by Taylor Lee
The other reason that she tolerated Roberto’s lewd assessment of her body was that his salacious attention to her various body parts allowed her to study him. From the copious materials the various agencies had gathered on the miscreant, Sapphire had seen Roberto in many different settings. She knew he was a handsome, imposing man. But nothing in the still photos or even the videos she’d seen did justice to his overwhelming presence. The chill warning that had traced her spine while she’d studied him in the abstract now sent waves of icy sensations coursing over her. She swore the hairs on the back her neck stood straight up in dismay as the man closed in on her.
Striving for equilibrium, Sapphire turned her attention to Jase. Her partner was equally if not more handsome than Roberto. Like Ventrilo, Jase commanded a room the moment he entered. But Jase had the grace of a powerful panther moving slowly to his prey, élan in every step. Roberto had a daunting aura all his own—but no one would choose the word graceful to describe him. Sapphire assured herself that it wasn’t because she knew his devastating record that made her see the malevolence emanating from him. She didn’t have to remember the tortured bodies of his victims or how tragically young most of them were. As she met his eyes, she knew her assessment was accurate. His distinct aura filled the room. If Sapphire had to describe it succinctly, evil was the single best word to define him. He literally oozed evil.
As if he wanted to confirm her chilling assessment, Roberto reached over and pulled her toward him. Tossing Jase a sneering glance, he intoned.
“Well, well, my handsome friend. You have outdone yourself. I can see how this lovely creature has captured you. I now understand why you have been reluctant to bring her here. I’m surprised that you made it through the gathering room without having a horde of those hairy jackals attack her.”
Jase laughed. If it wasn’t for the way that he’d maneuvered Roberto’s hand off her arm, Sapphire might have thought he was conceding to the man, except that his nonchalant response contained a warning.
“Even though the members of your club are, to a man, hairy, a mite chubby and questionably virile, they aren’t stupid. I believe they understand to whom Sapphire belongs.”
Roberto nodded then pursed his lips as if deciding how to respond. When he spoke the malevolence in his intent was as penetrating as his overwhelming presence.
“Ah, yes, Jase. I agree. At least in your assessment of the other members. But I trust you know the rights and privileges of the members of the Caligula Club are distinctly different from those of its owner. Indeed, one of the perks of owning this disreputable institution is that I have access to any man or woman who chooses to enter these debauched halls.”
As he faced his nemesis, Jase’s bright emerald eyes danced with what could have been humor. His lip quirked up in the insinuation of a smile, but his cool words left no doubt as to the threat that lay beneath his surface good humor.
“Of course. That is, until now, Roberto. Until this particular woman and…man.”
Chapter 16
Sapphire swallowed hard. She wasn’t surprised that it was difficult to grab a deep breath. She knew danger when she saw it. She wasn’t a trained fighter for nothing. Particularly when the threat was standing in front of her in the form of two tall, forbidding men glaring menacingly at each other. Jase’s grip on her upper arm tightened in an imperceptible warning, a signal to be prepared. Within seconds, she’d braked her racing heart and was breathing slowly and deeply, ready for whatever came next. It didn’t take a magician to know that they were outnumbered. By eight to one, at minimum, and that was assuming that Jase had at least two of his men masquerading among the beefy guards who’d all come to attention; a pack of vicious pit bulls ready to attack if their master gave the word.
Fortunately, Roberto broke the tension with a booming laugh. Tears of mirth splashed down his swarthy cheeks. Wrapping a muscular arm around Jase’s shoulders, he pulled him close in a mauling bear hug. Sapphire was confident she was the only one who heard his whispered threat under the ersatz bonhomie.
“Careful, friend. I have more men here than you do.”
Jase treated the warning as though it had been a joke. Laughing, he brushed off Roberto’s arm and faced the club owner, then glanced at the circle of guards who had moved closer to the trio.
“Down, boys. Back to your kennels. Surely you know when your boss man is in genuine danger. As much as I’d like to think that this beautiful woman and I could take you all out, I presume you know better. Besides, Mr. Ventrilo and I have important business to discuss. Like whether we will be imbibing some of that sinfully expensive Highland Park 30 of his or settle for the slightly less expensive Lagavulin 21. I would hope, given the company of my new lovely, that he would spring for Highland Park.”
As if as an afterthought and to put distance between Ventrilo and Sapphire, Jase took hold of Sapphire’s hand and turned her toward the group of leering men.
“Gentlemen, meet Sapphire.”
Apparently not willing to let Jase win the surreptitious tryst they had engaged in, Roberto stepped forward and held out his hand to Sapphire.
“I’m delighted to meet you, my dear. Malone is correct. You are lovely, and deserving of the best that I have to offer, be it alcohol or any other mood enhancers that you desire.” He added with a wave of his hand to the designer drugs sprinkled throughout the room, “Please know that you are most welcome here. And if I can find a suitable replacement among these other lovelies to sic on your besotted guard dog, I would hope that we can get to know one another better.”
Sapphire shoved at the bile looming in her throat at the thought of getting to know this vile man “better.” She’d seen the welts on the back of the woman who’d been servicing him when she and Jase arrived and was now huddling in the corner, her eyes glazed, a tall glass of amber liquid clutched in her trembling hand. As disheveled as she was, it was hard to guess her age, but to Sapphire’s practiced eye the young woman couldn’t be more than twenty, more likely still in her teens. The fact that she could more easily have passed for forty underscored what she had unquestionably gone through at the hands of the tall man holding out his hand to her.
Fighting to squelch a caustic response, Sapphire looked up from under the curtain of her long eyelashes and smiled shyly. Accepting Roberto’s hand, she held it for a brief moment then glanced at Jase and pulled away, as if concerned that he would object. When Roberto’s expression darkened, Sapphire wondered if her attempt to exacerbate the tension between the two men might have been too obvious. She was relieved when Roberto laughed and shook his head.
“I see that my good friend has staked a claim.” Turning to Jase, his smile was grim. “However, friend, given that this young woman is not wearing a collar or even a bruise on her lovely neck, may I presume that your claim is as tentative as the ones you have put on your ‘previous’ women?”
Jase shrugged dismissively.
“Please don’t let my promiscuous past behavior mislead you.” Jase reached for Sapphire’s hand and pulled her close to him. Clearly striving for lightness he added, “As disgraceful a hound dog as I admittedly have been, even I can spot a pearl among swine, if you’ll forgive me misquoting the Bible, much less the inimitable Tom Rapp.”
He looked thoughtful for a moment and then added, “But I take your point, Roberto. Perhaps a collar—and maybe even a short leash, is in order, if only to ensure that the world knows that I’ve been reformed at the hands of the lovely Sapphire.”
Knowing that her cheeks were flaming at his outrageous suggestion, Sapphire forced herself to smile at her arrogant partner whose eyes were dancing with mischief. Even though his provocative claim infuriated her, she had to give him credit. His brazen comment had lightened the tension between himself and Roberto who was now grinning at Jase like two arrogant, misogynist men that they were sharing a secret. She was so absorbed in thoughts of what she was going to do and say to Jase when she got him alone, she almost didn’t hear Roberto’s
question. Seeing her confusion he repeated his question.
“Tell me, Sapphire. Did your parents foresee your gorgeous eyes at birth, or is that a name that you’ve picked up along the way?”
Sapphire was now glad that she was blushing. It made her attempt at embarrassment more believable. Continuing the charade, she glanced up at Jase as if seeking his permission to respond. He took the decision away from her.
“Let me answer that question, Roberto. Given Sapphire’s extraordinary body it won’t surprise you that she has spent a good bit of her short adult life on a stage. I was lucky enough to wander into a prestigious ‘club’ outside of Toronto and watched her dance. I knew from the first time I saw her that I had found the woman of my dreams.”
Roberto nodded knowingly. Approval resonated in his voice. “I see. And then you did what needed to be done. Spent thousands of dollars dressing her the way she should be dressed, then put her on display. I applaud you, my friend. Seeing a diamond in the rough, or to build on your metaphor, a pearl among pigs, is the best use of our formidable fortunes.”
He turned back to Sapphire who was struggling to curtail her genuine anger. Instead she forced herself to smile at the graceless man who was now openly leering at her. She didn’t respond to the clear lechery in his grimy smile, concentrating instead on the particular chokehold she planned to practice on her partner. Blessing the Philippine masters who’d trained her, her smile was genuine. Jase thought he knew how to inflict pain. Hmm, she doubted whether he’d ever seen what a five foot four inch, wiry, Philippino Escrima fighter could do to an arrogant man twice his size. When she got her arrogant partner out of here, she planned to demonstrate. Roberto broke into her heated thoughts.
“Please tell me, my dear, that one of these nights, you will perform for me. With Mr. Malone’s permission, of course.”
Jase grinned outright.
“But of course, Roberto. It would be sinful to keep Sapphire’s extraordinary talents under wraps. Frankly, I am dissolute enough to know that a single performance will only heighten your interest and that of any other men who see her.” He laughed dismissively. “For an arrogant, possessive prick like myself, what could be more entertaining than watching other men covet what they cannot have. He added, “What belongs to me.”
Hoping that Jase hadn’t laid it on too thick Sapphire had to admire his cojones. If it weren’t for the fact that the two dominant men were openly vying for her as if she were a prized pig at the county fair or a prime piece of horseflesh, she might have been impressed with Jase’s gambit. Seeing Roberto’s eyes blaze with menace, and Jase’s smug smile, she admitted that her arrogant partner had done in five minutes what she had thought would take them at least two meetings. He’d thrown a slab of bloody meat in front of the most dangerous man they knew, and dared him to pick it up and consume it. It was risky. Particularly since she was the slab of meat.
Knowing the old adage about not poking the tiger, and glancing around the room at the large, tense men who were watching them, as ready to pounce as their master was, Sapphire hoped they could contain Roberto at least until they had their plan in place. After all, the mission was not to taunt Roberto, although Sapphire could see why that was so intriguing to Jase. No, they had more serious business than playing “whose dick is bigger” games. She needed time to get close to the drugged out girls flopped on the floor and in the bedrooms as well as identifying the ones who’d been screaming behind locked doors. To do that Sapphire needed to befriend them. And when she did, their primary goal was to uncover enough evidence regarding Roberto’s vicious human trafficking enterprise to put him behind bars for life.
Glancing over, she caught Jase’s surreptitious wink confirming that he was enjoying taunting Roberto at her expense. Sapphire snorted. She hoped he was enjoying himself, because when she got him alone, she’d show him what happened when you poked a stick at a former special ops warrior who also happened to be one pissed off woman.
Chapter 17
Sapphire did her best to ignore the anger nibbling at her gut. Part of her wanted to shriek at the arrogant man who’d stepped into her condominium, his gun drawn, checking the interior of her house before punching the release code into her security system. She told herself that she shouldn’t be surprised that he assumed it was his job. That somehow, because he was in charge of their operation, he was also responsible for her safety. As if she hadn’t taken care of herself and her safety for going on fifteen years. If she was feeling generous she might even give him points for chutzpah. But generosity was the last thing she was feeling.
Yes, Jase was a commanding figure. She’d already known that before she saw him at the Caligula Club. But she couldn’t deny that in many ways he was even more impressive than she’d realized. His calm assertiveness with Roberto Ventrilo was striking. Ventrilo was clearly a dangerous and impressive man in his own right. But Colonel Malone had him beat ten to one. Jase met Roberto face to face and held his own—in fact, continuously upping the ante with his antagonist. Sapphire knew that Jase was doing it purposefully. He was testing Roberto. Pushing his limits. To Sapphire’s surprise, for the most part Roberto acquiesced. As did his men, who clearly saw Jase’s command of the situation. In retrospect, Sapphire realized that Jase had purposefully baited Manuel when the pompous guard refused to admit her into the chamber. With that first kerfuffle, Jase established that no one would be allowed to question his authority. None of them, neither the guards nor their boss.
All of those actions under other circumstances would have impressed the hell out of Sapphire and made her grateful that Jase had chosen her for the mission. Except for the fact that Jase had achieved that pinnacle of respect by diminishing her. The memory of him purposefully baiting Roberto with the promise of Sapphire stripping for him had her gritting her teeth. But what really had bile backing up in her throat was his casual mention of collaring her. She didn’t give a damn if that was a given in the BDSM fetish world they had entered. The very idea of wearing a man’s collar, particularly Jase’s, sent a red haze over her eyes.
Doing her best to contain her anger, Sapphire headed for her bedroom. Maybe taking off the shamelessly sexy dress she was wearing would help to even the playing field between the two of them. It was a little hard to confront him for diminishing her, when what she was wearing confirmed that she was in fact a whore. A well-dressed one, but definitely a woman on the make. She knew that was Jase’s intent when he selected the dress and all the other clothes they’d bought at the Finery. She even agreed that it was her role and god knows she knew how to play it. But having him continuously rub her nose in it was more than she could take. She needed to establish some ground rules. Now, before he got even more out of hand.
Glancing in the mirror, she was struck again at how truly astonishing was the dress that Jase had selected. At first glance it was almost demure, a column of virginal white silk. It certainly had looked innocent enough on the hanger. But on her body it came to life. It highlighted every sensuous hill and valley of her showgirl frame with shimmering streaks of light. The fact that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath the gown, Jase’s orders, was glaringly apparent. With one last look in the mirror Sapphire stripped off the dress and tossed it to the floor, determined to forget the image that she had presented not only to Roberto but also to all of his leering men. As she kicked the offending garment into the corner, she couldn’t help wondering how Jase had unerringly chosen a dress that could have been designed for her and her alone. The fact that he knew her body that well was unsettling. Sapphire quickly reminded herself, with a scornful snort, that no doubt the worldly agent had significant experience dressing, and undressing, women. No wonder he was good at his work.
That last thought had Sapphire rummaging in her bureau drawers determined to find an outfit that would dispel any thoughts her nemesis might have about what would happen next. She clearly needed to get them back on an equal footing. She needed to confirm again that she was his partner and a damn
capable one at that. That she was not some hooker available for the asking, or for the taking. She snorted disparagingly. Let’s face it, given Jase’s behavior last night, his taking what he wanted was much more likely than his asking for it.
Yanking out a pair of well-used sweats and a matching tank, Sapphire slipped them on. Seeing what even the shapeless tank did when confronted with her burgeoning breasts she quickly took off the tank and put on a bra. Shrugging off the sweats, she added panties, reminding herself that just because Jase liked her without the protection of underwear didn’t mean that she couldn’t or shouldn’t wear them. Although, glancing at the lacy lingerie as she tugged on the sweats she had to wonder which was worse, her naked body or the enticing scraps of lace and satin that comprised her lingerie collection. With an aggrieved sniff she reminded herself that what Jase thought of her underwear wasn’t an issue. Because he wasn’t going to see them tonight, that was for damn sure.
Marching out into the living room, Sapphire sucked in a deep breath. Jase was standing with his back to her, a bottle of her prized Glenmorangie Scotch in his hand, two tumblers on the bar top. Each glass held a generous amount of the amber liquid. Torn between the desire for a hearty swallow of her favorite Scotch and the need to shoo him out of her house, Sapphire took a deep breath.
“Making yourself at home, Agent Malone?” She added with an impatient wave of her hand, “Why am I not surprised?”
Jase turned toward her with a slightly sheepish look. “I don’t know about you, Sapphire, but after what we went through tonight, I thought we both could use a little liquid comfort.”
Shoving at her untoward urge to take him up on his offer, Sapphire pressed her lips together in a determined line and clenched her hands in tight fists at her side.
