CHOKE: A Dark Bad Boy Romance

by Ella Wolfe

Skye had, of course, demanded that she come, and as much as I tried to stop her, she was incredibly persistent. If I hadn’t let her in the car, she would’ve, no doubt, found a way to follow me. I was worried for her, though, and I wished would stay behind until I scoped out the place and hopefully found the man we were looking for. It was especially worrying when I thought about how the place was so dangerous that all my contacts—big, burly, men who weren’t scared of anything—had warned me adamantly to stay away.

  We approached the building carefully, eyes peeled. I kept up my persona of confidence to reassure both Skye and myself. My shoulders were back, my chin up, and my stride assured, as I prepared for whatever came our way.

  “Stop.” A voice called out as we climbed the stairs to the—front door.

  I almost hadn’t seen him when we approached, his dark suit blending in the shadows of the building.

  “State your name and purpose.”

  If it was at any other time, I might have cracked a smile at his completely blank face and tone, but I remained as impassive as he was.

  “Knox DeChard. I’m looking for a Vincent Milano.” I willed Skye to stay silent beside me and, thankfully, she did. The man’s eyes flickered to Skye for a moment, but, almost simultaneously, I stepped slightly in front of her, a physical barrier between them. The guard understood my non-verbal message completely and, thankfully, didn’t press it, shifting his gaze back to mine.

  “And why exactly do you need to meet with him?” The man continued, with his same monotonous voice.

  “That’s something I’d like to discuss with him,” I replied.

  The man raised his eyebrows at me uncaringly, but he raised a hand to his ear, where there must have been an earpiece.

  “Frank, I have a Knox DeChard to see the boss.”

  A pause and then, “He won’t say. Just wants to speak with him.”

  Another brief silence, and then, “Okay, I’ll wait.”

  He looked at me as if asking whether I had gotten the message, and I nodded in agreement, sliding my hands into my pockets and preparing myself for a long wait.

  Skye turned to me, widening her eyes and gesturing subtly with her head at the man behind us. I could almost hear her saying, ‘this is so weird, right?’

  I nodded a fraction, trying not to let my apprehension show. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew we were potentially in more danger than we were prepared for, but it was too late to back out now.

  It was a surprisingly short time before the man lifted a hand to his earpiece again.

  “Come with me,” he called a moment later, turning on his heel and walking into the building. The guard led us through the ground floor and through the double doors at the other end of the level. On the other side was a courtyard of sorts, hidden away from the view of the street.

  We stood there waiting for a few moments, until we heard others approaching.

  Four men were walking towards us. Three of them I didn’t recognize, but one of them I did. I knew it wasn’t the man we were looking for, but, rather, his goons. The man I recognized, though, was one who frequented the club along with someone else. Suddenly the pieces of the puzzle began falling into place.

  Four men were walking toward us, and I realized immediately that none of them were the man we had come to see, but just a few of his goons. I raked my eyes over the men and found that I actually recognized one of them. He was a man who had come into the club not so long ago, but, what was really interesting, was the fact that he’d come with someone else. I almost released a sound of surprise as the pieces of the puzzle started falling into place. If this man worked for the same person who he’d gone to the club with, then that meant that Vincent Milano, the man we were looking for, was the leader of the mafia, Skye’s favorite client, and the man I’d seen beat up Cassetti a few weeks ago.

  “Knox DeChard,” one called, as they approached. “I have heard many things.”

  “Where’s Milano? I asked to speak with him.”

  The men all let out knowing laughs.

  “You cannot just come here, waltz in, and think you can speak to Mr. Milano. We do not work that way here.”

  It didn’t surprise me that he would be so well-protected. I wondered what I had to do to be able to actually meet with him. There wasn’t a chance in hell that it would be something easy, and I knew we were in for some trouble now. Hopefully I’d still be able to protect Skye, though.

  “If you want to meet with Mr. Milano, you will need to pass a test of sorts.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that, and, apparently, neither did Skye, who was absently gripping one of my hands tightly in her own.

  One of the men step forward and began talking off his suit jacket, undoing his black tie, and rolling up the crisp, white sleeves of his shirt.

  “This is Bobby, one of our new prospects. Fight with him, and, if you win, you can meet with Mr. Milano. Simple?” The man spread his hands out to the side, in a gesture that seemed to imply I was lucky for a challenge so easy. I knew it would be harder than expected, though. I hadn’t trained for a fight in months—over a year even—and the last fight I’d been in had led me to passing out on the floor.

  I couldn’t let that happen tonight. The thought of an unprotected Skye, alone in this place while I was knocked out, was something that I never wanted to dwell on.

  “All right,” I agreed, as if I had any choice.

  “Be careful,” Skye whispered to me as I turned to her.

  “You too,” I warned. She had better not get into any trouble while I was distracted.

  Skye nodded and went to stand safely a little way away, and I finally turned to the young prospect before me.

  He was built much the same as I was, though a little leaner and a little taller. We started circling each other, eyes analyzing the other’s every movement. I didn’t know much about him, but if he was a prospect, then he would be eager to prove himself. I could use that to my advantage, wait for him to strike, and use his sloppy moves against him.

  As I expected, the prospect only waited another moment before throwing his first punch—a light one that I dodged easily. It wasn’t intended to hit me, but just to test the waters.

  He threw another jab, then another, both of which I dodged easily. The man was getting a little worked up, glancing to the other guys and back to me, probably scared he wouldn’t be able to impress them. I almost felt for the guy, even though it had nothing to do with me.

  I needed to strike soon, and I took my opportunity with his next jab, dodging it and then throwing a punch of my own. It connected with his shoulder, and I was quick to pull back. The prospect seemed to physically steel himself and then charged forward, throwing a multitude of quick hits in my direction, only two of which I blocked before I was hit in the stomach and chest. He continued his assault, until I flung a leg out and caught him right in the kneecap.

  The man stumbled back only slightly before regaining his balance. While he was distracted, I landed a jab to his side and another to his stomach. Without warning, his fist sailed through the air and caught me right in the face. I felt the blood begin to pour down my nose, and I cursed internally at not having seen that coming. Skye would probably be going out of her mind right about now.

  The prospect used my distraction to land another blow and, then, almost another one, but I successfully blocked it, feinted left, and then landed a solid punch to the right side of his jaw.

  A sickening crack sounded out as he stumbled back, even as his eyes remained on me. He came back at me with a vengeance, but was now sloppier with his moves. I easily dodged most of them, but a few managed to land on me. I found an opening in his assault and went for it, landing two hits on his stomach. As I feinted a hit for his side, which he went to block, my other hand struck and uppercut to the jaw that knocked him back a few feet.

  He wobbled uncertainly, and I took the moment to land one more firm punch, watching as he sank to his knees and fell backward onto the concrete.

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nbsp; I turned to Skye and gave her a look of reassurance, as she stood there relieved, a hand covering her mouth as she watched on.

  The men on the left were talking amongst themselves, finally turning to me a moment later.

  “Well done, Mr. DeChard. You may go up to see him now.”

  I turned and held a hand out to Skye, waiting until she was near, before pulling her tight against me. We moved to follow the man, but he stopped and held up a hand.

  “No, no,” he said, with an unapologetic look on his face. “Only one can meet with him. The other stays here.”

  Skye and I exchanged a look, and I knew we were thinking the same thing. It was a lose-lose situation, but I supposed it couldn’t be helped. I’d prefer her up there with Milano, than down here with these men, especially since Milano seemed to favor her.

  “You go,” I said to her.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Good luck.”

  Skye nodded firmly and then followed after the man, disappearing into the building.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Skye

  I was terrified. Leaving Knox behind in the courtyard below felt like an idea that was destined to go wrong, and I knew that it was. The men must have known that splitting us up would make us nervous, or at least make me nervous, and for that I commended them. If their goal was to rattle me, then they had succeeded.

  Meeting Milano in the state that I was would end up being a disaster. I just knew it. I had been counting on Knox standing by my side, supporting me, while we tried to strike up a deal with Milano. What was I going to do on my own?

  My mind wandered to Knox, who would be waiting downstairs for my arrival. I had to get this right. I couldn’t go back down empty-handed—not after what I’d just made Knox go through. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t known there would be a test. I still felt wholly responsible for the fight downstairs, and that guilt wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

  Knox and I should have known nothing would be easy when we’d decided to come here. It was the Mafia, so of course they would have a test and only let one of us go up. The brawl had been intense, even if I was only watching. Knox had been calm and restrained the entire time, analyzing the prospect’s movements and waiting for a time to attack. I’d never seen him so calculating and controlled. For a moment, I’d been worried that he’d lose, when his bloody nose had snapped his concentration, and he seemed to freeze for a moment. Thankfully, he’d come out on top, though I had no idea what was going on there now. For all I knew, they were ganging up on him, and I would go down to find him in an unconscious state, like I had that one time in the club.

  If only Knox were with me, then I would feel infinitely safer, and I would know what to do when I met Milano. As it was, I was scared out of my mind and didn’t have a clue what to say to him. Would I just blurt out my theories, even though I didn’t have any substantial proof? Knox had been right. I should’ve thought this through more.

  The trip up the elevator seemed to last a lifetime, as the man and I rose to the highest floor. He was entirely silent, though I hadn’t expected him to say anything. I felt nervous laughter bubble up in my throat, and it was a substantial effort to force it down. I was glad that I hadn’t started speaking out of nervousness, like I often did. I had a feeling that the man wouldn’t have taken to kindly to it

  Finally, a ding sounded out, and the doors slid apart.

  “You may enter,” the man beside me gestured with a hand. I stepped out of the lift, onto the top floor, and looked around curiously. Opening my mouth to ask the man where to go, I realized that he hadn’t stepped out of the lift. I turned to see the doors slide shut behind me and realized in the resounding silence that I was on my own.

  To calm my nerves, I took in the top floor of Milano’s building. The place was beautiful; it had windows on all sides, with a great view of the city around us, a plush sofa on one end of the room, and an office at the other.

  I could see a light on inside the office, a dim one that cast an eerie glow through the glass doors. The entire place was extravagant, but somehow exactly what I had expected.

  Taking a few hesitant steps, I reached the office door and rapped three times on the glass.

  “Enter,” a voice called.

  It was now or never. Steeling my nerves and suppressing any fear, I strode confidently through the doors.

  The sight that awaited me caused a loud gasp to leave my mouth. In front of me, pouring wine into two glasses was Vincent Milano. That’s not what shocked me, though. I was shocked because I knew who he was. I’d spent time with him. I’d danced for him. He was my favorite client, for crying out loud. How could he be the one I was looking for?

  Knox had been right all along. He’d probably realized it as soon as we arrived here, too, but I’d been entirely distracted and didn’t stop to think for a moment about who Milano might be. This changed everything.

  “Would you like a drink, Skye?”

  He held out the wine glass to me, and I hesitantly accepted it. “Thanks.”

  There was a moment of silence as he stared me down, and I adjusted to the shock of seeing him.

  “Do you want to sit?” He gestured to the empty leather seat on the other side of his desk, and I complied again, sitting down hesitantly and placing my glass down.

  “I’ve never heard you say so much,” I said then, immediately cursing myself internally for my stupidity.

  To my relief, he let out a loud laugh. “Oh, Skye, there are plenty of things you haven’t seen or heard me do.”

  I smiled slightly and raised my glass to my mouth again.

  “I hear that you are here after John Cassetti. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, it is.” I looked up at him with another smile. There was really only one way that I knew to be around him and that was my club persona. If that was what it was going to take, then so be it.

  Standing up again, I sat down on the edge of his desk, crossing my legs slowly and deliberately, and arching my back as I turned to look at him again.

  “He’s stolen my money and set up a robbery at his own club, one that Knox interrupted.”

  “Has he now?”

  Milano leaned back in his chair, and I took that as my cue to ramp up my efforts. Sliding off my side of the desk, I sauntered over to his side, squeezing between his chair and the desk, so that my ass was planted at the very edge. I leaned forward a fraction, so my breasts were mostly visible to him and bit my lip innocently.

  “He has. And I really needed someone to help me—to believe me. I asked around, and everyone pointed me to you. So, can you help me?” I batted my eye lashes at him, and slid a hand absently over the tops of my thighs, ‘accidentally’ drawing my skirt up a little indecently. I had no idea what I was asking him, or what I expected him to do. If Knox was here, then maybe he would’ve had a plan, but I was just winging it and resorting to the only skills I had.

  “What proof do you have?”

  I almost frowned at the tone of his voice. It sounded… uninterested?

  “Well, I don’t really have anything concrete,” I began.

  “I can’t help you until you do,” he said flatly, rolling his chair back, so that I slipped forward off the desk.

  On the inside, I began to panic. This wasn’t working how I wanted it to at all. Maybe I needed to step up my game a little.

  “Vincent,” I said, my voice soft and seductive. I reached over and placed a hand on his knee, trailing it up slightly. “Please help me, Vincent. You’re the only option I have.”

  Despite me turning on the seduction to full blast, Milano seemed completely disinterested in me. He rolled back his chair again, so that my hand fell off of his knee, and gave me an impassive look.

  “Skye, we’re not at the club. This is my business here, and I don’t work without proof.”

  Fuck. What the hell was I meant to do now? We’d come all this way, gone through what we did downstairs, and he wouldn’t even help us out?
How could he be so unaffected by my charms? I thought he would be wrapped around my finger, but, so far, all I’d managed to succeed in was making a fool of myself.

  “But how do I do that?” I asked.

  “You’re a resourceful girl, Skye. I’m sure you’ll think of something. Come back when you’ve got something of use to me.”

  He looked down back at the papers on his desk, and I recognized my dismissal.

  That was it?

  “All right. Knox and I will be back soon,” I said, then turned to make my exit.

  “Oh, Skye?” he called out, stopping me in my tracks and causing me to spin to face him. “I’m afraid Mr. DeChard won’t be leaving just yet.”