by Lacey Silks
Zack nodded. “Keep her safe.”
I went back to my car and left.
I drove straight to my brother’s house, which was down the street from my parents’ place and about fifteen minutes from Zoey’s. Scar was standing in the front yard with a hose in his hand and an e-cigarette in his mouth. The sun beamed down on his bronzed skin. My brother was shirtless and in his boxer-briefs, but then if I owned a property like his, I could run around naked all day long too and no one would be the wiser — unless they came to visit. Maybe it was time to look for a place I could have Zoey after all? One that wasn’t on Infinity’s books.
“What the hell are you watering?” I asked out the open window before parking on the dried hay that covered most of my brother’s property.
“My grass.”
I turned off the ignition and joined him on the drought-stricken field of yellow. A streak of orange paint ran down his arm and his hands were stained with a few shades of bright colors that still failed to lighten his somber mood.
“That’s not grass.”
Scar set his e-cigarette aside, took a sip of his beer, and redirected the hose at another clump of weeds tall enough to reach his windows.
“You need a landscaper.”
“What I need is a fairy.”
“Since when do you talk about fucking fairies?”
“Sorry, man. It’s been a rough day. Did Mom put you up to this? She’s been badgering me about these shrubs for months.”
“No, but if you had a set of eyes you’d have come to the same conclusion she did. Stop watering fucking weeds and get a proper gardener before this place becomes an enchanted forest. Why the sour face?”
“Remind me not to ever go into partnership with assholes again.”
“Wanna switch jobs?” I chuckled.
“I don’t even know what it is exactly that you do.”
“Good – you don’t want to know. I thought you were out of town.”
“Came back early. Should I be worried about you being here in the middle of the week?”
He was right. I barely ever visited my youngest brother. I wasn’t sure why. Perhaps I still had a lot of making up to do for trying to use him for father’s dealings and coercing him to kidnap our sister, Grace. He’d said all was forgiven, but it didn’t stop the guilt from consuming me each time I looked into his eyes. Scar might have been my half-brother, but given that he had the purest heart of all the Wagners, I respected him the most.
“No. But I may need a favor. One you might like a bit too much.”
“Stop talking in code. What the fuck is going on? I thought you were working for Cross.”
If we hadn’t been at his private property, I’d have punched him just for saying that out loud. He should have known better.
“Don’t ever mention them again, okay? I am, but shit’s getting real now.”
“You need back up? You know I’m there for ya.”
“I know, Scar. I know. And thanks, but I should be able to handle this on my own.”
For a long time, my youngest brother had thought he was part of the Wagner family only by default, because our father had had an affair and he was the product of it. Father had manipulated Scar for a long time, but my brother – as did I, and Axel and Cash – finally realized there was no fucking gold at the end of father’s rainbow of illegal businesses.
“Is Brad acting up again?”
I had known that Scar’s co-owner of their strip club, Hounds, was trouble from the first time I’d found out about his partying ways when Scar was still in high school. They had reconnected six years ago when Scar had gotten an opportunity to work for himself instead of living off Father. It was about the same time, in fact, that I had gotten the chance to join Cross Enterprises. But while Scar had been trying to build his business in an honest way, Brad had other ideas.
“He’s letting through double clients downstairs.”
“Aren’t they supposed to use those services only once? And weren’t you planning to get rid of the basement anyways?”
“Yeah, well, that’s easier said than done. That was the plan six years ago, but he keeps stalling. I’m getting a whole new appreciation for owning a business. I might have to get Axel on board to help me.”
“He could use something new to concentrate on, actually.”
Our oldest brother had been in a slump for a while now. We’d tried to fix him up with a few girls, but most of them seemed to be after his money. So far, Cash has been the luckiest one of us all. He and Skyler were the perfect match, and I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear the wedding bells soon.
“So, did you know that Julia’s back in town?” I asked. There was no point in beating around the bush – or in Scar’s case, the dried weeds.
“Yeah.”
I figured he’d been keeping tabs on Zoey’s sister.
“And you’re not going to do anything about it?”
“I can’t. I left her like a fucking douche.”
“You didn’t have a choice at the time.”
“There’s always a choice. Besides, I don’t date.”
“Then you’re lying to yourself. I thought she was your match.”
“Jules is better off without me.”
“Well, then, I guess I won’t tell you that Zoey thinks her sister still has something for you.”
“What? When did you hook up with Zoey?” Scar reached to the knob at the side of the house and finally turned the water off. The stream down the driveway had almost reached the front of his property by now. The soil was so dry, not even water could break through it.
“I sort of ran into her. Listen, she’s in a bit of trouble at the moment, and I need your help to keep an eye on Jules.”
“Why? What did she do?”
“Scar, this stays between us.”
He nodded.
“Infinity.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I wish I was. Definitely makes my job more complicated.”
“What about Jules?”
“No, she’s not part of it.”
I didn’t want to tell my brother the truth about the girl he’d been in love with for the past decade. It wasn’t my place, and hopefully he wouldn’t hold it against me when he found out about her addiction for himself.
“Do you need help?” he asked.
“No. Plus it sounds like you have your hands full with Brad. Just keep an eye on Jules. I don’t want Infinity retaliating against Zoey’s sister.”
“All right, I’ll see what I can do.”
A sudden glow to his face only affirmed that he still had a thing for Julia, and I had just given him the perfect excuse to get in touch with her.
“Listen, little brother. Don’t be afraid to go after what you want. You’re a good man. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“Thanks. You’ll keep me in the loop on Zoey?”
“As much as I can.”
My phone buzzed with a text from Emma about our meeting in a few days – which meant it was time to see just how much Zoey trusted me. If we were going to make this work, I needed her to be willing to jump off a cliff if I asked her to.
“I gotta go. Oh, and Scar, get a fucking gardener. Otherwise you won’t be able to get to the front door soon.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I gave my brother a bro hug, bumping our shoulders, and headed for Zoey’s apartment. I had stayed away from her for too long, and I’d had enough. Tonight, I would remind her what living felt like. I wanted to show her that freedom was within her grasp. Another week and we’d be ready for our mission. She didn’t know that part just yet, and it wasn’t exactly the right time to give her too many details. After all, I didn’t want to scare her.
After a quick call to my real estate agent, I parked my car a block away from Zoey’s, right by the flower shop, and picked up a bouquet of white roses. Lowering my sunglasses to my eyes, I let my lungs expand with some sort of a new-found elation and decided
to walk the rest of the way to her apartment. Where the fuck was all the happiness coming from? Since the night I ran into Zoey, something had changed. Up until now, the girls who were trapped by Infinity were just women without a choice. I wanted to help them; I needed to pay for my sins. It had been a selfish choice to join Cross Enterprises, and I had never expected this reward of joy.
No one should be forced into sex, no matter how Infinity reasoned it, yet I hadn’t realized the pain these women went through until I saw Zoey. I hadn’t grasped the full scope of a woman’s suffering until I kissed away Zoey’s salty tears and saw the life fade from her eyes. It wasn’t until I realized that a woman I cared about more than I had about any other in my life had been trapped by Infinity. That night, when I ran into her, I found a new path. I had to make things right. I wanted her to be proud of me. I needed her to look at me as a deserving man. And what better way to start off than by taking the lady out? I was about to collect on my date with Zoey, and I planned to show her what life was supposed to be like.
As I walked on down the sidewalk, each step more impatient than the one before, I couldn’t help but smile. The day was perfect. The sun had dipped to the lower part of the sky, and the birds were chirping. I fucking felt like I was walking on cloud nine, and nothing could have ruined my mood. Nothing, that is, except the image I saw behind the glass wall of a run-down dance studio: the windows were covered with paper, the glass smudged with dirt, but there was enough clarity for me to recognize Zoey and Sid – in an intimate position that heated my blood to a boiling point.
Chapter 10
Zoey
I pulled the covers over my head at the sound of the doorbell, the persistent noise resonating in my ears for what felt like minutes.
“Jules?” I whined from underneath the blankets. The silence told me that she was either in the shower or still at work. My sister would have been the first one to get the door, and she usually did. With a grunt I rolled out of bed and made my way to the front door. Should I even open it? What if it was someone from Infinity checking on me? Ace would have alerted me, wouldn’t he?
Despite his assurance that I had the freedom to go shopping or to the movies or for a simple coffee, I preferred to remain where I felt safest—at home. And since Ace’s arms were not a luxury at the moment, I opted to stay in my room.
It had been a week since I’d seen Ace. I had been trapped in this house for almost seven days, and my patience was wearing thin. He’d called me several times each day, and told me Emma was flying back from home, wherever that was, within a week. Until then they were preparing final plans to get to Craig’s magical memory-stick. Ace called it ‘magical’ because Craig apparently carried it somewhere on his body, and no one knew exactly where that was. If it were up to me, the first place I’d check would be his ass, using a giant probe to do so.
I missed Ace and wished I could have stayed at his parent’s guest house for a while longer. In my attempt at independence, though, I had insisted on being on my own. However, even my daily trips to the grocery store filled me with anxiety, because no matter what, it was impossible to forget that Infinity was one badass corporation that could crush me. Besides, Jules would soon question my whereabouts, and I wasn’t ready to tell her about Ace being back in my life. I could only count the days until the subject of my job hunting would come up. Thank goodness, she worked shifts. At least it gave me a good excuse why we hadn’t seen each other that often.
Another annoying ring echoed through the apartment.
“I’m coming!” I muttered to myself.
I looked through the peephole to see Sid. His dark hair was neatly styled, the evenly combed strokes of his fingers laying the foundation for perfect hills and valleys on his head. He was twenty years younger than Mom and would have made a nice boyfriend for Jules, or me but we weren’t his type. He was a cougar man — exactly what Mom was looking for. And I’d forgotten that I promised her to flex him up. The pictures of position number fifteen from her Kama Sutra she’d texted me were gross, and I wondered how exactly I was supposed to get him in a bridge position high enough to feel his bulge at my crotch when I straddled him.
I pulled the door open and pasted a smile on my face. “Hi, Sid. Come on in.”
“Is this a bad time?”
Yes.
“No, it’s fine.” Mom would have killed me if I canceled the session to make Sid more flexible for her desires. “I sort of slept in. Do you mind if I jump in for a quick shower?”
“No, take your time. Clare’s not expecting me until evening.” He shifted his weight from one foot to another. “Zoey, I know this is awkward. You really don’t have to do this.”
“You mean, teach you a choreographed dance routine for Mom?”
“No, I mean to stretch me for position number fifteen.”
His cheeks flushed red, and so did mine.
“Oh, she told you?”
“No, but I put two and two together after her hundredth hint.” He laughed. “I’m really sorry she got you involved in this.”
The genuine smile stretching his face warmed me in a funny way. It had been some time since I’d looked at Sid as anything other than Mom’s new boy-toy and then her new husband. In the beginning, Jules and I were certain that he was after Mom’s money, and we each even flirted with him to try to tempt him away — a fact I was quite embarrassed about right now.
Standing in the hallway in his sweat pants and a t-shirt, Sid looked around our minuscule apartment, and I took the chance to have a better look at him. Mom did good. Really good. I bet half her friends – actually, make that all her friends – envied her not only for the stamina Sid probably had as a young man but also for his gorgeous looks. He was also the CEO of his own company. A nerd of sorts, he had developed a social app that he offered to Microsoft. That was when I figured his geeky name suited him. He sold the app for millions and then retired. So at least he wasn’t after Mom’s money. He must have genuinely liked older women.
I hurried upstairs for the quick shower and then changed into my shorts and a tank top. It had been a while since I’d worn something that comfortable outside the house. Putting on that outfit reminded me of my passion for dance. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, and I wished again that things could be different. I wished I could have enjoyed life as a dance teacher for longer than I had before Infinity got to me.
Five minutes later, we were at the studio I had never gotten a chance to renovate. With the money I still had from my inheritance, that piece of property was the last one I purchased. My friend and ex-partner had since dropped the project for new endeavors as Infinity took over my life and my dreams vanished. My life priorities quickly shifted to mere survival mode.
“What’s that?” Sid pointed to the pinkish mark where Ace had cut me.
“Me trying new culinary skills,” I lied.
“Try harder, because if your mother sees it, she’ll think you’re cutting yourself.”
“And you don’t.”
“No, I think you’re too strong to do that. You’d seek help before you went that path.”
He was right. I would have done the same if there was a help line for how to get out of fucking Infinity contracts, but there wasn’t.
“Thank you for not assuming the worst.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you for accepting my marriage to your mother.”
“The jury’s still out on that one.”
“Hey.” He gently pushed on my shoulder, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Okay, let’s start with some stretches.”
Sid copied my moves as I led him through a regular stretching routine I would have done before any class. I’d forgotten how good it felt to instruct someone else to ease the tension in their muscles, coax them to follow my lead, and warm them up for more challenging positions. Soon enough, sweat was running down my chest and forehead. The smell of my body wash, Sid’s cologne, and perspiration filled the air. It didn’t smell bad. In fact, t
he blend only reminded me of Ace and of a time when I had freedom, when I didn’t have to look over my shoulder or get ready to service another Infinity member.
It had only been fifteen minutes, but the sun shining through the dirty windows and the lack of air conditioning system wasn’t helping. Sunrays streaked inside, forming ribbons of dust floating in the light.
“I’m sorry this place isn’t cleaner. You’re probably used to fancy gym memberships.” I balanced on my left leg while pulling the heel of my right to my buttock.
From the look of Sid’s body, it appeared he was a regular at a gym. Now that the shirt clung to his skin, the toned muscles stood out. Was that a piercing on his left nipple? His bright eyes were a contrast to his skin, and I saw why my Mom had the hots for him. Why wouldn’t she? He was stunning.
“This is your place, right?”
“Yeah, but my partner found a different job, and my plans sort of changed.”
“Why don’t you open this studio on your own?”
I shrugged. How was I supposed to explain to him the constraints under which I lived my life? I heard him come closer and stopped. He stood a couple of feet away from me, his defined chest rising up and down, the heavy breaths giving me more of a mental image of what he looked like while exerting and it was beginning to confuse me. I shook it off, reminding myself that this hot man was my stepfather.
“Zoey, your mom is worried about you, and frankly, so am I.”
“Why? I’m fine.”
“You’ve closed yourself off. She mentioned you’re seeing Ace as well. She may not be someone you feel comfortable talking to, but maybe I could understand.”
“You mean because you’re younger.”
“Well, yeah. I’m not sure that Ace is a wise choice.”
“You’re just jealous that he kissed Mom.”
“And that doesn’t strike you as inappropriate? That a man who kissed your mother is now interested in you?”
“Look, Sid. You may not know it, but he was doing you a favor. After that, Mom realized that you’re the only one for her.”