The Hacker and his Heart's Desire

by James, Rebecca;

  “Yeah,” Tony agreed. “Kinda like somebody built it recently. Wonder what’s on the other side?” He looked at me.

  I tried to pull the door open by the latch, but it wouldn’t budge. “Locked,” I said.

  “This has to lead to underneath the convention center,” Tony said. “I’d bet everything I have that he’s keeping those people on the other side of this door.” He raised his hand. “Should I pound on it?”

  I grabbed his arm. “Not unless you want to alert one of Karl’s men and die right here! No way he doesn’t have his merchandise guarded. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Just frustrated. Now what?”

  I stared at him. “You’re asking me? This is your operation.”

  He shrugged. “I hadn’t thought past this part.” We started walking back toward the entrance. “At least now we know the tunnel exists and it looks like someone’s been down here. One end of the tunnel leads to the pier where Bruder’s ships dock, and we’re pretty sure the other end is under the convention center. Maybe the next thing to do would be to see if we can find the entrance to the tunnels on that end of things.”

  “It’ll have to wait until another time. The center won’t be open tonight.”

  Tony started walking faster. “I can’t wait to get out of here. God, how awful would it be to have a tunnel collapse on you?”

  I shook my head, a smile playing around my mouth. He was gutsy and gung-ho one minute, and spooked and impatient the next.

  “Stop thinking like that.” My longer legs easily matched his strides. “If the tunnel’s been around this long, it isn’t likely to collapse now. The walls and ceiling are made of concrete anyway.” Still, his anxiety was starting to rub off on me, and I quickened my steps.

  The relief I felt as we neared the entrance was palpable. I let Tony step out ahead of me, but I had to admit I was almost as eager to get out of that dark, enclosed space myself.

  “Man, that was awful. Poor cows,” Tony said, shuddering. “And after going through that, they were led to slaughter.” He looked at me. “Your cousin is doing the same thing to people.”

  My stomach clenched.

  When we reached the open air, I took several deep breaths while Tony snapped the padlock back in place.

  “I’m going to have to go to the Rockwell Center in a few days to find out where our booth will be set up and make a few preparations. The other entrance is going to have to be someplace Bruder can access anytime he wants to, right? He doesn’t own the building.”

  We turned onto 11th street. From there we could see the Rockwell Center in the distance, an attractive, sprawling building with a commercial center in the front.

  “Bingo,” Tony said.

  I looked at him.

  “His store,” he said, pointing. “Probably not a coincidence it’s in the front of the center.”

  “Shit, you’re right. I’d forgotten he had one in this location.”

  I put my arm around him, and we stood on the sidewalk looking at the lit-up convention center. “We’re getting closer. Maybe we really can do this.”

  Tony jabbed his elbow into my side. “We are going to do it. No maybes about it.”

  ****

  At the clubhouse, Tony headed for the bathroom to take a shower. As I stood in the kitchen making a sandwich, the back door opened and Blaze walked in.

  “Just the man I want to see,” he said.

  I took two beers out of the refrigerator and handed him one. “Yeah? What’s up?” I was pretty sure I knew. Blaze and I had both been busy the past few days and hadn’t had a chance to talk since he’d found out Tony and I were sleeping together.

  Blaze leaned against the counter. “You and Tony, huh? Am I to presume you’re done acting in porn and it has nothing to do with your dick not working?”

  I winced. “Sorry we lied to you.”

  Blaze sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why did you?”

  “Since my cousin tends to look for ways to control me, Tony and I thought it would be better to keep it secret for now. We told you what we think he’s up to. He’s a dangerous man.”

  “Have you found anything out about that? The human trafficking?” Blaze asked, voice low.

  “A few things. Listen, you might want to talk to your fed friend again. There’s an event coming up on the 25th at the Rockwell Center that we think is a cover for an exchange going on below the building.”

  “Below it?”

  “Yeah. We found out there are tunnels down there.”

  “What makes you think the convention’s a cover?”

  “Tony fished out Karl’s private account of emails which are full of talk about having people’s tea ready for them to pick up. Tony thinks it’s all a code for ordering sex slaves. Buyers will be coming in from all over under the guise of health products when what they really want to do is pick up their slaves.”

  Blaze shook his head in disgust. I took a long pull on my beer, and when I looked at him again, he was watching me curiously.

  “What?” I asked.

  Blaze slowly shook his head. “Lake’s always told me you weren’t as dumb as you looked.”

  “Smart man.” My smile died. “That’s another thing I need to apologize to you for. That false front I put on was all about not letting you guys get too close to me. I’m hoping all that will change very soon.”

  “This is some dangerous shit you’re talking about,” Blaze said. “You guys can’t do it on your own.”

  “You can’t help us. I’m willing to bet my cousin knows every single one of the Hedonists on sight. It’s bad enough Tony’s involved.”

  Blaze sighed. “You’re going to have to have something pretty solid to convince my friend to put his neck out and get his colleagues out here.”

  “I know. We’re trying.” I hoped my trip to Rockwell Center that morning would pan out.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Tony

  I’d just finished up with Shika when my phone buzzed. Seeing it was Cane, I answered, told him to hold on a second, and left the suite of rooms I was using as a painting studio. I headed for the emergency stairwell, and once closed in, I sat on the steps and raised my phone to my ear.

  “Sorry. Had to get somewhere I could talk. What’s up?” Cane had gone to the convention center that morning, and I’d been nervous about it, afraid he’d get caught looking for a way into the tunnels but also afraid he wouldn’t find anything.

  “I just finished up with the director here and went down to the lower floor but didn’t see a way to anything below ground.”

  “We said it would have to be something Bruder’s got constant access to,” I reminded him.

  “I know, but I wouldn’t have put it past him to have found a way into the convention center itself. I’m heading for the store now. I just thought I’d check out down here first. If there was another way underground, it could save us a lot of trouble.”

  “True.” I chatted with him a few minutes while he made his way to the commercial area of the building.

  “I’m unlocking the door to the B-Natural store right now,” he told me.

  I waited. I could hear the bell over the door chime and Cane moving through the shop.

  “I’m in the back. I don’t see anything.”

  “It’s not going to be obvious,” I said, absently running my fingers over the stair railing.

  Cane grunted. I heard a door open. “Employee bathroom,” he said. “No other doors back here. Damn.”

  “Maybe it’s not a conventional door,” I said. “If Bruder had the tunnels expanded, he did it from underground, right?”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “So, he would be coming up into his store. Look for a trap door, maybe with a rug over it or some lightweight boxes.”

  “I’m gonna put the phone down a minute.”

  Tapping my fingers nervously on my leg, I listened while Cane searched. A moment later, I heard him picking up the phone.

  “You
were right. There’s a trap door under a mat. I got it open and it leads down a flight of wooden steps and into the tunnels.”

  I’d been slumped on the stairs and sat upright at the news.

  “Oh, my God. Did you go down there?”

  “Just a few steps to make sure it was what we think it is.”

  I panicked, picturing Cane lowering himself underground, not knowing what was waiting for him. “Okay, but no more. What if Bruder had guards down there?”

  “I’d tell them Karl sent me to check.”

  My heart went into overdrive. I didn’t want Cane risking himself like that, but we needed proof for Blaze’s FBI friend. I bit my thumbnail. “Just take a picture of the trap door and the stairs beneath. I took a couple snaps of the other side when we were at the pier the other night.”

  “Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Be careful!” I hurried to say before he disconnected.

  In Bruder’s penthouse, I immediately headed upstairs to the office. The past few days, Bruder had been closed up in his study when I arrived, and I hadn’t spoken to him until whenever he decided to come check on me. That was more than fine with me; I wasn’t eager to talk to the man.

  While the computer booted up, I listened to voice messages on my phone. The last two were from my mother.

  “Antonio. I want to know if you have mailed that check you promised. I am running very low on funds. I’ve told you, this lifestyle is very different than what I had when your father was alive. We both know whose fault that is. Let me know as soon as you can.”

  In the second message, it sounded as though my mother had been drinking excessively.

  “Why did you do it? Why couldn’t you be a good boy? I’d still have him with me.” She began sobbing into the phone. I couldn’t listen and closed the message center.

  I put my head in my hands, tears pricking my eyes. I’d mailed the check, but who was I kidding? It was never going to be enough. My mother wanted to be living in Southern Italy instead of her small bungalow in California. She wanted a staff waiting on her. I couldn’t give her any of that. And she didn’t want me.

  “Something the matter?”

  Bruder’s voice startled me.

  “Just a headache.” I wasn’t lying; another migraine was brewing behind my eyes.

  “Are you making any headway with the reports?”

  I passed him a few papers with a list of products sold by the first five of his competitors on the list he’d given me. “I should be wrapping up another couple today.”

  “I’ll be meeting representatives of these businesses at a convention on the 25th,” Bruder said. “I’d liked to be armed with as much knowledge about them as possible. I need you to step things up a little, even if you have to stay late to do it. The entire list by the beginning of next week, Tony.”

  He left the room, and I let out a breath and muttered, “Well, thanks for the sudden deadline.”

  A lot of this could be done at home, but Bruder insisted I do it at his penthouse and leave all the information I garnered in the office. Did he know how ridiculous that sounded? We were talking about health product corporations, not national security. It underlined his need for control.

  Lunchtime had long passed, and my stomach growled irritably. I pulled a granola bar out of my messenger bag and kept working while eating it. I managed to get through two accounts, which left four to go. Standing, I stretched until my back popped and then shut down the computer and gathered my things.

  When I left the penthouse, Bruder was nowhere to be seen. I’d just stepped off the elevator into the hall by the lobby when someone grabbed my arm and yanked me behind a door. In panic, I began to struggle, but a hand slid over my mouth and soft words whispered in my ear.

  “It’s just me.”

  I relaxed, and the hand slid away.

  “What the hell, Cane?” I turned to face him.

  He was smiling smugly at me. “I wanted a few minutes alone with you.” He pulled me close, and I gasped at the feel of his firm, muscular body against mine.

  “I was worried about you,” I whispered against his lips before he claimed them. The kiss was frantic at first but then turned languid and slow. I melted against him.

  “Missed you,” he said, surprising me. I spent most nights in Cane’s bed, even though it was a twin and there wasn’t a lot of room. We’d grown closer, but we couldn’t fool around much because of the thin walls of the clubhouse. Hung wasn’t going to interfere again, but I preferred not to have my friends listening when I got fucked.

  Cane’s big hands grabbed hold of my ass and squeezed. “I want you naked,” he said, voice somehow managing to sound both smooth and gravelly at the same time.

  “Same,” I breathed out, and we kissed again.

  “I have some time. Let’s go up to my suite.” I eagerly agreed, and twenty-five minutes later, we lay naked and sated in the bed, my head resting on his chest and my fingers playing with the dark hair sprinkled over his pecs. Cane’s left nipple was a dark red from where I’d sucked and bitten on it, and my ass was sore as hell from being pounded into the mattress.

  “That was spectacular,” Cane said with a sigh.

  I pulled my thigh up over his and snuggled closer. “I agree.”

  “Wish we could do that all the time.”

  I smiled against his skin. “I agree with that too.”

  He sighed. “When is this all going to be over?”

  “On the 25th.”

  He looked down at me. “How do you stay so positive? I feel like a dark cloud’s hanging over us and at any minute we’re going to be struck by lightning.”

  I chuckled at that. “Wow. So I take it you’re a glass-half-empty kind of guy?”

  Cane ran his fingers up and down my spine, making me tremble. “Just where my family’s concerned.”

  I rose up on my elbow and looked into his eyes. “Stop calling those mobsters family. Sometimes family has nothing to do with genes. We’re your family, Cane. The club. Get used to it. You’re nothing like they are; please believe me.”

  Cane pushed a curl from my forehead. I was sure my hair was a mess as just minutes before Cane had gripped it tightly in both hands. Christ, it had been good. I’d never come like that before; he knew I liked it rough and delivered spectacularly.

  “This between us,” Cane said, motioning back and forth with his hand and making my heart beat faster and butterflies start up in my stomach, “It’s real. Right?” He looked so vulnerable it didn’t even occur to me to tease him. Leaning in, I kissed his lips gently before running my tongue over them.

  “As real as it gets.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Cane

  The stakes were fucking high. I wished I had pulled my head out of my ass long ago and taken a good look at what Karl was doing. Taking him down without having to worry about Tony and the rest of my club brothers would have been so much easier.

  I hated that Tony spent his days in Karl’s penthouse. Even when he was painting Shika I worried about him. I often felt like he didn’t take Karl seriously enough. Tony was such a contrast. In appearance, he looked like a curly-haired angel, beautiful and innocent, but the man was a tiger, especially in bed. I got hard just thinking about it. He acted similarly when facing off with my cousin, a man who could have him killed on a whim. But there was also a softer, vulnerable side of Tony that brought out all my protective instincts. I’d die rather than allow him to get hurt.

  I lay in the bed where we’d just had hot, sweaty sex, watching Tony pulling on his clothes, my hand moving on my hardening cock. He had a beautiful ass, and my eyes were riveted to it until he’d completely covered it up with his clothes.

  He looked over his shoulder and smiled at me, and my heart turned over. “You just going to lie in bed the rest of the day and jerk off?”

  I smiled, my hand continuing to move slowly up and down my shaft as I remembered how I’d drilled him with my cock.

  “I wish
,” I said, letting go with a sigh and sitting up, the covers pooling on my thighs. “I have a lot to do this afternoon. Karl has very specific things he wants done today. Things any of his lackeys could do, yet he insists it be me.”

  “Getting someone else to do it wouldn’t allow him to lord it over you,” Tony said. “He knows you’re better than he is, Cane, and it drives him crazy.”

  I got out of bed and walked over to him, tipping up his chin so I could kiss those delicious lips.

  “You think very highly of me.”

  Tony nodded. “Yes, I do. And you should too.”

  “I’m just a simple guy from Montana trying not to get burned while working for the devil.”

  Tony cocked his head to the side, regarding me speculatively. “What do you think of the legit business? Do you hate it too?”

  “Depends on what I’m doing. I guess I’ve just never felt like a real part of it, although my uncle tried to draw me in when I worked in the offices. I was always afraid.”

  Tony placed his hands on my hips and stepped a little closer to me, gripping my bare ass. “Afraid of what?”

  I couldn’t believe I’d admitted that to him, but now that I had, he wasn’t going to let me drop it.

  “Afraid that I’d like what I was doing, that I’d become embroiled in it. Become like them.”

  Tony’s face softened, and he drew me into a long kiss, our tongues rubbing against one another until my cock stood hard between us.

  “Let me help you with that,” Tony said, batting his lashes at me. He wrapped his fingers around my erection and began to stroke, slowly and snugly, just the way I liked it, until I was on my toes with every swipe, precum dribbling onto his fingers.

  When Tony bent and took me in his mouth, my head spun. He sucked the head sweetly until I came, and then he shared the taste with me.

  “That was great.” I kissed his nose and pressed my forehead to his. “I really need to get going though.” Reluctantly, I pulled away and started dressing.

  “That’s okay. I need to go get some real lunch.” He smiled lopsidedly at me, and I laughed and pulled him in for a deep kiss. “I’ll return the favor later,” I whispered in his ear before letting him go with a swat to his perfect ass. “I’ll just have to gag you so the others won’t hear.”