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  I press my mom’s name on my phone.

  “Hi, dear,” she whispers. Her exhaustion is evident even though she tries to hide it.

  My dad has been unresponsive for months, but she converses softly like he’s only sleeping. I love her so much and want nothing more than to unburden myself with everything going on. She’d never forgive me for selling my body. I also can’t add more sorrow to what she already bears.

  I do my best to sound cheerful. “Hi, Mom. How’s Daddy?”

  “Let me walk out of the room, dear.”

  She won’t talk in front of him if it’s something bad. My heart constricts while I wait. I don’t think I can handle anything piled onto the mountain of shit I’m standing on.

  “Okay, sorry for the delay,” she begins. “The doctor came by today and they want to call in… hospice.”

  I hear the catch in her voice and I know she’s silently crying. She speaks to my father each day and tells him everything that’s going on in her life. I’ve been there while she talks about her horrible job, my opinion, and the people she meets. I know she isn’t treated well at work, but she never says a bad thing about her life. “I love you, Mom,” is what I tell her. I also can’t help thinking that my dad died months ago. At least their small home in north Phoenix is paid off. When my father passes, just maybe my mother can give up her job and live off the social security that the nursing home eats up. The only solution I see for the future is her taking care of Kiley while I work.

  “I love you too, dear. How is your new job going?”

  I lied to her and said I had an apprenticeship with a state office. “Good. I like the people I work with and I’m learning a lot.” Lies, lies, and more lies.

  “I’m glad to hear that. When do you think you can come to visit?”

  How does she stay so damn strong? “Next week, I promise.”

  “Okay, I need to go back in with your father. Get a good night’s sleep, dear.”

  “I will. Love you, Mom.”

  “Love you too.”

  I end the call and trudge to the shower. I’m a horrible person and my mom is a saint. Not that she would agree. My brother’s cruelty did such a number on her and made her blame herself for his behavioral problems. Sadly, Lee had a way of putting blame on everyone but himself. My mother and I were victims of his cruelty.

  I haven’t told her he’s dead. When I have Kiley, I’ll explain everything except the parts about the money and how I got it. Until then, I’ll put one foot in front of the other and do whatever it takes to rescue my niece.

  I slowly peel my clothes off and smell Alex when I do it. I wonder if he’ll ask for me again. Not that I should want him too. He’s a client. I step under the spray of water and don’t touch the moldy sides of the shower. If I do, I’ll never feel clean.

  Chapter Seven

  Alex

  I CAN’T STOP THINKING about that damn escort. This is the dumbest thing that’s ever happened to me. Maybe I’m losing my mind. I walk through Moon’s home and head first to the control room to check in. Jose and Mike are on monitor duty tonight. Two more guards are stationed outside on the grounds.

  Jose nods as soon as I enter. “Hey, Gomez,” he says.

  Mike looks up from one of the screens. He’s been with us for a few years but just moved to house security. He worked the warehouses until he proved himself capable of more. “Mike,” I say, “things quiet?” He’s good at the job and glances to the screens before giving me his attention again. “All quiet. Maybe too quiet if you ask me.”

  Of course I’ll ask. “What’s got you riled?”

  “It’s one of those feelings. Had it for a few days now.” His head swivels back to the screens.

  I know what he means. “Moon fill you in about the meeting later?”

  This time Mike doesn’t take his eyes from the monitors. “Jose is going. I’ll stay in here and Jose can 411 me later.”

  “Keep sharp. Where’s Moon?”

  “He and Mak are in the pool being good,” Jose says.

  I smile. This means they aren’t having sex in the pool. Since Madison came into Moon’s life, it’s made security interesting. We all understand their need for privacy. They are the ones who forget we have eyes everywhere but the bedrooms. I’ve walked into rooms and caught the two of them all but naked. Okay, naked once. My bedroom has a balcony that overlooks the pool and I thought it was safe territory. That turned to dust when I caught Moon and Madison skinny dipping late one night. I never thought the large house would feel so small.

  “I’m heading out there, so check again, will you?”

  Mike turns the top right monitor my way. Madison is sitting on the side of the pool while Moon swims laps. It could change in a matter of minutes, so I leave quickly and make my way to the pool.

  I open the door that leads outside and scorching hot air instantly surrounds me. It doesn’t matter that the sun set more than an hour ago. It won’t get below ninety for the rest of the summer. Two-dogs runs over to greet me. We have about forty-five minutes until the meeting. I scratch his gigantic head. He’s a pit bull who was rescued from one of the Indian reservations. He is blindly loyal to Madison and I have no doubt he’d remove my hand if I raised it against her. That’s why the two of us get along.

  I’m not surprised that Jess isn’t around. When Madison is here, Jess gets downtime. She has a room next to Gabriella’s. Gabriella is in charge of the house—everything from meals to organizing housework and laundry details. I love the woman, but she’s hard on most everyone but me, Moon, and now Madison. She worked for Moon’s dad and her loyalty is unquestioned. If the house were attacked, I know she’d come out with an assault weapon in one hand and a ladle in the other. You don’t mess with her family.

  She and Jess have been butting heads since Jess was hired. It’s been our entertainment. Jess eats a vegan, organic diet. You would think she spit in Gabriella’s food. If it doesn’t have masa and lard, Gabriella doesn’t consider it real food. We all put in additional time in the gym to counterbalance the extra calories. We wouldn’t dream of making Gabriella cook special diets for us. Things between her and Jess have gotten so bad that Jess now has a small kitchenette in her room and she rarely ventures into the kitchen.

  Outside, Madison is watching her husband swim laps. This isn’t strange, nor is the look of lust on her face. I ignore it and clear my throat. She glances at me and smiles. I walk over with Two-dogs beside me. When I stop, he goes to Madison’s side and plops down next to her. She absently rubs his head. He stretches his neck out so she’ll get just the right spot. He gives a huffing growl of pleasure. The first time he did it, I thought he was growling at Madison. He’s not. This is the pit bull equivalent of purring like a cat.

  “You okay?” she asks.

  I can tell by her voice that she knows Ramon is dead. She worries about the things I do, though rarely questions them.

  “I’m good.”

  The area is lit with soft accent lights and I can’t actually see her blush. I know she does though when she asks, “And Ce Ce?”

  I turn and walk a few feet away so I can pull over a chair. I’d like nothing more than to shuck my pants and put my legs in the water like Madison. That’s what I get for not wearing underwear. Though I’m sure Moon wouldn’t appreciate me undressing to my skivvies in front of his wife. Once I’m seated, I tell Madison what she needs to know. “She was planning to hustle for Cartwright too.”

  “Get rid of her,” Moon says as he glides through the water in our direction.

  “Not so fast, jefe.” I turn toward him so he and Madison are in my line of sight. “I’m taking a personal interest in this one. I’ve called Cartwright and made it clear Celina is off his stable list. She doesn’t know that yet. She’s in trouble and needs fifty grand by the end of the month.

  Madison starts coughing. “Did you say fifty grand?”

  I nod. “She won’t say why and told me it was too dangerous to talk about. I’ll have the i
nformation I need sometime tomorrow and I’ll plan a course of action from there.”

  “She made quite an impression on you,” Madison throws out with a look of piqued interest.

  Now it’s my face that heats, which is stupid. I’m not a kid. I also don’t think “impression” is the word I’d use to describe how much my dick likes Celina. “I’d appreciate it if you would send her to some of your top clients. The big tippers. After I know more, I’ll decide if I’ll personally help her meet her goal.”

  Why the hell does planning for others to fuck her cause my fists to clench? I purposefully relax my hands and hope Madison didn’t notice.

  She’s smirking at me. She was a cop, she noticed, and Moon has almost the same expression on his face. Damn, I need to practice my stone-cold-killer expression more with them. I hold up a hand. “She’s hot and good at what she does.”

  Madison laughs a little too loudly. “You were her first job and you know it. That girl was as innocent as they come. Her name should be Dorothy and Toto should be her sidekick.”

  “Then why the fuck did you send her to me?” I say with exasperation and pull my hand across my head when Moon grunts at my language.

  “Oh, please,” Madison says to her husband. “I run your high-class hookers. I put up with their whiney asses complaining daily. ‘It’s my period, my ass is sore from the last time I did anal, he wants to put food in my vejayjay.’”

  “Stop,” Moon and I say at the same time.

  “TMI, please,” I add when Moon scoops Madison from the edge and brings her against his chest.

  She’s laughing. He kisses the top of her head before they look up at me expectantly.

  Hell, why do I even bother trying to hide anything? We live in each other’s back pockets. “Yes, she got to me. You’re getting damn good at your job, Mad, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not, but that’s between you and your husband. After I find out Celina’s story, I’ll make a plan.”

  Madison isn’t sold on my explanation. “Do you still want me to send her on assignments?”

  No, I don’t fucking want that and it pisses me off. “Yes, the good ones. She’s as innocent as you say, so don’t give her to the deviants, please.” I stand up. “I’m heading to my room to change. I’ll see you both at the meeting.”

  “If she’s still innocent after a few hours with you, you’re doing something wrong,” Madison throws out when I turn away.

  “Madison.” Moon growls much like Two-dogs does when angry.

  “Oh, come on. This is about sex. That’s my job.”

  I hear Moon rumble something low as I walk away. He can’t control his wife at all, though really it’s funnier than hell. Madison won’t allow her husband to get away with misogyny. She was a police officer for fuck’s sake, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she had a large pair of brass balls.

  My private part of the house is actually a two-bedroom apartment complete with a small kitchen and living area. The entrance is a flight of stairs off the poolside changing room that you get to from inside the house. We have several escape routes mapped out and we’ve reviewed them many times. The apartment offers a way out by climbing from the balcony to the roof. It will also get me to Moon’s bedroom. The house and grounds are as secure as we can make them—twenty-four seven guards and an alarm system that cost a small fortune. There are cameras everywhere with extra audio feed inside the house. The security room also doubles as a safe room and holds enough weapons to fend off a small army. In our line of work, we have no choice but to go to this extreme.

  Moon’s empire includes guns, drugs, and women. The females are the softer side of the shit we do. My moral code isn’t as solid as Moon’s and most definitely not Madison’s. The drugs really get to her. The guns come in a close second. It’s a dog-eat-dog world and I don’t have the pastel glasses over my eyes that affect her. If we don’t supply the guns, someone else will. We do our best to keep them out of terrorist hands and come down hard if we hear even an inkling that something along those lines is in the air. Moon has a “do not cross” line when it comes to kids and drugs too. I’ve disposed of the bodies of the people who break that particular rule.

  Our drugs are clean. We deal in heroin and cocaine. For us, methamphetamine is dirty shit. Most of it comes into the United States from the Mexican cartels. Keeping their shit out of our territory is a full-time job, and now we control New Mexico too. The cartels are nasty fucks who kill women and children like they’re animals. The cartels are protected by the Mexican government in most cases. I believe the entire fucking country is corrupt and it’s bleeding into the land of the free and home of the brave. Most have no idea what it takes to keep the really bad shit out of this country.

  I’m not saying there aren’t good people in Mexico, because there are. We help where we can. At heart, Moon’s a good guy who does bad things. There’s nothing good about me. I’m a killer. Moon, Madison, and Gabriella are my family. My sister, Theresa, and her kids and husband too. I’ll do anything—kill, maim, torture if someone threatens my family.

  Celina’s name flits through my head. She isn’t family. She’s a very innocent but talented escort, and for some reason that makes me grit my teeth. My cock stiffens and I decide a cold shower is called for. I’ll schedule with her later next week and work her out of my system. I’ll just spend extra time jacking off until then.

  The meeting with Moon and our men is fairly short and I head to bed to try to sleep. Lying down in the dark at night and waking in the mornings is when the images in my brain torture me the most. It’s the strangest thing when all I picture tonight is Celina. No blood or death or guilt. Celina’s desire-filled smile is the image that puts me to sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  Celina

  I HOPED ELEGANT ESCORTS and Cartwright Modeling would call today. I’m antsy after my first client and don’t need extra time to think about what I’m doing. Not that I want to jump in someone else’s bed right away, but I need to make the money by deadline and not get pulled under by the sleaziness of it. I barely slept through the night because I was thinking and worrying about Kiley. It makes me sick not knowing what’s happening to her. She’s only a baby, and I fear my thoughts aren’t as bad as the truth.

  I didn’t eat dinner last night, and it’s now ten in the morning. I’m starving. I take another shower and shave my entire body, including my hoo-ha. I moisturize everything, buff and paint my nails with a clear coat, and fix my hair. While in the shower, I let steam soak into the suit I wore yesterday for Alex. I also used a spray deodorizer on it before leaving the room. I don’t need a daily dry cleaning bill to go with everything else. I put on a pair of white shorts with a blue gauzy blouse and black strapless sandals. A few cheap bangle bracelets at my wrists and silver chain around my throat top it off. If a suit isn’t required, what I have on will work for customers. The look doesn’t yell “hooker” from the tips of my toes to my nipples, and to me that’s a plus. I can unbutton a button or two if I need a sleazier look.

  I disregard my growling stomach as I use a metal nail file to unscrew a plate in the cooling system below the window beside the door. I tuck the cash inside and screw the plate back on. As long as it doesn’t cause a fire, it should be safe. I turn off the cooler before leaving the room just to be sure. I worked out a deal in place of maid service here at the motel. As long as I keep the room clean and grab a new set of sheets at the front office each week I get a ten percent discount on the weekly room fee. That doesn’t mean my room won’t be searched. I’m not an idiot. And in a very OCD manner, I placed my toiletries in a precise location and took pictures. I flip the zipper handle on my suitcase up. If someone unzips it, I’ll know because it naturally falls downward. I don’t know what the hell I’ll do if the room is searched. I have few options. With a twenty dollar bill in hand, I leave the room and walk to a small corner restaurant half a block away where I order toast and coffee.

  My styled hair is pinned up wi
th a large silver clip so it’s off my neck. But beads of sweat still cover the back of my neck as I slide gingerly into my hot car after leaving the restaurant. It’s Phoenix. It’s summer and it’s hot. Nothing new.

  I start the car and turn on the air conditioner. All four front vents point in my direction. My parents gave me the car when I went to college. This was before my father was laid off. I’ve treated the vehicle well and she’s done the same for me. I lean my face closer to the vents when the air conditioning finally puts out cold air. I also roll up the window that I rolled down so the hot air from the vents could escape while they cooled down.

  I decide to head to Cartwright Modeling and see if they have work for me. Mr. Cartwright said he would line me up with a customer within twenty-four hours and I expected a call last night. It never came. I put my game face on. Cartwright gives me the creeps. To him, I’m only a piece of meat. I saw it in his eyes when I interviewed.

  “Take off your clothes and show me the goods,” he said sixty seconds after I entered his office. With a heavy heart, I did as requested. He walked around me slowly and made comments about my breasts and trimmed but unshaven pussy. He never touched me, but I swear his eyes raped me. They slithered over every inch of skin and it took everything I had not to cover myself and run. I repeated Kiley’s name silently in my head.

  Now I’m going back to find out why he didn’t keep his word. Mak connected me with a client and I need Cartwright to know I’m available and ready to work too.