Chapter 108Katie’s POVThe man groans in pain and grabs the back of my hair with such force that I feel like he might end up wearing my scalp as a trophy by the end of the night, and then something else happens.A thud ripples through the air, and his hand gets removed from me while his body lurches forward, his head going straight through the cracked window.Shards of glass fall to my knees as two beefy men deal with him, and a baseball swings to his back.One guy handles the baseball bat while the other slams my ex’s head into the broken window.I’m thinking we’re getting robbed, and I’m next.And then, I’m thinking they have some shit to settle.And then, I hear them cursing him while hitting him with passion, mumbling something about being chivalrous with a woman.That would be me.Their New York Accents give them away, so I fall back to my rear and look up.These are Cephus’s men. They finish Beau and lift him up.He’s about to crash to my feet when one of the men rubs his hand
Chapter 109Cephus’ POVEarlier“So we’re looking at tables thirteen and twenty-five,” I say.Six of my men are in the room with me.And six big screens transmit live the activity inside the casino.“The guy with the white shirt. And the one with a cap,” I say.We’re all looking at the two men in question.“Two? That’s it?” Vito mutters.“They’re the brains of the operation. There are probably three or four men. Maybe more. Perhaps they have girls with them, too. These soy latte-drinking dudes have made the rounds these months and fucked with the system. The other owners couldn’t prove they’d been stealing. And by stealing, I mean…”“I know what you mean, Boss,” Vito says, crossing his arms over his chest. “What do you want me to do?”I round my desk and crash into my seat before leaning back and clasping my hands at the back of my head.All the men in the room look at me as I speak again.“We teach them a lesson. I don’t know if they’re stupid or they’re stupid. Considering they’re t
Chapter 110Cephus’ POVIt’s an exercise in discipline, and I win every time, although the struggle is real.“That woman, Katie Leto, lives out of her car. She’s parked two blocks down the road on the other side of the street behind a building.I look at him, expressionless.He waits for me to say something.“Go on.”“The fucker was hot on her trail, and I thought he’d get to her and try to talk to her. He followed her for a while until he made sure she went to her car, and then he turned around and headed to a gas station down the road. He’s driving a sports car and made some fuss at the gas station, arguing with the clerk. I don’t know what his beef was with that guy, but he looked pissed overall. He bought some food and beer and went back to his ride. Later, he smoked a joint and talked on the phone. It looked important as his face was all bunched up, and he gestured a lot. I thought he’d leave. He didn’t. Not immediately. And for sure, not back to LA. He pulled out of the parki
Chapter 111Cephus’ POVVito notices the direction of my gaze, catches a glimpse of the fucker’s grin, and smacks him with the back of his hand.The man groans.“What’s your name?” I ask, taking off my jacket and draping it over Katie’s shoulders.She looks up at me, her eyes glinting with disbelief as if she’s never had a man in her entire life doing that for her.My focus moves swiftly to the tattooed man tied to a chair in the middle of the room.One of the guys walks out and shuts the door behind him.It’s only me, Vito, Louie, and Gianni in the room.“Name?” I thunder.The man looks at me like he can’t grasp the meaning of my words.Louie smacks him upside the head, and he reacts, pulling at the ties.That’s all it takes, and the three men in front of me violently push him back, his head lolling from their jabs.I lift my hand, and they stop.“He won’t talk if his jaw is broken,” I say.Huffing, annoyed, they step back.“Name, motherfucker,” I say again.The woman seems frozen in
Chapter 112Cephus’ POVThe only reason you are here, and you’re still alive,” I murmur quietly, “is thatshe is still alive, and I’m trying to figure out what you are to her. Or if you mean anything to her.Capisci?Do you understand? I have no problem scattering your remains in the desert. And no one––and I mean no one––would even find a scrape of you. I’m sure no one would mind that you were gone, either. And maybe I’m going out on a limb here… But people would probably dance on your grave if they knew you were gone for good. So don’t fuck with me or my patience. You’ve already taken up too much space in my life. And I’ve wasted too much time with you. I have better things to do than playing detective with you.”He gasps in my grip before I tear my hand away from him and push him back.Vito catches him so he doesn’t fall backward.It’s a miracle my white shirt is still crisp and not stained.“Why is it a different story?” I ask, falling back into my seat.“She has some problems ba
Chapter 113Cephus’ POVA shower of fists falls over his face, and expletives shoot from her lips while he laughs like an idiot.My jacket slides to the floor as she sinks her fists into his face.I loop my arm around her waist and pull her back into my chest while she kicks him with her legs, oblivious to anything around her.These vile emotions must’ve been bottled up for some time.Her fury is so visceral and raw her chest heaves and her skin burns, and I have to turn her around and lock her in my arms to make her stop.Shame glints in her eyes before she presses her brow against my chest and begins sobbing, which is a whole lot of things wrapped into one.Maybe she’s upset with her stalker, her family situation, or the lack of money.Whatever it is, I press my hand on the back of her head and shush her quietly.By now, Vito has the man out of the chair and his gun connected to his head again.Regardless of how I’d like this evening to play out, we constantly get to the point where
Chapter 114Katie's POVThe rug lining the floor muffles the clicking of my heels as we make the trip to what I believe to be the lobby.The man assigned to take care of me doesn’t spare a glance in my direction.He only shows me the way as we navigate an intricate maze of hallways separated by thick doors.At some point, we are deep in the dimly lit underbelly of the hotel, and I clench my jaw to prevent my teeth from chattering.So many things have shaken me to the core and put a strain on my body.What happened to Beau. The men who came to my rescue and our trip to that room, where I frankly didn’t know what to believe.I didn’t know what to expect.I thought they’d leave us there––Beau and me––and maybe deal with us in the morning.The prospect of being with Beau in the same room scared the shit out of me.I didn’t know how much longer I could rely on these people to create a buffer between Beau and me.I honestly think the more moments like this Beau and I will have, the more ven
Chapter 115Katie's POVMy first trip is to the wall of windows.Oh, how beautiful this is. I have a balcony. A balcony? I can’t believe it. I open the door and walk outside.My heels echo against the concrete, highlighting the quiet evening. Despite the chaos swirling in the city not far from me, the night is silent up here.The view showcases the mountains' outline, the glowing lights of the city, and the stars looking like dust across the sky.It’s not like I’ve never seen a starry sky before, but not from the balcony of a hotel.The lights adorning the balustrade are so pretty.I’ve always liked the strings of lights bringing out the magic of a place in the evenings.I liked them even when I worked at the restaurant.And then I remember Tina loves them too, like so many other insignificant things.I wish I could hear her voice.I wish I could have her here right now.All the precautions taken don’t mean that much right now.All my efforts were for nothing.I was so paranoid about