Forbidden Temptations (Tempted Series Book 2) (28 page)

“The kid’s a natural, just like his old man,” Jack said, talking over the sound of the gunshots. I pulled off my protective earphones and tilted my chin towards the soundproof room, signaling for Jack to follow me. I could still keep an eye on Mike through the glass windows but I wanted to use this opportunity to speak to Jack alone.

He followed me into the room, closing the door behind him and we both faced Mike as we started conversation. He reached into his leather cut and pulled out an envelope, slapping it against my chest.

“What’s this?” I asked, taking the envelope, folding it in half before sliding it into the back pocket of my jeans.

“It’s Jimmy’s phone records,” Jack said, moving closer to the glass, eyes trained on Mike as he refilled his magazine of bullets. He knocked on the glass, causing Mike to turn around and Jack then pointed to the right of him. Mike nodded in response and loaded the gun with the correct bullets.

“Anything suspicious?” I asked.

“I didn’t check, figured it was best you do so that way if you find any red flags you can get right on it.”

“I know he did it,” I confessed. “I just need to find the proof.” I ran my fingers roughly through my hair. “Has he been in touch?”

“No, Victor’s personally been calling me,” he groaned. “I don’t know I’m still leaning towards Victor being behind it. I know you say Jimmy has more of a motive and has been acting like a loose cannon.”

“Listen, I hope I’m wrong because Jimmy as the culprit doesn’t help me and my cause in the slightest. Victor isn’t going to bargain with me for Jimmy, he’ll order me to kill him,” I said, frustrated.

Jack looked at me long and hard for a moment.

“You want out don’t you?”

“Yeah,” I diverted my eyes back to Mike’s. “Not sure if I even get out that it won’t be too late.”

“She moved on?”

“No, she’s sick of my shit,” I complain as I shrug my shoulders. “Can’t say I blame her. One day I’m slamming the door in her face, the next I’m slamming her up against a wall, fucking her brains out,” I continue as I shake my head. “I tell her to stay away from me then I tell her I love her. I am fucking her up but I can’t stop because the minute she starts to listen to me, I start going fucking nuts. I think she’s going to find someone else and I can’t fucking watch her be happy with some other guy.” I turn and looked at Jack for a moment. “I sound like a real douche bag. I used to want her to move on and have a good life.”

“What happened?”

“I came home from prison and that same day she went into labor in my apartment. I had no choice but to drive her to the hospital. Everything was happening so quickly and before I knew it I was holding her hand as she brought her son into the world,” I explained nervously. “I don’t know what it was man, but I don’t want either of them to be anyone else’s. It sounds fucked up, but they were mine the moment that baby took his first breath,” I sigh heavily, reaching into my pocket and pulled out a key ring that contains one solitary key on it. I handed it over to Jack, seeing confusion cross his face before he took my offering.

“What’s this?” He asked, glancing down at the ring in his palm.

“That’s the key to Jimmy’s apartment,” I glanced at Mike noting that I didn’t have much time to get my plan across to Jack because he was finishing his last round of bullets. “Vic has asked me to ask you for protection the night Temptations opens. You agree to be on call and you send one of your guys to flip Jimmy’
s apartment upside down. Make it like a break in, shit, make them take some shit, I think he has a coin collection worth something. Anyway, search the apartment for any evidence. Grab his laptop, maybe he googled directions to Danny
’s house or maybe he searched the internet on how to wire an attic fan. He’s sloppy, there has to be something he left behind, the smallest thing.”

“And if there’s nothing?”

“There will be something,” I swallowed. “I’d bet everything I have on it.”

“You know I want to go in by myself right?”

“As long as you can make yourself available should something go down, that way you are accounted for, I don’t give a fuck, do it,”
I held his gaze for a moment before heading towards the door.

“What if you’re right and it’s Jimmy? Then how we going to get you out?” Jack asked from behind me. I paused, my hand on the doorknob and considered his question for a moment. I liked Jack, I liked him a real lot, especially since he was looking for another way to get me to cut ties with Victor.

“Let’s worry about finding who killed Danny, and then I will deal with my situation.”

“A deal is a deal, brother. You give me my brother’s killer and I help you get the girl. Think about it, find a way … I’m your guy,” Jack promised.

I gave him a nod before walking out the door to meet Mike. He looked traumatized, his hands shaking as he placed the gun down. I shook my head and patted him on the back.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said, knowing that Vic’s lifestyle was already spilling into Mike’s life.

I like to think I’m a good sister, like right now I’m shooting for sister of the year as I sweat my ass off on the treadmill. Nikki called me and asked me to come with her to the gym. So I threw on my best PINK by Victoria’s Secret yoga pants and one of those form fitting gym shirts that have the built in bra, that to my surprise, made my boobs look fabulous, a fresh pair of white Nike’s and my outfit was complete.

I reached for my water bottle, wiping at my forehead with the back of my freehand.

“My makeup is sweating off my face,” I complained between breaths before I guzzled the water down.

“I told you not to wear makeup to the gym,” Nikki protested as she increased the incline on her machine. My sister worked out like a man, I don’t even think she broke a sweat as she kept challenging herself.

“I don’t go anywhere without make up anymore. My skin has so many discolorations since I had Luca.”

“Trust me no one is looking at your skin, A,” she huffed blowing out a breath. “Have you spoken to Anthony?”

“Not since the re-pass, why?” I questioned, screwing the cap onto my water bottle. I wasn’t in the mood to rehash my confrontation with Anthony, in fact I wouldn’t mind forgetting it all together.

“I was just wondering if he had told you anything about Mikey,” she asked nonchalantly, grabbing a towel and dabbing the sweat from her forehead.

“Why what’s going on with him?” I asked pausing to look at Nikki, using any excuse I could for a break.

“Nothing. I’m just worried about him, daddy has him training to be a dapper gangster in training,” she continued with a roll of her eyes. “Excuse me, night club manager,” she corrected while looking at me and coughing into her closed hand trying to cover up her next word. “Bullshit.”

“What do you mean bullshit? He’s going to be running Temptations, dad was adamant he didn’t get mixed up in the rest of the business.”

“Right, name one employee of dad’s that isn’t, and I quote,” she made quotations with her fingers, “mixed up in the rest of the business.” She dropped her hands to grip the handles on the machine. “It’s just wrong. Mikey doesn’t want to be anything like his dad but with our dad swaying him to his side it’s pretty much inevitable.”

“Mike’s not a pushover. I may not have seen a lot of him since he’s been back but what I have seen is that man detests our father.”

“Yeah and so does that one,” Nikki said, pointing across the gym. My curiosity getting the best of me, I turned my attention in the direction my sister pointed, and my eyes met Anthony’s.

“Shit,” I whisper, looking away from him and back at my sister who was smiling at him, giving him a friendly wave. “What’re you doing?” I hiss.

She glanced at me confused. “Saying hello to Anthony?”

“No! Don’t look at him or else he’ll come over here,” I say sternly, turning back towards my machine to busy myself so he would think twice about interrupting my strenuous work out. I increased the incline to the max and start running as fast I can.

“Um…A…you might not want to,” Nikki queries sounding worried. “Slow down you’re going to have a heart attack!” She reached over just as I started to pant and played with the settings of the treadmill, suddenly everything slowed down. “What the hell is going on with the two of you?”

“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” I respond breathless.

“Yeah, that’s believable,” she replies. I could feel her eyes boring into me. “Oh my God!” She said slowly, a grin spreading across her face. “You’re screwing him again, aren’t you?”

My head snapped around to face her. “What? No!”

“No? Why the hell not?” She glanced back across the gym to Anthony who was hitting the heavy bag. “He’s fucking hot.”

I reluctantly follow my sister’s gaze, watching Anthony as his fists pummel the bag. If you stared at him long enough he’d likely put you in a trance by the grace in which he moved. It was almost like a form of art, the way his feet danced around, while his fists delivered the perfect punch.

“Close your mouth, Adrianna,” Nikki whispered as she leaned next to me.

“He is isn’t he?” I mumbled, watching him sweat like that, the muscles in his back flexing reminding me of sex. I would love running my hands down the ridges of his back as he fucked me, his flexed arms high above my head as he pins me down. He took a break to grab his water bottle, guzzling it until it was depleted before licking the droplets from his lips and going back to his workout. My whole body ached, my panties soaked and ruined, when his tongue sneaked out and traced his lip. Some relationships the sex fizzles out, Anthony’s and mine it keeps getting better and better. I mean the sex we had last, compared to the sex we had when we were a couple, well, it blows it away. I don’t know if it’s because we’re not together and it’s all so forbidden but it’s amazing. Even after my big speech the other day, I want him to take me into the locker room and fuck me.

I was so involved in my own dirty thoughts I didn’t even notice Nikki leave my side until I saw her walk straight up to Anthony.

I’m going to kill her.

Anthony stopped hitting the bag, turned to Nikki for a moment before diverting his eyes back to mine. Shit! I look away and started on the treadmill, staring at them out of the corner of my eye. Nikki was doing all the talking while Anthony kept his eyes steady on me. Oh, I was going to make Nikki pay for this one.

They remained like that for a few seconds before the both of them started walking towards me. Normally I could handle Anthony, handle the hot and cold thing we had become, but it was getting harder and harder. In my current state, cheeks flushed, wet, and horny, I was no fucking match for him.

“So, this big guy is the best!” Nikki said, standing on tiptoe as she slung an arm around Anthony.

Yeah, you have no idea
.

“I was telling him how bored you are of the treadmill.”

“I never said I was bored!”

“Um…you didn’t have to.” She swatted her hand in the air dismissing my claim. “Anyway, Anthony offered to show us some boxing moves!” She juggled her weight from one foot to another as she punched the air.

I raised an eyebrow at my sister, even Anthony looked at her funny, before we both looked at one another, a small smile teasing his lips.

“Fine,” I said softly.

“Good, let’s go get the two of you some gloves,” he said, staring at me.

Nikki smiled widely at me, wiggling her eyebrows as she took a step back giving me the go ahead to walk ahead of her and follow Anthony. I leaned close to her and whispered. “You’re dead.”

“You can thank me later,” she whispered back, slapping my ass and walking alongside of me. When did my little sister become so spunky?

We followed Anthony to the front desk where he got each of us a pair of boxing gloves. Our hands were small enough to fit into the children’s sized gloves. He started to tape my hands expertly, when Nikki spoke up from behind me.

“Oh, dammit! I’m going to take a rain check,” she huffed,
not sounding the least bit remorseful. I snatched my hands from Anthony after he slid the gloves onto
them and turned abruptly to Nikki.

“What? Where are you going?”

“Rico’s outside waiting for me,” she explained, giving me a shrug and then pretending to punch the air again. “Knock ‘em dead sis!”

“I hate you,” I growled as she reached up and kissed Anthony on the cheek before heading towards the front door.

Now what?

“We don’t have to do this,” Anthony leaned close and whispered against my ear. The hair on the back of my neck prickling at the husky tone of his voice.

Like hell we didn’t.

I punch one gloved fist into the palm of my other gloved hand and turn around, my eyes meeting his.

“Show me what you got, Bianci.”

He bit the inside of his cheek, holding back a smile as his eyes traveled down my body. I cleared my throat when they focused on my chest. He lifted his eyes back to mine, a cocky grin firmly in place on his mouth and gave me a slight nod.

He walked me to the heavy bag, got down on one knee, his hands skimming down my legs until he closed his hands around my ankles and shoved them apart. His touch had me throbbing with need, his words were lost to me.