Their Sweet Desire (Power Surge: The Billionaire Club 3)

“You were dating Vince Saggaretti, weren’t you?”

She swallowed hard.

“Maybe he can be the first one on your list of possible suspects as you do your job to solve this crime? That is your job, right?”

“Watch your tone, DeLuca. I don’t like the way this situation went down. We’ll get an investigator on it. We’ll be in contact,” he stated firmly.

She was trying not to show her intimidation. This cop was old school, and old school knew how to kick ass.

“Her cousin Leo knows that you’re taking her home. Be sure to check out the place before you leave.”

“Yes sir,” the cop stated.

Antoinette released a small sigh as the sergeant walked away, and started talking to other officers.

An hour later, arm wrapped in gauze, no stitches or hospital visit necessary, Toni headed to her apartment accompanied by the two officers. They first dropped off Tina and then her. They wanted to bring h

er home as precaution, after finding numerous empty shell casings on the sidewalk and in the store with the broken window. She was pretty shaken up about it. They let her talk to her cousin over the radio once the officers checked her apartment. Leo was upset, but would talk to her tomorrow and find out more about the situation.

She said thank you then let the officers out of her apartment and closed the door behind them…

As she locked up the doors, turned on the lights, and looked around to be sure no one was there even though the police checked, she felt the loneliness and fear grip her hard.

Something was seriously concerning about tonight’s incident. She thought about how Vince was in her apartment the other night when she came home. She rechecked the small apartment, including all the closets, under the bed and in the shower. He wasn’t hiding in there.

She headed toward the bedroom and grabbed her pajamas before heading to the kitchen for a plastic bag to cover her bandaged elbow and arm.

Her mind was thinking a lot of crazy thoughts, but ultimately, her gut warned her that tonight was no crazy coincidence. Kids didn’t randomly throw bricks of firecrackers out windows of moving cars, or shoot bullets. Well maybe in gang wars and crap, but not on her street in SoHo. Even the cops seemed surprised and asked if anyone had been threatening her or Tina, or if they had any problems at the store or personally.

Sure there were problems. But she wasn’t going to let Tina or her staff know about them. They would worry. She could handle this. Tomorrow she would deal with Leo. Maybe letting him know about Vince was necessary. But she knew that if she told him that he was bothering her again, then Leo would do something. He hadn’t exactly been too happy about her dating Vince in the first place. Thinking back about the decision she made to date Vince, her cousin had been right. That’s why he was a detective. He could tell Vince had ulterior motives, but Antoinette was blinded by the man’s charms, good looks and her own need to not be lonely. Vince latched on, and before long, he had complete control of her. It had taken more than just guts to break things off. It had taken bringing up old family problems, and ultimately using the fact that he hit her, to end the vicious cycle.

The more she moved around, the more her arm began to throb.

As she looked into the mirror, she couldn’t help but wonder if she really could handle the threats on her own. What if next time their aim was perfect?

No, this isn’t as serious as it seems. It has to be a freak coincidence. I don’t believe that this is connected to the letters. They killed my grandfather in the same way. A drive-by shooting, but it was them. It was Vince’s family.

As she said the words, her gut tightened. She could deny it all she wanted to, but things may be getting a bit too out of hand for her to face alone.

Chapter 6

Olivia St. James watched Stone and Emerson as they walked into the little café and bakery in SoHo. She stood by the side of the building across the street and watched them. What are you two up to? You never go to places like this. Why would you when you’re loaded, and could get anything personally delivered to your penthouse? A penthouse I should be living in right now.

She watched, and wondered if she should risk moving closer. She was wearing sunglasses, a wig, and was dressed down, slightly. Not too much, because she wanted to be able to remove the wig in a hurry, if given the opportunity to talk with her men. And they were her men. It didn’t matter what they said. They were resistant. Stone and Emerson were in their thirties and set in their ways. They were fearful of commitment, and she would help them get through that.

But, if they kept pushing her away and denying their true feelings for her, she would have to resort to some kind of different tactic. Maybe if she got one of them into bed again, and didn’t let him put on a condom, she could lie and say she was pregnant. They’d marry her. Maybe they would make her prove she was pregnant first, but she knew doctors. That would be the easy part. Getting them into bed again seemed almost impossible.

But for now, watching their every move, and showing up even if not by sure luck, being in their face would make them submit. Now, why this little place? She wondered as she waited another ten minutes, and then couldn’t hold back. She needed a closer look. Why was this little place called Bliss so appealing to them that they crossed town to get here? Emerson was here the other day. He must have really liked the place. Maybe they were considering buying it. They did like to do that. She moved a bit closer for a better view.

As soon as her eyes landed on the brunette behind the counter, Olivia felt her temper rise. No way were they here to land the barista. They wanted to seduce a twenty-year-old waitress?

No, they’re mine. This little nobody isn’t going to have them. Not even for a one-night stand.

* * * *

The moment Stone saw Antoinette, he understood immediately why Emerson had been acting so strangely. She was stunning, a natural beauty, in a five-foot-four-inch frame. Her body, despite the loose T-shirt and large apron she hid behind, was perfect. But as she came closer, he noticed a large bandage on her arm and so did Emerson. He stood up from the chair, and crossed the space to meet them.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Emerson asked, gently taking her hand into his own and looking at the bandage. He had his other hand on her waist and she stared up at Emerson, the back of her head nearly touching her shoulders. She was a vision, and even that turned him on, imagining her naked between them. God, he was instantly attracted to her. Emerson had described her perfectly.