Our Riley (Reverse Harem Mafia Romance)

Chapter 23 - Riley's POV

Riley's POV

It's been a few days since my birthday and I am sitting comfortably on one of the green velvet chairs in the luxurious library that Victor made for me. Well, he paid someone to build for me but same thing. Nobody has let me go back to training yet, which is fine by me because I can't get the images of the man I killed out of my head. The blood on my hands. The blood on his neck.

I have spent most of my time reading endless amounts of books or working on short stories on my Macbook. Everyone seems to be stressed out with work stuff, Victor is snapping at the guys more and they all seem to be on edge.

"Have you been to the beach before?"

Victor's voice coming from behind me makes me jump and I almost let my laptop slide off of my lap and onto the hard floor but I catch it just in time. "The beach?.. Um.. No, I haven't been.. Why?"

He moves from behind the chair and is now standing in front of me, looking down to meet my eyes with his. He's dressed in his usual business clothes but the sleeves are rolled up and his button up is partially unbuttoned. His clothes are usually only like this when he has been too stressed to care about appearance.

"Well, we need to get some intel on a target who happens to be residing in one of his many beach houses along the coast." He speaks softly as he moves to a nearby shelf and brushes his fingers along the spines of the old books.

"What does that have to do with me?" I say without looking up from my laptop screen.

His head turns slightly at the tone of my voice "You're coming with us." He sounds a little more stern.

"Why" I keep my eyes on the screen.

He lets out an annoyed sigh and steps closer, closing my laptop barely slow enough for me to move my fingers off of the keyboard before getting squished. "Because this isn't healthy. Sitting here all day, everyday. You never get any sun or go on a walk and I'm worr-" He clears his throat. "I just think a little trip would be good for you. For all of us."

Well, maybe I have spent a lot of time here but so what? It was my birthday present, why couldn't I spend my days on these chairs with a book in my hand? I weigh the options when it comes to arguing with him or putting up a fight. I look at him for a long moment then roll my eyes. "Fine."

"Pack an overnight bag, we leave in 20" I swear I see a smile form on his cold looking face but it was only for a moment.

I slide off the chair and leave my laptop in the library. On my way down the hall I run into Lucas who is covered head to toe in sunblock and he has a stupid looking hat on his head with rubber duck swim trunks and no shirt. I can't help but start to laugh, "What are you wearing?"

"Skin cancer is a silent killer" He sounds so serious I can't stop laughing.

Dom comes out of his room to see what the laughing is all about "Woah, woah my eyes!" He jokingly covers his eyes like Lucas's pale skin is reflecting sunlight so bright it's blinding then he starts laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, you can laugh all you want but I'll be the one who outlives you all." He shrugs us off and heads down to the kitchen.

Dom is wearing black swim trunks and a black t-shirt that snuggly hugs his biceps. I can't help but notice how good he looks.

"Did V tell you about the beach trip? Are you packed?" His voice snaps me out of my daze.

"Yeah he told me, I'm on my way to my room right now to pack."

"I'll help" He smiles wide, beaming as he follows me into my room and flops down on my bed.

"That definitely looks like helping" I say sarcastically and grab a duffle bag from under my bed and start to fill it with the essentials.

"Wanna model swimsuits for me? I can help you pick" He smiles and leans back on my headboard, places his arms behind his head, flexing his arms slightly.

I shake my head and throw the piece of clothing in my hand at his face. "You wish" He catches it with a cute smile.

"This thing is disgusting." He picks up the stuffed animal on my bed with the tips of his fingers, holding it out like it could explode at any second.

Before I can tell him to put it down Damien knocks on the half opened door and then steps into my room. "Victor wanted me to inform you that he's waiting in the garage and you're taking too long."

A chuckle leaves Dom's throat and he tosses my stuffed animal into the duffle bag I'm packing and slides off the bed, heading straight into my closet. He grabs all the bright colored bikinis and puts them in the bag, then zips it up. "We're coming." He rolls his eyes, he has always hated being rushed.

Luckily I'm already wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt for the long car ride to the coast. It should only take about 3 hours to get there if we don't make too many stops. I've never been in  a car that long so I figured being comfortable might help make the drive more bearable. Dom carries my duffle bag and I follow close behind him.

Once we get to the garage Lucas, Damien and Victor are all standing around an older, less fancy car. The trunk is full of bags and it looks like it only holds 5 people. I thought we would be riding in a super expensive looking car like usual. "We have to blend in," Victor says when he notices the look on my face. I nod in response.

We all pile into the car, Victor is driving and Damien is in the passenger seat. I am sitting between Dom and Lucas in the backseat. They're both man-spreading and taking up more of my, already limited, space. I look at Dom's knee and then up at him, "Sorry shortcake, my legs are long. Not much I can do about that."

I look over at Lucas and then down at his leg. He rolls his eyes and moves it closer to himself so I can have more space.

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Sorry for the long break between updates. Life is crazy please don't hate me :))