Gangster in Love - Camren

1

"If I have to pick someone, I want Lauren to watch over me." I finally decide. I glance over at Lauren, who gives me a little wink.

"Of course. Us girls have to stick together, don't we?" Lauren winks at me.

Besides Zayn, she seems to be the friendliest. Chris frowns, his lips thinning in displeasure.

"don't pout, Chris. You'll get wrinkles." Lauren says to Chris and then gestures at Zayn, her fingers making a grabby motion "and you need to put another dollar in the bet jar."

Zayn scoffs, serving himself another drink from the bar. "This doesn't count."

"You took her, didn't you? And I'm taking her from you. So..."

"Wow, if you reach any harder you might dislocate your arm." Zayn comments

"Did I or did I not steal you girl?" Lauren smirks.

"H-hey, I'm not..." I start, not able to finish

"Enough joking around." Chris Stops us. "We brought her here for a reason." Though he doesn't raise his voice at all, a clear note of command rings in Chris' words. He doesn't expect a challenge, and he doesn't receive one.

Casually, Lauren arches her hands behind her back and stretches out the kinks in her neck. "Of course, Chris. I'll get to work right away. To do that, though, I'm going to need a little privacy." Lauren tells the others. All men stay still not moving at all. "That goes for all you boys."

Chris frowns but leaves the room. Liam and Shawn follow their boss. The latter leading Thunder out by his collar. Zayn gives me one last look, eyes scanning me up and down.

"Stop eyeing the merchandise." Lauren tells Zayn. "she picked me, remember?"

"Don't call me that." I say annoyed, why don't they just use my name instead of other names.

Lauren rolls her eyes.

"Hey, Cabello. If you get sick of Lady-killer over here, give me a call." Zayn mimics holding a phone to his ear, shooting me a wink and leaving with a whole bottle of whiskey tucked into his arm.

I'm left alone in the private casino with Lauren. She might have a gun, but unlike the others, I haven't seen her use it. Maybe it was just a show of bravado around the guys?

"Finally. Some peace and quiet." Lauren does seem much more relaxed now. Tossing her hair over one shoulder, Lauren goes over to the bar and begins noisily rattling through its contest.

"They seem to respect you. The gang, I mean." I say.

Lauren had bent down, disappearing underneath the countertop. She pops back up with a can whipped cream and a sunny smile. "Well, of course, they do! When it comes to business, anyway."

A tight knot forms in my throat. "I know they seem to think my parents were involved with something. But I really don't.."

"Orgasm?" Lauren asks randomly.

My jaw clicks shut with shock, eyes widening at Lauren's cheeky grin. "Wh..what?"

She wiggles the bottle of whipped cream in one hand, lowering it to hold a bottle of amaretto in the other. "Or blowjob?"

My face heats up, all the blood rushing straight to my head. I guess this is what Zayn meant my lady-killer. She comes on strong! "...That's inappropriate."

She throws her head back, laughing loudly. "Those are shots. Popular ones. Very sweet, very Flirty. Girls love them." Quickly, she pours out several dark liqueurs into a shot glass and tops it with whipped cream. Setting down the bottles, Lauren points at me. "You strike me as a girl who wants a sweet shot. Am I wrong?"

"I don't drink much, but... I like sweet drinks, yeah." I say

"Of course you do. You're a sweet girl." Lauren smiles lightly "Do you want me to make you something? Just to calm your nerves a little? I can't imagine you've had a very fun night."

"...I don't take drinks from strangers."

"Hmmm. Smart girl." Lauren doesn't seem offended. She knocks back the shots herself, flicking her tongue to lick the residual sticky sweetness that clung to the rim.

Swallowing tightly, I avert my gaze, focusing on the rest of the room.

"I used to moonlight as a bartender. It served as a good front, and nice storage for the wares I used to trade." Lauren says. "We'd host gambling competitions in the basement, betting everything that money could buy and then some."

Like some kind of black market?

The rattle of the glass makes me nervous, and I glance back to see Lauren making another drink. Sweet red grenadine sinks to the bottom of the glass, looking grisly when splashed with clear liquor.

"What's that got to do with me?" I ask, confused.

"Have a seat and I'll explain."

Might as well do as she asks. Sitting down on a stool by the bar, I'm just about to ask more questions, when Lauren returns to me, drink in hand. She settles across my lap, surprisingly light underneath the suit. I have no idea where to put my hands, stunned into silence as she takes my chin gently angles my face up to hers.

"Are you sure you don't want that drink?" Her breath is sweet with syrup, cold on my lips.

"N-no. I definitely don't." I manage to get out.

"What a shame." She sets her glass only so that she can stroke my hair out of my face. Despite myself, I'm trembling again, but not from fear.

"I like classifying people buy their liquor. There was a lovely couple who came in all the time, long after I stopped bartending." Lauren starts her story again. "I still remember their drinks, though. An Old Fashioned for the man, a martini for the woman. They were very smart criminals." She pauses. "You see, when you steal from a normal person, they can call the police to get justice. When you steal from another criminal, there's only satisfaction in blood."

Something about her tone of voice makes me sit up a little straighter. She still has one hand on my chin, keeping me captive. The other roams, stroking my head, toying with the shell of my ear.

"You don't mean-?" I start to ask

That sweet ice in her voice hardens, piercing me with sudden viciousness. "Your parents stole my MONEY, Cabello." Her nails dig into my skin, just hard enough to make a point. She speaks evenly, almost gentle now. "And you don't...hustle... the hustler."

Breathless with fear, I shrink back from her, heart pounding in my ears. Ohh...How did I get myself into this?!

A.N.

And here is chapter 1 already. sorry for the very short chapter, I promise chapter 2 will be much longer.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote. ^-^ 

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