Delete.
“Chelsea, please call me. Your father is on his way to your place. Did you get those locks changed? If that boy’s there, you had better tell him to leave. Immediately.” Mum’s message actually makes me laugh, but then the reality of my Dad trying to get into my house is kind of disturbing.
Luckily, I had all the locks changed and new deadbolts added at the back garage a couple of years ago. I didn’t take down that board of Pacer. I didn’t have time. But if Dad manages to find his way inside, I can at least explain that it’s all for the case. Dad is really taking this hard. It’s not like I’ve lost my mind or anything? It’s far from lost … I’ve lost my heart may be, but not my head. My head is firmly prepared to expose Jackson for what he is.
I don’t bother listening to the rest of the messages just yet; I know what I need to do. Mum’s number is in the recent call list. I press her name. I’m pretty sure she was just watching her phone, the way she answered it before it even rang.
“Chelsea.” Mum’s voice sounds stressed. “Have you spoken with your father?”
“Hi, Mum. No, I rang you straight away.” I don’t give her a chance to speak. “Listen, I know what you’re thinking, but there is more to this. Please get Dad off my back while I sort it all out. Can you please just do that for me?”
“So there’s nothing between you and this boy, then?”
I chuckle. “He’s not a boy, Mum. He’s a man, just like I’m a woman. I know what I’m doing. He’s not who they say he is. I’ll prove everything soon enough. You’ve just got to get Dad to back off.”
“Well, I am really surprised they were even game enough to run the story. I’ve spoken with the chief editors of all the publications, but there’s something not right about it all. Someone is paying really good money for these stories to get out. They spun me some tale about it being for the information of the public to know what’s happening, but it’s just not how we do things.”
I bet Jackson has something to do with this.
“Mum, I think I know what’s going on. This is all to do with one person. It’s for the same reason that Pacer is in the position he’s in.” Well, it’s not all a lie. Pacer is more righteous in his crimes than Jackson. “There are some bad things going on in the city at the moment. Dad needs to stay out of it. It’s not like it used to be when he was a judge.”
“Oh, Chelsea! You’re scaring me. Why can’t you just let this go? If you’re worried about your own father’s involvement, then how am I meant to feel about you being part of all this?” Mum’s voice is shaky.
“Mum, I was put here to do something like this in my life. I am the product of you and Dad. It’s safe to say I’ll be alright.” I don’t want my Mum to worry. “Please trust me.”
There’s a pause. The silence lasts longer than it’s welcome.
“Well, I hope he’s worth it.”
She makes me smile.
“Wasn’t Dad worth it? I love you. I’ll be out there this weekend.”
I end the call and think about my words. At this point, Pacer is worth more than I care to admit.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Déjà vu.
I’m sitting in the foyer of honeybee’s office once again, waiting for her to escort me inside. Except this time, I’ve just spent twelve hours fucking you until my dick went limp.
The wooden door swings open and there she is, boring suit, boring hair … but I know what lies beneath. She’s late again, but I didn’t expect anything else.
“Thanks for seeing me, Pacer.” I’m certain she’s saying it for the benefit of listening ears.
“It must be important.” I follow in the act, and try not to laugh at my joke.
I had to see her again. She knows damn well that I wouldn’t take no for an answer.
I feel them all watching—lenses, whether they’re a camera or the naked eye. They’re all the same and I pay little attention to any of it.
I know I’m being watched when I’m in public, so I stay out of it as much as possible. It’s been my motto for years, and so far it’s helped. I’ve spent less than a year in prison when I’ve faced a combined one hundred and forty years’ worth of charges against my name. They can’t get me, and she can’t work out why. She will never know, no matter how far she digs.
My hands stay in my pockets as I walk, and feeling the packet of cigarettes within them just makes me want to light another … right now. I can’t help it—I’m an addict.
Honeybee’s ass waving at me from her skirt gives me a flashback of that same ass bouncing against my cock when I had her on all fours. Lifting my leather glove to my top lip, I rub it past my nostrils, catching the scent of her. It’s still there. Fuck you smell good, honeybee.
She waves at the open door to her office. “Take a seat, Mr Fratelli.”
I stroll through the doorway and do as I’m told. “Make sure the blinds are shut,” I say, not looking at her when I speak.
The door closes behind me, and I hear her footsteps against the plush carpet. The brush of her fingertips against the back of my neck makes my smile impossible to hide. You are a firecracker, my honeybee.
I take hold of her hand, and pull her around to my lap. She fits perfectly in my arms. I want to rescue her from all the troubles she’s about to walk into. If only I could just pick her up and carry her out of this office, like they did in the shitty romance movies of the 70s. But it’s not that simple. There are debts to be paid, so I have to stick around until they’re settled.
Looking into her deep blue eyes, I wish I could tell her everything so that it stops her going on the wild goose chase that she’s about to head down. But right now, I want to spread her gorgeous body across her desk, and have her begging me not to make her moan.
From the angle that she’s in on my lap, my thumb slides up her thigh with ease. Her skirt has enough stretch to let my hand travel towards her sexy little honey pot. She doesn’t stop me either. Her lips crash onto mine, as if she never wished us apart in the first place. Her kiss makes my worries dissolve; her tongue makes my control disintegrate.
I hold her under her ass and tilt her hips towards me. My other finger slides her panties aside and slips into her sweet spot. Her body winces. I forgot how tender she must feel. My cock has been on fire all day, so I can only imagine what she must feel like.
She chuckles and holds my face in her hands as she kisses me hard. I love the feeling of her palms against my cheeks.
My gloved finger works into her slit with gentle strokes. I feel her relax, and she rocks onto my invading finger. Her head tilts back in pure bliss. It’s something about my gloves that really sets her off. Whatever it is, I love it.
I keep working her until My cock starts to swell, now sitting uncomfortably in my pants.
There’s a jolting knock at her door and she flies off my lap.
Adjusting her skirt, she leans into the door and speaks. “This had better be good.”
It’s a younger girl’s voice. Must be that cute secretary I’ve seen a couple of times. “Brad just said he saw your Dad down stairs. He thinks he’s on his way up here. I have told him all morning that you were in meetings, but I guess he’s just not taking no for an answer.”
“Fuck.” Her blue eyes flash back to me. “Lets get out of here before shit hits the fan.”
She grabs her folder from her desk, and coat from the hat stand beside the door.
I follow her. “We’ll leave through the stairwell. Thanks, Sienna. I’m going to my next appointment with Mr Fratelli.”
Sienna doesn’t raise her eyes to me before Chelsea leads me down a series of narrow hallways. Wood panelling is on each side, broken up by the occasional glass window that peeks into someone’s office. We reach the emergency exit at the end of the hallway and Chelsea pushes down on the handle. The door swings open. Thank fuck it’s not alarmed.