by Kimbra Swain
The kiss was a gentle assurance. He was here. He was here to stay. I couldn’t stop the tears. My strength was gone. My own brother. He wasn’t there to kill me, but he definitely tipped someone off on where to find me. We ran off leaving Bastian behind. Jamey asked me to hold it together once. I tried. The cabby informed us that we were one block away.
Jamey took the phone from me, looking around us for the Uber. He spotted it, pointing it out to me. He paid the cabby in cash, and we ran from one car to the next as I clutched my satchel closely to my side. What was left of my parents’ legacy and the legacy I’d built for my brothers and me rested in the laptop of that bag.
“Stone Mountain. Smoke Rise,” he told the Uber driver.
“Sure thing, buddy. You in a hurry?” he asked looking at both of us.
My anxiety shot up. Everything spooked me now. “It’s okay,” Jamey coaxed. “Yeah, we kinda are. I’ll drop a couple of hundred on you to move it without questions.”
The driver, a middle-aged man of Latino descent with no apparent accent, turned to the wheel and quickly pulled out into traffic. Once we hit the interstate, I didn’t feel as apprehensive.
“Smoke Rise is a nice neighborhood,” I said.
“Dad wanted a big house. A statement,” Jamey explained.
“My parents were the same way. Their house is a monstrosity in Morningside-Lenox Park,” I said.
“Damn,” Jamey muttered. The neighborhood was one of the most expensive in Atlanta. My father was about statements, too. “You still own it?”
“Yes. The real estate was too valuable to give up. The housing market tanked not long after Mom died, and I held on to it. I’ll take you if we survive this,” I said.
“Alexa, it will all work out,” he said confidently. His phone buzzed. “Elliot. Yeah, hang on.”
I took the phone from him. “Hello,” I muttered.
“Shit. Lex hang in there okay? He’s been coerced. I think they have Charity and are threatening to kill her,” Sebastian said.
“They won’t do that because she is one of them,” I said.
“I told him, but he would have done it either way. He loves her,” Bastian said. I knew how my brother felt now. “I’ve got my team working on trying to recover her, but LeBlanc says he won’t release her unless we trade you for her. That’s not happening. We will figure it out.”
“Call Humphrey. Tell him I will release the files if he doesn’t help you guys,” I said.
“What files?” Sebastian asked. “Nevermind. It doesn’t matter. Do you trust him?”
“With the dirt, I have on him, yes. Just avoid Javier,” I said.
“Javier left after the takeover. I haven’t talked to him. I’ll call Hump. Stay with Jamey. Stay away from the building, home, mom and dad’s house, everything. I don’t even want to know where you are going right now,” he said.
“Two men chased us. We had to leave Jamey’s car,” I said.
“Yeah, Kellan called me. He said just leave it there. It will be fine. Not that Jamey is worried about that piece of junk,” Sebastian said.
“Hey! That’s my car,” Jamey piped up.
“I’ll get the Mercedes back,” Sebastian said with a lighter tone.
“You better,” Jamey warned.
“Take care of her, Asshole,” Sebastian said.
“With my life,” Jamey swore. Sebastian disconnected.
“No lives,” I muttered.
“You know what I mean,” he said.
“I know, but if anyone pays for all of this it should be me,” I said.
“Stop beating yourself up about this. What the hell? Where is Alexandra Malone? The ruthless businesswoman?” Jamey said.
The driver’s eyes flicked up to the rear-view mirror. I saw him look at us. “Are we going the right way?” I asked. My apprehensions still high not trusting anyone or anything.
“Yes. Hey buddy, here,” Jamey said shoving a couple of hundred-dollar bills at him. I knew our money supply was dwindling. “Keep that name between us.”
“You got it, mate,” the driver said stuffing the bills in his pocket.
The drive took around thirty minutes. We pulled up in front of a large house. It was almost as big as my parents’, but I was sure that because it was this far out of the metro that it wasn’t worth as much as the prime real estate of my parent’s home. Jamey pulled his wallet and keys out. He pulled out the last of the cash in his wallet giving a generous tip to the driver. He pulled his gun before getting out. The driver tensed.
“Not for you, buddy,” Jamey said, slipping out of the car. He offered me his hand. I stood out of the car as we approached the front door.
“Open the door, baby.”
I fumbled with the key that he gave me but quickly recovered putting into the door. It clicked unlocked. Jamey pushed into the door before me turning on lights as he went through the house. He went into every room before he lowered his gun. He set the alarm system.
“It’s clean,” I said.
“Yeah, I pay a housekeeper to tend to it. I didn’t want it to get too bad if I decided to sell it,” he said. “Come on. I’ve got some things here that you can wear. There might be a Calvin Klein suit here, too.” The devious smile of Synclair James Elliot crossed his face.
Giving him a half-hearted smile, he led me to his bedroom. He laid a t-shirt and some sweats on the bed. He kissed me on the forehead. “Go ahead. The bathroom is right there. I’ll wait on you.”
Slipping into the bathroom, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was shocked at my appearance. The t-shirt and jeans that I wore looked several days old, even though I’d only worn them that day. My face was red and splotchy. I found a bath cloth in a drawer, then used it to wash my face. I put on the clothes he gave me. They smelled like him. It comforted me.
As I went back into the bedroom, Jamey clicked off the lights. I could barely see him in the darkness. He only gave me a glimpse of his shirtless body, but I felt his arms around me.
“Come to bed, baby,” he said.
Following him to the bed, I crawled into it. He curled up next to me. I felt him slip his pistol to the front of the bed at the headboard. My eyes met his. He took my hand and guided it to it. There was a holster built into the headboard. “If I need it?” I asked.
“You won’t. Just rest. I’m here,” he said, pulling me to him. Within minutes, I was asleep.
Thirty-Nine
JAMEY
As the early signs of dawn filtered through the windows, I enjoyed this moment lying next to her. She slept most of the night peacefully. Exhaustion will do that to you. And stress. I wasn’t sure how I’d managed to keep calm through all of it, but I supposed my years spent wallowing in apathy helped me focus on the things that really mattered.
Taking care of her was the most important thing in my life at the moment. I wasn’t ready for marriage, but I knew that one day if she didn’t get tired of me, I’d make her my wife. I desperately wanted to see that woman who fought me for control just the day before. She owned the hack on her own company, and was playing her brothers like a fiddle. I’d done nothing but distract her from the moment we decided to start over in Kellan’s bar. I remembered dancing with her. How tense she was. I wanted her then, but like everything else in my life, I was too stubborn to realize it. I thanked the heavens that I was lying next to her now.
She shifted to face me. Her eyelids fluttered as I stroked the side of her face Her skin was warm and soft. I was warm, but not soft. The fullness of her emerald eyes stared back at me as I studied her. We didn’t speak as I planted soft kisses on her cheek and down her neck. She tangled her legs with mine.
“Jamey Elliot, you are naked,” she said.
“I always sleep naked, Alexandra Malone,” I replied. She giggled moving her hands under the covers. Her touch sent sharp sensations through my skin popping off like firecrackers as her nails brushed against me. She pressed her body against mine, offering herself to me. I wanted to rip the cloth
es I’d given her off her body and pound into her. “You should be naked, too.”
Her hands traced circles on my back. I moaned. Like a wimp, but damn, it felt good.
“I should,” she said, removing her hands to pull the shirt off over her head. I rolled over on top of her but kept my body hovering over her. My elbows framed her head as she reached under the covers to remove the pants I’d given her. I looked down at her body to admire it.
It had been a very long time since I’d spent two nights in a row with the same woman. Not since Tracy. Now, all I wanted was this one woman, but as she lay beneath me waiting for me to take her, I paused to make a decision. This Alexa wasn’t the same one from last night. She wasn’t fighting me. She was giving herself to me, and while I understood the significance of such a gesture especially from her, I also knew that she needed to find that fire again if we were going to make it through this. I hoped that I’d make the right move.
With no warning, I swept my arms behind her as I maneuvered my body to her left. I pulled gently but quickly to put her on top of me. I felt her hips hitch to grind against me.
“But, I,” she started.
I put my finger over her mouth. “No, this one is yours,” I said. She tilted her head to the side trying to figure out what I was doing.
“Why?” she whispered, leaning down over my lips.
“Because you need to practice dominating the competition later,” I said.
The expressions on her face shifted so quickly from one thing to the next that I had a hard time deciphering what she was thinking. Confusion at first, followed by contemplation. When I thought she was going to protest, I reached down placing my hands on her hips to make her rub against me. The sensation sent ripples of heat through me. Looking back to her face, she slowly opened her eyes, and I saw it. Hunger, desire, and the need for control. I saw the woman I fell in love with smirk knowing what I was doing.
“I’ll let you get away with this once,” she muttered, as she shifted her weight into a better position over me.
“No one lets me do anything, Miss Malone,” I used her words against her to test her control.
“Shut up, Jamey,” she said. I tilted my head back letting out a huge laugh, but before I finished, she maneuvered faster than I expected. I choked on my laugh as she began to move wickedly on top of me. So wickedly good. I’d heard men say that a woman would be the end of them, but Alexandra Malone would be the beginning of a whole new man. The man I wanted to be. The man I always should have been.
As she showered, I made breakfast. Thankfully I was able to call the housekeeper to bring some supplies. I also made a few calls to have clothes brought to us. We couldn’t waltz into Malone in jeans and t-shirts. Sebastian called twice, but I turned off the burner phone. I didn’t want anyone tracing it, and I’d wait until Alexa was ready to talk to him.
I piled eggs, bacon, and toast on two plates. As I sat them on the kitchen table, she walked in wrapped in my white bathrobe. I suppressed the urge to rip it off of her.
“Hungry?” I asked.
“Starved. Where did you get the food?” she asked.
“I called the housekeeper. She doesn’t live far. I also have some clothes being delivered,” I explained.
“Thank you, Jamey,” she sighed. I kissed her on the forehead.
“Eat,” I instructed. She sat down, then made herself a plate. She moaned with the first bite.
“Wow! Do that again!”
She giggled. “Sorry. It’s good. I guess I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” she said.
“Well, I shall endeavor to fulfill all your needs, Miss Malone,” I said.
“Just you. I just need you,” she said.
“Consider yourself satisfied,” I said joining her at the table with glasses of orange juice for each of us.
Her green eyes twinkled with delight. I was glad she liked corny because it’s usually where my humor landed. I tried suave during my wilder days from club to club, but I found my best method to seduce was to be quiet and mysterious. I was neither of those things. It felt great to be myself with Alexa.
“If I’m not, I’ll let you try again later,” she said. Evil woman turning me on with just a small statement. She took a deep breath as she reset. I could tell by the way the desire died in her eyes. It was time to get back to business.
“What’s the plan?” I asked.
“I’m tired of hiding. I’m marching into my company, and I’m going to take back what is mine,” she said. “You with me?”
“Absolutely,” I said.
“I’ll call Sebastian and set up a place to meet him. I don’t want him to know about this place,” she said.
“He’s called a couple of times this morning, but I ignored it. I figured you would want to deal with him,” I said.
“Yeah, may I use the phone?” she asked.
I handed it to her but captured her hand when I did. Kissing it gently, I said, “I’m going to get a shower. Don’t open the door!”
She shook her head at me as if I thought she was dumb. I knew she wasn’t, but I also knew that independent streak she had. I rushed up the stairs to take the quickest hot shower that I’d ever had.
Our clothes showed up after I finished my shower. I slipped into one of my newly tailored Tom Ford suits. By the glint in Alexa’s eyes, I saw that she approved. Choosing the right thing for her was a little harder, but I thought I did a great job. Especially when she stepped out of the bathroom in the dress.
“Wow!” I said not being able to hold back.
Forty
ALEXA
The dress was perfect. I should have hired him to be my personal assistant. The job was pretty much vacant now. An ivory Oscar De La Renta sheath dress with a flared ruffle at the bottom. It featured a panel at the bottom with a crochet macramé, elegant and organic. The flouncy denim jacket was soft and wavy. The seams on the jacket had a contrast stitch in the same ivory as the dress. The shoes! The Jimmy Choo T-bar tan suede heels were perfectly matched.
“Are you sure you aren’t gay?” I asked. “Kellan would have a duck if he knew you picked this out. Such good taste.” I admired the ensemble in the full-length mirror in his bedroom.
He laughed. “I can’t take all the credit. Sally down at Brewster’s sent me some pictures of things she could put together on short notice. I picked these out of what she sent me. She’s Mr. Corder’s niece.”
“It’s perfect. Maybe Sally needs a new job,” I replied. He wrapped his arms around me, looking at me in the mirror.
“You look beautiful,” he whispered in my ear.
“We should get going. The Uber driver is here.”
“This is a good point for you to back out,” I said.
“Hell, no. Don’t talk crazy to me, woman!” he scoffed.
“I’m serious, Jamey,” I said.
“I know that. But I’m serious when I say that I’m here, and you couldn’t make me leave. Let’s not test that though,” he added playfully.
I pulled him down by the lapel, and his soft lips hit mine. Such assurance and safety in a kiss. I’d opened myself up to this man, and he continued to prove to me that I’d made the right decision. His hand intertwined with mine as we went downstairs to gather a few things. I picked up the satchel carrying the laptop. I made a few changes to my algorithm just in case someone was still trying to get in from the outside. When I walked into Malone, I wanted to avoid any surprises. That sense of dread settled down on me, but I pulled myself together as Jamey and I got in the Uber car.
We planned to meet Sebastian along the way and switch to a new vehicle that he picked up this morning. We didn’t trust any of the fleet vehicles. Tampering with them would be easy for someone on the inside, and we knew we had rats to clean out.
Instead of taking a traditional route to Atlanta, we took some backroads to East Atlanta in a small burb called Kirkwood. There, I partially owned a French-style café that opened for breakfast and lunch. Pulling up behind
the restaurant, the head chef, Pierre let us in the back door. Sebastian waited for us inside. He made a few calls to some photogs that we knew that could take pictures of all of us leaving the little café.
I detailed my anticipation of how the day would go. All morning I went through scenarios in my head of the moves that Ryland LeBlanc would make. Narrowing down the options to concepts, I had a pretty good perspective of how he could play it. Then taking all of that into perspective, I made my moves to cover all those scenarios. One thing I knew for sure. Today, I would stand face to face with him.
Pierre coaxed us in to have a small bite to eat before we headed out. Sebastian told me that he had ten of his best men on site with multiple vehicles to escort us into town. I’d checked the security cameras at Malone.
Other than the skeleton crew we had called into work, the building was quiet.
“You look nice, Alexa,” Sebastian said.
“Thank you. Jamey picked it out,” I said.
Jamey rolled his eyes.
Sebastian chuckled. “Did he really? Pretty boy has some flair.”
“Shut up,” Jamey protested.
I laughed at them both. Sebastian’s face turned serious. “You know what we are about to do isn’t safe at all. There is no way I can make it completely safe for any of us. I’ve done what I could, but I don’t have the resources that Abrego has.”
“I know. That’s the point. We are doing it despite him. No more hiding,” I said.
“You ready?” Sebastian asked Jamey.
Jamey opened his jacket to show Sebastian his gun. I’d watched him load it earlier this morning. He was more adept with a weapon than I realized. I asked for one, but they both told me that they wanted me to hold on to the laptop. It was keeping us in control of Malone for now.
I kissed Pierre on both cheeks and promised to return soon. He watched with sad eyes as we started to exit the building. Jamey wrapped his left arm around my waist, placing his right inside his jacket on his gun. Sebastian reached inside his jacket and led us into the sunny December day.
