Page 6 of One for the Money

Like I would ever consider fucking some two-bit whore. The thought of someone other than Von writhing under me made me want to puke. My soul, heart, cock, and blood that ran through my veins was for my goddess and my goddess alone.

Taking a deep breath through my nose and out my mouth, I snapped my neck side to side, cracking the bunched-up vertebrae. I knew the only reason she said that was to get me all worked up. Any time she slipped and something happened between us, like last night, she took her anger out on me, but I was okay with that. She did it because she knew I’d never leave her, and she was right.

With my much larger stride, I caught up with her and resumed my normal place, guarding her back. Not bothering to put shoes back on, Von marched back to the pool pump room. Without a second's hesitation, Von dove into the pool and glided halfway down the length of it before surfacing. Knowing she’d be doing her laps for the next half hour or so, I sat in my chair and pulled out my encrypted tablet. Nothing used on this property went without some type of encryption unless it was the official business line of the winery.

I began my search into the information given to us today by simply typing in the bar’s name—Bootleggers. Four options came up, but the third one listed was in Overshire, a town four hours away. Would they really be that stupid to keep their spare heirs in the same fucking country? Although Norbert did say this man was a master at forgery, so it’s possible they could be anywhere.

Taking a moment to scroll through the pictures of the place gave me a feel for the layout. I was satisfied the dive bar would be easy to manage alone since I knew Von wouldn’t bring anyone else into this. No one was supposed to know we were looking for the hidden Accardi heirs, yet word had gotten out. Time to go back through the people we’ve tapped for resources and find out where the leak was coming from. Unlike most of our jobs, this needed to be handled with a bit of finesse—not Von’s strongest skill. That was more Ivy’s department.

A shadow crossed over me, but I’d been ignoring the creator of it on purpose. It would seem she wasn’t going to take a hint, and after a week of trying to catch my eye, she was making her move.

“It’s Bear, right?” the whore asked, her voice too high-pitched and overly breathy.

Not bothering to look up or acknowledge the voice, I started looking into the bar’s owner. The name Trent wasn’t listed on anything. In fact, another company owned the bar. I had to admire a man who knew how to cover his tracks. It was a talent and not one everyone could learn.

“Hey, big boy,” she said, bending over so her ample breasts were right in my face. My gaze flicked up to see a bleach blonde with light green eyes batting her lashes at me. “They said you don’t talk but assured me your hearing and sight work just fine.” Reaching up, she undid her bikini top, letting the barely-there fabric fall away. “See something you like?”

Slowly, I stood, towering over the woman, and scowled. How dare this fucking whore make a move on me right in front of my goddess. My hand shot out, grabbed her throat, and l lifted her until her feet were off the floor. Her hands wrapped around my wrist, trying to get me to loosen my hold, thrashing about. Ignoring her efforts, I walked around the pool and over to the brick wall that bordered the patio area. Plopping her on the top of the wall, I then took two fingers and shoved her back so she toppled over the wall. She screamed, but it didn’t last long since she landed in a cart full of rotting food ready to be taken to the compost pile.

Von appeared next to me, resting her still-dripping arms on the wall. “I don’t know who you pissed off but learn from this moment. You try and pull shit like that again with Bear, there won’t be a soft landing when I dropkick your ass over a wall.”

I couldn’t help but grin. My goddess liked to talk a tough game, but she was as possessive of me as I was of her. The difference was I never gave her a reason to doubt that I was anything but hers.

“Come on, Teddy Bear, I’m over swimming,” Von said, leading the way back to the house. “Let me take a shower, then we can figure out if Norbie was full of shit or not.”

Grabbing a towel, I snatched my sexy, wet woman, wrapped her up, and trapped her against me for one indulgent moment. Nipping her ear, I released her with a shove forward. If I’d held onto her any longer, I would bend her over and take her right now to reward my goddess for her threats.

Cleaned from the day’s activities, I headed for my living room, which adjoined my bedroom. Ruffling the towel over my damp hair, I tossed it over the back of a battered armchair that had once been violet-colored crushed velvet. Rarely did I find myself surrounded with things that were shiny and new. My soul found comfort in the pieces that had seen their fair share of life and been tossed aside.

The vintage leather couch Bear was stretched out on had once been black, but now it was covered in neon spray paint art. It looked like that one bathroom stall at a club where everyone took a marker to and wrote their names all over or left some stupid comment like…

Frank was here.

Suck a bag of dicks, Frank.

Marsha is a whore who loves anal.

Call 555-1234 for a good time.

My father likes to say I buy things like that couch for shock value. Really, I just like how raw and honest it was. The artist who created this piece did a few others for me that are scattered around my personal space. I suppose one could say I’m a punk-rock girl when it comes to style, but I was not sure I agreed. Yeah, I love some good grunge fashion, neon, and rebelling against the man, but on occasion, I could class it up and turn some heads. When it came down to it, I liked what I liked and didn’t try to overthink it.

I peered over Bear’s shoulder as he scrolled through some information about various businesses. “What are you looking for?”

“I found the bar, it’s legit, but I can’t figure out who actually owns the damn place,” Bear explained. “Whoever does has made it nearly impossible to weed out a name.”

Grabbing the tablet out of his hand, I plopped down on his lap, my back resting against the leather couch. “I know some of these names… we’ve worked with a few of them.”

Swiping out of the browser, I accessed the client database to see what exactly these people ordered. The first order was small, just a case of 9mm handguns and a crate of ammo. That wasn’t unusual, especially with someone new working with me. No one trusts an arms dealer, always assuming we want to screw them over. Looking up each company, the orders got more extensive and more complicated. When I typed in the name of the last company I recognized, I noticed a pending order.

“Holy fuck,” I blurted, sitting up straight. “Remember I told you that this buyer was looking for missiles for a SAM?”

“Sam who?” Bear asked.

“Not a who, a what, a surface-to-air-missile launcher,” I clarified.

Bear grunted his understanding. “You mean the order you haven’t accepted yet.”

“Right, with that outdated technology, the only place to find it would be in Trian. Normally, I don’t like to mess with them on a good day if I don’t have to. After my short stay in their lovely prison, I have the feeling their willingness to look the other way has vanished,” I admitted with a sigh.