7
Oran
The gun in my hand was heavy, and distaste soured my tongue as I examined the action and pretended I was interested. Ihatedguns, but they were about sixty-five percent of what I shipped around for whoever wanted to buy them. Nodding absently, I held out the piece, and one of my dock workers took it to put it back in the crate.
I had to resist the urge to wipe my hands on my jacket, and the hairs on the backs of my palms bristled in disgust.
“What am I really here for? If you brought me here for a shipment of standard assault rifles . . . ” Trailing off expectantly, I frowned under furrowed brows as Candice smiled with a little half-shrug. She wasn’t too ambitious with her stupid millennial shirt and beanie, but I didn’t hire her for her ability to claw up the oiled pole.I guess she’s my version of Illya.
“I have some things I need to run by you since you decided to stay in the States.” Her noticeable South London accent reminded me of the place. Candice stuffed her hands in her jeans to lean on a crate of what I thought were explosives. “We need to talk about the next big auction in India. I’ve set everything up, as usual.”
“If you set everything up, why are you telling me about it? Your work reflects in my bank account, Candice. It’s like STD testing— if nothing’s wrong, don’t contact me.” That comparison got me a laugh, and Candice shook her head even as I rocked back on my heels. “What are your concerns?”
“I recently learned that someone’s leaking dates and times to the Italians.” Straightening with a sharp inhale of surprise, I scowled as Candice rocked back and forth on her heels. “I can’t reschedule, but I also don’t have the power to do much about it except react. I need to know what you want me to do, Oran.”
My brows furrowed in concentration as I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep breath thick with water and oil and metal. The Italians, those damn grease monkeys,what could they possibly be up to?Of course, there was always the run-of-the-mill client stealing, sneaking into one of my functions just to try to get interest in theirs.
The Italians that planted a snake in my garden . . . that forced my hand against—
Shaking my head viciously, I exhaled a harsh sigh before I let my mind wander down that rabbit hole. Taking off my glasses, I rubbed the lenses with my shirt cuff as I redirected my mind to the present. True, it could all be connected, and it was the same in a sense they were trying to sabotage from the inside. I knew Diamon was a sneaky bastard. It was my job to keep an eye on him, from which London was a safe distance.
“Contact the main office and find out what’s happening concerning the Italians outside my sphere of control, Candice. Don’t do anything until they get back to you. I don’t want to ruin my brother’s grandiose plans by acting rashly. He may not get his hands dirty often, but when he does, it happens in the most disgusting, animalistic way possible.” I didn’t get it— Carlyle got rid of that Italian bitch. We uncovered the snake in my bed. Was this third attempt a Hail Mary? Or was there something more going on that I just couldn’t see? “Diamon has tried this at least twice that I know of and failed twice. Until we’re sure there’s no one else, make secondary arrangements and spring it on our guests. Take them on a boat down the Indus or something.”
“Yuh.“ Candice jutted out her chin, swiping her beanie off to reveal pretty light brown hair that shimmered in the darkness of night. I rubbed my jaw thoughtfully. “You know, as an underling seeing this from the outside, it reminds me of something. For a really long time, the Soviets would just throw men into battle, waves after waves of people, just fuck ’em into the ground with bodies until there was no resistance left. No one could sleep. No one could eat. No one could let down their guard. Eventually, they were just exhausted, and they didn’t have the will to fight back.”
“I assume you have a point in there somewhere?” She slipped her beanie back on, adjusting the hem around her ears carefully, and I arched a brow quizzically.
“What if they’re throwing people at you, hoping one will slip through while you’re focused on the others? I mean, planting a bitch in front of you was a good idea. They did it to Mateo, too, so it makes sense to me if someone’s hiding in my camp, there are more. If it were me, as an underling on the outside, I would spring a trap. Rats always fall for traps.” That was an interesting concept, and I nodded for Candice to continue as she tapped the side of the crates she was leaning against with her heel. “No one even knows for sure if Mateo’s situation was the Italians in the first place. The Italians never paid her, so there’s no money trail back to them. All we have to go on is Carlyle’s intuition, and while he’s rarely wrong, it’s not definitive proof. It’s also safe to assume those girls were planted with every expectation of them failing. So, the question becomes . . . who are they trying to keep the spotlight off of?”
“That’s a good point. Diamon knew about Carlyle’s plan to kidnap his sister. He had to have known about Mateo’s breakdown, and I have absolutely no doubt he knows about my little purge . . . ” Trailing off, my mouth dried at my own choice of words, and I inhaled deeply through flared nostrils before shaking my head once again. “You know what, Candice— you’re right. You are an underling, and you are on the outside of it. Keep digging with that scenario in mind. But contact the main office first. And get your cousin to work with you on it.”
She ducked her head in a nod, and I glanced around the cargo bay of the boat we were on before turning my gaze upward. Here, at this moment, there were no lights, and the stars twinkled brightly at me from above. The moon was just a sliver of dull white. I stuck my hands in my pockets to flop my head back fully and heaved a massive sigh.
“Do you believe in karma, Candice?” The boat rocked slightly under me from the swell, and I frowned as I gazed up at the sky.
“If I did, I’d be in for a wallop. Why?” I loved London, and my eyelids fluttered closed as her accent rang in my ears. I loved the flat I’d purchased. Kara had picked it out, actually. She liked the balcony overlooking a walled garden. She liked the walled garden she’d replicated for herself.
I missed her more than I cared to admit.
“The other two, I got them because Kara was lonely. She was so happy. After a while, they were happy, too, when they realized things weren’t so bad. But . . . Roquelle . . . Kara didn’t like Roquelle. Why did I take her loneliness into account but not her suspicion? I kept Roquelle because she was really good at sucking my cock. When did that take precedence over Kara’s feelings?” Very rarely did I talk about Kara and my mistakes with her, and my heart ached as it thundered against my ribs. Shame drenched my body in a cold sweat, and I tilted my head down to catch Candice’s sad frown. They’d met a few times, and Kara had even stayed with Candice at one point when the flat flooded.
“Kara was the one who came to you, Oran. She’s the only one who sought you out, asked for your protection,willingly. I can’t imagine how hard it was to lose that and know it was your own fault, but . . . just because you were together for almost six years, comfort doesn’t equate to love, Oran.” Candice’s cheeks puffed out when her smile widened, and she wandered over to me to touch my arm reassuringly. “I hope you understand that. You weren’t in love with her, and she wasn’t in love with you. I’m sure the moment she realized you ignored her opinion on Roquelle, she was preparing herself for the inevitable. You know what I think? I think you made a mistake, Oran, one you’re never going to make again.”
“You’re one of the few people I consider a friend, Candice. I appreciate that.” Cupping the back of her neck, I squeeze gingerly, and her smile brightened as she ducked out to take a soft jab at my arm.
“You’re a fucking egg, you know that? If I’m such a great friend, how come you never come by for tea?” Rolling my eyes at that, I chuffed a laugh and glanced at my phone to check the time. “Okay, okay, now, get off my boat. We gotta go.”
Shaking my head with a slight smile, I headed for the ramp to set my feet on the dock, then one of her crew pulled the collapsible slope to secure it to the edge of the deck. Not bothering to watch her set sail, I turned on my heel to walk back to my car, the faint glow of the headlights illuminating my way.
The time read nearly two a.m., and I was tired, lifting my hand to hide a yawn before a shrill genericpingcaught my attention. Fishing my phone out of my jacket pocket, I frowned under furrowed brows at the unknown number slashed across my screen.
I waited to open the picture message until I was in my car. The vehicle backed up and turned around as I swiped around on the screen.
And there, in very sexy, very delicate looking pale blue lingerie was May. Of course, her face wasn’t in the picture, but I could tell by the faint freckles smattering her chest. Biting my lower lip, my eyes narrowed on her exposed dusky pink nipples. She must’ve been laying down in the photo by the way her hair splayed around her shoulders.
Me: This is the first text you send me? A nude?
I saved her number in my phone, tingling with the desire to put this picture as my background like I was some kid seeing a girl half-naked for the first time. Instead, I saved it to my gallery, and by then, May had started to type a reply.
May: I wanted to make sure you didn’t ignore me because you didn’t know the number
My lips quirked up, and I poised my thumbs only for the ellipsis to pop up under her last text.
May: This is going to have to wait . . . my mom is calling
