PUSHED (Capitol Corruption Series Book 1)

by Linny Lawless

  Nolan let out a groan and closed his eyes, “Lucas wants to meet with the both of us, at one of his nightclubs in Maryland. Our choice. He said he’s got a business proposition that we just can’t pass up. I told him we choose the time and place.”

  “Exactly. That’s not up to him. Is this the same kind of proposal Gabe offered us a few years back?”

  Nolan bit into the celery stick that soaked in his Bloody Mary, “A good guess is yes.”

  “But you still want to do this? Sit across from Lucas and listen to him run at the mouth about his brilliant proposal?”

  “You know why, Push.”

  “Yes, I do, my friend. So, I can stay close to Nadia. And closer to my next target.”

  Nolan grinned, “Two great minds think alike.”

  I left Nolan’s office and headed down the long hallway to the elevators. A big black man dressed in a black suit stood at the end of the hall. Both his hands were behind his back. “Are you Push?” He was unrecognizable to me as I approached, but I didn’t sense any threat from him.

  “And you are?”

  He offered me his hand, “I’m Mack. Nadia’s driver. She’s here, sitting in the Blossom Cocktail Lounge downstairs. She wants to talk to you.”

  My blood pressure began to rise a notch. I took Mack’s hand, then shoved him against the wall, “And was this your brilliant idea to bring her here? Mack?”

  Mack was a big man and he towered over me, but his eyes showed fear and caution, “No, Mr. Push – I mean Push. I told her it wasn’t a good idea, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer!”

  I relaxed and patted the lapel of his suit, “Ok, Mack. I’ll go down to see her. You stay close. Got me?”

  “Yes Sir.”

  Mack followed close behind as I entered the cocktail lounge and found Nadia sitting alone at one of the little round tables. She was facing the other way, sipping on a straw in her Long Island iced tea. I approached the table and sat in the cushioned lounge chair directly in front of her. She shifted, sitting up straighter and smiled.

  I wanted to reach across the table and stroke her soft high cheek bone. “Nadia. You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe.”

  She reached out and placed her small hand over mine. “It’s ok. Lucas thinks I’m out with Christina. And I have Mack.” She nodded her head toward the driver. He stood outside the perimeter of the open lounge, staying alert.

  “You trust him?”

  “Yes. My father does not like Mack because of his skin color. When he handed me over to Lucas, he didn’t want to employ Mack anymore. So, I feigned a sweet smile and batted my eyes at Lucas and pleaded with him that I needed Mack. He’s a big man and a good driver. Plus, he is able to protect me. So, Mack is still my personal driver.”

  I slipped my hand out from underneath hers and brought her cold fingers close to my lips. I could smell her. So fresh, with a hint of pheromones that was all Nadia. “Very smart girl.”

  Her arched brows rose and she gasped as my lips brushed the top of her hand. She pulled away, smiling shyly “You used to terrify me when I was a teenager.”

  I smiled, “Why? Do I look that horrid?”

  “No! Not at all! It’s just the color of your eyes are so dark that I thought you were the devil himself! But that was when I was young and a stupid, naïve brat.” She stared into my eyes. She was so close I could still smell her. “Now that I’m much closer I can see your eyes clearly. They are still dark. But you are not the devil.”

  “So you’re not frightened of me anymore, Nadi?”

  “No. Not after what Lucas has done to me.” She stared off.

  I felt the molten lava Mr. Takata described to me as my anger, swaying and whirling in my gut at the thought of Lucas touching Nadia’s beautiful skin. “Remember: you’re a savage. Just like me, Nadia. Lucas is not a good man. Good men do not hurt what’s beautiful and clean.”

  She leaned into my palm as I cupped her soft cheek, “I like it when you touch me, Push.”

  I wanted to wrap my fingers around her creamy delicate throat and squeeze, just enough to make her lips part for me, and her doe eyes to turn hungry with desire.

  I pulled away. “I’m the same as Lucas. I’m not a good man.”

  “Would you hurt me like Lucas does?”

  “No. The only pain I’d give you is the kind you would enjoy, Nadia.”

  “I believe you, Push.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Sometimes I feel like a bird born with clipped wings. My father just threw me away. He’s always hated me. And I don’t even know why.”

  When she lowered her head, I leaned in closer from across the table and lifted her chin, “Thirty-three Potomac Street, North West.”

  “What?”

  “That’s the address to my townhome in Georgetown. Can you remember it, Nadia?”

  Her pretty lips lifted, “Yes I can.”

  “Any opportunity you can find to stretch those pretty little wings of yours, come to me.”

  I sat back, and she kept her chin up, “I will, Push.”

  She sipped on the straw, finishing the rest of her drink and stood from her barstool. “I should go now.”

  And just like that, she left and rushed over to Mack. I pulled out my vibrating phone from my side pocket, keeping my eyes on Mack and Nadia until they disappeared around the corner near a row of slot Machines.

  It was Nolan, “Lucas agreed to meet at the Shadows tomorrow night at 9:00PM.”

  “We’ll bring two of Mr. Takata’s men. He’ll insist on it.”

  “Takata’s men are the best around.”

  I needed to ride my Triumph Bobber. I took off my suit and tie as soon as I got back to my townhouse in Georgetown. I didn’t wear the colorful leather and riding gear like most men did. Instead, I pulled on my faded and ripped jeans with my hoodie and half-shell helmet. I rolled out of my garage on the Triumph Bobber and rode it out of the city and onto the backroads to clear my mind. I breathed in the chilly night air, the aged and falling leaves, and dirt as I hugged the curves.

  The bike and I were one machine, as we sped beyond the legal limit, gripping the curves and twisting the throttle to high RPM’s. Nadia’s female scent still lingered with me for the rest of the day. Just the sight of her made my cock raging hard and then to smell her- it was both heaven and hell for me. I wanted to bury myself deep inside her, possess her, keep her locked away just for myself. Keep her safe and protected. She was both pure and sad. She was alone, just like me.

  It was dark by the time I pulled the Triumph into my garage. My house maid, Kumiko, berated me as I walked into my living room wearing black riding boots. She was an older woman in her 60’s and a blood relative of the Takata family.

  “Mr. Push, no walk on your nice wood floors in shoes. Take them off now!” She insisted. Kumiko was very small but headstrong. She was one human being that did not fear me, showing only discipline and caring toward me. She kept my house clean and in order, even cooking for me on the days I was at home to eat. I paid her very well.

  I knelt down, unlacing the boots, “Yes, Kumiko. I can never get anything past you.” I looked up at her, the side of my lip lifted.

  She tilted her head, “You ride your motorbike?”

  “Yes. I needed to smell and feel the air today.”

  Kumiko’s purse hung from her arm as she walked to the front door, “Ok, Mr. Push. I cook some dinner for you in the kitchen. My ride is here now.”

  I strode into my kitchen, but not for the dinner. I poured myself a glass of some good bourbon, neat, and lit a cigar. Kumiko would not be very pleased about the smell of smoke the next time she was over, but she never stayed angry at me for too long.

  I finished off two glasses and the cigar, then made my way to my bedroom. I took off my socks, hoodie, and t-shirt. Not bothering with my ripped jeans, I landed in my bed.

  I closed my eyes to zone in on the images of Nadia and to remember her scent. I unzipped my jeans, shoving them, along with my boxers down to mid-thigh. I s
pit into the palms of my hands, reached down and gripped my angry hardened cock. The vision Nadia’s crystal blue eyes were sad, but full of fiery heat just by my touch. I stroked my cock up and down slowly, her female scent driving my mind wild with lust. I squeezed myself, stroking faster and faster. I snarled and grunted as a long stream of cum shot out, splattering my stomach and chest.

  My eyes shot open at the first sound. It was dark and I was not alone. I rolled over to the nightstand. I slowly pulled the drawer open and found my Glock. Another sound. Footsteps. One coming to me from the living room. Other footsteps. One in the kitchen. I moved off my bed quietly and my bare feet padded lightly to the bedroom door that was ajar. I listened as the first man’s steps crept toward it. My back touched the wall, as I raised the Glock to just a bit above shoulder level, sensing the size of the intruder. Another step. My breathing was steady and calm. Another step. I squeezed the trigger. The bullet shattered through the door and into the side of the intruder’s temple. He went down.

  The other intruder stalked out of the kitchen as I stepped over the body, and rounded the door. Intruder number two wasn’t as quick and I took advantage of the darkness in my own home. I squeezed my Glock’s trigger rapidly three times, hitting the man in the chest, throat and forehead. He dropped. I moved back to the first dead body in my bedroom, rolling him over onto his back. He was dressed all in black, but wore no mask. He had dark hair with Italian or Greek facial features. I looked at his hands and noticed the tattoos. One hand was tattooed with the word FATE across his knuckles, and on the other hand was the word LUCK.

  I pulled my cell phone out of my back pocket and pushed Nolan’s name. He answered in two rings, his voice groggy. “Yeah.”

  “Lucas agreed on a meet, but he had other plans for me. There are two bodies bleeding all over my clean wood floors.”

  “I’m glad it’s not you bleeding on your wood floors. I’ll call up a crew to get there and clean up the mess.”

  I looked down at those tattooed hands again. “I’m going to take off a few pieces.” I hung up with Nolan, knelt down next to the body and pulled a switchblade from my back pocket. I cut off a few tattooed fingers, strode into my kitchen, and tossed them into a zip lock bag.

  CHAPTER 7

  NADIA

  The things Lucas had done to my body over and over again made me numb on the inside. I dreaded him. I avoided looking into his eyes as much as possible. I could not help myself from flinching at times when he touched me, which sometimes angered him. I found myself daydreaming by the window in the townhouse, fantasizing about escaping to Push, or him coming to rescue me from my cage.

  I sat only inches away from Push at the bar lounge in the MGM. His touch sent a pleasurable tingling between my thighs. I felt my nipples harden when he brushed his warm lips across the top of my hand. My heart was lifted when Push gave me the address to his townhome in DC, not too far from me. There was no way I would forget it: Thirty-three Potomac Street, North West. I said it over and over again in my head, visualizing the words. Being near him made my chest feel light, after so many weeks of feeling heavy and sad. I had been hopeless for so long. But just knowing that Push was there gave me new hope.

  I couldn’t have pulled it off without the help of Mack and I knew my secret was safe with him. I couldn’t trust anyone, but him. Luck was on my side that day because Lucas had no idea that I had seen Push instead of having lunch with Christina.

  Lucas had one of his monsters summon me to his office the next morning, following too close behind me and shutting the door.

  Even though Lucas slapped me across the face the day before, he was all smiles when I entered his office.

  He was dressed in a grey suit, fresh and clean shaven. His arms were wide open, beckoning me to come to him, “Come here, Nadia.”

  I was timid, stepping up to him hesitantly. He wrapped his arms around me, “You seem to have rested well,” He leaned away looking down at me, with a smirk, “Especially after ravishing you last night. I could tell you liked it very much, my little dove.”

  The monster chuckled low at that, his eyes roaming over me. I cringed. “Yes, Lucas.”

  He released me, moving around to sit at his desk, “Have a seat, Nadi. I’m going to discuss a few things with you.”

  I sat down in a winged back chair across from him. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, knowing that his one monster was right there with us.

  “With this arrangement I have made with your father comes many rewards and responsibilities for me. With you at my side, I will have this city by the balls!” Lucas’s eyes turned fiery, “Old Gabe will be ready to hand over all his business dealings to me.”

  I had been a burden to my father all my life. Giving me away to Lucas was a way for him to wash his hands of me. But I knew my father well enough to know that he would not just hand over his empire on a silver platter to Lucas. At least not willingly. I wanted to laugh at Lucas at that moment, and struggled to keep myself from smirking.

  “May I speak freely, Lucas?”

  Lucas smiled, “Yes my little dove, you may.”

  “My father gave me to you, but he will not give up his business empire. Not to you. Not to anyone.” And then it happened. My lips lifted and I smiled at him.

  I was out of the chair as Lucas came around his desk. He slapped me hard across the face with the back of his hand, knocking me to the floor. Everything was spinning around me. I touched the side of my lip, tasting my own blood. I scurried away from him on my hands and knees.

  He stalked toward me, “If you ever smile like that at me again, I will slice your pretty little face up with a carving knife!”

  Lucas bent down and grabbed my arms, jerking me back up to my feet. There was a knock at the door, halting him. “What!” He bellowed.

  His other monster, who stood outside the office entered, “One of Takata’s men are here to see you. I searched him, he’s clean.”

  Lucas shoved me away and I stumbled back, wiping my lip with the back of my hand. A young slender Japanese man appeared in the doorway. He wore a black suit, blue tie, and held a small ornate wooden box. He walked to Lucas and stopped several feet away and bowed, “My name is Yuto. I have been instructed by Mr. Takata to bring you this box.”

  Lucas moved back around his desk and sat, grumbling, “Bring it over.”

  Yuto looked at me before he placed the little box in front of Lucas. He bowed again, turned and left the office. Lucas’s eyes did not leave Yuto until he disappeared. Then he turned his attention to the box.

  He opened the lid and lifted a bloody plastic bag, and tossed it on the desk. I craned my neck to see what was in the bag. It was two human fingers. One was tattooed with the letter F, the other with the letter U. I stumbled backwards, bumping into the chair, and screamed.

  “What is it, Boss?” His monster was there suddenly, standing so close behind me that my back bumped into his chest.

  Lucas’s brows knotted, his eyes glared at the bloody bag, “A botched job. That’s what it is.”

  I spun around, shoving away from his monster, and ran out of the office. “Nadia! Get back here!” Lucas roared.

  I ran into the bedroom that I shared with Lucas, slamming the door, and fetched my phone from the nightstand to call Mack.

  “Yes, Ms. Russo?”

  “Mack, I need you to take me to Push’s house.”

  “I can do that Ms. Russo, but we need to be careful-”

  “I know, Mack. I just need to get out of here! I cannot breathe!”

  “Yes, Ms. Russo. I will have your car ready and will be in front of your house in five minutes.”

  I hung up with Mack, fetched my purse and hurried out of the room. Lucas’s other monster confronted me before I made it to the front door, “Where are you running to blondie?”

  I just had to get to the front door or I would die. I lifted my eyes to the monster, “Get out of my way.”

  His head fell back, chuckling. Lucas stood in the doo
rway of his office and shouted at me. “Get out of my sight!”

  The monster stepped aside and I rushed to the front door. I stepped outside and gulped in some air as Mack pulled up front in my Lincoln Continental. I hurried down the stairs and climbed into the backseat.

  “Thirty-three Potomac Street, Northwest, Mack. Please hurry!”

  Mack shifted into drive and accelerated. “Yes, Ms. Russo.”

  Ten minutes later, Mack pulled the car up in front of the red brick townhome on the corner of Potomac Street. I climbed up the brick stairs and knocked on the black door. A short elderly Asian woman greeted me.

  I smiled at her, clutching my purse, “Hello, my name is Nadia. I am a friend of Push. May I speak with him?”

  The Asian woman’s eyes were kind and she smiled, moving aside. “Please come, come, Nadia. I tell him.”

  She hurried through the massive foyer. My jaw dropped as I looked around at the immaculate entrance way. Push appeared, moving toward me with a smooth swagger, his eyes dark. I hurled myself onto him, clinging to him and broke down crying.

  He wrapped his arms around me, stroking my hair with his warm hand, “Shh, Nadia.” He whispered into my ear.

  “He tried to have you killed?”

  “Yes, he did.”

  I leaned back, so that I could look at those pitch-black eyes. The same eyes that frightened me when I was young, but now made my heart skip a beat.

  “But why?”

  “He wants your father’s business, and his power, but that’s not enough for him. He wants it all. And to do that, he has to get rid of me, Nolan, and Mr. Takata’s entire organization.”

  Push’s lips were set in a straight line as he stared down at me. He reached up, and brushed his thumb across my bottom lip, “He hit you again.”

  “I’m ok” Even though my lip quivered.

  “I want to taste your lips, Nadia.” His voice was deep, full of hunger

  “Please, Push? Taste me!” I begged.

  He dipped down and brushed his lips across mine softly. My breath hitched at the heated energy between us. He bent down then, lifting me off my feet, “You belong to me, Nadia!” he growled, crashing his mouth against mine. I clung to his massive shoulders, kissing him back, as he carried me through the house and laid me on his bed.