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I had to do it.
I’ve let her think I’ll let her go, but I won’t.
That was never part of the plan.
I’ll pay her, like I said I would.
I’ll give her anything she needs. Anything she wants.
“Where do we meet him?”
“Who said it was a him?”
A silent eyebrow raise is her only response.
“There’s a place to park right near the entrance to The Underground. Small restaurant on the corner. A woman from the establishment will meet us outside. You’ll greet her and take the package. We’ll walk together to The Underground.”
“What does she look like?”
“Thayer said she’d be wearing red and black.”
“Is that all?”
I sniff. “He said she was sexy.”
“Does he say that about everyone?” I wonder if I imagine her jealousy. Does she not want me around other attractive women?
Could she be jealous?
If she were planning on leaving when her job was done, she’d have no need to be jealous…
“No. He’s… discriminating. Some might even say impossible to please. He has… discerning tastes.”
I definitely don’t imagine that look as she purses her lips and rolls her eyes. “Does he, then?”
First she’s jealous, now she’s offended. I can’t get her to The Underground fast enough.
I keep my tone sharp. “In minutes, we’ll be entering The Underground. While we’re there, you’re my slave. You’ll obey or be punished. You’re there to serve. You do not question me, talk back, or disobey me with even a thought, never mind an action. Do you understand me? This is important, Nicolette, because this isn’t just a group of men and women. There are monsters in there. People that would hurt you. Men with the ability to end your life and dispose of you without leaving a single trace behind.”
I watch as she swallows and finally nods. “I do. Of course. Yes, I understand.”
I reach for her. I cup her jaw in the palm of my hand. The look in her beautiful eyes softens my tone before I even realize it.
“Nicolette.”
I love you.
I can’t risk her running away. I can’t risk her being scared. She needs to know now, before anything else happens, that she can trust me.
“Yes?”
“Do you trust me?”
She leans closer to me, stunning in her disguise. Her eyes, though. Those are the eyes of the woman I love.
“Of course I do.”
I lean in to kiss her when my phone buzzes.
“We have to go,” she whispers.
I glance out the window as a woman walks with purpose to our car, dressed from head to toe in black and red.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Nicolette
It seemed for a short time there that everything slowed down. When he cupped my jaw. Asked me if I trusted him. Leaned in as if to kiss me.
But we’re on now. And I have a job to do.
He said she was sexy.
Does he think I’m sexy? Does he also have… how did he put it… discriminating tastes?
As we walk side by side, I realize that there’s more than one couple here that could be going to the same place we are.
One woman wears a subtle leather kitten collar, a slim chain hidden in the palm of her partner’s hand. Another couple, their arms entwined with one another, wear shiny black leather latex that molds to their beautiful, muscled bodies.
Which of them, if any, are part of the Lyon family?
“Right there ahead of us,” Fabien says in a low whisper only I can hear.
The tall, leggy blonde wears black and red as he said, if you can call what she’s wearing clothes. The top is no more than a thin, lacy bra, paired with a form-fitting black leather skirt that’s so short I could see the curve of her ass, if she didn’t have hair so long it covers her. Her shoes are easily two inches higher than mine, and she’s got a flaming red fire tattoo on her upper right thigh.
Could’ve told us what to look for, I reason.
Could’ve maybe sent someone unattractive.
Am I jealous? Why would I be jealous of a woman I don’t know? Why do I care what Fabien thinks? She isn’t his girlfriend or anyone even remotely important to him.
She’s just someone paid to do a job.
My heart sinks when I think… just like me.
I have to protect my heart. I can’t fall for him.
I already have.
I stifle the sudden need to cry because I’m not worth anything to him. I’m a means to an end and nothing more.
I should be with someone who will protect me.
The sudden rush of a thought hammers at my resolve.
He will.
Savannah needs me.
Savannah.
I’ll have to check in on her the second we’ve accomplished this mission.
Do it for Savannah.
Our footsteps echo on the pavement as we approach. Trained well for fulfilling this job, she barely even raises an eyebrow. A large leather bag’s slung over her shoulder.
When she sees me, she doesn’t move except to shift her eyes to Fabien beside me.
