by I. T. Lucas
Roni looked impressed. “Must be exciting.”
“Not really. I’m just the personal assistant and bookkeeper.”
“You never get any field work?” Sylvia asked.
“When Eva, my boss, needs someone who can pull off looking like a twelve-year-old, she calls on me.”
The look-over Roni gave her made it clear he thought she was all woman. It used to make Tessa uncomfortable, sometimes even scared, when men gave her appreciative looks, but Roni seemed so harmless that all she felt was flattered.
“You look all grown up to me,” he concluded his assessment.
To say that Jackson was not too happy about Roni’s appraisal was a huge understatement. The glare he directed at the guy was murderous.
She patted her hair. “It’s the haircut and makeup. Take those away, and I can play the role of a kid easy.”
Jackson shifted in his seat. “What do you do for fun, Roni?”
“Hacking.”
“Other than work.”
“I love hacking. I listen to music while I’m hacking. When I can’t hack, I read and listen to music.”
Roni’s love of music softened Jackson’s attitude. “What do you like listening to?”
By the time Roni was done reciting all the groups he liked, Jackson was regarding him like he was his best friend. “You have good taste in music, bro. Do you play any?”
Oh, so now Roni was a bro. Men were so weird. Even the good ones.
“When I was a kid, I used to play the drums. But that was years ago.”
Jackson perked up. “Were you any good?”
Roni puffed up his chest. “I’m good at everything I do.”
“I’m asking because I have a band and our drummer is leaving for college. I can use you.”
Sylvia cleared her throat. “You’re forgetting the small detail about Roni not being allowed to leave the keep.”
Both guys’ moods plummeted from their temporary high.
“You can perform here,” Tessa offered. “And later in the village square. It looks like the perfect place for a rock concert.”
Roni and Jackson exchanged looks.
“I like it,” Jackson said. “We will have to get Kian’s approval, but I’m sure he will be okay with that.”
Roni groaned. “I don’t have a drum set to practice on, and until I get paid, I can’t buy one.”
Sylvia caught his chin with her fingers and turned his head to face her. “I can loan you the money.”
Roni shook his head. “No. You already bought me clothes and filled up the fridge and the pantry. The drums can wait.”
For a moment, Sylvia looked like she was going to argue, but then she seemed to have decided against it. For now. Tessa had a feeling she would raise the issue as soon as she was alone with Roni.
“Fuck,” Roni exclaimed. “I forgot to talk money with Kian.” He turned to Sylvia. “You think he would agree to see me again?”
“How about you send him an email? He is so busy he might get annoyed by another request for a meeting.”
Roni banged his head against the back of the sofa. “I’m such a fucking moron.”
Sylvia patted his hand. “No, baby. You’re brilliant. You are just not well.”
Roni turned a pair of smitten eyes on his girlfriend. “You're so good to me. I love you so much.” He leaned and kissed her as if Tessa and Jackson weren't there.
“I love you too,” Sylvia mumbled into his mouth.
Tessa cast Jackson an amused glance. “I think that’s our cue.”
CHAPTER 40: ANANDUR
Sitting in the old truck he’d borrowed, the same one he’d used when pretending to be a lowly deck boy to get close to Lana, Anandur waited for Brundar’s Escalade to leave the underground garage and hit the street.
It was an underhanded, dishonest, and all around crappy thing to do, but Anandur was sick and tired of his brother’s secrecy. Today, he was going to check out the mystery woman who had his brother wrapped around her little finger.
The guy was so inexperienced with women that a smart one could’ve taken advantage of him. Having plenty of sex, even the kinky kind, didn’t make Brundar an expert on female manipulation or immune to the magic some women wielded.
On the contrary. All those silly contracts and agreements they insisted on in those places defined the rules of the game and left little to chance.
Real life didn’t work like that.
And if all Brundar was familiar with were hookers who did what they were asked to, and or kink partners who did what was written in their contract, he was in for a very rude awakening.
Out in the real world, where emotion ruled supreme, Brundar was like a helpless little lamb. It took acumen and experience to decipher women’s intentions. They were so much more careful and subtle in their scheming than men. Anandur wasn’t going to let some shrewd manipulator take advantage of his brother.
He didn’t have to wait long.
The good thing about Brundar’s rigidity was that he tended to follow an exact timetable, and his routine made it easy to anticipate his moves. That was how Anandur had discovered his brother was a regular visitor to a nightclub, which had seemed odd until Anandur had learned about the basement level, which housed a secret kink club.
Naturally, Anandur kept pretending like he didn’t know. It wasn’t a big deal. Brundar was entitled to his privacy, and his sex life was none of Anandur’s business. He just wanted to make sure his brother was safe.
One slip was enough for a lifetime. It had cost Brundar his soul, and laid a burden of guilt on Anandur that he was still carrying around every day of his goddamn life. Even though Brundar was more than capable of taking care of himself, Anandur couldn’t let go of the constant worry.
Thank fuck Brundar’s car was a monster. It made following him from a good distance easy. Not that it would be a big deal if Brundar caught him spying on him. Anandur could always claim it was a lark.
Heading in the direction of the club, Brundar stopped a couple of blocks away from it and parked his car next to an apartment building. A few moments later he came down with a girl who was wearing the nightclub’s T-shirt.
Was he picking up a waitress? Or was this the mystery woman?
She was a looker, that was for sure, but a bit too skinny and delicate for Anandur’s taste. He liked his women sturdier, but then his size demanded it. Brundar, on the other hand, wasn’t as big or as bulky, which made the girl perfect for him.
Just like her body, her face was small and delicate. Her honey-colored hair was pulled in a ponytail, but he could tell it was long. It wasn’t straight either. The ends curled up.
He’d parked a considerable distance away, so other details like her eye color and the exact shape of her lips remained a mystery.
Not a problem. Once Brundar left for his rotation tonight, Anandur would go in and have a talk with the little missy.
Heck, he didn’t even have to follow them to the club. He would come later after Brundar left.
At nine o'clock, Anandur parked in the guest parking lot of the club and headed for the entry. He nodded at the bouncer, who nodded back, a professional courtesy from one guardian to another. Different positions, and yet similar. They were both keeping the good guys safe.
The receptionist was cute, and Anandur flirted with her because he always did. When she took his money, she gave him a coupon for one free drink, and he felt bad about leading her on.
“Enjoy,” she said.
“I will.”
She looked disappointed that he didn’t take his flirting further than that. It was too bad. If he weren’t on a mission, and this wasn’t his brother’s playground, he would’ve asked when she was getting off and arranged for a hookup.
It was mid-week, so the club wasn’t packed, or maybe it was still too early. Whatever the reason for the sparse clientele, it made it easier locating the two waitresses and figuring which area Brundar’s girl was in charge of.
He took
a seat and waited.
A few minutes later she arrived. The tag attached to her T-shirt identified her as Calypso. An unusual name, but he liked it.
“What can I get for you?” she asked with a pleasant smile of a professional waitress.
He took a good look at the girl as she placed a napkin on his table. Beautiful, in a fragile small-boned way. Except, he had a feeling she was nothing but. There was strength in those small bones that had nothing to do with their physical composition.
Nice. Brundar had good taste.
“Chivas, please.”
For some reason, his choice of drink made her narrow her pretty green eyes at him as if she was trying to figure out where she’d seen him before. He was about to crack a joke when she waved a finger at him.
“I know who you are.”
“And who might that be?” He leaned his elbows on the table and cast her a flirtatious glance from under his long lashes. Not that he had any intentions of hooking up with Brundar’s woman, but he wanted to see what she would do.
Calypso bent a little and lowered her voice. “You’re Brundar’s brother. Right?”
That took him by surprise. “How did you know?”
She smirked. “He described you as really big with lots of crinkly red hair all over your face and body. I doubt many guys fit that description.”
“Busted. I’m Anandur.”
He offered his hand, and she shook it, pointing to her name tag. “Calypso.”
“Nice to meet you, Calypso. May I ask why are you whispering?”
She leaned closer. “He uses the name Brad around here. Besides, I don’t want anyone to notice us talking. He would get mad if he knew you came spying on him.”
“I’m not spying on him. I just happened to stop by for a drink.”
She shook her head. “Right. And I’m Sleeping Beauty.”
Anandur couldn’t help himself. “A beauty you are, just not a sleeping one.”
She waved her finger at him again. “Flirting with your brother’s girlfriend is against the bro code.”
Anandur grinned. He liked the girl, but he wasn’t done poking at her. “Are you his girlfriend?”
That must’ve hit a nerve because she grimaced. “Sort of. We are exclusive, but he told me not to get my hopes up because he is married to his job.”
The girl had just done a clever role reversal, milking him for information.
Anandur nodded. “He is, and so am I. Did he tell you what we do?” He was curious how much his tight-lipped brother had revealed to the girl.
“He said you both work as bodyguards for your cousin who is an important businessman. But I know it’s more than that. Your brother has contacts everywhere.” Her eyes holding his with an unwavering gaze, she waited for him to spill some more information.
Gutsy girl. Clever too.
What Anandur wanted to know, however, was who Brundar had mentioned to her and why.
“We’ve been in this business for many years, so naturally we got to know a lot of people. Anyone specific you’re referring to?”
Calypso narrowed her eyes again. “I don’t know if it’s okay for me to talk about it. I know you’re his brother, and you work together, but I’m not going to drop names without asking him if it’s okay first.”
Gutsy, smart, and loyal. Anandur approved.
He clasped her delicate hand. “I prefer he didn’t know I came here. Brundar is a secretive bastard. I just wanted to make sure he was okay.”
She shook her head. “You guys and your appalling choice of words. You’re not bastards. You’re love children.”
Anandur laughed. “Did you tell him that?”
“You bet I did.”
She was just too cute. “Good for you. Our mother is sending her thanks.”
Pulling her hand out of his grasp, she glanced around. “Let me get you your drink and see what those guys want.” She tilted her head toward the next table over. “I’ve been standing here for too long. We’ll talk some more when I come back.
“I’ll be here.”
When she returned with his Chivas, it was just the way he liked it. Straight, no ice. Brundar had taught her well.
“Can you take a break so we can talk outside?”
“I can, but it’s not a good idea. Donnie, the bouncer outside, is keeping an eye on me for Brundar. He would tell him I talked with a big red-haired guy and you’d get busted.”
“We are talking now.”
“Not the same. Lots of guys like to talk.” She winked. “And we are not supposed to be rude to customers unless they get handsy.”
He nodded. “I wish we could talk some more.”
“Me too. I wanted to invite you to dinner, but Brundar said no. He is a tough nut to crack.”
Anandur pulled out a pen and wrote his phone number on a napkin. “For emergencies.” He handed it to her. “Or if you just need someone to talk to. I know my brother is not easy to be with. He has his issues, but he is a good man.”
“What issues?” Calypso took the napkin and stuffed it in the back pocket of her black jeans.
“Oh, you know.” Anandur waved a dismissive hand, regretting his slip of the tongue. Brundar’s secret was safe with him. No one knew what had happened all those years ago, not even their mother. He’d sworn to take it to his grave. “He is brooding and rigid and has no sense of humor. It takes a special girl to stick around a charmer like him.”
Calypso put a hand on her hip. “He is also honorable, loyal, and brave.”
Anandur liked her even better for defending Brundar. She was a keeper. For a little while, at least. What a shame the girl was a human.
“That he is.”
CHAPTER 41: CALLIE
Callie filled a pot with water and put it on the stove to boil.
After their lunch at Gino’s, she’d promised Brundar an Italian dinner to outshine anything he’d ever had at that restaurant. Not that it hadn’t been good, but her lasagna was better.
It was a complicated recipe that took about an hour and a half to make, and she planned to have everything done at least half an hour before Brundar arrived. It should be enough time for a quick shower and the rest of her minimalistic beauty routine. A little mascara, a clear lip gloss, and that was it.
The dress would have to be the same strapless one she’d worn before because she didn’t have anything else nice.
Clothes shopping was in order, but the thing was, Callie felt odd about using an Uber to get to the mall and back. Seemed frivolous.
She really needed a car.
Tomorrow, she would have no choice but to take a taxi or an Uber to get to her doctor’s appointment. On second thought, she couldn’t use Uber.
Brundar had provided her with new identification but no new credit cards. The ones she had were joint with Shawn. She couldn’t use them. In fact, she should cut them up and get rid of them, together with everything else that was left over from her marriage. The fewer reminders, the better.
Hopefully, the taxi driver would have no problem with her paying cash.
Another solution was to buy one of those prepaid credit cards. Yeah, that was better. Tomorrow morning she would stop by the supermarket and get one.
There were so many details to remember when hiding and on the run. She’d almost made the mistake of booking the doctor’s appointment under her real name.
The best thing would be to switch identities entirely and get used to the new name. Heather Wilson. The problem was that everyone at the club knew her by her real name. Perhaps she should find another job.
Crap. She liked working for Franco, especially since Brundar was there. The best part was access to the basement when no club members were there.
God, the basement.
Remembering their time there, Callie felt shivers rock her body—the good kind. So intense. So amazing. She wanted more of that.
Except, she didn’t need to work at the nightclub for Brundar to sneak her into one of the playrooms down b
elow when no one else was there.
Did Anandur know about his brother’s involvement in the club?
Did he know about the kinky sex?
She should’ve asked him. No, she should not have. That would have been one heck of an awkward conversation. Especially since she was willing to bet Anandur was pure vanilla.
The brothers were each other's opposites. Brundar was shrouded in darkness while Anandur basked in the light. Brundar’s perfect features were hard—like a statue’s. Anandur was all smiles and flirtation.
The one who snagged Anandur would be a lucky woman.
And yet, Callie would never trade her brooding, dark angel for his sunny counterpart. Or anyone else for that matter.
Brundar was the one for her. The one she was destined to be with. Callie felt it with every fiber of her body and soul. That being said, she would have loved having Anandur as a brother.
Brother-in-law.
Feeling silly, Callie shook her head. Next thing she would be doodling her name with Brundar’s inside a heart and drawing flowers around it.
It was way too soon to be thinking about anything permanent. Especially since Brundar had made it clear that it wasn’t going to happen.
CHAPTER 42: BRUNDAR
A good bottle of wine in hand, Brundar knocked on Calypso’s door.
The smells coming from her apartment were mouth-watering, as was the woman who opened the way.
That strapless black dress would be the death of him.
As hunger seized him by the throat, not the kind that could be satisfied by the appetizing smells, he reached for her with his free hand and pulled her into his arms. She melted into him, parting her lips and sucking his tongue in as if her hunger was just as potent as his.
There was an easy solution to that. Lifting her up, he stepped in and kicked the door closed, then marched in the direction of her bedroom.
Calypso laughed. “Put me down. I didn’t spend all this time cooking for it to go to waste. Save that enthusiasm for after dinner.”
Brundar growled, but the sound that would’ve terrified a grown man had no effect on this woman.