Sleight of Hand

by BJ Bentley

  I groaned as she licked, sucked, and worked her mouth over my cock. I wove my fingers into her hair and tightened my grip. Hearing her whimper only spurred me on, and I started to thrust into her face. “Fuck, sparrow, you’re perfect,” I grunted and my orgasm blasted through me. I’d meant what I said. She was perfect. She gave me exactly what I needed when I needed it, and I didn’t necessarily mean the blow job, although that was pretty spectacular. No, she let me know that I was in control. That people should kneel before me. She reminded me of my place.

  Clean, dry, and tucked into bed, I wrapped my weary arms around my little bird and came to a decision. I needed to get Bertie out of the city. She had quickly and easily become something that could be used against me. The same way Cabrera’s son could be used against him. I wouldn’t allow that. We’d spend one more day in the city. Then we were gone.

  Chapter 26

  Bertie

  After Aleksander’s night away on business, we spent one more day in the city. We held hands as we explored more of the old town before going on a tour of Gaudí architecture. I marveled at the undulating stone façades of La Padrera and Casa Batlló and the intricate iron work on the gate at Finca Güell. Everything was very dramatic, yet sensual. There were no flashing neon lights or garish decor like I was used to seeing back in Vegas. Barcelona possessed its own kind of beauty, which far surpassed the expectations I had set so long ago. My favorite coping mechanism while living on the streets was to daydream about all the places I’d visit someday. Barcelona always topped my list. I felt something flutter in my stomach at the realization of how that dream became a reality. All because of Aleksander.

  Aleksander wanted to get out of the city and explore the Spanish countryside, and I wasn’t going to disagree. Barcelona was beautiful, but if he wanted to offer the rest of Spain to me on a silver platter, I wasn’t going to say no. We drove about an hour up the coast before making a pitstop in the small city of Girona to visit the cathedral and check out the other medieval architecture. We decided to stay the night in town before getting back on the road.

  Aleksander decided the next morning that we needed to switch things up a bit. Instead of traveling through Spain, we crossed the border into France, spending a couple of days in Montpellier before moving on to Marseille. Our ultimate destination turned out to be Monaco, which was far classier than Vegas could ever be. We spent our time exploring, and even though Aleksander had traveled extensively for business, he had never done it for pleasure, and he seemed to take great pleasure in showing me everything he could provide for me. I felt like a princess. Our nights were always spent in each other’s arms, and there was nowhere else I’d rather be. Somewhere along the way, Aleksander started making love to me, not just fucking me, and I couldn’t deny what that did to my heart.

  We spoke about his father’s real estate business and how his pyramid scheme was his downfall. Erik Magnus was currently doing time in a white collar prison, and Aleksander admitted to never visiting him. Aleksander’s mother claimed to be ignorant of Erik’s shady business practices, though Aleksander had his doubts. She was currently living in Boca Raton, Florida leeching off husband number three.

  I told him about my parents and Uncle Ronnie. About how, as a kid, dumpster diving was often my only means of filling my stomach. I told him about the time I got caught lifting the wallet of a high roller who thought he’d take his revenge by taking my virginity and how I got away by sticking him with my switchblade before he could carry out his threat.

  Our mornings were spent side by side on the beach, while the afternoons were filled with shopping at the most opulent shopping centers I’d ever seen. They were built like extravagant mansions with marble, wrought iron, and crystal chandeliers everywhere. Meals were always five star and the Champagne (real Champagne, from the Champagne region) was always top shelf.

  As much as Aleksander catered to my inner child’s every fantasy, I found myself becoming a little uncomfortable with our financial disparity, suddenly. I could never bring to the table what he could. I tried to bring the topic up once, but Aleksander shut me down.

  “Sparrow, I’m going to say this once, and we will never speak of it again. I have the means to take care of you in the way you deserve, and so long as it is within my power to do so, I will cater to your every whim. You want clothes and shoes? They’re yours. You want a trip around the world? It’s yours. You are my wife, and you will never want for anything ever again.” With that, he signaled the waiter to bring me a giant slice of cheesecake and another glass of Champagne.

  The travel, the fancy hotels, the decadent meals. None of that compared to what was blossoming between Aleksander and me. The time we spent together, the care we took with each other, it rooted itself deep within my soul. But I couldn’t deny the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that warned me that once we were back home, it could all come crashing down.

  “What’s wrong, sparrow?”

  I sighed as I gazed out the window at the passing scenery. We were on our way to Nice, where Aleksander was having the jet meet us to take us home. “It’s been wonderful, Aleks. Thank you for an amazing honeymoon.”

  His eyes narrowed. “If it’s been so wonderful, why do you look so depressed?”

  I smiled slightly. “I guess I’m just not ready to let it go.” I wasn’t talking about the trip.

  “We can come back another time,” he assured me. “In fact, we can go wherever you want,” he murmured into my temple before placing a tender kiss there. “But for right now, we need to get back home.”

  I wasn’t confident that back home was what we needed.

  The flight back home was uneventful, but it seemed like once we were in the air, Aleksander reverted back to business mode. I abandoned him with his iPad in favor of the bed where I napped on and off for the majority of the flight. The penthouse was exactly how we left it, but Elaina wasn’t around. It was only seven o’clock in the evening in Vegas, but the time difference made it more like one o’clock in the morning to my body. I was wiped.

  “Go ahead and go to bed. I have to go into the office,” Aleksander said as he set the remainder of our bags down in the entryway.

  “Seriously? Right now? You have to go to the office right now?”

  He rubbed his eyes and sighed. “Bertie, just go to bed. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

  “Fine,” I said stonily, feeling the magical bubble we’d been wrapped in burst.

  Thirty minutes later, I was standing outside of Magnus Corp. utterly disgusted with myself. Had I really just followed my man like some jealous, insecure, psycho stalker only to find him exactly where he said he was going to be? God, I never thought I’d be that chick. I was about to turn around and go home when I saw him exit the building. Slumping down in the driver’s seat of the Lexus I took from the parking garage, I peered over the steering wheel until I was sure he couldn’t see me. Putting Aleksander’s borrowed car in gear, I pulled away from the curb to follow him home, but that wasn’t where he led me.

  I’d never been inside, but I knew by reputation that Bound was a sex club. And the fact that my newly minted husband was entering said sex club did not bode well for our fledgeling marriage. I also knew I wasn’t going to get in without a membership, and I wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion, since I was still wearing the clothes I’d flown home in, lounge pants and a soft, jersey tunic.

  I drove around the block and parked the car on a side street. On foot, I made my way down an alley to the back entrance of the club. The man guarding the door was relatively short, but stocky with some of the biggest biceps I had ever seen. Obviously, physical force wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I didn’t think seduction or bribery would work either. Maybe a distraction? I huffed out a breath.

  Slinking between vehicles in the parking lot, I picked up a hefty rock that was about the size of an orange. Picking a car on the far side and sending up a prayer for good aim, I let the rock fly as hard as I could. The resounding
alarm caught the guard’s attention, and as he moved away from the door, I moved in, only to pull up short when I noticed the keypad. Fuck. The guard was on his walkie, likely calling in the alarm, and just when I thought the jig was up, the door opened.

  “Oh, excuse us,” a man said politely as he and a woman exited the building. I smiled and nodded, taking advantage of my extreme luck and good timing and slipped inside the club.

  It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the lighting, which was dimmed, but accentuated by red aisle lights on the floor. I was standing at a fork in the layout of the building. Having no idea what lay to the right or left, I opted to take my chances and go straight. I passed several closed doors and idly wondered what kinds of acts were being committed behind them. The only sounds I heard were muffled voices coming from somewhere up ahead. I held my head up high and squared my shoulders. Rule number one in Uncle Ronnie’s School of Thievery was always: Act like you belong there.

  I passed a couple in the hallway and was just about to turn a corner when I heard something that stopped me dead in my tracks.

  “I’ve missed you Aleksander!”

  I couldn’t make out the muffled response.

  “Well, you’re here now, and that’s all that matters,” the woman purred. “Let’s go play.”

  I peered around the corner just in time to see Aleksander and a petite redhead kissing, her arms around his neck and his hands on her hips. With my heart in my throat and acid in my stomach, I turned on my heel and ran back the way I came. I shoved the door open violently, nearly taking out the guard who was back at his post.

  “Ma’am, you alright?” he called as I ran through the lot toward the alley that would take me back to my borrowed car. Tears blinded me as I fumbled for the key, and I never saw it coming when trouble caught up to me.

  Chapter 27

  Aleksander

  I shoved Giselle off me with more force than was probably necessary, but the feel of her lips on mine left a sour taste in my mouth.

  “What the fuck, Giselle?” Giselle was naturally submissive, so the aggressive maneuver was surprising, as was her presumptuousness. She’d never been so bold as to show me any real affection, since we only played together in the club. Never out of it. And never with any real depth of emotion.

  Her stunned expression quickly gave way to tears. “I’m s-sorry,” she said with downcast eyes. “I just missed you, and I thought- nevermind,” she blurted as she turned and bolted toward the ladies room.

  “Fuck,” I muttered, rubbing my temples to stave off the headache I could feel coming on.

  Knocking on the bathroom door, and getting no reply, I let myself in.

  “What are you doing? You can’t come in here!” Giselle screeched.

  “Giselle, calm down,” I said in my most authoritative voice, the one I knew she’d never defy. “I need to explain something to you. I won’t be coming back to Bound. At least not looking for a play partner, anyway. I got married.”

  “Married?” she gasped, looking crestfallen.

  “Yes.” I stared at her a moment, letting her know that that was all she was getting from me. This was the end of the discussion and the end of our sexual relationship. I watched her eyes widen in understanding before I turned and left the ladies room and then the club.

  My head fell back against the headrest as I sat in my car in the Bound parking lot. Jet lag was starting to catch up to me, and all I wanted was to be back home in bed with my wife. When I’d gotten the message from Maddy about needing to sign some papers in the office ASAP, I decided I’d rather do it then and have it taken care of so I wouldn’t have to return to the office again so soon after arriving home. Once I got Bertie into my bed, our bed, I wasn’t going to want to leave her. I was in my office when I’d received a text from Rafe about the flash drive. I needed to meet him at Bound so he could give it back to me with his modifications. Running into Giselle had been an unexpected complication.

  By the time I arrived home again, I could barely keep my eyes open. It was a fucking miracle I made the elevator ride upstairs without passing out. Dragging my feet into my apartment, I made a beeline for the stairs, already imagining myself wrapped around my sweet sparrow. I didn’t bother to turn any of the lights on, including the bedroom light. I stumbled my way out of my clothes and crawled into bed. My arm swept out to curl around Bertie, only to hit nothing but air. I sat up and turned my head toward the bathroom. The door was open, and the light was off. A feeling of dread sat in the pit of my stomach like lead as I quickly checked her old bedroom across the hall. Empty.

  “Bertie!” I yelled. No answer. “Roberta!” I tore through the penthouse checking each and every room, calling her name as loudly as I could. I ran back upstairs, threw some clothes on, grabbed my phone and keys and made my way back to the elevator. I called Rafe first. Then Jensen. Then Robert.

  Racing across the parking garage toward my car, I did a double take as I passed an empty spot I hadn’t taken note of before. My Lexus was missing. I pulled up the GPS location on the app, texted the location to Rafe since he was closest, and cursed myself for not arranging for Bertie to have a cell phone of her own.

  I pulled up alongside the Lexus and jumped out. “Where is she?”

  “Not here, man,” Rafe answered. “But this was on the ground by the driver’s side,” he added, handing me the key fob.

  “She was taken,” I said, though it almost came out as a question. Part of me feared that she had left me, though that wasn’t really rational. She obviously drove herself here, but then what happened? Did someone follow her, or was it a random crime of opportunity? I had too many fucking questions and not enough Goddamn answers.

  “You think this is about the flash drive?” Jensen asked, having arrived just a moment before.

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head. “Maybe.”

  “What do you want to do? Your call,” Jensen said.

  “No cops.”

  Rafe snorted.

  “Obviously,” Jensen muttered.

  Rubbing my neck, I tilted my head back, asking the heavens for some bit of inspiration. My view was disrupted by the power lines that- “Traffic cams,” I blurted, looking at Rafe. “Can you hack them?”

  “Child’s play,” he scoffed. “I’m on it.” I hoofed it back to his car, I assumed to do just that.

  “As soon as he finds anything, my men are at your disposal.” Jensen had a rather large security team in his employ.

  “Thanks, Jen.”

  “Something else you should know. May or may not be related, but I found something on the Starlight security footage from the night of the explosion.” He stopped speaking to level me with a look that told me that what he had to say next, I wasn’t going to like. Not one bit.

  “Yeah?” I prompted.

  “Harry Rogers.”

  My body strung tight. “My PI? What about him?”

  “Seems he had something to do with the placement of the bomb. Not sure why at this point.”

  “I trust you’re going to find the son of a bitch and ask him.” I seethed, knowing that Jensen’s line of questioning would likely involve a gun in Harry’s face and a bullet between his eyes if he didn’t like the answers.

  I watched him nod and then head back to his vehicle.

  I tried to control my panic and anger, but failed when my fist met the Lexus, shattering the glass in the driver’s side window. “I will find you, sparrow, I swear.” I’d burn the Goddamn earth to the ground in order to do it.

  About halfway home I suddenly remembered the burner phone. My lead foot got me home in a fraction of the time. Running into my office, I got the phone from my desk drawer and turned it on. Nothing. No messages. “Fuck!” I barely restrained myself from crushing the phone in my hand or hurtling it across the room. I tried calling the last number that called, the only number in the phone. No answer. I could do nothing but wait.

  I woke to the sound of a phone ringing. I grabbed the burner in despe
ration, but that’s not where the sound was coming from. “Yeah?” I said into my cell.

  “I’ve got something. Black panel van. I didn’t see your woman, but the timing and placement of that kind of van in that neighborhood strikes me as suspicious. I’m sending the plates and footage to Jensen to distribute to his men,” Rafe informed me.

  “Send ‘em to me, too,” I insisted, already pressing the button for the elevator.

  Two hours later, we were at a dead end. We’d followed the traffic cam footage as best as we could into an industrial part of town before we lost the van.

  “Son of a bitch!” I pounded a fist on the hood of an SUV. I heard Jensen order his man Jason to take a team into one of the buildings to have a look around. “This could take too long. There are too many buildings to search and not enough men,” I growled, aching to throw another punch.

  “We’ll find her, I promise you.” I knew Jensen would do anything to help me find Bertie, and I also knew Charlotte would have his balls if he didn’t.

  “Yeah,” I said, because it was the only thing I could.

  The phone ringing in my pocket had me stiffening. Pulling out the burner, I answered, “Magnus.”

  “Ahh, Mr. Magnus,” a voice said. “I wasn’t sure you’d be awake at this hour.”

  “Who is this?” I demanded.

  “Wouldn’t you rather know how your darling wife is doing?” the voice snickered.

  “I assume, since you know who I am, that you also know who my friends are. In which case, I also assume that my wife is perfectly fine because if she wasn’t that would mean my friends and I would have to flay you alive.”

  “That’s a mighty big wager for a man who doesn’t hold any of the cards.”

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong. You’re dead either way.”