A New Life Series - Finisher Set

by Samantha Jacobey

  Relieved his bride had not noted the exchange, he took a seat beside her and fawned over her in an exaggerated manner.

  The couple still sat in the wooden chairs, cuddling and cooing in German when Brian entered the room. Retrieving a cup of coffee for himself, he took an empty chair and asked eagerly, “Are we ready for presents yet?” He had gone to great lengths to spoil his sister and her husband and eagerly wanted them to see his purchases.

  Taking their mugs, the three of them made their way through the maze, until they reached the front room with a giant tree. Taking the time to divide the packages according to the recipient, they began to open the offerings. A bit daunted at the size of her pile, Tori noted that it easily doubled either of the men’s stacks.

  Brian laughed at seeing her distress, “Ok, I may have gotten a little carried away.”

  Using an open palm, she teased, “A little? This looks to be a bit more than a little…”

  “Hey, some of those are from me,” Michael pointed out.

  She smiled brightly at the idea that she could be so loved. Other than the guitar last year, she had never really received presents and struggled with how to go about doing so graciously. “Well, thank you. Both of you.” She wanted to convey how important the men were to her, and that their gifts were appreciated, and in her mind’s eye, this presented an opportunity for her to learn some manners.

  Diving into the mountain of shiny foil, paper and bows, she did her best to open each with equal enthusiasm. However, by the end she found the task difficult to maintain after such an exaggerated number.

  Taking inventory, she discovered that she had received new earrings, in bright shiny silver and diamonds, including new studs for the upper parts of her ears that she never traded out, and a few pairs of large hoops that she had never worn before.

  She also had been given a variety of clothing she would never have chosen for herself, including felt materials and a few cashmere sweaters. Eyeing the couple of dinky leather skirts, complete with fishnet stockings, she surmised some of the items would never again see the light of day.

  Looking over the clothing, she felt relieved that they had stayed with her typical monochromatic tendencies with black, white and grey scale choices. Michael had also given her a large number of lacy undergarments, which caused her brother to shake his head and laugh. Tori laughed with him, glad that Collin and Cody had not been present for the unwrapping of the provocative portion of the spread.

  The three of them were still talking and carrying on, when a familiar voice spoke up from the doorway, “Wow, baby girl, tha’s some haul.”

  Swinging around in utter surprise, Tori found herself staring at Brett Spears and Enrique Dominguez, who unsuccessfully tried to suppress his grin at seeing her. “Oh… my… God!” she squealed a little too loudly at his full beard.

  Leaping forward, she threw her arms around the taller man, obvious joy at seeing him as she pressed her body flat against his. Her fingers reached to examine his new, shoulder length curls, “What the hell are you doing here? And how did you get in?” The estate was secured, or at least it should have been.

  Brett grinned at her, “Same way we got in las’ time, minus th’ bodies o’ course.”

  Shifting his stance, Brian demanded loudly, “Who the fuck’re you guys? And what the hell is going on here?” Michael had told him all of the men who broke into his house were dead, and he quickly surmised that maybe his brother-in-law should have asked after all.

  Her gaze shifting from her former lover, Tori could see the tension in her husband’s clenched jaw. She had forgotten that the two men had met before, and it occurred to her that he would not be happy to see that she had let the man live, or that she had been so quick to fling herself into his arms.

  Nodding at the scene, Michael played it cool, not giving in to his desire to intervene and stake his claim on his wife physically. He had come a long way at controlling his random, jealous thoughts and emotions, and wasn’t about to lose it that easily. “Hello,” he stated calmly, “So, what brings you here?”

  Enrique’s sneer a mild challenge, he held the girl about the waist and tossed his head slightly, “We was just passing through.” A flat lie, obvious to everyone in the room.

  “Is something wrong?” Tori instantly on edge, she knew they would never show up unannounced without a reason.

  “You could say that,” Brett reached inside his jacket and produced a magazine, opening it so that she could see the cover clearly. “Always took ya for a smart li’l bitch, but this,” he smacked the page with his left hand as he held it out with the right, “This was about th’ stupidest thing you could do.”

  Jaw dropped, Tori felt as if she’d been slapped. Sliding out of Enrique’s grasp, “I see. Well, that’s pretty blunt, and I’m sorry I don’t meet with your approval -”

  “My approval!?!” Brett’s voice grew loud with anger, “Fuck me, baby girl, my approval ain’t got nothin’ to do with this. If you had laid low, you mighta stood a chance.”

  Eyes flicking between his accusing glare and the picture, Tori could feel her blood beginning to boil, “You can hold it right there. None of The Organization actually knows anything about me. The only people who do are you two, so unless one of you plans on running off and spilling your guts, I feel relatively safe in this.” She defended her actions, even if she wasn’t as confident as she hoped that she sounded.

  Green orbs fixed on her delicate features, Brett’s rage ebbed; “It don’ matter, baby girl. You was with th’ Dragons long enough, and the few times you was seen with us. Two groups came up dead. I don’ know it for sure, but it’d be my guess, The Organization’s gonna wanna know why.”

  Tori flicked her eyes at the floor between them, shifting her stance as she considered his words carefully. Surely that wouldn’t be enough to lead to me. Chewing the inside of her cheek, she countered “So, you showed up here just to yell at me? Tell me to my face what a bad move this was?”

  “Nope!” the word popped out of his mouth crisply, “We’re your new bodyguards,” he tossed a thumb back and forth between them.

  Her eyes shot up to stare at his, “No fucking way. You can’t be my bodyguards!” Her voice almost shrill, filled with panic induced by the thought of having either of them close to her on a full-time basis.

  “No. No, no, you two don’t belong here,” her mate quickly interceded, physically moving to intervene, “We have all the protection she needs.”

  Enrique shook his dark hair vigorously, pointing an angry finger, “You don’t gots a choice, man. See, she was mine long before you put your name on her chest, and I’m not about to let anything happens to her.” He stared coldly at the other man as he spoke, the challenge clear.

  “Thanks, Enrique, for that… endearing evaluation of the situation. But really, we have things covered.” She reached up, laying her fingers lightly against his chest, positioning herself between them. “I think either or both of you would have a greater chance of being recognized than I would, and quite frankly,” she paused, needing to be diplomatic if she wanted to convince them, “We really don’t need your help. We appreciate the thought and thank you for your concern, but it would be better if you left.”

  The two men looked at one another, Enrique shoving his hands into his pockets angrily.

  Face drawn, Brett pursed his lips; “We ain’t leavin’, baby girl. You want us out; you’re gonna have t’ turn us in. You said the Feds wanted t’ know about us, an’ I’m curious how you managed t’ take out our entire group without bein’ taken in. I figure you cut some kinda deal.” His expression calm, the accusation in his eyes tore at her heart. “D’you kill th’ Dragons, too?”

  Tori loudly sucked the air in through her teeth. Her gaze dropping, she glanced at the checkered tile at his feet, then back at the sneakers of her brother, who stood behind her. I already told him about my past, but she still hated to say the words in front of him.

  Slowly nodding, she switched
to Spanish to cut her sibling out, “Yeah, I took care of them. Tried to bail out myself, but the Feds found me and kept me alive. Saved me, I guess some would call it.”

  She shifted her glare back to him, allowing her hand to fall from her former lover, back to her side, dropping back to English as well, “I don’t want to turn you in. I’m sure they would be glad to have you, but I can’t say that I trust them to any real extent.”

  Brett cracked a wide grin, “Then it’s settled. Where do we bunk?”

  Brian coughed up a loud, disgusted grunt, “You gotta be kidding me. You two knuckleheads realize you’re not getting paid. We have a security team.”

  Brett stared at him, rolling his tongue as he allowed the younger man to consider his so-called security team, and the fact that he had made it into his house twice. The grin on his face turned to a chuckle, as he watched the estate’s owner reach the same conclusion.

  Brian glanced over at his sister, who bobbed her head very slowly, looking for her assessment.

  “They don’t need to be paid. I’m sure they aren’t here for the money.” Drawing in another noisy breath, she tossed her dark waves, “There's some bedrooms on the second floor. Have your pick, and consider yourselves my guests. Mostly… stay out of the way.” She cracked a small smile as the two men grinned at each other, heading out of the room while slapping each other on the back to celebrate their victory.

  Michael rocked his jaw side to side as he watched them climb the stairs in the foyer, “What the fuck, love?” he demanded when they had disappeared, “You’re gonna move your old boyfriend in, right in here with us? If you want them to stay, at least put them in the servant’s quarters. There’s room out there for them.”

  Switching to German, she cooed, “It’s ok; they can watch my back, and you can be my husband. Remember? You don’t have to worry about protecting me so much, and can focus on being my lover.” She smiled, the appearance of the two negating his fear of filling both roles adequately.

  Michael only grimaced, staring at the case of steps.

  “And I don’t want them treated like servants, love,” she spoke to both men, even as she addressed her mate directly. “They’re my friends. I want you both to remember that.” Neither of the men looked pleased to hear the last part, but said nothing more.

  Swinging her gaze around the room at the piles of gifts, the day had taken an ominous tone. Reluctantly, she began to gather the things that had been presented to her to carry them upstairs. Following suit, the men picked up armfuls of the haul, leaving the rest of the cleanup to the maid.

  See and Be Seen

  It only took Enrique and Brett a few minutes to discover which room belonged to Tori and her husband, and then to choose the two rooms on opposite sides of the hall from each other at the far end of the house. Brett laughed at Enrique’s suggestion that they do so, quick to point out that she was, in fact, a married woman.

  “So?” Enrique countered easily, “She’s married before, too, and that didn’t stop her from fuckin’ the lot of us. She likes spreading it around, and that ring on her hand ain’t gonna matters.”

  Brett stared at him for a moment while giving it some thought, “Yeah, but that was different,” he finally conceded. “She wanted something from us back then, and I don’ figure we got anything she needs. Therefore, you’re only foolin’ yourself if ya think she will. Asides, that Michael looked pretty calm considerin’ we jus’ broke int’ th’ place an’ started makin’ demands.”

  “And?” Enrique challenged, dropping his bag on the bed and beginning to poke around in the drawers and cabinets.

  “And, it’s guys like that ya gotta watch out for. It ain’t th’ ones that go aroun’ wavin’ their arms an’ making a ruckus, them’s easy to see comin’. It’s th’ quiet ones that’ll stick a knife in your back when ya ain’ lookin’.” He stopped there, realizing he had described the girl in question, right down to the shiny metal she carried in her boot. “Son of a bitch. I still can’t believe I didn’ see it comin’.”

  “Eh, quit beating yourself up over it. She’s smooth as they come. Lies like silk, and that tongue of hers is talented in more ways than one, if you gets what I mean,” Enrique tried to cheer the older man with his twisted sense of humor.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he grimaced at the memory of her mouth and the ways that it had pleased him. “She always did make me feel special,” he admitted before he could stop himself.

  “Yup, it’s what made her so unique. I think I’m settled, let’s go check out your room,” the dark haired man led the way across the hall.

  Leaning against the wall, Enrique continued the conversation while Brett put his few belongings away and had a look around. “You really thinks The Organization’ll come after her?”

  “There’s no doubt ‘n my mind,” his counterpart replied. “Although I did come down on ‘er pretty hard. It was more or less inevitable that they would find ‘er. Too many loose ends t’ ever have been completely hidden. Won’ take long though, with her out in the open like this. Damn, this place is nice. Kinda funny that I’m gonna be livin’ here, after me and the guys trashed it, an’ all.”

  Enrique tossed his head back, enjoying the chuckle, “You thinks they got anything to eat around here? I could swear I smells food.”

  “O’ course you smell food, ya dumbass. It’s fuckin’ Christmas, an’ this is the richest motherfucker either one o’ us has ever met. We’re ‘bout t’ enjoy a meal t’ beat all others, mark my words,” he pointed a finger at him, “In fact, I think it’s time we headed down t’ find out what time it’s gonna happen.”

  Tori, busily arranging her new arrivals into her closet, heard the two men when they passed by her door. As their chatter began to fade, she called out down the hall after them, “Hey, you two got a minute?” Seeing them turn, she smiled, “I was thinking I might need to have a quick word with you. Maybe set some rules, since you’re going to be staying here and everything.”

  “Ok,” Brett shrugged non-committedly, “Whatcha got ‘n mind?”

  “Well, I was thinking that if this is going to work, you two need to stay pretty close to me. Like we’re friends,” she gave a small shrug.

  “Well, we are friends, ain’t we baby girl?” Brett couldn’t hide his disappointment at her choice of words.

  “Yeah, we are, but that’s not what I’m talking about,” she folded a stack of shirts calmly, placing them in a drawer. “I mean when we’re out in public; it shouldn’t look like you two are guarding me. You know? It should appear more natural, like we’re hanging out together, or that you’re part of our group.”

  She paused, her eyes darting between the two men, taking in their rough and tumble appearance with a wrinkled brow. “I don’t know; I don’t want you looking like yourselves,” she finished with a loud puff of air.

  Enrique’s brow furrowed deeply, “What the fuck’s that supposta mean? Who’re we gonna looks like if we don’ looks like ourselves?”

  “You can’t look like street thugs,” she stated flatly. “You have to blend in. Otherwise, you’re no good to me, because you’ll draw that much more attention.”

  Inhaling deeply, Brett could see her point. “Ok, I’ll buy that; what’s your plan for disguisin’ us?” he tried to humor her, fairly certain there was no plan. To his surprise, she did, in fact, have things lined out.

  “Tomorrow, I’m going to take you shopping. Get you some clothes,” she quickly raked her eyes over the taller man, head to toe.

  “Clothes?” Enrique raised his chin, “We gots clothes, thank you very much. And there’s nothing wrong with them, either.”

  “I know,” Tori smiled, and stood up straight from her folding, trying to smooth his anger as she sidled up next to him, “But they need to be a little newer. A little fresher, if you get my meaning. You look like you’ve been out on the road a while.” She reached up, absently flicking a ringlet of hair off his shoulder.

  “That’s cause we have
been out on the road a while,” he countered, his heart rate jumping at her touch.

  “Yeah, I know you have, baby,” she cooed as she nodded, stepping closer to him, and his hand automatically landed on her hip. “But if you’re going to be here with us, and be good at protecting me, people can’t be able to tell that from seeing you.” She gave him another smile, and he returned the grin, having caught the word baby as it fell from her lips.

  With a small shrug, he relented, “Ok, tomorrow we gos shopping.”

  Her smile widened at his agreement, “Good. Then it’s settled. You two can go on, find out if lunch is ready. I’ll be down in a few minutes.” Putting away the rest of her gifts, she hummed quietly to herself, unable to mask the unmistakable joy their arrival had brought her, even if her husband didn’t like them being around.

  Half an hour later, the group sat around the dining room table, enjoying the fine meal and discussing their agenda. “So, we have another shopping spree tomorrow, I take it?” Brian tossed out cheerily between bites.

  Tori looked up from her plate in surprise, “Well, yes, I had planned on taking these two out to get them some more appropriate clothing. Did you want to come along?” She eyed her brother with mild concern, “You know, I didn’t think guys liked to shop, but you always seem to be in the mood for it.”

  “Naw, shopping is just a means to an end, sis. The key is to see and be seen, out in public. We didn’t make much of a stir last time, but getting noticed helps us; publicity is publicity, good or bad,” he showed his full set of glowing white teeth as he spoke. “Don’t worry, you’ll catch on, and as hot as you are, you’re bound to get noticed.”

  “Uh, thanks, Danny,” she squirmed in her chair, uncomfortable at hearing her brother describe her in that manner, “What’re you two grinning at?” she tossed at Enrique, as he seemed to be enjoying the conversation.

  “Oh, I just wants to agree,” her former lover admitted, cutting his eyes over at Michael.