by Blue Saffire
The bottle slips from my hand to the ground. I stiffen ready for a fight. He’s going to have to earn the bullet hole he gets in me.
“Get in,” he nods over his shoulder to the van.
“Fuck you,” I hiss.
“Not my type. Get in the damn van,” he grumbles.
I go to charge him, prepared to take a bullet as he lifts the gun. What I wasn’t prepared for was the charge of electricity that runs through me. I convulse as I feel like I stuck a pair of scissors in a socket. This asshole is tasing me with a smile on his face.
I’m still convulsing when the driver gets out and the two of them toss my ass face down in the back of the van. Skull has always been an impatient asshole. I should’ve known he’d send someone early. What’s a day or two to him? He knows I don’t have his money.
“What does she want with his guy?” I hear one of the two goons say.
“Don’t know. He’s a filthy bastard though,” the other answers.
“You don’t think she’s going to do anything stupid, do you?” the first one says.
“You really think she’d marry that stinking piece of shit? He smells like ass and corn chips,” he replies.
“I don’t know what she’s thinking. Why hasn’t she told us?”
“Pride, hurt, needing control,” the second guys says.
“She could have come to one of us. Why not ask one of us?”
“We’ve all grown up together. The only thing that says we’re not family is our blood. Do you really think she’d ask one of us to go through with this?”
“I have no idea what the old man was thinking.”
“Tristan, I have no fucking clue. This could get us all killed,” he sighs.
“Man, she can’t be about to do what I think she is,” Tristan huffs.
“His funky ass doesn’t deserve her. Maybe she plans to use him then put a bullet in his head,” the other guy mumbles.
“She’d have to throw his ass in bleach first,” Tristan chuckles.
“Fuck you,” I finally manage to push through my lips.
I hear a shuffle behind me, pulling my attention. A third guy, as big as the first two stares back at me with dark soulless eyes. They light up just before he smiles and punches the shit out of me. That manic smile is the last thing I see before it all goes dark.
Chapter 3
Clean up
Havana
I roll my shoulders trying to release my anger. I tried to take Will’s head off, after Tristan and Rich told me he was the one responsible for the bruise on Dallas’s face. He’s been knocked out since they arrived with him.
Why is it so hard for people to do as I ask?
“You’re a big fella,” I say under my breath as I walk over to the bathtub in my master bath.
I had Rich and Tristan begrudgingly strip Dallas and place him in a hot bath. He still hasn’t regained consciousness, but he’s breathing. He reeked. I couldn’t wait for him to wake before we cleaned him up.
I squat beside the tub, placing my elbows on my knees, letting my arms dangle between my legs. My eyes are fixed on the giant in my tub with his head slumped to the side. Little Dallas is all grown up.
His dark hair is longish on the top. At the moment, it’s greasy and spilling onto his forehead. The sides and back are tapered low.
None of the boy I knew remains in his face. His chiseled jaw line covered in scuff has erased all of that. Sitting before me is all man. My eyes travel down his body deeper into the tub. My brows shoot up.
“Well damn,” I say appreciatively. “And that’s at rest? Damn.”
I force my eyes back up over his body, focusing on his face. For a drunk and a fuck up he’s kept his body in good shape. He’ll do well enough for what I need.
I reach for the sponge, dipping it into the water. Lifting it over his head I squeeze the warm liquid out. His eyes flash open and he begins to spatter.
A smile grows on my lips as those eyes lock on me. Simply gorgeous. Dallas Steel-Echoes is beauty personified.
Dallas
I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. The moment I look into those brown eyes I feel like I’m falling forward into their depths. It’s when I look at that smile on her lips that I’m certain that I’m in the right place.
I didn’t get into heaven. I went straight to hell and this is one of Satan’s minions. Those lips promise nothing but sin. That smile is sinister with a hint of come-hither.
“Hello, Dallas,” she purrs in that sexy ass voice from the phone.
I narrow my eyes at her. I’m not about to be fooled by that voice or her pretty face. I blink my wet lashes, trying to get the water out of my eyes. My head has a dull ache on the side.
“Where am I?” I grunt.
“My home,” she shrugs.
She lifts a sponge, wiping the water out of my face. I watch her closely as she stands, shifting to sit on the edge of the tub. My cock twitches in the water. I’ve already mentally confirmed this is Anita.
A very grown up, sexy as fuck Anita. Everything about her is different, yet familiar. Her dark hair is now cut short like Halle Berry in Catwoman. All them curves are the curves of a woman you want to hold onto and get lost in. There’s nothing skinny or rail thin about her. Not the type of woman I’ve had the pleasure of getting into.
That skin still looks like smooth dark honey. Her nose is still cute as a button. However, those lips—just as I thought while hearing her voice over the phone—I’d love to have them wrapped around me. Her eyes are the same, but not.
She’s seen things since we were kids. The type of stuff that changes you to your core. The girl I knew was sweet and innocent. This woman before me is dangerous with secrets that are deadly. I don’t doubt that for a second.
“Why am I here?” I grit through my teeth.
“You sobered up. I figured you were taking me up on my offer,” she replies, tilting her head at me.
Something flashes in her eyes, something I just barely catch. Fear, concern, worry, it’s one of the three if not a combination of them all. I zone in on her face, but it’s impassive now. Just like that she’s shutdown all emotion. It’s an eerie trait on a woman. I’m not sure I like it or trust it.
I’m used to dealing with emotional women that wear their feelings in plain sight twenty four seven. I don’t like not being able to read this woman sitting before me. Especially when sitting butt fucking naked in a tub, with my cock trying to think for me.
Her eyes lower to the water, obviously giving attention to the one calling for it. With that same blank expression, she reaches the hand holding the sponge into the water. My eyes drop to follow that hand.
It lifts from the water, moving to my head. Just as she reaches to place the sponge to my forehead my hands shoot up to grasp her wrist. It’s once I have her locked in my hold that I realize my hands have been cuffed together.
Pissed off I tug her forward, but she uses her strength and her free hand to keep me from bringing her into the water with me. We lock eyes and a grin pushes up the corners of my lips. I’ve pulled a reaction from her.
Her ample chest heaves in my face, her nostrils flare, those lips purse and twist and her eyes flash with venom. I lick my lips. I like the fire I see rising up in her.
“You smell like shit,” she hisses. “Release me so I can clean your funky ass up. If you don’t, I’ll break both of your hands and you’ll be trying to wipe your ass with your elbows for months.”
I flash her a smile, revealing all of my teeth. She rolls her eyes in disgust. I’m tempted to tug harder to get that body into this water with me but I know she’s right. I reek.
I haven’t showered in days. When you’re trying to figure out where you’re going to get a hundred grand to save your life, some things get forgotten or pushed to the side. Oh well.
Dead men don’t need baths. I had no one to impress so it is what it is. I turn my head to sniff at my pit and frown.
“Damn,” I mutter.
/> She snatches away from my hold. I turn back to watch her stand to her full height, glaring at me. Lifting my bound hands I push my hair back off my face.
“Still want to get married, Anita?” I chuckle.
“Havana,” she snaps.
My brows draw. Her jaw works while I try to figure out what she’s talking about. She draws in a breath seeming to calm herself. She rolls her neck, then her shoulders. Once again that lack of expression has been carefully put into place.
“My name is Havana,” she says. “Never call me Anita. Anita doesn’t exist anymore.”
“Whatever you say, Anita,” I taunt.
She gives me just the reaction I’ve been looking for. Her eyes flash with anger and her fists ball at her sides. I don’t think she realizes she squeezing soapy water on the floor. Or maybe she just doesn’t care.
“This may be a game to you, but let me make something clear. Your life is still in danger. Your debt is still owed, leaving that price on your head. This little show you’re putting on. It’ll get you a bullet right in the forehead. I don’t have time to bullshit with you,” she grinds out.
“Now, the way I see it. You need me just as much as I need you or else my dirty ass wouldn’t be sitting in your nice white tub. So stop threatening me with bullets and shit,” I growl back.
She tosses the sponge at my face, I duck out of the way letting it splash into the water. When my eyes lock on her, she has a pistol aimed at my head. My jaw ticks. With my hands bound in front of me, I know I won’t be able to get up out of this tub as fast as I need to.
So I sit back and sink into the water as if she’s not pointing a thing at me. I stare down the barrel of her gun, challenging her and death. At least if I die here, I can say I went out in luxury, something no one ever expected for me.
I piss her off more, when I lift my arms, placing my hands behind the back of my head. I let my eyes truly scan her body now that it’s in my full view. Never dated a black woman before, but I’d give this one a go. She has to be five-five maybe five-six.
If I stood I’d tower over her by a good foot at least. My six-five would dwarf her. She’s not wearing much of a top beneath her blazer, revealing a healthy amount of her salacious cleavage. My eyes take in her expensive suit and heels. It’s clear that little Anita and I have grown up worlds apart.
I take the time to think this over. This bathroom screams money as much as the black pants suit draping that fit, thick body. Why would she need to marry me? With looks like hers she could have any man she wants. I’d fuck her in a heartbeat if I thought I was anywhere near worth her time.
Why go through all this trouble to make me her husband? She’s not ugly as fuck, never has been. I only thought that might be the problem before I was certain this was my childhood friend. Now that I’ve confirmed this is Anita, she could have shaved her head bald, knocked out all her teeth, and tatted up every inch of that pretty brown skin and she’d still be the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
Something ain’t right. Which leads me to my next conclusion. She’s desperate. She’s just as desperate as I am. For what, I don’t know, but something has put this filly’s back against the wall.
“For reasons I don’t have time to explain to you, you’re the option I’ve chosen. But don’t think that makes you my only option,” she says tightly.
“This shit ain’t getting neither one of us nowhere. You said you can help me. So far, I’ve done what you asked only to be tased, knocked the fuck out, and cuffed naked as the day I was born, while turning into a prune in your bathtub. I’m not interested in dying, baby girl. So tell me…how do I help you so you can help me?”
I close my eyes and sigh. I’m bone tired. If she was going to pull that trigger she’d have done it already.
Havana
I drag my tongue over my teeth. I hate that this man has the ability to pull a reaction from me. Filthy, funky, and all, my pulse raced when he tugged me toward him.
He sees too much. Even as little kids he had a keen eye. People thought Dallas was stupid. He’s not, never has been. It’s one of the reasons I considered him for this.
I relax and tuck my gun back in the holster at the small of my back. It infuriates me that he’s so relaxed. What gives him this type of confidence in my presence? I’ve brought fear to men ten times as powerful as he is.
I tamp down my raging thoughts. I need to secure this agreement before he pushes me to blow his head off. I unbutton my suit jacket, shrugging it off to reveal the navy blue, deep v tank top beneath. My heels click against the tile floors as I move closer to the tub, perching on the edge once more.
“I need someone that can think on their feet. You’ve survived the shit you get yourself into for this long,” I start.
His eyes slowly open. They roll over me lazily, lust evident when he lingers on my breasts. I reach to lift his chin, bringing his eyes level with mine.
“You sure do like touching me,” he grins.
“Listen to me,” I snap. “The world knows me as Havana Bullock. Anita Harris was killed in a car accident the night I left that trailer park you grew up in. My father raised me and my brothers to be professional hitters.
“Augustine wasn’t my biological father. He found us all and took us under his wing. Until two months ago, I would’ve thought my father loved me. He was good to me. Someone killed my father in his office.
“After we buried him, a video was sent to me from his lawyer. Dear old dad fucked me over. He had my accounts frozen and black balled me from the hitters’ circuit. I’m left with bullshit jobs like your contract. Ten grand isn’t even one percent of what I make on a hit.
“I’m out of money and nearly out of time. My father’s stipulations said I had to find a husband and stay married for at least a year,” I pause, letting the bitter taste of betrayal roll within my mouth. “During that time, my husband and I have to also have a baby. And I can’t kill a soul. If I drop even one body during my first year of marriage I lose everything.”
“The fuck?” he grunts at me. “First, I can’t believe you’re pouting because you can’t kill anyone. Second, you ain’t said shit over the phone about a baby.”
“You wouldn’t have come,” I huff. “I need you to fit into my life Dallas. I need someone I can trust with my secrets and I need that baby.”
“No,” he shakes his head.
“What? Why the hell not?” I snarl.
“As much as I’d love to fuck you, I ain’t shit and I know it. I’m not bringing a kid into this world to grow up to be a fuck up like me. No!” he barks.
“I don’t have any more money. If we don’t do this, I can’t pay your debt and they will kill you. Once we’re married the first fifteen million will be released. I can pay your debt and hold things together around here for a bit longer.”
I hate the desperation I hear in my own voice. I sound lost, like the little girl that lost everything at age nine. Everything changed for me that night.
Augustine used to say that night was my destiny. I was born for him to find me. I’m the best out of the bunch. He took me under his wing and treated me just like I was his very own daughter.
“I wish I could help you, darlin’, but I’m not your guy. Just look at the shit I got myself into,” he says gently.
I don’t want his sympathy. What I need is a husband, a baby, and to refrain from killing anyone for the first year of my marriage. My mind races as I mentally run the list of potential husband’s again.
My jaw clenches. I can’t stand weak men. If it’s for a quick rump in the sack I can ignore certain things. I cannot blend a weak sniveling man into my life for an entire year. I just cannot.
Dallas is a lot of things but nothing I’ve learned about him in the last week and a half says he’s weak. Before his latest problem, he’d been working his way towards a goal. I smile inside when that thought comes to me. I know things, things that will allow me to appeal to the heart of this man.
I retriev
e my phone from my pocket, pulling up the pictures I need. I had a feeling this would be a bargaining chip. I need to build rapport with this man and I have the key right in my hand.
“I know you didn’t get yourself into this mess. Congratulations, by the way,” I say.
His eyes narrow on me. He searches my face for a clue as to what I’m talking about. When he doesn’t find an answer, his lip curls up in a snarl.
“What are you talking about? I ain’t got shit to be celebrating,” he rumbles.
“Yes, you do. Your grades were great even for a drunk going to class online,” I grin.
“How do you—” his mouth drops open, but clamps shut as a hard expression takes over his face.
“She really fucked you over, didn’t she?” I say.
“What do you think you know?”
“You took that package from Skull to pay off the last of your school debt so you could get your degree. Payoff school, have a little something extra to get a nice suit to go on the job interviews you were lining up.
“It was all right there. So close you could taste it. Then, she snatched it all away. Ran off with the package and left you with more debt than your ass could cash. You tried. You got Skull as much as you could but with the interest he’s been adding daily and the initial loss being nearly three hundred grand you’ve been drowning.
“Petty crimes that aren’t your style. Becoming an accessory to a murder, robbing banks. You’re in over your head, Dallas. You’re a simple guy. This shit is eating you alive,” I lean forward towards him.
“Which is exactly why I’m not getting mixed up with you or any other woman,” he hisses.
“What if I told you I did you a little favor? I brought you a little gift,” I purr.
He gives me a side glare. I lift my phone turning it towards him. He drops his cuffed hands in front of him leaning forward to squint at my photo. The color drains from his face.