I don’t move. I keep seeing him gripping his dick. My name moaned from his lips echoes down my spine. God, I hate this man, and I want him too.
I make myself small and try not to breathe. Gabe’s warmth spreads across the bed. I should tell him to go sleep somewhere else.
But I can’t bring myself to do it.
For all my fake confidence, I’m still pathetic in the end.
CHAPTER 13
NIKA
Ilean out the back window and frown at the enormous warehouse. “Is that one of those trampoline parks for kids?” The sign is bright orange and tilted, but I’m pretty sure I recognize the name Urban Bounce.
“You got a problem with kids?” Gabe asks, pressing against me. I scowl as he peers over my shoulder. “I bet this place is fun.”
“Why are we at a trampoline park for children?” I shove him away. He sits back, grinning at me. “We’re supposed to be?—“
He holds up a finger. “Ah, ah, ah, don’t say it out loud.” He leans in conspiratorially. “You never know who’s listening.”
I make a face but glance out the window again. A strange creeping feeling rolls down my spine. He’s got a point—I have no clue how this stuff works. I’ve been sheltered from this world all my life and now I’m getting a crash course on how to be a violent criminal.
So far, it’s not going great.
Gabe gets out of the car and instructs the driver to stay close. I’m aware of at least three more trucks circling the area, all of them filled with heavily armed soldiers, plus two stealth teams watching the building behind sniper rifles. It tooka lotof convincing to make Gabe let me tag along to this meeting, and part of the deal is all this security.
Which is coming out of my bank account, obviously.
I have to chase him down as he strides across the parking lot. There are no other cars and the place looks abandoned. The front door is covered over by cardboard where some of the glass shattered. He doesn’t seem bothered as he pushes inside.
“Unlocked,” I mutter.
“We’re expected, remember?”
The entryway opens into a massive space. Ahead is a check-in counter, looted of electronics, the information board slashed and sprayed over with lewd graffiti.Jump on this, bitch!is written colorfully along one wall. Several bleachers are rusting and turned sideways. Broken bottles cover the floor.
“This can’t be the right place,” I say, kicking a used needle away. “Seriously, are you sure this is where we’re supposed to be?”
Gabe nods, standing confidently. Lights turn on. They flood in from the ceiling and make me flinch. I back up, arms raising like I need to protect myself. Gabe shifts, standing closer, putting himself between me and the rest of the building.
“Welcome, friends, welcome, don’t be shy!” The voice booms and echoes around us. I flinch and grip Gabe’s arm, fingers squeezing his muscle. “Go straight down to your left. We’re waiting in the fun zone!”
The sound is coming from speakers set up all over the building, making the voice sound massive.
“Fucking Idir,” Gabe mutters. “He’s a showy bastard.”
“Who the heck is Idir?”
Gabe begins walking. I have to keep up, since I’m still clinging to his firm, warm arm. I try not to think about how close we’re standing. My heart’s racing in my chest and I hate how small I feel.
“He’s an Algerian. At least I think so. Calls himself Idir Hadj Moussa though who knows what his real name is. He got into the business maybe twenty years ago and he’s been going strong ever since. He’s not cheap, but he’s reliable.”
We turn a corner and slow to a halt. Up ahead, the warehouse is wide open, all the trampolines torn out, the playground areas, the videogames, all that stuff gone.
Instead, there’s a tank.
An actual, honest-to-god military vehicle. The turret slowly turns toward us like the eyes of a monster. Crates surround it and dozens of tables ring those.
Everything’s covered in guns.
