Satin and Steel (17 page)

As he waited for his buyer, Dax tried to control his growing irritation with himself.
Fuck!
I can’t get that girl outta my head!
He had stayed away from Rhee since that night because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to control himself. Now that he had a taste of the girl, he wanted more. Much more. Dax couldn’t recall an experience like the one he had enjoyed with Rhee.

The stowaway was like a drug, and he needed a fix. But, Dax knew it was wrong to mess with her further. She was an innocent little thing, and he had totally taken advantage of her, taken her cherry for Christ’s sake! Rhee had managed to save her precious hymen from a string of seedy characters only to lose it to him, a career criminal. Dax felt his jaw working furiously as images and sensations of that night assailed him. Her wide-eyed look of pleasure-pain as he had penetrated her, her soft moans in his ear as she begged him…

Fuck!
He slammed his fist down onto the table, startling several other patrons in the small bar. Manny walked in and Dax groaned inwardly.
Great.
Now I have to play ball with a fuckin’ hard-on.
He adjusted himself discreetly as Manny made his way over and sat down.

“Manny.”

“Dax. When will you have ‘em?”

“I have them. All of them.”

“Shit, already? I need a few days to come up with payment.”

“I knew you would, Manny. I’m willing to front them, I know you’re good for it. Listen, I need a favor. Think of it as a little reward for the early delivery.”

Manny’s eyes quirked at this. Dax never asked for favors. “What, man?”

“You ever cross paths with Juan?”

“Sometimes.”

“Good.”

Dax and Manny went way back, and he knew how sick and twisted the guy was. He’d enjoy making Juan squeal like the pig he was. As Dax explained that he wanted Juan to keep his filthy hands off of little girls, Manny smiled a slow, cruel smile and nodded. He’d do Dax the favor, and he’d take great pleasure in it. They shook on it, and Dax hopped on his bike, thankful that his erection had subsided.
Time to bring the little stowaway her mail.

Rhee took a little extra care in what she put on after her shower, just in case her elusive
Phantom
was to show up. Knowing Dax, he would probably just leave the package with someone else, but Rhee wanted a showdown. As the day passed, she grew more and more pissed off.
The guy takes my virginity and then basically ignores me for two weeks?!
Rhee knew that Trish was due back in a few days. Things would be really awkward then, but until his girlfriend showed up, Dax could show a little consideration! Rhee was going to give him hell, and look good doing it too.
I’ll show him!

The tight, black jeans fit like a glove, and the white
Phantoms
tank was nearly transparent, revealing the black, lacy bra beneath it. High-heeled boots, probably courtesy of some
Phantom
stalker, made Rhee a few inches taller.
All the better to stand up to him in!
Rhee brushed her long, auburn hair until it shone and applied a thick layer of pink gloss to her lips. When the sounds of activity floated down the corridor, she took a deep breath and then marched purposefully into the kitchen.
Time to make a meal that will knock their socks off!

The guys whistled in a good-natured way when she appeared, making Rhee blush a little. She smiled shyly as she set about her preparations in the kitchen.

“Wow, honey! You look hot!”

Gray was the oldest member of the crew. He was a little lecherous but he never crossed the line, at least not with Rhee.

“Thanks, Gray.”

“Glad you’re feeling better, kid. Seemed like you were getting pretty depressed these last few days.”

Rhee flushed. She wasn’t aware that the entire crew had noticed her emotional issue. “Er, yeah. It’s Mickey’s birthday next week. I was hoping to find her by now,” she said softly. Pulling out a large pan, Rhee began throwing together one of her sister’s favorites, a chicken enchilada casserole. She was just bending down to pop the creation into the oven when she heard a familiar voice drawl.

“Hey, man. Can you leave this for the stowa…” Dax stopped short as Rhee appeared from the kitchen. The girl was dressed a little sexier than usual, and her cheeks were rosy as she regarded him silently.
Fuck!
She looks good enough to eat!

“Um, hi,” Rhee stuttered.
Why am I so nervous?!
I’m mad, remember?!
Mad!
Chills danced down her spine as Dax looked her up and down, his eyes darkening with the same intensity as they had the night they had….
fucked.
At the thought, a surge of heat plummeted straight into Rhee’s borrowed thong.
Shit!

“Rhiannon.” His greeting was low and so undeniably sexy that Rhee literally shuddered with desire at the sound of her name coming from his mouth.
His mouth!
Last time I saw him he put his mouth on my…!

Oh, God!
Act normal, Rhee!
Dax came closer and instinctively, Rhee took a step back. The way he moved towards her was like being stalked by a dangerous predator.

“Got something for you,” he said huskily.

Rhee felt her nipples go taut and her mouth went dry. “What is it?” Unconsciously, her eyes flicked to his crotch and the impressive bulge he was sporting. She gasped softly. When her eyes returned to his face, Dax was staring at her hungrily. It was obvious he hadn’t missed the direction of her gaze, and Rhee knew her cheeks were on fire.

“Don’t tempt me, little girl,” he whispered softly, so that only she could hear his words.

She was frozen in place as sensation coursed through her veins.
I’m mad!
Mad!
Not…horny!
Mad!

“I’m mad!” she burst out.

Dax looked almost as startled by her outburst as Rhee did. He regarded her quizzically for a few seconds. “At me?” he said softly. “For what we-I-did?”

“No! I’m mad because, because…”
Because I want to do it again!

Rhee nearly stomped her foot in frustration, but instead she turned on her high-heeled boot and fled into the kitchen. Embarrassingly, Rhee felt tears come to her eyes. She blinked them away, and fussed over some black beans she had simmering in a pot, knowing he would follow her.

“Are you mad at me, Rhiannon?”

Rhee sighed. “No. I just-I mean…I guess I didn’t expect to be completely ignored,” she said in a small voice.

Dax felt like banging his own hard head against the wall at that. He had taken her cherry and then cut the girl off for two whole weeks. Rhee probably felt used, and that was the last thing he had wanted her to feel.

“Rhee, look at me.”

Rhee’s gaze flickered from his mouth, to his eyes, and finally settled on his nose.
Even his nose is sexy!

“I stayed away to protect you.”

“From what?”
I thought I was staying with you for protection.

“From me.”

“From you?”

He nodded, advancing on her. Rhee shivered as he approached, her eyes moving to his arms. She wanted to feel them around her so badly.
Please…

“I don’t think I can control myself around you. I’ve done enough as it is.”

Rhee’s heart soared then sank. He was basically admitting that he wanted to “do it” with her, but he obviously didn’t want anything else.
He has a girlfriend, dummy,
she told herself, trying to ignore the pain that lanced through her chest. She nodded slowly, afraid to look at the man, then went back to stirring mechanically.

“Hey, I almost forgot.” He produced a small package from the inside pocket of his leather
Phantoms
vest.

“Thanks.” Her fingers brushed his as she accepted the package and electricity shot straight to her toes, making Rhee’s mouth fall open. She pulled in her lower lip and bit down to reign in the wave of pleasure that rippled through her at his touch.

“Don’t do that,” Dax growled, his eyes darkening as he stared at her mouth.

“Do what?”

“That,” his thumb grazed her lip, tugging it from her teeth.

“Why?” she asked breathlessly, wanting to bite down hard on the digit he had placed so near her teeth.

“Has anyone ever told you that you ask too many questions, little girl?”

The tension in the small kitchen was nearly tangible as Rhee stood there daring herself to speak the words in her mind.
What are you going to do about it, tough guy?
An image of herself spread over the man’s knee made her legs turn to jelly. Unsteadily, she clung to the counter top like it was a life preserver. When Rollie burst into the kitchen, Rhee nearly sobbed with relief.

“It smells great in here, stowaway! We should make you an honorary member of
The Phantoms
, for taking such good care of us,” he said.

“Thank you,” Rhee said shakily, unable to look either man in the eye. When they both exited the kitchen, she sagged against the refrigerator, then opened the small freezer, letting the frigid air blast her back into reality. In a limp haze of unquenched desire, Rhee put the finishing touches on her meal. By the time she served it, Dax was conspicuously absent. Rhee pasted a thin smile on her face and muddled through the evening wondering where he was but at the same time, she was relieved that he wasn’t there.

Her night was an exhausting mix of erotic dreams and images that left Rhee feeling tired and unfulfilled all morning. Soon after she woke, she remembered the package. Rhee ripped open the envelope and a small object fell into her hand. She studied it for a few seconds before realizing that it was a memory drive. Curiously, Rhee tried to hook up the device to her computer using on of Wince’s many cables. After several tries, she was able to pull up the file but she couldn’t open it. Rhee made a mental note to ask Wince to look at the drive when he got in.
If anyone can open it, he can!

Chapter Seventeen

It had taken Wince several days to crack the security code on the stick Rhee had received in the mail. That fact alone was enough to worry him, so when he was close to cracking the encryption, he texted Dax to join him. The file popped open and the two men scrolled through a series of photographs. They were obviously taken by someone who was pretty talented. There were several hundred pictures on the encrypted file, and so far, most of them seemed innocuous. A sign on a bar, a leather boot, plants…scores of inanimate objects scrolled by and then Dax had to do a double take.

“Wince, can you make that one bigger?”

It was a photo of a girl on a bike. The bike was pretty nice, but it was the girl’s features that gave Dax pause. She had long, reddish hair and a familiar profile.

“Is that who I think it is?” Wince asked.

“I’d bet money on it.”

“You think she sent this to her sister?”

“That would be encouraging.” All of the leads related to Mickey had been dead ends, and Dax knew Rhee was getting impatient. Even his contact in the department, Carter, had been tight-lipped about the missing girl, which suggested there was more going on than met the eye.

“Let’s go through each photo, and then decide what to do with this mess.”

“Okay.”

An hour later, Dax and Wince were both extremely agitated. Dax contacted Hawk and texted a few others furiously. The final photos on the memory card effectively signed both Mickey’s death warrant, and Rhiannon’s.

“It’s Victor Salazar, I’m sure of it.”

“Shit. You think she knew?”

“Who knows. But if the crew, or Salazar, found out about these photos, we both know what they would do.” Wince paled. The Mexican cartels were especially brutal to traitors.

Dax reviewed the pictures another time. The third to last was a shot showing the interior of a smoky establishment. It seemed to focus on the leg and glittery shoe of an exotic dancer, but in the background, two men could clearly be seen shaking hands. Salazar and Javier, the president of
Los Chicos,
certainly looked pretty chummy
.

Dax reviewed what he knew about Salazar. The drug lord had been housed in a Mexican jail before being boosted and smuggled to the United States. Word was, he was setting up operations here, rather than trying to get back to his country. Now, it looked like Salazar had formed an alliance with
Los Chicos.
This was bad news on all accounts. The last thing
The Phantoms
needed was for a Mexican drug cartel to squeeze out their business and bring drugs into their clean little arms operation.

The second to last photo was a sharper image of Salazar’s face as he and Javier stood with a third, unidentified man. It was difficult to discern his features, but he looked to be tall, and Caucasian. The last photo was the most damning, depicting Salazar standing over a body, a pistol in his right hand.
Wonder if that’s Whitey?
Dax wondered.

“What should we do?”

“We need to take this to the table, now. Round everyone up. And make sure Rhiannon does not leave this clubhouse!”

They were at the table in thirty minutes, and after being updated, every face was grim with concern. Dax’s phone buzzed, and he clicked it off without looking at it.

“I think we need to involve Carter,” Hawk said with a sigh.

“Carter knows something’s up, and he hasn’t been upfront with me,” Dax said.

“You think he’s in on it?”

“Carter? No way. But something big is going on, and Mickey stumbled right into it.”

“You think the stowaway’s sister is dead?”

Dax shrugged. “Sure seems that way. I’ve even sent a few from our charter up north across the border and they came up empty-handed.”

Gray was visibly upset. “Those fuckers!”

“So what’s the plan? How involved are we going to get?”

“This predicament affects all of us, man. It’s not just a matter of shielding an innocent kid, it’s about us too. If Salazar sets up shop here, it will only be a matter of time before he screws with us.”