by Mia Knight
When they were finished, she and Carmen air kissed the salon workers. Lyla waited by the desk to pay.
“It’s taken care of,” Keenan said and gave her ass a smack on her way out.
Blade looked like he was going to say something, but decided against it when Keenan fluttered his eyelashes at him. Carmen put the top up on her convertible so their hairstyles would last.
“Where are we going?” Lyla asked.
“My house. I told our cook to make something fabulous.”
“But, what about Gavin?”
“If he wants to come, he’ll come,” Carmen said dismissively. “You look great, by the way.”
“I feel... better.”
“Great. Now, we’re going to get dressed up for dinner and figure out what to do with your life.”
Chapter Five
An hour later, Carmen put the finishing touches on Lyla’s makeup and stepped back. Lyla didn’t look like Morgan Lincoln, conservative bank teller. She looked like a more sophisticated version of Lyla Dalton who died three years ago when she left Las Vegas. Carmen gave Lyla the works with heavy eyeliner, fake eyelashes, lipstick and enough concealer to take away the dark circles under her eyes. Carmen did an excellent job. Lyla looked well-rested and luminous. The dark shade of lipstick concealed the worst of her bitten lip and the black long sleeve dress with a high collar covered her bruises on her arms and throat. Carmen topped it all off with a diamond bracelet that could pay off a quarter of her father’s debt. Despite the fact that they were eating at Carmen’s house, they were dressed for fine dining. Carmen believed in always looking her best and, of course, accessories.
“There’s my heartbreaker cousin,” Carmen said, dancing in her five inch heels. “Gavin is gonna jizz his pants.”
“I don’t want him to want me,” Lyla protested.
“You’re going to put Gavin in line. There’s a reason they call us man eaters. Men fear us.”
Carmen posed in the mirror, showing off her legs and the indecently high slit on her eggplant dress before she turned and strutted towards Lyla, pouting her lips and making her eyes heavy-lidded. Carmen pressed a gentle kiss on Lyla’s cheek and perched on her lap.
“You have to make him want you desperately,” Carmen said in a throaty whisper that made Lyla’s skin ripple with goosebumps. “You have to make yourself unattainable. You want him to work for your love and affection. Don’t show fear or Gavin won’t respect you.”
“He’s not the same man,” Lyla said and then corrected herself, “or maybe I never knew the real him.”
“He’s in there, Lyla. The good parts aren’t gone, just buried. You can bring that out of him.”
“How?” She didn’t want Gavin’s attention or desire, but if she had to deal with him, keeping him calm and not on the verge of bursting into fits of rage is where she wanted him.
“That’s the best part,” Carmen said as she stood and grasped Lyla’s hand. “You just be yourself.”
“Myself?” Lyla echoed. She didn’t know who she was anymore. She went from arm decoration to a mousy bank teller. Being invisible became her goal in life and now... What was she? A desperate woman fighting for survival. It didn’t matter that she was dripping in diamonds and looked as if she hadn’t worked a day in her life. If anyone looked deep enough, they would see her fear. Her future depended on how well she could play her part. Maybe Keenan was right. With her looks and dress, she looked like a high end escort. Could she play the part of an escort? That had been her role before. She had no choice but to put on the best performance of her life.
“Even though you’re a hot piece of ass, Gavin loved you for you. He could have picked anyone since you’ve been gone, but I swear to you, I haven’t seen him with one woman.”
Before Lyla could say she didn’t give a shit if Carmen saw Gavin with one hundred women, there was a discreet knock on the door. A maid entered with downcast eyes.
“A guest, Mrs. Pyre.”
“Thank you. We’re ready,” Carmen said.
“Gavin?” Lyla asked through stiff lips when the maid left.
“Probably. You ready?”
Lyla glanced at her reflection and said goodbye to Morgan Lincoln. Her eyes flashed with pain and longing as she thought of Jonathan and the simple life she left behind. What would Jonathan think if he saw her done up like a high class hooker? Lyla shoved self-loathing to the side. She would deal with that later when she had time to wallow. Right now, she had a job to do.
Lyla and Carmen headed down the curved staircase. Carmen’s home was done in bold colors and filled with fine art, which included paintings, statues and rare antiques. Carmen led her to the backyard, which had a beautiful infinity pool and a large dining table beneath a gazebo strung with white lights. A man got up from the table. Carmen and Lyla paused in mid-stride.
Manny Pyre, Gavin’s father, wore a tailored black suit that wouldn’t have been out of place on Wall Street, but the top three buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned, giving him a rakish air. His shoulder length white hair was combed into a slick ponytail. Gold gleamed on his fingers and around his neck. Even at seventy, he was handsome. Despite losing some weight, Manny still possessed the physique of a much younger man.
Lyla’s heart thumped rapidly. Even though she was glad to see her mom and Carmen, it was Manny that she’d been excited and terrified to see. She worked for Manny for a full year before Gavin asked her to be a kept woman. Manny was the father she never had, but what did he think of her leaving his son? Had he changed as Gavin had? Did he loathe her? Like father, like son? Lyla swallowed hard as she suppressed the urge to run to him.
“Uncle Manny,” Carmen said and rushed forward. “I didn’t know you were coming!”
“Vinny told me my daughter came home,” Manny said, never moving his eyes from Lyla.
Lyla swallowed hard as emotion clogged her throat. From the very start, they clicked. Manny called her his daughter when she and Gavin went on their first date. Back then, Lyla worried that Manny’s pushiness would turn Gavin off. To her surprise, Gavin didn’t seem bothered by his father’s interference. He fell in line with his father’s wishes. After Lyla discovered that he’d been cheating on her the whole time, she wondered if Gavin dated her only to please his father.
“A drink, Uncle?” Carmen asked, sounding unusually nervous.
“No, I’m fine.”
“I’ll go check with the cook about the meal,” Carmen said and tactfully left them alone in the backyard.
Lyla stared at Manny, the man she considered her father in every way but one.
“You don’t have a welcome for me, baby girl?” Manny asked.
The pet name originated from Manny and hearing it from him, she knew all was well between them. Lyla wasn’t aware of her feet moving, but she managed to pull back a moment before impact so she wouldn’t topple the older man. She wrapped her arms around Manny, buried her face against his chest and lost herself in his musky scent. The smell filled her with nostalgia and bittersweet memories. From the very start, Manny saw something in her that no one else had and took the time to nurture her love of learning. She tried to wrap her mind around the fact that the man hugging her ordered the hit on the man Gavin beat to death in the basement.
Manny drew back and cupped her face in one large paw. “Let me see you.”
Lyla tried to smile, but failed miserably. Tears coursed down her face as Manny examined her. His thumb brushed over her bottom lip. She jerked and he tipped her face up to the light. She knew he wasn’t fooled by the makeup. She averted her eyes from his.
“Lyla, what happened?” he asked gently enough, but she sensed danger in the air.
“N-nothing,” she said and tried to draw back.
Manny clutched her arms to hold her in place. She wasn’t able to stifle her painful cry, which she bit back immediately. Lyla tried to draw away, but Manny manacled her wrist and she froze, forcefully reminded that she didn’t really know the Pyres. Manny patted her do
wn as efficiently as a TSA agent. Lyla wasn’t able to stop a flinch when he located the bruises on her other arm and the ones on her neck. Manny smoothed her sleeves up and examined the black and blue marks before he tugged on the stretchy material of the high neck of her dress. Manny’s hands fell away and Lyla took a step back, unsure what to expect from him.
“Who did it?” Manny hissed.
Lyla’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly. “Manny, I—”
“Don’t lie to me, Lyla.”
For a moment, she wondered if she should lie despite his warning, but Manny possessed the same soul searing gaze as his son. He was a human lie detector and he would know. Manny knew her better than her own parents. Surely, Manny knew she wasn’t here by choice... “Gavin.”
Manny jerked as if she shot him. His incredulous expression made her flush with icy fear. Did he not believe her? Fuck, she should have lied. Lyla reached out with placating hands as she tried to think of a way to fix it.
“I-It was nothing. It doesn’t hurt. I’m fine. I bumped into—” she babbled.
Manny slashed a hand through the air and she stopped. His face took on an ugly cast and she began to shake. When Manny was pissed, heads rolled. Literally. She wasn’t sure if his anger was aimed towards her for daring to tell him such a thing or for Gavin. Either way, this wouldn’t end well. If there was a choice between believing her or his son, she had no doubt who Manny would choose. She was on the precipice again, her life on the line. Lyla was lightheaded with terror.
“Why are you here?” Manny asked, voice devoid of emotion.
Lyla’s heart shattered. She wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the sudden chill. Eyes on her painted toes, she whispered, “My dad embezzled. I’m here to pay his debt.”
“How?” Manny bit out.
Lyla shook uncontrollably. “I-I don’t know.”
“He beats you?”
“N-no.”
“Don’t you dare lie to me.”
Lyla took another step back. Manny had never used that tone of voice with her before. How could so much change in so little time? How could she have thought of Gavin and Manny as family? They were capable of killing her without a second thought. She was a lamb in the lion’s den. She was a fool. Once she walked into their lair, they would never set her free. She knew too much.
Voices echoed through the open doors that led to the backyard. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gavin, Carmen and Vinny walk out of the house and come to a stop at the sight of her and Manny facing one another with her face covered in tears.
“Uncle Manny, what—?” Carmen began and would have run towards Lyla, but her husband pulled her back.
Lyla had never felt so alone. She was surrounded by people she once considered family and there was a large possibility that she would be beaten or killed by one of them. She huddled in on herself and wished she could disappear. When would this hell end?
“Dad?” Gavin asked.
“I see Lyla’s back,” Manny said tonelessly.
Gavin didn’t answer. Manny closed the distance between himself and Lyla. Memories of the guard’s brutal beating flashed in her mind and she bit back a moan of fear. When Manny withdrew a gun from his suit and pointed it at her, Lyla stared at the man she considered a father in shock and then numb defeat. Her biological father despised her and her mother’s loyalty was to him despite his gambling addiction. She was no one’s first choice. She was disposable, replaceable, a pawn. Lyla closed her eyes. She couldn’t watch Manny pull the trigger. She hoped it would be quick. Her ears were ringing so she didn’t hear the commotion around her, but she heard a gun blast and fell, screaming. She hit the ground hard and waited for the pain, but it didn’t come. Was she dead?
Lyla opened her eyes and found that she was on her knees in front of Manny. Gavin was several feet away, shouting at his father who had the gun trained on him. Vinny had Carmen locked in his arms as she fought him to get to Lyla.
“What the fuck? Are you insane?” Gavin shouted.
“Isn’t this what you want?” Manny asked. “You want her frightened and down on her knees, right? You want to punish her for leaving you?”
Manny turned the gun back on Lyla who wrapped her arms around her middle and bowed her head. Why prolong this? Was Manny toying with her for his own sick enjoyment?
“This is how you treat someone you hate,” Manny instructed as if he were showing Gavin how to balance his checkbook.
“I don’t hate her.”
“Really?”
Manny knelt with effort and jerked Lyla’s face up. He roughly wiped off her lipstick with his sleeve and ripped Carmen’s dress to show Lyla’s bruised arms and neck. Lyla tried to get away from him, but his hand tightened on her in warning.
“Why is Lyla here?” Manny hissed.
“She’s here to pay her father’s debt.”
“How?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“You disappoint me, son.”
There was a stark silence.
“This is how you treat my daughter?” Manny asked softly.
Gavin looked as if he’d been struck. He paled and his eyes flicked between Lyla and his father.
“This is how you treat someone I love?” Manny roared.
Lyla whimpered, overloaded with terror. Manny dropped the gun and ignored Lyla’s startled cry. He drew her into his arms and brushed gentle kisses over her face.
“I’m sorry, baby girl, I’m so sorry. I won’t hurt you,” Manny said and rose.
He held out his hand, but Lyla was too shaken to move. She stared at Manny, wondering what the fuck was going on. She was close to passing out. Her heart beat a rapid tattoo in her chest. Manny gently helped her up. She sagged into him and he wrapped an arm around her waist.
“I gave you something precious and you broke it,” Manny said to his son. “What you don’t care for and cherish, you lose. I would die for your mother, give everything I own for one more day with her and you treat Lyla like this?”
“Dad—” Gavin said and reached for Lyla.
Manny knocked his hand away as if Gavin was a child and not a man capable of killing with his bare hands. Carmen sucked in an audible breath.
Manny glared at his son. “You still have much to learn. I trusted you with Lyla and she ran from you. Now that you have her back, you put bruises on her. The way to make a woman stay isn’t by abusing her. It’s by loving her so much that she can’t imagine being without you.” Silence stretched and then Manny bellowed, “Ricardo!”
A Hispanic version of The Hulk appeared. Manny’s bodyguard took in the scene and went straight to Lyla. He acknowledged her with a gentle smile and picked up her quaking body.
“We’re taking her home,” Manny said.
Lyla was too shaken to say a thing as Ricardo carried her out of Carmen’s home and deposited her into a Rolls Royce. Manny got into the back with her. Lyla turned away from him and plastered herself against the car door, wondering if her status went from bad to horrific. Manny turned and tipped her against him. Lyla trembled uncontrollably and moaned when he stroked back her sweat soaked hair.
“I’m sorry I scared you. I promise I won’t hurt you. I had to show him, to make him realize... Well, it doesn’t matter now. Its over,” Manny cooed.
“Y-you almost s-shot—” Lyla couldn’t finish.
The car pulled out of Carmen’s driveway. She wanted to leap out and make a mad dash, but her nerves were shot. She was wrecked, completely and utterly. Too much happened in too little time. Everywhere she turned doors were shut in her face and fear yipped at her heels. Since her arrival back in Las Vegas, it had been a rollercoaster of uncertainty, dread and terror. Gavin changed beyond recognition and it seemed, so had Manny. She loved these men, enough to look past the way they did business. She would have died for them, did anything they asked and now she was being bandied between them like a stray puppy. She wished for Maine, the anonymity of the city and Jonathan. She felt as if she
were tumbling headlong down the rabbit hole with no exit in sight.
She must have dozed. When she came to, she was cradled in Ricardo’s arms. She caught a glimpse of Manny’s mansion. Although he wasn’t in her line of sight, she heard Manny snapping out orders to the staff who were running in every direction. Ricardo set her on the edge of a heavenly bed and a young woman wearing an old fashioned maid’s uniform bowed.
“My name is Juanita. The master wants you to bathe.”
Lyla stared at her blankly. She was having a hard time concentrating.
“He says you might be a bit... upset. He thinks you’re in shock,” Juanita said gently and helped Lyla walk into the bathroom where she settled Lyla on the edge of the tub and began to fill it.
“I like tubs,” Lyla said. For some reason, this seemed important enough to say out loud.
Juanita gave her an encouraging look. “That’s good. You should soak and relax.”
Lyla snorted. Relax when her life was spinning around so fast she couldn’t get a hold of it? Juanita kept up a steady stream of mindless chatter as she helped Lyla shrug off the ruined dress and expensive diamond bracelet she forgot she was wearing. Lyla didn’t have the energy to be self-conscious or worried. In the past two days she had been blackmailed, fucked her psycho ex, bit, threatened, pampered at a salon and looked down the barrel of her adopted father’s gun. She was so fucking done.
