Stolen Lust (Beauty in the Stolen 1)

“What’s going on?” Leon asks.

Ruben plants his knife and fork in his fists next to his plate, scrutinizing me with his habitual expressionless face.

“The cops dealt Cas the accomplice card.”

Leon’s jaw bunches.

The call connects.

Both my brother and Ruben watch me as I ask the pilot, “Where are you?”

“I’m still at the hotel.”

Meaning his usual hangout, the Elephant Hills next door. “Airport. Now.”

“I’ll be there in twenty.”

I end the call and shove the phone into my pocket.

“What now, Ian?” Leon asks, taking his napkin from his lap and dumping it next to his plate.

“Now I go get her,” I grit out. “What fucking else?”

“She’s a risk, man,” Ruben says.

Leon gets to his feet. “You’re not seriously bringing her here?”

“This is the safest place to bring her.” We’re upgrading our security system with the state-of-the-art equipment he ordered yesterday.

Leon pushes into my space. “You said it was over.”

“What do you expect me to do?” I ask, uttering a sound close to a growl.

“Let them arrest her.”

The ringing in my ears turn louder. “What did you fucking say?”

“She’ll spend a few years in prison. So what?”

“So what?” I’m on him before he can blink, grabbing his T-shirt in my fist.

Ruben jumps up and grabs my arms from behind. Wataida looks on from where he’s raking the path, but he doesn’t interfere.

“She’s a good girl,” Leon taunts. “They’ll probably let her out after five years for good behavior.”

I see red. Not even Ruben is enough to hold me back. Yanking free, I swing an arm through the air and plant my fist in Leon’s face. He stumbles into the table, making the water jug fall over.

Shona runs from the kitchen with a dishcloth in her hand. “Aikona!” Her eyes are round, the whites large. “Stop it.” She swats at me with the dishcloth. “What’s with the fighting?”

I stab my finger on Leon’s chest. “I fucked up her life. I’m not throwing her to the wolves.”

“Wait,” Ruben says. “Ian is right. Think about it, Leon. What if she testifies against him? It’s better that he brings her here where we can keep an eye on her.”

A trickle of blood runs from Leon’s nose. He wipes it away with the back of his hand. “That’s a fucking stupid plan. You can’t lock her up here forever.”

Shaking out my fist, I say, “I’ll keep her as long as I have to.”

“And what?” Leon asks with a snide smile. “Hope you can sway her?”

“I don’t need to sway her,” I grit out.

“So you’ll just keep her,” he says.

As simple as that.

At my level look, Leon glares at me. “You’re fucked in the head.”

Ruben takes his arm. “Come on, bro. You know Ian is right. The longer we leave her out there, the more we risk.”

“They already know my identity.” They need to know this. My identity can lead the cops to discovering Leon’s identity. The feds will put two and two together soon enough.

Leon jerks away from Ruben and flails his arms in the air. “What?”

“They have pictures,” I say. “Of Cas and me.”

“Jesus.” Ruben spears his fingers through his hair.

I clench my teeth when I think about another man looking at Cas’s naked body. “The motherfuckers must’ve followed us.”

“Because you were stupid enough to go back,” Leon says, his voice escalating in volume.

“Boys.” Shona props her hands on her hips. “Cut it out. Fighting has never solved any problems.”

I spare her a glance. “Tell the men to be extra careful around the settlement. I want the perimeters patrolled.”

“Yes, Baba.” She looks between us. “Can I go back to my baking now or are you going to kill each other?”

When no one moves, she goes back to the kitchen with a tsk of her tongue.

Leon’s nostrils flare. “If they got DNA, they’ll connect you to the crime scene. They’ll issue a warrant for your arrest.”

“They may follow you back here even if you take precautions,” Ruben says. “There are all kinds of ways these days. Drones. Satellites.”

A possibility I’ve already considered. “They don’t have jurisdiction in Zim.”

Ruben scratches his chin. “They’ll put pressure on the government to deport you.”

“It’s not going to happen.” Not while we have the right people in government in our pockets and we own the local law enforcement agencies.

“Fuck.” Leon tilts his face to the sky. “Damn you, Ian.”

“I’ll be back by nightfall.” Grabbing my bag, I make my way to the front.

“Ian,” Leon calls after me.

I stop.

“Be careful,” he says to my back. “Don’t fuck up over a woman.”

Too late.

Walking through the door, I leave to kidnap my girl for a third time.

Chapter 17

Cas

Ian hung up on me. I stare at the phone in my hand. He’s on his way. To do what? To rescue me? To silence me for once and all?

Shit.

I turn off the water in the shower and flop down on the lid of the toilet. The steamy air of the bathroom is thick in my lungs. I drag in the humidity, trying to calm myself. Absent-mindedly, I turn the copper bracelet around my wrist. My skin has reacted to the metal. The copper has left a dark ring. It’s greenish-black, like the dirty task Wolfe wants me to do. The bracelet isn’t less constraining than a handcuff, and I feel it like a noose around my neck.