by A. J. Norris
She laughed, and it made him smile. He really did miss her. Seeing her might be worth going home and facing the demons he’d inherited from his father.
“How’s the revived love life?” she asked.
“Dead on the operating table.”
“Oh no. It’s not because of Javier, is it?”
“I never got around to telling her about Javier. We had one night, but she was gone when I woke up in the morning. The phone number she gave me isn’t working, and she’s not showing up at the restaurant for lunch anymore. It’s like she disappeared.”
“Ouch.”
“Right? I really liked her.”
“I’m sorry, friend. You’ll find someone. Probably in Bokchito. At my party.”
“Oh yeah. That.”
“If I don’t see those gorgeous brown eyes at my party, I’m going to send my husband down there to kick your ass, Ramos.”
He smiled. “I miss you, too, friend.” He just didn’t realize how much until he’d heard her voice.
“It’s very important to me that you and Javier be here.”
“I know. I’ll do my best.”
Ben ended the call and closed his laptop. He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window of his fifteenth-floor apartment and counted the lights of the building across from his that were still on. It was comforting to know people were out there, like when he was a kid and would fall asleep to the sound of his dad watching the ten o’clock news. It was almost as if he could take the weight of the world off his shoulders and let someone else look after things for a while.
He walked to Javier’s bedroom and knocked lightly. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah.”
Javier was sitting on his Thomas the Tank bedspread, his black hair still wet from his shower, and he was playing on his Nintendo. “Did you count the lights?”
“Thirty-five.”
“Thirty-five. That’s a good number,” Javier said with his concentration still focused on his game.
Ben sat down next to his older brother and picked up the camera he used on his daily walks with his sitter. He scrolled through the most recent pictures of people sitting on concrete steps eating their lunches. “This is outside my office.”
“I wanted to visit you, but then I ran out of storage.”
“It would have been nice to see you.”
“Yeah. I need more storage.”
“I can download these to your computer. Then you’ll have all your storage again. It’s time for bed.” Javier still hadn’t looked at him. Ben knew he wouldn’t. He fluffed the pillow and Javier lay down.
“Buenas noches, Manito,” he said and walked out, closing the door behind him.
After his shower, Ben climbed into bed. One last calendar check before turning off the light. Tomorrow would be a slow day, except for that one late appointment. He checked his appointment notes. Beth Simms wanted to meet face-to-face so she could show him her concerns in person. She didn’t trust the people in her office. Smart lady.
He closed his calendar app and checked his missed calls. Three he needed to return, and one from the department of corrections. He scrolled to the option that let him block the caller. His finger hovered over the screen. He’d been through this scenario a thousand times and hesitated, like all the times before. He should just block it already. But this wasn’t only his decision to make. Javier wouldn’t want him to. He backed out of the screen and put his phone down. Make that a thousand and one.
Chapter Three
Mackenna
Mackenna paused at the sight of Benjamin Ramos in the hotel bar. Tall. Broad. Handsome. Important. Better off without her. She should leave before he saw her. Bad idea. As Travis already proved, he was watching. She was one defiant move away from getting her sister thrown back out onto the streets. But ruining Ben’s career…his life…was not a better choice.
The click of a picture being taken made her scan the room for a camera or a smartphone pointed at her. Too many people. She smoothed her white pants and adjusted her lace top, glad she opted to go with the classic look rather than the slutty one. This was more comfortable, more her. More Ben.
She walked to his table and realized the odd sensation she’d felt all day was anticipation. She was genuinely happy to see him. Would he feel the same?
“Ben?”
He looked up from his Texas Monthly and stared at her like he didn’t know her. His furrowed brows of confusion morphed into arches of surprise. Then he smiled, and she started breathing again.
“My God.” He stood up. “Why didn’t you…where did you…where have you been?”
It surprised her, how often life stripped away her choices and replaced them with a choice between two terrible options. Her decision was made. She’d chosen her sister over the only man who’d ever looked at her like he truly saw her. She’d never felt so wretched. “Mind if I sit down?”
“I’m waiting for a client, but…not at all.”
Here, sitting so close to the big fountain, the din from the crowded room was muffled. She adjusted her purse on her lap and smiled at him, feeling more nervous than that time in grade school when she had her best friend ask one of the Henson boys—she couldn’t remember which—if they liked her. “I’m…um…” She cleared her throat. “I’m your client.”
“Your real name is Beth?”
“No.” She smiled. He wasn’t going to yell at her and storm away. She could let her guard down an inch. “Beth is made up. So was Allison. It’s Mackenna.”
“Huh.” One corner of his mouth turned up. “How can I be sure Mackenna is real?”
“I can show you my driver’s license,” she offered, trying to sound light.
“Hmm.” He thought for a moment before he smiled. “Nah. I like the challenge.”
When the waitress arrived, Mackenna ordered a glass of wine while Ben opted for rum and Coke.
“I wasn’t sure how you’d respond when you saw me,” Mackenna said when they were alone again.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” He leaned forward and put his hand on her leg. “If I did anything to—”
“Oh God, no.” She loved that he felt comfortable enough to touch her so gently. After tonight, he’d never touch her again. He’d never want to. “You were perfect. The whole night was wonderful. I have some personal things going on right now. I’m kind of a mess.” And I’m in kind of a mess that I didn’t want to expose you to.
“I bet I can match your mess with my own.” He leaned in closer. “Listen. I know we’ve only known each other less than a month, and…yeah…that night was crazy and we were a little drunk, but I thought—”
“I wasn’t drunk,” Mackenna interrupted.
Ben’s expression went blank, unreadable. His chest rose and fell twice before he said, “Neither was I.”
Ben was still interested. The relief rolled right off her and thudded at her feet. Ben was still interested. If only he’d get up and leave, tell her he never wanted to see her again and storm out, then maybe she wouldn’t have to do this to him. Or maybe she could tell him what was going on, ask him to play along for any eyes that might be following them, and then they could figure out what to do together. Yes, that’s exactly what she should do. He’d understand. She hadn’t done anything to him yet, after all. With the decision made to tell him about Travis’s desire to ruin him, her pulse quickened, and her mouth went dry again.
A waitress delivered two drinks. “Another rum and Coke, sir? And for the lady, a Long Island Iced Tea.”
Long Island Iced Tea? The realization slammed into her like a hammer driving in a nail with one swing. She ordered wine, not Long Island Iced Tea. Shit. Ray.
She spotted him at the bar, wiping the same spot over and over, as he stared at them…her, actually. Dammit, she hadn’t noticed him when she walked in. He gave her the same nod as the night before.
“Are you okay?” Ben asked, following her line of sight.
No. Absolutely not. “I think I see an ac
quaintance who has no business being here.”
“That bartender who’s been staring at you since you walked in?”
“Please excuse me for a minute.”
She found Ray in the nook that led to the restrooms. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the ladies’ room.
She wrenched out of his grasp. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Making sure you quit dicking around and get the job done this time. There are people who can’t do their jobs until you do yours. And we’re running out of time, Mackenna.”
“I’m doing fine. I don’t need your help.”
“Maybe if you hadn’t screwed the guy I’d believe you.”
“I just need some time.”
“I’d say you have about ten minutes to get him in a cab, fifteen to get him home, and twenty before he’s out cold.”
“Twenty minutes? Why twenty min…Oh shit. You drugged him, didn’t you?”
He pulled a thumb drive from his pocket and handed it to her. “Get him home. Get to his computer, put the data on this. And here…” He offered her the same small vial he offered at every job in case her mark didn’t pass out.
“I don’t need that.”
“Non-negotiable.”
She snatched it out of his hand. “You’re an asshole.”
He looked at his watch. “Tick tock.”
Mackenna paid the cab driver and helped Ben onto the elevator. She took his keys from him and unlocked his front door. She could tell his eyes had trouble focusing. “I hav’ta tell you s’mthin,” he said with one arm wrapped around her waist, the other pulling her hair off her neck, his mouth trailing kisses along her shoulder.
The door clicked open. She steadied him and tucked herself underneath his arm. “Come on. Let’s get you inside. Then you can tell me.”
He resisted. “No. Now. There’s someone…” He stumbled back and then forward. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her up against the wall. She could see the struggle in his eyes, the confusion, the despair, the blame. “What did you do to me?”
“You were drugged,” she answered. “Those drinks at the bar.”
He pushed up harder against her. Their mouths were nearly touching. “Wh…wh…why?”
“Because I work for someone who wants to ruin you. I’m supposed to download some nasty stuff to your database so he can see your clients’ files.”
Ben pivoted and headed down a hall, bouncing off the walls like a pinball and falling onto a king-sized bed in a bedroom larger than her entire studio apartment. She stared down at him from the doorway. Okay. They were in his apartment. She could practically feel the heat rising from the flames of the bridge she was burning. He wouldn’t know right away what she’d done to him, but once Travis started to use whatever data he’d found against him, Ben would never want to see her again.
“What’s your name?”
She froze for a few seconds, hearing nothing but the sound of her own heart pounding. There was someone else in the apartment. Mackenna pivoted slowly until she was face-to-face with a man wearing Thomas the Tank pajamas with a Batman cape and sipping on the straw of a Capri Sun juice pouch from one side of his mouth. He wasn’t as tall as Benjamin, but had the same eyes. By the lines around this man’s, she guessed he was older.
“I’m Javier,” he said with the straw still in his mouth. “Who are you?”
“Your brother isn’t feeling well.”
“Are you his babysitter?”
“Um…” She looked back and forth between the two men. “I guess so.”
“Well?” Javier asked.
“Yeah?”
“You have to tuck him in, silly.”
“Oh. Yeah.” With Javier watching, she went into Ben’s bedroom, took his jacket and shoes off him and turned around. “How’s that?”
Javier shook his head. “You’re a terrible babysitter.”
“I know.”
“You gotta turn him over. Then you take his pants and shirt off. Then you pull the covers over him. Don’t forget to kiss his forehead.”
“Oh. That’s a little too…” Intimate. She’d rather be pushed up against a door with a mark fondling her breast than undress a completely helpless man. No. It wasn’t that he was helpless. All those other men were helpless too. But this man…Benjamin Ramos…was a good man. By the looks of things, he had an older, disabled brother to look after. Just like she was trying to look after Ashley.
Ashley. Remember why you’re here, Mackenna. That’s the most important thing. She rolled Ben over, unbuttoned his dress shirt and rolled him back over so she could take it off him. Then she rolled him back over and climbed onto the bed with him to unbuckle his belt and unfasten his pants. Her hands froze at the memory of the last time she did this. Focus, Mack. She pulled down his pants and groaned internally at the sight of his hard stomach and the line of hair that disappeared underneath his boxers. She remembered that. She missed it. She climbed off the bed and covered him up.
“Don’t forget to kiss his forehead.”
Kiss his forehead? Did she really have to? Probably not, but she really, really…really wanted to. Damn it. Why couldn’t he have been a prick like all the other men? This would’ve been taken care of a long time ago. But now she was in his bedroom, watching him sleep, knowing very well that he didn’t deserve whatever it was Travis had planned for him.
“Go ahead,” Javier said from the doorway. “You want him to have sweet dreams, don’t you?”
She sat on the side of Ben’s bed and brushed his hair off his face. He was so handsome and so kind. She loved the way he asked if she was okay even though she was the one who’d left him alone in that hotel bed.
“Well?” Javier said.
Mackenna leaned down, kissed his forehead, and whispered, “It was nice knowing you, Ben Ramos. I really could’ve loved you.”
“Good job,” Javier encouraged. “Now it’s my turn.”
An hour later, Mackenna was finally getting to the job she’d been sent to do. She’d counted the lights in the building across the street four times and read the same Dr. Seuss book to Javier five times, but at least he’d finally gone to bed. She’d already hacked into the desktop computer in Ben’s home office, but now she was on his personal laptop, though she wasn’t sure what she was looking for. It was risky to sit here looking through the laptop like this when all she needed to do was get the files, download the malware, and get out, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t get rid of the feeling that there was something different to Travis’s pursuit of Ben.
With the other marks, it had been all about installing spyware to find out what they knew so Travis could use it later. But he wanted to destroy Ben. Obliterate him. Did he plan to leak his work documents? Or worse, use that information to blackmail him or his clients? Ben’s career would be over. No one would hire him if they thought he was sharing confidential information and exposing them to blackmail.
If she could find something that explained Travis’s hatred of him, then maybe she could use it to…wait. She clicked on a picture file and struggled to make sense of what she was looking at. Ben as a teenager, standing on a dock in front of a lake. Javier was with him, but he looked…different. Not disabled. His eyes were focused. There were two other boys in the photo. She leaned in closer.
“Oh shit.”
Chapter Four
Ben
Ben felt the headache while he was still asleep, like one of those dreams where you can hear your alarm clock going off but can’t wake up to stop it. The sun burned through his eyelids, and he honestly could taste the sunlight—what he imagined an old penny would taste like. His mouth was dry, and his tongue was thick. He opened one eye and saw the blurry form in the corner. He couldn’t tell what it was, but when it moved he assumed it was either a person or a small bear.
“There’s some medicine on the table.”
“Huh?” He opened the other eye, but it was too bright, so he closed them both.
“There�
�s medicine. For your headache.”
The voice was familiar. Mackenna’s? She was there? Oh yeah. They’d met at the hotel. She was his appointment. And now they were at his place, and she was in his bedroom. And then…shit. Why couldn’t he remember? If he and Mackenna were together, it had to have been amazing. So why couldn’t he remember it? And why did his head hurt so bad?
“Here.” Mackenna moved toward him, opened his palm, and placed two small pills inside it. Then she sat next to him, propped his head up, and put something to his lips. “Drink,” she said. “Slowly.”
He took a sip and then a gulp. It was water, the best-tasting water he’d ever drank. Once his mouth was no longer parched, he took another drink and downed the pills.
“That’s better,” she said. She brushed his hair from his face.
He took another drink from the water bottle. “Ven a mi, Bella. Come lie with me.”
Mackenna lay down beside him. “Are you a good brother?”
“Huh?” Why was she asking him this?
“I met Javier. He needs you. So, are you a good brother?”
“I try to be.”
“Good. That’s all I need to know.”
He wrapped his arms around her, kissed the top of her head, and fell back to sleep.
When Ben woke a second time, it was to an alarm on his phone, which he didn’t remember setting. His headache was gone. So was Mackenna. He stumbled to the bathroom, took a piss, and inspected himself in the mirror while he washed his hands. He was in his t-shirt and boxers. How’d that happen? The last thing he remembered was sitting with Mackenna in the bar of the W. Then they were lying in bed together. He could see in the mirror that there was something on his forehead. He rubbed it and realized it was lipstick. He walked into the living room, expecting to find Javier awake watching cartoons, but he was still in bed asleep. He must’ve been up late again. Ben headed to his room. “Hey, Javier.” He shook his legs a little to wake him up.