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Adelina turned toward her sister.
“I know that he runs his own businesses. He invests in businesses and backs them financially. He seems very sophisticated and sure of himself. He always compliments me and pays complete attention to me whenever we’re together. It really means a lot for a man to look into my eyes as I’m speaking and to know that he cares, that he’s listening, and that I have his full attention.”
“Sounds nice. Chester never even listened to my wants and desires. He used me, and I fell for his charms. Just be careful.”
“Hence why I haven’t slept with him yet. That will take some time and some trust. I just don’t think we’re at that point yet.”
“But he’s a man, he’s older, and if he’s as sophisticated as you say he is, then he’s going to want all of you. He’ll want a woman who can please him in bed, as well as look good on his arm.”
“Well, trust is earned. I’d better get going. I need to drop this off and then meet Raymond. It was like pulling teeth to get him to agree to me meeting him at the restaurant. He wanted to know where I was going.”
“So what did you tell him?”
“That I had an important errand to run and that I needed my privacy.”
“How did he react?”
“He said we’ll talk more when we meet.”
“Oh, sounds like he may want to punish you for your naughty behavior.”
“Hey, none of that talk. Bryer might hear you.”
“He’s napping. Besides, we both know about what types of books you like to read, and how you wish Jett and Flynn would share you.”
Adelina felt her cheeks warm and her belly tighten. It was a mix of wants and desires, mixed in with guilt.
“What’s that look for?”
Adelina grabbed her purse and the envelope of money. “Guilt. For some strange reason, whenever I go out with Raymond, I feel guilty, like I’m cheating on them. That’s so stupid, isn’t it?”
Kaitlin walked closer and had a sympathetic expression on her face. “Not stupid, honest. If you were being at all honest with yourself, you’d see that you’re dating Raymond to get your mind off of Jett and Flynn, and possibly make them jealous. You did say that they look upset when Raymond comes into The Phantom to see you.”
“They have rules about personal lives separated from work lives. All the employees have to abide by those rules.”
“Rules that neither man has to follow. Unbelievable. It must be nice to be billionaires and not give a shit about anyone?”
“Now don’t get like that. They’re good men. I’ve seen them help lots of people in need. They’re very generous with their money for those who need help.”
“Well then, we should have asked them for a loan instead of Margliado. Then at least you could have had sex with them as partial payment.”
Adelina shook her head at Kaitlin.
“You’re sick. Do you know that?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I just want the debt and the worry off our backs. I want happiness for you, and I still think that Jett and Flynn can give you it.”
“It sure doesn’t seem that way.”
They walked out of the bedroom. Adelina kissed Bryer good-bye as he slept, and then she smiled at Kaitlin. “I’ll see you later.”
* * * *
Al Walters, head of main security for Cash Corbin and Zane Heston, sat inside the van outside the little Irish bar. They were just starting off for a night of surveillance. Earlier in the week, they discovered that Sergio worked for this guy who was after Jett and Flynn Greyson’s place, as well as their uncles. Al’s snitches informed him that Sergio worked out of a back room at this bar, O’Connor’s.
As he and his partner, Jinx, watched the place, they saw the commuter bus stop and one person get off. Whoever she was, she had a nice set of legs on her.
“Damn, if the view was this good in the beginning of the week, I wouldn’t have been complaining so much about working tonight,” Jinx stated, obviously locking onto the same thing he did.
As the gentle breeze blew her long brown hair, she pushed it from her face and turned to look around.
“Oh, fuck.”
“What? You know her?”
Al swallowed hard. This was bad, really fucking bad. “This isn’t good.”
Jinx gave him a smack to his chest. “Spill, man. Who the hell is the sexy brunette?”
“I don’t like what I’m thinking right now, Jinx. That’s the manager for The Phantom.”
Jinx sat forward, looked at Al and then back at the woman as she entered the bar.
“A woman, huh? Their own fucking manager is fucking them over? Holy shit. What are you going to do?”
“Time this, will ya?” Al stated as Jinx immediately hit the time watch on the dashboard.
“Let’s see how long she’s in there for, and whether she comes out in one piece.”
“You gonna call the bosses?”
“Hell, no. Not until I have concrete evidence that she’s involved with these guys. Maybe she’s meeting a friend there? I don’t know. Adelina is a really nice woman. She’s sophisticated, sexy, and—”
“You fuck her or something?” Jinx asked, and Al gave him a dirty look.
“She’s not like that, and I don’t have a death wish.”
“A death wish?” Jinx looked away and then back at Al. “What do you mean?”
“She belongs to Jett and Flynn. She just doesn’t know it yet.”
“Well, they’re going to be pretty pissed if she’s been using them to give information to this Sergio and Margliado guy.”
“I know. I hope for her sake, she’s not involved. I’ll call Cash and Zane later.”
* * * *
Adelina hated this damn place. She hated the men that stared at her as if she would spread her legs for all of them. She hated the stale smell of alcohol, the sticky sensation on the old hardwood floors as she walked across them, and the look on Sergio’s face as he eyed her over. She wore a sweater jacket to cover her dress, but it wasn’t doing much to stop attention from being drawn to her. The only other women in the place looked like used goods, currently working over some of the losers.
“You look incredible! Hot date? Or did you dress for me?” Sergio asked as she entered the office.
“I have the money. There’s eight there. I’ll have the last two this week, then we’ll be done.”
He took the envelope and skimmed through the money.
“I don’t think there’s enough here.”
“What?” she asked, hearing her anger in her voice. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. What game was Sergio playing?
“I gave you just about everything to pay off our debt. I owe two thousand more, that’s it.”
He shook his head and made a sound with his lips as if patronizing her.
“You see, honey, there’s a thing called interest.”
“Interest?” She swallowed hard. She could feel her heart racing, and she thought she heard the door to the office opening but her ears were pounding and she thought she was going to be sick. He was screwing her over.
“I don’t understand. I paid almost everything. I’ll have the last two—”
“No, Adelina.”
She heard the voice and swung around, recognizing it immediately.
She nearly fell against the desk as Raymond came into view.
“Raymond? What are you doing here? Oh, God, did they make you come here? Did they tell you that I owed them money?”
Raymond moved closer and then reached out for her hand.
“Sergio, please gives us some time alone. There are things that Adelina and I must discuss,” he stated very firmly. His eyes never left hers. Sergio walked out of the room, a smirk on his face.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
He stepped forward and she instinctively stepped back. Her rear hit the desk and she jerked, and gripped the wood.
“My beautiful Adelina. You have come to mean so much to me in such a short period of time.” He reached up and placed his palm against her cheek. She flinched at his touch, suddenly fully aware of that instinctual pull in her gut. Raymond wasn’t whom he said he was.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m going to explain exactly what I want from you, and what we will be from here on out.”
“I don’t understand.”
His eyed seemed to darken and his eyebrows furrowed. “Listen, do as I say, and it will all work out.”
He caressed his thumb over her lower lip.
“Raymond?”
“Shh, Adelina, I am going to tell you a story. You see, I wasn’t always such a successful businessman. Although I know I was meant to live this life, there were some bumps along the road. Four, actually. You see I was working for a major drug cartel in Columbia when some federal agents found out about my warehouse and distribution center. I thought I had managed to eliminate all the threats, but you see, the man who was in charge, my superior, for lack of a better word to describe the dumb fuck, wasn’t too smart. There was a raid by the feds and everyone went down. Most died in the process, and what we thought was a major operation with multitudes of undercover agents if not hundreds, was actually the work of four agents and their soldiers.” He caressed her hair with his hand and tugged on the one curl by her cheek. His knuckles grazed her skin.
