Chapter 13
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
LUKE
I had a fuckin’ death wish.
I walked through a set of wrought-iron doors that led into a mansion, where an invite-only, black-tie affair was being held at a secluded resort in the Dominican Republic. The only setback was that I didn’t have an invite even though I wore a black tie.
I wouldn’t need an invite.
At least not by my standards, and as far as I was concerned, those were the only ones that mattered.
“Good evening, sir. I need your name, driver’s license, and invitation please,” the security personnel greeted, standing front and center at the entrance. Along with an arsenal of others all dressed to the nines, covering their posts in the surrounding area.
“I don’t need an invitation,” I casually replied.
“No invite, no entrance.”
I eyed him up and down, cocking my head to the side. “I beg to fuckin’ differ.”
He narrowed his eyes at me.
“I’m Luke Jameson, and I want to meet your boss. I’m not talkin’ about the man you answer to. I want to meet the motherfucker you’re not allowed to talk about. If you don’t make it happen right now, I’ll call this little soiree in for a raid. Invitin’ some of my officer friends to come figure out how many laws are bein’ broken here tonight. Is that a good enough invitation for you?”
I wasn’t surprised in the least when he swung at me. In fact, I was expecting it. I ducked and grabbed his wrist, twisting him around so his back was against my chest. Cranking up his arm behind him like he was under arrest. My gun was to his head before he even saw it coming.
In two seconds flat, every guard had their gun out, aiming them directly at us.
“Goddamn! Now, it’s a fuckin’ party!” I excitedly roused, digging my gun deeper into his temple. “Allow me to introduce myself to the rest of you, I’m Luke Jameson, and as I was so graciously informing this son of a bitch,” I announced, “I want to meet the man in charge of all the illegal activity happenin’ here tonight. If one of you doesn’t make it happen right now, I’ll invite more guests by callin’ the detective to call in a search warrant. Turn this black-tie event into a real fuckin’ party. Understood?”
“Who the fuck do you think you are? We’re not scared of you!” the guard to the right of us gritted out.
“No?” I mocked, shoving the man in my hold away from me.
I immediately shot him in the back of the knee as I pulled out my other gun from my holster, taking down three others with single shots to their knees no sooner than they could blink. I spared their lives for now.
I redirected the aim of my guns at the shit-talking guard, standing to my right, and questioned, “How about now?”
His eyes widened, taking in the scene laid out in front of him. At that exact moment, one of the guard’s cell phones rang.
He answered, and I added, “We both know what’s gonna happen if you kill me. You’re smart enough to realize I’d cover my tracks before coming here. Anyone who matters has the knowledge of my whereabouts. Even if you hid my body, it’s still going to fall back on your boss. I’ll look like a hero who was tryin’ to take down a sex-traffickin’ ring while he spends the rest of his life rottin’ in prison.”
He knew what I was saying was the truth. I could see it in his beady expression.
“I don’t give a flyin’ fuck if I die… Can you say the same?”
It was over.
I won.
“I suggest you use your earpiece and tell whoever the fuck you answer to, I’ll be waitin’ at the bar inside.”
I didn’t give him a chance to reply, holstering my gun as I made my way toward the front doors. As I walked into the infamous party, I could feel the same aura and magnetic pull of all the whorehouses I’d been in. The smell of pussy and sex instantly attacked my senses.
It was hard to ignore when it was all around you, which was the point of these establishments. It suffocated people with the need to fuck, paying a shitload of money to own a slave for the night or even take one home with you.
I walked past the foyer, over to two of the most elegant grand staircases that flowed seamlessly to the marble floors, opposite each other. There was translucent lighting everywhere, with half-naked girls dancing seductively in certain areas around the open room. Food lay on the bare skin of both men and women, and the servers walked around topless, wearing nothing but G-strings and a fucking smile.
Some were straddling men, others were going at it with women, and some were even in groups, taking it in every hole simultaneously. I watched as they sucked cock and ate pussy, being fucked and receiving pleasure. None of it made my cock hard. I was desensitized to shit shows like these. Especially since I knew this was just a cover-up for the main event on display somewhere behind these walls.
I was meeting Duchess tomorrow night. It had been a few days since our last interaction, and the last thing I wanted was to die without knowing at least her name.
“So you’re the one who’s been a very bad boy,” a busty blonde announced, stepping out in front of me and catching my attention straight away. “I’m Vivian.”
“Is that supposed to impress me? I’m assumin’ you’re the one who’s gonna take me to your boss?”
She smiled wider, placing her hand on my chest. “Wow, way to hurt a girl’s feelings. I thought we could talk first. Perhaps grab a drink.”
“The only talkin’ I want to do is with your boss.”
She reluctantly nodded, leading the way. I followed as we took the staircase to the second floor, leading us to a private elevator with more guards standing around. She set her index finger on the security screen, making the doors open, where she punched in a code on the keypad once we were both inside.
I stood on the opposite end of the elevator, the farthest spot away from her. My eyes focused in front of me, and her eyes stayed locked on the side of my face as we ascended to the top floor.
As soon as the doors opened, I was struck with a coppery scent I was more than familiar with. There was no mistaking the smell of fear and bodily fluids all around me. She nodded to three more guards standing in front of a set of open double doors, partially blocking our view. They stepped aside, staring me down as I followed her into a vast room that looked like a private office.
I could possibly end up another murder victim like the two men bleeding out on the floor to our right and the one who was partially alive, tied to a chair in the middle of the room.
I didn’t pay them any mind.
“You sure know how to make an entrance, Luke Jameson,” the man behind his desk announced in a thick Dominican accent, leaning back in his chair. “Unlike my guards, I know who you are.”
He was trying to intimidate me, but little did he know I welcomed the unexpected with open arms. It was what I thrived on.
I scoffed, taking a seat in front of his desk without being asked. Making myself right at home. “It’s about damn time somebody did. I thought I was losing my charm.”
“By that, you mean injuring four of my guards?”
“What can I say? Like you said, I like to make an entrance.”
He nodded to the blonde and his guards, and they left, closing the doors behind them. He wanted me to know he wasn’t intimidated by me as well.
“You’re lucky I called off my guards to kill you point-blank.”
“I figured you would.”
“And what gave you that impression?”
“’Cause curiosity killed the cat, and you wanted to know why I was riskin’ my life to meet with you. Men like us love a good battle. We’re warriors.”
“Alright well, to what do I owe the honor of you pissing me the fuck off?” he asked, never breaking eye contact with me.
“Your guard swung at me first. By law, I was simply defendin’ myself.”
“And how many laws are you breaking right now by orchestrating a meeting with me?”
“Not nearly as many as you are by just sittin’ in front of me. Let’s cut the bullshit, shall we? You know who I am, but do you know why I’m here?”
“How do I know you’re not wearing a wire?”
“Mauricio Felipe,” I exclaimed his name. In one sentence, I added, “You burned down my warehouse and then stole my cocaine. Did you think I wouldn’t find out? Now how’s that for implicating myself.”
“Doesn’t mean you didn’t strike to deal with the feds.”
“Do you want me to shoot more of your men? I wasn’t tryin’ to be rude by fuckin’ muderin’, but I can quickly change that. Maybe that will convince you that I’m not singin’ like a canary?”
He eyed me skeptically for a few seconds, shaking it off. “You just might be fucking crazier than me,” he declared.
I didn’t waver in adding, “I want in.”
“You want in on what exactly?”
“I want in on who is pullin’ the strings ’cause I sure as fuck know it ain’t you.”
“How do you know that?”
“If you thought I was a threat to you, you would have already tried to kill me. So that tells me, you’re not the one pullin’ the strings. Especially if you’re lettin’ me go trigger-happy on your guards.”
He stood, and I followed suit.
“Let’s get a drink,” he insisted.
Music vibrated the speakers throughout the entire mansion as I walked behind him. He wanted to make you think he was setting the scene, the mood when, in reality, he was trying to drown out the screams.
I wasn’t talking about the ones from pleasure.
We walked through what seemed like an endless stream of hallways and stairs. He typed in more access codes along the way, eventually leading us to a ballroom where mostly young women were in cages as if they were animals, waiting to be sold to the highest bidder.
My eyes went back to the scene unfolding in front of me. As if on cue, soft light illuminated the open room. Candles suddenly lit, spreading throughout the entire space as if they magically appeared out of thin air. I didn’t even see anyone light them. It gave the large area a translucent appearance.
In the four corners of the room, women dressed in nothing but heels waited to take center stage, lined up in rows upon rows. I couldn’t take my eyes off them—they were all so beautiful, so flawless, perfection in every form of the word. Their hips swayed to the beat of the music as they put on a performance to be sold.
I didn’t have to see the guests’ faces to know they were all aroused, which was exactly the point. They started to dance provocatively, seducing everyone in the room. Each one of their movements was carnal and sinful, captivating the attention of every last person in the space. The women moved their way toward one another, dancing on each other. Kissing, tasting, feeling each other.
The reactions from their audience only enticed them to keep going.
I witnessed men starting to pull out their hard cocks, stroking themselves to the visions of the pussies in front of them. It didn’t stop there. More women came into the room, dressed exactly the same, encouraging the guests to touch them, play with them, feeling every last inch of their hard bodies. I surveyed the room, breathing in the smell of lust, abandonment, and pussy.
“You want one?” he asked, glancing over at me. All these women were to be sold.
“No.”
He showed me this for one reason and one reason only—it was another test. He wanted to make sure I could stomach the seediness of his world before he disclosed the only information I wanted from the start. The real reason I was there in the first place.
He handed me a drink, and I took it down like a shot, breathing out pure alcohol.
“Why would I agree to this?” he asked. “What do I get?”
“You get to stay alive.”
He narrowed his eyes, and I honestly thought he was going to tell me to go fuck myself and try to put a bullet between my eyes. However, he knew how the game worked.
If he did this for me, I’d owe him one, and in this life…
That meant everything.