by John Locke
“Yes,” Dani says. “You most certainly are.”
32.
Donovan Creed.
Sensory Resources Headquarters.
THE VIRGINIA COMPOUND will become Sensory East, and I’ll build a Sensory West in Las Vegas with my own money. I’m not moving into Lou’s old office. I’m happy with the one I’ve always had. It’s comfortable and well-located. See that door on the left wall? That’s actually an elevator that leads to my underground sleeping quarters.
I’m leaning back in my chair, feet propped on the desktop, sipping bourbon, basking in the warm afterglow of my phone conversation with Callie.
She didn’t laugh.
She actually shares my feelings!
I think about our future together, sip some more bourbon. My cell phone vibrates. Caller ID says it’s Dani Ripper.
When I answer she says, “My opinion? Callie came through with flying colors.”
“Did you really test her limits?”
“I really did. I pushed as hard as I could.”
I take a deep breath before asking, “How far did she go?”
“She was hanging in there really well until the phone call. What in the world did you say to her, anyway?”
I laugh. “I told her she was pretty, said she was a great assassin, told her she had great reflexes…”
Dani laughs. “You’re insane. First you concocted the whole ‘Creed must be gay’ routine, which is pretty narcissistic of you, if I’m being honest. Then she calls to ask how you feel about her and you tell her she’s got great reflexes? Jesus, Donovan! If your intent was to throw her into my arms, it worked.”
“That was my intent.”
“Risky business,” Dani says.
“Not as risky as marrying a younger, beautiful woman.”
“You’re planning to marry her?”
“Someday, absolutely. But I can’t afford to fall in love with a woman I can’t trust.”
“Which is why you called me last week.”
“Exactly.”
Dani’s a private investigator, but makes most of her money doing decoy work. Wives pay her to learn if their husbands are cheaters. Fiancés pay her to test their prospective husbands’ integrity. Attorneys pay her to test the fidelity of their clients’ spouses. Campaign managers pay her to test their opponents’ characters.
I hired her to see if Callie was ready to enter into a monogamous relationship with me. I figured if she could stop short of having sex with a goddess like Dani Ripper, she’d be a good investment for my love. In my line of work, being in love’s a luxury. I can’t afford to take chances.
Dani says, “Well, she was everything you claimed, and more. Absolutely stunning! Prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Did you see her naked?”
“Sadly, no.”
“How far did she go?”
“You really want to know?”
“I need to know. That’s why I hired you.”
“Nothing happened before the phone call. After you shot her down, she was into it big time.”
Dani pauses, waiting for me to speak. When I don’t, she says, “We kissed.”
“Did you kiss her first?”
“No. That wouldn’t be honest. The target has to make the first move.”
“Is that it? She kissed you? Nothing more?”
Dani pauses again. Then says, “She touched me.”
“When you say she touched you…”
“If you want me to be more specific, I’ll need to bill you for two stiff drinks and a cold shower.”
I chuckle, then say, “Did you touch her back?”
“No. Like I said, that’s not part of the job.”
“After I called her back and told her I loved her, did she stop immediately?”
“Yes.”
“Completely?”
“Yes.”
I smile. “And when she hung up, did you keep applying pressure to try to get her to continue?”
“I can honestly say I’ve never worked so hard to seduce someone.”
“And she came through for me.”
“She did. And I have the recording to prove it.”
“Video?”
“You wish. Audio.”
“Thanks Dani.”
“You thanked me already, by keeping me out of jail last month. Not to mention the generous check you sent.”
“Is there anything you’d like to add before we hang up?” I say.
“Two things. First, you’ve got a hell of a woman there, Donovan.”
“I agree. And second?”
“If you hadn’t called when you did, I would have surrendered.”
“Surrendered?”
“By noon tomorrow, I’d have picked out an engagement ring.”
“What would Sophie say about that?”
“Who cares? We broke up tonight.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay. We’re still going to be friends, still going to live together.”
I’m confused. “Which part of breaking up am I failing to understand?”
“The sex part. It screws up friendships.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Positive.”
“Then do me a favor, okay?”
“What?”
“Don’t say that to Callie!”
33.
TEN MINUTES AFTER Dani and I hang up, Callie calls.
“Did I wake you?” she says.
“No. Can’t sleep.”
“Me neither.”
“What’s up?”
“You think we can make it work?”
“Yes, of course.”
“You’ve really thought this through?” she says.
I wait an appropriate time before saying, “What’s on your mind, Callie?”
“All the things you’d have to give up.”
“Such as?”
“The girlfriends. The hookers. The independence. The lack of accountability for your actions.”
“I don’t care about what I’m giving up. I care about what I’m gaining.”
“You’ll have to do something about Rachel.”
“They’ll never let Rachel out of the box.”
“What about Beth?”
“How do you know about Beth?”
“I know about everything.”
“Then you know Beth and I were never a couple.”
“I know you tried. And I know she loves you. If we’re together, that’s a door you’ll have to close.”
“No problem.”
She sighs.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to work hard not to be a bitchy, jealous girlfriend.”
“That sounds promising.”
“I’m going to try even harder not to interfere,” she says.
I pause. “Are you about to interfere?”
“Yes.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“Miranda.”
“Ouch. What about her?”
“Are you willing to give her up?”
“Sexually? Yes, absolutely. We’ve already agreed to that. But I hope you’re not asking me not to hire her just because we were lovers.”
“It was more than that.”
“True. But at the end of the day, she was a hooker and I was a client. And I already promised her a job when she gets back from Europe next year.”
“I know.”
“She’d be a hell of an asset to us at Sensory.”
“I agree. But as your girlfriend, it’s my job to eliminate the competition.”
“There’s no competition, Callie. Tell you what. Miranda can report to you instead of me. Would that help?”
“Are you joking?”
“If I say yes will you believe me?”
“No.”
“It wouldn’t help if she worked for you?”
“Of course not!”
“Why?”
“Because every time I loo
k at her I’ll think about how you slept with her. And worry it could happen again.”
“It won’t happen again.”
She sighs.
“You’re willing to give it a try?”
“Probably. But I don’t want her working with me.”
“What if I station her here, at Sensory East?”
“You can’t be serious!”
“What now?”
“You’ll be traveling back and forth to Virginia all the time.”
“So?”
“You’ll go there alone. And stay for days at a time.”
“So?”
“Days…and nights. Think about it.”
I pause, looking at it from her point of view.
“You see my problem?” she says.
“I do.”
She sighs again. “I want to be the best girlfriend you ever had. I’ll try to accept Miranda.”
“We’ve got a whole year to decide what to do.”
“True,” she says. “And a lot can happen in a year.”
“True. Wait. You’re not thinking about killing her, are you?”
Callie says, “Not yet. I do like her. I just hope you don’t cheat on me.”
“You’ve got my word.”
She laughs. “Say the whole sentence.”
I laugh. “I give you my solemn word. I will never cheat on you.”
“You really think you can be happy with just one woman in your life?”
“If that woman is you, I can.”
“Thanks, Donovan. I needed to hear that. I’ll be able to sleep now.”
I say, “How about you? Are you willing to give up Gwen?”
“Yes, of course.”
“When are you planning to tell her?”
“We’ll tell her together, when we go back to Vegas.”
“We? Why do I need to be there?”
“So you can explain she can’t call you behind my back.”
“You’re pretty thorough,” I say.
“Don’t forget it.”
“I won’t. Any other concerns?”
“Just one.”
“What’s that?”
“We need a plan for tomorrow.”
“You have something in mind?”
“A date,” she says.
“Count on it. I’ll be there at one o’clock. We’ll spend a couple hours with Sal. After that we can go for a long walk along the river, and I can tell you about my plans for Sensory Resources.”
“I’d rather hear about your plans for us.”
“I thought we might get into that over dinner. Can we have dinner together?”
“If by dinner you mean room service, I’ve already got a hotel room.”
“Perfect.”
“Donovan?”
“Yeah?”
“We’re not going to have a nice long walk along the river tomorrow.”
“We’re not?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“We’ll be too busy having sex.”
“Seriously? Okay, look. From now on you get to make all the plans for us as a couple!”
She says, “I’m telling you about the sex in advance, so you’ll know it’s a guarantee.”
I laugh. “How did you come to that decision?”
“I flipped a coin.”
“You flipped a coin to decide whether or not we’d have sex?”
“Yup.”
“When?”
“The day I met you.”
“God, you’re special,” I say.
“I’m guaranteeing the sex because I want you to be yourself tomorrow, and from now on. I love you, Donovan, and you don’t need to be charming, witty, or flirty unless you feel like it. What I’m saying, I want our time together to be real.”
“It will be.”
“What I’m trying to explain is, you’ve already got me. I won’t make you work for the sex. It’s my gift to you, and it’s yours for the taking. I want you to relax, be yourself, and know you’re loved for no other reason than the fact you’re you.”
I think about what she said, and the meaning behind it, and respond, “That may be the most beautiful thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
“And I’m just getting started!” she says.
34.
Willow Breeland.
Las Vegas.
WILLOW STUDIES THE bald spot on the ancient head in her lap and briefly wonders how Carmine managed to upgrade the daily blow job to a full-service girlfriend experience. As he moves his head around she reminds herself to moan when appropriate, as he seems to prefer her low moan to the little gasping sound she usually makes when faking an impending fake orgasm. Thank God he isn’t into the full-blown porn star scream, because her acting range is limited, and it would be embarrassing if the front desk called to complain.
“Mmm,” she says. “Mmm.”
“You like that baby?” he says.
What she likes is the after-sex talks they have, where she learns about his businesses and the people working for him. This is only their third day together, and to his credit, he’s upgraded her from the fleabag motel she was in yesterday to a king room at the Venetian, with full room service and spa charging privileges.
“Mmm,” she says. “Mmm.”
Then-oh, for the love of God!-he starts motorboating her. He’s buzzing her vertical lips with his horizontal ones, thinking he’s driving her crazy.
She’s got to nip this shit in the bud before he turns it into a regular feature. But how do you tell Carmine Porello he’s a sexual moron without offending him?
“Honey, please don’t do that,” she says. “I love it, but…”
“But what?”
“My boyfriend Bobby used to do that. I don’t want to think of him, ever again. I want our time to be special.”
“Bobby did that?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
“But that’s my move!”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Shit!”
They’re quiet a moment.
“I shouldn’t have told you that.” She says, with a sigh. “Look, it’ll be okay. I’ll try not to think about him.”
“What? No way! I’m actually glad you told me that. But I swear, I could kill the bastard for ruining your pleasure like this.”
“I know, and he was such a jerk, I’d turn you loose on him in a heartbeat. But like I said, someone else already killed him.”
“Drug deal, right?”
“Right. Like I said, he’s the only man I’ve ever been with. But…can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure.”
“You know what you were doing to me just before that? Down there?”
“Yeah?”
“It was making me crazy!”
He smiles. “You really like that, huh?”
“Far as I’m concerned? That’s your move, baby!”
“Then let me serve up another round,” he says, and does.
“Mmm,” Willow says. “Mmm.”
When Carmine rolls over, it’s Willow’s turn. When she’s done, they lie on the bed together and snuggle.
“This is what I worked for all my life,” he says.
“Me?”
“Yeah. You’re my reward.”
“I feel the same way about you,” Willow says.
“Why?”
“I love your smile. And you make me feel safe.”
He kisses her forehead.
She purrs.
He says, “I don’t want you dancing at the club.”
“Why not?”
“You’re my girl. I want you to save this body for me.”
“But you’ve been so generous. I have to earn my keep.”
“You’ve earned it, believe me. And if we can keep meeting like this, well, let’s just say you won’t be sorry.”
“But I want to help you.”
“You are helping me.”
“In your business.”
He chuckles.
; “What?”
“You’re a child. What do you know about business?”
“I’ve got a wonderful business sense. And accounting experience.”
“Accounting experience, eh?”
“Seriously.”
“Well, I’m accounting on you to stay here and be happy. You’ve got your spa, your room service, cable, internet…and me.”
“You’re in the best mood today!”
“I am. Wanna know why?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Roy’s dead.”
“Roy?”
“That motherfucker finally got what’s coming to him.”
“And that makes you happy?”
“Ecstatic! But here’s the twist. I didn’t have nuthin’ to do with it!”
“What are the police saying?”
“They’re saying he got shot while trying to attack someone with a baseball bat. But he obviously picked the wrong guy, ’cause whoever it was put two bullets in him.”
“Are you going after the guy?”
He says, “Can you keep a secret?”
“Better than anyone you ever met.”
“I’ll put the word out whoever did it needs to suffer. But secretly? I hope they don’t find him. Because the guy who whacked Roy deserves a medal!”
“You think they’ll find the shooter?”
“Yeah.”
“Why, were there witnesses?”
“Not yet. But he apparently crashed into the guy’s car, because there’s paint transfer. They’re looking for a burgundy car with the front smashed in. They’ll eventually find it.”
“You think they’ll check the airport parking lot?”
“Yeah, sure. Why?”
“Because that’s where I ditched the car.”
He stares at her face a minute, then starts to laugh.
“You got me!” he says, grinning.
35.
Four Hours Earlier.
“ROY WILL BE at the club all alone this morning from at least nine to eleven,” Willow says. “Then he’ll head home to eat lunch and take a nap.”
“Why would he be there so early?” Maybe asks.
Maybe is Donovan Creed’s twenty-year-old daughter. She’s also a paid assassin with a double-digit body count.
“He thinks he’s meeting two new dancers, an hour apart. Nine-thirty and ten-thirty.”
“You set him up?”
Willow smiles. “He’ll be pissed when the first one stands him up, furious when the second fails to show.”