“Blackie, I don’t care— “
“He don’t know shit,” he seethed. “Club is on lockdown which means your sweet ass needs to get to the clubhouse. Now, pull yourself together Lace, and let me do my goddamn job,” he hissed.
I stared at him quietly for a second.
“You with me, Angel?” He asked calmer, his voice more concerned than agitated.
I opened my mouth to answer, but the words became lost on my tongue when we heard a loud noise from somewhere downstairs.
“Shit,” he said, dropping his hands from my face, reaching for his gun before his long legs swallowed up the floor space and he made his way to the window. I watched as he peered out of the mini-blinds.
Everything about his demeanor changed and I knew that was my cue to haul ass. I grabbed the sweats and shimmied them up my legs as he cocked his gun, pulling back the safety he crossed the room and listened at the door. I tip toed across the room to where he was standing and he turned around, piercing me with a look.
He closed the distance between us and bent his head so that his lips were just a breath away from mine.
“I want you to listen carefully, Lace. Can you do that for me?”
“Don’t talk to me like a child,” I whispered angrily.
“Quit acting like one then and pay attention,” he snarled, grabbing my hand and dropping his gun into my palm. “Take my gun and hide in the closet. Do not come out until it’s quite,” he instructed, his cold stare penetrated through me.
“What? No! What about you?” I fired at him.
“Lace, now!” He demanded, pushing my shoulders toward the closet. I shook him off, spinning around on my heel so we were face to face.
“Blackie— “
My words died as his mouth covered mine and his hands fell to my shoulders. My lips worked frantically to keep up with his pace as he expertly worked them until they parted. His tongue slid into my mouth as he walked me backwards until my back hit the wall. I moved to wrap my arms around his neck and deepen the kiss but his mouth abruptly left mine. He pushed me into the closet.
“If anyone fucks with you, shoot them. Don’t fucking think just shoot,” he demanded.
“I can’t do that,” I cried, my hands trembling as I gripped the gun and stared into his eyes. They were changing color as we spoke, turning a fascinating shade of green I had never seen before.
“You can and you will,” he said, crouching down before me. “You do whatever it is to save yourself because when this shit is over I’ll be waiting to see that smile of yours,” he whispered, reaching out to run his fingertips down my cheek. “Need that smile in my life, Lace… need it like air,” he ground out.
I cried or maybe I whimpered, reaching for him but he was quick on his feet. He lifted his finger to his lips, silencing me before he treated me to a wink.
“Thanks for the kiss,” he added, before he closed the closet door and left me in the darkness.
I covered my mouth with one hand and held the gun close to my chest with the other. I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew the unfamiliar voices were enemies of my father, of Blackie’s—everything my father tried to shield me from was right on the other side of the door.
“Where is she?” An unfamiliar voice shouted.
“Where is who?” Blackie responded calmly.
“The daughter!”
“How the fuck should I know. She wasn’t here when I got here,” he said.
“What are you doing here?”
“What the fuck is it to you?” Blackie growled.
“Don’t play games with me Petra. I asked you a fucking question.”
“You know I’m getting sick and tired of you all up in my business, Gold,” Blackie sneered. “First you walk in on me getting head and now you charge in here when I’m looking for Connie,” he added.
I knew in that instance why my father shielded me from his world. It was ugly and unapologetic.
“Connie. That’s Jack’s wife.”
“Ex-wife,” Blackie corrected.
“You have a thing going on with Jack’s ex-wife?”
“What? You going to sit there and tell me you haven’t thought about banging Grace Pastore from time to time? I saw Vic’s old lady, man, she’s quite the piece of ass, even at her age. Tell me, how many times have you tapped that shit?”
There was silence.
So very ugly.
So very unapologetic.
“Come on Gold, tell me. Oh, you poor bastard you never got a taste did you?” Blackie continued.
“Shut him, up!” The other voice roared.
“Come on, man…” Blackie started.
“You’re going to understand something Blackie. You and your club aren’t calling the shots anymore. It’s time to teach Jack Parrish who the fuck the boss is, and it’s time for you to become my puppet,”
“Not the needle. No more drugs, man,”