He heard Darya’s stilettos clicking on the highly polished wooden floor as she walked down the hall towards him. “Hey, Doll, what’s so important that it can’t wait ‘til workin’ hours?”
Slade turned and looked at her as he closed the door behind Lou. Her form-fitting emerald green silk blouse and pants accented the large emerald and diamond earrings she wore. A tightly clasped Kelly green belt emphasized her full breasts and round hips. Slade took a deep breath and caught the scent of Amerige, Darya’s signature perfume that followed her like a wispy cloud, lightly permeating and staying in every room she’d entered. He struggled not to let any of it affect him. Slade was no stranger to beautiful women, but he still felt like a wide-eyed schoolboy in her presence.
He knew she was way out of his league, but he couldn’t help it. Every time he saw her his heart skipped a beat. Slade was simply in awe of her. He’d never let her know his mouth went dry whenever he was around her. He had all the material things a man could want, but the one thing he wanted more than anything else, he knew would never be his. His secret passion and sexual hunger for her was overwhelming. Just thinking about her caused a familiar stirring in that part of his anatomy located south of his belt buckle.
“Slade, I have some Cristobel in the refrigerator. I recall how much you enjoyed it the first night we met. I’m sure you’ve forgotten, but I remember.”
You are so wrong, Darya. I remember everything about you. I lived my life in a black and white world before I met you. Now it’s in full living color and you’re the center of it.
“Would you open it? I’ll get some champagne flutes for us.” Slade followed her into the kitchen with its magnificent view of the ocean. Beyond her he could see a few lights bobbing on boats brave enough to challenge the dark winter sea.
“Here’s to you, Slade. Thanks for coming over. Let’s go sit in the living room. I have a story to tell you.” He sat down on the large wraparound cream colored couch backed with pillows made from brightly woven Oriental throw rugs. Her home was decorated in shades of cream with bright accent pillows strategically placed on the oversized chairs and couch. Oriental rugs broke the expanse of oak flooring. A fire was burning in the fireplace and lit candles created a warm, intimate environment.
“This is a pretty dicey situation, Slade. I guess I better start at the beginning. Do you remember when you arranged, at my request, to have some Afghan orphans brought to the United States from France? You may recall I told you about a man and woman who had discovered the orphans living in a barn in France, the barn that’s owned by Pierre Yount’s elderly parents. The orphans were temporarily hiding out to escape detection from immigration authorities. It turned out that the man in question is an art theft detective with the LAPD and the woman was married to a scientist who was murdered in the California desert.”
“Vaguely, Doll. I was more concerned about how we was gonna’ get them little girls into the U.S. Why, what’s up?”
“Well, the last time I was at my cosmetic manufacturing plant in Marseille, I met with the woman. I wanted to thank her for giving money to Pierre’s parents and the little girls. It turns out she was a ‘person of interest’ in the murder of her husband. She’d changed her name to Elena Johnson to avoid being detected by the police. She told me she’d fallen in love with the detective and decided to return to California to be with him. Here’s the kicker. We developed an instant rapport. She confided in me that she shot her husband and killed him. She told me it was in self-defense.”
“Riigghhhtttt, Doll! Ever known anyone looking at a trip to the green room at San Quentin who said they offed someone jes’ for the hell of it? Nah, it’s always self-defense. Jes’ sayin’. Okay,” he said, spreading his hands. “I can see you bought whatever she was sellin’. Spill it. Ya’ got my ears.”
Darya was quiet for a moment, looking at her finger as it circled the rim of her champagne flute. The delicate pink of her French manicure matched the color of the champagne. The index finger and thumb of her other hand began to unconsciously twist a strand of her hair as she thought about Maria.
“Evidently her husband was a brilliant scientist for a major pharmaceutical laboratory where he developed an anti-aging hormone, but he got fired because he gave it to her, a violation of company policy and rules. He also developed a drug he called Freedom. It kept people from becoming depressed. He combined the two in the form of a pill. He told her he’d committed the formulas for the drugs to memory and there was no written record of them, however, she stumbled across them on the laptop she’d taken with her when she fled to Provence.
“Believe it or not, she was going to see if she could sell the laptop and wanted to make sure there wasn’t child porn or something like that on it. Slade, I wanted those formulas. I knew I could make millions from selling them. She and I shook hands and she gave them to me. In essence, we became business partners. I was able to follow the formulas and make the pills that combined Freedom and the anti-aging hormone at my plant in Mexico.”
“Doll,” he said, pouring another glass of champagne for himself and topping off Darya’s glass, “Whatcha need me for? Sounds like it’s all good.”
“Maria returned to California this morning. She’s been taken into custody by the police and charged with murdering her husband. Slade, you know I can’t have a partner who’s in jail. That would be a public relations nightmare. My competitors would love it. I can see it now: ‘Wife kills husband and sells his formulas to a cosmetics maker who gets rich from them.’ ”
She stopped talking and took a sip of her champagne. “I know you can do something. She’s a beautiful woman. I’m worried she’ll be raped or killed while she’s in jail. You’ve got to help me protect her while she’s there. Maria has to be kept safe and then be acquitted when she goes to trial. I know you’ve got ties to some less than savory people. Please, Slade, please help me. I’m desperate.”
Darya looked over at him beseechingly, her large brown eyes glistening with unshed tears. In the pregnant silence that followed, Slade noticed the seductive voice of Lionel Richie playing in the background. I’ll be damned. That’s a side of Darya I haven’t seen before. Too bad. That’s “come fuck me” music.
“Jesus, Doll, do you know what you’re askin’? This is big time, a hell of a lot different than guarding your sweet ass.”
“Are you saying my ass isn’t big time?”
“Never, Doll, never,” he said, holding up his hands. “Your ass is definitely big time.”
“Thanks. I know this is a lot to ask, but I’ve got to make sure Maria stays safe. If I can sell those anti-depressant anti-aging pills, I’ll never have to worry again about how I’m going to find the money to get those little Afghan orphan girls into the United States. You know I made a deathbed promise to my aunt about protecting them. I can’t renege on it.”
Slade watched as her hand unconsciously went to her neck and fingered the fine gold necklace her aunt bequeathed her. He knew her hand would go there. It always did when she spoke about the little girls or her aunt. It tore his heart out each time she did it. Beneath all of her education and sophistication, Darya had a soft spot in her heart and the beneficiaries were the abused and often disfigured little girls who were cast out onto the streets of Kabul, usually by their own parents.
“Doll,” he said, standing up and getting ready to leave. “You know I’d do just about anything for you, but can’t help you on this one. You’re gonna have to take your chances and see what happens. Give me a call and let me know.”
She walked over to him as a single tear started to make its way down her cheek. Without thinking, she put her arms around him and whispered in his ear, her voice catching, “Please, Slade, please. You’re the only person I know who can help.”
His body had a mind of its own. He felt the warmth of her full breasts against his chest and instinctively he pulled her closer to him.
Slade looked down at her moist lips and covered her mouth with his. He parted her li
ps with his tongue as her body melted into him. Her tongue eagerly met his. He pulled her even closer and knew she was aware of the effect she was having on him. The bulge in his pants gave him away. He ran his hands over her soft, rounded buttocks, and rubbed his erection against her.
She didn’t back away, but continued to explore his mouth as she slid her hand under his shirt and ran her fingers across his hairy chest. He brought his hand around and unbuttoned the top button of her blouse, his mouth tracing a line from her neck to the top of her right breast. She was on fire. She moaned as his hand slowly made circles on her hard nipples. They edged toward the large couch near the window. Both of them knew what would happen when they got to the couch, yet neither felt in any hurry to get there, so intent were they on the emotions they were experiencing. When they reached the couch, they stretched out on it and began to do the dance that is as old as mankind itself, but they were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the front door.
* * * * *
They heard a key being inserted in the lock on the door and Lou’s unmistakeable raspy voice saying, “Miss R, Slade, I’m back. I’m going to my room. See you later. There was some big office Christmas party at the restaurant and it was jammed. It would have been an hour before I’d even gotten a table. If I’m hungry later on, I’ll grab something from the frig.” They listened to him walk down the hall to his bedroom.
Darya sat up and buttoned her blouse. “Slade, I want you to know that the last few minutes had nothing to do with Maria or my wanting your help.”
“Ya’ made your point, Doll. I’ll get back to ya’ tomorrow or the next day. I need to make a coupla calls. Let me see what I can do. Give me their full names.”
“Maria Brooks and Jordan Kramer. Slade, what happened tonight is not something I normally do. I…”
“Don’t say nuthin’ else, Doll. I got a nice memory. I’ll let myself out. No promises about the case, I need to clear my head and think it through.” He took the leather jacket from the chair where he’d tossed it when he’d come in and held it in front of him, trying to hide his arousal, and headed for the front door.
After he left, Darya stood for a moment leaning heavily on the large couch that moments before was about to be used for something entirely different than sitting down and looking out the window at the ocean. She took a deep breath and tried to slow her racing heart. Her legs felt rubbery.
I wonder what would have happened if Lou hadn’t come back. I’ve never experienced pure animal lust before, but that must be what I felt. Whatever it was, it was the most incredible thing that’s ever happened to me!
She walked through the arched doorway and looked at herself in the hall mirror which reflected a woman with hard nipples clearly visible beneath the silk blouse, swollen lips, and a whisker burn on her cheeks. Damn, she thought, I wish the restaurant hadn’t been so busy.
CHAPTER 4
Although the drive back to his condominium was short, Slade had never been more uncomfortable in his life. He kept replaying the last few minutes he’d spent with Darya in his mind, wondering what would have happened if Lou hadn’t returned early. Kissing Darya and feeling her warm body pressed against his was even better than he’d dreamed it would be. His body was on fire and he was still hard. He knew he could call up a couple of women, but after having been with Darya they didn't interest him. He might not be able to have filet mignon, but he had no interest in a hamburger.
Slade stepped into his large walk-in closet, took off his clothes, and threw them on the chair. He slipped on a dark brown velour robe and headed towards the kitchen to make some coffee. At the last minute he changed his mind and walked over to the bar. Maker’s Mark bourbon always worked wonders to soothe his frayed senses. He was being pulled in a direction he didn’t want to go, and was not happy with the situation he’d gotten himself into. He'd sworn never to get emotionally involved again, but Darya was the most sensuous and interesting woman he'd ever met.
I don’t know how far I want to go with this situation. I’ll make a couple of calls to set things in motion and if I decide I don’t want to do anything else, I can still walk away from it. On the other hand, if I decide to go ahead with it, at least I will have made the calls. Maria needs representation and someone to make bail right now. That can’t wait.
Slade called Brad. “I know it’s late, but I need you to go to the Naughty Gentlemen’s Club located out in the Valley. See if you can find a chick in her late ‘30’ with a good body and attractive face. Need a classy lookin’ one who has some smarts. Club’s expensive as hell so eat beforehand and stick to beer. It’ll be cheaper. See what you can find out and put it on my desk.”
He glanced at the contact list on his cell phone, found the name he wanted, and pushed in some numbers. It was answered on the first ring.
"This is Brian Meeks,” the well-respected attorney said in a voice that sounded as smooth as a well-aged whiskey.
"It's Slade Kelly. Been awhile since we last talked. Got a client for ya’."
"Slade, maybe you haven’t heard that I'm semi-retired now and rarely take on new clients."
"Trust me, Brian. You'll get some major ink outta this one."
"At this stage of my life, I really don’t need major ink, but I’m listening," he said, sighing. Slade told him about Maria's arrest and what he knew. He left out the part about Darya and the pills.
"Brian, she needs an attorney and needs to post bail, like right now. I unnerstand she's a real looker. I'm callin’ in some chits to see if I can get her into a high profile cell where she won't have to mingle with the general population. There's a lot of 'em in there who’d jes’ love to have her as their bitch. Couple of them guards ain’t gonna miss a chance at getting’ some good-looking ‘tang either."
"Does she have the funds to post bail?"
"My unnerstandin’ is yes. If she can’t, I have a friend who can. I'm gonna call the jail now. I know the deputy who’s in charge of the jail operations kinda personally. I'll talk to Maria’s boyfriend and tell him you'll be handlin’ the case and seein' to a bail bondsman."
"Slade, I don't recall agreeing to take the case."
"Brian, Brian, my friend, have you forgotten about that little incident with Carmela? You remember her, don’t you? She was the one with the big tits and a pussy so tight she could snap the top off a coke bottle. You were pokin’ her every Friday afternoon before you went home to yer’ lovin’ wife and the waitin’ pot roast dinner.”
“Slade, you son-of-a-bitch! That was a long time ago. I’m a reformed man.”
“I’m sure ya’ are. That experience would be enough to reform any man. Anyway, thanks. I'll tell Maria’s boyfriend to have her call ya’ when she gets home. She'll probably be arraigned day after tomorrow, so ya’ could meet with her tomorrow." He hung up knowing that Brian would do anything to keep his wife from finding out about the incident with Carmela.
He found the next number he wanted. The phone was answered on the first ring. "Robert Presley Detention Center. How may I direct your call?"
"I want to speak with Deputy Sheriff Letz. Tell him Slade Kelly's on the phone."
Within a minute a deep voice on the other end said, "Greetings Slade, long time, no hear. What are you up to these days?"
"Well, Jimmie, got me a little problem. Hear ya’ got a new female prisoner there by the name of Maria Brooks. She was arrested for the murder of her husband. Happened several months ago. She landed at LAX earlier today after bein’ out of the country for a few months. Seems like your boys were waitin’ for her and slapped the cuffs on her as soon as she cleared immigration. Know anything about her?"
"Yeah, the file just crossed my desk. She's been here for a few hours. They're finishing the work-up on her now. What do you want?"
"Coupla things. Unnerstand her boyfriend’s there at the jail right now. I jes’ arranged for a lawyer and a bail bondsman for her. Need to let her boyfriend know about ‘em. That's the first thing."
"Sure. What'
s the second thing?"
"Before I get to that, what are the chances of her stayin’ outta jail until her trial?"
"From what I see in the file, slim or none and slim just left town. Looks like she's going to be arraigned by Judge Adams and he never grants bail in murder cases. If bail’s posted right away she can get out tonight, but after the arraignment she'll be brought back here until her trial.”
"By the way, how's your son doin’? Any more problems with them guys runnin’ the extortion ring?"
"Nah. He's fine. Whatever you did to those guys worked. He hasn't had any problems since then. So Slade, I know this isn't a social call and you could find out about Mrs. Brooks from somebody else. What do you really want from me?"
"Jimmie, I need a favor. Got a friend who wants to make sure nothin’ happens to Maria Brooks while she's in jail. I know you've got the power to put her in an isolation cell. Sure would appreciate you seein' to it while she's in jail."
"Slade, you know I'd do anything for you after you took care of my boy. Here's the deal. At my discretion, in special circumstances, and I can make it sound like this is a special circumstance, I can isolate someone for two weeks. The problem is only child molesters get isolation the whole time they’re in jail and from a quick read of her file, she doesn’t fit into that category. If it's over two weeks, I'd have to get permission from my boss, Sheriff Henderson. It's an election year and he's not going to budge.”
"Tell you what, Jimmie. What if I make a generous contribution to the sheriff's campaign fund? Ackshully, I'll mail you a check tomorrow morning and you can give it to the sheriff. Jes' tell him you convinced a friend of yours that he should be re-elected. After you give him the check, course you want to ask for a third week for Maria to be in isolation. I’m thinkin' he's gonna like that money enough to make sure her ass is safe for those three weeks. I'll have to come up with somethin' else for the rest of the time she's in jail. Why don't you have your guard get Maria's boyfriend, the guy who's cooling his heels in the waiting area, and let me talk to him?"
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