by Allen, Sara
The voice on the phone remained quiet for a second before Darrius heard, “Are you sure this is him?”
Darrius started his car. “Oh yeah, this is the one, I’m positive. He practically lost it in the diner where she worked because I had my arm around her. I could see it all over him. He wasn’t thinking about anything but coming for me.”
“Did he get close to you? Does he know who you are?”
“No. Are you not listening to what I’m telling you? This fucker was so enraged he wasn’t thinking straight. He’s that far gone over her.”
The phone went silent for a few seconds, and Darrius waited.
He leaned back and closed his eyes. He came close to meeting his end at the hands of one of the strongest his generation had ever seen. There was no way he would’ve been able to survive the confrontation, not by himself anyway. He knew it, and as he remembered the look on Andrew’s face, Andrew knew it too.
When this shit finally came to a head, Darrius hoped he would have the chance to wipe that smug look off of Andrew’s face.
“Tell me about the man that you encountered,” the voice on the phoned requested.
“I’ll do better than that; I’ll give you the bastard’s name; Andrew Pierce.”
“Shit!” the voice exclaimed quickly, and Darrius smiled.
“Yeah, this has surpassed our expectations. What do you want to do?”
“You will stick to the plans, making sure you’re where you need to be in order to carry out your mission. We can’t afford to screw this up.”
“Yes, I know what I must do, but when I kill her, we have to be ready to act. We can’t miss this opportunity. We will only have a small window for this plan to work. You have to get everyone ready.”
“Don’t you worry about everyone else. We were born ready for this. You just handle everything on your end and kill the girl, then take her daughter. We already have a family set up to take her in and raise her. If she’s anything like her mother, we’ll be ready.”
Darrius snorted. “I can already tell you she is. Trust me on that.”
The voice paused, but only for a second, before he said firmly, “Then kill the baby too. We can’t take any more chances.”
“I’ll let you know when to get ready,” Darrius said into his phone, before disconnecting the call.
He smiled again as he pulled out of the parking lot. Finally, he would be rid of this fucked up assignment and move on. He was tired of pretending to want this woman. He hated her with every fiber in his being. That’s how he was taught, that’s how he was raised. His grin grew as he thought about the moment when he would wrap his hands around Nyla’s neck. To see the life fade from her eyes will be something he would never forget. Maybe he’d even fuck her before he killed her.
“Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.”
to be continued …
Coming Spring/Summer 2016
Text the keyword “femistry” to 25827 to receive a text message alert of this release.
WATCHED
KASEY MARTIN
Marco Bellomi is a sexy, confident, private investigator that can find out any information you need. Sydney Hamilton is an intelligent, beautiful, successful attorney with a heart of gold. However, when that golden heart leads her to help a person in need it also puts her in the line of sight of a very dangerous man. When the gorgeous Sydney comes asking Marco for help, the red hot attraction between the two is undeniable.
Will Marco and Sydney get to explore their scorching attraction for one another, or will the danger that’s watching come between them?
*THIS IS A FULL STORY *
Prologue
Sydney was working inside of her office at the law firm in Dallas. It was after ten at night, and she was nowhere near finished going through all the paperwork she had to complete for her client. She was a junior partner at Hamilton, Thompson, and Durr, a very prestigious law firm. It was also her family’s firm that was started by her father and mother. However, there was no nepotism. Sydney had earned her position through hard work and dedication. The paperwork she was looking over, however, had nothing to do with the firm and everything to do with the work she did for the nonprofit organization, Haley’s House, a domestic violence center for women and children.
When the clock struck midnight, the chime could be heard throughout the empty office, but Sydney was still hard at work. She had to find a loophole in this prenuptial agreement for Megan Moore, the wife of a wealthy, albeit cutthroat, business man, Thomas Moore. Mrs. Moore showed up at Haley’s House over two months ago looking for refuge after running away from her abusive husband. She revealed that her husband had beaten her that night. He had struck her many times before, but this time he had also gone after their eight-year-old son when the boy heard them fighting, and jumped on his father’s back to help his mother. Thomas grabbed his son off of his back and threw him to the ground.
Megan didn’t have any family, and her inner circle would never believe such a thing about her esteemed husband, so Meagan and her son had no other place to go. Both mother and son had bruises when they showed up at Haley’s House that night. However, even with all the evidence against him, Mr. Moore incessantly denied the accusations and refused to give support to his estranged wife.
Sydney was exhausted. She had so much going on in her life, and with this case, her stress level was through the roof. She had decided that as soon as she finished helping Mrs. Moore that she would take a much needed vacation from work and from the mess that her life had become.
Although she was still upset with the brooding Italian that had invaded her every thought, she missed him like crazy; the way his hazel eyes would light up with mischief, how his strong muscular hands touched her body in places nobody else even knew about, how he made her wet with longing with a simple look.
Sydney sighed as she slowly massaged her temples when Sam, the middle-aged building security guard stuck his head in her office, after knocking on her door.
Sam was a very nice man. He was a little round in the midsection with a bald spot in the back of his obviously dyed brown hair. He had wrinkles on the edge of his eyes with laugh lines around his mouth. His eyes were sky blue and they always had a twinkle, like he knew a secret about you.
“Hey, Ms. Hamilton, you almost done in here?” Sam questioned looking down at his black leather watch. “It’s after midnight, and my shift is ending.”
“No, sorry, Sam. I’m nowhere near finished. I think I’ll be pulling an all-nighter,” Sydney replied looking exhausted. She wanted to work the case from home, but she didn’t have access to all the confidential records from her home computer.
Sam blew out a loud breath. “I’m sorry to hear that, ma’am. I would stay, but the boss says I can’t get any more overtime. Can you believe that malarkey?”
Sydney chuckled because Sam was known for milking the clock for a couple of hours here and there.
“No problem, Sam. You head on out. Just lock up before you go. I’ll be fine. You and I both know I’ve done this a thousand times before,” Sydney stated with a small smile.
“Oh okay, Ms. Hamilton. I will lock up, by the way, I’m sure that boyfriend of yours doesn’t want you working so late, so make sure you don’t stay too long. ,” Sam winked as he gave a small wave and walked out of the office.
Sydney leaned back in her chair grabbing the hair tie from her hair, and letting her shoulder-length, thick, ebony mane down from the bun she normally kept it in. She stretched and tried hard to relax, but it was difficult after Sam’s statement. It wasn’t well known that she had broken up with her boyfriend because Sydney kept her private life out of the office.
Now once again, Marco was invading her thoughts. No matter how busy she was, or how hard she tried, she just couldn’t stop thinking about him. She couldn’t help but lust after his gorgeous body and the way he made her body sing. Despite her focus on work, memories of one of the many times they’d made love took over.
“Hey,
Bella Donna, you look sexy this evening.” Marco eyed Sydney. His hazel eyes gobbling up her petite frame wrapped in a slim cut, body hugging dress as he stepped into her condo.
Sydney smiled wide. She had put on this dress to impress him for their date that night, and by the looks of it, she had.
“Thanks, baby…you’re looking pretty hot yourself.” Sydney took in Marco’s large muscular body. He had on his signature dark suit. The top two buttons off his light green dress shirt were undone. The shirt brought out the hints of green in his eyes. He looked absolutely edible.
Sydney licked her lips and Marco groaned, leaning down to devour her plump, succulent mouth in a passionate kiss. He stalked deeper into the apartment, wrapping his woman in his muscular arms. He picked her up and her legs instantly went around his waist; the tight dress riding up to bunch around her. Marco pushed it up more so that he could get better access to her core, which was already hot and dripping wet with desire.
Marco slid her thin silk panties to the side and slipped his thick digit into her waiting pussy.
Sydney groaned then sighed again loudly. She missed Marco something fierce, but she just didn’t know if she could trust him.
At that moment however, she didn’t feel like thinking about her questionable life choices. A desperate woman needed her help, and by God, she was going to help her, if it was the last thing she did.
An hour later, Sydney was in the building elevator heading to the parking garage. At this time of night, the building was dark and empty, and the parking garage would be equally dark and very eerie. Sydney shuttered at the thought. Why she stayed after Sam left when she could’ve just taken the work home, she would never know. However, in the end, it was worth it because Sydney felt like she’d found the information she was looking for.
As she hurriedly walked to her car, she sensed she wasn’t alone. But after looking around, she didn’t see anyone. The hairs on her arms seemed to be standing on end, and she didn’t like the feeling. She actually felt unsafe, and this wasn’t the first time that she felt unsafe in the three years that she’d worked in this building.
Sydney had had a feeling that she was being watched for two weeks, and she hadn’t been able to shake it. The feeling slowly crept up on her when she had seen a mysterious man dressed in all black standing on the corner of the street where her apartment building was. At first, she didn’t think anything of it. Then, later that week, she could’ve sworn she saw that same man standing outside of her job. That had been two weeks ago, and although she hadn’t seen him again, she was now sure that somebody was watching her again.
Sydney exited the elevator and reached in her purse to retrieve her keys. She held them out, ready to open her door with her finger already on the key fob. She remembered in a self-defense class that she took once that the instructor told them to always have your keys out and ready and to hold them like a weapon just in case an attacker is waiting for you. Ever since that class, Sydney was always mindful of her surroundings. Sydney’s stiletto’s clacked against the concrete floor of the silent garage. The lights flickered on and off, making a low buzzing sound as if she was in some sort of horror film.
When Sydney heard a noise, she looked around without stopping while quickening her pace.
She thought to herself, I will not be the silly bitch that falls while running from the monster with the machete. Get it together, Syd. You’ve walked this garage a million and one times.
She took a deep calming breath when she made it to her car. Just as she unlocked it and reached for the handle, a big masked man came into view in her driver side window! Her eyes went wide and she let out a blood curdling scream that was cut off when the man’s hand holding a cloth came up and locked over her mouth. His other hand held a weapon that she couldn’t see.
“Shhh. Don’t struggle….”
Three months earlier
Chapter 1
“Marco. Speak,” Marco said, gruffly answering the phone.
“Mr. Bellomi, I presume?”
“That’s me, and you are?” Marco questioned.
“I am a potential client, sir. I need your services and your…discretion.”
“I’m the best at what I do, but you already know that, or you wouldn’t have my number, so….” Marco trailed off.
The caller chucked. “Indeed, Mr. Bellomi. I need someone followed. I need to know where they are at all times.”
“Are you sure you want to go into detail over the phone?”
“I’m not an amateur, Mr. Bellomi. This phone is untraceable, but that’s none of your concern. I have all of your information, including your fee and account number. What I need from you is your acceptance of the job that I have for you.”
Marco inhaled, trying to keep his mounting frustration under control. “Before I accept the job, I need to know a few things. First, who’s the perp you want followed?”
The annoying caller chuckled again. “I will be sending the details in an email. Once you accept the job, we can set up a meeting time.”
Normally these types of clients didn’t want to be seen. They just wanted their dirty work done and that’s that. Although Marco always knew who he was working for, he made sure to get Intel on every client, so whether they wanted to remain anonymous or not, he always knew who they were.
“Why do you want a meeting if you are so willing to send everything in an email?” Marco questioned.
“I like to be thorough, Mr. Bellomi.”
“Right…You can set up a meeting with my assistant,” Marco stated simply.
“Great… Have a good day, sir, and I look forward to working with you,” the caller responded in a smug tone.
The caller disconnected before Marco could respond. He looked at his cell in disgust. I hate these smug assholes, Marco thought to himself.
Marco Bellomi was a private investigator for famous and very rich clientele. There wasn’t a person or a piece of information that he couldn’t find, and although he was one of the best at his job, a potential client couldn’t just find him in the yellow pages or Google his name. He was only known in select circles. Marco liked the anonymity and exclusiveness. He made a lot of money and became a very rich man, catering to this particular group of high society patrons. Even though Marco was a millionaire himself, he was beginning to hate dealing with these rich assholes.
***
Though Marco Bellomi lived in Texas, he grew up in the Bronx. His mother and father moved from the old country Italy, to, what they claimed, “have a better life.” It was rumored that his paternal grandfather was part of the mob and was gunned down in a turf war when his parents were set to be married. Upon their nuptials four months later, his maternal grandfather was also killed in a similar manner. It was also said that his mother, Theresa, was the daughter of the biggest bosses in the village they lived in, and when she married Massimo, Marco’s father, the two families were to form the biggest alliance Italy had ever seen. However, the murder of both their father’s had the newlyweds fleeing to America to hide.
Marco never got the full story from his parents, and neither had ever gone back to the old country, so their past stayed a rumor. Marco’s parents lived quietly running an authentic Italian restaurant and raising six boys. Marco was the youngest and the closest to his parents. They still lived and ran the family restaurant in the Bronx. Marco, however, had had enough of the East Coast and decided he would move to Texas for warmer weather. Although many people didn’t think of it as a high society place, Texas had more money in it than almost any other state in America, and that’s also where Marco became a millionaire, so he was content with living there.
The next day, Marco walked into his office early, but he knew his assistant, Melissa, was there because he could smell the coffee brewing. Melissa was his executive assistant who also managed the office and clients. She was a petite spitfire that didn’t take any shit from anybody, including Marco. “Mel” was in her late thirties, but didn’t look a day over twenty-fiv
e. She had a deep brown complexion with dark brown eyes, and she wore her hair in a long, bright red bob that complemented her skin tone, even though you wouldn’t think that it would. She worked with Marco, not for him, and that’s why he was so successful.
“Mel? You in here?” Marco called while walking to the back of the office.
Melissa stuck her head out of the door of one of the conference rooms. “Yea, boss, I’m in meeting room one. We have a client at ten, and I wanted to make sure everything was set and ready.”
Marco raised a thick, dark, black eyebrow as he walked toward the conference room. “What client, Mel?”
“He said his last name was Murray, his first is something snooty like Brody or Bradigan. I don’t know. I have to look,” Melissa said shrugging her slim shoulders. “He sent an email with information on the woman he wanted followed, but he wanted to meet in person for whatever reason. You know how these uppity people are.” Melissa shrugged her shoulders again and continued setting up the room.
“Yea, believe me, I know. I’ll be in my office finishing up some things. Call me when what’s his name gets here,” Marco said with a smirk.
Melissa chuckled. “Yea, okay, boss. I can do that.”
Marco walked to his office and shut the door. He loved this office space. Since he knew he would spend so much time there, Marco knew that when he was searching for a home for his business that it would have to have a great view. His view was of the Reunion Tower in downtown Dallas. He was on the top floor of one of the adjacent buildings. Marco’s firm occupied a large space, and even though he didn’t publicize his business in a conventional manner, he still had plenty of work and employees. His office consisted of two large conference rooms, a break room, four private offices, a server room and a large waiting area. It was decorated in warm earth tones and lots of water features that Marco found calming.