We locked eyes. Then she turned, supple ass firm, and stepped into the water. She pulled the curtain shut behind her.
I let out a frustrated breath.
One flimsy curtain separated me from the woman I wanted. All I needed to do was shove it aside and take her. I didn’t care if the wound got wet and it fucked up the stitches. I didn’t care if she was in shock.
I saw the look she gave me. I saw the desire in her eyes.
She wanted me to take her.
I took a step toward the shower but my buzzing phone stopped me. I let an annoyed grunt escape my lips but I had to get it. If my guys were having trouble, I’d need to take care of it whether I was in the middle of the tightest, sweetest pussy of my life or not.
I tore myself from the shower and stomped into her room before answering.
“What?” I said.
“Hello, old friend. Been a while.”
I felt a pulse run through my body.
I hadn’t heard Clifton’s voice in years.
It brought back a lot of memories. The two of us down by the train tracks throwing rocks at boxcars. Running from cops and ditching them in an abandoned house. Stealing bikes and laughing as we got so drunk we couldn’t even ride them home. Fights and girls and late nights.
My old best friend.
“What the fuck do you want?”
“Ah, come on, Owain. You’re still holding a grudge?”
“Not really. But five of your dead guys probably are.”
He laughed. “No need to go there already.”
“What do you want?”
“I thought we should talk. You know, about what’s happening.”
“What’s happening is, you sent some guys down to try and fuck with my new business. I killed them. Now you’re here to grovel.”
“That’s not how I see it.”
“How do you see it then?”
“Let’s meet and talk, shall we? No need to have this conversation over the phone. Let’s be civilized about it.”
I clenched my jaw. Fucking Clifton hadn’t changed at all. He pretended to be all literature and intelligence when he as just as much a thug as I was. The bastard wanted to be better than he was, wanted to be enlightened or some crap, but really, he broke skulls and sold drugs like everyone else.
“See, you must think I’m a moron. You came at me twice now, completely unprovoked. I have no reason to trust you. No reason to meet with you. Far as I’m concerned, this is open war.”
“Pick the ground. I’ll be there.”
I took a breath and slowly let it out. I heard the curtain open and a few seconds later, Leigh appeared in the bathroom door with a towel wrapped around her middle, her hair dripping wet. She frowned at me, head tilted to one side. She must’ve heard my growing anger and wanted to find out what was happening.
I held up a hand to her.
“There’s a warehouse across from a storage unit place in the northeast. I’ll text you the address. Meet me there tomorrow morning.”
“Morning? You know I hate getting up early.”
“Seven sharp. Be there or fuck you.” I hung up the phone.
“Who was that?”
“Clifton.” I opened a new text and sent him the address. “Mother fucker wants a meeting.”
“You’re doing it?”
“I’m picking the ground.”
She frowned. “Are you going to ambush him?”
“Maybe. Haven’t decided.” I stared at her and felt my blood rush to my head. I wanted her, god damn it, but I had other shit to do now. “I have to talk to the guys and figure out our next move.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Nothing with that towel on.”
She looked away. “Right.”
I felt almost guilty. Almost.
“I’ll be back in a bit. Don’t worry, you’re safe here.” I left her standing there nearly naked and hated myself for it.
But business came first, always had to come first.
She passed my test though. That was important. She held her shit together during a stressful situation and stitched up my arm even though she wanted to fall apart and puke her guts out. She stepped up and I was damn proud of her.
My little diamond.
I grinned to myself as I found a clean shirt in my room, applied a fresh bandage, then left the house to meet with Rolan and the others.14LeighOwain parked the car in front of an empty warehouse. Across the street a storage unit place dominated the block. The neighborhood looked empty and weeds grew in the cracks between the sidewalk slabs. He looked at me for a second and I couldn’t read his expression.
I kept thinking about the day before, about stitching his arm shut, about taking off my clothes while he watched. I wanted him to watch, wanted him to think about my body. I knew he wanted me, he made that clear. And he knew I wanted him just as bad.