by Korry Smith
Take the bait, Senator. Take it!
He was still hesitant, and I had given up on the man. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned to walk away, but he grabbed my arm and stopped me. Rising to his feet, the senator became a menacing tower over my five-foot-one-inch frame. For the first time since he approached me, I felt unsafe.
“Meet me at the VIP elevators in ten minutes,” he said quietly; releasing his grip, and stalking out towards the lobby.
Slumping back into the stool, I allowed my body to relax, feeling drained and uneasy from the stress. It was a close call, but the game was still on.
Thank God!
Swiping the discarded campaign pin off the bar, I put it in my purse to keep as a souvenir. It was a trophy to remind me of this tiny victory.
The hotel was easy to navigate, and the VIP elevators were close to the lounge. My heels made a loud clacking noise on the marble floor as I made my way over to it. There was no one around, oddly desolate, and mirrors surrounded me. My reflection was hard to avoid, and I looked at myself — really looked, and it surprised me to see no fear. There was a resilient calmness behind my features. I looked confident and sexy. It was a vast contrast to the way I felt, but seeing that fierceness in my eyes changed me, transforming my insides to match my outer.
Alex’s words rang loud and clear in my ears: You got this.
Senator Ryan, in his iron-pressed black suit with red and blue striped tie, came sauntering over to me and flashed the key card. He swiped it into the elevator, and it dinged open. He ushered me inside like a dirty secret, and as his dirty secret, he treated me to a cheap room on the third floor. The senator didn’t feel the need to pull out all the stops for a common prostitute. I was nothing more than an hour of his time.
Naively, I’d assumed we’d be going to some lavish suite, but this was not Pretty Woman. I was not Julia Roberts, and he was, as sure as shit, not Richard Gere. My life, chaotic and twisted, had morphed into some nineties movie plotline, without the catchy soundtrack.
As we exited the elevator, he put his hand on my lower back and led me down the hall to the room. I wanted to look behind me, so badly, just to see whether Alex was somewhere close by, hidden behind a hallway corner, but I wouldn’t dare. We were close to carrying out our goal, and I didn’t want to tip off his father. He was already wary of me. I could feel the tension rolling off, but instead of listening to his gut instinct, he ignored it. His lustful needs replaced all rational thought.
“Here we are,” he murmured into my ear, sliding the key card, and opening the door.
Stepping aside, the senator allowed me to walk in ahead of him. The room was dark, and the only illumination was coming in was from the outside hallway, which wasn’t much. My hand felt along the wall looking for the switch, stepping further into the room. The door closed, and my sight went black, all light gone. Not knowing what was behind me or in front of me was frightening, leaving me vulnerable to him.
“Senator Ryan?” My voice cracked on every-single-damn-syllable.
“Right here.” He rushed up from behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me firmly back into his chest. Sniffing my hair, he let out a hot breath along my neck, and the stench of scotch was sickeningly sweet. “The second I saw your tight little body, I knew I had to have you.”
“Whoa there, I think you ought to slow down.” I laughed nervously, prying his hands from my waist, and gently pushing him away, but this made him more aggressive.
“I’m the one who gives the orders,” he said, taking a fistful of my hair, and jerked my head to the side. When I tried moving away from him and his mouth, he clutched my hip and squeezed.
“Stop it; you’re hurting me!” I said, panicked, and struggling within his hold. My hands were clawing at his, digging my nails into his skin and drawing blood.
“You want to play rough?” The senator spun me around and went in for a kiss. I turned my head to dodge his advances, but it fueled his sadistic game. Gripping me again at the waist, tighter this time, he pushed and thrust his body into mine, walking me back towards the bed.
“Get the fuck off me!” I shoved him in the chest and nudged my elbows between us.
“That’s right, keep fighting me, beautiful. I want you to.” He forced his mouth on me and pressed his tongue against my tightly shut lips.
I fought with fury, kicking, and punching, and even managing to connect a couple of my fists into his face. It was gratifying to hit him and inflict some pain.
If I could get my gun, I thought, feeling the weight of it in my purse.
As if he read my mind, he seized a hold of my wrists and forced them down, locking them at my sides. It immobilized me. I tried kneeing him in the balls, but he predicted every move, blocking, and dodging everything I would throw at him. My energy was crashing, and I was losing.
“Feisty kitty,” he said, tossing me back on the bed. “Now behave!”
It had been a little over a minute since we came into the room and things had already escalated to a dangerous point. What was going to happen in the next two minutes? Three minutes? Four?
I refused to find out.
Kicking as hard and as ferociously as I could, my five-inch heel connected and jabbed him in the stomach. He grunted, and called me a cunt, slapping my legs away as he threw himself on top of me to straddle my thighs. Grabbing my hands as they came his way as fists, he combined them at the wrists and raised them over my head, pinning me down.
“You can stop resisting me now, little one,” he panted. “I will still pay you handsomely.”
The strap of my purse was digging into my shoulder, and I glanced up on the bed to find it. The answer to all my problems was an inch from my head. So close yet still so far away from my reach. The way he had my body restrained under his weight with my hands bound, there was no chance of me getting to my gun. No, I needed to relax. Stop fighting him and play possum.
“Okay,” I said, nodding obediently. “I’m calm.”
“Good. Now, what do you say about getting this hot little number off you?” the senator asked, sitting back on his heels and pushing my dress up my thighs.
I waited for that perfect moment of distraction as he drove my dress further up my body and exposed my underwear. I watched his face as, inch by inch, he lifted the black fabric and unveiled my tattoo. His hands stilled, and he narrowed his eyes, silently reading the fresh ink.
Alex.
Smoky grays flashed up to meet my eager eyes as betrayal and realization washed over his face. He knew right then he had been set up. The shock disabled him and gave me that one chance.
Reaching up into my purse, I wrapped my fingers around the cold steel and whipped out my gun. Loaded and cocked, I pointed the barrel right in the middle of the senator’s sweat-covered forehead.
“That’s right. You know what that is,” I said, kicking the pervert off me and sitting up on my knees.
“Is he here?” the senator asked, and his head moved forward with a quick jerk in response to his question, as if someone pushed him.
I smiled, knowing what that movement meant.
“Hey, Pops,” Alex said. “Remember me?”
Chapter Twelve
This guy, a criminal and worthless piece of shit, was my bad habit and the sickness to my health. Everything about him got my heart fluttering, my mind racing, and my body aroused. Needing a hit of his face, I threw myself across the bed and reached for the side table lamp. I flicked it on, and the soft glow of light illuminated the room and displayed the scene before me.
Alex was standing above the senator with the Colt pressed flush to the back of his head. They looked so similar in features, but their expressions were vastly different: one was angry but arrogant, and the other one was embarrassed but proud.
“On your feet,” Alex ordered, grabbing his dad by the arm, and hoisting him up. He walked him over to a chair at a roundtable. “Sit.”
“I thought you were dead,” the senator mumbled and took a
seat.
“No, you hoped I was dead. There’s a difference.” Alex glanced over at me. “Kid, come over here and tie him up.”
I sat the gun down on the table and grabbed my purse. There were two silk ties and four stockings, all making good rope in a pinch of binding someone.
Alex kept his Colt pointed at his dad’s head as I tied him up, securing that perverted bastard to his chair. The senator watched my every move, his face flat, stoic, and showing no signs of fear. The man held composure under pressure. It was a real shame that he was so corrupt because, with his power and charisma, combined with killer looks, he could do some great things for the Senate.
“He’s not going anywhere now,” I said, rising to my feet.
“Nice work.” Alex grabbed me by the neck, pulling me close and plopping a kiss on my forehead.
“So, son, you sent your girlfriend to set me up?” the senator asked, clicking his tongue with disapproval.
“I knew you had a weakness for young and beautiful girls,” Alex said, looking down at me and winking.
I smiled as heat flooded my cheeks.
His dad lowered his head and sighed. “I told Frankie not to worry. That you weren’t a threat to me, but he said — no, he warned me that you were worse, more hostile than before. I should have listened to him.”
“Yeah, well, he’s a smart guy, Dad. You should have listened to him when he suggested that you lock me up or send me to boarding school. It was your mistake thinking you could rehabilitate me and make me into something I’m not. You knew when I was five what I would turn out to be,” Alex said, dragging a chair out from the corner and sitting down across from the senator.
He chuckled. “We all make mistakes.”
“Not me,” Alex said, grabbing hold of my wrist, and yanking me down into his lap. He rubbed his hand up and down my bare thigh, sending fiery heat and cold shivers throughout my body. I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, and breathing in that overwhelming scent.
God, he smelled good. What was that? A mixture of peppermint, leather, cigarettes, and…Alex.
“What do you want then?” His dad asked, clearing his throat, and breaking my blissful bubble.
I forgot he was watching us, and begrudgingly, I pulled away from my heart and focused my attention back on our hostage.
“The same thing I wanted from my girl’s piece of shit parents: restitution.” Alex smiled and caressed my cheek lovingly. “You haven’t properly been introduced to my father yet, have you?”
I glared at the senator. “No, he didn’t introduce himself before propositioning me.”
Alex tilted his chin down and gave a disappointed tsk, tsk. “My girl meets my father for the first time, and he treats her like a whore.”
“I didn’t treat her like a—"
“Well, that’s unacceptable, Senator. I thought you, of all fucking people, would show better decorum.”
“What do you want from me, Alexander? An apology? Do you want me to tell her that I am sorry? Fine!” The senator settled those cold, deceiving eyes back on me. “I’m sorry for whatever wrong I’ve done to you, young lady. There. Are you two happy?”
Alex and I glanced at each other and scoffed. What kind of an apology was that?
The senator jerked at his restraints, further digging the high-dollar fabric into his skin. He grew tired, frustrated, and pleading. “Tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it!”
“Tell you what we want you to do, and you’ll do it?” Alex mused, scratching his eyebrow piercing with the tip of his gun. He looked as though he was combating a migraine.
“Anything,” the senator answered eagerly, sitting up in his chair — as much as the ties and stockings would allow. “If money is what you want, I’ll give you as much as you need. If you want your life back here in Missouri, you got it. Name your price.”
It hit me like a ton of bricks right then. Why didn’t I catch it before? We were in Alex’s hometown, the very place he ran away from, but my guy risked bumping into his past by taking me to see the Gateway Arch. It was my one birthday wish, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t say no to me. I would have understood. He chose to take the chance anyway. Was it just to make me happy? Or was it an excuse to come back and settle a long-overdue score?
I watched his mouth and listened to his next words carefully.
“Thanks for the offer, but I fully intend on robbing you blind tonight. I’m going to take everything you’re worth, and then some. I’m not asking for your permission to do that. That’s not what this little visit is about.”
“Then what the fuck is it about?” the senator huffed, fighting, and struggling against the ties.
“I want you to answer some questions for me. Shit that’s been eating at me for nine fucking years.” Alex slid his hand up the nape of my neck and entangled his fingers in my hair.
“Ah, your wedding day.” The senator nodded as the light bulb clicked on. The thought of my guy marrying some girl, arranged or not, caused a raw aching in my heart. “What do you want to know?”
“Why?” The pain in his voice nearly broke me.
I understood what he must have felt with the visit with my pseudo-parents, and how much restraint he used by not killing them.
His dad’s brows furrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry?”
“Why did you do it? Why would you fucking set me up like that?” His body tensed under me as he clutched his gun and fought off the urge to pop one off in the senator’s skull.
“I don’t know what you heard, but I didn’t set you up.”
“You’re fucking lying to me. I heard you talking with Olivia’s father. I knew what you two fuckers did!”
The senator couldn’t keep up the con. The truth was far more unsettling.
“Son, you have to realize that what I did was to keep you out of prison.”
“Right? Of course, fucking noble Julian, thinking about other people before himself.” Alex chuckled dryly. “I would have never been caught in the first place if you hadn’t paid those fuckers to betray me.”
“Will you listen to yourself? You’re blaming me for your decisions. Yeah, I paid those thieves to turn on you, but son, you chose to live a life of crime. If the police didn’t arrest you that night, you would have gotten arrested somewhere else down the line, but I wouldn’t be there to bail you out. I was trying to save you.”
“Save me? It didn’t have anything to do with political gain? That was all for me?” Alex’s eyes met mine, so tired and defeated. He knew that his father would never admit to being wrong. My guy had to accept that fact and move on. Like I did. “Am I crazy thinking that he would own up to shit? Tell me that this wasn’t a waste of our time, kid.”
Running my hand through his hair, I smiled. “This wasn’t a waste of time.”
He turned back to his father and pressed the barrel to his head. “There are two reasons why I’m not killing you right now. For one, you’re too much of a public figure. We do not need that kind of heat on us. And two, you’re my father, and for some fucking reason, I can’t…” He sighed. “But this is what’s going to happen. I want you to use that power of yours and call the Phoenix Police Department to get the charges against us dropped.”
“What are the charges?” the senator snorted. “Robbery?”
Alex shrugged.
“You’re overestimating my pull, son. I can’t demand another state to bend their laws for personal reasons.”
“I think you can. Do you want to know how I know this?”
“How?”
“I have dirt on you, Senator. All your philandering ways have been caught and documented, and not just from tonight.”
“You’re bluffing,” he said.
Alex leaned forward. “Do you want to take that chance? Imagine what it would do to your career. It would destroy your chances of being governor, but not only that, Senator; it would flatten your marriage. Mom would be heartbroken if she knew about you and the countless women.�
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“It’s not that I wouldn’t do it, Alexander. It’s just not possible.” The senator begged for a way out of this hopeless situation. “You have no idea what you’re asking of me.”
“I don’t care how you fucking do it, just get it done. End of discussion. If you don’t get those charges dropped by the end of the week, I will rain hell upon you.”
Oh, my God. I couldn’t handle it anymore.
The way his forearm’s tensed and flexed as he squeezed the Colt’s handle made my breath catch. The intricate, compelling tattoos coiled on his skin, thumping and pulsating, as the anger and hate circulated in his blood. It was mesmerizing to watch, and I couldn’t look away. He was trying to be cool, but the violent gleam in his eyes told me how simple it would be to pull the trigger. I could envision the senator’s demise: The chaos, the mess, and the beautiful deed, painted a deep red as it saturated Alex’s lips.
How would that kill taste on my tongue?
I wanted him so badly, right there and right now, in front of his dad, and I didn’t give a shit how inappropriate it was. The need to satiate my craving for this man was overshadowing everything else.
Shifting on Alex’s lap, I rocked my hips and rubbed myself against his groin, wanting to feel him. I leaned in and pressed my tits into his shoulder, letting him know I was there. Lowering my head, I kissed his neck, and the taste of him was delicious.
My timing was the worst. We were in the middle of interrogating our hostage to negotiate a deal and getting my man all worked up wasn’t the brightest. I fucking knew that, but I couldn’t help myself. This beautiful, dangerous guy was driving me insane. How was a girl with a boyfriend as deadly and good-looking as Alex sitting under her expected to stay virtuous and not partake in his sin?
I just wanted him to climb inside my body.
That’s all.
