by JA Huss
We come together, that final rush of adrenaline the shot I need to put my fears aside. Put the last few days aside and just give in to her completely.
“I love you,” she says a few moments later when we are hot, and sweaty, and breathing so hard, it feels like our hearts might explode. She places my hand on her breast to feel the thumping. And then she places hers over mine.
We lie there, looking up at the ceiling of a six-million-dollar yacht, as those final thoughts of the day race across that finish line.
Victoria Arias walked into my life on my darkest day. Even though everyone thinks the darkest day came two days later with those rape charges, that was nothing compared to the kind of soul-crushing defeat I had to accept under that tree as I tried to drink my problems away. And this girl… this angel… appeared with a sweet voice and a talent for listening.
I think I won.
And it scares me.
Because someone else thinks I won too. And that’s why all this shit is happening. It’s not Perfect’s fault we got charged with rape. It’s not Romantic’s fault we got charged with rape.
It’s mine.
Chapter Thirty-Seven - Victoria
The closing of our cabin door jolts me out of my sleep. West sits down on the edge of the mattress, making it dip from his weight. He’s got his head in his hands.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he says, turning to look at me over his shoulder. “We’re at the marina in West Palm Beach, so we gotta get up and get dressed now. The jet is about thirty minutes away. We should be in California this afternoon.” He gives me a half smile. “You’ve got a dress in that closet. It’s not purple, which sucks. But it’s clean, which is a plus. My clothes are in the next cabin over, so I’ll meet you up top, OK? Don’t be long.”
He gets up and walks out.
Hmmm.
Not even a kiss? Does my breath stink or something?
I sigh, then throw off the covers. “Fucking Weston Conrad. He’s back to his usual self, I guess.”
I’m still not sure what to make of this whole trip. Of all that stuff that happened back in the Bahamas. Or the rescue. Or his friends, for that matter. Mr. Mysterious does not exactly come off as a friendly guy. No. He would never be called Mr. Friendly.
And I have no idea what to think of Five. As Vlad the pilot he came off as some kind of slacker in a tropical shirt. Some guy who lucked out with pilot lessons when he was young and won a cool float plane in a poker game.
Yeah, that’s how he came across. But I’ve heard stories of Five. Not in a long time, mind you. But West called him ‘a privileged asshole who is too smart for his own good.’
Vlad didn’t have that vibe at all.
So. Five is a man of many faces.
Good to know.
I open the closet to the clothes I’ve been provided. Just as West said, there’s a pink sundress. Pink is not my color and I frown as I pull it off the hanger and check the tag. I hope my tits will fit in this thing.
I go into the bathroom, wash up, finger-comb my wild hair, then give up. It’s no use. I am stuck with the feral look today. Which might come in handy if I have to set these men straight when they start getting bossy. I want to know just what the fuck is happening.
I wiggle my girls into the dress and slip my feet into the sandals at the bottom of the closet, and grab the light sweater off another hanger, just to hide the fact that I’m not wearing a bra.
My poor purple bra was blown up.
It hits me then.
Someone tried to kill us yesterday.
“Don’t think about it yet, Victoria.” And I don’t. It’s no use worrying. I wasn’t kidding last night when I said I feel safe. So far, anyway. There’s more to this story than I know and all the answers come from the three Misters who will call their little meeting to order this afternoon.
So I’m gonna wait them out. Just sit tight and listen. Watch everyone as they talk. See how they act. And then I’ll start to worry if I feel it’s necessary.
I’m a fighter. I’m not some weak little girl who bends over to get fucked.
Well… haha. I laugh. I do that too. For my man.
Is he my man?
Jesus fucking Christ, Victoria Arias. Get a hold of your wandering stream of consciousness.
I leave the cabin and find my way to the stairs. This thing is huge for a boat. I’ve never been on a yacht, so maybe they all look like this. I wouldn’t know. But I’m impressed.
I have been on Weston’s jet though.
And I’m actually looking forward to that kind of luxury today. Even if it ends with a serious meeting I might not want to be a part of.
I wonder if Jerry and Jonathan still work on the jet?
“Well, finally,” Mysterious says as I climb the stairs and come out in the main living room.
“Fuck off,” West says to his friend.
Vlad—Five—smiles at me and says, “Ready?”
“Are you going to fly the jet too?” I ask, walking over to West, letting him take my hand. I look up and smile. He smiles back, but I can tell there’s an uneasy tension in the air and I just interrupted a conversation.
“No,” Five says, walking towards the doorway. “But the car is waiting and we need to get the hell out of Florida before they realize we’re back.”
I look up at West, but he mouths the word, Later, to me.
I shrug. What am I gonna say? I don’t even have a ride home to New York. I was supposed to call my secret boss for the return ticket once the whole Wallace Arlington thing was over. I’m stuck with these guys whether I like it or not.
We leave the boat and it’s still dark outside. The sun is just barely starting to think of coming up in the eastern horizon over the ocean.
The car is long and black and we all slip in, silently. Mysterious and Five are on one bench, West and I are opposite them.
We stare at each other in uncomfortable silence.
I try to ignore that and look around the interior. It’s nice. Two leather bucket seats are built into the benches, so it really only seats four people. There’s a bar, which no one makes a move for, even though Mysterious strikes me as the kind of man who has a drink before breakfast. And the accents are all in that upscale sleek burl wood pattern that you only see in luxury cars.
“So,” I say. “Aside from traveling to San Diego, what’s the plan?”
“We could start with the truth,” Mysterious says.
I raise my eyebrows at him. West grabs my hand. “Don’t listen to him, Tori. He’s an asshole even on a good day. And I think he’s having a very bad day right now.”
“Because of you,” Mysterious says.
“I thought you guys were friends?” I ask.
“Friends, enemies…” Five says, closing his eyes and leaning back. All three of them have suits on. Black suits with black ties. “It’s nearly the same thing with this team.”
Hmmm. “Is this your uniform? When you guys are in Mister mode?”
Mysterious narrows his eyes at me.
I narrow mine back.
“Miss Arias,” Five says. “I think we’ll get through this trip a lot easier if you don’t pry too much.” He opens his eyes and stares at me. “Until we ask you for your side of the story, that is.”
“My side of… what story?”
“How you got involved in this whole Wallace headhunt,” Five replies.
Oh. I clam up fast.
“Yeah,” Mysterious says, looking over at West to my right. “I thought that might shut her up.”
“Don’t talk to her,” West growls. “Either of you. I’m fucking serious right now.”
“Hey,” Five says, sighing like we’re keeping him awake. “Let’s just all calm down and take my advice. Both of you shut the fuck up,” he says, opening his eyes briefly before closing them again. “We’ll sort it out in San Diego. I’m fucking tired and you do not want to piss me off when I’m tired.”
Mysterious takes h
is attention to the view out his window and West puts a protective arm around me.
I look at Five again. Who is this guy? Should I be afraid? Is he like… mafia?
He doesn’t look like mafia. He looks exactly the way West described him all those years ago. Privileged asshole. I can totally see it.
We are all silent for the rest of the ride to the airport. And even though Five was the one who said he was tired, it’s Mysterious who grabs some z’s. Five has to punch him in the arm several times to make him stop snoring.
I am just happy to get out of that car when we pull up on the tarmac. And I’m even happier when I see Jerry standing at the bottom of the jet.
As soon as the driver opens my door, I scramble out of the car and walk briskly towards him, smiling big.
“Miss Arias!” he says, giving me air-kisses to each cheek. “How have you been?” He holds me at arm’s length for a few moments, like he’s scrutinizing me after a long absence.
Which he is.
I laugh. “Jesus, Jerry. You never age! You look exactly the same as the last time I saw you.”
“Ditto, you sweet flower. Now, you come with me and I will set you up in the master bedroom for old times’ sake.” He shoots a wink over his shoulder, presumably to Weston, and then we trek up the air stairs together.
When we are back in the private master bedroom at the rear of the jet, Jerry closes the door and looks at me.
“What?” I ask.
“What’s going on? They are furious with Mr. Conrad.”
“What?” I scowl. “What do you mean? Define furious. Because I get that they are upset about something—”
“It’s beyond upset, Miss Arias. When Mr. Shrike called to schedule the jet last night he was yelling. At me!” Jerry says, pointing to himself with surprise. “I know he’s not mad at me. But he’s never been a man to treat people badly. He was beyond angry. What is going on?”
“I don’t really know. We were—”
A loud, hard knock on the door stops me mid-sentence. The door opens without waiting for an invitation. Weston is looming in the door, looking pissed off and very tall. Has he always been this big? Why does he look so angry?
“Thanks, Jerry. I’ll take it from here. We’re still beat, so we’re gonna grab some sleep. I think Pax and Five are gonna do the same, so you might as well go see if they need anything.”
Jerry smiles and leaves. West closes the door behind him. “How you holding up?” he asks. Like nothing is happening here.
“Good, I guess. Except for all the secret glances and code words flying around. What’s happening, West? Why is everyone so tense?”
“I don’t know yet. But I’m still tired. You still tired?”
“Is that code for more sex?” I laugh.
“No,” he says, dead serious.
“Oh. OK. Yeah. I didn’t get much sleep. It’s like five in the morning. And you and your friends are dead set on keeping secrets until we get to California, so I might as well pass the time in your arms in this bed.” I smile, narrowing my eyes. “Remember all the good times we’ve had in this bed, West?”
“Burned in my memory, baby,” he says. And in that moment the real West—the one I know, and have known, for ten years—is here and the one I don’t know has been ordered back to wherever it is he hides.
I’m not sure what to think about this. The only thing I know is that if the Misters are taking over, and that Five guy is here, something big is happening.
Chapter Thirty-Eight - Weston
I spend the next fifteen minutes waiting for the questions. So far she’s been unusually silent about what she has to know is a pretty big deal between me and Mysterious. He’s an asshole, I’ve said it plenty of times over the years to Tori, but she’s never seen us actually interact. She’s only heard things second-hand.
He’s dead fucking set on making her suspicious. And I know what that means.
He’s going to use her against me in San Diego.
But for whatever reason, Tori isn’t taking his bait. She’s calm, controlled, and exceptionally congenial.
How long will that last?
I look over at her. She’s snuggled up to me when we got back in bed. Not naked. Not this time. I guess my rude dismissal of her sex offer was taken seriously. I didn’t mean it to come out that way. It’s just… fuck.
Maybe Mysterious does know something? I mean, more than I know he probably knows. I get that that he’s good at what he does. He digs up dirt on people. He fixes shit, or something. Movie stars get into trouble. Someone dies at their drug party. Or they get their seventh DUI. Or they are being blackmailed by the baby mama of their illegitimate children. And Paxton Vance is the man they call to sweep it all under the rug.
He does that with blackmail, or payoffs, or who the fuck knows? Kills them, maybe? I don’t know what he does.
I do know Pax has some serious resources. But only four people know my real story. One of them is dead and the other three have just as much to lose as I do if this ever gets out. So if Pax does know, then how did he get that information?
It’s definitely not the other people in my little dirty past. I know that shit for sure. Two of them will never talk. Ever. And the last one… well, I have more on him than he can possibly have on me. I’ve had to renegotiate this deal before so I have triggers in place to make sure that shit gets out if anything ever happens to me.
He knows I have those triggers.
If he fucking went back on his word… well, I will fucking take him down with me.
Don’t freak out now, Corporate. You’re at the goddamned finish line. You just talked to him about it last week. Nothing was suspicious. Nothing was out of order. Everything is still cool.
Mysterious probably knows something, though. I just wish he’d let on to what it is.
I’m sure he knows about school. That’s the only paper trail there is. That’s it. He can’t know anything else. He can’t.
If he does… then who the fuck told him? No one knows what happened that night except me. No one.
They have to be bluffing.
I don’t know if I sleep during that six-hour flight. Maybe I do, fitfully and in spurts. But I do know that when that knock comes to the cabin door, I’m awake.
And ready.
Tori won’t take their side over mine. She won’t. She belongs to me. I’m so close to sealing that deal, I can taste her in my mouth.
So let’s go, Mr. Match. Let’s get this show on the road, Mr. Mysterious. I’m a player. I’m a risk-taker. I’m a winner. And I’m not gonna let these assholes take me down. Not after the hell I went through to get this far. And I’m not gonna let them screw things up with Victoria and me. We are on our way to a full-on second chance.
So no fucking way. This isn’t gonna go down the way they expect.
I’m ready. I’ve been preparing for this moment for fifteen years.
I’m all in, motherfuckers.
Let’s do this shit.
Chapter Thirty-Nine - Victoria
West has been different ever since Mr. Mysterious showed up, but right now, as we drive in the car that will take us to wherever Mr. Match is waiting, he’s silent and withdrawn. Last night he was silent and attentive, so silent and withdrawn is yet another change that tells me something big is about to happen.
I look over at him, but he doesn’t even notice. He’s staring out the window.
I look across from me, at Mr. Mysterious, and he doesn’t notice either. He’s looking out the window.
I look at Five.
He shrugs and shakes his head, as if to say, Don’t bother.
All of a sudden Weston sits up straight. “Where the fuck are we going?”
I look out my window as we pull up to a gated community not far from the beach. It’s so close, I can smell the salt and feel the way the sea air changes things as soon as the driver opens his window to talk to the guard.
“Nolan Delaney is expecting Mr. Vance and Mr. Conrad,”
the driver says to the guard.
“I thought you said Nolan wasn’t a part of this?” West asks as the guard opens the gate and waves us through.
“He’s not,” Mysterious answers. “But Oliver and I use this house for business.”
“Do you now? Somehow I have a hard time seeing Nolan saying yes to that little arrangement.”
“I guess that’s why we don’t tell him.” He says it with a straight face too. Like this is no big deal. He uses houses that don’t belong to him all the time. “Besides,” he continues. “Nolan has enough houses for everyone. He doesn’t come here. He’s down in San Diego or out in the desert. What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him, now can it?”
“You know what I don’t get,” West says. “Why the fuck you think that what’s ours is yours all the time.”
Mysterious shrugs. “That’s just how I roll, Corporate. Anyway,” he says, suddenly looking over at West with a very serious glare. “You and him are alike, right? Silver spoons and all.”
“Says the guy who grew up taking pony rides on horses worth two million dollars.”
Mysterious doesn’t even shrug it off. Just replies, “Maybe you and Nolan really don’t have anything in common? Isn’t that what you always said back in the day? You’re so different.”
I look at Five and he’s pretending this conversation isn’t happening.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” West asks.
And this time Mysterious directs his reply to me. “You’re about to find out, Mr. Corporate. And so’s your little girlfriend. So if I were you, I’d enjoy this reality for a few more minutes. Because it’s all about to come crashing down.”
I reach over and take West’s hand. Give it a squeeze. “It’s OK, West. Whatever is happening, it won’t change us.”
“You better not make promises you can’t keep, Miss Arias,” Five suddenly says. He’s been quiet in front of me almost this entire trip and now is the time he chooses to speak up?
“Well, Mr. Five,” I say, sneering his fake name. “I’m just letting my boyfriend know that I’m on his side. Especially since the two of you are so dead set on ganging up on him. We’re a team, and nothing you have to tell me can change that.”