ROMANCE: THE SHEIKH'S GAMES: A Sheikh Romance (28 page)

Miles was reaching emotional overload. His anxiety over losing Saundra was becoming muted by his fear of the situation he was entering. “Okay. Let’s do this then.”

Boss gave him a crooked half smile. “Don’t you want to know what the job is?”

“I’m not concerned, but go for it.”

Boss pulled onto the street and started driving. “There’s a man that owes me money. He’s owed me money for a long time now. I’ve been nice about it, because I knew he didn’t have it and he was trying to get it. I just found out that he’s had it for the last three days and instead of paying me, he’s planning on putting it all down on a game. That’s my money.” Boss stabbed his own chest sharply. “You get the money from him, and you can have a quarter of it.”

“So you are a loan shark,” Miles said.

“I never said I wasn’t. I just said I wasn’t going to loan you any money.”

How could he get out of this? Loan sharks, illegal stuff, this was getting too deep. That job with Saundra’s dad was looking more and more attractive. But he couldn’t go crawling back now! He yelled at her dad, yelled at her. He said he had a plan. If he went back now begging for help, how much worse would that look? Especially since he hadn’t even told her about the kid yet! No, he had to fix this first and come back to her with results. He hated this, but he couldn’t think of anything else. It was all so damn unfair! He took a drink of his beer.

“How much does he owe you? Hundred bucks?”

Boss laughed. It was a hoarse sound filled with a mirthless joy. “I said I wasn’t going to send you after the small stuff. He owes me ten grand.”

Miles choked on the little beer that was still in his mouth. “A quarter of that is—“

“Yes Miles, I know how much a quarter of ten grand is.”

“So I get him to pay you…”

“However you want. Use your imagination. Get creative. Show me you can do this.”

“Twenty-five hundred,” Miles whispered to himself.

That was two month’s pay at any of the other pathetic places he’d worked at, and here he could earn it in one night. Maybe the alcohol was kicking in, or maybe he was just so desperate to do right by Saundra and finally bring home any real amount of money, but his fear was fading by the minute.

“So, you in?” Boss asked.

“Yeah,” Miles said, and down the rest of his beer. “Hell yeah.”

“Good, because we’re here. Another reason I wanted to start with this one: he’s closest to the bar.” He gave a chuckle, but Miles knew there was no humor in that sound.

He and Boss went up the two flights to the man’s apartment. Boss had Miles stand to the side of the door so that the guy wouldn’t be able to see him through the peep hole. When the guy answered, he put on a big smile for Boss, and Miles lost it. A pent up frustrated anger that he didn’t realize was there exploded out of him. This man stood between him and payday.

Miles burst from the side of the door, grabbed the man by the shirt, and threw him back into the apartment. The guy was big, but caught off guard. Two other guys were sitting in the living room. It looked like they were all hanging out, eating nachos and watching the game. Had Miles been a bit more aware of the situation, he would’ve assessed the environment before starting a fight, made a plan. Too late now.

The two guys were on their feet in a second. Reacting purely on instinct borne of years of fighting for survival, Miles grabbed up a beer bottle and smashed it into the face of the guy to his left. Then, bending down, he picked up a small TV dinner tray by the legs an smashed it into the head of the other guy. The TV dinner tray was light, the legs made out of glorified tin or something.

At first the guy was annoyed, but Miles just kept beating him with it, over and over. As the guy put up his arms to defend himself, the cheap metal bars bent, and in doing so, bypassed his arms, still hitting him in the head. By the time he went down, Miles laid in a few kicks to put him out of commission, and then turned back to the first guy. Boss was laughing from behind him and clapped slowly.

“Bravo! I am impressed.”

“His money,” Miles said, panting. He couldn’t see straight he was so furious. “Get it now.”

“Y-yeah,” the guy said, glancing to his friends quickly, then hurried down the hall.

“I’d follow him,” Boss said. “You don’t want to risk that he’s going for a gun.”

Miles sprinted down the hall after the man without a moment’s thought. Fortunately, the guy wasn’t going for a gun. He stood up from the closet holding a leather satchel filled with cash.

“Here, take it, that’s all of it. I swear.”

Miles grabbed the man by the hair on the back of his head and ushered him back down the hall toward Boss. Throwing him to the floor, Miles was still reading to beat someone to death. He hadn’t felt this kind of fear driven anger in a long time, and now that it was there, he was both afraid and grateful for the familiarity of it. It wasn’t a good place to be back to, but if it could save him just one more time, he’d welcome it.

Boss looked through the bills for a moment, then gave the man a pat on the head. “There you go. I knew you’d do the right thing. You be sure and tell your friends about me, and what happens if you plan to cross me. Next time, I’ll have my man here throw you off the roof.”

Boss gave Miles a nod of the head and they left the apartment. It was an exhilarating and agonizingly slow ten minutes as Boss insisted on counting out the money right there in the car. The guy could’ve called the cops, anything, but Boss seemed confident that wasn’t going to happen.

He placed what seemed like a mountainous stack of cash on Miles’ lap. “Twenty-five hundred, as agreed.”

Miles’ hands shook as he picked up a stack and ran his thumb over the tips of the bills. He’d never felt more satisfied or joyful in his life. The savior of all of his problems was in his hands, literally in between the skin of his palms. Everything was going to be okay now.

“So what do you say, Miles? You want more?”

Miles squeezed the stack in his hands. He could buy her a new car, pay off all their bills. They could save, maybe buy house. He could pay off all that child support without Saundra even knowing about it. He could save his own life. It was about time he put everything terrible about his childhood to good use, instead of letting it get in the way of him having a decent life. If this was what he was good at, he had to embrace that.

“Hell yeah,” he said.

Boss gave him a satisfied smirk and threw the car into drive. It was going to be a long night.

Saundra sat in the car, mentally bracing herself to walk in the apartment. Miles’ bike was parked in the usual spot, which meant he was home. He was passed out on the couch when she woke up to go to work that morning, and no amount of noise or light roused him. Even just sitting there, he smelled of old cheap beer and cigarettes. He was sinking, and she couldn’t stop him. She hated to admit it, but her father may have been right. Was this what her life had become? Was she about to lose the only man she’d really ever loved? She knew Miles could be worth all of the effort she was giving him, but it just seemed like he’d just given up. If he wasn’t going to even try anymore, was she a good girlfriend for sticking by his side, or just stupid? She wanted to believe in him, to support him, but for the first time in her life she was terrified she was becoming one of those women who stayed in a relationship they should’ve left ages ago.

Checking her eyes in her rear view mirror to make sure it didn’t look like she’d been crying for the last twenty minutes, she sniffed, cleared her throat, and put on a smile. Fake it ‘till you make it. She picked up her bag and walked into their home. When she saw him sitting on the couch, beer in hand, watching TV, she was expecting another fight. She expected more shouting, and defensiveness. This would be it. She realized at that moment she couldn’t live a life that was this stressful.

Closing the door slowly but firmly, she set her bag down in the usual spot beside the couch. “Miles,” she started.

He pointed to the end of the coffee table. “That’s for you. It’s rent.”

“I…” She blinked and noticed the stack of cash. How had she missed that? Saundra walked to the end of the coffee table and picked up the money. “Your half?” A quick count proved it was far more than that.

“Nope,” he said, swigging his beer. “Rent.”

“Where…?”

“I told you, I had a plan. I have a job. Pays well, too.”

“I can see that.” She was afraid to feel relieved, but here was the money. He even seemed calmer, as though he was settled inside and just waiting for her reaction. He did come through on what he said he was going to do, after all. Maybe he wasn’t giving up. If he wasn’t giving up, she wasn’t going to give up on him. “I’m proud of you.”

She set down the money and sat the couch beside him.

He turned to face her. Everything in his face seemed more relaxed. This wasn’t the high strung man she’d been living with for months.

“You seem happy,” she said. “What’s the job?”

His eyes flickered to the side for just a moment. “Private security.”

She knew that look. It was the flicker she’d seen cross the eyes of almost every one of her students in every class she’d ever taught. It was the flicker of a lie created.

“Oh,” she said neutrally. “Do you like it?”

“It’s not that hard, really,” he said and took another drink. “Plus, can’t argue with that money.”

He gave a small laugh, and she found herself laughing along with him. It felt good to laugh with him again, to smile and see him smiling at her.

“Saundra,” he said softly, and set the beer down. He picked up her hands and held them, rubbing his thumb along the back of her hands. “I’ve missed you. I’m sorry for everything that’s been going on, for me, but things are different. They’re going to be better now. You’ll see. This is just the beginning.”

“I hope so. I want you to be happy.”

“As long as I have you,” he said, and put a hand to her cheek.

Saundra closed her eyes and breathed, leaning against his hand. She’d missed his hold so much, the gentle way he touched her. She was afraid for him, for what all of this was, but she so desperately wanted things to be better between them that she chose to trust him. She had to.

Warm tears escaped from her eyes and slid down the side of her nose and her cheek. She couldn’t think of a life without him in it, not if there was a way to save everything. She kept her eyes closed as she felt him move on the couch, his lips then touching hers. She reached out and pulled him close to her, kissing him with all of the passionate desperation she felt.

Their hands scrambled across one another, removing their clothes with practiced efficiency. Even after all these years, they still had the passion of two teenagers in the backseat of a car. He was a beautiful man, a fact that had never escaped her. She kept his face close to hers, kissing him repeatedly.

No matter what, she couldn’t stop kissing him. It pushed away all other thought, kept her in the moment. As long as his lips pressed against hers, the world was right. He picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to the bedroom where he finished removing the last of her clothes. Saundra lied on her back as he worked down her body with his lips.

Her heart beating in her chest, she closed her eyes and focused on his touch, on the sensations running through her body. Deep in the core of her was a black pit of worry for him. Now wasn’t the time. She needed him. He rolled her onto her stomach and climbed on top of her. The press of his warm skin against hers sent a shudder through her. He kissed the side of her neck, around her shoulder to her spine. Firm, practiced fingers went to her shoulders and massaged her stiff muscles. Saundra sighed long and low, resting her forehead against the back of her hands. A relaxation she hadn’t felt in months melted through her.

He worked her shoulders, her upper arms, then ran his thumbs in firm, small circles down her back. She moaned, and the black pit of anxiety disappeared into the back. She didn’t have to try to not think about it anymore, she was completely blind to anything but Miles in that moment.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said softly as he worked out the tension in her lower back. “We’ve had so much going on, and I haven’t been able to appreciate you properly.”

“It’s okay,” she said, her voice a strain against how relaxed she was.

“No, it’s not. You deserve better. I’m going to do better. You’ll see. It’ll all be okay now.”

She lost herself in his touch and just let his words be truth. When he moved and laid himself over her again, this time she felt the tip of his arousal right where it needed to be.

“Hello,” she said, smiling over her shoulder at him.

“Hi,” he whispered back and ran the tip of his nose along the outside edge of her ear.

Then, with a slow gentle push of his hips, they were together. As relaxed as she was, the pleasure sent through her body was met with no resistance. She delighted in the way he made her feel, how safe she felt in his arms. Almost on cue with the thought, he wrapped his arms around the front of her, holding her in an embrace as he made love to her. She leaned her head back against him, moving her hips along with his. She reached her climax first, the tension in her body squeezing against him, bringing on his own.

After coming down and catching their breath, they fell asleep for an afternoon nap in one another’s arms. It was the first time they’d slept peacefully together since all of this started, and Saundra let herself believe everything was going to be okay.

Miles sat at the bar, waiting for Boss to arrive to start the night’s work. The last three weeks had been good. Really good. He and Saundra found themselves again and got out from under their debt hole. He hadn’t been up front with how much he’d been making because he wanted to handle some things first. He also never went into more detail about what he was doing for the money.

She only ever gently probed him about it, and when he changed the subject, she let him. He knew she was letting him. Saundra wasn’t an idiot, and he was a terrible liar, but she wanted things to be okay just as much as he did. Thing was, things weren’t okay. Boss was having him do worse and worse things as time went on, and Miles wasn’t liking the person he saw in the mirror every day. It was one thing to let his anger out, but to bring it to the place that he did, to do the things that he’d been doing to those people, it sat in his stomach like a brick.