Fifteen
Shooter
Amelia showered while I stared out at the street. Something happened back in that bedroom. It wasn't as simple as being her first time. Though as I told her, it fuckin' meant something to me that she wanted me to have that, that she trusted me to do it right. It happened sometime after I watched the last of her defenses fall away. She let me in. And, in a way that I hadn't ever felt before, I wanted to stay in. I was just about to contemplate what, exactly, that meant when I saw them form a small circle out front of my apartment: Breaker, Cash, Wolf, and Paine. I guessed the word had been spreading and they had all pitched in.
It wasn't typical for The Henchmen to get involved with mine and Breaker's business. But that being said, we all seemed to work together when one of us had a woman that got herself into trouble. This happened frequently. Thank fuck most of the guys were shacked up now. And I think we all learned that when shit went down and we tried to handle it alone, well, shit got fucked real quick. They were there to make sure that didn't happen again.
I turned toward the bedroom and grabbed a shirt then opened the door for them to come in.
"Fuck man..." Breaker said, shaking his head at me.
"Women..." Wolf, the bearded giant commented with a head shake. Wolf was never much for talking. But he was a vicious, violent fuck when he needed to be.
Cash and Paine just gave me knowing smiles.
"Where is she?" Paine asked, looking around.
"Shower." Cash's smile got bigger, all boyish and knowing. "Don't tease her about it," I warned.
"The fuck would I tease her for?" he asked, genuinely offended.
"Just saying. She's a nice girl not..."
"Not the usual," Paine finished on a shrug.
"Yeah something like that. So I figure you guys all know."
"H dealer, huh? At least it's a new one," Cash said.
"Lex dealed H," Wolf supplied.
"Yeah, man but Lex was into fuckin' everything," Breaker shrugged. "So why the fuck am I finding out through Alex that you got into a situation down in Ala-fucking-bama?"
"Happened fast. I reached out to Lo 'cause of her connections. Lo suggested Alex. I called Alex..."
"You. Call. Me," he said in his deep, gravely voice, looking angrier than I had seen him in a long time. "You don't go off saving the damsel in distress without telling your best fuckin' friend, yeah?"
"Yeah," I agreed. "For what it's worth, I was gonna clue you in when I knew what the situation actually was."
"Situation is you got a drug counselor with eight kilos of illicit drugs in her wall," Break went on, not giving in. "She's your girl. That makes this your problem. And I don't need to remind you, bro, your problems are my problems too."
"I get it," I said, giving him a smile. "But you know I ain't that fifteen year old punk sleeping up against your building anymore, right?"
"Know you'll always be like a kid brother to me, Shoot, and I'll always be worried about you getting in over your head."
"We gonna all hug and sing kumbaya now?" Cash asked with a grin. "Or are we gonna talk shop?"
So then we sat down and we talked shop. In just the couple of hours, they had pulled out all the stops. Cash filled me in on what Hailstorm had found out. Wolf and Breaker filled me in on what Janie and Alex found. And Paine, well, Paine filled me in on what he found out through his connections. If you snooped, if you asked around, Paine was clean as the fresh fallen snow. But Paine had secrets and Paine had connections and those connections had proven quite useful over the years. This was another of those times.
The door creaked and all eyes snapped in the direction of my bedroom, Amelia standing in the doorway, one foot stretched out like she froze mid-stride, wearing a plain black tee and jean shorts that put her legs on perfect display. Her hair was wet, falling in black sheets around her face. Her deep eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted, confronted with a room full of men I knew to be the most fearsome on the East coast, and they were all giving her goofy grins.
She moved toward me slowly, just barely hiking a hip onto my thigh until I wrapped an arm around her and hauled her up.
"Um. Okay. So... tell me," she said, looking for a safe face in the room and settling on Cash.
"Alright, doll," Breaker started, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his thighs. "I ain't gonna sugar coat this. You seem strong enough to handle this. Coupla years back, Shoot carried out a contract for Luis Carlos. Luis was working for a big time H dealer in Miami. He was a violent piece of shit and Shoot was happy to take him out. Shoot didn't know that Luis Carlos wasn't just trying to get free, get his life back; he was making a power play. See Shoot doesn't hang around after a job and none of us have any reason to keep their eyes on shit going down in Miami. So we didn't see Luis taking over Diaz's operation. We didn't see him expand it."
"Expand it?" she prompted when he paused to try to let things sink in.
"Babygirl," Paine broke in and her gaze fell to him. "Luis is a developer. Your apartment building is one of fifteen he has across Florida, Georgia, and Alabama."
"Oh my god. How much heroin..."
"More than you can imagine," Paine finished. "Luis hides the goods when the law is snooping around. He lets things calm down. Then he gets it back out, probably under the pretense of doing some upgrades in the apartments, and then he ships things out through his web. Up the East to smaller dealers, out into the Midwest. His operation is huge. It's... massive. Normally, that would be a good thing."
"How could a massive drug empire be a good thing?" Amelia asked, arms crossing over her chest, her chin lifting in a haughty way.
"You're a nobody," Wolf said on a shrug. "An ant."
"Exactly," Paine agreed. "Problem is, you're not an ant are you?"
Amelia's face scrunched up. "What do you mean?"
"How many other residents in your building does Luis take out on dates, angel?" I asked and felt her shoulders slumped slightly.
"Most of the people in the building are older or men. I'm... I'm the only single woman."
"Honey," Cash said, giving her a smile that screamed 'you're being ridiculous'. "You own a mirror, right? You ever look in the damn thing?"
She rolled her eyes at him and focused on Breaker instead. "So because he wants to date me, I'm screwed. That's what you're telling me."
"We're saying that because he wants to fuck you, babe," Break went on, undeterred when she visibly flinched at his bluntness, "that you're on his radar. My guess? He doesn't even know the names of most of the people in the places he stashes his goods. But he saw you somehow and he got interested and it makes it a lot less likely that you could just... move to a new place and expect to be left alone. Might get you free of the drug problem, but doesn't get you free of the Luis problem."
"I've turned him down plenty before. He's never seemed all that upset about it."
Cash sighed. "Luis dated a girl back in Miami. Gorgeous. Could have been your sister, babe. She was a nice piece of arm candy for him. Dated for a while, got herself a whiff of something on him she didn't like and got shot of him. She moved clear across to California. But Luis, well, he's a man who likes to keep the pretty things he likes around. So he went back, found her with a new man, shot him dead, and dragged her back to Miami. And he kept her there for three years until she fell into the product he was pushing, overdosed. Now honey..."
"I look like her," Amelia supplied in a small voice.
"Yeah, you look like her."
"And he likes to keep pretty things."
"Yeah honey."
"And he likes to kill men who put their hands on his pretty things..."
"Amy," I broke in, not liking where her mind was going.
She hopped up off my lap. "God, I'm so stupid! Why would I come here? I could have just... disappeared. I didn't need to come here. I could have gone anywhere and started over."
"And what, babygirl?" Paine asked, sounding calm. "Let him catch you alone? Unprotected? You did right coming here."
"And putting Johnnie at risk?" she demanded, spinning back to face us.
All eyes went to me. Breaker look amused, Cash and Wolf confused, and Paine hurt. Because the whole "Johnnie" thing wasn't one anyone knew about. And, given that Paine was a close friend, not knowing that... it stung. But I didn't have time for that. "Darlin', I ain't at risk."
"You don't know that. He could be..."
"Amy, I'm not at risk," I said more firmly. "Honey, no one even knows you're here except my people. You didn't tell anyone in Alabama you were coming to Jersey. They all probably think you're in Maine with your family that doesn't exist. We have the upper hand here. We just need to figure out what to do with it."
"Are you going to kill him?" she asked bluntly, eyes on me.
"Maybe," I answered honestly. "Thing is, we don't know how his operation works yet. Sometimes you cut off one head and two or three more grow back. And if his men start fighting for top position, you and all the people who unwittingly have drugs in their walls could be in trouble. Not because you'd be implicated in any way, but because you could be in the way. They could come charging in and..."
"And bad things could happen," she supplied, the heaviness in her words suggesting she understood full-well what that could mean for any of them, but especially for the young, unprotected women. She sighed, sitting her ass down on the coffee table and burying her head in her hands for a minute. "Tell me again why I can't disappear? I'm sure you guys could arrange that, right?" she asked, looking right at Wolf as if sensing he was the only one who would give her a straight answer, and being completely right about that.
"Could do that," he agreed with a nod. "But won't," he added and Amelia jumped back off the table and started pacing.
"Well why the hell not? Girl in possible mortal danger here and are we going to get her hidden away so she can live her life? Oh no. We're the big, bad guys. We don't back down from a fight. We need to put our Neanderthal heads together and find out the most efficient way to swing our clubs," she mocked as she paced, oblivious to the shit-eating grins she was getting from all of us. "It must suck to have all that testosterone flooding through your system. 'Cause from where I'm standing, all it does is make you impulsive and dumb and..." she turned back, her cheeks taking a turn toward red as she stared at all of us.
"Babe, think maybe all that estrogen is making you a little loopy," Cash teased right back, knowing his woman would wring his neck if that got back to her and not caring. "Be a good girl and make us some sandwiches," he went on and it was hard as fuck to keep a laugh in as Amelia's eyes got small. "Let the men handle the important stuff."
She sucked in a breath and looked over at me. "So these guns you always have around," she started, "where might I find one of them?"
At that, Cash finally let out a laugh, swinging out of his seat and wrapping her up in his arms for a second, whispering down by her ear. "Just trying to get you out of the doom and gloom, sweetheart."
"By being a chauvinistic pig?" she asked, but she was smiling a little.
"Figured that would get a rise outta ya," he said, releasing her. "Know this seems like some heavy shit, but trust me honey, this is light as feathers compared to what we are all used to dealing with. We just need another day or two, three at the most and we will have a plan. Think you can live with that?"
Amelia visibly deflated, letting out a breath that came out like a sigh. "Fine."
I sat back and watched as she talked to the guys for another minute, feeling a bit too pleased at the ease in which she did it, like they weren't the scariest guys she had ever met, like she wasn't trying to keep them at a distance. In the span of ten minutes, she had let them see her vulnerable and worried, scared and mocking, angry and ranting. She hadn't even thought to try to put her shields back up. She didn't try to keep them away with her thorns. I didn't know what the change was, all I could say was I liked it. I liked seeing her smile at my friends and make fun of them. I liked the way that they found her amusing and interesting and worth going through all the trouble for.
Fact of the matter was, I was liking having her in my life, not just in my bed. I liked realizing she would fit in with my people, regardless of her feelings about their various professions. That mattered to me. It shouldn't have because I knew she had every intention of going back to her life eventually, of leaving me, but it mattered.
"And, furthermore," she was saying, sitting by Cash's side and, apparently, giving him a stern talking-to while I was lost in my thoughts. "Women don't just... cook for men because they demand it."
"She's right. Just show her your empty fridge and she'll do it without you having to say anything," I added, winking at her when she rolled her eyes at me.
"Good, huh?" Paine asked, grinning.
"Took one bite and asked her to marry me," I agreed.
"Johnnie..."
"Should I tell them about dessert?" I asked and her eyes went huge. It would have been funny, but her face sort of fell at the same time. "Angel, come here."
"I don't think I want to."
"Come here," I said again, holding a hand out and she reluctantly walked toward me where I pulled her up onto my lap again. I dipped my head toward her ear and made my voice quiet. "I was teasing. What happens between you and me, darlin', that's between you and me. Okay?"
Her head nodded. "Okay."
"My fridge is empty," Wolf said suddenly into the quiet of the room.
Everyone's eyes snapped to him and Cash laughed. "You have a woman."
It was then that a small smile tugged at his lips. It wasn't a look anyone was used to. Up until a few years ago, he was one of the most severe people you could ever encounter. Janie, his woman, had softened his edges a bit, had given him a reason to let some of the anger he held inside go. "She don't cook," he said and everyone laughed.
"Fuck man, neither does Alex," Breaker commiserated. "What is it a hacker thing?"
"Hacker?" Amy asked, looking at me.
"Janie and Alex are hackers. That's what they do for a living. Janie dabbles in other things, but mostly she hacks."
"Other things?" she prompted.
"Never met someone as good with explosives as she is," I said with a smile.
"Explosives," she parroted, looking around. "Cash, what does your woman do?"
Cash looked a little sheepish for a moment. "She runs Hailstorm, honey."
"Hailstorm?"
"It's kinda hard to explain. It's like an army base except they ain't army. They do a little bit of everything: chasing skips, hits, private security, investigating..."
It was then that I saw she was biting into her cheek, like she was worrying over something. "Baby..." I started.
"They're all criminals too, right?" she asked and it hit me what put the lines between her brows. She was worried she didn't fit in. She wanted to know what my men's women did to know how they dealt with our strange lifestyles. Finding out that all their women were of the same life wasn't helping. Why it mattered when I knew she was leaving me was beyond me.
"Cash's brother, Reign, has a woman, Summer," I said, wanting to help her understand, "wasn't a criminal. She grew up normal. She went to work like a normal person..."
"Yeah until she got kidnapped and tortured and found out she was living in a criminal empire her whole life," Cash supplied, giving me a weird look like he didn't understand why I was saying that.
I shot him a look. "Point is, she had no idea," I pressed, giving her a squeeze.
Amy let out a breath and shrugged, moving to get off my lap and I had no choice but to let her. "Whatever. I'm going to make some coffee. You guys grunt and pound your chests or whatever the heck it is that men do when they get together," she dismissed, moving toward the kitchen.
"Thanks a lot, jackass," I rolled my eyes at Cash.
"Fuck'd I do?"
"Good goin', Cash," Breaker chuckled.
"Idiot," Wolf agreed with me and Cash's smile spread.
"I'll tell you on the way out," Paine supplied and they all rose to stand.
They exchanged their plans for the day with me, promising to keep in touch. Then there was the distinct sound of a coffee cup slamming down none-too-gently onto the kitchen counter and a loud grumble, making all the guys raise their brows at me.
"What's up, angel?"
"You don't even have any freaking sugar!" she shrieked and I felt my lips twitching. 'Freaking' was as close to a filthy word as she seemed comfortable using and it was the fucking cutest thing I'd ever heard.
"Need me to run out and get you some sugar, darlin'?"
"And milk and, I don't know, maybe some eggs and flour and butter. Honestly, how do you not have any of this?" she ranted, making the twitch turn into a full blown smile.
"Drink my coffee black, kitten."
"Kitten?" she glowered at me from around the corner.
"That's our cue," Breaker laughed, slapping a hand on my shoulder. "Little advice?" he said, eyes bright. "Drag this shit out. Make-up sex is the best. Why you think I rile up Alex just for the fuck of it?"
And with that, they were off, each of them offering Amelia a 'later honey' (in Cash's case), a 'see ya around, doll,' (in Breaker's case), a 'catch you later, babygirl,' (in Paine's case), and a 'woman,' with a chin jerk (in Wolf's case).
"I like that you like my friends, sweetheart," I told her walking up despite the posture that was screaming 'fuck off!' and wrapping an arm around her belly from behind, resting my head on her shoulder.
"Barbarians," she countered, trying to hold her grudge.
"Mmmhmm," I mumbled against the skin of her neck. "Exactly the kind of men you want on your side when you got an issue, don't you think?"
"Chauvinists," she tried, but her voice was getting airy as my tongue teased the edge of her ear.
"Wouldn't say that if you knew their women."
"Why's that?"
"Baby, men like them... what other kind of women could tame them except ones twice as strong?" Her head drifted to the side, giving me more access which I took advantage of. My hand slid down her belly and pressed gently between her thighs, drawing out a small whimper. "You'll tell me when you stop being sore, yeah?"
"What?" she asked, her hips moving against my hand.
"First time, baby. Know that hurt. Know you're gonna be sore. When that stops, you'll tell me."
"W... why?" she stammered as my finger worked circles over her clit, distracting her.
"Because I want to take you again. I want to live inside this pussy," I told her, biting into her neck as my finger clicked her sweet spot again. "Want you on your back, legs on my shoulders, taking me as deep as you can. Then I want you on all fours so I can take you hard and fast. Maybe I'll pull your hair. You like when I play with your hair, don't you baby?" I asked, smiling as she made some kind of mewling noise. "Then I want you to ride me. I want you to fuck yourself until you can't even catch your breath, until your choking through an orgasm that makes your world splinter apart," I explained, smiling as she rubbed against my hand, moaning. "So you'll tell me, yeah?"
"Y... yeah," she whimpered, getting close.
"Good," I said, pulling my hand from her pussy and moving back a step, biting my lip to keep from smiling when she made some kind of growling noise. "Now, I'm going to go get you your sugar, milk, eggs, flour, and butter," I said, slipping into my shoes by the front door and grabbing my keys, watching her face because I wanted to memorize that look to hold onto for safekeeping. It was a mix of desire, frustration, anger, and a hint of amusement.
Fuckin' beautiful.
"Lock up, Amy," I said and walked out into the hallway and I did it fuckin' smiling huge.