Page 16 of Kingpin

His eyes leveled on mine. “Then promise me you’re doing your job to the best of your ability. And then some.”

I nodded. “I am. I promise.”

The partition rolled down a bit. “Sir?”

My uncle growled. “What is it?”

“We’re at Tropical Smoothie, sir. Shall I take your orders?”

My stomach growled. “I’d like a large pineapple bonanza shake with an added dose of caffeine and one of their tomato sandwiches, please.”

Uncle Pava leaned back against the seat. “That actually sounds nice. I’ll have the same.”

“Coming right up,” the driver said.

No matter how hungry I was, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had slipped. Slipping wasn't in the cards. I had promised my uncle, and I had promised Brianna as well. This was my one job, my only way to pay him back for everything he had done for me over the years. I wasn't going to let him down. It was time to really dig in my heels, no matter how sexy Israel was.

8

Israel

I heardthe rustling of paper as I walked up the stairs.

My eyes flickered down the hallway as I made my way to the bedroom. Beyond the crack in the double doors, I saw Brianna bent over the edge of the bed. Her pert ass stuck out for the entire world to see. I licked my lips as I silenced my footsteps. I saw her walk over to the other side of the room with something black in her hand. I heard the dresser drawer open and close. Then, she found her way back to the bed as I slowly eased the door open.

“Welcome home,” she purred.

She didn’t even bother looking at me as she pulled a very racy royal blue number out from a blush-colored bag. My eyes narrowed slightly as I watched her walk back over to the dresser, barely acknowledging my presence. Odd, considering she had thrown down in the kitchen to make us lunch.

I had to admit, the food had looked nice, if a bit over the top for something as measly as lunch.

“A shopping spree, I see.”

She bordered on ignoring me. “A girl’s gotta have nice things. Doesn’t make any sense to reuse lingerie for your husband.”

“I didn’t realize you had lingerie you’ve used on others.”

She snickered. “Nothing like that, don’t worry. New place. New person. New life experience. New clothes.”

I nodded slowly. “Ah.”

Her eyes turned to meet mine, and I watched them widen. I was sure I was a sight to take in, but so was she. The second I saw her barren face, the bruises on my knuckles and the blood on my shirt ceased to register. Par for the course in my line of work. My dry cleaner was an expert at getting blood out of the finer pieces I owned that always got muddied up with work residue. However, none of that mattered.

Brianna’s face was beautiful.

“My God. Israel. What happened to you?”

Her voice was breathless, with a twinge of concern. I almost believed it.

Almost.

I didn’t bother answering her question. Instead, I walked through the room and headed straight for her. She dropped the royal blue thong in her hand to the floor, and every single part of me ached to know what it looked like on her. I also hoped that she didn’t spend too much money on things like that.

as After all, they’d be ripped to tatters once I was done with them.

She reached for my hand as I stood in front of her, studying her face sans makeup. Her thick auburn hair fell carelessly around her shoulders, framing her features in a way I hadn’t seen yet. She studied my knuckles and fingered the bruises softly. She tugged me toward the bathroom, and I followed with interest, wondering what she might do next. I watched as she wet a washcloth. Gentle hands pressed the lukewarm water against my skin. As I watched her from my perch, she shook her head.

“It’s going to take days for this to heal. And your shirt. I’ll have to get it to the dry cleaner’s. Because there’s no way I can get those kinds of stains out of them.”

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