“In months!” she interjects. “You need to visit.”
Actually, I left September 28, 2015, or 551 days, or eighteen months ago, but who’s counting?
“It’s hard with Iris being gone.”
“You still haven’t heard from her?”
Stretching in my plush leather chair, I spin towards the windows and say, “No, she doesn’t want to talk to me.”
“What about Deacon?”
“She emails Cruz, now and then.”
There have been three emails, but by the time they arrive in my inbox, their origin is so obscured not even Georgia can crack it.
“Oh, Salvatore…”
I peer out the window, and the cherry blossoms bloom with a promise and hope. “I find it increasingly difficult to think about anything other than Iris. And Juliet is a reminder of what I lost.”
“Then meet me halfway in Tennessee!”
“I can do that,” I eagerly reply, laughing and knowing I cannot go to Texas without Iris. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I put my foot upon the window sill as I hear my email go off. Undoubtedly, another case from Georgia that she wants me to take a look at. Nico and Serene Cristos bought Sibyl, but The Unholy never admit that to anyone. The “owner” is a random entity – “Phantom Storm,” shrouded in government security, known only by Kary Vega.
But do we know who owns it?
Oh, hell no—we don’t have a clue.
The Unholy are in the process of cinching a sweet deal with the Brethren, our first significant expansion. I never thought I’d be in a proverbial bed with a cannibal, but I’ll take it.
Cristos handed the oversight of Texas over to The Unholy long ago. We have first dibs or can assign who gets what cargo. With Delirium disintegrating, Cinco wrongly believes they have a right to take their spot. Lotus is next as we prepare to go to war with Cinco over Houston.
In essence, my father.
Cinco wants to increase its reputation as more than just a dirty biker gang. They want to play with The Suits—the old mafia outfits—and this never ends well, which is part of the reason my relationship with Deacon Cruz is so rare. My father wants to stick his dick in Texas just because his Raniero boy owns half of RE. He thinks I will let this slide.
No fucking way—The Unholy has control of Texas.
I will sell my shares of RE faster than I can make a bitch cum if he attempts to assist Cinco.
I’m still feeding Kary Vega intel on my family business, and I suppose that makes me a very diseased rat with the snake in my mouth. Cesario is infected, and sooner or later, he will turn to dust.
As for Dr. Mierne Risen, she is under strict surveillance at a remote, undisclosed location. Mistress Ainsley is keeping her in line per my salacious request. I get hard just thinking about the two Brit girls battling it out in a dungeon.
“Pot call Kettle black black,” Iris giggled as we walked through the gardens at The Dollhouse.
With a grin spreading across my cheeks, I snickered, “End of the rainbow?”
“Something like that,” she teases, running through the flowerbed and diving into the pool. “Always water.”
I splash into the pool, coming up beside her, and grabbing her waist. “Always water, huh?”
“My grandfather would say I loved the mizu.”
“Always mizu?”
Biting her lip, she replied, “Yes.”
Taking her in my arms, I reply, “My butterfly on the water.”
“Lotus.” She winked and kissed me. “Phoenix in flames.”
The pounding in my chest pulses through my body shocking every nerve ending to point my arrow in her direction. I’m programmed to stalk Iris Amarie Nakamura Kettles until my death, and I will never diverge from the trajectory.
“Hey,” Deacon busts in, interrupting my fantasy. “Put your cock away.”
“It’s not out…” I say, peering at my visible protrusion.
“What do you got?”
“Because Dom is in talks with Lotus, and I’m quite charming when I want to be,” he flirts, sitting on the edge of my desk. His jeans fit entirely too well these days. “I’ve been doing some research on the down-low. The one thing Keishi Nakamura wants more than anything else is to hand his business over to his granddaughter.”
“Did Nakamura buy his granddaughter from Stanis?”
With a wide deceptive grin, Deacon winks. “Maybe. There is only one way to find out.”
“Where is Keishi?” I ask, popping my knuckles. “We know he isn’t in San Francisco.”
“Nope, he isn’t,” he points out, gloating. “He’s in Japan.”
With a shocked expression, I say, “Really? How do you know that?”
“Because I talked to one of his executive assistants who informed me that The Chairman and his granddaughter were out doing some sightseeing.”
I imagine her in amongst the flowers and willows with her family. The Unholy will bow before Keishi Nakamura, and I become the warrior—his samurai—to regain control of Lotus. My only price will be his granddaughter.
Picking up the phone, I hastily say, “Get me a goddamned plane to Tokyo, Georgia!”
“Why are you going to Japan?”
“I’m finding my fucking girl.”
several weeks later
I love watching women sleep.
If it sounds pervy – kinda creepy – that’s because it is.
Emily is on her side with her hand curled under her chin as I stand in the doorway staring. I love it when they move and toss the sheet and randomly crawl against me in the middle of the night. I’ll never forget the sleepy sex with Jaid or how much I wish she had been Iris.
It’s risky to bring my past into the present, and Emily deserves better. I hate that I can’t be whole for her, but I’m trying. It’s hard to forget about the past when I know Iris is out there somewhere, possibly even with someone, and I can’t have her. I have to keep looking, and that doesn’t nurture the relationship with Emily at all. She gets cheated, not by me, but by circumstance. Although Emily says she doesn’t mind waiting, I do. We have these tender moments, but I wish she were Iris.
But no matter who I’m with, she’ll never be her.
Never be her.
Never be her.
And I don’t know how to stop that. I don’t know how to make that go away. I don’t understand why when I’m balls deep in Emily, and she’s writhing underneath me about how good it feels and how much she loves me, Iris always has to be there. She is the invisible third party that I can’t shake.
Every fucking time I come, I think of Iris.
If Kaci was the ghost in our relationship, then Iris is the ghost for the rest of my fucking life. And maybe therein is the lesson. If I needed a trigger to make me forget about Kaci, Iris leaving damn sure did that because she is all I ever think about.
I wonder who she is with and what she is doing. Maybe I don’t want to know. Hell, I probably don’t want to know. But I can’t stop replaying Iris, and when we get to the end where I’m driving off across the fields of Juliet, I hit start all over again. I know every inch of her body and every sweet word to grace her lips. Every “Fuck You, Salvatore!”—what I wouldn’t give to hear it again.
In our new house, I grab a cup of hot tea, go upstairs, and my computer goes off. I ignore it to check my Sibyl email when I notice a new case. I don’t do much footwork anymore, but Georgia sends me the important ones. Something about the way she titles this one grabs my attention. Lately, I send the cases to one of the lower-ranked agents.
KV Requests Immediate Long-term Assistance on – HELLER – TX/OK/NE/PacWest Traf X-Post
I flip through the files. Georgia sent files on Rudy Heller, including the missing women and children. Eric Monroe and Tommy Guerra worked on it before they died.
Lighting a smoke, I scan over to the clock—3:33 AM. “What the fuck… She just sent the email.”
I decide to call her, and she a
nswers on the first ring. “You should be asleep. Did you see the case?”
“Ya,” I mutter, taking a drag. “Have you seen what a mess this case is? What am I going to do with this?”
“Figure it out, smartypants.”
“Only if you’ll take the job offer I sent earlier.”
Her giggles flood my mind. “You want me to be your personal assistant. Does that mean I do all the grunt work and give blow jobs?”
With a deep chuckle, I say, “Naw! Just wear a short skirt.”
“I’ll take your job if you look at the case,” she relentlessly persists. “Kary Vega sent it directly to me. I thought it might help keep you distracted.”
“Any news on Henney, Merritt, or Raine?”
She pauses, and I know the answer. “We’re still looking, Sir.”
I offer a frustrated sigh and stare at the case. Georgia’s right—getting back to work would be good for me. “Only if you can get me Zoe, Dale, and Randy.”
Her silence says a lot. “Do I have to work with Dale?”
“No,” I reply, taking a drag. “But he’s damn intimidating and good for my morale.”
“Hmm, you’re up to something.”
“Shucks, Georgia,” I flirt, leaning back in my chair and smirking. “Would I be up to anything?”
“Give your lovely fiancée a kiss for me.”
“Will do.”
I close the windows open on my screen before noticing the 1,064 emails in my personal RideTrotter account. “What the…”
Opening the mail, I see they’re all from DandelionFlyin. I grin. Every single one has the same picture of her little red toes on a beach. I hastily type out a response – “Can you talk?” – and hit send.
And I wait.
Our intimate, kinky sanctuary is sacred, a tomb of tears, filled with joys and sorrows as I rise like a phoenix from the ash. We swoop and soar, divide and reunite, but this journey isn’t for the weakened or lost. We are more determined and confident together than we ever are apart. Iris and I are a team, and the choices we make for our future, we do together.
72
A Smattering of Ruby Red
“Secure line. Call nowala!” the text message says.
I calmly head out to the guest house on our three-acre property. Deacon is in the living room playing on the Xbox. “Which one broke?”
“I did.”
“Well, you’re even now,” he says, tossing the keys to his room. I catch them without looking. “Don’t come on the sheets. I just washed them!”
“All the better!” I mischievously grin and stick my tongue out. “I’ll expect you to console me in…” I check my watch. “Twenty-two minutes.”
Getting into the game, he wrinkles his nose. “Whiskey or weed?”
“You pick.”
I dart up the staircase, unlock the deadbolt (he’s a little paranoid since being jumped), and close the door. My stomach lurches as I dial the number and flop on the bed. I lick my lips and wait for her to pick up.
“Hello!”
With a low growl, I say, “Greetings, Mrs. Raniero!”
“God, you sound good,” she praises as tears sting my eyes. “Where are you?”
“I’m in the new house,” I say, pulling the smokes out of my pocket. “I’m in Deacon’s guest house.”
“The beach house is incredible!” She giddily squeals, “I’m right on the ocean.”
Flicking the lighter, I inhale. On the exhale, I say, “Enjoy it, my baby.”
“Your grandfather had incredible taste,” she marvels. The phone calls are rare. In eighteen months, this is only our fourth. I’m not sure how long we can go, but we’re giving it our best. It’s become a competition to see who can hold out the longest.
We’re two for two on phone calls.
“You should see the water!”
“I cannot wait to see you,” I anxiously say, blowing a line of smoke rings. “Where are Mock and Naby?”
“Shopping. Thank God. I gave them a very long list.”
“You’re so bad,” I tease.
I hear her sniffling, and it hurts, which is why we avoid talking much. The ache is unavoidable, and the aftermath takes days to recover from. “How much longer?”
“Dom is trying to get in with Lotus now via Moses Hollister. We had to secure the Brethren if we wanted to get a meeting with Nakamura’s council. I can’t just bust in and say, I’m marrying your granddaughter.”
“Aww,” she playfully muses. “Why not?”
“I’m afraid he might split the Italian sausage with a katana,” I joke, putting out the smoke and adjusting myself. “We need a delicate touch with this.”
“Speaking of my grandfather, how was your decoy trip to Japan?”
Running my thumb over each knuckle, I feel them give way to the pain of popping. “It was beautiful but very hard for me. My father is convinced he knows exactly where you are,” I angrily hiss. “He ain’t got a fucking clue I swiped your ass again.”
“Three times, Sal.”
“Third time is a charm?” I laugh.
“How about practice makes perfect?”
I sent her to New Orleans, hoping to get her overseas, and then she showed up at Anna’s house. After taking her chip out, I decided we should stash her there, and I probably would’ve except I had a gut feeling. Like people and their passcodes of 1-2-3-4-5, what the fuck kind of passcode is that?
How much sense did it make for me to leave my prized possession in the damn castle? None.
But I’m a damn tenacious motherfucker.
“I fucked the first one up by not trusting Dom,” I admit, feeling the emotions coming on. I cannot turn them off with Iris anymore. We must have complete transparency if we’re gunning for a win.
“I didn’t help,” she softly confides. “But I did many things wrong, too. I ran off to San Francisco. I veered off the agenda early on.”
“Let’s make this the last attempt,” I suggest, tucking the tips of my fingers in the waistband of my jeans and holding back the dam with all of my force. “Because I can’t do this again.”
“You know, only ten people in the entire world know where I am, Sal,” she points out. “I think that alone would be enough of a ransom tactic to get my stalker in the door to see my grandfather.”
Staring at the ceiling, where every question answers with Iris in my heart, I snicker, “Since when did I become a stalker?”
“You’ve always been a stalker,” she sexily coerces. “My Master.”
Popping a piece of gum in my mouth, I can’t stop smiling. “You gonna talk like that, and we’ll end up a mess of tears, snot, and cum.” I snarl as my eyes leak, burning lines from the corners to the pillow.
“I just don’t know how much longer I can do this, Lucy.”
I close my eyes tight and pretend…
I’m with her on the beach in Guam. We’re getting sand in all kinds of places it doesn’t belong. She smiles in her turquoise bikini, and I lay my hand on the baby I put in her belly. We’re taking one last romantic vacation before Raine’s sibling shows up. She’s staying with Deacon and Cat at the house I built in….
The interruption in my vision forces my inquiry. “Where do you want to live?”
Her effervescent giggle tingles over my skin. “I always imagined you and me at Juliet, but I would live anywhere in the world as long as it was with you. Big wedding or are we eloping?”
“We’re eloping!” I excitedly laugh, grinning from ear to ear. “No big fairytale wedding for you!”
“You know we have a huge family.”
Eyeing the clock, I mutter, “I’m aware.”
The time is passing too fast. Iris will hang up soon and be gone. She’ll cry—hard, and I know because technically, we’re 3-2. I’m winning, but I don’t count her one mishap.
I’m a gentleman with one girl.
The first time she called, we hung up, and she immediately called me back to calm her down. She was hysterical and conv
inced we could never make this work.
We couldn’t get Iris removed from the grid the first two times, but we’re eighteen months in to her escape in paradise. I grow more confident each day that this time—we will succeed. I’m still playing with the puzzle of the crypto code from Henney to try and unlock Iris’ intel.
For now, Iris is quiet and undisturbed near the water, essentially her version of a padded cell. I’ve locked her away until I can figure her out and restore her mind. The challenge takes time, like an epic quest.
The subtle messages Anna spoke inspired the early vision. She gave me the template to form the basis of our mission. Her words clicked like a safe opening in my mind.
“Remember, I’m a big fan of mistresses.”
Anna wanted Iris to become my mistress, my secret lover, and my kept concubine. It was so simple—the wilted past needed to turn to dust if I wanted to emerge again—to get a new life, I had to let the other one go.
In the middle of the night, my Master and I constructed the plan together, piece by piece, with the most delicate touch. Our ten—Dom, Deacon, Nico, Jas, Georgia, Kary, Mock, Naby, Iris, and I—were building a massive bomb to elevate The Unholy and leave my father in the rubble.
I can’t be a Dominant without Iris or Deacon because I’m as pure Sal as I will ever be with them. I’m in love. And like hell I’ll do anything to fuck it up.
Deacon and Iris had been angry with me, and I did double time to recoup some of the loss. I needed my team tighter than ever before.
The biological attack to my system and drug use all played into Deacon’s anger with me. I was stressed from trying to control so many puppets and not drop any. I lost my shit. But somehow, I managed to get this far with my Master’s help.
Iris was beyond hurt about my impending nuptials when she found out about it from Trudy. She took off with Deacon in the night. I really didn’t have a clue where they were, but by the time Dom showed up at the cabin when I was trying to find sobriety, the beginning of his plan was already in motion.
With Dom’s persuasion, Iris understood the betrothal was a farce to help get her off the radar, and she agreed to forgive me. We needed to build layers of entanglement. While she wanted me with Jaid, there was no way my father was ever letting that happen.
Famous Last Words (a Tomb of Ashen Tears Book 2) Page 59
