The beautiful Turk looked at war with himself a short moment before he looked me up and down, waving a hand in my direction, his lips thinning. “You know what? Fuck this. I’m out.”
The thought of Aslan Sadik leaving me to go home to the wife who adored him drove me wild enough for me to make a point. Rushing over to my purse, I pulled out my .22 caliber, put my finger to the trigger, and fired.
Bang.
The sound echoed in the penthouse apartment, and when his entire body jerked in shock, I reveled in it. He blinked at the hole in the wall beside his head and turned back to me, wide-eyed. “You crazy bitch.”
Yeah. And you better not forget it. “Don’t ever come back, Az. You’ve officially outworn your welcome.”
Those dark eyes of his watched me closely a long while before he turned and left me alone with my thoughts.
And it was not a pretty place to leave a crazy bitch.
***
Lexi
“And they were huge, both of them!” said A.J. excitedly as he told me about meeting the two friendly giants. No, not giants. Cousins. A.J. called them his cousins.
“They were, were they?” I looked over at Molly, blinking, with my brows up to my hairline.
Molly had the grace to look sheepish. “They were just some old friends.”
Old friends who just happened to be in the school’s vicinity at pick up time, the same day Molly just happened to suggest she pick up A.J. on her day off, and take her red muscle car to boot.
Mmhm. Sounded legit.
Pull the other leg, Molly. “Oh, okay.”
Molly’s lip twitched at my clear disbelief. “Would you believe they just came to say hi?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “No. No, I wouldn’t.”
She looked peeved. “Damn. I knew you were smarter than that.”
When it was time to put A.J. into the bath, I lightly smacked his bottom. “Bath time!” Then I leaned into a wide-eyed Molly. “We’re not done talking about this.”
And she sighed, loudly.
Once A.J. was in the bath, playing with his windup frog, I crooked my finger to Molly and she met me in the hallway where I could watch A.J. but still talk privately. The moment she approached, I kept my eyes on my son but spoke to her. “I trust you—really, I do—but this sounds like something I should know about, Molly. So, spill.”
Molly’s ridiculously full lips puckered and she folded her arms across her chest, peeking into the bathroom before pulling back and uttering quietly, “Don’t freak out.”
My eyes widened. “Don’t freak out?”
Shit. This was worse than I thought.
Well, how could I not now?
Molly shushed me. “He’ll hear you!”
When both of us peeked into the bathroom, A.J. was watching us curiously and we both smiled widely. A.J. smiled back, but it was cautious, which was fair enough, because Molly and I looked nuts, hanging out in the hall, whispering and such.
We pulled back, and Molly started with, “I noticed A.J. was leaving school as quickly as he could, so I went back at recess and lunch to see what was going on. It didn’t take long to find out this little scrag of a girl, Zoe, was teasing A.J.”
Oh, no. “About what?”
Molly’s jaw tightened. “About not having a father.”
Oh, God.
Suddenly, it all made sense. A.J.’s desperate need to see his father, even if only in his dreams, his sudden grief, the way he was suddenly attached to all things Twitch. I put a hand to my forehead and rubbed.
Why didn’t I think this might have been a school-related issue?
I was a fool to have missed it.
“Look, it’s all good. I took care of it.” I heard the anger in her tone. “Zoe, the little shit, isn’t going to bother A.J. anymore. That’s for sure.”
And then it hit me.
Lowering my hand, I blinked at her. “You threatened a five-year-old with gang members?” When her eyes darted around, I leaned in and hissed, “Are you crazy?”
Her eyes rounded. “They didn’t say a word, Lex. All they did was stand there and look tough while Zoe and I had a little chat about bullying. I swear. I didn’t do anything that would get you or A.J. into trouble. I would never do that to you.” Molly peeked into the bathroom, gazing at the little monster before pulling back, looking miserable. “She was taunting him, Lex.”
Yes, kids could be cruel. I knew that from personal experience. But that didn’t mean Molly needed to step in. “You should have talked to me.”
“I know,” she muttered glumly. She didn’t look at me when she let out a hushed, “Sorry.”
I understood Molly only had A.J.’s best interest at heart. No one ever accused Molly of not taking her job seriously. “Thank you for sticking up for him.”
Her lip lifted a little. Just a touch. “I love my little maggot.”
That was when A.J. called out, “Are you talking about me?”
Molly and I both chuckled and responded, “No.”
A.J. undid the plug, and I stepped into the bathroom, wrapping a towel around him, drying him off. “You know what? I want to hear more about your new cousins.”
“Oh, man, Mum!” A.J. turned wide-eyed. “Hemi is so big.” He made a round belly motion with his hands and the towel fell, leaving him naked. I couldn’t help but laugh, picking up the towel and covering him again. “And Tama was a little mean, but Molly told me he’s always mean.” When I looked back at Molly, I caught her making hand signals to A.J., and the second she saw me, she forced a robotic grin. “Tama’s got tattoos all over his face. His nose, his chin. All over.”
At Molly’s long, drawn out sigh and shake of the head, I quelled my laughter, and uttered, “Maybe Molly could invite your new cousins over so I can meet them.”
A.J. gasped. “Yes!”
Molly scoffed. “No way.”
“Why not?” I asked, feigning politeness. “They sound like absolute gentlemen.” Molly stared at me, not loving my teasing. “I can’t see why you would keep these guys to yourself. And besides—” I turned my smiling eyes to her. “—I want to meet this Tama of yours.”
“He’s not mine.” Molly’s face fell and she looked down at her feet. “Not anymore.”
She looked so sad that I quieted my voice. “And nothing can be done to fix that?”
Molly shook her head. “No. I messed up there.” She straightened suddenly. “I think I’m just going to go watch TV in my room.”
Before I could object, she was gone.
And I had to wonder what on earth that sweet girl had done to Tama that she felt she didn’t deserve forgiveness.
Turns out, I was better off not knowing.
Chapter Ten
Twitch I could barely breathe. “If you’re fucking with me, Black....”
Ethan chuckled roughly. “Unfortunately for the Australian population, I am one hundred percent serious. I’m sending someone to you tomorrow with your documents. His name is Gabriel Blanco. Let him and, for the love of St. Peter, be nice.”
“Fuck me,” I breathed out, trying to calm the rapid beating of my heart.
Ethan’s laughter faded to nothing. When he spoke again, I felt that shit. I felt it hard.
“You’ve waited a long time, Twitch, and your patience has paid off.” He lowered his voice. “I’m proud of you, son.”
I didn’t do compliments well. Especially not from other men. “Yo, Ethan. You got wood for me, bro?” At his sudden flurry of curses, I let out a low chuckle. “I’m kidding, man. Chill. I’m...” This was hard for me to admit. It took me a while to get it out. “I’m grateful. For everything.”
He grunted. “Why do I feel like I’ve just released a lion into the unsuspecting community?”
At that, I grinned hard. “‘Cause you know me.”
As he let out another string of expletives, I laughed low, and for the first time in five years, I could breathe again.
I answered the door and looked down at the man in the suit cautiously. “Name?”
“Gabe Blanco,” the middle-aged man said in his Australian accent. “Ethan Black sent me.”
When I made no move to let him in, Gabe shrugged. “I can take this shit back if you don’t want it.”
And my cheek ticked. Without a word, I opened the door and stepped back, allowing him entrance, but I watched him carefully.