Chapter 72: Chapter Seventy-Two

Frankie tried to wrestle down the dozens of emotions stirring in his gut. Gloria stood in the doorway to his office, mouth agape at what he’d just revealed. He wasn’t sure exactly why she was surprised. Was it that he had a million to throw at a fight? Was she actually surprised he’d bet on her? Or was it Accardi who shocked her? None of those made any sense. Both he and Accardi had seen her in action. To them, it was easy money. Of course, Accardi was merely padding his own business, encouraging others to bet on the female fighters. He wouldn’t actually collect any of the money. Frankie walked back to her and used his index finger to close her jaw. He used the same finger to coax her forward.

“Sit down, Vixen,” he told her, gesturing toward his chair.

As she did as he instructed, he noticed her eyes narrow in pain, and the emotions stirred in his gut again. He turned away to gather some medical supplies in order to doctor her up for a change. It had taken every fiber of his being not to jump those ropes and intervene. He knew she could handle Myers. He was all show-muscle. A primped up poodle without the ability to swim. It didn’t make it any easier to watch her struggle. To see her get hit. For her to take blow after blow, all in an attempt to prove she was his greatest weapon, to remind her she was deadly and capable. He would need her. Despite his own reluctance to admit it, he was at less than half capacity. It would be a miracle if he could handle Tracy’s kickback, let alone hand to hand combat with someone like Asher… Ivan.

Frankie turned back to face her. She was taking stock of her own injuries. Gloria gingerly touched her face and placed the back of her hand against her swollen cheek. Another emotion surfaced: pride. Fuck, he was so proud of her. The worry he’d felt evaporated the moment she’d gotten a secure hold on Myers. The look of determination in her eyes. The defiance in the set of her teeth as Myers feebly attempted to break free from the woman half his size. He had to get her out of the ring as quickly as possible and usher her through the crowd before his pride took her in front of the crowd and gave them something else to cheer about.

“What?” Gloria asked, eyeing him with suspicion.

Frankie blinked, snapping away from the fantasy of taking her up against the ropes while the crowd cheered him to fuck her harder. He cleared his throat.

“Nothing,” he said, walking up to her and placing his med kit on the desk beside her.

He broke an ice pack over his knee and placed it against her cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she let out a moan that was far too close to her moan of completion to keep him sane. Frankie pinched his arm to keep his baser side in check before he unwrapped her knuckles. He smirked down at the tape that was coated in Myers’ blood.

“So,” he said, trying to distract himself from what he wanted. “What were you and Nora talking about?”

“You mostly,” Gloria confessed.

“I figured. What about?”

“Your parents.”

Frankie’s movements stopped, and he looked up at her. “What about them?”

Gloria shrugged, though her honey eyes were focused on him, gauging his reaction, reading his emotions. “She thinks you need to talk to them.”

“Nora is always trying to help,” Frankie murmured. “It can be a good thing when it comes to helping beautiful Russians escape their tyrannical fathers.” He kissed her exposed knuckles and moved to her left hand. “It can be annoying when she gives herself the title of older sister. She doesn’t know the half of it. She doesn’t know they refused my call from jail. She doesn’t know that I tried to go to Stephen’s funeral only for my dad to tell me to get lost and that he buried both his sons that day. She doesn’t know it all. Though she likes to think she does.”

He ignored her all-consuming gaze as she took in everything he’d just confessed in favor of massaging her swollen knuckles.

“What were you talking to Accardi about?” she asked, reading him well enough to know he didn’t want to touch the topic with a ten-foot pole.

Frankie pulled the key card from his back pocket and held it up for her. She took it with her free hand.

“A key?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“To Accardi’s armory. He deactivated mine the last time I went on a rampage,” he said with a wink.

“Your armory isn’t enough?” she asked, thoroughly amused.

Frankie finally finished unwrapping her knuckles and helped her shimmy her top off. He tried to stay focused on the bruising of her stomach rather than the way her bra thrust her breasts up in the air toward his face with each inhale.

“Frankie,” she called with humor in her voice.

He blinked, smirked and knelt down so that he could cup her breasts and plant a kiss on each mound. She let out a breath, and her fingers wove through his hair. He pulled away before she could encourage him further.

“To answer your question, naughty minx,” he said with a disapproving shake of his head. “Accardi has a more varied collection than I do. Bombs of the smoke and pipe varieties. Flash grenades. Flame throwers. Advanced tracking software.”

“Drugs?” she asked.

Frankie raised his brows twice. “A few.” He applied some alcohol to a few cotton balls and began working on the small lacerations she’d suffered thanks to Myers’ feet. Her breath caught in her throat, and her hand gripped his shoulder. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning. “We’ll go there after this. Stock up and get to work planning our next move. We need to get this shit taken care of.”

“I agree,” she said on a sigh as he finished with the process of cleaning her wounds.

Frankie bent down and blew air over the cuts. Again her hand settled on his head.

“I think the best course of action…” Gloria continued as he pulled at her waistband. “What are you doing?” she asked, though she didn’t try to stop him but instead lifted her hips to help.

“Checking for injuries.”

“Nothing hurts down there,” she informed him.

“Well, better safe than sorry.”

“Anyway, what I was saying is, every year my dad throws a big party for his…” Gloria gasped as he got to his knees and shoved between her own. “B-birthday,” she finished. “That’s in a week,” she told him.

“Mmm, I had the same thought, Vixen,” he told her, skimming his lips up her stomach and between her breasts. “Maybe we can get on the guest list. Or maybe…” He unclasped her bra and threw it behind him. He palmed her breasts, and her head flung back. His teeth sank into the soft flesh of her throat.

“Maybe we can have some fun and sneak in.” As he said that, his fingers slipped under the fabric of her panties.

“It will be heavily… guarded,” she rattled off as he sucked a nipple into his mouth while pulling her panties down. She slipped further in the chair and gripped the arms to keep from falling to the floor.

“We’ll have to be creative. Maybe have some disguises,” he whispered against her breasts, taking turns to tease each nipple with the tip of his tongue until they were peaked and ruddy. “We’ll need to separate your father, get him alone in order to question him,” he told her as he separated the folds of her pussy with his fingers.

“Frankie…”

“Hmmm?” he hummed as he dragged his teeth over her throat and teased the lips of her heat with the tips of his fingers.

“Stop talking about my dad,” she commanded, her own fingers digging into the curls of his hair and urging him downward where she wanted his mouth to go.

“So demanding for such an inexperienced vixen,” Frankie murmured as he let her guide him down.

“I have to listen to everyone and their mother tell me how much experience you have. The least you can do is put it to use,” she growled, her eyes shut and waiting.

Frankie chuckled and smiled as he maneuvered her legs over his shoulders. “Yes, ma’am. Let me show you some of my tricks, hm? We’ll talk about vengeance when I’m done with your lesson.”

Gloria gasped as he sealed his mouth over her clit.