I pushed Shanti off me frustrated she would even try something like that. “What the flying hell Shanti? That seduction shit doesn’t work on everyone plus you know I don’t swing that way. At least I could have been drunk! Damn!” I stormed towards the door, I had enough of the bullshit. She knew I was on to her.

“Wait stop please Ally.” Shanti dashed towards grabbing my hand once again trying to pull me in close to her. “Let me explain! You don’t know how much you mean to me… I came back to Freeside for you Ally! You!” She walked to me and tried to caress my cheek but I moved her hand aside.

“What part of I don’t swing that way you don’t understand? I’m tired of your bullshit and I’m tired of this case! Your father stole money Shanti but you already knew that… Pick your ending Shanti, your father knew he had it coming… I’ll return your deposit back to you. I have my own personal reasons now for seeing this case through but as for us, don’t contact me again.”

Shanti tried once more to pull my arm trying to stop me, “Ally please…How can you be so heartless? Is Charlie a suspect too?” She gave me a grim smirk. “I see you’ve finally figured out that your father was involved in this shit as well.”

Her comment made me stop in my tracks. I whipped my head around so fast it made Shanti step back. “What did you just say?”

Shanti walked back around the computer desk and sat down. She took her spoon out and then did two bumps. “There’s a lot of things I thought you knew…” She looked at the computer scene watching her guests in the VP rooms have sex. “I knew our fathers were planning something because I heard them talking about it all the time. I saw your dad almost everyday. So much so I used to run up to window when I saw his car coming.” She turned her attention back at me. I was still standing by the door. “I thought he would be bringing you with him but most times he didn’t. My dad swore me and brother to secrecy about who all would come over here. He would have countless meetings and secret little parties mostly with the members of the Syndicate. Your dad was here for majority of them… The only reason I remember this is because your dad would promise me, he would tell you hello for me. Obviously, he never would. Eventually I just started seeing our dads with your dad’s police partner. I recognized him from the news recently. He’s getting out of prison due to tampered evidence? What a coincidence for Chief Bernard.” She held her hands in self defense. “You have to believe me I’m on your side. I didn’t know how well you would take your father being Syndicate.”

I put my head down in disbelief from what I was hearing, although what she was saying was true. It had to be… She was desperate to keep me on her side for whatever reason. “This whole case was supposed to be about finding out what happened to your father, not going on a wild goose case. All I’ve been able to focus on is the finding this fucking money. I haven’t been able to be as thorough as I usually am because every time, I get somewhere something fucked up happens! Now stop avoiding the question, how did you get your half siblings to sign over the share of the joint account?” Shanti was shocked, surprised even. “Why are so you surprised? You didn’t think I would find the pool of money your father left for ALL of his kids? I just told all I’ve been able to accomplish was following the money. You had them kids killed, didn’t you?”

“No! I swear!” she jumped up and screamed.

“Than why do the police think it’s me?!” I screamed back.

“Because HE wants it to be you! Chief Bernard came to me one day and told me about my father’s children he had on the side. He told me that my father split Chad and I inherence to give them a piece of the pie. Why did he have to do that? My dad had plenty of money why would he need to split my brother’s and I cut? Bernard said I could get their shares but they would have to sign it over to me. So, I reached out and got it done… I didn’t know he was setting you up, placing those cookie crumbs for Charlie to find. His men pulled me over one day and told me if I interfered, they would arrest me for stealing my half sibling’s money. I didn’t steal shit!” Shanti slammed her fist on the table making her powder sprinkle all over her desk. “All I know is you would piece this all together. I just found out about those kids! They didn’t even know about the money… My dad whore around like every other man in this house, they didn’t deserve it. Yes, I persuade them and maybe threatened them a little to sign over their shares but I didn’t kill them and now you’re to blame...”

“You helped that son of a bitch by not saying shit to me! Fuck their threat you should have let me known… Care about me my ass Shanti.”

“You have to believe me… Why do you think I made the party a masked party? So you’ll be safe to come. They wouldn’t be able to see your face…” Shanti and her bright ideas.

I gave her a blank stare, “And I can’t see theirs…” No emotions in my response. “I’m doing this to save my own ass now. Everything I’ve built, worked hard for and looked up to is all crumbling all at once and I’ll be damned if I go down for some shit I didn’t do. I’m done Shanti.”

I grabbed the door handled and began to turn it. “You think Charlie doesn’t know about this shit too? You think he’s mister innocent? He’s using you like I was but the only difference was I was paying you for a service. Charlie asked me to lie to about who he was when I sent him to you. Don’t think for one second he has your back! I do Ally, I do! If you’re not with me then you’re against me…”

I looked back once more and softly replied, “Again with the bullshit…” then walked out the door. I stormed down the hallway and quickly down the stairs. I dashed out so quickly, I didn’t see that Charlie was waiting for me outside the VP hallway. When I got to the bottom the first person, I thought I recognized that prick Chief Bernard. The way he was standing, the way he was dressed, I knew it was him… I darted in his direction with full force of making a point that he couldn’t touch me. I held the ‘get out free jail’ card knowing half of his police force was dirty. It burned in my hand like a fireball now knowing the truth…

The tall masked man with a round gut, doubled looked in my direction when he saw me spear heading towards him. He was talking to a female casually sipping some champagne. I was about three steps away when someone grabbed me from the side, pulling me away like we were doing a dance move. I looked up and it was Charlie… always to the fucking rescue. “Not here, not right now…” He whispered in my ear. I yanked my arm back from him and straightened my dress. “Let’s go get a drink… on Shanti.”

I nodded my head and decided not to make a scene. I looked over my shoulder to who I believed to be Chief Bernard and thankfully was wrong. Charlie pointed to the other side of the bar he was knocking back shots with a group of guys. He was right I needed a drink… When the bartender came around, he placed a napkin in front of both of us. He gave me a head nod asking me what I wanted but Charlie decided to answer, “Top shelf whiskey for tonight and leave the bottle…” The spikey haired bartender nodded his head and turned around to grab a squared bottle of some Scotch Whiskey. A brand I’ve heard of before but Charlie seemed enthusiastic in sharing this fancy bottle of liquor. The bartender placed two small clear glasses in front us then poured the crisp brown whiskey up to the rim. He smiled and winked at me as he poured Charlie’s glass up to the rim as well. He gently placed the glass top back on the liquor bottle and set it in between us. “You’ll like this whiskey. I know it’s your favorite kind of liquor. It was all you had really in your loft last time I was there.”

Twenty minutes or so went by as Charlie and I almost drank more than a quarter of the bottle. I don’t know about him but I was definitely not a hard-core drinker despite my whiskey collection. Those bottles had been sitting there for forever… “Then she kissed me! Can you believe that?” I said as I took my last shot.

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Charlie started laughing aloud and hit the top counter, “Yes, I can! Shanti always thinks she can win people over by spreading her legs. I’m not surprised she tried to win you over that way. Don’t take it too personal she does that to everyone… besides that entertaining story, did you plug in the USB?”

“Oh shit! I forgot to text Jason, I got it in.” I looked pulled my phone out from my clutch purse and saw Jason left me ten text messages and five missed calls. I texted him back right away apologizing for the delay.

Charlie scooted closer to me, as close as he could get to where our knees were touching. “I have a surprise for you…” He held out one of his hands and there was a small red and silver cufflink inside. “While you were away with Shanti, I snuck upstairs to the attic and had a look around. I was taking pictures with my phone with I came across this. Everything up there looks the exact same, even the damn rope still hanging from the ceiling.” I looked down at the cufflink then back at Charlie. I gave him a look like I wasn’t following. “This is another lead, Ally. Only two people I know where cufflinks like these and both of them are members of the BK5.” Charlie smiled with excitement but I didn’t have the same enthusiasm as he did. “Why would they want him dead? Maybe the BK5 already found the stolen money…”

I sighed and said, “What makes you think I want to investigate this Douglas case anymore. I told Shanti I was done with all the lies. Done with me being in the middle of this bullshit.” I finished the rest of my drink in one gulp. My words all slurred together…

“Because I know you want to know the truth just as I do. I know you want to prove everyone wrong, again…”

I rolled my eyes at his convincing words and began to slowly turn the opposite direction from Charlie out of my bar stool. “Alright, let’s go back upstairs. I want to see it for myself too.” When my feet hit the floor, I stumbled a little not realizing how drunk I was. “Whoa!” I fell right into Charlie’s arms and we gave one another the same surprised look.

“Yea… you’re not going anywhere like this. I think you’re done for the night, light weight.” He smiled as he helped me back to my feet. I took a deep whiff of his cologne, it was memorizing. He smelled so damn good it drove me crazy. Charlie put his arm around my shoulder and guided towards the large stairwell that led to the main entrance. “I don’t think your plan totally failed. Just keep walking…”

I tried to look over his shoulder but couldn’t see who he was looking at. As we walked towards the stairwell, I could see others starring at us. Groups of men dressed a like following our path with their eyes as we walked by. All were wearing masks but it was obvious we were being scoped out. At first, it was a bit scary but I quickly shook it off. “Wait… I can’t leave without telling Amber where I’m going. That would be fucked up to just leave without telling her.”

Charlie tightened his grip around my shoulders as I tried to stop and turn back around. “No… keep walking. I’ve been keeping an eye on your friend and she’s busy right now. She’s safe, I know who she’s with.”

“What does that mean?” I curiously asked.

“That means, don’t be a cock block. Besides it was getting too crowded in there for me.”

“I’m not afraid of them.” I replied like I was ready to fight.

We got outside and I pulled Charlie’s arm from around my shoulder. He huffed and looked around for the valet. “I didn’t say you were Ally. All I’m not saying is you’re not the only one tired of looking over their shoulder. You made your point and your appearance and now we can leave with our heads held high. I’m saying fuck them with you… We live to fight another day, ok…” I nodded in agreement; he was right again. “Let me take you home.”

The valet came around with a cool blue old school convertible Mustang. “What number car is this again?” I asked jokingly. Charlie just smiled as he opened my door for me to get in. The cold air of the night hitting my face helped me to sober up as we drove away. After texting Amber, I left the party to go home, I rested my head against the custom seat. My eyes opened when I smelled the aroma of marijuana. I laughed then said, “I would like to go home to my loft, please.”

“You can’t go back there right now.” I didn’t say anything… I just gave him a look. My eyes felt low from the contact I was getting. “Alright… to your place it is.”

It felt good pulling up to my apartment building. It seemed a lifetime ago since I’ve been here. Been home… Charlie found a parking spot not too far from the door. I got out then asked if Charlie was coming inside. He nodded and walked inside the apartment building with me. I waved to the doorman as I pressed the elevator button. We both stepped inside then glanced back at the doorman. “I’ve never seen him before, have you?”

“No, I haven’t…” I replied as the doors closed. “Maybe he’s new.” When we reached the four and final floor, I felt immediate relief and calmness as I stepped into my untouched loft. Everything was where I left it… I turned on the lights to the kitchen and dining room and noticed Charlie stayed by the elevator. He had his hands in his pockets looking around. I felt a bit of hesitation coming from him like he didn’t want to overstep his bounds. I know he wanted me to stay that other evening but I was so upset and conflicted by the ‘side kids’ murders. I had to break the silence... “So, what was the real reason you wanted to leave?”

“I told you already, there were too many eyes on us and I didn’t want anything to pop off.” Charlie replied quickly.

“Or… the Syndicate’s beloved so called neutral Tax Collector has chosen a side to work for the head honcho in finding the money. Shanti said you knew more than what you were letting on.” I felt betrayed.

He cut his eyes and starred at me for a minute, “And you believe her? The only part I knew was your father being Syndicate. It was obvious you didn’t know that about him when I met you… Being the Tax Collector means nothing right now. The others know I worked directly for Consuelo. If I don’t do what he says, he’ll kill me. My position got put on hold because Douglas and his buddies decided to fuck us all over…” He pinched the bridge of his nose in between his eyes, “You know, I know all of this shit is fucked up for you. At first yes, I thought it was pointless bringing you into this and now I see I can’t really do this without you.” Charlie looked away and shook his head, “You may not believe me but I care about you more than I’m supposed to. I find myself caring more about your well-being than finding the money…” He exhaled then turned around to face the elevator and pressed the down button. “Have a good night, Ally.”

What was I doing? Why was I pushing him away? Lord knows he does something to me that no one else can… I couldn’t let him leave, I couldn’t deny the way I felt any longer. “Charlie…” He turned around and looked over his shoulder. The elevator door opened and he had his chance to walk away. Instead, he stood there looking at me with all seriousness. “Stay… with me.” I said softly. The doors dinged twice and closed. We stood still looking at one another until Charlie closed the gap. He caressed my cheek before grabbing the back of my neck pulling me in. His kiss was passionate and strong making the intensity build between us.

I helped pull his jacket down over his shoulders as we kissed. He threw his jacket to the side and I started quickly unbuttoning his shirt as he unfastened his belt to his pants. I slowly started walking backwards as I watched Charlie pull his white shirt off and throw that to the side as well. I reached up my back and pulled down the zipper allowing the dress to loosen from my body. He watched as my dress fell straight down pass my hips to my feet. I had on a matching bra and pantie set from Victory’s Secret… (they make the best strapless bras). Mesmerized by the sheer bra set, being able to see through the black flower designs Charlie bit his lower lip and said, “Damn, girl…” as he walked towards me.

I turned around and walked to the control panel on the wall. I pushed the button for the large automatic shades to come down to cover the windows. As the shades came down, Charlie unfastened his slacks while he kept slowly walking towards me. He pulled his pants down then kicked them to the other side, as I unhooked my bra. Charlie caught up to me, grabbing me by my waist pulling me in. He kissed me down my neck and to my collar bone as he slid my bra off dropping it to the floor. The sensation felt so good I couldn’t help but to moan…

He gently pushed me against the wall just before getting to my stair case leading to the bedroom. Charlie grabbed me by my thighs and lifts me in the air. I straddled my legs around his waist as he carried me up the stairs. With his strong arms, he threw me on to the bed, pulled down his briefs down then climbed on top of me. With both hands, he pulled down my lace panties making both of us completely naked.

Charlie laid it down on me… passionately giving me everything I wanted in making in love. He was everything I wanted… He was strong and super sexy, he knew what he wanted to achieve and went for it. I had never been with someone like him before… Once was not enough for us, three times was more than satisfying.

***

I woke up in the middle of the night… I rolled over and noticed Charlie wasn’t there. I slowly sat up grabbing my head dizzy as hell from all the liquor we drank last night. Ugh… All of sudden I heard a loud bang and something crash down below me. The noise was so loud, it quickly woke me up. I nearly tripped and fell stepping on the empty Jack Daniels bottle on the floor by my bed. What the hell was going?