17. Vito

17

VITO

“ H ow’s your man?” Lonnie asked as I headed out the office door, already running later than I meant to. I was absolutely not going to miss the start of Zeke’s game.

“I don’t have a man. Don’t have a woman either. I like to keep my options open. You know that.”

She huffed. “The hockey player. The one you’re obsessed with. You’re going to his game tonight, right? I heard you were his bodyguard now.”

“Does anyone in this family know how to keep their mouth shut?”

She laughed. “Not really. But most of the time they also don’t realize I’m listening.”

“You’re always listening.”

She grinned. “Got that right. I like to stay well informed.”

“Damn good thing you’re not trying to blackmail us.”

“I wouldn’t dare. Other people though….”

“Other people aren’t my concern.”

“So really, how’s it going with him?”

“I’m not sure.”

She narrowed her eyes. “That doesn’t sound like you. You’re always sure.”

“I always act like I am.”

“You just keep up what you’re doing. I’ve got a good feeling about this.”

“Thanks, Lonnie.” I hurried out the door. Her instincts were good, but I still wasn’t sure Zeke was doing more than putting up with me for the sake of protection. He was desperate, and I was playing off that. I thought about our conversation this morning. He told me things that he hadn’t told anyone else, and I’d never talked to anyone but Val about our mother. What did that mean? We were comfortable with each other, but was that enough for Zeke to want to stick around after Benito and his associates were eliminated?

You’ll find a way to convince him.

I hoped to hell I would.

When I got to his building, I parked in the alley between his building and the next, not wanting to be seen on the cameras in the garage.

As I hurried up to his apartment, I realized I hadn’t asked him for a key. I’d have to rectify that. I knocked, and a few seconds later, Six let me in.

“I’ll take things from here,” I told him. “We’re heading to the arena.”

“You got it, boss.”

“Zeke,” I called. “Where are you?” He stepped out of the bedroom, dressed in a suit and looking hot as hell. “If you didn’t look all perfectly put together, I’d have you out of that suit in a second.”

He smiled. “I’m nervous as fuck about this game. I’d much rather stay here with you.”

“As much as I love watching you play hockey, I’d much rather stay here with you too.”

I took hold of his lapels and pulled him to me for a kiss. He leaned into me, pressing his body against the length of mine. I reveled in the warmth of him and the way his cock hardened for me as I gripped his ass, holding him tightly against me.

Long before I was ready to stop, Zeke laid his hands on my shoulders and pushed me away. I stepped back but kept my hold on his jacket. “You’re going to do great tonight.”

“With everything going on, I don’t know if I can focus on the game at all.”

“You can, because I’ll be there and so will Val and several of our best security guards. All you need to think about is hockey. We’ve got the rest of it covered.”

He frowned, and I could tell he was unsure. “This is what we do. Hockey is what you do. You do your job, we’ll do ours. I’ll see you as soon as the game is over. I can’t wait to celebrate with you.”

Finally, he smiled. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“If you want to go out with the team first, I can wait. I don’t want to, but I can. I’ll go with you and pretend to be nothing but your bodyguard.”

Zeke smiled. “I don’t want that. I just want to go home with you.”

He glanced at the clock on the stove. “Shit, we need to get going.”

I took his hand, and he picked up his bag. “Have you got everything?”

“I sure hope so. Coach will have my head if I don’t.”

“All right, let’s go.”

He locked up, and we took the elevator down to the lobby. During the ride, I was tempted to press the button to make it stop so I could take advantage of Zeke by pressing him against the wall and sinking to my knees to suck his cock. Would he let me? I’d have to find out another time because I wouldn’t make him late.

As soon as we stepped into the alley, something had me on alert. I held out my hand, stopping Zeke’s progress.

“Stay behind me.” I pulled out my gun and took a few steps forward. That’s when I saw Loony.

He raised his gun, but he was too slow. I fired first, hitting him in the center of the chest. He staggered, dropped to his knees, then fell. He didn’t move again, and with the amount of blood pooling under his body, he’d be dead in seconds if he wasn’t already.

I glanced back at Zeke. His face was ghostly white. I took hold of his arm and led him over to the side of the closest building. “Lean against the wall or sit down.”

“Can’t sit down here, I’ll ruin my suit.” He did bend down, resting his hands on his knees. I hoped he wasn’t going to pass out.

I gave him a few moments before I said, “Baby, look at me.” After a few seconds, he did. “It’s okay. We’re all right now.”

He shook his head. “They’re going to keep coming after me, aren’t they?”

“Reclaiming your debt is just an excuse to get to me and my family now, but I’ve got this. You’re going to be fine.”

“What are we going to do now? I’ve got to get to my game and there’s a… Is he dead?”

I nodded. “I’m going to take you to your game. I’ll get someone to come take care of this.”

“How can you be so calm? You just you just killed that man.”

“He would’ve killed me and then either killed or tortured you. I will kill anyone who tries to hurt you.”

“Oh my God, Vito. This is…I never meant to get myself mixed up in something like this. I thought I was just having fun, then I was in so deep. I was so desperate….”

I cupped his face. “It’s okay, baby. All you did was borrow money. You had every intention of paying it back. Everybody fucks up. I’m going to make sure no one hurts you.”

“I’ll pay you back. I swear.”

“We’re going to take care of this. We’ll see how it all turns out, and then we can talk about that, but right now the money isn’t the issue. Your safety is. Now, let me get you to the arena.”

“They won’t… You don’t think they’d pull something there?”

“No. They might be brave enough to pull shit like this in an alley, but they’re not going to do it that publicly.”

“I have been in plenty of fights, but no one’s ever died right in front of me like that.”

“It’s okay, baby.” I hugged him, and he clung to me, burying his face against my neck. “Trust me.”

A few moments later, he pulled away and looked up. “I do. I’m probably crazy for that, but I do. How did you know he was there?”

“A lot of years of honing my instincts.”

“I wouldn’t have known. I would’ve?—”

I placed a finger over his lips. “It’s okay. You didn’t have to know because I was here.”

“We’re really just going to leave a dead guy right here? This is crazy. What if someone saw what you did?”

I glanced around the alley, checking again for anyone who might be lurking.

“There’s no one here, and we’re really going to leave him because you’ve got a game to be at. Come on.”

“What’s that?” He pointed at a small round object on the ground. Fuck. It was the tracker I’d put in his coat. It must have fallen out when he bent over. I reached down, picked it up, wiped in off, and put it back in his pocket.

“Vito, what the fuck is that?”

“I needed something to tell me where you were.”

“You put a tracker in my jacket.”

“I told you I’d do anything to keep you safe.”

“I can’t believe?—”

“I know. I’m a bastard, but I want to keep you safe. Come on, you’re going to be late.”

I kept my arm around him as we walked to the car, then I placed a kiss on the top of his head as he sank into the passenger seat.

I called my cleanup contact as soon as I shut my door. “In ten minutes, there’ll be no evidence anything ever happened.”

“What if somebody comes into the alley? What if somebody sees him?”

“Let’s just hope it’s somebody who knows how to mind their own business.”

“If I just saw a dead person lying there?—”

“Come on. All you need to think about right now is how many goals you’re going to score.”

He leaned back against the seat and blew out a long breath. I reached for his hand and laced his fingers through mine as I pulled out of the alley and headed for the arena.