Son of Sin (Book 3 of the Forbidden Series)

5

“But why can’t I go?” Eve shrieked pacing the living room. “It is the opportunity of a lifetime. This school is everything I want.” Damien had taken them home that morning and Eve had taken advantage of the morning to prepare her proposal to her parents. Only it didn’t go the way she had planned. When she told them, she had an audition at Kurtwood they had flatly told her she could not go.

“We agreed to pay for a college education Eve, but prancing around some room in New York is not a college education.” Mr. Cassie argued. “Pick a real school.”

“This is a real school,” Eve growled. “I want to go. They agreed to give me an audition. I could have a shot at getting in.”

“I don’t care you are not going to New York.” Mr. Cassie declared putting his foot down.

“But the audition is in three weeks, and a plane ticket will only cost-”

“No,” Mr. Cassie cut her off, “and that is final. You are not going to New York. I will not pay for this stupid school.”

He was unreasonable he wouldn’t even consider it. Eve was not going to give up her future because her father was stubborn. She was nineteen. She was an adult, and she did not need his approval to do what she wanted. Eve tilted up her head and stuck out her chin defiantly. “I’m going anyway, and you can’t stop me.”

“Oh yeah? Just how are you going to do that if I will not pay for that school?” He snarled proud of himself, and sure he had won the argument.

“I will get a job and pay for it myself. I don’t need you.” Eve yelled and stormed up the stairs. She would pack her bags and go to New York anyway. She had been saving half her allowance each month since she was fourteen and she had checked her bank account to see if she had enough money to get there herself and she did. It was enough to fly there and get a hotel and fly back if need be. If she got accepted, she would look for work and an apartment in New York and then file for a student visa.

Eve didn’t need them at all. She would do just fine on her own. Suddenly Eve’s bedroom door burst open, and Mary came running in with a big smile. “Oh, Eve it’s wonderful. Damien called again, and he wants to take me to a movie premiere in LA tomorrow night. On a private jet, he has a private jet! And Daddy said I could go.”

That was the last straw. Eve screamed at the top of her lung and threw herself onto her bed. Life was unfair. Mary could go jetting off with Damien, and she could not go to an audition that could change her life. Eve hated this place. She would not miss it one bit. “Are you going somewhere?” Mary asked looking at the bag on the floor.

“I’m moving out,” Eve yelled.

“Why?” Mary asked not understanding why Eve would ever want to leave the security of their parents’ house.

“Because I hate this place.” She barked.

“I don’t see why. Things wouldn’t be so bad if you weren’t such a brat.”

“Get out!” Eve screamed throwing her pillow at Mary. The door slammed behind her sister and Eve screamed into her blankets. First thing in the morning Eve would catch a taxi to the airport and buy the first plane ticket to New York.

***

Damien waited in the limo while the driver rang the bell. He was dressed in his finest suit of black over a marooned Egyptian cotton dress shirt. Damien had forgone the tie for a more relaxed open collar look. He might be dating a reverend’s daughter, but he still had a public image as a rake to keep up.

Damien had decided to kick this sham relationship into high gear. This slow pace was enough to drive a man like him nuts. He would take the girls to LA and wow them with the glitz of Hollywood and then take Eve back to the hotel.

Mary!

He would take Mary back to the hotel.

Damien silently scolded himself. Damn it why couldn’t he get Mary’s sister off his mind? He had been thinking of Eve since he had kissed her that night in her room. He was trying hard to focus on Mary but Eve just kept creeping into his thoughts. As it was he was more eager to see Eve tonight then he was to see Mary.

The door opened, and Mary slipped into the limo and then her mother each dressed in a very conservative formal gown. Damien was surprised to see Mrs. Cassie. Where was Eve? “Mrs. Cassie, what a surprise.” He said trying not to sound disappointed.

“I came along to chaperone.” She smiled as she moved her skirt to shut the door.

“I thought Eve would be joining us.” He said casually hoping he didn’t sound too overeager.

“Eve took off to New York,” Mary explained. “Mom and Dad said she couldn’t go to some art school and she blew a gasket as usual and said she was going anyway.”

“Well, when she realizes how hard it is to survive out there she will come running home from that Kurt-whatever.” Mrs. Cassie said with no concern in her tone.

Damien stared at them both in stunned silence. What kind of parents was they? They worried about their twenty-five-year-old daughter going on a date but not their nineteen-year-old daughter fleeing the country. New York was not the type of place for a nice girl like Eve to be roaming freely. It was a dangerous place for an innocent girl. He was appalled by their utter lack of concern.

“Eve was invited to Kurtwood, a prestigious art school, and you said no? Then you just let her run off?” Damien asked calmly trying to understand the situation.

“Well we can’t stop her she is an adult. She will have to learn the hard way.” Her mother said settling in her seat with a smile. “Does it take long to get to LA by jet?”

Damien could hardly contain his disgust. “Where is she staying?” He asked redirecting the conversation back to Eve’s welfare.

“I don’t know?”

“When did she leave?”

“This morning,” Mary told him.

“Excuse me a moment; I need to make a few calls on the way to the airport.”

“About what?” Mary asked.

Damien put up his hand to silence her as he took out his cell phone. “Please zip it. Sit there and look pretty.” Mary and her mother shut their mouths insulted by the way he had spoken to them, but they did not make another peep. “Yes,” he said when the airline agent answered the phone, “can you tell me how many flights you have leaving for New York and when they touch down?”

***

The phone rang, and Dane Thompson jumped down the last three steps in his swimming trunks. He snatched up the receiver and propped the phone between his ear and shoulder while he toyed with his towel. “Talk to me.”

“Dane?” He heard his uncle’s voice come from the other end of the line.

“Oh, hi Uncle Damien, what’s up? You in town?” He asked leaning against the table and looking out the window at the girls in bikinis lounging by the pool.

“No. Is your dad around?”

“Nope, he took mom to Miami for the week.” Dane grinned as he watched one start rubbing lotion into the shoulders of another. “Oh man, is this important? I got some friends over, and it’s looking like it’s about to get a little girl on girl if you get my drift.”

Damien laughed on the other end understanding perfectly. His parents weren’t home, and Dane was quite the little playboy. “Is Rolland around?” Damien asked for the house’s butler.

“Yeah, hold on he’s around here somewhere.” Dane took the phone away from his ear and yelled for Rolland. It took a few minutes, but the old man finally came out of the kitchen and took the phone from his boss’ teenage son. “It’s Damien,” Dane told him and then took off for the pool.

Rolland put the receiver to his ear and said hello. “Hello, Mr. Sanchez, lovely to hear from you. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are not home right now.”

“I know, look I need you to do me a huge favour. Go down to the airport and pick up a girl named Eve Cassie. She is coming in from Alberta, and she’s nineteen with long dark hair. Take her back to my penthouse and give her the key. I’ll call you back with more instructions.”

“Any special reason for this Sir?”

“Just keep her out of trouble until I fly in.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I owe you one.”

***

Eve’s flight touched down that afternoon, and things couldn’t have gone more wrong. It had taken over four hours to get through customs. Everyone was so rude, and the airline had lost her luggage. All her money had been in that bag, and she found herself stranded in the terminal. The lost and found was no help forcing her from one line to another with no one helping her. They couldn’t find her bag, and if she didn’t tell them where she was staying, they couldn’t send it to her even if they found it.

Only Eve couldn’t find a place to stay if she didn’t have her bag. Without money, she couldn’t even flag down a cab. She was in a hopeless situation. After pacing the terminal for well over an hour Eve sat down and dropped her head in her hands to cry. She had no choice she would have to call her parents and confess that she needed their help and wanted to come home. She could already hear them saying I told you so.

“Miss. Eve Cassie?” A male voice drew her from her tears.

Eve looked up to see a senior man in fine clothes standing before her. He was slumped slightly in the shoulders with lines on his face, and gray hair she guessed was once dark. He had kind eyes and a pleasant smile.

“Yes.” She answered looking around. Who was this man and how did he know her?

“Your car awaits.” He said in a thick Italian accent.

“My car?” She had no idea what he was talking about. She had not called for a car, and this man was a stranger, although he didn’t seem dangerous.

“I am here as a representative of Mr. Damien Sanchez.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“Mr. Sanchez phoned me.”

Eve lifted a quizzical brow. “How did he know I was here?”

“I’m sure I don’t know.” He said.

“And who are you?” She asked not ready to go with him.

“You may call me Rolland.”

“You work for Damien?”

“No. I work for his brother-in-law, but I am here as a favour to the Bambino.” Eve giggled. She had never expected to hear Damien referred to as a bambino. “Now what do you say we go get your bags and get out of here?”

Eve frowned once more. “They lost my bag, and no one will help me. They said they couldn’t fill out the forms if I couldn’t tell them where I was staying. All my money was in that bag. I can’t possibly get a hotel without it.”

Rolland reached down and took Eve by the hand. “Come now Bambina, wipe your tears. We will fix everything I promise.”

They headed into the lost and found office once more and Eve watched as Rolland stepped up to the counter and spoke softly and politely to the man behind the counter who earlier had been very rude to her. Rolland threw around his employers’ name and a few subtle threats sending the airport staff hopping like rabbits trying to appease him. They assured the old man they would do everything possible to have her luggage found and returned to her in a day or two. Rolland sighed and said it would be acceptable and then they left.

Eve thought it was wonderful how he had turned the complaints office upside down. “It must be nice to have the power to make people fall over themselves,” Eve said following him outside to the parking lot.

Rolland offered her a sheepish grin. “Oh, it is. I have been doing it over thirty years, and it never gets old.” He said opening the back door to a black Lincoln town car. “Your ride Miss. Cassie.”

“This is for me?” She said giddily.

“All yours.” He said.

Eve climbed inside and settled in on the black leather seat. The windows were tinted, and there was a small bar. The front of the car was separated from the back by a black plastic partition. As the door closed behind her Eve realized that Rolland was the driver. Finding a button on the door, she lowered the partition and watched Rolland climb in behind the steering wheel.

“Just where are we going?” Eve asked curiously. The airline might have been looking for her bag, but she was still penniless for now. She could not possibly afford a room anywhere.

“Mr. Sanchez’s penthouse.” He replied. “He gave me very specific instructions to set you up at his place and see that you are provided for.”

Eve rolled down the window and watched as the grand city of New York passed her by. All the lights and excitement. Eve was on top of the world. She could not believe she was here. It was all too much.

After a bit of a drive, they pulled up out front of a towering downtown apartment building. The building had a fancy doorman and a parking attendant. Inside the building, the lobby was huge and extravagant with a man assigned to the desk and a security guard posted beside the elevator.

Eve followed Rolland through the elegantly furnished lobby and onto the elevator. He pressed the button for the penthouse and waited for the doors to close. The ride up was slow and gave Rolland the time to ask. “How is it you know Mr. Sanchez?”

“He’s trying to date my sister. I’m sure he thinks this random act of kindness will get him in good with my parents.” How wrong he was. When they found out he had only made it easier for her to defy them, they would only be annoyed. Not that they would say anything to him. They would not want to risk losing their shot at a wealthy son-in-law. She would accept his charity for now at least until her luggage was recovered and Eve could get herself on her feet after all his place was sitting there empty anyway. Why shouldn’t she use it if it were offered?

The elevator door opened on to a private hallway that led to a large double door entrance. Roland removed a key from his pocket and unlocked the door then passed it to her. “This is for your use only while you are a guest of Mr. Sanchez’s.” He instructed pushing the doors open and walked inside.

Eve was astounded by the beauty of the penthouse. It was done up in contemporary modern furniture. White and black colours dominated the décor. The apartment was well lit with high ceilings and wide-open rooms that led into the next. The kitchen was cherry oak and stainless-steel appliances with black marble countertops. The living room stepped down and had an entire wall made up of windows that led out on to a huge balcony that overlooked an incredible view of the city skyline. There were a small bar and a large fireplace in the living room with a huge flat screen television mounted on the wall above it. Outside on the balcony sat a ten-person hot tub and a swim gym.

Off to the side of the entrance was a hall that led to a doorway that looked as if it were a study or a library. Beside it was a washroom. Between the kitchen and the living room was a winding suspended staircase that went up to a second level of the penthouse.

Rolland finished showing her around downstairs and then took Eve up to the next level. Upstairs were four rooms. There was a small den with a pull-out sofa. A television, a mini-fridge, and a computer. The next room was the master bathroom which was bigger than Eve’s bedroom back home. This room alone was worth buying the place. It had dual sinks and a huge vanity mirror. A stand-up shower big enough for four people with jets from every side and white marble tile. A huge deep Jacuzzi tub that looked big enough to accommodate even Damien’s size, he must have had it custom built because she was sure they did not normally come so large.

The third room was the guest bedroom Rolland had told her. It had a big king size bed with a white silk cover. There was a vanity in the corner by the window and a magnificent stand-up wardrobe beside it. Fantastic art on the walls and an attractive area rug on the hardwood floor. “This will be where you are sleeping so make yourself at home,” Rolland told her. “The shopping has been done so there is food in the kitchen and pantry. If you need some clothes to change into Mr. Sanchez’s mother leaves some things here for when she comes into town. They should be in the wardrobe, and they should fit. There is a petty cash box in the top drawer beside the stove feel free to help yourself if there is anything you need. For anything else, you may call me. The number I believe is on the speed dial under Thompson. Will there be anything else Miss. Cassie?”

“Eve.” She corrected him.

“Miss. Eve.”

“Just Eve please, and no I will be fine, thank you. I think I might shower and maybe tour the city a little.”

“Should I drive you?”

“No, I’m a big girl I’ll be ok.” She promised.

“Mr. Sanchez would not approve. The city can be hazardous for a young woman not properly escorted. I insist you take an escort if you wish to tour the sights.”

Eve smiled slyly. “And who would you recommend?”

***

Eve heard the door as she had just finished zipping up the red dress she had found in the wardrobe. Rolland had promised to send an escort to take her out on the town, and she had hit the showers right after. The shower had been so incredible she had not wanted to get out. Carrying the high heels in her hands, she flew down the stairs yelling that she was on her way and hoping they wouldn’t leave.

Reaching the door, she threw it open and gasped with shock at the man on the other side. He was tall and lean, around her age, with collar length light brown hair and dark eyes. He had a dazzling smile and Eve recognized him immediately from his music videos that she had seen at her friends’ houses. “Hi, I’m Dane Thompson.” He introduced himself. “You must be Eve.”

Eve nodded; the old man had sent a bloody pop star to escort her around New York how cool was that? “Oh my god, you are so cool.” She gushed feeling a little silly afterward.

Dane laughed and put his arm around Eve’s shoulder ushering her toward the elevators. “A fan I see. Well, then you are going to love tonight.” He promised. “Have you ever heard of the VIP?”

“Isn’t that some posh nightclub run by an ex-Heathen?” She asked slipping on her heels while they waited for the elevator. It had been all the talk in the entertainment news shows. She even remembered a cover story about the owner on Boss Magazine about how successful the VIP had become overnight. She would have never guessed one day she would get through the door. Only there was just one little problem. “Don’t we have to be twenty-one to get in?”

Dane laughed. “Oh sweetheart, we have an all-access pass. I know the owner, he’ll let us in. So, you are Damien’s latest?” Dane asked stepping on the elevator when the doors opened.

“What? No!” She said offended by the reference. Did the man have that many kept hussies?

“Sorry. You’re just staying in his place, and he’s paying for you, I just naturally assumed you were his latest tart.” He teased.

“No,” Eve promised him. “Damien is not interested in me. The tart is my sister. I’m just a means to an end.”

The doors closed and Dane looked Eve over with an approving smile. “So, what you’re saying is that you are fair game?” She shot him a shocked look, and he gave her the same wolfish smile she had seen on Damien’s face. “Did I mention I’m single?” Suddenly Eve giggled like a giddy school girl and then blushed, feeling foolish for having done so. Dane laughed and pat her on the back. “I can just tell you’re going to be a blast.”

Eve smiled she loved New York already.

Downstairs Eve found a jet-black Aston Martin Vanquish awaiting them. Dane winked at her and accepted the keys from the valet. “It was a graduation gift.” He said. “Wow, all I got was a book.” She said as Dane opened the door for her. Eve climbed inside. Dane climbed in next to her, and before she knew it, they were ripping down the streets of New York. It was exciting and Eve found herself awestruck when they found themselves outside the VIP. It was a huge club with bright lights and a velvet rope with a lineup of well-dressed, beautiful people wrapping around the block.

Dane took Eve by the hand and handed the valet his keys to park his car. He then led her up the steps and right past security. She couldn’t believe that they walked right in. Inside, the club was even more incredible than outside. It was wall to wall celebrities and lights. The huge bi-level dance floor was hopping, and the band was amazing. They didn’t have clubs like this back home.

“You shouldn’t be here. You’re underage.” A deep voice startled Eve.

Dane just grinned as he shook hands with a large black man in a stylish tanned suit. Eve’s jaw dropped as she shook hands with none other than the Ronny Creek, drummer for the Heathens. He was a mountain of a man larger than any she had ever met. He could have easily been a heavyweight boxer or a superhero with all that muscle, but he had chosen music and rightly so. In her opinion, there was no better drummer past or present.

“This is Eve.” Dane introduced her. “She’s staying at Damien’s, and I’m showing her around.”

Ronny offered her a charming smile. “Pleasure to meet you I hope you enjoy the club.” He then placed his hand on Dane’s shoulder. “I got some people to see, but you know where to find me if you need anything.” He then said his goodbyes and walked off.

Dane leaned in close putting his arm around her waist. “Come on beautiful let’s dance.” He didn’t have to ask her twice. Eve hit the dancefloor with Dane and couldn’t have had a better time. The energy was intense, and before she knew it, she was having the time of her life under the attentive escort of a handsome young celebrity. She had died and gone to heaven.