Chapter 74: Chapter Seventy-Four

Gloria followed Frankie into the hotel suite. He whistled in front of her as he took in the expansive space. She smiled and shook her head, amazed that he still got impressed with luxury accommodations despite where he laid his own head every night. She looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows that showcased the Chicago skyline and suppressed her own sound of impressed wonder. The sun was setting over the city, illuminating the various buildings in an orange, pink glow. Across the street was another hotel. She observed a couple with wine glasses in hand admiring the sunset themselves.

Frankie’s arms wrapped around her waist, and he rested his chin on her shoulder. “Looks like we might have an audience. You want me to fuck you up against the glass so they can watch?”

“Maybe they’ll reciprocate,” Gloria suggested.

Frankie chuckled and kissed her shoulder. “I wouldn’t be able to stop myself if the roles were reversed.”

Frankie pulled away and went about unloading their bags from the dolly.

“No penthouse this time?” she asked, noticing in the elevator that they were five floors from the top.

“Not this time, Vixen. This isn’t vacation. We have work to do,” he reminded her.

Gloria’s stomach tightened, and she stared enviously out at the couple as they embraced and exchanged a heated kiss. Her father’s party was two days away. She had spent the last few days getting reacquainted with firearms, self-defense, and memorizing the layout of her father’s hideout while Frankie helped her train or went on secretive outings.

A knock came at the door, and she swiveled to stare at it. Frankie seemed unperturbed as he strutted over. He glanced quickly through the peephole and opened the door with a flourish. He turned his back before the figure could even say hello. Gloria glared at the man who entered: Conor Galante.

“What is he doing here?” Gloria asked, pointing a scornful finger at him.

Frankie paused midstep. His eyes went from her angry stance to Conor quietly closing the door. “Uh, he’s here to help, Gloria.”

“We don’t have a need for cowards,” she hissed.

“Excuse me?” Conor asked with a raised brow.

Gloria stalked toward him, only stopping when Frankie grabbed her around the waist. “You just left him there to be kidnapped!” she growled. “You didn’t even help us rescue him. Only a coward would walk away when…”

“I forced him to leave, Vixen,” Frankie reassured her, though there was an undercurrent of pride shining through his words at her defense of him.

“So he’s a weak coward, and that’s supposed to make me feel better?”

Conor rolled his eyes as he pulled his suitcase in front of him. “Should I get to work?” he asked Frankie.

“Please do.”

“Do you need a leash?” Conor asked, walking by the pair toward the sitting area.

“You son of a…” Gloria tried to go after him, but Frankie’s hold was unwavering.

“Careful, Vixen, you only get a few curse words a day and I want you to save them for the window display later,” Frankie cooed in her ear.

Gloria finally succeeded in shoving him off. “Why is he here?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“He’s useful.”

“For what?”

Frankie opened his mouth, but Conor’s voice drifted from behind them first. “Comms, surveillance, hacking, tracking, retrofitting of makeshift bombs, hot-wiring, basically anything and everything to do with a microchip, detonator, or electrical system.”

Gloria turned to stare at him. He completely ignored her, though. He worked silently with his head ducked while he pulled various pieces of equipment out of his suitcase and lined it all up in neat rows along the coffee table.

“Frankie can do all of that.”

Conor smirked. “Most days, sure. When he’s not juggling two sides of the Russian mafia in one hand and a hot-head who can’t control her temper in the other.” Conor looked up, gave her a once-over, and shook his head in disapproval.

Gloria spun on her heel to see Frankie grinning broadly, enjoying the bickering. “I want to hurt him.”

He clasped her face between both hands. “After we talk to your father, you have my permission to do whatever you want with him.”

Frankie kissed her thoroughly until her anger was subdued enough to no longer worry him. He released her and returned to unpacking all of their belongings. She huffed and faced Conor again. He was sitting on the couch, an open laptop booting up in front of him. She walked closer to see what he was up to when another knock came at the door. Frankie reemerged from the bedroom, his body language a bit more on edge than when Conor arrived. He looked through the peephole and stiffened even further. He gave a sharp whistle that immediately got Conor’s attention.

“Gloria, go into my duffel,” Frankie instructed. “Find the small red box and bring it to me. Do not open it,” he commanded, his voice demanding obedience. She nodded and rushed into the bedroom.

Gloria heard the door open and the sound of a deep male voice. She walked back into the main room and her feet stalled out of a habit laced with fear. Mr. Gromov, her dad’s enforcer. The deadliest person in the Rubanov organization… and his eyes were set on her. He sneered in disgust, and his swollen, bruised eyes narrowed in hatred.

“Ty shlyukha. –You whore.–” Aleksander Gromov spat, taking a step forward.

Frankie’s open palm slammed against Gromov’s chest at the same time as his dominant hand reached for the handgun in his waistband. Gloria dragged her eyes from Aleksander’s face to stare at Frankie. In a moment as rare as a solar eclipse, there was zero humor on his face. Instead, there was a possessive anger that promised retribution if the man he held back took another step. She realized then that it was possible for Frankie to communicate without rambling off humorous double entendres and corny rhetoric. His eyes and posture said enough.

“Vixen, open the box and show our guest here what’s inside. Careful not to press it, though. We wouldn’t want Mr. Gromov to lose his child tax credit, now would we?” Frankie growled, his voice deep and dangerous.

Gloria opened the box and withdrew something that looked like a key fob. Her brows knitted together as she held it up for Aleksander to see. His jaw ticked and his entire body locked.

“Do you have something for us or do you suffer from short-term memory loss and need reminding of who is in control here?” Frankie asked. Aleksander continued to breathe heavily, his eyes set on Gloria. “Raise it higher, Vixen. Maybe he can’t quite see what you have.”

“Enough,” Aleksander growled. “I have what you asked for.”

Aleksander reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a sealed envelope.

“Conor, if you would be so kind.”

Conor stepped forward, and Gloria watched him holster a rather large pistol she hadn’t noticed him wielding. He snatched the envelope from Aleksander’s grasp, slit the envelope open and pulled out the contents.

“Looks legit,” Conor announced.

“Wonderful. Are you staying at the hotel as discussed?” Frankie asked, his body loosening a fraction of a percentage.

“That was the deal, wasn’t it?” he said between clenched teeth.

“Just making sure you’re doing your part.”

“What exactly is going on here?” Gloria finally asked, her nerves waning as she understood Frankie had the situation well under control.

Aleksander cracked a smile. He looked down at Frankie. “You’re keeping her in the dark? Probably smart. That whore is as cunning as she is deceitful," Aleksander’s eyes lifted to her. “Just like the bitch who carried her.”

“I wonder what happens when I click this,” Gloria mused, adjusting her thumb over the button on the key fob.

Aleksander’s eyes widened, and Frankie turned. “Gloria, don’t,” Frankie said, hand raised in warning.

“Then get him out of my fucking sight,” she demanded.

Frankie cracked a smile and shook his head. “You heard her. Out. Remember the plan. She’s clearly not as stable as I am… which is saying something,” Frankie said as he ushered him out of the door. He fastened the various locks and accepted the security bar from Conor as an extra source of security.

“So if he did as he was told, then he should be above us. Do you have the blueprints?” Frankie asked, following Conor back to his computer setup.

Conor snorted. “Of course I do.” Conor pulled up what looked like the blueprint of a hotel room.

“Get it done quickly before he gets back to the room and hears you,” Frankie ordered.

Conor walked back to the door and counted off his steps, his mouth moving with each number. He stopped, then sidestepped a few paces to the left, then forward again.

“Bring the ottoman,” Conor demanded.

Frankie pushed the ottoman across the wooden floor to where Conor stood. Conor then walked to his suitcase, pulled out a long drill and several wires. He stood up on the ottoman and proceeded to drill into the ceiling.

“Frankie,” Gloria called. He didn’t seem to hear. He was too intent on watching what Conor was doing. “Frankie.”

Instead of responding, he took the drill from Conor and handed up the wires. Then he pulled his phone from his pocket and started to type away. Gloria sighed and placed the key fob back into the box. She set it down on the kitchen counter and folded her arms while Frankie continued to communicate back and forth with someone on his phone. He was keeping things from her, and she was pissed about it.

“Frank,” Conor said, taking his turn to get the man’s attention. Instead of repeating himself, he raised his foot and planted it on Frankie’s chest, knocking the phone from Frankie’s hand and propelling him back several feet.

Frankie glared up at the man, dark eyes gleaming with anger. “What?”

Gloria raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. Effective. She filed that away for later use.

“Get your head out of your ass and hand me the monitor so I’m not flying blind here,” Conor chastised as he maneuvered the wire. Frankie sighed and went to do as he was asked.

Gloria took the opportunity to strut forward and grab Frankie’s phone from the ground. He was talking to someone named ‘Johnny.’

Johnny: We meeting up or are you pussying out again?

Frank: Keep your panties on. Just wrapping up a few things and I’ll meet you soon.

Johnny: The Blue Lounge? First dance is on me.

Frank: Only if Charlotte’s still there. I want to make sure to…

Before she could finish reading that sentence, the phone was snatched from her hands. Frankie shook his head and tsked. “Snooping, Vixen?”

“Leaving, Frankie?” she growled.

He smirked and slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Just for a bit. I need to meet a contact.”

“Let me get my purse,” she announced, turning on her heel.

His hand caught her wrist before she could take a step. “You’ll stay here, Gloria. Conor gets lonely.”

“Oh? And I take it you won’t be lonely,” she said, her voice clipped.

She’d heard of the Blue Lounge: an underground strip club known to be frequented by the highest of the criminal underworld. Drugs, dancing, and sex were the main events. She felt his heat against her back as he stepped closer.

“I have you to come home to and your hand to fight for,” Frankie whispered against her ear, making her shiver slightly. “I don’t plan to be lonely ever again.”

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” she pointed out. “Like where the fuck Aleksander Gromov fits into all this and who this friend Johnny is. I’ve had one too many surprises in the last ten minutes, Frankie. You keep Accardi in the dark like this, or is it just me who gets the damn honor?”

“That’s three cuss words, Vixen,” Frankie mused. “One more and I’ll have to punish you when I get back.”

Gloria finally turned and set what she hoped was a scornful glare on his amused expression. He was enjoying her ire and jealousy. The bastard. “Whatever punishment you have in mind will pale in comparison to what you’ll face if you come back with glitter or the scent of another woman on any part of your body.”

He leaned down and kissed her. “Be nice to Conor. He’s sensitive.”

With that, he pulled away and made for the door. Gloria glared after him. Conor stepped down from the ottoman and watched Frankie leave the room. He looked back at her with an eyebrow raised. Gloria turned her narrowed gaze on him.

“You. You’re going to tell me what the hell is going on,” she announced.