It’s like it just knows.
Is that how easy it is? Your body tells you that’s the person, and that’s that?
Fuck me.
“I don’t think so,” I tell her, not willing to do a single thing to risk this friendship, even if it means I never fucking lay my hands on her beautiful body.
“Oh,” she says softly. “Well, that’s good then.”
There is a hint of disappointment in her voice, a hint that makes me want to fucking roll over and kiss her until she understands that I wasn’t telling the truth, that it’s her and fuck being friends.
But I’m not going to do that.
“What about you, found your forever person?”
“I’m not sure,” she answers. “I know I’ve found my forever friend, though.”
I glance at her and she’s staring at me. When our eyes meet, she smiles, and something in my heart fucking explodes.
“Hear ya,” I murmur.
Her smile gets wider. “Well, you can go tell Samantha there will be no bumhole sex today, anyway ...”
I chuckle. “I’ll be sure to pass the message onto her exactly like that.”
She laughs. “It’s so nice out here. How did you find this place?”
We’re at a small stream down a dirt road, thick with trees and wildlife. It’s fucking nice and I come here a lot when I need to think. I stumbled across it one day and, ever since, I’ve come here just to unwind. It’s peaceful, and nobody is ever around.
“I just happened across it,” I tell her. “Liked it so I kept coming back.”
“How many girls have you brought out here and laid in this truck bed with?”
I snort. “None, just you.”
She sits up and looks down at me, her hair falling down to frame her face. She’s fucking perfect under the moonlight and everything in me wants to kiss her, to taste those plump little lips, to feel her soft body beneath mine.
“You’ve never brought anyone else out here?”
“Nope.”
“Why me?”
“Why not you?”
She purses her lips. “You make a good point, I’m just as good as any.”
I laugh. “You’re better than the rest of them, no doubt about it.”
“You think I’m the best girl you know, don’t you, Cohen?”
She’s teasing, her tone light.
“Without a doubt.”
“Well, maybe one day you’ll marry me then.”
I wink at her. “Maybe.”
Yeah, fucking maybe.
I PRESS THE MAN AGAINST the wall, fingers tight around his throat. Drug deal gone wrong, he stole from the club, and now I’m here to collect on his debt. Squirming, he gasps for air as his fingers tighten around my wrists, trying desperately to remove my firm grip on his throat. He knows I’ll kill him, he knows the club will kill him, but he still chose to fucking double cross us anyway.
“You didn’t honestly think you’d get away with stealing from the club, did you?” I growl, squeezing tighter. His face is going blue now, a dark shade of blue that is slowly mixing with red. His eyes are bulging, and he’s got saliva running from his mouth.
“Wasn’t me,” he wheezes. “Cohen, it wasn’t me.”
I release my grip, just a little, enough for him to get a tiny amount of air. “What do you mean it wasn’t fuckin’ you? You had the drugs, you sold the drugs, you disappeared with the cash. Who the fuck else was it?”
“Got mugged ... They took it all.”
My god, he doesn’t think I’m that stupid, does he?
My fucking god.
I tighten my grip again—this time he pisses himself.
I can smell the strong scent of urine as he squirms harder and harder.
“How stupid do you think I am?” I snarl.
“Please, I won’t do it again. I fucked up. Had a family to feed ...”
“Blah-blah-fuckin’-blah.”
I squeeze so hard now his breath is cut off. I stand and watch as he fights for the last remaining seconds of his life, and then, with a final gurgle, he goes limp. I hang onto him for a second longer anyway, just to make sure, and then I drop his lifeless body to the ground. Blood trickles out of the corner of his eyes and his face is swollen and blue.
I stare at him for a second longer, then turn and walk away, leaving him in the cold dark alley.
As I round the corner, I catch sight of Aviana’s brother, Manny. He’s standing in the alley with two men, two men I’ve certainly never fucking seen before in my life. They’re doing some sort of deal, that much is obvious from the way they’re whispering and exchanging packages. I step behind a large dumpster bin and watch as they continue to speak, and then, Manny pulls out a gun and, without hesitation, shoots both of them.
Holy fuck.
They drop to the ground with a thud and with a package in his hand, he turns and walks off.
Fuck me.
When he’s gone, I rush over and kneel down, checking through the two dead men’s pockets for anything that might tell me who they are. Whatever I find, I stuff into my jacket and then disappear before anyone sees me. Fucked if I’m going to be done for three murders that occurred in these alleys tonight.
Luckily for us, it’s a dead, fucked up part of town.
People die here all the time.
I get back to my car and only when I’m certain there is no one watching me do I pull out the contents in my pocket. I shuffle through a few wallets, pocket some cash, find some I.D, but it’s a slip of paper in one of the men’s pockets that holds some interesting information. On that slip of paper is Aviana’s name. For a minute, I wonder if maybe they’re talking about a different girl, but when I see her last name, I know it’s her.
All that’s written is her name, an address, and a fucking large sum of money, some offshore account details, and a few other scribbled numbers.
What the fuck are they doin’ with Aviana’s name, and why in the hell did her brother kill
