Sins (Havoc of Sins #3)

Chapter 23

Grim

“ K enna?” Jason hurried to match my stride as he scanned the busy lobby of the Wynn. “Are you?—”

“Not yet,” I cut him off and waved for him to stay back as I approached Mr. Harris. He sat alone with a beer in his hand at Casa Playa. He stood when he spotted me.

“Kenna,” he grinned, “thanks for meeting me here.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “I promise I haven’t spent any money.”

I felt as if I was going to shake right out of my body, my adrenaline was so high. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did. The Wynn is stunning,” I confessed. The place truly looked beautiful. The decorator obviously had the same love for reds as I did. “Shall we move into the viewing room?”

He cleared his throat and looked at me oddly. “Are you sure?”

“Of course.” I waved off his question, and we headed through the lobby, down the hall, toward the huge double doors that led into the viewing room. Harris had booked this room so he and his friends could watch a clip Paramount had produced of their last snowboarding trip. It was some sort of advertising deal they had going on. Normally, it would be held at Secrets, but it was out of my hands on this day.

The sound of his phone made me jump. He gave an apologetic smile and held up a finger. “Sorry, Kenna, this will just take a moment.”

“Of course.” I nodded and gave him some space to take the call. Jason hung back as if something seemed to have caught his attention. I reached for the door and stepped inside. It closed silently behind me. I walked slowly up the small ramp and tried to relax my breathing. Stress and pregnancy were not a great combo, and I fought constant fatigue. I realized I was once again far from myself and felt as though I was nearly at my limit. I figured I might need to take some more time off, then huffed a laugh at my own thought; I didn’t know how to stop.

“Well, well,” his voice jerked me out of my thoughts, and cold dread stopped me in my tracks, “if it isn’t the gorgeous Kenna Lodge.” Sonny stepped out from behind the screen and held up his arms. “I finally get you alone.”

“What the hell?” I looked back toward the doors.

He made a tisk sound. “I wouldn’t do that,” he warned. Something flashed in the light and drew my eye to the gun he pointed at me. Breathe, Kenna . “I bet you’re wondering if Harris had anything to do with this little meet-up.” He laughed like a crazy man. “I’d give credit where credit is due, so no, Harris would never double cross his beloved hostess .” He rolled his eyes. “But that’s fine. I have many friends who are more than willing to keep an eye on you. Like while you ate dinner with that reaper in his office.”

“I know about the Potens, Sonny, and it doesn’t surprise me at all that you’re one of them.”

“Gorgeous and smart too.” He laughed and gave a silly bow. “Kenna, how would you like to meet the star of the evening?” His arms lifted, and he waved them around like a magician.

“Todd Fairmount? Seriously.” My stomach sank. I wasn’t ready for two assholes at once. The waiter from earlier in the day stepped out with a shit-eating grin on his face. His blond receding hairline and matching goatee glowed under the lights.

“Lovely to see you again, Miss Kenna. May I say, I do love that dress.” He almost licked his lips.

“I wish I could say the same.” I didn’t miss a beat. “How many of you are there, for God’s sake?” I knew they’d never tell, but I needed to buy a moment.

“Does it matter?” Todd checked his watch. Holy shit, were more coming?

Sonny started to walk toward me, and I did everything in my power to stay where I was. “It’s funny. I’ve watched you for years, and I still find myself just as infatuated with you as I was back when this whole thing began. I don’t even care that you’re knocked up.” He clapped, and I jumped. “Shit, think of the irony of it. Me raising a Gates child!”

“You’re disgusting,” I muttered, and he suddenly lunged at me and pointed the gun at my stomach.

“Or we can start from scratch and remove the little monster from your belly.”

I reached out and ran my hand slowly down his stomach to his belt, and his eyes widened. I tried not to show my disgust as I looked deep into his eyes. “Or you can let my husband remove the monster inside your brain.” His face went pale as Grim’s weapon pressed into the back of his skull, and Trigger ripped the gun from his hand in one quick motion. “Checkmate, you son of a bitch.” Grim smoked him in the temple, and he went down.

“Fuck, yeah!” Rail yelled as he and Harris hurried in. “Now that’s how you do entrapment!”

“Jesus,” Grim grabbed my arms and looked me over, “are you good? Did he hurt you?”

“I’m fine.” I chuckled and realized my part was finally over. “How’s the cheek?”

His expression softened then he cocked a brow. “I won’t say it didn’t turn me on. You’re quite the little actress.”

“Yeah, well, this needed to end, and I’m just glad they all bought it.” Grim tilted my chin back, and something passed over his face. “What?”

“Just for the record, my wife, I do respect you.” I loved that the words he’d had to say earlier bothered him. “I just needed to make a scene.”

“I know.” I pulled his head to mine and kissed him softly. “But thank you for clarifying.”

Trigger stepped forward. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Harris nodded at Trigger with a smile and was about to reach out and shake his hand but changed his mind as Trigger flipped back his forelock and waved the others out. They shoved Sonny and Todd ahead of them as they went out the back way. Eli, the owner’s stepson, laughed. “I’m glad I agreed to host all this. It was, well, it was something!”

Harris chuckled in agreement. “At the risk of sounding crazy, it was rather fun. Intense, but fun.”

“It certainly was, and thank you all for going along with it.”

He smiled. “So, you suspected that Todd fellow overheard you and Grim fighting?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “Grim has been narrowing in on the staff. Thanks to a friend, we’ve been weeding out some people who have been plotting against the hotel. Grim was able to pinpoint that Todd was a friend of Sonny’s. They’re all in on it. The fight between me and Grim was a farce. We planned the whole thing.”

Eli grinned and shook his head. “Unbelievable. I have a whole new respect for you. I have so many questions, but perhaps I’m glad I don’t know all that happens here in Vegas.” He laughed. “You’re fearless, Kenna.”

I shrugged and smiled at that.

“Maybe you missed your calling to be FBI.” Harris laughed, and I joined him.

“Maybe in my next life.” I squeezed his arm gently. “Thanks for being a good friend. I’ll see you back at the hotel.”

Minnie came bouncing over and shut one eye as she looked me up and down. Once she was satisfied I was okay, she leaned in close. “How was Jezelle roped into this masterful plan?”

“Oh, Min.” I slipped my arm through hers. “Well, Grim was having the meeting with her anyway, but we saw the opportunity and took it. Grim knew she’d go looking for me once he told her we got married. It’s sooo something she’d do.” We both laughed. “So, he stalled the elevator to give her a head start, and sure as anything, she played right into it. Todd Fairmont served us our meal. Can you believe he was in on it?”

“What the fuck, that arsehole waiter?”

“Yup, but Grim and Jesse were already on to him. Anyway, he heard everything and followed Jenelle and witnessed the whole thing. He called Sonny, and here we are.”

She laughed. “You two are so meant for each other. Though I’m not gonna lie, I’m pissed I missed it all. I’d have loved to see that bitch’s reaction.”

“Oh, my God, Min. I guess it was a real drama! Wish I’d been there, too.”

Grim motioned from the side door. “See you there, Min!” I called, and her “Fuck, you bet,” made me laugh as I joined Grim.

“Ready for some desert fun?” He put an arm around my shoulders.

I stopped him. “What’s going to happen to Todd?

“Rail said he wanted to try a page out of his kill flipbook. Figured Todd would be a perfect test subject.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” I laughed.

“Ready?”

“Yes, sir,” I swatted his ass as we headed out to the car.

Wind whipped my hair around as a warning that a storm was quickly approaching. Loose sand and dirt swelled around my heels and found their way inside the fabric of my shoes.

I eyed Minnie. She was just as amped up as the rest of us as we stood in a circle surrounding the parasite.

To my discomfort, Caleb, the new President of the Stripe Backs, stood several steps away. It was still too close for my comfort.

“Who’s that?” I used my chin to point as I questioned Morgan. The stone-faced man stood next to Caleb.

Morgan grunted as he looked over. “His new VP.”

“What happened to the last one?”

He looked down and seemed to contemplate his answer. “Turned out he was the one who set up the hit on us that night during our party.”

“What?” That was news to me.

“Yeah.” Morgan stroked his long beard. “Caleb brought the news to us the day you guys got hitched. He handed him over in order to show good faith. Let’s hope this guy lasts longer.”

I would have thought the VP was dead by the way he stood so still, if it wasn’t for the odd times he’d jerk the man on the end of the chain he held. It was wrapped around the poor guy’s neck like a dog. He was shirtless and shoeless, and his expression told me he’d rather be dead than stand there like a pet.

“And the other man?” I whispered.

“Let’s just say he used to wear their cut. Apparently, he got caught funneling money to some other members.”

“So now he’s, what… their dog?”

“There’s some things you just don’t need to know, baby girl.” He grimaced.

“Yeah,” I agreed. Morgan shared a lot, maybe more than he should sometimes, so if he wasn’t forthcoming with who the guys were, I didn’t want to know. I just wished I knew why they were here to witness this murder. “Don’t worry,” he seemed to read my mind, “they were invited, and Trigger and Grim know what they’re doing.”

“Okay.” A scraping and lip-smacking noise pulled my attention to Rail, who was inhaling a pudding cup in what could only be described as an assault to the spoon.

“Good puddin’?” Morgan asked sarcastically, and Rail grinned around the spoon and the cigarette that hung from his mouth.

“You know I like my snacks at these things. The sugar high adds to the fun. Ya want some?”

“So help me God.”

I tuned them out as something strange passed through me, and I turned to find Sonny’s swollen eyes latched on me. His lips curled into a smile as if he thought about something. I tugged the sides of Grim’s jacket tighter around me. Leal and Zhar whined from where they stood in front of me.

“Maybe we start with his eyes,” I suggested. I didn’t want Sonny to know he made me uneasy.

Grim punched him in the temple when he saw his attention was on me. He fell to the ground, but Brick yanked him back to his knees with one quick jerk. He wavered from the impact but laughed, which only fueled Grim’s rage.

Morgan stepped forward. “I second that. The bastard’s witnessed enough in his time on Earth. He should be left alone in the dark to relive it.”

Grim didn’t miss a beat and grabbed the spoon from Rail’s mouth then jammed it into Sonny’s right eyeball and scooped it out. My knees went weak, and I looked at Morgan to anchor me. I needed to hold it together. Sonny screamed and thrashed, and Tess slipped an arm around me for comfort.

“Remember this man held a gun to your unborn baby,” she whispered. “His business partner, Matt Myers, was going to testify against the DR for that mass murder of veterans, for fuck’s sake. One of Trigger’s oldest friends fought for our country.”

“I know.” I drew in a deep breath.

“He watched as your father exploited you to men to get what the Potens wanted.” I nodded, feeling the embers that smoldered in my stomach come alive as she built me back up. “I’d use all that and turn off that part of my brain that says this is wrong or disgusting.” I closed my eyes and used her words to shift my mind. I’d done it before; I could do it again. “After all…” She squeezed me hard, and I opened my eyes. She pointed at Trigger’s cut. “We’re the extension of the Devil.”

When I looked back at the group, I found Grim watching me. Blood dripped from his hands and his chest heaved with adrenaline. He didn’t have to say anything. I knew he was worried, so I gave a nod to let him know I was back in check.

Sonny held his head as thick globs of saliva dripped from his lips and blood oozed down his arm.

“This could be quick and easy, or I can draw this out and make you regret all your past decisions.” Grim’s voice cut like glass through the cold, damp air. Thunder clapped, and dark clouds hung heavily above us.

“The only regret I have,” Sonny strained his neck and cried out in pain, “was not getting your wife alone and destroying her in a way you could never repair.” Trigger stepped forward when I did and warned me not to intervene. I stepped back in line, but the boys growled and inched closer.

“He’s here.” Rail gave me a crazed look. “Yup, he’s here.”

I jumped when another clap came and shook the ground. “Who?”

“The Reaper.” He nodded at Grim, who suddenly looked taller and bigger as raindrops hit his face. Then on cue, like a movie, the storm beat down. His dress shirt was soaked in seconds, his shirt was rolled up over his forearms, and a few buttons were undone at the collar. It was slicked to his muscles along with his pants and left nothing to the imagination. He wore a look I’d never seen before. Reaper . It was just as Rail described. Grim’s true self was exposed, and I’d never been more attracted to him than in that moment.

“Did you order that hit on Kenna?” Grim’s voice made me shiver, it was so cold, and when Sonny just laughed, he lunged at him, grabbed him by the hair, and held up the spoon.

“Fuck!” Sonny raised his bound hands. “Yes! Yes! I ordered the fucking hit!” He panted. “I couldn’t get close enough.” He jerked about like a vicious animal, and it stirred up the boys even more. “When you went to Italy, I knew it was the perfect time.” He was a madman drunk on pain. “I knew Cameron tossed her in the line of fire with Griple, and I knew Simon was in love with her and he’d fucking lose it with him. Everything,” he shook his head and seethed in pain, “everything was perfect, but somehow that bitch is still alive. Fucking nine lives!” He swung his gross mess of a head toward me, but Grim still had a handful of his hair and he drove his knee into Sonny’s fleshly eye socket. This time Sonny went down hard without a sound. He just lay there, his face in a disgusting puddle of eye juice and blood.

“Brick,” Grim called. “Knees.” Brick splashed some whiskey from a bottle over Sonny’s face, and it shot him out of his stupor with a scream. “Who canceled the hit?” I demanded.

Sonny’s mouth gasped for air as the pain registered again. “I don’t know! I don’t know! I couldn’t figure it out.”

“Well, what do you know?” Grim’s cold voice had zero sympathy for Sonny’s pain.

“No one can stop it!” he screamed and writhed. “We all know, there’s no one who can call off a hit once it’s ordered. Except, maybe—" He looked up toward the sky as if to say God. “Stop at nothing, outlast your enemies, be the fear!” His screams cut through me as he chanted the Potens’ motto. Leal and Zhar growled and strained their heads forward. They begged to be tapped in.

Grim rose and the Reaper finally snapped. He swung his fist into Sonny’s mangled face and sent him backward. Then he reached down and took hold of his arms and snapped them both. He shook him like a rat and tossed him aside.

“Go!” Grim commanded the boys to finish off what was left of him and looked away as if something bothered him. For some reason, that action bothered me. Grim seemed to feed off this stuff, not turn away from it. It was odd.

“Morgan?” My tone said it all.

“Out of all of them, it was Sonny who got to him the most.”

“Really?”

“He tried to take away his family.” He had a small smile like he understood Grim. “First time ever,” he nodded toward him, “that I’ve seen Grim rattled.” I smiled, letting his words fill me, but it was cut short by the terrible sounds the dogs made. Then suddenly they stopped as Grim called a command. Trigger whistled at a couple of his men to gather the body. I knew it would be buried somewhere in the desert. Where, I didn’t want to know.

Grim’s cold eyes found mine, and he hesitated for a moment. He took a breath and shook himself as if to rid his head of the Reaper. His eyes stayed on my face, and I could almost see the moment he became mine again. He swept me into his arms and buried his face into my neck and released a long breath.

“We’re good?” He held me by the shoulders and pressed me away from him to study my face.

“We’re good,” I replied and put a hand up to his cheek. He took it and kissed my fingers.

“All right.” He nodded then turned to the others. “We’re done here.” Trigger swung a leg over his bike, and the others began to disperse back toward the city. Grim took out his phone then waited until the roar of their bikes was gone. I didn’t hear his words. I stood in silence until he finished his call.

“Sonny is finally gone.” I smiled happily, and he nodded and put an arm around me. “It’s such a relief.”

“Yes, and Knox and Dad rounded up a lot of them while we were here. I think we got all the rats, but it’ll take time to make sure. We set traps everywhere and lured them out.”

I blinked the rain from my eyes and processed that part. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“That right there,” he nodded at the men who had tossed Sonny’s body into the back of a truck and were driving away, “was what I needed you to focus on.” He kissed me quickly. “And now we can focus on us.” He grabbed the back of my head and kissed me with a hungry moan. When he released me, I caught Jesse’s happy face as he opened the car door, and we slipped inside. “Let’s go home.”

* * *

Grim got a call when we got back to the hotel, and he told me he needed a little time to meet with Trigger and Elio. I showered and changed and waited for him.

My phone buzzed on the table.

Rail: I got a riddle for you. What’s naked and has its nipples and balls attached to an electric circuit? And every time he blinks it zaps his nervous system?

A second later, a very disturbing photo of Todd showed up.

“Oh, gross!” I deleted the photo and tossed my phone aside, not wanting to think about Todd ever again in my life. I sank into a good book and lost track of the time.

Grim returned hours later, and he was in a mood I couldn’t pinpoint. I gave him some space and curled up with my book while he sipped his whiskey. Later that night, we sat together next to the fire in comfortable silence on the couch in the main living room. The storm raged outside the windows, but we were both in comfy sweats and had no desire to go anywhere. The elevator was locked, so no one but Jesse could disturb us, and the pups were happily stretched out in their beds. It was nice.

Text messages kept popping up on his phone, and one moment he’d be fine, and the next he seemed agitated.

“Is everything okay? You seem distracted.” I tried to read his thoughts. He nodded at my observation but didn’t reply. “You can let me in, you know.”

“I know.” He sipped his drink. “Twenty-seven employees were rounded up today.”He shook his head in disbelief. “Butforty-three in total. Some were people I knew well,”he went on.“It’s just so hard to believe.”

“It’s crazy,”I agreed,“and all different ages and positions around the city? How you everfound them all, I can’t imagine.”Grim rubbed his head. Iknewit had beena big blowto the Gatesfamily,butit wasalso ahuge win. “I just wish I knew who was behind it all.”I rested my head on the side of the couch and twined my fingers throughhis. “What doesyour gut tell you?”

“Not sure.”Hehuffed and flipped his phone over to cover the screen. It had been pinging withemails from the media thatwere afteran interview. “We have eyes on Griple. I bet somethingturns up eventually.”He studied me.“What about you? What’s your gut say?”

I opened my mouththen shut it quickly. What a horrible human I was for once again consideringsuch a thought.

“What?”His eyes piercedthrough me, and I set my tea on the tableand pulled my knees tomy chest.

“Everyone around me was involved in something, and I didn’t see it.”I rubbed the tiny bumpfor comfort.“What if my mother was involvedas well?”

“It’s crossed my mind.”He shrugged.“She’s behind bars for now, so there’s that.At thispoint, every personwe knowcould be suspect. Everyone needs to be carefully watched.”

I lifted a brow. “Is that so?” He nodded. “Even me?”

He leaned forward,and his eyes held such power thathe stolemy next breath.“The onlyperson who gets to watch youthat closely is me.”

That night, when we were in bed and Grim was fast asleep, I stared at the ceiling after I heard his breaths even out. The torches on the walls cast a warm glow, and I was pleased that particular design had been copied in the new hotel. I'd waited a long time for this moment, and I would be damned if something was going to get in my way. I’d made sure he had one more whiskey than his usual. I kissed away his refusal, poured him a double, and pressed it into his hand. He’d never admit it, but he was exhausted, and he needed sleep. So, I cuddled in his arms until he finished the drink then coaxed him into bed, where I rubbed his arm until he fell asleep.

Leal growled at Zhar for touching his feet, and I mouthed a string of curse words at them both and pointed at Zhar. He huffed and settled down farther from Leal. I moved onto my knees and put my plan into motion.

“Grim?” I whispered as I kissed along his jaw. “Baby, wake up.”

His eyes slowly opened, and he grinned at my nakedness, until he tried to move his arms and found they were locked in place.

“The hell?” He scowled at the specially designed handcuffs that held not only his arms but legs in place too. “Kenna!”

I laughed darkly and kept kissing down his chest to his stomach. His muscles flexed under my tongue. “You left me alone with the wall,” I said between kisses, “and I thought it would be fun to be the one in charge of it this time.” I reached back and activated the spreader bar between his bare legs.

“Okay,” he tried to act cool with it, but the tick in his jaw told me otherwise, “let’s see what you got.” He groaned out the last word as I swallowed him straight down to the base. Minnie had taken some lessons at Tess’s club and taught me a few new tricks. She explained that just because a couple might have been together forever didn’t mean their sex life should grow stale. “Holy shit.” His teeth bit down as I performed the suck and dive move. I stopped, and his eyes widened.

“Oh, I see how this is going to—” Like a twister, I took him by storm and tried move number two. He tossed his head back with a laugh, trying to breathe through the intensity. Again, I stopped when I felt he was going to lose it. I crawled up on his lap and reached between the sheets and grabbed the belt. I snapped it in place so he couldn’t control the thrust from the bottom. “I knew you were wild, but you have a death wish too.” His eyes sparkled with dark promises.

I swung around so I was straddling him with my back facing him. “I just figured,” I said over my shoulder, “this was the one thing a woman’s never done with you.” I slid down over his massive erection ever so slowly, savoring every inch of him. Before I got too far, I pulled up, and he growled. “We needed a first, Grim.” I grinned and moved around, adjusting to his size. Holding his legs, I rode him at an angle that could normally be done only when he was in control.

“I need to touch you,” he commanded, but I ignored him as I spun around and ran my hands up his body. I moved like a wave as I climbed higher and higher, and every part of me heated and swirled around inside. Grim oozed power, and I fed off it; I craved it. My fingers went to my hair, and I leaned my head back to change angles again. I groaned and slid my fingers down my neck and gave it a squeeze then grinned deliciously as I imagined it was Grim’s hands. He fed my dark side, and I fed his.

“Kenna, look at me,” he whispered, and I opened my eyes to see his chin was lifted and every vein popped. He was barely able to hold it together. Suddenly, I saw his finger move, and the sound of a click filled the silence. “My turn.” I didn’t have a second to think as I was flipped over, my leg hiked over his shoulder, and he thrust back inside.

“I should’ve known. Of course, you’d have an auto release button.” I rolled my eyes and laughed, but my mouth turned into a circle when he hit all the right places.

He grinned. “In case of emergencies. I still give you props for trying.” His body curled around mine as he took what he wanted. It was wonderful. This was how we were meant to have sex. I loved that he took me like it was our last time together. My nails clawed at his back, knowing he liked a little pain. Then he swung me to the bedpost, dropped my feet, and took me from behind. “Hold on.” He grabbed both hands and held them in place while his other directed my hips. “Your body is perfect,” he huffed in his wild assault. “You’re so fucking perfect.”

I screamed when I came, and he lifted me back onto the bed as he came, too. He kissed me back down to Earth, and when my heartbeat slowed, he pushed my hair back and grinned at me.

“What?”

“We have a first.” He kissed me gently then ran his fingers down my back and held me there. “We fell in love.”

A tear slipped down my cheek. “Yeah,” I blinked a few times, “I guess we did.”