The Skull Crusher

by Penelope Sky

  The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “Just when I thought I was satisfied, you say something like that…and I want you all over again.”

  “I mean it. I’m not bluffing.”

  “I know…and that’s why it’s so sexy.”

  16

  BALTO

  I always woke up before Cassini, so I changed my clothes and headed to the gym on the first floor.

  Heath was there. With headphones over his ears while he did bicep curls with a heavy bar, sweat was marked across his brow and his neck. His lips were pressed tightly together as he pumped out his reps.

  Just looking at him pissed me off.

  Heath racked his bar when he noticed me. “Still pissed—”

  I slammed my fist into his face.

  He stumbled back slightly then wiped the blood that dripped from his nose. “I’ll take that as a yes…”

  “I told you my place was off-limits, and you didn’t listen to me.”

  “You left her alone for four days—”

  “Doesn’t fucking matter. If she needed something, she could call me. She doesn’t need some asshole barging in there pretending to be me.”

  “I wasn’t pretending to be you. I was just having a bit of fun…but she didn’t fall for it.”

  Because the woman really knew me. She knew how I looked at her, how I spoke to her, and how I treated her. It was an indirect line of loyalty that she showed me. My brother and I looked identical so she had to be attracted to him, but she didn’t hesitate to smash a glass lamp over his head and pull a gun on him. It was clear exactly where her commitment was. “Because she knows who she’s sleeping with.”

  “Come on, you know I wouldn’t have done anything if she actually thought I was you.”

  “Because I would have killed you.”

  “No,” he corrected. “Because that woman actually means something to you.”

  “Yet, you don’t hesitate to stare at her legs and imagine them wrapped around your head.”

  Heath shrugged. “She’s a beautiful woman. What do you want me to say? I’m a man, and you can’t expect me not to think like a man.”

  “But I can expect you to behave like a brother. I warned you if you had a mishap, I’d throw you back in that hellhole.”

  “That was work-related, not personally related.”

  “Same thing to me.”

  He wiped away the last few drops of blood before he crossed his arms over his chest. “I apologized. Can we move on?”

  I knew my brother wouldn’t have crossed the line more than he did. His behavior wasn’t acceptable, but it wasn’t unforgivable. Cassini looked so sexy in that thin top and boxers that I could hardly blame him. “Don’t do that again.”

  “You have my word.”

  “And don’t go up there again.”

  He nodded. “Fine. But what if I need to talk to her?”

  “Why would you need to talk to her?”

  “I don’t know, because we’re neighbors? Because she’s my brother’s girlfriend? Because—”

  “She’s not my girlfriend.” I kept my voice simple, but my tone deepened. I hated that phrase, that label. It was a term teenagers used. I was no teenager. I was a fucking man. I was a Skull King. The only phrase that actually meant something to me was wife—and I would never have a wife. A woman was either nothing or something. There was no in-between.

  “Then what is she?”

  “A woman I’m fucking.”

  Heath rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say. You’ve never fucked a single woman for two months.”

  “But I’ve never been with the wife of my enemy.”

  He shook his head. “You were fucking her long before that. You can pretend that’s the reason, but we both know that’s bullshit. She knows it’s bullshit too.”

  “She said that?” If that woman suspected she actually meant something to me, I had a serious problem on my hands. She didn’t press me on my bedroom activities before I’d realized she was married to Lucian. She must have suspected I hadn’t been with anyone else, but I just didn’t want to admit it. She was wasting her time because I would never confess to that.

  “No, but that’s a smart woman. She knocked the gun out of my hand, slammed that lamp on my head, and then pointed the barrel right at my face. I brushed it off at the time, but it was fucking impressive. She thinks quick on her feet. And she’s got one hell of a mouth on her. I was only around her for a few minutes, but I understand your obsession.”

  When the doors had opened and I observed the scene in front of me, there was definitely a glow of pride inside my chest. Heath was a strong man with quick reflexes, but my woman managed to put him in his place. It didn’t seem like I needed to give him a worse punishment.

  “So can I have a relationship with the woman?”

  “She doesn’t want one with you.”

  “I can win her over. You obviously did.”

  “I’ve never pulled a stunt like that.”

  “No, but I’m sure you’ve done much worse.” He stepped closer to me. “If this woman is going to be around for the long haul, we need to bury the hatchet and form an alliance. Lucian will try to take her at some point, and if I’m here and you aren’t, it’s my responsibility to keep her safe. I’m the last line of defense.”

  I couldn’t argue with that. “She doesn’t like you, Heath.”

  “She didn’t like you either, and she’s fucking your brains out.”

  “Not the same thing.”

  “Let me take her out to dinner—”

  “Not gonna happen.” Some other guy wasn’t taking my woman anywhere.

  “Then convince her to come down for a drink. I wanna make nice, alright?”

  “Why is this so important to you?” My brother never cared whether someone liked him or not. He never cared about making amends with someone he wronged. He did whatever he wanted without thinking about anyone but himself. Why was Cassini any different?

  He lowered his arms and prepared to turn away. “Because she’s important to you, brother.”

  FALL WAS NOW APPROACHING WINTER, and the air was noticeably colder. When I worked late at night, there was always frost on my windshield when I left it in the garage all night. Now I wore long-sleeved shirts and light jackets when I left the house. Dressed in a black leather jacket and a white V-neck shirt, I was ready to take Cassini to visit with her brothers.

  She came down the hallway, dressed in black leggings, tan booties, and a maroon sweater that covered her ass. Her hair was curled, and she wore the hoop earrings I bought for her. My personal shopper did a great job dressing her, finding the perfect clothes to amplify her stunning beauty. I preferred the short dresses where her cleavage was visible, but even when she was completely covered, she was still the sexiest thing in the world. “Morning.”

  “It’s noon.”

  “That’s morning to me.” She helped herself to a mug of coffee before she sat across from me. She skipped her meal because she didn’t usually eat first thing in the morning. She usually watched me eat my boring breakfast of fish or egg whites. “Since you keep me up so late…” She brought the steaming coffee to her lips and took a drink.

  “I wouldn’t be much of a man if I didn’t keep you up late.”

  She stared into her coffee mug. “Why are you dressed so nice?”

  I glanced down at my clothes. “Nice?”

  “If you’re staying home, you don’t really wear much at all. And you hardly go to work during the day. You must have some plans.”

  “My plans are none of your business.”

  She lifted her gaze and gave me a cold look. “Let’s stop that bullshit right now. If I’m going to live with you however long this takes, you need to stop shutting me down like I don’t matter. I do matter—and we both know it. I treat you with respect, so you need to treat me with respect.”

  “Believe it or not, I do treat you with respect.”

  “How so?”

  “You don’t
have any bruises, right?” I drank my coffee and watched the fire dance in her eyes. Truth be told, I liked her more when she stood up to me, when she called me out on my bullshit. She was right in being upset. She was also right that I was doing the best I could to make her feel insignificant—because she was very significant.

  “That’s not respect. That’s human decency.”

  “Well, I’m not a decent human. We both know that.”

  “I think you’re noble, just, and fair. Hitting me wouldn’t be fair, and that’s why you haven’t done it. I also think talking to me like that isn’t fair since you and I are committed partners. If this relationship is monogamous, then I have the right to ask where you’re going.”

  I wanted to kiss her when she got all bossy like that. “Wrong. Monogamy means you have the right to ask for my fidelity. It means you have the right to be the only woman I fuck. You own a piece of me—but just a small amount. I own all of you, and you’re my prisoner. The rest of me is off-limits.”

  She set her coffee mug down and leaned forward. “You just cost yourself a night of sex.”

  The corner of my mouth rose in a smile. “Sure, baby. Whatever you say.”

  “I mean it.”

  “All I have to do is pin you down and kiss that delicious pussy of yours, and you’ll be begging me to fuck you. Word of advice from an experienced leader, don’t make empty threats. It just makes you look weak when you cave.” I rose from the table and grabbed my mug. “I’m going to see your brothers today—and you’re coming with me.”

  She looked horrified by the news rather than relieved. “Why didn’t you just tell me that in the first place?”

  “I would have if you hadn’t interrogated me.”

  “I didn’t interrogate you. I just asked a simple question.”

  “Well, if you didn’t ask me at all, I would have told you.”

  She slammed her mug down on the table. “You need to get off your little power trip and chill out. Establishing power by being an asshole just makes you an asshole. I’m not one of your men, and I’m not your enemy. I understand you don’t know how to do that, but you need to figure out another way because these tactics just make you look like a douchebag.”

  17

  BALTO

  We drove across the city in my old truck.

  She was quiet on her side, saying nothing to me after her little tantrum back at the house.

  If someone else spoke to me that way, I would be pissed and lay down the law. But listening to her tell me off and insult me was oddly arousing. Everyone I met was afraid of me, except whores because they knew I was a good-paying customer, and this woman had every reason to be afraid of me—only she wasn’t.

  She refused to be pushed around and treated with less respect than she deserved.

  Reminded me of myself.

  The way her green eyes lit up like flames when she was really pissed was so sexy. All I wanted to do was throw her on the table and fuck her into submission. I took this woman as much as I could, but it never made me want her less. It never made me want someone else instead. I refused to admit she was the only one because that would give her way too much power.

  The fact that she had any power at all was sexy.

  This woman was taking more and more from me without even realizing it.

  It’d been thirty minutes since her last spoken word. Now she broke the silence, looking out the window so she wouldn’t have to look at me. “Why are we seeing Case and Dirk? Or are you going to refuse to tell me that?”

  My mouth raised in a smile, loving her smartass attitude. “It was part of the deal we made.”

  “And what deal is that?”

  “That I would bring you to visit once a week.”

  “In exchange for?”

  “Nothing. I just felt bad for them. Once you earn your freedom from me, you can visit them on your own.”

  She adopted a whiny, childlike voice as she said, “Once you earn your freedom from me…” Full of sass and annoyance, she mocked me with such disdain.

  It only amused me. “I can turn around if you’d like.”

  That shut her up.

  I expected her to make a comment about my old truck, but she never did. She was used to luxury with Lucian, driving a Bugatti herself. My truck still had a CD and cassette player. It was built long before Bluetooth. I’d had it for nearly twelve years, and the transmission was still good. Driving around in an expensive car only increased unwanted attention. And I didn’t care about showing off my wealth. The ring on my finger was worth at least a billion euro. There was no vehicle that compared to that.

  Cassini didn’t seem to care—and that made me like her even more.

  We arrived at the factory then walked inside.

  “Play nice, alright?” she asked as she looked at me over her shoulder.

  “Who brought you here?” I took the lead and made her walk behind me.

  We entered the kitchen first, the place where I’d confronted Case the first time. He was there now, wearing a white chef’s jacket as he worked on a new recipe. He’d just pulled the pasta out of the boiling pot and placed it in a strainer in the stainless-steel sink.

  When he spotted my large frame in the corner of his eye, he met my look. Visibly annoyed and displeased, he didn’t hide his disdain from me. That was more apparent when his eyes shifted to his sister. He didn’t show a lot of emotion, but just the light changes in his eyes and mouth showed the unconditional love and powerful bond he had for her. Even if he hadn’t proven his adoration when he came to the Underground, I would have spotted it now. But he didn’t give her any affection, and the look quickly faded away. “Hey, Cassini.”

  She came around the island and hugged him from the side as he stood at the sink. “I missed you.”

  He gave her a one-armed hug and kissed her forehead. “I missed you too, sorella.”

  Sister.

  “What are you making?” She looked down into the strainer and saw the fettuccini that was still steaming. She picked up a noodle to place in her mouth.

  He smacked it away. “Don’t be a pig.”

  “I’m hungry. The only hot meals I get at Balto’s place are fish and chicken.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad to me.” He shook the strainer and dropped the pasta into a large bowl.

  She stuck out her tongue. “You’re both annoying.”

  He moved back to the stove, where he had sauce cooking in a pan. “I’m trying a new recipe, something a bit spicier. Trying to figure out if it would be better over pasta or stuffed inside lasagna.”

  “Lasagna,” she blurted. “But let’s try it anyway.”

  “Who said this was for you?” he asked with a chuckle.

  “Oh, come on,” she whined. “I haven’t had a home-cooked pasta meal in forever. And where is your Italian hospitality?”

  “I’m running a business, not a hospitality service.”

  “Well, I own a third of that service, so a third of that is mine.”

  He sighed and smiled at the same time. “Alright. I’ll get it ready.”

  She clapped her hands excitedly. “I knew you’d cave.”

  Case turned to me. “You want any, Balto?”

  “No thanks.” I was surprised he even asked. It was unlike an Italian to feed their enemy.

  “Yes, he’ll have some,” Cassini said. “This is the real deal. You aren’t going to pass it up because you’re afraid of carbs.”

  Just a few carbs made a big difference. My frame was so muscled and tight because I didn’t eat carbs, which meant there weren’t any carbs to turn to sugar then to fat. It was the best way to keep this chiseled frame. “I said no—”

  “And I said yes.” She turned to her brother. “Make him a plate. I’m going to say hi to Dirk.” She headed for the kitchen door. “Don’t kill each other while I’m gone.”

  The door swung shut, and minutes of silence passed afterward.

  Case prepared the plates and broke the tension. �
��To answer your unspoken question, yes, she’s always been that bossy.”

  “I figured.” Judging by the way she pushed her brothers around, she’d been that way for a long time.

  “Have you reconsidered our offer?” He placed the dirty dishes in the sink to be cleaned later.

  “No. And I won’t.”

  He wiped his hands on a towel as he looked at me, his disappointment obvious.

  “Just be grateful I’ve allowed her to continue her relationship with you. And definitely be grateful that I’m good to her.”

  “Good to her?” he asked with a chuckle. “Keeping her as a prisoner is your idea of being good to her.”

  “Trust me, it could be a lot worse.” I’d seen suffering that most people couldn’t imagine. I broke a man’s skull with my shoe, as I’d done dozens of times before. It was my favorite way to execute my enemies. One day, that was exactly how Lucian would die.

  “I guess we have different definitions of worse.” Case was unusual because he wasn’t afraid to challenge me, whether we were alone or in a room full of people. His bravery wasn’t a façade or false display of masculinity. He was a true man down to the bone. He refused to be intimidated, but he was also highly logical, making pragmatic decisions that spared his life. He didn’t want to fold when I demanded a cut of my business, but he was smart enough to understand he had no other choice. He didn’t think with emotion, but reason. His sister was very similar in that regard.

  “When are you going to tell her about your little operation?”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t told her already,” he countered.

  “It’s not my secret to tell.”

  His eyes softened, just slightly.

  “I’m not a rat. But you need to tell her because she’ll eventually figure out that we had some kind of relationship before this came about. She’s very smart…which can be fucking annoying. And I’m not a liar. If she presses me into a corner, I’m going to have to admit there’s something there. Then she’ll be even more pissed off when she marches to your door and discovers the horrifying truth. And trust me, she’ll be horrified.”