I froze.
“Phoenix?”
Swallowing, I licked my lips nervously. “Sorry, yeah, she’s… safe.”
Just thinking about her made me a nervous wreck. I had her to thank for the broken nose and dark circles. Woman never slept and tried to kill me the first night I watched over her.
“Name?”
“Bianka.” Shit, saying her name made my entire body tight. “But I just call her Bee.” She hated that nickname, and what do ya know? That’s where broken nose number two came from. I’d learned long ago never to fight a woman, never to make them feel small. So even though it hurt like hell to get the crap beat out of me, I let her hit me, I didn’t fight back. Ever. Fighting back brought too many memories… memories that made me feel like the devil himself. So I allowed my nose to break knowing it would hurt a lot less than the sickness in my soul.
Nixon scratched the back of his head. “Well damn, we’ll need to meet her.”
“Not now,” I said quickly. “Not with The Commission coming up, we’ll have to keep her in hiding until Alfonso’s out of the picture.”
“Any idea where he is?”
“No,” I said honestly. “But I can find out, I still know some of his men and money makes them talk… a lot. Well money and whiskey which thankfully Luca has in spades, so I usually do pretty well.”
“Fine.” Nixon’s eyes narrowed. “And… with everything else, Mil and Chase and… all of us, I mean, are you handling things alright? Do you need…” He lifted his hands into the air, and looked away. “Do you need to talk to someone?”
I smiled, Nixon was all hard–ass, but it was funny how Trace had helped him in ways he probably didn’t even realize. She hadn’t made him soft, just… sensitive to things that he normally wouldn’t give a shit about. “Nah man, I’m actually good. Luca’s been helpful.”
“Never thought I’d utter those words until this last year.” Nixon swore. “But I get it.” He stood. “Alright, get some sleep.”
I stood and started making my way to the door then paused and turned. “Nixon?”
“Yeah?”
“Is she happy?”
“Who?”
“Mil.”
Nixon slapped me on the back. “So happy I wear ear plugs at night when we stay next door to them at the hotel.”
“Too many details,” I grumbled.
Laughing, Nixon shrugged. “Hey, you asked.”
“I’m glad.”
“Me too.” His face darkened. “Because if Chase didn’t latch on to someone or something soon I was going to shoot him in the face and bury his body in the lake.”
“You’re joking right?”
Nixon gave me a slight push out the door. “I never threaten someone unless I mean to carry it out. Goodnight, Phoenix.”
The door shut in my face.
I stared at the wood, taking time for his veiled threat to sink in. He’d kill me if I did as much as stare at Trace wrong and the sad part was, I would want him to.
“So, how’d that go?” Chase said from the kitchen holding open a bag of Cheetos and devouring them like he’d been on a cleanse for the past two months.
“Awesome.”
“I hate the office.” Chase shuddered. “Swear he has bodies buried under his chair, one time I asked and he laughed, didn’t deny it, that should tell us something right there.”
“You talk more than I remember.” I eyed the Cheetos and nearly gagged. I hated anything messy. Maybe that was what happens when you die and come back to life, you have these weird quirks you never had before. I used to love junk food, now? I was more of a kale and spinach type of guy and despised anything that was made and not grown. Yeah, I’d gone bat shit crazy. I even hated cake.
“I talk because the sound of my voice makes your sister so damn turned on that she can’t see straight.” He slid a Cheeto between his front teeth and bit down.
“Bastard.” I huffed.
“She called me that last night but I think it was all in good fun.”
I clenched my fists.
“Damn.” Chase shook his head. “So much control now, I’m not sure whether I should give you a high five or ask you what the hell happened.”
“I died that’s what happened you ass.”
“White horse.” Chase snapped his fingers. “Where is it?”
I crossed my arms. “Not telling.”
“Dude, do you even realize how bad she wants it? I’m the dream guy I should find it.”
“Nah.” I went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. “I think I’ll let you suffer for a bit, if you’re really the dream guy you’ll find it without my help.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Lips that taste of tears, they say are the best for kissing—Unknown
Mo
MY HEART STARTED thumping so fast I half expected Tex to start laughing or crack a joke.
“So we’ve graduated from one to two?” I said as I breathlessly lay across his chest, my back pressed against his stomach.
“Yeah.”
“And then—”
“—I do what I have to do to protect you.”
My heart twisted. “You mean you do what the son of a dead Mafia boss does… you do what a guy with a sister to protect does, right Tex?”
He sighed. “Right.”
“And that leaves us?”
“With goodbye.”
“So this is it then.” My voice cracked. “No matter what I say? No matter what I do?”
“Two hours and then you’ll never have to worry about hearing my voice on the other end of the phone, Mo.”
“What if I want to?” The ceiling fan twirled around in circles ignoring each jab of pain that shot through my chest at Tex’s words.
“I won’t be calling Mo, not after the two hours, not ever. I won’t answer your texts, I won’t be available for you. To do this, we have to separate for good.”
My teeth clenched. “I’m tired of the men in my life telling me what’s best for me.”
“Two hours.” He ran his hands up and down my arms. “Take it or leave it, but I strongly suggest you take it.”
“Because you’re going to blow my mind?”
His warm breath tickled my neck as he leaned up and kissed below my ear. “Yeah, something like that.”