Devin: A Romantic Suspense (V Mafia Series Book 2) Read online

  “When I met you at your apartment, I saw a camera above your desk. We’re the manufacturer of that device, so I know it’s only sold to law enforcement.”

  “If you knew so much about me and who I was, why didn’t you just take care of me like the rest?”

  “I told you, we’re not responsible for them.” Devin stepped closer and desire rippled between us. It was unexplainable, but it always had been. He slid his hands along my spine, sending the familiar electricity through me, and I closed my eyes.

  I should be terrified of him, but I wasn’t.

  “The shipments I found on the computer?” I asked.

  “They were fakes my brother put up there to see if you were a snitch.”

  “But you warned me.”

  “It only sounded like a warning if you were searching for one, and you were. For the moment, my brothers think you’re clean, but they’ll figure it out soon. They always do. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “How did you know there was a listening device around me when I didn’t even know?”

  “A little something I’ve been working on. A big something that could change your life—the course of your career, if you told someone about it.”

  A shudder ran through me.

  “You’ve got the moment you’ve always wanted right at your fingertips,” Devin said softly, his eyes searching mine. “Do what you need to do.”

  “Sometimes, it’s not just about that.”

  The look running through his gaze was like a million stabs to my heart. What we felt had been real.

  “Do the right thing, Avery.” His eyes flashed to mine. “You’ve got something that you can take to the Feds and blow the lid off the Wolf brothers.”

  I winced. I’d never heard him use that term.

  “But know that we don’t just own the streets, we run them. If we weren’t there to stop the thugs, the police department’s job would be even more difficult. We keep people in line. There’s a hierarchy out there and we’re at the top. We take out those who don’t deserve to walk the streets with women and children.” He let out a slow, warm breath as he moved his mouth close to my ear. “You’ll get all the acclaim you could ever wish for. Turn in that device we’ve built, and you’ll be the hero for the next decade. You’ll be stopping us before we ever get started, but it could come with ramifications no one ever predicted.”

  “That’s not what I want.” I shook my head, feeling my head spin and my heart ache. He pulled away slightly. “I don’t want acclaim. I don’t want. . .” I couldn’t even finish my sentence.

  The way he studied me made my heart rip to pieces. This man—this entire family—wasn’t what or whom the government made them out to be. It was more complicated than that. Life wasn’t black and white. Life was a colorful kaleidoscope made to be changed and contorted into beautiful shades of choice, and I had one.

  “Do the right thing,” he repeated, and his mouth crashed to mine.

  The kiss was hard and punishing, filled with all the things he couldn’t say and all the things I wanted him to know. When he let go, a piercing jolt of disappointment shot through me.

  And then he turned and left me alone in the condo.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Devin

  It was times like these that reminded me why I didn’t want to stay sober for long. I’d let myself turn weak, fantasizing about a different life that I’d never get a taste of. So I did the next best thing and opened our safe to let her have a chance at a fresh start.

  The best part?

  I didn’t care one bit because by tomorrow, I’d make sure I didn’t remember.

  I never expected much of anything from people other than family anyway, and it seemed that motto was once again the way to go.

  I glanced at the cards in my hand. Not a great hand but a good one.

  I took a sip of my drink. The sting of the gin coating my lips made me take another sip as I scanned the table. Another player in front of me was about to fold, so that only left one more, and she was a cocky one.

  How I liked ‘em, also, fierce and fiery with a heart of gold. Maybe this chick could even break a nose. I thought back to Avery, and it forced a smile to my lips that the woman sitting across from me mistook.

  She eyed me carefully as the tip of her tongue rested on the corner of her scarlet mouth. The brunette leaned over the table, exposing her ample cleavage.

  I let out a sigh.

  She was trouble.

  My kind of trouble.

  I pushed in twenty grand worth of chips and her smile grew. She moved her chips forward.

  One of the guys let out a low whistle next to me.

  She was bluffing, but so was I.

  I took another sip of my drink, hoping to erase everything from earlier.

  The Volkov way.

  Send them off with a gun and money. A wry grin spread across my lips as I pushed in my remaining chips.

  I was glad I’d left my cellphone at the condo or I’d be tracking every little move of hers. I pushed Avery out of my head.

  The brunette shook her head, tossing her cards on the table.

  A flush.

  My eyes connected with hers and I set mine on the table.

  Life never tasted so good.

  A straight.

  She brought in a sharp hiss and tossed her head back, laughing.

  “Wasn’t my money anyway.” She took a sip of her drink as the table began clearing out. “But you could make me feel better about the situation.”

  I waited until the room cleared out completely.

  “How do you propose I do that?” My voice lowered.

  The small room we were in sat behind one of the hottest nightclubs on the strip.

  “Take me back to your room.” Her eyes stayed on mine as she stood and walked around the card table until she reached me. She was wearing a piece of fabric that left nothing to the imagination. Normally, I wouldn’t mind. “Show me how you can make good use of those hands.” She trailed her lips down my neck and stepped away. “And all will be forgiven.”

  I finished off my drink. It was the fourth one since I’d gotten here, and the liquid was working wonders but not miracles. I drew in a deep breath and stood, snapping my fingers for her to get out.

  “I’m cashing out.”

  Her expression fell, but she strolled out of the room while I buzzed the cashier. A slot in the wall opened up, revealing a set of bars and a man behind the counter.

  I slid my chips under the bars, which he quickly exchanged for a three-inch stack of bills.

  Eighty-thousand dollars.

  But it wasn’t about the game. It was about the sport.

  Our life was always about the sport of winning.

  George came inside and I handed him the stack of cash, which he quickly tucked inside his jacket. I knew where I was headed tonight, and I’d be in no shape to hold onto that much.

  I followed George into the club with the blazing purple and magenta lights shooting in every direction. The chandelier hanging in the center of the room resembled some far-off spaceship, but that probably had more to do with how much I drank than the design.

  “Sorry you had to cut short your date,” I told George over the loud pounding of the music. Women dressed in skirts barely covering their ass were dancing all around us and just as many men were grinding against them. There was a time when this was fun.

  “I expect nothing less when you’re in town,” George said wryly.

  “At least it keeps your retirement years exciting.”

  “Yeah.” His eyes focused on the brunette from earlier and I shook my head. I didn’t want her. I didn’t want anyone.

  Except Avery.

  But that was over in every sense of the word.

  I was sure by the time I got back tonight, I’d get to see the safe cleared out and the pistol gone, but I didn’t blame her. I gave her freedom.

  For now.

  “You know, sir.”


  My gaze flashed to George’s. “Maybe it’s time you start being grateful for what you do have instead of what you don’t.”

  The brunette was standing in front of me. She looked better out here than in the back room.

  “Change your mind?”

  George handed me a room key and wandered away.

  “I guess I did.”

  Her eyes darkened, and I waited for that moment to rush through me when I knew there was no turning back, but it didn’t.

  She slid a drink in my hand and took a sip from hers.

  “I don’t usually do this,” I told her, holding in a smile.

  “Sure you don’t,” she said under her breath.

  “Name?”

  “Does it matter?” she asked.

  All the right words with none of the right reaction.

  “Guess not.” She slid her hand in mine, and I began weaving her through the club until we got outside and walked a block down from the club entrance to the hotel poor George had planned for his date.

  We walked toward the elevator and the doors closed. I shut my eyes, rolling my head against the back wall. I didn’t even give two shits that this woman was standing next to me.

  It wasn’t Avery. I took another sip of the drink and opened my eyes when the elevator chimed.

  She giggled and stood on her toes, kissing my cheek, and nausea rolled through me. It was just the drink. I pulled her off the elevator and searched for the hotel room.

  This was my life. I’d get back into it and never look back.

  Because I wouldn’t be able to remember.

  Tomorrow. It would all be a blur.

  How I liked it.

  I shoved the key in the door and pushed it open with the nameless woman right behind me. She clunked off her heels, and that was when I knew I was going to get sick.

  Really sick. I turned around and glared at the brunette, who flashed a sardonic grin.

  “Get out.” I pointed at the door and a wave of dizziness rolled over me.

  “Too late for that, Devin.” She wiggled her finger. “Don’t you know to never drink from a stranger’s drink?”

  “Get out,” I slurred, feeling the effects of whatever she’d laced my drink with. “I don’t have the money.”

  “I’m not here for the money.” Her eyes narrowed on mine as I stumbled backward. “I’m here for something more.”

  The room spun around me as she tilted her head and slid her index finger along her bottom lip.

  “He always said you’d be the weakest link. I just never thought it would be a woman who’d prove his theory.”

  I shook my head, holding my temples, trying to stand upright.

  “So she thinks you murdered Agents Ellis and Archer.” She shook her head. “It really can’t get any more perfect. The only thing is that we need you alive. Her. . .not so much.”

  I straightened up and reached my hand behind me.

  “Looking for this?” She emptied out my pistol and tossed it on the bed behind me.

  I felt my pulse slowing as a cold sweat dotted my skin.

  “What do you want?” I asked, feeling my body sway.

  “Guess you’ll just have to wait to find out.” She moved toward me, and I attempted to knock her down, but she just laughed. “Just to make things exciting, what if I told you I was about to up the ante and make you wish you’d never won the bet downstairs?”

  Her shrill laughter bounced off the walls of the room, and that was the last thing I remembered.

  Just how I always thought I wanted it.

  I woke up with sweat covering my entire body. My wrists were bound to my ankles and I was on a bed.

  Not my bed.

  I looked around, trying to remember where I was or why I’d wound up in this less than ideal situation. This was definitely not one of those calls I’d be making to my brothers. I didn’t need my reputation proving itself once again.

  I sucked in a deep, angry breath and saw my pistol lying next to me. My head was pounding and my muscles were on fire.

  What the hell?

  I let out a groan and wiggled off the bed, falling to the floor with a thud, and that was when I remembered the brunette.

  She’d flung off her shoes and they hit the wall in front of me. I shook my head. I didn’t sleep with her. There was no way.

  I scooted my way over to the credenza, cursing myself the entire way over to the mini-fridge. I looped the plastic twist ties binding my wrists and feet together around the door of the credenza and dropped my body weight on it in a fetal position.

  They say everyone hits their rock bottom, and I’d have to agree.

  I think I just hit mine.

  I rocked my body into the credenza again, the plastic tearing into my flesh when I heard a snap.

  No. I was positive I just hit mine.

  One of the plastic ties tore, and I managed to pull apart the other on my wrist. I shook the plastic to the floor. My ankles were finally free from my wrists, but I looped my ankles over the door and began heaving myself back into the credenza to break the plastic ties.

  Definitely my rock bottom.

  The snap of the plastic was the best sound in the world, and I sprang to my feet, shaking out my wrists. I had cuts all over my wrists from trying to break free, but I didn’t care.

  I picked up my empty pistol and shoved it in my holster before sitting on the edge of the bed. What did that woman tell me? Was she after me or the money I’d won or—

  Fear spiked through me.

  Avery. They were after Avery.

  I bolted to the door, and that was when I saw it.

  A ransom note taped to the door.

  My stomach turned sick again. The same feeling I had all last night from that woman. I reached for my cell and remembered I didn’t have it. I’d left it at the condo. I walked over to the phone, my blood rushing through me, and dialed George’s number.

  He picked up instantly.

  “They’ve got Avery.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Ransom note’s in my hand. I’m still at the hotel. I fell right into their hands.”

  “I’ll be right there.” I heard a woman’s voice in the background.

  Within minutes, he was pounding on the door.

  “You weren’t kidding.”

  “I decided to have a date night after all, and this hotel seemed as good as any.”

  I nodded and shoved the note in his hands as we headed out the door. He noticed my wrists and glanced at me.

  “I reached my lowest.”

  “Zip ties?” George questioned.

  “Yup.”

  “Not fun, boss.”

  “No. It wasn’t, and I’d appreciate if this stayed between us.”

  “Always does.” He glanced at me. “Does this girl mean anything to you?”

  “Everything.”

  By the time we got to my condo, I was a madman ready to kill anyone who got in my way. I had my way of letting Avery go. This wasn’t part of it. I flew into the condo and noticed the picture was back over the safe. My phone was still on the table. Her Colt was gone. Whatever happened, it didn’t look like a struggle. I grabbed my phone and waited for the app to load while I dialed in the safe combination.

  The money was still inside.

  “What I’m about to tell you can’t go anywhere. Not yet, anyway.” My eyes stayed on George’s.

  “Avery was an undercover cop.”

  George’s expression remained unchanged. “Wouldn’t be the first time a Wolf brother got involved with the fuzz.”

  My eyes snapped to his.

  “Just sayin’.” George smiled. “They can’t fault you too much.”

  I ignored his comment.

  “She mentioned a couple of agents who’d been murdered. Sounded like someone’s trying to pin their murders on us. I bet it’s all related.” I looked around the room for her phone and didn’t see it. If I could get to whoever called her earlier, I might have a chance
at finding out.

  My phone dinged.

  “She’s in the building.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Avery

  I wouldn’t take his money. I wouldn’t take anything from him, and I certainly wouldn’t be taking the flight out of here tonight where someone knew my destination. I didn’t care who the someone was. The call from Davis didn’t make me trust her any more.

  When I left here, I didn’t want anyone to ever find me. I wanted out.

  For good.

  I shut the safe, leaving the cash inside, and put the picture back where it belonged. It would be just as easy to start over in Miami as anywhere, and I was already here.

  But then I might run into a Volkov.

  A knock pounded at the door and my heart skidded to a stop. If Devin wanted in, he’d just come inside. It could be George, and if what Ellis had said about him was true, things were suddenly looking even worse. I pulled my pistol out of the case, lifted the foam out, and found not only a holster, but a few bullets, which I quickly loaded into the Colt. I shoved the lock box under the buffet and headed to the door.

  I looked through the peephole and a surprising amount of relief flooded through me when I saw who was waiting for me. Davis must have sent her to escort me to the airport. My pulse began slowing down as my fingers touched the doorknob.

  The moment I opened the door, I realized my mistake as she flung herself at me, covering my mouth with duct tape in one perfectly fluid motion. I elbowed her in her jaw, but she still managed to twist my arms and fasten them behind me.

  The prick of a needle pushed into my neck as I tried to get away, but when she let me go, I knew I was already in trouble as I tumbled to the ground. I tried getting up, but my arms felt like noodles.

  The sedative was swimming in my veins as she began talking to someone.

  A male’s voice.

  I tried to open my eyes, but my mind was too tired. I couldn’t control anything, not my arms, my head, or my feet.

  “She secured in the chair?” his voice asked.

  “She’s fine.”

  “Strap her in.”

  “Whatever.” I felt pressure against my waist as she cinched it too tightly.