2. I Paid for Her
CHAPTER 2
I PAID FOR HER
Tristan
My back burns like it’s on fire. It isn’t. It’s my down coat. I scream as the flames lick their way through the material and sear my skin. In the confusion, I don’t see Mom tackle me to the floor until my face hits the silky carpet and she pats my jacket with her bare hands. Someone bangs on the door, screaming in agony. And the stench of burned flesh is everywhere.
Mom’s palms are charred now as tears stream down her face. It’s like being in a car accident. We’re frozen in place while tongues of fire consume the walls around us. But at the same time, the world around us is collapsing so fast, I can’t wrap my mind around why this is happening to us, how we got here, or how we’re going to survive.
Survive. The word flashes in my head while Mom shields me with her body. The screams in the distance are from a man. Why won’t he stop screaming?
“Tristan. Please don’t be dead. Tristan.” A pair of small hands push at my chest with urgency.
My eyes fly open. The usual pounding headache kicks in, while my blood pumps furiously through me. The fear the boy felt in my dream quickly turns to rage. I guide the anger to fuel my thirst for revenge, then wait as my own mind settles and I can breathe again. The nightmare is always the same, the same burning library, the same agonizing screams, and Mom huddling over me as my human armor. I’ve had the same fucking nightmare for twenty years.
The sequence of events never changes. The end result never changes.
“Tristan, don’t be dead.” Gardenia’s round face and blonde hair crowd my line of sight.
“What the fuck happened?” I blink slowly to get the room back into focus.
“That bitch happened. That’s what.” The space between her brows furrows while she wipes tears off her face. “I told you to come upstairs to me. You’re lucky I decided to monitor the hallway outside your room too.”
“That’s enough, Gardenia.” The room sways a few rounds before I find the balance to push off the floor and rise to my feet.
Gardenia looks up at me with so much anger. She’s not mad at me. She hates that I let my guard down for some stranger. More than angry, I’m surprised. I’ve had my shields up for so long, I didn’t know I could lay them down. I did that tonight. I did it for a complete stranger in a slinky dress.
“What are you going to do to her?” she asks, blue eyes shooting daggers that I know are meant for the woman who drugged me.
“I haven’t decided yet.” I inhale deeply to ease the nausea and lingering side-effects. “I need you to find her first. Check the camera feeds, run a facial recognition program, hack the FBI, I don’t give a shit how you do it. Just find her.”
“Do you have a name?” she clears her throat.
I meet her gaze and let the shame of my moment of weakness wash over me. The enchanting little dove fooled me, stole from me, and left me for dead. I suppose I should be grateful she didn’t actually kill me. I don’t think I did enough. Her words ring in my head. She drugged me and didn’t even know what dosage to use. She’s nothing more than a petty thief.
“No, we didn’t get to that part.” I rub the jabbing pain in my temple.
I can’t blame the headache on the drugs though. This ache on the edge of my skull is with me most mornings. It’s a reminder of the past and the only future in front of me—making the senator pay.
“Of course you didn’t.” She scoffs. “You reek of her expensive perfume. Why are men like this? Is that really all it takes, a beautiful woman with her tits out.” She gestures to her chest with both palms out.
“Just find her.” I cup her cheek for a moment.
“I can’t.” She swallows, and her anger subsides a notch. “I had all my cameras trained on you and your friends. That was the plan. So no, I have no idea who she is because I didn’t get a good shot of her face. Just a partial that didn’t bring back any results.” She points at her laptop on the coffee table.
I glance down at the screen. The sight of the woman makes my chest tighten. She’s real. I pinch the bridge of my nose to make the feel of her go away. “How long was I out?”
“A couple of hours.” Gardenia averts my gaze. “I didn’t move you. You’re too heavy for me to lift. And also, you deserved to lie there on the floor like the asshole you are. I can’t believe you brought her to your room.” Her eyes water again.
“What did you do?” I’ve known Gardenia since she was four. Her concern for me can sometimes be overbearing, but this was something else. When she doesn’t answer, I cock my head to look at her. “I’m going to find out anyway. So just tell me.”
“I was worried about you. Okay?” She points at the screen as proof that she had reason to be. “I didn’t know what she was up to. Someone that looks like that can’t be a good person. And then I saw that guy enter your room. I got here as fast as I could, but they were gone by then. I thought you were dead.”
“And then?” I ask, taking the laptop to study the one partial image we have of our mystery woman. Her defined eyebrows and silky hair are easy to see on the pixelated image. She’s absolutely beautiful. Too bad. Because now she’s going to meet a different side of me. No one steals from me and gets away with it.
“I called your mom,” Gardenia blurts out.
“You called Mom?” Fuck. I blow out a breath. “Why? What can she possibly do from England? Now she’s going to be worried about every fucking thing we do.”
“I know. I just panicked. I thought she should know you were dying.” She bites her lower lip and reaches for my chest.
I scowl at her and she withdraws her hand before it touches me.
“Gardenia, I was obviously not dying.” I meet her gaze in time to catch her wince, which means Mom has already done the only thing she knows to do to protect me. “Jesus fuck. She called your father.”
“Yeah.” She slips her fingers inside my hand. “I’m so sorry. Um…I also called Rex. You know the one with the green eyes, dark hair.”
“That’s Santino.” I remove my suit jacket and toss it on the back of the sofa. “Why would you call him?”
“I was angry that they brought in a sex worker to kill you.”
I open my mouth to explain to her how crazy she sounds, but the knock on the door cuts me off. The thing is, she’s not wrong in thinking I’m a fucking idiot. I glance down at the screen again. Lust got the better of me. I didn’t even think to ask her name. I didn’t think at all. In that moment, all I wanted was to possess a woman I’ve never met before. And fuck me. I still do.
Since Mom told me about how Dad died, I’ve spent all my time planning my revenge. Women have no place in my life. And for good reason. Anything beyond meaningless sex is a complication I don’t have time for. Getting close to someone would mean keeping secrets.
In the next breath, a tall blonde with a very pregnant belly waltzes into the room with Fisher, Gardenia’s dad and my mentor, at her heels.
Just fucking great.
“Hi.” The blonde woman offers me her hand. “I’m Dr. Salvatore. Santino sent me.”
I don’t miss the smirk on her face. Of course, Gardenia told Santino I was drugged by a sex worker, and he, in turn, told Dr. Salvatore.
“Thank you for coming.” I shake her hand. “But I don’t need a doctor.”
“I can see that.” She smiles politely then extends a delicate hand toward Gardenia. “Santino wanted me to make sure you understood that the sex worker wasn’t with them.”
“I figured as much.” I sit on the sofa armrest and meet Fisher’s gaze before I turn my attention to Dr. Salvatore. “But you’re not here just for me.”
“No.” She sets her big leather purse down and retrieves an envelope. “A gift from Rex.”
“I haven’t asked for anything.”
“She did.” Dr. Salvatore cuts a glance over to Gardenia.
If Gardenia was anyone else, she would’ve been kicked off my team a long time ago. But Fisher wanted her nearby so we could keep an eye on her. And I have yet to figure out how to say no to the old man. Gardenia’s skills are top notch. But she’s impulsive and meddlesome.
“What did she ask for?” I ask.
“Two seats at the Senator’s table.” She hands me the envelope.
I take the invitation and glance at Gardenia. The next step in my plan is to meet the senator. Technically, I would be meeting him again. But I’m confident he won’t recognize the eleven-year-old boy I once was. As much as he and Dad were the closest of friends, the senator never socialized much with Mom, and so he never got to know me.
“Don’t be mad.” Gardenia crosses the room to stand next to her father.
“Tristan. Hear her out.” Fisher wraps his arm around his daughter. “Gardenia can be impulsive, but she means well. And she did the right thing calling Freya. Your mother feels guilty as it is.”
I raise my hand to get him to stop talking in front of Dr. Salvatore. She obviously has a connection with Rex and Santino but that doesn’t mean she can know my whole family history. Mom blames herself because she believes that she put a curse on me the day she told me about how Dad died. She told me the whole story right before I left for Oxford. I was eighteen and still having night terrors. She wanted me to understand why that was happening to me. And she was right. Since that day, the night terrors went away. Not completely though, they became nightmares. These days, the nightmares only come when I veer off my path.
Like tonight, I never should’ve agreed to a night with a beautiful stranger. My focus needs to stay on the prize…it needs to stay on Senator Davis.
“You asked me to get you a meeting with the Senator. This is how you get in. Those invitations are ten grand a piece.” Gardenia steps toward me with caution in her eyes as if I were a wounded animal. “I tried every hack I know. Nothing worked. And you were passed out. And Santino asked if I needed anything else.”
“Gardenia.” I shake my head. “I don’t want you getting involved with them. You’re going back to Bedford tonight.”
“What? No, you can’t do that. We still have work to do.” She points at her laptop. “And you need me here. Look at everything I accomplished while you were out. I got you a doctor and two tickets to Senator Davis’s annual fundraiser.”
“Yes, you did that.” I exchange a look with Fisher. “By calling in a favor to the Italian mob. We didn’t agree to this. The fact that you don’t understand that you can’t just pick up the phone and call Santino tells me you should’ve stayed home.”
“I should go and leave you to your family matter.” Dr. Salvatore shifts her gaze from Gardenia to me. “For what it’s worth, Santino already went through the trouble of getting you those tickets. If I were you, I wouldn’t waste the opportunity to meet the man in his own home.”
“What?” Gardenia took the word out of my mouth. “The fundraiser is at his mansion in Bedford? I didn’t see that on the website.”
“This is a special event held for constituents of means.” Dr. Salvatore smiles. “You can’t miss this shindig, Tristan.”
What kind of doctor does house calls for the Italian mob? She doesn’t strike me as the messenger type either. She wasn’t here just making a delivery. She knows exactly who I am and why I’m here. Rex and Santino obviously trust her. But why?
“I’ll walk you out.” I gesture toward the suite door.
“I know the way.” She rubs her belly and walks out.
As soon as the door shuts behind her, I turn to Gardenia. But before I get a word out, she puts a hand up. “I know. I know. Find out who Dr. Salvatore is. I’m on it.” She types fast on her laptop, sitting on the edge of the sofa. “And here it is. She’s the lead surgeon at a hospital nearby. And…yep. She went to high school with Rex and Santino. Look at this.” She turns the laptop around for us to see the images she pulled up.
“How did you do that?” I ask, not bothering to hide how proud I am of her skills.
“I’m good at what I do. That’s how. Please let me come with you.” She shuts her computer and jumps to her feet. “To the gala.”
“I haven’t decided if I’m using the invitations. I was willing to risk a favor from the Italian mob for something big. A party doesn’t seem worth it. I can meet him at his campaign office. Or reach out to Chuck.” I’m thinking aloud at this point.
Yes, to beat the corrupt senator at his own game I am going to need a little help from someone who doesn’t care about breaking a few rules. But I never wanted Fisher and Gardenia so involved in this. They’re my team. They’re here to help. But I was hoping they would do it from the safety of this hotel room. And that the Italian mob would never learn their true identities.
“I told you from the beginning. I don’t want you to take unnecessary risks on my behalf. This whole plan is all on me. Do you understand?” I shift my attention between Fisher and Gardenia.
“Tristan, your father was my friend. I promised I would watch over you and Freya.” Fisher’s eyes fill with sadness as if recalling the moment he made that promise.
“I’m sure dropping everything back at home to come with me to New York was not what Dad had in mind.” I cross my arms over my chest. “And now this?” I point toward the door as a reference to the doctor the mob sent to help us.
Fuck we are in deep with them now.
“I’m with you all the way.” Fisher shrugs.
“Me too.” Gardenia beams at me.
“Are we voting on something?” My friend Jacob Stewart appears at the suite door. “Whatever it is, I’m in too.” He makes a beeline to me, overtly assessing my physical state. Fuck. Of course, he knows about the sex worker and the non-incident. “So how hot was this mystery woman?” he chuckles.
“Fuck off.” I walk to the bar cart to pour myself a drink. For a moment I hesitate with the bottle. Did she spike the whole bottle or just my glass? Fuck it. I’m not about to waste a bottle of good whiskey. I pour two ounces in a tumbler and drink.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to scout the bar properly.” Jacob pats me on the back before he takes the bottle from me and pours himself a glass.
“The plan was for everyone to stay home tonight.” I glare at Gardenia, who tagged along at the last minute because she swore the only way to hack the hotel security was to be here in person.
“I’m sorry,” Gardenia mumbles.
“Well?” Jacob sips from his tumbler. “Is Santino going to help you or what?”
“Yeah, he is.” I nod. “Rex is definitely interested in adding another senator to his collection.”
“And…” Gardenia skips over to the bar cart and laces her arm through Jacob’s. “They gave us super exclusive invitations to a super fancy party at the Senator’s mansion in Bedford.”
“Bedford?” Jacob winces in my direction. “That’s a bit too close to home, don’t you think? Would the Senator suspect who you are if you tell him you live down the street from him?”
“He won’t. Mom’s attorney sold our house after we left for the UK. It’s had two owners in the past twenty years. To them, I’m just the new guy. I’ll be Fitzwilliam Archer, a real estate mogul who has decided to come back to the States after making billions abroad. It makes sense for someone like Archer to want to associate himself with an influential politician. He won’t suspect a thing.” I knock back the rest of my drink to wash down the bitter taste in my mouth. Making friends with Senator Davis is going to be hell.
“As I said. I’m in.” Jacob raises his glass to me.
“Then it’s settled.” My gaze darts around the room as my headache eases a bit. “We have a week to prepare. While we’re at the mansion, I want to recover Mom’s diamond.”
“You don’t even know if it’s there.” Shaking his head, Fisher makes his way toward Jacob and the bottle of whiskey. “Or if the Senator still has it.”
“Gardenia has been keeping an eye out for it. The sale of an eight-point-five-carat pink diamond would be hard to hide.” I sit on the upholstered chair across from Gardenia, my mind sharper by the second. Truth is, this plan for revenge is the one glimmer of light in my life. I feel alive when I make plans to recover everything Mom lost to the Senator’s greed. “I’m sure the mansion’s layout and blueprints are public record.”
“I’m on it.” Gardenia beams at me.
“Discreetly. The Senator cannot know we’re coming for him.” I brace my arms on my knees.
“I know.” She rolls her eyes, a gesture that makes her look younger than her twenty-three years. “I wasn’t planning to show up to city hall and put in a request for the blueprints. I’m sure I can just hack in and download a digital copy. I’ll figure it out.”
“Fisher, you’ll be on comms.” I nod in his direction. “I need Jacob with us, just in case. The fundraiser will be full of wealthy people just getting wasted and flaunting their influence. But you never know.”
“Of course. Whatever you need,” Fisher agrees without hesitation.
“Wait.” Gardenia grins at me. “Us? As in you and me at the Gala? I can come with you?”
“Yes, but you have to promise you will do as I say. No going rogue. We stick to the plan.” I consider my words for a moment. “As soon as we come up with one.”
“Oh, this is so much better, and way more fun, than working at some office job in London. Ew.” She shivers as she pulls her computer onto her lap to get to work on the schematics. “Wait. I’m going to need a kick-ass dress.”
“Get whatever you need.” I smile at her.
“Hell yes.” She jumps to her feet, closes the space between us, and plants a kiss on my cheek.
“And Gardenia.” I stand.
“Yeah?” She looks up at me and her smile fades because she knows what I’m going to ask next. “Find the woman from the bar. I need to know who she is, where she lives, does she have friends, family?” Heat rises into my chest as I picture the faceless man who was in my room earlier tonight.
Who was he to her? A friend? A lover? Her fucking pimp? My blood boils at the thought of the two of them back at her place fucking all night. Her scent rises from my dress shirt and paints a vivid picture of her in mind. I feel her hands on me again, clawing at me, begging me to possess her. And that kiss, the hunger in her eyes, she knew what she was doing. My jaw clenches as I consider all the different ways I’m going to show her what happens when someone steals from me.
I paid for her. That makes her mine.
I glance over to the bedroom at the far end of the suite and the bed she didn’t get to see. A different image of her forms quickly in my head, her golden eyes and shapely breasts. She’s naked just for me. Coming only for me. I won’t stop looking for her until she’s in my bed, like she promised.
“I already tried, remember? I couldn’t find her. Without a face or a name….” She shrugs, looking over to Fisher for support. “It’ll be impossible. I mean, she could be anywhere by now.”
“Just fucking find her.”