Page 71 of Unforgettable Billionaire (The Hardcore Novels: Special Editions #3)

"Truly" blasts us. The dude jumps and pulls it out of his pocket. Aurei is calling to FaceTime with me. Bold move! I smirk.

"I need to answer this," I state. "He's my master. I'm his slave. Those are the rules. Sit the phone right there. He won't be able to see you."

He looks unsure what to do. He scratches his forearm—heroin addict.

"Dude, answer this, and I'll give you all the heroin I have in the house. If you don't answer this, he'll come home to smack me around and fuck it all up. You have nothing to lose."

He sets the phone down, and I answer it. "Hey, Babe!"

"Hey, Beautiful, did you enjoy your visit with Cat?"

I have to swallow hard not to get emotional seeing him.

The love and concern in his eyes belie the calmness in his voice.

I remember his conversation with Steve when he learned Ruth had tried to run over Gaby, and she had threatened me.

Dark and dangerous. Ferocious and fierce.

I know his hands are clenched around the steering wheel, and his knuckles are white with his power.

I do my best to sound calm and in control, but there is still a slight tremor to my voice. "Yes. It was so good to see her."

"Good. I've had a good meeting with Stella too. She's going to hook us up. Everything is going to be ok now. It's a done deal."

My mind searches for who Stella is. I know Aurei is trying to tell me something with 'she's going to hook us up,' then it hits me. She's the techie girl!

"Excellent! That's good news." I tell him, and real relief is in my voice. I smile into the phone, and he winks at me. Gawd, I love him!

"What do you think about it?"

I glance over as a gang of motorcycles pass us.

"Hang on. There's a gang of bikers going by.

I can't hear you." I recognize the colors from earlier.

Despite Nevada's helmet law, one biker isn't wearing his.

His posture makes me glance twice. His black boots are riding high, and his blue jean-covered legs are stretched out.

His hands controlling the bike are golden-toned and strong.

When he draws even with me, he swerves at the car.

I cut my eyes and see the black shades, and big white grin, and big black curls whipping in the wind.

Quintus. He nods, then accelerates and joins his gang.

When my eyes reconnect with Aurei, I'm calmer and feeling much more confident about my situation. "I'm listening." He says and lets it trail off like I'm supposed to tell him something else.

I frown. "What do I think about what?" I ask him. "Oh yeah. Stella."

"Yes. Stella. I'm listening...." He winks again and points to the phone. Oh! They are listening over my phone!

"That's absofuckinglutely the best news EVER!"

"I thought you would like to know that, Angel Thang." Then his voice drops low, and he sounds so sexy, my pussy responds, despite the danger. "I was thinking about last night. I want to make it up to you. I was an ass."

"I like your ass." I grin into the phone.

"Yeah, I know you do, but I was too harsh. I'm going to buy you something special. Meet me at Lavo's for a late dinner, say 10 p.m.? We'll go dancing afterward."

"You take such good care of me."

"I'll tell Alfred to make the arrangements." He emphasizes Alfred.

"Perfect." He's setting something up at the house.

"Wear your black and blue diva dress I love so much. It's in the sex-ercise room."

"Yes, Sir."

"I want to watch your tits move with every breath you take."

My eyes tear up, and I have to blink them back. "But you've taken my breath away. They won't move at all." I tease him.

He chuckles. "Ok, then I want to watch them jiggle with every beat of your pounding heart."

I grin sideways at him, crunch my nose. "That they will do."

He chuckles. "Keep your phone on you. If there is a change of plans, I'll let you know. Otherwise, Ciao Baby! Stay safe."

"I will."

"See ya soon!" And he passes us.

"Laters, Love," I tell him, and the call ends.

I watch his tail lights disappear with his speed, and I know he's going to go set a trap for the addict sitting beside me.

I should pity the dude, knowing the harm The Bastard Son of Thor is going to inflict on him, and I would except for the fact that my gun is pointing at me.

I bite my bottom lip to keep from crying.

My brow furrows, and the tears threaten to spill.

"Fuck, you two are sickening." The dude says and takes my phone back.

I can see Quintus ahead of me, and when I look again in the rear-view mirror, I see Antonio tailing us. I find my breath again and relax. I think about the coded message that they are listening and start a conversation to give them information.

The dude shifts in his seat and rubs his gut.

"You gonna make it? We're about 10 minutes out." I tell him. The sympathy in my voice is real. Addicts have such a hard time dealing.

"How long have you been a heroin addict?"

"Too damn long." He looks out the window.

"That's how I know Erik the Red, by the way. I entered the underground looking for a friend."

"Yeah? And he helped you?"

"Yeah. Of course, I paid him a big price to, but he did."

"Of course, "He looks over at me. "How big a price?"

I laugh. "3k."

"Must have been one helluva friend."

"Yeah. She is. We dance together." It's a little white lie. I went into the underground looking for Lei. I did pay Erik the Red $3,000 for information on her. He did point me in the right direction, but she wasn't an addict. Not to drugs anyway. She's addicted to sex.

When we turn into the Red Rock Country Club Community entrance, Quintus and his gang are nowhere in sight. Antonio, however, follows us in. I realize Angelo is with him.

At the gate, I have a small panic attack. I don't know the security code. But I lower the window, confident Aurei has already thought of that.

The dude asks me. "Do you live here?"

"No. This is my master's house, but I have access." I lower the window, confident Aurei has taken care of this. "Good afternoon, Alfred."

"Good afternoon, my lady."

"I've come to get a dress for a date tonight with my master."

"Yes. He said you would be coming." He says, and the gate swings open. I drive up and see the garage door is down, so I park out front. I turn to look at the addict. He is goggling the house. "He keeps his heroin in our playroom," I tell him.

He looks at me, and sheer happiness is on his face. He looks like he just won the lottery. "Ok. Let's get that fix first; then we'll talk about cashing out."

I open my car door, and we get out at the same time.

He aims the gun at me and waves me to go ahead of him.

I lead the way to the front door, and it opens automatically for me.

Every hair on my body is on high alert. I have no idea where Aurei is or what he plans to do, but I know he is lying in wait.

When we enter, I behave as if he is my guest. I step aside and close the door behind us.

Then I walk past the staircase and down the hallway that leads to the east wing.

The house is silent, except for our footsteps, and the sound is ominous to me.

I only hope I can find my way there, but there is nothing to worry about.

Aurei has thought of that already. The lights come on in each room before we enter it, letting me know where to go without a miscue.

They go off after we walk through like they usually do.

The only sound I hear is my breath, heart, and shoes clicking on the tile.

I turn to look behind me and see the gun is still aimed at me, but the dude's eyes are straying into the rooms as we pass.

I smile at him. "I told you he was filthy rich. "

He grins. "How much cash does he keep here?"

"Depends. The safe is upstairs in the master suite."

The double doors leading into the east wing are open, and the path of light illuminates the hallway.

All the doors are closed, and I assumed locked.

At the end, I stop in front of the heavy doors with the bear image on them and take a deep breath, then I push the handles down, and the sound of the click sends goosebumps down my spine.

I shove the doors open, and they swing wide.

I walk in and straight through the foyer without stopping.

I place my hand on the door handle and turn to smile at my gun.

"The heroin is in here." I turn the doorknob, but it doesn't move. It's locked. Fuck! My heart leaps inside my throat. Is Aurei not ready? Am I not supposed to be here?

I smile at my armed escort. "Oh, I forgot, I'm nervous.

I need my phone to quick scan the lock." He hands it over to me without hesitation, and out of habit, I say, "thanks.

" Then turn my back on him. Pretending to search my apps for it, Aurei's smiling face appears.

He mouths to me. "Good girl." Then a text appears.

Walk quickly with purpose to the bed with the heavy headboard, then lay down flat on the floor behind it.

The lock clicks. I drop my phone in the red hoodie pouch, then turn the handle and open it, pushing the door wide. "There we go," I say as I enter without looking back. With long, purposeful strides, I move quickly, as instructed to the bed. The sound of his boots follows me in.

"Crucial!" The dude says. "Really rad!"

Feeling safe and high from my own adrenaline rush, I can't help showing off this magnificent room. I open my arms wide and spin around. "Fucking awesome, isn't it?"

He stands gawking and taking everything in. "It's dope!"