Page 9 of Sizzling

“He owed y’all money.”

Storm nodded his head once.

“For someone so successful, he isn’t very smart,” I said, then took a long pull from the whiskey inside the flask.

“Yet you were fucking him.”

The disapproval in his tone should bother me, but like I had already figured out, Storm was basically good. Even in this world he was a part of, he had some morals.

“And you kill people,” I replied, needing to point out his faults too.

He shook his head as a humorless, hard laugh came from his chest. “Not the same. I only kill those who deserve it.”

“It’s still murder. A crime in the eyes of God and the law.”

“Adultery is also a crime in the eyes of God and frowned on by the law.”

The urge to defend myself was so strong that I had to literally bite my tongue to stay quiet. This wasn’t something I needed to be talking about. I’d say the wrong thing and let it slip about Dovie. No one could be trusted with that. Especially a man who clearly had his opinion of me set.

“How much longer?” I asked him, wishing the whiskey were helping the pain.

He turned down a country road I’d never been on before. “Five minutes,” he replied. “Doctor will be there when we arrive. He’s already prepped the room.”

Impressive. “I need a ride home. Does Uber come out this way?” I asked closing my eyes.

“One of us will drive you.”

I shook my head slightly, unable to do more than that. “No. I don’t want y’all knowing where I live.”

A deep rumble in his chest had me snapping my eyes open and looking at him. He glanced at me, then turned his attention back to the road.

“We knew where you lived before we stepped into that bar months ago.”

I gritted my teeth. “I’ve moved.”

“Yeah, we know.”

Scowling at him, I couldn’t decide if he was lying or not. “And why is that? Are you stalking me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t give a shit, but King does. He doesn’t trust you, and he’ll likely keep eyes on you for years to make sure your scumbag father is dead.”

They were watching me? Did they know about Dovie? Shit!

“He’s dead. I swear to God.”

Storm shrugged. “I believe you. King normally would trust that, but when it comes to his woman, he isn’t stable. He’s insanely protective of her, and I think, deep down, he wants Roger to be alive so he can be the one to kill him.”

Great. I’d killed a man. Gotten his sorry ass off this planet, and now, I was being stalked by the dang Mafia because of it. I didn’t need that kind of attention on me. On us.

Storm slowed the vehicle and turned right onto a driveway. The large white gothic-style house with a fabulous wraparound porch was lit up inside and out. It reminded me of something from a commercial about summer days, with kids running around in the yard and the perfect mother standing on the porch, smiling with a tray of lemonade and cookies in her hands.

“We’ve arrived at the dungeon,” he said, cutting his eyes at me before opening his door and climbing out.

I started to reach for the door and let out a small, strangled sound. That hurt like a son of a bitch. How was I going to play the guitar? I had to make money somehow. Sure, I had things that Jameson had given me that I could sell, but it wouldn’t be enough, and now, I wasn’t so sure it was all real. Had he bought me knockoffs?

This was a mess, and I needed to text Dovie. It had been well over an hour since I’d checked on her. But I couldn’t even open the freaking door. How was I going to get my phone out of my purse and text?

The door opened then, and Storm held out his hand to me. I stared at it, then lifted my eyes to his face. God, that face. I needed to stop looking at it.

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