Manhattan: In Love with the Infamous King

Chapter 11

Alex POV



It was actually kind of nice that Nolan said he trusts me to look through their files on this next deal. They needed a sniper in case things went wrong, but it looks like Nolan and I figured it out before their meeting. He leans towards me as he speaks and I can smell the musk and a hint of guava. Working with him was easier than I thought it would be. Unlike most gang leaders, he is patient and methodical instead of hot headed.

Now, it makes sense why the others put their trust in him. Having gotten to know Phillip, I know he would never be capable of this life unless he trusts Nolan whole heartedly. Vic is the same. She's hard-headed for sure, but she would never abandon her beliefs and principles. What Nolan has created, albeit dangerous, is incredibly rare and dare I say it, brilliant.

"Can you make that shot?" Nolan interrupts my thoughts as he has the blue prints of the building and we map out where my positioning needs to be. He wants to make sure that the Duval and any other gangs, most evident, in Europe get the warning. I observe the shot and it's a hard shot. If I tell him I can make that shot, then he will definitely be suspicious, so I shake my head.

"The curvature you need for that shot is not easy." He nods his head, even he knows that only the Whisper has ever been known to make that shot.

"Yeah, The Whisper is the only person anyone has heard of that could make that shot." He rakes his hands over his messy hair as he gets off the bed and paces a little." I know what he's thinking about, bit I can't exactly tell him that. What would a normal hitman say? Before I get a chance to say anything, he looks at me to say, "Do you know him?"

"I know of him, but who hasn't?" I casually shrug my shoulders as I lie to him. Everyone assumes that The Whisper is a man because of the way he kills and the messages he sends. If it wasn't for that, Nolan probably would have cracked me already. He stands by his window to look at the view as I check the clock on his bedside 5:03 AM. "It's late. You should sleep."

He turns to look at me and shakes his head in frustration over The Whisper but comes over to the bed and grabs the documents that have spread across it. I help him gather all the documents and hand it to him. Once he grabs them from me, I start heading towards the door.

"Alex." I turn towards him, but I don't meet his eyes. The more I look at them, the more captivated I am with him. He's constantly surprising me and I don't know what to do when my heart skips a beat. This is the first time he has said my name. "Just sleep here." His voice is soft, but I'm pretty sure he's more tired.

"I don't think that would be the best idea." I tell him firmly as I turn to leave again.

"For f**k's sake, Alex." His tired voice stops me in my track and I turn to face him with his eyes closed on the other side of the bed. "I'm not going to touch you. I jus-" He stops to take a deep breath. "It's just a bed."

I would go against him, but he looks like he has been through it. Do I care? Apparently, I care enough because I start to walk over to the bed and help him with the covers. I take his sweats off and leave my shorts on since his comforter is thicker and he takes off his shirt and grabs my sweats from me before he makes his way to the bathroom. Should I just get in? That would be weird. This is his bed, he should go in first.

"Why are you standing still?" He comes out of the bathroom with just a pair of shorts on. I don't respond as he get under the covers and then gestures for me to join him. He has a king-sized bed, so even laying down, I hardly touch him. Wow, lying down on his bed feels amazing, but I try not to get used to it. These are also very nice soft sheets. I'll have to ask him where he got everything. He lets out a frustrated sigh and his breathing is hard and shallow. Without thinking, I put a hand out and put it on his chest, right above his heart. I can feel him veer his attention to me through my closed eyes.

"You're never going to get any sleep breathing like that." I breathe out deeply as I open my eyes and see his on me. His heart rate is still beating fast, but it's steadier now, so I retract my hand. He grasps my hand and puts it back on his chest as his eyes close. I don't take it away since it seems to comfort him. It's a little of an awkward sleeping position for myself though, but I ignore it. Resting my eyes, I turn a little to get into a slightly more comfortable position but it's a little hard when he holds my hand in place.

"What's wrong?" He lets out and I can feel that his heart rate has decreased.

"Nothing, trying to shift in bed." He gives me a sigh before scooting closely to me so that my hand isn't outstretched to him.

"It's fine." I try to stop him from moving closer. This is his bed, he should sleep how he wants, so I sit up to scoot towards him so he doesn't have to move too far. He doesn't stop moving closer to me though so now our bodies are right next to each other. s**t. We are too close now. He releases my hand and starfishes his hand to my side.

"Come here." I blink at him as he still has his eyes closed. Is he suggesting I cuddle in his arms? I'm not doing that. This is a business relationship. I try to scoot over to my side a little, but the next thing I know his hands grabs me and pulls me down as he snakes his left arm around my waist so that my head is nestled in his neck. My eyes widen a little. So much for not touching me.

"Nolan, you're half-naked." I remind him as I use my left hand to try and push off his chest to get myself up, but he holds me firm with that one arm.

"Please." His voice is low and raspy that I don't think I have heard him this vulnerable. "You're calming." I flinch at his words, but his eyes don't open, so I don't know how to even react. Based off his voice, I can tell it's laced with desperation and need. It's not the need for me, it's the need for peace and calm so he can sleep. I know what that's like and if I'm not lying to myself, he's calming me too, maybe not to the desperation in his voice, but still.

I don't say anything and lay down facing towards him on my right side and I hesitantly put my left hand up on his chest, but I do. He has a lot of intricate black inked tattoos. They're mostly symbols. I wonder what they mean. Using my index finger, I trace them lightly in curiosity. Nolan grunts a little and I stop promptly.

"Keep going." He takes a deep breath towards me as I feel his chin on the top of my head and I continue tracing. My eyes start to struggle to keep open. I breathe in and I feel my body shudder to try and keep myself awake, but my heart rate slows and I can feel my body about to give into slumber. My fingers fall on his chest as I finally feel the darkness take over.

Nolan POV

I wake up to my alarm going off at 10 AM, but I quickly turn it off to look at the girl in my arms. Alex. When she put her soft cold hand on my chest last night, I felt this wave of calming wash over me. I have never felt that calm so quickly, and I didn't want to let it go. She's laying on my chest and snuggled deeper in my hold since falling asleep. It still feels calm. My body feels a little sore from her laying on just one side, but I feel my whole being rejuvenated. I don't think I can remember the last time I have slept that deep and well, like I actually slept.

A knock at my door gets my attention and Trent walks in while I put up a finger to my mouth to tell him to be quiet. Alex's breathing rate feels slow and calming too. I can tell from the way she succumbed to sleep last night that she fell into deep sleep which she probably doesn't get very often. She helped me sleep and I can do the same for her.

Trent's eyes are wide as he sees Alex in my arms. She stirs a little and I grip her waist a little tighter and her left arm that is now on my waist returns the favor, causing my morning wood to twitch. f**k. I gesture for Trent to leave for now. I'll just meet him in the office. He takes the hint and leaves quietly.

Focusing my attention on Alex, I bring my right hand to cup her soft lightly tan cheek. Even in the morning without any makeup, she really is beautiful. She nuzzles into my right hand and her soft pink lips graze my hand. This isn't helping my hard shaft go down. I lean to give her a light kiss on the forehead so I don't wake her. Why did I do that? It felt instinctual that I didn't even stop to think about it. s**t. I have to get out of here.

She is sound asleep and I slowly release her onto the bed while I head to the bathroom. I start the cold shower to take care of my business downstairs and then get dressed in jeans and a black acid wash t-shirt. After I come out of the bathroom, I see she's still deep asleep on the bed and decide to let her rest.

The moment I get to my office, Trent is already in there with Vic and Phillip. They all look dressed for today. Sunday is our family day, if you want to call it that. We get work done and prepare for the week and then have a casual dinner together. It's a tradition that I tend to not break because it forges our bond and trust with one another. Other gang leaders are always having loyalty issues, but I ensure that my members are loyal because they want to be.

"So, you want to share what happened last night?" Trent smirks at me as Vic and Phillip turn to me in confusion. Instead of giving Trent the answer he wants, I tell them what Alex found and some ideas on the best plan of action. As I show them the files, Phillip is tapping away on his tablet to confirm our findings.

"Who would have thought Lily Duval had that in her? I always thought she was a dits, but she got us all." Vic crosses her arms as she leans back on her desk, clearly devastated that a woman could be capable of doing something this horrendous to other girls and women.

"Seriously?! I thought was all hair and nails, splurging on her father's and then her husband's money." Trent adds. He hates being made a fool of, so I'm sure he wants blood for this.

"Alex is right. I checked Lily's phone logs again her suspicions are confirmed. Lily is good at hiding her tracks." Phillip grips his tablet hard.

"Phillip, you can't blame yourself for not catching that. None of us caught it." I tell him softly. He is just a kid, he wouldn't be able to differentiate patterns like that he is in the line of work for another year or two.

"But Alex did." He replies, slightly saddened by this.

"She also said that you were better than her. You just need some more experience and time." I do my best to reassure him. She's been going at this a lot longer than she was letting on. For someone out of practice, she's attentive and paranoid. She has to be a player in the black market somehow.

We go through some ideas that Alex and I came up with until we decide it's time for lunch. They head out of my living room for their own lunch plans and I head back into my room. When I enter, Alex isn't on my bed, but she made it for me. That's considerate, I guess. That's when I hear the shower turn on, so I head in there.

She's about to get undressed when I walk in. Her eyes don't meet mine and they're almost submissive. That's not like her.

"How did you sleep?"

"Fine." Her voice is cold and distant yet again.

"Take my clothes from the closet. I'll take you to grab lunch before we go to the training center."

"I have plans with Kennedy." Why is she using that voice with me? I mean we are not intimate, but we should have developed some level of trust last night.

"Where?"

"Priza's."

"I'll drop you off."

"No, it's okay." The shower starts getting steamy and she glances up at me. "Can I take a shower now? Or did you want to watch?" The s****l tension arises between us as the bathroom starts getting warmer.

"What if I want to watch?" Where did that come from? That's not helping the building tension. I need to think before I speak. She shrugs at my response and proceeds to take her t-shirt off in front of me. I look away from her and just leave before she gets past her head. If I stay in there and I see her fully naked, there is no telling what I would do to her. Maybe I should get back in there, f**k her, and get it out of my system. No, I can't. I don't sleep with women in the black market, it gets too messy.

I'm in my own thoughts for too long as I hear the shower turn off. That was fast. She emerges slightly in the hall with a towel around her body and her hair up in a messy bun. Not taking a glance over at me, she heads to my closet, taking my offer on some clothes. My feet start to move me in that direction without me processing. I lean against the doorway as I watch her try and find something she can wear out.

"Want help?" I ask her, but she shakes her head, still not looking at me. What is with her? Why can't she look at me? I grab her shoulder and push her against a wall.

"Can I help you?" She fires back with an irritated tone.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit."