Chapter 36

36

Cole

I can't find Cass. Or Eli. And neither have answered my messages for hours which is weird as fuck since it's still Cass's shift. She should have her phone in her hand in case of an emergency.

Unless she's off somewhere handling an emergency off-site.

Cass has been avoiding me since last night in the pool, and I've been trying to give her space. Space to miss me.

Yeah, it's probably stupid to think she'll come crawling back to me when she's made it clear she doesn't want me anymore.

Since I'm already tired of waiting, I was going to act like I just wanted her to give me the rundown on what happened during her shift before I take over tonight.

And when I can't find or reach Cass and Eli both at the same time, my first horrid thought is what if they're fucking each other?

I seriously doubt it, but once I'm suited up, I go look everywhere in the casino, and then ask security if they know where they're at. They told me neither Cass nor Eli have left the grounds today. That's when I decide to go check the basement for them just in case. It's the only place I haven't been.

The elevator doors open to the giant concrete room…and there the two of them are together. Thankfully Cass isn't naked. She has lost her black suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of her green blouse while she does the last thing I expected with Eli—helps him drag a plastic wrapped body toward the exit.

"Holy shit," I say when I jog over to them to find out what's going on. "What the hell happened? Who the hell is that?"

"Guess!" Eli says cheerfully when he and Cass drop the body. The torturer looks awfully chipper tonight. I don't want to know what he did to the deceased. I just want to know who they killed and why.

Since the end that looks like it might be covering the head is closest to me because they were probably dragging the person by the feet, I go around and rip back the layers of plastic.

And even with most of her hair either missing or burnt to a black crisp, I instantly recognize the dead woman.

"Oh. Fuck."

"Ding-dong, motherfucker," Eli says.

"Surprise, the witch is dead." Cass's face is blank, but I know that behind her eyes, she's nervously awaiting my reaction.

"Which old witch?" Eli sings and stares at me as if waiting for me to finish the lyrics.

The only thing I can come up with is, "The cunty witch is deeaaad ?"

Cass giggles. She actually fucking giggles before showing me the dead woman's stomach where either she or Eli carved C-U-N-T into the flesh. She laughs again, covering her face with both hands. "You two…are so messed up…singing the Wizard of Oz and shit."

"You started it," I remark as I walk toward her. "How…when…how?" I repeat, at a loss for words.

"You said one of the women was blackmailing you." Gesturing to the deceased, Cass says, "I found her messages in your phone and pretended I was you when I asked her to come to Vegas for more cash to keep her trap shut. She fell for it, and now she's no longer a problem."

"Oh. Okay," I mutter when I'm standing in front of the gorgeous killer, unable to believe she did this for me. "That's…good."

"Is it?" Cass asks. "Are you…is it okay that we…took care of her?"

"If one of you will just hold open the door, I'll take care of things from here," Eli offers.

I go over and open the door, stepping outside, so he can drag her out and I can talk to Cass alone. If she doesn't run.

"Thanks," Eli says as he clears the opening with Amber's body.

Amber is dead.

She can't bother me or demand more money ever again.

Too bad I didn't have the balls to end her before sending her that last twenty grand…

I go back inside the basement, letting the door slam shut behind me which makes Cass jump.

"Cole?" she asks. "You didn't answer my questions. Are you…upset?"

"God no." Scratching my head, I tell her, "Actually, I was just thinking that I wish I could get my most recent twenty grand back."

At that comment, Cass launches herself at me. It's just a hug, and she pulls away far too soon, but at least for a few seconds she was in my arms.

"Sorry. I'm just relieved. I wasn't sure…"

She's relieved because she was worried about how I would react. She was worried about me. She cares about me. I know she does, even if she keeps trying her best to push me away.

The two of us stand there staring at each other silently, within touching distance, both of us thinking the same damn thing.

"I wish there was a way to thank you," I start. "But all I can think about is that I want to kiss you."

"But kissing leads to fucking. "

"I know."

"I think…I still owe you a blowjob."

"You don't owe me anything," I tell her honestly.

"Yes, I do," she says before she jumps me. I barely keep us upright as her tongue prods mine. I expect her to wrap her legs around my waist. Instead, her fingers slip between our bodies to undo my pants.

She drops to her knees a moment later.

"Jesus, Cassie. If this is…" My dick is quickly freed from my boxer briefs. "If this is some sort of payback or… apology…" Oh, she's stroking me in her snug fist so good while staring at the appendage like she missed it even though it hasn't been an entire day since it was inside of her. "It's completely un…ah…necessary." Her hot, wet tongue swipes over my head. "It's necessary," I groan when I watch my cock part her lips. Grabbing the back of her head, fisting her hair, I tell her, "Don't you ever fucking stop."

There's no teasing me with her mouth. Cass sucks, and sucks some more, taking me down her throat while looking up at me. Her eyes are unfocused, turned on, as she bobs her head faster. And when she closes her eyes on a moan, I'm deceased.

Her right hand slips between her legs, not even going down into her black dress pants, just rubbing the seam between her legs like she's already close.

"God, you're so fucking sexy," I tell her. Her suction increases and I beg whatever god is listening to never let it end.

But, of course, it does.

"I'm…I'm coming," I warn Cass a second before my dick jerks in her throat. She looks up at me and moans again like my cum tastes better than anything else in this fucking world.

Fuck, I had forgotten how much I loved her mouth.

After the tremors subside, Cass remains kneeling, licking me clean like my dick is a spoon and she wants to get every drop of ice cream off of it. When she pulls her mouth off of me, I ask her, " Why, Cassie?"

She starts tucking my dick away in my pants, zipping them up. "Why did I suck your dick? I owed you one, and I thought you would enjoy it, obviously."

"Cassie," I say with a happy sigh. "Why? Why did you…kill her?" Why did you walk away from me last night , is what I want to ask.

"I figured you were too much of a pussy to kill her."

"I've killed two men in the past week!"

Getting to her feet, she swipes her manicured fingers over her lips and chin, then levels me with a glare. "That was different. You had a…relationship with that woman."

"It was just sex. Scripted sex."

"And that's why I wanted to kill her," she says triumphantly. "She wouldn't have ever stopped extorting you and you know it."

"I do," I agree. "Good riddance. Doubt anyone will miss her crazy ass either."

"If your mom had known about her extorting you, she would've done the same."

"I don't know. Fuck, maybe so," I reply softly. "I don't want Mom to ever find out about the pornos."

I know my mother loves me enough to kill to stop someone from screwing me over, even if she found out I had sex with them for cameras.

Holy shit.

Cass killed a woman because she loves me.

Isn't that why I killed the two guards? Because I love Cass so much and hated the thought of anyone, especially those bastards, hurting her?

Is murder a normal human response when someone wrongs the person you love or are Cass and I fucked up, vicious killers because of our mafia genetics?

"I won't ever tell Vanessa or Dante," Cass promises. "Let's just take a moment and pray that Vanessa doesn't ever see you on any porn websites. "

Closing my eyes, I bow my head, and press my palms together in front of me to begin the prayer. "Dear heavenly father, I come to you in desperate need of your help. Please keep my mother off all porn sites for the rest of her life. And may everyone who knows I'm the Masked Motherfucker keep their fucking mouths shut. Amen."

"Amen," Cass repeats, a grin stretching across her face when I open my eyes again.

"Was that your first kill?" I ask her as I drop my arms to my sides and treat this with the seriousness it deserves.

"Yes."

I study her face, looking for any sign of distress, or regret. I don't see either which is a relief.

"Am I a bitch for enjoying hurting her and watching the life drain from her eyes, knowing she can't ever touch you or threaten you again?"

"If you are, then I'm a bitch too. I felt the same way about the guards." Pulling her to me for a hug, I tell her, "Thank you for taking care of that annoying problem for me."

Cass doesn't let me hold her long. She slips out of my grasp. Licking her lips, she glances toward the elevator as if about to make her escape. Instead of giving me an excuse and leaving, though, she says, "I wonder what my father would think about me killing someone."

"If they deserved it, then Dante would be proud of you. And Amber deserved it. He expected you to kill Gavin for his betrayal." After a long moment, I ask her curiously, "Are you going to tell him?"

She shakes her head without even taking time to consider it. "No. I can't tell him without explaining who she was and why I did it. My father doesn't need to know."

"I don't want my mom to know I'm a killer either," I admit. "It's pretty much what she tried to avoid since the day I was born. She didn't want me to be a part of this mafia world of death and violence."

"Too bad," Cass replies. "You're in it now and there's no leaving it, not completely. You're different. You've changed. You'll be someone else when you go back to New York."

Giving her a cocky grin that I know she loathes, I say, "Unless Dante makes me his heir."

"If he does, you'll still leave for school in the fall, right? August?"

"I don't know," I tell her honestly. Instead of saying I don't want to leave her, I say, "I can't risk him changing his mind once I leave, or having my mom change his mind when I'm not around."

"Maybe…maybe you could run things for him on the East Coast and I can take over here," Cass suggests out of nowhere.

Frowning at her, I huff, "Why are you always trying so hard to kick my ass back across the country? So, I'll quit keeping you up all night? Is insomnia why you keep ending things between us? Because I can't think of any other valid reason."

"It's not really all night," she huffs. "It's more like…half an hour."

"Half an hour? You are so full of shit! Should I break out the timer app on my phone to keep track of how long I keep you awake begging me to go harder, faster? Bet it's more like three or four hours."

Cass braces her hands on her hips. "Do you always have to make everything a competition?"

"I wouldn't have to if you didn't provoke me by challenging me or making false allegations all the time. I like proving you wrong and rubbing my wins in your face."

"Oh, I'm aware of how much you enjoy taunting me."

"You do the exact same thing when you win, you know," I point out.

"Only because you're an arrogant prick who thinks he's god's gift to women."

Chuckling, I tell her, "Maybe I should tie a bow around my dick to make it official."

"You would, wouldn't you?" she mutters with a roll of her eyes.

"And you would love it," I say as I take a step toward her, reaching up to grab her face to drag her lips to mine .

But Cass dodges me, taking two steps back and away. "Wait. Before you try to distract me with sex, we need to talk."

"Okay. I thought that's what we were just doing."

Her pale green eyes narrow. "We need to talk about something specific."

"Fine. What is it, Cassie?" She doesn't say anything. Her false outrage fades and is replaced with…uncertainty which isn't a normal emotion for her. In fact, her palm goes to her belly as she swallows hard like she's going to be sick. "Are you feeling okay? You look a little…green. More now than you did with the dead body lying around."

"There's something I need to tell you."

"You're finally going to admit that I've got the best dick you've ever had?" I joke to try and lighten her up.

"No, Cole. This is serious."

"More serious than having the best dick in the world or killing one of my previous lovers?" I tease.

She nods solemnly, making my heart race with worry. What the hell could be more serious than murder?

"So, there's a chance we can find out who your father is this weekend. I just need your DNA to compare the samples to," she explains in a rush.

My brain has to hit rewind to try and replay her words over and over again to comprehend them. When I do, I finally tell her, "That's not fucking funny, Cassie."

"I'm not joking, Cole. Do you really think I would joke about something like this?"

Okay, she's serious. I don't even think the old psycho Cass would do something this cruel as a prank.

"So, then who the fuck is my father and how in the world did you manage to find him?"

"Please don't hate me for it, but Eli and I brought the frat guys who were at USC in two thousand two to the casino this weekend."

"All of them?" I exclaim in disbelief .

"Most. Fifteen showed up, so we're only missing five. Odds are decent but not the best…"

"How?" I ask again. "How did you get fifteen old frat guys here?"

She shrugs. "A few lies, along with free flights and rooms."

"Fifteen of the men in the frat are here in the casino right this very second?"

"Yes."

"Okay, that's incredible," I admit to her. "But how do you plan to get them to give you a DNA sample? I doubt we can just walk up to each of them and shove a swab into their mouth."

"The DNA tests are done. The men got free lap dances for an ‘erectile disfunction clinical trial.' That was all Eli's brilliant idea, actually. He's like an evil genius."

"Wow. They really believe the DNA sample is for a clinical trial and gave samples?"

"Yes."

"Eli is an evil genius. And so are you," I tell her as I stare at her. Cass looks the same as she always does, but it's like I don't even know her. Not really. She has more of a soft side than I ever expected, especially when it comes to me. I think she would literally do anything for me, which blows my mind.

"Now I just need your DNA if you want to run it against all of theirs," she tells me. "The lab can have the results within twenty-four hours, so before they leave the casino Sunday if there's a match. There may not be, so I don't want you to get your hopes up yet. I probably should have just plucked out some of your hair or something…"

I pounce on her and this time she doesn't back away when I cup the side of her face and kiss her.

"Cassie…" I whisper against her lips. My eyes feel like they're on fire, but I refuse to fucking cry in front of her like a pussy in this goddamn torture dungeon.

Cass puts her palms on my chest to push me away, breaking our kiss. "Don't...don't get your hopes up. "

"I don't care," I say when I reach for the back of her head to bring her mouth to mine again. "I mean, of course I care." I kiss a path down her cheek to her neck as I wind my arms around her. "This is what I've always wanted to know but I'm just...I can't believe you would do all this for me."

"It wasn't that much," she replies softly.

"It's everything, Cassie."

Her palms try to push me away again, but I refuse to let her have an inch. Instead, I suck on the most sensitive spot on her neck, making her gasp. Finally, she relents with a warm sigh that feathers over my neck. "If there was some way to find my mother, I'm sure you would do the same for me."

"You're incredible."

For a few minutes, she not only lets me hold her, but she also melts against me.

But not for long, and then she's slipping away from my grasp.

"We should go," she says. The expression on her face is now angry and I have no idea what I did wrong to cause the sudden change in her mood.

"Go where?" I ask.

"To take the swabs to the lab so they can get started."

"Okay," I agree rather than demand she tell me what's going on inside her head. I thought she had changed her mind about the shit she said last night, about how we were over.

But maybe I'm wrong.

When Cass and I get back to the casino after delivering the DNA samples and providing my own, we spend the rest of the night eyeing the Sigma Chi men in the club. We even place bets on who could potentially be the man who conceived me with my mom.

Since I'm freaking out so much, I told the testing facility to email Cass with the results. This is all her doing anyway. She should find out first and be the one to tell me if I will finally get to know who my father is or not.

I'm nervous as fuck, wondering who he could be, hoping that he's actually one of the men Cass convinced to come to Vegas for the weekend.

Not only do I want to finally meet the man I owe my life to, I also don't want Cass to have done all of this for nothing. She would be crushed. Just as crushed as I'll be if my father isn't here.

And I never want her to suffer for a second because of me.