“Who is your boss, anyway?” Julian asks, causally taking another puff of his cigar.
But there is nothing casual about his question. He’s very curious to know who my boss is. And I don’t plan on telling him a damn thing. I’m loyal; I’ll protect the Black empire with my life.
“Right now, you.”
He chuckles, almost choking on the smoke cloud that surrounds us.
“Good answer.” He reaches into his briefcase and pulls out a small stack of papers. “Memorize everything on these, then burn them. We don’t leave a paper trail.” His eyes focus on mine as I take the papers. He’s not sure if I’m anything more than just muscle. He’s still not sure I have any brains behind the armor I wear. It’s a mistake many men before him have made.
But my brain works just fine. Even after almost drowning and bleeding out in the middle of the fucking ocean.
I’ll memorize everything on these papers with no problem. Then I’m going to get Julian this fucking drug deal and get off this fucking island.
But as my eyes skim the papers quickly, I realize Julian isn’t the man I thought he is. His soul is darker than I realized. His greed for money has no bounds. And I just walked into his trap.
Because what I’m reading isn’t something I would ever do. I’ve done some bad things in my life. Stolen. Threatened. Beaten. Tortured. Killed. But this is a line I don’t cross. I don’t traffic humans, and yet that is exactly what Julian is asking me to do.
3
Siren
Why did I end up parked in front of the biggest mansion on the island?
Because I’m stupid.
Because I’m begging to get caught.
Because I like living in danger.
Because I’d rather be trapped in a beautiful cage than continue to live in my own personal hell.
Because I’m desperate.
I consider using the doorbell, but that’s really not my style. I don’t ask for permission. I never have. I take what is owed to me, even if others disagree. And then I deal with the consequences.
So I walk around to the back of the large all-white building that is just as fake as the man who lives alone inside. The house is three stories tall and the size of a football field. Water weaves through the compound, separating the various buildings from the main house. It looks like an expensive resort, instead of where the devil lives.
I hate this house.
I hate this island.
And I’m finally going to do something about it. A plan forms in my head as I walk to the back door. I’m going to steal something. Something valuable. Something I can easily sell and use to get off this island. Something I can use to start a new life. Something I can use to hide away. Something this man won’t even miss.
Who am I kidding?
Julian will realize something is missing from his precious mansion. He lives for his things. He loves the status they give him. He’s a little OCD about it. I wouldn’t doubt he spends his nights counting all the expensive things in his mansion. They’re the only things that can tolerate living in his presence.
I pick the lock on the back door and crack it open, waiting for an alarm to sound. None does.
I’ve never stolen anything before. That’s not the kind of person I am. But I’m desperate. And if anyone deserves to have something stolen, it’s Julian Reed.
I step one foot inside, waiting for his army to descend on me. Again, nothing happens.
I grin.
This might actually work.
That, or he’ll find me and kill me. Either way, I won’t keep living with this pain.
I walk through his house, my hands tempted by all the objects in his house—the paintings, the gold-plated sculptures, the finely threaded fabrics of his furniture. All are too big for me to take. I need something small. Something that can easily be sold.
Jewelry, I decide.
I head up the staircase in search of his bedroom. I’m sure he keeps some jewelry up there.
I haven’t seen any sign that he is home. But Julian doesn’t scare me. He’s a fucking drug dealer who thinks he’s a bigger deal than he is. He’s a nothing—a boy playing with his daddy’s money.
And if he catches me, I’ll offer to suck his dick or something to get out. He’s a good looking man, even if he is evil.
I find his bedroom. It’s dark, and the door is closed. I lean my ear against his door—nothing.
I open the door. It creaks, but no one comes for me. No one knows I’m here.
I step inside. I consider turning the lights on but decide I’ve tested fate enough. However, I’m not good at seeing in the dark, no matter how much my eyes try to adjust. I don’t make a good criminal. I’m just hungry and desperate enough to try anything.
My hand finds the wall, and I walk with my hand against it until I reach an opening—the bathroom.
My hand trails over the counter as I search for a jewelry box, anything that contains something expensive that can be easily sold, but not easily missed.
Jackpot.
I find a box sitting out in plain sight on the middle of the counter. I flip it open and dig to the bottom, hoping to find something that will change my life.
I pull out a bracelet, dripping in diamonds.
I grin—this would give me a new life.
I go to put the bracelet into my pocket, when a hand grabs me out of the darkness.
I close my eyes, hoping this is all a dream, a figment of my imagination, my worst nightmare. That when I open my eyes, I’ll be in my bed, not here, stealing from the most dangerous man on the island.
But when I open them, I’m still in the darkness. And Julian is still gripping my hand.
“What are you doing?” he asks, his voice curious more than angry.
Think, quickly! I can find a way out of this.
I stare at the bracelet.
“I’m—” Fuck, I can’t answer.
“Are you the new maid?” he whispers into my neck. He releases my wrist, but his heavy breath has me captured. His body is pressed against my ass and back, and he sweeps my air off my neck so he can own that part of me too.
I breathe out with a shaky breath, but can’t force my lips to say yes.
“Is there a reason you are cleaning in the dark?”
The power is out.
I couldn’t find the light switch.
I prefer the dark.
So many lies fill my head. But none of them can flow through my lips.
“I’m not the maid. I came here to steal something of value I could use to get off this fucking island. Something you wouldn’t miss. Something I could use to start a new life.” Something to heal my pain and fix my problems.
The lights flick on in that moment, and I’m exposed. The lights shouldn’t make a difference, but they do. In the dark, I could have spilled all of my secrets but in the light…I want to close up every thought I have and hide them away from this man.
Julian Reed is well-known on the island. I’ve served him in bars where I worked as a bartender numerous times. But seeing him now, pressed against me, the first two buttons of his shirt undone, his hair slicked back, and his eyes focused on me and not some business deal he’s working on, I realize how intimidating a man he is.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
Lie.