Page 39 of Nasty
“Jesus Christ. I’m not your fucking errand boy. You have plenty of guys who can go retrieve shit for you. Ask fucking Cruise and Gary.”
“The person who has this item isn’t easy to reach. He has a series of safeguards in place.”
“What kind of safeguards?”
Rabbit shrugged, looking off, over my shoulder. “Oh, nothing for you to worry about. There are fifteen of them, but you’ve already compl—"
Oh no. No fucking way.’
I shoved my chair back, getting to my feet. My chest was suddenly unbearably tight. Rabbit had stopped talking, but I didn’t need him to say anything else. I knew who had taken this item of his now, and I knew all too well the safeguards he’d just mentioned. “You can forget it. Name another price.”
“Don’t be such a baby, Fix. You’re already an alumni of The Barrows.If I sent Gary and Cruise over there, they’d die before they made it to the third floor. You know that.All I need is for you to show up, retrieve the thumb drive Oscar took from me, and leave. Simple.”
When he put it that way, it did sound simple. He knew it wouldn’t be, though. HeknewI’d probably end up dead if I stepped foot on Oscar Finch’s turf. “Name another price,” I repeated.
“There is no other price. You either get the thumb drive for me from Oscar, or you don’t get the information. Sorry.”
I ground my teeth together, scowling at him with the burning intensity of a volatile sun. He wasn’t going to give in, I could tell. If I took him, chained him up in my penthouse, and I tortured the shit out him, there was a chance, a slim,slimchance, he’d break and figure out where Carver was for me. Rabbit was stubborn as fuck, though. He’d probably hold out for days, by which time whoever Carver had hired to replace me could easily have located where Sera was, who she was with, and things could get seriously fucking nasty.
Relenting to such a ridiculous request was undoubtedly only setting myself up for even more outlandish demands in the future. But Sera wasn’t safe. Sera was all that mattered, and that’s all there was to it. “Fine. I’ll go see Oscar for you. I’ll get your stupid thumb drive back.”
“It’ll have to be tonight,” Rabbit added. “The Barrows won’t be opening its doors again until next month, and we both know a month would be too long to wait.”
Great. This just got worse and worse. He was right, though. It would have to be tonight, or not at all.
Sera glanced between the two of us. “What are The Barrows?” she asked.
I shot Rabbit a warning glare—don’t you dare open your fucking mouth.“It’s kind of like a gentlemen’s club house,” I answered quickly. “It’s well protected. Difficult to get inside. I’m already a member, or I was a couple of years back. I’m sure I’ll be allowed back in, though.” Her frown lessened but it didn’t disappear altogether. She believed me. Partly. Understandable, since I was only partly telling her the truth. Thank god she couldn’t see the doubtful, annoying smirk on Rabbit’s face as he raised his eyebrows at me. “Don’t worry, Angel. I’ll be in, out, and back before you know it.”
The small glimmer of worry in her eyes waned, gradually fading until it was gone. “Okay,” she answered.
She wouldn’t be saying that if she knew anything about Oscar Finch. And she sure as fuck wouldn’t be saying ‘okay’ if she knew that the last time I was at The Barrows, I’d sealed the doors with a heavy steel chain, padlocked that fucker, and I’d set the place on fire.
SEVENTEEN
YOU WANT MORE?
SERA
Fix watched me like a hawk as he made arrangements with Rabbit. I felt his eyes on me, boring into me as we climbed the stairs out of Hell and we left the church behind us. He didn’t speak, and neither did I. It wasn’t until we were back at the penthouse and the door had slammed shut behind us that Fix cupped my face in his hands and he kissed me deeply.
He leaned his forehead against mine. “I’ve been dying to do that all fucking night.”
“You have?” God, I literally purred the words. I was so high on him most of the time that I could see nothing but clouds. “Should have kissed me earlier then.”
Fix pressed the pad of his thumb to my mouth, sucking his own bottom lip into his mouth and biting down on it. So. Fucking. Hot. “If I’d kissed you,” he said softly, “I would have done more. I would have put the spectacular split in this dress to good use. I would have pulled the material apart, laid you on a table in those stupid fucking crypts, and I would have fucked the shit out of you in front of everyone.”
“Mmm. I don’t think I would have minded.”
Fix’s expression transformed to one of inquisitiveness. “Is that so, Miss Lafferty. Have you had sex in public before? A crowded room full of people, no less?”
“No. But I’m assuming you have.”
He stroked his thumb down, over my chin, staring at my mouth thoughtfully. “Maybe. Once or twice. I’d never do that with you, though, Angel.” His pale, moonlit eyes carefully observed me. It was at times like these that he was so unknowable to me. I had no idea what was going on inside his head. No way of knowing what he was thinking or feeling. I’d been so convinced earlier that I’d started to figure him out, but right now he was a complete and utter enigma. Twin spots of heat burned high in my cheeks.
“Am I not adventurous enough to take on that kind of sexcapade? Or am I just not pretty enough. Would I need to look like a porn star for you t—”
His thumb moved back to my mouth, gently sealing my lips, preventing me from speaking. Fix’s eyes seemed to thaw, taking on a rare, unusual warmth. “No, silly girl. I’d never do that with you, because I care about you too much. In the past, sex has just been a physical action. A way to scratch an itch. It didn’t matter if twenty people were sipping cocktails, sitting on sofas, jerking off or fucking while they watched me screw back then. It wasn’t important. It didn’t mean anything. Sex with you is…” He huffed down his nose, irritation lining his face. “Sex with you is a holy act. I can’t think of a better word, Sera, but that’s what it is to me. It’s a communion between our bodies and our souls. It’s certainly not meant to titillate random strangers just for the hell of it.”
