Page 61 of Tasting Sin

The door to the storage closet was locked, and I rattled the knob more furiously when I heard the loud clap of skin-on-skin contact and then a pained cry. “Get out of the way,” Enzo demanded, and I stepped to the left before he reared back and slammed the heel of his boot into the part of the door just above the knob.

Splintered wood flew into the air, and the loud crack announced our entry, as if the broken glass hadn’t already done so. “What the fuck?” Frank cursed, whipping his head in our direction. He hadn’t heard us.

A stack of crates was on its side, and miscellaneous glass bottles had spread across the floor. Some of them had broken, and the small room smelled like a foul college party with a few too many spilled shots. Nellie was panting and glaring at Frank, who returned it with a sneer of his own. Her hair hung in her face, and when she huffed, blowing a loose strand away from her eyes, it fell right back where it was. She pursed her lips.

“Am I interrupting something?” I asked, calmly fixing my suit jacket while Frank stood and shoved his sleeves up his arms. “It looks like you’ve got something that belongs to me.”

When I nodded at Nellie, Enzo rushed forward, pulling his knife from his belt and using it to cut the tape on her wrists. She winced when she put her hands in her lap, rubbing one wrist and then the other. I looked at her, and there was something different in her eyes—almost like she didn’t know who I was.

“You’re exactly who I was looking for,” Nikki said. I spun around to face her, zoning in on each purposeful click of her heels against the ground. “I knew you’d come after little miss thing back there.” Nellie gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth.

There was a quick scuffle behind me, and the gun when off before I even turned around. Nellie screamed, the sound competing with the ringing of the shot, and then there was a thud. I turned to see Frank in a rapidly growing red puddle, Nellie’s face stark white.

I rushed to her, squatting and trying to wrap my arms around her, but she scurried back away from me. Her leg dragged through the blood, smearing it behind her. “Don’t,” she said breathlessly, putting both of her swollen, almost purple hands up in front of her.

“Oh, look. It appears your little girlfriend isn’t quite so blinded by your charm anymore, is she?” Nikki taunted, circling the perimeter of the room. “Especially now that she knows you aren’t who she thinks you are.” She sounded like the note Nellie received. Not everyone is who we think they are. I glared at her.

“Enzo, take Nellie and go,” I demanded coldly. Nellie tried to scurry away from Enzo, even when he grabbed her and scooped her into his arms. She tried to fight it, smacking at his chest and kicking her feet, but then her eyes dropped, and so did her head. Her exhaustion was starting to win, and she stopped fighting, letting him carry her out.

I turned my attention back to Nikki, who continued to circle the room. She stepped over the pool of blood, clicking her tongue and shaking her head when she looked at her apparent partner-in-crime.

“What do you want Nikki?” I asked when she hummed again, obviously waiting for me to break the silence. Did she think it would give her the upper hand?

She chuckled. “I need someone to take the fall for the death of my girls.” Was she serious?

“That’s not me.” I crossed my arms over my chest, still prepared to reach for the gun concealed on my hip. I had a personal principle against shooting a woman, but I would do it if I had to.

Nikki grinned, tossing her hair over her shoulder when she stepped closer to me. I could smell the cheap perfume she wore too much of over the metallic scent of a fresh wound. “Oh, but it is.”

“No. You see, I know your game. You think we haven’t been watching you?” I turned to face her dead on when she started to circle me more closely. “You thought we wouldn’t notice the Irish presence or the way you turned a blind eye to everything that happened in here, but we’re always watching.”

She shrugged like she had still won. “I told your girl what really happened with her brother."

Again, I saw red, and a loud growl ripped from deep in my chest. In a snap, my hand closed around her neck, pinning her against the shelf of bottles behind her. They rattled when her body rocked against it, and the sound accompanied the grunt forced from her. “What did you just say?”

“Doesn’t she deserve to know her new boyfriend is the reason her brother is dead?” Her words were strained at the end of the statement when I closed my hand tighter around her neck, watching her cheeks turn darker and her eyes widen.

“You know, I should break your neck and let you die in here with your friend,” I snarled at her.

Nikki smirked even as she struggled for a full breath. “Aw, and here I was thinking we were getting our happy ever after.”

I let go of her, and she dropped to a heap on the floor, putting her hand over her neck. She sucked in a deep breath, followed by another one, and then she stood after taking a quick glance at her partner’s body. The pool of blood was no longer stretching towards the edges of the room.

“The only happy ever after you’re getting is walking out of here alive. For now.” I towered over her, gritting my teeth and glaring. “You’re done. Your club is done. Your career is done. Your protection is gone.”

“So you think.” Her voice was raspy, and when she went to stand, she wobbled a bit before she regained her balance.

“So I know. If you ever touch something that belongs to me again, I’ll burn every inch of your skin with battery acid before I bury you alive. Do I make myself clear?” My voice was soft, and even though she gulped, Nikki didn’t flinch. “Don’t fucking test me, Nikki.”

Chapter 41

Nellie

My heart started racing the second I opened my eyes. I sat up, blinking a few times and preparing to plan my escape route before I realized I was in my own bed. The curtains were closed, but the lamp in the corner was on, and nothing smelled like ether or liquor. My wrists and throat ached, and when I clenched my teeth, I could feel bruises in my cheeks that stung when I touched my fingertips to them.

When there was a knock on the door, I jolted, yelping when a shooting pain in my hip traveled down my leg. The door squeaked, and Spice slipped through the crack before it was opened enough for me to see through it. He jumped on the bed, carefully crawling his way into my lap. I winced when he climbed up my chest, headbutting my cheek.

“He’s been worried about you,” Ronan said, peeking his head into the room. “We both have. How are you feeling?” He didn’t wait for an invite before he stepped into the room, closing the distance between us and sitting on the edge of the bed.

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