I wake the next morning to my muscles throbbing with pain. “Jesus fucking Christ!” Flinching, I toss the blanket off of my body. Chase still knew how to fucking work my bod into a sweat. We sparred like old times with music blasting in the background. Completely focused, and in the zone of our train. After that, I felt no more anger toward Frost. I felt refreshed, then after I came home and had a shower, I felt even better. The wine did not help my fitness levels though. I have to admit, train, and then wine. Not the other way around. Walking to the chest of draws, I pull out a pair of skinny jeans and a tight shirt. Skipping the shower because I had one late last night, I throw my clothes on, brush out my long hair, and a thought crosses my mind. I’m sick of being blonde. I feel like that part of me should be in the past, like everything else. I make a mental note to visit the grocery store later. Nothing wrong with a box dye. Putting on a quick swish of makeup, I spritz Chanel Chance on my skin and let my wavy locks fall down my back. Quickly pouring some black coffee into a thermos, I take an apple and pull open the front door, straight into Chase.

“I hate you right now,” I admit, closing my door and taking a loud crunch out of my apple.

He laughs, winking at me. He’s wearing jeans, sneakers, and a casual t-shirt. His hair is how I’ve come to assume it always is, just a huge mess on his head, and his smile this early in the morning gives me urges to punch him. Again.

He falls into step beside me as I head toward the elevators. “Any idea what she has planned for you today?”

I walk inside and press the L button for lobby. “No idea.”

“She will be putting you on a case. No doubt, the orphanage.”

“I don’t kill kids or old people. Or animals.”

Chase laughs, and my eyes found his through the reflection of the mirror. “You laugh but I’m not joking. Seriously. I hope she doesn’t ask me because I will say no.”

“She’s not asking you to kill the kids. The nuns of the orphanage, on the other hand. Well, that’s my guess.” The doors ding open, and before I can ask more questions, we’re opened out onto the lobby.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” It’s massive. The space itself is clean with glass dividers to section off small offices. The walls are again, glass.

“Ah, I see you two have reunited.” Ikea walks toward us in a perfectly tight pantsuit and blouse. Now that I know her age, she does sort of look early forties. But even I have to admit, she’s somewhat attractive. Frost saunters beside her, his eyes hard and his jaw tight. “Lovebirds again? I have to admit, it is my fault you two broke up in the first place. So! Follow me. Let’s get started.”

I took a sip of my coffee, trying not to make eye contact with Frost. Chase and I start following behind her.

“You know,” Chase whispers. “I think he’s going to kill me.”

I shake my head. “He can’t say a word. After all, he is fucking your mom, and also, he lacks normal human emotion. I highly doubt he gives a rat's ass about me.”

We’re still following behind them, bypassing many offices when Chase asks, “So what’s your guy’s story then?”

“Ah, well…” I lick my lips. Was I really about to tell Chase private information. “It’s not so much a story, more of a short novella. We’ve slept together a few times. That’s all.”

There’s a long-stretched pause and then a soft sigh. “Was there anyone after me?”

I know what he’s asking, and just as we walk into the same boardroom as yesterday with a long rectangle table centered in the middle and leather chairs scattered neatly around it. I shake my head, not looking at him. “No.”

I take a seat away from Frost and Ikea, as in on the other side of the table. Chase is still standing at the threshold of the entryway, glaring at me. Obviously, my answer knocked him on his ass.

“Ella, you don’t need to sit so far away. I don’t bite.” She flicks her eyelashes in the direction of Frost. “Well, only after dark.”

Another punch to the gut. God this sucks. I’m beginning to think this was a bad idea, but even as I think it, I know that’s not true. I have to do this, do my bit to contribute, because that’s the kind of family I have. It’s what we do for each other. We’re bad people, but we do good for one another, no matter what that may look like to other people. So I need to suck up whatever I’m feeling for Frost and exhale it out of my system. He’s sleeping with someone else anyway, I’m deluded.

Ikea glances to Chase. “Now what’s your problem? Sit. You and Ella will be working together a lot, which shouldn’t be hard considering your history.” I still haven’t looked at him, or Frost—who I can feel glaring at me with unanswered questions. I’m pissing a lot of people off today and it’s not even eight a.m. Chase finally waltzes into the room after standing at the threshold for a little too long for it not to look weird and pulls out a chair beside me. I continue to ignore him by glancing out the window, looking at all the surrounding buildings. I can sort of make out some of the offices from here. They seem like normal clerk jobs, you know, the kind that comes hand in hand with a normal life. Little do they know, they’re right beside a major outlaw company.

“Ella!” Frost growls, instantly stealing my attention. He narrows his eyes, but I keep mine flat. Do I fight for this, for him, or do I leave it? I continue to ask myself the same question, battling with it, going back and forth like a tennis ball being hit between two rackets, but what’s the point of fighting for someone who can never reciprocate feelings toward me like I can him. I know he’s working, and that’s why he’s in bed with Ikea, and I know that it was planned well before we even got together the second time, I also can’t deny the fact that it wouldn’t be fair to expect him to just drop everything. I’m a realist living in a messed up society where we don’t get what we want. I know that’s just not how the world turns. Especially the one I live in.

The fight will have to wait. Right now, I need to remain focused. The sooner the bitch is dead, the sooner I can get the fuck away from all of this bullshit. Frost included.

“Yes?” I ask innocently.

Ikea seems to inspect the two of us, and just as she’s about to open her mouth, her eyes slant in suspicion. Chase wraps his arm around my shoulders quickly, obviously sensing her newfound interest in Frost and I’s connection.

“Yeah, we’ve picked up where we left off. Easy to do when you loved each other so much.”

Oh crap.

I freeze, in shock. If we don’t do this, Ikea will start to raise suspicions about Frost and me, and that in itself could ruin everything. I am not going through all of this just to lose it over someone who I’m sure isn’t worth losing it over.

I lean into him, playing along, and if I’m being honest, sort of enjoying it. “Hope you don’t mind.”

Ikea waves her hand. “Not at all. For now, anyway.” She slides a manila folder toward Chase and me. “Your first hunt under me. You’ll work together, and Frost, you can go to keep an eye on the both of them. They’re known to get into trouble together.”

“Yeah, I didn’t sign up for no babysitting gig.” Frost leans back in his chair and takes out a smoke. He puts it into his mouth and inhales. Obviously, the PDA is not making him uncomfortable, not even in the slightest. He continues, “She can handle herself, apparently, so let her handle herself.” He looks at me and grins, as though nothing fucking bothers him. I retract my point. Obviously, this wouldn’t bother him, I wouldn’t bother him because for something to get to him, he would have to have emotion. Which he doesn’t.

I take the folder and flick it open. My eyes fall on—“Nancy Van Dyken, forty-three years old, nun of Replica Orphanage.” My eyes shoot to Ikea. “Any reason why you would be sending me out to do a hit on a place that is owned by The Army?”

Ikea stops, casts a glance to Frost, and then back to me. “Do I need to jog your memory? Have you forgotten the commandments, dear child?” I hadn’t. I remember the commandments loud and clear, but— “See here’s the thing. Those commandments,” I shook my head, unbothered. “Didn’t matter to me. Don’t matter, and I don’t comply, and also, Raze is in charge now. I doubt he will still have those commandments in place. No offense to your intelligence, or lack-thereof.”

“Feisty, and don’t worry, there’s no offense taken,” she quirks her eyebrow, flicking the rings on her fingers around. “Right now, I don’t trust you enough to disclose all information with you, so how about,” she stands from her chair and flattens her blouse, “you go ahead and do what you are here to do.” Then she leaves, just like that, walking through the opening glass doors.

Frost glares at the two of us. “Ella, leave it alone. If something needs to happen, you will know about it.”

I snort. “Oh, right, because I can trust you?” I stand from my chair. “Chase,” I keep my eyes glued on Frost, “I’ll see you tonight.”

Frost’s jaw clenching was the last thing I saw before storming out of the boardroom.

Tilting my head, I flick the ash off of my smoke before bringing it back to my mouth. “So, you and Ella?” I had a weak moment last night, and it surprised the shit outta me. Why the fuck did her being with this fucker rub me the wrong way. I’m taking it down to my being possessive. Never fucking been like this before, but then again, I never liked other kids touching my toys.

Chase clears his throat and leans forward. “Yeah, look, I don’t know what is going on with you two, and I don’t know how you feel about her, but I’ve been in love with that girl since I was a kid, so if you think I’m going down without a fight, you’re wrong.”

I chuckle. He’s got balls, I’ll give him that, only thing is, they’re in my hands. Standing from my chair, I put my smoke out on the table. “You’re right about one thing.” I head toward the exit, pausing right in front of him.

My eyes meet his. “You are going down.” Then I push out the doors and search for Ella. Where the fuck did she go and what the fuck is with her attitude. Gets my dick hard she’s throwing her weight around like I fucking cheated on her.

“Frost!” Ikea comes toward me, but my eyes don’t meet hers. I’m ready to snap her fucking neck right here just to shut her the fuck up. I need to talk with Raze, there’s no way I can tolerate this shit for longer than a week.

“What?” I snap, finally bringing my eyes to hers.

“Find Ella. She needs to do this operation tonight. Her and Chase, oh and, Frost!” she calls out, just as I’m about to step into the elevator. I turn to face her. “I’m the jealous type, so keep your eyes to yourself.” I grit my teeth and walk in, hitting level twelve. Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I dial Raze.

“Frost, you got an update?”

“Yeah, the update is I ain’t doing this for six fucking months.”

“Why, what’s she planning?”

Fuck. Do I tell him about Ella and risk some next level shit kicking off, or should I handle it and let this play out. Yeah, I’d rather go with the latter. The elevator doors open, and I walk through, heading straight for Ella’s apartment. “Because I want to fucking kill her.”

He laughs. “Well, that’s good. That’ll make it that much sweeter. You want her head?”

I think on this. I don’t have a personal vendetta against this woman. Don’t really give a fuck, but something tells me by the time this is over, Ella will want dibs. I change the subject. “I’ll have this shit in full swing within a week.”

“What? She’s already caught feelings for you?” Raze asks, obviously in shock.

“Enough to tell me to keep my eyes to myself.”

Raze laughs. “All right, bro. Chat soon.”

“Wait!” I stop a beat away from Ella’s door. “There’s something else. Listen, I think she’s doing some shady dealings behind your back. She has—” I pause, realizing I almost let it slip that Ella is here “—me, and her son doing a hit on the head nun of Replica Orphanage.” There’s a long pause, seconds pass and I look down at my phone to make sure that it didn’t get disconnected. “Yo?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” He pauses and exhales. “Do it. If you don’t, she’ll ask questions. I have a feeling she’s between the sheets with someone else, and by her son, do you mean Chase?”

His name alone grinds my gears. “You know?”

“Know—what?”

Fuck. I can’t do this lying shit. “Nah, they just said somethin’ about Ella dating him back in high school and that he left, and she didn’t know and all that shit.”

“Yeah, I knew. Holla when you have something else.”

“Yeah, all right.” I hang up my phone, reeling over that. If he knew, what the fuck was he hiding when it came to those two that he couldn’t tell Ella. Fuck. I thought The Devils’ world was whack, this world takes the cake. I continue to Ella’s door and bang on it with the back of my clenched fist.

It swings open and Ella glares at me. She’s wearing grey spandex shorts, a bright pink sports bra with a grey Nike tick on it, and her –“You dyed your fucking hair?”

She widens the door and gestures for me to enter. I do, scowling at her.

“Don’t fucking look at me like that, and it’s not permanent. I just put it through now.” I run my eyes over her now dark brown hair. “What, you don’t like brunettes? What with your current woman, I wouldn’t think you had a preference?”

Yeah, because that’s fucking it.

She goes to close the door, but I swing around and slam it first. She jumps and then turns, her back pressed against the door. Her chest rises and falls but her eyes stay on mine. Inching forward, I come closer to her until both of my palms are on either side of her head, caging her in. “Let me be very fucking clear, and listen carefully, baby, because I ain’t gonna repeat myself, and I’m not a very patient man…” The tip of my nose touches hers and I hear the deep intake of breath. Good. I fucking get to her. “She is not my fucking woman. Do you know how many girls I’ve fucked in my lifetime, Ella?” I give her room to answer, but all she’s doing is watching my lips. I close my eyes. “Keep looking at me like that and I’ll fuck you as hard as I hate you.” My hand comes to her neck and my thumb slides over her bottom lip. So perfect and plump. Is crazy a feeling? 'Cuz she has me on that road at one hundred miles per hour with no fucking headlights on. “Answer me.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know.”

I smirk a little. Enough to piss her off. When her eyes darken, and a slight scowl comes across her face, it only makes it deepen. “A-fucking-lot. Wanna know how many of those same women I can point out on a fucking street?” I squeeze her throat a little, to make her hurry the fuck up with her answers.

She shakes her head again.

I lean down and run my lips over her ear. “One.”

Pushing off the door, I lift her off the ground by her thighs and her legs wrap around my waist. Grinding my hips into her, I bring my lips to hers and she opens, letting me in. Like she fucking has a choice. She moans against my lips and the vibration shoots straight down to my cock.

“Wait!” She pushes off my chest.

“Woman, if you don’t get on my dick right now, I’m gonna have to kill you then fuck you because I ca—” her finger comes up to my lips, hushing me. My eyes narrow and suck her finger into my mouth, twirling my tongue around, then biting down on it roughly.

“Ouch!” she scolds me, whacking my chest with the back of her hand. “Shut the fuck up. Coffee?”

“Coffee?” My face scrunches. The fuck is she on. Her eyes widen and it’s then that I realize what she’s doing. Fuck. Her room might be wired.

My eyes instantly begin flying around the apartment. That was a weak moment for both of us, but neither of us seems to be able to help it because any time we’re in the same vicinity, fucking flames are being thrown left right and center. One day, those flames are going to cause a fucking eruption of mass destruction. Silence. Then my phone vibrates in my pocket. I shoot a look back to her and see she has her phone in her hand. Opening her message.

No cameras. Just wires. I think.

I tap out a message back to her as she pours her coffee. One, because she knows I fucking hate coffee.

How the fuck do you know

I head deeper into the bedroom. Inspecting the light shade because that’s usually where they’re planted, with the lights being the center of the room, I check all of them thoroughly.

My phone vibrates in my hand again.

Chase told me

New plan. Rip that fucker’s throat out while we’re at it. I don’t think he’s any threat to Ella, I think he does give a fuck about her on the real, which is exactly why he’s mine. My kill.

I walk back into the kitchen, my eyes running over her body. Licking my lower lip, fear flashes across her face and she starts shaking her head, stepping backward. I counter her footwork, ready to pounce on my prey, but she steps backward again and mouths “No!” Sternly, even throwing her finger up for added effect. That’s cute.

Leaping forward, I wrap my arms around her back. “Not happening,” I whisper into her neck and then slide my tongue across her collarbone. Lifting her off the floor, I pull off her sports bra, throwing it across the room as I walk her backward to the bed. Throwing her onto the mattress, I lean down, grip onto the waistband of her shorts and yank them off, leaving her in nothing but her Calvin Klein G-string.

“Dayummmm,” I mouth, biting on my fist before grinning down at her.

She shakes her head. “Seriously! We—” My mouth collides with hers, finally shutting her up and my fingers find her nipple. I pull on it roughly and twist, just as her back arches off the bed. A slight moan leaves her, and I slam my hand over her lips to shut her up. Her doe eyes peer up at me, and goddamn, that was a sight to see. I bring my finger to my mouth to hush her, and then jack knife off the bed in search of some shit.

She leans up onto her elbow and questions me with wide eyes.

I throw her a smirk, then pull open her drawers in my search. Coming back a few minutes later, equipped with what I needed, a washcloth and duct tape. When her eyes land on the items in my hand, the shaking of her head intensifies. “No! Nope,” she mouths, shaking her head while retreating backward up the mattress.

I drop the items onto the bed, grab her ankles and yank her back down. She bites down on her arm to stop herself from laughing, and I remove my shirt, her eyes going straight to my chest. She hasn’t asked me once about my ink. Usually, I get a hundred questions about every single one. We’d be here a long fucking time because I was covered, but the one that always gets asked about is the upside down cross under my eye. That is until I remove my shirt and you see a whole jacket of demonic twists and otherworldly hybrid art pieces. None of them mean anything more than I fucking wanted them so I fucking got ‘em. Except the cross under my eye. Yeah, that meant somethin’. I pull her G-string and throw it off the bed. Her eyes fly to my belt in excitement, so I remove it, the knife holster that’s connected to it falling too. Flicking my button undone on my jeans, I crawl up her body as she lays back down, her eyes searching mine.

Tapping on her mouth, my lip kicks up lazily. She gazes up at me, and then pauses, her finger coming up. She points to herself. “I have an idea! To help.”

She reaches for the remote control on the bedside table and hits play. Music starts playing from her sound dock, and I shrug. Yeah, guess it’ll help. A rapper and a chick singing something about Him and I. Fucking fitting. I’ll ask her who sings it later. Focusing down on her nakedness, every inch of her lean body was toned, without being skinny toned. She was curvy toned. The girl had enough ass to feed me for weeks. I tap at her chin, and her eyes stay on mine as she slowly opens her mouth, giving me access.

I grin. Good girl. Putting the cloth into her mouth, I grab the silver duct tape and pull on it, stretching it over her mouth. The sight alone has my dick fucking throbbing in my pants. A hiss comes through my teeth as I grind my groin into her and watch as her eyes roll to the back of her head. Tugging my jeans down, and then my briefs, I lean back on my knees, gripping onto her thighs and spreading her wider and wider, before running my hands up her soft flesh. Her back arches off the bed, her perfect teardrop tits yearning for me to suck them into my mouth. I grab my cock in my hand, rubbing the tip while spreading my pre-cum over my full length. Her eyes watch my hands in fascination, her hips rolling. Fuck. This is hard, the no talking shit. I lean down and drop my lips to her pussy, spreading her wide open with my tongue. Circling it slowly, I put one hand on her stomach and wrap the other around her upper thigh, keeping me balanced. With that hand, I press the cushion of my thumb to her clit and bring my tongue down to her tight little entrance. The only fucking person who has had their dick in here is me. And that’s how I intend it to stay. Sinking my tongue into her, I feel her walls contract around my tongue, clenching to it like a fucking clamp. Fucking demanding but feisty pussy, just like its owner. I retract my tongue, and then push it back in again, keeping the same hard strum on her clit. Keeping the pace slow but heavy, I stay at it, giving her everything, and it isn’t long before her pussy is throbbing against my tongue, her clit is tingling against the cushion on my thumb and her cum is dripping down my chin. Her body jerks under my touch, and once I feel it disappear a little, I get up and crawl over her body until she’s directly underneath me. Sweat beads around her eyebrows and her hairline, her eyes weak and heavy from her pleasure.

“Fuck you’re beautiful,” I whisper, and then lean down to her ear. “And you’re also mine.” I slide my dick inside of her until my pelvic bone collides with hers. Circling in deep, while thrusting her clit, I pull back and then sink into her again. Propping myself up to get a better view of her. Her eyes stay on mine, and her hands continue moving on my back. I grab at them and slam them above her head, all while grinding into her. Her eyes start rolling to the back of her head again as her hips push back into mine. I can sense she wants it fast and hard, but I ain’t ready. Leaving my hands clamped around hers to keep them above her head, I dip my head down and suck one of her nipples into my mouth. A throaty muffled groan vibrates out of her taped mouth, so I bite down on her nipple, a little too roughly because it draws blood. The tang of metallic jolts me alive, and I suck in a breath, licking around my lips to get any blood residue off. I groan deep and low, not enough to be heard over the song, but enough for her to hear, before thrusting into her again, sucking that same nipple into my mouth. She tastes just as sweet as I remember from that first night. Pure, with a hint of crazy, or crazy with a hint of pure, I’m still trying to figure her out.

Sweat layers every inch of my skin as I continue to ride her at the same pace. Beads of my sweat drip down onto her face, but her eyes stay on mine, completely focused on just her and I. I can feel something start to shift between us right then and there, and I don’t like it. It’s too intimate. I lean down, suck on her neck, the part near her collarbone, push up, wrap my hands around her upper thighs and flip her onto her stomach in one movement. Gripping onto her hipbones, I spread her knees wider and position myself between her legs. Pushing her into me, my dick sinks deep again, and she clenches around me like she’s afraid I’ll leave. Her arms tighten around my neck, and her legs squeeze around my waist, but I pull back and then continue to pound into her. Each thrust is ruthless. I grip one hand on her hip, hard enough to leave a bruise, and bring my other up to her nipple, twisting it. Her back arches and she throws her head back, so I tug on it with my free hand, wrapping her hair around my fist while yanking her head backward to push her harder into my cock.

The loud slapping of sweaty flesh is enough to be heard over the song, but neither of us gave a fuck because all that mattered in that very moment was us. I picked my pace up again, the tip of my cock colliding with her cervix, then I let go of her hip, slapped her ass cheek hard enough that my palm stung, and we both came undone together, intertwined with each other. Her pussy milked my cock for every drop before she flops onto the mattress in a daze. I fall down beside her, reaching for my jeans to grab my smokes. Getting one out with my lighter, I spark it up. She was tossing the duct tape and gag to the other side of the room when I blew out a thick cloud of smoke into her face while laying back down.

Her eyes narrow and I can’t help that chuckle that escapes me. She looks fucking cute, but well fucked. Thoughts briefly flash through my head about her and Chase, you know, whether or not he had made her look the way she did during one of their—whatever the fuck it was that they had done— and I don’t fucking like the nudge it gives me. Interesting.

She nods toward the bathroom and I get up, throw my jeans back on and watch as she walks her peachy naked ass into the little room. I slide in behind her and she turns to face me, turning the tap on to drown out our voices. “That cannot happen again.”

I leave the smoke in my mouth and unzip my pants, shooting for the bowl. “Why?” I ask, taking a piss.

She didn’t even question what I was doing, or it just didn’t bother her. She was used to my shit, and I hers. Sometimes. Other times, I wasn’t used to her shit and I wanted to kill her.

“Because you’re fucking having sex with a woman, literally, twice my age, and I have my ex across from me declaring his undying love for me—”she pauses, and glances at the watch on her hand—“and in precisely one hour, I have to go on a killing spree. So, if you don’t mind, I cannot have this happen again.”

I wash my hands and then take the smoke out of my mouth, putting the toilet seat down. “Can you put some fucking clothes on, so I don’t fuck you up against the wall.”

She glances down at herself briefly and then blushes. “Oh, shit.”

Cute. Cute as fuck. In the cute way that a fucking lioness is. She looks cute and fluffy from a distance, but don’t get close or she’ll eat you.

She wraps a silk nightie around herself.

I tilt my head. “Yeah, that’s not helping either.”

She snaps her fingers in front of my face. “Frost, I’m serious. I can’t get emotionally vested in you.”

As much as I want to fight what she is saying, I know it’s true. I agree. She can’t, and shouldn’t, because I’d fucking break her heart.

“Are you?” I ask, gazing up at her in question while tossing the towel onto the floor.

“Am I, what?” she snaps, and she’s really gotta stop being so fucking feisty because it won’t do her any favors. Unless she favors walking around with a sore ass for weeks on end.

“Are you emotionally vested in me.”

“Oh.” Her hands drop to her sides, then she exhales in defeat. “Sort of. I think. I’m many things, but I’m not a liar, so yes, I think I am invested in you.”

“Then you’re right.” I tilt her chin with my finger. “We can’t do this again.” Then I walk out of the bathroom, out of her apartment, and go straight to Ikea’s room. Something needs to change for this to move faster, and I know what I have to do to make Ikea’s wall drop for me. Her final wall.