Sucker Punch: A Dark Why Choose Romance by Alta Hensley

Author:Alta Hensley [Hensley, Alta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Ari

“You okay?” Lotto asked as he knocked on my office door at the same time he entered.

I nodded, even though I was far from all right. I had never had someone threaten my life before. To have a man look me straight in the eye and⁠—

“You know none of us would allow anything to happen to you,” he said, closing the door behind him.

“You may not have a choice in the matter when it comes to a Godwin.”

Lotto approached my desk and leaned against it, his arms crossed over his chest. “If anyone touched you, they’d die. If it wasn’t me killing them, it would be Bones or Freakshow. Period.”

I drew a deep breath and nodded, trying to push the fear and anxiety to the back of my mind. I couldn’t let it consume me. I had a job to do, and I needed to focus.

“But you came off as tough in there,” he praised.

“I felt anything but.”

“Even so, you held your own.” A small smile played at the corners of his mouth. “You’re a natural, you know that?”

I looked at him, surprised by his words. “Thank you, Lotto. That means a lot coming from you. I often feel like a little girl playing in the big bad world of boys. And well… I often feel like I’m putting on an act, and you all see through me.”

“You’re not fooling anyone,” Lotto admitted, his smile growing wider, “but that’s not a bad thing. You bring a fresh perspective to the table, and that’s what makes you valuable to us. You don’t have to be one of the boys to hold your own. You just have to be yourself.”

“It’s just a lot of pressure. When my father died, I had several people approach me wanting to buy the gym. All men. All assholes who thought they could run it better than me. I was just a girl. A small and inexperienced girl. If it weren’t for Frankie willing to help me⁠—”

“You could have done this without Frankie. You could do this without any of us. But…”

Lotto’s words hung in the air for a moment as I considered their meaning.

“But you don’t have to do this alone,” Lotto finished, as if reading my thoughts. “We’re here for you, no matter what. And I give you my word that Bones won’t fuck up. No one will fuck this up for you and your gym.” He reached out and took a piece of my hair into his hand. “Do you remember the last time we were alone in your office?”

“I do.” Heat built inside my core at the memory.

Lotto leaned closer to me, his eyes locked onto mine, and I found myself leaning toward him, my heart pounding. He gently tucked the strand of hair behind my ear, his simple touch taking control over my body.

Lotto’s hand lingered on my cheek, tracing a gentle path along my jawline with his thumb. My breath hitched as he leaned in even closer to brush his lips against mine in a soft, feather-light kiss.

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