Page 21 of Charity's Torment

“Oh. You know, working and such,” she said, giving little to no feedback for conversation. This was going to drag more than it already did.

“Cool.” I pushed my way up to the bar, moving a couple out of my way, flagged down the tender, and flashed two fingers and a thumb. He nodded, understanding my meaning, and came over with two shots of dark liquor. He placed the first one in front of Kandy and the other in front of me. I passed him a fifty, and he walked away.

“Wow, these are expensive shots,” she said, noticing my exchange.

“Oh yeah. Top shelf.” I snorted.

I held up my shot, toasted to her, then swallowed as Kandy copied my movements. We made our way back through the crowd to the guys, interrupting their heated exchange, and I sat next to Nico with newfound enthusiasm. I kept my peppy attitude as Kandy found her seat next to Luca. He was giving her the cold shoulder. Jealousy was an affliction I had to deal with when it came to these men. I’d learned to control just how much I let them see, but every once in a while, it got the better of me.

I sat and watched the interactions of them all, silently biding my time. It’ll come, and I knew it. “Ready to talk?” I asked Luca.

“Bitch, what is your problem?” She clapped her hands together with each word. “We are trying to have fun tonight.”

How rude, after I just bought her a drink and all. I grinned and sat back in my chair to wait for the fire to start. Nico wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I pressed into him, enjoying his scent. Luca eyed me, knowing I was up to something. I don’t let anyone speak to me that way. “What are you smiling for?” she asked, then touched her forehead.

“You’ll see.”

“Stop, Kandy,” Luca told her.

“She doesn’t scare me.” Her words faltered as it began to take effect.

“Feeling a little sluggish there, Kandy?” I snickered.

Luca snapped his eyes to me and then her, finally realizing I gave her the two in one special.

He became pissed as Kandy became progressively intoxicated by the moment and then slumped in her seat—out cold. I couldn’t contain the giggle that slipped past my lips. “Nighty, night, bitch.”

Luca waved over Vito, his driver and guard, and whispered in his ear. Vito picked Kandy up and dragged her out the back door.

The two in one special was the perfect combo of GHB and liquor. Luca stormed over to me and yanked me to my feet by my arm. His fingers dug into my flesh, and I smiled, proud of myself. I didn’t feel bad, especially after she talked to me like that on my supposed birthday.

Who did that?

Luca pulled me down the hallway that hosted private suites for individuals to rent out—like a high-class hotel, paid for by the minute. He tugged me into his private room and slammed the door behind us. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I wasthinking… you were allowing some parakeet to hang all over you when I needed to talk to you about something,” I replied. “I thought that was obvious.”

Luca pinned me to the wall, and his hand slithered around my waist. He moved trails across my barely-there lace until it settled on the butt of my gun, and he pulled. I tensed as my gun slipped from its holster, and he pressed it firmly into my ribs. “It could have waited.”

“I didn’t know you preferred to play rough, Luca,” I purred.

Luca kept the pistol held to my chest and ran his hand up to fist my throat. His scent drove me wild. “Well, who is going to keep me entertained now?”

“Not my problem.”

I stared into his hereditary brown eyes. All the Moreno men carried these same colored eyes with slight variations between them.

“It is now. Besides, you owe me a pound of flesh, Charity.”

“Go find another blonde. There is no shortage of them hanging around you.”

“What if I’m in the mood for brunette now? A very specific brunette.”

Something clattered to the floor, and I saw my clip laying at my feet before he jerked my head back up to peer at him. “Not sure I can help you there.”

“Oh, but I think you can,” he said, nibbling on my lobe.

The thrill of my gun digging into my ribs and the anticipation of this going further made my blood run wild. My heart pounded hard in my chest like a gazelle racing across the prairie to escape the lion. Luca released his hold on my throat, and my bullet from the chamber joined the clip on the floor. He tossed my gun on the counter and threw me on the bed.

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