Chapter One
“What the fuck is this?” Elijah asked, staring at the girl strapped to a chair. She was tied to a wooden chair with a gag across her mouth. Tears were streaming out of her eyes, and she looked terrified.
A large purple bruise decorated one side of her face from being hit and hit hard. Elijah stood in the warehouse near the coast where the Mexicans wanted to make another deal with him for the distribution of coke. They had people on the lookout in case of any cops. For some reason Elijah thought about Caleb and Henry, the Deadly Duet. The two men were settled down with women and children of their own. They were still in the life of crime, but neither would ever put their women at risk. He thought about his fifteen year old daughter back home. She was going to be pissed at him for missing dinner. Mindy demanded one thing from him, that he be home on time every Friday for dinner so they could talk about their week. This was not how he wanted his Friday to be. Checking his watch he saw he had two hours to get home. If he left right now, he’d get back with a few minutes to spare. At this rate, he wasn’t going to get home.
“This bitch was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Marcel handed him her purse. “Consider her a gift.”
Her blue eyes struck him first. They were filled with terror and tears.
“Gift?” Elijah looked toward Marcel. He didn’t know the woman’s name. She didn’t look very old.
“Yes, she was the maid to a friend of mine who was stealing. He called her in to work at the same time I was putting a bullet in his brain. I can’t use her. Clients don’t want women with a lot of meat on their bones. Then I remembered my good friend, Elijah. You’ve been without a woman for so long.”
He was getting bored with this conversation. Elijah didn’t go without sex. He had women who knew the score when it came to him. Money made the world go round, and money gave him women who shut the fuck up while he had his fun.
The bag was thrust into his arms. Gritting his teeth, Elijah glared at him.
“She’s an American,” said Marcel.
“Then she probably has family.”
“She either leaves here with you or I kill her,” Marcel said, pulling out a gun. The girl closed her eyes as the barrel of the gun was pressed against her temple.
“Why bring me into this?” He had seen so much killing in the last few years and had been part of it, too. Elijah wasn’t interested in seeing an innocent woman killed. Something about her blue eyes struck him hard. She was a beautiful, natural blonde. Her long hair cascaded down her back. The thick glossy length made him want to run his fingers through it. “You could have killed her already.”
“We made the deal of a lifetime, my good friend. I wanted to give you something in return.”
Elijah had given him an opening to the drug markets with his contacts, but he got paid handsomely for doing it. Could he walk away, knowing this woman would die? What was it about her? He could fuck any woman who looked like her and often did. Her eyes were still closed as the gun slid up and down her face. Marcel was tormenting her. Glancing around the room, Elijah saw the hungry looks on the other men’s faces. They all wanted a piece of her, and knowing Marcel, he’d let them all rape her before they killed her.
“Leave me alone with her,” Elijah said.
“You’re interested?”
“I said leave me alone with her.”
Marcel knew not to push. Elijah wasn’t a man to be fucked about with. He used his reputation to deal with business. Anyone who tried to work with Elijah knew he demanded total respect and obedience. The men left the warehouse leaving him alone. He grabbed a seat, sitting directly in front of her.
“Open your eyes,” he said.
Slowly, she opened her eyes. They were clear blue, bright, and so addictive to look at. Just by looking at her eyes, he felt calm, tranquil. Why? He didn’t fucking know.
He reached out and pushed away the gag that had been placed over her mouth.
“You know the kind of situation you’re in, don’t you?”
She nodded. No other noise came from her. She didn’t even cry for help.
“Tell me your name.”
“Cherry Morgan.”
“Your name’s Cherry?”
“Yes.” Her voice croaked, and he saw bruises around her neck.
“They tried to strangle you, Cherry?”
“Yes.”
He saw her hands clench into fists. Opening up her bag, he found several study books piled inside. “How old are you, Cherry?” He loved the name.
“I’m twenty.”
“You’re a student?”
She jerked her head in response.
“I need you to start fucking talking here, Cherry. Those men, they’re going to come back, and depending on what you say to me, I’m going to save you or kill you.”