Page 72 of Once A Crime Lord

He thought they were through being on opposing sides of an issue where neither of them would compromise. First, it had been his position as crime lord, which she had changed her stance on. Now, she was asking him not to kill a man who wanted to save her from him. A normal man would feel jealousy, ignore it, and be satisfied with the fact she wore his ring, bore his child, and said she loved him. He wasn’t that rational or evolved. Lyla had left him twice and for very good reasons. Even now, any psychologist or sane friend (thank God Carmen grew up in his world and didn’t encourage Lyla to leave him again) would tell her to take Nora and run. He wouldn’t allow it. Lyla would get past this. She had to because he wasn’t going to deviate from his course. Huskin had to die.

Huskin lived a safe existence free of the evil he walked through every day. Z sent him a recording of Lyla’s conversation with Huskin this morning. She didn’t think he had time to monitor her? Was she fucking crazy? She couldn’t comprehend the depth of his obsession. She tried her damnedest to warn Huskin that his life was in danger, but Huskin wasn’t concerned. Even through the recording, Gavin sensed the tension between them of things left unsaid. Hearing the easiness between Lyla and her ex made his insides feel as if acid was eating away at his organs. She dared call her ex. He didn’t know how to handle her rebellion. His first instinct was to lock her in the basement. An echo of his father’s voice slipped through his mind.The way to make a woman stay isn’t by abusing her. It’s by loving her so much she can’t imagine being without you. Fuck. He couldn’t love Lyla any more than he already did. They didn’t have the same relationship as his parents. He couldn’t control her. She’d left him twice. His mother never left his father; she supported him no matter what.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and read the text. Finally. He couldn’t bear to sit here any longer with his thoughts. He was a man of quick decisions and actions—except when it came to her. She turned him into an indecisive, raving lunatic. If he didn’t love her so much, he’d hate her for her influence over him.

He heard approaching footsteps, the jingle of keys, and then the door opened. Jonathan flipped the light switch, placed his messenger bag on the stand beside the door, and turned. There was no surprise or fear on his face, just weary acceptance.

When Gavin had entered the apartment, he searched for a security system and found none, which he thought was odd at the time, but he was too focused on his mission to ponder it. How could Huskin possibly know he was here? Or had he been expecting him?

His demon began to salivate, eager for the kill. He could shoot Huskin, but that would be too quick. He could break his neck—no, he could start their session by breaking his fingers, digit by digit since those hands knew what Lyla’s skin felt like. On that thought, he should slice off his dick for daring to trespass. Maybe he could—

“No gun?” Huskin asked.

He shifted his jacket so Huskin could see a real gun, not the ones he saw on video games. “You aren’t surprised to see me.”

Huskin shrugged. “You would have killed me in that hotel room if Lyla hadn’t made such a scene. I knew sooner or later you’d finish the job.”

Huskin’s phone rang. He waited to see what he would do. Huskin eyed him for a moment before he slowly reached into his pocket.

“It’s Lyla,” Huskin said.

Every muscle in his body tensed, but he kept his face expressionless. Fuck it. He would lock her up in the basement, blister her ass, and then fuck her until she came to her senses. He didn’t care what Dad said. Calling another man? No.Fuckno. The tips of his fingers twitched with the need to grab his gun and finish this guy. He was a nobody, yet Lyla’s loyalty to him made Huskin his worst nightmare. As Huskin’s hand moved toward the phone his moved to his gun. Huskin pressed a button, and Lyla’s voice filled the room.

“Jonathan, you nearly gave me a heart attack! You got off work hours ago! Why’ve you been ignoring my calls?”

“Sorry, I was working late,” Huskin answered.

“Oh, my God. Why aren’t you taking me seriously?” Lyla snapped.

“I am,” Huskin said, eyes fixed on Gavin.

“You aren’t. You don’t know what he’ll do to you.”

“I think I do,” Huskin replied.

The sound of a baby crying filled the room, short-circuiting Gavin’s killing haze. Nora. Fuck, he missed his baby girl. Why was she crying? He hated that sound with a passion. He would never be able to ignore her cries if he was in the vicinity. Thank fuck she wasn’t a fussy baby. The sound of his daughter in distress ripped at him.

Huskin nabbed his attention when he staggered as if he had been shot. He leaned against the closed apartment door with an anguished expression.

“You have a child with him?” Huskin whispered.

There was a long pause on the other end. “Yes. A daughter.”

Huskin dropped his face into his hand and didn’t speak.

“I thought I told you,” Lyla said.

“No, you didn’t.”

Huskin knew having a child changed everything. It was the reason he impregnated Lyla as quickly as possible. He wasn’t just Lyla’s husband; he was the father of her child, and that made them a family. Huskin clearly grasped that Lyla would have to leave her husband and child to be with him, which wouldn’t happen.That’s right, motherfucker, she’s all mine.

“I told you, I love my husband. I’m married, and I have a daughter.”

Her desolate tone made his gut tighten. He hurt her, but he couldn’t stop, not when she was focused on keeping Huskin alive.

“I have to go,” Huskin said hoarsely.

“I’m sorry, Jonathan.”

---