Diamond (3 page)

Right as he was buttoning up his shirt, Lindy walked into the adjoining room. Long legs, long hair, and a testy attitude. It’s what he liked most about her. She wore a pair of tight-fitting, low-rise dark jeans with pockets and zippers along her thighs. Must have been some new design Stitch was working on. Stark against her pale skin was a tattoo of black flames that started on her right hip and wound around to dip into the crack of her ass. He knew that personally, because she’d once warmed his bed. The diamond belly ring she wore sat snugly against her skin, reminding him of a time when he’d almost invited a happily ever after into his life.

Lindy’s hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, the ends braided. What was left of her tank top left nothing to the imagination. There was dirt and grime spackled on her skin and clothes, but she was still beautiful. If a man were willing to go rounds with Lindy, he’d be one lucky bastard. Diamond loved her in his own way, he supposed, just not the way she wanted. He wasn’t built for long-term romances, or anything closely resembling a relationship. He didn’t have a heart, just an organ that kept him alive. Emotions were a tricky thing and left people vulnerable. Vulnerability was a weakness, and weaknesses left his shit wide open for a hostile takeover. None of that was going down. Not while he was still breathing.

“What do you have for me, Lins?” Diamond stepped out of his room and sat down behind a large desk embedded with diamonds. It was one of several areas where he conducted business.

“Well, I have some really good ones, and some not so good ones. Slim pickings this time around. Did Lip tell you about the Bionic who wants to work for you?”

“Yeah, he mentioned you had one. What’s the deal?”

“Don’t know. Guy claims there’s nothing for him in Tribeca. If rumor’s true, you may want to get Phyr in there and see what’s really going on. Have him take some of Thys’s people with him.”

Lindy was overstepping her role again. She liked to think because she occasionally warmed his bed, she had a say in what went on with him and his team. She wasn’t a part of the inner circle, and because of the constant strain between her and Lip, she never would be. Dissention in the ranks was unacceptable on any level.

“Nah, Amethyst is on something else right now, and the only person there to keep an eye on shit while she’s away is Zira.”

Lindy rolled her eyes and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“Don’t remember telling you to take a seat, Lins.”

She smirked. “Don’t remember you asking me not to take a seat either, Lavarious.”

“Diamond.” She also thought she could use his birth name.

She tossed her hand out as if swatting a fly, and he almost smiled at her. Funny thing about women, you slept with them once, twice, even a handful of months, and they felt they had some pull on your dick.

“Sorry, babe, you lost the privilege of calling me Lavarious when you stopped taking my cock.”

Her eyes widened at the remark, and he knew she wanted to say something but thought better of it. There it was. His reputation at work. Lindy didn’t know if he was serious or if he was playing. But he knew she’d never assume it was the latter. She had no choice but to suck it up and act appropriately. He did like her, but he wasn’t about to let her know that.

“Back to the Bionic. His name is Freeze. You can’t tell what part is machine and what part is real, but I’d fuck him.” Lindy noted.

“Good to know. I just may have you do that so we’re sure he can pull in a decent amount of resources, or at the very least, secure a patron.”

“Yeah, well, who says I haven’t already sampled him?”

Diamond grunted.

“Let’s get this over with. I have a meeting tonight with some people. I’ll see Freeze first, and then we can go about taking in or rejecting the others.”

“Got it.”

He needed to make sure the goods were quality. Patrons were what he wanted. The upper echelon from outside the city walls. They lived in blast-proof bunkers that weren’t really bunkers at all, but underground palaces. They paid in pure quality Wave and other tradable resources on a monthly basis to play with the same piece of ass. Women and men who gave their bodies to secure their futures, and sometimes their family’s future. Most importantly, they secured his. If the patrons were buying with pure Wave and other resources, then all the better.

What had once been called New York, wasn’t bright lights and big city anymore, it was a fucking wasteland. They did the best they could with what they had. The Grid
was up and running, mining brought salt and other mineral resources they needed. They had plenty of water to run the hydroelectricity, and most days, it worked as long as the water was treated properly. He may deal in selling flesh, but he wasn’t a complete ass. Lavarious Diamond wanted his city to thrive. Everyone had a price, and everyone had their reasons for doing what they deemed necessary. There were only certain types of people who were cut out to work the Quarry, and he vetted every single one. Diamond knew things were shit outside the wall. Food was sparse; clean, pure water was nonexistent. Except for the private stash of Wave he kept for himself, things were getting worse, not better. He wanted to provide for his people, wanted to maintain their loyalty and their gratitude. He knew the only way to attain that goal was through their happiness.

He saw a niche that needed to be filled and had insinuated himself in the mix, working hard to supply the demand. It was the reason he was in the position he was in now. Sovereign of the city. Flesh was always wanted. Needed. So were a lot of other things, but he and his team had all of that covered. Everything they offered was available through other channels, but none of those other channels could promise a clean, harmless environment. They got their trade’s worth, and because Diamond only chose the best, he could charge his clients out the ass. Lucky for him, greed hadn’t died out—it was alive and well, and the greedy only wanted the best.

When the comet had passed through the atmosphere, changing the Earth, Biel had terraformed the planet. There were many who claimed the transformation was more than beneficial to Earth’s inhabitants. Curing the people back then of their current infectious diseases, adding elements they thought did more good than harm. They were hungry for the knowledge. New discoveries in science ushered Earth into a new frontier. Taking them to areas of the unknown. Science, genetic engineering, splice harvesting, and advances in mechanical engineering all became a reality turned dark. Everyone celebrated their newfound liberation, but when the lights went out, it hurdled the world once more into a time of confusion and chaos. It took more than a century to recover. What was thought to be good, had turned out to be nothing more than the calm before the storm.

Although technology was now vast, pollution and a lack of resources were problems they had no immediate solution for. How they’d made it through still amazed Diamond. He hadn’t had to deal with the worst. But he’d heard the stories. Some two hundred years later, they were living, thriving as best they could. But he believed they could do better.

Nadya Stroya sat, waiting her turn to be seen by Diamond. Memory loss be damned. It was something she needed to do for her friends. If it hadn’t been for Anna finding her when she did, things could have gone a lot differently. She owed the woman her life. It was either Diamond or Attia. She chose the lesser of the two evils. Diamond ran the Quarry, and Attia operated out of North Brother Island. The insane woman wanted Nadya to join her harem of horrors. It was something she couldn’t accept. The two had never officially met, as Attia very rarely left the island. But she sent scouts out all the time, and somehow, Nadya had made the list of most eligible fighters. Nadya wasn’t desperate, but she
was
running out of options. There was only so much a person could take. She had to ensure she’d exhausted all possibilities before going to the extreme. She’d reached extreme two days ago, when Attia had sent her men in search of Nadya and Dominika, one of Nadya’s only real friends. Nadya’s only choice was to convince Lavarious Diamond that what she had to offer was good enough to secure sanctuary for Dominika and her mother. She was not without her talents, but she knew the one thing she had to offer, was the one thing he’d want.

She owed it to the two people who gave a damn about her. They deserved a good life, and if she had to make sacrifices, so be it. They’d taken her in, even when they had no reason to trust her. When Attia had sent her men to search for new recruits, they’d wanted her and Dominika immediately. Nadya had traveled all the way from Inwood to get an audience with Diamond, and without a glider to take her, she’d traveled on foot. No easy task. The journey to the Quarry should have been a short one, but it had taken her three days and two nights, where she’d encountered a handful of dangers in between. The gangs, the attempted kidnappings, and the Ragers. There weren’t as many now, but they were still out there. Skulking around in the dark.

But she was hell-bent on securing their future, because Dominika and her mother, Anna, had given Nadya one. Lindy was particular about those she chose to work inside the Quarry’s pleasure house, and only twelve contracts were selected every year. Nadya didn’t have much to offer in the way of looks, but she figured she’d win them over with her offer. She’d grab their attention for sure. She’d find a patron to not just procure Dominika’s and her mother’s futures, but Nadya’s, as well. It was the least she could do, considering their current predicament. Through no fault of their own, they’d ended up living in Inwood, which was as close to homeless as a person could get. Almost anything would be better than that. And Nadya would do whatever she could to make life just a little bit easier for those she cared about. She could work for a set amount of time, and once she was done, she’d be able to leave, knowing she’d given them the best chance at survival.

Lindy only came looking for new contracts once a year. The timing could not have been more perfect. This was Nadya’s last chance to gain an audience with the Sovereign of the city. She’d tried once before, that much she remembered, and it hadn’t ended the way she’d expected. For her troubles, she was severely injured and her memory was mush. Although the last time she’d tried to get his attention, she must have gone about it the wrong way. Why else would they leave her for dead? She didn’t look the same now, and her attire was completely different. She’d matured, changed. Whoever she’d been before, wasn’t who she was now. Hopefully, no one would recognize her. If they did, she might not even get a chance to make her pitch.

Diamond wasn’t a bad guy. Not really, or at least not totally. He wasn’t a
good
guy, but everyone in the city was grateful for all he’d done to keep them from being overrun by those infected with the Rage. He’d also given them the Grid. An intricate system bringing electricity and an almost drinkable source of hydration—as long as they had the proper filtration system. Some were afforded luxuries others—like herself—were not given. Because of this, there was a high probability of infection. The disease itself was something many were ignorant of. It came from spores that contaminated the main water source. Rain, lakes, rivers, and even the oceans were all polluted. Those with the infection were the ones closest to the initial spread of the contaminated water. The infected were cannibalistic. The infection chose its hosts randomly, but once infected, a person would suffer first from hallucinations then eventually succumb to the Rage, killing and eating anyone who crossed their path. If not for Diamond and his team, the city would have been completely overrun. There was definitely a pecking order. Unfortunately, Inwood inhabitants were not on the top of that list. They were the farthest away from the trading routes and suffered the most due to lack of resources, even though they were a devout bunch and preferred to live off the land without assistance from technology. They believed there was a higher power that provided for them. If it was of the land, it was good enough to consume. It was a harsh way of life, and Nadya had found it difficult to adjust at first. But she had, and somehow, she’d not gotten sick, while others around her had. Anna said some had weaker immune systems than others. She must have been right, because Nadya never got sick. There were times she felt drained to the point of exhaustion, but after a night’s rest, she was rejuvenated and ready to start her day all over again.

“Iland, do you honestly think any of these people are going to get picked by Diamond? I mean, look at them, they’re so dirty. And look at this one here with the bloody hair, I mean, she’s dressed in nothing but rags. She could be a Rager or one of those hybrids,” Frey stated with a sneer.

A hybrid was the offspring of a person infected with Rage in its beginning stages and an uninfected. The child between the two was normal, except for the eyes. Dual-colored, one eye rimmed with red and the other the color of one of its birth parents.

“Quiet, Frey
,
you’ll get us in trouble with Lindy,” Iland replied curtly, a furrow to her brow.

The girl named Frey rolled her eyes before saying, “Lindy can suck it. Just wait till I get in there with Diamond. He won’t look at another female, ever.”

“You talk like you’re going to be warming his bed permanently. You know he never takes just one female.”

“Let me handle the details of our negotiations, Iland.”

Nadya had to admit, the other people were dressed to play the part. Even the Bionic, who called himself Freeze
,
was dressed for pleasure. She didn’t own clothing considered suitable for what she was offering. Her wardrobe consisted of rags sewn together to protect her from the elements. To keep her warm and dry. She had a long piece of cloth she’d sewn together to form a hood to keep her neck and face covered. Her pants were stitched together, and she had pockets on the inside and outside of her thighs. This was so she could carry her knives and any object sharp enough to kill. It wasn’t easy living in Inwood. Her boots, yeah, they were a joke, but they were hers. Now anyway. She’d taken them from the neighbor’s daughter after she died. They were a half-size too small, but knee-high with huge buckles that she kept undone so she’d have some semblance of comfort. She’d lost her pair when she’d fallen asleep in an abandoned building. It wasn’t because she was a deep sleeper—she didn’t know the meaning of deep sleep. Had never experienced it. But her boots were useless after that little nap. Nobody stole them; a thicket of live vines had tried to detach her ankles from her legs as she slept. Live vines were another product of the comet. Deadly and carnivorous. Now, her feet constantly throbbed. They had ached more in the beginning, but as time passed, the pain had lessened. Now it was just the aggravating throb.