Ruthless Vow (Vegas Vicious #2)

12. Leo

12

Leo

Nicole triggers a reaction in me that I can’t explain. Hot lust and violence. A hint of tenderness. It’s the tenderness that’s unfamiliar, the tenderness that’s undoing me.

I can’t get her out of my head.

I need her out of my head.

Which is why I’m heading to see Amy, a woman I’ve fucked a few times before. She likes what I like, uncomplicated rough sex.

I need to erase the feel of Nicole’s body, the taste of her, the scent of her skin. I need to get the sound of her moans and gasps and cries out of my thoughts. I need—

I need to fuck Nicole. Only Nicole.

I don’t want another woman. The thought of touching anyone else leaves me cold.

With a snarl, I pull the car to the side of the road. I text Amy letting her know she won’t be seeing me tonight. Or any other night.

My phone buzzes.

“Yeah,” I answer.

“She’s banging on the door and screaming at the top of her lungs,” Luca says. “Been doing it for hours. I went in and tried to talk to her, but she won’t listen. Just kept saying she needs to speak with you.”

Luca pauses.

“What?” I say, wariness sliding through me. If anything has happened to Nicole, someone will pay with blood. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Her knuckles are raw and bleeding from pounding on the door.”

“Fuck.” I make a U-turn and head to the warehouse. Is this because I left her? Because I haven’t been back?

I doubt it. Nicole isn’t the high drama type.

Something else is going on.

When I get to the warehouse, I head down to her holding cell.

She’s pacing back and forth, her body tense, her eyes wild.

She freezes when she sees me.

“You’re here,” she says. Then she throws herself against me. My arms close around her on instinct. Her arms circle my waist, holding me as if I am a buoy in a stormy sea.

I am not a man to offer this type of comfort to a woman. Even my sister seeks out my brothers when she needs a compassionate embrace. But I find myself stroking Nicole’s back and holding her close.

“It wasn’t you. You didn’t set the bomb that killed my father,” she says in a rush, her cheek pressed to my shoulder.

“No, I did not,” I say slowly, wondering where this is going and why she sounds so certain. “I told you that before. Is there a reason you’re suddenly convinced?”

“The Desert Mirage Motel,” she says, her voice a rough rasp. She’s hoarse. I can tell she’s been screaming.

“How long were you yelling for me?” I ask, setting her away from me so I can look at her face.

She frowns. “I don’t know. Hours.”

I glance at Luca. “And you only called me now?” My icy tone hides my anger.

“I wasn’t here,” he says. “I was out getting cat supplies. I left Ricardo to guard her. He thought guarding her meant sitting in the office upstairs playing a game on his phone while listening to music.

“Ricardo,” I say with a sigh. Twenty-one years old and all he thinks about is his car and girls. “Deal with him. If I do it myself, I’ll end up breaking bones.”

I turn back to Nicole. “What about the Desert Mirage Motel?” The name sounds familiar, but I can’t think why.

“It was bombed a few days ago,” she says, wrapping her arms around herself. “It’s been on the news.”

Ah. That’s why.

I glance at the TV I had Luca set up for her and then back at Nicole, waiting for the rest of her explanation.

“I was staying at that motel, in the room where the bomb went off. If you hadn’t already brought me here, I would have been in that room.”

Luca makes a soft hiss as he exhales through his teeth.

Adrenaline kicks through my veins. If Nicole had been in that room, she would be dead. She would have been blown apart. Rage ignites in my gut.

“And how does that prove I didn’t set the bomb that killed your father?” I ask, my voice even and calm despite the fury crashing through me. I am going to find the person who tried to kill my little wolf. I am going to rip their limbs from their torso and lick their blood from my fingers.

“Because whoever killed my father just tried to kill me, too. And it makes no sense for the bomber to be you because you already knew I wasn’t in that room. I was here. You had no reason to blow up the motel.”

I nod, and shoot a glance at Luca. He doesn’t need orders or instructions. He’s already leaving the room, heading out to put together a team and find out everything the authorities have discovered about the bomb. And everything they haven’t discovered.

I won’t be waiting for the police to figure out this puzzle. Our network of informants is vast and unparalleled. I will have answers before the day is done.

“And you thought I would be interested in this information because…” I say, offering no indication that I am very interested in this information.

“Because whoever killed my father blamed you. Someone is trying to set you up to take the fall.”

I smile a little. “That might be news to you, my piccolo lupetta , but it is not news to me. I’ve known that since you tried to shoot me on my yacht.”

Her eyes narrow. “I didn’t try to shoot you,” she says. “Had I tried to shoot you, you would be dead. I chose not to take the shot. There is a vast difference.”

And there is my wolf, rearing her proud head.

She meets my gaze and the way she looks at me, all fire and fury makes me want to pull her against me and kiss her, taste her, nip her skin, bite her lips. Mark her as mine. It is a primitive instinct, one I have only ever experienced with Nicole.

“You need to let me out of here,” she says.

“Why?”

“Because—” She breaks off and stares at me, clearly torn.

“What explanation can you offer that will convince me to let you go?” I ask softly. “You have information I am interested in and you will not be leaving here without divulging it. I want the name of your boss. I want to know exactly what information you have given them. I want to know the extent of your betrayal.”

She looks away. Swallows. Then her entire posture sags. “What lengths would you go to in order to save someone you love?” she asks.

“The ends of the earth,” I say without hesitation.

“Someone I love is in danger,” she whispers.

For an instant, jealousy unfurls like a poisonous seed.

“Who?” I snarl. Whoever he is, I will kill him. Nicole is mine. Mine.

The second the thought forms, realization dawns. She is mine. No one will touch her. No one will harm her. And she will be with no one but me.

Because with Nicole, I do not have to wear a veneer of civility. I never have. She has known exactly who and what I am since the day I met her. She has been privy to many of my darkest deeds. And she knows how much I enjoy those deeds. With Nicole, I can simply be . It is a luxury I have never before been afforded with a woman. Never before wanted. Never even considered.

I study her for a moment. She’s made use of the items I ordered brought to her. She’s wearing ivory sweatpants and an ivory t-shirt, the color accenting the warm olive of her skin, the style showing off her lean, strong body. Thanks to shampoo and conditioner, her dark hair is sleek and smooth, hanging in the ragged layers she cut. Her dark eyes are wide and desperate, worry etching her features, accented by the slash of her brows, her face arresting, strong, unique. I don’t know how I ever thought her plain.

I circle behind her and place my hands on her shoulders, pressing my thumbs into the tight muscles at the base of her neck.

“Why do you slouch like this?” I ask as I knead the knots in her shoulders.

“I’m tall,” she whispers.

“I’m taller,” I whisper back.

“I’m too tall for a woman. It’s unattractive.”

A bark of laughter escapes me. “Unattractive? Who the fuck told you that?”

She spins to face me, her expression fierce. “Don’t laugh at me. I can’t bear it if you laugh at me.”

The admission startles me, but I don’t react. I suspect that if she realized what those words reveal, she would be appalled.

I shake my head. “I’m not laughing at you, Nicole. I am laughing at the moron who told you that being tall is unattractive. Have you never in your life looked at a fashion magazine? You’re short compared to the models on those pages.” I put my hands on her upper arms and turn her so she faces away from me again. Then I slide my hands back to her shoulders and resume kneading her muscles, pulling her shoulders back as I do. “From now on, you stand straight. Straight and proud. Do you understand?” My tone carries a note of command. “This is not a negotiation. It is an order.”

“Yes. I understand.” Her tone is submissive, subordinate. It reaches straight to my cock. “Leo, please, you must let me go.”

“Who is it that you love?” I ask, thinking that I want to fuck her until she’s mindless, until she forgets the man’s name, forgets he exists. “Who is in danger?”

She takes so long to answer that I think she will defy me, refuse to reveal the name.

“If I tell you, you will help me,” she says, turning to face me.

“Yes.”

Still, she offers nothing. Her expression reveals her indecision.

I wait, patient. Then I stroke the backs of my fingers along her cheek. It is a gesture of affection, of care, a gesture that is wholly unlike me, one that feels foreign and unfamiliar. And right.

“My sister. Sofia. Whoever is setting these bombs targeted my father, then me. I am afraid they will go after her next.”

Not a man. Not a lover. Her sister.

“Tell me where she is. I will have her brought to you. I will keep her safe.”

She tips her head back and stares at the ceiling, her hands balled into fists. Finally, she says, “I don’t know where she is.” Her tone is anguished.

She reaches for the locket around her neck and slides her thumbnail in the groove. She flips it open to reveal two pictures. On one side is a woman with dark hair and dark eyes, her features quite similar to Nicole’s.

“My mother,” she says.

On the other side of the locket is a girl of about fifteen. She has wavy dark hair and dark eyes, a small nose and full lips. Her coloring and the shape of her eyes are the only resemblance to Nicole that I can discern.

“My sister,” she says.

“Where is she?” I ask again. “I’ll send Cassio and Dante to pick her up.”

She raises her gaze to mine, desperation etching her features.

“That’s just it. I don’t know where she is. I haven’t been allowed to see her for over two years. I’ve only been allowed to speak with her three times. In this picture, she’s fifteen. The last time I saw her, she was seventeen. She’s nineteen now.” Her voice catches.

I hold out my hand. “Give me the locket. I’ll have Luca scan her picture. We can use it to help us find her.”

She hesitates, then slowly pulls the thick, silver chain over her head and hands the locket to me.

I open the door and hand the locket to Vito, giving him instructions to relay to Luca. He nods and leaves.

“He’ll bring it right back,” I say. “Now tell me who has her. Give me a place to start.”

She’s torn. I see it in her expression, in the tension that laces her frame.

“Who has her, Nicole?”

“I—” She shakes her head.

“I understand your indecision,” I say. “I am both your enemy and your only ally. But you can trust me to help you find your sister because I understand the bonds of family. Who has your sister?”

She just stares at me, torn.

So brave. So strong.

I want to test her strength, pin her beneath me, hold her while she struggles. Fuck her until she acknowledges that I own her. That I am her master.

“It’s all right,” I say, understanding that this secret is not yet one she will share. I will have it, eventually. But not yet. “I will find her regardless.”

She sags in relief.

I put my hand on the back of her neck, my gaze dropping to her lips. I run my thumb along her lower lip, then push it into her mouth. She makes a sound of submission and sucks on my thumb, licking, stroking, nipping.

I lean close and whisper against her ear, “I want to fuck your mouth.”

I pull my thumb from between her lips and lean back to look into her eyes.

Her cheeks are flushed, her eyelids heavy.

“Yes,” she whispers, and I lower my lips to hers, kissing her deep and long.