COBALT (Capitol Corruption) Page 3

  I paced back and forth throughout the suite after Nolan left, feeling like a caged animal. I dug my nails into the palms of my hands and fidgeted, feeling like the walls were closing in on me. Nolan’s smug attitude infuriated me. Not at him, but at myself. His blue eyes both intimidated and excited me all at the same time. I was angry at my own body’s betrayal, as my nipples hardened when he stood so close and lifted my chin. No man had ever affected me the way Nolan did.

  But things were moving way too fast in the last few days. I was filled with dread ever since Becca disappeared and those dark feelings of panic and fear came flooding back like they did after the rape.

  An hour later, I left the room, dressed to kill, wearing a strapless red dress that showed off my legs and hugged my curves. I sauntered down the hall to the elevator in black patent stilettos and rode the elevator down to the casino.

  The MGM was just like the casinos in Atlantic City. The immense patterned carpeting throughout the casino, the gambling tables and slot machines with their flashing lights and ringing bells, the scent of smoked cigars, perfume and cologne felt all too familiar.

  I walked over to the cocktail lounge, and I caught the attention of a few men as their eyes followed me. I sat at the bar, and looked over to my right at a group of young men, knowing right away it was a bachelor party. I smiled at the one who looked like he just turned the legal drinking age. His eyes were on my cleavage, but when he saw I was looking directly at him, he suddenly looked away.

  I ordered some kind of fruity martini from the bartender, pulling out my phone and staring at it, guessing at who would call me first – Dane or Nolan. I knew Nolan would be fuming mad when he discovered I’d left the suite. I rolled my eyes and smiled as I took another sip of the martini. In some way, I was looking forward to seeing what kind of reaction I’d get out of him.

  “Gina?” A man’s voice pulled my eyes away from the phone. I recognized him instantly. He was a client of mine, but I couldn’t remember if his name was Steve or Stan. He was a heavy-set man in his mid-fifties with a bit of gray hair. But I remembered that no matter what color suit he wore, nothing ever seemed to fit him well. And that he liked it when I called him Daddy while he fucked me and paid me well.

  “Stan Weldon.” He said, as his eyes steered right to my cleavage, “You look just as gorgeous as ever.”

  I smiled, but I was not in the mood to engage in any conversation with him. “Hello, Stan. Thank you.” I responded with a smile, hoping he would just walk away.

  But he didn’t and waved the bartender over to us. “You shouldn’t be drinking all alone Gina. Let’s drink together and have some fun together tonight.” Then placed his hand on the small of my back.

  Something snapped and I suddenly felt cornered. I climbed off the barstool and grabbed my clutch, “No thank you, Stan. I want to be alone today.”

  Stan’s arm snaring me around the waist and his other hand began to paw at my ass. “Come on baby girl, I feel lucky today. I’ll even pay you double this time.”

  His eyes were filled with lust and his breath smelled like alcohol and cigarettes. I pushed off him, but he was stronger and wouldn’t let me go.

  “Don’t fucking touch me you prick!” I railed at him.

  Then Nolan was there, standing right behind Stan. A rush of cool air and Stan was gone.

  Nolan hauled Stan off of me tossing him into bar stools like a heavy sack of dead weight and he fell face-first to the floor.

  A man even broader and taller than Nolan jerked Stan off the floor. “When a woman says not to touch her, you listen.” He barked, “Here’s a reminder for you in the future.”

  I heard Stan’s blood-curdling scream as the tall man broke his hand when the world suddenly tilted. Nolan hoisted me onto his shoulder and I dropped my clutch, gripping the back of his suit jacket.

  “Put me down god damnit!” I screamed as Nolan carried me away from the cocktail lounge.

  I heard laughter from people as I beat my fists into his lower back. Then I heard a bell ding and Nolan entered an elevator. Once the door slid closed, Nolan put me back down on my feet.

  His fists were clenched as he came at me, his blue eyes glaring. “You stupid brat!”

  Then it happened – I slapped him hard, across the face. The sound reverberated within the small space of the elevator. His eyes went wide.

  The back of my head bumped against the wall as his lips crashed down on mine, his tongue invaded my mouth, tasting me, devouring me. My body betrayed me again, as my arms wrapped around his shoulders, my fingers raking through his wavy hair. I moaned when he pressed his hardness against my stomach.

  He pulled away, “Let’s get married.”

  “What? Are you crazy? A high-end escort like me will only tarnish your reputation.”

  “I promised Dane I’d keep you safe. Marrying me will help your reputation, and keep you out of danger.”

  “Am I in danger?” I felt a sudden rush of anxiety spread in my chest.

  Nolan exhaled. “Dane called me. There’s evidence that Rebecca may have been taken unwillingly from her apartment.”

  The air was knocked out of me. I felt it all along – Rebecca was in trouble and maybe fighting for her life.

  “And whoever they are, know who I am. And they will come for me too.”

  I covered my face with my hands and began to sob. But I felt Nolan’s arms wrap around me and I clung to him.

  “Nothing will happen to you, Gina. I promise.” He said.

  The elevator opened and Nolan held my hand, I followed him down the hall to my suite. Nolan slid the keycard and when I entered, I let go of his hand and began to pace again.

  Nolan shut the door and leaned against it. He folded his arms across his chest. “Who was that stupid fuck? The one putting his hands all over you at the bar?”

  I spun around “His name is Stan. He was a client of mine.”

  “Well, he can’t jerk off now that my friend Brody just broke both his hands. If I see him in my casino again, I’ll have his balls mailed to his wife in a fucking Ziploc bag.”

  I believed Nolan when he said he would do that to Stan.

  He relaxed then, “I didn’t get an answer to my marriage proposal. Is it a yes or a no?”

  “Does it even matter? Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  “Good. Pack your things. You’re staying at my house starting tonight.”

  CHAPTER 6

  NOLAN

  When I got back to the MGM, I even knocked on the door to Gina’s suite instead of just walking in this time. But when she didn’t answer, I swiped a key card and entered to find her gone. I was in a fit of rage by the time I met up with Brody in the casino. Then to see some man not only touch Gina but paw her ass, it made my blood feel like it was in a pressure cooker ready to blow. I would’ve put a bullet in the back of the man’s head, but Brody held me back and broke his hands instead. Plus, I didn’t want to get blood and brain matter all over Gina and that sexy red dress she wore. When she smacked me across the face in the elevator, it got me hard, triggering me to kiss her, taste her. And she tasted like heaven.

  I found myself relieved when Gina actually said yes to my marriage proposal. Brody returned to the suite with Gina’s purse while she packed her things, then I drove her back to my mansion on the Potomac River. When she walked in, I turned to the sound of her heels clicking on the marble tiled entranceway, to see her mouth dropped open.

  She looked around in awe and at the grand piano to her right. “Do you play?”

  I shut the door, placing her bag down. “No, just Chopsticks. That piano just collects dust until the maids come and clean it.”

  Gina smiled. “Your house is... I can’t even find the words to describe it.”

  Her reaction was the same as the other women I’d brought over. But Gina would soon be my wife, and own half of the house, along with my money. “The house will be yours soon enough, once we’re legally married.”

  Her smile faded and her eye
s lit up with that sexy fire. “You’re the one who proposed. I’ll sign a prenup, Nolan. I don’t want your house or your money.”

  Of course, she didn’t. Gina was Dane’s only sister and part of the Neri Empire. Their parents were dead. So, I couldn’t understand why she chose to be a high-end escort.

  “That’s what I can’t figure out. You’re a high-end escort, which only hurts your brother. When the men in our line of business don’t respect him, it’s very dangerous.”

  “It’s none of your god damn business!” she shouted, her cheeks all flushed.

  “You’re going to be my wife and my business. Get used to it because the only man you’ll be fucking is me.”

  I hit a nerve again because she came at me like a wildcat. But before she could get another shot at my face, I took hold of her arms. She struggled against me, yelling that she hated men like me. When she tried to kick at my shins, I pinned her arms down and twisted her around, holding her tight against me. Then she went still and began to cry uncontrollably.

  “Shh. I’m sorry.” I whispered against her cheek.

  Gina hiccupped and sobbed, but she stopped fighting me. And I just stood there, holding her.

  ***

  Gina chose one of the many rooms in the immense house to sleep in that day. In just two weeks the marriage would be official, and I was counting down the days when I would have Gina in my bed. I called Dane the next day telling him about the proposal and that Gina had accepted. She was the only family he had left and he was thrilled and agreed that it was the best thing for the three of us. A Neri and Reynolds union would make us even more powerful in the corrupt cities of politics and money. But the most important thing was to keep Gina safe. Dane had his men in the local Jersey law enforcement investigating the disappearance of Rebecca.

  News spreads quickly and within a few days, the word was out that Nolan Reynolds, the most eligible bachelor in the Nation’s Capital was getting married to a high-end escort. It was spread all over social media from Washington, DC to Chicago, to Las Vegas. We had two weeks to pull off a grand wedding reception, with the actual marriage taking place at a Maryland county courthouse. It was a legal contractual agreement, not some formal church ceremony. My parents were ecstatic when I called them with the news, as they started to discuss names for our first child, which they already knew in their hearts would be a boy.

  Gina kept her distance the next few days, as she stayed on the opposite end of me in the huge house. By the end of the first week, I needed to get away and ended up sitting at a small table at The Mpire Club – a Gentlemen’s Club in North West Washington DC. I was surrounded in blue and pink neon lights, white furnishings and glass tables, making the seedy strip club look clean. I drank from a glass of cheap whiskey and watched a young blonde dancer work the pole on a small circular stage lit in neon colors. I should’ve just hopped on a flight to the other side of the country and land in Vegas. Then gamble away a few hundred thousand dollars just to waste it for no reason at all.

  Push was always punctual, arriving on time, but he looked so out of place in the neon strip club dressed casually in a gray wool sweater and jeans. I knew Push for years and he was a man to be reckoned with. He was a killer and a man I was glad to have on my side when shit went down. He had a notorious reputation in politics, law enforcement, and organized crime. He had very close ties to one of the biggest Yakuza bosses from Tokyo, Japan who was known around the world - Osamu Takata.

  “Why here Nolan?” He asked. Then the waitress came to our table and Push waved her away. I knew he would’ve rather been at home with Nadia instead of sitting with me in a strip club.

  I ordered another round of the cheap whiskey before she left. “I wanted to be someplace other than the MGM or my own house. Let’s just consider this a tacky bachelor party. Is Nadia good with meeting Gina tomorrow? I’m assuming they’ll go do whatever brides do before the big day.”

  “Yes, Nadia is looking forward to it. Mack will drive them to wherever they want to go.” He said, raising his voice above the loud thumping music. “Nadia needs female companionship.”

  I envied my good friend. Push was just as powerful and rich as I was, plus he had Nadia, his beautiful wife. Whereas I was going to marry a woman that I didn’t even know, for the sole purpose of protecting her.

  I heaved a sigh. “You’re a lucky man, Push. The married life suits you.”

  Push leaned back, relaxing a bit, “That I am. Nadia is everything to me. I will kill for her and I will die for her. I don’t know Gina Neri, but she is Dane’s only sibling. Marrying her is a show of loyalty to Dane.”

  The waitress returned, placing another glass of whiskey on the table.

  “It’s a marriage for contractual reasons only, for her protection,” I said. “Gina’s friend Rebecca was taken unwillingly it seems. There’s evidence at her apartment. Her disappearance is still a mystery and Dane’s men are chasing down any leads they have. The investigation is ongoing. Gina only knows that Rebecca was having an affair with a man who, of course, wants to remain a secret. Rebecca got pregnant and I’m betting that this man is well known either in politics or organized crime – or even both. I have a bad feeling the girl is dead.”

  “This man will be found or show himself someday, I guarantee it. We both know that men in powerful positions, especially the corrupt ones, get sloppy.”

  “And after we find him. What then? Gina isn’t exactly happy to go through with this marriage charade. We can’t be in the same god damn room together without arguing about something. One minute she pisses me the fuck off, then the next minute I want to get her in my bed.”

  The side of Push’s mouth lifted and he shook his head “I’ve never seen you this worked up over a woman, Nolan. Maybe Nadia was right. You’ve finally met your match.”

  I remember saying something similar to him about Nadia years ago. And I hoped in a way that he was right.

  CHAPTER 7

  GINA

  It was a bright and chilly afternoon when Nolan drove me into Georgetown to meet his friends Push and Nadia Barinov. I was nervous, sitting in the passenger seat and cracking my knuckles. It looked so unattractive and I was doing it right in front of Nolan, but I couldn’t help myself.

  As he drove, he placed his hand over both of mine, “Relax Gina. They’ll like you. I guarantee it.”

  Nolan had been a polite host at his mansion, even though I felt like a charity case. We kept our distance though. I stayed on one end of the house while he stayed on the other. He was out on most days doing whatever powerful businessmen like him did in the DC area.

  We pulled up in front of Nadia and Push’s home, an immaculate mansion in Georgetown. Push, a tall handsome man with dark hair greeted us at the door. His eyes were so dark they were almost black, like a shark. He was intimidating at first sight, but his mouth lifted in a smile, as Nolan introduced us. He took my hand and kissed it. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Gina Neri. Nolan was right, you are stunning.”

  I thanked him but felt a slight blush coming on and I looked at Nolan. He told Push I was stunning? Then a young woman with platinum blond hair appeared beside Push. Nolan introduced her as Nadia Barinov. She was strikingly beautiful, with crystal blue eyes, a shade lighter than Nolan’s bold blue, and her complexion was fair. She smiled and shook my hand. “I’m so glad to finally meet you, Gina.” You have your brother, Dane’s eyes. Let’s go find you your perfect dress, Mack can drive us.”

  Nadia’s driver, Mack, drove us in a limo through Georgetown and into Northern Virginia. We sat together silently in the backseat. I never really had any close female friends. My only friend was Rebecca. We both smiled at each other in the uncomfortable silence.

  Nadia was the first to break the silence. “Are you excited, or nervous? Or both?” She smiled, her eyes looking much wiser than her young age.

  I smiled “I guess I’m both. Nolan has been very generous and kind. I’m indebted.”

  Nadia’s brows wen
t up, “Indebted? You shouldn’t feel that way, Gina.”

  “I’m an escort”, I interrupted. “A prostitute who gets paid extremely well. This marriage is strictly a business arrangement and for my protection.” I breathed in deep and exhaled. There was that silence between us for a few moments.

  “Yes, I know. Nolan told us that your dear friend, Rebecca has gone missing. I’m sorry. I can imagine how worried you must be for her.”

  “Thank you. Rebecca’s childhood was hell for her and she doesn’t speak to her parents or any of her relatives. I was really her only family. She’s an escort like me. She got pregnant and never told me who the father was. I fear that whoever that man is, he didn’t want the baby and something terrible has happened to her.” I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. I began to cry and then I felt Nadia wrap her arm around me.

  “I had a friend once. Her name was Christina. Horrible things happened and she betrayed me. She moved away. But I now have my parents who I thought were dead all my life. Push, Nolan and Dane helped find them and I’ve never been so happy as I am now. It was a crush at first, but I’ve loved Push ever since I was just a young teenager. Push has done things...” Her eyes darted to the back of Mack’s head as he drove, then lowered her voice. “Bad things. He has hurt men. Killed men. When I was attacked in my own home, it was Push who saved my life. Push will help Dane and Nolan find your friend Rebecca. I guarantee it, Gina.”

  That’s why I saw the wisdom in her young eyes. I could only imagine the things she went through. Most young women our age were more focused on their popularity on social media, going out with their friends, or looking forward to their next date. But women like Nadia and I lived in a corrupt world, where powerful rich men called the shots.

  I smiled, pulling out a tissue from my purse to wipe my tears. “Thank you, Nadia. Talking about this really helps. You’re very kind.”

  “Cheer up. Nolan will only have his eyes on you on your wedding day. He’s absolutely smitten with you!”