Page 66 of A Life Imagined
This would not be like the dream.He would get to him on time.He had to.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Mathias sat in a wooden chair in the middle of the sitting room, his wrists zip-tied to the armrests.Once they’d picked themselves off the floor, the two Albanian half-wits had restrained him at Marsela’s instruction.They weren’t taking any more chances.Mathias tested the tautness of the restraints to find there was no give.
Marsela waited by the door to the room, his gun held loosely in her manicured hand.She’d kept it leveled at his head while her lackeys wrestled him into the chair, and it served as enough of an incentive for Mathias to play nice.With brute force off the table, he was going to have to get creative.
She said something in Albanian, and the two men slipped quietly into the entranceway, closing the door behind them.Marsela locked it with a flourish and walked over to place his gun down on the table by the wall.She stood before Mathias, studying him curiously.
“You must have really scared those boys.I gave them clear instructions to keep their hands to themselves.”She let out a laugh.“But then, here I was thinking you’d come easy.I guess it can’t be helped.”
Marsela reached into the purse looped over her shoulder and pulled out a pack of clove cigarettes and a silver lighter.
“Do you like it?”she asked, gesturing at the cavernous room.“There are so many beautiful summer homes in the area.Used for only a few months, and then the rest of the year, they sit empty.The owner of this one was overjoyed to find someone willing to rent it out of season.And so quiet.No one for miles.”She lit the cigarette and took a delicate draw through her pursed red lips.“As you’ve probably gathered, I have no interest in antiques.But I would very much like to know what you’ve done with our merchandise.”
“I thought we’d already established what I knew.”
“You’re lying.”She exhaled a thin stream of smoke.“The group I represent has a great deal of interest in where that product ends up.”
“And what group would that be?It’s hard to keep track of the Albanian mafia.”
Marsela’s expression flattened.“It would be unfortunate to involve an innocent man like yourself in something so unsavory.”
“You already involved me by attempting to smuggle your narcotics through my business.”
Marsela gave him a knowing look.“That’s not really why you’re here though, is it?”She moved toward him with an easy smile.“See, I know men like you, Mr.Beauvais.Men who go out looking for excitement.A beautiful woman takes an interest, and you think you can play on her level, dabble in things above your pay grade.”Marsela reached out to brush the tips of her fingers across his bruised cheek and made a low tutting sound.“What a shame to mess up such a handsome face.They’re a bunch of apes.There’s a far cleaner way to do this.”
She took one last drag before dropping the cigarette and crushing it with the toe of her boot.She withdrew a small syringe from her purse and uncapped the end.“I thought you’d like to sample the merchandise you’ve so brazenly stolen from us.It’s very popular on both sides of the channel.It has a way of making people more cooperative.That’s what I feel we’ve been missing from you, Mathias—a little cooperation.”
He felt a sharp sting as she plunged the needle into his neck and released the contents of the syringe into his veins.Mathias gave a grunt when she pulled out the needle and tossed it to the floor.Despite his proximity to the stuff, Mathias had never been tempted to dabble.He knew a thing or two about the various highs and lows the family peddled, but he despised the humiliation that accompanied the drugs—how they rendered users sloppy, caricature-like.The loss of control alone was enough to put him off.
There was a slight tingle in his fingers.He clenched one fist and then the other, yet his head remained clear.Either the shit she’d injected him with was slow release, or he had a greater tolerance than she realized.But the woman didn’t need to know that.Mathias relaxed his shoulders and sank lower into the chair.
Marsela’s face lit up with amusement.“Look at you.Not a tiger anymore—just a tomcat.I bet if I scratched behind your ears, I could make you purr.”She grazed his shoulder with the palm of her hand, her voice lowering.“Now that we’re getting to know each other, I’ll confess I enjoyed our first meeting.Your defiance was… unexpected.It made me want to see you again.That’s what this is about, isn’t it?Hiding what’s mine in some elaborate attempt to capture my attention.Well, you have it.”
Mathias almost snorted in disbelief.He remembered the way her hand had lingered on his chest at the warehouse and the look she’d flashed him.He’d assumed she was toying with him—a classic flex of soft intimidation.Yet it appeared she was completely serious.
Women like Marsela—bold, attractive, imperious—seemed to think they were entitled to whatever they wanted.He knew then the reason behind her puzzling pursuit—why she hadn’t simply arrived with muscle and strong-armed him into returning what was hers.She’d drawn it out, a lioness playing with her food, because it wasn’t just the drugs she was after.
There was a time when Mathias had made a game of picking up women.He discovered he could pull as easily as ordering a drink.While the encounters had left him cold, they’d aided him in his denial and bolstered the lies he told himself.For if this was true, surely the other thing wasn’t.
Mathias cocked his head with a slow smile.“Was it that obvious?”
A pleased flush rose to Marsela’s cheeks.She leaned in, her fingers at the nape of his neck.“You like to play with fire, don’t you?You’re not the first.I’ve fucked many men who want to see how close to the flame they can get.”
His eyes locked on hers.“Close enough to touch.”
Marsela let out a murmur of pleasure.“I thought so.”She lifted her knee and pressed it between his legs.“I can’t promise I’ll be gentle.”
“I didn’t come here for gentle.”
“But you’re forgetting,” she whispered, teasing, drawing her lips along his jaw.“Your hands are tied.”
He angled his chin to press his mouth to her ear and felt her shiver beneath his touch.“I only need the one.”
Then he felt it, a rush like he was falling forward headfirst.A liquid warmth spread through his limbs, expanding him.His body spilled outside the lines, feeling everything—the rub of the ties around his wrists, the chair pressing into his back, the brush of air against his skin.
