“Nice to see your girl is taking care of you,” he said, glancing at Eva with a dark smile.
Eva swallowed. I shot her a look that said relax, we’re fine as Marco opened the door and we were met by the cool night air. We were at the outskirts of town now, and could see a few more stars than we could in the city of San Diego. A couple of thuggish looking men in tattoos stood behind Marco with their arms crossed.
“These are Hugo and Pablo,” Marco said, nodding toward them.
“You expecting a fight sometime soon?” I asked.
“When visiting a man like Luis Reyes, you can never be too sure who you’ll meet en route,” Marco answered with a wry smile. “Now, I hope you two don’t mind. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but…” he snapped his finger and nodded at the two men, who proceeded to give us each a personal pat-down from head to toe. They also unzipped our bags and Eva’s purse and rifled through them.
“Is this how you treat all of your respected guests?” I said and stretched my arms over my head. “I thought the purpose of this trip was to talk about a partnership.”
“Of course it is,” Marco says. “And trust, me, there is no one I should trust more. But you know how it is in this business. Luis Reyes is a man of extreme precaution, even with his friends.”
“With enemies like that…” Eva chimed in.
“Does your woman always talk this much?” Marco cut her off.
“She has a bad habit of speaking,” I smirked. Eva didn’t flinch.
Marco’s man finished patting me down. “He’s clean, boss.”
The man who had patted down Eva nodded as well. Not like she had a whole lot of places to check in those tight-ass jeans.
“Bueno,” Marco said. “Let’s board the plane.” He gestured to a large black Hummer parked in the lot.
“Perfect. Where does the plane take off from?” I asked.
“From here,” Marco said. “We’ve nicknamed our Hummer The Plane. I hope it’s not too confusing for you. But it helps to confuse the authorities. They’ll intercept real texts and conversations about a ‘plane’ and spend the next 48 hours monitoring the border air traffic. Meanwhile, we’re gone, on the ground. It’s quite genius, actually.” He gestured to his bodyguards, and they pick up Eva’s and my bags. “Shall we?”
I nodded and walked toward the vehicle.
“After you, mi amor,” Marco said, waiting for Eva to pass. “I’ll bring up the rear if you don’t mind.”
Marco stared at Eva as she walked toward the van. He surveyed her body up and down and smiled ever so slightly at her. I’d been acquainted with Marco long enough to know that he was like a little kid when it came to women: he coveted the ones he couldn’t have, and that’s exactly what he was doing at this precise moment: coveting Eva.
I locked eyes with Eva for a moment when I helped her into the Hummer. If she was nervous, she hid it well. I was about to follow her into the vehicle when Marco stopped me by grabbing my arm.
“Alexa is incredible. I even love the way she walks,” he said. “You simply must let me try her during your visit.” Marco scratched his head with the nozzle of his old fashioned gun, a colt forty-five.
“I’ll think about it. I’ve been keeping her pretty busy.”
“I see. Well, for now, I’ll settle for just sitting in the back with her. Why don’t you have a seat with the girl I’ve brought for the night, Louisa.”
Fuck if I was letting Marco chat with Eva for the whole ride.
“I think the men should sit in back. Talk business. Leave the whores up front.”
Marco thought about it for a second. “Yes, that’s good. Alexa, sit in the front with Louisa.”
She hopped in, flashing a devilishly sexy smile at Marco and I.
This was going to be tougher than I thought. Finding Luis Reyes—that would be the easy part. The difficult part was going to be making sure Marco left her the fuck alone.
I had to make sure he knew she was mine and only mine.
16
Eva
The Hummer took us southeast, away from San Diego and toward Mexico’s Baja desert. To avoid a checkup by border patrol, we drove under a tunnel that started a mile or so out from the great wall that separated Mexico and the U.S. My heartbeat accelerated as we drove into the darkness through the bumpy road. I’d never liked closed spaces, and this was no exception.
Whatever Corbin was saying to Marco in the back, they were laughing raucously. Corbin had a knack for acting like an asshole and fitting right in with these guys. Sometimes, I got this feeling that I was the one who was having the wool pulled over my eyes, not Marco. Whenever I asked him what they were talking about, Marco or Corbin simply would say “man talk, honeybuns,” and then crack up like a couple of middle-schoolers who had just made a ‘cooties’ joke.
While the boys were in the back, I was sitting captain next to Marco’s girl Louisa. She wore a tight little tube top dress, her voluptuous breasts nearly pouring out the top of them. I couldn’t tell if those were a gift from God or a gift from Marco and a really good plastic surgeon. My instinct said it was probably the latter. I took it upon myself to get all of the information I could from her.
“I like your dress,” I smiled and touched Louisa’s arm.
“Thanks, Marco got it for me,” she said, her eyes lighting up.
“How long have you and Marco been…you know. Hanging out.”
“You mean working together? A couple of months,” she averted her eyes away from mine and brushed her pretty blonde hair behind her ear.
I leaned in closer to her and whispered, not wanting the armed guard in the seat in front to be able to hear me.
“Do you enjoy working for him?”
“He’s really not so bad. He has strange tastes, that’s for sure, but who doesn’t?”
Strange tastes. I want so badly to ask her to elaborate, but I opted to do my job and play the role conservatively, without prying too much. Seemed like a good idea given I could tell the guy in the front seat was eavesdropping on our conversation.
“Yeah, Corbin’s into some weird stuff too,” I agreed with her.
She smiled faintly, almost fakely, and I mirrored her. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing to the rubik’s cube sticking out of my handbag.
Uh oh. That should have been a little deeper in my bag.
“Oh, that? It’s nothing.”
She continued, plowing through my hesitation. “I’ve seen those before. It’s a fun cube. You mind if I play with it?”
She just called a Rubik’s cube a fun cube. That’s a first. “Well, I guess.”
I glanced around the vehicle to see if anyone was watching me. All the men were engaged in their own conversations. I handed her the cube.
“Just make sure you give it back.”
We drove further into Mexico, into the heart of the Reyes operation. I stared out the window into the blackness. Northern Mexico had some of the most evil and vicious gangs in the entire world. Lately, the murder rates in some areas had been enough to elevate them to ‘warzone’ status. Such a sad state of affairs.
As I gazed out at the Mexican countryside, I found myself fantasizing about the electricity that flowed through my body the last time I was in Mexico.
I felt an element of pure honesty that first night between Corbin and I. Even if I wasn’t telling him my real name, I just felt he got me. When he looked in my eyes and smiled at me, it was like he knew me inside and out. We were just two messed up souls united in our craziness, our faults.
It was funny that riding in the car as Corbin’s mistress in ridiculous short shorts and a top that I hadn’t worn for years, I felt more at ease with myself than I had in a long time. I looked back at Corbin. He and Marco were both staring at me. Corbin blew me an exaggerated kiss, and he and Marco laughed.
A smile slowly spread across my face. I couldn’t believe I was thinking this, but Corbin’s assholery was actually starting to grow on me. In the heat of the most cr
itical mission of my life, I didn’t even feel alarmed. I felt at ease. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
The vehicle came to a halt in front of a gate. The armed guard in the passenger’s seat opened his window and said some words in Spanish to another man with a gun, and the gate opened.
“We have arrived,” Marco announced, leaning his head forward into the captain’s chairs. He looked inquisitively at Louisa, who had made quick progress on the rubik’s cube. She made a few more turns on it and locked it into place.
“Done!” She said, and turned to me like a grade school student who had just finished their homework early, extending her arm out with the toy.
Marco didn’t smile. “What is this?” he asked, snatching it from her hand.
“It’s a rubik’s cube,” I said. “It’s a puzzle. You try to get all of the sides to be the same—”
“I know what a goddamn rubik’s cube is,” Marco cut me off. “Why do you have this?”
“Roadtrip game,” I said.
Marco looked back at Corbin. “Smart fucking girl you’ve got here. Playing games like this.”
“She wasn’t the one who solved it though,” Corbin pointed out. “Looks like Louisa’s smarter.”
Louisa looked down sheepishly. Inside, I couldn’t believe they were arguing over whose girl was dumber like it was some kind of accomplishment. Outside, I wore my plastic smile.
“I guess you’re right. I think I’ll hang onto this cube. I’ve never solved one of these, and I’d very much like to try. Thanks.”
Marco gave the cube a couple of spins before he tucked it into his pocket. His lips curled up in a sinister expression that I couldn’t quite call a smile. He stroked the sides of his mustache with his right finger and thumb. My heart pounded like a steel drum. Corbin shot me a ‘you had one job’ look from the back.
I wanted to tell him, that yes, I had one job—to get that rubik’s cube close to Marco and Luis Reyes. Mission accomplished.
“Welcome to the Reyes mansion. Consider yourselves lucky. Not many people get to see it and…” he trailed off for a moment.
And what? I wanted to say. And live? Marco trailed off and sort of looked out the window.
“…And it’s very big.”
“That’s what she said,” I uttered, and as soon as I said it, I covered my mouth. That was entirely an Eva joke, not something Alexa would say. Marco narrowed his eyes at me and luckily, chuckled.
“That girl of yours, she’s got some lip. I find it amusing.”
The guard opened the door and Louisa stepped out, long legs first.
“She does have nice lips on her. I like a little sass, though. Sass and ass, the two best qualities a woman can have.” Corbin looked at me as we got ready to step onto the ground and head into the infamous Reyes mansion.
“What are you waiting for, Alexa?” Corbin said. “Ladies first.”
17
Corbin
“Corbin, your room will be upstairs,” Marco said as we walked from the SUV to the front door of the Reyes mansion. “And Alexa, yours will be—”
“Alexa and I will stay in the same room,” I cut him off.
“You prefer to sleep in the same bed as your whore?” he asked. “Interesting.”
I couldn’t quite make out Marco’s expression in the moonlight, but he seemed slightly irritated. Knowing him, he was probably planning on making a stealth move to Eva’s room later that night, and no way in hell was I allowing that to happen.
“Well I sure as hell didn’t bring this hot piece of ass here just to look at. Although the view is nice,” I smirked and noticed Marco’s glance drifting to Eva as she walked in front of us. His eyes lingered on her beautiful figure, and I couldn’t say I blamed him for looking considering how hot she was in her little denim short shorts.
As we entered the house, I slipped my hand down to the small of Eva’s back. Marco’s gaze drifted to my hand. A porter entered the house, carrying our bags. He walked past us and started up the stairs.
“Good night then, Marco,” I said. “It’s late. We’ll talk business tomorrow. Will Luis be here?”
“We will see, cabrón Corbin. Get some rest,” Marco returned, and I noted that he did not directly answer my question.
“Goodnight Marco,” Eva added in a sing-song tone.
“Goodnight Alexa,” Marco said, with much more enthusiasm than he had spoken the words to me.
We followed the porter and maid upstairs to our room. It was spacious—as big as the suites I had stayed at in Las Vegas. He opened up the sliding door to the balcony outside, and the crisp night air streamed in. The maid showed us the bathroom, living room, and hot tub on the balcony. “Guest room” was an understatement. This was excess at its finest. Luis Reyes surely had created this room for the express purpose of impressing his honored, high rolling drug-dealing guests staying here.
And, I for one, was decently fucking impressed. Incredible what drug money would buy.
The maid left and the porter closed the door, finally leaving Eva and I alone. She took off her earrings and placed them on top of the dresser. I walked over to her and put my hands on her shoulders, slipping my fingers under her black spaghetti strap. I gave her a light massage for a minute or so. She didn’t say anything. She just breathed deeply.
While my thumbs made slow circles on her back and neck, I looked around the room once more. What I saw in the corner opposite us in the ceiling set alarm bells off in my head.
A camera. He set up a goddamn camera in here.
The fucking voyeur. I hadn’t met Luis Reyes, but I already didn’t like him. And I wouldn’t doubt that he’d given Marco access to that footage as well. We could not fall out of our roles, even when we were alone in our own room.
This was going to make things interesting.
Eva took hold of my hands and spun around to face me.
“So, cabrón Corbin,” she said, speaking the words with her perfect accent. “You know what we agreed on. When we’re alone you can’t be touching—”
“It’s hot,” I cut her off. “We should shower off before bed.”
“We should?” she raised her eyebrows.
“Yes, we should,” I said emphatically, leaving no room for argument.
Being out of character with a camera pointing right at me could spell a quick end to our plan, and our lives, so I took her by the hand and led her to the bathroom. While I waited for the water to heat up, I took off my shirt.
Eva crossed her arms. “Corbin, out there I don’t care how much of an asshole you want to be, but when we are alone you don’t have to—” I wrapped my arms around her and covered her mouth with mine. There she went with that damn sass again. She held out her arms away from me, refusing to even touch me with them before pushing me off her.
“What are you doing?” she said sternly.
“Shhhh,” I said, taking off my boxers. “I need you to trust me.”
“Fine. You want to do this? You want it your way?” She rolled her eyes and started to wiggle her way out of those tight denim shorts.
I stepped into the shower and inspected the walls, which were an old fashioned design made up of alternating blue and white tile. I found it highly unlikely Luis had bugged the shower, unless he was the most paranoid guy on the face of the earth. I had to duck down under the shower rack, as the plumbing in this mansion was clearly not made for anyone over six feet tall like me.
Eva disrobed in a hurry. Seeing her naked skin made my cock twitch. Not this time big guy. I sent him thoughts of sports and teletubbies, the most non-sexual things I could think of.
Eva reluctantly stepped in the shower and joined me, her frown denoting that she was ready to slap me.
She leaned in and I took the opportunity to whisper loudly in her ear. “Eva, there is a camera above the bed. The room is bugged. We cannot fall out of character.” Her eyes narrowed and I saw the wheels turning. We switched places so she was under the water, and I feign
ed needing to lather myself with some soap.
“And the shower is probably the only place we can talk safely,” Eva finished my thought.
“Exactly.”
“So you don’t want to fuck me in the shower.”
The way she said the words, I thought I sensed a slight bit of disappointment. I smirked a little. Not like the thought hadn’t entered my mind.
“That’s not what I’m thinking about right now. Although I do think it would be a good idea to make some skin slapping noises and some grunts in here, just to cover our bases. You know, stuff that could be picked up outside.”
She held onto my shoulder and got onto her tippy toes to speak directly into my ear, her soft, wet flesh pushing into my body. “You think Marco will actually be listening to us?”
“I’ve known Marco a long time, and the guy is a freak,” I said. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he is getting his kicks watching a sex tape of us.”
“I mean his mustache is pretty fucking weird. And the way he’s always looking at me…”
“Exactly. He’s like a lot of guys with access to unlimited money with a lot of power—the only things that turn him on anymore are those things he can’t have. And since you’re with me, he can’t have you. And it’s driving him crazy. You can see it in his eyes.”
I switched places again with Eva. This time our bodies rubbed against each other and she grabbed hold of my hip, then rubbed her wet upper thigh between my legs.
“Hey, what the hell are you doing?” I asked.
“Keeping my balance,” she answered coyly, flashing a flirty smile at me.
Those eyes. Fuck.
“You better keep your hands off me or you’re asking for it.”
She smiled. “For what?”
“Nothing,” I said, doing my best to ignore the fact that most of my blood was flowing directly to my penis. Maybe she wouldn’t notice.
She glanced down between my legs. I was wrong.
“That’s all it takes? Just me grazing your hip? You’re like a teenaged boy for God’s sake.”
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