Page 99

“Another for the road?” Isla asks once I’ve lowered my phone once more.

I stare at the little red dot that tells me I’ve got unread messages.

My thumb hovers over it, part of me dying to see what he’s sent, another part not wanting to know.

“Yeah, make it something stronger than beer though,” I say, not lifting my eyes from the screen.

“You got it, boss.”

She disappears into the crowd, but I barely glance up to see her go.

Without another thought, I allow my thumb to hit the message icon and I open our chat.

I ignore the messages in favour of the bottom of the image I can see in the thread.

Opening it up, my heart drops into the pit of my stomach.

Calli stands, looking totally relaxed and happy in a sinful dress which shows off way more skin than I’m sure either of her parents will approve of. But she looks stunning. And she’s going to be spending the night with someone who isn’t me.

That dress is wasted on someone like Jerome. There is no way he has the skills it would require to peel it from her body later, to leave it pooled on her bedroom floor as he discovers what she’s hiding beneath it.

Jealousy bubbles up within me faster than I can control as a red haze of fury descends around me.

She’s okay. She’s not even spared me another minute since I allowed her to believe we were over. No, worse than that. That we never even existed.

Closing it, I scroll up higher, finding another picture. This one is of her back. She’s got her gun raised and looks everything like the mafia princess she craves to be. My cock swells as I vividly remember how she looked with my gun in her hands.

Once I’ve had my fill, but before my need for her completely makes me lose control, I read through his messages.

Alex: Calli is a bad-arse with a gun. Gets me all kinds of hard…

Alex: You’re only punishing yourself, Bro.

And as if that’s not bad enough, the one that accompanies thedress picture almost pushes me over the edge.

Alex: Shame you won’t be here to keep her company tonight. I might just wait in her room for her to be done later. You know that dress will look better on the floor…

My grip on my phone tightens. I know he’s baiting me. I know he wouldn’t do anything with her. If he had any intention, then he’d have done it by now. Doesn’t stop his words from hitting the exact spot he wants them to, though.

The second a shot of something appears before me, I throw it back without any hesitation.

It burns all the fucking way down, but I crave it and then some.

“More,” I demand, and thankfully, my best friend knew exactly what I needed, because she lifts two more off the tray in her hand and lines them up before me.

“Fuck,” I bark after throwing back the third one. Warmth floods my belly as bloodlust and the need for pain collide.

Standing tall, I snatch the tray from her hands, throw it down on the table and wrap my arms around her.

“You’re the fucking best, I.”

“Yeah, I know,” she mumbles against my chest.

“You sure you don’t wanna come?”

“Not tonight. I’m meeting friends here. Just promise me something?” she asks as I release her.

“Sure.”