by Kenya Wright
“He did.”
“I’m still not sure Max is dead.”
“Too bad.” I walked to the door, opened it, and walked out. “The city of Miami believes Max is dead.”
“I don’t trust you.” She left the suite too and followed Todd and me down the hallway.
“You don’t trust me. You don’t trust the Miami news. Why not? I have money, but I’ve never owned a city before.” Walking to the elevator, I went back to my cube and made one side all bright white. “Perhaps you can trust Miami when they report on a local murder.”
“I…”
“What?” I asked. “You don’t believe the news or that scent of death outside of Max’s apartment that scared you so much you couldn’t walk in?”
“No, and I don’t want you talking to Freddy.”
“Because?”
“I don’t trust you.”
I stopped in front of the elevator. “I wouldn’t trust me either, but the fact remains that Freddy went up to DC to talk to me.”
“You don’t know that,” she countered.
An uncomfortable Todd pressed the elevator’s button.
Come on, Dawn. We’re almost done. Come with me.
With two colored sides on the cube finished, I worked on the glowing orange squares. “I researched this Freddy. He’s a buffoon.”
She sighed.
The orange squares were easy. I went to yellow. “Freddy is just a man-child that lives off his daddy and mommy’s money. I don’t remember any reports where he went art gazing at galleries. It appears that it’s more probable to find him in a bar versus a cultured event.”
“None of that matters,” Dawn said. “I don’t want you going to DC.”
“You’re confusing me. You don’t want me to go to DC, or you don’t want me in Miami. Pick one.”
“Stay here,” she mumbled.
So close. Everything is almost going the way it’s planned. Stay focused.
The elevator doors slid open.
I waved goodbye to her. “No, I’m going to DC.”
She jumped right on with us. “Are you kidding me?”
“No. You can come, if you want,” I smirked.
“Oh, I bet you would want me to come.”
Excitement coursed through my veins. Everything was working out. Each step in this dance of minds and wills brought me closer to the necessary outcome.
Keep Dawn safe.
The elevator doors buzzed close.
I didn’t look up from my cube. “You’re coming to DC?”
She said nothing.
Women are the biggest puzzles on this planet.
I went back to the cube and was almost done. The yellow and green squares seemed damn near impossible. It was something about the ease of touching the screen and making the electronic squares move, even when I didn’t intend to that made the whole damn task harder.
When I finished, I smiled and handed it to her. “To the beautiful woman that owns my heart.”
She glanced at the cube and then glared at me. “I’m coming.”
“Yay.” I winked. “So, this sounds like a fun little road trip.”
“You will not talk to Freddy,” she demanded. “I will talk to him without you.”
“Hmmm. I’m not excited about that, but I’ll agree if you have my men with you.”
“Fine.” She eyed me suspiciously. “That was quick. You agree with my talking to Freddy?”
“Of course.”
There is no need for Freddy to know who I am just yet. It will be more fun the longer it takes him to figure it out.
She shook her head.
“What?” I asked.
“Is everything going according to your plan?” she asked.
She’s too smart for her own good.
“I have no plans.” I did my best show of appearing humble. “I’m just worried about your safety.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“And you also don’t want my Rubik’s cube either. You’re starting to make me feel bad.” I stuffed the puzzle into my pocket and looked at my security guy. “Todd, go ahead and have my crew ready the plane. It looks like Dawn will be coming with me this evening. What a fun little surprise.”
“Go fuck yourself, Caden.” She stormed off in front of us.
I jogged her way. All her emotions were delicious. Even her anger. I savored her rage the most. It was spicy to the taste and left a big bite on the tongue.
“Dawn,” I called after her.
“What?” She continued to stomp off toward the double doors.
“Do you know that I’ve never stopped craving you.”
She stopped but kept her back to me.
“Never stopped.” I came close to her but kept several feet between us. “Not one moment. Not one fucking second. I know what I did was wrong.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“I’m different. Let me show you.”
“You’re not different. You kidnapped me today.”
She’s not going to forget about that too easily.
“Well. . .let me show you that I’m a changed man tomorrow.” I offered her a half-smile. Thankfully her back remained to me.
She turned around and poked my chest with her index finger. “I’m going to DC to talk to Freddy myself and let him know that we are not together. And I’m hoping that he is a bit more level headed than you.” She poked my chest again. “And then I’m going to get back on a plane, return to Miami, get in my apartment, and lock the door.”
I happen to have a key to her apartment, but that’s probably not a good thing to mention right now.
“I will let you do all of those things,” I offered.
Letting out an exasperated breath, she twisted around and stomped off. “You’re fucking ridiculous.”
“What? I said I would let you? What’s wrong with that?”
She didn’t look back or even hold the doors for me when she went through them. Those hips swung from side-to-side. I bet rage rose in her curvy frame. She was pissed, but she was mine for several more hours. And even better, she would be letting Freddy know personally to go fuck himself.
And Caden continues to move ahead for the win.
My limo pulled up to the sidewalk. I rushed and opened her door.
A sick thought hit me.
If I can get her to go to DC, then I can get her to go to my island.
I shook my head.
No. No. Focus on keeping her safe. It wasn’t supposed to be about getting her back. Just keep her out of danger.
Once we arrived at the airport, I pulled out my other phone—the one that not many people knew existed. Fear and guilt tornadoed through my chest, but I had to do the next steps or it would mean the end of my life.
The end of all our lives.
I shoved the fear out of my heart and typed the text message.
Me: Had a delay. Everything is clear. Continue with the plan.
There was no need to check for a reply. These people meant business and they were hungry to rain down blood and terror on everyone.
My fingers shook as I put the phone away.
If I had a soul, this would be the moment I completely lost it.
Chapter 21
Freddy
Smoke didn’t fly up to DC with me. He caught a later flight. I’d taken a red-eye and gripped Dawn’s diary the whole time, scared to open the book anymore. It was hard to hear how turned on she was with Caden.
Jealousy. I’m not liking how this tastes.
Before Dawn, I’d never been jealous. Why would I have been? Back in the day, women were objects. Fun things that I played with and discarded at the moment of boredom. I didn’t care if some other man wanted the chick after I had my fill. He could have her and any other female.
But Dawn.
I swallowed down the angst and fear pumping through my heart. She’d been nicer to this Caden when she met him. By the time I’d gotten to her, she was hard and quick with that tongue. And she h
adn’t used her mouth in a good way, instead, she insulted my lifestyle and verbally tangled my mind.
And still, I couldn’t get enough of her.
Caden. What did he do to you? How did he take you from hopeful in love to constantly running away from it?
The answer resided in her diary, but I didn’t enjoy reading it anymore. She talked about how sexy he was too much. Reveled in his body and power too much.
What did this guy do? How did he make his money? In art or something else?
She hadn’t written down his last name and Smoke was having difficulty figuring out who the hell this Caden was. All I could do was go with the small clues in Dawn’s diary.
Clues? I’m sleuthing my way to a woman. How much has life changed. Weeks ago, I’d gotten a tattoo.
A normal man would’ve regretted the act. I didn’t. On the upper right part of my shoulder, I’d had Dawn’s name written into my skin in big red letters. A gold and black butterfly represented the ‘w’. The plan had been to show her how serious I was about trying to get to know her better. I showed her in Monte Carlo and figured I’d won her back, but she hit me with other news.
“I can’t give you anything more than tonight,” she’d said, shredding my heart into ribbons. “After tomorrow, I’m getting on that plane and going to be done with Max and you. Okay? You can have tonight and nothing else. Just tonight.”
And the damn woman meant it.
And that one night was perfect. It was a sexy film that played over and over in my head as I touched myself and moaned her name.
“Take off your gown.” I undid my pants.
“You take it off for me,” she challenged.
“Your voice is the first thing that’s going to go when I fuck you. I’m going to make you scream so loud you won’t be able to give me any more smart-ass remarks.” I pulled out my belt and snapped the air.
And I damn well meant it too.
With my fingers, I rubbed her slickness up and down, making slippery noises that mingled with Dawn’s echoes of yearning. All she could do was let me toy with her sweet flesh. Gone was her wall and anything else that got in my way. She spread herself open to me and I had every intention of consuming each drop of this lady.
Her damp flesh was warm and soft, triggering fire to encase my cock. The head swelled. I wanted her hands on me, caressing my skin and clasping onto my length.
A crazy urge took me over. And it wasn’t the usual desire to fuck or screw. And I knew that that moment wouldn’t be a one-time only thing. What I would do to her that night, had to happen again and again for the rest of my life.
And I damn well meant it. We’d only had that night, but there would be others. I just had to find Dawn and get this Caden guy away from her. He was the reason why she’d run from me. He’d called her that same night in Monte Carlo when we made love. Somehow, he’d found her.
Fear had swam in those gray eyes of hers. I hated it.
What did he do to her?
My phone rang.
Smoke’s name showed up on the screen.
I answered, “Hello.”
“I’m here. Wagwan, fam? You good, yeah?”
“Uh. . .yeah.”
“I’m in the men’s bathroom. Got in with no problem, bruv. Blagged it past the guards. Chivvy along.”
“What?” I entered the Madder Hatter.
“Hurry. I followed her into the museum. She’s well fit, fam. She’s talking to some guy outside of the door, telling him that she wants to talk to you alone.”
“Me?” I stiffened. “Are you sure she said my name?”
“Yes.”
Dawn’s here and she knows I’m here. How?
All the stress and anxiety left my body. Where I’d thought this would be a long battle and a search lasting a few weeks, I’d been wrong. Everything would work out upon the hour. All I needed was a few minutes with her and she’d be back in my arms and away from this guy. She’d run for a reason and whatever it was, I’d help her with it.
Nothing’s getting in my way. I will get another chance.
“Where is she now?” I asked Smoke over the phone.
“She’s heading back to the first floor. The man just left her in the other direction.”
“So, she’s alone?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m heading that way.” I hung up.
Inside of the museum, I approached the stairs. The Madder Hatter museum was everything Dawn had described it to be in her diary. Huge and outrageous and filled with the most breathtaking art.
But there was one change to her story. The bottom exhibit no longer held the Butterfly Lovers or their garden. Instead, the artist did a massive tribute to the story of Rapunzel.
A silver moon glowed above as bright white clouds drifted. The ceiling must’ve been made of computerized tiles. I had no idea how they mimicked a real night sky. The moonlight painted the land in layers of brilliant silver and pearl white.
Gold tresses, several feet long, had been strung all over the room. The hair shined soft and appeared silky. It gleamed off the walls and all over the floor. Where there wasn’t hair, it was black soil and dying, fake roses jutting from the ground. Through the long distance of hair and far across the room, a path of cracked glass hearts led to a tower made of black and gray stone.
Caden owned the place. Had he commissioned another exhibit to depict Dawn’s situation? Was she now the princess stuck in the tower?
Walking that way, I raised my head and wondered if Dawn would be high up in that tower, waiting for me to free her from the witch.
A minute later, I got my answer.
With her back to me, she stood at the end of the tower, staring up at the dark hole above her where the hair disappeared into. My body yearned to slip along hers. She was even more beautiful than I’d remembered her. And I’d just spied her several days ago, running along the beach.
Today, she wore a white sundress which was fitting. It would be exactly what the princess wore when the knight came to save her. It was this effortless dress of lace over some other soft layer. Maybe silky charmeuse or even more delicate lace. Sleeveless, little spaghetti straps kept it up. The dress fell to the floor and I pondered where the hell the zipper would be to take the beautiful thing off her.
Slowly, I stepped away until I stood directly behind her.
In that moment, I didn’t want to talk about why she was here with Caden instead of me. I didn’t want to talk about why she’d left. Why she’d run off without saying anything. Why she wouldn’t give me a chance.
In that moment, I wanted to experience all the details of Dawn—the wicked slice of her tongue, the taste of her mouth, the scent of her cunt, the softness of every curve on her body. Within seconds, I wanted to be deep inside her—that dress torn to the ground and her soft flesh, wet, exposed, and spread open. Electrifying. She was the spark that ignited the war between two brothers. And she was now the explosion, challenging Caden and me to battle.
If anything, Dawn is more Helen of Troy than Rapunzel.
A smile spread across my face. In one moment, I’d been pissed that she’d rushed off. In the next, a carnal storm tornadoed through me.
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel,” I whispered. “Let down your hair.”
Cheesy, but when else could I use a Rapunzel line?
Dawn didn’t jump or turn around. Had she felt the energy that was pulsing to me? Had she known that I would come to her in this moment?
Her voice lowered. “You shouldn’t be here, Freddy.”
“Why not?” I walked around to her.
That haunting gaze hit me first. Her eyes weren’t gray. They were the colors of stars at night. Ones that were millions of light years away, dead in the future but alive in the past. Or was it the other way around with those eyes and the stars? Would they forever burn so bright?
She looked at me. Her breaths quickened.
I took her hand in mine and brushed my thumb across her palm. She shivered and licked he
r lips.
“I like your response.” I teased her with my smile.
“There’s no response.” She stepped back but didn’t remove her hand from mine.
“You’re breathing like you’ve been running.” I released her hand and touched the center of her chest. “Your heart is beating like crazy too.”
Three men came out from behind the tower and held guns to their sides. Each of them had a white plug in their ear and a wire extended to their mouth.
“Who’s talking in their ear?” I asked.
“You should go,” she said.
I bent closer and murmured, “Is it Caden?”
Her eyes widened. “How do you know his name?”
I couldn’t keep the pride off my face. “I know a lot of things. I’m fucking Sherlock Holmes this week.”
“No, you’re not. And if it involves Caden, you don’t know anything.” She moved my hand away and gestured to the guards. “Back up, please. This will only take a minute and then I’ll go.”
They did as she requested and returned to the darkness hiding them along the walls.
I turned back to her. “Where are you going?”
“Freddy, you have to leave Caden and whatever you think is going on alone. And besides, the police are looking for you in Miami.” She grabbed my hand. “I’m so sorry about Max.”
Although I didn’t understand anything she was saying, I tightened my grip around those soft fingers and relished in the warmth of her. “What are you talking about? What do you think happened to Max?”
“You don’t know?” Her mouth opened in shock.
“Clearly not. Tell me. What do I not know?”
“Max…” Her eyes watered. “Max… is dead.”
I pondered what she said for several seconds and then I couldn’t help it, I laughed. “What? Max isn’t dead.”
The guards marched our way. She let go of my hand and tried to get between us. “Just give me a few more seconds, please.”
“We’ve been advised to end this conversation,” one of the men said.
I raised my voice. “Who advised you? That fuck-face, Caden?”
“It’s not important.” Dawn remained in front of me and looked over her shoulder. “Are you sure he’s not dead?”
“Yes!” I laughed some more. “I talked to him this morning.”
