The Dragon Tree Legacy

by Ali Vali

  “You are my greatest wish,” Wiley said before she touched her and found her wet.

  “Can you tell me first.” A small part of her thought it a foolish question, but it was important to know this wouldn’t end after the passion had burnt out.

  “I love you, Aubrey.” Wiley said it as if she savored each word.

  To hear them again with Wiley naked beside her was like receiving a full pardon from the governor a minute before execution. It’d been so long since she’d been this desperate. She not only needed Wiley to touch her, she craved it, and almost as if Wiley read her mind she started moving her fingers.

  “Yes,” she said as she gripped Wiley’s shoulder so hard she was sure it hurt. Wiley never stopped, though, slipping her fingers through her wetness and never leaving her clitoris, making it hard with every stroke. Her legs spread farther apart and her tears started again when Wiley lowered her head and kissed her. The act saved her from the abyss her life had become.

  “Go inside,” she said, thinking she’d come apart into a thousand small pieces if Wiley didn’t, and once Wiley did, Aubrey knew in that instant she was home. She opened her eyes and watched the muscles in Wiley’s biceps flex as she moved her hand, but the expression of wonder on Wiley’s face made her want to drag it out. The walls of her sex clenched around Wiley’s fingers and she couldn’t run back. She was going to come in Wiley’s arms, and no matter all the hell they’d been through, it’d been worth it for this.

  Her hips rose to meet Wiley’s hand until her orgasm made her stop and enjoy the peak. She was found, and the joy made her cry harder.

  “No matter what, promise me you won’t sacrifice this…us. I can’t and won’t go through that again,” Aubrey said when her emotions calmed.

  Wiley left her fingers inside since Aubrey had grabbed her wrist when she’d tried to pull out. “As long as you know I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.” Aubrey nodded and lost a bit of her smile. “I promise we’ll do whatever it takes to not repeat my rash decisions. You weren’t here physically, but I never stopped needing you.”

  For Wiley, the admission was painful but freeing. She’d been trained not to need anyone. Self-reliance was key to survival, but every dogma, rule, and belief had to have exceptions. Aubrey was hers, and had been from the moment she’d fallen in love.

  “You’re safe with me,” Aubrey said as she traced her eyebrows with the tips of her index fingers. “There’s so much I want to give, share, and experience with you that it’ll take a lifetime to get through.”

  “I want to believe you more than anything,” Wiley said slowly, and pulled her fingers out. “You have to know that.”

  “As long as you don’t say it’s too late for us.”

  “No, not that, but we have to get through all this before we make permanent plans.”

  Aubrey nodded as she moved on top and pinned Wiley to the bed. “Right now I’m not interested in tomorrow.” Aubrey sat up a little so she could run her hands down her chest. “I need to touch you.” Her hands moved lower, stopping at the small nicks she’d amassed in the field. “Can I touch you, Wiley?”

  “Yes,” she said, and kept her eyes open. She wanted to see Aubrey as she touched her. This wasn’t a dream where the illusion would pop like a soap bubble when the slightest noise woke her from a light sleep.

  Aubrey followed her hands with her lips, kissing her way down Wiley’s abdomen until her mouth was between her legs. There her obvious resolve to go slow snapped as her lips sucked her in as if Aubrey too thought this was a dream she had to rush through before reality stole the joy of finally getting what she desired most.

  The pressure and the way Aubrey’s hands tightened on Wiley’s thighs made her control nonexistent. She welcomed the orgasm that rushed through her like the intense current of the Mississippi River. Her entire body tightened as Aubrey sucked every bit of bliss from her. Her body remembered this, and the thought of losing it again momentarily swamped the pleasure.

  “You’re mine, and nothing will keep us apart again,” Aubrey whispered in her ear as she held her.

  Aubrey smiled as Wiley wiped her tears with the corner of the sheet. She hadn’t cried in front of anyone in a long while, not wanting to show weakness or vulnerability, but Aubrey was different. She’d always said the truly strong were the ones who didn’t hide what they felt from those who loved them. From the start, Aubrey had greedily wanted all of her—the Black Dragon, her darkness, weaknesses, and her love. She’d demanded it as well as her honesty because it was the only way Aubrey knew how to love. Completely and with total abandon.

  “I love you,” she said quietly as she put her arms around Aubrey. Her cell phone rang, and she picked it up when she saw Walter’s name on the display. “Sorry,” she said to Aubrey as she answered the call.

  “You’ve been a busy girl,” he said. The traffic noise in the background wasn’t enough of a clue for her to narrow down where he was.

  “So have you, starting with the loss of your job. I’m sure you’ll more than make up for your paycheck and pension with your other job.” Aubrey pressed against her back when she sat up and grabbed a pen to take notes.

  “Don’t be a fucking chump who believes idle gossip.”

  “Does Emray Gillis sound familiar to you?”

  “I’ve been hunting him for a while, so yeah, the name’s familiar. It’s all I’ve done for the last ten years.”

  “One thing I like about you is your consistency.” She concentrated on what was happening around Walter, hoping for the one nugget of information that’d flush him out. Once that happened he’d be in her sights—literally.

  “How do you mean that?”

  “You’ve been bullshitting me from the beginning and you’re still at it.” The background noise changed and she got what she was waiting for.

  “Large mochasippi, up,” a woman said loudly. Walter was in a CC’s Coffeehouse, a strictly Louisiana chain. She wasn’t sure how far outside New Orleans they’d ventured, but it didn’t matter. Walter was in the city.

  And as if he’d realized his mistake, the traffic noise reappeared. “I’m not your problem, so don’t make the mistake of trying to cross me. I’m calling to warn you.”

  “About?” She laughed, thinking Walter’s balls would probably break a wood chipper.

  “Aubrey Tarver,” he said, and left the name hanging for dramatic effect, she was sure. “I know you have her, but you’ve got to know that a lot of people are interested in talking to her. Don’t let that tight ass and pretty face fool you. She knows more than she’s saying, and she’s keeping something that rightfully doesn’t belong to her.”

  “Don’t be so simpleminded,” she said as she covered Aubrey’s hand with hers. “I never make threats. I simply come up with solutions to whatever problem I was ordered to take care of.”

  “But you’re willing to make an exception in my case,” Walter said, and laughed.

  “You didn’t let me finish, Walter. You’re simply a problem, and I already have a solution. You need to understand that you’re after someone and something that doesn’t belong to you. Wherever Aubrey Tarver is, she doesn’t have what you want, and more important, she belongs to me.” She heard Aubrey’s quick intake of air and tightened her hold. “When a problem is so personal to me, I’m relentless until I put it behind me.”

  “You’ve been relentlessly stupid from the beginning of this, so try to let it register that you have very limited options here. If you don’t start to cooperate, don’t blame anyone but yourself when people start dying.”

  The line went dead and she was grateful and frustrated. “That was Walter, the guy who brought the FBI to our door.”

  “Sounds like he wants you to gift-wrap me and have me delivered along with Maria’s money.”

  “He’s getting a gift from me, but it won’t have anything to do with you.”

  *

  Nunzio stared at University Hospital and questioned himself again as to whether
he wanted to go in. The phone call he’d taken had forced him to rush over, but now he wondered if this was another trap. Memories of Kim’s slashed throat had made him forever skittish.

  “Sir, do you want us to come with you?” one of his guards asked.

  “Wait here and I’ll call if I need you.” He crossed the street, glancing at every spot around him for anyone out of the ordinary. It didn’t seem like even the feds were watching him.

  The room he was searching for was on the third floor, so he didn’t need to stop for directions, figuring the fewer people he dealt with, the better. Someone was in the bed by the window, but the patient he’d come for was lying shirtless with a huge bandage from his elbow up along his shoulder and down his chest. Even in sleep the guy appeared to be in pain.

  “What happened?” he asked after he’d shaken the guy awake.

  “Mr. Luca, you came.”

  “Yeah, so tell me your name and what the fuck I’m doing here.”

  Freddie told him about Mitch and how he’d died, but couldn’t tell him who the woman with the gun was, or why she’d left him alive. He just knew they’d lost contact with Emray and he was the only one left that he knew of. But he couldn’t be sure about either since Emray didn’t share very much with them, only things he’d ordered them to do.

  “What’s that got to do with me?” Nunzio figured this was a waste of time that’d make him late for his meeting with Miguel Gonzalez.

  “Mitch and me were going to go on our own, but he’s dead. I got nowhere else to go, and I don’t know no other life, so I want to work for you.”

  Nunzio had to stoop to be able to hear him, but once Freddie finished he glanced around the curtain to make sure they didn’t have a captive audience listening in. The elderly man had his leg in traction and appeared to be asleep. It didn’t matter, though. Coming here was a mistake. He really had become pathetic if he was chasing down flunkies on a whim, because that’s what this guy was. He’d been Emray’s flunky and knew nothing that could help him.

  “Why me?”

  “You’re the only number Mitch had in his phone besides Emray’s.”

  He had to laugh at the guy’s honesty. “Kid, lie back and try to heal. I’m sure something will come to you, but don’t call me again. Wasting my time like this would be a mistake that’ll set back your recovery.”

  “You’re going to need me.” Freddie reached out to stop his retreat. “But you gotta swear you’ll protect me,” Freddie said, obviously taking a chance by squeezing his hand as he spoke, as if they were old friends.

  “Again, why would I do that?” He pulled his hand loose and wiped it on a tissue from the box next to the bed. “If your loyalties lie with Emray, you’re no use to me.”

  “My loyalties were to Mitch. We came up together and he took care of me.” Without his hand to hold, Freddie rubbed the large scar on his face, making Nunzio almost turn away in disgust. “The way I feel about it, Emray sent us to die like a pair of bitches he had no use for anymore.”

  “It’s a sad story, but I got no time for this.” He was in the hallway when Freddie yelled for him to wait.

  “If you sneak me out of here I can show you how Mitch and me were going to start our own crew. We was tired of taking orders, and I wanted to get back at Emray for this.” Freddie pointed to his face.

  “There’s nothing you got that’ll make me want to take you anywhere.”

  “What if I cut you in on the pile you were looking to buy. You got the operation, and I can get the stuff. All I want is to get out of here if you won’t give me a job.”

  “Where are you going to get the money to finance that?” He laughed at the gutsy play. “You’re sitting in a charity hospital, for fuck sake.”

  “Mitch and me know where Pombo’s last shipment is, and it’s big.”

  “Who’s Pombo?” He was starting to not find this funny anymore.

  “He’s been moving kilos from Mexico for years, and Emray was trying to jack into his business. The shit Emray offered to sell you belonged to Roth Pombo.”

  “I’m not starting over by stealing from someone else. Shit like that gets you killed.”

  “Roth’s in jail and no one he was in business with is alive to claim it. Trust me, everyone who touched the shit is dead.”

  Nunzio looked around the curtain again, but the old man was still sleeping. “Where does Emray fit into all this? If you know about it then he does too.”

  “Emray wasn’t really looking for product—he was after Roth’s money. Killed a bunch of people to try and find it, but he didn’t.” Freddie grimaced when he slightly shifted. “Get me out and I promise you a cut.”

  This was too good to truly believe, but maybe after the hundred miles of shit he’d had to swim through to get to this point, fate had cut him a break. “And you don’t know the woman who shot you?” He was still too weak to cross the bitches who ran this town.

  “She asked Mitch about some kid who OD’d, but no.”

  “You bring anything with you?” He threw a gown over Freddie’s chest and grabbed the old man’s wheelchair.

  Once Freddie was seated, he pushed him out toward the service elevator away from the nurses’ station. “This is your last chance to tell me you’re full of shit.”

  “As long as we have a deal, you’ll be happy with what I can get for you.”

  “Now what?” Nunzio asked once he had Freddie in the car.

  “We have to wait until tonight, then I’ll take you where the stuff is.” Freddie was so pale he looked like a bottle of Elmer’s Glue, and his face was slick with sweat. “What kind of insurance you gonna give me that you ain’t fuck me over once I deliver?”

  “Let’s start with the truth. I think you’re using me, and that’s not too smart. If this Roth guy brought in the amounts you’re talking about successfully, half the dealers in town would’ve found it by now.” He tapped the driver’s headrest so his guy would start driving. “The guarantee I can give you is I won’t fucking kill you once I figure out you played me.”

  “But what if the stuff’s real?”

  “We’ll talk price once I see how much is still left, but I promise fifty grand if it’s more than five kilos. How about that?”

  “If you don’t give me a job that’ll be enough for me to get out of here.”

  “You okay?” Freddie was so wet with sweat, his gown was painted to his body.

  “I’m better than Mitch, so my luck’s still holding.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Wiley and Aubrey came out to a quiet house, with only Tanith sitting at the kitchen island with her gaming device. From her closed-off expression, Wiley knew, despite her age, she’d figured out how close she and Aubrey had gotten that morning. So far she hadn’t made eye contact.

  “Where is everyone?” Aubrey asked as she stepped behind Tanith and kissed the top of her head.

  “Granddad and Granny are in their room, and Mr. Buck and Miss Danielle are on the roof taking a look around.”

  “Can I talk to you, then?” Wiley asked, cocking her head once to give Aubrey the hint to leave.

  “Sure, whatever.” Tanith shrugged as she spoke.

  Wiley took the milk out, along with two glasses, before she sat down. The gaming device was still on, but Tanith’s thumbs were still. “Did your mom ever mention me before the night we met?”

  “Yeah, when I was little,” Tanith said, and shrugged again.

  “How’d you feel about that?” Wiley sipped her milk, willing to wait the kid out.

  “I was four, I didn’t care.”

  “You’re not four now.”

  “I didn’t ask about you, if that’s what you mean, but if you liked Mom, didn’t it matter to you that she was miserable? Who cares what I think, but she wasn’t happy. Not like other people’s parents.”

  “She probably wasn’t because she missed me as much as I did her. It won’t be like that anymore, but before I try to make things right with her, I want to know wha
t you think.” Tanith hadn’t raised her head, and her jaws were clenched. “If it was me I’d worry about two things. Is this stranger going to hurt my mom, and where do I fit in now?”

  “Yeah, probably,” Tanith said, slightly above a whisper.

  “I’m not going to hurt your mom. I’ve done that already by leaving, but I’ve learned from my mistakes. There’s no more running in my future.” She let go of her glass and placed her hands toward the middle of the space between them. “You know why you and Maria maybe didn’t get along?”

  “She didn’t like me. There wasn’t that much to figure out.”

  “But do you know why?” Tanith shook her head, but this time she kept her eyes up. “When you meet someone you really like, but they don’t feel the same, it makes you want to hurt them. You do it because you feel bad and you want the same for them. When Maria met you and your mom, you both already belonged to someone else, and I think Maria knew that.”

  “But you didn’t know anything about me. Don’t lie. I saw your face.”

  “You’re right, I didn’t, but you’re a gift to me from the one person in my life I’ve loved. To me you were born the second I saw you in that attic, but you’re mine, Tanith.” She moved her hands closer. “I love you, and I’ll always love you because you’re mine. The only way I’ll leave is if you can’t or won’t share your mom with me.”

  “What took you so long?” Tanith asked with a child’s honesty as she jumped from the stool and wrapped her arms around her.

  “I’m sorry, kid.” The way Tanith embraced her made her eyes water, and some of the Black Dragon’s darkness fell away. That part of her would never truly die, but now it’d know peace.

  *

  “This is some shit,” Don said.

  It was late, but Peter, Buckston, and Don all sat in Wiley’s home office staring at the updated wall. The information that Walter led a double life made this personal for Wiley. They were waiting for the phone to ring with orders from General Greenwald.