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Chapter 1
The office just outside of C&C appeared on the screen accompanied by the common chatter he'd realized he missed since arriving in Juarez, Mexico. There'd been a few new faces added to the team, too, and two, in particular, appeared a little wet behind the ears for a mission like this. Murray grinned as Asher took his seat and folded his hands on the table. The idle chitchat came to a close and it was all business.
After the initial shock of Jaqueline’s words, he’d worked day and night to figure out a way for them, his R.O.O.T brothers, and Jaqueline to infiltrate the fetish club. He also woke several times a night due to night terrors, something he’d thought he’d gotten under control the minute he kept his mind occupied. It’d been a forced trick that took several years to perfect, and more so after his parents died. Murray ran sequences and numbers in the moments before he’d fall asleep. Most of the time, it’d been how to break code. He’d gotten good at it, too.
However, this time, when he fell asleep, his subconscious turned all those violent, vicious dreams back on, he didn’t have his numbers or codes to occupy his mind. The terrors gripped him by the throat and squeezed for all it was worth until he thought he’d succumb to them. Several times, he woke to Jaqueline shaking his lumbering frame, trying to get him to open his eyes and speak to her. Shit... It still embarrassed the fuck out of him.
“Long time no see, asshole,” Noah grumbled.
Murray laughed. “You missing me already, precious?”
“Blow me,” Noah scowled. “Murray, these are the three new members of R.O.O.T Asher and I were telling you about.” He pointed to each of them before naming them. “This is AJ, Scotty, and FBI Agent Thomas.”
Murray nodded at them in greeting. The young girl appeared uncomfortable being there while the men across from her appeared bored. "This is Jaqueline. She is the one who found Hannah and her brother Christian for us. It's also why I took off as quickly as I did."
The woman beside Murray smiled. “It’s good to meet you. Thank you for agreeing to take on this mission. Murray and I understand it’s daunting, but if we can pull this off, we’ll be returning family members back to their families after who knows how many years.”
“Can you tell us what you’ve found and why we need this kind of dynamic between the three of us?” Thomas asked while also signing to the man beside him.
Jaqueline gasped. “I had no idea.” She held her hand up. “What I meant to say, without being so rude, is, I didn’t know your team has a deaf member.”
Noah smirked. “When you called in, they were already here.” He gave AJ a curious look. “Although, she’s usually the one interpreting for Scotty.”
AJ frowned. “Yeah, about that...”
“I’ve taken over,” Thomas said. “I think from here on out while we’re on this mission, I should be doing the interpreting.”
Jaqueline nodded. “It’s for the best. The club deals with men more than women and if they believe they have two deaf subs, they’ll be more apt to let you in or allow you to bid on another person or sell both of them.”
AJ jerked. “I’m sorry what?”
“Which brings us to the mission itself,” Murray said. “Jaqueline, can you please tell everyone where you found Hannah and how you did so?”
The woman nodded and the surveillance photo filled the screen. "The building you are looking at is called the Emporio de Monstruo—Emporium of Monsters. It is bankrolled by the Nieto Cartel along with several others. It's a specialty sex club, dealing in freaks."
The word freaks, still made his stomach twist in disgust, even though they’d been working on the case for two weeks. Murray snorted to himself. He’d probably never get over the connotation of the word.
“Freaks as in?” AJ swallowed hard and cut her gaze to the red-headed guy, Scotty.
“Exactly what you think,” Murray said. “This club’s clientele list is filled with scum that get off on exploiting people who are disabled.”
“What the fuck? No.” Scotty pushed away from the table while Thomas relayed everything he said. “Fuck you all for thinking this is okay to do.”
“Scotty,” Thomas said. “Sit down. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“What’s going on?” Murray asked.
“Scotty doesn’t like the idea of being bait,” Thomas said.
“Scotty doesn’t like the whole fucking idea. Level the fucking building. No way in fuck I am going in there to watch people be debased because someone gets off on raping disabled people,” Thomas interpreted for Scotty.
“Well, at least he had the same reaction I did,” Murray murmured.
“Did he puke?” Jaqueline added.
“Not yet, looks like he might,” Thomas replied with a shrug.
"Look, kid, I get it. I had a violent reaction to it, too. My sister is in there. Jaqueline's brother as well. We can't not do this. If you can't perform for this mission, we can get Thomas and AJ in there," Murray said. "It's okay. It was a crapshoot asking to begin with."
Scotty sat down beside AJ. His eyes were wild with rage. His hands clenched and unclenched on the table as he fought to sit still. Everyone, Murray knew from experience, dealt with situations differently. To be the type of person who could be taken from everything they knew and turned into a fetish, couldn’t be easy.
“I’m fine. I’ll do it.” Scotty wouldn’t meet any of their gazes as Thomas spoke for him.
“You’re not acting fine,” Thomas pointed out while signing.
“Continue,” Asher said, staring at AJ and Scotty.
"From the outside, it appears to be abandoned. The club members use none of the original entrances and exits, instead opting for a building down the block. The Hispanic Heritage Museum has several below-ground entrances to a system of tunnels leading through Juarez. One of them also happens to end at the basement entrance of the club. Events at Emporio de Monstruo coincide with the museum exhibitions and on the days when club members want to sample the merchandise, they can use the tunnel connecting the buildings—accessed through the parking structure located behind the museum."
“How does no one see into the building? Can’t the... I don’t know, music or screams or whatever, be heard from outside?” AJ asked.
"The windows are blacked out on the bottom floors. Most of the activity is done there. However, higher up windows are clear. Those floors house the victims. It's where they are kept during the day unless they're being put through their paces. It's how I saw Hannah and my brother Christian."
Another series of photos filled the screen. "As you can see, the space is immaculate. They can't have their merchandise getting sick or getting hurt. They'd lose money and clients."
“Well, at least there’s that,” AJ muttered.
"I have been to the government, the Federales, everyone I can think of to have someone acknowledge this wretched business," Jaqueline said. "However, money talks in Mexico. The cartels have a stranglehold on everything here. If you utter their name without it being in kind, you're hanged. Steal from them? Dead. The police are so afraid of their own shadow, most places can’t keep a police force and if they do, you can bet some part of the cartel has put their men into positions of power.”
“How have you not been killed?” AJ hedged.
Murray asked himself the same question while sitting in her security office. Jaqueline pushed the line of sane and stupid. She’d jumped headlong into trying to get her brother back, she’d forgotten about her safety first. Thinking about it, pissed him off. “I’ve asked the same question.” He shook his head. “I don’t think she has a lick of self-preservation.”
Jaqueline rolled her eyes at Murray. “I live in the middle of nowhere with a topnotch security system, plus I am ex-Cuerpo de Fuerzas Especiales—Mexican Special Forces.”
"Kind of a badass name," AJ said.
"Thank you," Jaqueline replied. "I can protect myself, despite what Murray believes, but at some point, someone will come at me for trying to get my brother back. I have to take down the Nieto Cartel and Raul Iniguez before that happens. And, this is the first step."
"Raul Iniguez, you said?" Thomas sat forward. "As in the drug runner and money launderer Raul Iniguez?”
“Yes,” Jaqueline answered. “But, he’s also the Jefe for the Nieto Cartel, a fact he’s tried to keep hidden for years. It keeps the target off of his back from other cartels who want his territory. Let me guess, he’s on your radar, too?”
Thomas chuckled, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “I’ve been working the Nieto case with my regular partner for the last five years, and we never put two and two together. We thought he was low-level.”
“Well, now I know why Tex brought us all together,” Jaqueline murmured. “Slick bastard—Raul. He prides himself on keeping his title hidden. Heard a rumor he had a child.”
"I'll tell you like my husband told Thomas and Duncan," Noah said. "Bex is off-limits for now. She is an abused kid who is struggling to just make it, let alone having some FBI or ex- Cuerpo de Fuerzas Especiales whatever-the-fuck, creeping around her, causing her problems. You want her, we do it Mateo’s way.”
"Understood," Jaqueline said. "The girl is off-limits."
“So, what are the mission parameters?” Thomas asked.
“The mission is this,” Murray stated. “There is an auction coming up soon. When you arrive here, we’ll work in conjunction with the Federales. We have two men on the inside for us. One is Miguel Ángel, he has infiltrated the club as their bartender for events and on nights when members want to partake. Then there is Santiago Vasquez. He’s one of Tex’s guys—”
“We know of him,” AJ said. “Never ran an op with him, though, or met him.”
"Good reason you haven't," Murray stated. "He's been embedded with the Nieto Cartel for about a year or so now, according to Tex. He'll be the one supplying us with passes."
“Once we’re in the auction, the mission gets easier.”
AJ laughed and shook her head. “I’m not sure your definition of easy and mine are the same.”
Jaqueline snickered. It was warm, inviting and full of life. “All we have to do is pretend we’re enjoying the scene. Fulfill our obligation of being couples and bid on my brother and Murray’s sister.”
“See, so simple.” AJ’s words dripped with sarcasm. Thomas narrowed his eyes and shook his head. AJ shrugged. She wasn’t lying. It wouldn’t be easy.
Murray and Jaqueline had already talked about all the intricacies of the club, the three new additions were only now understanding the vile den of debauchery they would be entering. What made it harder for them was Scotty. Putting him into a position of vulnerability couldn’t be easy for any of them. Hell, exposing himself to a dynamic he never thought he could get into, threw him for a loop, but he’d do anything for his sister, including call Jaqueline Mistress, even if it went against his proclivities. “When the auction is over, we’ll collect Christian and Hannah and be on our way. The minute all of us are free from the building, the raid will begin.”
“I’ll be running the mission from C&C,” Noah said. “Then two days before the takedown, I will meet up with all of you in Mexico.”
"Now that you are all properly aware of the mission," Asher said. "I want you to take some time—a day or two at most—and figure out if this is the op for you. I won't lie and say we don't need you because we do. Scotty, I understand the idea of being seen as a pleasure object because of your deafness repulses you, but I'd be remiss if I didn't say you have the ability to save those who are locked up in that building suffering. And, as selfish as it sounds, I need you to look at the bigger picture."
The guy sighed then signed as he said, “I understand and appreciate your care. I need to sleep on it and get it right in my head before I can place myself or AJ in this situation.”
Thomas smirked.
"Fair enough," Asher replied. "You're all dismissed. Murray, I'll be in contact with you soon.”
“Copy that,” Murray answered. “See you all soon.”
Not two seconds after Murray disconnected the call, Jaqueline turned to him. “We need to talk.”
“That sounds ominous.” Murray turned in his chair, giving the woman he’d been living with the last two weeks his full attention.
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
He chuckled. “No good ever came to a man who heard a woman utter those four words.”
She shrugged. “We need a shtick. AJ, Scotty, and Thomas have a couple of things that will draw attention to them, giving them an edge with the bidding.”
Murray nodded, having half an idea of where she was going with this. Mostly because he’d already come up with something earlier that he wanted to run past her. She just jumped the gun on him. Truth be told, he could’ve spoken up, made it less uncomfortable, but deep down, he was an asshole and he wanted to see if Jaqueline had the balls to voice what he knew would give them the edge when they went with it.
She was a badass bitch for sure, but Murray knew sex had a way of embarrassing or making people feel uncomfortable. It was obvious, she might be one of those people. He’d already figured out in the last weeks, she had no people skills and like him, she preferred to hide and work behind the scenes, bringing justice to those who deserved it. However, she also had a backbone of steel and had a sharp tongue to boot. She could bring a lesser man to his knees without even trying.
“What are you thinking?” he prodded when she went silent, her dark eyes focused on an object over his right shoulder.
Her tits moved up and down on her chest when she took a deep breath in, then released it. Murray was a breast man. He loved them in all shapes and sizes. Big or small, Murray could spend hours touching and tasting them. A favorite activity of his was to push the soft mounds together and fuck them. Jaqueline's were round, and firm—a bit larger for her thin frame. He struggled to keep his focus on her face, and not the flesh he desired to taste and tease until she begged him to fuck her.
He scrubbed the lurid thoughts from his brain and brought his attention back to rescuing their siblings—and any others who needed it—not what he planned on doing once they were all safe and he could explore whatever was building between him and Jaqueline.
She crossed her arms—a defensive pose—and frowned, as though whatever she’d been thinking might do more harm than good. “I need to be a Domme and you…you need to be my submissive.”
Murray didn't miss the quiver of her voice or the thickening of her accent when she spoke. He noticed a day or two ago whenever she felt passionate about something, even the smallest thing, voice dropped an octave and her Spanish accent grew thicker. He expected some embarrassment from her, instead she straightened her shoulders and nodded. "Yes, I think I need to be the dominant in this relationship for this mission to work."
Submitting, for Murray went against everything he believed in. He was all alpha-asshole when it came to the women he dated when he dated. He also liked to be in charge as well. There was nothing like a woman who gave over to him in supplication. Seeing her on her knees, hearing her call him Master. Fuck yes, boner for days. None of it mattered though.
Murray leaned forward, resting his elbows on his massive thighs and asked the question burning in his gut while simultaneously trying to control his hard, unruly dick. “From our little impromptu session the other night, you were out of your element, you sure you got the cajones for this?
Jaq shook her head.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“I’ve done research, though.” She shrugged. “After. My gut is telling me this will work. If you give me a chance.”
Murray snorted. “That’s all fine and dandy, Jaq until you’re in a situation and need to be the Domme.”
"By the way, you asserted yourself the other night, I suspect this isn't the first time."
Murray tried hard to always be trustworthy. It came with the territory of being an Eagle Scout and if they were going to make any of this work, he had to lay it all out there. “Yeah. I have. I play when I can. Missions always come first, though.” He scratched at his beard as he watched her shift in her chair.
Jaqueline broke eye contact first. She squirmed in her chair. He couldn’t get a bead on her. Either she was excited about the prospect or not. If she wasn’t, what happened the other night indicated she had no desire to submit or dominate. Going through the motions with something like this, at this type of auction, could get both of them killed. She jolted out of her chair, surprising him. “Never mind, it’s a stupid idea.”
Murray snagged her wrist, keeping her close. "Stop. It's not. I've been bouncing the same idea around in my head for the last couple of days. The kicker is, you have to be the one to figure this out. I'm all in."
Her brown eyes widened. “You have?”
Murray stood, not willing to let her go yet. “Yeah. I’d suck your toes or hell, lick your ass, Jaq, if it’ll help get my sister, and your brother out of that hellhole, I’d let you peg me.”
Jaq gave a nervous laugh and her cheeks turned pink. “What is pegging?”
He leaned in and whispered in her ear exactly what pegging entailed. "It's when the woman fucks the man with a big 'ole strap on dildo."
Her eyes went wide as she placed her hand to her chest and a gasp escaped her. “Aye dios mio.”
“Does it excite you?” He gazed down at her, watching as curiosity and bashfulness swirled in her eyes. “Knowing you can bend me to your will and make me cum with your big metaphorical and silicon dick?”
“A-are you serious? You’d let me do... That?”
Truth be told, he’d be willing to do just about anything to get Hannah back and to secure Christian too. He didn’t have any inhibitions and being in the lifestyle, it was all about breaking barriers and finding out new things about one’s self. “Yes. If it meant the difference between walking out with all of you or dying because our cover was blown, I’d do whatever it took to ensure our safety.”
What Murray he didn't tell her was, after he became a Dom, he'd also wanted to see the other side of it. Because in order to become the best dominant he could be, he had to understand the dynamic from a submissives perspective. There were only a few female Dommes he trusted. One of them had a membership at a club not more than twenty minutes from the base.
Mistress Mellie, after a few conversations over drinks, agreed to help him. He didn’t allow her to hold back on him either, not as though he had a choice in the matter anyway. Unfortunately, by the third session with her, Murray pushed Mellie to her breaking point. Afterward, they both agreed he’d make a horrid sub, and he should keep to what he knew best. Sometimes, the road hell is paved with good intentions.
Murray also didn't have a permanent sub by his side. His job took him all over the world. Add in ten years of searching for his sister, and he'd been more inclined to find a way to relieve stress than keeping someone at his beck and call. Not to toot his own horn but his aloof attitude at the club, kept him in high demand. And, due to the work he did with R.O.O.T, he could read submissives better than the other Doms.
“I’m serious.” Deadly serious. This mission was his life. Nothing had been more important to him than saving his sister.
“As you said, research isn’t the same as experience.” She grimaced, lowering her gaze.
"Unless we play on you being a new Domme and I'm your first sub." A plan started to come together in his head. "We can start right now, doing it here out of the public eye while we're waiting for the rest of the team. By the time we're ready to make our appearance, I'll make sure you're good enough to pass as a Domme, so no one second-guesses us."
Murray didn’t miss the sheer panic playing across her features, before she smothered it, straightening her shoulders. “I can do this.”
He squeezed her hand. “It’ll work, Jaq. I’d never risk our siblings if I thought both of us weren’t capable of making this work.”
She shook her head before eyeing him up and down. “You don’t look like the type of man who would kneel to a woman.”
Murray snorted. No, he wasn’t. For the last week and a half, he’d been imagining her on her knees sucking his dick until he came down her throat. Though, while in the shower, he jerked off visualizing himself on his knees, eating what he knew would be the sweetest, tightest pussy he’d ever encountered. The force of his climaxes stole his ability to breath and reinforced, for him anyway, they were doing the right thing.
“I’m not, but I know how to play a part, and so can you, check that, we can do this. I’ll teach you the basics and we’ll be fine.” He had to be careful with his words. Because being a Dom, or in this case, a Domme, was more than knowing a couple of tricks. It was a way of life and how a person carried themselves and how in tune with their partner they were. The hardest part for them would be finding that footing. At the moment, they were strangers trying to save their siblings. He let go of her wrist and held out his hand to her. "Trust me?"
A frown formed between her brows. She wasn't the only one overwhelmed at the moment, so was he. He did a better job of covering it. She lifted her gaze to his. Worry swirled in those beautiful eyes of hers. He wanted to reassure her. Lie and tell her everything would work out as it should. The words sat on the tip of his tongue too. When it came to voicing them, he couldn't get them to form. Building trust between them meant telling her the truth. Shit would inevitably go sideways.
It also meant getting past her inhibitions.
They didn’t talk about their sexual histories but at some point, they’d have to, especially if they planned on playing up their roles. No way in fuck she could blush when she spoke to him in explicit terms. Although, when he said he’d lick her ass, and her pretty blush covered her cheeks, his dick went rigid behind the fly of his jeans. Murray clenched his jaw and pushed the wayward thought from his mind. He had to focus.
Jaqueline placed her hand in his and he squeezed it. "For Christian and Hannah."
He nodded. “For Hannah and Christian.” Murray ran his thumb across the back of her hand. The silky smooth skin was the complete opposite of her calloused palms. In a lot of ways, she reminded him of, well, him. They were military, born and bred to be natural leaders and to take lives without compunction. “We’re going to have to have some tough conversations in the coming days.”
She licked her bottom lip. “About what?”
“Likes. Dislikes.” He shrugged. “What our hard limits are and our expectations of how far each of us is willing to sell this.”
Jaqueline’s features twisted in confusion. “How far we’re willing to go?”
“Subs have hard and soft limits. Hard limits are a firm no. It’s the things a submissive will never do. A Dom or Domme will respect a sub’s hard limit and if they don’t, they’re not a Dom of any respect or standing. Soft limits are something they’re not sure about, whether they have a fear of it or are trepidatious about trying it. A Dom, male or female, will always work with a sub to expand their horizons, so to speak.”
Jaqueline nodded. “What are…” She cleared her throat and straightened her shoulder, as though she were giving herself a mental pep talk. “your hard limits?”
Murray smiled and answered honestly, well aware he was about to shock her again with his words. “I don’t have many. No blood play. No water sports or scat play.”
She gasped. “They do that?” Her cheeks turned an even brighter shade of pink than before.
His dick jerked against the zipper of his pants and his balls throbbed as arousal coursed through his veins. Whoa…down boy. His gaze followed the pink hue as it colored her tan flesh, down her throat and across her collar bones. He wondered if it went lower and what her pretty nipples looked like when they were hard. Fuck. Get your head out of the damn gutter. What is your malfunction? "Other than that, everything else is pretty much fair game, as long as your hands are on me, we should be good. I'm also willing to have sex with you if you want to. My soft limit is ass play."
“Ass play?” She shook her head and held up her hand. “Sorry, this is all so much to take in.”
"We'll go slow," he said. "Ass play for me makes me uncomfortable. It's the idea of taking something up my ass."
“Okay.” She blew out a shaky breath. “So, as your Domme, I would ask why this makes you feel awkward or nervous. Even though you talked about pegging earlier?”
“Now you’re getting it.” He grinned. “It’s the idea of someone playing with my butt. However, I am always willing to try. As long as it is you.”
“Okay.” She glanced up at him. “What else?”
"Sex is on the table for us." She'd glossed over it, but he wouldn't allow her not to confront the issue. He hoped to fuck they'd never be put into a situation where they had to perform, but if they were, he wanted her in the zone. "While we're together, you are the only one I will be having sex with and vice versa. In long-term arrangements or relationships, Doms and subs don't fuck around on each other. They're exclusive with each other." Murray snared her gaze "I'm also not into sharing what's mine. I'll expect you to be the same where I am concerned."
A possessiveness and something else flared to life in her eyes. “You talk like it’s a given we’ll have sex.”
“I think both of us want it. When it happens is up to you, but know, Jaqueline, you’ve already got me by the balls. I’m yours.”
She took a step back, giving them space. “We both know research and real-life applications are two different things. What you’re saying and what will happen are two different things.”
“That they are,” he stated. “Are you on birth control?”
“Excuse me?”
“Birth control. Are you on it? Do you take a pill, get a shot, or have an implant to prevent pregnancy?” They didn’t have time to beat around the bush and birth control wasn’t some naughty word.
“That’s none of your fucking business.” Her accent thickened and her arousal swirled with anger, transforming her features into a beautiful, yet deadly, enchantress.
He snagged her arm when she turned away from him. The Dom in him, wouldn't allow her to storm away. Be damned the consequences or her modesty. They were in this together. They couldn't clam up every time the questions became more invasive. It was part of their dynamic now. She stumbled into him, her lithe form pressed to him, and Murray groaned. Having her so close, tested his control. Her full, round breasts rubbed across his chest. His head went light. His heart thundered.
He needed to rein in his control.
“It is my business because when we fuck, I won’t be wearing a condom. I need to make sure I don’t mistakenly knock you up.” The thrill of being inside of her, bare, leaving his mark on her—fuck, he needed to calm down. Murray always wore a condom, but with Jaqueline—he tossed aside his rules for her. Christ, he felt like a caveman with her, and if he was honest with himself, he was fucking proud of it.
“You—”
“Asshole? Dickhead? Jerkoff? Or wait… How about douchebag cocksucker? Which one works best for you?” The corner of his mouth lifted. “I’ve been called all those a time or two.”
“All of them.” She twisted in his grip, trying to break free.
“Answer my question, mi cielito,” he cooed.
“Nicknames don’t mean shit right now,” she snarled.
He shrugged. “Helps me. Please answer my question.”
She huffed at him. “I take pills.”
He nodded. “I’m clean. My last sexual encounter was six months ago.” No wonder why you’re being an asshole. Due to all of their recent missions, he hadn’t taken the time to let off a little steam. Now, he’d been glad he waited. “I don’t fuck bareback though. I always wrap my dick. With you though, I don’t want anything between us.”
“Murray I—”
“R.O.O.T requires us to get yearly physicals, I had mine six months ago,” he pressed on, ignoring the desperate edge of his name on her lips. “We’re also required to give quarterly blood and urine samples. My last one was three months ago. I’m clean. I’ll request Rae, who is our resident doctor on base to forward my records to you.”
"Okay..." Confusion tinged the word. When he expected her to reciprocate, she didn't, instead, she stood there, staring at the ground.
“When was your last test and the last time you had sex?” he hedged.
“Must you be so blunt?”
“Yes. Where we’re going, Doms speak in explicit terms. We use words like pussy or cunt and dick or cock. It’s so there’s no confusion with what they want. You’re going to need to learn to do so rather quickly.”
She nodded.
"Well?" As much as he shouldn't be impatient with her, he found his patience was running low. Yes, his questions were invasive. If they couldn't be honest with each other from the get-go, how could they ever form a trusting foundation to build off of?
Jaq muttered something in Spanish under her breath. “My last sexual experience was three years ago.” Murray had to school his features to not show his shock at what she revealed. “Like you, I get yearly physicals, which include blood work. I’m clean.”
“Good. Anything else, I should know?”
She narrowed her eyes. Jaqueline jerked her arm, and he let her go. There was no point in pissing her off more than she already was at him. She took a step back, and Murray missed the warmth of her body pressed against him. If the conversation wasn’t so serious, he’d have smiled at the cute stubborn expression on her face.
“I’ve never had sex without a condom,” she admitted.
Murray wanted to roar his pleasure of being the first male to cum inside of her, marking her as his and only his. “Well then, we’re both on common ground.” If he hadn’t been watching her so intently, he’d have missed the flash of pleasure ghosting across her face.
“When do we start?”
“Now,” he said. “The sooner we start to live it, experience it, the better we’ll be. From this moment until we find your brother and my sister, I answer to you.”
A smirk tugged at her lips. “Today it is then.”
The dominant beast within Murray stood then as he crowded her space once more. “Rest assured though, when this mission is complete, it will be me, dominating you.” He ran his thumb across her bottom lip. “And, I can’t wait to hear you scream my name.”
Santiago stood at the door of Hannah's room. It'd been a month since he'd taken over her training—a fluke for sure since Raul kept the girl under guard and key. However, she'd been a gift to him and damn if he didn't count himself lucky. She'd been his target after all. Hannah Jacob, despite being disabled, was immersed within the Nieto Cartel and had been privy to everything Raul did within the Emporio de Monstruo. If the FBI wanted to take down Raul, they’d need Hannah, especially if the rumor about Raul having a daughter didn’t pan out.
When he started doing undercover work, Santiago had been green, so fucking green. He knew the ins and outs of the gang world, of course, because he came from it. As a member of the La Rasa Gang, he rose through the ranks rather quickly, making a name for himself. He ran most of La Rasa’s negotiation for drugs and weapons, plus he had no compunction when it came to ordering hits or doing the job himself.
However, it came with a cost.
On the night he was arrested, he’d been sent to kill the leader of a rival gang. The bastard poached on La Rasa territory, and they—he—wouldn’t stand for it. Unfortunately, the whole thing was a ruse. He should’ve been spending the rest of his life in jail. Instead, an FBI agent saw some type of raw potential in Santiago and wanted to exploit it. Twist everything Santiago knew and destroy La Rasa from the inside out.
At the time, Santiago’s self-preservation kicked in and he took the agent up on his offer. But, taking it came with risks, and he realized, playing this dangerous game would put a target on his back. Because, when shit went down, La Rasa would know it was him, and he’d have the bullseye on his back.
The simple fact of the matter was, La Rasa had been his life since he'd turned fourteen. However, he hoped, the FBI was his future. His tasks started small. He trained certain agents to know what different tattoos meant within a gang. He also explained the hierarchy of the gangs. He went from field office to field office leading seminars, fuck, it seemed, for the first few years, he'd been more of a teacher than anything. Nevertheless, the more he proved to be an asset for them, the deeper entrenched he became in the agency. Then about three years ago, he started being included in fieldwork. This assignment had been his second real 'mission.' It came with inherent risks, of course, all of them did. If anything happened to him while he was in the field, i.e. death, the FBI would take the plausible deniability approach to the situation.
For all intents and purposes, he was and would always be a gangbanger to everyone who mattered. In the beginning, it pissed him off. Putting his life on the line to take out some of the worst criminals, without credit didn't sit right. Now, he understood it. He was doing the dirty work. The jobs none of them could do without getting some blood on their hands. He didn't have that switch in his brain. The one that told him killing was wrong. FBI agents or any kind of LEO for that matter did it to protect themselves or others.
Santiago knocked on Hannah’s door and waited. For this mission, he was Oscar Gonzales. Before he left the Los Angeles field office, they changed his name on all of his files including his record, because everyone knew Raul would dig deep when it came to Santiago’s work product. The only thing Santiago kept the same was his gang name, Snap, on account of his quick temper.
When she didn’t answer him, Santiago turned the knob on her door and entered the space. He’d steadily made his case for the FBI, learning the ins and outs of the Nieto Cartel, so they could dismantle Raul Iniguez’s businesses one at a time. Then, about three weeks ago, Tex made contact. That crazy fucker hacked Santiago’s laptop and posted the new mission parameters along with a “what’s up, homie,” message. He could laugh about it now, but at the time, the fucker almost got him caught. It appeared, unbeknownst to Santiago, Hannah was the sister of a black ops member and the crazy bastard was coming for her. Over my dead body. She’s mine. Santiago didn’t know when he fell for her. He knew he was no good for someone so innocent as her, but he had to have her. He wanted to sully her. Turn her into one of the baddest bitches around.
She sucked in a breath and Santiago’s gaze snapped to her. What the fuck? Hannah was standing at the window overlooking Juarez. In the year he’d been with Raul, he’d never seen her stand. From what all of Raul’s doctors said, she’d never stand let alone walk, yet there she was. “Oscar? What are you doing here?” Fear tinged her voice and he hated it.
He closed the door behind him and locked it, so no one would interrupt them. “You’re standing.” He tried to keep his voice low, so no one would hear them.
“I’ve been doing it off and on for about a month now.” She trembled as she sat back down in her chair. “Are you going to tell on me?”
Again, the fear in her voice ripped at him. “No, butterfly. I won’t tell anyone. You surprised me is all.”
She rolled toward him. “Surprised me, too. Woke up with a pins and needles sensation in my feet one morning and now...” She shrugged. “Been standing every day for at least five or ten minutes at a time.”
Santiago kneeled in front of her. “Can you walk?”
She shook her head. “I need help.”
He scrubbed his chin. “Well, I got a place.”
“I can’t leave here. Raul won’t allow it.” Her bottom lip trembled. “He only allows me time outside when he’s with me. He still thinks I’ll run away.”
Santiago knew she would. If any of the people held in Raul’s fucking house of horrors got outside, they’d all run, and he’d help them. “I know you would, too.”
She lifted her gaze to his. “Damn right, I would. My brother didn’t raise an invalid. I have skills.”
He bet she did. “You shouldn’t be saying any of this to me. You know who I am.”
Hannah frowned. “You’re not like the people here.”
Santiago snorted. “I am in my element here. I enjoyed putting Ignacio down after he beat the shit out of that kid.”
“You only liked it because he hurt Scotty, so you wanted to hurt him,” she said.
Damn her for reading him all too well. “Stop treating me like I’m some fucking hero. I’m not.”
She shrugged again. “Then start acting like an enforcer instead of one of the good guys.”
“Goddammit, butterfly. You have no idea what you’re saying or what could happen to both of us if the wrong person hears you spouting off stupid shit.” He ran his hand over his bald head.
“Sorry.”
“Fuck, don’t be sorry, either.” He expelled a breath. “Look, the reason I came here was to give you an update on Scotty. Saw you took a liking to him, so I thought I’d give you a little head’s up.”
“Oh?” She sat up a little straighter, perking up at his comment. “How is he? Is he being taken care of?”
"We both know this place ain't where he'll be taken care of unless it's through sex."
Her brows furrowed. “Yes, well. I meant his injuries.”
“Best as they can be. He calls his bruises sexy.” Santiago smirked. “Crazy bastard.”
Hannah laughed and the warm sound eased some of the guilt eating away at Santiago. “He’s strong. Defiant, too.”
“Tell me about it. I don’t know how much more of this he’ll be able to endure before he turns the tables on everyone.”
“They’ll kill him,” she said, a wave of fear filled her tone. “We have to convince Scotty to play along for now.”
“Yeah...” For the last few days, Santiago found it increasingly harder to not tell Hannah the truth about who he was or about the plan to take down the club. However, for as much as he trusted her, he didn’t. She could be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, and she might have some kind of twisted loyalty to Raul. It was better to keep her in the dark about it all and let it unfold in front of her when the time was right.
“You’re worried about him,” she said.
“I worry about all of you,” he replied. “Ignacio fucked him up.”
“I know. I saw it happen.”
“Enough of all this bullshit. How about we go for a little stroll?” Santiago said, changing the subject.
“I’d love to. Where this time?”
“I thought about the pool on Raul’s floor.” He pointed to the floor above them. “I have the keycard after all.”
“I’d like that,” she said. “Should I grab my suit?”
“Yeah. You should.” He rubbed his hands together. “Make sure it’s the pink two-piece.”
