A Commitment to Love, Book 3 (32 page)

“I need a coffee. Make it strong with no sugar or cream.”

“Okay, sir.”

How did Sophia know that Jasmine would go to Benny? How did Sophia figure out a way to get me alone with her? Killing Lucy wouldn’t get me running Sophia’s way. But killing Lucy started it. How did she know my moves?

And then it came to me.

“Fuck.” I gripped the armchair hard.

She hadn’t known my moves, but she did know Jasmine’s and Benny’s. I bet Sophia was certain that after all these weeks of my hiding Lucy away, he would do something extravagant, once he got her in his grips. Maybe, she even got in his ear or perhaps she figured he’d be bold. But she knew that Jasmine would find out what had happened to Benny.

I can guarantee that.

And Sophia probably guessed that Benny would continue to be blind with rage over my being with Jasmine. He would never let it go, never accept us. He would try his best to solve the problem with violence, and Jasmine, being the compassionate person that she was, would want it all to end. And Sophia knew that I wouldn’t let it end.

So it would be a fight. A war. Benny against me. Jasmine would run off to save us both. And then Benny and I would turn to Sophia for help.

I finished the rest of the liquor and couldn’t wait for the stewardess to bring the coffee. I hadn’t slept yet, and with the high skills of these players, I wouldn’t be getting rest any time soon.

The only question I have now is: who the hell does she want to win, and why?

C
HAPTER
18

Jasmine

E
vening
came. Dark violet streaks blanketed the night sky. The stars hid from London, and knelt behind gloomy clouds that expanded miles away. A chilly wetness filled the air. More rain would come.

The weather girl must have a boring job. “Today in London, it will rain. Clouds again, people, and yes … more rain.”

We stayed in the abandoned ballroom. Still, Benny hadn’t returned. Unease kept Troy in a grumpy mood, but at least that didn’t stop him from going forward with our plan. No matter how much we wanted Chase away from Benny, we needed his help, too. He moved on the outside world with loads of resources, and most important, he had Mom and Sherman, two players we hadn’t even known were in this deadly game.

“You know how to get down to the wine cellar, right?” Troy gave me a big flashlight that was cold to the touch.

“I remember.”

Vivian frowned. “We should go with her.”

“No, we’ll do better with watching her back up here. The only person that can hurt her in this house is Benny.” Troy touched his chest. “I’ll smoke a cigarette outside in the front of the house with security. They always let me borrow a few. Vivian, keep watch at the window. I’ll have the fire of my lighter on for a long time.”

A skeptical look replaced Vivian’s frown. “That’s the sign? Why not turn it off and on four times?”

“That might make the guards wonder.”

“Or it would seem like you’re having a problem lighting your cigarette.”

I extended my hand for the phone. “Just flick it on and off three times. Who cares about security? We only need me to rush back upstairs before Benny. How’s Vivian going to signal me that Benny is coming?”

Troy explained, “So there’s one of those stupid wooden servers that connects from the kitchen on our wing all the way down to the cellar—”

I raised my eyebrows. “Stupid servers?”

“He means dumb waiter,” Vivian corrected.

“Wow,” I blurted out.

“Anyway ...” Troy rolled his eyes. “There’s a small lift elevator thing that you move with a pulley. If Benny arrives, Vivian will let the pulley fall to the cellar. It sounds like a big bang.”

“You two have done this before?”

They both nodded.

“Remember,” Troy handed the phone to me, “make the call. Make it quick, and get as much information as possible.”

“I got it.” I stuffed the phone in my pocket.

“This isn’t a freak call.”

“Really, Troy? Really?” I turned and hurried off.

The floor creaked as I rushed down the hallway. Troy and Vivian went off to their perspective places. Even with a flashlight, I couldn’t see as much as I’d hoped. Too much darkness behind and on my sides.

I walked in an eerie tunnel, surrounded by molded wood and cracked ivory, a wild jungle of plants and flowers amidst decomposing luxury. Things scurried past me. Each time I flashed my light to the noise, I caught tiny furry legs and jerked away.

Was that a rat? No, it was a squirrel. Say it. A cute little furry squirrel. Not a rat. I don’t like rats and they don’t like me.

Increasing my step, I followed the path of red buttons Troy had placed on the ground earlier this morning, when he’d first brought me down.

“Where did you get those buttons from?” I’d asked.

He held a large bucket. Buttons filled it to the top. They were all different—small and big, shiny and dull, jeweled or made from the cheapest plastic. “There’s a sewing room near the kitchen in the east wing. It had buckets of these things.”

With every four steps, he set a few buttons on the ground and moved forward.

I followed behind him. “We’re like Hansel and Gretel, putting our bread crumbs in a trail in the forest.”

“Let’s hope there’s no witch offering candy and trying to eat us.”

“Let’s hope. The best part of that story was the food that witch could cook.”

“I feel like you would make a deal with her to get some sweets.”

“It would matter on the sweets.”

He dropped more buttons down. “You’d sell me out for a candy bar?”

“Not just any, but there’s a few. Chase bought me a candy bar called To’ak. It cost him $260.”

“Rich guys spend money on dumb things. If I pay for a three hundred dollar candy bar, it better come with a blow job.”

“Eating it felt like a blow job.”

Troy chuckled. “And you know how blow jobs feel?”

“Chase said eating the candy felt like a blow job.”

“If he compared that to chocolate, then you’re obviously doing it wrong.”

“Eww. None of your business about what I’m doing.”

He tossed some more buttons. “Why close to three hundred for a candy bar?”

“They ferment the cacao beans. Most chocolate producers skip that part because it takes time. The people who made To’ak. They ferment them, then dry, roast, de-shell, and grind each batch by hand. It takes the group around two years to just make six hundred bars.”

“You know what I realize, when you tell me about high-priced food?”

“What?”

“The people who make the stuff are always so fucking extra.”

“Extra?”

“It’s always some shit like,” he used a high-pitched voice and mocked me, “they farmed the fish in a lake filled with the most expensive bottled water. Then they read to the fish, but not Dr. Seuss. No. Shakespeare and
Nietzsche. Then they taught the fish calculus, and a symphony played around the lake every night while they slept. The fish ate lobster. The fish received back massages and had meditation breaks where they considered the meaning of life. That, my friend, is why this fish is now sold at a $100,000.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“It really is. That’s why I just get some damn fish from the supermarket like a normal person, bread, fry, and eat it. End of story. Ten dollars. Still good, but without the bullshit background.”

We got to the stairs and he took his time laying a button on each step, and then lowering to the next.

“I bet the educated fish tastes better,” I said. “It would’ve had an easier life.”

“Easier life makes the flesh taste delicious?”

“That’s a little theory that many of the purist have.”

“I bet those purist are also the ones hiking up the food prices and stuffing all of the dough in their pockets.”

The debate heated up after that. I could never drag Troy over to my foodie passion, and he couldn’t convince me of dulling my senses for the sake of saving a few bucks.

Thank God Troy put these buttons down. There’s no way I would have remembered the way.

Now on my own, I walked down the button path, flashing light on each one.

Did Troy and Vivian make it to their spots? Are they looking out? Did Benny already come back? Shit. I have to hurry.

I paused to listen to the sounds throughout the mansion.

Wind blew outside. A tree scratched against the house’s surface and the creepy noise echoed through the empty hallways.

Okay. I’m fine. There’s nothing out there.

I rushed down the stairs and made sure to not knock any buttons away. My flesh shivered. It could have been the cold temperature in the neglected parts of the mansion or the fact that I worried Benny would catch me sneaking off like this.

By the time I reached the wine cellar, my hands shook and I had to hug myself to shield my body from the cold.

The door screeched open. I shined the light through the whole space. The previous owner had taken all of the wine. Only empty shelves remained with a few turned over barrels.

The door closed behind me. Checking the space some more with the flashlight, I then took the phone out and dialed Chase’s number.

It rang three times.

Please, pick up. You have to pick up.

And then his deep voice traveled over the line. “Hello?”

His name was a song. “Chase.”

Fuck. Don’t say it like that. Focus on what I need.

“Two calls in one day?” he asked. “Should I be expecting this each day?”

“You have to get away from my mother, but before you do—”

“We need to find out why she’s in this to begin with,” he finished my sentence. “Is that why you called? To talk about your mother.”

I hated the confidence all over his words. He sounded like he’d just been handed the last piece to a complex puzzle.

“Where are you Jasmine?”

I looked around. “A wine cellar.”

“Be more specific.”

“An abandoned mansion.”

“Hmmm. You have answers for me now. Why?”

“I need to talk to Sherman. He can help us.”

“Help you kill Benny?”

“Maybe.”

“There is no maybe to that. You do understand, right?”

“Yes.”

And then, he caught me by surprise again. “I’ve been reading Benny’s journals.”

“What? Where the hell did you get them from?”

“Long story. I’ll tell you the next time I see you.”

“Chase, I need you to let me talk to Sherman as soon as possible. Is he around you?”

“No. He’s on another plane.”

“And where are you?”

“The same city as you.”

“Whatever.”

“How much do you want to bet?”

“Chase, I don’t have time for this.”

“If I’m wrong, you tell me, and I’ll give my phone to Sherman so that the next time you call, you’ll be able to talk to him. But,” Chase laughed, “if I’m right, you touch yourself right now.”

Heat pooled between my thighs. I tried to ignore it. “We don’t have time for that.”

“Why not?”

“Benny could come back anytime soon.”

“Benny is going to be very busy in the next couple of days.”

“Why?”

“London.”

I tensed and lost all of my words.

“That’s where I’m at, tesoro. London.”

Breathe, Jasmine. Breathe.

“Hmmm.” His voice drummed down through my flesh. “So I’m right, and you know what that means.”

“How did you figure it out?”

“He’s a cockney.”

“Christ.”

“Benny’s going to need Jesus in these next couple days. Where are you in London?”

“I don’t have the address, but …”

“Save me some time, tesoro.”