by L. P. Dover
The third woman with chocolate brown hair took a sip of her wine and grinned. “It’s nice to meet you Aylee. I’m Georgia . . . Georgia Blackwell.”
A small smile splayed across my face. “It’s nice to meet you too.” And now all I needed to do was meet her husband.
“Ah, you found us,” Will announced, getting out of his chair. “Geoffrey, pour the boy a brandy, please.”
I assumed Geoffrey was the man behind the bar because he pulled out a tumbler and filled it full of the amber liquid. He carried it over to me on a tray. “For you, sir.”
Grinning, I took the glass. “Thank you.” I finally got a good look at the men in the room and spotted Drake Blackwell immediately. All of my suspects were in the room together. What were the odds?
Will put his arm around my shoulder. “Gentlemen, this is Jason Avery, a kickass poker player I had the privilege of meeting. Not to mention, he spends a shit ton in my casino. I thought maybe he could join our game tonight.”
“Did you bring money?” Drake asked.
I chuckled. “Don’t worry, I came prepared.”
His brows lifted and he stood, extending his hand. “I think I like this young man. I’m Drake Blackwell.”
Taking his hand, I shook firmly. “Nice to meet you.”
“And this,” he said, gesturing to the man he’d been sitting with, “is my son, Blaine.” He was the youngest out of everyone in the room, but most likely close to my age with light brown hair and hazel eyes like his father.
Blaine stood and shook my hand, grinning wide. “Nice to see someone who isn’t ancient. You staying for the game tonight?”
“Don’t know. Am I invited?”
“Only if you brought Strawberry Shortcake with you,” Chazz said, glaring mischievously at me over the rim of his glass.
Blaine chuckled. “Strawberry Shortcake . . . am I missing something?”
Will sat down and smiled. “His date. She’s quite a catch I might add. Definitely different from the women you see around here.”
“And good at poker,” Mark added. It was the first thing he’d said since being in the room.
“Are you into sharing?” Drake asked, a curious glint in his eyes. All heads turned my way. Even Mark waited for my answer.
Tossing back the amber liquid, I felt the burn go all the way down. None of those fuckers were going to so much as touch her. “Not tonight, gentlemen. She’s all mine.”
As if on cue, she sauntered into the room beside Diane.
“Hot damn, is that her?” Drake asked, running his gaze down her body.
Chazz cut in. “That’s her all right. Her name’s Aylee McFadden.”
Clenching my fists, I was about to slam Davies’ face into the table, when Will cleared his throat. “And I suggest you keep your tongues in your mouths before Avery rips them out. She’s taken for the night. Not to mention, my wife’s in here, so show some respect.”
Drake and Chazz both glanced at me with narrowed eyes and sat back in their chairs. Mark was the one who spoke next. “You said for tonight, but you didn’t mention tomorrow.”
“You’re right, I didn’t,” I replied tightly.
Will huffed. “You’re all drooling over this poor girl like rabid dogs. You know the rules, no gambling women unless they agree to it. If Avery wants to keep the girl to himself, that’s his deal. Stop pressing the issue.”
Aylee could sense the tension and glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. I wanted to pick her up over my shoulder and carry her out of the room so no one could think about her. I knew what was on their minds; it wasn’t hard to guess.
“Miss McFadden,” Drake called.
Gritting my teeth, I watched her gracefully walk over, her head held high, confident. Everything about her was intriguing. Instead of walking over to Drake, she walked over to me and sat down on the edge of my chair. “I must admit, sir, you have me at a disadvantage. You know my name but I don’t know yours,” she said.
He stood and extended his hand. “Drake Blackwell.” Aylee took his hand and instead of shaking it, he lifted it to his lips. Arrogant bastard. “I wanted to see if you and Mr. Avery would like to join us at my house this weekend. That’s where the true fun begins.”
“I see, and what kind of fun are you talking?”
He smirked. “Let’s just say you have to be willing to gamble with just about anything. You interested?”
Aylee turned to look at me, her gaze searching mine, but she knew it was what we had to do. Plastering on a fake smile, she focused back on Drake. “Sounds intriguing. I’ll be there.”
“Mr. Avery?” Drake asked, lifting his brows.
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
Will cleared his throat and stood. “All right, time to play. Let’s go, gentlemen . . . and ladies. Be prepared to empty your wallets tonight. I’m feeling lucky.”
I wished I was; I felt the opposite. I was leading Aylee into a den of wolves, and I didn’t like it at all. I had never failed on a mission and I wasn’t going to let this one be my first. I had to protect her, no matter the cost.
“Aylee, you know you don’t have to go to Drake’s,” Diane whispered, concern in her voice.
I snapped back and gave her my attention. “Are you afraid something’s going to happen?”
She sighed. “You seem like a smart, young woman and I know you can do more with your life than what you’re doing. Why don’t you come work for me? I’ll pay you well and you won’t have to worry about getting your money this way.”
“What exactly do you do?”
“I design clothes.”
I laughed. “That’s the last thing you’d want my help on.”
“You wouldn’t be designing clothes, silly girl. I’d hire you to be my assistant. I’ve always wanted one and since you and I get along so well, I think it could work. What do you say?”
Turning my body toward her, I spoke low. “You never answered my question. Are you worried something’s going to happen to me?”
Her jaw clenched. “All I know is, girls are getting hurt and I don’t want you going down that same path.”
“Did you know some of them?”
“Not personally. I’d never talked to them like I do with you. They were focused on earning their money, not caring who or what they had to do to get it.”
It was in that moment when I really got a good look at her. “Do you have kids, Diane?”
She sat back, her brows furrowed. “Why do you ask?”
“You’re so much like my mother, or the way my mother was. She died when I was young. I never realized how much I missed talking to her until now.”
Her eyes misted. “I’m sorry to hear about your mother. And no, we don’t have kids. William and I weren’t able to have any. With our work schedules, it probably worked out for the best. About next weekend though, what are you going to do?”
The game came to a close and the men stood. Squeezing her hand, I looked into her eyes and said, “Don’t worry about me. I know how to take care of myself.”
Jason walked over and I caught a glimpse at the large bills he just stashed in his pocket. “You ready to go?” I nodded and took his arm. “Diane, it was a pleasure seeing you again,” he said.
“Likewise.” Then Diane focused on me. “I’d like you to consider my offer. How about next Monday we go shopping and I can give you a taste of what it is I do?”
“I’d like that.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I can pick you up at the hotel late morning. I’ll give you a call Sunday to confirm.”
More like confirm I was still alive. She knew something and I was going to make sure I figured out what it was. “I’ll see you then.”
She nodded at Jason and then glanced at me one more time before she took off toward Will.
“We have a lot to talk about,” he murmured in my ear.
“You have no idea.”
“Thank God, we’re back,” I stated, kicking my high heels off.
/> “No shit. Tonight was hard as hell. Having to listen to those cocksuckers talk about you made me so goddamned pissed I couldn’t see straight. And we’ll be right back into the thick of things this weekend.”
“Isn’t that what we’ve planned since the beginning?”
Sighing, he ran his hands over his face. “Yeah, but I’ve grown to care about you and it fucking blows. We need to talk about what we’re going to do . . . what you’re going to do.”
“That’s great and all, but I need to get out of this dress before I do anything else.”
His eyes grew dark and heated as I walked toward the room, giving him my backside. I loved that I could get a reaction out of him. But what did it really matter? Any girl would turn his head.
Once in my room, I quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, making sure to put on my sexy bra since I couldn’t wear it with my dress. When I got out of the room, Jason was in the living room with a deck of cards laid out in front of him on the coffee table. His button down shirt was halfway undone, showing the tattoos on his chest, tie hanging loosely around his neck. Diane was right when she called him sex on a stick. “What are you doing?”
“We are going to play cards, after you tell me about your conversation with Diane.”
“Cards, huh?”
He glanced up, smirking. “It’s a game I just invented. What I’m going to do is lay down a card in front of you and one in front of me. Whoever has the highest card gets to ask the other a question. It’s called Draw of Truth.”
“And you came up with this just now?”
“Yep, now have a seat so we can play. Unless you’re scared.”
Rolling my eyes, I sat down across from him. “Please,” I scoffed. He set the cards on the table and gave me his full, undivided attention. “I think Diane knows something. She basically warned me not to go to Drake’s this weekend. She even said I could work for her if I needed money.”
He rubbed his chin. “Interesting. Anything else?”
“She also confessed to her sister being Madame Chatfield.”
“Holy shit.”
“That’s what I thought too. She obviously doesn’t have anything to hide, but there’s still something I’m missing. She’s really worried about me.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t go. I can always say you’re sick, or with another client. We’re getting too far in and I don’t know how I’m going to be able to protect you if you run off with one of those fuckers. They’re going to gamble for you. You do know that, right?”
Sighing, I leaned over on my elbows. “I figured as much. I’m prepared to handle that.”
He growled low. “How? If I have to watch any of them put their fucking hands on you I’ll rip them off.”
My head snapped up. “Jason, what’s wrong with you? What makes you think I’m going to let them touch me? Reading your file, I had no clue you had such a volatile temper.” I glared at him, but he averted his gaze.
“I’m sorry. For years, I’ve worked on my own and haven’t had to worry about anyone other than myself. You keep saying you’re prepared, but you haven’t included me on any plans.”
It was true, I hadn’t. I wasn’t planning on telling him what I was going to do, but I had no choice. I trusted him enough to know he wouldn’t disclose secret government projects to just anyone. Getting to my feet, I rushed to my bedroom.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to show you something, so you know I’m covered.” In my suitcase, there was a secret compartment holding the case I needed. There were six vials inside, all filled with a special clear liquid. Holding the case, I took a deep breath and carried it straight to Jason, setting it down in front of him. “This is it.”
He looked down at it, pursing his lips. Carefully opening the case, he picked up one of the vials. “What’s in it?”
I sat down beside him and pulled another one out. “You know I work for the FBI, but you never asked what I did for them other than undercover work. This,” I said, holding up the vial, “is what I work with. Not only did I study Criminal Investigation, but I was a whiz in Chemistry. For the past year, I’ve been working with a chemist in one of our labs. In this liquid, there’s a sedative, a hallucinogen, and a new substance we found in Brazil that’s like a form of ecstasy; it also increases your sexual responses.” Clearing my throat, I set both vials back.
“Isn’t that what we don’t want?” he countered angrily. “These men are already ready to fuck your brains out.”
I put my hand on his leg and moved closer. “I know, but in this exact combination, it has the ability to incapacitate the victim enough to where you can basically say anything to them and they’ll believe it’s true. I can make them believe we had sex even though we didn’t take our clothes off or touch.”
“What if you can’t get it into their system?”
“I will. I can’t think otherwise. I’ll carry it in a syringe so I can either squirt it into their drink or drive it through a vein. Either way, I have to get it done.”
“I still don’t like this. Something could go wrong.”
“You have to trust me, Jason. Trust I can do this without fail. Can you do that, please?”
“And where am I supposed to be while you’re off pretending to fuck these asswipes?”
“Hopefully, close. When the men are passed out, I’m going to search their houses, or wherever the hell they take me, for clues. The women had to have been killed somewhere, right?”
“True, so I just need to follow you to the location.”
I nodded. “That way, after I search you can get me the hell out of there. Think you can keep up with us?”
A smirk splayed across his face. “I’ve already got it covered.”
“Do I even want to know?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Probably not. Now get your ass over on the other side of the table. It’s time to play.”
Smiling, I moved over. “Draw of Truth?”
“You’re damn right,” he insisted, shuffling the cards again. “You ready?”
I waved him on and he laid down an eight of hearts and then a ten of clubs in front of me; I smiled. “I get to ask the question, right?”
“Yep.”
“And how do I know you’ll tell me the truth?”
His serious gaze bore into mine. “You’ll just have to trust me, like I’m going to trust you.”
“Good deal. Here’s my first question . . . have you ever killed anyone?”
“Yes,” he answered tightly. “During an underground fighting match a fucker pulled a gun on me. I made a choice.”
“Is that the only time? Oops, wait, you can’t answer that. That’s more than one question.”
He shook his head. “No, it goes along with the same one. I did kill someone else not too long ago. I don’t know if you heard about the families who were murdered in South Carolina.”
“That was just recently. Were you the one who found the killer?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what came over me, but I fucked him up. I didn’t want him to get out alive.” Averting his gaze, I could tell it was hard for him to talk about it.
It wasn’t easy killing another human being, but some deserved to die. I might go to hell for thinking that way, but it was the truth. I nodded and he placed down two more cards—my win. “What is it you love most about North Carolina?” I asked, hoping to change the mood.
He smiled, but it was sad. “My friends. Oh, and the weather. It’s not hot as shit like it is here and it’s not cold as fuck like it is up in Maine. It’s perfect.”
“I can’t argue with that. But, on the other hand, we don’t get the humidity. Our summers are perfect.”
He laid another set of cards down and this time he won. My palms started to sweat and my heart raced; especially when he stared at me, smirking. “All right, firecracker. It’s my turn. Do you still have feelings for your ex?”
That wasn’t the question I was anticipating. Looking strai
ght into his eyes, I said the honest truth. “Not in that way. We have a long history together, and I care about him as a friend. Any romantic feelings I had for him are long gone.”
I could tell he wanted to ask more, but had to wait. Unfortunately, he didn’t have to wait long because he won the next round. “Would you have let me fuck you if we didn’t get interrupted by your ex? And you have to be honest.”
I lowered my gaze and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I would have.”
“That’s not a straight answer,” he pointed out, his voice serious.
I looked up at him and bit my lip. “Fine. Yes, I would have slept with you.”
“Why?” he asked.
I waved my finger at him. “Can’t ask that, it’s not your turn. Deal again.” He dealt again and I won. This time I needed to think of something deep . . . and then it came to me. “When you kissed me,” I began, watching him tense, “you pulled away when I tried to touch you. I know something happened . . . what was it?”
Very slowly, he unbuttoned his shirt, one button at a time, his gaze never wavering from mine. The pain in his eyes was evident and with each button he opened, I wanted to take back my question.
“Stop,” I begged, getting to my feet. His fingers froze right before he was about to take off his shirt, his chest rising and falling with his rapid breaths. “Please, just stop. I never should’ve asked that question. I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be for you.”
He stood and faced me. “I’m not afraid to show you my scars, firecracker. It’s the reason behind them that pains me.” He slid off his shirt and I was finally able to see the rest of his tattoos and the contours of his chest and abs. His skin was perfect and tanned, smooth. Muscles tensing, he looked into my eyes one last time before turning his body around. From the front he was flawless, but from behind there was considerable pain, the aftermath of a horrible tragedy.
I stepped forward and reached out a hand, expecting him to recoil from my touch, but instead, he leaned into me. I traced the scarred flesh beneath my fingertips; he had been burned, badly.
