Page 81 of Nocturnal Sins
“I’ll make you rethink that later when I’m fucking you like a savage.” He winked and I thought I would leave behind a river.
The east side was comprised of tons of overcrowded suburban neighborhoods where kids wanted to be hard but were soft as marshmallows. Santana seemed to know exactly where to go to catch up with some of Papa’s men. There were three guys hanging out in front of the gas station talking quietly amongst themselves. Nobody would have ever thought those guys were selling heavy drugs. They all wore jeans and immaculately clean t-shirts with skateboards and bright smiles.
Santana strode up to them with broad shoulders and a swag to his walk that could never be duplicated. When he stopped to look at them, they immediately stood at attention like he was a colonel. I half expected for them to salute him.
Seeing him tower an entire head over the other guys made my thighs tingle and my pussy throb. It was probably insanely inappropriate but fuck it. There was no doubt in my mind that I would screw his brains out when we got back in the car.
“What’s up, Santana? Everything good?” The tallest one of the group asked. He still didn’t come up to Santana’s eye level.
“Everything is great. Pop wanted me to drop something off for you guys. A little token of our appreciation for keeping things running smoothly.” His fingers worked quickly to open the box. Brown paper crinkled beneath his touch as he pulled out smaller individual boxes made of smooth black leather. Papa had such amazing taste. I was sure those watches cost a pretty penny.
Santana was like Santa Claus and every guy that got a watch lit up like a little kid on Christmas. “Shit, tell Pop we appreciate him giving us the chance to prove ourselves. We won’t let him down. There’s nobody else in the whole fucking state we’d rather work for.”
“Glad to hear it, fellas. Keep it up. Give these out to your men and tell them they’re compliments of Pop. Everyone’s on post tonight, right?” I watched Santana’s smooth talking and stern expression and it made me dizzy. He never spoke much around other people but god, when he did it made me so fucking wet.
“Yeah, all of our men are on post,” the tallest one answered. Santana nodded and they slapped hands before we left.
“I could watch you all day,” I told him with a sultry purr weaving its way through my voice. We were back in the truck and I couldn’t stop stroking his forearms and the tattoos painted on them. I studied the thick cords moving beneath his skin and found myself wanting to lick him like a lollipop.
“Oh yeah?” He doled out that smirk of his like he knew it was lethal. It hit me hard and I melted in a puddle beside him as he pulled off.
“Yeah. You’re so fucking sexy, Santana.” I pulled my eyes away from his handsome face to stare at my engagement ring. Love filled me up from the inside like satin ribbons piling high up my throat, choking me with emotion. “I love you so much,” I said, finding my voice. “I don’t know how but the universe has a way of making things work out.” I laced my fingers between his and squeezed. “You’ve always been the one. It’s been you my entire life because nobody else makes sense.” Stars zipped by as we drove closer to Papa’s. I got lost in their bright lights.
“It’s always been us, Sammie, because even when nothing else made sensewealways did.” He kissed the back of my hand and warmth raced up my neck and spread across my cheeks, which I knew were stained red.
Santana’s cell phone rang, cutting through all the fuzzy silence in the truck and I pouted when he let my hand go to push the accept call button on the steering wheel.
“What’s up, Dom?” He frowned after reading the number that flashed across the radio’s face. My back went rigid as ice formed in place of my spine.
“Santana, you need to come to the restaurant now. There’s been a coup. It was the guys from the east side. Something bad happened.” I watched Santana’s brows lift then pinch together. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel.
Something about the way he looked struck inexplicable fear in my bones. He said, “I’m on the way,” then ended the call abruptly. My heart went from swimming over Santana to sinking in my stomach because I couldn’t shake the sense of dread washing over me.
“What the fuck does he mean there was a coup, Santana? Why do you look like that?” My questions seemed to push him over the edge because he banged his balled up fist against the steering wheel multiple times. A vein in his neck bulged and pressed against his skin, threatening to pop.
“If there was a coup, that means someone tried to kill Pop…or someone did.” His words trembled and my heart nearly burst through my chest.
“What?” I asked quietly, tipping my head to the side. “Santana, what the fuck has happened? I need a straight answer.”
“I don’t know! I’ll find out when we get there but I know one fucking thing for sure…there was no coup and the guys from the east side would never do anything to hurt Pop.”
The entire space seemed so closed in all of a sudden. There wasn’t enough air to breathe and black dots crowded my vision. “I ended the call like that because if something happened to Pop I didn’t want you to hear it from Dom’s fucking mouth.”
Before he could say anything else, my hands were fumbling for my phone. I called Papa’s number and waited for an answer.
Nothing.
Thick heavy chains weighed me down as I called him again and again without an answer. Terror spread through my body, spiky and hot. Why wasn’t he answering? Where the fuck was he?
“Santana, I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” I told him, my voice dense and wobbly.
“Look at me, Samira,” he pulled up at a red light and turned my face to his. “No matter what we’re walking into, trust me and let me handle it.”
“Santana, if something happened to Papa…I…”
“Just let me handle it, okay?” His words were tight and full of emotion.
Santana was scared.
