Sons of Justice 13_Off the Market for Love Read online

  “Saturday evening, I need you for an event. Just got a call from Charleston Long, and he is in the market for a few investment properties. He’s throwing a cocktail party at his estate in Cinder. Five o’clock. It’s black tie. I can pick you up and we can attend together,” Gordon said to her.

  “Gordon, I have plans Saturday evening at eight,” she replied, knowing she was meeting her sister and some friends at the Filling Station for a local fundraising event.

  “You won’t need to stay the entire time, just long enough to do your magic,” he said, and approached her desk.

  “Ellington Blake will be there, and several other high-profile businessmen. I want you to work on spreading information of that land and site in Ausberry that is now under our agency.”

  She was shocked. “What site and land?”

  He handed over the folder he had in his hands. “A client, an associate of mine is looking to sell this land to the highest bidder. A hundred acres, ten million dollars. It’s zoned for commercial business, and is located on the outskirts of Ausberry. A great location for an enterprise. There will be several businessmen there, and it will be your job to spread word on this. All the details are in this folder.”

  “Wait, ten million dollars?” she asked, shocked.

  He smirked, and then lowered his voice. “That’s a split of at minimum a million dollars between the two of us at commission for selling it. If we get the ten million, and more if the price increases by demand. Motivated to attend now?” he asked and winked.

  Her heart raced and she opened up the folder and started looking things over. “I should do a drive-by.”

  “Go ahead. Do whatever you need to get comfortable with your knowledge on it, to answer questions and give feedback to these business people. It’s going to be one hell of a night, Tiana, and hopefully a huge money deal for us and this agency. I’m giving you this opportunity, not anyone else,” he said to her, and then headed back to his office.

  As the information began to sink in, she started to feel a little sick to her stomach. This was a real estate agent’s dream opportunity. If she pulled this off and sold it, she could make a profit of a couple of million. It would also set the bar higher for wealthier clients to use this firm. Could she do this? She sat down at her desk and started looking into more information that was in the file as well as online. Then she thought about heading into the boutique in Repose. She could do this. It was the opportunity she had been waiting for, and she would succeed. She would sell that property to the highest bidder, and do whatever it took to make the sale happen.

  * * * *

  “Don’t’ kill me. Please, don’t kill me. I’ll get it done. I’ll make sure everything goes according to your plans. I swear.” Keith begged for his life. He realized too late that he was in over his head with these men. The two of them were a force to mess with and he should have known that they had connections. That they would find out about Keith and his partner attempting to double-cross them, and get in on a deal without them knowing.

  “I should put a fucking bullet in your head right now. There’s no need to let you live. None.”

  “Calm down, we don’t need a fucking mess in here. I think we can work this out.”

  Keith looked up at the two men. Who would think two businessmen like them had connections in the government? Illegal ones, and ways to put pressure on deals, and eliminate competition by threats and even murder? Keith swallowed hard.

  “I’ll do whatever you want. Please, let me live. I’ll do whatever it is you need me to do.”

  “Oh, I know you will, or you won’t make it home from the event Saturday evening, nor will your little friend, Peter.” The slug to his stomach sent him into the fetal position on the rug. He didn’t dare move, or cry out in pain. He breathed through it and prayed whatever they asked him to do, wouldn’t put him into further danger, or to his grave. Keith had no choice. He’d fucked up, and messing with two men like this was the worse fuck up ever.

  “Listen, while I explain exactly what you’re going to do.”

  * * * *

  Tiana was walking through the supermarket grabbing a few things for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow. Her cell phone rang, and she noticed it was her sister Avana. “Hello?” she answered.

  “Hey, Tiana, what’s going on?”

  “Just running through the supermarket real quick, then I have to drive by a potential new listing. I was going to call you. I need to go shopping for a cocktail dress for a black-tie affair Saturday.”

  “Saturday? I thought everyone was meeting for dinner and drinks at the Station?” Avana asked.

  “Oh, I’ll be late for that unfortunately, this cocktail party came up last minute. Gordon told me about it today and well, there are some important clients that will be there. Actually, it’s pretty exciting. I may be getting a new listing that is the biggest I’ve ever had.”

  “Seriously? That is awesome. Then don’t worry about it. Get to the Station when it’s over. I’m sure we’ll be there for a while. I might not make midnight or anything, but we’ll see.”

  “You take it easy. You’re still recovering.”

  “Yes, I know, and my men keep me aware of that. I can’t wait to hear more about the new account. We’ll catch up later then. If you need help finding a dress I can meet you at the boutique.”

  “Okay, I will let you know. Talk to you later,” she said, and then ended the call. It rang again, and she didn’t recognize the number. She answered it and reached for an orange to put into a bag. “Hello?” “Tiana?”

  She didn’t recognize the deep, hard tone of the voice.

  “Yes it is, who is this please?” she asked, gathering a few more oranges into her bag.

  “Falzone, Tat’s friend.”

  She nearly dropped the phone from her ear, and then went to catch it; oranges fell from the pile on the shelf. “Oh, hello, Falzone. How are you?”

  “I’m well, thank you. Uhm, I hope you don’t mind that I got your number from Spartan.”

  Her heart was racing. Falzone was a big man, very quiet and looked ready to tear people limb from limb. Between his nearly bald head, shaved designs on the sides and his rugged beard, he was a cross between mountain man and MMA fighter. She barely talked to him and the rest of his team, although they stared at her. It unnerved her so she stayed clear. She wondered what the call was about. “So what’s going on?” she asked, fixing the oranges.

  “Well, it looks like we’re going to be staying around Repose for a while. We can’t stay in the cottage here, it’s kind of cramped for the four of us, and you came highly recommended.”

  “Oh, that’s great news. Thank you for the compliment. So what type of place are you looking for? A house, condo, townhouse? What exactly are your ideas?”

  “Well, we haven’t gone over everything, but I did see a place outside of Repose in town.”

  “Oh, the Landers place? It’s blue and brown trim?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yeah, it’s a cute place, but honestly it needs a lot of work, not sure how handy you guys are or if you want to be bothered, but it doesn’t have much land either. Only a quarter of an acre.”

  “Seriously? What’s all that land behind it?”

  “That’s a farm belonging to the McCanster family. They own a hundred and fifty acres. Are you looking for something like that?”

  “Uhm, hmm, I guess we need to talk through this a bit more.”

  “Don’t worry, I can meet with the four of you and go over a bunch of things to get a better idea of what you’re looking for.”

  “That would be great. When are you available, and how soon?”

  “Well, I can be a bit flexible today and tomorrow, Friday and Saturday I have plans, but if we get an idea of what interests you guys in the next two days, I could probably make arrangements for some showings for Sunday and Monday, if that works for you.”

  “That would be great. Today is good for you?”

  “Yes, but ar
ound three o’clock. I have a showing in an hour and then some other things to organize, but I can search up some things and have suggestions when I come by.”

  “Excellent. So we’ll see you at three.”

  “Definitely. Take care.” She ended the call, and couldn’t help but smile. Falzone sounded very cordial and relaxed on the phone. That was the most the man had ever spoken to her.

  She was smiling as she finished up her shopping, and was hurrying with her bags after coming out of checkout when she noticed the navy blue pickup truck alongside her car. Two men were getting out and she had to do a double take. Vella and Messina got out.

  Messina smiled wide. “Hey, Tiana, right?” he asked, and her bubble burst that she was thinking he knew her and remembered her.

  “Yes, Vella and Messina, right?” She fumbled with her keys and lifted her knee to balance a bag, but Messina reached for one to help her.

  “Let me,” he said, taking it from her.

  She locked gazes with him and her heart sped up. Jesus, he was sexy, and looked pumped up, like he just finished working out. She unlocked her door as Vella approached, but stayed on the sidewalk, it was like she had a disease or something. So strange. The man looked pissed about seeing her, or maybe he always looked pissed off.

  “Thanks a bunch,” she said, and took the bag from Messina.

  “It’s so funny bumping into you guys.”

  “Why is that?” he asked.

  “I just got off the phone with Falzone. I’m going to stop by the cottage later today to go over some things. He said you’re in the market for your own place. There’s a lot out there, but knowing your desires, your wants and needs as far as requirements in a home are key, too. That way I can be sure to get as close to what you want as I can.”

  “He mentioned that he was going to get your number. So we’ll see you later then.”

  “Yes, you will. Have fun shopping,” she said, and then gave a wave to Vella, but he just stared at her, then looked at her in the outfit. Well, she looked good, and was dressed professionally as usual. The business dress was tight and short, accentuating her bust, and her narrow waist, but not inappropriately short. Add in the high heels and she looked good. Although she did realize even with the heels she was still very short compared to the large men. She got into her car and started the engine. Glancing at the men as they headed to the front entrance of the store, she saw the young women smiling at them and one even said hello. Messina nodded with a small smile, but Vella ignored them and headed inside. He was definitely a complicated, maybe even angry man. Oh well, business was business.

  * * * *

  “Damn, she looked good, didn’t she?” Messina said to Vella as they waited for the cold cut order by the deli counter.

  “Who?”

  “Don’t who me. You know damn well who I’m talking about. Tiana is hot, tiny little thing, too, but her ass in that business dress was something else,” Messina said.

  “She looked scared of us. She should be. A guy half our sizes could break her.”

  “I wasn’t thinking that at all. She smelled good, too,” Messina said to him. Vella gave him a look as if annoyed, and with his eyes squinted.

  “You would know what I mean if you came closer and helped her, too.”

  “Know what? How she smelled?”

  “Hell yeah. Edible,” Messina said, and winked.

  Vella exhaled, then whispered to Messina. “You seriously want to try and get involved with some young woman like her? Don’t you think we need to focus on other things, like coming down from this chaotic roller coaster we’ve been on for months?”

  “What better way than in a sexy woman’s arms and company?”

  “She isn’t some piece of ass, you realize that? Her sister is dating friends of ours. All their friends are involved with women.”

  “And what. You don’t think it could be good for us? To not be in bed alone at night with our thoughts?” Messina asked. They stopped talking as the guy behind the counter asked what else they needed. They got rolls and then took the cold cut packages and placed them into the cart. They started walking toward the butcher.

  “What are you talking about?” Vella asked him.

  “A woman’s arms. Protecting her, making love to her, inhaling her scent and getting lost in her beauty and softness, that’s what the fuck I’m talking about.”

  “Where the fuck is this coming from? Our friends, and being around their sorry asses as they engage in ménage relationships and forget that they’re killer soldiers? Get your head out of your ass. We aren’t commitment types at all. We wait for the next fucking mission and we go out and complete it without a care or worry about one another.”

  Messina was quiet a moment. “Have you noticed that our friends are calmer? That they aren’t on edge, that their concerns for their women are priority and they seem happy? I have, and I’ll tell you one thing, brother, I’m sick of feeling on edge. Of not sleeping through the night. Of having only blood, gore, death, bombs and gunfire fill my head at night. I want to be free.”

  Vella grabbed Messina’s arm. “And what?” he asked through clenched teeth.

  “You think a five-foot little sexy bombshell that probably hasn’t even had vanilla sex will be able to fulfill your needs and replace the pain? Ain’t going to fucking happen, and even if she did sleep with you, she wouldn’t be able to handle the wild, demanding control you, or any of us need, in the bedroom. She’d cry, and run scared, and hell, accuse us of being the monsters we are. Fucking drop it. This isn’t a fairy tale with happy fucking ending. This is life. We’re fucked, and our destiny is out in the field until the man above decides we’re finished. We’re going out in a blaze of glory, not as old men cuddling up with one woman, or a house filled with kids and family celebrations with friends and their families. That’s a fairy tale.” He turned around and walked away.

  Messina was angry. He just wanted to be happy for once, and for some reason looking at Tiana, feeling his body and his mind’s reaction to her, made him think there was more to life than the military and missions. Maybe he was building her up to be their saving grace. He didn’t know, but what he did know was that his interest and the attraction he felt was growing stronger, and having her help them find a house and spend time with her could change all their lives for the better.

  * * * *

  The doorbell rang, but Biani and the team already knew that Tiana was there. They heard the loud muffler on her car as she pulled into the gravel driveway. As the engine died, it made a funny noise and Biani opened the front door.

  His breath caught in his throat at the sight. Tiana was gorgeous. She wore a tight-fitting navy blue business dress that hit above her knees, and as she bent down slightly to grab a large black leather bag, he saw the shape of her small, round ass. His cock hardened.

  “Jesus,” Messina whispered, and brushed by him to greet her first. Biani shook his head.

  “Hey, long time no see,” Messina said to her, and reached his hand out for her to shake. She smiled and reached out, shaking Messina’s hand, and then her eyes widened a moment and she pulled back, lowered her eyes, and pushed her long, dark brown locks over her shoulder. She then looked at Biani and he smiled, too.

  “Thanks for coming,” Biani said.

  “Of course.”

  “Well come on it. We figured we could sit in the living room. It’s the biggest,” he said to her, inhaling her scent, and then the smell of her shampoo. The woman was a goddess and then some.

  “How are you?” Falzone said, joining them in the living room. She reached out to shake his hand. Falzone, just as they all did, towered over her. She looked a bit intimidated. Biani felt aroused. This was something else, and it was instant.

  “Have a seat. Can we get you something to drink? Water. Coffee?” he asked her.

  “Water would be fine,” she replied.

  Falzone went to go back to the kitchen, but then Vella barked, “I got it.”

  Bian
i saw her look up at Vella, and then worry her bottom lip.

  She took a seat on the couch and Messina of course sat right next to her.

  “This is a cute little place,” she said, glancing around the room.

  “Little is an understatement,” Messina said to her, and licked his lower lip.

  She smiled. “Well, first of all, I did bring some information on the Landers place in case you aren’t interested in a lot of land, and don’t mind a fixer-upper.”

  She set down her bag and started to pull out a file. From where Biani sat, he could see right into the gap in her top and to her deep, full breasts. The lace of what appeared to be a camisole peeked out, too. One look at the others, including Vella who now joined them, and his eyes were glued to her as well. He took the vacant seat on her right.

  “Here you go,” Vella said, and handed her the bottle of water. He had one, too.

  “Thank you, Vella,” she said to him, and he looked away.

  She handed Falzone the paper.

  “We talked about this, and I think we want more land, no neighbors too close by, and plenty of room in the house,” Falzone said to her.

  “Well, there’s a place about five minutes from Bo’s café and bookstore, Happy Endings. It has a private entrance, with two large gates in the front, more for curbside appeal really, not as security gate, and the rest of the property is open land. But you drive up about a minute, and beyond the trees is a gorgeous older place. Very well maintained.” She took out more papers. She then handed them over to Messina, who was next to her. “I wasn’t sure of your price range,” she added.

  “We’re open to options so we can get what we want,” Falzone said to her.

  “How many bedrooms does this have?” Messina asked.

  “Six, and there is this extra-large master suite that isn’t finished, so basically you could do as you wish with it. The rest of the house is complete.”

  “Someone lives there now?” Biani asked her.