Page 67 of Tequila & Lace
Did Tony brainwash him?
“Now, Martinez, let’s cut the shit. You hired me today to scare me because the other night a john in your company tried to rape me—”
“You have no proof I’m involved.”
“You said, and I quote, ‘What gives you the right to disobey my orders?’.”
“That could mean anything, preciosa.”
“Don’t call me that!”
“Touchy, touchy!” He laughed.
I looked over at Agent Reigles and sighed. I realized that I didn’t have proof that Bryce was involved, yet he was Martinez and I knew first hand that he was running the streets because the girls had mentioned him by name. If I would had known that I was meeting him for lunch, I would had recorded the conversation with him and gotten my proof. Instead, it was my word against his. As I stared into those fucking eyes that matched mine, I realized I was fucked.
“Your girl Jasmine and I have become close you know. We’ve played craps at the Palazzo together.”
He leaned back in his chair, spread his legs wide and smiled. “Agent Marquez, I run an escort business similar to Saddles & Racks. It’s no different from what you do. It’s not my fault when you took a date from my company to make extra money on the side that that guy took it too far.” He looked under the table as if to look at my body. I was still in my dress from our date and I closed my eyes, trying to stomach the fact that mybrotherwas doing this. “I don’t blame him. In fact, it’s my understanding you killed him. I was wondering why you weren’t being charged for murder. Now I know. So, Jasmine did her job. She hooked you and got you under my payroll.”
I laughed. “Bryce… Can I call you Bryce? I feel as if I’ve known you since you’ve beenborn.” I was done fucking around.
He chuckled. “You can call me whatever you want.”
“Bryce, I met with your girls for drinks one night, and one mentioned her best friend, Nelly was sold by you.”
Hetsked. “They’re just whores running their mouths.”
“That’s funny because I have them in my pocket ready to come forward. I told them that once I had you, I just needed them and they were quick to turn on you.”
“That doesn’t make sense because they would have just led you to me.”
“See… I thought that, too. But you scared them and they thought you were going to scare me.” I laughed. “Youthought you were going to scare me. Do you always set your girls up first with rape dates? Is that how it works? Rape them first so they do whatever you want and if they don’t then you sell them?”
He was silent and I continued before he asked for a lawyer. I knew it was coming because I was right. I could feel it in my bones. That was how he worked. “How many have you sold, Bryce? How did this start? When did this start? When did you move to Vegas? Did Tony do this to you?”
His gaze darted to mine at the mention of Tony. “How do you know about Tony?” he asked.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose with a sigh and took a few moments before I spoke. This was the make it or break it moment that I needed to determine if we were on the same page. I needed to know if he knew I was his sister or not.
“Have you ever wanted a Dalmatians plantation?” His eyes became big, but he didn’t say anything and I continued and quoted the first quote I could think of from101 Dalmatians. “But I am, just the same. I’m so hungry I could eat a… a whole elephant.”
He stilled and stared me straight in the eyes. If he didn’t know before, he knew now. I’d always called our mother Cruella. It wasn’t only because she was evil—she was, but it was because we watched that movie on repeat because it was the only thing we had to watch for entertainment. We knew almost every line. I’d chosen that line in particular because on several occasions we did go hungry growing up.
“Are you okay?” Agent Reigles asked.
“Yeah. Sorry, I never got to eat at lunch since this was supposed to be my lunch date.” I laughed, trying to brush off the hint I was giving Bryce. “So Bryce—”
“I’m the middle man,” he blurted.
I pulled my head back in confusion. “What?”
“You’re right. Tony made me do it.”
“Who’s Tony?” Reigles asked.
“My father,” Bryce replied.
I stared at him. “Your… father?”
