Carl Carlton slipped away from the bushes and walked down the cobblestone pathway leading toward the garage. Carl had seen a lot back in the early days but couldn’t recall anything quite as enjoyable as watching Duke Hinman go at Julie Jenkins like she was a man’s toy.
Before he was a car owner, he was an up-and-coming rookie, a man who took money under the table from bookies. He wrecked drivers when they were favored to win. He bought off their wives so they could take their husbands out partying the night before a big race. He paid extra if they’d keep them busy with an insatiable appetite and hefty intimate demands. And he’d been known to slip drugs into a driver’s drink whenever he was gifted with opportunity.
At one time, Carl Carlton was well-respected, but then Jake Jenkins came along and confronted him about his activities, and Jake wouldn’t hear of it when Carl offered him a piece of the pie. Carl killed him. Not because he wanted to, or even because those behind him thought it needed to be done.
Carl killed him because Jake was a stupid idiot who should’ve taken the money he was offered. He was a man who had the world by its tail and he simply refused to fly.
Carl had no patience for that. None whatsoever. At least Jake’s daughter wasn’t a chip off the old block. She’d wanted to race. She’d wanted to win. As fate would have it, Carl was lucky enough to have Julie Jenkins on his payroll. She’d made him more than chunk change. Thanks to her, he’d made a mint.
The girl didn’t have much in the way of brains, though. When Carl asked her to make him the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, she’d gladly filled out the paperwork. She’d told him that she understood what he would lose in the way of profits in the event of her death, and she’d never questioned why he suddenly wanted her life insured. She accepted the request as protocol.
Then again, he was lucky she hadn’t mentioned the policy to anyone else. Carl had told her all the team owners requested insurance on their moneymakers. She believed him.
He pulled his cell from his pocket and stared at the Hinman house as he keyed in a number he knew by heart. He pressed the send button and waited. Two rings later, a woman picked up the phone.
“It’s Carl.”
“Tell me the bitch is dead.”
Carl snickered. “I see why you want her cold and buried.”
“What do you have for me, Carl?”
“I got pictures. Wanna see ’em?” he asked, thinking if he shared photographs of Annie’s man fucking his driver, she might decide to get revenge and slip into bed with him. Once she did, it was all over. He’d hook her with what he had between his legs. The sluts always stayed awhile. The good women, those were the women he couldn’t keep.
“I want her dead. I didn’t ask you. I told you. If you don’t kill her, I’ll start talking. We both know I have enough to not only ruin your career, but get you locked up for life. Maybe even the death penalty. Is that what you want, Carl?”
He snarled. Sometimes he’d love to tie Annie down and stuff his cock in her mouth. The bitch had no mercy, and all she did was nag. When she wasn’t bitching, she was whining because she truly believed the Hinman brothers loved her, but chose to help Julie out of pity.
He should’ve told her right then. Julie Jenkins wasn’t a charity case. She was a sexy woman who knew how to use what she had between her legs and make a man grovel for more.
He’d been as hard as cannon as he’d stood outside that room and watched her play with Duke Hinman. In fact, he’d been so erect, he almost jacked off until he thought of the possibility of being caught with his pants down and his own hand tugging at his prick. He didn’t think he could stand the public humiliation if someone had witnessed what he’d been dying to do.
“I’m waiting for an answer, Carl,” Annie persisted. “What do you think will happen to your daughter and son when I come out and tell them Daddy Dearest killed a few drivers, all because he was gambling on their careers?”
“You’re a bitch, Annie.”
“And you’d still fuck me.”
“You’re right about that. I’d do it so I could control you. Not because I think you’re beautiful or sexy. I’ve seen enough of Julie Jenkins today to know there’s no comparison. It’s like comparing a horse to a donkey. For the record, you’re the ass.”
Silence filled the line. “I want her dead by midnight tonight,” she grated out. “Insult me again and I’ll kill you myself.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, darling. I want to make sure you’re in a good mood when we meet up to celebrate.”
“A party won’t be held unless you bring me the Hinmans and a death certificate for Julie Jenkins.”
“I can promise you Julie will die today. I can’t promise you Hank or Duke Hinman. After I watched Duke and Julie, I tend to believe that ain’t happening. If they’ve already been there and done you, why would they go back when they’ve had the best of the best?”
“Trust me. You don’t know Duke and Hank. They love me. They never said so but they do. They wouldn’t have spent time training me for their submissive partner if they didn’t intend to keep me around. They trained me to love and serve them.”
“And let me guess. You think they want you to get rid of Julie because they’d be so much happier with you, right?”
“They will be.”
Carl laughed outright. “I just watched two deeply connected people fuck all night. If you think you can come between that—even in death—you deserve the hell you’re gonna face, because I’m here to tell you once Hank and Duke find out you’ve been trying to kill the woman they love, they’ll take you apart with their bare hands.”
Annie purred. “It sounds like something I’ll enjoy.”