Art of Loyalty (A Stern Family Saga Book 4)

by Monique Orgeron

  “Never again brother, whatever these men are trying to do to you, they are doing to all of us. What’s the plan?”

  We both walk back inside to hear what mom wants to do. The wives all make their way into the room.

  Mom asks, “Are we ready to begin?”

  Gabriel and I walk to the bar to fix a drink while mom starts addressing everyone.

  “I agree with Vincent that his friends are not working alone. But Teddy and Vincent haven’t been able to find out who it is, so I have a plan.”

  Liam says, “Well tell us what’s your plan, Mom.”

  “I found out Troy has a laptop in his hotel room. I made plans to get someone inside the room to download all the information from the laptop onto a flash drive. We should be able to learn something from it; who he works for and hopefully their plans. Teddy will be going with Fallon tonight. She will act as my liaison to distract Troy for my girl to get enough time to get in and get the information.”

  Gabriel interrupts. “No, she’s not. There is no reason to involve Fallon in this, it’s too dangerous.”

  Mom retaliates, “Gabriel there is no one else. I need the rest of you boys and Theo to empty their warehouse. I have arranged transport. You will take a crew while Fallon is doing the rest. Teddy will be with her. She will be protected.”

  Fallon stands up and tells Gabriel that she is doing this with or without his permission. They start arguing and then it hits me that mom said someone is going to his hotel room.

  I look at her and ask, “Who do you have going in the hotel room?”

  She looks me straight on and says who I feared she would say, “Brittany.”

  “What the fuck? Call it off. I told her to stay away from him. No, she’s not doing it!”

  “It’s too late, it is already arranged.”

  “Then unarrange it! I told her…”

  She stops me mid-sentence. “It doesn’t matter what you say son, as of two hours ago, you do not own Brittany’s contracts, I do. She’s working for me now.”

  “What the hell did you do?!”

  Gabriel stops arguing with Fallon and yells. “Brittany, you’re still seeing her? I told her to tell you it was over.”

  My blood is boiling, I turn. “You told her what?! What the fuck did you do, Gabriel?!”

  “I will not have you seeing her.”

  I take a run and hit him as hard as I can. He falls to the ground as Fallon screams.

  “I told you to mind your fucking business. She’s mine, you hear me?”

  Gabriel jumps up and comes after me. We’re fighting each other throwing punch for punch, when Zander and Liam pull us apart.

  Gabriel yells at me while Liam tries to control him. “I told you I will not have her around my wife!”

  I try to hit him again, but Zander holds me tight, not giving me an inch. Before I can think rationally, I blurt out. “Fallon knows, you stupid ass!”

  He stops fighting and looks at Fallon and throws Liam off him. “You know?”

  “Yes Gabriel.”

  He growls then looks at me like he’s ready to kill. He straightens his shirt and walks out the room, without another word.

  I yell after him, “This isn’t over!”

  “Get off me Zander!” He releases me, then I direct my anger towards mom. “If something happens to Brittany I will not forgive you.”

  She stands and says, “Then you better listen and follow what I tell you.”

  Then mom starts telling us all the rest of her plan. I must admit her plan is perfect. Right then, Teddy walks into the house telling everyone it’s time.

  We all leave to carry out the instructions given to each of us. Everything will be done to draw out whoever is running this operation. Mom’s plan makes sure that we uncover it all, leaving no stone unturned.

  34

  Brittany

  I arrive at the hotel right on time. Catherine asked me to have Troy meet me downstairs in the bar. It’s my job to keep him downstairs until Fallon makes her appearance. From there, I will be excused so that she can work her magic. I’m nervous but I trust them all. I just hope that Catherine can keep Vin playing his role and not spoiling all our efforts.

  Making my way through the lobby, I walk directly to the bar. Looking around, I begin to worry, I don’t see Troy. God, I hope nothing’s gone wrong. He was supposed to meet me here. I decide to take a seat at a table to wait. I order a drink and that’s when I feel him. Vin. I look up and see him staring at me from the corner of the lobby. What is he doing? Is he trying to ruin everything? I watch as he slips further back into the corner. Now I can’t see anything but darkness. This was his plan all along, to have me on guard, knowing he’s watching, almost daring me to step out of bounds. If he thinks I won’t do my job because he’s watching, he has another thing coming. I know what’s at stake and I’ll do whatever needs to be done for him, and for me. This buys me my freedom, from him and from my heart.

  Right then, I see Troy walking in with his two partners, Terry and Steve. Time to go to work.

  “Hello gentlemen, seems like you have all kept me waiting.”

  Troy heads straight for me, pulling me out of my chair and wrapping his arm around me. “I’m sorry baby we had some business to discuss. I hate that I kept you waiting but I promise to make it up to you tonight.”

  Here comes working Brittany. “You promise baby? I can’t wait to get you alone and make you deliver.” I kiss him for show as his friends applaud from their seats.

  We sit down and have a few drinks, that’s when I look up and see Vin coming towards us. Shit!

  Troy spots him too, “Vin, I didn’t know we would be seeing you tonight. Take a seat, have a drink with us.”

  Vin sits while staring at me. “Who’s your friend, Troy?”

  “This beautiful woman is my new friend, Brittany. You can speak in front of her. She’s here for business too.”

  Vin orders a drink then stays silent until Steve tells him, “I like your state Vin, the heat is a killer though, but the women sure do know how to cool you off.”

  Troy lays his arm around my back and starts rubbing my shoulder. Then he says, “You’re going to cool me off later, baby?”

  I have to play my role no matter how much Vin’s eyes are burning through me at the moment.

  “I’ve never been accused of cooling a man off, but I sure know how to make you burn.”

  I kiss him, and the men go wild hooting and hollering again. All except Vin who looks ready to kill. Terry turns his attention on Vin and asks,

  “Hey man, I remember you used to speak French, any way you can teach me a little of that shit, so I can talk to some of the ladies down here?”

  Vin smiles devilishly and tells him he knows exactly what would work on the ladies.

  “Chaque femme saine penserait t'es cochon. J’vas te tuer très bientôt.”

  Vin pauses and looks at me sternly. “Ma belle Brittany, s'il te touche de nouveau, j'vas le massacrer lentement et je m’en fous de ce que se passera T'es la mienne. Ne l’oublie pas.”

  But what gets my attention is he’s not telling him how to flatter a woman or even make her swoon. He is threatening him to his face and they have no clue. Then a shiver escapes me, because he also sends me a warning,

  “Any woman with her right mind would find you disgusting. I’m going to kill you soon.” He looks up at me then back at Terry pretending to give him sweet loving things to tell a woman. “My beautiful Brittany, if you let him touch you again, I’m going to kill him slowly and not worry about the consequences. You’re mine, remember that.”

  Vin sits back in his chair and the others all start laughing, Terry says, “Man that sounded good, what the hell did you say?”

  Vin chuckles and tells him. “I used the beautiful Brittany here as inspiration. I said, ‘One so beautiful could crush a man in two, so be careful with my heart.’ Then I said, ‘I’m going to love you like no other man can.’ Just change the name of the woman. It has n
ever failed me.”

  They all start laughing, telling him that shit was good but then Troy turns to me and asks, “Is that what he said?”

  I play dumb, “I don’t know. I never had anyone teach me the language, but I can tell you whatever he said, sounded hot.”

  Troy goes to kiss me again, but I think fast, especially after that warning. I turn my head asking to go to the ladies’ room. He seems put off but then he allows me to leave. How the hell am I supposed to do my job if Vin keeps this shit up? I take an extra minute or two in the bathroom, calming myself. I decide to return not caring what Vin says, this is for him as much as it is for me.

  Upon returning, I give Troy the kiss I denied him earlier. Vin hits the table making everyone look. “I didn’t come here to bullshit with y’all. I came to let you know that my sister-in-law, Fallon is on her way. I told my mother about your proposition, she seemed interested but like I said she will not see you. She asked Fallon to come in her place.”

  Troy sits up leaning over the table, “I’m not working with anyone but your mother. She didn’t even have the decency to send one of her other sons. She’s sending a woman? What the fuck, man?”

  Vin leans in, getting closer to Troy. “If you think my mom is sending some lackey you’re underestimating my sister-in-law. She is the one who is being trained to take over certain operations. She’s a shrewd businesswoman and will not appreciate your disrespect. One fuck up and you can forget all your business here in this state.”

  Troy sits back, nodding his head. Right then Steve shouts out, “Take a look.” We all look and see Fallon walking in, looking like a sultry vixen. She looks like the boss she will be one day. One that will be just as dangerous as Catherine. I notice behind her is Teddy.

  I watch the men as they watch Fallon. Like so many other men, they are all captivated by her and she hasn’t even gotten close. Terry says, “Vin you didn’t tells us that she was…” Vin snaps him up by his neck.

  “Watch your fucking words brother, she’s family. If you try to touch her, you better pray I get to you before my brother does. He will leave your dead body unrecognizable.”

  Vin then slaps Terry’s face and laughs. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Vin stands, and the men follow as Fallon comes up to the table.

  Fallon smiles and says, “Gentlemen, sit please.” She takes her seat next to Vin and looks me over. She waits for all the men to sit and then she crosses her legs, making a show of doing so. I am applauding her right now in my head. Fallon is learning the power she holds and is making it work for her.

  Once they’re all finished gawking at her, she starts. “My name is Fallon Stern, but I’m sure Vin has already told you all I was coming. Catherine would like for me to get to know you better to see if we are interested in conducting business with you.

  Troy fucks up as soon as he starts. “Fallon, I think I need to explain something. I want and expect to have a meeting with Catherine Stern. She is the only Stern woman I am interested in talking business with. I mean no disrespect, but I hope you can understand.”

  Fallon laughs and says, “You disrespected me with your first word. I don’t know what you men are used to, but down here in the south, men respect our women, especially the ones that hold their balls in her hands. My name is Mrs. Stern to you gentlemen and yes, I’m the one that holds your balls. You don’t want me crushing them, I promise.”

  She gestures to her hands and then looks back up at Troy. “You will not see my mother-in-law. You can choose to deal with me or not. Your choice but decide fast because I’m not a patient woman.”

  Damn, Fallon has her role down pat, she even has me scared of her.

  Troy nods his head and says, “I would hate that, I like my balls.”

  “Good, now get rid of the hooker and your friends.”

  I yell out and stand, acting offended and pissed, ready to attack. “Hey, I don’t know who…”

  Troy stops me from attacking Fallon. Then she says, “Send your lady friend to your room, we shouldn’t be long, and I would hate to ruin your night. She might be exactly what you need when I’m finished with you.”

  Troy hesitates for a minute while I panic inside. If he doesn’t give me the room key I have no way to get the information we need.

  He kisses my neck and slides me his keycard. “Wait in my room baby. Like the lady said, this shouldn’t take too long.”

  I take the keycard and slip out of my chair, staring daggers at Fallon for show. Before I can leave she tells Troy that the rest of the men need to leave as well. He complies as they all get up and disperse to the bar. Leaving Fallon alone with Troy at the table has me a little worried for her, but I have no doubt after witnessing her in action tonight, Fallon will play her role to perfection.

  Once the elevator doors open, I go into overdrive. I don’t know how long I have but I need to be fast before I run the chance of getting caught.

  Opening the door to the room, I head straight for the computer. Like predicted, the laptop has a password on it. I call Avery and ask if she’s ready, she tells me step by step what to do. I have to plug a small device into the laptop, she says it encrypts all computer’s security features. It takes a few minutes, so I start stripping out of my clothes. Avery hears me shuffling and asks, “What are you doing?”

  “I’m removing my clothes. I need to be able to distract him if he walks in earlier than expected.”

  She practically yells. “It’s ready, you’re in.” I sit down with half my clothes off. Avery tells me what I’m looking for and how to get there. Once I find what I need, I stick the flash drive in. With the laptop being downloaded, I look for the phone. I find it and move on with Avery telling me what to do. I’m surprised by her knowledge. Avery decided last year to take extra classes at the college to learn more about computers. She said she knew one day it would come in handy. She also took some extra classes off campus with some savory characters who taught her all about hacking. The girl is too smart for her own good. I finish stripping while both items are being worked on.

  “Brittany?”

  “Yes, I’m here. I just need to finish getting out of these clothes.”

  “Are you actually going to go through with it? I mean are you going to sleep with him?”

  I stop and throw my skirt on the chair. “Yes Avery, if I have to, then I will.”

  “What about Vin? He was pissed when he found out earlier. I thought he was going to kill someone tonight.”

  “I know, but I’m going to do what I have to. I’m not worried about Vin right now.”

  She doesn’t say anything else which has me nervous that she’s judging me, but right now I have other things to worry about. I move over to the laptop and see it’s finished. I remove the flash drive and hide it in a secret pocket in my skirt. Then I move on to the phone. I follow Avery’s directions so nothing that I’ve done can be detected. When I’m finished, I stick that chip into the same secret pocket in my skirt. I hang up with Avery and make sure everything looks like it hasn’t been touched. I turn the television on and position myself on the bed, looking bored.

  About a half an hour later, Troy enters the room looking pissed. I get off the bed attempting to let him know that I’ve been waiting for him. But when I go to hug him he pushes me down on the bed aggressively. “Sit down and shut up! I need to take care of something!”

  He grabs the other phone and walks to the bathroom slamming the door. I try to overhear but I can’t hear anything. I straighten up and sit, waiting for him to come out. When he finally opens the door, I notice his attitude is no better. He sits on a chair across from me and opens his laptop. I start internally panicking that maybe I missed something. He works for a few minutes and then looks at me.

  I feel his intense stare as he orders, “Spread your legs.” This is it, time to work. I open my legs wide putting myself on full display. But he doesn’t seem happy.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I raise my brow
in confusion then it hits me, I’m dry. I lean back on my hands and spread even wider. “I need you to make me wet, that’s all baby. I was lonely sitting up here waiting for you.”

  He pushes himself back and says, “Touch yourself, I want to watch.” I do as asked and start touching myself, but nothing I’m doing is working. Finally, I close my eyes and think of Vin, touching and kissing my body. I find myself not only wet but close. I open my eyes to see if he’s liking what he sees, but I find him just staring. My eyes slide down his body and that’s when I notice he doesn’t even have a hard-on. I stop and stand reaching out for him, he grabs my hand turning it hard. He stands and tells me never to touch him. He turns me and slaps me across my face. I fall on the bed, scared out of my mind. I don’t know what’s wrong, maybe he knows what I did. But as he walks closer to me, the phone on the table rings. He stops, staring at me ready to attack but then turns answering the phone. Whatever is going on, he’s pissed, he starts yelling and looks at me, yelling for me to get dressed and get the hell out.

  No problem, I hurry and throw my clothes on while he’s still talking. As soon as I have enough on, I make a run for the door. I don’t stop until I’m safe behind the elevator doors. Shit! I don’t think I was ever so scared. I finish dressing and once the elevator doors open, I haul ass to my car. I fumble around trying to get my car to start then I speed off.

  Pulling into an empty parking lot, I wait for Liam. He is supposed to meet me here to get the flash drive and chip. He pulls up once he knows everything is in the clear that no one has followed me. Once I hand everything over to him he notices my face.

  “What the hell happened?”

  I grab the side of my face. “Oh, he wasn’t happy. I don’t think his meeting went well with Fallon.”

  “Vin won’t be happy about this.” He takes his hand and examines my face.

  “I don’t care what your brother thinks. I won’t be seeing him again.”