“Some bigwig from DC will be here the beginning of next month and wants a chick with big tits.” She rolled her eyes. “What’s so great about big tits? I always liked the size of mine.” She cupped her size C’s in her hands.
Unsure what to say, I smiled and left the office. I’d thought After Hours would be the logical cover for the human trafficking, but I’d have to be able to get into their database to make sure. I’d bring it up to Tony later.
Karl wasn’t happy when I told him Tony wouldn’t be there until one o’clock, despite the message Tony had sent.
“I expect him here when he’s supposed to be here.”
“He will be from now on,” I said.
The buzzer on the intercom went off followed by a voice.
“Delivery for the nursery, boss.”
“Perfect timing. You can help me,” he said to me.
There was no getting out of it. I trudged after him.
Karl had been a snake enthusiast since he was a young teenager. Uncle Reiner had fostered his son’s interest by acquiring for him a variety of exotic species, and with what Karl had since added, he now had an entire banquet room he called the “nursery” filled with an impressive collection of venomous and nonvenomous snakes, many of them illegal. I wasn’t unreasonably afraid of snakes, but I didn’t enjoy feeding them in the least.
Lined with two dozen glass cases, the room was on the fifth floor and carefully designed for the perfect temperature and lighting control for the snakes. The smell of the reptiles made me vaguely queasy. Karl walked to the large enclosure in the corner made of Plexiglass and wood that contained Juno, the Burmese python he’d raised from a hatchling. Tan with large brown splotches rimmed in black, the huge snake was already over twelve feet in length and would get much larger before it stopped growing.
“Too bad you don’t have the balls to help me get her out so the cage can be cleaned,” Karl said as he stood admiring the huge snake.
I ignored the taunt. It wasn’t that I was afraid of the python so much as I didn’t trust Karl to unwrap her from my neck should she choose to try to constrict me. Karl did all the work with the snakes with only Shika and occasionally one of his henchmen helping him.
I paused to look into one of the tanks and shrank back when the cobra spread its hood.
Carl strode to the crates that had been delivered and began opening them. “Make yourself useful and slip a rodent into each tank. Use the tongs, or you’ll get nabbed. I don’t wanna call attention to my collection by having to take you to the hospital for antivenin.” He chuckled like that would be an amusing mishap.
“The hospital probably doesn’t have antivenin for some of these snakes,” I said.
“My private physician does. Stop your crying.”
I looked distastefully at the box of freshly killed rodents. I had, unfortunately, seen Karl feed them on numerous occasions—enough that I knew how to do it—but I’d never done it myself.
“Unless you’d rather feed Juno,” Karl said, hands on his hips.
“Yeah, I’ll do Juno,” I said.
Karl sighed. “Pussy.” He got busy with the rodents while I took the still-warm dead chicken from the second crate and carried it by the feet to Juno’s cage. The snake remained coiled in the corner while I undid the locks. I opened the door and unceremoniously tossed the dead bird in with a thunk and closed the door again, making sure I secured it. With macabre curiosity, I watched Juno test the air with her tongue and slowly slither toward the food. Opening her mouth, she grasped the bird before sinuously coiling around it.
I turned away from the enclosure, not interested in seeing Juno unhinge her mouth and slowly swallow her meal.
After thoroughly washing my hands in the small adjoining bathroom, I stood near the door watching my cousin expertly give each of his snakes a still warm but very dead rat or mouse, crooning at his pets the entire time, until he’d finished. His phone rang before he could set down the tongs.
“Bruder. Yes, yes.” He paused, listening. “The twenty-fifth, like I told you before. Yes. The shop.”
Karl had never censored his conversations around me, which just went to show how little he feared me. However, I normally didn’t listen because I’d never wanted to entangle myself in any of his dealings or become good enough at something to cause my cousin to notice and attempt to hone my skills at it. In the face of Tony’s determination to take Karl down, I was ashamed of all that. Knowing what I now knew, there was no way I could ignore what was going on.
“I didn’t spend all that time expanding down there for nothing, so make do.” Karl sighed in annoyance. “We can always hold some of the merchandise until next month’s shipment, but we have to accommodate those on the list. Period.” Face reddening, he snapped, “Well, that’s not my problem, is it?” He disconnected and shoved the phone into the pocket of his trousers before pushing past me and out into the hall.
Once in the hallway again, I took a deep breath. As we entered the elevator, I wondered if the “merchandise” Karl had spoken about was drugs, weapons, or…people. I suppressed a shudder. And where was “down there”?
Karl would be suspicious if I suddenly became interested in the business, which left me with no choice but to keep my eyes and ears open.
“Where is the little fucker?” Karl grumbled, and I stiffened, knowing he was talking about Tony.
“He said one. It’s only twelve-thirty.”
Karl sneered but dropped the subject. “I need you to go with Brown today. You’re gonna be real interested in some art and distract the manager while Brown has a meeting with his assistant. Put on an expensive suit and get a wad of cash before you leave. That reminds me, did Tony remember I wanted to see his portfolio? If he’s good, I might want to commission a painting of Shika.”
“I’ll text him to remind him,” I said and headed for the guest room upstairs to dress in one of Karl’s suits.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Tony
When I walked off the private elevator into the penthouse, I was disappointed not to see Cane. I’d missed him and had hoped to share a private look before I had to get to work. Even better if Bruder disappeared for a while and Cane and I could make out.
Bruder was on his phone and waved me toward the stairs. I went, glad not to have to make small talk with the man. Once in the office, I booted up the computer, and while I could still hear Bruder talking downstairs, I took the opportunity to insert a small flash drive into the port. Bruder had given me access to his files the day before, but it was difficult to look into what he was up to with the man frequently coming up to see what progress I’d made. That day, I was supposed to be checking out what his competitors offered as compared to the B-Natural line. He was pretty picky about the information he wanted. I didn’t have time to search his files, but I could download them and take them home to look at.
While the files were copying, I snooped around in the office but as I’d assumed, Bruder didn’t keep anything he wouldn’t want anyone else to see in there. I was sure most hard copies were locked up in the seventh-floor offices, but I quietly walked down the hall and peered into Bruder’s bedroom just because I might never get another chance.
Bruder’s voice droned on downstairs, still a distance from the staircase. It rose in anger several times. I bet it was a real bitch working for him, and I thought of Cane and how he’d been trapped with this guy for years and how that had made him stoic and withdrawn. My determination doubled to get him away from there for good.
I’d passed Bruder’s girlfriend in the lobby when I’d arrived, so I knew I was alone upstairs. She’d given me a wave and even walked me to the private elevator and punched in the code, sending a text to Bruder that I was on my way up. She seemed too nice for a guy like Bruder, but some women only cared about the perks that came with money.
I looked in the closet. Other than an array of suits and some of Shika’s clothes, I didn’t find anything interesting. I opened drawers. Bruder had quite
the collection of sex toys, including blindfolds and handcuffs. Karl Bruder struck me as someone who would get off on having control, and that obviously overlapped into the bedroom.
Sudden footsteps on the stairs sent my heart into my throat, and I rushed back to the office. I’d barely gotten the flash drive out and into my pocket before Bruder appeared at the door.
“Everything going all right?” he asked.
“Fine,” I said giving him a distracted look and hoping I didn’t appear out of breath.
“Help yourself to drinks or whatever from the kitchen. I’m going to be on and off the phone all afternoon.”
I nodded, eyes riveted to the screen. I hoped like hell he wouldn’t walk over to get a look because what I’d pulled up in my haste was a Google search for underwear.
Thankfully, Bruder headed back downstairs, and I released a sigh of relief and re-inserted the flash drive. As I poked around, I found a few hidden files and copied them to the flash drive too before opening one.
My eyes widened at what I saw. Rows of faces, from about age thirteen to middle-aged, all looking back at me with the same fearful expression. God, were these the people Bruder had taken from their homes? My stomach clenched. There were names under the faces, but there was no way I could look into them now. Bruder would expect me to have made a dent in my work for the day. I quickly finished copying to the flash drive and got down to work.
****
Hours later when I walked down the stairs, the city beyond the window was lit up in the darkness. Karl sat on the couch in a circle of light from the lamp, sleeves rolled up over huge muscles, a drink in one hand and an open folder in the other. I could see a slight family resemblance to Cane, but Cane was much more handsome, in my opinion. Bruder looked up when he heard me.
“Finished for the evening?”
I nodded and started to leave, but he stopped me.
“Did you bring your portfolio?”
I held back a sigh. I’d hoped he’d forgotten. Taking a seat beside him on the couch, I opened my messenger bag and pulled out a binder with laminated photos of my best work.
“It’s not anything fancy.”
Bruder scrolled through the pictures. “Subtly erotic. I’m impressed.” He continued to look. “I like these very much.” He looked up at me. “I’d like to commission a painting of Shika for the master bedroom.” He handed back the portfolio.
“I’m flattered, but I’m really not that good. I’ve never sold any of my work.”
“I told you before; I know what I like. I’ll pay twelve thousand dollars for a large portrait to hang over the bed.”
I paused. “That’s very generous, but—”
“I’m not being generous. Your work is worth that much. Surely there are things you can do with the money.”
My phone buzzed, and when I glanced at it, it was like fate telling me to take the commission.
“I can prepare a studio. You can paint in the mornings and work on the computer in the afternoons,” Bruder said.
“All right. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I strode toward the elevator and answered the phone as the doors were closing.
“Hi, Mom.”
“You know what today is, don’t you, Antonio?” she asked without greeting. “Your father died ten years ago today.”
I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall. I hadn’t wanted to remember because it hurt so much. She wouldn’t let me forget.
“I took flowers to the cemetery. I had to take a cab. It was very expensive.”
“I’ll be sending you a check at the end of the week,” I said wearily, a lump forming in my throat.
“Money can’t take the place of the only man I loved,” she said bitterly.
“But it helps,” I said, unable to help the resentment welling up inside me. I was a piece of that man she’d loved so much, but she didn’t see me. I didn’t matter except for the money she felt I owed her.
She disconnected.
My phone buzzed again. “Shit.” I looked at the screen and was relieved to see it was Cane this time. Just talking to her for those few minutes had shaken me. Dashing at my wet eyes, I cleared my throat and answered.
“Are you still in the building?” Cane asked. The deep, smooth tone of his voice made my breath catch in my throat.
“I just reached the lobby.”
“Come to the eighth floor.”
I pushed the button. “Okay. What’s going on?”
“Just come.” His voice sent shivers down my spine in the best of ways.
When I stepped off the elevator, my eyes immediately latched onto Cane leaning against a door at the end of the hall. As I walked toward him, he opened the door and led me into a spacious apartment.
“This is my suite of rooms. I rarely use them,” Cane shut the door behind us.
I walked farther into the apartment and looked around.
“It’s a nice place,” I said. It really was. Not nearly as extravagant as Bruder’s penthouse, but a million times nicer than the clubhouse. Muted colors, tasteful paintings, a nice view, but I soon realized there was nothing that said anything about the man. In his room at the clubhouse, Cane had hung pictures of the vintage bikes he loved on the walls, and the rows of DVDs on the shelves by his bed displayed an eclectic mix of action and romantic literary films. I’d gone through them recently when Cane had told me and Skitz to choose a movie and had been surprised by some of the titles. There were even a few foreign films in the mix.
“I suppose. It doesn’t feel like home, though, and when I’m here, Karl’s watching me.”
I walked over to the large window on the other side of which a beautiful sunset colored the harbor. Cane moved behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. My breath stuttered when he leaned in and gently ran his mouth over my ear. I automatically settled back against him. I’d been going to talk to him about Bruder and the pictures I’d found, but he’d evidently brought me there for a little privacy, and I was all for that.
Turning in his arms, I took him by the collar and pulled him down to my eager mouth. We met with open-mouthed kisses, exploring each other with abandon. Cane tasted like ginger ale. I sucked on his tongue, bit his lips, pushed my body against his until there wasn’t a bit of space between us. He wrapped his arms around me, one hand moving down to my ass to squeeze it in time with the thrusts of his tongue.
I was hard and wanted everything from him, but the highest on my list at the moment was his cock in my mouth.
Dropping to my knees, I kept my gaze glued to his while I unbuckled his belt. I pulled out his cock from his underwear and wasted no time wrapping my mouth around it, dipping as close to the base as I could get and then pulling back up, making him nice and wet, moaning in my throat each time the head touched the back of it.
Cane groaned, big hands shaking as he held each side of my face.
“Fuck,” he whispered. I brought my mouth to the tip of his cock and sucked, then I took him in hand and stroked while I gave his balls the same concentrated attention. I loved the taste of him. I loved the smell of him. I loved the way the muscles in his thighs bunched up under the palms of my hands when I sucked his cock back down my throat. And I loved the way his fingers tightened in my hair to warn me when he was getting close.
I groaned, letting him know I wanted to swallow it all, and he came with a loud cry that reverberated through the quiet room and made my cock jump inside my pants. I fumbled with the zipper, anxious to get myself off. Cane pushed my hands away, stretched out on the floor, and slowly and sensually returned the favor, his mouth a warm and welcome vice around my throbbing shaft.
I definitely saw stars.
As we lay on the floor in each other’s arms, recovering, something occurred to me, and I stiffened.
“Cane?”
“Yeah?” He kissed my cheek.
“Have you ever thought your cousin might have cameras on you?”
Cane chuckled. “Of course. He doesn’t thou
gh. I have this place checked out every so often.”
I relaxed a little. “What about at his place?”
“Karl has cameras all over this building, but not in his own penthouse. Why?”
“I…might have snooped a little today. In his bedroom. I also inserted a flash drive into the computer to copy files. It was really stupid of me not to consider cameras.”
“I should have told you it was clear.” He kissed my mouth, and we got caught up in sliding our tongues together. Being in Cane’s arms was like a dream come true, and I still couldn’t believe we were together.
“Can we take this to the couch?” I asked after a moment. “This floor isn’t very comfortable.”
“I have an even better idea.” Cane got to his feet and reached down to help me up. “Let’s take this to the bedroom.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Cane
Deep laughter bubbled up from my throat until my stomach hurt and tears ran out of my eyes. Beside me in bed, Tony turned his head to give me a perplexed look.
“What’s so funny?”
I shook my head. I couldn’t explain it if I had to, except to say that I was happy. He must have seen something in my eyes because he smiled softly before leaning in and kissing me. I could kiss Tony Sarto for hours—forget to eat, forget to sleep, forget everything except the feeling on his lips on mine. It was the closest to heaven I’d likely ever get.
He leaned his head on my shoulder. “We’re going to get him,” he said after a moment.
I stroked his hair, thinking about how I’d had him on his knees just moments before, my cock in his ass. “Huh? Get who?”
Tony laughed. “Did I suck your brains out through your dick earlier? Your cousin, of course!”
I rolled so that I was lying over him, looking down into his face. He looked so amused, yet content and pleased at the same time, and I suddenly thought it would be incredibly easy to get used to being with him like this.
“I believe you,” I said honestly, “but I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“All we need is enough to show Blaze’s friend at the FBI, and I think I found it today.”
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