“Isn’t it?” Jolie fumes. “Well, at least you looked good enough to earn some money for your foster parents. What was it? A few Johns a day? That pussy must fit a semi-truck by now.”
“Oh, yeah I’m the whore. I’m not the one whose husband pays other people to have sex with her because he doesn’t want to.” Laila challenges without fear. She’s figured out the game. Jolie loves a challenge, and getting rid of Laila now would be too easy and no fun at all.
“I had sex with my husband tonight, actually.”
“Really, how many has that been today?” Laila cuts back, glancing my way.
“Are you two done? Because I know I am. Jolie, Titus is surely looking for you by now.”
“I am sure he is. I better go prepare for a long night. Titus can go again and again. It takes a real woman to keep up with a man like that. I’ll make sure we get to work together soon, Laila.” Jolie studies every movement Laila makes, wanting to get at her, but Laila’s giving her no opportunity.
“I can’t wait.” Laila stares at her so pointedly that I can almost see the slice into Jolie’s throat.
“Bye,” I demand at Jolie, making sure she finds her way out the door. “I am so ready for this night to be over.”
I watch Laila wander over to the beds and look around as if she doesn’t know where to go. “Do we have to both sleep in here?”
“Yes, but we can move them so you have more privacy. I was trying to do that before Jolie came in. Give me a second.” I go into the next room and take a folding screen to bring in and place between the beds, trying to enclose her bed as much as possible. “There, it’s like your own room. It’s a small room but at least your own.” Laila chooses the opposite bed I had planned for and moves it farther away. “Okay, I guess I have my own small room then.”
“I don’t like to feel closed in. I would prefer for you to sleep somewhere you can’t hear me?” she says, not looking at me.
“Why? Do you snore?”
“No. I—I sometimes talk though.”
“Well, if I hear any secrets, I promise not to tell anyone.” Unsatisfied with the arrangements, she continues to stare at me. “That’s still not good enough?”
“I can sleep in the bathroom.” She grabs a pillow and begins pulling off a blanket from the bed.
“You’re not sleeping in the bathroom. If it’s that big of a deal to you, I will get Luca’s earplugs. He keeps them around here somewhere for when we have to bunk up with Gus. He snores like a dying bear, and it’s awful.”
“Can you not go sleep with your girlfriend and I take this room? Or did you get all you needed earlier?”
“You know what? Feel free to judge me without knowing anything about the situation. And for your information, I didn’t fuck her tonight. I was assigned to guard her. She led me back there on purpose and attacked me.” Laila rolls her eyes, turning her back to me. “I don’t care what you believe.” I go back to finishing the food I was making, prepare her a plate, and hand it to her. “You should eat. You never know when you will get another chance. Titus is on a rampage. He may want to take off at any time.” She mumbles a thank you and goes back to ignoring me.
It’s fun not talking and pretending the other one doesn’t exist. I give up trying with Laila and crash into my bed behind the screen. Getting comfortable, I catch sight of her through the dividers and quickly hide behind a pillow and put my earplugs in before I get yelled at.
My dreams come in hard as I recall the night.
“Jolie where are you going? We need to get back before Titus freaks out.”
“His friends just arrived. He won’t even notice we are gone. Come on, Handsome. I need to adjust my strap.”
“No, we are going back now.”
“You know you have to follow me. What if something happens to me on your watch? That could be very bad for you.” She pouts, knowing she could set me up easily in this club. There are plenty of idiots here willing to do whatever she asks. I go with her and hope she gets bored with her game if I ignore her. Jolie fidgets with her dress and slides her panties off to put in my hand. “Come on, Ben. Aren’t you done with this whole, I-want-more-from-a-relationship thing?”
“No, I’m not. Put your panties back on because I’m not fucking you.”
“I think you are.” She slides up on me, pushing her hand down my pants, having me undone and out before I can say another word. The only way I can get her off is to back up and let her trip over her own heel. “Damn, Ben. I don’t understand what’s wrong with you!” She stands, smacking my chest. “What do you want me to do? I can’t exactly divorce Titus. And you won’t kill him, so how else do you plan for us to be together?”
“Oh! I see. You think I want to be with you. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mislead you. No, Jolie, I have no interest in you at all anymore. Not even a little bit.”
“Ben, I explained all of this to you, and I refuse to do it again. I love you,” she says, nearly choking on the words. I laugh, wondering how I ever cared about her at all. “I really do, Ben. We are meant to be together, and if you give me some time, I promise I will make it up to you.” I don’t bother responding. “You know you are going to give into me, you always have. You throw your little tantrums to get attention, and once I apologize and give you the pitiful face, we make up, and I get to ride that gorgeous cock of yours.” She grabs at me again.
“We need to go. We’ve been gone too long. Nathan or someone could come down here any second.”
“Good, because whether you have sex with me or not, I am going to make it look like we did, so you might as well make it worth your while.” I continue to fight off her hands and advances, waiting for her to get tired of her bullshit. “Oh Ben—ohhh …” I try to ignore her, but she goes crazy, ripping at my shirt and exposing herself as she moans and calls out to me.
“Jolie!” I yell, pushing her onto a sofa and cursing her enjoyment of the situation.
I hated that Laila was the one to catch us together. She’s right. It was stupid. I should have forced Nathan to have me switched with someone else and not allowed her to lure me away. I wanted so bad to stand up to her though, thinking somehow that it would finally get through to her. I can’t get the Jolie nightmare out of my head, until I walk toward something more alluring.
Curling into my bed with a sigh. “Ben?” I look up to Laila standing over me. “I can’t sleep. Can you help me?” She slides her shirt off, showing that sexy as hell bra I haven’t been able to get out of my head since I saw it.
“If I recall from the bill I got, there are matching panties to that bra,” I remind her, tracing my finger down her side and to the button on her pants.
“She smiles, undoing her pants and showing me one side of the matching panties that fit perfectly. “You mean these?” Smiling, I take hold of her perfect ass and rip her pants right off with my teeth. Making my body completely available to all of her needs, I slide off the underwear I bought. In an instant, I move her legs up around me, with a kiss, and a sensation that goes deep.
“Ben. Ben. Ben!” I sit up straight in bed, pissed off by the interruption.
“What?!” I yell at Luca who begins to laugh at me.
“What the hell? Put that thing up. I don’t want to see that.” I cover up, taking out the earplugs that kept me from hearing him walk up on me. “Ah, I was hoping it was my stealth abilities that kept you from hearing me.” I get out of bed, glancing over to see Laila already gone. “She’s in the team room eating breakfast.” Luca follows me around as I get myself together. I look back at him as he crosses his arms and waits for something.
“What?”
“You were dreaming about her again.”
“No I wasn’t.”
“Yes, you were. Wow, you really do like her. Ever since you met her you’ve been like—like …”
“Like nothing. We don’t get along. There’s nothing there. I’m attracted to her I guess, but that’s it. I’m over it.”
“Sure you a
re. Ben, you fell for her the moment you saw her. She showed up to that arena, and you looked into those beautiful doe eyes and fell hard. I never thought it possible, but I saw it the moment it happened.”
“You are out of your damn mind.”
“She challenged you.”
“Shut up, Luca.”
“You were angry, and she stood up to you. Face it, Ben, you’ve met the woman that will make you work for it. And the reward is too enticing for you to resist.”
“She was a crazy woman doing something stupid. It was exciting in a moment, nothing more.”
“Uh-huh, a crazy woman you gave your precious car to in order to help her get away.” I hold out my hands, not understanding his point. “Come on, Ben. She could have gotten away fine by us letting her out the door and running. No one was going to be able to catch her in time. Hell, who would have thought she didn’t have her own car stashed somewhere? Most people don’t show up to anything on foot. I mean, come on, she walked in there like she was checking off an errand she had to get done for the day.” I laugh, thinking about how bold she was about the whole thing. Luca waits until I turn around to get in my face smiling. “You gave her your car because if she ran, you might not have ever seen her again. She had to find you to give you your car back, and if she didn’t, you would have followed her on that locator you put on the car.”
“I did follow her actually. She broke into a gym, used their shower, and borrowed somebody’s clothes, before driving to a precinct parking lot and sleeping in it. I couldn’t believe it,” I admit. Luca stands up straight as if I just confessed to some crime. “Don’t look at me like that.” I move him out of my way. “I only wanted to make sure the car was okay.”
“Sure. So, how did it go last night?”
“It didn’t. She caught me alone with Jolie and hates me. She thought I was fucking her, thanks to Jolie. Now, she wants me to keep my drama out of her life. Can’t say I blame her for that.”
“I don’t know if I have expressed this enough to you, Ben, but I hate Jolie.”
“I think she and I both got the point when you called her a life sucking whore to her face.”
“I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by telling her how I really felt. Oh wait, I forgot. She doesn’t have any.”
“Enough, Luca. Go eat with the rest. I’m going to get a shower. Titus had a shit night last night. No telling what today is going to be like.” I leave him and try my best to forget my dreams.
CHAPTER 7
Laila
I am eating breakfast when Luca walks in and begins talking with the others without a care in the world. I don’t know why, but it angers me that he is so causally handling his brother’s reckless behavior. Luca says something to me as I walk by, ignoring everyone. I would rather wait for Titus by myself and clean guns.
Luca follows me, stepping just inside the door. “What’s going on with you today?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you mad at me?” I shake my head in silence. “You’re mad about something, so are you going to tell me what it is or do I have to guess?”
“Your brother …”
“Oh no. What did he do now?”
“He’s a real mess, you know that? I have no idea how you put up with him.” I spill out of my mouth with surprisingly no ability to stop myself.
Luca rolls his eyes and shuts the door before sitting down beside me. “Okay, tell me everything.” I huff and return to my work. “Trust me. You’re not going to feel better until you vent.”
With his permission, I release my anger freely. “I found him and Jolie screwing in a lounge at the club last night. He’s going to get us all killed fucking around like that. I don’t need that kind of trouble. He came out of there still pumped up and ready to go.”
“Pumped up?” Luca laughs until I glare at him. “Okay, I understand why you would be concerned, but you don’t understand.”
“That’s what he said, but I understand perfectly.”
“No, no you don’t. Ben was engaged to Jolie. She hooked him good. Ben took her to a party that Titus held at his house. He invited all of us that worked for him at the time to celebrate their engagement. Jolie was so impressed by Titus’s money and power she barely paid attention to Ben that night, and Titus didn’t hesitate to take advantage of her interest. She said she didn’t fuck Titus that night, but Ben knows better. We all know better.”
“So why stay with someone after that? It doesn’t make any sense? Unless your brother has some serious mental disabilities?”
“I think Ben mostly continued on with Jolie just to get back at Titus, not that Titus cared.” I shake my head, giving Luca a disbelieving sigh. “Fine. As much as I hate to admit it, Jolie had her hooks into my brother deep. It wasn’t pretty. He wanted to believe her. He was hopeful, and she was manipulating everyone around her. Wouldn’t you want to believe in someone you love?” he asks, leaving me to wonder what that would even be like, being that in love. “And I think he believed one day they would be back together. Then it all became a routine. She was a habit to get through the day. There was no more feeling in it. I am not sure what finally broke him from the hold she had on him, but I sure am glad it did. He was head over heels for her. He would have done anything for her, and she knew it and took advantage of it every chance she got. So, Jolie screwed Titus whenever he wanted, and she was screwing Ben whenever she wanted. At least that’s the way it was until a few months ago when he stopped showing up to their rendezvous. Last night was the first time he turned her down face to face, not that it was easy. Titus never cared about them screwing. Still doesn’t. He pushes Ben on her to get her out of his way so he can go screw who he wants to. Jolie’s a well-paid prostitute basically.”
“Why would Titus do that? Marry her? He doesn’t seem to care about her.”
“She played Titus. I’m not sure exactly how, but she has something on him. Plus, she has to be laundering money, for him, through one of the businesses he bought her. Unless you believe an art gallery that sells only paintings of Jolie makes millions of dollars a year?” I laugh before I can stop myself. “I swear to you, there is a gallery down on Prince with nothing but artists who come in and paint her in various ways. Then, they hang them, and they are mysteriously sold, never to be seen again.” I sit down next to him, curious to know more. “Oh no. Don’t give me that look. I’m not telling you anymore, I shouldn’t have said that, but it’s one of those Jolie things you will eventually learn about anyway.”
“It seems like Jolie doesn’t want to give Ben up either?”
“She only hates that he’s moved on and she can’t control him anymore.” Luca turns to me with a sweet, encouraging smile. “Listen, I know you don’t care much for my brother, but …” Luca gets up, giving me that richly charming Ryder smile. “You know you two would probably really like each other if you weren’t so stubborn.”
“No thanks. I’m good.”
“Okay, I tried. Well, at least let me make it up to you for such a bad first weekend? What are you doing Monday night?”
“It’s my day off.”
“I know, so come hang out with me? I have a bar that I need to check in on where we can get some food and have a few drinks. Then, I can fill you in on all the dirty gossip around here.” Having a chance to learn more about Titus and his people sounds like an opportunity I can’t pass up. “Come on, what else could you possibly have planned that would be more fun than hanging out with me?”
“You are not as charming as you think you are.”
“Yes I am. I’m a Ryder, and we’re very charming.” That must be the family slogan. Luca’s sweet dimples sway me into a smile and a nod of agreement. He’s too cute for his own good.
CHAPTER 8
Ben
I’m sound asleep when a mouse creeps up on me. In a heartbeat, I grab my gun and point it right at my brother’s face. “Damn it, Luca! I didn’t train you for you to then try it out on me. I am going to take my key back from y
ou before I end up killing you by accident.”
“Then get some better security than a single lock on that door. Someone is going to figure out how to bypass that elevator to get up here eventually, and you’re going to get yourself killed in your sleep.”
“If that’s what’s meant to be.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that a million times before. Your death wish isn’t funny anymore, not that it ever was.” Luca hands me some tea and a bag with food. “I had a talk with Laila yesterday. She told me about you and Jolie at the club.” I roll back into bed, groaning. “You’re right. She thinks you were screwing her. It didn’t help that you had a hard on either. You neglected to tell me that part.”
“That woman doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“She’s right about one thing. Jolie is trouble. I wish Titus would let her go. I know that’s terrible to wish someone dead like that, but I hate what she did to you.”
“She didn’t do anything to me that I didn’t allow to be done. I’ve moved on, Luca. You need to as well. Is there anything else you wanted or did you break in here to just give me a hard time?”
“Well, do me a favor and do everything you can to stay away from Jolie. She’s up to something. I don’t know what, but it’s going to get you killed if you’re not careful.” He keeps talking while I enjoy my food and ignore him. “Ben!”
“What do you want me to do, Luca?!”
“Find someone new.”
“I go out. I screw other women.”
“Find someone new that is something more than a good fuck for the night. Someone who actually has a heart.”
“What would be the point of that? I don’t have a heart to give in return anymore.”
Undercover: Secrets & Lies Page 6