Shegroaned. “I’m not lying. I promise you.” She waited a few seconds to see if her stomach was going to turn a second or third time. When nothing happened, she stood up but also made sure there was a short distance between them. She now had vomit breath, and there was no way that was attractive. Did fairs sell toothpaste and toothbrushes? She’d settle on a mint or some gum … anything.
“I was enjoying it. It was just a little too fast and very high.” She heldher hand up when he made to come closer. “I need a breath mint.”
He rolled hiseyes but didn’t seem to get the hint as he wrapped his arm across her shoulders. “Come on. I saw a candy stand a few feet away. Nothing like more sugar to get rid of sick mouth.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle.Callie held her hand up in front of her mouth. Ruin took her hand in his and clasped it near her body, where he held her hand and hip. It felt good. He felt good. She was tempted to rest her head against his chest, but she stopped herself from doing so.
They made their wayto the candy store, where she had some bubblegum-flavored cotton candy, and Ruin kept pinching some of hers. He waited until she had eaten the entire stick, and then he kissed her.
“How about we make our way over to the crazy house?” he asked. He nodded his head in the direction.
She heard men and woman laughing and screaming.
“Yeah, sure. I doubt anythingbad will happen there.” She wasn’t too convinced. She happened to look up in time to see a woman fall as she was going through this spinning vortex. It wasn’t going fast, but in the heels, it certainly looked deadly, and she winced. This wasn’t good. She didn’t stop Ruin though.
He held her hand tightly as they made their way through theline. She noticed there was not a long one for this ride. The cotton candy had settled her stomach.
Ruin tugged her close to him and eased her right in front. His arms wrapped around her waist.“I don’t want to lose you.”
He said all the right words.Callie didn’t know if it was possible to even trust him, but she wanted to so badly. Up ahead, she saw a couple standing in a similar position to them. His arms were wrapped around his girl, but the difference was, he was kissing her neck. She felt Ruin’s breath, sending goose bumps erupting all over her flesh, and she didn’t want it to stop.
Chapter Five
“Why isn’t she dead?” Dante Morelli asked.
His tone wasn’t polite. This was more of a demand.
Ruin pulled his cell phone away from his ear, and then ended the call.Dante didn’t scare him. Nothing scared him.
He stared across the street, looking at his next target. The pimp had a swagger to him as he grabbed a woman by her hair and started to drag her down the street. The other women working the corner did nothing. They looked afraid. Aldo Giordano had contacted him about this piece of shit. Ruin was not in the habit of removing scum like this pimp. This was low-level bullshit, but he didn’t like how close he was to Callie’s apartment.
At first, he’d refused the job, but then, paperwork had ended up in hishands, which had stated this man stalked unsuspecting women and forced them into becoming prostitutes. He attacked them, got them hooked on drugs, then they had no choice but to be loyal to him. To fuck for him. Most of them ended up in a body bag as he killed them when they stopped earning money.
Ruin wasn’t a do-gooder. This all sounded messed up but he’d heard of far worse shit than that. The only reason he’d called Giordano and said he’d take care of it was because Callie walked these streets. If that piece of shit ever touched her, he would regret not dealing with this. His cell phone rang as he was about to get out of the car. Dante was calling again. He was tempted not to answer, but Dante was a giant pain in the ass, and if he didn’t answer, more shit would happen. Ruin clicked the green button and held the cell to his ear.
“Don’t you ever hang up on me again.”
He disconnected the call, throwing his cell phone into the car. Locking the vehicle, he made his way down the street, following the sounds of terrified screams, of begging. The pimp in question was beating the woman. She was on the ground, trying to cover her body.
“You think you can cheat on me, huh? You think you can run and hide. I own your ass. No amount of money will get you out of this. You’re not going to get clean. Your rotten cunt and ass are mine to give away, and now you’re going to have dick inside you all the fucking time.”
The woman was close to unconscious.Ruin grabbed the bastard by the back of the neck and threw him across the alleyway. He heard him hit the wall, hard. The woman shook, she had blood all over her face. Ruin stared down at her and waited. Pulling out his wallet, he shoved the money at her.
“Go. Get out.”
“But…”
“I’m about to take care of him. Tell the other women that if they want a clean break, they should go, and you didn’t see me. Got it?”
She nodded her head, took his money, and then ran.The pimp managed to scramble out of the large pile of trash.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” he asked.
Ruin stood still.
The man put his fingers in his mouth and whistled.
He was already aware of the four supposedbodyguardsthat were meant to protect him. This little bastard was so sure of his position and place, he didn’t even keep them close by. It was an insult. Fucking disgusting. Just looking at him now was annoying. The sheer arrogance of the piece of shit angered him. Giordano was going to pay him for removing this piece of dirt from the earth, and the truth was, he’d have done it for free. Everyone and everything had a price. For Ruin, this was keeping Callie safe when he wasn’t there.