Page 46 of Deception & Desire

I absently grab at the headphone dangling from my neck and tune in.

“...you could make it!” One of the men, presumably the one with his back to me, is saying.

“Let’s skip the preamble,” the one by the door with a neck tattoo says. Who is…for fuck’s sake, also staring at Mia’s ass.

“If you were in such a rush, why did you make us wait downstairs for half an hour?” Ivan replies.

“It’s such a gorgeous house,” Carmen speaks over him, cheerful and light. “Maybe we could come back sometime when we don’t need to talk business.”

Neck Tattoo softens a bit, tearing his eyes from Mia for a full ten seconds to appreciate the other woman. “You and your friend are welcome whenever you like.”

“Good! Everything has been so dreary since we lost the last shipment,” she continues in (what I’m suddenly realizing is) a veryfakeValley Girl voice. “This place seems so much more fun.”

“What shipment?”

“We’ll get another in a few days.” She rolls her eyes as if this is just a minor inconvenience, and they’re all being dramatic. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“You don’t have the merch?” the guy with his back to me says.

Ivan takes a step forward. Mia subtly moves closer to Carmen. “This time next week, you’ll all be out of freaking minds you’re so high. What’s the problem?”

“The problem is we already paid for it,” Billboard Guy says, pushing past him to stand with his friends.

“And you’ll get it,” Carmen insists. “Jesus, calm down a little. I thought you guys were cool.”

Her indignation, surprisingly, seems to placate them. If I’d known conflicts could be solved by a scolding from a pretty young woman, I would have hired Carmen years ago.

“When will it get here?” Billboard Guy asks.

“We’ll be in contact before Wednesday,” Ivan confirms.

“And until then?” Neck Tattoo says, leering at Carmen. “How am I supposed to entertain myself?”

His arm reaches out to touch the debutant, but Mia is on him like a flash.

“You want to try that again?” she says pleasantly as she twists his arm around in her hand.

He smirks back at her and pulls her in close. My skin is burning hot as my trigger finger itches and itches. “You jealous, sweetheart? Don’t worry, you can entertain me too.”

Slap.

Carmen Rubio shakes out her stinging hand—the imprint of which is now on Neck Tatoo’s face.

I’d be impressed, except…

“What the actual fuck? You crazy bitch!”

…she just entirely blew her Valley Girl act. Whatever little bubble of calm Carmen had managed to wrangle out of the situation bursts in an instant.

Billboard Guy’s hand disappears into his jacket. The quiet guy in the corner straightens up. The guy with his back to me reaches beneath the desk.

Ivan doesn’t give them a chance to do anything.

Bang, bang,smash.

Three bullets: one for the quiet guy in the corner, one for Billboard Guy. One that was intended for the guy at the desk, but instead smashes through the window behind him.

I don’t bother watching how that plays out.

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