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Chapter 6 (Lou-Lou)
Everyone is staring at me. Which, I suppose is the point of this debacle.
I should have known something was up when Bruno called my cell phone yesterday to ask how my 'progress' was coming along.
When I told him fine, he wanted specifics...and well, I had nothing.
He started screaming that a few pleasant conversations with Tyrone weren't enough because he would lose interest.
I told him I didn't want to partake in this stupid plan of his anymore.
He yelled at me some more before going in for the kill.
He said it was the least I could do for him—after all he'd done for me.
Guilt washed over me because he was right.
Not only did DeLuca save me from my father that night...he also murdered him for me.
He was telling the truth that day in the conference room when he told me he had something up his sleeve after my father lost the election.
He killed him for me. He became my savior all over again after that.
I owed him this.
I quickly told him how sorry I was and he suggested I go to the gym and make Jackson my target.
If I thought I'd felt like a fool in the past...nothing compared to how ridiculous my overt lack of seduction skills were when it came to Jackson.
I sounded like something out of a cheesy 80's porn film...all that was missing was the pizza delivery boy.
Needless to say, Jackson turned me down quicker than milli vanilli's music career.
As if that wasn't bad enough, I received a text message this morning from Bruno.
He said he loved me and it was killing him having to be so far away from me for so long.
I was so stu
When I didn't respond to him, he called me and said the actual words.
He sounded so sincere and so loving I didn't know what to think. For a split second, I was actually disappointed when he told me his trip to Italy was going to be extended by another week.
He promised he would make it up to me when he got back. I told him not to bother because I'd be fine all on my own.
He hemmed and hawed before asking me to go back to the gym and head straight for the office located in the back.
The office that co
I agreed, but I should have known he had an ulterior motive.
The moment I saw Luke's face I turned around and walked right back out.
Apparently, Bruno hired him to be my 'boss'.
It's obviously just a ruse because I know the real reason he's here...to watch over me.
And watch over me he does...the sick fuck.
For once I'm happy to be linked to Bruno because Luke can look all he wants...but there's no way he will ever touch me because Bruno will kill him.
Not that the world wouldn't be better off without him.
He still looks at me the same way he used to back when I was 15.
In other words, he's just as skeevy as ever.
Especially when he handed me my ring girl outfit and told me I had to change into it right in front of him.
I grabbed my phone and threatened to call Bruno. He called me a bitch and waited outside the office door after that.
What I wasn't prepared for was him yanking my arm and walking me down the long hallway that leads to the gym.
I protested but he told me this was all DeLuca's idea. Evidently, Bruno said I needed to prepare myself for tomorrow night and this was a great way to do it.
Which is why I'm currently standing here wishing the ground would swallow me whole.
The stares, the cat-calls, the whistles...I can't stand any of it.
I'm breaking out in a sweat and I know I'm shaking like a leaf because some men are starting to laugh while saying things like, 'What's the matter, little girl? Want me to make it all better for you?’
And, “Why don't you come back to the locker room with me and I can finish my workout there?”
Bile works up my throat and before I know it, two guys are coming closer to me and one of them has the audacity to squeeze my ass.
Luke's not doing a damn thing about it, useless prick that he is.
In my peripheral vision, I see three huge guys parting the crowd heading straight for me.
I'm about to shit a brick because there's no way I can take on all these guys; but to my surprise, I don't have to.
I yelp when Ricardo sends a knockout punch straight into the face of the guy who grabbed my ass.
Tyrone lunges for 'grabby hands' friend and Jackson stands directly in front of me like a big wall blocking me from everyone's view.
Then before I have time to take my next breath I'm being picked up and tossed over someone's shoulder.
I recognize the scary demon-devil on his left bicep immediately.
Crap, it's Ricardo.
He walks us down the narrow hallway and into the office before slamming and locking the door behind us.
He puts me down and glares at me. “What the fuck were you thinking?” he screams.
I'm about to respond but he waves a hand up and down my body. “You don't show up to an all guy's gym wearing shit like this, flaunting yourself.”
“It's not like I had a choice,” I bite out.
“What?”
“Oh, you didn't hear? DeLuca hired Luke to be my boss.”
He rubs his hands down his face. “I had no idea. He never ran that by me.”
I put my hands on my hips. “That's because it's not your club, Ricardo. It's his and he can do whatever he wants.” His eyes flash but I jab a finger in his chest.
“Anyway, Bruno thought it would be a good idea for me to flaunt myself out there in order to prepare for the fight tomorrow night. So you see? It wasn't my doing.”
“I don't understand the point of hiring Luke. You're one girl. It's fucking weird. Luke's one of his top guys, there are much better ways of utilizing him.”
He stares at me hard. “Unless there's another reason he's here?”
He backs me into the wall. “I'm giving you one chance, Lou-Lou. One chance to tell me what the hell is going on and why you're really here.”
My heart thumps against my chest. “Fuck you.”
His eyes darken. “Is that your final answer?”
“No.” I give him a sugary sweet smile. “My final answer is—fuck you, asshole.”
I try and get out from under him but he leans into me causing every cell in my body to ignite. “Leave me alone.”
“Not a chance. Tell me why you're going on a date with Tyrone tonight.”
I'm so thrown off by the change of subject I'm not sure how to respond. I decide, to be blunt. “I don't owe you any explanations.”
His jaw tics and he positions his hand beside my head. “You might not owe me any explanations but if you think I'm not telling my father about this you've got another thing coming, sweetie.”
I laugh because he thinks he's got one up on me but he couldn't be more wrong. “Go right ahead.” I stare at the bruise forming on his cheek. “Knock yourself out.”
The hand beside my head rattles so hard against the wall I jump. “I fucking knew it,” he says gruffly.
I crinkle my nose. “You don't know anything.”
“I know he's enlisting you to seduce Tyrone and Jackson as a way of getting close to them.”
“You don't know what you're talking about,” I say.
“Cut the shit. You already showed your cards the second I threatened to call him regarding your infidelity and you didn't piss yourself. That's how I knew you were in on it. Just like I know he's using you to spy on me. The only thing I can't figure out is why.”