Lethal Sin (Dangerous Games Book 1) (14 page)

“So, did you tell Salvai where I live? Yes or no, Camille?” Callahan’s voice was viciously calm and she hated him more than ever.

“No.” It was hard to force the word out with her head craned back.

“I don’t know if I believe you. Maybe I
should
let them have you for the night, after we kill Luke of course.” Callahan laughed quietly. “Unless he wants to watch?”

“Leave her alone!” Luke screamed, grunting as another hit landed.

Stop trying to be a hero, dammit.

Someone’s hand reached under her skirt, roughly pulling the fabric higher on her thighs and she jerked hard against the bindings. They had tried hurting her, they had tried hurting Luke, and now they were going to go the sexual route – if she wasn’t so nauseated by the idea she’d be laughing at the trope they were playing out. The worst of it was that she
hadn’t
lied, for once. She had never told Mateo where Callahan lived, but they weren’t going to believe her. They would probably still kill her whenever they were done.

One of the men leaned down and licked her cheek and she slammed her head into his, grinning when his hand ripped from her shirt and he cursed next to her. She jerked when the man behind her tightened his grip in her hair, and she forced herself to laugh. “Do whatever you want, Callahan. I’m not going to beg you.”

“You little bitch,” growled the one with his hand under her skirt and he tore at the fabric of her tights. Just as she was about to let loose a rant against him, the too loud sound of gunfire filled the room. Someone screamed and then the door kicked in. Camille threw herself hard to the side and her left arm took the brunt of her weight and she shouted in pain as chaos reigned around her. Bullets were flying and she struggled to keep an eye on Luke in his chair.

Then, just as quickly as it had started, it stopped. Another single shot, and then there were male voices, but one rang out loud and clear. “Camille!”

Lifting her head she was shocked to see Mateo’s face float into her line of sight. He was red faced, and there was a swipe of blood on his cheek, but she had never been happier to see anyone in her life.

“Are you okay? Camille, tell me, are you hit?”

“What?” She stuttered as her brain tried to catch up.

“Are you hit?” He raised his voice, grabbing the chair and bodily lifting it back into an upright position. Her arm ached viciously, but she tried to run an assessment on the rest of her body. Aches, pains, but no burning point of agony that would tell her she’d been shot.

“No, no, I’m not.” She shook her head and then leaned it towards the kid. “Luke, check on Luke!”

Mateo glanced over his shoulder and then back to her. “He’s fine, I think. Hold on.” His switchblade came out, already slick with blood, and she widened her eyes in question as he cut the zip-ties. “We wanted to make it inside quietly.”

“How many on guard?”

“Four. Honestly, we expected a lot more.” He grinned and yanked her out of the chair, wrapping his arms around her in a hug that almost pressed the breath from her lungs. “Shit, I thought -”

“Missed me?” She laughed and hugged him back, but then he leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss that burned her from head to toe.

“I have never, in my life, felt like that. They got you in the van before I’d made it halfway to the building.” He cupped her face, his dark eyes searing her. “I thought they were going to kill you.”

Camille had to swallow, because she could see the fear in him. The genuine, bone grinding fear that she could have died – and no one had ever looked at her like that. No one had ever felt that depth of emotion about her at all. For the first time she let herself look at him with something beyond lust, beyond the drive to be with someone who could meet her on an even playing field. Her heart tripped over itself as she let the smile take over her lips. “I like you too, Mateo Salvai.”

He laughed and jerked back a bit. “How the hell do you know my last name?”

“Callahan is chatty.” She grinned and he leaned close to her lips again.

“He
was
chatty, you mean.” He grinned back at her. “And here I am at a disadvantage again, you seem to always get my name first.” He ran his thumb over her lip and she shrugged.

“Devereaux.” She whispered it, but his brows came together in confusion. “My last name, it’s Devereaux.”

“Beautiful, just like you.” Mateo kissed her fiercely, devouring her like he could somehow control the world around them if he just owned her, body and soul. She moaned against his lips, and then someone cleared their throat pointedly close to them.

“Hey, man, I’m – uh – I’m glad you got your girl back, but I’m not babysitting while you guys do your thing.” The big guy next to her looked like an action star, and the almost carbon copy that stepped up beside him was the same.

“Yeah, we’ll do one more pass of the building, but I think it’s clear. Are we good?”

Mateo peeled himself back from her like it was physically painful for him, but then he reached his hand out and shook the man’s hand. Staring up at them made her dizzy, they were tall, and strong, and way too good looking. Mateo had some
really
nice friends. “Absolutely. Thanks for coming when I called.”

“We owed you one.” The first man nodded, and the second shook Mateo’s hand as well.

“But we
only
owed you one. My brother and I are good with you. If you want our help in the future you’re going to pay for it.” The second man tilted his head, and Mateo nodded.

“Of course. Like I said on the phone, this would clear the debt. We’re solid.” They released hands and stepped back, but then Mateo grinned. “Now, if you boys need
my
help, I’ll still charge.”

“Yeah, yeah, asshole. We know.” The first brother grinned and gave a little salute, while the second just nodded his head, and then they walked out of the room with guns drawn.

“Who?” Camille waved a hand at them and Mateo lifted his eyebrows, attempting an innocent look.

“What? You think you’re the only one with friends in low places?” He laughed. “Seth and Trent are old friends.”

“Good friends,” she muttered, and he shrugged.

“Very.”

“Shit…” Luke grumbled and Camille practically shoved Mateo out of the way to get to him. The brothers had cut him free, but he was still bleeding, pressing a hand to his shoulder.

“Oh hell, Luke, I’m really sorry.”

“You know these people?” Luke asked, looking up at her and she couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah, these are the kind of people I know.”

“Okay, I have to admit, that’s pretty badass.” He laughed and then winced. “I think I need to go to a hospital.”

“No hospitals, I have somewhere I can take you.” Mateo cut off that idea before it even started.

“But what about my mom?” Luke asked, lifting his eyes to look between the two of them. Camille crouched in front of him, resting a hand on his knee.

“I’ll talk to her. If she knew anything about our dad, she’ll understand.”

“No one is going to believe -”

“You can’t say anything!” Camille and Mateo practically spoke over each other and Luke’s eyes widened. She smiled and continued a little calmer, “Listen, Luke, we’ll talk this over. I promise I’ll explain everything, but you
really
don’t want anyone to know you were here. Understand?”

He flinched and nodded slowly. “No, you’re right. I get it, but I’m not going to be able to explain this.”

“Say you got mugged,” Mateo suggested and both of them turned to look at him. “What? It’s realistic. Plus, he’s a badass for still having his stuff. Tell them you won.”

Luke smiled a little. “That might work.”

“Whatever.” Camille rolled her eyes and slipped an arm around Luke to help him up, unfortunately when he was standing he was still taller than her.
Boys
. “Tell them whatever story makes you feel like you’re swinging a big dick, just don’t name drop about this. Me, or Mateo, or anyone.”

“Camille!” Mateo sounded shocked, but he was laughing.

“What?” She asked, and even Luke was staring at her funny, then he started laughing too until he winced in pain.

“I can’t believe you just said that to the kid. Wait, nevermind, of course you did.” Mateo walked around her and leaned down to nudge the gun out of her dead boss’s hand. With a grunt he leaned down and hauled Callahan’s body up and over his shoulder. He shrugged and smiled when she looked at him. “I’m taking a party favor from this shindig.”

“You’re going to be covered in blood,” Camille pointed out.

Mateo gestured at himself. “As if I’m not already?”

“Whatever, give me your gun in case we run into someone.” She held her free hand out and he tugged the forty-five from his shoulder holster and pressed it to her palm. The gun was huge, but she could handle it. She’d just have to drop the kid to fire it with any accuracy. With a harder grip around Luke she started to move towards the door, stepping past Mateo so he could bring up the rear.

“Who knew I had such an awesome sister, right?” Luke asked Mateo and she laughed.

“I tried to tell her you’d feel that way.”

“I’m only your half-sister, kid.” They moved slowly down the hall, Mateo calling out directions behind her as he huffed under Callahan’s weight.

“Will you teach me to use a gun?” Luke asked her, his voice strained from the pain.

“No.”

“Seriously? That’s not fair.” He whined and she dug her fingers into his ribs until he yelped.

“Shut up, Luke. I’m not teaching you how to kill people.”

“Just teach the kid.” Mateo grumbled behind her as they headed towards the exit.

“You’re not helping.”

“Who taught you?” Luke asked, sullen and grumpy.

“A man who knew I needed to know how.
You
don’t need to know how,
you
live a wonderful life, and you’re going to keep living it. I’ll give you a number to call if anyone ever comes for you again.”

“Your number?”

“I don’t have a number.”
Fuck
. She growled as she realized she’d lost Tony’s phone on the stoop of Luke’s apartment building.

“Then who would I call?”

“His name is Nighthawk.” She kicked the exit open and swung the gun around, looking for anyone lurking in the back alley behind the building, but it was empty and Mateo’s beautiful black car was waiting. The trunk popped and Camille pointedly led Luke to the backseat. As she slid him in he stared at her, obviously starting to fade as the pain started to increase.

“Nighthawk?” He mumbled as he flinched and settled into the seat.

“It’s his nickname. If you ever have to call, tell him that you need C, or
Barbie
. He’ll know who I am.” She flipped Mateo off as he laughed, dumping Callahan’s body in the trunk and slamming it shut.

“I thought I was going to die.” His blue eyes were wide and dazed and she leaned across to buckle him in.

“Nah, I had a plan,” she lied, and he smiled a little at her. “Rest, we’ll take you somewhere to get patched up and then get you home.”

When Camille landed in the passenger seat, Mateo was looking over at her. “I’m going to drop you guys at the place of an EMT I know, but then I need to run an errand. I’ll come back for you guys though.”

“Delivering your party favor?” She asked and he reached over to grasp her hand.

“A party favor and a message all in one, doll face.”

Chapter Nine

Mateo left Camille with Luke at his friend Andrew’s house, and immediately took off. He’d hated having to leave so quickly – but she was safe. No one knew about that place but him, and she had to call the kid’s mom anyway. Andrew was just an EMT but he had helped the guy out with a problem once and now he paid him back by patching him up when he needed it. In this case, he was patching up Luke, but Andrew wouldn’t have turned the kid away even if he didn’t owe Mateo. It worked out perfectly because even if people looked for them they wouldn’t find them tonight.

Which was a whole separate issue he was about to solve.

The elaborate house that hovered in front of him was going to be his solution,
needed
to be the solution. He banged on the door with his fist, adjusting Callahan’s body on his shoulder. It opened a minute later and BJ, one of the younger underlings, appeared in the gap with wide eyes. “What the fuck?”

“I need to see Scarpa.”

“You can’t just show up here -”

“BJ, if you don’t get out of my way, I’m going to shoot you.” Mateo stared at him, and when the guy didn’t move immediately he reached for his gun. BJ backed up fast, not even going for his weapon, and Mateo muttered under his breath as he marched over to the closed door to Scarpa’s office. “Scarpa!” He called out and kicked the door.

There were voices inside, but it opened a moment later just as Mateo was starting to lose his temper. Scarpa was sitting behind his desk, several men scattered around the room, and more than one of them had their guns out – but they all knew him, and none of them would even lift their gun without Scarpa’s permission.

“What is this, Mateo?” Scarpa grumbled and stood. “I thought I told you -”

“Right. You said not to show up without an address or a corpse. Well, I don’t have the address, but that doesn’t really matter anymore.” Mateo walked forward and then dropped Callahan’s body to the floor. Someone cursed, but Scarpa just looked at the body and then raised his eyes back to meet Mateo’s.

“You killed Callahan?” There was a hint of pride in his boss’s voice, and it made Mateo grin.

“I did.”

“Alone?” The man asked as he walked around the desk to stand over his rival.

“Not exactly, but you don’t really care
how
it happened, do you?” Mateo rolled his shoulder, easing the ache in it.

“No, I don’t. Did he suffer?” The older man tilted his head, a cruel smile spreading across his aged face.

“As much as any man suffers when he’s shot a few times. Speaking of that…” Mateo started to unbutton his shirt. “I need a change of clothes. One of you go get me something.”

“Fuck off, Salvai.” The man to his right flipped him off and Mateo answered by throwing his bloody shirt at the man’s chest.

“Get him a shirt, Derrick.” Scarpa sighed.

“Fetch.” Mateo grinned as the other man grumbled and walked out of the room carrying his ruined shirt.

Scarpa crossed his arms and stared him down. “This is not what I asked you to do. Where’s the girl?”

“About that… she’s mine.” Mateo left his hands relaxed at his sides, but he kept himself angled so he could see the others in his peripheral vision in case any of them went for their weapon again.

“Yours?” Scarpa tilted his head, chuckling quietly. “And what if I told you to bring her to me?”

“I wouldn’t.” The hush that fell over the room at his words was only amplified by the sharp way that Scarpa’s laugh cut off.

“You would disobey me, Mateo? Again?” There was a threat in that question. It hung in the air between them like overripe fruit, waiting to fall.

“Yes.” He nodded once. “For her, I would.”

“I must ask… why?” Scarpa’s eyes were narrow but Mateo didn’t fear him. The only fear he had felt all evening had been whether or not Camille would be alive, and now that he knew she was safe, he was going to make damn sure she stayed that way.

“Because she’s mine.”

“You’re walking a dangerous line right now, Salvai.”

Mateo shook his head a little, shrugging. “There’s no line. She belongs to me, and anyone that wants to get to her will have to go through me.” He glanced over at one of the assholes along the wall. “And we all know how well that turned out for Tony.”

Scarpa stayed silent for a long moment, and then he nudged Callahan’s face to the side with the toe of his shoe. “Who is she?”

“C.” Mateo gave her chosen nickname, and watched as recognition flitted over Scarpa’s features, then he smiled slowly.

“I did think she looked familiar in the photos. How… interesting.”

“It’s not that interesting. She’s mine. Callahan is dead. It’s done.” Mateo shrugged.

“She’s a free agent again?”

“She is.”

“Would she be willing to work for me?” The question was Scarpa’s offer for an out, but Mateo knew that Camille would never accept another chain around her neck.

Well, anyone’s chain but
his
, and that chain was a very real one on the bed in his private room that he couldn’t wait to put on her. His cock twitched at the idea, but he just smiled and shook his head. “No, she wouldn’t. She just wants to be a free agent.”

Scarpa huffed and threw up his hands, walking back to his desk. “Fine. Keep her, but she better not fuck with my organization. If she does I’ll have you both killed. Understood?”

“Aw, Scarpa, you know you like me too much to kill me.” Mateo gave his most charming smile, and Scarpa grunted.

“I don’t like you
that
much, Salvai. Don’t push me.” Dropping into his chair the older man grumbled and flipped through some papers on his desk before waking up his laptop and scanning it for a moment.

“Here, fucker.” Derrick arrived and shoved the clean shirt into Mateo’s hands and he winked at him before maneuvering the sleeves through the gaps in his shoulder harness to pull it on.

“Am I good to go?” Mateo looked up as he finished buttoning the shirt together, and he knew Derrick had tried to embarrass him by bringing him a pink shirt – but he looked damn good in pink.

Joke’s on you, asshole
.

“I need you to take on another job. How long do you need to clean up this whole mess?” Scarpa paused what he was doing to stare across his large desk, and Mateo reached into his pocket. The speed with which the others drew their guns was somewhat impressive, but Mateo just held his other hand up.

“Calm the fuck down, guys, it’s an address. Just need you to send the clean up crew to get rid of the rest of the bodies, and then send them by my place for Tony.” Mateo held the scrap of paper in the air and Derrick came forward to snag it from his fingers.

Scarpa sighed. “I told you that Tony was your issue.”

“You did, but I brought you Callahan and I think that covers the cost of the cleaners.”

“Fine, but I have another job for you as soon as it’s all taken care of. How long?”

“I’ll need a few days, Scarpa. Need some repair work done at my place and to tie up some loose ends.”

“Would one of those loose ends be that bitch, C?” Johnny grumbled to his left and Mateo had his gun out and pointed at the man’s chest before anyone else had even lifted their weapons again. Johnny froze.

“Excuse me?” Mateo asked and pulled the hammer back until it clicked.

“Salvai!” Scarpa snapped. “Put the fucking gun down.”

“Johnny, I’m going to wait for three seconds and if you haven’t apologized by then I’m going to shoot you somewhere very uncomfortable.” He kept the gun aimed, and then smiled. “One -”

“Shit! I’m sorry! Crazy fuck.” Johnny’s hands were shaking as he held them in front of him and Mateo eased the hammer off and pointed the gun at the floor.

“Just go, Mateo. I’ll call you in a few days with the details.” He waved a hand at him and Mateo shrugged and turned to leave. “Don’t kill anyone on your way out.”

He laughed and turned to give Scarpa a quick salute as he left. “Sure thing.” The other men gave him a wide berth as he walked out and he couldn’t stop grinning at them like a madman. Sometimes it paid to remind them just why he was on the top of Scarpa’s list when it came to jobs.

As he slipped into his car he tucked the gun next to him in the seat and covered it with the towel he had snagged from Andrew’s. There was a new lightness inside his chest, a strange joy that seemed to suffuse every piece of him as he imagined Camille’s smile waiting for him. Revving the engine he tore out of the circle drive in front of Scarpa’s place and sped towards his girl.

His
.

It felt right, and while he still wasn’t sure if this was what love felt like – because their situation thus far had been anything but a storybook romance – he knew she was important enough to kill for. Important enough to risk his life for, and no one else in his life had been this perfect.

When he finally got to Andrew’s apartment he felt impatient as he banged his fist on the door, but his friend answered with a muttered curse and threw it wide to gesture inside. “It’s the middle of the night, could you not wake up the building?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mateo spoke as he stepped inside and felt that same flood of warmth and relief he’d felt when the smoke had cleared and he’d seen her alive, on the floor, tied to that damn chair. Camille was sitting on the couch, her blonde hair pulled back in a messy ponytail that made him want to wrap his fist around it and force her to her knees. Unfortunately, the kid was sleeping beside her, and Andrew was staring at him, so that wasn’t exactly an option. “Hey, doll face.”

“Hey. Finish your errand?” She smiled at him, radiant, and still happy to see him.  That was a good sign.

Mateo grinned and stalked towards her, placing a hand on the armrest of the couch so he could lean close to her lips. “I did.”

“And is someone going to try and kill me?” she asked, her blue eyes a deadly challenge for someone to try.

“Not tonight.”

“Well, that’s an improvement.” Camille grinned and pulled his lips down to hers. The kiss was both calming to his nerves, and havoc to the testosterone levels in his blood. Nipping his lip gently she ended the kiss and pulled back. “So, what did Scarpa say?”

“I can’t hear this shit! Are you kidding, Mateo?” Andrew threw up his hands and walked into the kitchen to turn on the water.

Mateo chuckled and let his eyes follow his friend before he looked back at the beautiful woman in front of him. “He got a little upset when I told him I wouldn’t hand you over.”

“What exactly did you say?”

“That you’re mine.” The growl in his voice made his chest rumble, and more than ever he wanted her under him, wanted her screaming his name.

“You think I’m yours?” A playful smile tugged at the edge of her lips, and he reached behind her to wrap her ponytail around his hand and jerk her head back sharply. The soft moan that slipped from her lips caused his cock to stand to attention in an instant, straining his zipper.

“You are mine, Camille.”

She grinned and wrapped a hand in his shirt, pulling him towards her until he was dangerously close to her lips again. “I think you’ve got that backwards, Mateo. I’ve got you all tied up in knots and you know it.”

“If anyone is tying
anyone
up in knots, it will be me, and once I have you all laid out I’m going to do whatever I want with you.” He couldn’t tear his eyes from her mouth where her tongue was tracing a path over her bottom lip.

“Is that a promise?” She taunted, and he snapped his eyes back to hers.

“Abso-fucking-lutely.” Mateo closed the gap and kissed her hard, pressing her back against the couch and holding her in place with his grip in her hair. She moaned against his mouth and he wanted to strip her and taste her again, feel her skin against his. He wanted all of her.

When they broke off the kiss they were both panting and she laughed softly, running her hand up his neck to lie against his cheek. “See? You’re exactly where I want you.”

“For once I have to agree with you, I’m
exactly
where I want to be.” He kissed her again, ignoring Andrew’s groan in the other room, and he couldn’t wait to see what the next day in his life would be like with Camille Devereaux, because he wanted as many of them as he could get.

And he’d kill to get them.