HARD WIRED Page 3

  An intricate tattoo told a conflicted and confusing story, one which only three others knew.

  “Hello, handsome,” Sheila purred. “I was beginning to think you forgot about me.”

  Xander laughed, removing the wire rimmed glasses from the bridge of his nose and stalking the few steps toward her.

  Gently, but with a dark look in his eyes, he leaned down and kissed her lips softly and she smiled up at him, returning his lazy embrace.

  “I wish I could see you more often,” she breathed, as Xander took her hand and led her to the squeaky cot, his fingers trailing over her bare arms.

  “Maybe when I get out,” he teased, mouth caressing her cheek and finding her earlobe which he sucked on.

  He felt her skin explode into a mass of gooseflesh and in a fluid motion, he pushed off her overcoat, looking approvingly at the lingerie she wore beneath.

  “You wore my favorite set,” he noted. “You do pay attention.”

  Abruptly, she pushed him back, Xander landing on his back as he peered up at her with interested eyes.

  “Feisty today,” he commented, opening his arms to take her on top of him.

  “You bring out the wild in me,” she laughed.

  She buried her full but small breasts in his face and Xander inhaled the scent of vanilla and jasmine as he licked the smooth skin of her tits.

  One hand expertly unhooked her bra, releasing her nipples from the pink lace and his teeth formed around the taut skin to nip and suck.

  Sheila’s hips began to grind against the thin material of his pants and Xander could feel her wetness through the bottoms of her panties.

  He allowed her to push his upper body down on the mattress, an unusual concession for him. Sheila wasn’t usually this forceful so he decided to give her a taste of being on top for once as her tongue flicked down his chin and across his chest.

  Xander’s member grew harder, remembering how hot and eager her mouth could be. She was precisely what he needed that afternoon and when she slipped off his pants to take him down her throat, he groaned loudly.

  “Christ!” he muttered, his hips jutting upward. Sheila’s hands encircled his buttocks, easing him further into her throat and Xander was again left to marvel at how she could breathe.

  With long strokes, she lapped, pausing to massage his sack before starting back up his shaft and sucking him deeply.

  Xander couldn’t hold back much longer, he lunged forward, seizing her by the upper arms and pulling her back into the straddling position, his fingers moving to grip her rigid nipples firmly.

  He pulled at them teasingly, arching himself upward as the tension in his crotch grew. Xander wanted to sink as deeply into her as possible right fucking now, but she seemed to be taking forever with the condom.

  He closed his eyes then and shifted his mind, his own body pausing as his mind entered hers.

  Come on, you damned condom! Sheila screamed internally. I need his cock inside me!

  Xander floated out, hearing her gasp as she stared at him blankly for a long moment.

  “How is that condom coming?” he asked innocently, licking his lips as he bounced her lightly.

  In seconds, the barrier was on and she mounted him, elevating herself hard and fast.

  He slipped dangerously in and out of her, his balls growing tight and ready but he held off, wanting to feel her scream.

  He began to pound into her with long, rhythmic strokes, his hand cupping the back of her neck.

  Sheila yelped, her body growing sweaty and shaky as she seemed immobilized beneath him.

  “Oh fuck, yes!” she cried, her words only encouraging him to surge into her with more force.

  Xander closed his eyes, feeling a wave of heat course through his groin.

  He bit on his lower lip, knowing he wouldn’t hold out much longer.

  Leaning forward, he grasped her waist, lifting her higher on his pole and slamming her back down again. She screamed then, and he felt the spurt of her heat as she came hard on his terse rod.

  He nibbled on her hard nipples, extending the sensations for her, as the clenching of her core pushed him over the edge. He shuddered hard, biting viciously on her nipple once more as he squeezed her buttocks in his hands.

  Her climax continued, her juices sliding over his inner thighs as she quivered above him.

  Very slowly, Sheila sat back, studying him with intense green eyes as she rolled her hips slowly in methodical circles.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked suspiciously, reaching up to tug on a slip of her blonde hair.

  “I like you,” she murmured. “You are not like the other men at all.”

  “There are other men?” Xander demanded in faux shock and she laughed, pushing him gently.

  “You know what I mean. You are kind and gentle, even when you are fucking me like a stallion.”

  She continued to stare at him and for the first time since Xander could remember, he felt slightly uncomfortable by her gaze.

  “Did you really murder your parents?”

  The smile faded from Xander’s lips and he pushed her off.

  The question had caught him completely off guard.

  “Well you certainly know how to kill the mood,” he snapped, and Sheila was instantly contrite.

  “I’m sorry, Xander! I don’t know why I asked that! I just feel like you and I are getting to be more than, you know, client/hooker relationship. I want to get to know you. Is that so wrong?”

  Xander peered into her yearning face.

  He hardened himself as he reached for his clothes.

  “No,” he said quietly. “It’s not wrong.”

  Sheila exhaled and moved to hug him, but he shoved her away, shocking her by the cruelty of the gesture.

  “Xander – “

  “You’re wrong. You’re just a whore I pay to come for conjugals. I could see you every day if I wanted but I don’t because there are others I like much better. And now that you’ve ruined whatever fun I could have had with you, we’re done here.”

  He didn’t allow her to reply, pushing open the portable door and stepping out into the afternoon sunlight, waiting for Jonas to cuff him again.

  “Don’t call her again,” he instructed the guard.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sheila staring after him, her face etched with hurt.

  It’s a damned shame, he thought, gritting his teeth. I really did like her.

  But feelings led to questions like that and questions led to Sarah.

  It was the inevitable circle, one which couldn’t be avoided.

  And Sarah’s safety was paramount to him.

  That was why he had decided he was going to kill Ashtyn Deveaux.

  Chapter Three

  Paris, France

  A bead of sweat formed under her hairline but Ashtyn willed it not to fall, knowing that she was minutes away from getting what she wanted. Or her life being over.

  Today is the day I am laying it all out for him. Either he will accept my terms, or I will be dead. We will both be. I’ll know our future in the next few minutes.

  Ashtyn wondered how many times she had been in precisely the same place in the past years.

  I would think after all this time, the fear would have subsided but if anything, it grows. Maybe because I already know it’s too late, that no matter what, Viola is a lost cause and I have become a monster. How many people have I killed to save one? One who could already be dead, for all I know.

  She shoved her guilt and second thoughts aside.

  If she believed the worst, then she may as well kill herself now. It meant the last few years of suffering and doing deplorable things would have all been for nothing, and Ashtyn could not bear the idea.

  “Un instant, ma Cherie,” Jacques told her, winking lewdly and Ashtyn supressed a shudder as she stared at him impassively.

  “I have waited this long, Jacques. What is one more minute?” she asked but the annoyance in her voice was clear
.

  “If you like, I know some ways we can pass the time,” he told her, licking his lips suggestively.

  “And what will we do with the other fifty seconds left in the minute?” she asked innocently.

  Instantly, the man’s face twisted into a sneer.

  “If you want what you have been waiting for, you best wait as long as you are told and lose that bitch attitude.”

  She turned her head slightly to the side, her chic blonde bob partially covering her face as she did. She did not want Jacques or the others to see the expression on her face.

  Who am I kidding? It isn’t over. It will never be over. Khan has made his position clear. I am forever indebted to them.

  “Ashtyn!”

  Khan appeared, his full belly protruding from a short-sleeved button-down as he entered the cabin of the yacht, gold chains hanging obscenely over his hairy chest.

  Someone needs to tell this asshole the seventies were forty years ago.

  Ashtyn knew she was not going to be the one to break it to the underworld boss.

  Maybe after we’re free…

  He approached her, kissing both cheeks with wet, puckered lips and Ashtyn waited for the customary ass grab before he set her back, slightly sweatier for the experience.

  “You become more beautiful every day, ya amar. You have no idea how I rue every day that the boys did not find you first.”

  A frozen smile appeared on Ashtyn’s face.

  No matter how many times she heard the same disgusting phrases from Khan, they did not make her skin crawl any less.

  “I’m sure you aren’t complaining, Khan,” she said smoothly. “I imagine I have been much more prosperous for you this way than any other way.”

  “Oh I don’t know, ya helo. I don’t have to tell you how well some of my other businesses are flourishing.”

  Ashtyn had had enough.

  “Where is she, Khan?”

  His mouth cemented into his fake smile as his black eyes became hardened stone of anger.

  “Why do you speak to me in such harsh tones, Ashtyn?”

  She gritted her teeth, knowing exactly what would happen if she permitted her fury to overcome her common sense.

  She had made that mistake only once and she was not going to have a replay. The scar was still visible along the line of her neck.

  “You promised to release her years ago,” she replied in a casual tone, the struggle to control herself beyond painful. “Every run you promise me.”

  “Ah yes well that was before you proved to be so invaluable to me, ya amar. You have no one but yourself to blame for the predicament you find yourself in.”

  It was another old argument but still one which boiled her blood.

  “What will it take for you to release her, Khan? I have already promised to stay under your employ. What possible use could you have for keeping Viola?”

  Khan scoffed and snapped his fingers at Jacques who immediately produced Khan’s iPad.

  With a few flicks of his fingers, he pulled into focus a rolodex of pictures.

  Ashtyn’s breath caught in her throat as it always did when he produced images of her sister.

  The gorgeous, pale face with too much make-up and haunted blue eyes was enough to give Ashtyn nightmares until the following round of photos.

  “You see how beautiful she is, your sister?” Khan demanded, thrusting the tablet in her face for her to see.

  As if I could ever forget how beautiful she was before you kidnapped her, Ashtyn thought bitterly, blinking back her tears rapidly as she expertly hid her feelings. I don’t need you to remind me about how you’ve raped her of her innocence and will to live.

  “If I just allow for her to leave, I would need someone to replace her,” Khan continued, his black eyes glittering deviously.

  The words hung in the air and Ashtyn choked back the lump in her throat. She knew what Khan was implying.

  He wanted her to branch out, find him girls and work the trafficking side of his business. It was not the first time he had suggested, and she was sure it would not be the last.

  You have trafficked my sister for six years and you think I would want any part of that game? The only reason I have allowed myself to run the drugs is based on some misguided hope that you will eventually get sick of this game.

  Ashtyn knew that as long as she continued to do Khan’s bidding, she had a lifeline to her sister.

  It was her secret hope that once Viola became too “old” for the traffickers, Khan would order her release.

  It was a long shot, but it was the only one she had. Without it, Viola was as good as dead.

  “I am afraid I don’t know anyone who would be interested in that line of work,” Ashtyn spat. “But if I do hear of someone looking, you will be the first to know.”

  Khan laughed heartily, slapping her face with what was meant to be a playful gesture, but the sting was genuine, the animus not subtle.

  “Oh, sweet girl,” he cooed. “No woman realizes how much they enjoy it until they try. I think you should give it a whirl, as the Americans say, yes?”

  “No, thanks,” Ashtyn snapped, her patience gone. “I think I am done working for you, Khan. You have done nothing but lie to me since I came here begging for Viola’s life. This is a game to you, but I am done playing. My sister is as good as dead after the years of abuse you have put her through anyway. Undoing the damage that you and her rapists have done…”

  She trailed off, wondering if she had gone too far that time.

  Half closing her crystalline eyes, she waited for a blow to shatter her cheekbone or a knife to slash her face but neither transpired.

  When she finally built the courage to open her eyes again, she saw Khan studying her pensively.

  “I will cut your sister loose after the next run through Paris,” he told her. “But you will stay working for me or I will kill you both.”

  Ashtyn knew he was not kidding about their deaths, but she had a difficult time believing that he would honor his promise.

  After all, how many times has she heard it over the past six years?

  “Thank you,” she breathed, exhaling deeply. “I will – “

  “No,” Khan interrupted flatly. “You do not understand.”

  Ashtyn stared up at him, the hairs on her arms beginning to rise as she studied his face.

  There was something different about his expression this time and it filled her with dread.

  “When Viola’s contract is up, you will both work for me, full time.”

  Contract, she thought bitterly. As if she had been headhunted to being pimped out.

  Ashtyn began to shake her head, but she immediately stopped herself.

  Why are you fighting him? If he wants to believe you have any such arrangement, let him. You know that as soon as you get Viola back, you two are disappearing where he can never find you.

  Where in the world that might be was something she would deal with later.

  She quickly turned her head shake into a nod.

  “Of course,” she breathed. “Anything you want.”

  Again Khan scoffed, rubbing his meaty hand through his scruffy black beard. He leered openly at Ashtyn, licking his dry lips.

  “You will do anything I want?” he echoed, and Ashtyn bobbed her head again. “You heard her, yes, Jacques?”

  “I heard her,” Jacques chortled, nodding like a marionette and Ashtyn wanted to punch him in his lecherous jaw.

  It might take her a lifetime, but she would make them pay, all of them. And there would be a special torture ready for Jacques.

  If you let Viola go, I don’t care what I have to agree to, she told herself, willing her mind to focus on one problem at a time.

  “You have a deal,” he said, extending his hand and she stared at him for a long moment. Never had he ever offered his hand in accordance with something he had said.

  For the first time since the entire ordeal had begun, Ashtyn felt a stab of hope as she tentativel
y accepted his palm.

  He grasped her hand in his sweating fingers and squeezed it, pulling her in close.

  “There are two things I want,” he whispered into her ear, his steamy breath sending shivers of disgust through her body. Ashtyn tried to move back but his grip was too intense.

  “The first is that you will expand your cunning and expertise into my other businesses,” he rasped.

  She could not supress the shiver of disgust, but she nodded in assent.

  I saw that coming, she reasoned. It’s never going to happen but -

  “The second thing is, before I give your sister to you, I want one night with you.”

  Bile instantly rose to her throat at the thought of being touched by the greasy bastard and she almost shook her head again, but caught herself before she could make such a mistake.

  Ashtyn reasoned she had been lucky that she had not already been raped by the bastard. She still didn’t understand why he hadn’t forced her, as he did so many other girls. She knew he wanted her – he didn’t make a secret of it. But it was like he wanted to force her to agree with the rape. He knew she was disgusted by the thought and would never agree to it. But now, she realized, he was using the leverage he would lose with this deal, against her. She had known it was only a matter of time before he took what he wanted by force if she didn’t agree to bed him.

  “Anything,” she gasped, almost choking on bile as she agreed to his terms.

  Khan shoved her back and looked at her face, his bushy eyebrows raising.

  “Perhaps we should do it tonight since you are so eager. I knew you would be,” he laughed. “Didn’t I tell you, Jacques? She is horny, despite her cold exterior, right?”

  The men laughed, and Ashtyn jerked away.

  “Not so fast,” she replied, stepping out of his grasp. “You have lied to me before, Khan. If it is going to happen, I want to see my sister, face to face.”

  The men chortled again, and Khan raised his hands in mock surrender.

  “She likes to play hard to getting – is that what they say in English?” he joked with Jacques.

  “The next shipment is coming in two weeks,” Ashtyn told him. “I will be in Marseille to collect it and we will meet in Paris, with my sister. Is it a deal?”