Fetish

Chapter 26

✳✳✳Owen Carter✳✳✳

My father sits on the edge of my desk while I sit in the chair across from him. He doesn't visit very often so his presence suggests there's something wrong. I am a grown man and he is in my house yet he still manages to make me feel so small. "What took so long?"

"He was a little preoccupied," my mother says, eyeing me from the corner of her eye. "With a woman."

I roll my eyes. "Don't make it something it's not. It wasn't that serious. I kissed her - that's it."

"It was pretty intense," she continues.

I run my fingers through my hair in irritation. "I don't think my relationships are any of your business. I have a beautiful woman and my son waiting on me so what do you want?"

My father narrows his eyes at me. "Watch your tone with me."

"What do you want?" I repeat in an even tone.

"I've come to watch how things are being handled since I've been receiving some disappointing phone calls," he says. "Montano seems to think I'm out to get him which is odd considering I haven't heard anything before he called. Why haven't I been notified of the issues?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Michael is the one who screwed things up in the first place so I figured he'd tell you. Montano is Michael's side of business, not mine."

His eyes seem to darken and he leans forward with authority. "Michael is gone. He proved he didn't have the abilities required for this line of work so I've decided to leave you in charge."

"Michael's out?" I ask in disbelief. Michael would never leave the business willingly. So many scenarios run through my mind. "What'd you do to him?"

His evil smirk stretches across his face. "What makes you think I did anything?"

"Your father wants you to take over. You should be honored. Respect his wishes."

Standing up, I turn to leave. "Don't do anything stupid, or you'll regret it," he says.

Walking away, my feet move on their own accord and before I know it I'm in the strip club. A waitress immediately asks me what I want before returning with a drink. For tge first time in a long time, I want to be drunk. This is how I deal with pain. I drink until I'm numb or I run away. Running away isn't an option at the moment because my father will have eyes on me until he's sure I'm going to do what he wants. I don't want to end up like Michael - wherever he may be. I don't want to believe he's dead but I wouldn't put it past my father.

As I watch the women on stage, my mind drifts to Madison. I feel a little guilty for being here while we're together but it's better to blow off steam right now. What if she doesn't want me when she finds out I'm being pulled deeper into the mafia? Raising the small glass to my lips, I attempt to forget about everything.

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✳✳✳Madison✳✳✳

After overhearing one the men talking about Owen being wasted in the strip club, I can't help but wander into the room. I am reminded of the night I had to dance - the same night that Owen admitted that he wanted me. I spot him on a couch near the wall with a shot glass in his hand. Emptying the contents, he places it on the table beside him. As I pass Lily she gives me a surprised look but I just give her a polite smile. When I reach the couch, I sit in the small space between him and the arm of the couch, swinging my legs over his lap. I know there's something wrong because he told me he never gets drunk anymore.

He turns to me with a frown. "What are you doing in here?"

"I overheard some guys talking and thought I'd check on you," I reply. "Is everything okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" he mumbles, turning his attention to one of the women passing by.

Placing my hand on his cheek, I force him to look at me. "I'm trying to talk to you."

He pulls his head away. "And I'm trying to relax."

"Fine, I'll leave."

Swinging my feet back around, I stand up. He follows suit, swaying slightly so I try to help him balance but he brushes my hand away. "I got it," he mumbles, annoyed. "Let's go to bed."

"Okay but just to sleep," I say.

He rolls his eyes. "Whatever."

"You're drunk," I state in disbelief.

"So?"

"And I'm on my period," I say.

It's a lie - the real reason being I don't wang him seeing my bruises and stitches. Plus, drunken sex is not on my bucket list. "All women say that when they don't want to," he mumbles, getting ready to sit down.

I hold him up, forcing him to walk. "I'm taking you to bed."

"Why are you helping me?" he asks, struggling to keep himself upright.

"Because I care about you," I say, struggling to keep him up.

Dominic sees us as we exit the strip club so he stands on the opposite side of Owen and helps hold up some of his weight. "I should've seen this coming," Dominic mumbles.

Owen looks at him as we continue walking. "He killed Michael," he says before hiccuping. "And he said if I don't take over he'll kill me."

Dominic and I look at each other in surprise. Michael is dead? How could his owen father kill him? This means he will be tied down to the mafia completely. What about Bryant? He'll never have any spare time to spend with him. And what about me? With him always between houses, could he be with only me? Today made everything ten times more complicated so I completely understand where this came from. I can tell Dominic has something to say but he doesn't say anything, not wanting to take advantage of his drunken state, I assume.

When we get to his room, we lay him on the bed and I turn to Dominic. "I'll stay with him. Thank you."

"No problem," he says, reaching into his jacket. He hands me a folded envelope. "This is what you asked me for earlier."

"Thank you."

He nods. I slip it into my back pocket before turning around to take off Owen's shoes. "And Madison," he says. I hum in response. "I watched the surveillance video and saw enough to realize that something happened." He pauses and I glance up at Owen, thankful that he appears to be sleeping. "I will do anything to help you but you need to tell me what happened because I don't know if what is in my head is what happened or not."

"I'm fine. He just threatened to do worse if things with Montano didn't get fixed," I say.

"Okay," he says slowly. "What exactly did he do to you?"

Turning towards him, I raise my shirt slightly to show him the bruises and my bandage. "He ripped my piercing out and kicked me around a little bit. Miles took care of me."

He frowns. "I'm sorry, Madison. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. Do you want me to take care of him?"

I shake my head. "I'll handle it eventually. Thanks again."

"You're welcome."

He leaves the room and I continue with taking Owen's shoes off.

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