"I'm assuming he's a dead amateur now."
"Yeah. We'll have info on him soon, but it won't help much. Except for Zivkovic, these have all been small timers with no way to track their movements."
"What will we do if Locke hires someone with any skill?" I mutter.
"It's common knowledge Vernon hired us. Who wants to take on a group of retired assassins for a small payout like a hundred grand?"
"He won't give up."
"No, but the guy from today isn't a factor any longer. Saskia's guy is trying to get a lead on Locke's location, but the fucker won't play. He just offers the money and gives Darla's details. We can't track him back that way."
"Locke is paying through the Cayman Islands, I'm assuming."
"Yeah."
"We might have a way to get the info on the account he's using there."
"Are you holding out on me, Frosty?" Minka asks, and I hear the humor in her voice.
"Always. When are you coming tonight?"
"I'm on my way. Stuck in traffic, so I figured I'd give you the update. How's Darla?"
"Remember Rio?"
Remembering how I swept a new girl off her feet every night during the assignment, Minka says nothing before finally sighing. "I should have glued your dick to your leg."
"Wouldn't have helped. It would have ripped itself free."
"No doubt. Is she okay?"
"Why wouldn't she be?" I growl into the phone.
Darla frowns at my tone, but Minka laughs. "She thinks you hang the moon, Troy. I figure you might not have lived up to her fantasies."
"One day, you'll find someone, and I'll get payback."
"Yes and no. Yes, I'll find someone. No, you won't get shit for payback. Your teasing is too lame."
"Well, I'll start practicing now and hone my skills."
"You do that," Minka says, laughing quietly at my anger. "I'll be there in a few minutes. Keep it in your pants until then."
"Until then? So I can let it loose when you arrive."
"Sure. Easier to glue it down that way."
I hang up on Minka. Darla is ignoring me now and working on her puzzle.
"The guy from today is dead."
"Okay."
"I think I'll be able to find out something about Locke."
"That's good."
"Do you want to talk?"
Darla stares up at me with her blue eyes. "About our feelings?"
"Whatever happened to the after sex glow women are supposed to get?"
"Maybe you did it wrong," she says, smiling behind her hair.
Taking the bait, I lower myself to the ground and crawl menacingly towards Darla. She squirms before I even reach her.
"What?" she asks nervously.
"Your pussy tasted better than chocolate, and I really love chocolate."
Darla shrugs. "Glad I could help a guy out."
My fingers wrap around her waist, pulling her back against me.
"No," she says without much effort.
"I want to see your clit. Will it swell up for me?"
"I don't want you looking at me. You can touch but don't look."
"For now," I whisper, cupping her heavy breasts in my hands. "You look like an angel when you come. Your eyes get so bright, and you smile like you're reaching for heaven."
Relaxing against me, Darla smiles wistfully. "I've never come like that before."
"Only for me."
"Only for you," she murmurs, her lips searching for mine.
I steal her fear with a long kiss. Sucking on her tongue, I want more and more until only her very soul will satisfy.
Minka ruins our fun by arriving with a loud bang on the door. My lips leave Darla's, but I still hold her against me. She stares lazily at my face.
Minka never acknowledges us on the floor. "I hate traffic," she grumbles, dropping her keys onto the kitchen counter.
"Shouldn't have had us set up shop in the fourth largest US city then," I say, smiling at her anger and Darla's heavenly expression.
"If I hadn't, you wouldn't be feeling up our client right now."
Lifting my gaze, I frown at a grinning Minka. Darla ignores us both and returns to her puzzle.
"Are you still working on the kittens puzzle?" Minka asks.
"Yes. I'd be finished if someone would stop distracting me."
Leaning forward, I nip Darla's earlobe before standing up. "I apologize for nothing."
Darla smiles slightly, but she's slowly retreating into the darkness where life feels safer. Even understanding the reason she hides, I want her present with me.
30
~~~
Troy
What I Need
I sit across from Minka, the light from the TV flickering across from her beautiful face. She's a great woman, but I never needed her. During our partnership, Minka disappeared for a week with only a vague explanation. My reaction to her absence was to take a mini-vacation. I never lost any sleep over where she might be or with whom.
For all my past independence, I can't relax tonight because Darla is asleep with the bedroom door shut. I feel rejected by not having easy access to her. What the fuck is wrong with me?
"Going to bed?" Minka teases.
"I'm checking on Darla."