Damaged Goods

by Dane, Cynthia

  “The most pleasant.”

  They ordered brunch, not that anyone but Alexander had an appetite right now. Whatever the truth was regarding Nala and Vincent, ultimately they were not comfortable with Sylvia’s presence. Of course they’re not. They’ve seen me naked and fucking Sebastian, and God knows who else. That would make any casual relationship more tenuous.

  “Are you kidding me?” Joseph said in her earpiece. He had probably said a few other things before, but Sylvia’s pounding blood had drowned him out. “Them?” No doubt he already had Cindy digging into everyone’s backgrounds, both hoping and honest-to-God not hoping that there was a legitimate connection.

  If there was, it never came up during the course of brunch. All Alexander and Vincent talked about was how the one wanted to hire the other to create tracking and management software. That’s right. That’s what Vincent Lane does for a living. Some self-made billionaire who made software for big companies. And Alexander wanted tracking software? That was certainly interesting.

  “It’s become more important than ever for me to have accurate tracking on my trucks,” Alexander said, one hand clasped firmly on Sylvia’s knee. She ignored him while she ate and drank her brunch. Men. Always putting possessive hands all over you. Especially if they’re paying for you. Or publicly “with” you. Sylvia remembered a time when she found that hot. Romantic. Like the dumb kid she used to be. “I almost had one go missing last night.” Okay, maybe she wasn’t ignoring him now. A missing truck? Stuffed full of what? Captured humans? “Gave me a heart attack and a half. I don’t have to tell you what would have happened if that truck disappeared. The cargo was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.” Was he sweating? No, he wasn’t sweating. But Alexander did tug on his necktie. “I’d be willing to pay the same amount of money for software that makes sure that never happens again. I need to know where those trucks are anywhere in the world, GPS or no GPS. I want it in every single truck and need more than one person to be able to turn it off. No matter how much you trust a driver…”

  “I completely understand,” Vincent said. His leveled gaze was almost handsome. Almost. Sylvia had lost any interest in the man after she found out he was another undercover asshole. I only have room in my loins for one, apparently. “My company completed work on a similar application for a German taxi company.”

  “Yes, yes, Heinrich Brown had lots of good things to say about you. Why do you think I was in such a hurry to set up this meeting?”

  “You’re doing great, Sylv,” Joseph said in her earpiece. “Keep the mic toward Alexander. I also want the camera on Lane’s face whenever you can. I want to see his reactions.”

  That was all well and good, but the orange juice was going straight through Sylvia’s system. And the eggs. And whatever milk had gone into her eggs. Fuck. Sylvia had to politely remove Alexander’s hand from her knee and stand up. “Excuse me,” she said in a near-whisper. “Nature commands me to disappear for five minutes.” She flashed her sadistic date a smile. “Forgive me, Mr. Sheen.”

  “No worries. We’ll be here a while yet, my pet.”

  Gross. Sylvia’s expression did not falter as she went up to a waiter and asked where the restroom was.

  “Going off,” she muttered before turning off the camera and mic. Neither Joseph nor the rest of his department needed media of her personal business. She did, however, leave the earpiece on. Why? Well, it certainly wasn’t for the entertainment value of Joseph chewing her out for leaving during a business meeting, but she did like the sound of his voice.

  “For fuck’s sake, Sylv,” he exclaimed as she shut a stall door behind her. “Is now really the time to take a piss?”

  She almost wished she had left the mic on so she could say, “That’s not all I’m doing.”

  Five minutes later she was at the sink, washing her hands and touching up her makeup. Why? Well, she didn’t need to touch up her makeup, but she also didn’t want to rush out and spend more time with Alexander and Co. Spare me. Sylvia would check out her eyeliner and lipstick, and they would deal with it.

  The bathroom door opened. Sylvia now stared at the reflection of Nala Nazarov, who barred the door with her body and crossed her arms. Hard to believe they were close to the same age, let alone that Sylvia was two years older than Nala – after all, this girl looked like a child. Or at least that’s what prissy-ass Sylvia went ahead and thought as she looked at that puffy face and holier-than-thou stance.

  “Can I help you?” Sylvia asked. “The stalls are over there if you need to use them.”

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Sylvia turned, clutch still open and spilling her eyeliner onto the counter. “I should be asking you that. I’m working.”

  “So are we.” Nala did not move.

  “Fancy that, then. We’re both working. Awkward, but it’s a small city. We were bound to run into each other again.”

  “Yeah. Bound.”

  Sylvia went back to touching up the last of her makeup. No sense entertaining Nala’s weirdness when there was an investigation to get back to. Otherwise Joseph would start chewing her out, and it wouldn’t be the kind she was into.

  “You know much about that guy?” Sylvia asked.

  “Who? Your date?”

  “Hmph. Yeah.”

  “I know almost nothing about him. Only that Vincent was recently contacted about doing business with him. This is their first formal meeting in real life.”

  Does that mean they’re not “working” together? That would be rich. “Look,” Sylvia muttered. “That man is no good. If you thought Xavier Crow was a clusterfuck of bullshit, then you don’t know much about Alexander Sheen.”

  Nala’s reflection bristled. “Do tell.”

  “I’m not one to tell much. Only know that your boyfriend might not want to get too involved with him. Especially regarding those trucks.”

  “Hmm.” Nala was lost in thought. Sylvia finished up her makeup and turned around, ready to head back to the table. “Sounds dangerous.” Was that a glint in her eye? Childish. Nala would be the type to be thirsty for excitement.

  Sylvia chuckled. “You bored these days?”

  “Oh my God, I am so bored.” There went that bad girl façade. Nala really was nothing more than a college student now. A bored college student, apparently. “Nothing of note has happened in my life since earlier this year. Do you know how boring life quickly gets when you’re not worrying about your next fucking meal?”

  Sylvia rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately.”

  “You taking this guy down?”

  “In a matter of speaking. I’m not at liberty to discuss much. But…” She leaned in toward Nala’s ear. “If you’re really that bored, you might have your boyfriend do some of his own digging into Sheen’s black market goods.”

  “If we find something? You want us to tell you?”

  “Fuck no.” Sylvia snorted. “Take it to him.” She pulled Joseph’s card out of her wallet and handed it to Nala. When she glanced at it, she hooted in surprise.

  “Figures,” Nala said with a sigh. “You two are working together? Interesting.”

  “He approached me.”

  Nala attempted to contain a smile, but it spilled out of her face with a puff! that made her sound even more like a child. “I bet he did. You’re a popular woman, aren’t you?”

  “It’s a gift,” Sylvia said dryly. “A terrible gift that plagues women like me.”

  “So dramatic.”

  Sylvia opened the bathroom door and spared Nala one last look. “Seriously. Watch out for that guy. Some really nasty stuff.”

  “Tell Joseph hi for me.”

  “I’m sure he’ll love to hear from you.”

  Nala started laughing. “At least we’re not the FBI.”

  ***

  Sylvia’s day-long date with Alexander was borderline surreal. Even if she didn’t know what he was up to, it would still be a giant, surreal mess. The man was the kind of possessive that
sent up red flags like a bad soccer match. Whenever they were alone in the back of his limo, his hand continuously massaged the inside of her thigh, and he wordlessly encouraged her to touch him however she liked. This probably created no shortage of ire in the espionage van following them around town. Or at least every time Joseph said a damn thing, it was laced in Why the fuck are you touching him?

  Ah, now that was more along the lines of what Sylvia liked when it came to “possessive.”

  “Relax,” she cooed, sidled up next to the Alexander in the back of his limo. Where they were heading, she had no idea. “There’s plenty of me to go around.”

  As usual, that was directed at both Alexander and Joseph. The one serenely smiled while the other grumbled in her ear.

  At this rate, this guy is gonna wanna fuck. Strange how that bothered Sylvia more than usual. She was good at detaching herself from her job, especially if she did not care for a client. These days, that happened more often than not. Yet this was different. Setting aside the heinous crimes Alexander was committing, he was still handsome, suave, and rich. If all he wanted from Sylvia was some hanky-panky for a few days, then it was no skin off her back. A girl had to make a living, after all, and this would have set her up for more than a few months. If I had an Alexander once a month, I could quit both my jobs. Not like she claimed most of her escort money on her taxes.

  But the level of detachment she had to practice now was almost unreal. From the moment he planted a soft kiss on her throat, she was gone – mentally. Her brain took her back to the night before, when Joseph left those same kind of kisses on her… and harder, more ardent ones. Passion had been imbued into every single kiss. Alexander? Everything he did was for his benefit and no one else’s. Not that Sylvia expected anything else, but…

  I don’t want to be with this man. Not even for work. What a hard realization to deal with. If I needed more evidence that I’m not meant for this career, this is it.

  Even so, it was more than her own neck on the line. Sylvia needed to stay in Alexander’s good graces for the sake of the investigation. It wasn’t only about her. It wasn’t only about Joseph, or his team. It was about all those victims who had their lives ruined because this man figured out he could make millions more trafficking people than mere animals.

  If Sylvia had to put up with some kisses and groping, then both she and Joseph would fucking deal with it.

  “Do you really have to touch his dick?” Joseph tsked in her ear. I didn’t, asshole. She had flirted with his thigh. The man wasn’t even hard! “Just… never mind.”

  On one hand, Sylvia wanted nothing to do with Sheen. On the other… she may be able to get something out of this. Like making Joseph so jealous that he ravaged her later. Yeah. I am an expert at playing that game. Used to be she made crazy good money off of playing that game.

  The limo ran the gamut of meetings that day. As the day wore on? Alexander became increasingly handsy with his date. Sometimes he held her so close that she could feel his sweat seeping from his skin. Other times he kissed her in front of other guests at meetings and parties. One display was sure to hit the internet later that day: Alexander dipped Sylvia in front of a group of local politicians and kissed her so hard that applause rang.

  “For fuck’s sake,” Joseph grumbled.

  Worth it, though. Or at least from the investigation’s point of view. The more at ease Alexander became around Sheen – and the more champagne she gave him – the more information she was able to gleam. First they met with Sheen’s “local accountant,” a man Joseph declared completely off their radar until that moment. Then they met some “handlers.” Men who talked in such obvious code that Sylvia was almost able to decipher it. “The goods are always delivered on time. I don’t know anything about that truck last night. What about those tigers?”

  Sylvia’s powers of observations could not be curbed by the grabs to her ass and promises of fun Alexander kept shooting her way. “Tigers” meant women. “Cubs” meant children. Occasionally the word “Bengal” was dropped. This one took longer, but Sylvia eventually – and horrifically – realized that this meant older teenage boys. Thailand was where most of the supposed shipments were routed through once the trucks made it to Mexico. From there, Alexander’s accomplices delegated the goods across Asia, going as far as Eastern Europe in some cases.

  It made Sylvia sick to hear, but she did not let it show on her face. She occasionally threw out a glib comment about how much she loved going to zoos and wildlife sanctuaries to make sure Alexander knew she was ignorant. But she was also careful to not overdo it. When he was talking to these people, she was definitely meant to be seen, felt, and never heard.

  “I’ve got many plans for you tonight,” he said in the limo, after they left an early supper with gleeful investors. “Remember what I had in mind last night? We need to catch up.”

  Sylvia turned the flirtations as far up as she could stand. “I live to serve, sir.”

  “I’m sure you do. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you, Sylvia. From both your madam and from… well, former clients of yours.”

  “I’m glad to hear that I get so many glowing reviews.”

  “It’s what keeps a healthy business alive.”

  “Indeed.” Sylvia giggled. The fakest giggle in the world, but it often worked on sex-addled men. Even those like Alexander Sheen. “Keeping clients like you happy is my top prerogative. There isn’t much that I won’t do. But… if there is something rather extreme you have in mind, I need a good amount of time to prepare.”

  “Nothing extreme, I assure you.” He pulled her close, a growl tickling her ear, right next to her mic. Joseph and his fellow agents were about to hear something salacious enough to make their grandmothers have a collective heart attack. “Unless you count me ramming this sweet cunt of yours with everything in my arsenal extreme?”

  “Ooh, Mr. Sheen.” Was Sylvia blushing? Only because she was slightly embarrassed that her new casual boyfriend had heard that? “Everything? Pray tell… what does that entail?”

  “I’m a pragmatist in the bedroom, Sylvia. I prefer my women to be… ready… for me.”

  Sylvia gave the bulge in his pants a thorough look over. “Uh huh. With a friend like that? I would need to be prepared too.”

  Guys like Sheen were a dime a dozen. They thought themselves so cute that they wanted to fuck her with inanimate objects before finally sticking their cocks in. Except men like Sheen, specifically, probably did not have pleasant objects in mind.

  They pulled up to his hotel. The doorman helped Sylvia out, but it was Alexander who then took her arm and half-hauled her into the hotel lobby.

  This is how it’s going to be. Sylvia could only roll her eyes. Hope that by the time he’s done with me I still have some stamina leftover for Joseph… There was a thought. Not the first time recently Sylvia dealt with two men in one night. But it was the first time in a long while the first guy attempted to wipe her out and the second guy was kinda-sorta more than a mere lay.

  Joseph was silent while Sylvia was taken up to Alexander’s room for whatever he had in mind. The intimidating bodyguard stayed out in the hallway. He spared Sylvia no look when she disappeared into the hotel’s executive suite.

  “Before we begin,” Sylvia said with her best diplomatic tone. “A girl should like to use the restroom. Sir.”

  Alexander had already removed his jacket and hung it up. “A girl is allowed. Don’t take too long, though. We have lots to catch up on.”

  Groan. Sylvia needed a conference with herself anyway. As soon as she had the bathroom door locked behind her, she turned on the fan and hid in the far corner.

  “Joseph,” she hissed, hoping the mic in her ear picked her voice up. “Joseph!”

  “Hm?”

  Don’t sound like that. Good to know he was fucking alive, though. “Help me out here.”

  “With what? You’re doing a great job, Sylv.”

  Was he seriously doing this with her
? Seriously? “I don’t want to do this. You’ve gotta get me outta here.” She couldn’t cancel the date and walk out. Not only would that ruin her cover, even if she faked an illness, but it would also be dangerous. The man out there had become increasingly possessive as the day wore on. Should Sylvia try to get out of sex? Because Alexander was not going to be satisfied with a mere handjob. Let alone a blowjob! Fuck! He wasn’t going to be happy unless Sylvia was too messed up to walk.

  I used to charge so much for that. And I actually had fun. Whatever Alexander paid the fake escort agency was never going to touch Sylvia’s hands. She definitely would not enjoy this.

  “You don’t wanna do what?”

  Was he being glib on purpose? Or did Joseph exude that smarmy attitude when he was a jealous fuckhead? “I don’t want to have sex with him,” Sylvia mumbled. “Please. You need to do something to get me out of here.”

  “All right. I’ll see what I can do. We’ve got plenty of info from him today anyway. Kline is already following the leads.”

  Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief. “Did she find anything last night?”

  “I’m not at liberty to say.”

  Because I’m not a real agent. Just a stupid civilian in way over her head. Maybe this job was better suited for an agent who didn’t mind having crazy sex with a sociopath. The agent was probably better at getting into Sylvia’s character than she was right now. I need a gun. They trained me with a gun but didn’t give me one. Not that Sylvia did great during her training…

  A knock came to the bathroom door. “Are you all right in there? I ordered us some wine.”

  Shivers nearly crippled Sylvia. She caught her mouth turning into a sour frown in the mirror. “Everything’s fine!” She had never forced such a good mood before. “I’m freshening up for you, sir! I’ll be out in a couple more minutes.”

  “I look forward to it. I’ll go ahead and pour us some wine.”

  And then do what? “C’mon, Joseph, do something,” she mumbled.

  “Working on it. Well, Jim is working on it. I have no idea how to hack into shit unless it’s with an ax.”