Page 47 of Blood Ties

“Alessio? Do you have a minute?” he asked me.

“Sure,” I replied and motioned over to the couch in the area designated as a living room.

“I’ll take the stiff out to the van,” Squirrel offered as he picked the body wrapped in plastic up and tossed it over his shoulder, then chuckled darkly. “It’s not like it’ll freak him out.”

I blinked and he was gone. Then I blinked slowly several times. “What the fuck?”

Venom smirked. “You get used to it.”

Yes, I loved that they trusted me with their secrets, but it still tripped me out at times.

We took a seat, and he cocked his head as he silently studied me for a moment. With his uncanny blue-green, gray-green eyes, it was a bit unnerving, but I’d never admit that to him.

“I heard you might be thinking of retiring,” Venom quietly murmured.

My brows shot to my hairline, and I pressed my lips flat before I replied. “Oh yeah? Who said that?”

“A little birdie,” he cryptically replied as he shrugged.

I figured it was either Voodoo or his grandmother, the voodoo priestess down in the New Orleans area. They had an uncanny ability to see things, which was why Voodoo had reached out to her when everything went down there with Niv and me. It had to be, because the only people I’d discussed it with were people who didn’t have a lot of interaction with the RBMC.

“Maybe. Why are you asking?” I hedged.

“Because maybe I have a job offer for you,” he replied with a slight lift of his chin as he tugged on one of his lip piercings with his teeth.

“Doing?”

“Well, as you know, we lost Raptor and Phoenix. I’m betting we’re gonna lose Blade to Texas too, but he hasn’t really said yet. That leaves me short a few hands. The garbage still needs to be taken out, and we could use someone with your talents. I’m not expecting an answer today, but I wanted to make the offer face-to-face. We won’t be able to pay what you’re getting now, but it would keep you closer to home and you’d have a team to work with instead of flying solo. So think about it.” Venom stood, signifying he was done talking. I followed because while I really liked him and the boys, I was anxious to be alone with Niv.

“At this point, I’m not worried about the level I’ve been getting. I’ll definitely think it over. Thank you for trusting me enough to make the offer.” We shook hands and then they got busy. That time, I stayed out of the way. They had a system and I’d only slow them down.

Before I knew it, they were bagging up the last of their things and I walked them to the door.

“Thank you again,” I told them as I shook their hands.

“Not a problem. It’s a pleasure doing business with you,” Ghost replied with a smirk and a waggle of his brows. We all laughed.

Venom paused as he gripped my hand. “Think about my offer. If it’s something you’re interested in, we can discuss details.”

“I appreciate it.”

Finally, they were gone and there was no sign of what had happened in the condo earlier. I was bone weary and wanted to hold my girl. Hopefully, she didn’t wake up and ring my bell.

Rounding in the condo, I made sure all the windows were locked and the lights were off, then I went into Nivea’s bedroom.

Undressing, I climbed in behind her. I was past trying to do the right thing. As far as I was concerned, this was the right thing. We’d work out the details later. Hell, maybe I’d take my brother’s advice and retire.

Maybe.

Scooting closer, I reveled in the warm curves that I cuddled into. I breathed in her soft hair. Gently, so I didn’t wake her, I pressed a kiss to the slope of her shoulder. For a moment, I wondered who this person was that I’d become.

I’d returned to Chicago and become one of the best in my dark and dangerous field. I hadn’t wanted or needed a relationship. Yet now, here I was contemplating turning my life on end for one raven-haired temptress. The thing was?

It didn’t bother me one bit.

“Dandelions”—Ruth B

Two weeks had passed since Carl tried to kill me. Alessio found out that he had been pawning off Justin’s lesser valued items and selling some of his more valuable things on the black market. Carl had figured he’d get as much as he could. We also found out he was the one who sent me the message, but we still had no idea why he thought killing me would gain him anything but his hateful revenge.

---