Victoria

The numerous perks of being in charge of The Syndicate begin to sink in as we board the new Gulfstream jet that is now at my disposal whenever I get the urge to go somewhere. The security tech that I hired to do a sweep of the plane is just finishing up as we arrive. “Well, what did you find?” I ask, knowing there were several advanced surveillance features.

“There were two hidden security cameras in the cabin,” he says, pointing to the seat where they are now sitting disabled. “Also, state of the art directional microphones had been installed in the headrest of each seat.”

“And you’re sure you found everything?” I ask, not wanting any surprises down the road.

“This baby is clean as a whistle. This scanner is the same one we use whenever the NSA wants us to perform an off-site sweep for them.” He holds it up, beaming with pride. “I guarantee my work.”

“Okay, I’ll have to take your word for it. Just send the invoice at this address.” I hand the kid my Melinda Severson business card. “We should be ready to go,” I announce, turning my attention to Devon.

“Why would your dad put surveillance equipment in his own plane?” he asks, looking at all the electronics that have been pulled.

“He was obviously planning on monitoring Eduardo’s every move.” I pull a bottle of Remy Martin XO from my bag. “I hope this is okay. The plane hasn’t been stocked yet.”

“A man could do a lot worse than expensive Cognac,” he replies, taking the bag from me. “I’ll put all the bags in the overhead, then we can get settled in. Isn’t Victor going to be pissed when he finds out that you’ve had all of that stuff ripped out?” He gives me a serious look, as if my father’s opinion matters at this point.

“Who’s in charge of The Syndicate?” I narrow my eyes, accentuating my point.

“You are my dear.” He returns an evil grin. “It’s going to take me a bit to adjust to your absolute power. Please forgive me.” He moves behind me and slips his arms around my waist. I can feel his bulge between my ass cheeks as he cups my breasts in his palms and gives them a tender squeeze.

“You’re forgiven… obviously,” I murmur, wishing the plane was already airborne.

As if on cue, my phone begins to ring from inside my purse. I bend down to retrieve it and see that it’s my father calling. “You miss me already?” I ask, feeling a bit more playful than usual.

“Actually, I wanted to share the preliminary toxicology report on those vials that Antonio gave you,” he replies, in his usual business tone. “And I always miss you, dear,” he adds a bit of affection as an afterthought.

“Well, I can almost guess the results, since it couldn’t wait until tomorrow,” I reply, knowing that he would only call me Sunday evening with bad news.

“Well, the white powder is actually a very innovative vasoconstrictor, combined with a fairly aggressive anesthetic which when combined could simulate TTX poisoning,” he explains, leading to a dramatic pause.

“But…” I reply, knowing that there has to be bad news waiting in the wings.

“The pink vial is more interesting and contains an even more cleverly designed substance. According to agent Scalia, the crime lab had to call in a specialist to decode it.” He pauses once again, so now I’m certain that he’s about to drop a bombshell.

“I’m already assuming the worst,” I let him know. “So just get on with it.”

“Well, on the surface it seemed to be a simple niacin and arginine-based vasodilator, which would indeed counteract the effects of the first substance,” he informs me, finally leading to the bad news. “But, there was something else that showed up in the scan and this is what took them so long to analyze. There were radioactive particles, larger than isotopes but smaller than seeds mixed in with the powder. Scalia assumed the intent was that once they entered my blood stream, they would be filtered out by liver.”

“Which sounds like a bad thing,” I speculate, instantly wondering if Grandpa intended to do more than influence the negotiations.

“A year or so down the road, I would’ve been diagnosed with a highly aggressive and basically untreatable form of liver cancer,” he adds dryly. “A perfectly disguised execution.”

“My god, I’m glad I followed my gut and didn’t use it,” I blurt out, wanting him to know that I hadn’t seriously considered using it on him. “After hearing what happened to his business partner years ago, I wasn’t overly comfortable with it.”

“I think you also knew that it would be impossible to poison me without endangering yourself in the process,” he counters, implying that I wouldn’t have used it out of fear.

“I’m sorry, but I would never intentionally poison you,” I reiterate, feeling a weird twisting sensation inside as I once again tell him what I believe will maintain his trust. “I would’ve felt horrible if I found out later that I had caused you to get cancer or something terrible like that.”

“Well, you probably never would’ve known it,” he reasons. “That’s why I have to give him credit for a brilliant plan. After blowing up that plane, I’m sure he thought you would be freaked out enough to follow through with it. It would practically be considered self-defense.”

“Blowing up all those innocent people, just to make sure I followed through?” I repeat out loud wanting to gauge his reaction again. “That’s not something Grandpa would do.”

He chuckles in a most sinister way. “It’s obvious that the old man has become increasingly desperate, which is why I refuse to go anywhere near him. That’s also why I quickly realized that my only choice was to give you control for now. I honestly believe he would rather destroy everything than have Eduardo take over my end of the deal. It’s actually a little sad,” he adds with a hint of genuine human emotion.

“Well, I think things worked out about as good as they could have,” I suggest, expecting some type of rebuttal from him. “I really am glad that I didn’t accidentally hurt you.”

“Even if I thought you had poisoned me, I never would’ve taken an antidote that had come from him,” he replies cynically. “I would’ve called for an ambulance and taken my chances.”

“Yeah, you guys have a long history,” I reply, as the jet engines rev and the plane begins to move. “We’re about to take off, so I should probably let you go.”

“Okay, keep me posted on the Irish mess,” he adds, still seeming intrigued by that situation. “By the way, did you already disable the onboard security cameras?”

“Onboard security cameras? That’s a good name for them,” I reply with a laugh. “Believe me, I feel much more secure now that they’ve been neutralized.”

“Neutralized,” he groans, with his condescending smirk coming right through the phone. “You have a productive day tomorrow and let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do, thanks.” I click to hang up the phone and slip it back into my purse before taking the seat next to Devon.

“That sounded more civilized than I would’ve expected,” he says, shifting to get comfortable in his seat.

“Yeah, Dad’s calm demeanor is actually a little eerie,” I reply, settling into my seat. “He says that Grandpa tried to poison him, but I honestly don’t believe it. I know he had nothing to do with that airline explosion either. He might have been ruthless in his younger days, but not anymore.”

“So you think your dad is just trying to turn you against him?” he speculates with a confused look on his face. “What does he gain from that?”

“With him, it’s always control of some sort. I known dad well enough to know that this is all just a calm before the storm,” I reply giving him a pat on his muscular thigh. “Even though he’s no longer in charge, it doesn’t mean he’ll retire quietly.”

“You’re going to have to wire your dad’s condo so you can keep tabs on him,” he suggests, looking over at pile of dead electronics.

“Way ahead of you.” I give him a wink. “I had it wired while we were at the conference this weekend. For someone who obsesses over security, he has allowed the maid service to use the same key code for the past three years. What a foolish oversight.”

A hesitant look settles on Devon’s face. “You know, I always thought that my family was a little crazy, but shit.” He laughs and shakes his head, probably wondering what he’s gotten himself into.

“Just don’t cross me and you’ll be fine,” I tease, running my nails along his inner thigh. “And if you feel the need for a little extra insurance, I suggest the liberal use of your talented tongue.”

“Yeah, I have several talents that wouldn’t be easy to replace,” he replies with a cocky grin. “I can’t imagine a scenario where you and I would want to throw away what took us years to find.” He takes my hand in his. “As soon as the plane levels off, my tongue is at your command.”

“I’m pretty sure you know what to do.” I recline the seat, sliding forward just slightly so that my dress rises to mid-thigh. He gives me a sexy smile and his cool, blue eyes shimmer like those of a young boy who is waiting to open his birthday presents. I love the incredibly raw sexual chemistry between us and how we can’t wait to rip each other’s clothes off. Just imagining new ways to drive him to even greater heights of pleasure is enough to leave me hot and bothered. It will be interesting to see if we can leave each other alone long enough to get some work done this week.

As the jet begins leveling off, he slides from the seat and positions himself between my legs. We lock eyes as his hot tongue glides the length of my slit, before circling my clit. A warm sensation flows up through my core as he begins to tease me using the most tantalizing strokes. I love how intently he focuses on my most sensitive areas and picks up on the subtle clues that I give him as a result. I push my fingers into his thick dark hair, coaxing him to stay put for a good long while. This plush leather recliner is much more accommodating than the jump seat I straddled during our flight back from Colombia. “My god, you’re good at that.” I moan, knowing that positive feedback will keep him on task for at least a few more minutes.

As he begins kissing his way up the center of my body, I can’t help thinking that everything I’ve been working for the past thirteen years is suddenly coming to fruition. The day I stopped crying, was the same day that I swore to avenge my mother’s death. Somehow, I was going to take over everything that my father had gained as a result of using my mother. Maybe it’s true that she used him as well in order to get out of Colombia, but she still deserved a better life. I know she would be proud of the fact that I’m a Harvard educated attorney and that I now preside over The Syndicate. She probably wouldn’t understand why I would want to do it, but she would be proud nonetheless.

“Did I lose you?” Devon asks coming up face to face with me.

“I’m sorry, a ton of thoughts just started flooding my mind,” I explain, feeling instant regret for letting it happen.

“Honestly, I’m amazed by how you’ve handled everything.” He reclines his seat and slides in next to me. “I don’t think I could’ve done any better.”

“Eduardo keeps popping into my head as well,” I admit, still silently analyzing how things have played out. “I still think there’s more to him and this Irish thing than Dad claims.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure out how to deal with him.” He gives me a kiss on the cheek and slips his fingers between my legs. “I don’t think now is the right time to worry about it.”

“I know. I’ve already figured out how to set a trap for him.” I reach over and start unbuttoning his dress shirt. “I can’t believe you still have your clothes on.”

“Okay, you can tell me about your plan while I get rid of them,” he says, standing up and proceeding to unbutton his shirt.

“Dad doesn’t want Ed to know that all he has to do is bump off Grandpa to gain power, so maybe we’ll plant that seed with Mickey Byrnes,” I tell him while admiring his rippling pecs and reaching out for his washboard abs.

“The one who’s daughter he was messing with?” he asks, hooking his waistband with his thumbs and pausing for my answer.

“Yeah, that way if Ed’s still involved with them, the message will get back to him,” I reply with the sexual tension beginning to overtake other thoughts. “If he’s actually working against us, then he deserves to tangle with all of Grandpa’s resources.” I reach out and tug at his pant leg, letting him know my growing impatience.

“You’re a devious one, Victoria Lynn,” he murmurs with a dark look in his eyes. “Just another reason why I’m completely obsessed with you.” He pushes down on his waistband, unleashing his rigid dick and allowing his pants to fall to the floor.

“Completely obsessed, huh?” I cock an eyebrow. “I like the sound of that.” If I’m willing to admit my feelings, I must say that I’m completely obsessed with him as well. I’ve never met anyone who can electrify me with merely a touch and make me hot with a simple glance.

“Just so you know. I’m not going to be content being your sidekick,” he whispers as the tip of his pulsating cock slips between my yearning lips. I knew it was only a matter of time before he became anxious to reestablish his role as the alpha. It’s one of the reasons why I chose him. Even though I’m quite good at it, I find this whole dominant thing quite exhausting.

The remainder of our flight should be another memorable experience and the coming days, weeks and months should be just as exhilarating. There will be billions in profits, but there will also be an endless number of challenges that need to be assuaged with incredible orgasms. It’s the fairytale life of a mafia princess, who has now become the queen. As for Devon, I’ll be more than happy to crown him king.

* * *