Double Crossed

nine

Written by: @shiningjustforyou13  

Travis' POV

Alison's comment threw me off guard a little, and even though I knew she saw my rage slip for a fraction in response, I masked it immediately. I could only see the very bottom shadow of her lips underneath that dark veil never letting me see her face, but I could have sworn that they curved up into a deliciously triumphant smirk.

Fuck. She'd gotten into my head, and she knew it too.

I stared into what would be her eyes if I could see them, my hands tight enough around her throat to hold her there, but not enough to cut off her breathing. I had no doubt that if she was pinned against the wall, it was because she'd let me, and I was sure any further attempt to harm her would result in some weapon pulled out of God knew where. She was the kind of woman to have an array of weapons at her disposal, no matter how low cut and short and tight her dress might be.

"Stay, the fuck away from her." I growled, tightening my grip a fraction in a warning. "Go ahead and come after my locations if you have to, find my house and build a fucking replica, but if you ever come after Taylor again I will tear you down to fucking nothing and you will wish you'd never set foot in this city."

"Threats don't work on me pretty boy." Alison purred, her Italian murmur slipping out effortlessly like my hand wasn't wrapped tightly around the soft skin of her throat. "I've taken every single thing from you I've decided to take so far, and it wasn't even hard. You may be called the king, but you'll be making room for the queen now."

"The fuck I will."

"Just watch." Alison whispered. "This little bar of yours." She gestured around with one gloved hand, fabric pulled up just below her elbow. "It's mine. Everything you own, everything you care about, I'll take it in my sleep because you can't put up a decent fight. I told you it's no fun when you make it easy for me, but maybe you're just not capable."

Fuck, this woman pissed me off more than anything in this world. I'd worked my whole life to get where I was, and I did a damn good job of running this city. She thought she could saunter in with her Medusa tales and plunging necklines and I was supposed to put up a fight to make it fun for her before rolling over and playing dead. The only way I'd do that is if I rolled over actually dead. She was not taking my city from me.

"You don't scare me Medusa." I hissed, leaning closer.

"Yes you do." Her voice breathed back, quiet like she thought someone might overhear even though the bar around us was totally empty. I'd slipped out of bed once Taylor had gone to sleep, passed by the office before being alerted that this bar had been bought out from underneath me, and I'd rushed over. No one was here. "Why else would you have come to find me so quickly? You're scared I'll hurt your precious little...Tiger." She whispered, and my eyes widened a fraction before I could stop myself. She knew Taylor's nickname.

And she knew what it did to me that she taunted that information, dangled it like a threat of what else she could know. Who the hell was this woman?

"What the hell do you want from me?" I breathed. "If you want the city then fucking try and take it. Play your little games with someone else."

"Oh, pretty boy." Alison tutted. "You don't tell me what to do. I tell you what to do." Lifting her hand, she circled her gloved fingers under my chin and lifted it slightly like she thought she had the upper hand here. My jaw clenched. "So let go, because as much as I enjoy being choked, I'd prefer it if you did it on other terms."

I was speechless for some reason, and I couldn't help but release my grip on her throat. Alison chuckled, still holding my chin, and for some reason that completely rooted me to the spot. What the fuck was it about this woman? I hated her, but there was also something strange about her that made me want to stay. This didn't feel threatening anymore, not in the same way.