29. Saturday Week Ten
"You're hardly ever home anymore, Rei," my Nan spoke from the doorframe of my bedroom.
I stretched my hands over my head in bed and accepted the cup of tea she offered me, "I know, I'm sorry Nan. I've just been so busy."
She sent me a smile over the rim of her mug, "hmm, with a boyfriend like that Ryker, I don't doubt that you have been."
"And there goes any chance of me eating breakfast today," I murmured, placing my tea mug on the floor by my bed
Nan rolled her eyes at me, "he's here by the way, in the kitchen."
Her words made me jolt upright in bed, "what?! Why would you not lead with that?"
She gave me a cheeky smirk, "because the longer you're in here, the more alone time I get with Ryker."
I fake-gagged, "get out, just get out."
Her laughter carried through the house as I got out of bed and ran my fingers through my hair. Looking in the mirror I discovered that my hair was a birds nest and I had dark circles under my eyes due to a night full of nightmares. Too tired to care and wary of my Nan, I just threw my hair into a messy bun and prayed that Eli didn't give a shit that I was wearing my pyjamas.
Judging by the look on his face when I stepped out, he didn't mind one bit, his eyes scanning me up and down. They travelled up my legs which were sheathed in grey straight leg joggers and then stopped on my navy Hilfiger sports bra.
But then his brows furrowed and he stormed over to where I was stood in the hallway. He grabbed my arm and dragged me back into my room where he picked up his black sweatshirt, which was hung on the back of my chair, and tugged it over my head, positively messing up my hair even further.
I raised a brow at him before looking down at myself, my arms where stuck in the jumper because Eli the Neanderthal had literally just pulled his jumper over my head, disregarding my arms completely.
"Nice job there, caveman, now I'm all ready to go out," he didn't look impressed by my sarcasm.
Eli gave me a dry look before growling, "Cayden is out there."
His words registered, and for about 0.5 seconds I was able to stop myself but then the laughter just came bubbling out of me and soon I was clutching my stomach, bent over with amusement.
"Cayden? You dragged me in here to put a jumper on me because of â" the laughter started rising again, "because of Cayden!" I chuckled again but Eli was not pleased, his arms were crossed and he had a fierce look on his face.
Slowly, his arms unfolded and he leant down, his arms moving to rest on the door behind me, either side of my head.
"I'm sorry, tigru," I exhaled a shaky breath as all traces of laughter vanished, my lips remained parted and his eyes briefly flickered to them, "I didn't realise that you wanted Cayden to see your goddamn nipples," his voice dropped and so did his eyes which stared down at my chest with desire then flicked up to my face to scorch me with anger, the combination made my stomach flip. "But by all means," he whispered, "fucking show him."
Safe to say; I attacked him, jumping up to wrap my legs around his waist, I crushed my lips to his. He groaned deeply and pushed my back against the door for support, pressing his lips firmly to mine. For an unknown reason, I was completely overrun with desire. It flooded me, drowning me as I let myself get caught up in the storm that was Elias Ryker.
I moaned into his mouth and gently bit his bottom lip, earning a groan from him as my hands tugged through his silky strands. The softness of his lips against mine made all my worries seem insignificant and the ferociousness of his desire made me desperate for more.
But Eli pulled away, both of us were panting heavily with our foreheads pressed against each other, "fuck, tigru," he groaned, "you can't kiss me like that with your Nan on the other side of the door."
I grinned, whispering against his lips, "okay, I guess you'll just have to take me to your place then." I pecked his lips again before unhooking my legs and placing my feet on the floor, delighting in the groan that Eli released as I turned and made my way back into the kitchen.
A pair of light brown eyes flickered over to me and then I was greeted with a knowing smirk from Cayden, no doubt he knew what had just happened.
"Rei," Cayden greeted
"Cayd," I returned, he flashed me a dimple showing smile which screamed both cuteness and trouble; a deadly combination.
Eli must have come out of my room because Cayd's flickered behind me and his smirk widened when he took in Eli's dishevelled state but we both knew Eli didn't give a fuck.
"You're Nan took your brother to a party or something," Cayd informed me.
Yawning, I nodded in acknowledgement, "why are you guys here?"
"You mean other than so Eli could kiss away your morning breath."
I gave Cayden a dry look and stuck my tongue out at him which made him smile.
"We're going over to the apartment to talk. Max and Raven are meeting us there," Eli's voice was hard as he spoke, he gave me a pointed look, "you need to change."
Rolling my eyes, I slipped off the barstool to and make myself more presentable. I chose a pink jumper dress with a cut out back and my trusty knee-high boots which received a look of appreciation from Eli when I stepped out.
"Let's go."
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We were all sat around the small round dining table in the apartment. Raven, Cayd and I were all happily munching a McDonald's breakfast which I had convinced Eli to let us pick up on the way. Max said he didn't eat breakfast and Eli grimaced when I suggested he try some. Although, he was taking sips of my chocolate milkshake every now and then; proof that I had improved his taste buds somewhat.
"What did ya need to tell us, kid?" Max grunted out to Cayden.
"We have two options," he mumbled around a mouth completely full of food, before lifting a finger, "the legal route," another finger, "or the illegal route."
Eli threw a napkin at him, "fucking pig," he mumbled.
Cayd winked at Eli before swallowing his food and explaining what he had learnt, "Option 1, the legal route. We gather evidence, go to the cops, snitch them out basically," Raven opened her mouth to speak but Cayd held up his hand, demanding silence, "Option 2, the illegal route, is we speak to the Donatelli's. Wipe Mikael out with a rival gang. Rafael said that he could link us up with both, give us connections to make sure we don't go down in either of the scenarios. To make sure that Mikael is the one who is always targeted."
Holy shit, I could barely believe this was a conversation I was a part of. Eli had kept this part of his life so hidden from me and everyone around him that it was surreal to be sat at the table discussing snitches and gangs.
"Corrupt cops though, Cayd," Raven said, "Mikael's bought out a shitload of them and no-one has a clue who they are."
"Even if you did know, the cop route is risky," Max said gruffly, "one wrong move and we go down as well."
"So you think a little West Side Story action is the way to go."
My brows furrowed, "Cayden, West Side Story was focused on the romance between rivals, so unless you plan on making sparks fly then I highly doubt West Side Story is the answer."
Just like I had done earlier, Cayden stuck his tongue out at me.
"Anything we try is risky, we are going up against Mikael," Max gave Eli a harsh look, "he's not just going to let us go, Ryker."
"Max is right, whatever we do will be dangerous," Raven's eyes drifted to me and I knew what she was thinking â was I cut out for this?
Eli grunted, "she'll be fine, she's a lot stronger than you think," cue heart flutter, "Donatelli is the better option, we understand them better."
"And you are less likely to trust them," everyone gave me confused looks so I continued, "With cops, you can never know what they really want plus they're cops â everybody trusts cops, which makes zero sense because they are part of such a corrupt system. But at least with the Donatelli's you know to never trust them, your guards will always be up," I shrugged, "no false sense of security that way."
Raven and Max nodded in agreement to what I said, Raven even looking slightly impressed. Cayd winked at me with a cheeky smile and Eli had the tiniest smile on his face and a glint of pride in his eyes, my heart swelled.
"Okay, Donatelli's it is then," Cayden announced.
Let the games begin.
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