“Permission granted. I’m going to put you in my very big, very luxurious bath and soap you up, massaging every inch of that delectable body. And then I want you to ride me in my very big, very comfortable bed.”
ChapterSix
ZEUS
My apartment is empty without Chloe here. I don’t like being away from her, but I need to settle things before I go to see her. We’ll speak to Dylan together. He might not like the fact that his best friend is going to be his new brother-in-law, but I’m going to convince him.
Chloe mentioned running into her dancer friend Alia and what she’d said about Mitchell. My doctor had called me before Chloe arrived last night, to give me an update once he’d examined Chloe and Dylan’s mother. I’d made some more calls until I’d done enough to put the pieces together, and then I drive to Mitchell’s club. It looks even seedier by day as I walk in, pushing aside the guy on the door and cracking his head against the wall so he falls unconscious on the dirty floor.
Mitchell’s passed out at a table covered in half-empty bottles. I lean over him and slap his cheek to wake him up.
He blinks and tries to stand up but I push him back down.
“It must have been hard being a self-made man, Mitchell. No family, no connections. My father owned this city. But when I cleaned up his business, you thought you’d get in there, didn’t you? Use whatever dirty tricks you could to get a piece of the pie. I knew you were a low life, but what you’ve done is disgusting. And you made the unforgivable mistake of messing with my future wife’s family.”
“Look, Marchetti, we can settle this…” his eyes are darting from side to side, looking for an escape route.
“No, we can’t. This is how it’s going to go. You’re going to go down to the police station and make a full confession. Relinquish any claim you thought you had on Eduardo’s. Serve a very long and uncomfortable jail sentence for attempted murder and everything else I’ve dug up on you. My doctor confirmed you paid off a corrupt pharmacist to switch Chloe’s mother’s pills after her uncle died. You were desperate for that real estate, weren’t you? You wanted Dylan to sign the property over to you, making it look legal.”
He shakes his head, but his shoulders slump. “How can you prove it?”
“Your dirty pharmacist confessed. The toxicology screen on Chloe’s mother confirmed it. I bet the GPS from your car will be interesting to my tech team. But, let’s see if you can talk your way out of it at the police station. I think the odds aren’t really in your favor…”
While Noah’s escorting Mitchell to the station, I sign the papers at my lawyer’s office. I’ve sold my club, not to the highest bidder, but to the person I think will do the best job of taking it over. My apartment’s on the market. I drive over to the restaurant and Chloe lets me in.
I bend down and kiss her, her full lips sweet underneath mine.
“Did you miss me?” I ask, pressing her soft curves into mine.
She nods. “What have you been doing?”
“Selling my club, making sure Mitchell won’t bother us, putting my apartment on the market…”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “You’ve donewhat?”
“I’m moving back to Darlinton. We’re getting married, if you agree that is. But first, let’s tell Dylan. This might all be a bit of a shock, but I think he’ll come around once I explain. Are you ready?” I stroke her cheek with my thumb.
She smiles.
“Always.”
EPILOGUE
Chloe - Three years later
“Five, six, seven, eight…”
I’m leading the class as we gyrate around our chairs. Women of all different ages and sizes smile as they lose themselves in the music. With every hair toss and hip pump, they discover their bodies, relishing in their unique beauty.
I started this evening class as an introduction to a more erotic style of dance. At my dance school here in Darlinton we offer everything from salsa to street and ballet. But I wanted to give women a space to celebrate their bodies, whether they were interested in dancing for a partner, as a career, or for themselves.
“Beautiful! I love your energy, ladies! See you next week, that’s a wrap…” I smile as the track comes to an end. The air conditioning is good in here, but we’re all sweating in the summer heat and everyone’s worked hard on our current routine. As I say my goodbyes and my last client leaves, I walk over to the window and look outside.
We’re next door to Langstone’s Gym and above Infinite, Zeus’s martial arts studio. The whole street is getting a reputation as a one-stop shop for physical fitness. Mom’s café across the street has added a bunch of smoothies and salads to its menu to cope with the influx of customers.
Small-town life suits me perfectly. I was out of place in the city, unhappy at doing a job just to get Dylan’s restaurant off the ground. He’s made it a huge success, getting together with the waitress he hired when I moved back home, and is talking about opening a second restaurant in an up-and-coming part of town.
Dylan wasn’t delighted when Zeus and I told him we’d got together, but he didn’t have much of a comeback. Zeus had used his contacts to publicize Mom’s charity page, so Dylan didn’t need to worry about paying Mitchell back. Once my brother found out about Mitchell trying to poison Mom to get the restaurant, he was indebted to Zeus for putting all the pieces together. Mitchell’s in prison, with multiple life sentences, after an investigation uncovered just how bad his past life was. I shiver, wrapping my arms around me, remembering his shark-like eyes watching me in his club.
