Oh f**k.
“Creed –”
“Just f**ked you again without a condom, baby.”
Oh f**k!
“You got pills in your bathroom. You take ‘em?” he asked.
“Um… sometimes,” I answered and he grinned. “Usually, I’m steady with that and condoms, always. You’ve put me off my game,” I told him and his grin got bigger. “We’re on day two, Creed,” I reminded him gently. “This is good. I like it. I missed you. I love you. I’m happy as all hell to have you back. But we gotta be better with that shit.”
“Take your pills,” he ordered. “Give me the head’s up when you’re back on track. I like to feel just you.”
I nodded. I liked that too.
He kept talking. “Future shit you gotta think about is just that. I’ll lay it out. I want a life with you. A home with you. Kids with you. All we should have had but did not get. Yet. I want you to get to know my kids and build a relationship with them. And, bonus I didn’t expect, I enjoy workin’ with you. You’re good at what you do. You got energy. You believe in the job. You let that emotion make you better at it rather than clouding it and I dig that. I got a business in Phoenix. You got one here. We gotta pick where we’re gonna be. No pressure but I don’t wanna be far away from my kids or put them through the hassle of flyin’ every other weekend to come and see me. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get creative and work something out. That’s enough for now but that’s where I am, what you need to think about. No decisions today, tomorrow, next week. We’ll talk when you’re ready but that’s where I am.”
“Okay,” I replied.
“Okay,” he whispered.
I decided it was time to switch subjects. “What’s your take on today?”
He rolled to his back but pulled my torso up on his as he did. He looked to the ceiling. I looked at his face.
“I get the play but I still think you all jumped the gun.” His eyes came to me. “Sebring does the job fueled by emotion. I don’t know where it comes from but he’s got a fire in his belly. He was playin’ it smart with finesse, diggin’ deep, lookin’ to make sure he got all the players. Beatin’ the shit outta Nair until he gave all the names of the clients he planted to work over the girls and promised to get the f**k outta Denver might not solve the problem if Nick or some other f**kwad is in on this with him.”
I nodded. “Takes care of the immediate problem, though,” I noted.
“Maybe, maybe not.” His eyes grew sharp on me and when he went on, my body braced. “Torture doesn’t work. Incentives do. Anyone will say anything to stop the pain. We have no idea if he gave us all the names of all the clients he planted. He swears he’s workin’ alone, we can’t trust that either. The only thing we know since we’ve been watchin’ him is that he hasn’t directly approached the girls but Knight’s no further than he was before.”
“Torture didn’t make you say what they wanted you to say to stop the pain,” I said quietly.
“Exactly. Torture does not work if you’re usin’ it on a true believer. Until they offered incentives, they got nothing,” he replied, not quietly.
I pulled in a breath and moved us out of this. I couldn’t deal with this. Not now.
“We’ve found nothing to even hint that Nair had a partner.”
“That’s the only thing I feel good about. My gut throughout this entire job said the man worked alone. He got info and he bought talent to do their thing with the girls but this is not a man who inspires loyalty. Knight’s business is f**ked. He shouldn’t be doin’ it but before I took this job, I looked into him and got nothing back but respect. Even know some cops on the DPD who had good words to say, no f**kin’ joke. So, regardless that he does it, I couldn’t sniff out one single enemy, outside Nair.”
“Knight shouldn’t be doing it?” I asked and my tone made him focus more intently on me.
“I get you,” he said gently. “And I’ll say, straight up, in my job with the clients I take, I cross a lotta lines so I am far from squeaky clean. But there is no denying what Knight Sebring does outside that club is not okay.”
“I disagree,” I retorted and his arm around my back gave me a squeeze.
“I know you do, Sylvie. I know why you do. But now you know that I disagree with you.”
“Do we have a problem with this?” I asked and he shook his head against the pillows.
“Nope. Your life, your job, your choices. I fit into that life; I don’t bend it to my will. Same goes for you with me. We got issues along the way, we discuss and maybe agree to disagree. But if I accept you have reasons for making the decisions you make and vice versa, we’ll be cool.”
That was the right answer so I nodded and my body relaxed.
His arm gave me another squeeze.
“Do you know why Knight does it?” he asked.