My arms crossed as I frowned down at Jim lying back as cool, as cool could be. “So, back to my original question.”
Jim rubbed his bruised forehead. “You need to be loaded with cash, be a valued client, and receive an invitation to enter.”
“Use your contacts and find out who’s going.”
“Well that’s gonna—”
“Not cost anything since I could have left your ass behind with the Russians.”
“I’ll get right on it in the morning,” he said, and looked toward Emily. “I hope Reika is paying you, at least.”
“We’re working on that,” Emily said drily, then yawned. “We done?”
“Yeah, let’s slip out before Jim has a stroke.”
We left him alone and headed for the front door, ensuring that the door to Jim’s room had been shut.
“Gonna be a long drive back,” Emily’s tired voice said.
I checked behind and to the side of me, double-checking nobody was around or listening. “Not for you.”
A quick flick of my wrists created a doorway back to our living room, thanks to my return-home talent. Emily smiled. “Or not,” she said, and stepped through the portal. “What about you?”
“I gotta take the car back, besides, I wanna double check and make sure nobody is snooping around outside.”
It was the least I could do. If the mob was lurking around having followed us, then Jim would be fucked. I’d already made one major mistake tonight, I’d rather not have a repeat. Besides, the last time I left Jim alone during a situation like this, it nearly got him and Emily killed and one of his safe houses burned down.
All because of me. I got to stop fucking things up.
The portal faded away, with pretty sparkling lights ‘n’ shit. I went to make my rounds, making sure Jimmy was going to be nice and safe for the night. Didn’t find anything out of the norm in the suite, hallways of the apartment, or outside in the parking area, just the quiet nighttime early June weather, well, as quiet as things got in this city. It was time to go. There was one problem as I approached my car, I couldn’t get in. I had left my keys inside.
I made my way back inside the safe house, eyeing my key chain I left on the coffee table. A loud thump came from Jim’s room, well shit. I charged into his room, shifting my panic-stricken face about, expecting the worst, and beating myself up for doing what I thought was a piss-poor job at ensuring the place was safe.
Boy, was I wrong.
Jim was alone. He had fallen out of bed, his flailing arms trying desperately to bring himself back up. “Yeah don’t mind me, leg gave out,” Jim said
I grimaced and guided him back up. I was once again in physical contact with his bare chest. “I’m still here, you could have asked for help.”
“Thought you left.”
“I just wanted to make sure this place wasn’t going to get torched like your last safe house.”
Jim managed to sit himself back on the foot of his bed. I sat with him and shamelessly gawked at his bandaged chest. “It’s been seven months,” Jim said. “I think we’re beyond that.”
“Bullshit, you’re still paranoid about that, I can see it in your eyes,” I snorted.
Jim gave me one of those sly and suave grins. “Why are you looking into my eyes?”
A smile came on my face as I looked away from him. I couldn’t help it all.
“That’s your cue.” And that’s when my smile vanished. Lexi’s visage appearing behind me and whispering into my ear could be thanked for that. “Stop torturing yourself. You’re here, he’s here, and Emily is gone. This is it.”
I felt Lexi’s hands massage my shoulders, the warmth of her breath splash across the back of my neck. The fucked-up thing was she wasn’t really here. Jim sitting next to me, oblivious to her presence, was a dead giveaway. If I had been on drugs or something, I wouldn’t have been as worried since there would have been an explanation to me hearing, seeing, and feeling Lexi. But I didn’t do that shit, sold it in the past, but that was it.
Lexi held onto the side of my head, forcing me to stare back at Jim, filling my head with confidence, bliss, and lust. I couldn’t take it anymore, and my lips locked with Jim’s as I threw my body onto his. I couldn’t explain why I did it. I just had a sudden and strange desire to do so. It felt as if the two of us had been a couple for years, like we’ve kissed and fucked a hundred times in the past, and that this wasn’t weird at all.
Jim and I continued our lengthy make-out session. My hands cupped his head, my face enjoying the feel of his goatee pressing against it. Jim didn’t break away, it only added to the fact he too enjoyed it as he held onto my waist. I upped the ante and ran my fingers across his six pack abs, after I pushed him onto the bed.
“Yes, that’s right,” Lexi whispered into my head. “You want to fuck him, don’t you? Let yourself go, do what makes you feel right.”
I quickly unbuckled his belt in the most aggressive and unladylike manner ever, giving my hands access to the inside of his boxers. He was bigger than I thought.
“Easy there,” Jim said. “I’m still sore—”
“Shut up.” I flung his pants across the room. My top joined it a second later, then my bra.
“He wants this,” Lexi said, resting her head on my shoulder. “So, don’t be shy.”
My face was back down to his, looking to see how far I could push my tongue into his mouth. His junk was all but free at that point. My left hand kept it entertained as Lexi laughed in a demonic manner.
“What happened to your nose?” Then came the buzz kill.
I rose away from his body, noting his eyes had been locked onto my nose and the crusted blood from the bout I was in earlier. It was my blood that had contaminated Vladimir’s soul, turning him into a demon, and my love will do the same. Ryan found out the hard way.
Jim was seconds away from becoming a possession candidate. Sex wasn’t possible with him, not without trading his life so a demon could take control of him and lead to more problems.
I went to get dressed as quickly as I got undressed.
“Sorry, I killed the mood, eh?” Jim said, rising back up.
“I probably should be going . . . Emily is.”
“Ah right, yeah.”
I didn’t have anything else to say to him. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at his face as I stormed out, this time remembering my keys. I ended up sitting in my car for five minutes with the engine running and my face staring up at the ceiling, going through all the guilty feelings, and awakening a strong desire for some booze once I got back home. After a dejected exhale, I tilted my face forward and nearly leaped out of my seat.
I saw Lexi sitting in the back seat via the rearview mirror. “Coward.”
“What the fuck do you want with me?” I growled.
“I wanted us to be happy.”
“Us?”
“Of course, us, we’re in this together, right?”
Chapter Twenty-One
My phone rang endlessly, forcing me to wake and to kick out the three bottles of booze I shared my bed with when I got back home. My senses were fucked thanks to an aching head, dry mouth, upset stomach, and legs and arms that forgot how to function. I had to follow the sound of the ringtone before I was able to find my phone on the nightstand. I was crawling on the floor during that phase of course.
With my body on the ground, and my face looking at the floor, I answered. “What . . .”
“Hey, so, about last night.” It was Jim, of course he’d be the first to call me in the morning.
“It didn’t happen.”
“You didn’t ask me to find out about the guest list?”
“Oh, right.”
“Yeah . . . so . . . wanna hear it?”
“Shoot.”
“Most of the people attending, as I said, are loaded as fuck and are staying outside the city but visiting it for the day for the event which starts this evening. With that said, you’re going to have a tough time trac
king them down in time and asking them for their invitation.”
“Asking for an invitation?”
“Politely, of course, but that’s not how you handle things.”
“To put it lightly.”
“So, there is one person on the guest list that’s staying here in New York and has been for the last few days.”
“And who might that be?”
“Ever watched movies by Han Jae-geun?”
“Jae-geun? Ah shit,” I moaned loudly, enough for Emily in the living room to overhear.
“What’s this about Jae-geun?” Emily shouted back in an excited manner.
Jim continued our phone conversation as I slowly got back to my feet. “Ah, so you know of him?”
“Emily won’t shut the fuck up about him whenever she hears his name.”
“Well, he’s in town filming his latest project.”
“Yeah, I know, thanks to Emily. So, he’s gonna get us in?”
“He’s your best bet, unless you plan on stalking every single expensive as fuck car that enters the city off the interstate, in hopes of finding the others.”
“All right, so we politely ask him to let us in with him.”
“To which he’ll tell you no. Then you’ll tell him to get fucked, and torch his body, because that’s what you enjoy doing to your victims. Then you’re gonna call me up to get rid of it, and, yeah . . . I’ll have to turn you down.” Jim knew me all too well.
“Is that so?” I said with a snicker.
“You can’t afford my fees for making a famous person disappear, that, and if I fuck it up, my reputation will tank. Gangsters, mobsters, lowlifes, few people will come looking for them once they don’t show up for dinner. A celebrity? The whole world will go nuts, and I’ll be at risk. So, Reika, whatever happens, don’t kill him.”
“He’s about to spend huge amounts of money on trafficked girls.”
“And it’s not the first time he’s done it.”
Facts like that, Jim shouldn’t have told me. It only increased my desire to rip him apart . . . Or at least cut his dick off, it will be one less client these unwilling girls will have to endure. “Thanks for the tip, Jim.”
“Yeah, no sweat.”
I ended the call and waddled into the living room. Emily stood watching me, all dreamy eyed about the talk I had with Jim. “I heard Jae-geun’s name dropped,” she said.
“Are they still looking for extras on that set?” I asked, while I formulated my plan of attack.
Emily nodded as she went for our laptop. “I think they are, let me double check.”
I checked the clock on my phone. This little get together the Russians were planning was only a few hours away. We didn’t have long. “Check quickly, we’re leaving in five.”
A pair of shades helped shield my eyes from the sunlight and mask the bags that formed under them. I was in dire need of sleep. I arrived at the set of some martial arts movie Jae-geun was in the process of filming. I showed up with the intent to apply for a position to be an extra on the set. My endless supply of wigs and casual outfits made me look like an actress in dire need for a part in a film to build a portfolio.
A quick interview came afterward where I chatted up the producers, shooting fake pretty smiles, twirling my fake hair. They had no idea who I really was. When the time was right, I snuck away, meandering over to the trailers and dressing rooms with my backpack slung over my shoulders.
I found the trailer Jae-geun was expected to use and let myself in. It was empty with the exception of the costumes and props Jae-geun was going to use for the movie shoot. I placed my bag on the floor and allowed the cat inside to leap out and reshape into Emily’s bare form.
“Still not budging from fifty percent,” she said as I handed her clothes from my bag.
“You got the easy part.”
“Tricking my favorite actor?”
“At least you’ll get to meet him in person,” I said, nearing the closet. “And honestly? Sounds like he’s a fucking perv, you might want to reconsider being his fan.”
Emily was dressed as one of those sexy school girls you’d see at costume parties complete with white leggings and heels. There wasn’t much we could do about her ears and tail, though from the point of view of anyone that didn’t know any better, they looked as if it was part of the costume. Here’s hoping Jae-geun bought it.
I hid in the closet, and Emily stood out in the open, waiting for him to enter. The words, ‘don’t kill him’ echoed in my head at least forty times when he arrived, laying his eagle eyes on Emily’s figure.
“Who are you?” Jae-geun asked as he shut the door, smiling.
Emily handed him the Russian Dolls card and circled around him acting all flirty. “I’m an appetizer for tonight.” Goddamn, that sexy voice. Emily, I never knew you had it in you.
Jae-geun gave the card a quick look. He tossed it aside, freeing his hands to touch, stroke, and grope her in the most inappropriate way, despite the sudden jerks of her body and her body language clearly uncomfortable about what was transpiring. The urge to kill was rising.
Jae-geun locked the door and loosened his belt. “I wasn’t aware of this.”
“Neither was I until this morning,” said Emily.
“Well, let’s get this over with quickly. I’m a busy man.”
Jae-geun shoved Emily onto the dressing table, his pants hit the floor, and if I didn’t act quickly, Emily’s costume would too. I sprung to action, blindsiding him with my fists, then my feet repeatedly when he crashed into the floor. I went to throw the last punch, one that was engulfed in flames.
“Reika!” Emily shouted, forcing me to hit pause on my assault.
My body had become doused with flames, flames that were glowing, causing Jae-geun’s attire to darken and release smoke. Thankfully, he was out cold at that point, and didn’t see who his attacker was, or the fact that she had magical talents.
I stripped him naked and bound his arms and legs together with duct tape. “Don’t tell me we came here to do some reverse molestation action,” Emily snickered.
I stood, shedding my own attire. “I thought you were an expert thief.”
“I am.”
“Can’t you see the slick identity-theft act I’m about to perform?” I found Jae-geun’s phone in his pants pocket, the same pants I went to slip into. “Check his recent messages; I wanna make sure he’s still expected to show up.”
I stood, looking in his dressing room mirror now dressed in the nice suit he had been wearing previously. I swapped wigs with one that matched his long, black pony-tailed hair, then wiped my face clean of all makeup, replacing it with makeup to make me look more . . . masculine. Having access to a movie set dressing room was a big help.
Forty-five minutes later, I looked like the Korean martial arts actor that lay bloody and beaten at my feet. “What do you think?” I asked Emily.
“I like your idea of identity theft. My ways are rubbing off on you.”
I double-checked my appearance in the mirror. The manly fake eyebrows and fake five o’clock shadow was on point. Throw in the shades for good measure and the Russians won’t know the difference. Unless they saw my Yakuza tattoos, but those were covered by the clothing I had on.
I grabbed his keys and went for the door. “Drag him into the closet.”
“Oh, Reika,” Emily said with concern. “You’re going to have to do something about that female voice of yours.”
“What if I talk like this?” I said, deepening the tone of my voice.
It was cringeworthy. Emily’s frowning face said it all. “No, just no.”
I’ll have to be silent once I enter and pass it off that English isn’t my second language. It wasn’t far from the truth, Jae-geun was known for his martial arts skills, not his acting. And once the video I took of him manhandling Emily goes to TMZ, he’ll be known also as a pervert that puts his hands on girls who don’t want to be touched. His career was toast as of today.
“
Let’s go crash a party,” I said to Emily, kicking my backpack over to her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The afternoon traffic was fucking brutal. The never-ending sea of cars on the streets was like a gauntlet I needed to pass in order to reach what I hoped was going to be the last leg in this case. I looked at the clock as I pulled into the parking lot near the abandoned warehouse, I was cutting it close. Not just because the gathering had started, but because my outfit had an expiry date. It would only be a matter of time before the director and producers went looking for Jae-geun. It wouldn’t take the Russians long to realize they’re dealing with an imposter once news hits that Jae-geun was being hospitalized for his injuries.
The side door to the joint gave me access to what was going on inside. A group of mobsters stood waving in all the high-profile business men, celebrities, and other gangsters looking to buy what the Russians had to offer. It made me sick to think these assholes saw kidnapped women as something to be bought and sold.
I kept a close eye on everyone I saw, building a hit list for the future as I stood in line and waited for my turn to enter deeper inside. Fuck these guys, seriously. My turn was next as a guard waved for me to approach. I strode over, acting like I’ve done this dozens of times in the past, just like Jae-geun would who they all saw me as.
I handed them Jae-geun’s ID and invitation, which they cross-checked with their laptops. The thumbs-up gave me permission to enter. I smiled and nodded and made my way in.
“Oh, wait,” a guard called out to me from behind. “Come back, please.”
Shit, I’m doomed.
Looking back, I saw the guard point at me, waving me to come back. I guess news about Jae-geun came out sooner rather than later. I started to weigh my options as I returned, wondering if an all-out fight was worth it, one where Belyana would probably be taken away into a getaway car, prolonging my search.
“Can’t have that bag on you,” said the guard as he removed my backpack. “You’ll have it back when you leave.”
Wrath of the Demon Girl Page 13
