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Authors: Olivia Linden,LeTeisha Newton

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BOOK: SCRATCH (Corporate Hitman Book 2)
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Chapter 4

 

“Come on
and get it boys. Food’s up,” Araceli called from the dining room in Glitch’s home. Scratch had to admit, as much as he ribbed his bro for catching the love bug, Araceli was pretty awesome to have around. She made it a point to fix dinner for the fellas every Wednesday. For the last two days, Scratch had been hard at work trying to get together files that didn’t connect with TopSec, with Glitch’s help, to keep Jack from being found out before they could cover his ass. Having dinner with the guys, and gal, was a good way to relax.

 

Scratch grabbed a beer and popped the top before leaning down and kissing Araceli’s forehead as he went by. For some reason she reminded him of a woman he only knew through pictures and letters. Five years younger than him, Pristine, his little sister, had been raised on his father’s side of the family, since they didn’t have the same mother. He’d lost track of her shortly after being arrested. Maybe that was what made him like the little hellion that had grabbed Glitch’s heart. She was just as feisty and strong as his little Pristine.

 

“Thanks for the grub,” he commented, pushing thoughts of Pristine out of his head. When he got free of this shit he’d find her. That he could promise himself. She was the one who’d never turned her back on him.

 

“No problem. Thought you were having a bad time at work, so I made Arroz con carne.”

 

“Translation?” Jack asked, as he sat at the table.

 

“Rice with pork. Sounds so much better in Spanish. Nothing like hot comfort food to make you feel all better,” Araceli answered, lifting a big pot of the stove.

 

“Allow me,” Scratch said and took it from her hands and carried it to the table.

 

“Stop trying to steal my girl. Scratch. It’s not going to work,” Glitch grumbled.

 

“Not likely,” Jack gruffed.

 

“Thank you. No one can take Araceli, even if they tried. She’d bite the shit out of them,” Scratch said with a laugh, remembering how Araceli had done just that when they’d kidnapped her before they knew who she was.

 

“You guys know I’m right here, right?”

 

“Noted,” Glitch said, laughing as Araceli served them. Yeah, it was good to laugh. They all needed it. Wasn’t too often they took the time to relax like this.

 

“So you want to tell them? Or can I?” Araceli asked after a few minutes of quiet chewing.

 

“Tell us what?”  Jack asked, going still.

 

“Nothing bad, J. I wouldn’t spring it like this,” Araceli commented.

 

“J?” Scratch and Glitch asked at the same time, looking to Jack to see his reaction.

 

“Yeah, got a problem with it?” Araceli asked pointedly. Jack almost smiled. For him, that was huge.

 

“None at all,” he answered.

 

“Another one bites the dust,” Scratch tossed at Jack. Jack didn’t outwardly react, but the faint tick in his jaw told Scratch he’d heard him.

 

“What do you need to tell us?” Jack asked instead.

 

“We are ready for the next step.” Glitch said. Scratch choked on his food.

 

“You asked her to marry you? Are you out of your mind!”

 

“What?” Glitch asked, a confused expression marring his face for a moment. “No!”

 

“Damn, that serious?” Araceli asked, slapping his shoulder.

 

“No, baby. That’s not how I meant it.” Scratch couldn’t help it. Once he started laughing, he couldn’t stop until tears were rolling down his face.

 

“I’m buying an island,” Glitch said. That sobered Scratch right up.

 

“Come again?” he asked.

 

“Thought that would clear things up. We are ready to move our plan to the next phase. We aren’t just talking about it anymore.” Glitch smiled.

 

“Merda,” Scratch gasped. Nothing else, in the last few months, had sounded better than those few sentences. They were beyond planning. They were going to get the fuck out of there for real. His heart pounded in his chest. Scratch didn’t think he had been so afraid of the outcome of all this shit until that moment. Damn, he  had been worried they wouldn’t find a way out before Eagle got a noose around his, or all of their throats.

 

“Details,” Jack questioned.

 

“That’s what we need to discuss right now. First thing on the agenda is where we want to go,” Glitch said.

 

“Somewhere not here?” Scratch said.

 

“It’s apparent that we can pretty much go anywhere we want. In international waters, and having our own land, we wouldn’t have to worry about extradition. We step foot on that island and we never look back,” Glitch explained.

 

“Makes sense. So it’s about where. Don’t want to pick the generics, I guess,” Scratch started.

 

“We pick where the fuck we want. I can make us disappear entirely, when the time comes. Eagle is the last loose end that needs to be tied before that final move. He knows us, and holds our information. We have to make sure he can’t use it when we get out,” Glitch said.

 

“I love hackers,” Scratch answered. “I’m for somewhere nice and sunny. Beautiful water, and amazing weather.”

 

“I’m for anywhere except here,” Jack added.

 

“Australia?” Glitch asked. “None of us have ties there, and no history of traveling to that area. An island in the South Pacific could satisfy our needs.”

 

“Sounds good. Anything outside of our normal movements will alleviate chances of failure,” Jack agreed.

 

“How will we purchase it?” Scratch asked.

 

“That’s the next order of business. We need to move it out of the re-routing system into an actual bank account. Right now it’s just revolving around and around through shadow accounts. We can’t purchase anything like that.”

 

“Cayman Islands or Swiss would be good for that. Cayman you need someone to open by proxy there, though. Luckily I have a few contacts, moving so much cash around. I have enough that I can use about ten proxies until none of them know who they are working for, and the paperwork will read as such. The card is a one shot deal, though. When I do, it has to be for the whole thing. After that, the contacts disappear,” Scratch explained.

 

“Why?” Araceli asked.

 

“Harder to track illegal account creation if you can’t even find the people who created the account,” was Scratch’s answer.

 

“Good. Then we move what we have now. We’ve got a stack house from over the last few years. That program has been running twenty-four-seven for nearly three years. We’ve got plenty to be happy about,” Glitch assured.

 

“I’ll call the contacts in then, when you’re ready. I can have a directive for one to be proxy for the land purchasing and sign off on the papers. You have new identities for us, or are we flying completely off the radar?” Scratch asked.

 

“Completely off grid. I can create those identities, but they’ll be locked boxed. They’ll be shells for what is owned by us,” Glitch said.

 

“Alright. Double safe, no print outs, only computer presence then,” Scratch figured.

 

“Exactly.”

 

“Give me a few,” Scratch got up from the table and headed back to his apartment. He kept a burner phone for an occasion like this. Of course, when he’d gotten it, he’d had the idea that he would have been getting himself free and clear. Not taking four others with him. What a difference a few years made. He couldn’t be happier, though, as he went about powering on the phone, hooking in the scrambler, and then jacking it into his computer. With a few clicks, he was making an untraceable international call. Fifteen minutes. That’s all it took to get the plan in motion. Fifteen minutes and he was writing down an account number, tossing the phone in his sink, and setting it on fire. He watched it melt and burn as he poured accelerant on it. After it was sufficiently melted, he turned on his faucet and put out the flames. He wrapped it in a towel and took it, and the account number back to Glitch’s.

 

“Here,” he said to Jack, handing him the phone. Jack would make sure it completely disappeared. Jack said nothing as he got up and left the apartment. He handed Glitch the account number next and watched as his friend keyed into his computer. The amount he saw transferring was staggering. Glitch had ridden the edge of caution taking that much, but they’d need it. After buying the island, they’d have to purchase ways to get there, a home, and anything else they’d need. Doing that by illegal means wasn’t cheap. Still, they’d be living a cushy life, many times over, before they lost all that money.

 

“The transfer will take about twenty minutes to complete, but it’s on a secure line. No stopping it now. We are a go,” Glitch said. Scratch fell into his seat, so amazed that he hadn’t heard the door open, but he felt when Jack gripped his shoulder. They were all silent, watching the money transfer. When the count was to zero on Glitch’s side, he clicked on his computer. Scratch didn’t know the words that Glitch would use, but he was sure that he was destroying the program and evidence, just like Scratch had done with the phone.

 

“The contact knows to procure the island, and home. He will gather vehicles and furnishings. I think he’ll even have it stocked with food,” Scratch said, with a strained laugh.

 

“Then your job is done Scratch, as far as the exit strategy, and so is mine,” Glitch said quietly. “Next part is all up to you, Jack. It’ll take a couple weeks, if not a month or two, to get the island purchased and the living space built. Enough money can make that process go faster.”

 

“I’ve got it. When I left earlier, I started making some arrangements for our extraction. It could get tricky to make sure that Eagle doesn’t catch on to our movements. I’ll have to take time to make some more plans, but that will be in place the closer we come to go time. Just understand, all of you,” Jack said, staring at them pointedly, “I come to you with a black duffel bag you walk away, you don’t ask any questions. You don’t even open the fucking bag until you get to where I tell you to go. You will have no contact with anyone else, at all, until you get to the island. That’s the way it has to be. You do exactly what the instructions say, to the letter, no matter what happens. If something changes, you tell them to contact Dragon. That’s it. Do you all understand?” Jack stared hard at each of them. One by one, starting with Scratch, they answered.

 

Jack’s part in their escape would be the most dangerous. They would have to make it to where they were going without any hiccups. If they didn’t, then they would be on their own. The others wouldn’t know until they never showed up at the rendezvous point. They all understood what he was asking. As hard as it would be, they wouldn’t have a choice.

 

“Got to say though,” Araceli mused,” it’s nice to know we’ll be getting away soon. It’s not a dream. It’s not a conversation. It’s real. It’s real, guys,” she said again. Scratch couldn’t agree more.

 

“Anybody think about the look on Eagle’s face when he finds us gone? I bet that’s going to be priceless.” Scratch tossed out.

 

“Wasn’t thinking that he’d be wearing anything else but a death mask, personally. It’s no less than he deserves,” Jack returned.

 

“And that is why Jack is my best friend,” Araceli said then, and everyone, except Jack, laughed.

 

“Why?” he asked, cocking his head to the side. Scratch held his breath. It was a moment of truth for Araceli. She could either win Jack over now, or lose her chance entirely.

 

“Because if I’m ever in trouble, I’d want the one who would do anything to see me safe to have my back. It might be ugly. It would probably be dangerous. Hell, I wouldn’t have the stomach for it. You have no idea, Jack, how happy I am someone in this family does,” Araceli said quietly.

 

“Yes, I will do anything to keep you all safe.”

 

And there it was, the right answer, and the acceptance that she probably didn’t even realize she’d gotten. Scratch didn’t know if that would stop arguments from breaking out later, but he knew for damn sure, at least they were going to pull through together.

 

Chapter 5

 

Mr. Brightside by
the Killers blared through the speakers of Scratch’s tricked out desktop. Of course, Glitch had given him certain programs and upgrades that other employees of Hawk Global weren’t privy to. With his feet up on the desk, he lightly bobbed his head to the music. Things were looking bright, indeed. Even though they had been planning to disappear from their life of indentured servitude to Eagle for a while, the realization that they were closer to being free made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. So the last few days had flown by. He’d never been free. At least not any part of his adult life. His family had used him since he was twelve-years-old, and then Eagle after that. Being able to do any and everything he wanted seemed like a fantasy.

 

So he enjoyed the feeling, and allowed himself the luxury of daydreaming. Of being able to just breathe. No thinking, planning, plotting, or scheming. His mind was filled with visions of distant lands. Beautiful ocean shores filled with beautiful women. He almost forgot where he was until a rather loud disturbance brought his dreams crashing down around him.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Monica spat the words at him, seething as she stormed into his office. She stalked up to his desk and tossed two file folders at him—subsequently sending sheets of papers flying everywhere. Some landed on the desk, others landed on the floor or in his lap.

 

Scratch was pissed. After the shock of her surprise attack wore off, that is. He shot her an incredulous glance before looking down at the label on the file closest to him. One was the folder of bogus information that he’d gotten from Glitch. Well that was quick. So she figured out that he was pulling her chain, but that didn’t give her the right to ambush him this way. He didn’t respond to her at first, but tried to calm down a bit. He didn’t appreciate being yelled at, and the aggression of her throwing the files at him didn’t sit well either.

 

Slowly, he let his eyes peruse the length of her body, starting with her hair that was styled curly, down to her royal blue skirt suit with a sharp cut to her waist that enhanced her natural curviness. Then, further still, to the black stiletto pumps with criss-cross straps around her ankles. Damn, she was sexy. His gaze traveled back up to the shiny buttons on her blazer. The style was such that a shirt was optional, and as his eyes focused in on the smooth skin of her
just
contained cleavage, he was certain there wasn’t one underneath. Here he was trying to calm down, but he was becoming excited in other ways. That was fine. He’d rather be turned on than in a rage, and he wasn’t some horny teenager who couldn’t control his erections.

 

“Are you such a pompous ass that you think you can screw around with me?”

 

She wasn’t yelling particularly loud, but her voice carried. Still ignoring her questions, Scratch gathered up the few loose sheets of paper on his lap and tossed them on his desk with the rest before getting up. Glaring at Monica as he went, he walked to the door and closed it. Other empty offices surrounded his corner office, so he wasn’t worried about the noise, but he didn’t want to risk someone deciding to be nosey.

 

With his back to her, he contemplated his response. He had not expected her so soon, and hadn’t heard back from Jack yet. Still, he needed to butter her up. Staying silent wasn’t just to calm down, but to give her a chance to either calm down or say something for him to work with. Turning around, he found her glowering at him with her arms folded across her chest, pushing her breasts up to expose a little more skin for him to look at.

 

Monica resorted to silence. Her anger was visible in the swift rise and fall of her chest with each breath, and the flaring of her nostrils. But even as she fumed, her eyes roamed his body the way his had over hers. Scratch was now leaning up against the door with his arms folded to match hers. The hard set of his Caribbean blue eyes made her want to slap him, but even though they were turned up in a smirk, the unexpected fullness of his lips made her want to kiss him. His earthy masculine scent filled the room around her, making the task of focusing on her anger difficult.

 

“I take it you're not happy with the information I provided you.” Scratch’s deep voice broke the silence between them. The tension was still thick, and pulsing between them.

 

“You know,” she started as she turned to his desk and began to gather a few of the reports that managed to stay inside the folders. “I can’t decide. Did you think you could fool me with this nonsense you gave me? Or did you think you were being funny? I don’t know you well enough to insult your level of intelligence, even though you did that to me.”

 

“Truthfully?”

 

“Is it possible? For you to be truthful, I mean. Don’t want there to be any confusion in what I want from you,” she scathed.

 

It was small and kind of obvious, but her choice of words had given him an opening to distract her.

 

“And what is it that you want? From me, that is?” He arched a devilish eyebrow in suggestion.

 

“The truth would be nice.”

 

“That’s easy enough. I find you impossibly attractive, and when you came storming into my office, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to kiss you to shut you up, or bend you over my desk and spank you.” 

 

“You can’t be serious,” she said dryly. Her words did not match the blush that was burning her cheeks.

 

“Oh, I’m very serious. Are you always so rude?” 

 

“Rude? You’re crazy. There wasn’t anything in your profile that said you’d been diagnosed with a mental illness.”

 

“Me?” Scratch let out a throaty laugh at her accusation. “You are the one that came into my office throwing things like a madwoman. I should be the one concerned about your mental health.”

 

“You should be concerned after that crap you pulled. You said you would cooperate with us. I don’t have time to play games with you, Mr. Hines.”

 

She held out a few of the reports for him to look over. Deciding to appease her a little, Scratch dropped his arms before he heaved himself away from the door. She tried to exude confidence as she stoned her features into a cold mask, but her hands were trembling. So he took his time approaching her. Once upon her, instead of taking the papers, he passed her and perched himself at the edge of his desk—making her have to come to him. She let out a deep huff, walked over to him, and shoved the papers into his chest.

 

“If you think I’d waste my anger on these lousy vendor reports you sent me, you are sadly mistaken. What I want to know is,” she paused to reach around him and grabbed the other folder off of his desk. In the process she made sure to arch her back so that her breasts pushed against him as she did. Two could play that game. “Why are you digging into my past?”

 

Scratch remained motionless as he absorbed the heat of her body against his. His body temperature was rising by the second. The scent he had come to love infiltrated his senses. She was so close. He wanted to place his hands on her hips and pull her even closer so that she could feel what she was doing to him, but he decided to let her lead. Having retrieved what she was looking for, she leaned back and her hair tickled his cheek as she did. With her petite stature, they were almost at eye level as she stood between his legs. Then, she pushed the folder marked personal at him.

 

“I know a lot of people don’t respect us ‘feds’ and think our success is based on the team of people we have to help work on an investigation, but some of us are very well connected. Bet you thought you could have someone prying into my personal history and I wouldn’t find out. Well you were wrong.”

 

Scratch took the file and flipped through it. On the first sheet he saw a checklist of items, the different parts of her history that Jack had looked into. He couldn’t be sure without the report from Jack, but the fact that she was somehow tipped off, was enough. Feigning disinterest, he tossed the file back on his desk and turned to look her in the eyes.

 

“So, I looked into you. Don’t you think it’s only fair? Considering you’ve done the same to me?”

 

“Not the same. I have a profile that was provided by your company. I haven’t had any reason to go digging for more, but there was no need for you to have a background check done on me. I’m a federal agent. What the hell were you looking for?”

 

“I just wanted to know who I was working with. Level the playing field a little,” he shrugged.

 

“Level the playing field? I thought it was clear that this investigation isn’t a game!” Her voice was becoming agitated again, and Scratch knew he had to do something, fast.

 

“It wasn’t about the investigation,” he countered.

 

“Then, what?”

 

“It was about you,” he replied in a seductive tone. Monica stifled the responding gasp, a result of the effect his smooth tone had over her. She seemed to be searching for a retort, but came up with nothing. She was conflicted. Her eyes searched his in disbelief, but she didn’t even protest the gentle brush of his fingers to smooth a few flyaway strands of hair behind her ears. So he decided to go bolder, and used each thumb to caress the soft skin between her ears and her neck. Now that his hands had a taste of what she felt like, he wanted more. He leaned closer, unable to deny the pull she had on him. 

 

“Me,” she repeated. Her voice was a whisper as her eyes begged for more. When he leaned closer so that the tip of his nose grazed her cheek, she hesitated before turning away.

 

“Yes. You. You rule my thoughts, and all I can think about is getting to know you better.” He nuzzled her neck to see if she would pull away. When she didn’t, and leaned into his touch instead, he added. “I’ll take what I can get.”

 

He pressed his lips to the hollow of her neck. He couldn’t help himself at that point. What may have begun as a game to him had jumped the fast track and became something more. He needed to know how her skin felt against his lips. He needed to know if she was everything he imagined at night. He needed to feel her lips under his at the very least.

 

“Monica?” His mouth traveled up the base of her neck, and over her jaw to hover at the corners of her lips. Scratch didn’t want to take the kiss. He wanted her to want it too.

“Hmmm?” She hummed in response. His hands were now buried in the depths of her reddish brown spirals, and she shivered as his fingertips grazed her scalp. It took great restraint, all he had, to remain gentle with her.

 

“Kiss me,” he commanded.

 

She didn’t do anything, so he pressed his lips to the warm skin of her cheek. He flicked out his tongue and teased the corner of her mouth. Her lips parted in surprise, and she took her time as she angled her mouth to meet his. With a hungry moan, she kissed him, taking his tongue into her mouth as she did.

 

If either of them were concerned about crazy, that’s exactly what came next. The second their tongues touched, all restraint was lost for both of them. Scratch managed to pull his hands away from her soft locks, and began to touch and grope her all over. Monica was returning the favor, and her small hands glided up and down his back, only stopping to grip and pull his hair.

 

She pulled away to catch her breath, leaving Scratch’s lips chasing hers. He settled on kissing his way down her neck, towards the tops of the golden globes that had been teasing him since she entered his office. Her half-hearted murmurs that they should stop meant nothing when she was mashing his face into her breasts. His fingers where swift, and eased open enough buttons to expose her pink lace bra. Scratch groaned at the site of her hardened nipple poking through the thin lace. He began to tease it with his lips and tongue before he even knew what he was doing. Monica wasn’t helping matters by rubbing her palm over his tented erection. They had both lost their minds to the intense energy that flowed between them. Scratch was about to slip a hand under her skirt when a shrill ringing startled them both to a stop.

 

“Oh my God,” she cried out, now that her trance had been broken. “That’s my phone. I’m supposed to meet Agent Axe.”

 

Scratch scowled at the mention of the other man’s name. He liked him even less for interrupting what he considered a magical moment. He couldn’t think of any other explanation as he watched as Monica straightened herself and rushed out of his office without a backward glance. That annoyed him even more, until he looked at the papers strewn all over his desk. A win was a win, and he couldn’t be mad at that.

BOOK: SCRATCH (Corporate Hitman Book 2)
13.47Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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