by Amy Brent
Chapter two
It was the last day of the exhibition and I was quite fortunate to say that I had paved the way for my future. Those jewels that were on display were only there as a conversation piece, but I also had the collection from Jacob becoming quite a growing concern of its own. I had spied the two bodyguards with Grady, but they were like ghosts in the machine.
“I’m just not sure and what kind of deal can you make me on this?” This guy had obvious of wealth and it was oozing out of his pores from the Gucci loafers on his feet all the way up to the custom made tie that probably cost more than my rent in one month. “I’m sure that the price tag can be negotiated. I always like to feel like I’m getting a deal.” He was a man that had the knowledge to navigate in the boardroom. His bald head was gleaming from the light overhead.
“Mr. Booth, I do believe that the price that I’m offering is fair. With that being said, I’m sure that we can come to some kind of reasonable solution that would benefit the both of us. I’m going to write down a number and you’re killing me with even taking it down a dollar.” I had learned from the best and Jacob was a consummate professional when it came to giving the client what they wanted. “I think that you should really take a good look at this and tell me that it’s not worth the money. The woman in your life will be thrilled to have this hanging around their neck.” I was careful not to mention a wife, because you never knew what their intentions were.
I was wearing a black and red dress flowing over my body like it was made just for me. I bent slightly at the waist to give a bird’s eye view of my cleavage and the treasures that was found within. I wore no bra I felt that my sexuality was my best weapon. My sultry voice and seductive tone was also a good way to seal the deal before the ink was dry on the paper.
He moved closer and with his face practically in my bosom, he was panting and staring, but he wasn’t looking at my eyes. I scribbled the number on the paper and let him look at it with a careful eye. “I believe that we have a deal. I don’t suppose that we could finish this transaction right here and right now. I would hate to lose out and I know how this business works.” I had the paper work already done up and all I needed was his signature and a credit card number. He passed me a wad of bills and I counted them under the counter out of the sight of prying eyes.
The museum was abuzz with the electricity of people walking around and perusing those little treasures that they couldn’t get enough of. I spied two men dressed casual in pullover black shirts that really did mold to their skin. I saw the accent of their muscles and the way that their blue windbreakers didn’t exactly hide what god blessed them with.
“I don’t think that you could’ve gotten a better deal anywhere, Mr. Booth.” This was not the first business that I had done in the last two days. I had enough to keep the business afloat for some time and even more importantly a bit left over for something special for myself. I had my eyes on these pair of shoes in the window of one of the higher class boutiques in the area. Being a New York native, I knew that those shoes would not be there long. I’d purposely hidden them in the store. It was just a matter of time before the proprietor found them and put them back on display where they belonged in the window.
I had my back turned when I heard a commotion. I whirled around with my dress following to see that one of those two guys that I had seen in the windbreakers was now getting into a tussle with the security guard. It wasn’t really the security guard, but it was the security that had been left to me by the government. This big guy had wrapped his hand around the man’s neck and I could see the color of his cheeks turning a deep purple from lack of oxygen.
I was the only one that could see what he was doing. They were hidden within an alcove and I think that was by design. “Please don’t do anything to attract more attention to yourself. We don’t want to hurt anybody, but we will if we have to.” I was shaking in my boots and the voice was behind me. “I’m sure you can feel what that is pressed up against your back.” I felt the hard substance of what I could only assume was a gun, but there was also something more. The revealing motion of something up against my ass had me wondering what kind of man could get excited about doing a broad daylight robbery like this.
“Please…don’t kill me. I promise I won’t say anything. I have a wife… I mean I have a husband and a child that I care for deeply.” My words were flustered and I was only trying to instill a bit of sympathy in the man that was holding me hostage.
“Who exactly are you trying to convince? I see no visible ring on your finger and no tan line to say that you took it off during this exhibition. My brother and I need to get out of here quickly. I’m afraid that we’re going to have to take you with us. Don’t be alarmed, because we only want you as leverage in case things go sour in a hurry.” His brother had dragged the unconscious weight of the man behind the counter and out of sight of any one that might be looking.
He had a black bag and from the sound of what was inside, I would gather to say that they had gotten what they had came for. Amazingly, there was still the collection of government jewels sitting there for the taking. It was guarded by an unbreakable case and a security alarm that would pierce the eardrum of anybody that wanted to break in. Whatever they had come for was by far something on a smaller scale than the jewels that the government had given me to show off.
“I don’t want anything to do with either one of you.” I felt like I needed to do something desperate and maybe that’s the reason why I felt a little overwhelmed. I looked around for anybody that could come to the rescue. I was hoping to see a police officer making his rounds and they had been quite prevalent during the exhibition. It was obvious that they didn’t have the manpower to fully cover the whole exhibition floor. They were mostly here as a courtesy to the museum.
“You don’t have any other choice. You can either come with this, or we can kill you very quietly. You’re the only one that has seen our face and not even that security guard was able to accomplish that feat. We can’t have you describing us to a sketch artist. When we are sure that we are safe, then we will gladly let you go.” The one behind me was being courteous and nice. The one in front was menacing and showing that he was willing to do what it took whether it be killing or otherwise.
“My brother tends to use flowery words. Just help us leave quietly and that is all that we will ask of you. Be nice to us and will be nice to you.” I had a glance over my shoulder and the shaved head and the kind eyes didn’t really go together. I saw the makings of a tattoo on his neck and that told me that prison time was part of his past.
“I don’t really condone violence, but there is always a time and place to use force when necessary.” The one behind me had a nice melodic voice. It was almost angel like.
“What exactly are you doing with these two hunks over here?” The security was lying at my feet and Jessica a buxom young blonde had decided to interfere where her nose didn’t belong. “You shouldn’t be hiding men like them. If it was up to me, I would have them both displayed in my bedroom. They would be that little toy that I could call upon when the need arises. Are you going to introduce me, or do I have to guess what their names are?” The one behind me nudged me with the gun making it very clear that I had to get rid of her posthaste.
“I would like you to meet Erin and William Erickson.” The last name made her eyes go wide. She cocked her head to the side like she was trying to place them from somewhere. “These are the infamous Erickson brothers.” I’d known for quite some time that the Erickson brothers were recluse and they barely ever allowed anybody to see them in the light of day. The harsh lighting around here was making it possible to make her believe what I was saying.
“No shit. I suppose it shouldn’t be all that surprising that they would come out for something like this. Did you already hammer out a deal or do I have a chance to get in on this?” She was always using her sexual charms to steal away clients from myself and Jacob. Jessica came from a long nine of jewelers a
nd she was not about to let anybody encroach on her territory. “I think I should at least have a chance to show off some of my stuff. Give me a few minutes to gather some of the finer items in my collection and I’ll be right back.” She was anxious to make a sale and I could see the dollar signs literally dancing in her eyes.
“That should keep her busy for a few minutes. It won’t be long, until she’s back and I suggest that you get out of here while the getting is good.” I thought that I had done my part, but they didn’t see it that way.
“That was pretty quick thinking and it might be an advantage to have you around.” I didn’t want to go with them, but I felt like I was in an untenable situation. “Like I said before, we’re not usually one for violence, but I sometimes can’t speak for my brother. I do think that it would be better that you cooperate. Let these unsuspecting people go on with their lives not knowing what’s going on. You have to know that we will fight back if cornered. Do you really want to have their deaths on your conscience? How are you supposed to live with something like that when you could’ve done something about it?” He was obviously the one that was more a wordsmith, but there was something strangely enticing about all of this.
“Follow me and try not to do anything that’s going to get any one of us killed. I have too much to live for.” He had the gun pretty much concealed behind me. We made our way down the maintenance hallway to an exit leading to the back of the building. It was a good thing that the janitor was not around and I don’t think that they would have taken kindly to anybody getting in their way. “I’m not going to try and tell you what to do, but having a hostage is only going to make more problems than it’s worth.”
“She’s really not saying anything that we don’t already know, Cody.” I had more knowledge than I did before. The other brother had slipped. Cody was obviously the shy and quiet type with this strength in reserve. He was a gentleman, but if pushed came to shove, he would push back with the best of them.
“Nobody asked your opinion. I’m the one with the street smarts. Have you forgotten who took the rap for you when you got in over your head yet again? There would’ve been no way for you to survive long enough in prison to get out relatively unscathed. Your temper would have gotten the best of you. By the way, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me by name?” Cody was the voice of reason and we walked around to the other side of the building, until we came to a nondescript white car at the corner of the lot.
It was an old model cutlass and had a roomy backseat that I had become intimately acquainted with when I was in high school. It brought back some very poignant and quite powerful memories. My first time was awkward with a kid that was all hands and no technique.
I slid in with Cody pressed up beside me with the gun digging into my ribs. The other brother was the getaway driver.
“I’m sorry about this, but I really can’t have you seeing where we’re going.” I was about to turn in his direction, but I felt a clubbing blow to my neck. Everything went black and I think that I had a semblance of falling face first into his lap. There was the presence of something against my mouth, but I didn’t have a chance to fully absorb that it was his stiff staff.
Chapter three
“I don’t care what you have to say, Brody. We got what we wanted, but that’s not going to end there. They are going to come after us and having her might be the difference between life and death. Don’t look at me like that. I promised that I would get you out of this mess and I’m not going to go against my word. I just can’t believe that you dragged me into this right after I got out for another one of your harebrained schemes.” I had my eyes closed, but I was awake and breathing regularly.
“She’s not some dumb bitch that is going to stay with us willingly. She’s a sophisticated young woman in the prime of her life. There are obviously going to be people looking for her and how long is it going to take them to find footage of us inside that building?” I had thought about that myself and most likely the police were already going over that footage as we speak.
Cody literally slapped him upside his head. “You really do take me for fool. I already took care of the cameras and erased any sign of us. It didn’t take much to hack into their systems and it wasn’t like we were trying to take over NASA or some other government facility. All they will find is static and maybe a few witnesses that might be able to describe us. I wouldn’t worry about that, because most people have a tendency to blur the lines between fact and fiction.” He was good and the muscle of the group was Brody and it was obvious that he had no problem getting the definition on his arms and biceps.
Brody’s hair was cut short, but not the kind of stubble that Cody was wearing. They were both the same height at around 6 feet. I would say that Cody was maybe 180 pounds with a kind of lean physique that would have me crawling for the chance to supply him with my pleasurable orifices.
“I don’t like this, Cody. You’ve already called them and they have been reluctant to get back to you. Maybe this plan of yours is going to blow up in our face. They told us what we had to do and you decided to go your own way. I’m following you because you usually have a pretty good keen insight for these things.” Pretending to be asleep was a good way to get more information. I had my eyes open just enough, so that I could see them, but not attract the kind of attention that would alert them to me being awake.
Cody stopped with his hand raised in the air. He lowered it and came over to me. He hovered over top of me with his two hands on either side of my head. “I didn’t hit you that hard. You may as well open your eyes or do you insist on me doing it for you?” I fluttered my lids making it look like I’d just come too, but the smile on his face told me that he knew differently. The windbreakers were replaced with only the black pullover sweaters.
“You do know that she knows too much. We can’t afford any distractions.” I stared into his eyes. I’d never been particularly attracted to white men, but these guys really did hold their race to a different standard. Brody was muscle-bound and a freak of nature that I wanted to take the time to trace every individual muscle with my tongue. “I have to say that she looks a far cry better than seeing your face every single day when I wake up.” Brody’s gruff voice had him appearing to be menacing.
“The same goes for you. There’s no sense in trying to hide and she already knows our names from pretending to be sleeping.” I tried to move, but it was a little difficult with handcuffs wrapped around the bar of the bed. I was half expecting to be naked, but they did relieve me of my dress. The black and white ensemble of lingerie didn’t exactly leave me completely exposed.
“I’m sure that you’re wondering if we are perverts, but trust me I have a method to my madness. Taking your clothes and leaving you in this outfit not only pleases me, but keeps you from running away. This neighborhood will eat you up alive. Let’s just say there are unsavory characters that would gladly take you for a test drive.” The very idea made me cringe.
“How long do you suppose to get away with this without getting caught? Somebody is going to miss me.” He put his hand on my jaw making me look him in the eye, while his shadow Brody stood behind him with his arms to his side.
“I really don’t think that we have anything to worry about. You don’t take me for the socializing type. You may project something else to the public, but I see something a little different deep down where it matters. The only concern I have is when the other security that is on the government payroll comes to collect his unconscious buddy. That is when all hell will break loose. It will be more sedate than the actual authorities. They won’t want to make a scene and they will quietly dismantle your exhibition before coming in search of you. That being said, I would estimate maybe 24 hours before they have a full blown manhunt for you. That should be plenty of time for us to finish our business and get out of here.”
“I’m going out for takeout. Don’t even start with me. I’ll get whenever I damn well want and you’ll eat it because it’
s the only thing in this place.” The obvious disrepair notwithstanding, I could hear the sound of water nearby. The dripping from the pipes and the sawdust on the floor told me more than being able to see where I was going. “Take care of her and don’t let her manipulate you, Cody.” The one thing that Cody wasn’t was a pushover. He would see though any kind of game I was playing.
When he was gone, I got this leering gaze from Cody. He made me feel like I was underneath a microscope. “I’m usually able to read most people, but you are different in some way, Tamara. You have this way of showing me something of a raw sexuality that oozes out of every pore of your body. You also have this manipulative way of speaking that keeps me off my guard.” We began to talk mostly about nothing at all and basically feeling each other out. “I can honestly say that I’ve never been with a black woman. You have this exotic quality. It’s something that I find myself very much attracted to. You’re also stronger than you give yourself credit for and you can literally stand up against just about anything.”
“I’m not going to lie and say that you don’t have a great body, but I’m not going to get caught up in some kind of nightingale syndrome. I’m not going to begin to personalize with my captors if that’s what you’re hoping for.” I wanted to believe the words that I was saying, but deep down I had already begun to see them differently. Cody was talking to me like I wasn’t underneath his thumb. “I appreciate that you haven’t hurt me. That will go a long way during the trial.” He threw his hands up and apparently I had just stuck a knife into a festering wound that had yet to heal.