The Devil’s Plaything

Chapter 6

Reese

Present Day

I take advantage of the coffee brewing to tidy up the living room a little. I remove the three wine glasses from the coffee table, fluff the flattened cushions, and pick up several pieces of clothing from the floor before heading back to the kitchen. I haven’t even finished pouring myself a cup of coffee when I hear someone opening the front door. I don’t need to turn around to know it’s Rose who just walked in. She’s the only person who has a key to my house.

“Want some coffee?” I ask without raising my voice too much.

I hear the distinctive click of her heels against the floor, and the scent of her perfume fills the entire room.

“Good morning to you too. Double, please.”

I hear her drag one of the tall stools back and sit down on the other side of the breakfast bar.

I fill another cup with coffee, and when I turn around, I frown when I see her dressed elegantly and provocatively.

“Fun night?” I ask, placing the cup in front of her.

“Exhausting.” She takes a long sip and, after letting out a small sigh, brings her gaze back to mine. “Don’t ever let me go on a date again with guys I only know through a screen.”

I roll my eyes. Ever since we got out of the correctional facility and moved to Los Angeles, Rose has made finding a steady partner her goal. Nine years have passed since then, and she still hasn’t managed it. I don’t think she’s looking in the right place either.

“Another pervert obsessed with your feet?” I ask.

She nods and huffs loudly, making several strands of her red hair fly around.

“We hadn’t even finished dinner and he was already asking me to let him suck my toes.”

I’m about to spit out my coffee, but I manage to control myself and chuckle under my breath.

“Hey! It’s not funny.”

“Keep your voice down,” I whisper, placing my index finger over my lips.

“Why?”

Before I can answer, I hear someone’s footsteps approaching. Rose glances over my shoulder and gives me a mocking smile.

“Good morning,” I hear behind me.

I turn around and greet the man who has just walked out of my bedroom in his underwear.

Fuck!

I don’t remember his name. Josh? That’s it.

“Good morning, Josh,” I reply.

The guy narrows his blue eyes and shakes his head from side to side.

“I’m Mike,” he corrects me.

I give him an apologetic look just as another half-naked body appears behind him.

“I’m Josh,” the newcomer informs me.

“Seriously?! Two?!” She purses her lips and turns her attention back to her best friend, who looks at her indignantly. “Girl, leave something for the rest of us.”

“Rose,” I hiss in warning.

Josh and Mike laugh quietly, and the latter moves closer to me.

“We’ll be leaving in a minute. Unless you want to invite us to breakfast.”

Breakfast?

Fuck, no!

He seems to notice from my expression that I don’t like the idea, because he immediately takes a couple of steps back. I clear my throat and give him a fake smile.

“I’ll pay for the taxi. You can have breakfast somewhere else.”

Luckily, neither of them insists, and it only takes them a few minutes to get dressed, gather their things, and leave my house. They don’t mention the fact that they don’t have my phone number to meet up again. They know that’s something that isn’t going to happen.

As soon as we hear the front door close, I face Rose’s amused gaze.

“You know being a little more affectionate with your conquests isn’t a crime, right?”

I roll my eyes and finish drinking my coffee in a couple of gulps before leaving the cup in the sink.

“They’re not conquests. Just…”

“Casual lovers?” she cuts me off.

“Call them whatever you want. We had a good night, but it’s daytime now, isn’t it? Everyone goes back to their own home, and if they want something to eat, their mommies can feed them.”

“Reese, with that attitude, you’re never going to find a partner,” she says, crossing her arms.

I arch an amused eyebrow and imitate her posture.

“What makes you think I’m looking for one? Besides, don’t come lecturing me about romantic relationships. You go out with perverts who jerk off while watching you through that f*****g app.”

“That app is what pays my bills,” she replies, frowning.

“Do you seriously think you’re going to find the love of your life among one of your subscribers? For God’s sake, Rose! Go to a bar, talk to some handsome guy, and take him home. It’s safer than going out with those f*****g fetishists.”

“Hey! Relax. Shouldn’t you be in a good mood after spending the night with those two hunks?”

I shake my head, giving her up as a lost cause. I’m never in a good mood in the mornings. She should know that by now.

“I’m serious. One day, one of those guys who lives obsessed with you is going to hurt you. You expose yourself too much.”

“They pay well,” she says, shrugging, as though going out with a bunch of degenerates in exchange for money were the most normal thing in the world.

“That’s called prostitution. You know that, right?”

“Hey! I only go to dinner or dancing with them. They pay me for my company, not for sex.”

I narrow my eyes, and she huffs loudly.

“Fine, I’ve slept with a subscriber on occasion, but only because I decided to. Don’t blame me. I’m still looking for my Prince Charming, and all I find are foot-sucking frogs.”

If I weren’t sure she was serious, I’d be laughing my ass off. Rose may be impulsive, reckless, too forward, and yes, sometimes she doesn’t consider the consequences of her actions, especially when it comes to making money, but deep down she’s a romantic. She believes in true love, marriage, and all that s**t. She longs to create the family she never had. That’s something I didn’t take long to realize when we became friends.

I exhale hard and lean over the breakfast bar to take her hands.

“Sweetheart, you have to be careful. It can be dangerous. Most of those guys are crazy. If you want to find another job, you know you can stay with me while…”

“No,” she cuts me off before I can finish the sentence. “I like my job. Besides, it’s the only thing I know how to do.”

She takes a deep breath and immediately puts her mask of indifference back into place.

“You have a gifted brain for bypassing security systems, and I have this.” She gestures toward her body, encased in a short, tight dress. “We each make the most of our abilities in the best way we can.”

I straighten up, shaking my head. I know there’s nothing I can say or do that will change the way she sees herself. Despite her femme-fatale act and the way she uses her attractiveness to make a living, Rose is one of the people with the lowest self-esteem I’ve ever known.

“I have to go,” I say after glancing at my wristwatch.

“Work?”

I nod and wait for her to finish her coffee before taking the cup away.

“Public or private sector?”

“Public,” I reply, pursing my lips.

“Good luck with that.”

She gets down from the stool and adjusts her dress and hair.

I normally enjoy my work. I’m hired as a consultant or adviser by different security companies. I’ve even met with several suppliers and manufacturers of surveillance systems and safes. My job wasn’t something that happened by chance. It all started before I even left the correctional facility. One day, a couple of police officers showed up there asking questions. My father had a reputation, and since I had worked with him for years, they thought they could use me in their operations. I agreed to help them, and after leaving the correctional facility and moving to Los Angeles, I decided to turn my vocation into a source of income.

However, every now and then, I still collaborate with the police. They don’t pay me, but they do owe me favors, and that’s something I might be able to use to my advantage someday.

“Do you want me to take you somewhere?” I ask after picking up a helmet and hanging it from my arm.

“Not on that thing. I’ll call a taxi.” She bites her lower lip. “By the way, I didn’t come all the way here just so you could buy me a coffee. I need a favor.”

I put my leather jacket on over my tank top and search for my motorcycle keys in one of the drawers of the living room cabinet.

“Of course. What can I help you with?”

“On Friday, I have to leave the city. I’ll be gone for a week.”

I turn around abruptly, frowning.

“Again?”

She nods.

“Tell me you’re not going to stay somewhere remote with one of those foot suckers.”

“No, nothing like that. A campaign with a sponsor,” she explains, shrugging.

I arch an eyebrow questioningly.

I don’t buy it.

“It’s true.”

“It’s curious that your campaigns are always six months apart. What are you involved in, Rose?”

“Nothing,” she replies with a weary expression. “Just… can you take care of Jordan while I’m gone? Going over to feed him two or three times will be enough.”

“Yeah, of course. Are you sure you’re not involved in anything weird?”

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, although she doesn’t seem to be telling the truth.

I know Rose better than I know myself. We lived together every day in the correctional facility, and since then, we’ve remained best friends. She has become my only family. I know she’s hiding something from me, but I also know that if I keep insisting that she tell me, I’ll only make her withdraw even further into herself.