28. April 14, 2023
Demon
Ka-Bar.
Demon and Cherry stood there, dumbfounded.
“Sorry,” Gem apologized. “I had no way to warn you. We didn’t want to take the chance of anything being picked up on digital channels.”
Ka-Bar jumped in before they could ask questions. “I don’t have a lot of time, so in-depth explanations and whatnot are going to have to wait for another time.”
“You being watched?” Demon asked.
“Always. Plus, they’ve got me chipped. I’m supposed to be here right now but heading to Bananato del Sole to head back to Rome.”
“The airstrip,” Cherry guessed. “That’s how you’re getting in and out of places without being recorded. They’ve got a network, don’t they?”
“Yes. Worldwide. I’ve only seen a few. Here. Egypt. Italy. Russia. Several stateside.”
“What do you have for us?” Demon asked.
“I already gave Midas the ID packages on my meet and greet that Gem took pictures of. Confirmation of Henry Kroll and Emiliano Carvahlo. The latter hooked up with the Salieri four years ago and pretty much works side by side with Kroll. Both are not guys you want to mess with.”
“Are they in town?”
“No. They’re off picking up a shipment.” Ka-Bar snarled at the last word, leaving no doubt as to what that shipment was. “The two yahoos following you all are my ‘security’ with the exit of the Kaders after the South Africa incident.”
“‘Exit’ meaning dead?” TB asked.
“Yup. Had to take care of that myself to prove my loyalty. No skin off my nose. Those guys should have been put down as soon as they threatened Zahra.”
Demon turned to Steel. “Did you get rid of Mr. Creepy?”
“Lost him on some back roads heading toward Sulphur Springs. Might have a couple of tires leaking air. Oops. You lose your guy?”
“No. Mr. Crawly is down in the lobby trying to figure out how to bribe the front desk clerk for our room number. I promised the guy twice whatever anyone might offer him if he didn’t give it up, since he’s my wife’s recently spurned, abusive fiancé. We should be good.”
“Smart cover story. ”
Demon looked up at Ka-Bar. “I know why you ended up with these arsesholes, but why are you still with them? You can’t tell me you couldn’t have found a way, given your reputation.”
“At first, I stayed because they claimed they had Zahra. I had no way of knowing for sure that it wasn’t true until Gem confirmed it.
When I knew she was safe with you guys, I figured I might as well stay and see if I couldn’t dig around, find out everything I could, then start tearing down from the inside.
But this group is so fucking big, I don’t know that they can ever be routed out entirely.
“As best I can tell, they’ve got hundreds of thousands of members on every continent and in every country.
Everyone from the rank and file, like warehouse workers at the plantation, to bankers like Giudici.
On the surface, they all seem like normal, everyday men.
No one questions the sudden deaths of wives or the births of only sons because they’re so spread out from each other.
I’ll probably be able to say I’ll never be surprised again by what I’ve seen because of this.
I could never have come up with their bullshit in a million years. ”
“How do you stand by?” Cherry asked. “How can you watch what happens to these women? Their daughters? Hell, even their sons?”
Ka-Bar had the nerve to look properly chastised.
“Because I have to. Believe me, it’s sickening.
I thought I would become immune with time, but so far, it hasn’t happened yet.
Protecting Zahra and my son though? I’d do anything for them, even if it means falling in line with these assholes.
Hopefully, it won’t end this way, and Mythos will extract me at some point. But until they do, my job is here.”
“So you’re expendable if it gets Loki the information he wants?” TB growled.
The SEAL barked out a laugh. “Loki? You think Loki’s in charge? He’s more like the enforcer of a motorcycle club. Blunt instrument to take out the trash. He’s not calling any of the shots.”
“Guess that takes a couple of us out of the betting pool,” Midas mumbled.
“Make no mistake though. We’re all expendable, really.
” He tossed a head nod toward Midas. “Your computer geek here has some more intel on your major players. My biggest thing right now is trying to access shipment schedules. I’m not trusted with any of that, so it’s slow going.
I’ve supervised drop-offs, but the logistics people are all privately contracted and intermediaries, not the ones in charge.
Hell, some of them don’t even know what they’re moving, although I think most of them have a good idea.
Asking questions just gets people killed, so they probably figure the less they know, the better. ”
“This fuckery needs to end,” Steel muttered. “Did Midas share our intel with you?”
“We hadn’t gotten that far yet,” Midas admitted. His attention back on Ka-Bar, he said, “We’re going to be doing some spying tonight. Demon thinks there are tunnels underneath the banana trees.”
“That I can’t confirm. I was here strictly to pick up cash exchanged at the meeting yesterday.
This is the first time I’ve been on Norton’s property, although I’ve never met the man.
What I can tell you is that their Italy, Egypt, and mine locations all had underground systems. Not a big leap in logic to assume other facilities would have them as well.
I’d love to help, but I’m headed to the airstrip as soon as I leave here.
I might be able to do one or two things to draw security’s attention in the fields and at the estate for you.
Not miracles. Just more diversionary so that you can get in easier.
You’re on your own after that.” He cast a look at Demon. “Buildings I can’t help you with.”
“No worries. Got myself a key card. Snatched it from the golf cart on our tour yesterday.”
“Hopefully, they didn’t notice it go missing,” Midas commented.
“Think positive.”
“Who are you, and what did you do with D?”
Demon glared at him.
Rolling his eyes, Midas went back to work on his computer. “I’ll dig into their system and see if they made any new cards since after you swiped that one. ”
“Good idea,” Ka-Bar said. “And whatever you do, be careful. These assholes are not people who are going to play by any rules other than their own.”
“We will. Take care.”
Nodding, Ka-Bar left the room, and the Tribe members reviewed their plan for the evening. When that was done, one by one, they ducked out of the room. Midas was last with the parting shot of “Gem said the room is reserved until tomorrow morning.” With a wink, he left.
As soon as the door closed, Demon grabbed Cherry’s hand and reeled her into his chest. “Come here,” he ordered. His hands ran over her arms, drifting down to palm the small of her back with one hand and tilt her head with the other. “It’s been too long since I’ve tasted you.”
“You kissed me stupid in the jewelry store. That was less than an hour ago.”
“Exactly. Too long.”
Fifteen minutes later, she was prostrate across the bed, hair fully mussed, lipstick gone, and her chest heaving from the mouth that just left between her legs.
In the early moments, she’d managed to get his shirt off, but then he’d attacked with his tongue, thrashing at her clit, taking long, hard licks of her slit, then taking his spit and her own fluids and returning to her clit.
He rose up tall on his knees between her legs, and Cherry sat up, pulling him to a standing position.
She reached for his belt, making short work of pulling the strap, freeing the prong from the leather, sliding it through the buckle, and pulling it free with the slithering sound giving her gooseflesh.
His hands joined hers, freeing the button and zipper of the material and shoving his shorts down to rest around his spread thighs.
After smoothing his palm over the head of his cock to spread the precum welling there, he wrapped his free hand around the base, holding himself steady as he stroked up and down his length.
He watched Cherry stare at him, and he could almost see her cataloging how he pleasured himself, noting what spots caused him to hitch his breath, which caused him to moan, and which caused his eyes to glitter with need.
She watched the pulls and squeezes, watched where he placed his fingers and how they were tight to the vein on the underside, giving him friction.
When she pried his hands free of himself, she placed one hand on his thigh and replaced his other hand with her own around the base, squeezing tight and burying him in her mouth in one full stroke.
He was long. Just too long to take all the way, but damn if she didn’t act like she wasn’t going to find a way.
She almost undid him when she curled her tongue along the underside of his dick, making sure to hollow her cheeks and suck hard as she dragged her lips along his skin to the tip, then loosened her hold before plunging back down.
“Feck, fireball! Your mouth is as wet as your pussy after I’ve eaten you.”
The hand on his thigh reached for his hand closest to her and brought it to the back of her head.
“You sure?” he groaned. “Your mouth feels way too good. I might lose control and hurt you without meaning to if I go too hard.”
Pulling off him, she assured him, “You’d never hurt me.
You know I can take it. I want it. I want you so far down my throat when you come, I can’t possibly pull back.
” She dove back onto his cock, pushing until he was at the top of her throat, then relaxed and widened her jaw to take him just that slight bit further.
In a few strokes, she’d be able to accept more, and he bet she’d keep going until she helped him give her what she’d asked for.
“Feck!” Both hands cradled her head, gently exerting pressure as she slid back and forth across his dick. “Gonna feck that pretty mouth so hard. Hang on, a chuisle .”