The Virgin Duet(13)

After I allowed myself that one indulgence, I went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I smiled when I entered the room and saw the mess she had made. I think I smiled the whole time I was cleaning it up, because I loved having her in my space for some unknown reason. I know she probably did it to spite me, but it had the opposite reaction. Normally my obsessive behavior won’t allow me to be calm until things are clean and in order, but I found that even while wiping up the rainbow drops on the floor I was feeling light hearted. Once I had the bathroom cleaned I went to the closet and saw she’d played in there too. I just smiled and shook my head while I put things back the way they were. My little fairy likes to be mischievous.

I stripped down to my underwear and slipped into bed beside her. I didn’t allow myself to get close to her, because I knew I would reach for her in my sleep. My subconscious wants her so fiercely that the moment my eyes close, I’ll wrap her in my arms. Instead, I slept on the edge of the bed, looking at her beautiful face, and wishing I could hold her. I was already tempting fate by being in the same bed with her, and I could feel my obsession rising. I couldn’t allow it to take over and become like my father.

We pull up outside the club, and I don’t wait for Hank to open my door. He gets out and I meet him I’m about to walk in.

“You sure you want to go in here?”

“If I’m not back in twenty minutes…” I say, as Hank interrupts me.

“I’ll give you fifteen, sir. This place is shady.”

Nodding at Hank, I walk up to the doorman and he eyes me up and down. He starts to protest my entrance, but I slip him a few hundreds, and he opens the door. It’s times like these when you let the money do the talking.

The club is just as seedy as you’d imagine. There’s hardly any light, the music is deafening, and it reeks of scents I’m trying not to thinking about. As I make my way around the perimeter of the dance pit, I see a group of couches roped off in the back. Must be their VIP. I get a feeling in my chest that’s the direction I need to go in, and I walk over. Another bouncer stops me, but again, my money is the only thing they hear, and he lifts the ropes to allow my entrance.

I take two steps inside and see her.

Rebecca is standing in the back and Nico is in front of her. I saw his face in the pics my source sent over and it’s definitely him. He’s about as tall as I am but that’s where the similarity ends. He’s wide and big with jet black hair and dark tanned skin. He looks like a Samoan wrestler, and I can’t say I’d get in a ring with him. He looks worse in person than he does in the pictures. I wonder if he’s using the product he’s been slinging. I look through the fog of the club, and I see his hand is gripping her chin. Rebecca looks at his face with terror in her eyes, and I see red.

My body is in motion before I have any thoughts as to what is about to happen. I’m over where they are standing in half a second and I’m taking control of the situation before I know my next move. I grab Nico’s arm and push him backwards behind me. Rebecca’s well-being is my only focus. As soon as Nico’s hands are off her, she locks eyes with me and starts to cry.

I see her tears, and scoop her up in my arms. I have a natural instinct to protect this little fairy from all the evil around her.

When I turn to leave, I see Nico being helped up by his people, and he’s eyeing me.

“You put down my property, and we don’t have a problem, Suit.”

I don’t really feel like getting into a pissing match with a drug dealer in his own club, so I try to make peace. Getting Rebecca to safety is the only thing I’m concerned about.

“I’m a friend or hers and she wants to leave.”

“Becs, you tell this guy you’re mine, or you know the consequences.”

Rebecca picks her head up and looks at me with wide tearful eyes. She’s pleading for me to make this situation right, to fix what’s broken.

“How much?” I ask, never looking away from Rebecca.

“A lot,” she whispers.

“I didn’t say I wanted your money, Suit. I want the girl,” Nico says, and I can see we’re at an impasse. I’ve got all the money he needs, but he wants Rebecca. He can have her when he walks over my dead body to get her.

I look over at Nico, and I can bet he’s willing to kill me for her. I have to try to think of how to resolve this. “Fine, you want the girl, you can have her.” I feel Rebecca stiffen in my arms, and then she starts to squirm.

Nico has a smug smile on his face, and he looks at Rebecca, victory in his eyes.

“But here’s the thing,” I say, halting her movements. “She owes me too. So until I finish taking out what I want, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait your turn.”

Nico looks pissed, and just as he reaches into the back of his pants, Hank walks in with four of his men. Most people think I keep Hank around because he knows the city and is a good driver. The real reason I keep him is he’s good at getting his hands dirty at a moment’s notice, and can hide a body or two without questions. Hank and I go way back.

Nico sizes up what I brought to the party, and comes up short on his end. He rethinks his claim to Rebecca and gives me a chin lift. It’s a sign for me to get the hell out of his club, and I take it. I’m not a coward and I don’t run from a fight, but I won’t ever put Rebecca in danger.