by Jade Kuzma
I shuddered as my orgasm slammed into me. I came hard, wave after wave after wave of pleasure crashing through and making my whole body vibrate. Thick spasms made every muscle in my body tighten. My toes curled. My nails dug so deep into his skin that there was some blood. My mouth hung open but nothing came out, all of my orgasmic cries stuck in my throat.
Sebastian groaned hard and lost himself. A thick splash of cum filled me up and made me shake even more. The two of us quaked from our orgasms. Knees shaky and body trembling, Sebastian held me tight around the waist and squeezed hard to make sure that I couldn’t move away from the wall he nailed me to. He kept pounding me until there was nothing left inside of me.
My muscles started to loosen. I released him from my grip and my feet fell to the floor. I pushed myself against the wall to stop from falling over.
I opened my eyes, hoping that I would see a man whose thoughts were clear.
But he was still there. All of the anger. All of the rage. All of the frustration. His mind still wasn’t clear.
“Sebastian… Whatever it is you’re going to do. Please… James will get what’s coming to him. Justice will be served in Ivory. This is your chance. A chance to make things right with me. To prove to me that you’re not who I thought you were all those years ago.”
He sighed through his nose.
“That’s the problem,” he said. “I am who you thought I was. Do you know why, Kristen?”
I shook my head softly.
“Because that’s just how it is in Ivory. You’ve lived here all your life. You should know that better than anybody.”
“But why does it have to be that way? Why can’t you let the law handle everything?”
“If I haven’t been able to explain it to you by now, then I’ll never be able to.”
“If you do this, then we can never be together, Sebastian. What’s more important? Me or doing what you have to do?”
He closed his eyes. I’d gotten through to him. I know I had because he wasn’t so quick to respond.
“You’re more important to me than anything,” he said.
“Then why are you still doing this?”
“Because this isn’t my choice anymore. I have to do this.”
“Don’t give me that. You’re capable of making your own decision—”
There was a sudden knock at the door. I quickly put myself back together and Sebastian hopped into his jeans. The door opened up and Ezra stood there.
“It’s Hunter,” he said. “He’s got something.”
“I’ll be right out,” Sebastian said.
Sebastian turned back to me but I couldn’t even look him in the eye.
“It’s just like I told Sheriff Sutton,” he said. “You do what you have to do. And I’ll do what I have to do.”
Sebastian left the room and there was nothing but silence all around me.
“Dammit…”
Now what?
I was lost. James and Sebastian were on a collision course that I couldn’t stop. I knew there was only one last thing I could do to try and stop them. Just when the idea came to me, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
I read the message on the phone and found a renewed determination inside of me.
This was my last hope.
Chapter 20
SEBASTIAN
“Tell me why I shouldn’t put a bullet between your eyes right this second.”
Hunter slowly leaned forward in his seat, confident despite how serious the man’s threat was.
“I know you want to kill me,” Hunter said. “I know nothing would put a bigger smile on your face than seeing me dead.”
“I said tell me why I shouldn’t kill you.”
“Because I can offer you something you want more than me being dead.”
“And what’s that?”
“Money.”
“Ha! Look around, Jacobson. I have more money than you could ever imagine. I’m rich beyond your wildest dreams. I have exotic women throwing themselves at me every single night.”
“Yes, yes, because of all your money. But with all of your money, there’s one thing you can’t afford.”
“And what’s that?”
“Eden Casino.”
Eden was outside of the borders of Ivory, on the outskirts of neighboring Holt County. It was the only casino in the area and the place where Hunter could get his fix. Like everything else in this town, the man in charge was James Emerson himself.
The fat man sitting in front of Hunter chewed on his slice of pizza like he wasn’t listening to Hunter. I’d seen Henry Alvarez for myself before but it never ceased to amaze me just how fat he actually was. Seeing how he ate, it was no surprise how much of a slob he was. What he lacked in any sort of athletic fitness, he made up with a cunning guile that kept you on your toes when you were around him.
Hunter and Alvarez had a history. The kind of history that made you wonder how it hadn’t ended in bloodshed.
“What makes you think I want Eden Casino?” Alvarez said.
“Don’t try to deny it. You spend all your time here. You love this place. It’s a shame that someone like Emerson runs the joint though. You’ll never be in charge.”
“What do I care about being in charge?”
“Think about it. You’ll have full access to everything in this casino. You can run it how you see fit. Emerson himself doesn’t even spend as much time here as he used to, not with the deal he’s got running moving his drugs all over the city.”
“Spare me your lavish imagery, Jacobson, and get to the point.”
“My point is that you can be the man in Eden.”
“And how would you do that for me?”
“Get me Emerson. If I can take care of him, you can take over.”
“Hunter…”
I muttered it under my breath and he turned toward me. I thought I wouldn’t have to remind him about the armed guards standing near the entrance to Alvarez’s casino but then again, Hunter was so carefree that he would’ve laughed about a gun being pointed at him.
“I’m not interested in taking over Eden Casino,” Alvarez said. “I should have you both killed for even suggesting it. In fact, I think I’ll kill you when this conversation is over. Emerson should have a nice reward waiting for me.”
Shit…
Hunter pulled us out of the frying pan and right into the fire. A private conversation with one of the men Emerson had a deal with and Hunter was foolishly trying to get him on our side. So far, nothing he was saying was working. I had to trust that Hunter was as slick as he claimed to be.
“A reward,” Hunter said. “Why would Emerson give you a reward?”
“Everybody knows about the job you pulled. People are coming from all over trying to collect it. Your MC doesn’t realize what kind of bounty it has on it. The clock is ticking for you.”
“Yes, but why would you need a reward from Emerson?”
“I wouldn’t. I have enough money as it is.”
“But imagine if you could be the one paying the rewards.”
“You’re not making any sense, Jacobson. You’re about 60 seconds away from that bullet in the head I promised you.”
“Hunter…” I grumbled again.
“Look, look, look,” Hunter said as he put his hands up. “Forget about Eden Casino. Think about the deal. How much money are you guys pulling in?”
“I’ve no reason to share our books with you,” Alvarez said.
“But who gets the lion’s share of the profits?”
“Emerson. He’s the man who put the deal together.”
“Imagine if Emerson was out of the picture. You’d get Eden Casino. You’d get the lion’s share of the profits. You would be in charge, like I said. No answering to anybody. You have everything, Alvarez. But you don’t have that.”
Hunter leaned back in his seat, his chest puffed out confidently. He was so confident that he looked up and winked at me. I rolled my eyes and turned away so that Alvarez didn’t
notice.
But the fat man seemed intrigued. At least, he didn’t write Hunter off immediately. He just snacked on his slice of pizza and gulped it down like it was water. He picked another slice up and let the cheese dangle down into his mouth.
“Let me get this straight,” he said, his mouth half-full. “You want me to help you take out Emerson?”
“It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement,” Hunter said. “We get Emerson of our backs. You can go on, business as usual, and you get to run the casino you’ve always wanted to be in charge of.”
Alvarez shifted his eyes toward me.
“You,” he said. “You have anything to say about this?”
“Hunter told you everything you need to know,” I responded.
“Hmm… I wonder… Why the hell would you patch a man like this into the club?”
“Sometimes I ask myself the same question. Our numbers were a little thin at the start…”
“How about now? Would you miss Hunter if I put a bullet in his brain?”
“Joker… Joker’s a funny guy. He makes me laugh. I’d miss him but I’d get over it.”
“Ha! I like you!”
“Yeah,” Hunter said. “He’s a great club president, isn’t he?”
Alvarez ate his slice of pizza like it was a small snack. He didn’t waste his time in picking up yet another slice.
“Emerson is on alert,” Alvarez said. “After he got hit, he’s paranoid. You won’t be able to get near him.”
“That’s where you come in,” Hunter said. “You and Emerson are a part of the same drug deal. I’m sure you two have meetings all the time to discuss finances.”
“Yes… Yes, we do…”
“Call a meeting with him. Say you want to discuss some business. Then when he arrives—”
“You’ll be there waiting for him.”
Alvarez kept eyeballing Hunter, looking him up and down. He finally had something to think about, so he put his pizza down.
“It’s too much of a risk,” Alvarez said. “Emerson will put you down. And when he finds out I was lying, he’ll put me down, too.”
“He won’t put you down,” I spoke up. “Emerson isn’t the problem. It’s getting close to him. Get me into a meeting with him and I’ll handle the rest.”
“You do that and you’ll get your casino and the lion’s share of the profits from the drug deal you deserve,” Hunter said.
Alvarez stroked his chin, the grease on his fingertips leaving streaks all over his face.
“I’m not the kind of man who would betray a business partner,” he said. “Especially one who’s made me as rich as Emerson has. But… I think his time has come.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Hunter had managed to convince one of Emerson’s own partners to stab him in the back.
“I’ll get you the meeting with Emerson,” he said.
“So, we have a deal?” I asked.
“We have a deal, Devil. Just one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“If you even think about crossing me, Emerson will be the least of your worries.”
“Trust me. I’ve got enough shit to deal with. I’m not interested in more problems.”
“Good. Now get the fuck out. I have shit to do.”
He stuffed his pizza into his mouth and chewed on it as noisily as he’d been doing this entire time. A couple of armed guards escorted us out Alvarez’s office and back out onto the streets where our rides were parked.
“Do you really think he’ll do it?” I said.
“I know Alvarez. He’s a glutton. You’ve seen the man eat. He’s insatiable. If there’s a chance for him to make more money, then he’ll take it, even if it means stabbing Emerson himself in the back.”
“If this shit doesn’t work, we’ll have problems with Alvarez, too.”
“Hey, what do you take me for? I’ve got a contingency for Alvarez. Don’t worry. We’ve got all our bases covered.”
Hunter’s unwavering confidence was enough to put a smile on my face.
“All right,” I said with a nod. “Let’s get back to Ivory. Emerson’s got his goons looking for us. He finds out we were in a meeting with Alvarez, we’ll all be in deep shit.”
“I couldn’t care less about what happens to Alvarez.”
“Well, you should. As long as he’s our ticket to Emerson, we’ve gotta make sure nothing happens to him.”
“We got the meeting, Sebastian. You worry too much.”
Hunter got on his bike and revved his engine. He sped off down the dusty highway back to Ivory.
“Maybe you don’t worry enough,” I sighed to myself.
We had a plan. Everything was in place. I had no doubt I could handle Emerson. But as I made the long ride back to Ivory, all I could think about was her. Wherever Kristen was, I knew she was the all that mattered in the end.
Chapter 21
KRISTEN
Agent Whitaker sent me a message telling me to meet him in a part of Ivory where I was used to seeing him. The local diner where we had our coffee was something I’d gotten used to over the past year. This time was different though.
As I made my way to the meeting, I racked my brain to try and figure out a way to stop Emerson or Sebastian from going through with whatever they were doing.
I raced back through the streets of Ivory. My heart hadn’t stopped pounding in my chest. The sweat hadn’t stopped dripping from my brow. My whole body was tense. I was filled with the kind of anxious adrenaline that I couldn’t get rid of.
When I arrived at the diner, I took a seat in my usual booth. The cheery waitress walked up to me with a big smile on her face.
“Hey! You’re here a little later than usual? Something up?”
“No, no. Just thought I’d stop in for a bit.”
“Meeting your friend, huh? The serious guy.”
“Yeah,” I said with a nervous laugh. “The serious guy…”
She narrowed her eyes at me.
“…You sure you’re all right?” she asked.
“I’m fine. Really.”
“Anything I can get you?”
“Just… Just a glass of water for now. Please. Thank you.”
“You got it.”
The waitress still kept looking at me suspiciously. Understandable, considering how anxious I was. I couldn’t fight it though. My phone gripped tight in my hand, I kept waiting for the message from Whitaker telling me that things would be settled and I could somehow get out of this mess I was in.
A sip of water didn’t do much to calm my nerves.
Where is this guy?
Just when I thought he wouldn’t show up, my phone vibrated in my palm. I looked down at the message.
“Out back. In the alley. Come alone.”
It was only a few words. And Whitaker never bothered texting me. Said he didn’t want a record of our conversations.
It was only a text. Seven words. But the nervousness that was shaking my bones inside of my skin was only getting stronger.
“Dammit…”
My whole body was tense as I headed out of the diner and to the alley in the back.
The smell of trash bins and homeless cats scrounging for something to eat filled my nostrils. It was dark even though it wasn’t that late in the day. In the distance, I could barely make out the faint sounds of the traffic.
I looked around but there was no sign of Whitaker. Not hiding behind a trash can. Not standing behind the corner. I thought twice about calling out to him but didn’t want to draw any attention.
“Shit…”
I grumbled to myself, knowing I didn’t have any other choice.
“Whitaker!” I shouted as low as I could keep it. “You out here?”
I didn’t know why I never noticed immediately but around one corner, there was a white van. It was parked in the next alley, the only car in the vicinity. My heart slowly sunk in my stomach as I walked toward it.
“W-Whitaker,” I stuttered.
“Are you in there?”
I moved up to the white van. It wasn’t moving, just parked there ominously. Every beat of my heart was harder than the last.
Suddenly, the back doors of the van opened up and the last man I was expecting to see stepped out of it.
“J-James… What are you doing here?”
James stepped out of the van. He puffed his chest out proudly, a smile on his lips as confident as it always was. He straightened his tie out then looked down his nose at me.
“I might ask you the same question, Kristen. What are you doing here?”
I looked back into his eyes. I could see it inside of him. The man that everybody feared. The criminal. The reason I was going through all of this in the first place.
There was no point in holding back any longer. I glared at him, my jaw clenched as I did my best to stay calm.
“No matter,” he said. “I already know why you’re here.”
He took a step toward me then put his hands in his pockets.
“You know, it’s funny,” he said. “There are a lot of little things a man can do to be successful. Just a few minutes on the treadmill in the morning. A little less sugar in his coffee. Maybe an afternoon nap. It might not seem like much but it all adds up. Eventually, when you get older, success and failure are determined by all of the little details that finally come together.”
He looked down at me, eyes narrowed like he was trying to burn a hole through me.
“I learned that a long time ago,” he said. “I learned to pay attention to the little details. No matter how small they are, they can be the difference between success…”
He pulled one hand out of his pocket.
“…And failure.”
I didn’t notice it at first. It was so small. But between his fingertips, there it was. The receiver Whitaker had given me.
I swallowed to maintain my composure. But I was speechless. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. I could barely even think straight.
“You’ve been acting strange lately, Kristen. I figured it was just because of work, so I let it slide. I thought maybe it was because we haven’t been spending as much time together as we should have. But then that night… You were acting so strange. The night of a celebration and you were still acting like you were attending a funeral. That’s when I knew something was wrong. I didn’t want to believe it. So I had you followed.”