Manipulate (Deliver 6)

Ricky didn’t give a fuck what he looked like, but he appreciated her compliment and showed her as much by stealing a kiss.

The featherlight touch of lips gave way to another, then another, until the flames lit and the slide of their mouths caught fire.

Martin settled in beside them, his face inches away. When Ricky leaned back, Martin moved in and twisted a hand in her hair.

Watching Tula and Martin together was a feast for the eyes. They stared at each other, their lips not quite touching as their tongues reached and slid together in the space between their open mouths. She angled her head to take him deeply, and he dove in, their hands clawing and gripping with equal urgency.

When Martin’s breathing lost rhythm, and his biting became too aggressive, Ricky crowded in and took his place.

Back and forth they went. Kissing her. Kissing each other. Three mouths vying for affection. Three pairs of legs tangling together. Hands grasping and wandering over clothes, and the sounds of panting groans rising into a crescendo.

Martin worked them into a feverish frenzy, and Ricky slowed them down, drew it out.

Between stretches of breathless kissing, they talked and laughed about nothing and everything.

When their lips fell still, they curled up in the cozy silences, content with their thoughts.

Hours later, the clock on her phone struck three in the morning. She still wanted that shower.

Ricky led them through the dark, eerily vacant corridors to the communal bathroom on the ground level.

He and Martin took up posts by the door, listening to her clothing fall on the floor followed by the sound of water sluicing over her naked body. He only needed to take two steps into the bathroom, and he would have a direct view of her around the corner.

“Don’t even think about it.” Martin crossed his arms over his chest and held up the wall with his back.

“Don’t act like you’re not tempted.”

“I’ve had enough temptations for one night.” Martin’s gaze dropped to Ricky’s mouth and shifted toward the sound of splashing water. “She’s…”

Exquisitely sweet. Sharp as a whip. Sexy as fuck.

“The whole package.” Ricky dropped his head back against the doorframe.

“Yeah.” Martin lowered his voice. “The next three months are going to fly by.”

“And she has three years after we leave.”

They couldn’t lengthen their sentences or shorten hers. It was an impossible situation with a nebulous outcome.

If she changed her plea to guilty, she might be able to transfer to a prison in the States. She would be safer there. But would she be willing to carry a guilty conviction for the rest of her life?

It was too soon to predict how her priorities might change or where the three of them would go from here. He didn’t know how deep her cartel loyalties ran or if she would be able to leave those ties behind after prison. What if she couldn’t escape Hector’s control?

Bottom line, he and Martin were here for one reason, and they needed her help.

Once they convinced her Hector was rotten to the soul, they would have her spy for them, whether it be listening to conversations, digging through documents in Hector’s private quarters, or using her sweet personality to coax information directly from Hector’s mouth.

She didn’t know it yet, but she was going to help them bring down La Rocha’s sex trafficking operation.

Involving her, however, put her life at more risk than it already was. In Jaulaso, working against the cartel was more dangerous than working for it.

But that was where he and Martin drew the line. They would never join La Rocha. Sure, it would make their time here easier—fewer bruises and bloodied knuckles. Becoming a member, however, went against everything they fought for.

As cartel soldiers, they would be required to sell drugs, trade guns, collect money, and kill traitors. All of that shit contributed to a despicable machine that sold women and children into slavery.

He and Martin didn’t plant themselves in prison to make La Rocha Cartel stronger. They were here to demolish it.

“I needed that.” She stepped around the corner, her long black hair dripping down her tattooed arms, dampening her clean yellow shirt. “If you want to take a shower, this is the best time. There’s no one around if you drop the soap.”

With a nod, Martin breezed past her, yanking off his shirt as he headed toward the showers. “I don’t want you out of our sight.”

“I’ll wait by the door.” She combed her fingers through her wet hair.

Ricky shook his head. “You don’t have to watch us, but we need to be able to see you.” He pointed at the bend in the bathroom. “Stand there. It’ll give you a line of sight to us and the door.”

“Why do I need to wait around at all?” She glanced at the exit. “It’s late.”