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“What do you want? Humor me, I’m curious.” She says with a smile, and I sit on the edge of the bed and throw her a blinding smile that causes her eyes to widen and her jaw to drop.
“I want peace, Ruby. Inner peace and to put an end to the madness I live with. I can’t remember when it didn’t ride shotgun on my shoulder and I’m searching for a way to ditch it forever. I have a feeling being here may just be the ticket I need to achieve that, so as you can see, I am here purely for money and selfish reasons. Mr. Ortega may be lost, but so am I and I’m not looking for a heap of baggage to carry along with me.”
She nods as if she understands, but I doubt it. I’m not even sure I do, and her response is a broad smile and a soft, “I will leave you to settle in. You must be tired. This room is your sanctuary all the time you are here, um, Chastity, and if you need anything, my number is zero on the dial on the phone by your bed.”
“Room service?”
I arch my brow and she chuckles softly. “Definitely not. Mr. Ortega has given precise instructions that you are to dine with him in the formal dining room at two pm. Word of advice, don’t be late, because he is an impatient man who relishes any opportunity to deal out his own form of justice.”
“Then I wish him luck with that.”
I study my fingernails and yawn loudly, causing Ruby to back out of the room with a brief nod.
“Enjoy your rest and call me if you need anything.”
As the door clicks behind her, I spring from the bed and begin a more thorough search of my prison. It takes me twenty minutes before I have memorized every exit, every possible weapon, and an escape route should I need it. I have noted the position of the security cameras outside my window and measured the drop to the ground from the ledge to the soft lawn outside. Noted the positions of the patrolling guards and formed an attack plan in my mind. Yes, I may be here to do a job, but it could change at any moment and for a person who expects the unexpected, I am almost hopeful of something that will sharpen my skills even further.
CHAPTER4
LEO
After a session in the gym, I showered and caught two hours of sleep. Just enough to take the edge off my fatigue, but not long enough to fool my body into indifference.
I’ve always been the same. I rest when there is nothing to occupy my mind, which is all the time lately, ever since I learned of my father’s will and the named beneficiary of it.
Along with my brothers, we have come up with a plan to take back our empire from the people who stormed in and took it from us. My hated stepmother Diana and her fake brother Mario.
She seduced me along with my two brothers and then my father banished us, installing Mario by his side instead. When he died, we all thought his will would name Mario and Diana as the heirs to the Ortega Mafia but when I liberated it from the sleazy lawyer Ernest Bagway, nobody was more shocked than me when it revealed his successor is none other than Don Carlos Matasso. One of the most despicable men I have ever met, and soon set to merge the Ortega Mafia with his own.
Chastity will put a stop to that, and her first mission is to forge a new will so it would pass the most stringent authentication test, which is why I need her to begin today, right after lunch.
As I pull on my jeans and a tight black t-shirt, I wonder how she’ll react when she sees the casual version of me. I’m guessing she expects me to wear my trademark black suit morning noon and night, but I never stand on occasion in my own home. None of us do, which sets me apart from the rest of my peers who delight in surrounding themselves with menace even while resting at home.
I treat my employees well and they are loyal in return and that will never change all the time they do what I say. Will I extend the same courtesy to my guest? Of course, if she dances to my tune, that is.
As I head to the dining room, Ryan falls into step beside me and says in a whisper, “What’s the plan?”
“To forge the will, replace the old one and then head home.”
He raises his eyes as I smirk.
“I doubt my stepmother is expecting me, but now Mario is pushing up daisies, I would be a fool not to take back what is rightfully mine.”
“Mrs. Ortega?” Ryan says foolishly and I tense at the mention of that double crossing bitch.
“No, Ryan.” I say with controlled rage, causing him to still beside me.
“Not her. It willneverbe her. I intend on claiming my family business and if she gets in the way of that, she won’t like the consequences.”
I brush past him, irritated by his lack of foresight, and as I sweep into the dining room, I am even more irritated to find it empty.
I glance at my watch and note the time is one minute past two and growl, “She’s late.”
Ruby is standing by the table, hovering nervously over the domed dishes, and she glances at me with concern in her eyes.
“Would you like me to fetch her, sir?”
I note the time and say angrily, “I will give her three more minutes and then I’ll fetch her myself.”
