Her Crimson Reign Page 6

  Giovanni

  Over the past month we’ve tracked down one lead after another trying to find the threat to Six, all leading to dead ends. The only thing useful we’ve found so far is that these people are all Russian, and so is her family. But we’re still not sure where to go from here.

  Six and I haven’t really talked about that night since the awkward car ride home. I’m not sure if we’re afraid to bring it up or if it was just a one off for her. Not that I think it was. I’m just not sure if she got caught up in the moment and had regrets after.

  “I’m not sure why you’re in such a shit mood, but I say we go out tonight,” Chance declares to me while sitting in the chair across from mine in my office.

  “I don’t know. I really need to get some work done. We don’t all have the luxury of fucking off every night, asshole.” He leans over and rests his elbows on his knees. With a cocky smirk he continues, “My sources say that your girl will be at Reign tonight.”

  My eyes suddenly dart up to his and he winks at me then stands and turns to leave, throwing over his shoulder, “Be ready by nine.” Fucker. He knew he had me as soon as he said my girl would be there. She may not know it yet, but she was already mine.

  Later that night we arrive at Reign and as we get to the entrance her security waves us through. It’s a Saturday night, and the club is packed. I don’t really do crowds, but it’s a small price to pay to get a glimpse of the woman who has unknowingly imprinted herself onto my dark soul.

  Chance tries to sit up towards the front, to get a better look at the women, I’m sure. But he knows better. I drag him over to a booth towards the back far wall in the corner. I prefer to keep my eyes on the crowd.

  “Really G? You can’t quit for one night, can you?” Chance rolls his eyes while questioning me. “I’m always on. You know that. An off night can get you killed. You know me better than that, Chance.” He nods his head in understanding and grabs a seat across from me.

  The lights are low but vibrant on the stage. The crowd is louder than usual, but not overly so. Not yet, anyway. And the dancer on stage seems to be playing with the horny bastards up front. Exactly where Chance would like to be right now. My eyes scan the room searching for her but come up empty.

  The waitress that served our drinks is the same that served us the last time we were here. Hopefully she keeps her distance tonight and keeps it strictly business. I have no desire to be on her radar again. Once was enough and it annoyed the hell out of me.

  I take a long pull of whiskey from my glass. The burning sensation that coats my throat is a warm comfort that is all too familiar and welcomed just the same. My skin burns just as my throat had. But it’s not from the whiskey this time. While it’s a familiar sensation and very much welcomed, I know it’s because someone is watching me. I’m growing accustomed to the feel of her eyes on my skin. It’s become yet another thing I crave from her. Her undivided attention.

  Looking up, our eyes lock on each other. She’s standing beside her head of security, Dick. Or whatever his name is. I don’t care much for him. The way he looks at her. As if he’s been let in on a secret that’s not his to keep. His eyes are roaming her body in a way that has my fist clutching around my glass of whiskey and my knuckles turning white.

  Gritting my teeth, I look back towards Six and see her with a knowing smirk on her face and an eyebrow raised as if daring me to question her about it. She knows what he’s doing and that I’ve caught on. Surely it’s nothing serious if she and I had our moment not that long ago. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

  I’m suddenly brought back to earth when the waitress brings us another round. She’s lingering longer than I’m comfortable with. With both of her hands placed palms down on the table, she leans over seductively. “Are you sure I can’t get you boys anything else right now?” I look up at her and see that she’s back to her old tricks again. I don’t get it. Does she not remember that she made a fool of herself the last time we were here, or does she do this so often that she forgot that she’s already swung and missed on a different night?

  I lean back and prop one arm up across the booth. If she’s going to provide the entertainment, amusement more like, I might as well enjoy the show. I take a deep breath and look past her to where Six was standing just a few moments ago and notice that she’s no longer there.

  The urge to look around the room for her is strong again, but I figure she’s running a business and I don’t want to take her away from that. Not yet, anyway. I look at Chance and see the grin on his face as if he’s clocked every movement of mine since we arrived and he seems fairly amused by not just me but the failed attempt at seduction from the woman standing over us.

  The table suddenly shakes as if someone had bumped into it along with a loud bang that sounds of a nail being hammered into wood. I look up and see Six standing there with a murderous glare pointed at the waitress. The girl begins to shake and as I look down, I can’t help but throw my head back and let out a dark laugh. Six stabbed her knife into the table between the girls’ fingers.

  Looking back up, she turns her murderous gaze my way while leaning into the girls’ ear and whispering words that I can only imagine are just as twisted as she is. As I am. If only I could hear them. The girl jerks back and runs off in such a hurry it tells me she definitely received a threat or three from my girl. Yes. Mine. She can’t tell me this wasn’t an act of jealousy. She’s just as jealous as I was watching Dick eye her from head to toe repeatedly.

  I take her in before she slides into the booth and settles herself up against me. She’s wearing tight black pants and a black top with lace on the bottom half, along with a black leather jacket with metal spikes, topped with her dark lipstick. It suits her perfectly.

  I lean towards her and take in the scent of black cherries and vanilla. Her unique scent. Yet another thing I’ve come to crave. I whisper in her ear, “La mia pazza regina, I’ve missed you so.” She turns towards me, her nose lightly grazing mine. I can feel her breath against my lips and I’d give anything to close the small space between us right now. But I can see the conflict in her eyes. Not that she doesn’t want to, but if she should or not.

  With her breath turning ragged, I sense that it’s taking her just as much restraint as it’s taking me. It’s like dying a slow torturous death, but I’d die a thousand times just to have this moment with her. A connection most would find insignificant. But to me, it means everything.

  Chapter 16

  Six

  Feeling his breath on my lips and wishing I could savor the taste of whiskey on his tongue has me wanting to devour him entirely. We both crave each other in every sense of the word. But I have to clear the fog from my mind, and fast. There was a reason I came to his table, and it wasn’t just to scare the shit out of one of my employees.

  I turn my head and graze my face against his as I lean into his ear and whisper, “I clock two near the front entrance, two at the bar, and two at the back table.”

  As I spoke, I felt Gio’s lax and lusty demeanor transform as his body became stiff and his breathing evened back out. It was only noticeable to me because I was pressed against him and felt it firsthand. To anyone else, it would probably appear that we were about to go at it right here on the table.

  I continue to relay my plan to him, and he turns to whisper into my ear doing the same. Once we have a plan in place, I kiss his cheek while taking in the softness of his skin under the stubble, and stand to leave, giving him time to inform Chance what’s happening and to send a message to Piero to keep him informed.

  I’m a little offended they’ve sent only six people after me. If they knew Gio was going to be here, then six people is laughable. They’ve sent them to their deaths.

  As I walk past the bar and head towards the bathroom, I casually look over and wink at one of the men, giving him a seductive grin. Just as I’d hoped, he follows.

  I enter the bathroom and check that it’s empty, then stand against the w
all behind the door. As the door opens, I confirm it’s the man that was following me and kick the back of his leg causing him to fall to the ground on his knees. Standing behind him, I lean down and grab his hair, tugging it back and then drag my knife across his throat.

  After he falls to the floor face first, I can hear him choking on his own blood. It sounds like death, and the struggling sound of him gasping for air, each distorted breath, brings a smile to my face.

  I open the door and have security block the bathroom off. While I was taking one out in the bathroom, Gio was going to take care of the second man from the bar, and Damon was already told to get all the dancers out of the building and to filter out employees. As I walk back into the club leaving the dark hallway behind, I raise my gun and fire two shots into the ceiling.

  Panic ensues and customers run for the exits, as expected.

  While Gio is handling the two men from the back booth, I spot the last two men near the door trying to fight against the crowd that is running out. Spotting an opening, I throw two stars, watching both men drop to the ground.

  Looking over, I see Giovanni holding a gun to one of the men and he looks pissed. He never shows his emotions that way. I look over and see that the other man is holding a gun to Chance’s head.

  We need at least one of them alive but two would have been nice. Chance is like a brother to Gio, just like Kat is like a sister to me. Family. I get that.

  Without further hesitation, I lift my gun and shoot three times, putting two bullets in his chest and one in his head. Chance flinches the slightest bit as the man that was holding a gun to his head drops to the floor. An untrained eye probably wouldn’t even notice. But to me it’s obvious he’s been in the midst of a war before.

  The spark in Giovanni’s eyes as he watches me cross the room has my walls slightly crumbling and me feeling the urge to drag him upstairs to my throne room.

  My phone rings loudly, breaking both the silence and the trance we were in, and when I answer, it’s Kat on the other end of the line. She was in the back room with the other girls waiting to perform when the chaos broke out, and was able to get out with the others. I don’t want them connecting her to me in any other way except as my employee. But it’s possible they already have, considering the people who want me dead seem to know about my affiliation with the Moretti’s, and my business endeavors with Reign.

  “Six! What’s going on? Are you okay?” she yells into the phone making me feel the need to lift the phone away. But remembering we now have a hostage, I give her a short, quick answer so only she knows what I’m trying to convey.

  “Affirmative. One hostage. We’ll be making use of the playroom. It should be a long night.”

  “Should I stay somewhere else tonight? Nevermind. Stupid question. I’ll get it ready. Give me twenty minutes. Oh! Does this mean we’re having a sleepover? Oh my god, Six! So much fun!”

  She’s laughing her ass off and I’m trying not to while I stand here with five dead bodies, one hostage, and two men that are looking at me, waiting for me to fill them in. She may not be my brand of crazy, but she's still crazy. I do all I can not to laugh at the fact she thought I meant I needed the sexy playroom instead of the bloody one, and answer with only two words. “Copy that.”

  Chapter 17

  Giovanni

  As we pile into the armored SUV, Chance and I are both staring at her. He looks curious as all hell, and I'm ogling her as if she's a walking wet dream. And she is. But that's not all there is to her. She has more skill than any man I've ever met, and that might even include me.

  I can see by the look in her eyes she thinks I've underestimated her, yet again. But that's not even close to what I’m thinking. I'll show her one way or another, as soon as we're able to get on the same page.

  There's plenty of room for all of us in the SUV, but Six had Dick take Kat home, not wanting our new toy to get a better look at her than he already has. I can understand that. I admire it even, the way she protects her best friend.

  Once we arrive at her house and pull through the gates, we pull down the side of the driveway that leads to a separate entrance from the main level.

  I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my body, getting ready for the excitement that's still to come.

  The guy that heads her security comes over and takes the fucker we brought with us through the doors we're about to enter.

  As we walk through a long red hallway, I can see the room up ahead. But a room off to the side with black double doors catches my eye. I glance over at Six, only to see her smirking with one brow raised, daring me to ask what lies behind those mysterious doors.

  I take a deep breath and shake my head back and forth, resigning myself to the fact this woman will remain a mystery to me, at least until we finish with the one man left standing after he and his buddies attacked us tonight. Solving the mystery will have to wait.

  "Give me a call if you need anything else."

  "Thanks. That's all for tonight," Six replies to Dick in a voice void of emotion.

  She's already slipping into her role and you can see the excitement gleaming in her eyes.

  "Moretti." He acknowledges me and gives me a nod as he's walking towards the door.

  I look back at him and with a straight face I acknowledge him in the same fashion and reply, "Dick."

  Chance busts out laughing and quickly tries to pass it off as a bad cough. Dick tries to burn a hole in my head with his eyes, while Six rolls hers.

  For a moment, I think Dick forgot who he was in the room with as he was narrowing his eyes and frowning at me. With my lax demeanor begging to slip caused by the burning irritation that’s quickly building, I can see him quickly swallow from his throat bobbing. As I straighten up with the intention of walking over to him, he briskly makes his exit through the door.

  Taking in the room, I notice it's blindingly white. The perfect canvas for a blood bath. In the center of the room, there are two sturdy chains attached to the ceiling and the shackles at the end are wrapped around each wrist, pulling both of his arms in the air. He's been stripped of his clothing and is dangling from the ceiling like fresh meat on a hook.

  I realize Chance isn't looking forward to witnessing the mayhem that's about to unfold, and Six notices as well, sending him upstairs with Kat.

  As I take off my jacket and fold it up, placing it over the back of a chair, Six walks to the side and pulls out tools for us to play with. After she rolls them out, she heads to the cabinet that's built inside the white wall and turns on music, blasting it through the large sterile room.

  I stand back and watch as she circles the man like a lioness stalking her prey. He doesn't see the table behind him so he is completely taken off guard when she drives a cattle prod into the center of his back. It may not be the most torturous of the tools she can use but it's still painful.

  As expected, no dice. Instead of getting straight to the blood, she's savoring his pain in anticipation of what's to come.

  After a few more questions, he's still not talking. She grabs a bucket of water from under the table and dumps it over his head and shoulders, leaving the cold water to run down his naked body. She then grabs the stun gun and walks around to face him.

  Maintaining eye contact, she gives a mischievous grin and then shoves the stun gun into his balls that have all but shriveled up between his legs. Jolting from the voltage of the gun he begins to scream as the water covering his body acts as a conductor, intensifying the electricity coursing through him.

  She managed to get his first name but nothing of importance so far.

  Making her way to the table beside me, she changes out the stun gun for an array of knives. Handing me a couple of the knives, she then walks towards the man calling him by his given name for the first time since "meeting" him.

  “Marc, you’re making this so much harder on yourself than it really needs to be. Just tell me who your boss is and why you’re trying to kill me and my friend here.”

/>   He looks at her and takes a deep breath, contemplating what he should or shouldn’t say and then looks up at me.

  “What the fuck are you looking at me for? Do you think I’m going to save you? Is that what you want? ‘Cause if it is, you know what they say; Want in one hand and shit in the other. See which fills up first.”

  Six looks up at me. “I’m getting bored. I want to play.”

  “What do you want to play, doll?” I ask as she looks up at me with pleading eyes.

  “I want to see what he looks like without his skin.”

  Looking down at her, I chuckle and shake my head. “Whatever you want la mia pazza regina.”

  By the look in her eyes I can tell she knows it translates to my crazy queen. I can see the name growing on her each time I say it.

  I grab a knife and step around to the other side. The fact that she wants to start by using one of my kill signatures has my dick stirring in my pants. We both dig into his tattoos on each arm and begin to cut into his flesh tracing around them, loosening the skin.

  Six is in her element. I look over at her and she’s swaying to the music and singing lyrics from the song blaring through the speakers as she slices into Marc, our prisoner for the night.

  We’ve removed pieces of his tattoos and the man in restraints is now begging for us to stop. “Marc, you’re going to have to speak up a little louder. We can’t hear you,” she simply states as she continues cutting and humming along to the music.

  “Okay! Okay! The boss. He sent us. I don’t know why. We were just told to kill the target, the owner of Reign.”

  “Did he say why?” she asks.

  “No. He’s never said why and you don’t question the boss,” Marc says as he tries to get his breathing under control.

  As I search his eyes I ask, “Who’s your boss? The Bratva?” He looks down and back up and shuts his mouth tight. I would say that’s exactly who his boss is, but something doesn’t feel right here.