Chapter Fifteen – Recognizing the Inevitable
Just like Vincent had said, Arkin was the one sitting in front of my apartment building the following morning. And every morning after that. I had seen him get out of the car and stretch his legs a few times.
Didn't he have anything better to do? Couldn't he be a little more inconspicuous?
My eyes rolled as I let the curtain in my bedroom fall closed. It overlooked the street in front of the building, so I could see Arkin plain as day when I peeked out. One would think the word discreet was a common thing in a gang member's vocabulary. Apparently not. Or, maybe I just didn't count because I knew he was out there.
Dexter came trotting into the kitchen when I poured his food into his bowl. He pushed his entire body into me as he walked past like a cat. The coffee pot bubbled as it finished brewing, and I got a mug out of the cabinet. I needed some form of normalcy. The gang had encroached on my life. The only time I felt wholly separate from them was when I was with Jack. Training with him had become my safe-haven. It still blew my mind that none of the boys had ever been able to figure out where I went when I vanished on them. It drove them nuts, and dare I say worried them.
Vincent was not happy with the missing time.
He questioned me about it almost every time he brought me home. I continued to be able to dodge the interrogation and keep him from finding out about my self-defense classes pretty damn well, if I did say so myself. On the other hand, I had become a little reliant on him with regard to his car. Devyn and Dante hated it, but even they were beginning to warm up to Vincent. I was guessing in Dante's case it was somewhat to do with the amount of money Vincent and the guys had been pouring into Tuxedo throughout the month.
Had it really been that long?
The night I was 'kidnapped' seemed like a distant memory. The boys truly did feel like a part of my day to day routine. They were always there. If not just Arkin, then Brandon and Lucas sometimes popped up too. Lucas had made sure to tell me that he didn't blame me for ratting him out. He was just trying to do me a favor and picked a terrible time for it. They had – somehow – become important to me. It was amazing how life worked sometimes.
A knock on my door pulled me from the recesses of my mind. Dexter's head raised, and he let out a soft bark, but that was it. Just from his reaction, I had a feeling I knew who it was. Heaving a sigh, I grabbed another mug to pour coffee into. Then I took both cups to the door and fought the battle with how to hold them and unlock the door too. I was an idiot for not thinking to set them down first. After only spilling a little of the coffee onto my arm, I walked back to the couch and sat down, setting both cups on the coffee table.
"Come in!" I hollered a minute later. He usually came in as soon as he heard the lock tumble.
Lucas came in, eyes riveted to his cellphone as he shut the door behind him. He still didn't look up as he crossed the room and sat down next to me. How this had become our routine, I couldn't really say. Even though Arkin was assigned to tail me at that point, Lucas still popped in to check on me. I think he knew more than any of them how much I hated having someone puppy-dog me around all the time. He reached for his cup of coffee, his eyebrows furrowing as he glared at his phone.
"Lucas, watch –" But I was too late. His fingers hit the rim of the mug and it slid backwards, sloshing hot coffee onto his hand from the force of the movement.
"Son of a bitch!" he hollered, dropping his phone to the ground as he shook his hand and then clutched it against his chest. Unlike me, he drank his coffee black. So, there was no creamer to cool the beverage down.
"Idiot," I muttered, shoving off the couch to go get some paper towels. I tossed the roll to him when I returned.
"Sorry, sugar," he said, mopping up the mess.
"It's fine. You okay?"
"It was more reactionary than anything. It didn't hurt too bad."
"You know you're allowed to feel pain, right?"
"Shut up." Dexter came in and licked Lucas's hand. The blonde smiled before rubbing Dexter behind the ears.
"What were you so focused on, anyway?" I asked, nodding towards his phone.
"Don't worry about it."
Why do men think telling a woman 'don't worry about it' will actually make her stop worrying? It had the exact oppo0site effect.
"Lucas."
"It's nothing."
"Mhmm."
"Really."
"Sure." He was going to wear down eventually. Lucas sucked at keeping things from me. I had found out a little bit about what the gang did thanks to that small fact. I had decided I didn't want to know much more. It was over my head, and not good.
"It's nothing!"
"Okay."
"Vince is worked up about this deal we have going," he admitted.
"What's wrong?"
"Something just feels fishy. To all of us. However, we have no proof. And it's with someone we've done business with time and time again. Not sure what's wrong."
"You guys know better than anyone to go with your gut."
"It's a big payoff. We'd be able to slip onto the backburner for a while. Gets the cops off our tails if activity dies down."
My lip curled at the mention of the police, but I shook it off. "Just be careful."
"Always am, sugar," he responded before picking up his coffee and blowing on it.
He stayed with me for a little while longer. We made small talk, and I just enjoyed having his company. It wasn't exactly the normalcy I had been craving, but it was close. When he left, he made a comment about telling Vincent I said hi.
"Twenty-three!" I yelled after him as I chucked a pillow. It hit the front door after he shut it. His laughter was muffled, but I still heard it. Asshole.
***
Arkin waved when Dexter and I stepped out into the sunshine. I waved back and headed off. Dexter needed to stretch his legs as bad as I did. The thing about training with Jack, was that it was making me want to be all-around more active. Days that I wasn't training with him I was itching to get out of the apartment. Half the time I had to restrain myself from going for a run. Part of me was not willing to run those streets. Even with Dexter and Arkin, I still wouldn't feel completely safe.
There was an ulterior motive to my walk that day. I had finally saved the money to buy a gun. I was excited. That had been my goal for a while. Because, obviously, my knife and mace had not stopped me from getting kidnapped. Then again, if I would have shot Lucas he probably wouldn't be one of my best friends. There was a tug in my chest. Even if they drove me nuts, I didn't want to think about a life that hadn't been infiltrated by the gang.
By Vincent.
No. Damn him.
Even if I didn't want to admit it, I was intrigued by Vincent. And he was the first person to catch my attention in a very long time. The last serious relationship I had been in ended badly. It was a long time ago, but it still stung every once in a while. Apparently, being upset over the sudden death of your mother was unacceptable. He had abandoned me at my lowest point, which caused me to sink even lower. Only Dante was still around from that time in my life. If it weren't for him and eventually Devyn, I wasn't sure I could've pulled myself out of that depression.
Not to say that Devyn hadn't attempted to send me hurtling back into the dating game full-force. But no one had ever kept my attention for more than a couple weeks. Not until this stupid man wormed his way into my life.
Scary gangbanger, Jules, I reminded myself. Which was definitely part of what was so interesting. Vincent couldn't be too much older than I was. So how did he get to the position he was in? And did I even want to know?
Probably not.
My mind continued to run circles around itself until the gun shop came into my field of view. The shop had a range in it as well, one that I had frequented for a while before the gang came into my life. I had wanted to make sure that I was comfortable with a firearm before I purchased one. So, when the bell over the door jingled, Tony looked up at me. A smile cracked across his weathered skin as he straightened.
"Long time no see, Jules," he greeted, his voice booming throughout the empty shop. His eyes snapped down to Dexter. The dog's nub of a tail began to wag. Those two loved each other. "And Dexter! How ya doin' ya little shit?"
"Hello to you too, Tony," I said, a chuckle falling from my lips.
"What can I do for ya today?" he asked. He reached down behind the counter to grab the jar of treats he kept there. Tony was a sucker for anything furry on four legs.
"I think I want to practice with the Glock a little more. I've finally got enough to buy it."
"Told ya I would've just given ya a discount months ago, girl."
"And I told you I would make it. And look, I did."
The old man rolled his eyes at me before selecting the gun I was comfortable with out of the case. He set it, the necessary ammo, headphones, glasses, and the key to the range out on the counter for me. I traded him Dexter's leash for the paraphernalia. Making my way back to the range, I glanced over my shoulder just in time to catch the sight of a black SUV rolling to a stop outside the shop.
I unlocked the door to the firing range and stepped inside. Walking down the aisle, I selected a booth and set everything down. Once I was all set up, headphones and glasses on, I took my stance. The weight of the gun in my hands was familiar and caused me to smile. I fired off a few shots. I was no marksman, but I was proud of myself that they were at least all within the black silhouette. Time fell away as I tried to hit the bullseye – or the heart – however you wanted to look at it. The feeling of someone's eyes on me began to creep up my spine. I slowly lowered the gun to the counter before turning around and slipping the headphones off.
Even though something in me was expecting him to be there, I still jumped when my eyes met Vincent's.
"Don't just sneak up on me like that!" I exclaimed, placing my hand over my hammering heart. He leaned against the wall behind me, arms and ankles crossed. He was the picture of ease with his long legs stretched out in front of him. His lips twitched as he pushed off and came over to me.
He invaded my space. I was once again struck by how much taller than me Vincent was. This time, without my heels, when he stood directly in front of me I had to take a step back to be able to meet his eyes. That step caused the counter to press against the small of my back, but I tried to ignore it. My attention was wholly focused on the man in front of me. For the first time, I noticed that his nose was slightly crooked, like it had been broken more than once. There was a scar running from the top of his left eyebrow to almost his hairline. Neither of these facts surprised me, and they for sure didn't take anything from how attracted to him I was. I knew he was a dangerous person, they were just more of a testament to that fact.
"Are you done staring?" he asked, causing my eyes to snap back to his.
Shit. "Yes."
"What're you doing"
"What does it look like? Practicing my shooting. Why are you here?"
"Arkin told me you walked into Tony's Guns of all places."
"And?" I crossed my arms to put a little more distance between us. "How is that any of your business?"
"Guns in this city are my business. Who do think supplies Tony?"
My face paled. "That's illegal."
"He wouldn't be able to stay in business if everything here was from us. There are just a few special things he gets from us that a few special people know about and that this is the place to get them."
"I don't want to know anymore," I muttered, dropping my gaze from his.
"Facts are facts, princess."
I knew that. It still didn't mean that it wasn't a shock. I had been going to Tony for months. I probably could have run into Vincent at any time. What would have happened had we met under different circumstances? My eyes found his again. I more than likely would have just found him attractive and never spoken to him again. His eyes softened. He raised his hand to my face. It was a simple touch, just a brush of his fingertips along my jawline, but it sent the most pleasant shiver down my spine. Goosebumps erupted over every inch of my skin. In that instant, I wanted to kiss him so badly that something inside me ached.
Realizing I had feelings for a man like Vincent Monroe was a hard pill to swallow.