Page 5 of His Sweet Torment
He stopped talking and studied them. “We’re throwing you in the deep end, kids. Look after yourself.”
Dale and Padme were quiet as they drove to the safe house, realizing just how much responsibility they had been handed. Padme drove while Dale looked over the case file.
“Jesus, this guy’s young to be in this situation. Thirty-seven and a multi-billionaire. Single, workaholic, playboy. The usual. Stepping up to the plate, though.”
Padme smiled at him. “You getting a crush on the protectee? Gonna be his best buddy?”
Dale grinned. “Screw you, Kaur.”
“You wish.”
“Shut up.”
Even though they spent the journey busting each other’s chops, both were still on high alert, checking they weren’t followed. Padme even erred on the side of caution when she saw a sedan with blacked out windows pull alongside their SUV. She turned off the highway and took a detour, but the sedan was long gone.
They arrived at the safe house and were greeted by a security team. After showing their i.d. they were led into the house. A young woman, thin in the extreme, with long blonde hair and nervous energy, smiled shyly at them. “Hi, I’m Chaley, Mr. Toscano’s personal assistant. Please come this way, he and Mr. Dedalus are waiting to meet you.”
They were led down a long, lushly carpeted corridor. Even if this was a safe house, Enver Toscano obviously wanted to be kept in comfort. Padme caught Dale’s eye, and he smirked, apparently thinking the same thing.
Chaley led them into a room. A smartly dressed man sat on a large couch, a briefcase by his side and a laptop open. He looked up, and Padme saw his ice-blue eyes take them in.
“Where thefuckhave you been? We were told you would be here by ten a.m.”
Padme looked at the man coolly. His hair was artfully swept back and held in place – Padme was almost certain – by a buttload of hairspray, his blue eyes cold, his manner one of arrogance and entitlement. In other words, an asshole. Wasthisthe protectee? If so, he could just go fu… “We were told to make sure we arrived here safely and unseen. Which is what we did. Now, how about you try that again?”
The man stood – Padme was amused to see he was smaller than her five-nine – and flushed angrily. “Fine. Well, now you’re finally here…”
“Let’s start over. I’m Agent Kaur, this is Agent Fortuna. Are you Enver Toscano?”
“No, he’s not,” said an accented andveryfamiliar voice behind her, “I’m Enver Toscano.”
With a jolt and a pounding heart, Padme turned to see the man whose magnificent cock, a mere twenty-four hours earlier, had been deep inside her as he made her scream with pleasure again and again.
From his expression, Enver Toscano was as shocked to see her as she was to see him. This was the man whose life was in danger?God, no, please, not him.Suddenly everything made sense. To his credit, he immediately covered his surprise and shook both their hands.
“Thank you for coming. Do excuse Brian, he’s not had his Ritalin this morning.”
Padme smothered a snort of laughter with a cough. Enver invited them to sit, managing to squeeze Padme’s fingers inconspicuously. He was dressed in jeans and a vintage t-shirt, and Padme wondered how she could have ever thought the slime-ball lawyer Dedalus was Enver. Enver was careful not to stare at her, but as they talked, Padme was hyper-aware of his body close to hers, his eyes on hers when she spoke. She felt like she was stammering and gibbering like an idiot as she outlined the protection plan she and Dale had come up with, but the men in the room seemed to nod along with it just fine. Even Dedalus looked appeased.
“Obviously,” Dale took over from her, “when it’s time to transport you to the courtroom, we’ve arranged a decoy vehicle. We’ll actually be flying you via helicopter to the nearest helipad to the courtroom, and then more decoy cars will be sent out as we transfer you by car. We’re taking this very seriously, Mr. Toscano.”
Enver nodded. “And I couldn’t be more grateful for your help.”
“So, one of you will always be here with us?” Brian Dedalus looked at Dale and then raked his eyes up and down Padme’s body, apparently considering how a slim woman like her could protect a six-foot-two man like Enver. His judgment made her bristle with annoyance – he reallywasan asshole – Henry hadn’t exaggerated.
“Yes,” she said, her voice hardening. “And I will have to remind you that any and all decisions regarding Mr. Toscano’s movements must be discussed with us.”
She felt Dale nudge her discreetly and then he cleared his throat. “Agent Kaur is the lead on this, so she has the final say on any decision.”
Padme tried not to look surprised – they hadn’t discussed who would lead and she was grateful to Dale for his support – if Brian Dedalus thought he could pull any misogynistic crap on her, he had another think coming.
Enver was watching her, his eyes amused. “In that case, perhaps, Agent Fortuna, you can go brief my security team, with Brian, and I can settle things with Agent Kaur.”
“Call me Dale, and yeah, that’s a good idea.” Dale looked at Padme who nodded at him, a smile on her burning face – at least it felt like it was burning.
When Dale and Dedalus had left, Enver smiled at Chaley. “Chaley, would you mind giving us a minute? Take a break, get yourself a coffee.”
Chaley hopped off the end of the sofa, shooting Enver and Padme a smile – and then finally, they were alone.
