“I’ve never met a woman like you before,” he admitted.
“And by a woman like me, you mean…”
“Beautiful, daring, professional, ambiguous.”
Drew smirked. They pulled to a red light and Legend cast a glimpse out the driver side window catching the attention of a woman sitting in a nearby vehicle. A smile rested on his face and he winked before pulling off.
“I get the feeling we could build a powerful partnership, Drew.”
“I’m sure we could always be of some assistance.” Her voice was low and throaty; her mind flirting with the alcohol that rested in her system.
Legend drove a few miles before entering what Drew thought upon first glance was a gated community. Giving a second look, their destination revealed a mansion style home enclosed on its own land.
Drew looked around. “This is all you?”
A suave smile graced his face. “Would you like the grand tour?”
Drew’s sight fluttered to the tall windows, broad grassy lawn, and pink blooming flowers that decorated his entryway. Legend cut the engine.
“Those flowers are called Naked Lady.”
Drew almost laughed. “How apropos,” she said.
“Why is that? Do you plan to become my naked lady?”
Drew squirmed in her seat. She reached for the door handle letting it fly open. The breeze coated her heated skin and she welcomed it. They climbed out and approached the flowers. Drew bent to smell them.
“Careful,” Legend halted her descent. She studied him questionably. “They’re beautiful, but that lovely smell contains a poison that can cause cardiovascular collapse.”
Drew straightened instantly. “Why would you plant these flowers?”
“The same reasons why our human nature is to indulge in something or someone that’s bad for us. Beauty is a powerful thing.”
Drew didn’t know if he was referring to her, him, or their criminal activities.
“Shall we?”
Legend offered a wave of his hand and Drew strutted to his door.
Inside the massive home revealed large columns, marble floors, and a huge floor plan. Legend guided her to his living area flanked with an enormous fireplace, bearskin rug, plasma TV, and a 16th Century art painting hanging on one huge wall. Drew strolled to the painting.
“A man after my own heart,” she whispered. She felt him move behind her. The heat radiating from his person ran the length of her.
“Would you like something to drink,” his baritone voice beat.
She twirled, finding him bearing down on her so close she could smell the minty scent coming from his breath. Without another thought, their lips met setting a dragon flame scorching her insides. Legend’s lips trailed down her neck, his hands on course to her waist. With ferocity, he pulled her pants, aggressive and demanding. Her arms circled his neck and she allowed him to unclothe her.
His shirt flew across the room, then hers. Legend snatched Drew up and laid her down on the bearskin rug. He didn’t miss a beat as his mouth found her breasts, licking and sucking her dark brown nipples. He moved down her russet skin and rid Drew of her jeans. His mouth took in her vagina in one succulent kiss. His tongue thrashed inside and out circling her labia in hungry strokes.
“Mmmmm,” Drew moaned.
Her mouth hung open, her eyes sultry as one of the many orgasms she would have that night set on a cataclysmic path. Legend was the escape she so desperately needed and for now, she would relish in him.
The next day…
Nia sat clutching the steering wheel to the Chevy Corsica she’d stolen the day before. Unfortunately, Nia was unable to make it to the homeless shelter in time to get a bed. That left her out on her ass with nowhere to go. Nia’s survival instincts were quick to kick in, so while the elderly couple made their way into a grocery store, Nia snuck up on the older model car, hot-wired it and drove off. She reasoned that having somewhere to lay her head in the winter weather was imperative. Nia could die on the New York streets without shelter.
Her life was anything but smooth, but last night Nia was all set in a nice parking spot, to get a few z’s before the morning sunrise, when her eyes fell on a man she’d spent the last three years evading. It was all Nia could think about since she’d watched him pull to the light and throw a snarky smile and wink in her direction. The thin hairs on her skin rose. He was a ruthless and insufferable human being. Manipulative at his core and cunning, to say the least. Nine years ago, Legend sweet talked Nia right out of her panties. Nia fell in love with him. As soon as she was comfortable, Legend turned on her in every way imaginable. He’d beaten her, threatened and controlled her, kept her away from family and friends. Nia tried to run away once, but he caught up to her and made her suffer tremendously by handcuffing her to the bed and allowing any manner of pervert to sexually assault her. Nia was bound to that bed for days; sustained on flat beer and every man’s leavings.
Legend warned her that he would kidnap her twin sister and do the same. He would kill her son, her friends, her uncle, aunts, her entire family until there was no one left. Nia believed him. Legend made his word bond for five, almost six long years. She was completely his, until one night, Legend beat her to such a bloody pulp that she had enough. While his guard was down, Nia snuck out fleeing him in the middle of the night. Nia knew Legend would tear up New York looking for her but she held high hopes that he wouldn’t involve her family if she stayed away from them. And she did. Regardless of how much she missed them, how much she missed her son, Nia kept her distance. It had been three years and Nia thought she was in the clear, but she was mistaken. Drew managed to get in Legend’s crosshairs and it was all her fault.
Now Nia was sitting across the street from the home previously shared with her son, sister, and cousin; her vision straight-laced, dazed and weighed down by the news she came to deliver. Nia’s feet felt like bricks slipping into quicksand. Unmoving, she stared at the front door. Her knuckles ached from the tight grip she held on the steering wheel molding. She could call, Nia reasoned. It would keep the shock of her unkempt presence from watering down the real issue. Drew had fallen onto the radar of a psychopath who just happened to be a brilliant businessman.
Drew stretched, cozying her shapely figure into the warmth of Legend. Her eyes blinked then opened and a strong arm came into view. It was thrown across her waist, thick with muscles abound. The sun peeped through a set of all white drapes that hung from the window across the massive room. Drew listened to him breathe soundly. Last night, Drew put all of her woes to the side to spend the evening with a man she was hopeful would stick around for a while. And it felt great. A tiny smile came to her. Slowly, she turned full circle; her face mere inches from his.
“Good morning,” he spoke with his eyes still closed.
“Good morning,” she responded. “I didn’t mean to spend the night.”
“That’s alright,” he drawled. “I was hoping you would stay awhile.” Finally, his eyes opened. “There’s something I want to run passed you.”
“I’m listening.”
You don’t really need your sister or your best friends.”
Drew frowned, her eyes moving from side to side. Her voice became serious. “What are you talking about?”
He licked his bottom lip. “Remember last night when I said we could build a strong partnership?”
“Yeah…”
Legend paused letting his thoughts play out in his mind. “Let’s just say, I had something else in mind when I sought you out. But you’re a gem, a rarity, a one of a kind,” he continued. “And I don’t think you need Brooklyn, Symone, or Leah. With you, me, and Nia we’re the whole package. Nia is just as good with lifting expensive merchandise. You see, I’m in business with more important people than the president. With us, you could be a billionaire.” Legend stretched and reasserted his arm around her waist before continuing.
“I’m telling you this because I like your style. When it’s time to handle b
usiness, you do, and when it’s time to play,” he grazed a tongue up her lips, “you play.”
Drew was more than taken aback. Her curiosity led into panic way back when Legend mentioned their names. Remembering her voice, Drew rose to a sitting position and spoke. “How do you know about my family and you said Nia? What the fuck, Legend?”
Legend held his gaze on her. “Yeah, about that…”
When Brooklyn’s phone rang, she had just ended a heated argument with Symone. The night’s hours hadn’t settled the tension between the two.
“Hello!” Brooklyn fumed answering the call.
“Good afternoon, Brooklyn,” the male voice spoke thickly.
“Who is this?” Brooklyn retorted, uninterested in having a conversation.
“I need you to listen to me and I need you to listen good. I hate repeating myself. I have something you want and you have something I want. We’re going to make an exchange.”
“You don’t have anything I want,” Brooklyn snapped.
The phone shuffled around before Drew’s voice broke through. “Sis, we have a major motherfucking problem.”
“Drew?” Brooklyn screeched. “Hello!”
The phone was snatched from Drew’s ear. “Now that I have your attention, I want two things from you.”
“Who the fuck is this?”
“This is the man you’re going to piss off if you don’t shut the fuck up and listen,” he barked. “Two things,” he reiterated, “I want the 40 million dollars that was transferred into that offshore account yesterday for the Saliera. I also want my Nia back.”
Brooklyn’s throat went dry. “Nia?”
At the mention of her sister’s name, Leah stood to her feet and flew to Brooklyn’s side.
“Everything hidden always comes to light,” Legend whispered.
“I don’t understand, who is this, where is my sister and how do you know Nia?” Brooklyn shouted.
“You have 48 hours to complete my request. I’ll call you back when your times up. Then and only then will you see your sister again.”
“What?!” Brooklyn screamed. “Drew!”
The line died. Brooklyn whipped around with wide eyes.
“What is it?!” Leah yelled.
Brooklyn’s gaze fled from Leah as the doorbell rang.
Chapter Fourteen
She was an absolute nervous wreck and considered retracing her steps, getting back in the Corsica and getting out of there as fast as she could. But the bell had been rung. Nia had run long enough. Now, it was time to face her worse fears, her demons, and her family. To make herself more presentable, Nia smoothed down her mangy mane, ran her hands across her layered clothing and used the tail end of a shirt or jacket, whichever one, to try and wipe layers of shame from her face. Her heart beat frantically in her now bony chest. Maybe if no one responded, she could turn around and leave knowing she gave it her best effort.
And then the door opened and Nia thought she would pee on herself. She wanted to see who it was but didn’t want to look. That’s why her head was hung low when Brooklyn opened the door.
“DRE-“
Drew’s name was caught in Brooklyn’s throat when it wasn’t who she hoped was standing at the door. That would have made the previous phone call a bad fucking joke and they could laugh about Brooklyn getting pranked. But that’s not what was going on; not at all. Nia lifted her head up only enough to where she could look up from under her messy hair to see her friends face.
Brooklyn and the woman standing at the door locked eyes. Nia, ashamedly; Brooklyn completely flabbergasted. Brooklyn couldn’t find words and nearly lost her bearings as she held on tightly to the doorknob hoping it held her up. But as recognition of the woman standing in front of her took over, the door had to hold Brooklyn up, and brace her as she slid to the floor.
“Oh, my fuckin’ Christ…”
Nia wasn’t sure what to do; whether to run away or stay and help Brooklyn. Deciding on the later, Nia offered a stained smile as she knelt down to assist her friend, whose eyes remained wide. Hearing the commotion, Leah came to the door, not sure what to expect but prepared to fight tooth and nail if her family was threatened.
Once she got there, she saw Brooklyn pulling a Fred Sanford on the floor and some stranger bending over her.
“What the hell is going on,” Leah declared, bracing just in case she had to whoop somebody’s ass. She searched Brooklyn’s upturned face in an effort to read her, but struggled as all she could see was wide eyes and an open mouth. And then she felt it. Even before their eyes connected, she felt it. Leah’s heart began to swell, as the hole long since put there began to fill. When Nia looked up and found her twin’s eyes, they both had a moment. The supernatural connection they shared from the womb was reinstated. Leah saw confirmation in her twins’ eyes that the nightmares Leah had were Nia’s reality. And Nia saw the life she’d been missing and so desperately wanted to be a part of.
But before either of them could verbally address each other, Nia’s gaze was stolen by a figure standing innocently in the doorway. Brooklyn, who had regained a small bit of her composure, followed Nia’s eyes. Leah didn’t need to turn around. She knew James was standing there. Nia began to shake and her eyes welled with tears. She collapsed to the floor, joining Brooklyn. Words could not be found. She wanted to simultaneously greet her son and apologize for leaving him. Those words didn’t escape her lips because in her heart, she knew, she was not his mother… Leah was…
It was only so much more trash talking Symone was willing to take. First, it was Brooklyn and then Drew and then Brooklyn again! Symone had had her fill. The only person who hadn’t cursed her out in the last 24 hours was Leah, and of course Mason…
Mason…
Even though he was culprit for the problems with Brooklyn, Symone couldn’t help it. When she said his name, when she thought about him and how he pursued her, she got giddy like a school girl. That was the damn problem. Too damn giddy. What hurt the most was that both Brook and Drew were right. She had compromised their identity and the ultimate mission all because of some damn man. If the shoe was on one of the other girls’ foot and they did what she had done, Symone had to admit to herself that she would still be cussing they ass out. So why did she think she should be absolved of accountability in this situation?
If she was honest with herself, she deserved more than they dished out. So even though her feelings were hurt, Symone determined that she would fix the fuck up. She had to. Everything was on the line.
Symone needed some fresh air. Clearing her mind and focusing on a fix was necessary. She considered going to the coffee shop. Damn her hips. What she wouldn’t give for a caramel macchiato, vente, with extra whip. When her phone buzzed, Symone rolled her eyes.
“They gone leave me the hell alone!”
Climbing in her car and closing the door behind her, Symone checked the phone that was still buzzing. The smile that teased her lips clearly indicated that the call wasn’t from one of the girls.
“Hey you,” she purred into the receiver.
“I need to see you,” Mason replied, smiling equally as hard on the other end.
“No sir,” Symone teased. “You’ve gotten me in enough trouble already.”
“Give me a chance to fix it.”
“And how do you propose to do that, Agent Fuller,” Symone asked with syrupy sweetness. She dismissed the voice in her head that shouted ‘trouble’.
“Meet me, thirty minutes, at the spot.”
The cautionary voiced yelled again, but Symone stifled the warning.
“See you there.”
She stood there at perfect attention, like a guilty military soldier before court martial.
Her boss, Special Agent Jericho Jones, sat behind his desk and stared at Agent Stinson, refusing to absolve her of whatever she was feeling at the moment. He decided to let her sweat and try and speculate as to what he would say. He didn’t offer her a seat although there were two vacant ones immed
iately in front of her. Agent Stinson was a good agent, but that was her biggest problem. She thought she was good; taking on too much of the arrogance her partner so effortlessly displayed. At least Agent Fuller had successful history to back up his arrogance. Stinson did not.
“Were you on official bureau business when you wrecked the car?”
His question was laced with self-incrimination and they both knew it. Being in a bureau vehicle and not conducting business was a ‘no no’. Stinson could get written up for that. She offered the obvious answer.
“Yes, sir.”
“Hmmm…” he pondered. S.A. Jones rumbled through some papers on his semi-cluttered desk and retrieved what he’d been searching for.
“Are you sure, Agent Stinson?”
Brittany’s nerves, already operating on overload, surged. What did he have on her? What was on the paper?
“Yes, sir,” she replied, attempting to sound confident. “I am always taking care of business.” She painted the scenario with a broad stroke, hoping it was sufficient to ward off any negative repercussions or at least to minimize them.
“Mmhmm,” he murmured again. “Well, according to the log sheet, there was no sanctioned ‘business’ as you call it.” S.A. Jones waved the paper in his hand. “Care to explain?”
Fuck!
Agent Stinson started to stammer. She knew better than to not log her actions. But she acted out of emotions when trailing Symone. How was she going to explain that to her boss?
“Sir, I know I didn’t log it into the official form and I apologize for that. But, there has been something bothering me about this case since the beginning; so I took a chance.”
“And where was your partner in all of this chance taking?”
This was the perfect opportunity to throw Mason under the fucking bus. As much as he’d hurt her in the past, Brittany could use this as leverage.
Prowl (Nothing Else Matters But Survival Book 1) Page 9