Moon takes out his phone and makes a call. “Get your drunk ass out of bed and meet us in the library in thirty.” He listens. “Yes, with Madison.” He walks closer as he talks and then he rests my holster beside my plate. I stand up, secure the holster in the band of my shorts, and snap in the Glock. I need a belt to be sure the gun is secure, but I no longer feel naked.
Moon ends the call and I begin picking up the dishes until Gabriella walks in, clucks her tongue, and runs us out. She notices the gun on my hip and I see her relief. That’s how I know she’s just as involved as everyone else. Moon grabs my hand and walks me to the security room. He opens the door and two men stand from their chairs in front of the multiple consoles. One is the white guy from two days ago and the other is someone I don’t know.
“Madison, I’m officially introducing you to Philip.” He nods toward the white dude as he says, “and Cal.” He nods in the direction of the other man, who has skin darker than Moon’s. “Please call her Mak, that’s her preference.” Moon looks back to me. “There are six men who rotate shifts and monitor the house twenty-four-seven.” Moon pulls me in and shuts the door. “This is also a safe room. It has a separate ventilation system from the rest of the house, bulletproof walls, and the door is impregnable, or at least that’s what they promised when I paid a small fortune for it.” He leads me farther into the room. “It’s also fireproof. Our extra firearms and ammo are kept in here,” he opens a closet that is a large walk in, “as well as more guns and ammo upstairs in the library. I’ll show you those when we meet with Alex.”
Moon returns his attention to the two men. “Madison has full access to this room and everywhere in the house and on the grounds. Share this information with the other men. I’ll brief you this afternoon during the shift crossover and get you up-to-date on what’s planned for the next twenty-four hours.”
He leads me from the room. I’m reeling at everything I saw. I haven’t seen that much firepower since SWAT was called in on a case where I was the responding officer and my supervisor called the elite team in. I am shotgun and rifle certified. The guys returning from military duty love their rifles. I prefer my Glock.
We head upstairs and Moon gives me the combination to a large hidden gun safe that’s behind one of the bookcases. “I’ll have 9mm rounds and magazines placed in here too. I carry a .45 and so does Alex, so we’ve never had use for the smaller rounds up here.”
Before he can close the door to the safe, Gomez walks in. He doesn’t look good. His eyes are bloodshot and his white dress shirt is wrinkled. He takes in everything, including the gun at my hip. He crosses the room, snags his arm around my waist, and pulls me in close. A normal guy would give a quick hug. Gomez noogies my hair. I slap him away with a laugh.
Gomez laughs too and takes a chair, kicks back, and lifts an ankle across his other knee. “Okay, Jefe, what’s the plan?”
Moon just shakes his head and straightens my hair. He takes the other chair and pulls me onto his lap. Gomez doesn’t blink an eye. “The meeting with Estephon is tonight. You’re coming with me and Madison is staying here.” When I start to object, Moon gives a slight jerk to my hair. “I need to know you’re safe and I want you here protecting the house. That means Gabriella and her niece, who is visiting. This way I can take Alex with me.”
I’m not happy. I think about it for a minute as Moon gives me time to respond. “What’s involved in this meeting?”
Moon’s lips tilt up in a wicked smile. “Estephon knows I’m after his territory. He’s not happy and he’ll try something tonight. His problem is that he’s coming into my territory and I have more manpower. I’ve got a fairly good feel for the cops who are on his payroll here and I’ve got a few cops on his in New Mexico. He needs to size up my operation. In the past, I’ve dealt with him as little as possible, and he’s in the dark about a lot that goes on here. This is as friendly a meeting as the two of us will have. At least if the shit doesn’t hit the fan.”
“Will you kill him if you have the chance?” I ask.
“Absolutely.”
I shouldn’t feel relief, but I do. “What does he think you’re negotiating tonight? I’m not stupid; Estephon wouldn’t come here unless there was something in it for him.” Gomez laughs out loud. Moon gives me a look that makes it hard for me not to punch him. “I’m in. I told you I was in. I’m staying here while you go off and do thug shit. I deserve to know everything.”
Moon scratches his fingers over his short hair. Gomez laughs louder until Moon gives him a look, and I snort. It isn’t very ladylike either and that earns me a smile from Moon.
“Estephon thinks I want to discuss the flesh trade. He’s meeting with me and my aunt to discuss expanding the business with his.”
“What about the girls? Are they safe tonight?”
“I planned to keep them here. I’ll find another place for them to stay.”
Christ on a crutch. “No, bring them here. They’re safer with me. I won’t guarantee they’ll be as pretty as when they arrive, though.”
Moon pulls me into him. “Bruised and bloody and they still won’t hold a candle to you.”
I nuzzle his neck. “You say the most romantic things.”
Gomez stands. “I don’t think my aching head can handle any more of this. I need a few more hours of sleep. Obviously, the two of you need a few more hours of something else.”
Moon looks down at me and I lean up and kiss him. We don’t notice when Gomez leaves the room.
Chapter Thirty-Two
IN THE AFTERNOON, I take more ibuprofen to combat my nagging hangover headache. It has barely taken effect when Moon’s aunt arrives with her gaggle of girls. Hell, they’re not girls; I should refer to them as women. They look bright eyed and helpless, so I’ll stick with girls. Forget that they’re beautiful and elegant and feminine.
I’m dressed in black BDUs. Moon sent one of his men to my apartment. Now I also have a utility belt and my favorite kickass boots. My top is a tight black unadorned tee that hugs my breasts and is long enough to tuck in. Because I’m working guard duty tonight, I’m taking it seriously. Moon walked into his room after I put my gun on my hip and pepper spray into its slip holster. He approved and we almost ended up back in bed. Moon left no doubt in my mind that he’s completely turned on by this kickass female.
Currently, he’s meeting with the house security team. They’re all pulling a shift tonight, but only two will monitor the cameras while the other four offer relief for the guards working outside. I know, in minute detail, what Moon’s telling his team. He went over everything with me and Gomez. I’m not in the meeting because I have the honor of greeting our guests.
I’m walking from the kitchen when Danita waltzes in like she owns the house. She looks me up and down—her distaste showing clearly in the purse of her lips. “I see you’ve wormed your way in for another day or two,” she says before I can even offer a greeting.
“It’s polite to knock,” I tell her. “I’m living here now, and if you choose to walk in without being invited, the guards will not be opening the gate for you.”
If looks could kill. I hold back a smirk. Danita doesn’t deserve my time. The eyes of the girls behind her have grown twice their size.
She lifts her hands and examines her fingernails like they might have a chip. Very off-handed she throws out, “You have no idea who you’re dealing with, chiquita.” She peers back at me. “Playing dress up to act like a military wannabe is not a good look on you.”
The girls titter. Too bad I know I’m the bomb in this outfit. I cross my arms and widen my stance. “It’s okay if this outfit doesn’t do it for you, chiquita.” I put quite the emphasis on the last word. “If shit goes down tonight at your meeting, be careful, and protect your fingernails so you can scratch your ass. The stick you have up it must get irritating from time to time.”
Danita takes a step toward me. Her girls go silent and I feel Moon’s presence. He places his arm around me and pulls me in cl
ose. “Danita.” That’s all he says before he kisses my cheek and places a hand at my waist.
“You have things square with your team?” I ask. I’m incredibly worried about him and his meeting with Estephon.
“Yea, baby. You have the inside with two guards in the security room. The house will remain locked down until I’m home.” He looks over my shoulder when the front door opens. It’s Gomez. The meeting is in Tucson where Moon has a large contingent of men who work for him. Tucson is more than a two-hour drive from here. Moon will be too far away from me if shit goes down, and I don’t like it. If it weren’t for Lupe and Gabriella, I would make it very difficult for Moon to leave me behind.
Gomez and Danita are waiting on Moon. He won’t be rushed. He pulls me in close and whispers in my ear. “I’ll call as soon as I can. Be safe, Madison.” He moves from my ear, his lips sliding across my skin until he takes my mouth. The kiss is deep with nothing sweet about it. Moon is staking his claim so every woman in the room knows I’m his. Funny that he would do this with women when usually it’s men who would tip an alpha male into such a display. He knows these women, so I trust that his claim will make tonight easier and not harder.
He releases me and walks to his aunt. He’s in another designer suit. His dry cleaning bill must be outrageous. His aunt takes his arm and gives me a killing glance over her shoulder. Gomez winks at me, and then the three of them walk out the door. I watch Moon’s nice ass the entire way. The door closes and the electronic security locks slide into place.
I look at the girls and as a group, they release their breath. The striking and tall black woman, who gave me the wink poolside, walks forward. “I’m Corinthia, the girls call me Cori. We’ve brought dice and score sheets for an all-night game of Zilch. You play?”
“Zilch?” This is not what I expected. A movie or two, maybe.
“It’s a good way to kill time and win or lose a little money. It’ll cost you about three bucks in quarters if you lose. If you win, you take home between ten and twenty. We’re high rollers and take Zilch seriously.” Her teeth flash in a genuine smile.
I was prepared for a cat fight, complete alienation, or stare downs… maybe. Camaraderie, no. I’m in if they play nice. The other women are watching our interaction closely. “Someone will need to teach me, and I’ll only play if Lupe and Gabriella are included.”
Cori’s laugh is sensually husky. She’s amazingly beautiful and it’s hard to believe she sells her body. I can’t help but wonder what her story is. She stops laughing and continues, “I don’t know Lupe, but if you can talk Gabriella into coming anywhere near us, you’re my new sister. We’ll set up in the dining room if you don’t mind?”
“Perfect. I’ll go speak with Gabriella and Lupe.” I ignore the other women and head to the kitchen.
Gabriella and Lupe are sitting at the table. I sit down with them and place my face in my hands for three seconds before lifting my head. “The wicked witch is gone. Her tribe wants to play a game called Zilch and they’re setting up in the formal dining room. I’ve been asked to join them, and I’m inviting the two of you to play also.”
Gabriella’s string of Spanish is fast and loud.
“Please,” I say as I hold up my hand and lower it quickly when I see the look in her eyes. “This keeps them all in one general location, which is safer. I’m not asking you to make friends with them, just kill some time.”
Lupe looks excited and Gabriella looks plain mean. It’s hard to believe they’re related. Gabriella stands, sweeps her hands up, and gestures around the kitchen. “I do not want them in here. I will provide refreshments for the evening. Lupe can help serve. My brother would never forgive me if I allowed her to associate with those… women.”
Lupe shrugs. It’s obvious she had little hope of joining us.
“If you could set the refreshments up on the side table in the dining room that would be great. Please let me know when you go to bed so I know where the two of you are.” Gabriella showed me her living quarters earlier. She has a small apartment with two bedrooms. Lupe sleeps in one when she’s here. The door to her living quarters is on the other side of the laundry room, and I missed it when Gomez brought me through the garage the evening before.
I feel bad for Lupe as I walk past the dining room and head to Moon’s bedroom. He has a ceramic bowl in his closet with assorted change. Cori told me I need quarters, and Moon won’t mind if I filch a few. The man has spent a small fortune on clothes and other necessities. I take three dollars’ worth and head to the security room. I introduce myself to the two guys who took over for Cal and Philip. Their names are Jose and Rack. They look unsure over what to say to me, so I do the talking. “We’ll be playing table games in the dining room for the evening. I’ll tell the women they can leave only to use the restroom. If it gets too late, we will assign bedrooms upstairs and everyone will move up there. I will notify you when Gabriella and Lupe go to bed. They will remain in the kitchen with short visits to the dining room.”
“Gotcha, boss,” Rack says. There’s not a trace of condemnation in the word boss. Jose only nods. He’s not watching me as closely as Rack is. Where Rack is large and muscled, Jose is small, wiry, and geeky with his small wire-framed glasses. He turns around and begins typing something at his keyboard. Rack just smiles.
When I head back to the dining room, Lupe and Gabriella are setting up the promised refreshments. They’ve included several bottles of wine along with cheese, crackers, and fruit. There’s also a carafe of water. They leave without a word. I fill a wineglass with water and walk to the head of the table where the ladies left me a seat. Cori is sitting next to me.
“She served us food, which is a miracle, so I’ll give you props. Ladies,” she glances around the table, “the queen bitch isn’t here. Introduce yourselves and be nice at least until QB returns.”
They laugh and the tension leaves the room.
“I’m Angela,” the woman on Cori’s right says. She’s petite, Asian, and as beautiful as the other women. One by one they introduce themselves. A few give what I think must be their working names.
“Please serve yourself if you’re hungry. I ask that you don’t have more than a glass or two of wine. We need to stay alert. If something goes down, you’ll follow me to a safe location.” I sweep my eyes to each of the ladies before turning back to Cori. “Now teach me this game so I can pay Moon back his quarters and have a little change in my own pocket.”
Cori’s delighted laugh fills the large room. “She’s thrown down the gauntlet, ladies. Let’s show her that this is a game of strategy and luck and that there is nothing luckier than a room full of escorts with a night off.”
I’ve sat all night in a squad car at a murder scene to preserve evidence and played name that tune with another officer while he’s in his squad car on the other side of the scene. It kills time and keeps sleep from taking over. You also learn to stay alert and multitask while playing a stupid game that makes the boring hours pass quickly.
Zilch solves the same problem. The game is fun and challenging when I get the hang of it, and it’s a complete time suck. When I’m not rolling the dice, which isn’t often because there are nine of us, I check in with Gabriella and Lupe or Jose and Rack.
The women are funny, smart, and most definitely Zilch savvy. They ask a few questions about being a private investigator. The questions are general, and it’s like they’re afraid of offending me. I’m not sure who holds more weight in the escort business—Moon or Danita. I’m betting on Moon. Around five minutes to ten, two and a half hours after Moon left, I get a text from him.
The meeting goes down in five.
My heart rate ratchets. I send back a smiley face because I want all his attention on what’s going down at his end. Thankfully, my turn with the dice is coming up, which will give me something else to concentrate on. I peer down at the score sheet that gives the rundown for how many points are scored with three throws of six dice. It seemed complicated at first
, but I’ve gotten the hang of it. I try not to think of Moon. He said the most dangerous time will be on his drive back through the desert after the meeting. It will be a minimum of three hours before he’s home and I know he’s safe. I throw the dice and eventually pass them along.
“So, is Moon as scrumptious as we’ve always thought he would be?” One of the ladies at the far end of the table is the one who asks this. I can’t remember her name. Coco or something like that. Talking stops and all eyes turn to me.
“That question means the girls aren’t keeping you at arm’s length,” Cori supplies.
“I share my bedroom activity and all’s good?” I fire back in a testy voice.
“Pretty much. Don’t you talk to your girlfriends about sex?” Cori adds.
Oh, boy. I have several choices. I don’t know if I want to be pulled in by this group of ladies. “I don’t have girlfriends. Not really any friends at the moment, and I like it that way.”
“You’re shittin’ us?” says the girl who asked about Moon.
I don’t think I can tiptoe around this one, so I throw it out there. “Before I was a PI, I was a cop for three years. A shoulder injury took me off the force. And to answer your first question, Moon is far more scrumptious than any of you could possibly imagine.”
I expected silence and I get it for all of three seconds. Cori starts laughing and the rest join in. I don’t mean chuckle, chuckle. I mean full out, wiping their eyes laughter.
“Danita will combust,” one says, and they all laugh harder.
“Please, I want to be the one to tell her,” another says.
“No,” Cori throws back at them. “I deserve to present this gift. Bat woman has stuck me with Mr. Hole in the Wall for three weeks now.”
Mr. Hole in the Wall? I’m afraid to ask.
The woman sitting on the other side of me gives a loud theatrical shiver and clasps her arms around herself. “You win. It’ll piss her off so bad you’ll get to keep Hole for another few weeks.”
Heat: An Alpha Male Criminal Romance (A Hotter Than Hell Novel Book 1) Page 20