Chapter 7 : New Perspective

*Daniel*

I stared at Audry as she processed what I said.

“You want to help me?” she asked incredulously.

I knew why she was surprised. We’d had a rocky relationship since she joined our gang. I’d been suspicious of her from the beginning, but I could find no real proof of her doing anything wrong. That was until I found her yesterday, poking around somewhere she shouldn’t be. I knew it was her because of her blonde hair and the shape of her beautiful ass.

All right, fine.

At first, I didn’t have a real reason to be suspicious of her. If I was being honest with myself, I wanted to catch her doing something wrong because I was jealous. I hated the way my father praised her and trusted her. It didn’t make sense to me.

Why did it seem like he was grooming her to be the new leader of the Molton Family when she wasn’t even a fucking Molton?

Ever since Audry joined our gang, my father confided in me less and less. On more than a few occasions, I’d seen my father and Audry conversing in quiet voices. When I asked him what it was about, he evaded the question.

So, for the past year, it had been my mission to find out the real reason Audry joined our gang. It didn’t make any sense to me. Why had an intelligent young woman, with her whole life in front of her, joined a gang and resorted to a life of crime? I was pretty sure she even had a college degree. I knew that she had an ulterior motive, but my father refused to listen to my theories. I’d been keeping a close eye on her for close to a year.

And what I saw annoyed me even more. Audry was smart, friendly, and seemed to be a great addition to our gang. She had great ideas and even I could see why my father trusted her so much. But what pissed me off the most was my growing attraction to her.

I always loved a blonde hair, blue-eyed girl, and her tight little body always made my dick twitch. It was more than her good looks though. Whenever I was close to her, hell, even when we were in the same room, I felt this pull toward her that I’d never felt before in my life.

Of course, I’d found other girls attractive, and I’d had my fair share of women in my bed, but this connection to Audry was different. I couldn’t explain it even if I tried.

When I found her in the storage room, I was elated. I had her cornered and I finally had proof that she wasn’t trustworthy. But then it all got fucked up when we kissed. I didn’t even know who kissed who first, but it didn’t matter. That kiss changed something in me. Part of it was purely physical. That kiss with Audry had turned me on more than when I was having literal sex with any other girl. The other part, admittedly bigger, made me want to keep this thing – whatever it was – between us for now.

So, I did some digging.

I used my connections with The Cherry Pickers to see if Audry had been looking around for information elsewhere as well. I met with my usual informant, Peaches, and she revealed she had just met Audry that morning. Peaches wouldn’t tell me what she said to Audry though, no matter how much money I offered.

I knew that Audry was in complete shock about why I would offer to help her figure out her father’s death, but when she mentioned the Taddeos, I knew I had to get involved. That ruthless family had always been our rival. We were at ‘peace’ for now, but our truces never lasted long. Our relationship with them had always been fragile.

So, I wanted to help her extract her revenge on the Taddeo Family. I wanted to help her prove they were the ones who shot her father. It was a win-win for me. Getting revenge on a rival mafia gang and keeping Audry close because I didn’t trust her. It was better to be in on someone’s plan than on the outside of it.

I tried to ignore the voice inside my head saying that wasn’t the only reason, but couldn’t. Yes, I did want to spend more time with her. I wanted to know why I felt this undeniable connection to her. I was done with denying and fighting it.

Audry stared at me with those bright blue eyes of hers. She got down from the counter and began to pace. What I wouldn’t give to know what was going through that brain of hers.

“Are you hungry?” I asked her.

She looked confused by my sudden question. Then, her stomach growled as a response and we shared a smile.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” she said.

See, Simons? I could play nice.

“Come on, I know of a diner around the corner from here that is open late,” I offered.

Adury smirked. “Yeah, I know the one you’re talking about.”

For what felt like the hundredth time, I wondered what she was thinking about. We left her apartment building and walked down the sidewalk. The streets were busy which didn’t surprise me since this was a bad neighborhood and most of the deals that went down happened at night.

Audry walked with her gaze forward and her hand in her purse, probably clutching a self-defense tool of some kind. I wanted to tell her not to be nervous. Since she was with me, she was safe. My face was recognizable and no one would mess with me or someone from the Molton Family. But I held my tongue.

We got to the diner and sat at a booth. After giving our drink orders to the server, she leaned forward.

“Why should I trust you?” Audry asked in a quiet voice, aware that there may be curious ears present.

Her bluntness always surprised me. Though it was something I always appreciated about her. Audry wasn’t one for small talk.

“I’m not saying you should. I don’t trust you,” I admitted with a shrug.

She raised her eyebrows at my honesty.

“Did Peaches tell you anything else besides who was at the shooting?” I pressed.

I could tell by the look on her face that the answer was yes. Audry was not very good at hiding her emotions.

“What else did she tell you?”

Audry hesitated, probably wondering if it was in her best interest to reveal what else she learned. Finally, she sighed.

“Peaches told me that the shootout was a setup for your gang. An undercover cop was killed during the shootout and the Taddeos wanted to blame it on your family,” Audry explained.

My hands clenched around the water glass. I was shocked it didn’t shatter from the force I was using.

Those motherfuckers!

We always had a rocky relationship with them, but to set us up? They needed to pay. Instantly, I wanted revenge on them as much as Audry did. Now we both had skin in the game.

As I processed this information, our server set down our food. Audry tucked into her burger and fries, but I didn’t touch the club sandwich in front of me. I was too pissed to eat. When she was halfway done with her meal, I caught her eye.

“Listen, I want the Taddeos to be taken down as much as you do. Now more than ever. We both want to avenge our families. We have the same goal here, right?”

Audry reluctantly nodded.

“Something fishy is going on with that good-for-nothing gang. I’ve hated the Taddeos ever since I was born. So, for the sake of my family and discovering who killed your father, why don’t we work together? Aren’t we supposed to be on the same team anyway?” I reminded her.

I didn’t reveal the bigger reason why I wanted to work with her on this. I saw it as an opportunity to prove myself to my father. I would be praised tremendously if I could find dirt about a rival family and take them down or expose them.

Even if I had to share the glory with Audry.

She thought over my proposal for a while as she finished her meal. I ate some of my fries and took a bite of my sandwich, but I was still too pissed to enjoy my meal. Audry finally made eye contact with me and I thought she was at last going to agree to the deal.

“Are you picking up the tab?” she asked with an emotionless voice.

Damn, this girl knew how to push my buttons.

“Yes, of course. Haven’t you noticed that I’m a true gentleman?” I winked at her.

She rolled her eyes.

My usual charm, which always had great success with the ladies, didn’t seem to work on her. The server came around to our table to see how we were doing, and Audry ordered an Oreo milkshake. I fought the urge to curse at her. Was she trying to see how long I could take from this little game?

Once Audry was sipping her shake, my leg was bouncing and I was on the edge of my seat. Audry really knew how to keep a man waiting. The dirty part of my mind wondered if she was into edging. If she liked to be brought to the edge of an orgasm, but not fully experience one. Then repeat the process until she was begging me to allow her to come. My eyes traveled down to her cleavage on their own accord.

What I wouldn't give to see her naked. God, I bet it was a glorious sight to behold. Audry caught my staring, but instead of looking angry, she bit her lip in desire.

Fuck.

My dick grew hard as I remembered those soft lips on mine. We locked eyes and stared at each other for a moment. I wanted to take her right here in this diner. I didn’t care that there were other people here. Let them see. I wanted to claim her as mine anyway.

Audry shook her head, clearly trying to push away similar thoughts.

Both of us needed to get a hold of ourselves. We couldn’t allow our attraction for each other to get in the way of our common goal.

“Do you want to work together, Audry?” I asked her outright, needing to hear an answer from her.

She thought about it for a moment, then met my eyes again. Her blue gaze was determined.

“Yes,” she agreed with a nod.

We shook on it, Audry’s hand soft in mine.

I just hoped us working as a team wouldn't blow up in my face.