Page 25 of Concealed Deception

“William is becoming a problem.I need to know the moment he brings my name to attention.I know he’ll have someone on the inside.But I have you, don’t I, Griffin?”

He nods with his allegiance.

“I have something he wants and I’m not willing to let him have it.The moment he pops up on any of your men’s radars, I want to know.Not a second more.In return, I have someone in room two who is a better fit for you.”The ominous smirk that scares most men is placed strategically on my face while I place my cigarette in the ashtray.

I stand from my chair, gesturing Griffin to join me inside, then pour a drink before I sit at my desk.I don’t offer Griffin one, instead I nod to one of my men who is now at the open door, waiting to lead him to the room I promised.“Have a good time, Deputy Commissioner.”

I turn my back, waiting for Tony to come back into the room.That asshole would have been standing on the other side of the door this whole time, waiting to pounce.

“What the fuck is your problem?”Tony’s accusatory tone isn’t lost on me, and it sure pisses me off.

“Firstly, where is your fucking respect?”I round on him with my hand now pressing hard on his throat.The tension from my body is back in full force.I’m a loaded gun wanting to cause damage for his earlier actions.

He coughs and splutters, trying to inhale the air I’m currently cutting off from his windpipe.“You sent me into that room knowing full well Ava would find us.What did you hope to achieve from that little stunt, Antonio?The exact outcome I’m now picking up the pieces from?I lost one of my best girls tonight as a result of your actions.”Tony’s seconds away from passing out.Letting go and watching him fall to a heap on the floor is at least a little satisfying, though it hasn’t suppressed the murderous need in my veins.

Coughing and heaving lungful after lungful of air, he finally stands to accept the drink I poured for him.

“You’re a bastard,” he wheezes as he accepts the glass.

“And you’re lucky to be alive.”After downing the contents of his glass, he goes for a refill, and then the conversation really gets going.

“It was a test.One I already knew the outcome to.I wanted to find a way for you to see you’re falling for her.Fuck, man, this shit isn’t going to end well for you.What do you think will happen once she’s free?Do you honestly think she’ll stick around, or are you actually going to keep her hostage?I’m all for what you started, Xander, but even I can see that this is going to end with one of you in a body bag.”

The murderous sensation from earlier is simmering on the surface.I’m close to tipping, and without the release I’d prefer, I might just put a bullet in anyone to calm myself.

“That’s not an option.The only people dead are the ones who cross us.I get that you were trying to help me, Tony, but you have no idea what you’ve started.I hope you’re ready for war, because you’re going to be fighting it with me.From now on, I want at least two men always stationed with Ava.Security here is to double.I also want eyes on William.I want to know his every move—every coming and going.I want eyes everywhere.I’ve asked Griffin to tell me the moment red flags are raised at the station and to also keep his eyes open.If it’s a war William wants, it’s a war he’ll get.”

We spend most of the night and early hours of the morning preparing ourselves.Though, it was hard to keep a clear head when all I thought about was how Ava felt as I slammed my dick in her sweet as sin pussy.

My cell rings and I answer right away, knowing it’s Vince.

“Boss, we have a situation back at the house.”His voice never wavers, but for some reason, something in his tone is off.

“What is it, Vince?”I demand through the line.

Before he has a chance to reply, a high-pitched scream comes from the background, which puts me on high alert.“What the fuck’s going on, Vince?There better be no trouble or you know it’s your head I’m taking.”

There’s a pause and it unsettles me further.“Vince,” I threaten.

Vince’s voice is muffled as Tony roars in the background.“Boss, we need to get to the girls, now!”

“Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?”Tony has his phone held out for me to view.He’s pulled up the security cameras from my penthouse.Not happy that he’s accessed my cameras but ignoring that now I’m looking at the screen.I swipe the phone from his grasp and storm from my office.

As Tony drives us through the streets of New York, missing rush hour traffic, he speeds into the parking garage of my building and we both hurriedly get out of the car and march toward the elevator.

Knox greets us once the door opens to my suite, though there’s no time to respond as the chaos that unfolds is worse than either of us anticipated.

Fifteen

Ava

“You do realize that once he gets home, we’re both in trouble, right?”Lacey slurs from the edge of the pool.The funny bitch just pushed me in, fully clothed.Poor Vince and whoever was on the phone would have heard my scream for sure.

They say you shouldn’t swim while drinking, but the water is refreshing, so I take my dress off and let it float freely on the surface.

“I can’t believe you just pushed me in,” I say mockingly.I knew it was coming.We’ve been threatening to push one another in all night, or is it now morning?

“Ah, Lacey… Is the sun coming up or am I seeing things?”

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