Precious Legacy (The Notorious Legacy #1)

Chapter 18

EIGHTEEN

“ W here is she?” I seethe as Haven gapes at me wide-eyed. I know I shouldn’t be taking my anger out on her, but I wasn’t expecting Alanis to just disappear into thin air. Just when things were getting back on track, she up and vanishes.

I was only gone for half an hour at most, meeting with some potential fighters we’re lining up. Apparently, it’s not that difficult to find fighters, especially good ones. The success of these fight nights depends upon people wanting to get in the ring in the first place; no fighters, no fights. Thankfully, with Haldon’s connections, we’ve been able to get word out about the fight nights and it’s paid off.

Usually, I wouldn’t be so worried about Alanis just leaving. I know she can hold her own, but with shit going down with the Russians, nobody is safe.

“I don’t know, Ro. She was getting our drinks.”

I peer over the balcony at the bar for the fifth time since Haven told me Alanis never came back. There’s still no sign of her, though, and the unease that brings is starting to give me a headache. “Well, fucking find her!”

“Whoa!” Haldon interjects, stepping between me and his sister. “Calm down. She’s probably just lost in the crowd.”

“Haldon,” I warn as my phone vibrates in my hand. We both know that the situation with the Russians is rocky; enough so that they’ll go to any measure to mess with us. Since we haven’t responded to their request about the docks yet, I wouldn’t put it past them to do something like kidnap one of ours to get our attention.

I glance down at my phone as another wave of unease washes over me.

Alvaro: Milo’s here.

Fuck! This is just what we need. I’ve been waiting for my uncle to locate a reliable source to infiltrate the Federovs organization so we can go forward with our plan. Unfortunately, it’s taken longer than expected, which means this fight night is unsanctioned, and in turn, provides reason for the Russians to retaliate.

I need to get a handle on things—especially my emotions—because I don’t want to make any rash decisions. I can’t afford to do that right now.

Taking a deep breath, I type out a response.

Me: Where?

The reply comes immediately, and my hand grips my phone so tightly it could crack. My body is wound up so tensely that when my phone vibrates again with an incoming message, I jolt at the sensation.

Alvaro: Outside.

“Call her phone,” I bark at Haven, who scowls back at me. Unfortunately, now isn’t the time to play nice and be polite. I need to make sure Alanis is safe, which is proving more difficult when Haven chews down on her lip and hands me a cellphone.

“She didn’t take it with her,” she replies, her eyes rounding apologetically.

“Shit!” I huff. “Check the bathrooms. I’m going to check outside.”

Without hesitation, we all descend the staircase and make our way into the crowd. Haldon slips through on my right, heading to the small corridor that leads to the locker room we installed, while Haven weaves between the masses, heading to the bathrooms.

My gaze tours the room once more, searching for Alanis. But who am I kidding? It’s about as easy as finding a needle in a haystack here. I guess I should appreciate the fact tonight has been a success, but it only makes my search that much harder.

She has to be here somewhere, though. She couldn’t have just disappeared. Then again, there’s so many people here it’d be easy enough to snatch Alanis right from under our noses.

I try not to think about that, though. I cling to the hope she’s okay. Besides, she can fight like hell. I remind myself of that as I navigate through the sweaty bodies that slide against me as I push towards the exit. Every step makes my nerves pulse harder, like my veins are trying to burst from beneath my skin. Closing the distance between myself and the door has never been so excruciating.

As I push through the crowd, I hope that Haldon is right. And if he is, the first thing I’ll make sure I do is remind her not to pull shit like this again. I heave a deep breath as I step out into the parking lot, my ears tuning in on the recognizable voice.

“Give me one fucking reason why I shouldn’t put a bullet in your head!”

I snap my gaze to the right, where Varo has Milo Kyrovsky pinned to the wall while Alanis tries to pull her brother away.

Relief rushes through me, and I feel every muscle in my body suddenly relax when I lock eyes on her. I march in her direction, tugging her away from her brother. He’s so volatile right now that I’m not certain even I can talk him down. Something evil flashes in his eyes, and I swear the same thoughts cross both our minds as I pull Alanis behind me.

“Did he touch you?” I growl, turning to face Alanis.

“What?” She frowns. “No! He was just?—”

“Relax, Genovese.” Milo raises his palms in the air. Something must be wrong, because he’s not even fighting back against Alvaro. Then again, the space between these two is usually filled with such potent sexual tension that nothing seems to faze Kyrovsky. “I saw your girl out here and was just checking she was okay.”

“Why are you here?” Varo growls.

Even Milo should know how risky it is for him to come here, of all places. Not just because of the situation between us and the Russians, but because we’re all here tonight. Minus Haven and Alanis—who I know are pretty handy with a gun—Milo must have had a death wish.

“I just came to check the fights out.”

“So you can feed information back to the Federovs?” Varo’s tone is venomous and his expression is taut with anger. He’s practically shaking with rage; I’ve never seen him so out of control. “You think we’re just going to let you walk in there?”

“Why not?” Milo smirks back at him. “I let you do the same.”

“Vee,” I say calmly, stepping forward. “Just leave it.”

With a shove, Varo backs away, not taking his eyes off of Milo for even a second. His glare transforms into a warning, one that we all understand clearly. Milo thought he could just come here and check out our event—which is another issue entirely —but he took shit one step further. Whether he had any ill-intentions towards Alanis or not, he’s just overstepped.

The twins can have all the arguments and battles they want, but the Bonannos are always ‘family first’. We all are. You don’t come near any of us without feeling the wrath of the Five Families.

With a small nod, Milo pushes around Alvaro, winking over his shoulder. “See you around, Alanis.”

“What the hell was that about?” Alanis snaps. “He was just?—”

“It doesn’t matter what he was doing,” I reason, tugging her hand so she doesn’t descend on her brother in a fit of rage. “Things are bad, and he stepped on turf he wasn’t invited on.”

Trust me, I know how contradictory that sounds when we did the same thing a few weeks ago, but this is our city.

Alvaro glares at his sister, his gaze darkening. “Milo is up to something,” he mutters.

“Then we need to find out what it is,” I reply, eyes never leaving Alanis.

“Agreed.” Varo storms off, and I don’t stop him. It’s better to let him simmer down on his own and figure out his own shit than get involved. After all, he’s not my problem. His sister is.

“ Y ou still haven’t answered my question, Lani!” I seethe as I slam her apartment door shut behind me.

She storms away, heading into the kitchen and completely ignoring me. It’s been that way since we left the fight night. I tried to talk to her, but she completely shut down. She spent the rest of the night with Haven, avoiding me until it was time to leave and she had no choice but to get in the car with me.

“Alanis!” I bark, trying to get her attention.

“Just let it go!”

“Like fuck I will! Anything could have happened to you!”

She pins me with a glare. “But it didn’t.”

“What the fuck is going on?”

I don’t know why I’m so pissed. Maybe it’s because I caught her outside with Milo, a guy I don’t trust one fucking bit. Or maybe it’s the fact she disappeared with no way to contact her, and fuck , if anything happened to her…

I march in her direction, intent on getting answers, when she suddenly spins around, surprising me by brandishing a knife. The metal glistens under the dim glow of the ceiling lights, the cold steel pressing against my throat.

I quirk a brow at her, my lips kicking up into a smirk. I’d be lying if I said my dick doesn’t react to the danger she imposes with that weapon. It comes part and parcel with my obsession with her—she could slice me up into tiny pieces and I’d still worship her with every single one of them.

“Are you flirting with me?” I challenge in a deep whisper.

“Only you would find this sexy,” she scoffs.

“No. I find you sexy.” Slowly, I take the knife from her hands and place it on the kitchen island. Thankfully, it’s one of the smaller knives in her drawer. “What happened?” I repeat.

She averts her gaze away from mine, which is a telltale sign she’s hiding something. Alanis has never been a good liar, but she also won’t take my shit if I push her. “I just needed some air,” she admits.

I cage Alanis against the kitchen island, my arms blocking her from escaping. “It’s too dangerous to be disappearing like that.”

“You think I can’t take care of myself?” she accuses.

As much as I know she can handle her own shit, there are bigger, badder people in this world that wouldn’t hesitate to harm her. Now that Milo knows there’s a definite connection between her and us, I have no doubt he’s got Alanis on his radar.

“Stay away from him, Alanis.”

She rolls her eyes, provoking me to grip her chin and lift her gaze to mine.

“I’m serious, Presh. Shit is happening with the Russians, and I can’t have you getting stuck in the middle of it.”

“I’m a big girl,” she retorts.

“Al–”

“In case I didn’t make it clear, I’m not yours, Roman. I can do whatever the fuck I want. I can talk to whoever the fuck I want.”

A growl erupts from my chest and I grab her by her thighs, lifting her onto the countertop. She has no fucking idea how much she pushes my buttons. Or maybe she does and she enjoys it. Alanis is like that, which is why I go toe to toe with her, stepping between her parted thighs and running my nose along hers.

“Let me make one thing clear.” I press my hand to her throat and force her down until her back is flat on the island. I move my hands up her silky thighs, pushing her dress higher and higher until her bare cunt is exposed. The sweet scent of her arousal is mixed with the heady tang of alcohol clinging to her skin. “You are mine , Presh. You’ve always been mine, and nobody touches you.”

Her throat bobs as her eyes land on me. Challenge lights up her green gaze, the heat palpable as her fist grips my hair. She’s searching for a reason to hate me, but even I know she’ll fail.

“Nobody?” she pushes.

I run my lips gently over her pink pussy and inhale her sweet scent, making her quiver beneath me. “Nobody!” I growl.

“Caveman much?” she scoffs back, rolling her eyes. But with the defiance painted all over her beautiful lips, there’s no denying the thoughts running through her mind. She loves this push and pull as much as I do. I have every right to mark her as my own and prove a point. With the way my cock hardens at the thought, there’s only so much restraint I can hold on to.

I close my teeth over her clit, tugging and nipping until she’s a writhing mess. The knife beside me is practically calling to me, glittering with mischief just like Alanis. “You have no idea,” I rumble as I pick up the blade. “No. Fucking. Idea.”

I don’t wait for her protests. With careful precision, I press the knife’s edge against the inside of her thigh while my thumb rubs circles over her clit.

“Rom—, ahhh…. fuck!” She gasps and hisses, her back arching when my tongue laps at her skin, tasting the coppery tang of blood in my mouth. Her hands run through her hair, tugging at the strands as I lick and suck her pussy, alternating between feasting on her and branding her.

Her back arches further as I draw her close to climax, her chest heaving with anticipation. She’s breathtaking, falling apart so effortlessly without realizing she’ll be bearing my initials forever.

A smug smile curves my mouth as I fuck my tongue into her sweet center. To my right, my initial is carved into her skin, a bloody path on her thigh that’s only noticeable if you were as close as I am to her, and that’s never gonna fucking happen for anybody else. Only I get to see this. Only I get to own her the way she deserves to be.

Twisting the knife over, I plunge the cold metal handle into her. Her scream echoes around the kitchen and a chuckle rumbles from my throat. I suction my mouth onto her clit and let her ride my face, chasing her orgasm. Between the hilt of the knife and my tongue, I’m certain she’s about to come, so I pull the handle out, thrusting it back into her. I feel the cold sting of pain slice my palm, but I’m so enraptured by Alanis that I can’t bring myself to care.

Not until she explodes, cries of pleasure and screams of ecstasy tearing from her throat in a bid to escape the orgasm that ripples through her. She comes loudly, filling the kitchen with her sated moans until she’s panting and blinking back tears.

Pulling out the blade, I lick the handle and groan. Fuck, she tastes like pure heaven.

A grin widens my lips as Alanis stares back at me, open-mouthed and eyes wide with horror. “What did you do?” she rasps, eyes locked on the blood trickling down my hand.

I glance at it, not really caring about the cut, then trail my gaze down to her thigh, rubbing my palm over her skin. Our blood blends together, so perfectly depicting us. If at all possible, my smile grows wider when I admire the letter R engraved in her skin, and I feel my insides twist with primal satisfaction. “Marked my fucking territory.”