Page 5 of Don't Let Go

“Relax. It’s not like I’d do anything with an audience.” His fingers snaked up my thigh, and my flesh burst into goosebumps.

“Please stop,” I begged through clenched teeth.

His hazel eyes shined with malice. He thrived off of showing he was in control. “I love it when you beg,” he whispered, tucking a piece of light brown hair behind my ear.

Chloe cleared her throat and sat on the hood of the car next to me. “Shouldn’t you be watching the action? Don’t you have to do something for the victor of this twisted game?”

Paolo grabbed my thigh, digging in his fingers. I gasped at the pain and shot forward, burying my face into his shoulder to avoid screaming.

“Seen enough for one night.” He released his hold and cupped my chin with his mighty hand. “You be a good girl tonight, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” He kissed me on the lips, and it was like kissing a corpse. His lips were cold and tasted like cheap beer.

“See ya later!” Chloe mocked, waving her hand dramatically just to be a bitch.

I wiped my lips with the back of my hand. My leg pounded where he grabbed me; it would be a bruise for sure.

Chloe nudged me with her shoulder. “You deserve better.”

“I know, but how do I get out from under the thumb of a Carbone?” I tugged at my short skirt again. “Let’s go. I’ve had enough of this.”

Chloe happily walked around the car and opened the passenger’s side door. “Okay, but can we stop by a smoke shop first? I need to refill my vape. My dad found my stash and tossed it.”

“If we must,” I replied, opening the driver’s door and sitting down. “You know those are going to kill you one day, right?” I started the car and backed away from the madhouse the event had turned into.

“Girl, we live in a crime family. I think vaping is the least of my problems.” Chloe snagged the nail file from my console and sat back in her chair, filing away.

As I drove down the dirt path to the main road, I glanced back at the fight in my rearview mirror. The second guy passed out, making the tall, black-haired guy the winner. He still had a lot to prove to join thefamily, but he lived through the first round.

I couldn’t wait until I got home. My little sister would still be awake, and the highlight of every night was reading her a bedtime story. The smile on her face when she saw me come home and how peacefully she fell asleep after the story ended was something I envied. She was oblivious to our lifestyle.

Maybe one day I could leave all this behind. I didn’t want to stay in the family business. I wasn’t ashamed of what put food on the table, but it wasn’t something I was cut out to do. I always considered myself as someone who reached out with a helping hand. It would kill a piece of me if I had to become someone cold and ruthless; if I had to become someone like my mamma.

3

Tyler

“Dude, this place is sick!” Quincy said, getting out of my car.

I observed the insane festivities before us. This party was lit alright. Drunks stumbled and laid on the ground, sprinkled around like garden gnomes.

This house was on forty acres and appeared more like a mansion hidden in the purple mountains. It was three stories with a huge balcony on the second floor and an infinity pool in the backyard.

R&B music pulsed through the air, and lights hung from the porch’s ceiling, giving it a club feel. I spotted Iris upstairs on the balcony, leaning against the railing, laughing with her best friend, Anne.

I nodded my head toward Iris. “I’m going to go check on my girl. You good?”

Quincy pounded my fist. “Hell yeah. I’m going to go play beer pong.”

As I crossed the cement floor covered in dirt and dried leaves from a recent windstorm, I bumped into Brandon. “My man!” he shouted.

We slapped each other’s palms in greeting before reeling each other in for a hug as we patted backs. “This is our champ!” He lifted my left arm into the air like a boxer who won a fight. Everyone around us clapped and cheered.

It would’ve been a lie if I said I didn’t love feeling like some kind of god.

“I had to win for us. I can’t let us be beaten by the schmucks at Glendale.”

Brandon shook his head and hit my back. “Somebody get this guy a beer!”

Laurie reached into one of the coolers and popped the cap off the bottle before handing it to me. Her fingers brushed mine as I accepted it. “Congrats,” she said, eyeing me as if I was her meal ticket.

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