2. Raul
2
Raul
She fucking double-crossed me!
I woke up to a phone ringing shrilly about an hour ago. When Núria and I checked into the hotel this afternoon, a bottle of a fine Rioja reserve and a burner cellphone were waiting for us, along with a card from ‘Kitty.’ I don’t know if it was the time difference or the wine, but I was sleeping so deep, it took a few seconds for the voice to break through my grogginess.
“There’s a change of plan. I have the package. Find me at CW,” she says before hanging up.
My mind cleared really fast after that. I jumped off the bed, slammed through the connecting door, and found my cousin’s room empty. Except for the messy bedding, there weren’t signs of a struggle. That at least eases my mind. But it doesn’t answer why I was left in the dark.
Nothing was supposed to happen tonight. We planned a rendezvous at a highway rest stop tomorrow. But instead of doing that, I’m now driving in the middle of the night, following instructions left on a card, dressed in black leather.
Glancing at my phone as I steer the rental SUV down the highway, I consider calling my friend Lina, but decide against it. What’s the use, anyway? She’s on the other side of the world on another project. That’s why I’m working on this one with Kate Bishop, code name Kitty. I have nothing against her, except she’s a bit of a wild card, as her actions tonight have proven to me.
“I trust her to have my back, so can you,” Lina told me two months ago. “Kate is one of our best. She’s perfect—and most importantly, excited for the job. I have a feeling she’ll surprise you.”
She surprised me all right.
I’ve only worked with Kate directly once. She was a genius tech specialist, but I don’t know her as a field operator. I only have Lina’s word that she’s perfect for this job. Though the computer nerd I remember from three years ago will stick out like a sore thumb in a BDSM club. But I don’t exactly have many options. I need a local fixer. After communicating with her through encrypted calls and texts, I got a sense Kate knows what she’s doing. Plus, she isn’t judgmental of the job. In fact, she seems easygoing and fun based on the low-key flirtatious chats we had.
I, by nature, flirt with anyone breathing. It’s just how I ease people around me. It’s funny how people find a guy my size intimidating at the very least, or worse, dangerous. The takeaway here is I came to trust Kate to handle Núria’s request: escort her to the uber secretive Club Wonderland so she can explore her deep-seated needs.
Except making sure our family and the rest of the world never hear a whiff of the trip isn’t so simple. Being part of the Aguilar family, an old and one of the richest family in Spain, has its advantages and drawbacks. As one of the next generation leaders of the Aguilar Conglomerate, Núria is the future face of the company. She knows grandfather will drop dead of a heart attack if he learns about her kink. Plus, imagine the scandal if society even suspects Aguilar’s Head of Business Development, who spearheaded two thriving new businesses for the group likes to play a submissive.
That’s why the planning for this little outing from Madrid to the middle-of-nowhere New York State has to be perfect. There’s no room for error. So, I have every right to be pissed they left me behind with only a card of directions and a ridiculous costume to wear. And what the fuck for? Núria better be safe and her anonymity secured, or Kitty will have a lot of explaining to do.
The GPS tells me to take an exit that leads to a country road. There’s twenty minutes left in the drive, which is twenty minutes too slow. I drive as fast as I can within the speed limit. Being unfamiliar with the terrain, I can’t risk attracting law enforcement here. Not dressed this way.
El Toro … How original.
I don’t know why I have to play masquerade when I’m only here to protect Núria. Nobody cares if I get caught in a little scandal. In fact, few people really know I’m one of Alfredo Aguilar’s grandchildren since I stay away from the elite society.
I’ve always been the odd duck. Instead of joining the family business that encompasses almost anything profitable, I followed my father’s footsteps into the Ejército de Tierra —the Spanish Army—to Abuelo ’s disappointment. He would’ve been okay with it if I had the ambition to carve a career to be a general, but I like the thrill of covert missions, the bond I have with my squad, and the connections I make in different countries, which I continue to build now that I’ve retired from the military and worked as a private contractor.
So, it’s natural Núria sought my help for this mission of hers. I’ll put on the outfit and the mask if she needs me to. And she knows, unlike everyone else in the family, I won’t ever judge her for who she is.
I glance at the black metal and leather mask sitting on the passenger seat. Resembling a bull’s head, complete with horns, it looks both realistic and fantastical. I can’t help but grin and admit, it’s a pretty cool mask.
My destination looms ahead, so I grab the mask and put it on. The security check at the gate is a breeze since the instructions Kitty left are clear. Now I just have to remember once I pass the gate, no more names and the mask stays on. I’m not unfamiliar with rules. I’m a military man, after all. But I don’t take orders from just anyone, especially a woman who chose Kitty as an alter ego and pulled the rug from under my feet with no warning.
In truth, my ego is bruised that she pulled one over me so easily. Maybe even a little betrayed. I thought we’ve bonded through our late-night chats while planning this operation, and interjecting it with some interesting research and discussion of Club Wonderland and the BDSM lifestyle. She knows how important it is to keep Núria safe for me. Why would she deliberately separate me from my cousin, knowing she’s literally walking into dangerous territory? Did I miss something in the communications? Was there a lost-in-translation moment?
Or did I let my dick overrule my brain when we last spoke, finalizing the meet-up? I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve gotten more than a little turned on listening to her rich voice. Kate has a melodic cadence when she talks that can make any mundane info sound sexy. Then there’s her laugh. She made my cock hard more than once just by laughing. She might be nerdy and unassuming in person, but she can drive a man crazy with that voice alone if she knows its power.
Realizing I let a pretty voice distract me from protecting my cousin makes my temper boil again. I jump out of the car as soon as I’m stopped in front of an impressive mansion. It isn’t as grand as the Aguilar estate, but for American architecture, I’m surprised at its chateauesque style. But I didn’t come here to admire the place. I charge straight to the large main door that immediately opens as if they’ve been expecting me.
A beautiful woman in a see-through sheet of a dress stands waiting in the foyer. If I wasn’t on a mission to find Núria, I would’ve stopped to enjoy the view. I barely take her in except the fact she looks impatient waiting for me to reach her.
She turns toward a hall as soon as I’m near enough, saying in a clipped tone, “We’ve been waiting for you, Toro. Walk with me.”
Her tone spikes my already tested patience. “Where’s my cousin?”
“Princessa is safe,” she tells me, using Núria’s chosen character.
A man dressed in a plain black long-sleeved T-shirt and slacks, complete with a simple black mask, stops in front of them.
“It’s done, Oracle,” he says, but nothing else that gives me any clue of the context.
The man eyes me with wariness, which I tend to get. Women look at me with speculative interest, while men see me as a potential threat.
“Good. Keep it quiet. We don’t want to alarm the members,” says the lady, whom I assume is named Oracle. She waves a hand toward me and adds, “He’s checked out. Update me when you find anything.”
The man nods, then urgently walks past us.
Oracle moves again, explaining nothing to me.
I have had it. “What the hell is going on? Where’s Princessa?” I demand, feeling both angry and silly having to use these ludicrous names.
Without slowing down her pace, she descends the winding stairs leading to what I assume is a basement floor.
Her voice echoes on the close walls around us as she answers, “There’s been a security breach—”
As soon as I hear security breach , I block her descent with a stretched arm.
“Take me to my cousin now. I’m taking her out of here.”
The regal woman looks straight into my eyes. “You can’t. But I assure you she’s safe. Come, I’ll show you what we’re dealing with.” She steps around me, and I have no choice but to follow her. “Since you’re Princessa’s family, I trust you’ll want to contain the threat as much as I do.”
“What is the threat?” I ask again through gritted teeth, almost at the end of my fuse. Oracle arrives at an open metal door, not unlike one sees at a bank’s vault. The heavy-duty door plus the lower ceiling and lighting make the hair on my nape stand up as an old feeling creeps up on me. “What is this place?”
“The Chamber of Curiosities,” Oracle replies.