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Boss
The coin flipped methodically over my knuckles, left to right, right to left, my concentration shit while listening to the back and forth banter between Milo and Shade as we sat in the office of the warehouse. Right now, I was supposed to be paying attention to the details regarding the arrival of an upcoming shipment. Unfortunately, my mind kept wandering off, back to the morning in the gazebo with Miri two weeks ago when I acted like a complete asshole.
Miri had no idea how difficult it was to pretend she didn’t affect me, that having her sitting on my cock, pressing those ruby red lips to mine, drove me insane with desire. It was near impossible not to throw her down and fuck her sweet pussy right there on the wood floor of the gazebo. There was no reason not to take what Miri offered. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know exactly what she was doing, straddling me and grinding on my cock, especially after slowly weaning Miri off heroin without her knowledge, giving her smaller and smaller doses each day. Yes, her mind was likely quite clear when she straddled my legs and tried to coax me into fucking her.
But I didn’t fuck women in exchange for drugs or money. I certainly didn’t hook women on H just to take advantage of them. I might not have been the one who got Miri into heroin, but as long as she was getting drugs from me, she was off-limits. Of course, at the rate I was cutting her dose back, she’d be off that poisonous shit in another week or two. Miri didn’t even suspect I’d been doing it. The drop in dose was so gradual she wouldn’t notice any signs of withdrawal. It was for her own good. Miri didn’t deserve the shitty life she was pulled into by that fucking douchebag, Mason Smith.
“Boss? That okay with you? I can set everything up for the meeting, food, women, the works.”
I palmed the coin, glanced up, and saw Milo and Shade, their eyes fixed on mine, both waiting for some sort of a response. Fuck. I needed to get my head in the game and stop obsessing over Miri.
I sighed and scratched the back of my neck. “Tell me again.” The men exchanged worried looks, and started at the beginning.
* * *
The second Frank stopped the car in front of the house, I went straight upstairs to change clothes. Shedding the pristine designer suit and tie for dark-washed jeans, a light tee, my leather jacket, and my old combat boots. The sleeves of the tee were short, so I got rid of the wrist sheaths but kept the KA-BAR on my calf. Minutes later, I headed back downstairs to cut through the kitchen on my way to the garage. As I passed the library, I spotted Miri out of the corner of my eye and stopped short, inexplicably drawn to the girl. When I realized she was asleep, I stepped inside, unable to resist getting a good, long look at the redhead when she couldn’t shy away or hide her face.
Or climb me like a tree and try to tempt me into grabbing that luscious ass, shoving my cock deep inside her pussy until she screamed my name.
Miri was curled up on one of the soft chaise lounges, dressed in loose, comfortable clothing, her fiery hair piled on top of her head. Her eyes were closed and whatever book she was reading was laid across her chest facedown.
I smiled, taking in the sweet picture and burning it to my memory. I knew I shouldn’t, but was incapable of controlling myself, which pissed me off in its own way. The dusty scent of old books filled my nostrils as I crossed the room. Rose would have loved it here. Reading was her passion, before the drugs got her, that is. I built this library just for her.
When I reached the chaise, I stood above a sleeping Miri and read the title of the book in her arms. Pride and Prejudice. Interesting choice. A book about people who misjudge each other when they first meet only to find out later how mistaken their first impressions were.
Did I misjudge you, doll? Or is it you who misjudged me?
There were no answers to my questions. I scanned her again and her beauty made me take pause, and I inhaled sharply. Miri looked so sweet, so innocent, her reddish-blonde lashes splayed across her pale, freckled cheeks. Her plump, pink lips were slightly parted, and her chest was rising and falling rhythmically with each breath, the book moving with it. The longer I stood there, the more I realized after four weeks with her in my house, I didn’t know anything about this girl. Where she was from, what she’d seen and done, fuck, I didn’t even know her last name or how old she was. Only that she was part spitfire, part angel, and that my cock was turned on by both.
It was no wonder Miri thought I kept her here to use her as my personal whore. I hadn’t done a single thing to make her feel like an actual human being with feelings. I stepped back, suddenly confused and unsure of what exactly it was I was doing by taking Miri in and cleaning her up. To toss her back out on the streets? Cleaned up with nowhere to go? I couldn’t very well keep her here forever, yet the thought of not seeing those brilliant green eyes every day made my chest ache.
At a loss, I spun on my heel and went straight to the garage. I despised uncertainty, especially from myself. It was pointless and frustrating, just like emotions. In the garage, I wasted no time and straddled my sleek red Ducati Superbike, shoved a shiny black helmet on my head, and tore down the driveway, headed for a place I hadn’t been in way too long. Milo would be pissed I didn’t take him and Frank to watch my back, but I could give a fuck. This was a trip I needed to take alone.
I went the long way to give me some time to clear my head and enjoy the powerful machine roaring beneath me. When I reached my destination, I turned off the bike and propped it on its stand. I knew the way like the back of my hand and could probably do it blindfolded. The air was still as I walked across the lush lawn, weaving between trees and flowers and hundreds of headstones. The weather was warm and the sky cloudless, but there wasn’t a single other person in sight. Halfway down a row, I stopped next to the familiar pink granite slab and crouched down beside it.
“Rose,” I whispered, brushing debris away from the edges of her headstone. “It’s been a while.” I paused, closing my eyes to remember my sister in happier times, glowing with the health of youth, white teeth straight and gleaming, long dark waves cascading down her back and around her face. “I miss you.”
My breath hitched as I remembered how badly I failed my little sister. “I’m so sorry, Rose. I think about you every day. Everything I do, dealing with the bullshit, the violence, it’s all for you.” My voice caught and I held back a sob, pressing my hands to my temples as if it could ease the excruciating pain of losing her. “I’m changing, Rose. It’s slow going, but I’m working on it. I… I’m helping a girl. She… she reminds me of you.” A small smile lifted the corner of my mouth. “She’s beautiful and bright, and has that same fiery spark as you. That passion for life. I know it doesn’t make up for what happened, but… maybe I can make a difference somehow. I want to be a better man.”
I ran a finger across the name carved into the stone.
Axl Rose Bosman
“Love you, sis. Always.” I stood and walked away without looking back. The past was done. I could only change the future.
The Ducati roared between my thighs as I revved the throttle.
Time to figure out what the fuck that future will look like.
Miri
I knew something was different before I reached the foyer. Loud, banging noises woke me from a deep sleep, though it was late enough in the day that I should have been up hours ago, but what did I have to wake up to? Heroin? Certainly, no one missed me. After showering and throwing on shorts and a tank top, I descended the maje
stic, curved staircase.
Halfway down, I noticed the front door propped wide open while various men dressed in white coveralls carried large pieces of equipment and containers of food into the house. Just outside on the front step, I spotted Milo observing the progress, his usual hideous grimace pasted on his perpetually pissed-off face. Chills swept down my arms, raising goose bumps. Milo despised me. I might be a junkie, but I wasn’t stupid. Milo was probably as confused by Boss’s actions as me, wondering why on earth he had me living here with him.
Not wanting to be on the receiving end of one of Milo’s sharp, cutting glares, I crept past the door and made my way to the kitchen where I found utter chaos. A half-dozen men in the same all-white uniforms were setting up what appeared to be enough catering equipment to feed a small army while three of Boss’s men supervised. I didn’t want to interrupt or make my presence known, so I decided to forgo breakfast and find somewhere to hide out of sight. I was on my way to the library when Boss stepped out of his study, a room that was so important, it had an electronic keypad and a fancy door with an airlock protecting it.
