“What’s he saying?”
“Claims he got the best of you.”
“Is he saying that through or around his broken nose?” I flex my fist at the memory. God, the sound of the cracking bone was like a symphony.
Malone snorts a laugh.
“Alonzo can talk all he likes. It makes no difference to me. I’m not disturbing the peace over a nitwit with a wagging tongue.” I glance up, wondering if Diamond’s awake yet.
Malone stands just as one of the front guards buzzes his phone.
“I’m going to check on her.” I stride out and hear Malone answer the call.
“Yeah, what? Who?”
I’m at the stairs when Malone calls my name.
Fuck, I’d almost made it to freedom. To Diamond.
“Boss, we got trouble.” He speeds toward me, his face suddenly sober, no hint of a smile or smirk. Not a good sign.
“What kind of trouble?”
“Don Calabrezi just rolled up to the club.”
I stop, one hand on the banister rail, and my blood goes cold. “Calabrezi?” There is absolutely no reason a man like that should be at my club. I’m big in my city, the biggest game there is, really. But I make a habit of doing my dirt and keeping the rest of my life clean. Keeping to myself and my close allies. I don’t go barging onto other players’ turf. And I sure as hell don’t fuck with capos from Chicago. “The Don Calabrezi?” I ask again.
“The don of Chicago, yeah. Holy fucking shit. I think we’ve found out who she is. Goddamn, this is bad. If this is what I think it is? It’s fucking bad.” He glances up the stairs.
I follow his gaze and catch only a glimpse of Diamond as she turns tail and runs.
14
Diamond
“No!” I scream as I rush back down the hallway. Devlin’s feet are loud as they hit the stairs. I can hear his heavy steps closing in on me as he calls my name. I ignore him, rushing back into the room he’d given me the other night. I slam the door closed and flip the lock into place.
How did everything come crashing down so quickly? I woke up with a smile on my face this morning. I’d also been in Devlin’s bed and not mine. When we’d gotten back last night, he’d taken me to his room along with all the new clothes he’d bought for me. I watched as he put them away in his closet before he tucked me into bed. He proceeded to give me goodnight kisses on every inch of my skin.
I should have known something bad was going to happen. It always does. Anytime I get something that makes me happy, it’s always taken from me. Devlin was too good to be true, and I knew it. I swear it’s as though one of the heroes from the romance books I always get lost in had been plucked from the pages. I started to think that maybe they weren’t all fiction. Now, hot tears well in my eyes.
Mama lifts her head to stare my way. I might not have slept in this bed last night, but Mama has claimed it for herself. She doesn't look so happy about being woken up either. I brace myself against the door, expecting Devlin to burst through it at any second with how he chased me down the hall.
“Doll face,” he calls gently from the other side of the door.
My heart does a small flutter as it always does when he calls me that. Especially after he told me why he called me that. That my wide eyes with thick lashes and full cheeks reminded him of a doll. It made me feel beautiful and precious to think he sees me as something so perfect. But it’s over now. I have to be real with myself.
“Don’t call me that.” I snap.
“That’s not going to happen.” I bite down on my bottom lip, not used to him telling me no. “Now open the door for me.”
“No.” I snap again. Ha! I can tell him no too. He takes a breath so deep I can hear it through the door.
“I don’t like that word on your lips when it’s coming my way.” The feeling is mutual. “Are you going to open the door?”
“I’m not going back to him. Please don’t make me.”
“Who do you belong to?”
“You.” The word pops right past my lips without a thought. I gasp, throwing my hand over my mouth.
“That’s right. You belong to me. Not your father.” I keep my hand pressed to my mouth. I want to believe him so badly, but it’s not that easy. Even if Devlin wanted me to be his, my father would try to take me from him. I know better than anyone that my father always gets what he wants. No one dares say no to him or they suffer the consequences. I shudder at the thought of what those consequences are. “All right. We’ll do this your way. Where is Mama?”