I nodded my greeting to the men in the room and walked away. Too many ruthless men in one area. The seven of them, plus Mr. Norman on edge, were too intense. I needed to get the hell out.

  This mission was simple, if things went right. Get her out of town for a few weeks, have some fun, and when we come back, TSK and Mr. Norman would have this dilemma settled. Then things could return to normal.

  CHAPTER 3

  ELIJAH

  Thirteen years ago…

  I looked through the scope, watching the twenty-year-old boy walk into the restaurant. Dressed in an all-white suit, he wasn’t difficult to see. It was dark out, and he’d also arrived alone. For him to be the prince of a drug and money laundering empire, he was stupid for going anywhere without two or three men to guard him.

  This was all new for Domino. His father died about two years ago, but he’d left everything to Frank, a friend of his, until Domino was twenty-one. That would have given him enough time to grow into who he was supposed to be, but three months ago, Frank had a heart attack and died while fucking some tramp. So maybe nobody had told him what his legacy was worth.

  Domino sat down and I slowed my breathing to ready my shot. Just when I was about to pull the trigger, somebody walked in front of the window and stood there, blocking my view.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I was you.” I whipped around, pulling my automatic from my holster and pointing it at the three men who’d joined me on the rooftop.

  Two of them, I recognized. Domino’s brothers. The other man was about ten years their senior. Who was he?

  “Who are you?” I asked, cocking the gun.

  “First, I need you to turn around so that you can understand why aiming that gun at me and pointing that rifle at Domino is a bad idea,” the older man said.

  Not trusting him, I turned only partially to look at the restaurant. The person blocking the window was gone and now there was a woman and child–wait. I squinted, but I still couldn’t have been seeing what I thought I was. I looked through the scope, disregarding the men for something much more important. Kelsey and Nicole. My wife and our fourteen-year-old daughter. My “keep it cool” meter went from 0 to 100. I spun around and aimed my gun at Turner as I pulled a gun from my back and pointed it at Saint. I knew they meant just as much as Domino did. The Savage Kings were a ruling family of seven. And three of them were in shooting range. But who was he, their sitter?

  “Want to tell me why my wife and daughter are at that table?” I saw red, and I wasn’t sure if there was anything that they could say to make me not kill everybody. How did they even know they existed?

  “Show him.” I heard a voice that didn’t belong to either of the three of them, and then I saw the phone in the older man’s hand. I must’ve been on speaker.

  Turner held up an iPad whose screen was lit up with a picture of Nicole on it. Underneath her name was a dollar amount that baffled even me.

  “See that number?” Turner pointed to the screen. “That’s how much your employer is selling your daughter for. It’s insurance to make sure that you stay in line. The moment that you stop doing what he asks or if you fuck up a kill shot, you can kiss Nicole’s virginity goodbye for twenty-eight million dollars. Though, depending on when that is, the price could be higher.”

  “Where did you get that, and why is any of that important to the Savage Kings?” Stalling, I did the math in my head. Even if I put all my money together, sold the house, cars, and went all in, I’d still be short ten million. What was their point in bringing me this info? Did they think the information was going to get Domino out of losing his life? If it wasn’t today, it’d be tomorrow. He’d kidnapped my wife and child; there was no way I could let him live.

  “We want you to come work for us,” Domino said through the phone.

  “Here’s how this will work,” the older man began.

  “Who are you?” I asked, annoyed that I had no clue who he was. I couldn’t make plans to kill him if I didn’t know where to find him, and without a name, I couldn’t.

  “I’m Ward. Like I was saying, all you have to do is pledge your loyalty to us. Let us track your daughter, since she’s now an investment of twenty-eight million dollars, and we can’t just have her running around freely and unguarded. In return, we’ll buy her freedom from this skin site, and when the time is right, you can make the son of a bitch pay for what he’s done.”

  “How do I know this isn’t a con?” They already had Kelsey and Nicole. What if they sold them back to him, or worse yet, killed them as revenge for aiming at Domino?

  “It’s not. The options are easy.” Turner stepped forward. “One: You join us and get your revenge. Two: You don’t join us and you die. Three: We let you and your family take your chances with him and your daughter. Not killing Domino activates the auction on this site and gives her to the highest bidder. What do you think he’s going to do to you after he sells her off?”

  “You son of a bitch!” I went to squeeze the trigger, but Ward pulled Turner behind him and Saint, too.

  “Your problem ain’t with us.” Ward took the iPad from Turner. “It’s with him.”

  He walked toward me, holding the device out for me to see. I popped the safety on for the gun that I’d had at my back and put it where I’d gotten it from. I took the tablet and stared at the screen. He was right. If she wasn’t on that screen, the bargaining chips would have fallen differently. Domino and my family were no longer in the restaurant. Not that it mattered, because I could never kill him in front of them.

  “If it helps, Domino has been looking for you for a while. When he got the drop on the hit you’re trying to make on him, he used it to his benefit. However, when we looked for shit on you, we did not know we were going to find this,” Ward offered.

  “If he purchases her, how do I know that he’ll set her free and not keep her for himself?” No answers. All the thoughts running through my head and I couldn’t figure a way out of this shit.

  “We don’t dabble in the bartering of skin.” Saint stepped from behind Ward. “Look, we don’t want issues. We want you to come work for us. In order to get that, we’re paying off the child molesters and giving you Jimmy to do as you want, as long as he ends up six feet under. The amount we’re paying for her is serious money. We think you’re worth it. We’re only trying to track her to keep her safe. If you’ve got the money to do it yourself, you better get it fast. No way we’re letting you get close enough to kill Domino. We knew you were here. Knew when the hit was. We have eyes everywhere! Do you really think you can get out of this without our help?” Saint threw his hands up in exaggeration. “Come on, man, you’re killing for a muthafucka who doesn’t give a fuck about you or her. At least with us, you ain’t gotta worry about that shit. Plus, we don’t want you to do hits. We want you to guard and defend us. Particularly Domino, since he’s the king of kings. You only have to use force when necessary. That’s gotta be better than hangin’ out on muthafuckin’ rooftops alone.”

  I hated to admit it, and maybe he’d said similar things as the other two, but he made more sense.

  “As far as finding out if you can trust us…” Saint pulled a gun from his waist and aimed it at me. “I could have killed you while you focused on Domino.” He uncocked the gun, took the clip out, and put it on the ground. He turned and walked from the rooftop through the doorway that led to the stairwell. Turner followed, leaving Ward with a very stressed-out me.

  “What’s it going to be?” Domino asked over the phone.

  “If you play me—”

  Domino hung up the phone before I could get the rest out.

  “Welcome to the family, Sharp.”

  The nickname was an ode to my shooting style, the way I dressed, and my focus.

  He put his hand out, and hesitantly, I shook it.

  “Get this shit cleaned up and meet us at this address in an hour.” Ward handed me a card with an address printed on it before he also disappeared out the door.

  What in the fuck had just happened? How was I here? I had all the answers to all the questions, but two important ones. Who snitched on the hit? How long would they make me wait before I got to knock Jimmy off the list of hits? He was the last one I’d do. After that, I wouldn’t blindly kill. I refused. My morals were catching up with me lately, and this was my way out of the assassin's life. This thing with Domino would be different. Especially if they were who they portrayed themselves to be. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill all seven of the bastards to get me and mine safe. Hands down.

  CHAPTER 4

  MALCOLM

  “We’re testing something new at work. I can’t tell you about it fully but… I need you to be this person when we’re out in public.” I handed Nicole the driver’s license with her new name.

  “Nicky Ortiz.” She snickered. “Okaaaay.”

  “I’m Mal Williamson.” I showed her mine, and she laughed at it.

  “Your picture is so much better than mine. Where’d you get this?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” I put my hand out. “I need your license so that you don’t pull it out by mistake. They registered everything under these names.”

  “Fine. You better not leave me, though.” Nicole smacked her real license in my hand. “Be careful with that.”

  “I will.” I pulled out a rolled wad of cash and gave it to her. “This is a grand. Use it wisely.”

  “Do you know who I am?” She slipped the band into her purse. “It better not be fake.”

  It was my turn to laugh. “Not at all. Ready for this?”

  Nicole nodded, and we exited the plane. I helped her down before I took a minute to smell the Vegas air.

  “Smells like sin,” I admitted.

  “Then let’s go find shit to do. We can repent on the way home.”

  This was why I liked her.

  Checking into the hotel was easy. Our suite had two-bedrooms and was huge as hell. Mr. Norman picked a swanky place, leaving nothing to be desired.

  “They have a full spa!” Nicole jumped up and down as she read the welcome pamphlet.

  “Have fun with that.”

  “I hope you have more money because I’ll be living there. Facials and mani-pedis every day.”

  “Your toes are going to fall off,” I teased.

  “Maybe, but they’ll be happy when they do.”

  “Funny.” I picked up the dinner menu so I could order room service. I was tired and didn’t really want to go anywhere. It was two in the morning and aside from needing food, I just wanted to sleep.

  We placed our order, and while we waited, we unpacked. I logged into my computer to make sure Nicole’s tracker was still working. It was in the diamond bracelet that Mr. Norman gave her. She never took it off unless it needed to be cleaned or maintenance, and I was the only person allowed to do it. The application pulled up immediately, and I tested the connection. Strong. Looked like everything was still working as it should.

  I closed my laptop and put on shorts and a wife beater. There was a knock on the door, and I exited the room to get to the door. Two carts rolled in, one pushed by a woman and the other by a male. They loaded all the food onto the dining room table before I tipped them on their way out.

  “Whoa!” Nicole exclaimed.

  I looked at the ridiculous amount of food we’d ordered. She’d wanted steak and fries, I’d gotten steak, eggs, bacon, and fully loaded tater tots. There was cherry pie, apple pie, ice cream, and chocolate chip cookies. Sprite and sweet tea were our chosen drinks, but I’d also ordered a whiskey sour. Everything looked magnificent, including Nicole.

  She wore a cropped peach tee and black boy shorts. I got more than a little idea of what she would look like undressed. The shorts accented her round ass and smooth thighs. Her stomach was exposed, and depending on how she moved, I could see the curve of the underside of her breasts. She pulled her long hair into a bun, and she was wearing her glasses, having already removed her contacts. Skin kissed by the sun, she was golden brown and beautiful.

  I wiped drool from my mouth, and she giggled.

  “It does all look good.” Nicky sat at the table, hiding all that body she was showing off.

  I followed suit quickly, so she didn’t see how hard I’d gotten just from watching her. “It sure looks good.” But I wasn’t talking about the food.

  We ate, and I stumbled to bed full and exhausted. Nicole curled on the couch to watch TV, so I left her alone. I didn’t have it in me to fight sleep and my urges for her. I masturbated after closing the door and locking it.

  In my bed and my imagination, it was Nicole who stroked me to completion, occasionally using her mouth to tease me. I didn’t last long, and after using a washcloth to clean up the mess, I passed out cold, still thinking about that booty and thighs. It was going to be a long trip.

  CHAPTER 5

  NICOLE

  “Are you ready yet?” Malcolm shouted at me.

  “No. I’ll let you know when I’m ready. If you stop asking me every five minutes, maybe I could actually be ready.” I rolled my eyes at him, but he couldn’t see.

  I leaned forward in the mirror to apply my mascara. You’d think as much as I wore it, I’d be able to put it on the right way. Nope. I blinked my lashes onto the brush and swiped. Blink and swipe. I looked at my eyes in the mirror and then snapped my fingers in praise.

  “Yaaaas, bish. Makeup is flawless.” I posed in the mirror, happy with my smokey eye look, added some matte black lipstick, and was surprised at how good it looked. I grabbed it when I was at the store the other day because it looked interesting. Panned out.

  “Who are you talking to, and why aren’t you ready?” Malcolm shouted through the door.

  “Myself! Don’t you give yourself words of encouragement?” I sighed, giving him another eye roll.

  He’d never had to deal with me getting ready for stuff. I primped and made sure I looked good before I left to go places. I was never late, but randomly when you decide to go out to a club, give me time to get ready. Was he acting like I’d been in here all day? Yes, but it’d only been forty-five minutes. He said he wanted to leave at ten, and I still had fifteen minutes. He was being a pain on purpose.

  “If you’re not out here on time… I’m leaving you!” Malcolm shouted.

  “Pfft. You’d never leave me. Best friend code says you wouldn’t, and we both know how we feel about living up to that. Besides, you love me,” I taunted.

  “Nicky, how much more do you have to do?” He sounded agitated, and it tickled me.

  “I still have to shower and stuff. Shave, makeup, masturbate, hair, and figure out what jewelry I want to wear.” I turned in the mirror to see how the cut of my new panties fit. They were black lace and matched my strapless balconette bra. I’d put some deep waves in my hair that had me checking out myself. I wasn’t conceited, but right then, I was feeling myself. That happened from time to time.

  “What in the fuck, Nicky!” Malcolm opened the door to my room, catching me in the mirror. “Damn, girl.”

  “What do you think? Too much?” I asked sincerely.

  “Na–nah. Um… Damn.” Malcolm looked me over from head to toe, freezing his assessment in all the right places.

  I’d never seen him look at me the way he was. It was nice since I’d had the biggest crush on him since I met him. I played it cool since he was so far out of my league. He worked for some big-shot company, making more money than I could imagine while doing what he loved. I was the opposite of that. My job met my needs, but that was it. I only got to dabble in my passion from time to time.

  Malcolm was beautiful. His skin was naturally tanned and bright, his dark-brown hair was a little longer than shoulder length, and he was only 5’10”, but since I’d only inherited my mother’s height and not my father’s, I was 5’8”. His lips were perfect, and my favorite feature on his face. Not too full or too thin, I often fantasize about what it’d feel like if he kissed me. I’d also thought that a tech junkie would either look like a twelve-year-old boy all the time in T-shirts and overly large shorts or he’d look corny with a pocket protector in his shirt. He was neither. Well-dressed. It was a requirement in his day-to-day world, and he made it look effortless.

  Like now, he was wearing black tapered pants, a teal silk shirt tucked in, a black leather belt, black and teal tennis shoes, and his thick hair was pulled back in a man bun. His ears were gaged, and the earrings in them were teal and black. Happy that he couldn’t see how wet he’d made me just from standing there, I turned around to distract my hands that wanted to touch all over him. Instead, I put my essential makeup, to touch up my face, in a mini pouch.

  Malcolm hissed when he got a good view of my backside. I didn’t turn to look at him. I didn’t know if I was strong enough to keep my actions in check.

  “I’m just… I’ll see you out here.” Malcolm walked out of the room, but I caught the bulge in his pants as he turned. I aroused him.

  I walked over to the door and locked it. I was too riled up to be around him like this. Pulling my vibe from my bag, I walked over to the sink and leaned on it, watching myself in the mirror. Turning the setting on high, I slipped off my panties and got to work. It surprised me to find myself soaked already, and being so far gone made my session so much easier. I held on to the counter tightly when my body started spasming. Holding that orgasm until my entire body shook, I imagined him watching me as I teased my pussy for him. Ready for the release that would clear my head, I leaned into the vibe, relaxing fully as the orgasm rushed me. I’d held back all sound until a second orgasm pounded through me, catching me off guard. Briefly, I cried out, but it was loud. What if he heard me? And the thought of him hearing what was happening in here was enough for a third to rip through me. It took me down to my knees, where I shook with the after-effects of my orgasms.