Page 9 of Taming Nikki

“Well…”

I growled when he took too long to reply.

“Okay, alright. So she didn’t let it go. She disappeared, and it took us a minute to figure out where she went.”

“Where is she?”

He paused. “Club Starlite.”

Motherfucker. That’s one of mine.

“I’m on my way. Make sure she doesn’t leave.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we’re going to have that problem. She’s in your office.”

Son of a–

ChapterFive

NIKKI

I figuredout we were being followed before we even got to the club. We got a tail as soon as we hit downtown. I scowled. Normally, I let my cousins help me with deliveries, but I knew the only person who could get the jobs done without being noticed was me. They hung back instead and watched the guys who were watching me.

I had three more deliveries for the night and I wasn’t going to let a fucking tail stop me from getting it done. I walked up to the door of the club and smiled when the bouncer let me in without even checking for my name. This used to be so much more of a pain in the ass when I was a nobody. Now, I could walk into any club without issue.

Piero and Marco followed behind me, but split off once we filed into the main part of Club Starlite. They moved to stalk my new friends to figure out who sent them. The club was loud, dark, and crowded, which made this significantly easier. I slipped through the clusters of writhing bodies, ignoring the wandering hands that trailed across me as I passed. My first client was in one of the booths that lined the walls. They were sectioned off for VIPs, but they weren’t as special as the ones upstairs. Flashing lights overhead made the trip longer than I hoped. I couldn’t see shit and I was feeling irritated by the time I found him.

He excused himself from the group he was with and smoothed his tie down as he approached me. I stopped using these kinds of moves a while back, but he recognized them once I grabbed his tie and pulled him closer. His hands slid around my waist, pulling me close until I was pressed against him.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

I chuckled, tipping my head to let him brush kisses down my neck. Each baggie was marked and strategically placed, so I wouldn’t mix them up and hand them to the wrong person. His was the only one in my purse. I pulled it out carefully and slid my arms around him to grab his ass. I forgot how fun this was. Grinning, I slipped my hands into his back pockets, dropping the baggie with the USB inside before releasing him. I trailed my hands up his chest to wrap around his neck.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” I purred, my lips brushing against his ear. I winked when he shivered as I pulled away.

I felt myself relax as I moved through the crowd. I was pulled into the arms of several people, most of which were just looking to get lucky. Only a few were here for business. They slipped me their cards as their hands wandered. I stopped at a booth near the bar, where a woman in a tight red dress sat, watching me. A slow smile spread over my face as I hoisted myself onto the table in front of her. Spinning, I bracketed her with my legs, feet on the seat.

“Hello, beautiful. You’ve been busy.”

“It’s a good night,” I replied, leaning back onto my palms as she ran her hands up my legs. Her baggie hid in the strap holding my knife, where I always kept it for her. She liked the insinuation, and I liked the attention. She pulled it free easily, running her hands back down again so she could slip the USB discreetly into her purse.

“You realize you’ve got a tail, right?”

I grinned lazily. “I’m aware.”

She chuckled and pulled me closer to the edge of the table, her arms loose around my waist. “Well, I’m sure you’ve got more to do. Call me sometime. We used to have fun together.”

I leaned over, kissing her lightly on the cheek before I slipped off the table and back onto my feet. Admittedly, yes, we used to have a good time. I wasn’t picky on who I spent the night with as long as we both got off. But I don’t hook up with customers anymore. It's messy and bad for business.

Piero appeared beside me, whispering in my ear.

“Pretty sure I figured out who's following us.” When I raised an eyebrow, he jutted his chin at the bar. “Was talking to the bartender. The one on the phone? That’s Leo Vitale’s cousin.”

I scowled. Rat bastard. I should’ve known he’d be an issue. Dons didn’t like women on the street. If he thought my papa was sending me out, he’d probably take issue with it. Papa didn’t know shit, though, and I wanted to keep it that way.

“Fine. I’ll handle it. I’ve got one more delivery upstairs, then I’ll meet you by the bar.”

He nodded and disappeared. At least I knew the Vitale boys wouldn’t be able to follow me up there. My last customer had no sense of discretion, which was why I always met him upstairs. It was private, dark, and hard to see what was going on from the ground floor.

---