CHAPTER THIRTEEN
", what the hell happened?" I shouted as she walked through the door. "How in the hell did Lydia end up being pulled out of the Pacific by the Coast Guard? What happened to her?"
"Easy, easy, Dax," she said, holding up one hand to fend off my questions. "I don't have a lot of answers, but I did the best I could to make some connections with the cops out at the recovery site. I'll check back with them later and see what I can find out."
"How did she die?" I asked.
"Execution," Riza said without emotion. "Bullet to the back of the skull. They must have dumped her off a boat or something because she was too far out to have floated in that short of time and the currents were moving in the opposite direction, so she might have been dropped even farther out."
"Fuck." I ran a hand through my hair and tried to think about how I was going to deal with the bail hearings this morning without my lawyer.
"I called Lydia's office and they said they would send a lawyer over to handle Pook and Jimmy's bail hearing this morning," Riza said as if reading my mind. I nodded. One less thing to worry about.
"Whoever did this knows that getting rid of Lydia would put a crimp in our business," I said. It wasn't that I couldn't hire another lawyer. That would be the easy part. In Los Angeles, lawyers were a dime a dozen and I could easily replace the legal counsel, but what I couldn't replace was the trust and loyalty. Lydia knew things about the business that I wasn't eager to share with anyone else, and she knew how to keep her mouth shut.
"Do you think they got anything out of her before they killed her?" Riza asked.
"Shit, I don't know," I said. Riza’s face was blank. While the fact that she rarely gave anything away was good for doing business, sometimes I wished she would give me a little more so I could tell what she was thinking. Not knowing bothered me. But Papi had taught his daughter well, and she had put those lessons to use.
"I'll do what I can to find out what they know," she said.
"Ri, what does your gut tell you happened?" I asked.
"Honestly, from what I could see, they tortured her, boss," she said. "She looked pretty beat up. But then again, it could have been from the water. I just don't know."
"Alright, we need to get this locked down so that we don't appear weak," I said. "If the others think that they can come after us and just abduct and execute our people, we're going to have problems. I want you to figure out who's involved and I want a public spectacle made of them. Got it?"
"Got it," she saluted.
"And Ri?"
"Yeah, boss?"
"Don't lose sight of that little fucker Beck," I said. "He's starting to become a real pain in my ass."
"No worries, boss," she said. "I got it handled."
I watched her walk out of the office and hoped that she was right. If she didn't have it handled, we were going to suffer in ways that not even I could imagine.
#
sat at my desk thinking about whom I could call and ask about finding a new lawyer. There weren't many people in LA that I trusted – and certainly not many lawyers. In my line of business, I had to be careful that I didn't spill the wrong information to the wrong person and wind up having them turn state's witness in a case against me. But there was no question that I needed a new lawyer.
I shifted a little in my chair, then reached down and tried to alleviate the pressure that I felt in my jeans.
The news about Lydia, while sad and disturbing, hadn't done much to alleviate the hard on I'd had since I'd met Brooke, and it was starting to feel painful. So, when one of the cage dancers stuck her head in the door and said she needed to speak with me, I waved her in.
"What's up, babe?" I smiled as the gorgeous brown girl glided across the floor and dropped to her knees in front of me. She smiled up at me as she unzipped my jeans and slipped her hand down into the front of them so she could stroke my rock hard cock. I looked down at her, calmly watching as she did what she had always done best.
"Mmmm, you're hard tonight," she said as she pulled her hand out and ran her flattened tongue over it several times before slipping it back into my pants. The slick sensation of her saliva-covered hand made me groan when she gripped my cock and stroked up and down.
"I need you to do what you do best, baby," I growled as I reached out and stroked her cheek.
"You know I'll do anything you want," she smiled as I lifted my hips and pulled my jeans down around my knees. Diamond was one of the girls who danced on stage or in a cage over the bar every night. She was tall and lean, and she gave the best head of any of the dancers I employed. She loved giving blowjobs, so I felt no guilt in taking advantage of it.
I leaned back as she slowly ran her tongue from tip to base and then back up, coating my cock and making it slippery. She did this until I began to groan with need and push my hips up, then she wrapped her full lips around the head of my cock and began the agonizingly slow descent to the base. She sucked and licked until I felt like I was going to explode.
Normally, I would watch her as she performed her magic, but tonight, I leaned back and closed my eyes. I pictured Brooke's beautiful blue eyes looking up at me as she wrapped her lips around my shaft and moved her mouth up and down. I imagined how she would look and sound as she took the entire length of my shaft into the back of her throat, and I began to pump my hips as I envisioned her beautiful breasts resting on my thighs as she sucked and sucked and sucked. The image was so powerful that I thrust my hips up as I held Diamond's head and owned her mouth.
"Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, yes!" I groaned as I let go and filled her mouth. Diamond sucked and licked as I throbbed and pulsed, making me see stars as the explosion continued. My eyes were still closed and all I could see were Brooke's blue eyes looking up at me as she smiled, her mouth filled with my cock.
"How was that, babe?" Diamond asked as she rose up off her knees and sat on my lap.
"Very, very nice, little girl," I smiled as I ran my hands over her breasts.
"You want more tonight?" She ran her hand through my hair and down across my cheek.
"I'd love to, but I can't tonight, sweetie," I said with a feigned look of regret. "I've got some business to take care of so I have to get going, but maybe later?"
"Anytime, you know that," she smiled as she stood up. She bent over and kissed my cheek before turning and walking across the room. The way she swung her hips never failed to get a response and even though she'd just given me a bit of relief, tonight was no exception.
"God, you're hot," I said as I watched her go.
"Just for you, babe." She winked over her shoulder as she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
I'd always liked Diamond because she understood the game. I wasn't any more or less special to her than any of her other clients, but she made me feel like I was the only one she'd ever want. It wasn't love, but it was the next best thing.