Page 11 of Pitiful Lies

There is something else. Something I never felt before, but I’ll be damned if I tell her first.

I pull into an empty spot just as she sits forward. The sun is baking me through the windows the second I turn the engine off.

“Where are we?” she asks, sitting forward and I frown, noting the way the tank top dips, and her nipples almost spill out.

If I can see her, so can my guys standing around outside while I pull into a spot.

“Sit back, Koukla,” I tell her, and she frowns, but complies.

“What?”

I nod towards her top, and she looks down. Her cheeks burn pink, but she complies and sits back.

“What does that mean, anyway? For months now, you’ve been calling me Koukla. And for all I know, it could mean fat ass,” she snarks.

“It don’t mean fat ass,” I reply, and my lip twitches.

But I don’t smile. Not yet.

“Wait for me to come around,” I command.

“Fine. Neanderthal,” she mutters.

That time I do smile, but I wait until I’m outside the car, so Giselle doesn’t see it.

“Hey yo, Boss?” Bernard, a new guy, walks up to me, his eyes on the passenger window.

I move in front of him, forcing him to stop short and blocking his view of my girl. I don’t care if she’s in denial or what.

Little Doll is mine.

And I don’t have no loyalty to this motherfucker here. Especially not if he’s too stupid to live.

“Got a problem?” I snarl.

“Um, yeah, no, Boss,” he says, hands raised.

“What do you want?” I ask this imbecile.

“Oh, uh, so the plane needs servicing. Pilot says it’s gonna be a couple of hours.”

“What? Fine. Fuck that. You guys wait and fly back home.”

“What about you, Boss?” he asks, but I’m already walking back to the driver’s side.

“Don’t fucking ask questions, Bernard,” Anthony, one of my old time guys, says to him.

I nod at Anthony, but I don’t bother replying. When I give orders, I expect them to be followed.

If Bernard can’t deal with that, he knows what to do. And if he doesn’t, well, Anthony will show him.

“What’s happening?” Giselle asks, and her green eyes are so wide I want to groan.

The color is so light, and the green is unlike anything I ever saw. Eyes like hers are rare. Perfect.

They’re not emeralds.

They’re peridots.

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