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Delila took my hand and led me toward a black city car idling on the curb. I should’ve asked where we were going, but I was a year into my training now, so I’d become conditioned to her moods and the consistency of our training days—which wasn’t every day. Thankfully.
“Where are we going?” I couldn’t help myself.
Delila stood with the door open, gesturing inside with a sweep of her hand. She wore a tight black dress with spaghetti straps and long pointed boots. She made sure to dress me appropriately too, which only made me more nervous to know where she was taking us tonight. Delila was anything but subtle. She was a wicked teacher and I clung to every word she spoke like a good student.
“Tonight, my little prodigy, is an important lesson.” She swiped her diamond crusted fingers over her thigh.
“I thought it was all important.”
She giggled, but it wasn’t loud. “As they are.” Her brown eyes rested on mine. “This is different, though.” Her lips turned thin, as if she was remembering a memory that she would rather not.
“How so?” My thighs squeezed together, and I felt the buckle of my holster graze against my skin.
“The man you will meet tonight is a very dangerous man, but no one knows of him yet.” She turned her head and looked out the window. I waited for her to continue, needing her to elaborate. I knew dangerous men. I was raised by them and was now best friends with one. Delila knew this, so her announcing it in this tone sent shivers over my skin. “No one must know about him, Cartier. Not ever. Not until at least”—she swallowed and her throat contracted—“the time is right.”
We continued down the road, and when our car pulled up to a gated community, I stopped, turning back to face Delila. She was staring at me closely. “I’m leaving you here. You will spend a year with him.”
“With whom?” My hands flew up, exasperated. “Who is this person?”
Delila’s hand came to my cheek. “He’s going to teach you so much during this time, but you won’t be the same when I see you, our little Cartier. You will need to tell your little friend about him, and your appearances will still be kept. Don’t worry about anything else. I’ll handle it.” She smiled wide. “I’ll see you soon.”
Present
I stare back at Bam Bam and watch as he takes three large steps until he’s standing directly in front of me. Dressed in a charcoal suit and blood-red tie, it’s as though he steps right out of my memory and lands in my present.
“Cartier Nero, you’ve grown since the last time I saw you.”
I force a smile on my face, rolling my lips beneath my teeth to hide my snarl. I never was very good at hiding my distaste. “Mm-hmm. I did a whole year with you, Bam Bam.”
“That you did…” His eyes fall to my feet and I feel his stare lick me from head to toe. “And what did I teach you?”
My mouth opens for a moment, but I stop the words from coming out. “To never show my hand. In combat, deceit, and definitely not in manipulation.”
His hand disappears inside his pocket and he dangles a set of keys in front of my face. “And what are you going to do for me if I let you out of here? Can you stay on track without sliding off?” His head tilts and I lose myself on the scar that he has running down the side of his face. Beginning from the forehead, right down to his lip. Delila had said he was handsome once, and you could see it—until you knew what he was like.
“Yes, Bam Bam…” I purr, keeping my tone soft and gentle the way I know he likes. “It won’t happen again.”
“Good.” He uses the keys to unlock my cell, before looking over his shoulder back to the shadow he came from. “Dove, take Cartier to Eli and then show her out.”
My teeth clench as my eyes find Dove, her smile wickedly bright. She’s wearing a black leather crop top and leather pants, and though her hair is messy all over her shoulders, her makeup is perfection.
“Come on, Mayhem. You’re done here.” I let her take my arm and drag me through the room until we hit a door that takes us to a flight of stairs. It’s then that I realize we are in someone’s basement.
Dove closes the door behind us, and I pause at the top, looking from left to right. I’m about to ask where Eli is when he rounds the corner, his suit immaculate but his eyes void.
“E…” I run into his arms and squeeze him around the neck. So I’ve managed to work up a name for myself among those who matter, but whenever I’m around Eli, I melt.
“Hey, Skippy. Let’s get you back.” He stares at Dove over my shoulder until she finally shrugs, dancing away while singing a remake of “Layla”.
Eli grabs me around my upper forearm and directs me down a long corridor, until we reach an elevator. He hits the button angrily. And then hits it again.
“E, what the fuck are you doing getting into bed with Bam Bam?”
And again. Finally, the metal doors part and he drags me in with him. It’s not until they close that he turns to me. “I love you, but you cannot come back here looking for me again, Cartier. It’s done. The only reason why he allowed us to still speak is so he could know where you were.” He finishes the sentence with a whisper, and his face pales.
The doors open again and he’s dragging me out into an underground garage filled with Euro cars.
Eli pushes a button and the lights flash on a Lambo. “I mean it, Cartier.”
