Torrez

by Bex Dane

  I held up my palm flat with my back against the door. "Stay back. Why should I trust a man who would leave me behind after he knew Maksim had been killed and Ivan would be furious Cecelia escaped?"

  "When I left, it hadn't escalated to violence yet. We were gonna make a clean run for it."

  "But when I told you I wanted to run with you, you turned on me. On a dime. From nowhere, I became a whore and a manipulative slut. You said you knew women like me? Well, I know men like you. I've felt their knuckles strike my cheek. I've felt the bruises in my ribs when I walk. No, I'm not leaving the safety of my home for a man like you."

  He growled and his fists clenched. "I would never lay a hand on a woman." He placed his hands above my head and leaned in, towering over me. "Unless she asked me to and she'd enjoy the fuck out of it." The corner of his mouth twitched.

  I stifled my reaction because what he said was funny, but I would never let him see I thought that.

  He crowded me against the door. His heat and energy engulfed me. The wall of Torrez blocked my vision.

  "My turn to talk. I'm sorry I called you a whore and a manipulative slut." I cringed hearing the words again. "I made a mistake. A huge one. I let my past cloud my judgement. I felt cornered and chose to cut and run. You're not a whore. I wasn't aware you were suffering here, and I regret what I said. My instincts were wrong. I knew it the second I climbed down from the roof, but it was too late. We had to get out fast. We stopped at the airport, and Zook left with Cecelia. I stayed behind and planned this way out for you."

  I pushed his chest off mine and surprisingly, he moved back. "And what way is that?"

  "American passport. American girl gets on a plane and flies to America. Leave your phone here so they can't track you." He pointed to the desk.

  "That simple?"

  "Yes."

  "Yegor will come after me. He's on a rampage. He locked me in isolation for a week. He'll never give up if I run."

  "That's where you need me. I'll protect you."

  "How will you do that?"

  He patted under his armpit through his shirt. "SEAL, remember?"

  "I thought you were a marine mammal with flippers."

  He chuckled. "No. A man who knows how to keep you safe from men like Yegor."

  "I don't even know you."

  "You know what you need to know. I did this for you. I can keep you safe. And I have a huge cock."

  He did have a huge cock, but that was completely irrelevant now as I'd never see it or touch it again. "How old are you?"

  "Turned thirty-eight yesterday. You?"

  He spent his birthday here? Alone? "Twenty-three. You're too old for me."

  His wince turned into a patronizing grin. "You got your shots in, babe. Now let's get the fuck out of here. We'll go out the back."

  I took a deep breath as he stepped toward the door on the other side of the room.

  "Will I see Cecelia?" I missed her so much. It might be worth it to trust Torrez just for the chance to talk to her again.

  "Yes. She's safe with Zook. They know I'm making my move today."

  Could it be true? Could it be this easy? Like all these years of hiding and fear could be erased if I just said yes. Inside, I heard a small voice say yes, it could.

  "Okay."

  "Okay?"

  "I'll come with you. But not with you. I trust you enough to get me out of here. Beyond that, I want to stay with Zook and Cecelia."

  "You'll be safer with me."

  "You'll betray me. Like all men do."

  "Not right to group all men together like that."

  "Didn't you group me with all women when you left in the morning? Didn't you say you knew women like me? Whores? You were married to one?"

  "I apologized for saying those things."

  "You're too late. You should've taken me with you that morning, you jerk."

  "I'm here now. Offering safe passage. I have a gun and everything. Say you'll come to America with me."

  I looked around the room for another way out. What other choice did I have? And there was that naïve voice again.

  He's here for you. "I'll go to America with you."

  "Say you'll let me fuck you again." He picked up a green duffel bag from behind the desk.

  Oh my god, the nerve of this man! "I will never let you touch me again, mister. Don't hold out hope for that."

  Chapter 5

  Torrez dropped his bag outside a door on the thirty-fourth floor of the apartment building on the West End. As he worked the key in the lock and opened the door, cold dank air—the kind of stale only months of vacancy can conjure—hit my nose.

  He used his phone as a flashlight and walked inside. Tables and chairs covered in ghostly white fabric marked the edges of the room.

  "I'm not staying in…"

  He shushed me with his palm up as he pressed his phone to his ear. "Yo. This is Torrez Lavonte. I need the power turned on in 3401." He paused. "Right. Make sure the gas and water are on too. I'm back."

  How long had he been gone? Never mind. I didn't care because Torrez would be a memory to me soon enough. I just needed him to bring me to Cecelia and this nightmare of a journey could be over.

  His boots made the only noise in the place as he stepped to the window. He pulled a chord and the blinds opened, revealing an iridescent view of the Boston skyline over the Charles River.

  The bright lights from the boardwalk on the shore lit up the inside of the apartment.

  "Wow. Quite a view."

  "It'll do." He dropped his phone on the counter and looked at me. His face drawn from traveling, his shirt wrinkled. His overwhelming intensity had morphed into a laid-back tired version of Torrez as the hours of flight had worn on. It reminded me of how tender and peaceful he looked when he slept. Nope. Not thinking of Torrez being soft and gentle. The man had said horrible things to me and even though he'd apologized, I had zero interest in anything but getting the heck away from him.

  "I'm surprised you live in a place like this." Well, okay. Maybe I was a little interested in him.

  "Why?" He pulled a sheet off a very plush sectional couch covered in taupe suede. Torrez had expensive taste.

  "I thought you were a contractor."

  "I am. Build mansions." He balled the sheet up and tossed it to the corner.

  "Still. This kind of place requires more than can be earned building mansions."

  "I build a lot of mansions. Zook is fast. Got a big crew."

  "How big?" Shoot. I'd made the whole trip without asking any questions. I'd promised myself I would not get to know Torrez or give him any chance to get to know me. But this place was incredible, and I was surprised because it didn't fit his appearance.

  "Big enough to pay for a place like this. And another place in the Hamptons. Got property in Texas too."

  He had three houses? "Texas?" There I went asking questions again.

  "You spent winter in Boston before?"

  "Yes, several winters. Coldest months of my life."

  "Right. I spend as much time in Texas as I can in the winter. You ever been there?"

  "No. I just came here for school. Didn't travel."

  "You should visit sometime. World class beaches. Their idea of a storm is a misty day here."

  Okay, enough charming and sweet talk with Torrez. "I'd like to see Cecelia now. How far is Zook's place from here?"

  "About twenty-five minutes by car."

  "Take me there."

  "Tonight?" He looked at his watch. "It's dinner time. Let's get something to eat first."

  "Do you have a car?"

  "Not at this place. Been gone four months."

  He'd been gone that long? I guess that was how long it took him and Zook to build the palace. Wow. He was fast. Regardless. "Call me a taxi."

  "You just got off a fourteen hour flight, and you wanna take a taxi out to the Bluffs?"

  "Yes. Call me a taxi, please."

  "Something wrong with this place?" He motioned to th
e windows with the million-dollar view. Nothing wrong with this place. In fact, I'd love to stay here, but he was here.

  "There's no electricity."

  "Where are you safer? With a Navy SEAL up on the thirty-fifth floor of a high-security building, or in a big house alone with Zook? I love the guy, but he has no real-world experience. Besides, if something went down, he'd one hundred percent protect Cecelia before you."

  I hadn't thought of the risks, I just wanted to get away from Torrez and see my best friend. "I'd still like a taxi now please."

  "I'll take you there tomorrow. Tonight eat and sleep."

  "Are you deaf? I've asked for a taxi several times and each time you ignore me. Forgive me if I don't want to sleep here in this dark place with ghost furniture and a dizzying view. I don't want to be anywhere near you and your... body!"

  A smug grin grew on his stupid face. "My body getting under your skin?"

  "No."

  "I think it is. I think you're thinking about my body and how it felt when you got to touch it."

  My skin turned hot. Hopefully he couldn't read the physical effect he had on me. "I am not. And you know why I'm not? Because the mouth attached to your body said vile things about my body. And no matter how gorgeous you are, you still said them and they make me never want to be near you again."

  His jaw worked and his face hardened. "And I've apologized for that. Almost a day ago and you're still holding on to it and carrying it like a flag after you won a gold medal."

  "What do you mean?"

  "A bigger woman would've brushed it off. If you know it's not true, it wouldn't bother you so much. But you're holding on so tight to the pain, you're making stupid decisions. You want to go out to the Bluffs right now where it's less secure, just so you can get away from the memory of me insulting you. But even if I call you a taxi, you're still gonna be simmering on it saying in your head I don't have diseases." His voice rose and his lips pulled tight as he feigned a female voice. "How dare he leave me when I asked him not to. I can't believe he called me stank after I begged him to eat me raw."

  "Oh my god!" He didn't say what I thought he just said.

  "It's true, isn't it? The whole week, the entire flight, you've been repeating in your head all the shit I said and sulking and muttering to yourself it's not true, but you don't have the confidence to convince yourself."

  Okay. That hurt worse than the original stuff he said. "Screw you, you big jerk."

  "You'll never get to screw my big jerk again."

  "Oh? Pfft. Like I want to."

  "You know you want to. You're chomping at the bit for it."

  I sputtered and turned away from him. He was making my skin crawl. I wanted to scratch his eyes out. He must've been angry too because his voice resounded through the quiet room. "Zook. I'm in Boston. Yeah. Brought the package with me." He paused. "And the package is very ungrateful." He glared at me. "It wants to come stay at your place." He listened again and his brow crinkled. "Alright. I'll tell her." He put the phone back in his pocket. "Zook's in Montana with Cecelia."

  "He is? They are?"

  "They're layin' low out of state for a while till they get the security on the house tightened up." He popped out one knee and propped a hand on his hip.

  "Oh."

  "So even if I consented to your foolish idea to call a taxi, he's not there."

  "I see."

  "He also doesn't think you coming to stay with him is a good idea. He wants to focus on Cecelia. Agrees you'd be better off with me."

  "Hmm." Well darnit.

  "So, get your panties out of your crack. Let's get food. There's a place right next to the lobby downstairs. We don't even have to walk far."

  Well, I was hungry and I would love some American food. "Okay."'

  "Finally I get her okay."

  As we walked to the door, the lights flickered on. He chuckled. "See? Temporary."

  Chapter 6

  The steaming plate of spinach fettuccine in front of me smelled divine. The flat green noodles twirled on my fork, my knife skimming off the excess sauce. Torrez dug into his meat lasagne like swine on slop. Appropriate.

  He sipped his beer and eyed my twirling fork. "You gonna spin that into gold or eat it?"

  The pig himself was picking on my eating style? "The proper way to eat pasta is a bite-sized morsel spun artfully around a backwards fork."

  His eyes didn't blink for a few seconds. "The fuck?"

  "Apparently no one bothered to teach you dining manners." I sipped my Merlot and eyed him over my glass.

  He shoveled in another heap of food and talked with his mouth full. "They may have and I didn't bother to learn it. Food gets in my mouth, I've succeeded."

  "Yes, well, you're a success then, aren't you?"

  He swallowed, rested his elbows on the table, and leaned in. "I think it's time you let this act go."

  "It's not an act. I loathe you and I won't pretend otherwise."

  "I saved your ass from servitude in Veranistaad." He lowered his voice, and his gaze flitted to the left and right, making sure we had privacy.

  "I'm aware of that."

  "And you didn't speak a word on the plane. Not even a hint of gratitude came out of those luscious lips."

  Luscious lips? Was that a compliment? I made him wait for my reply by chewing slowly. The food tasted better than it smelled. Torrez might be rough around the edges, but he enjoyed fine things. I took my time swallowing and taking another sip of wine.

  "Thank you." I dipped my head and tried to sound sincere.

  "Oh yeah, that was genuine. You're a piece of work, you know that?"

  I'm a piece of work? He's the one who pulled the Jekyll and Hyde move. "My thank you was as earnest as your apology."

  "You think I was lying?" His nostrils flared.

  "I don't know. When were you lying then? When you called me stank or when you said you didn't mean it?"

  He set his fork on his plate and wiped his lips with his napkin. "I lied to you in your room in the morning. Your pussy was the sweetest I'd ever tasted. I wanted to take you again after seeing your nipples through that sheer dress. I could see every curve as if you were buck nekkid. Entranced me. Had it on my mind the whole week I was planning your extraction. Your kinda pretty doesn't grow on trees. It's distinctly yours. So staggering, it brings a man to his knees."

  Oh. Hmm. Well that was flattering and surprising. "Then why'd you say all those things and leave?"

  "I'm an idiot."

  "Agreed."

  "Not my finest moment. I spooked when you asked me to take you. Survival instincts kicked in. I've learned not to trust people over the years."

  "Like your ex-wife?" His right eye winced when I mentioned her. She must've done something horrible to him.

  "Yes. And fifteen years in the military. You can't trust no one but the men who have your back. Even your brothers will sometimes turn. You go into a situation blind, you ain't walking back out. We were training those fuckers, a tenuous friendship because they'd show up one day wearing a vest. They'd lead you on a journey you'd never come back from because they'd planted an IED at the end of the road. Doesn't make a man more inclined to trust anyone."

  Looking back, because we didn't talk more before we had sex, I didn't know he was seasoned military, and he didn't know I wasn't in cahoots with Yegor. "I can understand how it might've looked suspicious from your perspective, but I wasn't trying to pull a fast one on you."

  "I know that now. And I didn't mean what I said. Thought you were stunning. Wanted you the moment I saw you." He shook his head slowly from side to side, his tongue sneaking out to lick his lips. "Loved the way you flirted with me right in front of Yegor. Knew you were wicked ballsy then. Man, turned me right the fuck on."

  Whew. The darkness in his eyes and the honesty of his tone made my face heat up and beads of sweat form at my temples. Time to change the subject. "Anyway…"

  "Thinking of you waiting there for me drove me insane." He kept go
ing. For a man who didn't talk much before he had sex with me, he spoke profusely now. "But I knew you'd get in trouble if you got caught, so I waited till the last guest left and Yegor and his brothers were well on their way. But it was worth the wait. You tasted like sweet honey dripping from a spoon. I could eat that syrup every damn day of my life and never get tired of it. You squirming and calling my name? Hot as hell."

  Holy crap. I was wet between my legs just listening to Torrez talk dirty about us. His jaw dropped as he smiled, his eyes dancing as he watched me nervously adjust in my seat.

  "Loved it too much. So much I knew I was hooked, and I'd risk anything to have it again."

  "Oh. Um…" Wow. I had sensed intense emotion coming from him, but after he turned on me, I assumed my imagination had made it up.

  "I also really liked seeing the real you. The girl who thought Zook coming for Cecelia was romantic. Watching you try to seduce me in your awkward way."

  Oh my word. I didn't realize he noticed so much about me. And he liked what he saw. Torrez needed to stop talking right now, or I might have to forgive him.

  "I liked that girl. This one…" He waved his fork up and down, pointing it at me. "Not so much."

  And Torrez the jerk returned. So rude! What an insolent asshat.

  "Lavonte." The deep voice of a man approaching our table halted my inner hexing of Torrez. I cleared my throat and sucked down a huge gulp of wine, trying to collect myself.

  Torrez glanced at the man, but turned his gaze back to the table.

  "Greco," Torrez replied coolly. The man he called Greco had slick ebony hair and wore a cheap-looking burgundy suit with a narrow charcoal tie. Dark sunglasses covered most of his face, but what I could see held wrinkles and deep pocks.

  "You returned late from your trip." Greco spoke with a thick New England accent.

  "Blythe didn't take care of your needs while I was gone?" Torrez withdrew his arms from the table and rested his hands on his thighs.

  "She sufficed, but I prefer to deal with you." Greco did some kind of slurping hissing thing with his teeth, like he was sucking on an ice cube. "I have a large transaction I need you to process."

  "Blythe can take care of that for you." Torrez kept his eyes on his plate.