28. Elena
28
ELENA
M ale voices wake me up from Nash’s bed. It takes me a couple of moments to orientate myself. Last night, Nash wrapped his large arms around me and snuggled me all night, I fell asleep so quickly and deeply that I feel revitalized this morning, better than I usually do after a mission. When I hear my name, I still. Shit. It’s Manuel, what the hell is he doing here? And I’m in Nash’s bed wearing his shirt. I quickly make my way to Nash’s glass doors that lead out to his balcony. I jump down into the sand and run past the pool, which is lifted off the ground, and toward my room. Thankfully, my balcony door is unlocked, and I slip in. Quickly, I throw Nash’s tee off to the side, head into the bathroom, and grab a new set of contacts then get dressed into my pajamas and head out.
Nash turns when he sees me exit my room, and relief washes over his face.
“There’s my woman,” Manuel says with a smile as if the depravity from last night never happened. He comes over and sweeps me up into his arms and nuzzles his face into my neck. My eyes look over his shoulder, and I see the pained look on Nash’s face at seeing me in Manuel’s arms, and for the first time in my life, I feel dirty for the game that I’m playing. Nash doesn’t deserve to watch me with another man. He’s a good guy.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”
Manuel stiffens, my tone not as pleasant as I had hoped. “Can we talk somewhere private?”
“Sure.” I nod, leading Manuel by the hand toward my room. As I shut the door behind me, I give Nash a small smile. Manuel makes himself at home on my bed, and I suck in a deep breath and take a seat.
“I came to check on you after last night,” he says. I see him looking at me with concern.
“That’s nice of you,” I say, giving him a smile.
“Are you okay?” he asks, looking at me curiously.
“Because of what happened at that party?” I question him.
“Yeah.”
“It was a little more than I thought it was going to be,” I answer quietly. Manuel looks relieved. “I’m surprised that you still want to see me after um …”
“Oh, sweetness,” he says, reaching over and pulling me into him. “You made me so proud,” he tells me.
“I didn’t want you to think any less of me because I … um …”
He shakes his head. “Never. You were so perfect.” He leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead. “But I do have some news about the gala.” I still beneath him. “You can’t go as my date anymore.” Huh. What? No. Do they suspect that I know Pearl?
“Why?”
Manuel tenses before rolling his eyes. “My wife is coming back from Europe for the event.”
“Your wife?” I gasp.
“Technically, she is. We are separated. She lives in Europe, while I live here. We don’t believe in divorce, so we live separate lives. I know she has lovers in Europe, and she knows I do here. It works.”
“Oh,” I answer.
“Yeah, so I’m sorry that you can’t be by my side at the event, but I was speaking to Nash, and I know he’s going to the event so I thought you could go with him, and we could catch up after the event. There’s an after-party at my boss’s home, and I want you to come be my date for that,” Manuel explains.
“Is Nash invited to the after-party?”
“No.” Manuel bristles.
“Oh. Is it like last night’s party?”
“Did you tell him about last night?” Those dark eyes narrow on me.
“He wasn’t awake when I got home last night. I’ve only just woken up,” I explain to him.
He nods, seemingly pleased with that answer. “Nash is not welcome at the after-party, it is only for certain people. Is that a problem?” His voice turns stern for a second.
“No, not at all, it would be weird.” I tell him.
“Good.” He grins happily as if he's won the lottery. “Do you have any questions?”
“Only what to wear for the event because I want to look good for you. I don’t want to embarrass you in front of your boss.”
Manuel’s face softens. “You truly are perfect. I think I’m going to keep you.” He grins, leaning in and placing a kiss on my cheek. “Here,” he says, opening his wallet. “Go treat yourself to a beautiful dress. Nash will know where the best dress stores are. I want you to buy the most spectacular dress and wear it for me.” He passes me over handfuls of pesos.
“This is too much,” I tell him.
He shakes his head. “Never too much for my woman.”
“I’m your woman now, am I? You remember I am leaving after the gala. That I was just here for a holiday.”
“I remember. But I’m hoping I can convince you to stay a little longer. I was thinking once my wife leaves you could move in with me and stay. You said you didn’t have a job to go back to so there’s nothing stopping you from extending your stay. Maybe I could find you a job working for me. Would you like that?” he asks me.
“That is very generous of you, but I will have to think about it. Maybe I could go home for a week, say hi to my cat and family, and then come back for a month.”
“Maybe,” he answers through gritted teeth, unhappy with my answer. “We will discuss this later. I have to go, I have a meeting. I just wanted to see how you were.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you coming to see me,” I say, standing up, wrapping my arms around his waist, and hugging him.
“You’ll be at the gala, won’t you? You won’t leave before then?” he asks as he pats my hair.
“I’ve never been to a gala before, of course I will be there,” I say, looking up at him.
He grabs my throat and then squeezes it. “Send me pictures of the dresses you try on. I want to choose. The thought of you wearing something for me makes me hard.” He pushes his hardness against me. “If I had more time, I would fuck you right now but I’m running late.”
I try to swallow against his hand. “ I’m a little sore this morning,” I confess to him.
His fingers relax against my neck. “You are?” he asks, feigning concern. I nod. “Okay, then I will let you rest. My wife arrives tomorrow from Paris. It will be hard for me to see you before the gala next week, ” he explains.
Placing my hands on his chest, I let my fingers flex against his suit. “I don’t want to get you into trouble with your wife, so I understand.”
Manuel grins. “You’re such a fucking good girl, I don’t know how I got so lucky.” He leans in and kisses me. It takes everything in me not to gag as his lips press against mine. “I will see you after the gala where we can have some fun. Don’t forget I want photos.”
“I promise. I’ll send photos.”
He places a kiss on my forehead and strides out of my room. I hear him say goodbye to Nash, and then the front door shuts behind him. I reluctantly step out of my room into the living area where Nash is standing, glaring at the door Manuel exited through.
“Are you okay?” he asks, rushing toward me when he notices me standing there.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m great, actually.” Nash’s brows pull together. “He's going to leave me alone until the gala.” Nash seems surprised. “His wife is coming back from Europe, and I can’t be his date anymore.”
“He told me. Asked me to bring you as my plus one.”
I grin. “He said.”
“And this works for you?” Nash asks.
I wrap my arms around his neck. “Other than sending some photos of me in dresses, he’s going to leave me alone. Which means …” I bite my lip, nervous about what I’m going to ask. “Which means maybe you and I can spend some time together.”
Nash’s brows rise high on his face. “Like a date?” he questions me.
“Yeah. Just you and me pretending this life doesn’t exist for a while.”
“You know that Manuel has eyes and ears all over this peninsula. If we are seen together, it will get back to him,” Nash warns. Oh. Of course it will, my face drops. “Hey,” he says, tipping my chin up to look at him. “He doesn’t have access to my home, and I may know a couple of beaches where his tentacles don’t reach.”
“I need to get out of here for a while,” I confess to him.
“Okay, then get changed. Grab your swimwear and I’ll take you out.”
I’m so excited as I race back into my room and get ready.
My phone buzzes and I see that Manuel is messaging someone. I haven’t checked my phone once since I got home, which was stupid of me.
Manuel: Just checked in on Carmen and she is fine. I knew she would be. That girl was born to be used.
Unknown Name: Her tight little cunt last night was heaven.
Manuel: She’s a fantastic fuck.
My stomach rolls. But I shake it away, I’m not going to let these men ruin my day.
Unknown Name: You’re lucky she helped you complete the initiation for your boys.
His boys? What initiation.
Manuel: Why do you think I blindfolded her? Make her think it was part of the kinky games we were playing. She probably thought it was my friends fucking her.
Bile rises. He let his sons fuck me.
Unknown Name: She looked like she enjoyed it the way she was moaning.
Manuel: The girl is fucking kinky.
Unknown Name: No shit. It’s fucking hot. She’s so fucking perfect. You’re one lucky bastard to have found her.
Manuel: She’s the best I’ve ever found. I’m not sure if I want to let her go in with the other girls. She’s too special.
Unknown Name: Damn right she’s special. If I found that woman first, there is no way in hell, I would let her join those whores. She’s priceless. I’d be making her my mistress and making her serve me. She’d be my secret weapon. Can you imagine all the favors you could procure because of her fucking mouth and cunt.
Manuel: Right? That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Except my fucking wife decided to come back from Europe for the gala disrupting my plans.
Unknown Name: Why the fuck is she coming back?
Manuel: Checking on the boys. They are men now they don’t need her anymore.
Unknown Name: Give her some money and she will soon disappear again.
Manuel: Exactly. Except Pedro likes her, otherwise, I would put my foot down.
Unknown Name: Fuck. You’ve got no choice. Is your girl coming to the after-party?
Manuel: Yes. She will be at the gala.
Unknown Name: How did you swing that?
Manuel: That gringo who owns the beach bar down in Tulum, she’s staying with him. Family friends.
Unknown Name: She’s not fucking that guy, is she?
Everything in me stills when I read that text.
Manuel: No. There’s no way he would cross me. He does seem protective of her which I appreciate, you know how these ex-military guys are. Loyalty and shit.
Unknown Name: Yeah. You think he’s going to be a problem?
Manuel: No. He understands how the rules work down here.
Unknown Name: You don’t think he will have questions if she disappears?
Manuel: No. I’m playing this one differently, like you said, she’s special. I am going to make her fall in love with me. I’ve already asked her to move in after the gala once my wife has gone. Once I have her heart, she’s going to convince her friends and family she’s in love. How can they say no to her happiness?
Unknown Name: But doesn’t her friend know who you are?
Manuel: Yeah. But he needs money to expand his business to more locations up and down the coast. That’s what he told Rosita when he fucked her for a ticket to the event.
He knows Nash did that.
Unknown Name: Guess he didn’t realize how much she likes dropping to her knees for you and spilled his secret.
Manuel: Rosita is so desperate. She’s no better than the whores in the villa. She thinks one day one of us is going to make her our mistress or woman, and she can live a life of luxury. She’s not worth it.
The villa? What fucking villa? Where is this villa? I click search on my phone for villa, to see if anything pops up. There are messages and emails about the villa but no actual name. Shit. Maybe Nash might know. Or I’m going to have to somehow work it into a conversation without raising suspicion.
Unknown Name: She should stick with fucking Gringo cock.
Manuel: So true.
Unknown Name: Does Pedro know about this girl yet? Or are you surprising him at the after-party?
Manuel: I’m presenting her to him at the after-party.
Unknown Name: Be careful, one taste and they might keep her.
Manuel: Then it will be my honor to give her to him.
Oh hell no.
Unknown Name: Did you get to taste Domingo’s new pet last night?
Manuel: No, she was Juan’s birthday present.
Unknown Name: Hope I get her for mine. She must be good for him to have kept her for so long, his playthings never last.
I need to save Pearl, it sounds like her time is running out.
Manuel: That’s because he has the attention span of a gnat. You know the gala after-party is a free-for-all. Whoever you bring is for everyone. Have you made your choice?
Unknown Name: Not yet. But I have a couple of girls in mind.
Manuel: Hope they are tamed. Not like the girls Marco brought last year, who were crying and shaking.
Unknown Name: That’s where the fun is though, breaking in those wild fillies.
Manuel: I don’t need my dick nearly bitten off like what happened with Adan.
Unknown Name: I don’t blame him for shooting her. The surgery to fix it was horrific. Now he has a disfigured cock because of it. At least it still works.
Manuel: I would have fucking shot Marco, too, for that stunt. I’m about to walk into a meeting. Talk soon.
I walk out of my bedroom after grabbing a handful of things and see Nash grabbing items out of the refrigerator.
“Are you okay? What’s happened?” Nash asks, stopping what he’s doing.
“You can’t trust Rosita. She is fucking Manuel. She told him that you want to expand your bar business and that’s why you fucked her for a ticket to the gala.”
Nash runs his hand over his head. “How?”
“I read his texts to his friend about last night,” I explain.
“Are you okay?”
My brows pull together. “No.” I can feel the walls shutting down, the coping mechanisms clicking in, the detachment from the events of last night happening.
“Elena,” Nash says softly as he reaches out and tries to soothe me.
“Don’t touch me,” I spit, pulling my arms away from him. I can see the hurt on his face at my rejection, but he doesn’t push it. “His friend asked Manuel if there was a possibility you could be fucking me which Manuel thought was hilarious because of your loyalty. At least he doesn’t suspect you.” I shake my head. “What do you know about the villa? I can’t find anything on Manuel’s phone. It’s where they are keeping the girls.”
“I’ve never heard of the villa before,” Nash answers.
“Manuel’s going to steal me, keep me for himself. He believes I’m falling for him. He thinks he can offer you all these beach bars and you’re going to forget about me. That you’re going to give me over to him easily.”
“Like hell I am,” he answers angrily.
“You need to think about a Plan B after the gala. When I escape with Pearl, they are going to come for you. You were right.”
“I know.”
“You have to come with us when it’s time,” I tell him.
“Don’t worry about me, you worry about saving Pearl. I’ll sort something out. I can look after myself.” Nash scoffs.
“Doubtful, not against the cartel,” I snip.
“I’ve survived here for years.”
“Because you didn’t step on their toes. When they find Pearl and I gone, you will be the person he comes looking for. They won’t stop,” I tell him.
“You kind of sound worried for me.” He grins.
“For some reason, I don’t want them to put a bullet through your head.” Nash blanches at my words. “You have to be on that plane.”
“You want me to be?” he asks, catching me off-guard.
“If the decision is between you alive and dead, then yes, I choose you to be alive,” I tell him. “Also, Brooks will be upset if I leave you behind.”
“Guess, that’s that then,” he says, turning around and heading back to the kitchen, where he is filling up a cooler with food.
“Did you want me to answer another way?” I ask him softly. He ignores me. “You wanted me to say I wanted you dead?” I ask, raising my voice.
“No. I didn’t want you to tell me you wanted me dead. I wanted to hear stupidly that you might want me to come with you,” he yells back. Oh. That. We glare at each other as silence fills the space between us.
“Brooks and Sophie want you alive.” Nash’s shoulders sag at my answer. I close my eyes for a moment and leave them closed while I confess to him, “I’ve shut down, Nash. I have to, to protect my mental stability to finish this mission. The shutters that have been wide open can’t be anymore. I’m sorry.” I open my eyes and see the pained expression on his face as he looks at me.
“What the hell was in those text messages?”
“It’s not just the text messages, Nash. It’s everything. I can’t be detached anymore to do my job. When other men touch me, it makes me sick, I want to murder every last one of them and say to hell with the mission, not because what they are doing to me is bad, but because they aren’t you.” Nash’s jaw drops at my confession. “The only person I want touching me is you, it seems.”