AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Who?” I grit between clenched teeth.
King tells me.
“What’re you gonna do?” he asks, knowing I won’t be violent toward a woman.
I unclench my fists and roll out my shoulders. “I’m gonna call your sister.”
CHAPTER65
Nero
My knuckles knockthree times against the painted wood.
This apartment building, in the middle of downtown Minneapolis, isn’t that far from Payton’s old place, but it’s a world apart. There’s a security guard in the lobby. Nice carpet on the floors. An elevator that works.
However, that security guard can be bribed. The elevator cameras can turn off. And the soft flooring means that the other residents didn’t hear us walking down the hall. The icing on the cake is the person two doors down hosting a party, their music loud enough to muffle the sound of what’s about to happen.
I rap my knuckles against the wood, then stand patiently while I listen to the deadbolt unlock and the handle turn.
Eyes I used to be indifferent to widen when they meet mine. And I watch a range of emotions flit across her face.
Surprise. Alarm. Caution.
It’s never a good thing when the leader of the underworld shows up at your door unannounced, in the middle of the night. Unless, maybe, you’re a prostitute looking to make some cash.
Nikki––in leggings and a crop top, hair in a high ponytail, clearly not yet in bed––cocks her hip, placing one hand into the dip of her waist and the other against the doorframe.
“Nero, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Her mouth pulls up into what I’m sure is supposed to be a seductive smile. “Looking for a little birthday treat?”
I’d planned to flirt with her. To let her think I was here to fuck her. Get her to invite me in.
But when I look at her, all I see is the devastated look on Payton’s face and the way the color drained out of her pretty features.
I see the security footage of Payton running away from my party and slipping on the stairs, bruising her perfect skin.
The tear stains on her cheeks.
The packed duffel on her floor.
I see her curled up on her little bed, passed out from too much crying.
And I decide to change my plan.
Darting my arm out, I grip her by the wrist. And when she stumbles back, I shove the door the rest of the way open.
“Ne––” she starts.
“Shut the fuck up!” I snap, moving forward into her space, forcing her to stagger back.
Nikki’s lips move but she doesn’t say anything.
“Really, Nero?” A new voice follows me into the apartment. “She even looks like a bitch.”
Aspen, King’s fiery little sister, kicks the door shut after she enters and flips the deadbolt.
“It’s not like I was fucking dating her,” I defend myself, sparing a glance at the shorter woman. Her hair and eyes the same shade of golden brown as King’s.
“Hey!” Nikki forgets my command of silence. “Who the hell is this?” Her tone is filled with undeserved indignance, and it makes me wish she was a man just so I could punch her.
