Dirty Money

by Michelle Love

  Steele laughed too.

  “I don’t mind. So, what’s his name?” Her cell rang, and she saw Arsen’s name and held her hand up to stop Gwen from answering.

  “Hello, Arsen. Okay, be right out.”

  The way Steele hauled ass to get out to his car had Gwen shaking her head. “Bye, and don’t forget what we talked about, Steele.”

  “I won’t,” Steele said as she walked out the door.

  ARSEN

  It was five minutes after eight p.m. when the doorman buzzed Arsen to tell him a young woman was there for a meeting she’d sat up with him. He told him to send her up and prepared himself to see the new detective who’d been put on his case.

  He left Tanner out of the meeting on purpose. He was a criminal lawyer himself after all. He knew the rules.

  Arsen was not prepared for the gorgeous woman who walked off the elevator and stepped into the living area of his penthouse. Clad in an expensive tight fitting, short pencil skirt in black and a silk blue shirt, she’d left the top three buttons undone on, and sky high black heels. He had a hard time not letting his eyes roam all over her.

  Her dark hair was falling over her shoulders in waves and her blue eyes were piercing.

  He shook his head to clear it.

  “You must be Detective Fontaine.” He extended his hand as he walked toward her.

  She took his hand and shook it with a slow movement and held it a bit too long.

  “And you are the infamous, Arsen Sloan. What a pleasure it is to meet you. I have to tell you I’m not a fan of your work as you get way too many of the bad guys off the charges we work so hard to make stick.”

  With a shrug he pulled his hand away and said, “Someone has to defend the accused, Detective. Please come this way and we can talk in my office.”

  He wanted her in there where he could be the one to sit behind the large desk and make her feel he was in charge and not the other way around.

  “Can I offer you a drink? A Cognac or a glass of wine?”

  She laughed a little as she followed him.

  “Afraid I’m still on the clock, but thank you. Perhaps another time when I’m not working. You are a single man, aren’t you, Arsen?”

  He almost stopped and turned around as she asked him such a personal question.

  “As far as anyone knows, I am,” he managed to say with a laugh. “What woman in her right mind would give me the time of day with all the news out there that I’m a BDSM master with three dead subs after all?”

  “I guess that would cramp your love life a bit.” She took the chair in front of the desk he gestured to and he went around and took his large, leather chair.

  He noticed her taking him all in and frowned.

  “It has. Now, tell me what you need from me.”

  She bit her bottom lip, and he thought how easily he could bend the woman over his desk and take her anyway he pleased. And then it hit him. She had to be part of a set up against him.

  “I need to know why your hand prints are on the three victim’s necks. If you don’t mind. I need explicit details.”

  He knew what she was doing and wouldn’t play into her devious hands. He leaned forward and laced his fingers together and placed his chin on them.

  “Those particular women were into something not a lot of people know about. They liked to be choked. You should really look it up on your own. It’s not appropriate to discuss in mixed company.”

  She crossed her legs, leaving them open for a moment and Arsen saw the flash of red panties she’d meant him to. He almost laughed out loud at her antics. “Please, Mr. Sloan, let me into your world a bit so I can help you. Tell me about why the women wanted you to choke them to death.”

  He laughed and sat back in his chair.

  “I didn’t say to death, Fontaine. I didn’t even choke them until they were unconscious. Merely until they could take no more and touched my forearm, telling me to let them go.”

  “Could you show me?” she asked as her eyes lit up.

  He shook his head and laughed.

  “No.”

  “But I’m asking you to and that’s what you said the other women did. I want to feel that. Can’t you understand? It could help me find out who really did this to them. I don’t think it was you.” She leaned forward and her breasts spilled over her bra and she moved in a way to make sure they jiggled.

  “If you want to feel that, I advise you to ask your boyfriend to help you out with that. I’m not going to. You see, there’s a little more to it than just cutting off the oxygen supply to the brain for a little while. It’s during intercourse, so you see how that’s not going to happen?” Arsen opened his bottom drawer and pulled out a small glass and a bottle of Scotch.

  “Am I making you nervous, Arsen?” she asked as she sat back and spread her legs apart, allowing the red panties to remain in his line of vision.

  “You, no.” He wasn’t nervous, he was growing angrier and didn’t want to lose his temper with the woman who thought she was so enticing. She was anything but that. And the fact is all he could think about was getting the meeting over with and getting Steele back by his side.

  “I’d like to help you. But I need you to let me in. You see, I think you might have an idea of who the real killer could be.”

  He did, but he was unsure if he should share that information with the woman he felt more and more was some type of trap they thought he’d fall into. He shook his head.

  “If I had any idea, don’t you think I’d already have thrown a name out there?”

  “It’s occurred to me that you might be thinking you’re smarter than we are.” Her eyebrows arched, and she smiled as she looked intensely into his eyes.

  “I don’t think anything of the sort. Now, unless you have anything else to ask me, I have somewhere to be.” He sipped his drink as she smiled.

  “Oh, I see. Well, there is one more thing. It’s about this club called Fierce and how you have a private room there and how we need to get in there and take some samples of any type of bodily fluids in the room. I was hoping you’d see fit to help us out on that, without us needing to get a warrant.” She sat back and made damn sure her panties were showing as she hitched up her short skirt a little higher.

  He smiled.

  “Afraid I’m going to have to let you get a warrant for that. And you will find evidence of all three of them in there.”

  “I see. And how about in here?” she asked as she gestured around.

  He shook his head. “I never let them come here.”

  “Never?” She looked surprised. “You never let your girlfriends come home with you.”

  “They weren’t my girlfriends.” He took a long drink, growing tired of her.

  “But you have had a girlfriend before. Beth, right?” Her eyes sparkled as she knew she’d hit a nerve.

  His eyes narrowed. “She had nothing to do with this.”

  “No, but her mother might. You see, I think your ex-mistress might have been the one who killed your ex-submissive partners. She actually came to us, asking us to protect her from you, Mr. Sloan. Tell me when you last contacted her.” She leaned forward and smiled. “And try to remember to be truthful, as she’s told us.”

  “I have not contacted her in years. Not since I got away from her. So whatever she said was a lie. She’s prone to lying. She kept her lifestyle a secret from her family. I assume with her coming to you she must’ve finally divorced her husband or something.” He sat back and refused to let the woman see how irate he was.

  “He’s dead, Mr. Sloan.” Her face went emotionless.

  His eyebrows rose.

  “I hope you’re not about to accuse me of that as well.”

  “No,” she said with a smile. “He had a heart attack a few years ago.”

  He sat back with relief. “Fucking bastard,” he muttered.

  “She told us, he’d beaten you nearly to death and that her daughter saw you as a weak coward. Mrs. Sinclair said she helped you
to become the man you are today. A successful billionaire.” She stood up and looked down at him for only a second as he quickly stood.

  “She had nothing to do with my success. I became the man I am despite her. And I don’t care enough for the miserable woman to bother to threaten her in any way. I have walked away from her, much to her disapproval and I have the scars on my back to prove she was a harsh mistress.” He walked around the desk. “I’ll see you out then, Detective Fontaine.”

  He walked down the hall to the elevator as she followed behind him. He pressed the button, and the door opened up. She stepped inside and smiled.

  “Be seeing you soon, Mr. Sloan. As soon as we get that warrant.” She gave him a wink just before the doors closed.

  Arsen stood staring at the closed doors and cursed silently to himself. He had to get to the club and clean up some things before the police went in there. And he would need help. He knew the one person he could count on, but it really wasn’t what he wanted for her.

  He had no choice though!

  STEELE

  Arsen’s face was unreadable as she got into the car with him.

  “How’d it go, Arsen?” she asked as she slid in beside him and buckled her seatbelt.

  “Not well, and now it seems I need your help.” He ran his hand over her shoulder and down her arm. “I need you to go with me to, Fierce. It’s Friday, so we have the weekend to get things taken care of before the police manage to get a warrant to search my private room there.”

  Her eyes lit up.

  “So, you’re taking me there?”

  “Yes, I wouldn’t get excited about it if I were you.” He looked past her as they waited at the exit of the parking lot of her apartment complex. A car went by them and he saw the man who’d been at the police station earlier that day and outside his penthouse as well.

  “It’s Allen White.”

  Steele looked out the dark window and saw him too.

  “What’s he doing here?”

  Arsen called out to his driver,

  “Wait a second, Paul. I need to see where the man in that car that just passed us is going.”

  They watched out the window as Allen pulled into the parking spot next to Gwen’s car. He got out and used a key to go into the apartment Gwen shared with Steele.

  Steele looked at Arsen.

  “Oh my God. Gwen told me she was seeing a new man. It’s him, Arsen!”

  “This is not good, Steele. She’s in real danger. We have to go in there. We have to let her know about him.” Arsen looked worried and called out to Paul, “Go back and park, Paul. Steele and I have to stay here until that man leaves. We may have to stay the night.”

  Paul turned the Suburban around and took them back. As he opened the door for them, he said, “I’ll stay here, in case anything happens, boss. I can sleep in the car. No problem.”

  “Thanks.” Arsen took Steele by the hand and led her back to the apartment. “Your roommate didn’t tell you the guy’s name?”

  “She was about to but then you called me.”

  “I see. Okay. Well, let’s do this. Let’s try very hard not to let things escalate. We don’t need a scene to be made and the police to be called after all.”

  Steele opened the door and found a very surprised Gwen and a not so surprised Allen White. But Allen managed to quickly turn his expression into one of complete joy.

  “Well, as I live and breathe, it’s my dear friend and old attorney, Arsen Sloan.” Allen stepped forward and Arsen was taken into the smaller man’s arms in a hug.

  Arsen let Steele’s hand go to pat the man’s back and gently push him back. “Allen. How are you doing?” Arsen asked with a smile.

  Steele could tell he was playing along with the man. Allen stepped back and ran his arm around Gwen. “I’m doing great, Arsen. Really, great.”

  “That’s good to hear. So, when did you get out?” Arsen said. Steele guessed Gwen had no idea she was allowing a horrific murderer to put his hands on her.

  Allen’s eyes cut sideways to Gwen and his smile faded. “She doesn’t know about that, Arsen.”

  Arsen’s eyebrows raised. “Oh, sorry. It seems I might have let the cat out of the bag. Allow me to explain, Allen.”

  Allen nodded. “You’re the one who is so great with words. Go ahead.”

  Gwen looked oddly at Arsen. “I’m Gwen, by the way. We’ve actually never been introduced.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Gwen.” Arsen looked back at Steele. “Have anything to drink so we can all sit down and get to know one another, baby?”

  Steele moved quickly to the kitchen. “Yes, oh, sorry, Arsen. How rude of me, sorry.”

  Gwen’s eyes followed her, and she said, “No reason to get all apologetic, Steele.” She looked back at Arsen. “Is there, Arsen?”

  “No, no reason to apologize, Steele.” Arsen took a seat on the sofa and Gwen and Allen sat across from him on the other smaller loveseat in the living room. He looked at Gwen. “I was Allen’s attorney in a murder case. He was accused of kidnapping and torturing his high school math teacher when he was nineteen. After a couple of months of doing that, he killed her. I lost the case, and he went to prison. But it seems as if you managed to get out, Allen. Good for you. How’d that happen?”

  “I found our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Arsen,” Allen said as he took Gwen’s hand in his and looked at her. “But you know that, darling.”

  “But I didn’t know you killed someone. And tortured and kidnapped.” She pulled her hand from his and stared at him in shock. “That’s a big thing to leave out, Allen.”

  Steele appeared with a tray of drinks. “Whiskey Sours, anyone?” She handed Arsen one first and made a little courtesy as she did, something which had Gwen’s frown go even further across her face.

  Arsen looked at Steele and made a little head shake. She found herself nervous. After placing the other drinks in front of Gwen and Allen, she took hers and sat next to Arsen. His arm ran around her and she leaned into him.

  Allen looked at Gwen and smiled. “I’ve come to terms with what I did and firmly believe the Devil made me do that. With Jesus as my leader I have changed my ways and will no longer be following that terrible path of evil any longer. I’ve made it right with God and the Parole Board, Gwen. You have nothing to fear from me, baby.”

  Arsen took a drink and glanced sideways at Steele.

  “Well, that’s wonderful to hear, Allen,” he said.

  Gwen still looked to be in shock and took a drink.

  “So, you’re all better then?”

  Allen nodded.

  “Better, yes, I’m better. Completely not that guy anymore. I was a kid when I did that anyway. A crazy kid who listened to too much hard rock. The Devil got into me with his Devil music and turned me into his pawn. I’m looking into suing those rock bands I listened to back then.” He looked at Arsen. “Say, you couldn’t help me out with that could you?”

  “Suing old rock bands?” Arsen asked in surprise.

  “Yeah, you know those guys who let the Devil into my soul and robed me of years of my life. Those guys. Could you help me sue them all?” Allen smiled.

  Arsen shook his head.

  “Um, I’m not that kind of lawyer, sorry Allen.”

  “Perhaps you could refer one for me. I’d really appreciate it if you could help me. You have to recall that I told you the Devil was in my head back then.” Allen took a little sip and looked at Arsen intently.

  “I do, I recall you telling me that would be a great defense. I don’t remember you saying anything about suing the people who made the music you listened to though,” Arsen said.

  “I came up with that later.” Allen looked at Gwen. “Honey, our kids can’t ever listen to that stuff, promise me.”

  Steele had the glass to her lips as he said that and she spit the drink out and choked on the liquid.

  “God! Sorry! What did you say? Kids? When you have kids? How the fuck close are you two? Shit, sorry!”
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  Her hand flew over her mouth and she looked at Arsen with wide eyes. He tapped the top of her thigh.

  “I’ll let that slide, Steele.”

  Steele nodded and looked down for a brief second then she looked at Gwen who was glaring at her. “We are very close, Steele. And why are you apologizing yet again?”

  “I’m trying to stop cursing that’s all,” Steele said and took another drink.

  Gwen’s glare moved to Arsen then back to Steele. “You see, Allen is a Christian man, and he doesn’t want to sin so he has asked me to marry him because he doesn’t believe in having sex without being married. He also doesn’t believe in birth control. He believes we should have every child God gives us. We’ve talked extensively on the subject.”

  “You left that out when we were talking a while ago, Gwen.” Steele said. “So where’s the engagement ring and when’s the wedding?” She glared at her roommate.

  “There’s no ring,” Allen said as he smiled at Gwen. “Those are for people who need to show the world they’re married. We only need God to know that. And as soon as I find us a place to live, I’m going to marry us myself as I am an ordained minister.”

  Steele rolled her eyes and looked at Arsen. He tapped her leg and said, “Well, seems like you’re really doing great, Allen. Um, it’s been a long day and I have some things to talk to Steele about in private. We’ll be staying the night here in her bedroom.” He got up and Steele quickly followed.

  Gwen watched them leave the room as they all exchanged good nights. Steele smiled at her as she walked by.

  “Happy for you, Gwen.”

  “You too,” Gwen said as she looked up at her friend. “You two have a good night now.”

  Steele’s stomach was in knots as she led Arsen to her bedroom. She closed the door behind them and whispered.

  “That guy’s crazy. I can’t see how Gwen doesn’t see it.”

  Arsen nodded and pulled her to the bed. He sat down and pulled her to sit next to him. He kept his voice quiet as he said, “He isn’t all there. I’m sure you can tell that. We have to get her away from him. I’m positive he’s the killer. I mean why else would he be here with her? How’d they meet?”