Chapter 4
FOUR
PRESENT DAY
Stepping out of my parking spot, I stared at the brown, brick building, built in the late 1800s. It was a hotel until the US national government made laws against alcohol and gambling, then the secret underground basements were perfect to hide smuggled alcohol and illicit casino games.
Old East Coast mobsters ran the place, and my Cuban ancestors sold rum to them for many years before eventually killing them and taking over their business. That was the reason I was so good at what I did in my spare time: killing was in my blood.
And even though my family had owned this building for seventy years, thus making me the owner, no one else knew it. Even Rook, who knew more secrets about me than the Kings, didn’t know that I owned this building.
He knew about the building because my father used to bring me here as a kid. Here was where I learned the richness of the sensual world, how backhand deals ran the government and corporations alike, and that you could do what the fuck ever you wanted if you had enough numbers next to your name. Even though I’d asked, my dad wouldn’t allow me to bring Rook, stating that the Undergroves may have a rich and lustrous history, but that their bank account wasn’t outstanding enough, even if I brought him along as a guest.
However, Rook grew up to be as shrewd and ambitious as his ancestors, and as soon as he qualified, he applied for a room here.
"Good evening, Mr. Caldwell,” the woman at the front desk greeted me as I stepped inside. All the people who worked here were required to know the names and faces of all our clients; it was in the employee handbook.
"Hello, Himari.” I, also, made it my business to know all the names of my employees, especially the ones who worked here . She had long black hair, shaved and dyed pink on the sides, and was originally from Japan. She’d come here on a student visa, but needed a job, and the company was paying her under the table since her visa didn’t allow her to work.
She gave me a polite smile and held out her hand. "I'll take your personal effects."
I placed my phone, wallet, and my Beretta on the ornate oak desk, a requirement before entering to keep my clients safe.
She pulled a black, leather box with a silver embossed fox logo out from under the counter and took off the top, then deliberately placed the wallet and phone inside it. Next, she checked the gun to make sure there wasn’t a bullet in the chamber. She handled it with confidence, as it was also a requirement that all my employees train at a range weekly, paid for by the company.
Taking out the magazine, she put the gun in the box, then locked it in front of me, handing me the key. “As you know, when you leave, you're free to collect your items.”
"I'll be checking her out."
“As long as both Ms. Krapivnik and Mr. Undergrove are comfortable with it.”
“They will be," I grumbled, sighing, annoyed with the strictness of my own standards. “Draw up the paperwork.”
"Yes sir, please hold."
I nodded, ignoring the shy glance from Himari. She’d had a crush on me since the first day we met face to face but kept it hidden well. After a few minutes, she passed over an iPad and I signed it with my finger, then I turned, walked towards the large oak door, and waited patiently. It was beautifully carved with the scene of a fox hiding in a thick forest. His fierce face stared at you as you waited for the door to unlock.
When my family took over, they’d gutted the building and redecorated the whole thing, redone with the intent to deceive.
The outside, nondescript and uninteresting.
The inside, opulent and beautiful, hiding steel doors and bulletproof windows. If you needed a safe place to hide, this was the place to do it, and one of the reasons some of our clients paid outrageous monthly fees.
"Have a pleasant evening," Himari said.
I didn't answer her as the door clicked and I opened it, stepping through. The smell of sage and mahogany hit my nose as I entered the large, three story atrium. Soft sunlight from the dusk outside played over the extravagant decor. Grand stairways swept both sides of the room, with rows of gold and silver doors beyond. I silently passed over the polished hardwood floors, the fox logo burned into the center, and towards the opposite door, this one painted black.
Inside led to a hallway with doors on each side. It was bathed in darkness, with only a soft red light to guide your steps. I stopped at the door labeled ‘10’ and, with my hand on the knob, took a deep breath, and turned it.
I couldn’t see shit.
Frowning, I fumbled with the lamp on the nightstand by the door until I found the switch, bathing the room in a soft, yellow light.
By the look of the room, you wouldn't imagine the monthly fee Rook paid to keep it. It was sparse, with a rickety dresser and an even more rickety twin sized bed. The yellow carpet was sixties style and threadbare.
A room designed with me in mind.
Rook wanted to torture me, and this was his fucked up way of doing it.
There was only one comfortable furnishing in the room, and that was the leather sofa chair in the corner.
It was also the only furniture that wasn't an original part of the design, and where he liked to sit.
Where sometimes, he liked to watch.
Tonight, Tatiana was naked, except for a pair of exquisite black lace panties and a leather collar around her throat. She was crouched on the bed, positioned like a good little puppy, her knees spread apart and digging into the squeaky mattress.
The exact same mattress Rook's grandmother used to sleep on.
She didn't speak, the ball gag in her mouth kept her from it, but her eyes bore into mine. They were blazing with anger.
My dick hardened at the sight of her, my gaze slowly lowering to take in her sensual form, and her nipples hardened into tight buds.
I wanted to pull them into my mouth, lave her body with my lust…swallow her with my black hole of need.
“What a good bitch,” I smirked, meeting her gaze again, and her eyes narrowed, fury making the sky-blue color crackle like shooting stars.
She was pissed I'd called her in tonight, of all nights.
Her birthday.
Her anger only made my cock grow harder; she fucked relentlessly when she was furious.
Still smiling, I lowered my gaze across her flat stomach, the soft diamond glinting in her belly, then down to those sensual lace panties.
My humor slipped away, rage filling its place, slashing across my chest when I saw the thick, white streak of cum across them.
"You fucker," I growled to the man silently watching me from the dark shadows of the room.
His responding chuckle was low and dark, as deadly as the man himself. "I thought you might enjoy my gift."
"I don't."
"Ah, well. That's disappointing, because my little polva enjoyed it."
My fury ratcheted up a notch and I clenched my hands into fists, finally turning towards him. He was wearing a black, button up shirt, and dark black suit pants, perfectly blending into the shadows except for where he'd folded back his sleeves, revealing his tattoo sleeve, and nimble fingers that clutched a tumbler of amber whiskey. “You know marking her before I enter the room is against our agreement."
He took a sip of his whiskey, giving a deep scoff. "I'll take it out of my fee."
"You know I don't give a shit about that."
"For a man desperate to have her on this specific night, all I want to hear from your lips is, gracias, senor ."
"Fuck you."
"You say it, or you don't fuck her ."
I looked back at her. She was still and unmoving, staring blankly at me.
"I'll say it, but you have to agree to never call her polva again." That was my nickname for her; no one else got to call her that. It was a deep betrayal that she’d told him about it, and I was going to take her punishment out on her ass.
"Done." Rook immediately agreed, letting me know he hadn't really cared about it. He was only calling her that to get under my skin.
And it was working.
"Say it, Knight," he seethed, showing an unexpected emotion.
“Gracias, Senor." I let it slide from my lips just as easily as his agreement to my terms, showing him that it truly meant nothing to me.
I may have just called him sir, a term of deep respect in the Hispanic community, but if you didn't really care about it, did it really mean anything?
He didn't answer, falling silent, and I reveled in the fact that it didn't give him as much satisfaction as he probably expected.
After a long moment, he shifted, and Tatiana moved, the leash connected to her collar forcing her to fall back onto her ass. Her legs splayed wider to keep her balance, showing off the mark of her cum-stained panties.
Touché .
It was time to quit playing games. “I want her for the whole night."
Tatiana's eyes widened, her first reaction to what we were saying.
I met her gaze, though I continued to speak to Rook. "And you won't be staying tonight. I'm taking her from this fucking disgusting room."
Rook didn't respond, except to chuckle once humorlessly.
The terms of our contract allowed for me to demand all three of those things, at exorbitant rates.
Sometimes I let him stay and watch. Sometimes I didn't.
We both knew how to torture the other.
Except, either way was torture for him.
"In fact, I want to buy out her contract to you."
"You know the price for her. Are you prepared to pay it?"
I raised my hand and pressed it against the glass barrier between her and me. It would only go down when he put in the code, allowing me access to her.
"I want to renegotiate the terms."
“There will be no renegotiation."
"I'll triple my offer."
"Is that all?”
“Ten times."
"Your money means nothing to me," he hissed.
“Then why do you take it?”
"I don't," he answered, surprising me.
I looked away from the stunning woman to him, frowning. “It comes out of my bank account."
"And goes into Tatiana's."
I blinked, then laughed, turning back to her. Of course. Tatiana always came out on top these days. She didn't meet my eyes, but stared over my shoulder.
My laughter died away. "You know I can't give you what you want. I would never betray the Kings." Familia est vita. Domus Regum. Family is life. It was literally tattooed on my body. It was also the only thing I wasn’t willing to do for her. I wouldn’t betray people I loved.
“Then I’ll never release her from her contract.” Rook stood and walked towards her. Picking up her hand, he placed the end of the leash in it. “You’ll never have what you want.”
Her neck stretched upwards towards him, and the look she gave him destroyed me.
Her gaze was filled with love and admiration. Respect.
I slammed my fist on the glass wall. "I'll give you anything you want, except for that. Don't ask me to betray my family."
Rook's face snapped towards me, his voice a deep growl. " Family ?" I immediately regretted my choice of wording. "You dare bring up family ?”
“Please.” I pressed my fist to the glass. “Don’t ask me to betray them. I can’t. I won't. Ask for anything else, I'll give it you."
Rook tilted his head to the side. "Anything?"
“Yes.”
“I want my grandmother back.”
I dug my short nails into the palm of my hand, gritting out, “Anything I can give you.”
“What about…” He paused for a long moment. “What about your own life?"
"Yes," I said. "She's worth it.”
He shook his head, chuckling darkly. “But you aren't. Unfortunately for you, I want you to live. To suffer for your sins, just like me.”
I scowled. “Then whose life is worth it? Tell me. I'll kill them for you."
"No."
“Why not?"
"Because, I want to destroy you, Knight. And your betrayal to your family is a wonderful way to do it." Not looking away from me, he unbuckled Tatiana's ball gag. Then, still staring at me, he gripped her chin, tilted her head back, and kissed her.
She moaned softly, gripping the back of his head to return the kiss. He broke his stare at me to focus on her, and I watched in agony as they kissed in synchrony, as if they were truly one being.
And yet, even I could see that their kiss might be filled with respect but it was empty of passion or love. Not relentless , untouchable , earth-fucking-shattering love, like what we had.
He didn’t love her, not like I did.
Their kissing went on a long moment and I growled, the impatience inside me bursting and pacing to get out, to fuck the woman I longed to hold in my arms at night. To kiss her the way he kissed her, right now.
She pulled away, glancing at me but he only stroked her face lovingly, not responding to my outburst.
“You’re using time I paid for,” I snarled, and his hand, finally, reached forward, but paused.
He looked up at me. “If you won't give me what I want, then at least neither of us will ever have what we want.” He smiled grimly. “And we will always suffer for the sins of our past."
I didn’t answer. I would find a way to get Tatiana out of her contract without betraying the Kings. A war was coming, and he wouldn’t protect her like I would.
Kissing her softly on the forehead, he punched in the code, and the glass door between her and me slid down.
I stepped forward, eager, and Rook walked around the bed, smirking as he passed me. "Enjoy her, but not a minute late, Knight."