We just kept drinking.
Carter lit up a cigar and let the smoke slowly drift from his mouth to the ceiling. He switched between the booze and the cigar, two of the most important things to a man. The third was women.
I’d cut smoking out of my life, so I just stuck to the booze.
Carter finally broke the silence. “That went well…”
I knew exactly how it was going to play out, but facing my father’s real-life disappointment stung. “Yeah.”
“I’ve never been kicked out of the house before, not even when my dad caught me having a threesome with those two girls in high school.”
My father had never kicked me out either. “It’s pretty shitty.”
“I don’t think it makes us terrible people, but I feel like I’m on trial.”
“I think they’re just angry with us for getting mixed up in dangerous bullshit.”
“Like they’ve never gotten mixed up in dangerous bullshit,” he spat.
“They won’t see it that way.”
“They’re going to tell us to stop going to the Underground.”
My father would demand it. “As much as I respect my father, he can’t tell me what to do. It’s my life. I’ll do what I want.”
“So, you’re still in?”
Now I wasn’t in it for the money anymore. I felt obligated to keep going. Without me, these women would have no chance. If I hadn’t been at the Underground that night, what would have happened to Muse? She would be dead right now.
My woman would be dead.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “My point is, they can’t control what we do. I hate feeling his wrath and his disappointment, but I’m not sorry for what I did.”
“I’m not either.”
“So, we’ll just have to deal with it. Hopefully, we can get to work tomorrow. They can only be mad at us for so long.”
“True.”
We finished our drinks, paid the tab, and then walked to our hotel. We were staying at the Hotel Firenze Four Seasons, a five-star resort. We walked into the lobby together, said good night, and then went to our rooms.
It didn’t matter how nice the suite was. It didn’t compare to my old bedroom. And it didn’t matter how comfortable the bed was. It was nothing without my woman lying beside me.
I brushed my teeth and washed my face before getting into bed. I couldn’t remove the image of my father’s face from my head, the tight line of his shadow and the threat in his eyes. He wasn’t the most affectionate man, but he blanketed me with love in his own way. But now, all that was replaced by sheer disappointment.
My phone rang on the nightstand, and without looking to see the name on the screen, I knew exactly who it was. I grabbed the phone and realized she was trying to video message me. I took the call and rested my phone upright on my chest so she could see my face. “Hey.”
“Is this a bad time?” The video showed her lying in bed on her side, my sheets surrounding her. She wore one of my black t-shirts. With no makeup and her hair wild, she looked exactly as she did every other night.
Beautiful.
“No. Just got into bed.”
She stared at me with observant eyes. “It didn’t go well.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sleeping in a hotel tonight.”
“Wow… So it really didn’t go well.”
“Yeah. My father is pretty upset with me right now.”
“Why?” she asked. “You’ve saved so many women.”
“That’s not the whole story, and you know it, Muse. I make money off people’s misfortune. If people don’t pay, we don’t save.”
“Not true,” she whispered. “You just saved that girl at your own expense.”
“That was a one-time thing…”
“Say whatever you want, Con.” It was the first time she’d called me that, using an intimate nickname only my family used.
“And he’s also angry I put myself in danger.”
“Because he loves you.”
I watched her on the screen, looking at her just as I would if I were in bed beside her. But if I were really there in person, I’d be between her legs right now. There was nowhere I’d rather be than buried deep inside her. It seemed to make everything better, to make me forget all the bullshit in the world. “I hate it when he looks at me like that.”
“It won’t last forever.”
“But it’ll last a long time.”
“You should be happy he’s upset. If he didn’t care about you, he wouldn’t be angry. It shows that he cares—that he loves you.”
“I still hate it.”
“It’ll pass…”
Watching her tired features somehow softened my pain. I liked watching her beauty through the screen. I was alone in a hotel room and could beat off to porn, but I’d rather look at her. Gorgeous, exceptional, and affectionate, she was sleeping in my bed, wishing I were there. “How was your day?”
“It was okay. I helped Marco in the stables all day then had dinner. I watched some TV, and now I’m in bed talking to you.” She sighed as she turned her head toward the pillow, like talking to me was giving her a sense of peace that helped her drift off to sleep.