Little Black Break (Little Black Book #2) (23 page)

“Seriously? You’re not at liberty? What the hell does that even mean?”

“It means I’m staying out of it and doing my job.”

“And your job is to babysit me?”

His nostrils flared, but a tiny grin tugged at his mouth. “Basically.”

I was obviously getting nowhere with Mac. He was loyal to Sebastian, so if he said he wasn’t going to speak about it, then he wasn’t going to speak about it.

“Why did you leave the condo anyway? Didn’t Black tell you to stay put?”

“Stay put? I’m not a dog. I don’t just do what I’m told, Mac. You know better. I need to talk to him, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“I’m going to the club.”

“He’s not there.”

“Well, that’s where I’m going regardless. You can either come along and babysit me like a good little employee or you can stay here like you were told.”

I knew wording it like that wasn’t going to go over too well with Mac, but I wanted him to come with me, and I wasn’t going to beg.

He sighed, obviously annoyed with me. “Fine. Let’s go then. We’re going to have a lot of explaining to do when Black gets back. We should probably have our stories straight.” He started toward the parking garage and I followed.

There would be no stories. No lies. From here on out, it was all truth or nothing at all.

WHEN WE ARRIVED AT THE club, everyone was going about their routine as if nothing life threatening might or might not be going on around them.

“I’m going to go check the office and the condo for Sebastian,” I told Mac. “You check down here.”

“I told you he isn’t here,” Mac said.

“Well, then it shouldn’t take you long to check then, right?”

I turned away before he could answer, but his mumbling didn’t fall on deaf ears.

Making my way up the stairs, I pushed open the door to Sebastian’s office. Although I hadn’t expected to see him, I was still disappointed he wasn’t here.

I walked to his desk, sitting behind the massive piece of wood, and my body sunk into his leather chair. The entire room smelled like Sebastian and his chair was no exception. The leather quickly warmed from my body heat, and I could almost pretend Sebastian surrounded me.

I wanted to see him, to know that he was okay and to find out what was going on. Thinking about everything we’d gone through with Vick made me hope it wasn’t anything as serious as that. I couldn’t stomach the thought of almost losing Sebastian again. I hated not knowing how bad this situation was and how afraid I should be.

Instantly, I sat up in the chair and pushed away from the desk so I could go through the drawers. I wasn’t sure if there was anything to find, but if there were, it would be here in Sebastian’s office. He was hell-bent on keeping me out of the loop and the last place he expected me to look was here. After today, that would change.

I went through his entire desk without finding anything of importance. Getting out of the chair, I moved toward the built-ins along the wall of Sebastian’s office. I opened each drawer and went through everything as quickly as I could.

Pulling open a file cabinet, I flipped through the folders checking every pocket carefully. I was just about to give up when I saw the stack of envelopes hidden toward the back. Simple white envelopes didn’t scream important, but why would they be hidden?

Pulling them out, I fingered through them and my throat tightened with the simple two words written across the front in deep, jagged handwriting.

Sebastian Black

I opened the one on top and pulled the letter out. My heart thumped roughly with each word I read until I got to the end of the letter.

My hand flew to my mouth, and I covered the strangled sound when I read the name—the boogeyman—signed at the bottom. Memories of the day I’d been held at knifepoint in my car came crashing over me. I could still hear his voice. I could still feel the blade digging into my neck. The memories sent a wave of shivers through my body.

“They call me the boogeyman, sweetheart, and I’m your worst nightmare.”

I didn’t have time to process much of anything because I heard loud voices on the other side of the door. I didn’t know what possessed me to do it, but I clutched the letters to my chest and snuck into the bathroom, closing the door to a slit.

“I don’t care!” Sebastian roared as he entered the office. Mac was right behind him, his cautious eyes scanning the room for me. “You should have tried harder, goddammit! She needs to stay out of harm’s way until I find this bastard. I can’t keep her safe if she’s traipsing all over New York, Mac. Where the hell is she now?”

“She was checking in here and the condo for you.”

“Well, she’s not here, which means she had better be in the condo, and you had better keep her there until I get back. Don’t fuck this up, Mac. Do you understand what’s at stake here?

“Yes.” Mac’s voice was tight, and I hated that I’d gotten him in trouble.

“Good. Now, get upstairs. I don’t care if you have to sit in front of the door but keep her there.”

Sebastian moved across the room to leave, but Mac stopped him.

“Where are you going?”

Sebastian sighed. “I think I know who’s behind this, and if I’m right, I’ll find him in the old neighborhood.”

“The old neighborhood? Do you think it’s safe to go alone?”

“I’ll be fine. You just make sure Rosslyn doesn’t leave your sight. This prick is within my reach, and I don’t want anything to change that.”

The slam of the door ended their conversation for me, and I waited only a few seconds before coming out. I shoved the letters into my bag and slung it over my shoulder as I made a move toward the door. I was acting without thinking. What I was about to do was stupid—careless—but while Sebastian was hell-bent on protecting me, I had to be the one to protect him.

I WOKE BEFORE ROSSLYN WITH a newfound purpose. We were going to have a baby. We were going to be a family and no one—no one—was going to threaten that. I didn’t give a fuck who I had to kill, but someone was going to pay for the threats placed against her.

I left her sleeping peacefully in bed as I climbed out careful not to wake her. Her hand was resting on her belly protectively, and it warmed my heart. Things were going to change from this point on, and I welcomed that change. I hadn’t expressed how excited I was over our new baby, but once everything settled, Rosslyn would know just how much joy and happiness she’d given me with those two simple words.

I’m pregnant.

Leaning over her, I placed my lips against her belly then kissed her on the forehead. She had sighed sweetly in her sleep before turning on her side away from me.

I called Mac on my way out of the condo to make sure he was at his post, watching Rosslyn like a hawk, and then I jumped in my Jag and made my way to my office. I needed to inspect the letters. I’d missed something. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I’d definitely missed something. I had a fresh purpose now—fresh eyes—and I was going to devour those letters until something—anything—popped out at me.

The club was quiet in the early morning hours, the place clean and ready for the following night thanks to my damn good employees. I took the steps to my office two at a time, and when I got inside, I went straight to the hiding place where I kept the letters.

My eyes scanned each letter carefully, the words mixing in my mind like a puzzle, until something stuck out at me.

That sentence moved over my brain.

I’d taken life. Twice, actually. I was responsible for the lives of Rosslyn’s parents, but no one from her past would be returning for revenge. Not to mention, only a select few people even I knew I was in the room and that was Rosslyn and me. The rest of the ones who knew were dead.

Vick.

Vick knew, but she was gone. Dead. And while Rosslyn had pulled the trigger, I also considered myself responsible for her death.

The letter was referring to Vick’s life. The more I thought about it, the more that made sense.

Things were slowly coming together—the puzzle pieces fitting as I continued to scan the letters repeatedly for more clues.

Vick.

The Boogeyman.

Vick.

What did those two have in common?

And then it hit me like a bolt of lightning and memories of my past came crashing over me.

“Come the fuck on, Sebastian,” Vick whispered as she disappeared over the side of the fence.

She was faster than I was, but still clumsy, which was why I never let her do jobs by herself. She wasn’t ready, even if she thought she was.

I lifted myself up over the fence and fell to my feet beside her.

“You’re getting slow.” She grinned over at me.

“Fuck you,” I said, standing up and dusting off the knees of my pants. “Let’s get this shit over with. I told Anthony we’d be back in two hours.”

Memories of Anthony, one of the biggest drug dealers on the streets, moved over me in waves. I’d worked for Anthony growing up. I’d stole for him. Sold drugs for him. And he’d always made sure Vick and I were taken care of as best as possible.

He ran the streets in my old neck of the woods, and people feared him. Everyone except Vick and me. I looked up to him, but Vick just used his love for her to get whatever she wanted out of him.

Another memory moved over me.

“Be careful who you try to steal from, fuck face,” I growled, pressing the gun deep into the man’s temple. “I should kill you, but I’m going to let you go because I know this isn’t your corner. Get your ass where you belong or I’ll have Anthony blow your fucking head off. Got it?”

They kept coming to me, one after another.

“Who’s Anthony?” Rosslyn asked after we’d almost been mugged.

“Just a guy I used to know,” I answered.

But did I really know Anthony?

Sure, he’d helped me out on the streets, but he was just another common criminal—another person out for himself.

I knew
things
about him. Things like he was seven years older than I was. He lived on the streets growing up and built his crappy empire from nothing. He was a foster kid like Vick and me, which was why he’d always helped us out. Also, he was crazy about Vick, another reason why he was so willing to help us out.

But the biggest thing of all that I knew about Anthony was his intimidation strategies. I’d seen him place a gun to someone’s head many times and he’d always say the same fucking thing.

I’m your worst nightmare. Just call me the boogeyman.

It was Anthony.

He was the one behind the letters.

A life for a life.

He was blaming me for Vick’s death.

Took him long enough.

But it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I found him and put a stop to his bullshit. And the only way I was going to do that was to go back to where I’d come from.

The streets.