Page 59 of Nocturnal Sins
“Pretty much. I’m trying to get Pop’s stubborn ass to at least meet them halfway. There has to be some kind of compromise taken.”
I nibbled on the side of my lip for a moment before saying, “What if Papa gave them a trial run at a steep cost? He gives them the extra drugs and they have to move it and deliver the money or else they owe double and if they can’t pay then one of them has to go.”
After my words hit the air they turned to mist that blanketed the room in silence. Santana looked at me in that devastating way and I tried, subconsciously, to hide from his penetrating gaze.
“One of them has to go?” His thick brow lifted in question.
“Yeah,” I said, raising a shoulder. My confidence was falling away like scraps leaving me exposed. Nerves jittered across my shoulders and down my arms like marching ants.
“As in…” he let his words fall off a cliff leaving me no choice but to put my thoughts into plain language.
“One of them has to die. Preferably the one who suggested they take on more product.” I drew my knees closer to my chest and pushed out a breath hoping that some kind of confidence would fill my lungs and pour out when I exhaled. “I get that Papa has a business to run and he can’t look like a kind-hearted boss giving people chances to fuck up his money and his reputation.
I feel like the guy who suggested they take on more work should be the one literally putting his life on the line to make sure they sell that work.” By the time I was done talking, Santana’s face had bloomed into a full grin. It was such a wicked grin too. It made my insides spark and crackle.
“Listen to you…” With a single yank, he pulled me close to him with his huge hand wrapped around my ankle. Once I was close enough to him with my legs draped over the side of the bed, he slid his fingers around the back of my neck and held me there. I felt every ounce of nervousness evaporate while he stared into my eyes. “I love the way your mind works.” That simple sentence made me feel like I belonged in the world. Like I wasn’t some closeted sicko with a mind too warped to live out loud.
“Really?” I swallowed back and I felt the tightness in my throat ease up. “I thought you were going to say it was too extreme or something,” I confessed.
“Nah, not too extreme, Sammie. These motherfuckers need to have someone show them that we don’t operate like a regular fucking company with a suggestion box. They can’t whine like bitches when they’re suggestion isn’t used and if they make a suggestion, they better stand by it with their lives. I think Pop needs to hear your idea. He’d like it. Get dressed.”
“Wait…what?” The cogs in my head screeched to a stop. “Get dressed?” Suddenly words didn’t make sense anymore let alone basic instruction.
“Yes. Get dressed, you’re coming and you’re gonna tell Pop what you told me. All that fire and passion you had…even though it was uncertain at first…needs to be heard.” Santana tossed me a dress and I looked at it like I’d never seen such a thing before.
“Santana, Pop is going to fucking kill you if you bring me to the restaurant to discuss business.”
“Why?” He frowned. “It’s the family business. You’re family. You’re his daughter. He should be proud.”
See, I was fine sharing ideas with Santana but sharing them with Papa was totally different. Even though we were on great terms now, he was still my father and because of that, I held a certain amount of fear in my heart when it came to him. Santana wasn’t letting me stay cemented to my spot though. He tugged me to my feet and I pouted in protest.
“Dress on. Shoes on. Let’s. Go.” That was the last thing he said before he stalked out of the room. Every muscle in his back moved fluidly. Even watching him walk away turned me on.
Begrudgingly, I put my dress on, raked my fingers through my tangled butterscotch tresses and went to Santana’s car. He smiled when I slid into the passenger seat. His perfect straight teeth lit up the small dark space like the flecks of light twinkling in the night sky.
Riding with him made me feel free. True, I was going to pose an idea to my father who just so happened to be the kingpin of Rhode Island but none of that mattered when Santana’s rough hand gripped my thigh. I loved the contrast of his thick heavy fingers against my smooth leg.
I loved it so much I hiked my dress up a few inches so he could slide up higher. His ebony eyes blazed when he came to a red light. “Sammie, stop playing with fire. I don’t have enough time to fuck you again before we get to the restaurant. You keep pulling your dress up like that thought and I promise you I will pull over and eat your pussy.” The way his tongue moved across his lips made me press my thighs together in hopes of stimulating my clit from pressure and imagination.
“Maybe if you ate my pussy it would help me relax before we go in here to see Papa,” I mused, crossing my legs.
“It would.” He pulled into Papa’s parking lot and ran a hand over his chiseled chin. That simple move twisted my insides into a bow as if my entire body was a present for Santana to unwrap. “Out. You’re trouble,” he chuckled.
Nerves took over the moment I heard the concrete scraping, granting us entrance to the den of the devil himself. Papa had two sides. One was the warm, stern father I’d always known but this new dark side was more my speed. It was terrifying but I wanted to know more about that side.
So when I walked into his dark, plush office cloaked in rich textures and colors, I felt the need to tip my chin up and not look at my feet. I wanted him to know I wasn’t there as a tourist.
His dark brows crashed together when he saw me standing beside Santana. Anger overtook confusion as his face morphed into a giant, dark question mark. “Before you start,” Santana said, holding his hand out, “Sammie’s here on business.”
“What business could she possibly have here, right now, Santana?” He barked.
Don’t flinch, Samira.
Don’t fucking flinch.
I locked eyes with Papa and didn’t budge. You couldn’t show fear in front of a man like him. He could smell it.
“I’ve been talking to her about the crybaby assholes on the east side and she came up with a nice compromise. Thought you’d like to hear it.” I envied his cool demeanor. He was like steel. He was unassuming until you ran into him the wrong way. He’d break your teeth just as easy.
