ARAWN
“And the house in the Hamptons?” I ask while taking a pull from my cigarette.
Roger grunts, declining that they got to it. “Michelangelo didn’t find it. He said that he would look into it once again, but he hasn’t called back yet.”
I hum, looking back into the bedroom where Nerthus is sleeping peacefully.
“But we got the family mansion in Connecticut, and the offices as well as the fancy business tower in the city, Boss. The boys did an awesome job. What should we do next?” he asks, and I let escape the smoke from my mouth.
“Go home. And bring the boy home. I will talk to Michelangelo and let you know as soon as possible about what we will do next,” I instruct him.
“Yes, Boss,” he says, and I end the call.
After finishing my cigarette in peace, I walk back into the penthouse.
I would want nothing more than to join Nerthus in bed, wrapping my arm around her to pull her close and breathe in her alluring perfume.
But unfortunately, there are still things that have to be taken care of.
Pulling out my phone, I dial Michelangelo’s number, and he picks up like the happy-go-lucky guy he is.
“Parker!” he greets me cheerfully, making me growl as I’d like to shoot him so badly since he found my original birth certificate.
“Stop it! Why didn’t my men get the location for the mansion in the Hamptons of the asshole? We wanted to attack all his properties, remember?” I ask sardonically. “All this ‘enhancing of the perceivement of bad luck’ pep-talk of yours.”
He chuckles, and I hear clicking, supposing that it must be ice in his glass.
“Relax! I did find it,” he answers proudly. “It was registered under a company name that was even new to us. But hey, did you pay the accountants already?”
“Yes,” I confirm, hating that I feel like I’m working for him. “I paid the lawyers and the accountants. They will do it. And it was quite funny for them as well as usually I pay them to conceal such things and not get them to resurface.”
Michelangelo laughs, obviously having the time of his life. “Because it wouldn’t work out otherwise!”
I groan, rubbing my face. “Mickey!”
“What?” he asks, as if he wouldn’t know.
Grimacing, I tsk. “The Mansion in the Hamptons!”
“Parker! It was a jackpot! The company name led to something way bigger. You won’t fucking believe it.”
Rolling my eyes, I get over his enthusiastic gushing over what he found and surprisingly, by the moment he finishes telling me about it, I find myself grinning. “You dirty bastard.”
***
Groaning, I feel Nerthus turning in my arms as she repositions against my chest.
I kind of got used to waking up with her next to me in the morning, but knowing that it is now her bed officially as well makes it even better. “Please, babe. I’m still sleeping.”
“You are such a sleepyhead,” she chuckles, making me grin. “Shouldn’t you be all business already at this time of the morning?”
Reaching out over to my nightstand to check the time on my phone with a groan. “There is still time to go all business,” I say sleepily, turning to wrap her into my arms again. “But first I want to celebrate good news.”
“Good news?” she giggles, lifting her brows. “Want to share those with me?”
“Sure,” I answer, kissing her lips. “We hit the jackpot.”
“Oh, I love jackpots,” she gushes, putting her arms around my neck, and I claim her lips again, deepening the kiss slowly as I let my fingertips graze her creamy skin. She shivers slightly beneath me, her still naked frame snuggling closer as I hug her tighter.
I move to get between her legs as a sudden noise makes me jerk up. We listen carefully, hearing a faint barking again.
“Is this a dog?” Nerthus asks in a whisper and I groan annoyed, tearing myself out of her warm embrace.
I swear that I’m going to kill someone today.
“What the fucking hell?” I ask in a growl as I burst into Deiniol’s room. “What is going on here?”
Deiniol looks up, staring at me wide-eyed as he looks up from the book he is allegedly reading.
Where did he even get it from? I didn’t even know that he possessed any books.
“Eeew,” he says, covering his eyes. “Why are you naked?”
“Because I was about to have a nice breakfast. What are you hiding?” I ask, making him sit up straight.
“Hiding? I’m not hiding anything,” he argues, looking incredibly guilty.
And I know how a man who was caught red-handed looks.
“Deiniol!” I push again, feeling Nerthus’ warm hands on my cold skin as she appears behind me. She is wrapped in a flowery morning gown as she tilts her head, crossing her arms over her chest. “Danny? What was that?”
He shrugs, feigning ignorance. “Maybe the TV.”
He has barely said it as a high-pitched bark resounds again, making my head snap to a bag on the floor that suddenly starts moving hastily.
“You wouldn’t care if I threw this out, then,” I snarl, reaching out to grab the bag.
“No!” Deiniol jumps onto his feet, wanting to save the bag.
I lift it high over my head before acting as if I were to let it fall.
“No!” he screeches, fighting to get to the bag desperately. “You will hurt hiiiim!”
Clicking my tongue, I set it down on the floor cautiously. “What is in it?”
Nerthus has already crouched down to open the bag and my eyes widen as she gets assaulted by a small dog right away. “Oh, my God! Hey, cutie!”
“You brought a dog into my house?” I bark out, turning back to Deiniol fuming.
“I couldn’t leave him behind,” he whines, pushing out a theatrical sob.
I gesture to the bag, feeling like I’m sitting in the wrong movie. “What kind of psycho puts a dog into a bag?”
“Don’t be so hard on the boy, Arawn,” she says, while the dog is liking her face happily.
She gets up as Deiniol holds out his hands but she turns away from him, signaling him that she isn’t giving the puppy away. “Where did you find him?”
“At the Goldman’s mansion,” he answers sheepishly.
I pinch the bridge of my nose as the puppy barks again. “You have to be fucking kidding me.”
“Let’s call him Goldie,” Nerthus jokes, causing me to glare at her.
“Don’t you dare,” I snarl, making her chuckle before she kisses the dog’s head.
That should have been me, cuddling against her breasts, damn it.
“But look at those eyes,” she says in a baby voice, making me scoff.
“Why did you steal the dog?” I ask Deiniol, making him scrunch up his face.
“We were throwing bottle bombs at this house and this little guy was still in there. I couldn’t leave him there.”
Nerthus gasps, covering the puppy’s ears. “Don’t your men usually check if there is anybody still left in the house?”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” I grin slyly as I lean in to her. “But we aren’t social welfare.”
She squints her eyes at me before stomping out of the room and I lift my arms to let them slump against my legs with a distraught sigh.
“Are you planning on putting any shorts on in the near future?” Deiniol asks with a serious expression, making me laugh.
They have to be fucking kidding me.