Chapter Four
Colton kept the Glock at his side as he studied the man standing outside Ria’s apartment. Royce Davis bore a certain resemblance to Matthew McConaughey if that worthy gentleman had decided to spend a month living on Jack Daniels and cocaine. The glitter in the lawyer’s eyes suggested some sort of recreational chemical enhancement, and the way his hands kept twitching confirmed it.
Unfortunately, Davis was also the man who had hired Colton to kill Freddy Ray Montrose, which meant that he had the other half of the payment on him. Reluctantly, Colton opened the door and let him in. “How did you know I’d be here?”
Davis snorted. “Well, seeing as there were no police at the office when I got there, it was clear Ria hadn’t called them. I figured she walked in early and saw you taking care of Freddy Ray. And since I didn’t see her body next to Freddy Ray, it meant you took her somewhere. Her place was the logical place to look.” He peered around the kitchen. “You kill her yet?”
Colton kept his expression bland, but his trigger finger developed a certain itch. “No.”
Davis nodded. “Good. I have plans for that sweet thing. Gonna give her a new job at my place down in Galveston. You got her tied up somewhere?”
So much for the idea that Davis had set them up. He relaxed a fraction. “Bedroom. You got my money?”
Davis dipped a hand into his jacket, pulling out a thick manila envelope. “All here.”
He handed it over and Colton considered the weight. It felt about right for fifteen grand. Then Ria’s early question prodded at him. “Why’d you want me to kill the old man, anyway?”
Davis gave him a puzzled look. “What do you care? You did it, it’s done, end of story.”
“Just curious. He seemed like an okay guy.”
“Shit. Just what I need, a curious hitman.” Davis cocked his head to the side, grimacing. “Freddy Ray was an okay guy. He was also stopping me from making a shitload of money with some businessmen who operate south of the border, if you get my drift. He also kept cockblocking me with Ria, which I really didn’t appreciate. So I hired you. Happy now?”
Colton shrugged. “Yeah. Except I don’t think the lady wants to go anywhere with you.”
The lawyer did a passable impression of the Surprised Blond Guy meme. “Oh, you don’t, do you? And you’ve discussed this with the lady in depth?” He eyed Colton’s clothing, or lack of same. “Look, I don’t care much if you warmed her up for me, although I hope you wore a rubber. Just take your money, put your shoes on, and go. I’ll take care of that little firecracker.”
The jittery glee in his voice promised that whatever he had planned for Ria, it wouldn’t be good. Colton let his right hand ease forward, showing the Glock. “I don’t think I can do that.”
The lawyer looked down at the gun and rolled his eyes. “Really? You want to throw down with me over a piece of ass? After I just paid you thirty grand—in cash, may I remind you. Does she have one of those trick pussies or something?”
Colton fought a rising urge to shoot the mouthy asshole. “Why don’t you just go back to the office and get the ball rolling with the cops?” he advised. It would reduce the amount of time Ria had to pack and get out, but it didn’t look like she had much to pack, anyway. “You don’t want her anyway. She’s trouble, the kind that winds up with people dead.”
Davis hooted. “You mean that gangbanger brother of hers? Man, I got family in the lege, DC, and Exxon. I don’t give a rat’s ass about some spic who thinks he’s hot shit because he runs drugs and second-hand AK-47s.” He twitched hard and held up his hands, the fine drug tremble visible. “But I can find better pussy than her anywhere—skinnier, too. I know the type. She’s gonna turn into a porker in a few years. You want her, you can have her. I got what I want.”
You do not have time to clean his damn brains off the floor. “Okay,” Colton grunted, hefting the manila envelope in his left hand. “Now if you don’t mind—”
Davis’s foot rose like the kicker for the Saints, catching him square in the balls. Pain exploded through his gut and he bent over reflexively to protect his wounded groin. This time Davis’s knee came up, smashing into his nose. The pain barely registered over the agony in his groin but the impact half-blinded him. Both envelope and gun fell from his hands as he staggered backwards, thudding down hard on the tile floor. The shock went straight to his wounded testicles and he retched, bringing up the chicken wrap and chips.
Davis stepped forward, one foot sliding the Glock back to where he could pick it up. “Fucking redneck hicks,” he said, like it was the most hilarious thing in the world. “Y’all are stupid, you know that? Although I suppose I should thank you.” He studied the gun. “This is gonna make things even easier for me.”
Colton spat out sour saliva, trying to breathe through the pain radiating from his groin and his nose. Goddamn cokeheads. They always surprise you. “Fuck you.”
“Nope. I’m gonna fuck Ria instead. She’s gonna have a whole new life on her back, and if she doesn’t suck my cock like it’s the tastiest thing in creation I’ll make sure she gets the needle for colluding with you to kill my dearly departed partner.” Davis giggled, pointing the gun at Colton. “Seriously, this couldn’t be better. You kill Freddy Ray and bring her here, I show up to rescue her and I shoot the man who murdered my partner in cold blood. I even get my fifteen grand back. This couldn’t have worked out better if I’d planned it.”
His finger danced on the trigger guard. “Hey, one last thing. You fuck her in the ass? I was kinda hoping to break her in there, and I do mean break her in. I love it when they bleed—”
He grunted, stiffening, and Colton waited for the shot. It never came. Instead, the lawyer dropped to his knees, a puzzled look on his face, then fell forward. A knife handle stuck out from his back, twitching in time with his heartbeat. After a moment, the twitching stopped.
Ria, dressed now and grimly composed, stared down at the man she’d just killed. “The only asshole who’s going to bleed is you, chingado,” she growled.
Even with his balls aching like rotten teeth and his broken nose dripping blood, all Colton wanted to do was kiss her. I do believe I’m in love.
****
Ria decided that being on the run with a hitman wasn’t nearly as scary as she’d thought it would be. Or as exciting. As a matter of fact, it was kind of boring.
After taking four Advil for the nut shot, Colton had crammed Davis’s garbage bag-wrapped body into her biggest suitcase (which required the judicious breaking of a bone or two. Her only regret was that the pendejo was already dead and couldn’t feel the pain) while she threw the few things she didn’t want to leave behind into another bag. After Colton washed his face, she gave him a bag of frozen peas to hold on it while she used bleach wipes to clean up the blood spatters from the kitchen floor. The Dallas CSU would find trace evidence, but as long as there wasn’t any of his DNA left behind that was fine. The important thing was, both Royce Davis and Ria Guzman were about to disappear for good.
Once the body was packed and ready, she made a grumbling Colton rest on her couch while she went to find Davis’s silver Lexus in the guest parking lot. Driving it into the parking garage and parking it next to Colton’s rental, she jogged to the elevators.
Because God needed a laugh as much as anyone else, Katie was in the elevator when the doors opened. “Hey, girl! Where’s that hunky work husband of yours?” she sang.
Ria fought down an urge to punch her neighbor. “In my apartment. I had to get something from the car.”
Katie leaned closer, bathing her in a mist of J’adore perfume. “Hold on to that one, sugar. He looks like he’s packing a Magnum in his 501s.” She winked. “And if you do cut him loose, point him in my direction, will you? I’d love to take him out for a ride.”
Ria bared her teeth in a smile. “Pinche puta.”
Fake eyelashes fluttered. “What?”
“It means ‘yeah, sure.’”
“Oh. I have to remember that!” The elevators doors opened and the blonde waved as she got off. Ria only wished she could be there when Katie babbled the insult to some annoyed Latina.
Back at the apartment she grabbed her bag and purse while Colton rolled her big wheelie suitcase and its contents to Davis’s car. He heaved the case into the trunk with a muttered curse.
She eyed him. “Are you sure you’re okay to drive?”
“I’ll be fine, cher. I’ve gotten hit in the nuts before.” He plucked the keys from her hand, handing her the ones to his rental. “If a cop stops me, you keep driving, y’hear? Don’t worry about me.”
She didn’t like it, but she took the keys. “Nice southern boy like you in a Lexus? Keep it low and slow, and they won’t look at you twice.”
He winked. “Let’s hope you’re right.”
She was. They drove out to DFW Airport to return the rental and get Colton’s black Charger out of short-term parking, then took Highway 161 down to I-20 and headed east, Ria driving the Charger and following Colton in Davis’s Lexus. Three hours later they crossed the state line into Louisiana. The landscape was noticeably different from the concrete prairie around Dallas, lushly green with stands of hickory and loblolly pine stretching out to the horizon.
Ria followed the Lexus as it exited the interstate and turned north, pulling into a heavily wooded area after forty minutes. Through the trees she could see the glitter of the setting sun on water. She rolled down the window and sniffed at the humid air, heavy with the smell of green growing things.
The Lexus picked its way down a bumpy dirt road between the trees, stopping at the edge of a small, marshy lake surrounded by pines. Colton got out and stretched as Ria parked behind him. His nose still looked like hell, but apart from that he seemed good.
“Some friends of mine own this property,” he explained, popping the trunk of the Lexus. “It’s a good place to get rid of things you don’t want the police finding.”
From the Charger’s trunk he took out tools and pulled off the Lexus’s plates and VIN strips, tossing them in the Charger’s back seat. Waving her back, he put the Lexus into neutral and pushed it down the sloped path into the lake. It sank slowly, bubbles of air popping up and making the water dance until it was completely out of sight.
She walked to his side. “You sure that’s deep enough?”
He put his arm around her shoulders, squeezing them gently. “I’ll come back in a few weeks and drag the car into a deeper part of the lake. Right now, I want the gators to be able to get into the trunk. Mr. Davis’s about to become part of the Shreveport ecosystem.”
It seemed appropriate that someone like Royce was about to feed his fellow reptiles. She rested her head on Colton’s shoulder. “So what now?”
“We go home, I take a shower and some more Advil, you call your brother and let him know where you are, and I’ll heat up something for dinner.” He kissed her temple. “And then we go to bed.”
Her first night as a Louisianan. It sounded good to her.
****
Colton’s place turned out to be a gorgeous three-bedroom loft in a converted factory building. He pulled a burner phone from a drawer and handed it to her, then headed off to the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, she tapped a memorized number into the phone.
Two rings, then a familiar voice said, “¿Si?”
“Carlos, it’s Ria,” she said in Spanish.
A pause. “This isn’t your number.”
“No, it’s a burner phone.” Quickly, she explained the day’s events in family code, glossing over names or identifying information that could be used by law enforcement agencies listening in. Carlos knew enough to fill in the details. “So I’m out of Texas,” she finished, pacing along the length of the granite kitchen counter. “I’m going to stay with my friend for a while.”
He chuckled softly. “Good. You were bored stupid in Dallas, hermana. This man you’re with, he’s a gentleman?”
Caballero. A memory of riding Colton flashed through her mind. She was grateful Carlos couldn’t see her blush. “He’s a gentleman, hermano. He’ll take care of me.”
Another pause, a longer one. “If he doesn’t, tell him there’s no hole deep enough to hide him from me, you understand?”
“Si. I’ll send my details later.”
“Good. Te amo, hermana.”
“Te amo también.”
The call cut off. Only then did she notice the sound of the shower. Putting the phone on the counter, she headed in search of Colton.
The bathroom was just as luxe as the rest of the apartment, with mocha wall tiles and coordinating floor tiles, a twin sink countertop over espresso cabinets, and a huge square tub in one corner. In the other corner was a large, glassed-in shower area. Steam rose from it and she could just see Colton’s body through the foggy glass.
Stripping out of her clothes, she stepped into the enclosure. The hot water felt amazingly good on her aching muscles. “How’s the nose?”
He turned, rinsing shampoo out of his hair and blinking at her through the cascading water. “I’ll live.” His voice sounded nasal and stuffy. “How are you?”
“Tired. Hungry.” She stroked her fingertips across his chest, laying her palms flat over his pecs. His nipples felt like little rivets against her skin. “Glad to be here.”
“Well, good, because I’m glad to have you here.” He finished rinsing and kissed her delicately, tilting his head to keep his injured nose out of the way. “You call your brother?”
“Yeah. He’s glad I’m safe, threatened to kill you if you hurt me, the usual macho bullshit.”
Firm lips curved into a smirk. “Yeah, I don’t think that was macho bullshit. I’m pretty sure he meant every word.” His arms came down around her, hands slicking down her back and curving over her ass. He tugged her flush against his groin, holding her there. “Luckily for me, I intend to treat you like the lady you are.”
“God, I hope not.” She kissed his chin, careful not to touch his nose. “I mean, would a lady do this?”
She dropped carefully to one knee, resting her hands on his thighs for balance as she laid a kiss on his still-soft cock. Silently she prompted him to lean back against the shower wall. He did, playing with her wet hair as she started licking the silk-soft skin before taking his shaft in her mouth, enjoying the feel of it swelling on her tongue.
She finally had to let it slip out before it choked her, using her hand to pump the hardening thickness while she crouched lower and laved his balls with long, gentle licks. They didn’t look bruised, but she was acutely aware of the injury they’d taken earlier in the day. “If this hurts, tell me and I’ll stop.”
He let out a long, rumbling groan. “It feels great. Just be careful—they’re still a little sore.”
“Got it.”
She kept her licks gentle and loving, stroking the furry skin of his sac with her tongue while she caressed his cock with equally slow, gentle touches. Keeping one hand on his thigh, it wasn’t long before she felt the thick muscles there start to tense, then tremble.
“Ria.” He groaned her name again as white ropes of cum spurted out over her shoulder, landing on her back and ass. Her pussy tightened in sympathetic flutters as she milked him through the orgasm, lightening her touch gradually and stopping before he became too sensitive. Using the shower water to rinse both of them off, she got to her feet and kissed him. “Better?”
He brushed wet strands of her hair back. The tender expression on his face made her stomach flutter. “I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to do that today. You’re a miracle worker, ma’am.”
She gave a little curtsey. “You think that’s good, wait until you see what I do with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.”
He laughed, then winced. “I’m afraid that’s not going to happen tonight, cher. I’m tapped out. But I’ll hold you to that in a couple of days, oui?”
“Si.” She pretended to pout. “Goddamn Davis. Getting eaten by alligators is too good for that asshole.”
“You got that right.” Colton slid a finger under her chin and tipped it up, kissing her sweetly. “But that doesn’t mean you have to go without. Not while I still have two good hands.”
He gently pushed her back against the shower wall, kissing her while those good hands wandered over her slick skin, playing with her nipples and leaving pure desire in their wake. When his fingers settled between her legs and began to stroke, she closed her eyes and gave in to the touch of her man.
Carlos was right. Her life in Dallas might’ve been safe, but she had been bored stupid with it. Life with Colton Jackson, however, would be anything but boring.
The End