AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Then he puckers his lips, and I scoff.
“Eye-fuck you. Always.” I toss my loose brunette curls over my shoulder. “Besides, I don’t want to smudge my lipstick, and we both know you have so little self-control around me.”
He shrugs. “Keep throwing knives at me, and I just might break.”
“Later, lover boy,” I tease. “We have a warehouse to blow up first.”
I saunter away from him as he begins cursing under his breath.
“Jasper,” Riot growls. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Jasper.”
“Yet.”
I give him a coy smile, but he stares blankly at me. With a sigh, I check the mirror once more, only this time, I need to make sure my makeup thoroughly covers my bruises and tattoo. And hope the expensive foundation doesn’t rub off on my dress.
He watches me too closely, his emotions distorting his sharp features into something savage and crazed. The gentle way he holds my hand is a stark juxtaposition to his mounting anger. His eyes ensnare mine in the mirror’s reflection as he grinds his teeth.
“When I find him—”
I shake my head. “I’ll see him on Sunday, Ri. I’m going to get my laptop back, and then I’m going to kill him. He can’t find out who I really am. To him, I’m Gemma Smith, a college student majoring in business with some family money deepening my pockets.”
“He hurt you. What will Saturday say about this?”
“Nothing good. But I needed a hacker who wasn’t associated with my family to crack open Senior’s files.”
I seal my lips shut, knowing that was too much information. How can I explain to Riot that I stole the laptop from my grandfather’s right-hand man? That it’s filled with enough material to blackmail not only all the members of the Maldonado cartel but also the Asphalt Zombies and every other client we’ve dealt with over the last four decades?
As soon as I have enough on Juan Carlos, I can kill him without reaping the consequences from my grandfather.
Riot squeezes my hand as he grunts. “Rule three. Family affairs. Got it.”
I hang my head as I whisper, “It’s not mine, Riley, but it’s full of blackmail. There are pictures of us on that hard drive, pictures of K—Saturday. If any of that gets back to my grandfather, he’ll have you both killed.”
Riot has been quiet since my admission. The cogs and gears in his mind are churning, but I can’t bring myself to ask what he’s thinking.
His thumb strokes back and forth across the exposed skin between the straps of my thigh sheath. The further his thoughts drift, the lower my heart sinks. Even with the touch, I feel as if I’m losing him.
Things are complicated enough for him without me adding more issues into the mix. I mean… I fixed some of the problems for him. And while Camille, his twin sister, was thankful, it pissed Riley that I put myself in danger for them.
I would do it again in a heartbeat.
We cruise in the back of the chauffeured sedan, silence thickening the air between us. Riot adjusts his tie and straightens his platinum cufflinks.
“Been a while since you’ve worn a tux?” I tease, side-eyeing him.
He’s so fucking handsome with his hair styled and neatly trimmed beard. Those ocean blue eyes pierce me from beyond his honey skin, and I want nothing more than to climb into his lap.
To have those tattooed hands grip my hips, leaving delicious bruises behind that I can prod at in the morning… That bite of pain giving me flashbacks of how I got them. They wouldn’t be the same as the bruises adorning my neck.
Just as I turn in my seat to tell him my thoughts, the car slows to a stop and Riot holds his hand up for me to wait. We crawl forward, foot-by-foot, to the entrance of the shady warehouse rigged with explosives.
He taps the driver’s shoulder. “There’s a bag in the trunk, Heath. Drop it off at my bike and dip. Ditch the car; we’ll take care of it later.”
The man grunts but doesn’t utter a single word. He must be one of the few Asphalt Zombies Riot trusts. I don’t share his sentiments, though I can admit he has as many followers as his father.
