Cross (Dark Kingdom, #4) — Chapter no 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

ALEXA

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, I meet Jasmine for breakfast at Kingdom. I must say that it’s nice staying the night here up in the Kings Royal Suite. Cross was right. No one has been here, so we’ve had it to ourselves.

“You’re being really quiet today,” Jasmine observes while I push around the eggs on my plate.

April has been heavy on my mind. I wonder where she is. Are she and Grave okay? Relationship wise? When she got pregnant, she was prepared to do it on her own because she knew Grave had demons. But he changed for her. And then when they lost the baby, she was afraid once again. That losing their child might bring them back for him. I haven’t messaged her, not wanting to bother her. I know if I was them, I’d have my cell off anyway. They left to be alone and grieve in their own way.

“Earth to Alexa?” Jasmine orders, snapping her fingers in front of my

face.

“Hmm?” I look up at her.

She chuckles, shaking her head softly. “I said you’ve been really quiet.

Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” I wave her off. “Fine.” Picking up my fork, I take a bite of my eggs. “Actually, there is something I want to talk about with you.”

“I’m all ears.”

Dropping my fork, I say, “I want to find another job.” I might as well tell her my plans. We’re partners after all.

She frowns. “Why would you want to do that? I told you that Kink …”

“It doesn’t have to do with Kink. Well, yeah, I guess it does.”

She pushes her plate away, giving me her full attention. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

“I want to remodel the bar. And in order to do it how I want, I need to close it down,” I state. “So, I need another job while it’s under

construction.”

She tilts her head to the side for a second. “Well, first off, please don’t do this because of me and Kink. Do not think you need to change Lucky’s for our new business.”

I figured she’d think this. And honestly, if I hadn’t gone into business with her for Kink, I probably wouldn’t be doing it. “I’ve wanted to do it for a while now. The fact we’re going to remodel the basement for Kink just makes this the perfect time.”

“Okay then.” She starts digging into her Chanel bag and pulls out a checkbook and pen, clicking the end she asks. “How much do you want me to make it out for?”

“No, no, no,” I say, quickly throwing up my hands. “I don’t want your

money, Jasmine. This isn’t about that.”

She frowns. “Why not?”

I run a hand through my hair in frustration. I don’t want her to think I’m using her. That is not what this is about. “I have money saved up. I just need a job in the meantime to keep funds flowing,” I explain.

She puts her pen and checkbook away and smiles. “Well, I can help with that too. Ever heard of Glass?”

“The strip club?” I question. “Who hasn’t?” It’s the classiest one on the Strip. They have the best girls and the strongest security. “What about it?”

Not sure what that has to do with me. I’ve never been inside, but the girls from the club come into Lucky’s. They’re great tippers.

“I can get you a job there.”

I begin to laugh. “I’m not going to strip.”

“Not as a dancer. A cocktail waitress,” she clarifies. “They make bank there. Plus, they might be able to put you behind the bar.”

“Okay.” I could do that. It’s just serving drinks. I’ve worked in a bar since before I was even legal. It’s all I know really.

“Come on,” she says, taking one last sip of her orange juice, and scoots out of the booth. She throws some cash down on the table and grabs my hand, yanking me out.

“Where are we going?” I ask as she takes me across the casino floor and to the elevators.

“To get you that job,” she says vaguely.

I’m not sure what Glass has to do with Kingdom, but she takes me over to tower one, and I wave at Nigel when he sees me.

“Jasmine. Alexa. What can I do for you two ladies today?” he asks, coming around from behind his desk. He seems to always be here.

“We’re here to see Bones,” she answers.

“Is he expecting you?”

She shakes her head, and he picks up his phone that sits on his desk.

After a few seconds, he speaks. “Sir, you have Jasmine and Alexa down here wanting to speak to you …” A short pause. “Yes, sir.” He hangs up.

“Right this way, ladies.” He steps up to the private elevator and scans a key card, taking us up to the thirteenth floor.

We follow him down the hallway to a room that reads BONES on the door. “Thank you,” Jasmine and I say at the same time as we enter.

“Ladies.” Bones nods, standing from his desk. He comes around to the front and leans back against it, crossing his ankles and arms over his chest.

I step over to the wall to see pictures hanging on it. There’s one of Titan, Bones, and Cross standing on a baseball field wearing deep blue and white Wildcats uniforms. They each have baseball bats in their hands, and none of them are even smiling. They look young, and they’re not covered in as many tattoos as they are now. It’s weird. Almost as if I’m looking at them naked without them. I’ve only ever known them covered in ink. It’s strange, but they don’t look any less approachable without them. Like they’ve always been intimidating.

It’s odd seeing them doing something so common. I would have never expected them to play sports. Especially college level. I’m guessing that’s where they are, considering the size of the stadium behind them.

“Alexa wants a job,” Jasmine states.

“Uh, no …” I spin around, eyes wide. What is she doing? He just signed a contract with us. Why would she go to him for this? Laughing nervously, I add, “That’s not what I …”

“And you came to me?” he asks, sounding just as confused as I am at the moment.

I don’t want him to think I’m using him. Or her. “No, that’s not … I never said—”

“Yes,” she interrupts me. “You said if she needed anything to let you know.”

He looks at me and nods once. “I did. What were you thinking?”

I bite my bottom lip confused and scared. Jasmine mentioned Glass, so why are we here talking to Bones?

“Glass,” Jasmine says, obviously doing all the talking here since I can’t get a sentence out. “I told her you could get her a waitressing or bartending job at Glass. It’s just while she remodels the bar.”

“Yeah, sure, I can do that,” he agrees without giving it another thought.

“Really?” I ask wide-eyed. “Thank you.” That seemed almost too easy. I wasn’t sure what the hell Jasmine was doing, but I’m going to owe her dinner for this.

“Of course.” He nods once, uncrossing his arms. “Whatever you need.”

Who knew Bones could be such a nice guy?

CROSS

I PUSH OPEN Bones’s office door with a stack of papers in my hand but come to a stop when I see Jasmine and Alexa standing in front of his desk. The girls turn their heads to look at me over their shoulders.

“Alexa? What are you doing here?” I’m guessing it has to do with Kink.

They are all partners now.

“Bones just gave Alexa a job at Glass,” Jasmine announces.

The smile drops off my face, and my eyes go from her to Alexa’s.

“Excuse me?” I ask, blinking.

“It’s just for a couple of months,” Alexa says, turning to fully face me.

“Hopefully,” she adds quickly.

“You can have the job for as long as you need it,” Bones states, walking back to sit behind his desk.

“Bones, may I speak to you for a second.” I made it sound like a question, but it wasn’t.

He leans back in his chair. “Ladies, if you would give us a moment, please.”

“Yeah, sure,” Alexa says, bowing her head and pushing blond hair behind her ear. “Thanks again, Bones.”

I step to the side, allowing them room to exit. Once they walk into the hallway, I slam the door shut and turn back to Bones. “What in the fuck are you doing?” I demand.

He frowns, tilting his head to the side. “She came to me for help. You expected me to deny her?”

I step forward, pointing a finger at him. “And you thought that Glass, of all places, is where she is best suitable?” She’s not a fucking stripper.

“Listen, Cross. I was doing her and you a favor. I know you’re seeing her and thought I’d help her out. She came to me and asked for a job specifically at Glass. What was I supposed to do?”

I snort, ignoring the fact he recognized I’m seeing her. I thought he, of all people, would keep what I’m doing a secret. He’s the most secretive person I know. Bones is very private in everything he does. “Say ‘fuck no.’”

He sighs. “I told her yes, and I’m not going to fire her just because you don’t want her there. Alexa is an adult and can make her own decisions. If she wants to quit, then she’ll quit.” With that, he drops his eyes to his computer screen, dismissing me.

I slap the papers onto his desk and rush out of his office to find her and Jasmine standing in the hallway. I grip Alexa’s upper arm and pull her

away. “I need to speak to you.”

“Cross—”

“Now,” I interrupt her protest, yanking her into my office and slamming the door shut behind us. “You will not work at Glass,” I state immediately.

She arches a brow, pushing a hip out. “Excuse me?”

I shake my head. “Absolutely not. I won’t allow it.”

“Good thing I didn’t ask for your permission then.” She laughs like I’m

joking.

“It’s a fucking strip club!” I snap.

“If you would have asked, then you’d know I’m going to waitress or bartend, not dance naked!” she shouts.

She’s right, I didn’t know that, but that doesn’t mean it’s any better. I remove my Zippo from my pocket and start flipping it open and closed. “I don’t want you to …”

“This has nothing to do with you, Cross.” Her eyes glare at me, and her body is now stiff. Just like the fight we had at my house the other night.

“Why do you want to bartend at Glass all of a sudden?” She owns a fucking bar, for Christ’s sake, and she’s opening up a sex club. Why add Glass to her already full schedule?

“I’m closing Lucky’s down to remodel it,” she snaps, still pissy. “I need a

job in the meantime.”

“Well, Glass is not it!”

Her nostrils flare. “I will work wherever I damn well please!”

I slam both of my fists on the desk. “No. You. Won’t.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“Because I won’t allow it!” It’s as simple as that. I used to practically live there with Grave. I know what kind of shit goes on there, and it’s a no for me. Even the waitresses and bartenders will go home with guys for the right price. I’m not saying Alexa’s that type of girl, but where there’s opportunity … “You don’t get to make decisions for me!” she snaps.

“You’re my woman!” I didn’t mean for it to come out like that, but by the way her face turns red, I can tell I’ve hit a nerve.

“Your woman?” she questions with a laugh that was not humorous.

Fuck! “You know what I mean.”

“Obviously, I don’t,” she argues. “Because we’re not exclusive, Cross.

We’re not even dating.”

Her reasoning doesn’t sit well with me. “Are you saying you’re seeing someone else?”

She crosses her arms over her chest, pushing her already perky tits up even more, and looks away from me, staring out my floor-to-ceiling windows that showcase the Strip. Mitch enters my mind, and if he was right here in front of me, I’d knock his ass out just because I can.

“Alexa?” I snap.

“No!” she shouts. “But that doesn’t mean I’d turn a date down if

offered.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely not!” I growl.

She rolls her beautiful green eyes. “We said this was just sex. That it would be our secret. That way, when it’s over, no one would feel awkward when we hang out.”

I can’t argue that she’s wrong. But we’ve been fucking for what, a month now? She’s more to me than that. “And is that what this is to you?” I question.

She throws her hands out to her side before they hit her bare thighs.

“What do you want me to say, Cross? That I like you?” She steps closer to

me. “Hmm?” She takes another step closer. “Do you want me to confess my undying love for you so that you’ll feel superior over me …”

I grip her face in my hands and yank her forward, closing what little space is left between us, and kiss her. She opens her lips for me immediately, and I take the opportunity to deepen the kiss—my tongue dancing with hers. Her hands grip my T-shirt, and I press my hips into hers so she can feel how hard I am for her right now.

She pulls away all of a sudden. “Cross …”

“I’ll give you a job, but you have to quit Glass,” I offer before we go back to a yelling match that I know I can’t win. Those two days without her after I kicked her out of my house were miserable. I’m trying not to make that mistake again.

She frowns. “I own a bar. That’s what I know.”

I push some loose blond strands behind her ear. “I know. Grave runs one of the nightclubs here in Kingdom.” Who knows when he’ll come back?

And if it’s soon, he’ll still want his nights free to spend time at home with his girl. “While he’s gone, I’ve taken it over. It’s yours.”

“What?” she asks, stepping back, and I let her go to give her the space.

“It’s yours. You can run it.” Kingdom really has whatever you could possibly need—it has three nightclubs, over ten restaurants. Twenty sports bars. Tattoo shop—Tit-for-Tat. A shopping mall that connects all four towers. Golf course, bowling alley, wedding chapel, five pools, and its own theater with ten screens. They play movies twenty-four seven. And not to mention the largest convention center. It sponsors anything from UFC fights

to sold-out concerts.

“Cross. No. that’s not …”

“It’s a perfect solution. You can manage it. Your brother can work there too. However many employees you need to hire from Lucky’s, you can. We can always use more help.” I know she keeps a small staff at her bar. We have over sixty-five waitresses and thirty bartenders that are in rotation at Crown. We don’t have requirements on how often they work. Some are three nights a week, and others are five times a month. That’s why we employ so many.

She shakes her head. “Derek quit the bar. And he would never work for anything here at Kingdom. He thinks Bones is in with the Mafia.” She

laughs but stops when I don’t and swallows nervously. Lowering her voice,

she asks, “Is he?”

“Yes,” I say honestly.

She gasps, her eyes widening.

“We all are.” I don’t feel the need to lie to her. I trust Alexa. Plus, this is something that she could find online if she just did some research. I hate to admit that her lack of knowledge about the Kings and our friends hurts my feelings. I thought she’d have looked me up by now. And honestly, I’m surprised that April hasn’t already filled her in on this. Or Jasmine, for that matter. I know she’s hung out with Haven before. She’s met Luca. Not like he introduces himself as mafia royalty, but still. The information is right there if she wanted it.

She starts to pace. “Cross? This is … He was right.” Her hands fist. “I hate when Derek is right. Now what do I do? You’re friends with the Mafia.”

“Technically, you are too,” I add to her rambling.

“No, I’m not,” she says defensively, coming to a stop.

“Yes …” She shakes her head. “Haven.”

“What about her?” Her voice has a high pitch to it. “Oh my God, is she okay?”

“She’s married to Luca Bianchi, who runs the Italian-America Mafia here in Vegas.”

She just stands there and stares at me, looking surprised and terrified at the same time. So, I step into her once again, placing my hands on her shoulders to keep her in place since she looks like she’s about to bolt any second. “Luca owns Glass.” I’m not going to disclose that Bones owns half of it as well. That’s his secret to tell, not mine. “That’s how Bones was going to get you the job.”

“And Jasmine knows all of this? That’s why she took me to Bones.” Her wide eyes search mine like she’s waiting for me to say gotcha.

“Yeah.” We grew up with Jasmine, Haven, and Emilee—those three women know more about us than any other women ever will.

“I, uh …” She pulls away from me.

“Alexa …?”

“Need a moment.” She spins around and rushes out of my office.