Motown Breakdown (Motown Down #4) (3 page)

“You know my name, I don’t know yours.”

“Crews,” he semi-slurs.

“First or last?”

“Why?”

“For your headstone,” I tell him. “Consider it my gift to you.”

“Frank was right,” he groans pinching his nose (which was of course, crooked). “You do have a smart mouth.”

“I’m also observant,” I point out helpfully. “Construction worker by day, criminal by night… You sure like to stay busy.”

“How did you know I was in construction?”

“Well you certainly
look
the part,” I snort. “And I’ve caught you leaving for work. Plus, you drive a beat up truck, so if you weren’t a laborer then that just left poor taste in transportation. So what’s with the nighttime activity? You aren’t rolling in it, clearly…” waving my arms to show him what I meant. “What gives?”

“I’m not a criminal,” he says rolling his eyes. “I was paying for information about your father.”

“Why didn’t you just ask me?”

“Until recently, I didn’t know who
you
were.”

“Ah. Now I get why we’re neighbors, clever of you. Okay, so in your tiny mind what happens next? You and I walk into Marco’s nest and yell surprise?”

“I can’t think with you running at the mouth. Do you ever shut up?”

“No, I don’t shut up. Hold the hell on,” I say raising a hand like a stop sign. “If you’re not a criminal, where’d you get the drugs to dose me?”

“Off a criminal,” he says far too easily for my taste.

“You put
my
life in the hands of a criminal?”

“Weren’t you raised with criminals?”

“Yes,” I hedge.

“Then it’s fair to say you put your life in the hands of criminals every day. Am I wrong?”

“Touché,” I mumble. “But at least I know them!”

“You seemed pretty shocked to find out about Frank,” he says throwing back another one.

“We all have an off day,” I mumble pouring my own.

“Do me a favor,” he says sinking in to the sofa and closing his eyes. “Shut up and act like you aren’t here, I need to think dammit.”

Standing to my full height of five blazing feet, I toss my drink in his face. Before he can stand I straddle him, catching him off guard. “It’s clear you can’t think at all, Crews. Because of the shit you just pulled, you managed to bring attention to me and not the good kind. Not only are you as good as dead, I’ll be punished for it too. Whatever it is you
think
you’re going to do, it won’t work. Marco and my… I struggle even saying this, fiancé are powerful enemies to have. You’re a fucking errand boy next to these guys. This lump on your shoulders,” I reach up tapping it, “Is your head. Maybe you aren’t smart enough to see you’re in over it but this is me telling you that you are!”

“You’re sleeping with me,” he says latching on to my hips.

“Oh good, you’re delusional too!”

I really thought my plight would appeal to him. I was wrong. I was also in over
my
head now. When Crews picked me up by nothing more than my hips and carried me like I was a sack of potatoes, I was too shocked to fight him. Setting me down on his bed, he grabs handcuffs (so fucking original) linking us together.

“We’ll talk in the morning,” he says lying down next to me.

“If you’re still alive by then,” I felt I should mention stretching out.

“Maybe you’ll get lucky and I won’t be.”

That shouldn’t have bothered me but it did. Crews realized he’d made a mistake, I could feel it. But whatever was driving him to see this through was stronger than the actual fear of dying itself. What in the hell was he so willing to die for? And seriously, why didn’t he wipe the liquor off his face? Gross.

She finally fell asleep.

My God, the girl could talk some shit. Not a girl, a woman. A very young woman. One who lived in a very fucked up version of the world I live in and if I had to guess, didn’t talk to many people. This was confirmed when I put a bullet in Frank and she barely even flinched. For her, it was probably like any other day and I wonder how she handles it. Then I think of how Evie would’ve handled it… She would have flipped the fuck out, once she regained consciousness from being sedated that is.

Luna
Bella was my ticket to getting Evie back. I would agree no harm would come to her and that I would trade her for Evie.  Her father loved her, he’d see it as good business and make it happen. The problem I didn’t see coming was her being engaged to a serial killer, who would not see this as good business. Because I knew if she belonged to me I wouldn’t see it as business and I’d kill anyone who touched her. So now I had Marco
and
Shade to contend with. This meant I had to rely on her help, by any means necessary because I’m broke and out of options. Between leasing the apartment, paying the crooks off and my house payment, I was piss poor.

Nothing in her world made sense to me. Her father was a skin dealer, she was basically marrying a psychopath, and yet she smiled and had a sense of humor. No fucking sense at all.

Now that my buzz was wearing off, I could smell the whisky I was wearing courtesy of her sass. Closing my eyes, I decided to wait until morning to wash it off. Luna’s had a shit day, waking her up so I could shower seemed like a dick thing to do. It’s not like I was trying to impress her anyway. Considering I drugged her and cuffed her to me, getting her to like me was a long shot. But why the fuck did I want her to? I knew why. Because I was a decent guy. I didn’t want to hurt her, I needed help. What I didn’t need was to be any more attracted to her than I already was. Having her next to me was difficult, damn difficult and falling asleep wasn’t easy.

Then I woke to my cock wanting to explode. I felt her hands on me, knew they were hers by the blunt nails digging in my skin. She was all over me of her own free will so I knew I had to still be half asleep. Fuck it, I decided. I missed being near a woman and this one was a fantasy I’d never get if I was awake.  I swore it was a fantasy until she almost ripped my nipple off. “Fuck!” I yell sitting up and head butting her. Hitting the floor with her cuffed arm up over her head, she was moaning in pain and yet I was surprised she wasn’t screaming. Coming down to the floor where she was I found her covering her face with her hand. “You have issues,” she mumbles.

“Why in the fuck do you keep climbing on me?”

“You sleep like the dead,” she snaps. “I needed to pee, now I need to staunch the flow. Got any tampons?”

“For what?”

“My nose, dumbass.”

“Let’s go.” Lifting her from under her knees I carry her with me into the bathroom. Setting her down outside the tub, I get the key out of my pocket, freeing her. “Don’t move.”

“I can’t even see right now,” she says through the blood.

Starting the water, I test it out before undressing. Once I’m naked she doesn’t start screaming or fighting to get free. When I turn to face her she looks me up, then down but says nothing. “Your turn,” I tell her.

“You better have coffee,” she mumbles taking her clothes off. She didn’t bat an eye when I did it but there’s was no hiding what seeing her naked was doing to me. “Well good morning to you too, little guy,” she says leaning in and patting my cock.

“Get in the shower,” I groan. Rolling her eyes, she does as she’s told moving to the back allowing me to step in. “Wash,” I order her. I nearly came when she bent over for the shampoo. If she had any modesty she was saving it for her fiancé.
Lucky fuck…

“3 in 1?” she asks holding it up.

“So?”

“Explains your hair,” she says pouring it in her hands. “If you plan to have a willing woman over you should spring for the good stuff. Having all of your hygiene in one bottle just lost you points.”

“How’s your nose?”

“Hurts like a motherfucker,” she says running her hands over her tiny tits. “How’s your dick?”

Before I could ask what she meant, she turned and sucker punched me right in the junk. Cupping, coughing and then taking one knee she doesn’t even bother to see if I’m alright. She just finishes washing. “Don’t do that again,” I warn her.

“Or what?” she taunts. “You’ll force me to shower with you again?” Pushing passed me; she steps out grabbing a towel. “Once was enough, Crews, trust me.”

As quickly as I could, I dried off and followed her out. Worried she’d run for it, I was surprised to find her exiting the half bath and walking into the kitchen. Going through the cupboards, she finds the can and starts making coffee. An image of Evie demanding coffee be made
for
her came to mind but I pushed it away.

“We need to talk,” she says jumping up on the counter (in her towel). “I’ll go first considering you’re still nursing an injury. The only shot you have at walking away when this is over is to take me back,
today
.”

“No.”

“You don’t listen
at all
,” she says rolling her eyes. I was surprised I even noticed her eyes with the clear shot of her pussy peeking out of that towel. Now this was a visual I’d never forget. “You can’t afford to have me missing. I’ll call Shade and handle Frank, okay? But to help you, I need to be in my high-class apartment, not here slumming it with you.”

“You can take me to Marco,” I tell her turning away. “I’ll handle it from there.”

“Even with me in tow, you’ll never make it to Marco, because Shade will intercede. Listen, tell me why you’re doing this and I’ll work on Shade for you. But I have to be home to do that. Showing up out of the blue asking for favors will never work, Crews.”

“Why not?”

“Because Shade knows I would never come back unless I was called. The second I show up early and throw whatever favor out you’re withholding, you’re dead. Like it or not, I am a criminal’s daughter and because of that there is loyalty there. I would never willingly sell my family out to help an outsider and they know it.”

“Why not?”

“Because if I did Marco would kill me. As you can see,” she says flashing me in her towel. “I like living.”

“Why should I trust you?” I grate out because it’s not every day a hot woman has her pussy hanging out in your kitchen.

“Maybe because unlike
you, I
know what we’re up against.”

“You could sell me out.”

“I also could have left prior to you cuffing me. You killed Frank for me, I owe you one. But I can’t repay the favor until I know what it is.”

My silence pissed her off but it was all I had at the moment. Grabbing her coffee, she leaves me there with my hand on my swollen cock wondering if I can trust her. She’s the enemy’s daughter, she admitted to being loyal even though she hated what her family stood for. But she was also my only hope. Rubbing my aching cock, I groaned again when she bent over to grab her clothes.

Seeing the blood on them she throws her shirt over her shoulder and I watch her head over to my dresser. “I need a shirt,” she announces going for the top drawer.

“Wait!” I rush out but she just gave me a look and opened it anyway. It didn’t take her long, maybe five, ten seconds, tops for her to pick them up and face me.

“It was
you
,” she says holding them up and looking from her underwear to me and back again. “Huh,” she shrugs. “You keep surprising me, Crews.”

“I can explain this,” I offer unable to meet her eyes.

“Whatever the reason I think it’s best I don’t know,” she grins putting them back in the drawer. “Consider them a gift.”

If I was going to die and I was certain that I was, Luna smiling at me when I went wouldn’t be a bad way to go.