Blind Trust

by Peiri Ann

  And I…

  She crooned, moaning in my ear, kissing my neck, stroking my pearl, and digging deep inside me as she never let it rest.

  As she made herself cum for the second time, she said, “You’re clean.” I looked at her over my shoulder as she pulled her hand from me and licked me from her fingers. “Clean and tasty.”

  “I wasn’t into that,” I lied. I needed to say it in order to convince myself I didn’t just let another woman touch me and… please me.

  She nodded. “I know, I could tell. You have one minute to go. Lie down.”

  Oh my God…! She did not just make me cum in less than five minutes. God that’s so embarrassing. I am never telling a soul.

  She pointed to the bed and I sat.

  “Have fun.” She walked out. And in thirty seconds Reynolds walked in. He eyed me, loosening his tie.

  I did not want to add another person to the “I kissed Val’s neck tonight” list. Nor did I want the father of Hayden Reynolds, killer of my parents, touching me.

  “Five point nine million is a lot for some meat.”

  Oh.

  “I need you to prove to me you were worth it.”

  Oh…

  He walked to me, stopping when his belt buckle was at my eye level.

  Absolutely not. Un un. No way. Not happening. I’d been seduced by Rick, finger fucked by the redhead, and the only cock I planned on seeing tonight was Kyle’s. And I was still debating sucking it.

  I looked up at Reynolds. He was patiently waiting for me to get to business. I gently pushed him back and stood. He smiled at me. The eight-inch heels brought me to his height. Melor’s people—I was assuming they were Melor’s people—wanted this to be clean and not look like a murder. I assumed they meant the room, not the autopsy report.

  I spun us around so his back would be toward the bed and I would be in front of him. In one fourth of a second, in less time than he had to fully lick his lips, I hit the pressure point in the slop of his shoulder, knocking him out. It was hard and quick. Reynolds fell back on the bed. I climbed on top of him, covered his mouth, and squeezed his nose, cutting off his air supply. All I could think about, as I sat on top of him, half-naked, in fucking Berlin, was how on earth I got to where I was. And it’s so funny how thoughts wander off. Because that led me to think about my parents. And thinking about them led me to thinking about the man on the train that passed me the flash drive, and thinking about the flash drive instantly took me to Kyle. And as I felt Reynolds’ chest finally stop moving up and down, I wondered how much did I really want a free life. And the answer was a lot. I really wanted that. This was the answer to how I got here, on top of a now-dead Denis Reynolds.

  That was when I realized how selfish I was. How horrid of a person I’d become.

  I got in the shower that was provided adjoining the bedroom, cleaning everything with the exception of my hair and face. I wanted to wash away everything that had happened. I wanted to try to wash away my guilt, but only Kyle helped me with that. I kept myself from crying so as to not smudge my make-up, making up my mind I would cry later.

  I got out of the shower, dried, put back on the dress, stuck my feet back in the all-black Christian Louboutin pumps, and I exited the room to Rick waiting outside the door. The hallway was empty.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “No,” I answered honestly, too ashamed to look him in his eyes.

  He took off his jacket and threw it over my shoulders. “Come on, let’s go before someone comes back.”

  On a dock, near a yacht party, I watched Spirit and Rick step from a boat, get into a stretch limo, and the limo speed away. I called Rick’s phone, but he didn’t answer. Spirit was in a short black dress with Rick’s jacket draped over her shoulders. I didn’t know what to think, but I denied all my thoughts that said they were together. That whatever it was she had to do, it was with him. I didn’t want to believe she and Rick would do that to me. But I also never thought Janet would do the shit she did.

  Nixon and I had followed a truck here. It was preparing to leave. We hadn’t been sitting here for long; twenty minutes maybe. Just long enough for me to see Rick and Spirit. Nixon started up the car when the truck moved.

  They had loaded something in it, and we needed to take out the truck’s drivers and drive the truck to a secluded area so someone from Purcell could come see what was in it.

  Because I already didn’t want to be here, doing this, I still wasn’t into it. And life kept piling it on. Anna was still missing, but I got this odd e-mail to my phone from an untraceable address that told me ALS was in good hands. Anna Ladale Shultz. I didn’t want to hear this from an e-mail. I wanted to talk to her directly, though, with Anna being gone as often as she was, I should’ve been used to it. My dad was… alive. I hadn’t been expecting that in a million years. He warned me, but what was to say that I could trust him either? Besides the flash drive, and his confirming he knew what was on the flash drive, nothing proved that he was my father. Though he knew some personal information about us.

  At least my mom was doing better. I talked to her for a long time today. I didn’t mention anything that was going on here, in hopes she would. But she didn’t.

  “Nixon, we came out here for Melor and we’re doing everything but killing him. Pull over, I’ll find a way back to the hotel.”

  “Kyle, you can’t leave me out here on my own.”

  “You’re not doing anything. I’m bored, my heart hurts, I’m not going to go out here with you and not be focused. You can handle it. You were locked up long enough.” I tried to joke, but I couldn’t feel my own humor.

  “Your heart hurts?” he asked with his lip turned up.

  “Yep. Pull over.”

  He pulled the car to the side of the road and I got out. A bus stop was nearby and I waited for the next one.

  I sat on a bench and pulled out my phone. A text from twenty minutes ago from Rick was waiting on me.

  Rick: It’s Val. Can you text Rick when you get back to the hotel? I went to your room, but you weren’t there. Didn’t know if you wanted me waiting in there or not. Or if you wanted me there period. So I’m checking with you first.

  Me: Val?

  Rick (Val): Yes.

  Me: Wait for me in my room. I’m on my way to the hotel now.

  Rick (Val): Okay. Grab some ice from the lobby, a bottle of tequila, and some of those finger sandwiches.

  Me: Everything okay?

  Rick (Val): No, but can we talk about it when you get here.

  Me: Spirit, you get either emotional or freaky when you drink. Let’s knock out the spirits. I’ll get you a bite to eat and grab you a cold beverage.

  Rick (Val): Whatever…

  Me: Are you in my room yet?

  Rick (Val): I was never not in your room. I just wanted to make you feel good by asking. I’m lying in your bed.

  Rick (Val): Panties.

  Rick (Val): No bra.

  Rick (Val): Waiting…

  Rick (Val): For you.

  Rick (Val): King Kyle…

  I shook my head, looking at the texts from Val with Rick’s name. King Kyle…

  Me: Rick, stop playing!

  Rick: Hahaha. She just left for your room. She last texted whatever.

  Me: You play too much.

  The bus came and I boarded it, paying my fare. I took an empty seat near the back.

  Rick: We need to talk. Tomorrow, breakfast, bill’s on you.

  Me: You’re fucking Spirit aren’t you? ☹

  Rick: No bro. I would never do that to you. Aww… look at the little sad face. Aw, Kyle, no! Val and I love you too much to ever do anything like that to you. She’s sexy as hell and I look way better than you, but we don’t fit together like you and her do.

  Me: I can’t trust anyone. So I’m not putting it past you. I had to ask.

  Someone came up beside me, needing the spare seat. His presence told me he was the old man.

  “Relax,” he said.


  “Easy for you to say.”

  He opened his newspaper. “I’ve been helping and looking out for you all for a very long time. It was important that I stayed out of the picture, after what happened.”

  I wanted to ram my fist into my father’s head over and over as I stared at him, seeing my eyes, my nose, and my ears on him. That’s all I could think about.

  “You’ve done well.”

  “I know.”

  “Even though I wasn’t there, I made sure you all were taken care of.”

  I realized that, considering he was Cunningham. My benefactor. I wondered where else he pitched in. “Have you seen Anna?”

  “She’s on that yacht, out there on the water. Performing auctions.”

  I stood and he pushed me back down. “Excuse me, sir,” I said.

  “No.” He slowly shook his head. “You cannot go charging in there. You’ll blow it for her and yourself. She has been working with me. Please sit down. It’s a long ride to your hotel and I could use the time to talk to you.”

  I looked around the bus. It was mostly empty. A couple of people near the front but that was it.

  “They’re with me,” he informed, discreetly nodding toward the men.

  “What then?”

  “Anna doesn’t know I’m alive either. But she knows me. Melor.”

  Get the fuck out of here! I turned my head away from him so he couldn’t see the shock that stole over my face. I looked out of the window, not seeing much because my eyes wouldn’t focus. No wonder he didn’t want me to go after Melor. No wonder he kept Anna. Everything started making sense.

  I whipped my head toward him, ready again to ram my fist in his face. “You were drugging your own daughter?” I asked, disgusted and astounded.

  “No. It wasn’t me. It was someone else. The someone else I’m trying to find.”

  “Who was it?”

  “Xon,” he said forcefully. The z sound of the x was long in his accent.

  “Who the fuck is that?”

  “He previously worked for me. Handled distribution. When I found out he was forcing the women to take drugs, drugging them to drug them more, I had him handled. But someone tipped him off. He ran.” His head nodded to the left and right as he spoke.

  “What about this guy named Roger, who whooped Anna’s ass? What’d you do to him?”

  He smirked. “You can find him in pieces at the bottom of the ocean. I’d been out here looking for Xon. Then you showed up. I heard you were trying to kill me.” He shrugged. “Who isn’t? But then I heard you were seen with Valerie Harper.”

  “What do you know about Valerie Harper?”

  “Not much. Maybe less than you know. But… She is a free-spirited young woman and given the right opportunity, she will take care of herself. Which she was… given the right opportunity to have a clean slate, skip town, a few million in her pocket, and a new start, whatever identity she desired.” He softly sang, “For a price.”

  I nodded, listening.

  “Reynolds, which she accomplished very well almost an hour ago. She does impeccable work. And she is very beautiful.” He paused and thought. “Then there is an informant. We don’t know who. But I know she does. And lastly on her to-do list are two Purcell agents, sent to take down the Melor. The man no one has seen, no one knows where he is, only his location, yet they cannot seem to actually run into him. Yet, somehow, Purcell has managed to send my two sons out to kill me. Think about that. How would I know who was sent and by whom, without the people who sent them informing me?” He shook his head, putting down his paper. “Now you can do your job for Purcell. I’ll give you the gun and the bullets now. Take me out.” He bent over and pulled a gun from his boot. “Take it.” He handed it to me. “And when you shoot me, get me clean between the eyes.” He moved his hand a bit, motioning for me to take the gun.

  I took it. I didn’t want to kill him, but I wanted to pound it into his head.

  “Aim and fire, Kyle.”

  I shook my head. “No, if I’m going to shoot you. I’m going to do it with my own gun.”

  “The gun Purcell gave you, am I correct? The gun that could possibly backfire on you? Because as much as they want me out of the picture, they could possibly want you out more.”

  “Possibly.”

  He turned in his seat, facing me. “Shoot me, Kyle. Shoot me right now.”

  I looked at the gun in my hand. “No. I’ll shoot you after I get Anna back.”

  “After I’m dead, the entire operation will be shut down. There are no successors. There isn’t anyone to take my place. I’m the last, the only. Billions and billions of dollars will be lost after I’m dead. Anna will have no work and she’ll come flying home faster than an army soldier. You’ll have your sister back. Go ahead, shoot me.”

  I didn’t know if he was playing a trick on me, but a promise to have Anna… I wanted to do it. I wanted to do it as much as I wanted Anna back. I checked the gun, releasing the clip to see if it was loaded. And it was… golden bullets shone at me, reflecting the light of the bus. I popped the clip back in the gun and cocked it back, loading one in the chamber.

  “Now, do it.” He was taking death easily. I’d been there, where someone dared me to shoot them. Thinking I didn’t have the balls to pull the trigger and relieve them of their duty to the world. And I never hesitated. If someone wanted me to shoot, and it was probably what I was going to do anyway, fine—I’d do it. But staring at my eyes behind the glasses on this old man’s face, I stalled. I stalled long, aiming the gun at him in the small area I had in the cramped bus seats.

  “Do it, Kyle!” he yelled. And I started feeling the pressure.

  It sank down on me from my head, and my hands burned hot around the gun. “There is no coming back from this.”

  “Stop fucking stalling and shoot me already! I’m the man you came out here for. Had you not known who I really was, there would be no stalling. You have to be angry your mother and I lied to you all these years, you have to be pissed I left you alone, forcing you to take care of the family. Aren’t you angry we left Nixon in jail that long time? Mad that I’ve kept Anna away all these years. Go ahead! Get even! Do it just like I taught you, son. Breathe in your pride—aim—and blow out your regret—fire. Shoot me, and make it clean.”

  I swelled my chest, breathing in my pride, and as I pulled the trigger I blew out the regret, sending a bullet right through his forehead. He flew back into the seats of the row across from us. I stood, expecting his acquaintances to rise and come after me, but they remained seated. I expected the bus driver to yell, pull over, and threaten to call the cops, but she stayed calm and kept driving.

  I looked over at my father’s dead body. A line of blood dripped from the new addition I had added to his face.

  His chest rose high and roughly dropped back down. His arm lifted from being slung to his side, draping the floor. His three fingers wiped away the long drop of blood from his head. Then he opened his eyes and looked at it.

  I fell back in my seat, dropping the gun to the floor.

  Joseph Melor pulled open his brown jacket and grabbed a handkerchief from it. He used the handkerchief to wipe his forehead before sitting up. “Good,” he said. “Now that we’ve gotten that off your chest, we can discuss saving your life.”

  “What… the fuck… just happened?” I asked, staring at him sitting across from me.

  He picked up the gun from the floor, unloaded it and pulled out a bullet. “I came across these from a friend in Brazil. Everyone is always trying to kill everyone. People always send loved ones, friends, and lovers out to kill you. I found a way to satisfy all parties involved.” He tossed me the bullet. I caught it. Its weight was odd, and it was soft. “It hurts to get hit by them and look…” He pointed to the hole in his head. “It does puncture the skin a bit. But it doesn’t go through. Once it hits something hard, like bone, it softens and it can even soften if it hits cartilage. But when the bullet encounters human flesh, it slo
ws its speed.”

  “Then where is the bullet if it didn’t go through your head?”

  “Blood seeps into the tip.” He nodded toward the bullet in my hand.

  I looked at the bullet’s hollow tip and nodded.

  “It mixes with some stuff, boom. Blows up. It all happens so fast. While you’re still hearing the fire from the gun and feeling the kickback, the bullet has already contacted my skin, my flesh. It’s still pretty fast, which is how it punctures the skin, but the moment the blood gets in that tip, it’s ash.”

  I nodded again. “That is pretty impressive,” I said with high brows, looking up at him from my bowed head.

  “You learn a lot when you need to get killed over and over again.”

  “So you and my mother used these bullets?”

  “They’ve been around for years.”

  “Damn.” I’d been tricked once again.

  “You should try it. Keep the gun.” He threw a clip at me. “Here’s some extra.” He stood and the two men he came with rose. “It’s just a job. That I’m ready to get out of. As a family, we work together. As we have for years.” He exited the nearest door, jumping from the bus before it fully stopped.

  I was shocked. I had a lot of questions… and once again, they would stay a mystery. Combustible bullets. I looked at the gun and the clip.

  “Where you headed, kid?” the driver asked.

  “Luxus Rückzug,” I told her, realizing now that this wasn’t a real public bus. I didn’t know who my father was. I’d never expected him to be who he said he was. I never expected for him to be alive. I still wanted to know more about Anna and find out who the fuck Xon was. And I wondered if Rick knew anything about him.

  Thinking about Rick reminded me of my phone. I had thirteen texts and two missed calls.

  I arrived at the hotel an hour later with Spirit’s sandwich, ice, and booze, just as she requested.

  I knocked on my door.

  It opened. “Why didn’t you use your key?” Spirit asked, standing in my door with my tee shirt on. It stopped at her hips, and she had on a pair of tiny, lacy pink shorts for panties.