Theo gulped the rest of his scotch and winced as the liquid bit its way down his throat. His gaze never left Desiree who was standing from the other side of the large patio. She had been dragged away by Tatiana who must have thought she could be friends with Desiree now that the woman was looking less intimidated with the reality of their world. Talking with another woman, Desiree looked wary despite the fake smile she plastered on her face as she stood beside Tatiana.

Before he decided to take her away from the group he sensed a presence beside him. He didn't have to turn his head to see Vernier standing a foot away. "I'll take her," was all he said.

"I thought you would want to at least have a proper assessment," Theo said under his breath, his eyes scanning the room for potential eavesdroppers. There were no more than fifteen people in the party and most of them were acquaintances of Tatiana's husband, Geoffrey Yann.

Vernier let out a soft chuckle, one that Theo never got used to after years of being around the man. "She's a fine piece. No assessment needed."

He almost slammed his empty glass on the high table beside him before saying, "If you can wire me the money—"

"It's already being done."

Surprised, Theo's eyebrows rose. He forced out a smile. "Good."

Vernier ran an impatient hand through his graying hair. He looked pretty good for his age, Theo thought for a beat. The fine lines around his eyes and mouth would not have deterred women to willingly go home with him if he asked. Theo wanted drag Desiree out of the place as fast as he could. The man can be charming, but there had always been a spark of danger around him that Theo could never point out.

He saw Vernier check his watch and sigh. "Dinner will start in a few minutes if my son-in-law sticks to his schedule. She goes home with me right after."

Theo blinked away the panic that rose up his gut. He gave a curt nod. "I'll have to confirm the wire transaction first." He started to walk away but stopped after a few steps. He turned to Vernier who had a small smile of satisfaction plastered over his face. "It's just one night. Nothing more."

A spark of excitement flashed across the man's face. "One night is all I'll need."

*****

Desiree saw Theo briskly walking toward them and she immediately excused herself, slightly glad to have the chance to walk away from the discussion of tablecloth fabrics. It was absurd how normal the conversation was considering the life these women were living in.

Theo's familiar smell almost overwhelmed her senses, or it might have been just the two cocktails she drank earlier, she thought. His hand wrapped around her elbow as he guided her to a dark corner, away from the rest. Suddenly, she felt his urgency and her head started to clear.

"What is it?"

"He's taking you home tonight."

She felt blood rush down from her head in a matter of seconds. Her mouth opened and panic seeped in. Theo had told her the exchange would happen today, but it had not dawned on her until now.

"Calm down, Des," he whispered above her, but the way he said it, the way the words rolled out of his mouth, only made her nerves go crazy.

Anger burst inside her. "How can I fucking calm down when I know I will be going home with that man?" he hissed at him.

His voice was calm as he said, "It's going to be alright. We've talked this through. You know what to do if something goes wrong," and it only ignited the anger inside her. Somehow, at the back of her mind, she had hoped that Theo would not let this happen. Surely there was another way to get to Vernier.

"Let go of me."

"Des..."

Her jaw twitched. "Let go of me, Theo, or I'll get the fuck out of here and you'll have to find another woman to do your little project."

His hand fell away from her elbow and she immediately stepped away from him.

Before another word was spoken, Geoffrey Yann announced that dinner was ready. Everyone started to file back inside the house, chattering like normal people. From the corner of her eye, she saw Vernier looking at her with hunger in his eyes.

"If I end up dead in his hands, Theo, I'll make sure you will never forget about it," she whispered beside him.

He remained silent beside her as they entered the house.

*****

Marco and Khaye were intently looking at the video on his computer screen. Both barely decently dressed, they sat cross-legged on the bed. Any wall of boundaries had long crumbled down the ground.

"That's her," Khaye breathed out in disbelief. Her brows frowned. "Why does it seem like she's doing this freely?"

Marco nodded in agreement. The video was taken from a private hanger in one of the airports he requested to be looked into. One of his trusted men sent it just half an hour ago. They hadn't heard from Gian and neither wanted to talk about Khaye's brother at the moment. Gian's sketchy behavior would have to be dealt with out of bed, Marco thought.

"So she has now finally returned home," Khaye said, her voice flat.

Marco turned to look at her. "You look disappointed. Why?"

She blinked. "It's just that...I don't want to believe she's doing this freely." Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a rush, she continued, "I don't want to be disappointed again. I was hoping she had been kidnapped, forced into this mess."

"Maybe she is," he said with a shrug. "She doesn't look happy right there," he added, pointing at the screen. Desiree looked angry at the still shot of her climbing down the plane.

Khaye ran her hand through her face in frustration and leaned her forehead on his naked shoulder. "What if she did it? What if she and Jamaica were indeed part of this Liaison? What if she decided she wanted the money for herself and killed her friend? And then they found out about me and she's among the people who want me dead?"

Marco's chin touched his throat as he bent his head down to take a look at her face. "We won't know the whole story until we have actual people to question and investigate on."

"Then what the fuck are we going to do now?"

He sighed. "First, we find where Desiree is."

He felt her stiffen beside him.

"And then we get to her and ask—or force—her to tell us what she knows. We can even work with her. We will never know until we can get to her."

"You think that will work? Don't get me wrong here, Marco," she said, leaning away from him and looking him in the eye, "I want to believe she's innocent and needs saving, but what if my fears are right? What if she's one of them and we end up stepping into their trap?"

"Then what do you suggest we do, detective?" he asked with raised brow.

She fell silent and moaned in frustration. She fell back on the bed, one arm over her eyes. She didn't even bother to cover herself when the gray cover slid off one breast. Marco watched in fascination as she started to speak. "I suggest we run as far away from here as possible. Go to Africa—or Asia. I heard they have great countries with great culture there. I had always wanted to see more of the world. We can go and meditate in Myanmar. Fuck, we can give Buddhism a try, live in a temple and never see the rest of the world again."

As her words registered in his mind, Marco started laughing until it grew and burst into a roll of laughter he had never had for days—or months, for that matter. He flipped his computer so it closed with a snapping sound and rolled on top of her, laughing in her throat.

"We'll find Desiree and make her talk," he said against her skin. Her hand was playing with the hair on his nape. "Trust me, we'll find her and she will tell us everything. Then we'll catch whoever killed Jamaica and close the case. You can then go back to your old life without fear," he added with a more serious tone.

He waited for her to say something, his lips resting against the pulse in her throat, patiently waiting.

"What about Myanmar?" she finally asked.

Marco buried the sound of his laughter in her throat.

*****

Apparently, Tatiana was pregnant.

She and Geoffrey announced the news just as dinner was being served. Congratulations were thrown at the couple but Desiree watched Tatiana's smile waver as the evening went on. She caught her looking at her husband with longing and fear and Desiree could only guess what happened behind closed doors of the Yann residence.

Unlike the other strangers around the table, Desiree couldn't bring herself to fake a smile. Tatiana didn't look like she was excited about her new pregnant state because her husband was a douchebag who was more interested in talking about defending criminals after five seconds of announcing he was going to be a fucking father. Disappointment quickly replaced the excitement on Tatiana's face and Desiree had the urge to go to her and comfort her.

But then, she needed some comforting of her own right now as well. Vernier's eyes hovered at her a couple of times during dinner. Theo was totally silent, only dropping a word or two here and there if a question was directed at him by one of the guests.

When everyone was done and the last course was cleared from the table, Tatiana excused herself saying she needed to rest because of a headache. Her husband gathered his friends to his study when his wife left. The other guests said their goodbyes. After a while, Desiree found herself alone with Theo and Vernier.

Her concern for Tatiana flew out the windows and fear came back.

"I'll pick her up tomorrow morning," Theo said to Vernier, his voice low and flat. He didn't even look at her. Her fists balled as she struggled to remain calm. A chill ran up her spine when she felt Vernier's hand against the small of her back. Theo's eyes flashed with anger for a second but that quickly disappeared. He checked his watch and again and said, "You have about eight hours," to Vernier.

Desiree gulped. She wanted to claw on Theo's face. She wanted to kick Vernier to that specific part of his anatomy so he could never walk again.

You know this is going to happen so why are you angry?

She didn't want to answer that one because she knew the answer would only make her angrier.

Theo looked at her, his eyes unreadable. And then he turned and walked away, leaving her with Vernier. Just like that.

She was angry because Theo was acting cool. This was all business to him. This was all because he wanted something to be done.

"I promise you, Desiree, my dear, that this animosity will disappear very soon," Vernier whispered in her ear. "Let's go, sweetheart. It's time to go home."

*****

"We will never get anything done if we stay in this bed," Marco said hours later.

Khaye nodded against his chest.

"So we better talk about something serious that will make us want to jump out of here," he added when she didn't say anything.

"Like what?"

"Like Gian."

That definitely did the trick. She pushed away from him, dragging the sheet along with her. "Have you heard from him?" She leaned across him over the sheet and reached for her shirt under the bed.

"He said he's doing some investigation of his own," Marco answered quietly, not moving an inch as she dressed. "Said he doesn't trust anyone in the unit and he'll get back to me with a full report."

She scoffed. "I don't know, Marco. I can't trust him anymore. He's not acting himself."

"I believe we have already figured that one out."

"I just think that talking more about it might change my mind, erase the doubt, you know. But that's not happening."

"Let's do what we need to do. But we have to be careful where your brother is concerned. He might be telling the truth. He could be playing double agent for all we know. For now, I don't see any signs that you might be in danger for as long as he is not around you. Let's keep it that way for now. He does his thing while we do ours."

She slowly nodded, slipping on her underwear. "We'll find Desiree," she uttered. "Right?" she asked when he didn't answer.

His eyes held hers. "We will find her and solve this thing, Khaye."

With a nod, she leaned down to plant a soft kiss on his nose. She climbed out of bed and padded her way to the door. "Let's get dinner then we can make real plans. And I need to train more, in case you forgot about that."

*****

Desiree's heart had been hammering against her chest as the driver drove them to Vernier's home. She tried to calm her mind and remember everything Theo told her.

"You never expected this, have you?" Vernier asked beside her. He wasn't touching her but she knew he wanted to and that was the scary part.

"I was hoping you would find it absurd to pay a lot to have me for one night."

He chuckled. "Sweetheart, I only need just this one night." The hairs on her nape stood up. Did Theo know this? Would he be nearby to do their plan? She couldn't help but think that this was all happening too fast. Theo should have planned this thoroughly before he agreed to anything.

The phone Theo gave her earlier buzzed inside her purse. With shaking hands, she took it out as nonchalantly as she could. Vernier seemed to not mind.

Send the signal if you want out.

She typed a reply. Is it happening tonight?

No. You have to make him want to do this again.

He said he only needs this one night. What if this is the only chance? A big part of her was hoping it was true. She didn't think she could do this again.

He WILL ask for more, trust me. Delete the messages. She did what he said without sending a reply. So they were sticking to the plan. She'd memorize every inch of Vernier's house, go back to Theo the next morning, tell him everything and they wait for Vernier to call back for more.

Remember the signal, Des.

So he was concerned now? She almost scoffed the anger she felt. But she shouldn't be angry. She had agreed to this. Theo had been honest to her from the beginning.

Calm the fuck down, Theo. I know the fucking signal, she replied before deleting the thread. Calm the fuck down, Desiree, she added to herself.

The car pulled to a stop and she immediately threw her phone back in her clutch. She hated Theo for throwing her in this awful situation and she hated herself for having been so stupid to agree.

"Now, cherry," Vernier whispered near her ear, "you will not be needing your phone inside my house." He grabbed her clutch before she could hang on to it and handed it to his driver. "Tonight, you're mine."

"But—"

The smile the crept up his lips made the hairs on her arms stand. "Theo will have to wait to get the rest of you tomorrow."

What did he mean by that?

Before Desiree could process anything, the door opened. She stared out at the big house before her and gulped.

*****

She'll be okay, he told himself countless of times. He was in one of the exclusive underground bars in the city, not far from Vernier's residence and he was on his third bottle of beer.

Vernier wouldn't harm her. She'd be fine. They had a plan, a signal if things went wrong.

His phone was lying face up beside his hand. One message from her and he'd be at the door in five minutes.

There were only three people in the bar, including the bartender. He knew the drinker by name but both of them knew better than to interact. This was a place for people to do whatever they wanted with a great amount of secrecy.

"What are you doing here?" The voice asked beside him. He turned his head and found his brother sitting to his right.

"Waiting."

"Where's your bitch?"

"That's why I'm waiting," he answered, not intending to give details.

"So you let her roam around freely now, huh?" his brother asked as he waved for the bartender. The man behind the counter knew what everybody underground wanted and Richard's glass of brandy arrived in seconds.

"And you haven't loosened up to her yet," Theo uttered dryly.

"Why the hell would I do anything than kill the bitch, Theo? She killed—"

"Do you really believe that?" He shot his brother a look.

Richard scoffed with disbelief. "I really find it amazing how you believe she didn't."

"Because a bigger part of me believes you might have something to do with Jamaica's death."

Richard's eyes narrowed but he didn't do anything he would normally do under other circumstances. "I didn't kill her."

Something in the way Richard said the words told Theo the man was at the verge of something. Desperation? Giving up? He couldn't point it out.

He glanced at his phone. No message yet. He was just about to send Desiree a message when Richard started talking, the brandy in his hand now empty. "We were actually planning to go away."

It took a moment before his brother's words registered in his brain. "What the fuck do you mean?"

"Jam and I," Richard said, staring at the air before him. "We were going to run off with the money."

Theo blinked in disbelief. "Why the fuck are you telling me all of this now?" he uttered under his breath.

Richard ran his hands through his face as if to gain back his senses. "We've had enough, Theo. We wanted something new." His brother's voice was raw and new to him and his words almost threw Theo off his chair.

He gulped the rest of his beer and called for another one. "What the fuck, Richard."

Richard finished his new glass of brandy in one gulp and restlessly ran his hands through his hair. It was then that Theo finally saw the real state of his brother. Richard looked like he hadn't showered in days. Fuck, had he ever had a proper sleep?

When Richard turned to him, Theo saw the same scared brother who asked him if they were going to be okay when their mother died. "I was planning to have a life with her, Theo, so yes, I didn't fucking kill her."

The fact that Richard loved Jamaica was not a surprise, but that they wanted to run away together was a shock. Did they really think they could get away just like that? Theo mentally shook his head. After a while, Theo said, "I believe you."

Richard laughed sarcastically. "What a relief."

"So I am guessing you don't know who killed her either." He held up his hand as Richard started to open his mouth. "And I know you don't really think Desiree did it as well. If the reports we got are right, I can assure you that she didn't do it. I was fucking her when it happened."

Richard didn't look surprised. Theo's mind wandered at the thought of his brother wanting to get away from this life. Now, that was the surprise. Of all people, Richard was the last one he thought would want out.

"While you were on that cruise, the old man came up with a decision to get rid of the witness," Richard uttered after a while. When Theo didn't offer a reaction, he continued, "Maybe he thinks I did it. Petroff is on it."

"You have enough murder on your plate." What he really wanted to ask his brother was, "How desperate are you to get out?" Instead, he checked his phone again.

Richard saw him and asked, "Where's the bitch, anyway?"

"Vernier."

His brother frowned, confused.

"He paid to be with her for eight hours."

Richard blinked and played with his third glass of brandy, turning it around with one hand. "Does the bitch have a tattoo?"

"What a fucking kind of question is that?"

"Hey, I am just asking, you moron. I would never fuck the bitch if that's what you're thinking."

Suddenly, it was Theo's turn to be confused. "What the fuck are you getting at?"

"Answer my question first."

"Yes, she does," he snapped in answer, Desiree's butterfly tattoo crossing his mind.

"Then get the fuck out of here."

He looked at his brother incredulously.

Richard rolled his eyes at him. "You are such a naïve bastard, Theo. You've been around here as much as I have and you have no fucking idea?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" he almost shouted, alarm starting to rise in his gut.

"Well, in case you haven't heard yet, Vernier does like to keep trophies. Seen the collection myself one time and it scared the crap out of me. I never stepped inside that house again after that." Seeing Theo's face, Richard rushed on with disbelief on his face, saying, "Let's just say he has a wall full of dried skin with tattoos and if you like to wait eight hours for a corpse after that psycho is done with her like all the others, then, by all means, feel free to sit here and—"

Theo didn't hear the rest because he had already jumped off his seat with a curse.