“What does he know?” she asks quickly. “What does he want from me?”
I shrug. “Don’t know.” But really, I do. Because I’m after the same damn thing. “But I will figure it out.”
She shakes her head, staring me in the eyes. Her face oozes sympathy. She looks too sweet. Too innocent. It’s hard as hell not to cave into someone like her. “Ace,” she breathes, searching my face.
I don’t want to cave, so I look away.
“Look at me,” she whispers, placing her hands on my shoulders. “Please.”
I give in, turning in her direction again. I look her in those big hazel eyes, and all I can make out is her confusion. She’s so lost. And I figure maybe she doesn’t know anything. Maybe he didn’t get to say enough to her.
Planting the palms of my hands on the wall outside her head, I look down at her, breathing rigidly through my nostrils. She stares up at me, running her fingers down my chest.
“Just promise me you won’t hurt him…” she murmurs.
I shake my head. “I might not keep that promise.”
“But you have to. I know you’re upset with him… and I know he may not like you and you may not like him, but whatever he knows, it’s not worth it. Maybe you can scare him a bit… I don’t know.” She shakes her head quickly. “Just don’t hurt him.”
I keep silent, watching as she lowers her fingers to the buckle of my belt. She keeps her eyes on me, licking her lips slowly.
“Please,” she begs in a whisper.
“No. I can’t.”
“You can,” she says, eyes bright. My belt jingles as she unbuckles it. Next, she fumbles with the button and zipper, and I close my eyes. I can’t believe she’s about to use this against me.
Sex.
Since when did I let a woman use sex to manipulate my mind? Never.
But I don’t stop her. And as she slides her back down the wall, bringing my pants down with her, my cock pounds in my boxers. When I open my eyes to look down, she’s already staring up at me… or maybe her eyes have never left mine. Either way, it’s fucking sexy. And it’s turning me on way too much.
“Please,” she whispers again. She gradually brings my boxers down to my ankles then fists my cock, smiling as she studies it. She licks the tip to get rid of the pre-cum. I shudder as she wraps those glossed lips around me and swallows me whole. She uses one hand, doing a swift jerking and twisting movement.
I groan as I run my fingers through her hair, my forehead on the wall. Her eyes never leave mine, heightening my pleasure. Fuck, she’s good. She’s so fucking good. Like I said, she’s just like crack.
She continues the swiveling and jerking of her hand, making sure to wet my cock with each suck and gag. She pumps harder, bringing me further and further down her throat. I propel myself into her mouth, telling her how good it feels, wanting her to keep going.
She slurps me like a Popsicle, licking me all over, tasting every single inch of me. I watch her the entire time, and she watches me, enjoying each reaction I give as she switches it up. Each thing she does with her tongue is unexpected, but so fucking enjoyable.
I feel myself on the verge of exploding. I know she’s trying to make me weak. She’s trying to get me wrapped around her finger, and by the way shit is going now, she might just have me. I’ve never had my cock sucked so good.
Not like this.
Not like her.
I pump a little faster, touching the back of her throat. Then, it comes. I suck in a heavy breath, shuddering and quaking as I release all that was pent up inside me. She moans as she swallows it whole, then runs the tip of her tongue up to my dickhead, making me jolt just a little bit more.
Finally releasing me, she lowers her hands to her lap, and I stare down at her, hoping my face isn’t as relaxed as it feels. She sucks on her bottom lip, staring me in the eyes.
“Don’t hurt him, Ace. I’m begging you.”
Sighing, I push off the wall and reach down to pull my boxers and pants up. Next, I grab her hands and guide her into my arms. Bringing her mouth to mine, I kiss her roughly, lodging my tongue between her sweet lips. She moans, wrapping her arms around my neck. Our tongues collide, our lips growing numb by the second until I can finally get myself to pull away. She keeps her arms locked around my neck, a gentle smile on her lips.
She’s expecting me to give into her… to look weak for her. If I give her that kind of power, she’ll think she can tell me to do anything. I refuse to let that happen.
Business comes first. It always does. I know she’ll hate me, probably even want to bash my skull in, but this is my life. I have men who need to get paid. I won’t let anything stand in the way of that.
“For you, I’ll try not to hurt him,” I murmur, “…but I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep that promise.”
She blinks quickly, nodding. “Okay. I… guess that’s good enough.”
I swallow as she removes her arms from my neck. She turns her back to me, making her way to the front door. Before she opens it, though, she glances over her shoulder to meet my eyes. “You won’t… kill him, will you?”
I slide my fingers in my front pockets, turning to my left and walking to the kitchen. Grabbing the yellow jar off the counter, I remove the lid and take out a joint. When I replace the lid and put the jar back, I meet London’s eyes. Hers seem to have never left.
I scramble through the drawers for a lighter, and when I finally come across one, I light my joint and take a long, much needed draw. Releasing a thick cloud of smoke, I look at London as she grabs the doorknob. When she opens it, I finally decide to tell her.
“I won’t kill him.”
She gives me one quick look over and then she’s out the door, shutting it behind her. For the rest of the day, I’m left thinking about just how I’m going to get the answers I want out of this Peter guy without killing him.
I hate him. And he hates me.
Yeah, this shit won’t end well.
I know this is wrong of me, but seeing Ace react the way he did to that business card has me curious. He’s pissed about it, and he’s upset with this Peter guy, whom I know nothing about. I want to know how well Peter knew Jonah, how often they hung out, and even if Jonah told him things he’d never tell anyone. I also want to know what the hell he’s hoping to get out of me because, as of right now, I have no clue what he could want. I have nothing but Jonah’s car, which is here and spotless last time I checked.
So here I am, standing in the food court of the mall. I remember the mall listed on the business card, and I think I remember how he looks. It was dark at the party, but his face should be familiar to me when I come across him.
I start across the food court with the misfortune of Gerrick following me. I don’t think he knows about Peter, though. Well, I hope he doesn’t. I glance over my shoulder at him, forcing a smile.
He returns a small one.
Turning forward again, I tuck my thumb beneath the strap of my purse and hurry through the crowd of people. It’s a Saturday afternoon, so I expected it to be this crowded. This is a good thing.
As the crowd comes toward the food court, I take it as a chance to escape from Gerrick for just a split moment. All I need is enough time to find Peter, tell him to take me somewhere no one would look, and get him to spill everything. I can’t go on without knowing what’s going on. I’ve been trying to ignore it all—to just forget about it—but it seems like complications appear every chance they get when it comes to my brother.
The crowd finally surrounds me, and I bustle through, giving my “pardon me’s” and “excuse me’s” as I get by. I glance over my shoulder and spot Gerrick struggling to get by. His eyes are still focused on me, though. He probably won’t lose sight.
I continue ahead, passing by a group of chunky men. Seeing them makes me smile. I squeeze through the middle of them, and when I look back, all I see are the men. Yeah, they’re that big.
I hear Gerrick yelling for people to get out the way
, so I search for the nearest restroom. When I spot it, I rush down the hall, into the restroom, and slam the stall door behind me.
Drawing a deep breath, I try and pull myself together. I’ve never run away from Gerrick, but this is necessary. After waiting for nearly ten minutes, I open the stall door slowly, glancing around. No one’s inside, so I hurry to the entrance of the restrooms. I take a look around the busy hallway. I don’t see any men in suits, and I don’t see the dark dreads that belong to Gerrick, so I hurry out with my head ducked. I try to keep my composure and walk at a steady pace. I need to blend in. With every chance I get, I pretend I’m walking with a group of people. But I take a look at each kiosk and store until finally I spot it.
Tick & Watch.
I remember the name. I head for the store. When I make it in, relief washes through me.
I made it.
The store is fairly quiet compared to the buzzing and chatting in the halls of the mall. I march toward the front counter where a bald man with a broom-like moustache turns my way, smiling wide.
“How can I help you?” he asks.
“Hi,” I breathe. “I’m looking for Peter Bridges.”
“Peter? Oh, yes, he just left for lunch. He should be back within the hour.”
Shit.
I force a smile at him. “Okay. Thank you.”
Turning my back, I walk away from the counter and enter the walkway again. I need to hideout somewhere for an hour. Somewhere Gerrick would never look. I take a quick look to my left, spotting a Victoria’s Secret, my smile breaks through again. I dash off to the lingerie store.
Although I don’t have much money, I could use some new panties. While I’m searching, my phone buzzes in my purse. Scrambling through my purse, I pull it out and when I see Ace’s name on the screen, my heart seems to freeze. Actually, my whole body feels frozen.
“Do you need any help?” a girl asks behind me. I turn quickly, looking her in the eye. She’s a red head with braces. Really pretty. I force a smile at her. “No, thank you. I’m okay.”
She nods and returns to folding panties.
I walk away from her, my phone still buzzing in my hand. I know I can’t avoid him. Either way, he’ll catch me. So, with a heavy sigh and shaky hands, I answer.
“Yes?”
“Gerrick told me you disappeared on him,” he says, rather calmly.
“Just doing a little shopping,” I lie. Well, it’s more of a white lie. “Don’t need him over my shoulder for that.”
“He knows just as well as I do that you’re looking for Peter. So how about you give him a call, let him know where you are, and head back home. You won’t find Peter there.”
My eyes expand. “What the hell did you do, Ace?” I hiss into the phone.
“Nothing… yet.” I can feel him smirking on his end.
“If you hurt him—”
“What, London? What will you do? There isn’t shit you can do.” His voice is rough now. Angry. “Be glad I promised you I wouldn’t kill him.”
“Hurting him is just like killing him. I’m sure you aren’t going to be easy on him.”
Ace remains silent.
I sigh. The red head girl looks at me with a frown. I turn away from her, walking to another station. “I just wanted to talk to him. I wanted to find out what he wanted… what he knows.”
“About me, right?”
“N-no,” I stutter. “About Jonah.”
“You’re lying. You wanted to find out about me. And just how I’m a monster and a liar and a money-hungry fiend, huh?”
“That’s not what I wanted to talk to him about,” I mutter.
“Because you don’t trust me, right?” he continues. “I mean, you did admit to it last night.”
I swallow hard, keeping my lips sealed.
“Like I said before,” he sighs. “I don’t expect you to. And it’s best that you don’t. Now call Gerrick and get home, or I’ll be the one coming to get you.” He hangs up quickly, and I slowly pull the phone away from my ear.
I can’t believe him. He already has Peter. There’s no telling what he’ll do to him. Or what he’ll say. I don’t even know if he’ll keep his word on not killing him. You never know what’ll happen when it comes to Ace Crow. He’s too fucking unpredictable.
And it’s because of his unpredictability that I know it’s best to call Gerrick and have him take me home. There’s not much I can do at this point. I tried at his apartment. I wanted him to ease up, and I think I did get him to a little because he said he wouldn’t kill him but… I’m not sure I can trust him on that. I think I just made things worse.
***
After calling Ace repeatedly the previous night and getting no kind of response, I don’t find it surprising that I’m so groggy the next morning. I hardly slept. I mean, I don’t know this Peter guy at all. I don’t even know his middle name which makes me wonder why I was tossing and turning so much about him being alive or not. I guess because a part of me knows that if it weren’t for me having his business card out in the open, Ace never would’ve found it. And Peter would probably be safe.
When I got home I could tell Gerrick was kind of pissed that I ran from him at the mall. I even asked if he could take me out for a vanilla sundae smothered with fudge, and he refused without reason.
“Should’ve gotten the sundae while you ran off at the mall,” he grumbled.
I groan. I need to get my day started. The first thing I do is take a quick shower and get dressed. After dressing, I head out to my bedroom to get to the kitchen. I start the coffee maker, but for some reason as I turn, the phone catches my attention. And it keeps my attention for quite some time.
Right now, I feel alone and afraid. All I want to do is go back home. Back to Atlanta. Back to my friends.
Thinking of my friends brings tears to my eyes.
I step out of the kitchen and grab the telephone. I know I shouldn’t because it could put them in danger, but I have to. I miss Ver and Garrett. Maybe I can get them all on three-way.
I stare down at the phone, listing in my head all of consequences that’ll come with calling them. Someone could be tracing their calls. Someone could be waiting specifically for me to call. Someone could attack them and force them to call me so they can speak with me. Someone could kill them after they find out.
Fuck!
My bottom lip trembles, and even though I have all of those odds against me, I decide to risk it. I don’t think I’ll be able to go another week without talking to them or at least giving them a brief update on how things are going with me. They’re my best friends. The only real friends I have.
I dial Ver’s number without thinking and press the phone to my ear. My hands are clammy, my throat is dry. I’m a nervous wreck until finally Ver answers.
“Ver,” I breathe, so glad to hear her voice.
“Uh… who is this?” she asks. I can imagine her frowning, almost ready to hang up.
“Ver, it’s Lonnie.”
“Oh… Oh God!” she squeals. “Lonnie, what the hell? Where are you!? Garrett and I have been worried sick!”
“I know, I know,” I say, nodding as if she can see me. “But it’s for a reason. I… um… had to come up to New York for an internship.”
“Internship?” she questions.
“Yes,” I say quickly.
“I never heard you say anything about an internship. For who?”
“Oh, just a small agency up here… for psychiatric therapy.”
“O…kay?” She’s silent for a moment. “Well, I guess you do like to help people… and it was your major. Oh, I bet Garrett would love to yell at you right now. Let me add him in.”
“Okay,” I sigh. Just what I wanted.
It doesn’t take long for Ver to add Garrett in, and when she does, Garrett says my entire name into the phone. “London Francine Stallone, just where the hell have you been? And what the hell is wrong with you, leaving those stupid letters for us? Aren’t we your best friends? W
e deserve a goodbye!”
I fight my laugh. “I know, Garrett. I’m sorry. It just happened out of nowhere. A friend of mine told me about the internship and how they were looking for interns, and I just flew right up. You guys weren’t home, and I couldn’t call because I was already getting on my flight. When I got here, I, of course, dropped my phone and broke it so… you know. Shit happens.” Wow. I can’t believe I just came up with a lie that fast. Who am I? Lying to the people that have been there for me since my freshman year in college?
“Well, we understand, honey… just don’t let it happen again. And don’t wait so long to get in touch with us,” Garrett says.
“Yeah. Because we fucking miss you. It’s just not the same going to the parties and stuff without you. We’re like a trio, you know?” Ver whines.
I laugh, shaking my head as I sit on the couch. “Yeah I know. I should be back soon.”
“Good. Let us know if you get a spot there so we can go out and celebrate when you get back,” Garrett insists.
“I will. For sure.”
The line dulls for a moment. I try and think of something to talk about, but nothing seems to come to mind. I feel like I’m betraying them. I feel like a backstabber. There’s so much lying going on. Why add onto a full plate? Why not scrap some of that guilt off?
“Guys… there’s something I have to tell you,” I murmur.
“What’s that, baby love?” Garrett asks, voice full of spunk.
I inhale deeply. I won’t tell them everything. Just about Jonah no longer being here. “Well, it’s about Jonah—”
“Oh, God, Jonah!” they both moan into the phone.
I force a laugh. “This is serious…”
That causes them to pipe down.
“Well, what is it, Lonnie?” Ver asks.
“He… passed away two days after I graduated.”
Two heavy gasps. “What?” Ver questions. “But… how? He was just here! Everything seemed fine!”
I close my eyes, fighting the tears. I want to tell them the truth. I want to tell them everything, but I can’t. For their safety. “He was murdered, but I’m not sure why.”
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