My phone rang, and Carter’s name appeared on the screen. “Excuse me.” I walked into the sitting room and sat on the couch before I took the call. I wasn’t that far away, and she could probably still hear me, but anytime Muse was on my bed, I couldn’t exactly think straight. “What’s up, Carter?”
“Don’t talk all casual like shit didn’t just go down.”
I stared out the window across my property. Horses were in the distance, and the flat countryside was breathtaking as it stretched on and on. “What shit went down, Carter? Are you referring to my show? Yes, it went well. Nicole told me sales are double what they were last time…”
“No, not that, asshole.”
“Then what?” I asked with a sigh.
“All I see all over the news is that you’re in love with this prisoner of yours. It’s written all over your face, man.”
Now he and the rest of the world had the same opinion. “I’m just being affectionate.” I didn’t say anything more because I didn’t want Muse to overhear me. “Is there something else you wanted to talk about?”
“I just don’t understand why you don’t admit it. You’ve never been the kind of guy to pretend to be something you aren’t.”
“And I’m not pretending now,” I said calmly. “If you have nothing else to say, I’m hanging up.”
“She’s there, isn’t she?” he asked. “Gotcha.”
“Yes,” I said in confirmation.
“Alright,” he said. “I guess we’ll talk about it later.”
“No, we won’t be talking about this later. We won’t be talking about this ever.”
“Whatever,” Carter scoffed. “I’ve got another call. It’s for Yasmine something… She’s from Israel.”
These calls were good because they made me rich. But they were also bad because it reminded me of how this world really was. Evil men lurked around every corner. There was no amount of opposition that could fight it. “When?”
“Tonight. You can make it, right?”
Did I have much of a choice? “Yes.”
“Alright. I’ll send you a picture. Her parents are pretty shaken up.”
“As they should be.” If any woman I cared about were in that position, I wouldn’t be able to sleep. “How much?”
“Fifteen million.”
That was seven and a half for each of us. I only had to do this ten times to make back the money I shelled out for Muse. I was digging myself out of a very expensive hole. “Alright.”
“Let me know how it goes.”
“Hold on. I’m dropping Yasmine off at your place.”
“My place?” he asked incredulously. “That’s not how this works. I took one of the girls just because of the situation—”
“Muse lives with me now. And I don’t want another woman in the house. One is enough.”
“But Muse isn’t just some woman. She’s your—”
“I’m risking my neck by showing up there with no guns and no backup. This is the least you can do, Carter.”
He sighed into the phone. “Fine.”
“Bye.” I hung up and tossed the phone onto the coffee table. I stared out the window, suddenly craving a cigar. I’d love to pull the smoke into my lungs and let my body absorb the nicotine. I wasn’t some pussy who did whatever Muse asked, but I knew she would pluck it out of my mouth the second she saw me with it.
I couldn’t even enjoy it.
Muse came up behind me and glided her hands down my chest. She leaned over me and sprinkled my neck with kisses.
I closed my eyes and treasured the feeling of her soft lips, of the way they felt against my warm skin. Her breath washed over me, erotic and wonderful. My hand moved on top of hers, and I craned my neck harder, wanting Muse to take as much as she wanted.
This was much better than the cigar anyway.
She straightened behind me and pulled her hands away. “Are you going somewhere tonight?”
So, she could hear. “Yes.”
Her hands moved to my shoulders and massaged my muscles. “Am I coming along?”
She obviously had no idea where I was going if she asked that question. “No. I’m going to the Underground.”
Her hands stopped. “Are you buying someone?”
“Yes.”
“I see…” She started to massage me again. “Who is it this time?”
“A woman from Israel. I don’t know much about her right now.”
“Is she staying here?”
“No. She’ll stay with Carter.”
“Poor thing. She must be terrified.”
They were all terrified.
“Does your father know you do this?”
He didn’t have a clue. No one in the family did. My father would scold me for getting mixed up with the Skull Kings, and my mother would hate me if she knew I was saving women for cash. Uncle Cane wouldn’t like it either. “No.”
“How long as this been going on?”
“For about five years. Ever since my father told me about my aunt Vanessa.”
“I admire what you’re doing, but I think it’s too dangerous…” She walked around the couch and took a seat beside me on the cushion. “The men there are evil, Conway.”