CHAPTER 11
Pip
After things took a hard leftwith Henny, I knew pulling back was the way to go. Unfortunately, my personality was a bit all or nothing, so that meant giving a bit of the cold shoulder to the one person I wanted to spend all my time with.
I became an expert at avoiding him over the next couple of days. Well, avoiding him as much as possible while also watching his back.
Silent protector.
That was the role I played. Because talking would reveal too much. And I wasn’t ready for him to tell me again that he wanted to fuck me and wouldn’t. All because he thought I wouldn’t stay.Idiot.
If he’d asked me what I wanted, then he’d know staying was the plan. Being in Vegas wasn’t a hardship. I could build a home base here. Could find something to keep my time busy between contracts.
Or maybe I stop taking the contracts altogether.
I had more than enough money. A fuck ton of it. I mostly killed for the sport these days.
With a busy workload for Rel, there was, thankfully, no time for interrogating me. The shipment was set to leave tonight, so we’d been focused on logistics, planning, and ensuring Ricardo’s bait and switch worked.
Henny kept shooting glances my way when we got a second or two to breathe. I ignored them all, claiming I needed to check on someone or take a call. If he opened his mouth to speak with me, I’d find an excuse to leave the room for a minute.
Somebody was bound to ask me if I had a coke problem any day now. I was dipping out just that much. No white powder addiction here, guys. Just a fucking mess of a personal life.
I knew it might have been childish to keep avoiding him. Henny would give me an earful the minute he got me alone long enough to. That brain of his worked on precision and facts. He had to be spiraling with frustration over not being able to explain his disappearance.
His whispered words the night he came back weren’t enough.
I wanted him to spiral. Wanted him to stew.
Because if I let him pin me down, I’d have to face the deeper issues. What did one say after exchanging a moment like we had?
Hey there, thanks for the praise kink masturbation combo. Can we do it again soon?Or maybe something likeDo you remember what it was like when I came so hard it made you want to fuck me, but you chose to disappear instead?
Yeah, nope. I didn’t want to go over all that.
Except we absolutely did need to go over it. I’d been pushing off the inevitable. Sleeping in Henny’s bed, being close enough to smell his perfect manly scent, and acting like I wasn’t falling hard with each beat of his heart under my cheek even though I was, wouldn’t hold for much longer.
Damn. Look at me being Shakespeare.
I’d burned the vision of him stroking my cheek and calling me baby into the back of my eyelids.
The day of the shipment, I realized my time had run out. Rel had told me to stick close to Henny’s side and then reiterated the fact when it came to the plan Ricardo had put in place. He wanted all of us safe until this was over. Until the rat was found.
My nerves were wound tight, which matched well with the darkening skyline. Sitting alone with Henny for hours, much like one would on a stakeout, meant there was time to talk. I knew he’d take advantage of the situation.
We’d spent too much time going over this plan, carefully setting it all in place, to screw it up simply because I couldn’t be alone in a room with him. The key part of it all was the shipment we were waiting on was coming much earlier in the day than planned. Instead of getting the men to unload it like normal, Henny and I would be in charge of getting things unpacked in a sealed off section of the warehouse.
This shipment was too big to get fucked up. Ricardo’s plan guaranteed the goods arrived. If it could also ensure they caught the traitor, then I’d consider it a success.
As the truck rolled into the bay, Henny took the lead on getting things squared with the driver. Once the other man was paid, he grabbed a forklift and went about hauling the crates out. They piled up quickly. In less than an hour it was done. The driver pulled out with a fat paycheck, and Henny seemed pleased to see each crate accounted for.
“Now we check the inventory in each,” he said aloud. It wasn’t directed at me really. But since I was the only other guy in the room, I knew he spoke for my benefit.
I swung the crowbar I’d been holding over my shoulder as an intimidation tactic around to hit the first crate. The sound echoed around us, which earned me a scowl. Ignoring thereaction, I pried the first one open to see what all the fuss was about.
The inside was lined with foam packaging. When I lifted the top layer, I whistled at the sight before me. “Fucking beauties,” I mumbled.
As someone who used weapons often, I knew what good quality was and what wasn’t. The ones in this crate were well worth the price tag that came with them. I suspected Rel was going to get a nice sum for these.
