Evan Arden 05 Irrevocable (21 page)

I’m exhausted, mentally and physically.  Alina wraps her arms around me and holds my head to her shoulder.  At this point, I should be accustomed to the lavender scent on Alina’s skin, but it hits me every time she joins me in bed.  I can’t help but close my eyes, inhale deeply, and coil myself around her.  It smells right.  It
feels
right.

Turning my head to look at her, I watch her face carefully.  Her look is still a bit guarded, but she stares into my eyes as her fingers stroke the hair at the back of my neck.

“Where were you earlier tonight?” I ask.

Alina rubs a little deeper into my neck and licks her lips before she answers.

“Working,” she replies quietly.

“Who were you with?”

“Evan”—she tilts her head away and closes her eyes—“I don’t usually talk about other clients.  It’s kind of a business taboo.”

Of course that makes sense, but I don’t care.

“I want to know.”  I tighten my grip on her hip, pulling her a little closer.

“I’m not going to discuss that.”

My chest tightens along with my hold on her.  I’m not used to people refusing to give me the information I want, and it doesn’t sit well with me.  Even when I told her to get out, she hadn’t listened.  That is also a first.

It should anger me, but it doesn’t.  In fact, I think I rather like her standing up to me.  Paulie backs down when I tell him to, and he’s probably six-foot-four and weighs well over two hundred pounds.  Alina’s maybe five-foot-five and can’t be much more than a hundred and thirty.

I consider all the wasted time I spent looking for her tonight.  If she were already here, I wouldn’t have to go looking for her.  I could just come home, and there she would be.

Can you put a hooker on retainer?  What would that look like?

The last time I’d had a regular hooker, it was Bridgett.  I don’t want to think about her because I always end up remembering the last time I saw her—the last time anyone saw her.  She’d betrayed me to Rinaldo’s enemies and suffered the ultimate price.  I do not handle betrayal well, and she found that out minutes before she was dead.

I focus on the time before that day, when she had been around the apartment a lot.  She wanted to be around me though I never understood why.  I knew she had feelings for me despite how many times I tried to deter them.

Toward the end, Bridgett had lived in my apartment.  I’d killed her pimp, and she didn’t really have anywhere else to go.  Even before then, I never had trouble finding her on the street.  Alina must be a very popular whore.

I grit my teeth and look at her.

“Who were you fucking tonight?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Alina replies.

I don’t like the way she dodges the question, and I’m certainly not going to let her get away with that shit.  She looks away from me, silent.  I reach over and grip her chin in my fingers before turning her to face me.

“I asked you a question.”

“I don’t know any names,” she finally answers.

Her face flushes slightly, and she won’t meet my eyes.  I know she’s lying.

“Who’s your pimp?”

“Teto.”

I recognize the name.  A while back, he worked for Greco.  Teto went independent for a while but had recently joined Rinaldo’s payroll for the added protection.  This is both simple and complicated because he works for Rinaldo.  If he weren’t one of ours, I might have opted to just get rid of him, but now I can’t because it would interfere with Rinaldo’s business.

“Call him.”

“Call him?”

“Pick up your phone and call him now.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

She nods slightly, and I loosen my grip on her so she can roll over and reach for her purse.  She retrieves an iPhone with a bright green case and pulls up Teto’s number.  She hits the button and holds the phone to her ear.

“What am I supposed to tell him?” she asks as it rings.

“Tell him I want to talk to him.”

She looks at me nervously but doesn’t have time to ask any more questions.

“Teto, it’s Alina.”

I can hear his voice on the phone but can’t make out his words.

“I have someone who wants to speak with you,” she tells him.  There’s a pause.  “It’s…um…it’s a john.”

I reach out and take the phone from her hand.

“Teto, this is Evan Arden.”

There’s another pause, and I hear Teto clear his throat.

“Mr. Arden, I didn’t realize Alina was with you.”

I ignore what he says and get straight to the point.

“Do you have your girls tested?”

“Of course I do!”

“When was the last time Alina was tested?”

Alina narrows her eyes at me.

“Mr. Arden, if you think you got something from one of my—”

I cut him off.

“I’m just checking up on
her
, not myself.”

“They’re all tested monthly.”

“And her last test?”

“About a week ago.”

I pull the phone away a bit and look at Alina’s eyes.

“When was the last time you were tested?”

“It was a week ago yesterday,” she says.  She bites hard on her lip and her eyes fill with panic.  “I’m clean, Evan—I swear I am.”

She has obviously gotten the wrong impression.  I give her half a smile and a wink to reassure her.  She seems to understand, and sits back a little against the pillow, listening to one side on the conversation.

“And she’s clean?”

“Completely, Mr. Arden.  I can even provide you with a copy of the tests if you like.”

“Not necessary.”  I hear him sigh into the phone, and I decide to get to the point.  “How much do you want for her?”

Teto pauses again and then rattles off the hourly rate I’m already paying for her.

“I’m interested in a purchase,” I say to clarify, “not a rental.”

“What?”  Alina touches my arm, but I shake her off.  “Evan, what are you doing?”

I shrug her off and listen to Teto’s breathing on the other end of the line.  There’s a long pause before he responds.

“My girls aren’t for sale.”  His answer doesn’t surprise me, and I’m ready for it.

“This one is.”

“Alina is a good whore,” Teto continues, “and she’s worth a lot to me.  I couldn’t just let her go.”

“Let’s be clear on this,” I say, sighing.  “I’m not making a request.  I’m just extending you the courtesy of setting the price.  Now let’s try again.  How much do you want for her?”

“Does Rinaldo know about this?” Teto asks.

I can almost hear the hint of a threat in his voice, and my fingers tighten reflexively on the phone.  I take in a breath through my nose and try to let it out slowly.

“I realize you haven’t been with us long,” I say, “and for that reason alone, I’m not on my way to see you
personally
right now.”  I pause and let him think about exactly what I mean.  “I do not confirm my actions with Rinaldo when it comes to topics he cares nothing about.  He trusts my judgment on all things.  I wouldn’t dream of wasting a busy man’s time with a personal matter.  I suggest you don’t, either.  Capisce?”

“Yeah,” he says quietly, “I get it.”

He’s quiet for a moment and then quotes me an outrageous number.

“Try again,” I suggest.

He must finally understand who he’s dealing with and gives me a much more reasonable price.

“I’ll have it delivered to your residence.”  I actually have no idea where the man lives, but I’m sure Jonathan can figure it out in a couple of minutes.

I hang up the phone and hand it back to Alina.

“Did you just…did you just
buy
me?”

“I did.”

“Evan!  What the hell are you thinking?”  She sits up and moves a little away from me.

“I’m thinking I’m tired of waiting on you to be done with some other asshole before you get around to me.”

“So what am I supposed to do?  Hang out in my apartment and wait for you to call me?  Evan, that’s not going to happen!”

“Of course not,” I say.  “You can move in here.”

“Move in with you?”

“Right.  Keeps it all simple.  It doesn’t change anything.”

“Well, yes it does, actually.”  Her tone is biting, but I really don’t know why.

“You’re still a whore, and I’m still your john,” I say simply.  “The only thing that changes is that I don’t have to go looking for you now.  You’ll already be here.  You’ll still sleep with me, and I’ll still fuck you when I feel like it.”

I give her a smile, but she doesn’t return it.  Instead, she rolls her eyes.

“Evan, you can’t just buy me!”

“Seriously?”  I laugh.  “I’ve been paying for you for weeks.  This just makes it easier.  I’m telling you, nothing changes except I’m your only client now.  Oh, and you don’t have to give that asshole a cut.”

Alina wraps her arms around herself and stares at the blanket over her legs.  Her mouth is open slightly, and she’s breathing hard.  I reach out and touch her arm.

“It’s all good,” I tell her.  She’s obviously getting the wrong impression again, but I don’t know exactly what she’s assuming.  “It’s not like I’m going to keep you chained up or anything.  You are free to come and go as you like.  Just be here in the evenings and at night when I need to sleep.”

I watch as Alina gulps audibly.  She takes in a long breath.

“Evan, I’m not sure what’s going through your head, but this isn’t going to work.  You’re upset right now, and you aren’t thinking clearly.”

“Yes, I am.” It’s really all quite simple and makes perfect sense to me.

She huffs through her nose, tilts her head to one side, and looks at me hard.

“All right,” she says, “let’s play this out.  What do you think I’m going to do during the day?”

“Whatever you want.”  I reach up and run a finger over her cheek.  “I’m gone a lot of nights, too.  When I’m not here, I don’t care what you do as long as you aren’t turning other tricks.”

She continues to stare at me with a look of incredulity.  I have no idea what the problem is.  It’s a perfect situation.

Maybe she’s worried about money.

“You can go shopping.  See a show or whatever.  I’ll even get you a credit card.”  She doesn’t look convinced.  “I can still pay you cash as well.  You’ll just get room and board as a bonus.”

“This isn’t what you want, Evan.”

“Of course it is.”  I reach for her hand, but she pulls it back.  “Hell, what man wouldn’t?  You’d be here whenever I want you.  It’s perfect.”

“It isn’t.”  Alina shakes her head.  “Yes, you want the sex on a physical level, but it’s really having someone to sleep with that you pay for.”

I stiffen slightly.

“And?”

“And I’m not your girlfriend, Evan.  You said it yourself—that’s not what you are looking for—but that’s the situation you’re trying to set up.  I’m not here for you to be my sugar daddy.”

“Well, why the hell not?  You’re here a lot anyway, and I’m still paying the bills and getting you the groceries you ask for!  What the hell do you care if I throw in a little extra?  Besides, the deal’s done.  Teto agreed.”

“No, Evan!”  Alina pushes herself off the bed and stands beside it, pointing a finger at me.  “You do not get to
buy
me!  I’m a
person
, a person with a job, not a sex slave!”

I rub my fingers into my eyes. This isn’t going well, and I don’t understand why.  It’s all very clear to me, so why can’t she see it?

“Your
job
is to fuck guys!  What the hell is the difference?”

“Because I choose it!” she yells back at me.  “
I
decide who I fuck and when!  Not Teto, not the guys who pull up to my corner, and not
you
!”

I don’t think anyone has ever spoken to me in such a way.  Maybe in basic training when I was still only seventeen, but it certainly hasn’t happened in my adult life.  She glares at me, all red-faced and as pissed off as she could possibly be.  The look is making my heart pound, but I have no idea if I’m angry or turned on.

As I try to figure all this out, Alina is pulling her clothes back on and picking up her purse.

She’s leaving me.

I just stare as she gathers everything together, not even bothering to sit down to strap up her heels.  I wrap my arms around my stomach as my body tenses up on itself.  I’m reminded of the note from Lia I found in the cabin, and my stomach cramps again.  Alina tosses her purse over her shoulder and doesn’t even glance back at me when she heads for the bedroom door.

“Don’t leave.”  I can barely get the words out, but somehow she hears me.

Alina stops in her tracks and turns to looks at me.  The fire in her eyes lessens, and she lets out a big sigh.  With her lips mashed together, she stares down at the floor and grips the strap of her purse.  Glancing up at me, she runs her hand through her long hair.