Keep It Sexy (KIS Series Book 3) (23 page)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Billie

The next day, Don called, giving me the number to one of the agents he was working with. I took the opportunity while Christian went to his mom’s house to meet up with them a few blocks away at a café. This would be the last place anyone would think to look for me, because I hated coffee.

I sat as far away from the windows as possible, and once I sat a man and woman in regular clothing came in and took seats across from me. We eyed each other as the waitress came and took our orders. The male agent was older, in his mid-forties with salt and pepper hair, five o’clock shadow, and brown eyes. The woman was pretty enough, stern, with caramel colored hair pulled up in a high ponytail. Her green eyes were judgmental and she seemed annoyed that I had called this meeting. Evidently, she wanted control over every situation.

“I want to help,” I said after the waitress left. The male agent chuckled.

“Not a fan of formalities?”

“Is that necessary?” My face pinched. He chuckled again while the other agent’s eyes bored further into me. Apparently, she wasn’t a fan of me.

“My name is Walt or Agent Vaughan, and this is my partner Fran or Agent Gilmore.

“Don’t call me by my first name. I’m Agent Gilmore,” She snapped. I rolled my eyes.

“Whatever—”

“Listen, you wanna be a crime princess. I’m not here to be your friend, you don’t have to like me, but you will show me some respect. You are still a criminal and I am a Federal Agent. You got that?”

I grinned, taking a sip of my iced Coke. “First, say it a little louder so the whole fucking room can hear you. Second, I’m not a criminal. My record is squeaky clean. Third, I’ll give you respect when you show me some in return. Coming in here with a chip on your fucking shoulder isn’t giving me the illusion that you want to work as a team. Now, I can be a helluva team player, but I can also do mighty fine solo. The only reason I had my dad call was out of respect for my boyfriend. If it weren’t for him, I would have dealt with this issue
my
way. And that would have ruined your entire case.” Her eyes widened in shock as Walt looked at me with amusement.

“Do not threaten me, you little—”

“Enough,” Agent Vaughan said. “Billie’s right. We are a team, with the same goal in mind.”

Fran’s jaw worked like she wanted to say something, but her boss had spoken, so she was staying quiet. Agent Vaughan pulled out an envelope from his bag and handed it to me. “All the information you need is in this file,” he said. “We will need you to wear a wire when you’re with Connor. We’re going to need you to infiltrate his group, which I’m sure won’t be hard for you. This guy has it bad for you—.”

I held my finger up, stopping him. “I can’t go in there right off the bat strapped with a wire. He’ll be suspicious and they will check for anything like that.”

Vaughan nodded. “All right. We can do the first meeting without it, but after that you’re going to have to be wired, because we need him to confess. We’re confident that
you
will be able to produce that from him, in any way possible.”

I closed my eyes for a beat, knowing well what he was insinuating. Just then my phone rang. Connor. My eyes enlarged as I showed the screen to the agents. Both nodded, telling me to answer. It was show time. I swiped the phone, answering the call. I pressed it to my ear, waiting for him to say something.

“You finally get it?” he greeted. I felt the muscles on my neck pulse.

“You could have spoken to me like a normal person, Connor. There was no need for you to wreck my ride, spy on me, and ruin my place of work.” Connor laughed, and it gave me the chills.

“I never did any of those things, Bil. But now that I really have your attention…” he continued. I gulped down a scream. “I need to know that you hear what I am saying.” Meaning, if I continued to be with Christian, worse things would happen.

“Yeah, I hear you.”

“Mmm, music to my ears. Now, be a good girl and come home to daddy. I want you by my side. You’re my queen, remember?”

Disgusted, I glanced up at the agents and even Fran gave me a compassionate look.

“Yeah, I remember,” I said quietly.

“I’m still in Boston, so I need you to come to me. I have some work I need you to help me with.”

Vaughan and Fran gave me a curt nod.

“All right, I’ll book a flight. I’ll call when I arrive.”

“I can’t wait to have you underneath me. I’ve missed you so much. Then, tomorrow, we’re getting married. This is long overdue, Billie.”

My stomach dropped
. No, no, no
.

There was no way I was marrying him. I would kill him first.

***

My bags were packed, the taxi was on its way, and now I had to find a way to break things off with Christian until this was all resolved. The only thing I could think of was throwing back in his face the secret he was hiding from me, even though I knew why he was doing it and didn’t resent him for it at all. If anything, it made me love him more, because it showed what he was willing to do for his mother. It was crazy, but he was trying to do the best he could with the situation I had put him in.

My leg bounced up and down as I waited for him on my couch. As soon as he walked in, I wanted to forget everything and tell the agents to go to Hell. But this needed to end. Connor had to be put away.

“Hey, c
hiquita
. Are you hungry I’m starv—” He stopped when he noticed my bag on the floor. “Going somewhere?”

I stood, trying to look angry. “I know what you did.”

Christian knew what I meant. I felt his anxiety before I saw the effects on his breathing.

“You don’t understand, babe. I never meant to betray you. I was going to find a way to put him away without implicating you.”

I held my hand up when he started walking toward me. I was going to tell him he’d lost my trust and that we were done, just like the agents and I had talked about, but my gut told me not to. This was getting bigger than me, and if I told him and asked him to trust me, he would. I knew he would. No more withholding things from each other. He was my forever, and regardless of what happened in Boston, he needed to know.

I let everything out. How he had confessed the night of the serenade, how it had led to me calling my dad. I explained my dad’s involvement with the Feds, and how the detectives Christian was working with were shady. And finally, I told him what I had agreed to do.

“What the fuck?” he whispered as he sat on the couch. Sinking to my knees before him, I gripped his face.

“Do you trust me?”

His brown eyes darkened, almost like he was offended by my question.

“Of course I do. But you’re not going alone.”

“Christian, you can’t come, he’ll know.”

“Babe, I have a friend—”

“You mean Marquis.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled. “He has one of his guys keeping tabs on Connor, so I’ll just go with him. No more secrets, Billie. Whatever happens, we’re doing this together. No more bullshit.”

God, I loved this man.

“No more bullshit,” I responded against his lips.

Christian gripped the back of my neck and deepened the kiss. In a matter of seconds, I was naked while he was fully clothed with just his cock out. He bent me over the couch and rammed into me. I screamed his name in blissful agony. He entangled one of his hands in my hair, close to my scalp, while circling a finger around my clit. He was being rough and unapologetic in his way of claiming me his. And I loved it.

“You’re mine,” he gritted through his teeth against my ear. The hoarseness in his voice made my nipples harden even more. “Say it.” My mind was so wrapped up in ecstasy; I could not manage to speak until I felt a sharp pain on my ass where he spanked me. “Fucking say it, Sybil.”

“I’m yours,” I whimpered, and he slammed harder into me. I could feel my orgasm rippling through me. “Christian!” I screamed when I came. His hips continued to roll into me when he turned my head to kiss me. I expected a crazed kiss but when his lips barely caressed mine, it felt like a feather dipped in honey grazing my skin.

“I love you.” He groaned with one final thrust before coming.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Billie

Christian and I agreed there would be no communication once we arrived in Boston. It was too risky with Connor being the paranoid type, and the Feds tracking my movements. We both agreed to glue on the façade until we were both back in Colorado, safe and sound.

I arrived at Denver International Airport by taxi, and as soon as I entered the airport I noticed Agent Vaughan checking in his luggage. I was astounded by the fact that even in a busy airport I was able to detect people I didn’t want to see. I think he felt my stare on him, because suddenly he turned his head and gave me an impassive expression before snapping his attention back to the clerk in front of him.

I went through the motions of getting on the plane. When we took off, I sat back and mulled over the last two weeks. Everything with Christian and I had happened so fast. There was no lull with us, unlike the rest of my life or past relationships. Nothing was ever spontaneous. Maybe that’s why I acted out sometimes. Even though my life was…a bit unorthodox, it was all relatively planned. If we had a job to do, it had been well thought out, every move and decision calculated.

With Christian, everything happened without warning. It was almost like drinking water from a fire hydrant. Too much too soon, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being with him was freeing. Maybe that was why I wasn’t as upset about losing my bike as I would have been if Christian hadn’t been in my life. He was an extra pair of lungs for me, so I didn’t need anything but him.

My gaze wandered from the back of the seat in front of me to the small window to the side of me. I watched the sheer clouds pass by. Before the plane took off, I texted Jade to let her know I was okay and would check in with her later. Don had sent me a message, a picture of a shamrock. He was wishing me good luck. Another message let me know Connor would pick me up at the airport.

Suddenly afraid, I thought of what he would want to do when we were alone. I wasn’t sure I could train my body not to recoil if he tried to touch me, let alone kiss me. The thought made me feel like insects were scurrying all over my body.

Hours later, the plane landed in Logan International Airport. I clenched my purse against my stomach, pumping myself up.
You have to do this, Billie. You have to put him away.
I hammered that into my head until I felt fingers wrap around my shoulder. I jerked up see Agent Vaughn looking down at me.

“Breathe. You can do this,” he whispered. “You’re the infamous Billie McAllister, daughter of Don McAllister. You got this.”

I gave him a curt nod before standing and setting my shoulders back. He let me walk in front of him, letting others fill some space between us. Entering the airport was a blur, an event in my life I wanted to remember very little of. Connor stood right outside the gates with bright gray eyes and a sinister smile. I wanted to vomit.

“Come here.” He pulled me to him once I was close enough. My first instinct was to pull back but I kept those strong feelings down and let him take me into his arms and kiss me.

“You smell like him,” Connor said against my ear. “But, no worries, I’ll make sure to scrub that off of you regardless of how hot the water has to be.”

God, I couldn’t do this. How the hell was I going to do this?

“Come, we have a lot to do today before we spend some time together.” Connor led me out of the airport, into a black SUV that was waiting for us. He opened the door for me, then sat inside before closing the door behind him.

Not even a second later, he was all over me. His mouth was on mine as he squeezed and tugged at my body. I wanted to scream, cry out for him to stop. The only thing I could do was try to envision it was Christian touching me and not Connor. This torture couldn’t end fast enough and when we arrived at the hotel I almost jumped out the window in relief.

Connor planted one more peck on my lips before he pushed the door open and got out. With my hand in his, we walked straight to the elevator and up to the fifth floor. There, we entered a room with four men that included my brothers. Donnie stood behind one of the men as he typed away on a black terminal. The other sat on the queen bed loading ammunition into guns. Lincoln was off to the corner watching everyone work. Donnie gave me a look of disgust while Lincoln’s jaw clenched.

“Why is she here?” Lincoln asked.

“Because I say she can be. The whole crew is back. Now we can really start to take over Don’s business.”

“You could have at least let me know, Connor.”

He let go of my hand and stepped in front of my brother. “Lincoln, let me remind you that you’re only here out of courtesy to your brother and my future bride. The second you become a liability to me, I’ll throw you away.”

When Lincoln looked away, Connor backhanded him. God, this was worse than I thought.

“You got that?” he said.

Linc slowly swallowed before nodding. “I got it.”

“Good. Now I need her checked for bugs.”

I scoffed, feigning that I was insulted. “Is that really necessary, Connor? When have I ever betrayed
any
of you?”

Donnie smirked while he walked slowly in my direction, holding a device which detected frequencies emitted by listening devices and phone taps. It was a good thing Agent Vaughan and Gilmore had listened to me when I said they would be checking.

“Well, what did you expect, little sister? With you rolling around with that dirty wetback, it’s expected you’d get some dirt on you as well.”

It took all of my strength not to reach over and grab one of those guns and shoot my brother in the foot. But I had to play the part. I stepped up to him, our toes touching.

“I’m not dirty, Donnie, and that’s the last time you speak to me that way.” I smiled, moving back to Connor’s side. I reached up and tugged on his long blond hair, bringing him in for a deep kiss. “I’m the new boss lady around here. Isn’t that right, baby?” I spoke against Connor’s lips, not breaking eye contact with him. He made a groan of approval. The kiss was intended to make him believe me. And judging from his reaction, it worked.

“That’s right, love.” He kissed me again. “All right, boys, start packing up, we’re headed out.” Connor grabbed my hand and bag, then led me across the hall into another room. “This is ours,” he said while throwing my bag on the bed. I quickly looked around, taking in the exits, doors, and windows. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Connor snapped his fingers silently, telling me to move away from the door. I did as I was told.

There was another knock followed by a voice that called out, “Housekeeping.”

I saw Connor’s relief from the way his shoulders slumped a little. When he opened the door, an older Hispanic woman handed him some towels and an extra robe. “For extra guest.” She smiled when I appeared from behind Connor.

“Oh, good,” he replied, moving away to place the items on the bed while I kept the door open. When Connor turned his back, the lady signaled for me to follow her.

“Oh, no, I forget your shampoo and lotion,” she said. “Come, I give you some.” She pulled me into the hallway with the room door propped open. Her supply cart was close, and I knew Connor was looking at every move we made from the burning sensation on the back of my neck. The housekeeper reached in her cart and grabbed three small bottles. Once she placed them in my hands, I felt a small piece of metal against my skin. Quickly, I glanced up at her. She didn’t smile, didn’t nod, but in her eyes was a look of understanding. She was in on what was going on.

“Thank you,” I said, grabbing the items with both hands.

When I turned around back to Connor, I handed him the bottles, making sure to keep the piece of metal out of sight with my other hand. He took the shampoo and lotion into the bathroom and I quickly glanced down to find a metal pin. I clipped it inside my shirt on my bra strap so it was out of sight. Connor returned, taking my hand once again.

***

The six of us drove in a white van with a phony green logo on the side, promoting an electrical company.

“What’s with the van?” I asked after twenty minutes of Connor kissing and groping me. He didn’t care that my brothers were in the car. He was kneading my breast when he spoke against my neck. I was terrified he would move his hand up my shoulder and feel the pin.

“It’s our front.” Of course it was, and from the looks of it we were close to our destination. We’d gone from the city streets of Boston to a more remote place scattered with warehouses.

“Plus, it’s great for when we need to…test out the merchandise,” Donnie joked, fist-bumping Hans, the computer guy. Connor chuckled.

“I won’t be needing to do that anymore, now that I have Billie.” He slid his fingers under the waistband of my jeans. My heart started to race. I panicked, and I was pretty sure if Connor were paying less attention to his dick and more to me he would notice the horrified expression on my face.

“Baby,” I cooed. “I wasn’t into having an audience before and I’m not now. Can we save this for later?” Connor’s hand froze, and a small wave of relief flooded me until he backhanded me without warning, snapping my head to the side. Tears swelled in my eyes, but didn’t fall.

“What the fuck, Connor!” Lincoln almost flew from behind the wheel and over to Connor. The van jerked, and my forehead slammed against the window at the movement. Connor simply snapped his fingers, and Hans held a gun at Lincoln’s temple.

“No! Connor, please, baby, I’m sorry. Please, he’s just being a good big brother. It’s all my fault, don’t punish him for my mistake!” God, I felt sick saying those words to him. I was not a victim. I was not defenseless, and this wasn’t the first time I’d been hit by a man, but this was the first time I was letting one walk away without any repercussions. Now, the men that protected me all my life were the ones doing the harm. All but Lincoln. I knew he couldn’t do anything right now without getting killed. I grabbed Connor’s face and kissed him. He gripped the back of my hair and yanked me off.

“The next time I want to finger fuck you, I will do it. I don’t care who’s around. You won’t say no to me again. Got it?” he said through gritted teeth, pulling harder. I whimpered, nodding. “Good.” He pushed my head again, hard enough that it bounced off the window. I felt a gush of blood and immense pain on the side of my head. This time, the tears fell without resistance. I took a quick glance at the rearview mirror, catching Lincoln’s eyes glistening with tears, while Donnie threw a rag at my face.

“Don’t ruin the upholstery,” he said.

Pressing the dirty piece of cloth to the side of my face, I wondered where Donnie’s hatred for me came from. I wasn’t sure what I had done for him to act this way, and that hurt more than any busted lip or slashes ever could. The van stopped in front a newly built warehouse. Our surroundings weren’t shady, and it didn’t look like anything illegal was going on. My first thought was this was where they sold bootlegged merchandise or possibly even cut coke, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when we went inside.

The possibility of my brother and Connor being involved in human trafficking never crossed my mind. Hans opened the back door to what looked like a waiting area. There was a flat screen TV that hung against the front wall and three black leather couches against the other walls. A glass coffee table was placed in the middle of the room. We all walked around it as Connor punched in a security code to a door that led farther into the warehouse. He let the four guys go in before he gripped the back of my neck and pushed me inside.

My stomach filled with bile, threatening to spill, while my eyes blurred with tears. In front of me was a line of girls chained up by their hands attached to a pole above them. A few feet away from each lay a dirty mattress and bucket. I quickly counted ten girls hanging limply from their restraints. They were dirty and appeared to be drugged. I looked up at Connor with terror, and he displayed a smug grin.

“Your da was always too much of a pussy to take his business to the next level,” he said. “I managed to expand his business without him even knowing in a matter of months. What he made in a year, I make in a few weeks, Billie.
This
is the future. This is our legacy. And with my numbers queen at my side, there’s no stopping us, baby.”

Fucking psychopath
. I wanted to kill him. No, not kill—torture for all these women and the countless others he’d managed to get hold of. But I swallowed all that down for now.

“What do you mean? What can I do?” I asked. Connor took my hand and walked me down the side of the warehouse like he was giving me the grand tour of a sideshow attraction. I couldn’t look at these girls without breaking down, so I avoided them by staring at the floor.

“I have ledgers of the sells we make. How much a certain type of girl costs, and to whom we’re selling her. All that needs to be kept up with, along with how we launder the money. This is what you’ve been trained to do all your life, Billie. All that was for
this
.” Connor threw his hands in the air as if presenting me with a long-awaited gift. This was not what my father had in mind when he taught me the things he did. “Come, I’ll show you where we’ll be working,” he continued. “But first I’ll show you where we break the girls in.” I could only imagine what that looked like.