Enzo (The Wolves Den: New #1)

16. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

"Cole, why can't I make some of these exotic drinks I keep hearing the customers order?" Deja leaned her hip against the bar and pierced Cole with a direct gaze. It was beginning to make her crazy, the feeling that she was missing something.

"You have another fifteen days to go, and then maybe we can talk about it."

She was beginning to feel like a mouse on a wheel. The world around her was revolving, but time after time she felt like she was missing something that should be as plain as the nose on her face.

She'd spent the last two weeks with Enzo and Ven, falling into a routine that she liked. They worked at night; during the day, she spent time with them. Sometimes she even walked with Ven to see Angel. He promised that he would talk to her soon.

The males in the club treated her with respect, always including her in any conversation they could and teased her whenever the chance arose. If a club could feel like family, then that's how she felt here. So why did she feel uneasy, like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop? Fire had called her early, making sure their dinner date was still on. They had decided on a nice steak place across the bridge in Waterfront because she knew her guys would appreciate the steaks.

Deja wiped the counter one more time just to give herself something to do.

"Everything ok?" Ven was sitting on a barstool in front of her. Over the last week, he had become tuned into her feelings. Sometimes she teased that he knew what she felt before she knew.

"I'm fine."

"You've been jittery for the last couple of days."

She nodded but didn't answer. They were going to see Fire tomorrow, and still she hadn't told Enzo about Matt, at least not the full tale. If her friend let something slip, her happy household could go up in a puff of smoke.

"You ever have a secret that you kept so long that you’re scared to tell it?"

Ven looked her in the eyes. "Yeah," he stood and went back to his friends.

How she hated secrets; they were the things that would tear her life apart because she was too afraid to tell the truth.

If a secret tears our life apart, then so will the truth.

If you can't tell him the truth, are you building a life?

I never pegged you as someone who couldn't handle being honest about her past.

I never had anything worth losing before.

The voices in her head were right. She needed to be honest; if she lost them, then they were never really hers, or so the saying went. More importantly, she was never going back to where she was when she met Matt. With or without Enzo, her life would always be different. Enzo had yet to make love to her. They fooled around; he made her see stars every night, and she tried to do the same for him, but he refused to take the last step. Maybe he knew she kept secrets, or maybe he was keeping a few of his own. She didn't know, but she knew she needed to come clean of hers before she made herself physically ill.

"Deja," Cole's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?" She turned around to face him.

"Remember, we're closing early tonight, so you get to knock off early."

She pulled her phone out to look at the time. It was close to midnight.

"Do you want me to help you clean up?"

"Not tonight. Tonight, I want you to go home and stay there until the sun rises."

"That's specific," she said. Enzo had talked to her about tonight for the last two days. Ven even mentioned it casually. Except it was too casual to be anything other than planned.

"Let me go get my purse," and mace, she added silently. She had no idea what was happening, but she wanted to be able to deal with it. It was obvious they were concerned about her safety, so she would go home and stay there.

It only took a minute to grab her purse and come back out. Enzo and Ven were waiting for her.

"We'll walk you home," Enzo said, taking her hand.

"You don't have to; I know where the house is, and I have my handy dandy mace."

"We want to walk you home," Ven chimed in, giving her his big-eyed look, the one he practiced because he knew it melted her heart whenever she saw it.

"All right, if it makes both of you feel better, you can walk me home. All I'm going to do is change into my jammies and be glad I get to sleep a little longer tonight."

She threw a wave at the males watching her walk through the door and followed her guys out.

"One day you will tell me what this is all about."

"One day," Enzo agreed.

They walked in silence for a while, each in their thoughts.

"Do you hear that?" she asked, looking around. It sounded like heavy breathing before it turned into howling.

Inhuman forms slinked out of the shadows with glowing eyes that were red. A howl went up from the leader. He was taller and thicker than the rest. He wanted to kill her; she knew by the way slobber dripped over his fangs. She could see it in his eyes; he was imagining her dead.

"Deja, run. Get outside of the barrier. Ven, go with her, make sure she makes it. Now!"

Enzo's body started to break apart and reform. She turned on her heel and ran for the barrier, Ven guarding her back. For once, she was grateful she had on her tennis shoes.

Her heart beat like it was being shocked back to life while her mouth was open. The panting sound was coming from her. Her blood pounded in her ears as she got close to the barrier. She wanted to turn around even though she knew it would be stupid. She couldn't help but think of Enzo even when she should be thinking of herself.

"Go help him," She screamed at Ven, who turned and ran.

She pulled out her phone to have a look at her weather app. Sunrise would be at six-eleven. She needed to stay safe for six hours; she could do that. She walked towards the dog park thinking about calling Fire. One night on her couch couldn't hurt anything.

She started punching in her number when Don pulled up beside her.

"He said that if we were patient, you'd show up alone, and you did."

"Don, I don't want any trouble. Leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone."

"Too late for that, Deja. Matt put a reward out for you. It's rather a healthy one. I plan to be the one to collect it. Get in." He flashed his gun at her.

She stopped dialing Fire and got in the car. One of the things she knew about Don was that he liked to use his gun. Personally, she thought it made up for inadequacies in another area.

"I was hoping to find you with your boyfriend. You're going to regret that, Deja."

"Don, what I regret is Matt."

Well, at least she wouldn't be sleeping in the dog park, but there was no guarantee she would make it through the night. She settled back in the car for the ride. Matt lived in Mount Lebanon, one of the richer, more affluent neighborhoods.

Don pulled up to his house. It was a new construction with a large porch with columns on either side of it. The first time Deja saw this house, she'd been blinded by the splendor of it. She gave herself a pass when she thought of her past with Matt. He loved her, or so she thought. Her dreams were of them having a family together and living in splendor.

It took her a while to come to her senses. She'd rather live with Enzo and Ven in a garage apartment than be with Matt. Don parked the car and motioned for her to get out with the end of his gun. He left the car and placed the gun inside his coat where he could still access it. They kept things on the down-low here so their neighbors wouldn't know that one of the biggest drug lords in the city lived next door to them.

Don followed her up the porch. Stepping in front of her, he rang the doorbell, then stepped back and waited for the door to open.

"You found her. You always seem to be the lucky one," Jim said as he opened the door.

"I think his luck may have run out, Jim, and yours too," she said before she crossed the threshold.

The house was so regal on the outside, but it was gaudy on the inside. She had overlooked that in the beginning, thinking it was just furnishings; they could be changed. What couldn't be changed was the man who owned the house.

"This way, he's in the theater room."

She stepped in front of Jim. "I know the way."

She walked down the hallway that led to the back of the house. It skirted the kitchen and came to a door on the left that led to the theater room. Matt loved this room. He had a chair in it that made him feel like a king.

Matt was lounging in the chair, one leg hanging over the arm. His long blonde hair was flowing behind him. He turned to face Deja. His blue eyes lit up when he saw her. His lips, a little on the thin side, curled into a smile. His sharp cheekbones made her wonder what she saw in him. The one thing in his favor was that his body was thick. It used to be with muscle, but over the year, he'd let himself go.

The room was done in red because it needed to remind him of going to the theater. He had oversized chairs in there so his friends could sit in comfort. There was a bar at the back and a large screen in the front. The walls were painted black.

"Have a seat, baby. I missed you." He gave her his patented smile, the one she used to think was sexy.

"Your goon abducted me at gunpoint because you put a bounty on my head." She was furious and trying to rein it in.

"Don't be like that, baby. I was giving them some incentive, that's all. When someone loves you like I do... well, I'm sure you understand how much I've been missing you."

"You're delusional, Matt. You and I have been over for a year or longer."

"Deja," He stood up and came to her, which was quite a concession on his part. "It was a misunderstanding. I know I wasn't completely honest with you, but that's no reason for you to throw what we had away."

No, he wasn't completely honest with her. He forgot to tell her he was a drug dealer. If that wasn't enough, he sold drugs in her neighborhood and used young children to move his product. She accidently wandered into a drop site. Don was giving an eleven-year-old hell about not moving enough product. She walked in when he was hitting the kid. He called it motivation. She'd be dead right now if it weren't for her connection to Matt.

Matt bought her silence with the lives of the child and his parents. He said he would kill them, and she believed him. Besides, what good would it do? It was her word against his. He thought it was over, and they would go on as usual. When he came home the next day, her things were gone, and she was back in her little apartment. The place she wished she’d never left.

He threatened her and everyone she knew, but on this, she refused to budge. They were over. In the end, he left her alone, only threatening her now and then until lately.

"Why, Matt? What do I have that you want?"

"I want that family with a respectable girl. You're that respectable girl. We'll have children and live here and grow old together."

"Will our children be out on the street selling drugs for you when they're eleven? Will Don rough them up if they don't sell enough? Is that how you'll introduce them to the family business? Get one of the women you've been flaunting to be your baby momma. I'm not interested."

"You don't have a choice, Deja. I picked you, and you're going to do what I want, including dropping your thong and opening your legs so I can get my dick wet. Just so we're clear, there will be no one else but me. Of course, I'll hit whatever turns me on. Take her upstairs. You know what to do."