French Connection Vol. 3 (8 page)

My shoulders slumped and I gave a weary sigh. I didn't have a choice. Well, I did, but it was a shit choice. I could keep telling Alizee no and then watch her torture Carrie because I didn't want to do something I found distasteful. Or I could do what needed to be done and protect the woman I loved. Sleeping with Alizee would hurt Carrie, I knew, but I trusted she would understand why I did it.

I had to make a decision and it came down to which was the lesser of two evils, which would hurt Carrie less. When I thought about it that way, it wasn't difficult to know which was best. Knowing it and having the guts to follow through with it were two totally different things, however.

“Okay,” I said. I kept my voice flat, not wanting Alizee to know how much this was costing me. “I'll do it.” The words were sour in my mouth. “I'll fuck you.”

Chapter 13

Carrie

It wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be to find where Alizee was stashing Gavin. I couldn't take super-sleuth credit though. I just spotted the security guard standing in front of a hallway vacant of people. If he'd only been looking toward the party and blocking the hallway from wandering party goers, I wouldn't have thought anything of it, but the way he kept glancing behind him indicated there was someone back there.

I kept near the wall as I made my way along the edge of the crowd toward the guard. As I grew closer, I could see him shift his weight from one foot to the other as if he was nervous. A thin sheen of sweat coated his forehead.

He turned as I approached and rattled something off in French. I held up a hand so there was no mistaking my meaning.

“Look.” I pitched my voice low so no one else could hear me. “I’ve been watching you for a while. You're so hot. Have you ever had sex with an American woman? ”

“American?” His English was heavy accented, but understandable. “You think you are better than a French woman?” He laughed.

I grabbed his crotch and leaned in closely to whisper in his ear, “If you’ve never tried, how would you know? Are you willing to take the chance you'll miss out on something amazing? I’ll blow you mind, among other things.”

He didn’t reply, but I could feel him getting harder. That was answer enough.

“I tell you what. Meet me in that room and I’ll show you what a real woman can do to a hot, strong stud like you.” I nodded in the direction of one of the rooms behind him.

He waited for a moment, then nodded and turned aside to let me pass.

“Give me five minutes to get ready, hun.” I winked as I walked into the hallway. I could feel his eyes on me.

Inside, I thought I'd have to try every room in the hall, but I quickly noticed that only one of the first four doors were closed. I doubted Alizee would've stationed the guard so far up in the hall if she was down at the other end. She and Gavin had to be behind the closed door.

A locked door, I was sure. I glanced toward the guard, but he'd vanished. Probably just to the bathroom to prepare himself for what he thought was going to be the time of his life. I looked at the door again. I'd seen enough brothel raids to know I could either try to slam into it with my shoulder or I could try to kick it in. I slipped off my high heels as I weighed my choices.

I wasn't tiny, but I was far from a large, muscular person. I wasn't sure my shoulder would have enough force behind it to break the lock. I'd had a cop once explain the best spot to kick on a door to get the right angle to break the lock. I knew I could put a lot of force behind it and that I could hit the right spot. The problem was my dress. It was far too tight for me to get my leg up where it needed to be.

Dammit! I grabbed the slit in the side and pulled. After a moment, the seams gave and, with a tearing sound, the slit ran all the way to my waist. I was flashing my panties every time I moved, but that wasn't my concern at the moment. I had only one chance to get this right. If I didn't break the door down in a single kick, Alizee would know I was out here and that would be bad.

I closed my eyes and took a slow breath to steady myself. “Here goes nothing,” I muttered.

The jolt that went up my leg as my foot connected was painful, but it barely registered. I was too focused on the now open door. I raised the gun I'd stolen from Pierre and entered quickly, sweeping from side to side like I'd seen the cops do when they went after a trafficking ring.

Alizee stood frozen, her hands inside Gavin's open shirt while his hands gripped the edge of the table behind him, as if her touch was painful.

“Get the hell away from him!” I ordered.

Gavin was staring at me, but I didn't look at him. I kept my eyes on Alizee. She glared at me, but slowly backed away.

“First you steal from me and now you threaten me with a gun?” Alizee eyes were flashing. “You are putting yourself into worse trouble.”

“Shut up,” I snapped. “We both know I didn't steal anything, which means you detaining me was kidnapping.”

“But you are carrying a firearm,” Alizee countered.

“I took it off of the man who killed the guards you had outside my door.” I sidled around, never taking my gun off her. “Seems you have enemies in Corsica who're willing to kill to see you discredited.”

Shock rippled across her face and, then, was gone. She hadn't known and it had thrown her off balance. That was good. I wanted her off her game.

“I know about the human trafficking,” I said. Vincent might not like it, but it was time to put all the cards on the table. At least, our cards, I wouldn't share his secrets. Once Alizee was in custody, if Vincent wanted to accuse Alizee of killing his daughter, that was his business.

“You know nothing,” Alize said scornfully.

“I know you use your clubs as fronts where your clients, if they have the money, can buy sex or even a person. I know you take frequent trips on your yacht and that you have the resources and connections to make sure it's not thoroughly inspected.” I was just a few feet from Gavin now.

“You can prove none of this,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. “My government will not take kindly to Americans accusing a citizen of such things.”

“But we're not your only accusers,” I said. “Even so, you held both of us against our will and, the way it looked when I came in, were about to engage in sexual assault.”

She gave me a smile meant to provoke. “He was enjoying it. In fact, he agreed to fuck me. You interrupted.”

“Carrie, I–” Gavin started.

“I know,” I interrupted. “Either she's lying or she threatened to kill me unless you had sex with her. I know you'd never cheat on me.” I wasn't saying it for Alizee's benefit or because this wasn't the time for this kind of discussion. I said it because it was true. I trusted that Gavin wouldn’t willingly allow Alizee to touch him.

“Foolish,” Alizee hissed. “If you had given me what I wanted, you would have your club, money, a place in Cannes. To succeed in this business, you must be willing to do whatever it takes.”

“No,” I disagreed. “There are lines, and you crossed them. All of them. And, right now, a friend is calling the cops. You're finished, Alizee.”

She stared at me for a second, her face frozen. Then she let out an inarticulate cry of rage and grabbed something from where it had been leaning against a wall. I had a split second to register that it was a fireplace poker, and then she was running toward Gavin, her arm up and ready to strike.

“Stop!” I shouted, even though I knew it would do no good. I had to give her the chance. When she didn't take it, I pulled the trigger.

The bullet slammed into her shoulder, spinning her around. She cried out in pain, dropped the poker and then fell to the floor. I hurried over and kicked the poker away. Gavin loosened his tie, pulled it off and tied Alizee's hands together. She let out a stream of curses in several languages, but we ignored her. Gavin fastened the end of the tie to the table leg and then went in search of something to use for her legs. I kept the gun trained on her, looking up only when I heard someone at the door. It was the guard I'd talked to. He looked down at Alizee then back up at me as I now pointed the gun at him. He slowly raised his hands over his head.

Gavin returned, grabbed the guard and tied them both securely with what looked like a curtain tie. Once that was done, he looked at me. The adrenalin rush was making my hands shake.

He gently took the gun out of my hands. He stashed it in his belt and then wrapped his arms around me. I pressed my face against his bare chest, breathing in the scent of him.

“I love you,” he whispered.

Before I could respond, his mouth covered mine. Oblivious to the guard, Alizee or the sirens in the distance, he kissed me slowly, thoroughly. His tongue explored every inch of my mouth as if trying to memorize it. I responded with equal enthusiasm, wanting nothing more than to forget what had happened and lose myself in the man I loved. I'd come too close to losing him too many times. Never again, I promised myself. Never again.

Chapter 14

Carrie

We were still kissing when the cops showed up, but both of us refused to be embarrassed about it. It was Vincent who’d alerted them and I knew he had explained things when I saw the understanding look on one of the officer's faces.

As much as I wanted to just leave everything for them to sort out while Gavin and I went back to our hotel, more explanations had to be given. I found a cop who spoke English and quickly gave my statement, as well as directions to the spare room where Pierre was still being guarded by Vincent.

While I was talking to one cop, Gavin was talking to another, explaining in French what happened on his end. A paramedic and a cop were crouched on either side of Alizee and she was rattling away in French, her eyes throwing daggers at Gavin and I the entire time. I hated not knowing what she was saying. I promised myself that if we really did end up with a club in Cannes, I'd learn French.

By the time Gavin and I were both cleared by the paramedics, Vincent had arrived. He walked past Alizee, not even looking at her as he approached Gavin and me. He embraced Gavin first and then me. Unlike before, I accepted the hug without reservation.

“I wanted to see you both before you returned to your hotel,” he said. “I had to thank you for what you did. Thanks to you, my daughter will have her justice. I may not be able to see Alizee convicted of killing my girl, but she will at least have to stand trial for her crimes.”

“I'm pretty sure she's going to spend the rest of her life in prison,” Gavin said. “Even if it's not for what she did to your daughter. She confessed that she was engaged in human trafficking and prostitution. She also attempted to set up Carrie for theft, tried to blackmail me into having sex with her and that she didn't care if I consented or not.”

“So you will testify?” Vincent said.

“I'm guessing we're not going to have to.” Gavin patted the pocket of his jacket and looked quite pleased with himself. “I recorded all of it.”

“Thank you,” Vincent said again. His eyes were shining and I knew he was trying not to cry. “Go back to your hotel now. I will speak with you tomorrow about our plans for the club as well as a gift of gratitude for what you did.”

“We don't need anything,” I protested.

Vincent held up a hand. “But you will receive it nonetheless. Go, sleep. Rest. We will talk again later.”

I looked at Gavin and he nodded. He said something to one of the cops. I assumed he was asking if we were free to go because when the officer nodded, Gavin reached over and took my hand, leading me out of the library and back through the house where the party-goers had become gawkers. It wasn't until then that I remembered the side of my dress was ripped nearly to my waist.

“Um, jacket?”

Gavin glanced down at me, puzzled until he saw the full length of leg and partial panties I was exposing. His eyes darkened and he immediately handed over the jacket. As I tied it around my waist, he spoke quietly, “Since it's already torn, does that mean I can rip it off of you?”

A shiver of pleasure went through me. Everything we'd been through had my body flooded with chemicals and I needed a release. That sounded like an amazing way to start.

“Yes please,” I responded.

Gavin growled in the back of his throat and put his hand on the small of my back, guiding me the rest of the way out of the house. “We need to get back in our room before I decide it's a good idea to get things going in the cab.”

I was pretty sure he was only half serious, but I wasn't going to take any chances. I flagged down a cab and we promised the driver a big tip if he made short work of the trip. We got there in record time and Gavin gave the driver enough to make the man smile. We barely acknowledged it as we hurried into the hotel, ignoring the looks people threw my way, and took the agonizingly slow elevator ride to our room. I was sure I would explode before we got there, but I somehow managed to hold it together until we got through the door.

Gavin kicked the door closed even as he pulled his jacket off me and then it became a race to see who could get the other's clothes off the quickest. He won, of course, because he did as he promised. With a loud ripping sound, my dress became little more than a rag and was unceremoniously dropped to the floor, joining our shoes and his shirt. Even as we pulled off the rest of the clothes separating us, Gavin wrapped his arm around my waist and lowered me to the floor. We were still just a few feet inside the room, but it seemed like the best place at the moment. I didn't want to wait even the few seconds it took to get to the couch.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” Gavin murmured as he pushed my hair back from my face.

I nodded and pulled him down on top of me. “Now show me.”

His hand twisted in my curls and he pulled my head to the side. I ran my hands up his sides as he began to kiss down my neck. Wet, open kisses that quickly became teeth worrying at skin, nips that sent little pinpricks dancing over my skin. I moaned as his mouth moved lower to lavish attention first on one breast and then on the other.

I slid my hand between us, my fingers teasing the tip of his cock, mimicking the wonderful things his tongue was doing to my nipples. When his teeth scraped over the sensitive flesh, I ran my nails lightly over the head of his cock.