12
Amara Carvalho.
I flipped through her file for the tenth time, again searching for a possible piece of information I might have overlooked. But nothing out of the ordinary jumped out. And maybe that was precisely the problem. Her past employment and places of residency were too damn cookie-cutter, as if someone had chosen the most generic shit to cut and paste together. My years of reading people told me this woman held a vault of secrets. Her eyes, those fucking incredible eyes, were layered with stories and experiences I craved to uncover.
There was something strangely different about her. The women in this industry didn’t often reject men in positions of power and wealth. Most coveted even the most minute scraps of attention, with the hopes they’d be lifted from a lifestyle usually forced on them by life’s circumstances or the absence of choice. But while the other dancers vied to introduce themselves, Amara couldn’t have been more disinterested.
I leaned back in my chair, scoffing around my cigar as I watched the car lot’s live feed. Amara was a different breed. In the face of death, she remained uncharacteristically calm and fearless. Nonchalant, even.
Secrets.
And just like that, this woman—this stranger—had piqued my absolute interest.
Vibrations from a drawer inside my desk shook me from my thoughts. I smiled when Silas’s name lit up my screen.
“Brother, what kind of shit do you need me to bail you out of now?”
We shared a laugh, remembering old times. While I was glad he had settled down and found his place in the world and someone special to share it with, I couldn’t help but feel the nostalgia tightening my chest. We’d been close friends for nearly two decades. My family and I had worked alongside Hades. And when the organization turned its back on Silas, my loyalty never wavered. He was my brother, and I’d never begrudge his happiness, but I did miss the bastard.
“Leni and I landed in Philly a few hours ago. She’s already off running errands with Maksim, so I thought I’d check in. I saw your message about staying in Miami, and I wanted to ensure you hadn’t suffered a head injury.”
I was still getting used to the idea of Silas as a father figure. But from what I knew, he and Leni had fallen into their roles as caretakers for the orphaned teenager.
Setting down the cigar, I lost myself in billows of smoke as I tried to conjure an excuse that didn’t make me sound like I’d lost my sanity. However, if anyone understood how bewitching the right woman could be, it was Silas.
“A business venture, Si. I came here convinced of one decision and stayed once I saw its potential. Illusion is just off the marina, with the yacht club out back, the beach, an unrivaled view. Like a precious gem among stones.”
Silas cleared his throat. “Okay…that sounds like you’re saying a lot without saying much.”
We’d never felt the need to keep secrets; now would have been no different. But was there even anything to tell?
Not yet.
Several minutes later, I caught the image of a familiar black car pulling onto the property.
“Si, it was great to hear from you, but I’ve got to run. Give my regards to Leni and that boy of yours. Hope he’s still doing well. And call whenever you need me to save your ass again.”
His barking laughter filtered through my speaker before he said his goodbyes and ended the call.
I hadn’t taken my eyes off the parked sedan since its arrival five minutes prior. She’d yet to emerge, and I wondered what was keeping her. Yet no sooner had the thought crossed my mind than the driver-side door pushed open, and a wave of long brown curls danced in the breeze from the car. I couldn’t help envisioning my fist tangled in that hair and my name, a whispered moan on her lips.
My feet carried me to the door before I realized I was even moving.
“Good evening, Mr. Leone,” a woman’s voice called from an adjacent hallway. I bid her a nod, my eyes fixed on the back door, where Amara was only seconds from breaching. “Can I get you anything to drink?” Again, the same voice. Whirling around, I found myself far too close to a young brunette in heels almost as tall as one of her calves, and even then, she barely made it to my shoulders. Her height wasn’t the problem; it was the flushed cheeks and doe eyes belonging to a girl who seemed to be a couple of years much too young to work here.
She flashed a flirtatious smile and moved in closer. “Is that…a yes?”
“How old are you?”
Her expression twitched as if she fought to hold her smile.
“Twenty-one.” The bravado from moments ago was gone.
“I’m only going to ask you once more. And if you’re lying, there will be consequences.”
Tears welled over her blue contact lenses, and she began to fidget, looking away and probably regretting her decision to speak to me.
“Nineteen,” she murmured .
“I gave you one chance.”
When I reached into my pocket and retrieved my cell, she grabbed at my arm in a panic. “Okay, please. Don’t call anyone. I can’t go back home.”
“Age,” I demanded, not moved in the least by her begging.
“Six…sixteen.”
“Get the fuck out of my club.”
The girl flinched and shuffled backward before turning and running as fast as her ridiculous heels would permit.
A fucking child.
Luca was a son of a bitch. I wouldn’t deny the fact that some of my faction had dealings involving the trafficking of women and young girls, but I always kept my distance and never received a dime of those profits.
Maybe because I had three younger sisters.
“I always knew she was hiding something.”
I whirled around at Amara’s voice, my mood instantly shifting when I took her in as she watched me, leaning casually against the door frame.
“I don’t employ children.”
A hint of a smile moved over her lips as she nodded in understanding. “I have a feeling Luca was aware,” she said, still holding my gaze.
“If I knew my cousin, I’d wager you’re right.”
Amara said nothing more on the subject and pushed off the wall. I followed like a goddamn puppy.
“I’m sorry to make you come in early tonight. I promise I won’t be long.”
“Oh, so it’s one of those could-have-been-an-email type meetings?”
A joke? Had she just cracked a joke?
“Maybe,” I said with a laugh. “But the last time I was here, this place was just a foreclosed building by the beach. I signed the paperwork and flew back to Naples the next day.”
“I’m assuming you mean Italy.”
“Correct.” Our steps had become synchronized, and the fact she wasn’t running off like she had last night was progress. “It would be good to touch base with everyone and cull the staff if need be.”
She nodded once before stopping in front of her dressing room and facing me. A woman’s lips had always been my biggest draw, but as enticing as hers were, I couldn’t pull my gaze away from her unique eyes even if I wanted to. The left was a warm shade of honey, and the right was primarily bright blue, apart from a sliver of brown bleeding from the pupil to the edge of her iris.
I’d gone home last night and googled the condition.
Heterochromia.
“I’m going to drop off my things and be in the lounge in a moment.”
My hand twitched to catch her elbow, but I remembered her hesitancy and decided against it, stuffing both hands in my pants pockets as insurance.
“Amara, is there anything I should know before I address them?”
That earned me an eyebrow lift. “You don’t exactly strike me as the kind of man who needs direction, let alone one who cares much what strangers think.”
She read me like an open book.
“Maybe. But I don’t want to come off like the asshole they expect. Can’t just, as they say, show my hand.”
Amara eyed me curiously. “Is that what you’re doing with me? Pretending you’re interested in my opinion. Hiding your ace.”
“Do you think that’s my objective?”
She folded her arms across her chest and wet her lips. I was sure the movement was an innocent one because the woman was barely lukewarm. But my eyes fell on her fleshy mouth all the same.
“All I know is that you have a knack for answering questions with a question.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out. “Do I? Fuck.”
A whisper of a smile touched her lips. Had I blinked, I would have missed it.
“See you in a few, Mr. Leone.”
Without another glance in my direction, she slipped into her dressing quarters and closed the door.
I’d never had to work this hard for a woman’s attention, nor would I have cared to put forth the effort. But Amara had snared me from the moment the first notes caressed my senses. This game she had unknowingly initiated was the most thrilling experience I’d felt in a long time. With scores of dead men on my roster, I wasn’t one to back down or lose.