Entrusted: A Drug of Desire Novel Page 20
“Help me with the zipper?” Raven turned around and Poppy zipped her up. “I guess make-up is necessary, too? What are we doing for dinner?”
“Oh, I think we’re eating with Gio. That—looks amazing.”
“Thanks. Gio, she’s the—case agent?” Raven gathered her small collection of drug store make-up and the two went into the bathroom that could fit probably eight people. The size of the suite was a little ridiculous for two, but then again, she wasn’t the greatest judge of space. She lived in a room that was intended to be a storage closet.
“Yeah.”
“How’d she take all of this?”
“I don’t really know, but I would imagine there was a lot of cursing going on. Damien wasn’t thrilled with the idea of telling her, but they had to bring someone in. I don’t know. Mostly Damien’s worried about our private lives getting out. I don’t think Gio will. I mean, they’ve been partners for a long time, so I would hope she’d, I don’t know, be circumspect on their reports.”
It was a whole world of problems Raven hadn’t even considered. For her, no one cared what she did when she was out of the cockpit. People just wanted their fields dusted.
“What do you think you guys will do when this is over?” Poppy asked.
“No idea.” Wasn’t that the million-dollar question?
Thinking of Matías made her itch to know what he was doing. Where he was at. She grabbed her cell phone, tapped out a quick text, and sent it before she could over-think the simple action.
“How long have you been flying?” Poppy hopped up on the vanity, crossing her legs.
“Since I was fourteen, so fourteen years, fifteen in about eight weeks.” Raven’s phone chimed and she snatched the phone back up, but the text bounced back as undeliverable. What the heck?
“That’s so neat. I used to want to learn how, but it wasn’t very practical. Something wrong?”
“Matías’ number isn’t working anymore.” She double checked it just to be sure, but all the other messages they’d traded had gone through fine. So what was the deal now?
The door to the suite opened and she heard the unmistakable sound of a dog’s panting breath.
“How about you come by my room when you’re ready? I’m across the hall. Can’t miss it.” Poppy slid off the vanity and made a quick exit.
Raven stared at her reflection, trying to decide if she wanted answers enough to ask for them. The problem with demanding an explanation was that sometimes you heard more than you wanted to. Like what had happened when she’d cornered Hokee. Part of her wished she was still ignorant of what was going on. Life would be so much easier.
“Hey.” Matías filled the doorway, leaning against the wall. He wore a light gray suit this time with a blue shirt and sapphire tie. He gave her a slow once over. “You look—beautiful.”
“Thanks.” All at once, her nerves were back. “I tried texting you but it didn’t go through.”
“Oh, we needed to change burner phones. Here, I was coming up to give this to you. I already programmed my number and a burner for Damien into it.” He handed her a little gray phone. Simple. No frills. Disposable.
“Okay.” She rolled the phone around in her hand.
Matías grabbed the phone from the vanity and in a matter of seconds had it in six different pieces. He had the dismantling of his life down to a fine art. When they were done, would he toss her like the phone?
“Who is Lillian?” She hadn’t meant to ask the question, but it slipped out while she was preoccupied. Or maybe she really wanted to know. Whatever the reason, she couldn’t take it back now.
Matías turned toward her, brows drawn down, almost as if he didn’t recognize the name, but she knew better. She’d seen them talking and his guilt had eaten through the front he’d put on for everyone else.
“Don’t lie to me,” Raven said.
“I’m not, I just…I wanted to handle this whole situation better, and I failed.” He blew out a breath. “She was a play partner I dated for a while, but it didn’t work out.”
“Why?”
“Because…I don’t know. She wanted me to be someone I wasn’t.”
Was that the fate she was facing? To fall head over heels for a man who would leave in the middle of the night, no phone number or calling card to help her reconnect?
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Matías wrapped his fingers around her elbow, tugging on her until she faced him.
“What are we? A cover identity? Lovers? Fuck buddies?”
“Raven, take a deep breath for me, okay? The stress of all this is starting to get to you.” He cupped her shoulders and slid his palms down.
“That happened yesterday. Today, I want to know if I should expect to wake up tomorrow or another day and find out you’re gone.” She pulled her arms out of his grasp.
He opened and closed his mouth before glancing away.
“I don’t know what we are,” he said finally.
“Great.” She turned toward the mirror. If she had to go through with this tonight, at least she’d look her best.
“Hey, don’t do that.” He stepped in close, crowding into her personal space. “We haven’t had time to sit down and talk about it, so excuse me if I don’t have a label for us.” He turned her once more to face him. This time he cupped her chin in his fingers. “When all this is over, we’ll figure it out, but until then we stick to the cover story. It’ll be easier. Then, we can figure out what we want later.”
But what if she wanted the fictional version to be real? What then?
chapter Fourteen
Matías sat near the middle of the long, formal dining table. To his right sat Victor, and across from them, Damien and Yamamoto. It was just the four of them. None of the goon squad or the other players in this staged drama.
The servers moved around them, silent on bare feet, carrying platters of food. Yamamoto had outdone himself. They had a small army of staff serving them, the women in only the skimpiest of outfits. Victor spoke in halting sentences, his attention caught on the women.
“Tell me about your Chicago business,” Victor said while he watched a curvy red head refill Damien’s water glass.
“Things are changing,” Damien said slowly, staring at the table. He played a convincing part, but Matías didn’t think Victor was all that interested in Damien as a buyer.
Yamamoto picked up his glass, swirling the liquid as he spoke. “The landscape is different now. The Valdez Cartel held power by violence. The other entities must now prove their worth by measure to the Valdez shadow. It means violence and incidents that cut into the overall profit margin.” Yamamoto gestured to Damien, now Tyrone for the night. “Tyrone and I have come to an agreement. No one person can control an entire city. That was where Emilio stretched the Valdez power too thin. Tyrone and I want to divide the city into fourths, and find two more enterprising individuals to partner with. We could then squash out the competition and hold sway, free to charge whatever we like.”
“What happens when one person isn’t happy with what they have, and they go after you?” Victor’s attention centered on the men across from them. It was too much to hope to distract him for long.
“Well, that’s when you put a cap into the back of their head as a point to the next in line to remember their place,” Damien replied. He’d dressed in a slightly too-large suit with gold chains around his neck. It wasn’t tasteful at all, which was the point. Damien, or Tyrone, looked the part of a well-to-do thug.
“Interesting business model. I’d like to hear how you’d each manage your quarters.” Victor turned in his seat and muttered something at the woman offering him the next course.
Matías glanced up and had to do a double-take. How long had Lillian been in the room? He hadn’t even noticed her.
She ignored Victor’s whispered comments and progressed to Matías’ plate, serving him with the same respect, but no difference, than the others. She deserved someone better than him. Her and Raven both.
José.
José was him.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, what was the question?”
“I said, there’s no better place to find quality entertainment than House Surrender. Isn’t that right?” Damien snickered.
“Quite right.” Matías lifted his water glass and sipped. He had to keep his head anchored and stop thinking about Raven. She wasn’t even here and she possessed his thoughts.
“How do you escape police detection so easily?” Victor abandoned his food and reclined in his chair, studying Damien and Yamamoto.
“How do you think, man?” Damien scoffed. “We’ve got some boys in blue on the take. They look the other way.”
“It also helps to have alternate methods of transporting product,” Yamamoto chimed in.
“Like?” Victor asked.
“Trade secrets.” Yamamoto merely smiled, which in his current mood was not a pleasant expression.
“I don’t like secrets.” Victor frowned.
“And I don’t like people who are strangers to me demanding entrance to my home, so we will both have things to not like.”
Victor glanced at Matías, eyes widening.
“Gentlemen, this is business. We don’t have to like each other,” Matías said on cue.
“Exactly right,” Yamamoto agreed, his frosty tone lowering the temperature of the room.
“Why don’t we call this meal finished and join the others? I could do with a break.” Matías stood and stretched. Over an hour of dancing around every topic and never once did Victor name the location of the factory in Columbia. But it was probably too much to hope that Victor would tell him.
The group exited the dining room and moved into a salon decorated almost entirely with Japanese artwork and furniture. There were four Nyotaimori, or body sushi, stations set up, each featuring a lovely woman, completely shaven and nude, with a variety of rolls strategically positioned all over their chests, stomachs and legs. Their other pretend buyers and associates were mixed into the crowd, some selecting sushi from the human buffets, along with Poppy and Raven who stood out like brilliant gems in a sea of black. The rest of Victor’s entourage was also present, and they swarmed him within moments.
“Yamamoto—that’s Japanese, isn’t it?” Victor was showing a clear preference for Dom Yamamoto. Not surprising, since it was the Japanese moving in to take over the real criminal power in the city.
“It is.” Yamamoto surveyed the room, like a king taking in his subjects. He certainly played the role well.
“Might I assume you’re related to Seiichi Yamamoto?” Victor accepted the wine glass one of his goons offered him as they merged with the rest of the crowd.
Warning bells went off in Matías head. Who was Victor drawing connections with? And why did the name Seiichi sound so familiar?
“Seiichi is my eldest brother,” Yamamoto replied.
“Funny thing. We have been trying to build a relationship with the Yakuza for several years now.” Victor swirled his wine before sipping it
“Brothers are like both hands. They should help each other in good times, as well as in bad. Have you met my brother?” Yamamoto directed a withering glare at Victor. He slowly raised his hands, palms up.
“No, I have not had the pleasure.”
“There would be no pleasure, I assure you. There is a reason Seiichi was sent to America instead of being kept at home.”
“Why is it you are here?”
“What business is it of yours?” Yamamoto turned, dismissing the conversation and strode away from them, the crowd parting like water around him.
“Damn, man.” Damien whistled and shook his head. “No one ever told you not to talk family around the Japanese, did they? Listen, don’t worry about Seiichi. He’s our problem. Not yours.”
“He’s very much my problem, should we all decide to do business together.” Victor glanced between them.
Matías’ shirt collar was damp. Why hadn’t he known about Yamamoto’s ties? How had that not been brought up in their briefing? Gio was no doubt cursing up a storm, wherever she was. Not that he could blame her. This was a fuck-up of epic proportions.
“Come on, let’s show you the entertainment for this evening.” Damien led their group through the salon, down a hall and into the main floor dungeon.
As far as the dungeons in the house went, it was the smallest, able to accommodate at most forty people. With their extra bodies, the house staff and the Columbian guests moving in and out, it was a decent gathering.
There were a few people already set up and playing. It had been difficult to convince them to attend, and Matías knew Yamamoto and Damien had to have called in a lot of favors to put this together. Matías could only hope and pray that it worked.
“Tell me, José, how did you find a place like this?” Victor took a seat in an armchair near a busty woman being tied in an elaborate rope harness.
“Friends of friends.”
“Don’t lie, man.” Damien chuckled. “I got him an invite. My girl and I come here a lot.”
“Your girl?” Victor’s brows rose.
“Yeah.” Damien glanced around, then pointed. “See? Over there in the blue dress with Raven?”
“She’s very—lovely. José, you should let Tyron pick your women. He has good taste.”
Matías clenched his fists.
“Shoot, I just got lucky.” Damien’s smile was every bit genuine. The man was ridiculously in love.
Matías glanced back at the women who must have preceded them into the dungeon. Poppy and another woman appeared to be going through a toy bag with Raven. They’d pull out a toy, swing it around a bit and let her see it. He needed to be there, by her side, but he also couldn’t leave Victor. It was damn inconvenient to want her constantly.
Was this what being in love was like? This urge—need—to fill his time up with the other person?
Raven ducked into the women’s restroom off the main dungeon, her nerves clamoring around inside of her.
Poppy wanted her to try a few things. With her friend. A woman. None of it made sense to Raven, not when she was strung this tight.
She glanced around the bathroom, taking in yet another opulent display of wealth. Even the toilets were fancy, gold-plated things that auto-cleaned themselves. It was a bit too rich for her taste, but so long as it flushed and the water ran, Raven was happy.
The bathroom door opened and a tall, elegant woman in lace panties and nothing else stepped in. Raven’s gaze zeroed in on the woman’s face reflected in the mirror.
Lillian.
Raven turned to face her, jealousy and curiosity warring against each other.
“I’m not entirely sure what to say right now.” Lillian paused, one hand on the wall, her gaze on Raven.
“You don’t have to say anything.” Raven shrugged. It was hard not to compare herself to Lillian, especially considering the other woman had it all hanging out there for the world to see. Physically, there were a few similarities. Judging by the dark, purple stripes on her skin, she’d already begun playing.
“I feel like I should.” Lillian wrapped her arms around her and took a few steps toward Raven. She stopped near the sinks, resting her hip against the marble vanity. “He likes you.”
Raven stood a little straighter.
“I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t care for him.” Lillian took a deep breath and looked up at the lights. “There’s something sexy about a man like him. You know? It makes you want to be his leading lady. I thought after I met him, I could fix him, but—he—doesn’t want to be fixed. I realized when I hadn’t heard from him in about six weeks that it was really over. He told me from the beginning how it was, so I should have known. I’m rambling, but—he never looked at me how he looks at you.”
Raven shifted her weight from foot to foot. She couldn’t hate Lillian. She understood her. They were t
oo similar. Lillian might not say it, but she’d been in love with Matías, too. Except she probably hadn’t lied to him.
“I might have screwed up. With him I mean,” Raven said.
“Say you’re sorry.” Lillian shrugged again.
“I have. I’m not sure if it’ll make a difference.”
“He’s reasonable.” Lillian dropped her hands to her side. “Can we be okay?”
“I’m not sure I’m going to get used to this whole being friends with the exes thing.”
“Well, technically I was never anything more than a play partner. I was the only one in a relationship and it was all in my head.”
“I don’t get that. I mean, how do you do this stuff, and not get…emotional.”
“I’m not sure there’s an answer. That’s one of the things I like about kink. I grew up in a family that didn’t hug, you weren’t allowed to cry, and there was no happiness. Playing, it helps me be okay with having emotions, and that’s where I get myself in trouble.” Lillian smiled, and there was a sadness in her gaze.
“Are you still in love with him?” Raven wanted to stuff the words back in her mouth, but they were already out there.
Lillian seemed to consider the question for a moment. “I was infatuated with the idea of being in love with him, but I’ve learned that I never really knew him. When I met him, he was broken and guarded. I’ve moved on, I promise, to an equally unavailable man. My curse.”
“That…sucks.”
“It does.” Lillian scrubbed her palms over her face. “Sorry, I… I just finished a session with my current, unrequited lover and I’m going to have to end things.”
“Why? Why not tell him?”
“Because he’s in love with someone else.”
“But…if he’s playing with you then…?”
“That’s just it. We don’t kiss. We don’t have sex. It’s just play.” Lillian shrugged. “He told me from the beginning he’s in love with someone, so it’s not like I didn’t know, I just have this curse of falling for the most unavailable man in my life.”