Exposed

by Sapphire Knight

  “Hey, fruit loop, whatcha giglin’ 'bout in here?”

  “I was just thinking about how you jumped when I stuck my hand in your shirt. That shit was sooo funny!” I start to laugh outright and he smirks at me.

  “Funny, my ass! I almost fuckin’ wrecked with your little icy hands!” he chuckles out. I start to tease him like I always have.

  “Ohhh, you poor baby! Such a whine ass!” His smirk turns to an evil grin and I know what he’s going to do. I squeal.

  “No! Cain! You leave me alone, damn it! Don’t even think about it!” I start to back away further and he takes a step closer to me.

  “Do what, sweet cheeks? I’m just gonna make you giggle some more since you think you’re so funny.” He takes another step into the room and I shriek. He laughs loudly and leaps into action. I almost make it past him, almost. He hooks me with his right arm just as I skirt around him. I go flying toward the bed and then the next thing I know I have a giant man pinning me to the bed, tickling me all over. I laugh loudly and try to plead with him.

  “No! Please! Please! Okay, okay, okay you win! Cain you’re going to make me pee my pants! Please! You’re right, it wasn’t funny!” He finally stops and I take deep breaths, trying to calm the flutters in my belly. He bends down and kisses me, a big juicy chaste kiss on my lips. I love when he does that, it always reminds me of the first time I followed him to the compound. He pulls away and sits up.

  “Alright, London, I’m starved. My ass is eatin’. If you’re lucky maybe I’ll eat you next.” I grin at him and stand up. God, I love when he goes down on me, he’s freaking awesome with his tongue. He grumbles and I barely catch what he says.

  “Come on, quit thinking about it! I’ve only had that bite of muffin today and my stomach won’t quit its growlin’.” I nod and kiss his cheek. We walk into the kitchen to eat. I grab my drink and a beer out of the fridge for him then sit next to him at the tiny table. We both inhale our first taco. Cain groans in pleasure while he chews his food.

  “Damn, babe, these tacos are off the fuckin’ chain. I’m gonna have to tell the brothers to hit 'em up.” I nod and take another bite. I chew up my mouth full before I answer him.

  “I love them and they are cheap.” I don’t get to finish my sentence because my phone starts playing my ringtone. I have The Hollies’ ‘Long Cool Woman’ as my ringtone. I figure if you could have a theme song that would be an awesome one. Cain grabs my phone since he’s closest to it. It’s probably Mom or Emily. I haven’t talked to my mom in a few days and I bet she’s freaking out. I’m not stuck on her hip but we are pretty close. Cain glances at the screen that’s lit up. He glares at me and gives me my phone.

  “Who the fuck’s Cam?” Cain growls. Fuck me! That bastard finally called me. Of course Cain would be the one to see it, too.

  “No one, just some idiot I don’t feel like talking to right now.” I reject the call and turn my phone on silent in case he calls back or leaves a message. Then set my phone beside me and continue eating my tacos. Cain looks even angrier after I answer him.

  “You been seein’ someone, boo?” Shit, he only calls me boo when he’s really pissed at me. I roll my eyes and I can tell it makes him fume inside. He huffs and puts his food down on his plate. He leans back in his chair and stares at me, waiting for further details. I give in and answer, I want to get this out of the way now so we can forget about it.

  “I’m not seeing anyone. I was seeing Cameron for a short time but things didn’t work out. Now I’m not,” I reply vaguely and he looks to me like he wants me to continue with more details.

  “And?” he asks, drawing the word out sarcastically. I look at him innocently and play dumb.

  “And what?”

  “And why’s this fool callin’ if shit’s done?” I swear this man wants me to spell it out on paper for him or something. I’m not giving him details; it will only make him angry at me longer. I have missed him far too much to have him angry over someone who doesn’t mean anything to me. When Cain gets me wound up I tend to get more sarcastic than usual, probably because he usually gets sarcastic about stuff and acts like an asshole too.

  “I don’t know, I’m guessing maybe to talk to me? That’s normally why people call each other.” I get snarky and start to let my anger show some.

  “Don’t go getting fuckin’ mouthy, I’m just askin’ why he’s callin’ when I was the one deep inside that cunt earlier. I just wanna make sure we are on the same page this time. I missed you, baby, but I ain’t getting left in the dust with no warning like last time, you feel me?” he says seriously and it breaks my heart a little to know he feels like he was left in the dust last time. If I could go back and do it all over, I would have asked him to just come with me, even if it was only for a short time. I think things would have ended up so much different. Hell, we might’ve still been together now. In fact, I’m sure we would be. We were so crazy about each other. It was almost to the point we could have been called obsessed with each other. Infatuated, yes, that sounds better. We were infatuated with each other. I try to set his mind at ease and get him to calm down.

  “I feel you, it’s not like that. I don’t care about him. I don’t know why he’s calling me, but I don’t feel like dealing with it right now. He’s Emily’s fiancé’s best friend and things are just awkward now.” Actually, I have a good idea why he’s calling and I’m currently feeding it right now. I need to call that idiot back and tell him to fuck off.

  “Last time wasn’t on purpose, I hope you realize that, Cain. It was an emergency with Emily and she ended up going through a bunch of crazy shit, she really needed me. I never would have left like that otherwise. I’m sorry, you know that right?” I tell him sincerely.

  “I know, London. It just fucked me up for a little while. You didn’t even call me or text for the past three months! You became not only the bitch on my bike but like a best friend to me.” I swallow loudly. This is what I was waiting for and expecting at the coffee shop. He had me a little surprised we didn’t talk about this sooner.

  “I’m sorry! I thought you freaking hated me! You are my best friend besides Emily too. I’m sorry. I promise I will always keep in touch with you. Okay?” I can’t imagine him being completely out of my life again now that I have him right here.

  “Alright, London. Calm down, baby. I get it now, okay. Let’s just eat our tacos then watch whatever movie you had planned for tonight,” he says softly and looks at me with care. I take a deep breath and then chuckle a little. He knows me well.

  “How do you know I had a movie planned?” He raises his left eyebrow at me and cocks his head to the side a little.

  “Babe.” I start to smile bigger.

  “What? What if I changed it up?” I shrug nonchalantly, like I don’t watch movies every single night anymore. He looks at me and raises his other eyebrow at me too.

  “You’re the only chick I have ever met that can quote movies at random times,” he says proudly as if I did something awesome like discover chocolate. I beam at him happily. I love that he thinks my little quirks are such good attributes. We have always had a lot of fun quoting movies together. I give in and admit my selection to him.

  “Yeahh, okay, I was going to watch Thor part two.” He does a small fist pump and grins.

  “Yes! I fuckin’ love when you watch those movies.” I smile at him and finish my tacos. Well, only three of them, the rest are for a snack later.

  Cameron

  Chapter 8

  I hang up my phone and throw it on my bed. Of course she didn’t answer again. It’s only been three days since you were an ass. Clearly, she’s still pissed. Tate comes to my door and pops his head in the open doorway as he knocks on the wall beside the door. I look over at the sound.

  “Cam, you want to head to the gym with me and Niko?” I could benefit from a workout right now. Maybe talk to Tate and get his advice on this London issue. I start to walk to my closet and answer.

  “Yeah, let me change
and I’ll meet you there.” Tate takes two steps so he’s inside my room.

  “We’ll wait so you can ride with us if you want,” he says loudly so I can hear him in my closet.

  “No, thanks, never know if I’ll get called away early.” I have to be ready at any time at this point with Gizya. I walk out of the closet and notice Tate is looking all around my room. It’s irritating because he’s always so nosey. He turns toward me as I get closer to him.

  “You and London straighten out whatever’s going on? I see her stuff is still missing.” Yeah, my room is actually clean. When she was staying here she had stuff thrown all over the place, it used to bother me so bad. I grab my phone off the bed and my keys then walk toward the door.

  “No, she’s driving me crazy. In fact, let’s go in the living room so I can talk to Niko and you about something.” He shakes his head at me and walks out of my room.

  “Yeah, sure, no problem,” he says on the way out. I follow him down our hallway and into our large living room. Tate sits on the couch next to Niko. Niko looks up and does a two finger salute to me.

  “Hey, Cam!” Niko says happily and takes a drink of his Gatorade. He’s always in a good mood. I smile and return the gesture.

  “Hey, Niko,” I say and sit on the recliner opposite them. Tate jumps right in.

  “What’s going on, Cam? Anything I can help with?” Tate asks curiously. I sigh loudly and prepare myself for this conversation.

  “Oh my God, man, you guys are going to think I’m a fucking jerkoff. I swear, I don’t know what to do about this and it’s been eating at me for the past three days.” I pull at the bottom of my basketball shorts nervously. Tate leans forward in his seat and focuses his attention on me.

  “No way, tell us what’s going on.” That’s Tate, always one to fix a problem. Niko on the other hand is an observer. He’s always pretty loud and outgoing but when it’s something serious he waits to hear everything before he gives his opinion. I stop fidgeting and look at them both as I talk.

  “So London and I got into an argument a few days ago and she left to go back to the apartment, which you guys already know about since she hasn’t been here. I don’t know if London has said anything to Emily yet, I’m assuming she hasn’t or else Emily would have strangled me by now, I’m sure.” I look at Tate to see if Emily has brought it up. He will know exactly what I’m talking about if she has. His face stays blank and it makes me relax a little.

  “Emily hasn’t said much, just that she wishes London would talk to her more,” Tate says and shakes his head disapprovingly at London’s clamming up. I let out a breath and sit back in the chair some.

  “Okay, good, I’m glad she hasn’t said anything yet then. So, London was sick for a couple days; walking around looking like the Walking Dead and puking every time she ate something.” Niko’s eyes bug out and he sighs. Yep, he figured it out. I continue on even though I wish I didn’t have to.

  “She came home from the doctor’s appointment crying and admitted to me that she found out she’s fucking pregnant. I couldn’t believe it when I first heard. I mean, we’ve been so careful, but she says it happened anyway. I didn’t know what to say to her, just that I couldn’t deal with it right now. She got pissed and cussed me out and said she would be the one to leave this time. I’m confused and angry. I want kids but not for a really long time. My parents are going to flip out on me and I’m not even done with school yet.” Tate jumps up and paces a few times.

  “Holy fuck, Cam! Are you serious? I can’t believe she hasn’t told Emily, and now I know before her, fuck! I hope she tells her soon, I hate keeping secrets from her.” Tate is pissed. He has his hands in his hair, pulling at the ends. That’s his tell if he’s angry or frustrated. Poor Tate and Emily, that’s all he worries about, himself and Emily. I shake my head a little and have to stop myself from scoffing out loud. Niko clears his throat and both of us look at him.

  “I don’t know why you are upset, Cam, this is good, no?” Niko looks at me, puzzled.

  “No, Niko, this is bad, I’m not ready to have a kid. My parents are probably going to cut me off when I tell them and then insist I marry her. Now I care for London, she’s sweet and hot but I’m not ready to marry her! I have no problem giving her money but I don’t have time to take care of a baby right now. Lord knows she’s too stubborn to stay home and take care of a baby herself. I’d have to hire a nanny because she would insist on working or going to school too.” Tate glares up as I talk and it makes me wonder if I should have even told him. I wonder what Gizya did with the girls who ended up pregnant from him. I know there had to be at least a few.

  “Well, you have to support her on this. Have you talked to her since she left, like in person, or on the phone, anything?” Tate asks with his eyes squinted at me like I’m a bright light or something. He always treats me like I’m ignorant but yet I’m the one further along in school than he is.

  “No. I tried calling her but she won’t answer my call or voice messages.”

  “Keep trying, she could get mad and take off to Texas, and then your parents would be really angry to have a grandchild they can’t contact. I know your parents. They will be upset with you, but once the baby comes they will embrace it.” He has no idea what my parents are really like. He always just starts barking orders whenever it’s convenient. Obviously, I’m going to keep calling her. I want to know what’s going on with my kid so she doesn’t just show up on my parents’ doorstep one day. I smile and nod at Tate like I always do. I wonder if he knows I can’t stand his perfect little life. It’s okay, his father is bringing me into the business, not Tate.

  “Alright, I will keep trying. I’m not ready to be a father yet, but I know if she was to leave I’d never forgive myself. My father was a prick growing up, but at least I had him there to push me, you know. I’ll do what I have to in order to be a good father to my kid. I need to make this right with her.” I wonder if Gizya sold the women off that he had issues with or if he made them put the babies up for adoption? I’ll have to call and get his advice. Maybe I could just have Tate’s Uncle Victor kidnap her or something. Tate looks at Niko then returns my small smile.

  “Exactly, just keep thinking that way and it will work out.” My phone goes off, with a text alert. Saved! I’m sick of having this conversation already and hopefully I’ll be able to get the advice I want. I look down at the lit up screen on my phone and check the message.

  Hans – Shipment

  Me – On my way asap

  Hans – k

  I turn back to Tate and Niko and act like I’m bummed out now.

  “Shit, guess I’m not working out, I just had something come up.” I stand and pocket my phone. Tate looks at me suspiciously.

  “Everything else okay? You’ve been busier than usual.” I give a big smile and shrug to try and put him at ease. No one needs to know my business.

  “Yeah, everything else is going great.” He nods but doesn’t look like he’s one hundred percent sure.

  “Did I see your car at my dad’s club the other day when I drove by?” He watches me closely when I answer him and it makes me fume inside. Since when did my personal life turn into twenty questions? I try to be very vague with my answer so he drops it.

  “I don’t know, probably. He wanted a few numbers to people I know so I stopped in.” Tate stands from the couch in front of me.

  “I see. Alright, well, good luck with everything.” Tate looks at Nikoli and it’s like they have this mind reader silent conversation and Niko just nods at Tate. Freaking weirdoes; they take bromance way too far.

  “Thanks, I’ll keep you posted on it. See y’all later,” I say and walk back toward my room to change again. Tate makes his way to the kitchen and yells to me.

  “'K, later.”

  “Later, Cam,” Niko says and follows Tate like a good lap dog.

  I put on nicer clothes and get in my car. I head back to the club again. I swear it feels like someone is following me the wh
ole way, but each time I glance in my rearview mirror I never see anything suspicious. Working for the mafia is making me paranoid.

  “Hans, how’s it going?” I ask as we are doing our routine of heading down the hall to the storage room.

  “Good, Cameron, and you?”

  “Life sucks right now, but what can you do. So, is it just a normal shipment? I saw Konstantin’s car and driver outside.”

  “No, you are here to get the Boss’ stuff he wanted set aside for the meeting with the bikers. The meeting is in twenty minutes. Gizya wants you to check everything again and then bring it into the meeting so you can tell their group exactly what everything is.” Great, I seriously don’t want to be in a room full of bikers when something could pop off at any time. Regardless, I paste on a fake smile. I don’t want anyone to know if anything makes me uncomfortable.

  “Wow, okay, I’m glad he trusts me so much. I have to admit, I’m a little nervous about meeting a bunch of old bikers though. Your accent is great today; I don’t hear the Russian at all.”

  “Thanks, I’ve been working on it every day.” He enters his code on the reinforced door then it’s my turn. The door opens and we walk in. Everything still looks the exact same as the other day when I was here. I double check the blow and the pills I have packaged up for each of the bikers. Everything looks good so I just sit and chill for about forty minutes while Hans pecks away at his laptop. Hans’ phone buzzes and he checks it.

  “You are up, Cameron, let’s go visit the Boss. Oh, and make sure you call him Boss or Gizya in front of them.” He stands up to walk toward the door and I do the same.

  “Okay, I will.” We leave the storage room and walk to another meeting room. This time we enter room five after Hans knocks a few times on the door. I walk in and see five bikers sitting around the table next to Konstantin and a few of his men. These guys are way younger than I thought they would be and in really good shape. A few look like really mean fuckers and one looks like a giant.