A shiver of pleasure went up my spine at the intensity in his voice and eyes. There was no doubt in my mind he would indeed come through on that promise.
“Noted, big guy,” I said with a wink, pulling away from him. “Someday I might have to test that, though—you never know what life will bring in this dark world we share.”
“Come on, let’s get out of here before they change their minds and lock you away in the bedroom,” Picasso muttered, heading out.
I gave the guys a girly finger wave and blew a kiss before skipping down the steps of the house. Picasso led me to a small one-and-a-half car garage off to the side of the clubhouse and entered in the code to the keypad. The door lifted, and there was my beautiful baby, the fading sunlight filling the garage with a pink glow.
Running a hand along the hood, I unlocked the door and slid into the front seat. Pushing the start button, the Camaro purred to life, the throaty exhaust music to my ears. After days of being unable to go anywhere I wanted, this was pure bliss. Pulling out of the garage, I found Picasso on his bike, ready and waiting for me. I took a moment to sync up my phone and cranked up the volume as Halestorm’s Love Bites (So Do I) blasted through the sound system.
Let’s see what kind of fun Picasso can have.
I drove at a normal pace out of the compound, seeing as the driveway wasn’t super smooth, but once we hit pavement, I gunned it. The engine roared to life, and I was off like a shot, whooping my joy as I ate up the miles.
The familiar growl of a motorcycle came from behind, letting me know Picasso was up for the challenge. With the sun setting, the sky was cast in warm tones of orange, pink, and yellow, setting the stage for a great drive. Rolling down the windows, I let the warm breeze flow through the car. My bliss was short-lived, though, as my phone started sounding, loading all the missed messages, calls, and notifications from the past few days.
Knowing that most of them would be from Harper, I decided the best thing to do was to just call her back. Rolling up the windows and killing the music, I hit her speed dial, and one ring later, she answered.
“You better have died for you to fall off the planet like that, missy!” Harper screeched. “Do you know how worried I was? Weston wouldn’t even tell me what happened, no matter how much I begged. I got my first gray hair from you, I’ll have you know! Expect a bill from me for the hair salon to fix what you did to me!”
Rolling my eyes, I leaned back as she continued to rant about how I was the world’s worst friend and so on. Fifteen minutes later, when she had ranted herself out, I knew it was safe to try and talk.
“Hi Harper, how are you? The past few days have been hell for me, but let’s not focus on that. I’ll finally be home tonight, if you want to catch up?”
At this, Harper started to laugh like she was the Wicked Witch of the West. “Dax Rose Blackmore, there not a snowball’s chance in hell you are getting away without giving me some kind of explanation.”
I grinned as an idea came to me. “If you want to come over, I will explain everything to you until you’re satisfied. Sound fair?”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Harper said, and the call was cut off.
Should I call her back and tell her that I was still thirty minutes away? Nah, she’d figure it out.
Pulling up to the house, I saw Harper’s cute little red Fiat parked along the street. I smirked as I saw her sitting on the steps to the front door, her lips turned down in a deep frown. I left the door open as Picasso pulled in after me, and I motioned him to put his bike inside.
Seconds later, Harper was all up in my face. “You could have told me that you were going to take that long! Seriously, how inconsiderate can you be, Dax?”
“I was going to tell you, but you hung up before I could say anything,” I defended.
“Ha! You could have texted me, or hell, even called me back to share that tidbit of info. Why do you hate me?” Harper pouted, actual tears welling up in her eyes.
She knew that the one thing I could never win against was her crying. “No, nope, none of that,” I said pointing my finger at her eyes. “This is not serious enough for you to use that on me. This isn’t the first time I’ve been gone for a few days.”
Harper sniffled a few times and used her knuckle to wipe under her eyes, then froze, her eyes widening in surprise. I’d forgotten about Picasso with all her theatrics. Miracle of miracles, her tears dried up, and she was shaking out her hair and checking how many buttons she had open on her button-down silk blouse. Shaking my head at her, I half-turned so she could get a better look at him.
“Oh, hello, Dax didn’t mention she had someone with her,” Harper said, giving me a glare and holding her hand out to Picasso. “I’m Harper, Dax’s best friend.”
He took her manicured hand and shook it gently, looking very out of place with the whole interaction. “Picasso.”
“This is the reason I have been MIA the last few days. We met at the party, and we hit it off so well I went to spend some time with him at his house.” I smiled as I snaked my arm around his waist and slid my hand up under his shirt so my palm was resting on his stomach. “With how crazy things got, I didn’t know where you got to, and I let Weston know not to worry but realized I didn’t give him much to go on other than I was alright. You know how it can get when you’re swept away in the passion of things.”
Picasso froze under my touch, but as I talked, he relaxed and let his arm rest over my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. “She begged me to come back with her since she didn’t want to leave but she already canceled a few days of clients. I just couldn’t let her abandon everything to stay with me.”
Look at this cheeky asshole, making it sound like I’m the desperate one. Game on, my friend. Game on.
“Well, since your brother had to go back to work, it just isn’t the same without both of you involved, you know. It seems I have a sex drive that can wear out two badass biker dudes. Lucky for them, they had some friends who were down to play when they needed naps,” I said, patting his stomach before I started walking for the front door, leaving him gaping at me.
Harper was right on my heels. “You’re telling me that you went missing for a three-day sexcipade?!”
“You told me that I needed to let loose and get some.” I shrugged as I unlocked the door, letting us all into the house. “I’m sorry, did you want to join us?” I asked as I hung my keys on the hook in the kitchen.
“I love you girl, but no. I don’t think we will ever be at the level to do something like that,” Harper said, smirking at me. “So where are the other friends that were involved? Are they all that hot?” she whispered as I grabbed a beer out of the fridge.
I leaned in, seeing Picasso taking in the house. “Hotter.”
Harper groaned and flopped down on the barstool, head down on the counter. “Why don’t these things happen to me???”
“Guess you just need to keep trying, babe. I never expected to be all but kidnapped by five men at a party,” I consoled, rubbing her back. “So how do we feel about pizza and wings? Weston is gone for a few days on a consulting job and we all know I’m banned from the kitchen.”
“Sounds perfect, but I’m going to steal a shirt because I can’t risk getting grease on this fabric,” Harper said, heading upstairs. “Order us the usual, k’ babe?”
While Harper went to raid my room, I headed straight for Picasso. “You will not utter one word about Two Tricks, the Hidden Empire, our deal, or that you are with the Phantom Saints, am I clear? She knows nothing about that part of my life, and I plan to keep it that way.”
“Let me guess—you also want me to play along with this story you made up about us too,” Picasso said, grabbing the beer out of my hand and taking a long pull from the bottle.
I nodded yes.
“Fine, but just know that you are the one who came up with the story, not me.”
Scowling at him, I went back to the kitchen to grab another beer and dialed our favorite pizza p
lace.
“Thank you for calling Lucifer’s Pizza, my name is Beth, how can I help you?”
“Hey Beth, it’s Dax,” I answered.
“Oh, hey girl! Are we doing the usual with wings or without?”
“With wings, but we are going to need the version for three people,” I said, trying to keep my voice down, seeing that Picasso was looking at me with raised eyebrows.
“You got it girl. We are delivering that to the same place, right?”
“Yup.”
“Alright, I got that all set for you, and we will put it on the tab. Should be to you guys in like twenty minutes!”
“Thanks Beth. Have a good night,” I said, hanging up.
“Eagle would have a fit if he knew that you ordered out enough to be on a first-name basis with the employees and have a ‘usual,’” Picasso laughed.
Rolling my eyes, I waved for him to follow me past the kitchen into the family room, or as we called it, “the cave.” It was painted a dark gray, setting off the stark white wall that the projector showed on. There were three recliners on a platform along the back wall and a large couch that was almost as deep as a bed. Pillows and blankets were scattered over the lower couch, making it a cozy nest to curl up in. Cupholders were cut into the fabric near the back of the couch for convenience.
“What the hell is this?” Picasso asked as he took in the room. “Is that a popcorn machine?”
I grinned at him as I crawled onto the couch. “You didn’t think we would just eat microwave popcorn like heathens, did you?”
“You can’t cook in the kitchen but you can use that thing to make popcorn?” Picasso questioned.
“No, I’m the one who makes the popcorn,” Harper shared, entering the room in a pair of my shorts and a t-shirt, which meant they turned into booty shorts and a crop top. “She will smoke us out of here if she touches that thing. This is the third one they’ve bought because she killed the other two.”
I watched Picasso as Harper made her way to the mini-fridge where her girly drinks were kept, but he didn’t follow her movements. Instead, he walked over to the built-in bookcases filled with hundreds of movies and TV shows. Trying to stifle my grin, I took a pull from my beer as Harper took her spot in the corner with her favorite blanket.
“What should we watch tonight?” I asked, knowing the battle that was about to begin.
Harper popped up and grabbed the notebook off the counter. “Let’s see, you picked the first movie last time, which was Alien vs. Predator, and my pick was Sleepless in Seattle. Guess that means I get to pick first this time!”
“Do I get a say in what we watch?” Picasso interjected.
“Actually, I don’t know—there’s never been a guest over for a pizza and movie night,” Harper said, tapping her painted nail on her chin. “I guess we just do what we do when Weston joins us.”
“What is that, exactly?” Picasso asked.
I rolled off the couch and walked over to a cabinet, opening the doors to reveal a dartboard. “The first person to get a bullseye gets to pick the movie.”
A wide smile grew on Picasso’s face. “Now this I can get behind! Alright, I’ll go first since this is your home turf and you have the advantage.”
“How about I even give you one extra throw to even it out?” I offered.
Harper paused and looked at me with a shocked expression. I just frowned at her and handed two darts to Picasso. Showing him where to stand, I stepped back and waited as he settled in for his first throw. After a moment, he sent the dart sailing down the length of the room, and it hit just outside the bullseye. Shifting a little, he threw the second, hitting dead center.
“Wait, he didn’t play the right way though,” Harper interjected.
“Different rules for this situation, babe,” I said, flinging my dart over my shoulder as I walked back to the couch.
“The fuck?!” Picasso blurted, letting me know it had indeed also hit the bullseye. “How do you normally play?”
“Depends on how heated the argument or how badly the other wants to win, but they’re always blindfolded. Sometimes they spin each other around or do some other crazy thing to throw them off their game,” Harper said as she plucked her movie off the shelf, ignoring the fish impression Picasso was doing. “Alright, we’re gonna start the night off with Crazy Rich Asians!”
Picasso leaned down until I could feel the heat of his breath on my skin. “Does she always pick chick movies?”
“Every single time. But she’s taking pity on you—this isn’t as bad as you think. It’s actually kinda funny,” I whispered back. “Now go pick what you want to watch.”
Harper danced over to the DVD player, and I got everything turned on and cued up for us when the sound of the doorbell echoed in the room.
“I’ll grab it, it’s probably the pizza,” I called as I headed for the front door.
Glancing at the security feed that popped up on my phone, I saw that it was indeed the pizza, but it was a new driver. Tino was typically who they sent to our place, knowing that we didn’t like just anyone coming to the house. Lucifer’s was one of the businesses that hired us for protection, so they knew who I was and who I worked for. Weston and I had worked out a deal with the owner to make sure only vetted staff knew our address.
I paused and walked over to the closet, where I had a single handgun safe bolted to the wall. Placing my hand on it so it could scan my palm, the safe popped open, and I grabbed the gun. Walking slowly to the door, I watched the guy holding the insulated delivery bag, but his head was down and he wasn’t looking around or getting impatient at the wait. Nothing about this sat right with me. Clicking the intercom on, I listened for a moment, but the man’s breathing was calm and steady.
“Hey, thanks for the delivery. Could you leave it at the door? I’ve got my hands full dealing with a sick pet,” I said into the intercom.
The man shifted and opened the bag and set the food off to the side, but what also spilled out was a handgun. Quick as I could while he was bent over, I tossed the locks and yanked the door open, hitting the guy over the head with the butt of my gun. He dropped to the ground, thankfully not on top of our food. Shoving my gun into the back of my waistband, I grabbed the food and brought it to the cave, making sure I didn’t show off my back.
“Pizza! Hey, let me go grab some plates and stuff out of the kitchen, I’ll be right back,” I said as I backed out of the room again, rushing to the front door.
Grabbing the man under his armpits, I pulled him into the house and over to the garage door. Once in the garage, I pushed a set of shelves to the side, revealing a hidden door to the basement. Hoisting the stranger up, I dragged him down the stairs, his feet thudding on the steps as we went. Bless Weston for making sure we did soundproofing through the whole thing. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I heaved the man into the metal chair that was bolted to the concrete floor and strapped him in. I plucked one of the gags off the wall, wanting to make extra sure that my guests wouldn’t know this man was down here if he decided to wake up screaming in the dark.
“God, it’s good to be home,” I sighed as I jogged back up the steps and covered the entrance. I grabbed two fresh beers, plates, and everything else we needed before heading back to the cave.
“What did you pick out, Picasso?” I asked, setting things down as if I didn’t just tie a man up in my basement.
“Windtalkers. I’ve never seen it, but I heard it’s a good movie,” Picasso said as we all got comfy to watch Harper’s choice first.
“I warned you the Ringburner wasn’t a joke,” I teased as Picasso glared at me when he came back from the bathroom.
“It wasn’t that spicy to eat, how was I supposed to know the exit was gonna be worse?” he grumbled.
Harper and I just laughed as we picked up before heading into the kitchen.
“Ah, I forget how much fun it is the first time someone eats that pizza,” Harper sighed, a smile on her lips. “The sauce on the wings was
extra in the best way tonight, too.”
“Do you two even have a stomach lining left after eating shit like that?” Picasso asked.
Sticking out my bottom lip, I walked up and rubbed his stomach. “Poor baby, was it too much for you to handle?”
He batted my hand away and frowned down at me. “Only a demon like you would enjoy something that fucking spicy. You could have at least warned me before I ate one.”
Grinning, I divided the leftover wings and gave half to Harper as she grabbed her stuff to head out.
“Thanks for making time for me in your sex-filled life,” Harper said, then winked at Picasso. “Hopefully I’ll get to meet his brother and friends sometime soon.”
“You never know.” I shrugged, walking her to the front door. “Stranger things have happened.”
As I opened it, I noticed the delivery guy’s gun was still on the stoop, so I walked out with her to her car, making sure she didn’t notice it. Harper was my one pure goodness that I allowed in my life, and I wanted to do everything in my power to keep it that way.
“Talk to you soon, love ya babe,” Harper said, blowing me a kiss as she got in her car.
Waving, I headed back to the house, wracking my brain as I tried to figure out how I was going to deal with the stranger in my basement. It was too coincidental that the night I got home with one of the Phantom Saints, an armed stranger showed up at my door. This needed to be handled without Picasso knowing until I could figure out what I was dealing with. Finding him in the kitchen putting the dishes in the dishwasher, I couldn’t help but smile. His brother has trained him so well he just couldn’t help himself
“Come on, let me show you where you’re sleeping,” I called, waving for him to follow.
I brought him all the way up to my floor and stopped at the little living room that I had. Walking over to the couch, I pulled off the cushions and pushed the coffee table out of the way. Seeing what I was up to, Picasso grabbed the handle for the bed and pulled it out. It was brand new—no one had ever slept on it before—so I had no idea if it was comfortable or not. I headed for the closet in my art room where I kept the extra sheets I bought for it. When I turned around, I almost crashed into him as he stood, taking in my studio.
Two Tricks (Hidden Empire Book 1) Page 16