did you need something?” I ask. “You didn’t even knock.”

  “Door was open.” I glare at him and he sits up and looks over at me. “Fuck, Vincent was right, man.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You, he said something’s going on with you. So you can either tell me now, or…?”

  “Or what?” I ask, pissed that these two spend their days talking about me like fucking old ladies trading gossip over the back fence. If they only knew what I really had going on.

  “Why don’t you just tell me?”

  “There’s nothing to tell.”

  “Who’s staying at your house?”

  I glare at him wondering if he’s watching me. Then remember that since I rent my townhouse from his mom, she always seems to keep an eye on things and report my happenings back to C.J.’s stupid ass, like it’s her fucking business.

  Nosey wench!

  Before all this went down with Nat and Moretti, tracking me was always a big laugh for us…but not now. “Holy fuck, do I need to get my PJs for some quality girl talk? You better tell your mom to keep her goddamn nose out of other people’s business.”

  “Why are you hiding shit, man? We used to share everything.”

  Yup, total girl talk.

  “First of all, I’m not hiding shit. There’s no one staying at my house. Your mom might have seen me come or go with a chick I’ve been banging, but that’s it. I’m just fucking her, man, is that okay with you?”

  “All right. Sorry,” he says lying back down. My blood is pumping; he knows just how to annoy me. He’s too close to the truth.

  “You remember the retrial for the Ignacio case is Monday, right?” he asks.

  “Yeah,” I lie, getting back to my email.

  Motherfucker, I am screwed!

  The Ignacio case completely skipped my mind.

  “Well, let me know if you need any help.” He gets off my couch and walks away. This whole ordeal has kept me so busy that I can’t think straight. Clearly juggling two lives is not my strong suit.

  Trying to stay focused for the rest of the afternoon is impossible. This is all becoming too much. The clock is close to three and I can’t wait any longer. Getting up, I grab my keys and leave. I’ve got to talk things over with Nat and figure out what the hell we’re going to do now that I have this fucking retrial to tend to.

  “I know you’re stressed, but how do you miss preparing for a retrial?” Nat asks me on the way to Fort Collins.

  “Baby, I can’t remember shit lately when it comes to work. I haven’t been going to any of the meetings. The dispensaries have
had me so consumed, that it’s all I think about when I’m there. They’re our ticket to freedom.”

  “Micah, you can’t start slipping up now.”

  “I know that, trust me…I know.”

  Holding the steering wheel tight, I put the car on cruise and think about things. The drive is calm, and it’s a nice change compared to the city traffic. But I wish that we didn’t have to have this conversation. I wish that everything was different, really. It reminds me why we are doing all of this. It’s so we can have an actual life as a family and feel like normal people, which I want more than anything.

  “Why do you have to do everything for the case?” she asks.

  “I took the lead on the trial the first go around. It was before Vincent was a part of the team, and C.J. was busy with another case. Basically, I’m the only one who knows the ins and outs of the whole ordeal. I spent nine weeks in court.”

  “Jesus, that’s a long time.”

  “Yeah, and a few months ago, new evidence showed up. I started to prepare a little then, but we had another case go to trial, and I got consumed with that and making sure you were okay. Then the rest is just days in the rearview.”

  “Well, it sounds like you are going to have to do this retrial, and with everything else going on, it could be too much. I can always install the cameras.”

  I glare at her, not liking the idea one bit. “No!”

  “Well, do you have a better idea?”

  “I’ll handle it all,” I tell her, not knowing how I’ll do it, but I’ll find a way. I won’t put Nat in harm’s way after what Prestwell did. I just can’t risk her anymore.

  With three hundred and seventy-seven cameras and three hundred and fifty-one motion sensors in the back of the Yukon, Micah and I are heading back to Denver. However, he’s become preternaturally quiet, which I don’t like. It’s probably because of the accumulated stress and the fact that he’s trying to take on everything himself, but it still freaks me the fuck out. He doesn’t need to. Granted, it is sweet of him to want to keep me safe, but we’re running out of time, and it’s only going to hurt us in the long run.