For His Pleasure

by Suzanne Rock

  Jason ground his teeth. “Someone forged my name. I’ll be able to prove in court that—”

  “Details, and this will never make it to court, not if you value your woman.” She squeezed his fingers. “If you come back to me, I’ll forgive your little slight, and you can keep your money.”

  “I thought you didn’t want me back.”

  “Not in a relationship, of course, but on my team.” She waved her hand around them. “Swear your allegiance to me, give me half of your earnings in your business, and in exchange, I will offer you your girl and protection.”

  “Protection from what?”

  When she smiled, her features turned sickly sweet. “From me, sweetheart.”

  “You can’t do anything to me.” Jason pulled his hands from hers and sat back. “And I can’t possibly have anything you want.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, darling. I want what you took from me—my money, my pride, and my influence.”

  “I didn’t take anything from you. You lost it when news surfaced about your stay in a mental institution.”

  “And whose fault was that?” She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. “You can’t tell me that the information just happened to come out all by itself, and no one knew about my little stay except my poor deceased husband, your brother, and you.”

  “Deacon must have—”

  “Stop blaming your brother for your faults. It’s unbecoming.” She leaned her elbows on the table and toyed with the stack of gold bracelets on her arm. “All I wanted from you was a little respect, Jason. Not once did you think about my needs. All you wanted to do was to manipulate me into giving you what you wanted. And I gave it all to you—my knowledge, my connections…”

  “I’m a different person now. I’ve changed.”

  “Have you?” She raised her brows. “I wonder if we asked that woman I have in back if she feels you take her seriously. I wonder, if we learned of her aspirations and dreams, if they would be a surprise to you.” She hesitated for a moment and nodded. “You haven’t changed, Jason Stone. Your eyes give everything away. You are hurting that poor girl, manipulating her to stay with you so you can get what you want from her.”

  A chill rippled through Jason’s body as the loan shark’s words hit a little too close to home. “What could she possibly give me that I couldn’t get myself?” Jason adjusted his cuff links. “I assure you, I’m no longer the poor boy who worshipped at your feet. I have my own money and influence—”

  She narrowed her gaze. “Money and influence you stole from me.”

  “That I created myself.”

  Felicia waved her hand in the air in dismissal. “It doesn’t matter. The woman gives you something else.”

  “What?”

  She considered him for a moment. “Sex.”

  “I could have sex with anyone.”

  She tightened her jaw. “Yes, I suppose you could.” She signaled Sabrina to come fill her glass of water. Tension filled the air as the redheaded waitress moved next to Jason and poured from a pitcher into a glass. She caught his gaze, held it, but for the life of him, Jason couldn’t figure out what Sabrina was trying to tell him. Within moments, she glanced at the men’s room and moved away.

  She’s telling me to get help. Jason realized that he was getting nowhere on his own. If they’d ever have hope of getting Ari back, then he needed to be smarter, less confrontational. He fisted his hands under the table as he thought about what the loan shark had said. He had never considered the fact that Ari might be putting aside her own aspirations to give him what he wanted. While she had said that she had never wanted anything more than sex, she might not have meant it, or fully understood what she was getting into. He had spent his entire life manipulating people, and didn’t know any other way to behave in a relationship. He might have inadvertently manipulated Ari into something she didn’t really want.

  The realization filled him with self-loathing. His relationship with Ari had been one-sided. She was always meeting him on his terms, doing things his way. Even when she asked to stay in his home, he’d manipulated her into staying at the hotel, then used her as an escape from his problems.

  Jason swore that if he ever got himself and Ari out of this mess, he’d listen to her more, perhaps do something grand to make it up to her.

  “What do you want from me, Felicia?” he asked.

  The woman shook her head. “I already told you—your money. With that, I can restore my husband’s company to its former glory.”

  Jason knew it would take a lot more than some quick cash to salvage that sinking ship. She had been mentally unstable for far too long. Things were in disarray. It would take a strong hand to put all of the pieces back together.

  “Deacon tried to give your goons the money. They never showed up.”

  “You’re lying to me, just like you did when we were together. Now give me back what’s mine.”

  Jason started to tell her where she could shove her money, but then stopped. This was getting him nowhere.

  “Fine, I have the money, but I need some assurances that Ari is okay first.”

  She raised her brows. “You want assurances, but what assurances do I have that you have brought the money?” She glanced at his feet. “I specifically asked for cash, and unless you are hiding one-hundred-dollar bills in your pants—”

  “I have the money, not on me, but close by.”

  “Close by.” Her voice revealed her skepticism.

  “It’s in the restaurant.”

  “My men have searched this restaurant.”

  “Not all of it.” He leaned on the table and placed his finger on the hard surface to emphasize his point. “You can have your money, but I want to know that Ari is safe first.”

  She tilted her head to the side for a moment and considered him. “Very well.” She waved her hand in the air and one of her goons produced a cell at her side. She punched in some numbers and then waited for the other person to pick up.

  “It’s me. We want to talk to the girl.” She hesitated for a few moments, then added, “Well, make sure it doesn’t happen.” She handed Jason the phone. “You have sixty seconds.”

  Jason noticed that his hand shook as he took the phone from her. “Ari?”

  There was a brief moment of silence, and then a weak voice rose up from the other end of the line. “Jason?”

  “Ari, is that you?”

  “Oh, Jason! Where are you? Get me out of here.”

  “Are you all right?”

  “I—I think so, but these men, they keep looking at me, like they want to…”

  “Calm down. It will all be over in a moment. Where are you?”

  “Oh, Jason, please hurry, I—”

  Felicia pulled the phone away. “Time’s up.”

  Jason stared, dumbstruck, as she put the phone away. “Now, where’s my money?”

  “I’ll get it in a moment. I just need to use the men’s room first.” Tension built as Felicia’s gaze narrowed on him. “If you don’t mind,” he added.

  “Alex, go with him,” she commanded.

  Jason was about to protest, but realized that he had no choice. Slowly he stood and walked to the bathroom with the younger guard in tow.

  With each step, his mind worked over what to do. He had to get rid of the guard, but how? They walked past the bar, where Sabrina was still cleaning the counter. She nodded to Jason as he passed in reassurance.

  “Hey, big boy,” she called out. “Could you help me lift something for a moment?”

  The guard hesitated, and Jason kept walking, not wanting to draw attention to himself.

  “Come on,” Sabrina said. “It will just take a few seconds.”

  “Okay, but better make it quick.”

  Jason glanced over his shoulder and saw the guard move toward Sabrina. It would only buy him a minute or two, but it would have to be enough. Jason rushed to the bathroom, eager to get this whole mess over with so he could hold Ari in his arms
once more.

  Chapter 22

  Jason opened the men’s room door and quickly slipped inside. Remembering Leo’s instructions, he moved to the end of the long line of sinks and opened the lid on the trash container. Inside, as promised, was the briefcase and a small cell phone. Jason quickly grabbed the suitcase and checked the money. Satisfied that it was all there, he placed the suitcase on the counter and slid his finger across the phone’s screen.

  “What the hell?” The phone’s screen remained blank. He tried it a second time, and then a third. Still, there was nothing.

  “It’s busted.”

  Jason looked up and saw his brother leaning against the wall close to the stalls. He had crossed his arms and was studying Jason intently.

  “How?” Jason asked.

  “I don’t know.” He straightened away from the wall. “I tried calling your friends, but it wouldn’t work.”

  Shit. “How the hell did you get in here?” Jason asked, crossing over to him.

  Deacon nodded toward the window. “I slipped in up there. No one saw me. When I peeked out and saw you having trouble, I tried to call for backup.” He glanced at the phone in Jason’s hand. “You’d think that they’d check the phone before they dropped it off.”

  Jason tossed the phone in the garbage. “What are you doing? I told you to stay away.”

  “I’m here in case things go wrong.” He fisted his hands and bumped Jason’s shoulder. “If things turn south, you’re going to need all of the help you can get.”

  “That’s what Leo’s for.”

  “Yeah, and he’s done a stellar job so far, don’t you think?” He frowned at the trash bin. “My guess is that he’s double-crossed you.”

  “Leo would never abandon me, not when his sister’s in danger.”

  “Is she really in danger?”

  “I told you, I talked to her on the phone.” Jason grabbed the briefcase off the counter. “I don’t have time for this.” He started to push by his brother, but Deacon put up his hand, stopping him.

  “Think about what you’re doing—and who you’re dealing with.”

  “I know very well who I’m dealing with. Felicia is a monster who is set on getting revenge on me for something I didn’t do. And she has Ari.”

  “No.” Deacon shook his head and tightened his grip. “Felicia is a businessperson.”

  “She’s insane. She spent months in a mental institution after having a nervous breakdown.”

  “Because her husband never paid attention to her. Think about it, Jason. She’s just looking for attention.”

  “She has a funny way of going about it.”

  “Stop and think for a minute. If these thugs were really out to hurt you, do you think you’d still be walking around? Do you honestly think Felicia cares about your girl?”

  He had a point. “What are you getting at?”

  Deacon lowered his hands. “It’s a bluff.” He glanced at the suitcase. “I bet if we were to take that suitcase and climb out that window right there, they’d let the girl go.”

  “I’m not following.” Jason tightened his grip on the suitcase.

  “Wow—it’s been a long time since you’ve been in the game, hasn’t it?” Deacon shook his head. “She doesn’t want Ari. She wants you. Your money, your attention. Felicia has always been all bark, no bite.”

  “So?”

  “So … How do you con a con artist?” He pressed his finger on the top of the suitcase, emphasizing his point. “With a better con.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “We take the money and run.” Deacon nodded his head. “There’s plenty in there, far more than we need to set up new identities and a new life.”

  “We’ve already been through this. I told you, I don’t do that anymore.”

  “Jason.”

  “No.” Jason dragged the suitcase off the counter. “I’m not bargaining with Ari’s life.”

  “They won’t kill her. The only reason why Felicia is interested in her is because you’re showing an interest in her. As soon as you demonstrate that this girl means nothing to you, Felicia will let her go. She’s not a monster.”

  “Could have fooled me.” Jason started toward the door. “I’m not taking that chance.”

  “Think about what you’re doing. We could get away and start over. It will be like old times, just you and me against the world.”

  “No, I can’t. It’s too risky.” Jason placed his hand on the door.

  “Where’s the ambitious, adrenaline junkie I used to know? He’s in there somewhere—I just know it.”

  Jason hesitated, then dropped his hand.

  “Think, Jason. If you go out that door, then sure, you’ll get the girl, and all of the boring, dull things that come with a steady relationship. She’ll want a commitment, types like her always do. She’ll want reassurances and fancy things. She’ll make you into her slave.”

  “No.”

  “Yes. Perhaps she won’t flog you in the bedroom, but she’ll scar you just the same. Women like to manipulate people, Jason.” He started to close the distance between them. “No one knows that better than us. Hell, you ran away from Felicia because she was starting to get too intense. This is no different.”

  “It’s completely different, Deacon.”

  “How?”

  Jason couldn’t put it into words. There was something special about Ari. She had something Felicia didn’t, something no other woman could give him. All she had to do was be herself.

  “It’s just different,” he murmured.

  “The only way to survive is to beat them at their own game.” He placed his hand on Jason’s shoulder. “Come with me, brother. Leave all of this behind. We’ll become like leaves in the wind and no one will be able to find us. We’ll go wherever we want, do whatever we want. There will be no responsibility, no routine. We’ll do whatever strikes our fancy.”

  Jason looked at his brother’s smiling face for a long time, remembering all of the adventures that they had gone through together.

  “We had some good times, didn’t we?” Deacon asked as he inched closer. “We could have that all again.” He placed his hand on Jason’s shoulder. “I miss you, bro. Come back to me. Come back to us.”

  They’d had good times, yes, but at what cost? They had lied and manipulated people. Jason had assumed personalities like a chameleon, burying his own emotions so deep that he didn’t know who he was anymore.

  Ari had changed that for him. Now, not only did he know who he was, but what direction he was going. There was comfort in that, as there was comfort in forming real friendships with the Percontis. He wasn’t sure what was going on with the phone, but Leo wouldn’t leave him high and dry. It wasn’t his style. All of his life, Jason had trusted his gut and it had never steered him wrong. His gut was telling him to make the exchange and ensure Ari’s safety, so that was what he was going to do.

  “I’m sorry, Deacon, but I can’t. I’m not the person you think I am.” He reached out and pulled open the door. “Not anymore.”

  Before Deacon could protest, Jason left the bathroom with the suitcase. No matter what happened next, he was going to stay true to himself. He owed that not only to Ari, but to his new friends. Deacon was right about one thing. Jason was going to start a new life, just not the life that his brother had envisioned for them.

  * * *

  Ari sat in the back of the large van, trying to get comfortable in her tight bindings. At least they hadn’t blindfolded or gagged her this time.

  “There he is,” one of the guys in the front of the van said as he pointed to something moving on the screen.

  “It’s amazing how well she predicted all of this.”

  “I thought you told Jason to come alone,” Ari said.

  One of the men, the one with the bald head and a round face, turned and flashed her a frown. For a moment, Ari thought that he would try and gag, her, but the planets must have aligned in her favor, because he decided instead to
answer her question.

  “It looks as if your boyfriend didn’t listen. Your brother is poking around in an alley next to the restaurant.”

  “What? Leo’s here?”

  “It looks as if he’s waiting for something.” The other man chuckled.

  “A phone call perhaps?” The two men grinned at each other.

  Ari leaned forward and stared at the small screen the men held between them. “What’s that?”

  “Surveillance. We set it up before they arrived,” the bald man said.

  “I’m surprised that Sabrina let you do that to her restaurant.”

  “She doesn’t know.”

  “What do you mean? How could she not know that you were setting up cameras in her restaurant?”

  “She already had the cameras. We just altered them so that we get the feed as well.” The bald man exchanged glances with his younger friend. “And it’s amazing what people will believe.”

  “You lied to her?”

  The bald man grinned. “Not us, pretty lady, but your friend.”

  “What? What do you mean, my friend?”

  “There he is now,” the younger guy said, pointing to the screen.

  “Deacon. He’s in on this?” She should have known.

  “He’s the one who’s behind the whole thing.” The younger man chuckled, which got him a jab in the ribs from the older man in front.

  “What?” the younger guy said, rubbing his ribs. “It’s not like it matters. By the time he gets in there, it will all be over.”

  The older man rolled his eyes. “Just keep your mouth shut.”

  They sat in silence for a time as they all watched Jason stroll in and sit down in front of the loan shark.

  This was a trap, she realized. A carefully calculated plan set up by Deacon to rob Jason blind. His brother had orchestrated this whole thing from the beginning. Ari sat back in her seat and tried to wrap her head around what could make someone so thoroughly betray his own flesh and blood.

  She had to warn Jason. That meant that she had to get out of the van and into the restaurant.

  “How do Deacon and your boss know each other?” she asked. She didn’t really care, but she wanted to keep the men talking. If she could distract them, perhaps she could find something sharp to help her out of these bindings.