Motown Breakdown (Motown Down #4) (27 page)

Now we’re in bed staring at each other speaking no words and though it should feel strained, it doesn’t. While Sun took me in I could see her mind working. Her eyes sparkled with mischief and I would bet she was playing our scene out for her story. As much as I enjoyed what we’d done and her being here, I still had questions and for some fucking reason I wanted to…talk. Not able to take any more silence, I asked her, “The Leah and Nick situation didn’t rattle you. Why?”

“Because they weren’t good people,” she says easily.

“You don’t know either of them, Sun. You had no way of knowing that.”

“In your line of work, do you deal with good people?”

“Rarely,” I admit.

“Look,” she says curling into me. “I don’t know you yet, but I do know if Leah was a good person you would have stopped the fight. I also know that if Nick was a stand-up guy you could have stopped me from swinging that crowbar, but you didn’t stop me now did you?”

Fine, so I couldn’t argue with that but I still had concerns. “You do realize you’re in bed with the devil don’t you?”

“You aren’t the devil,” she whispers. “I’ve met him, you’re nothing like him.”

“Sun, I realize you aren’t like other women but do not make the mistake of thinking there is good inside of me, because there isn’t.”

“I’ve met a lot of people, Shade,” she says yawning. “I’ve watched so-called
good people
do very bad things but I’ve also witnessed self-professed bad people do honorable things. I suppose it’s the way you choose to view the world. There’s a balance to it. Actions speak louder than words, and as someone who makes a living off of words, trust me to know the difference.”

“You said you’ve met the devil,” I tread lightly. “So who was he?”

“My foster dad,” she mumbles as her lids start to close.

“What happened?”

“I killed him,” she says absently.

“How old were you?” Because the details, for some reason, mattered to me.

“Seventeen and some change.”

“Sun?” I prompt to keep her awake.

“Good people, bad things, remember? On paper he was good people, the best. A pediatrician and closet pedophile. I wasn’t the first but I promised to be the last. He’s dead, it’s over, now go to sleep.”

Go to sleep? Not likely. For a woman who pretends to be aloof about violence and crime, it was obvious she’s seen her share of it. Knowing how dangerous this made her would I still keep her?

Absolutely.

29 days…

Man, his bed was comfy.

So comfy, I refused to get out of it.

I’m sure the orgasm had something to do with it but the mattress did too. Okay fine, sleeping next to him was nothing short of wonderful, I admit it. I liked that he held onto me while he slept. Nothing too major, a leg thrown here an arm stretched there. Not once was a part of him not in contact with a part of me. Yes, I was a bed hog and essentially plastered myself to him but he didn’t object. In fact, I was positive he liked it. The best part about all of this was I slept through the night. I haven’t slept through the night in years.

“Good morning, Sun,” he says handing me a robe.

“Morning,” I smile sitting up.

“Coffee?” he asks slipping the material around my shoulders.

“I can make some,” I offer standing up.

“Already taken care of,” he says tying the belt. “I have an appointment this morning if you’d consider joining me.”

“Sure thing,” I tell him as I untie the belt.

“I just went through the trouble of tying that for you.”

“How is tying a belt troubling?”

“It’s not,” he mumbles. “It’s the point.”

“Are we alone?” I ask opening it back up.

“Yes,” he says swallowing hard. “No one comes into the offices or the house unless invited in by me.”

“So I don’t even need this then,” I say passing him in favor of the door. Sliding the robe off my shoulders, I let it hit the floor and continue on to the kitchen. Pouring us both a cup, I lean against the counter and wait for him to say something. When he didn’t I figured I insulted him again and then decided he’d get over it. I hated belts. Whether they held pants up or a robe together, they drove me nuts.

“I have a month to break you of this habit you have of not listening,” he says staring at my tits.

“You have twenty-nine days,” I amend pushing them out a bit. “And I wish you luck, you’ll need it.”

“How did you kill him?” he asks before taking a sip from his cup. As for me, I froze mid sip.

“Kill who?”

“Your foster parent,” he says narrowing his eyes. “You spoke of him last night.”

“No,” I say wishing I had that fucking robe on. “I most certainly did not.”

“Sun,” he says approaching. “You said I wasn’t the devil that I was nothing like him. Then you mentioned you killed him and reiterated your point that good people can do bad things.”

Oh fucking shit. Denial wasn’t going to cut it because I had obviously spilled the beans and gave him my good people versus bad people speech too. Personally I didn’t care that he knew I killed him, I just didn’t want to explain
why
I had to. Sensing my apprehension, he kisses my shoulder and says, “If sharing your past makes you uncomfortable then don’t. But your secret is safe with me, Sun.”

“I stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver,” and that was easier than I thought it would be. Not the stabbing, the confession. Although, if you ever do have the opportunity to stab someone in the neck, I recommend a flat head screwdriver and strong biceps. “This appointment, what is it about?”

Taking a break from kissing my shoulder, he moves away to take a seat at the table. Figuring we’d be here for a few, I took a seat too. “A woman petitioned for my time and I agreed to interview her. After yesterday’s turn of events, I assumed you’d like to sit in on the meeting.”

He assumed right.

“How much time do I have?”

“An hour or so,” he says checking his phone. “Finish your coffee and relax, I’ll be in my office when you’re ready.”

Standing up, he kisses me on my exposed shoulder again then leaves the room. Taking my coffee with me, I scramble back to the bedroom and start typing. Artists lose themselves when the mood strikes and for me, the iron was hot. The plot was sharp and the words flowed easily. She had just jacked off the male and was about to…

My phone was ringing, dammit.

“Hello?”

“You’re late,” he says in lieu of hello.

“How’d you get my number?”

“Really?”

“Right,” I mumble. “Be there in two.”

Tossing the phone and hitting save on my document, I dress and speed walk into his office. Right away I noticed he was unhappy, but when he motioned me to sit next to him, some of the anger ebbed. I said some, not all. And here I thought women were bitchy.

“This is Veronica,” he says motioning to the woman seated across from me. Woman was being liberal; she couldn’t be more than twenty. “She has passed the initial background check and today is her formal interview.” Nodding to him that I understood, I cross my legs and listen to his questions but it was her answers that pissed me off. The longer he spoke, the angrier I became. When he asked her if she had any questions, I chimed in before she could speak.

“I have some questions,” I say leaning forward. “Eyes on
me,
Veronica.”

Sun may be even more territorial than I am. Before she walked in, Veronica was ready to shine my shoes, suck my dick, or eat food off the floor if I told her too. She was a child, an immature one. I had no intentions of agreeing to this but I wanted to see how Sun handled herself. If her posture was anything to go by, I’d say not well. Luna always wanted to save the girls, Sun looked ready to kill one.

“I have some questions,” she says leaning forward in her seat. When the girl looked at me for help, Sun lost her patience. “Eyes on
me,
Veronica.”

The girl started to fidget and when Sun locked eyes with her, she looked ready to cry. “What does the background check include?” she asks me. I explained in minor detail so when Veronica left here, she wouldn’t be armed with any additional knowledge. Granted, she’d be threatened with death to her and her entire family but some were far more ignorant than others.

“I see,” she says weighing my words. “You have a mother and father?”

“Yes,” she says staring at her hands.

“Eyes on me, Veronica,” she orders her. “Siblings?”

“A brother,” she says wanting to bolt. “He’s in the Navy right now.”

“Good for him,” Sun says crossing her arms over her chest. “Now about you. From what I heard, your parents not only pay for your schooling but bought you a car and pay for your insurance. Is that right?”

“Yes but – ”

“Do you work?”

“Not right now but – ”

“Boyfriend?” Sun asks.

“Jared broke up with me recently.”

“Jared might be onto something,” she says rolling her eyes. “How did you hear about this place?”

“A friend on campus was talking about a girl she knows who did it,” losing some of her apprehension she goes into detail unaware she was pissing Sun off the longer she spoke. “Amber said her friend was sold to some rich guy in the Greek Islands and they live on his boat.”

“Amber said this, huh? What if I told you Amber’s friend isn’t on a boat in the Greek Islands? But was dressed in fancy clothes to be paraded around as an old guy’s piece of ass for a while? Would it sound glamorous then? Because I have to imagine a girl like you doesn’t want to fuck a man whose balls touch his knee caps, am I right?”

“Sorry?”

“You’d leave your parents behind, your brother, and your friends for some nice clothes and bad dick?”

“I don’t understand,” she stutters.

“Clearly,” she says standing up. “Do you hate your family, Veronica?”

“No, but they ride my ass about everything and I’m sick of it! I’m not allowed to go on Spring break or anything!”

“Let’s say we do this. Now I have to be the one to set it up, figure out the easiest way to make you disappear. What should I tell your parents? What are their names?”

“Scott and Stephanie,” I weigh in helpfully because fuck you, this was fun.

“Right,” she says looking at Veronica. “How do you want this to go down, Veronica? Murder? Suicide? Jealous ex?”

“I don’t want to hurt them!” she cries.

“That’s exactly what you’ll be doing, you little self-centered bitch! You’ve been given a chance at an education, a chance to be
more
but here you are complaining your parents love you so much they’d want you safe? That’s what good parents do, you little fucker! Based on what little brains you’ve proven you have today, the best I can do is hand you over to the pimp that works Porter Street, whaddya say? Shall I make the call?”

“I don’t want to be a prostitute!” she squeals.

“No?” Sun says leaning over her. “What did you want then?”

“Can’t you take me?” she asks looking at me. “I’ll do whatever!” Wrong move. Grabbing her chin hard, Sun ignores her scream of pain and gets in her face. “He,” she says low. “Belongs to me. You,” she says taking her by the neck, “Are lucky to be walking out of here alive.”