Next thing I knew, the man collapsed to the ground as well and blood seeped from his body. Had Armond shot them at the same time or was I tripping right now?
I looked at Armond and smoke was still coming out of his gun, yet we never heard a shot. There was no way he had a silencer that damn good. On top of that, there was no way this man was that unhinged when he just had us laughing hysterically at lunch.
“Girl, come on, we’ve seen enough. I should’ve just gone to sleep,” I grumbled in her ear. She latched onto me like she was my child. She only nodded and we proceeded to go back inside. Being voiceless showed how terrified she was. Marsha always had something to say. When I told them we were going to enjoy ourselves and have fun with some excitement on this trip, this was not what I meant.
Once Stella saw us approaching, her laughter stopped and she looked at Alejandro then back to us full of concern. She scanned our bodies and her face sank.
“Is that blood? What the hell?” she asked as she stood.
“Yes. Let’s go, now,” I said as I grabbed her arm and pulled her along with us.
“What…”
“We’ll explain it in our room. Just come on,” Marsha griped. It was the most she’d said through the whole altercation. Stella gulped hard and looked back at Alejandro one last time before we disappeared. I glanced over to him myself and he nodded once before going back to wiping the counter like this was routine.What the hell is Armond into?
We scurried back to the room with our heels in our hands. Every ounce of intoxication I could’ve felt was back at that lounge. I could barely breathe but I was grateful to not be on Armond’s bad side. He technically saved me. Yeah, I had a means to an end, but that man was huge and burly. I was sure my taser would’ve been slight to him and it would’ve just made him more upset. I didn’t know what that man would’ve done to me had Armond not intervened. But did he have to intervene like that?
SIX
Armond Davis
I UNDERSTOOD THAT WHAT I DID may have seemed a little extreme to the beautiful women I’d been entertaining all day, but I was one to do things a little differently than most. I wouldn’t just pop off at my resort with the risk of complaints, lawsuits, and jail time. There was nothing more calculating than a staged event. My beautiful Brandy just happened to play right into it.
See, Ernesto and Paulo didn’t realize everyone in attendance at the lounge tonight were hired actors on my payroll. Each of them was among the finest hitters in my organization. These two fellas happened to work for DiMarco and were part of the plan to steal my property. I didn’t know what in their brains thought hiding out at a resort I owned would grant them safety. Only a fool would do so.
Didn’t matter if I was here vacationing or not. I thought they knew better in every facet, but I was mistaken. I didn’t allow myself to make mistakes. So, it was time for them to meet their maker and I planned on being the one to do so tonight. Sexy Brandy and her friend Marsha just pushed the plan to an earlierplay out. There was no way I would allow that man to raise his hand to my woman and get away with it.
The only thing I hated about the ordeal was the fear in Brandy’s eyes when she left. I knew there would be no coming back from that moment. I lost her because I couldn’t tolerate someone disrespecting her. Didn’t matter if it was Paulo or not, I would’ve reacted the same. Honestly, it didn't matter if it was Brandy or not. I didn’t tolerate abuse of women in any shape or form. Women were the finest of treasure on this ridiculous planet and would always be treated as such.
The minute I saw his gaze on Brandy, I knew it would be a wrap. I couldn’t hold back the feelings I had toward her in such a short time. I latched onto her and couldn’t break myself free. Nor did I want to.
Part of me wanted to treat Brandy like a delicate flower, but after seeing her in action, I knew there was more to her than she let on. I wanted to get to know that woman. I just doubted she’d find any interest in me after dropping two bodies in front of her. That didn’t stop the desire I had to be in her presence.
I found myself in front of her hotel room. It was time to clear the air and I didn’t want to wait until later in the evening for her to cancel plans because of how I handled things.
I knocked a couple of times and waited. I heard shuffling behind the door. One of her friends asked if anyone ordered anything and I couldn’t help but chuckle. It took another knock for the door to open just for it to be the person I didn’t come up to see.
“Ohhh okay, heyArmond,”Marsha said in that bubbly tone. I smirked and nodded without a reply. She turned, then waited a second before saying, “Ay, Stella, tell Brandy her man’s here. Come on in, Armond. She’s in the shower.”
She stepped to the side and let me in. I cased the room and noticed how impeccable it still looked for three women tobe sharing the space. Nothing was out of order and that made me admire all of them more. Most people would have had their things scattered about, suitcases and shoes everywhere, but not this bunch. I liked that.
I rounded the corner to head down the hallway with Marsha leading the way just for my steps to be halted by Brandy’s presence. My eyes roamed her body from her toes to her dripping mane, finally settling on her wild eyes, anticipating my next set of words. But none would come. I was too taken with her to speak.
Before I knew it, my body gravitated toward her. That made her slightly nervous and it halted my steps. The last thing I wanted was for her to believe I was here on ill terms.
My brows furrowed as she gulped hard and dropped her eyes. Did I really fuck up that badly?
Against my better judgment, I closed the space between us and swiped the strand of hair stuck to the side of her cheek. That was when I noticed the light set of freckles across her nose and a singular dark freckle in the wing of her left eye. Her eyes were puffy like she cried her soul out in the shower, and for the life of me, I only wanted to fix the problem, not add to it.
It seemed like my presence added to her anxiety, the way her chest heaved up and down. Yet, she didn't move away from me. She leaned into my touch as she closed her eyes.Shit, she trusts me?
I finally spoke. “I'm sorry for my actions at the lounge. I could've handled it differently. I didn't mean to ruin your cocktail hour with your friends.”
“I'm grateful for your interference. Some men just don't understand the word no,” she replied softly.
Her eyes finally lifted, and when they locked on mine it felt like every ounce of air was taken from my body. Her deep chocolate eyes held a story that was dark and disheartening. Shewas trying like hell to hide it but there was no mistaking the hurt in her eyes because I'd seen it in my own plenty. I wanted to get to know this woman and find out exactly who I had to fuck up for hurting
her in such a way.
