by Weber, Carl
The moment for my shot was coming whether or not his men were distracted. I would just deal with the aftermath one way or the other.
I stayed within the ever-growing crowd surrounding the woman who was going into shock, but began maneuvering myself into position for a kill shot at the table next to us.
Just as Pitre came within view, a scream rang out near the foyer—the area where I’d last seen Paris.
I couldn’t allow myself to think about that.
Just take the shot and get out.
But that scream did me more of a favor than my shrimp-in-the-salad stunt, for it was the one thing that made Pitre’s men respond.
They all flew out of their seats, forming a protective wall in front of the bearded Pitre as they prepared to lead him out the building.
Other tables followed suit, all the families wary of a double cross. And in the midst of the chaos, I came up smoothly, directly behind Pitre.
Squeezing off two shots under his armpit and into his torso.
Pitre’s body took a slight lurch as the two rounds entered. Not enough to alert his men, who were too focused on what was ahead. By the time he collapsed, adding to the panic, I was already heading back toward the kitchen.
Then I had to find Paris.
And hope nothing had happened to her.
Nadja
53
“It’s handled,” Niles’s voice informed me on the other end of the phone.
“Great. We should meet and go over everything. You heading back to Valencia?”
“Nah, to the home base.”
“Sounds good. We’ll meet there in four hours? I have some loose ends to tie up here.” I could hear the annoyance in my own voice, and why shouldn’t I be upset?
“Actually I’m gonna take the week off. Let’s reconvene then. I need a break,” he said, sounding tired, but I knew that rest wasn’t his reason for putting me off. She had everything to do with Niles’s sudden need for rest, if that’s what he wanted to call it.
“This is work. It comes first; or have you suddenly forgotten how you afford such a fabulous lifestyle?” I seethed into the receiver.
“No, I didn’t forget, but everybody deserves some down time. This isn’t slavery.”
“Please. With the fees you command you can hire a harem if you like, but we need to connect and go over some things whether you want to or not.”
“Fine. Call me when you arrive in the city and I will meet you.” He hung up on me.
I wanted to reach through that receiver and choke him. I’d been the one to arrange to run his finances through a shell corporation so that the purchase of his home couldn’t be traced back to anything illicit. How dare he treat me like his employer rather than his lover? I’d always been free to come and go and I wasn’t about to take a back seat in his life. He might not have known what was good for him but I did. Men! And, speaking of the opposite sex, there was another problem that I had to handle immediately.
“Before you get upset, I did it for you.” Navid stood up as I entered my office.
“Telling my father on me as if I were a child and not your boss? Is that what you consider doing me a big favor?” I glared at him.
“Nadja, you were about to ruin your father’s reputation and put your own life in danger. I couldn’t let you do that.”
“Who the fuck appointed you my great savior? I did not need you to rescue me. I had everything under control.”
“Really? Because apparently this Paris Duncan has some heavy people behind her.”
“Fuck her people.”
“Look, I know you’re upset about Niles but you must be reasonable. We can’t always get everything that we want. Life doesn’t work that way.”
“No, it doesn’t . . . for people like you. Those that would rather let themselves be controlled, but I’m not like you. I don’t lay down and just take the hand that has been dealt. If I don’t like it then I change it and if there is collateral damage then oh, well. Shit happens.”
“You can’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do, and you wanna know what else I mean? Get your shit and get the hell out of my life. You are fired.”
“But, you can’t.”
“I can and I will. Navid, you know what your best asset was to me? Loyalty.” I didn’t wait for a response. I grabbed my bag and headed out to see the one person that made this all worth it.
Rio
54
“You know you don’t have to do that,” Eduardo said when I told him that I would be moving into my own place. Paris would be headed back to school within the week, which meant I had to prepare for my new life. “Don’t waste the money. You’re not a rich guy so why not just move in with me?” He kept pressing me to be his house boy or some shit.
“Nah, it’s all good,” I assured him but it was obvious that wasn’t the answer he expected. I could tell by the veins tightening on his forehead. On second thought, it was not pretty.
“Rio, darling, let me set you up. You can have your own wing and a driver,” he pressed. “Where you gonna go and meet a man to take as good care of you as I will?” As the words fell out of his mouth I came close to losing my cover. LC Duncan took damn good care of all his kids, including the prodigal son, me. I couldn’t help but notice that all of my credit cards worked and there were no calls about my spending or my future.
“Eduardo, I’m not that kind of guy. I like to work for a living. I’m a free spirit and nobody is going to clip my wings. At least not yet.”
“You silly boy. Do you have any idea what I’m offering you? You’ll never get an opportunity like this again. Who else would take a . . . a . . . a someone like you and set them up in the lap of luxury?”
“Excuse me? Someone like me?”
“You know what I mean? Young and free.” He started backpedaling.
“I learned a long time ago that just because something glitters doesn’t mean that it’s gold. I’m good working for you but I’m the one that made the mistake of mixing business with pleasure. It’s not something that I’m comfortable with.”
“Well, what if we dismiss with the work?” Old boy was not trying to let this go, but we both knew that he’d gone from invisible to on the map.
“Is that some kind of ultimatum? ’Cause I’m cool heading back to the States or even checking out the clubs in Milan, London, Paris, anywhere.”
“No. Rio, I’m kidding. We’re good. I’m just messing with you.” He pretended to laugh but I knew that if I hadn’t let him know how the hell I roll he would have steamrolled all over me.
Couldn’t really do nothing cause in the space of one week I’d already helped to blow up his spot. He had two, three different magazines calling to do puff pieces on his club, and social media was giving lots of attention with celebrities posting pics from the spot. That meant lots of green for him, which was the name of the game. Last thing I wanted was for my boss to be getting all salty cause I preferred to fly solo. Made me understand why my bros insisted on never mixing business with pleasure.
“About work? What you got planned for the next few weeks?”
“It depends on the budget. I got a few DJs bring their own crowds and lots of hype. Can help keep you in the papers.” Eduardo didn’t hide his love of press. Hell, most people were one dream away from a reality show anyway and he wasn’t any different.
“Wanna come over tonight and go over some options?” he flirted with me; but he’d already shown his over possessive side so I dodged it.
“Let’s just get it done now. I’m supposed to have dinner with my sis.”
“You can come by after if you like.”
“I’ll see,” I lied.
By the time I got out of there the only thing I wanted was a shower and some rest. The life-sized present at my hotel door pleasantly surprised me.
“Hey, stranger,” Navid greeted me.
“I thought you went home.”
“Yeah, I did, but there is something I needed to tell you.�
�
“So important you had to fly a thousand miles to tell me?”
“Yes.”
He looked so serious I started to get nervous. Please don’t tell me this motherfucker showed up to pledge his undying love or some shit. I had just left the Eduardo situation dodging his wanting to spend time together.
I opened my hotel door and let him in. Guess the least I could do was let him spill his guts in the privacy of our suite. Hoped this wasn’t going to be one of those long-winded confessions of his love for me. Damn, a brother was fine and all but I just wished people wouldn’t take the shit so seriously. Course the first words out of his mouth caught me completely off-guard.
“It’s about your sister, Paris.” The words spilled out of his mouth. Now he had my full attention.
“What about Paris?”
“The woman I worked for, she wanted to kill her,” he confessed.
“What? The fuck you talking ’bout? My sister is in danger?”
“I handled it. I made sure that nothing was going to happen to her but it meant betraying my boss.”
“That couldn’t have gone well.”
“Well enough so that I’m out of a job.”
“What happened?”
“Let’s just say your sister caught the wrong man’s eye.”
“So what? He’s married?”
“She wishes. No, he’s single, but my boss was hoping he’d choose her and instead he fell for you sister. Suffice it to say my boss is none too happy.”
“So how I know this head case ain’t gonna go after Paris again?”
“Because her boss wasn’t having it and believe me he shut the whole thing down.”
“Did you know this that day we had lunch?”
“Yes, but I handled it.”
“Anything happens to my sis and there won’t be a place where this bitch can hide.”
Paris
55
My cab pulled up at the private airstrip where Niles told me to meet him. Of course this was after I managed to run through one of those hip boutiques and scored a cute outfit. No way you’d find me on a plane looking dressed like I was about to attend my first party ever. I made it to the airport with mere minutes to spare. I hoped to hell I’d find Niles already on board in one piece. I entered the cabin and scoped out the Cessna Citation. Luxury tan seats that swiveled, built-in television and refreshment cabinet in a deep mahogany wood that highlighted the rich carpeting. Yeah, this was right up my alley.
I spotted the jacket Niles had worn to the wedding thrown over a chair. Figured he was in the bathroom until I noticed it was unoccupied. Finally, my curiosity getting the better of me, I entered the cockpit and imagine my surprise.
“You’re late,” Niles barked at me from the pilot’s chair. He exuded massive amounts of sex appeal with the captain’s hat and flight jacket.
“Come sit with me in the cabin. I’m sure the captain would like to get his seat back,” I flirted with him.
“He’s already seated.” He flashed his cocky half smile.
“You are not flying me. Stop playing, Niles.”
“I assure you that my pilot’s education from Oxford Aviation and my eight hundred hours flying more than educated me on getting this plane safely to France.” He seemed slightly annoyed that I’d questioned him.
“All right, back down. I’m not used to seeing a fine-ass nigga like you flying the friendly skies. But this is something I could really get used to.” I gave a couple of snaps for emphasis.
“Come in, air traffic! I will be preparing for takeoff!” As Niles spoke with air traffic control I blocked out his voice. I couldn’t help but really feel like I’d hit the jackpot. Bitches back home would lose their minds if they saw Paris Duncan pull into an airstrip with this fine-ass specimen behind the wheel. I’m getting jealous of my own damn self Niles is so off the chain; but I’m starting to think he’s not just distracted by me. He’s acting strange.
“Everything okay? Is your friend gone?” I asked, of course referring to his target Pitre as I took the seat in the cockpit next to him. Niles didn’t look any worse for the wear so that was a good sign.
“Of course,” he answered, finally bothering to look at me. “But somehow this cat Tony Lucco joined him on his trip. Know anything about that?”
“Why would I? With those kinds of people at the reception, you think your job was the only one going down?”
“Yeah, I did, ma,” he replied. “Until somebody else got merced,” he whispered, glaring at me. It didn’t help that we had begun to back away from the gate.
“So why I gotta have anything to do with that?” I immediately rose to the defensive.
“Because somebody used blades to send Tony Lucco on his unexpected vacation. My blades, if I had to guess,” he said. “And I saw you talking to Lucco . . . when he was still alive. Paris, you freelancing on me? Trying to fuck up my life? I warned you about that shit.”
“No,” I answered honestly. “It was an accident, Niles. He tried to force himself on me and maybe I overreacted. It’s . . . it’s just that ever since the boat incident with those two assholes back in Spain, I . . . I . . .” I murmured as I attempted to manipulate him away from the truth, letting my eyes tear up as I thought about something sad . . . when Daddy first told me I had to leave the family to attend school. “I’m sorry.”
“Good. Because you did me a favor . . . this time,” he said, softening. “You provided me with a good distraction right when I needed one. Maybe in some kind of fucked-up way, you really are my good-luck charm, Paris.”
“I love you, Niles.” Suddenly a great weight lifted off me.
“I’m glad you’re in my life. I love you too, Queens,” he whispered softly. His words made me feel like a schoolgirl. “I can’t wait to get you home.” I watched as he pulled back on the throttle, pointing the nose of the plane toward the sky. The magnificence of this man coupled with flying this plane almost made me lose my concentration.
“Oh, is that where we’re going?” I smiled, pleased to get more insight into this man. “And I thought you were taking me shopping in my namesake city.”
“I can do that too if it’s what you want. But we don’t have much time before you head back to school and I want you all to myself until then. No distractions.” He stared into my eyes and it grew more obvious that we wanted the same thing. Each other.
One hour and ten minutes later we arrived at a private airstrip outside of Paris. A black Town Car waited at the bottom of the stairs as we deplaned. Clearly this brother had a real James Bond thing going on and wasn’t afraid to floss that shit.
Niles held my hand on the ride to his place in the 7th arrondissement. He lived on the top floor of a spectacular old-world building that had been updated to reflect modern times. Large French windows, beautiful parquet flooring, and spacious rooms all with a view. You could even see the Eiffel Tower from the bedroom. His place had been sparsely decorated in hyper masculine tones of gray, white, and black with metal, steel, and glass.
“This place could use a woman’s touch. Maybe some pillow for splashes of color?”
“Oh, really?” Niles pulled me into his arms.
“I love it here.” I grabbed his hand and led him to the window that showcased the architecture of the neighborhood. “Just maybe add some rugs and warm it up a bit.”
“Ma, you are welcome to make yourself at home.” He laughed. “Do your thing.”
“Yeah, but then all them other girls are gonna notice when they come back here. A b . . .”—I stopped myself from using the word—“ho can tell when another women has made her mark.”
“Yeah, it’s like dogs having a pissing contest. But I wouldn’t worry since you’re the only woman I’ve ever brought here. This is my cave. Where I come to get away from things.”
“Oh, so that Middle Eastern terror ain’t never been here?”
“Well, yeah, but that’s work.”
“And what am I?
“You
are everything that matters.”
Yeah, he had me going all “schoolgirl” over him in this bitch.
As I looked deep into those eyes that had been mentally undressing me all day long, he proceeded to slowly undress me in reality. I reached inside his boxer briefs, stroking him to full erection as he kissed upon my shoulders and sucked on my breasts as if it were the first time he beheld them.
While swept up in his passion, he wrapped his arm around my waist and held me tightly. As I continued stroking him, he placed his hand against my thigh and slid his palm up it. He needed no guiding to blades that were no longer there. For his hand went to my weapon this time, more deadly than any gun or knife could ever be, grazing his knuckles ever so softly against my mound before nuzzling his thumb up against my clit.
I gasped at his touch, but he brought his lips to mine again, sucking harder on my tongue with me kissing him equally as hard. He pressed gradually harder against my clit, making my pulse race with the ebb and flow of his thumb. By the time he slid two fingers inside me, I was good and ready.
“D . . . don’t tease me, baby,” I purred as I went weak in the knees, rubbing his firm chest and licking his taut abs.
Niles swept me off my feet and carried me to the bed. Removing his boxer briefs entirely before joining me, he slid his face between my legs and tasted deeply of my love. As intoxicated as he was by my honey, I did my best to drown him each and every time I came.
“Yes, yes, yes! Oh yes!” I called out as I squirmed and kicked, wanting to escape his skilled mouth and tongue, yet, at the same damn time, unable to get enough of them. “D . . . damn, you can eat . . . eat . . . some pussy.”
“You taste so good, Paris. So sweet,” he gasped, daring to lift his head from my pussy. “Tasty Paris in Paris.”
“I want you . . . inside me. Take me . . . now,” I urged. Smiling oh-so-perfectly, Niles rose up from between my legs like a mighty bull. I almost giggled over the way sweat glistened on his body, for homeboy was almost glowing in the light.
