Delusive

by Courtney Lane

  “One problem… While Marcus had fallen in love with Francesca, he still held an allegiance to Natanael. When Natanael told Marcus to kill her husbands one after one—because he wanted to stop Francesca from having what she wanted—Marcus thought he’d be sneaky by using his daughter to do it. Frankie caught on and wanted to reveal Marcus and Natanael as the monsters they were. She thought she still had a friend in her competitor Kirsten because while Francesca hated to lose, it didn’t kill her ambition.

  “Her friend Kirsten turned on her. She told on her, but she did it in a very smart way. She went to Marcus and convinced him Francesca was going to tell on their daughter Leina and on him. To protect himself and his daughter, he went to Natanael with a plan to kill Francesca.

  “This is where everything begins to fall apart. The murder, the way Natanael prevented Marcus from being able to protect his daughters…Marcus realized he had been played by both sides. He found out he was just a puppet to Natanael and Kirsten, because they were only out for themselves.

  “I had the pieces of the puzzle before you gave them to me, Kirsten. Some pieces were missing, and I had some of the wrong pieces added to the puzzle. It wasn’t until I had a short interaction with Roth that things began to make complete sense. And of course, while I was meeting with your husband, you met with Elias. He reported back to me with everything you two spoke about.

  “What I’ve done to you and your husband was never just about my father. It was for Frankie, too. I loved my parents, despite the fact they never really felt the same for me. The target was always your son. The tool was always your son. Can I admit something to you?” I asked without intending to wait for her answer. “I never planned on falling in love with him, but it works this way. Not only am I going to take over everything you own and replace your title as queen of this empire, I have the love of your son. Something you never had. Something, if you were smart, you would’ve tried your hardest to gain. Elias is the man Natanael could only wish to be, because he’s going to take the both of you down and be more powerful than you ever dreamed you could be.

  “You underestimated me, Kirsten.”

  She began to babble, having trouble getting out her words. She decided words weren’t enough and charged after me, muttering something about putting me in the hospital—or having me killed—like all the other bitches who crossed her.

  Elias stood in front of me so swiftly he body-checked his mother while standing still. She flew back and landed down hard on the floor.

  “You don’t deserve it,” Elias snarled, “but I’m giving it to you anyway—my respect. Don’t push it. Because if you try to come after Hanley again, I will forget the fact you were the woman who gave birth to me. You don’t, and never did, deserve the title of mother.”

  Storming up, she balled her fists and slowly stepped toward Elias. “Eu deveria ter-me poupado da mágoa e estrangular-te com o cordão umbilical no segundo em que nasceste.” The words I couldn’t understand fell from her mouth with such a dark, menacing inflection, I knew it wasn’t anything nice.

  I could feel the way it changed Elias even when he remained unflinching in response to Kirsten’s bitter words. Whatever she said, I could sense it hurt him in spite of his iron façade. “E se tivesse,” he bitterly replied, using the same tone she did when hurling her insult at him, “o meu pai ter-se-ia divorciado de si a tinha-a matado. Eu sou a única razão pela qual ele lidou consigo durante tantos anos. Você devia-me agradecer. Especialmente porque a única razão pela qual você será capaz de sair desta casa depois de falar comigo dessa maneira é porque você me deu à luz.”

  Kirsten began to laugh in a stilted manner. “Grateful? To you? Silly, silly boy. You will regret the day you ever crossed me, and I will make you remember your place.”

  “I won’t be your bitch—like my father was for too much and too long of his life. He didn’t see the woman you really were until it was too late. I’m a lot smarter than him—a lot smarter than the both of you. If you need proof, look at where we both stand.” He glanced at me, cupping the back of my head. “Where does your loyalty lay, Hanley?”

  “With you,” I said to him, smiling at the way my words seemed to break Kirsten a little more. “It was always with you.”

  With a proud grin reserved for me, he turned to regard his mother. “You’re dismissed. See yourself out of my home. You still remember where the back door is, don’t you? Or do I need to have Jaco remind you of which direction it’s in?”

  “Tu achas que te vais ver livre disto? Não vais! Eu decido o meu futuro, não tu – minha lastimável espécie de filho. Eu voltarei e tu vais-te arrepender bastante de alguma vez teres pensado que poderias assumir esta cidade…” She continued her rapid-fire tirade as she collected herself and stormed out of the door.

  The moment the front door slammed, Elias’s posture sank. He expelled a long stream of air and rubbed the back of his neck.

  “What did she say to you?”

  “Typical things a villain would say after their plans were foiled. ‘You won’t get away with… I’ll be back.’” He shrugged it off. “Nothing important.”

  “Elias,” I called, stepping in front of him and putting my arms around him, “I think you know what I’m talking about. She said something that bothered you, what was it?”

  “She”—he swallowed hard, his jaw clenched tight enough to make the muscles in his face twitch—“said she wished she’d strangled me with the umbilical cord when I was born.”

  I gasped.

  He pressed a finger to my lips and shook his head. “She’s said worse. Don’t worry about me. It didn’t affect me at all. I have you. Nothing can get to me anymore.” He grabbed my hips and raked his lips down my chin, trailing his kisses to my neck.

  Breathing and blinking began to be an unmanageable task as the sensation of his touch began to overload my senses.

  “Kirsten is so predictable. She did and said everything I thought she would. She’s out of lifelines and she knows it.” The heat of his breath made my skin tingle with a pleasurable heat. “I’m not going to talk about her anymore. She’s gone and she doesn’t matter to us.” Clutching the opening of my shirt, he yanked, causing the buttons to pop and expose my braless breasts. “My focus is, and will always be, on you, because I have to tell you…I am…so hard for you right now.”

  “Are you?” I rasped, barely managing to get the words out.

  Grabbing my hand, he guided it down to his groin and ran it down his length as it hardened a little bit more from my touch. “I’m always ready to please you and make you happy,” he whispered against my perspiring skin as he placed open mouthed kisses down my neck. “You know that, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” I rasped.

  “You are my queen. When I conquer this world and make it mine, I’m placing it at your feet.” His hand slipped beneath my panties and began to manipulate my throbbing bundle of nerves. He slipped his hand lower, fingering my wet sex and slipped a finger inside, making me gasp and hold his shoulders tightly.

  He lifted me by my waist and I tangled my body around him, allowing him to carry me through the house and back upstairs to the bed.

  “What are you going to do with her?” I asked once he placed me down on the mattress, wishing I hadn’t after seeing the look he gave me.

  He searched around the room for a moment, reminding me that we were in the bedroom.

  “Okay, remember what I said in the car about respecting me? Trusting me enough to tell me what’s going on is a huge part of it.”

  “What was my complete purge of the truth I coerced out of my mother earlier today? Or the way we worked together tonight? Isn’t that showing you my trust?”

  “Elias,” I pleaded with him.

  “She will be given to the Cartel, as will my father. Needless to say, he won’t make it to trial and if she’s lucky, she won’t live until the end of the month with what they have planned for her.”

  I blinked down at the space between us, my mood
changing.

  With a smile of frustration, he touched my cheek. “Given that look on your face, I’m sure you now understand why I made the rule against discussing or conducting business in the bedroom.”

  The night we planned everything out, he said he would try to make sure no one died as long as they didn’t hurt me. “That’s a pretty severe solution, Elias. Why?”

  “Giving their lives to certain people will allow me to continue on with Cari Enterprises as I see fit and prevent the Feds from shutting down the business for too long. They will delay their investigation because they won’t be able to find anything that leads to me. For obvious reasons, I need their review of the companies expedited. The drug business will be liquidated and never explored again.” Pulling my hips down, he slid me farther underneath him. “Now we’re going explore something that isn’t business.”

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  MORNING BROKE AN HOUR after I had left our bed and snuck downstairs to do some research. Between a sour stomach and wanting to know if Elias’s parents were still alive, I couldn’t sleep.

  I refreshed the page for the local news over and over again until something of interest showed up. There was no new news about the Caris. Instead, I was faced with the same article, stating Natanael was still in holding, pending a bail hearing. Legal experts speculated his bail would be denied.

  When I heard Elias descend the stairs, I quickly closed the page and deleted the history. I left the select pages open to make him think I was doing what I’d promised—planning for our real wedding and taking lessons in Portuguese online.

  He kissed the top of my head. “Why are you up so early?”

  “Couldn’t sleep.”

  He sat next to me and pulled my chair out to face him. “Do you have anything on the schedule tonight?”

  “I’m supposed to meet with a wedding planner next week, but before then, no. Why?”

  “Tonight, you and I have unfinished business to deal with. After that, I’m taking you back to Portugal to show you the beauty of it in a proper way and…I’d like you to meet Silvio. The trip will be a do over to make up for what I should’ve done the first time.”

  I smiled. “I’d like that. But why would we have to come back at all?”

  “Believe me, if I could do nothing other than spend time fucking you in a beautiful place, I would. But we both have to come back and you’re needed at work.”

  My grin was untamed. “As far as I knew…I was no longer needed at La Dentelle. I think I’ve worn out my freedom there. Claudia has been slyly cutting my hours back.”

  “I wasn’t talking about that job, I’m talking about the one you really want. You’re taking over for my mother. Don’t worry if you’re not sure you can do it. Silvio is scheduled to come back on the plane with us from Esposende. He knows the ropes and you can shadow him for a while until you get the hang of things.” He gently kissed my lips. “That is, if you still want the job once all the businesses are cleared.”

  I gave him a brighter smile. “Of course I do.”

  He kissed me one more time and headed to the kitchen.

  My head dropped as I sighed. My exhaustion over feeling like I’d run a marathon had finally hit me. Lifting my head, I caught sight of my reflection once my laptop went into screen saver mode. Rising from my chair, I walked toward the kitchen to meet him.

  He looked up at me with questioning eyes as he began to make coffee.

  “I was researching information on Natanael and Kirsten.”

  A slow grin spread across his face, deepening his dimples. “I know you were, which is why we are leaving the country tomorrow, and I’m taking all of your devices away. I don’t want you keeping up with them.”

  “I didn’t want to lie to you about it. I remembered what I promised you. So…there’s the truth.”

  “Come here,” he said, gesturing with his fingers. Once I was within arm’s length, he pulled me into his arms, reassuring me that we were going to be all right with four beautiful little words in Portuguese, “Te-amo, minha querida.”

  AFTER ALL THAT had happened, it seemed odd to be so casual. Elias and I took a day trip to L.A. so I could get a few things for the trip to Portugal. Moving on would have to be something I’d have to get used to.

  Parents getting handed to Cartels, death, secrets uncovered, and huge changes abound…life continued on.

  It brought me comfort when Elias had agreed to foot the bill for Roth’s care at the rehabilitation center.

  I could no longer say or feel that my father’s death left me permanently empty. Something had begun to change as I came to terms with his death.

  I began to feel as though I was being filled up again.

  EXITING THE DRESSING room of a small boutique with luxury finds, I found my way to Elias, who was handling business on his phone. We had the store to ourselves and a personal stylist tended to my every whim and brought me glasses of champagne when needed.

  I waved at him to get his attention. He turned around and contemplated the short and revealing red dress for a second before he shook his head.

  “You have to compromise.” I threw my hands on my hips and squinted at him. “This is the fifth dress you’ve said no to.”

  With a furrowed brow, he ended the call. “What did I say about advertising?”

  “Elias,” I groaned.

  “Eu vou arrancar esse vestido de ti no momento em que o vir,” he said through his strained smile.

  I glanced at Jaco, standing guard at the entrance, hoping he’d be nice enough to offer up a translation of what Elias had said.

  When Elias shot him a look, Jaco simply shrugged at me. “He said you looked beautiful.”

  I scowled at Jaco “Somehow, I don’t think that’s what he really said.” Turning my attention to Elias and his charming smile, I added, “Eventually, I’m going to be able to understand and you won’t be able to hide behind a different language to say things to me.”

  “And I look forward to the day when you can,” Elias replied smugly with a wink.

  “And the dress?” I asked, gesturing down my body.

  “Get whatever you want, querida.”

  “You’re not going to say yes and punish me when I wear it later, are you?”

  His smile began to deepen. Slipping my hand in his, he pulled me in for a kiss. “Half of the fun is in the way you piss me off, isn’t it?”

  I kissed him again, biting his lip and returned to the dressing room.

  At the cashiers' desk, I patiently and sheepishly waited for Elias to present his card. It wasn’t something I think I’d ever be at ease about. There was a tapping in the back of subconscious that said if I easily conceded to his demand to pay for everything, it would make me out to be like my mother. I no longer looked at either of my parents with admiration or with an optimistic viewpoint that excused away everything they had ever done. I didn’t want to be a person who resembled anything like Frankie or my father.

  "Use your personal card,” he said nonchalantly.

  I cranked my neck from left to right, hoping to alleviate the sudden tension building there. Contributing to the discomfort, I had no idea how to express my financial situation to him out loud; I found it embarrassing. “I um…” I searched through my wallet and fingered the edge of the card Elias had given me with the fifty-thousand dollar limit.

  Clearing his throat, he put his hand over mine, directing me to remove my personal debit card. “Trust me,” he reassured me, his beguiling green eyes smiling.

  I took out my debit card, handing it to the associate who had a look of confusion fixed on her face.

  My card went through without an issue. Curious as to how that was possible, I picked up my phone and checked my bank balance. I almost dropped my phone along with my jaw.

  “You will never want for anything when you’re with me,” Elias said. “I am a man of my word, Hanley.”

  “So you are…” I replied dreamily.

  ELIAS PULLED UP to the drive of ou
r home. A woman waited on the steps. I didn’t recognize her with the change to her hair color—it was now a bright auburn shade. When I saw the tattoos, and the azure eyes staring directly at me as I sat in the passenger seat, I wasn’t sure what to think, because I thought I’d never see her again.

  I glanced back at Elias, who gave me a wry smile. The question that needed an answer began to fill my thoughts. Why did he continue to allow her to linger in town after all she had done?

  Blinking rapidly, I looked to Elias for answers, and I wanted them before I got out of the car and approached her.

  “I asked her to come here.”

  I nearly choked on my swallow and took some time to recover. “After telling me stay away from her, and only letting me see her because it was a part of our plan…why?” I queried, breathless and in shock.

  “There are a few things I am willing to change to make you realize the magnitude of the things I will do for you to keep you happy and safe.”

  “That sounds very ominous.”

  “As it’s meant to be. Let the night be. Have fun. You’ll see what it’s all for when it’s over.”

  Getting out of the car, I forgot about the bags in the trunk and walked over to her.