by Ella Wolfe
I froze at his words.
“Wouldn’t that be fun, huh? If you came back. It’d be just like old times.”
I stood shocked into stillness as I processed his words. Come back to the crew? Really?
For a moment, I considered it. I really, truly considered it, and I saw my whole life flash in front of my eyes.
They were my family. Sitting all around the room, regardless of their states of awareness, were my brothers and sisters. No matter how dysfunctional they were, they were my whole life at one point. We didn’t grow up with proper homes, proper lives, or parents who loved and cared for us. No, we grew up with nobody but each other. We made a name for ourselves, taught each other what we knew, and fought for the chance to make something out of ourselves. We grew up on the wrong side of the law and stayed that way. The story wasn’t uncommon, and we weren’t special. But we stayed together, through thick and thin. Or we had.
But I had something better now. I had something to hold on to. When my so-called ‘family’ had left me behind and moved on without a backward glance, I found myself in a better situation than I had ever dreamed. I found myself with Skye.
I never understood, really, when people described someone as a game changer. I never understood how one person could change your entire outlook on life and make you want to think better, do better, and be better. How could one person be responsible for all of that?
But then I met Skye, and I understood.
She was the one bright point in my life, through all the darkness. She was the one who would keep me going through everything I had endured. She was the one who I needed to back to at the end of the night in order to be content with the world.
Yes, I thought about Don’s offer. But families came in all shapes and sizes, and, honestly, Skye was enough for me.
“I’m not coming back, Don. But I need your help.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Skye
It was a long drive to Milano’s building, even though this time I actually knew where I was going. My eyes flicked over to the passenger seat longingly, and I wished that I could have seen Knox one more time before I did what I was about to do. That was an outright lie, though, since I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied, even if I saw him another hundred times.
I knew I was doing the right thing. It was the only thing that would spare Knox’s life. I’d come to terms with it, too, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t scared out of my mind. Milano was a scary man, and I was about to go ask him something crazy. I’d be worried if I wasn’t at least a little nervous.
Milano’s building stood as menacingly and isolated as it had the first time. At least this time, when I walked in, I’d know where to go and what to do. I could pretend to have an air of confidence about me. Hopefully, it would transform into the real thing. Finally arriving at the building, I boldly approached the guard, who happened to be the same man as the other day. I counted my blessings that it wasn’t an entirely different person who I had to introduce myself to. The guard took one good look at me and immediately stepped to the side, letting me pass. I supposed that proving yourself with a fight only happened the first time.
This time, nobody needed to escort me in the lift to the top floor. I wasn’t sure if the long ride up was better or worse without the company. It was over in a matter of moments, while I was still trying my hardest to dwell on anything and everything other than the meeting that was about to take place.
Unfortunately, the doors of the lift slid open far too soon when I arrived on the top floor, and I was forced to make the familiar walk to Milano’s office. I wondered absently what the place would look like in daylight, with all those windows that let the light in. Vincent didn’t look even remotely surprised as I entered his office, so I assumed someone had called to warn him of my presence.
“Skye, my dear. Isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” Milano smiled widely at me, and I made an attempt to return it, failing horribly. There was nothing happy or joyful about the situation, and I would be hard-pressed to fake something like that.
“Vincent, how are you?” I said instead, forcing the tone of my voice into the least hostile tone I could manage.
Despite my bravery in coming here, standing in front of him, I could physically feel myself wavering underneath his gaze. How could anyone ever stand up to the man?
“Excellent. I notice that you’ve come alone tonight. What can I do for you?”
Of course, he had to mention that I was all alone and unprotected. I was concerned enough for my own safety without Milano mentioning it and scaring me further. Pushing those thoughts aside, I set my mind to focus on the task at hand.
This was where I had to be careful. Milano was an expert negotiator and strategist, and I was just a woman on a mission. He would be able to chew me up and spit me out before I even knew whose mouth I was in, so I had to be more careful than I’d ever been in my life. Though I’d come there to make sure Knox didn’t die by Milano’s orders, I had to worry about myself too, because, if I wasn’t careful, I could end up owing the man my life. Who knew what he would do to me then?
“I want to make you an offer,” I began, heart in my throat.
Calm down, I reminded myself. It was just a simple conversation that would be over soon. All I had to do was negotiate to save Knox, while not ruining my life either. Surely there was a win-win situation for us all.
Milano stared me down, eyes seeming to stare through me. It was almost as if he could read my mind, though I knew that was ridiculous. It was more likely that he was seeing whether I would crack under the pressure.
“And what kind of offer would that be?” he said slowly, his mouth really stretching out the words.
I ignored all the distractions, both in my head and out of it, as I prepared myself to finally say what I had come there for. It was now or never. I opened my mouth, but found that no words could escape my dry throat. I tried a second time and, thankfully, found success.
“I want to– “
The moment my mouth opened to speak, another sound emerged, this time emanating from Milano’s pocket. The high-pitched ringing seemed to echo in the air as Milano reached to answer the call.
“Milano,” he answered.
Watching the facial expressions that passed over his face was like watching a poker player. He could have been getting news that someone died, or that he’d won a million dollars, and I would never have been able to tell the difference.
“Okay. I’m with Skye now.”
My ears perked up at my name, but it was impossible to understand what was going on through only half of the conversation. Was it Knox who was calling? He was the only person I could think of that would contact Milano and ask where I was. The only other person was Cassetti, but that was just ridiculous.
“Okay. We’ll be right there.” I didn’t miss the way that Milano had said ‘we,’ and I looked at him inquisitively as he shut off his phone.
Milano looked up at me and returned my raised eyebrow, seeming just as surprised as I was.
“That was Knox,” he said. “He’s at G-stringer’s, and he wants us both to go to him.”
I floundered for a moment as I wondered what to think. Why was Knox there, and what was he doing? More importantly, why were both Milano and I needed?
“Let’s go,” Milano said, snapping his fingers to break up my thoughts as he passed by me and strode quickly to the lift. I had no choice but to follow, nothing but a bundle of fear and nerves. I could only hope that Knox had better luck with his night than I had.
# # #
When Milano and I both arrived at G-stringer’s, I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I suspected that Milano did not either. Knox’s phone call had quite literally come in the nick of time, and I wasn’t sure what would have happened if Milano’s phone hadn’t rung when it did.
The entire club was illuminated when we entered, and we both made our familiar way to Cassetti’s office, freezing in our tracks when we took in the scene bef
ore us. Knox stood angrily over a cowering Cassetti, his hands tightly gripping the collar of Cassetti’s shirt and lifting him slightly off the ground.
The scene wasn’t so unfamiliar to me, considering the state we’d left Cassetti when we’d last seen him, but I could tell it was an entirely different situation now. Knox was on a mission, determined to make Cassetti pay.
“What’s going on?” I asked, eager to get to the bottom of the situation.
“That’s a good question,” Knox growled. “Will you tell them, or shall I?” He shook Cassetti a little, as if reminding him to speak, but the pathetic creature seemed incapable of speech at that moment. Cassetti mumbled incoherently and tried to duck his head down, only to be stopped by Knox’s tight grip.
“No?” Knox asked mockingly. “I’ll be happy to tell them, then. John, here, has been keeping a double set of books for years. Isn’t that right?”
My mouth dropped open in shock at this new development. Surely Cassetti couldn’t have been so stupid as to attempt to double-cross Milano, right?
“Is this true, John?” Milano asked, in a deceptively calm voice. It was no wonder that Cassetti was scared out of his mind; an angry Milano was something I never wanted to deal with.
“Take a look for yourself,” Knox kicked the box at his feet, and it slid over in our direction.
“Cassetti’s been trying to hide club profits from you for a long time. So long, that he’d started bragging about it to a group of unreliable drug addicts that he’d hired. That was a big mistake, John.”
“I would have to agree,” Milano said, flipping through the set of papers in his hands.
I couldn’t believe that Knox had uncovered what he did. This was such a lucky break for the both of us.
“Does this mean we’re even? Has our deal been met?” Knox asked Milano.
Vincent nodded, eyes still on Cassetti. I felt a twinge of pity in my chest as I stared at his now sobbing form on the floor. I would hate to be in his shoes, but my sympathy could only stretch so far when I thought about what Cassetti had done to Knox.
“Let’s go,” Knox called to me. I didn’t need to be told twice, as I followed him out of the office and we both hurried out of the building.
We stopped outside, just clear of the door, and looked at each other with a mixture of emotions on both of our faces.
“Is it really over?” I asked Knox in disbelief. It couldn’t be done just like that. It just couldn’t be.
“Yeah, I think it is,” he said with a frown, seeming to run through the events in his head, exactly as I was.
It felt so odd to have such a weight lifted off our shoulders, and it would take a while to sink in. Our eyes met and, slowly, a smile began to stretch over my face, one of relief, happiness, and amazement.
Without another thought, I lunged forward and threw myself into Knox’s arms, relishing in the feel of him. There was a moment when I hadn’t been sure if everything was going to work out, or if I was ever going to see him again.
I couldn’t express in words how overjoyed I was in that moment, but I didn’t need to. Knox understood perfectly, his arms squeezing me back just as tightly.
It had been a long road, but we’d finally done it. We were finally free.
“So, what are we going to do now?” I asked, pulling back.
I didn’t know where Knox’s head was at. I didn’t know if he felt about me the same way as I did about him. For all I knew, he was still at the ‘just sex’ stage, and I had been overthinking our entire relationship, or lack thereof.
“Anything. Everything,” Knox replied, cupping my face in his hands.
Maybe I misunderstood. Maybe he meant something entirely different.
“And us?” I asked in a quiet voice. This was the moment. This was the time when Knox would either break my heart, or tell me that he felt the same.
My doubt must have been so evident in my face, but Knox just smiled, happier and lighter than I’d ever seen him before. He looked younger, but I knew that it was just the weight of a lifetime that had been lifted off his shoulders.
“Us?” he asked with a grin.
“Yes. Us.”
Instead of answering, Knox pressed his lips lightly to mine. My heart soared at his kiss, and I could feel my entire body loosen. He didn’t need to say a single word for me to understand that we were on the same page. It was all in the tenderness of his lips and the affection in his eyes. Yes, everything was going to be okay.
Epilogue
Knox
The club lights were dimmed and the place was silent, Skye and I the only ones left inside. Vixens had been crowded that night, more so than usual, and Skye was cheerfully shuffling around in our office. Ever since we’d opened our chain of clubs together, Skye had been happier than I’d ever seen her. She was finally living the dream.
Vixens was exactly the kind of club that Skye had always imagined, and I was so glad to be a part of it. It was a classy establishment, like she’d promised, where the dancers had fun, could contribute ideas, and were treated fairly, like they deserved to be. It wasn’t a trashy place like G-stringer’s. It was the kind of place where guys and girls could frequent and have a good time, without the sleazy feeling that some strip clubs held. We ran the business together, sharing the load evenly and working hard to make all our clubs as friendly and inviting as we knew they could be.
Skye had made sure to employ all the girls from G-stringer’s, once it had closed down, partly because we were responsible for their loss of work, but also because they were all great dancers.
Diamond had found me a week after the opening and asked to speak with me. I was worried at first, until I saw her big smile.
“You took care of my girl. Thank you.”
The rest of Skye’s girls shared similar sentiments, and I knew that Skye was touched by how much they cared for her.
In the six months since we’d dealt with Milano, Cassetti, and the cops, our entire lives had been turned upside down. True to his word, Milano had given G-stringer’s to us. Skye hadn’t wanted it at first, choosing to stick with the warehouse she’d wanted. It was a few months after, when we began expanding and starting our chain, that we’d finally accepted it.
The biggest surprise was that Milano was completely out of our lives. Skye and I had both been worried that our business with him would somehow loom over our shoulders for years to come, but, on the contrary, it was like it had never happened. Nobody had seen or heard from Cassetti for six months now, but Skye and I didn’t question it. We didn’t know what had become of him, and, frankly, we didn’t want to. Milano had dealt with it in his own way, and we had moved on.
“Knox, are we good to go?” Skye called out.
“Yeah, baby. Let’s go home.”
In the six months since, Skye and I had grown even closer. She was my best friend, my ally, my business partner, and my rock. She was the love of my life. We shared everything together, including our past, our present, and our future. I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’d even moved in together, a decent apartment that suited the both of us. It wasn’t over the top, by any means, but just enough for us, and that’s why it was perfect. We’d made a home and a life together, and we were still just as happy with each other as we’d ever been.
# # #
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and I was reclined on the couch, watching an old football rerun and relaxing before Skye and I needed to head off to work. She had been strangely absent for the past few hours, running about the house doing strange tasks and keeping herself occupied. I had even asked her at one point if something was wrong, only to be rewarded by a pillow smacking me straight in the face. After that, I just let her do her thing, even if that meant cleaning our light bulbs and door handles. I assumed she would just tell me whenever she was ready, so I left her to it, keeping an eye on her through my peripherals.
The funny thing was that I knew she wanted to get something off her chest by the way she was sending glances
at me every few seconds. It was almost as if she was a strange combination of excited and nervous, which didn’t really make sense to me at all.
Finally, having had enough of her flighty behavior, I groaned and turned to her expectantly.
“Tell me what’s wrong!” I burst out.
“What do you mean?” she hedged, darting around and avoiding my eyes.
“I know you’re going to tell me eventually. Just save us both some time and stop cleaning things that don’t need to be cleaned.”
Skye dropped the cloth in her hand and hurried over to sit beside me on the couch, crossing her legs and taking my hand in hers.
“How do you feel about kids?” she asked.
My mind went blank immediately, as I struggled to comprehend what she had said. That was definitely not what I thought would be coming out of her mouth.