Beautiful Chaos Read online

  Arjen walked me to my bedroom door after a short tour. He hadn’t said much after he’d promised to protect my honor, but his lingering gaze revealed his interest plainly. Thankfully, he was enough of a gentleman to allow me to decide if I wanted to feed the expressions of desire he bestowed on me.

  He walked me into my bedroom, where I noticed my bags had already been placed. His finger was aimed at the keypad on the wall next to the door. “If you need anything: food, water, me, use this,” he instructed. Again, I didn’t miss the way he’d placed extra emphasis on the word me. Each button was labeled by room, the button at the top adorned with a fancy, A, for Arjen.

  “May I ask you something, Arjen?” I questioned, my tone low and unsure.

  “Ask me whatever you want. I will be straightforward and honest as I prefer not to bite my tongue.”

  “Why did you agree to do this? Why me and my family?” I stopped at two questions, although dozens were waiting their turn. Also, I didn’t know him well enough to speak freely.

  “I saw an opportunity for a product market we hadn’t tapped into and decided it was time to broaden our horizons. I know this is an unorthodox engagement, but I think we can make it work.”

  His answer aligned with what I’d concluded. Although I was uncomfortable with the situation, I wasn’t left with many options. I had to make it work for my father’s sake. Thankfully, Arjen continued his briefing, saving me from having to reply.

  “We are low-key, so it causes speculation and rumors. We do a good job of keeping ourselves and our people from making headlines. If someone knows us deeper than outside appearance, it’s because we wanted them to know. All else is hearsay and whispers that we never confirm or deny. Our name and what we do, and keep behind the scenes, speak for us in a way that a printed resume will not. There are times when fear is attached to the knowledge of who we are.”

  I nodded, hanging on to his every word even as the most horrific parts of those rumors about them flashed in my brain. Dismembered bodies stacked in unmarked graves, people disappearing without a trace, whole families being taken out.

  “I met you when your father introduced us six years ago at the gala fundraiser for the homeless. It was right after I had taken my father’s position in our syndicate. I’m not going to lie to you, Desiree. I was immediately attracted. You were classy and beautiful, and the air of quiet confidence you carried impressed me. Those big, brown, curious eyes of yours captured me the most. We danced, but there was something about the way you held me. You weren’t clingy or desperate, but there was an assured comfort there that I appreciated.”

  My eyebrows rose, my response a jumble of mixed-up words I failed to unscramble fast enough to reply. He was well-spoken for someone with a reputation like his. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but I believed I wasn’t dealing with an average criminal.

  The revelation made me all the more curious as to why he’d chosen to marry me. Attraction was one thing, but I supposed criminals on certain levels looked for certain types of women to marry. He had a type, and in the short span of times we’d spent together, I was convinced I wasn’t it.

  Arjen had chosen me because I had been battle tested and knew that things could go from zero to blood and bullets in a matter of seconds in this type of life. However, no one, not my father or Arjen, had bothered to ask me if this was the kind of life I wanted.

  “Let me explain,” he continued, pulling my train of thought back to the subject of us. “I sleep with a lot of women, Desiree.” Figured that much. “I could sleep with a woman right now and forget her name and face within a few hours. For me, with you, there wasn’t this great big love connection that people lose their minds over, but something I sensed. There has to be a reason I remembered you.”

  I swallowed the lump of surprise caught in my throat. “Yeah. Has to be a reason.” I was unaware of the lasting impression I had made on him. Our introduction had been brief, a dance, and an exchange of pleasant small talk. The night ended, and I saw him briefly in passing with my father a few more times over the years.

  “When your father presented me with the idea of us forming an alliance, I was ready to say no until you became a part of the deal,” he stated, his gaze locked on mine, freezing me in place.

  Like before, I was left without words, unsure of how to respond.

  “I know this is a lot for you to digest,” he noted. “Take your time. I won’t rush you into anything.”

  I nodded. “I appreciate that.” There was so much more I wanted to ask, but decided to set the questions aside for later. A small sigh escaped, glad Arjen didn’t appear to be an overbearing man and prayed that he would not turn into the husband nightmares were made of.

  “Have a good evening. Remember, if you need anything, call me or just walk around and get familiar with the place.”

  “Thank you.”

  Once he’d closed the door behind him, I released a deep exhale, spun, and took in my new surroundings. My status in life had certainly been upgraded, but I hadn’t yet figured out how much of my soul had been bartered to gain it.

  Since I had agreed to this proposal for unselfish reasons, would I be spared from the inevitable misery of danger meant for men like Arjen and my father?

  4

  Arjen

  In three days, I was marrying a woman I didn’t know for reasons that weren’t honorable. However, I had allowed myself to believe she could bring out the best in me. What was it about her that gripped my attention? Her natural beauty, the energy she gave off, and her quiet charm were wonderful attributes she possessed, but none of those things explained why I liked her.

  There wasn’t a love connection and I doubted there would be. Only because I was convinced that I was not capable of producing the emotion. Hopefully, Desiree would be the one to lull the stubborn sentiment from my cold heart.

  Would we ever have a normal relationship? Hell no. However, with Desiree, I pictured becoming a better version of myself. My smile refused to melt away as I drove to meet Raymond Evans. When he had presented the idea of uniting our operations, I was hesitant until he suggested Desiree.

  A Vallin-Evans union would strengthen any gaps that lay between our personal and business relations. The alliance would be further strengthened when my brother married Desiree’s cousin. I had never met Mecca Evans, but if she was anything like my pretty little fiancée, Khane was in for a treat.

  Raymond Evans’ reason for offering up his daughter was a plausible one. He preferred her being under Vallin protection if our illegal dealings landed her in danger. She would also be backed by a force called the Ferali Syndicate, our organization.

  I’d had a thorough background investigation conducted on her, uncovering information on a kidnapping that had her in the hands of the infamous Diamond-back Crew for two weeks. Although, she had always been a good girl, she had been born into a world of chaos that she’d learned to navigate and live in.

  The knowledge that she was no stranger to danger caused my respect for her to grow. She had been stabbed in the back and almost died, and had been caught in the middle of a drive-by that had left five members of the Black Saints dead. She was the kind of woman I needed in my life as she had been exposed to the horrors my lifestyle was capable of producing.

  Whether she accepted it or not, Desiree would always be a sitting duck because of her family. Danger was a permanent fixture in my life, but I had the means and connections to provide a higher level of protection if danger came anywhere near her.

  The meeting with Raymond had been short and brief. I’d handed him ten million in a mix of cash, and a wire transfer, and he had given me his blessing to marry his daughter. The next time I was set to see him would be at our wedding.

  Once word spread of my marriage, Raymond and I would discuss plans to strengthen our business enterprises and exterminate the rat problem he was upfront in informing me that he was facing and fighting. With our merger, eyes from our side of the fence could reach across and help
Raymond with his issues.

  My phone buzzed, calling my attention as I drove back to my house. A glance in the rearview showed the dark gray Yukon driven by Hunter, who shadowed me wherever I went. I was confident that there was another Yukon lurking and driven by Cass, scanning, and protecting my back.

  The two men had been guarding me since I had taken control, nearly seven years ago now. They had more-than earned their roles as my permanent protection as they had stopped several assassination attempts on my life. Although Hunter and Cass had earned a certain level of trust, my brother, Khane, who had saved my neck more times than I could count, was the only person that I trusted implicitly.

  “Hello,” I answered after a quick swipe over the shiny face of my phone. The female voice poured through my car’s speakers and had recognition sliding home immediately.

  We supplied arms to many high-stakes clients that included certain areas of the government and many crime families. I was responsible for supplying most of the west coast and centrally located areas from California to Washington, Arizona, and to my state of Colorado.

  We never poached for business outside our region as there were rules in our syndicate that came with a death sentence if broken. Besides, there was enough money to go around, and I’d learned that the real money was in securing contracts with government agencies.

  “Hello, Arjen. I have an urgent update for you.” The voice belonged to Denise, assistant to the head of our organization, Bishop. When you heard from Denise, she was speaking directly for Bishop, so you listened.

  “Bishop would like to do a workshop. I’ll send out your meeting location a few hours before you fly out tomorrow. There are urgent updates that we don’t believe can wait,” she informed.

  “Thank you. I’ll look for the update,” I replied. “Have a good day,” I said before hanging up. When Bishop called, it didn’t matter what you were doing, you dropped it all and went.

  Workshops were a way of keeping the enterprise in tiptop shape. We weren’t going to know where in the world we were going until we got there. Denise would call with a meet location to a private airport, and you were on a plane a few hours later.

  The organization invested time and money in collecting intel from various agencies and law enforcement officials, and we would be provided the latest in tactics that had the propensity of hurting the arms business.

  We would gain the latest updates on new weapons created anywhere on the planet. We would be handed case files of investigations being conducted that might have a link, direct or other, of any of us in the organization. Events were planned, presenting new weapons and live fire demonstrations.

  Going to workshops kept you safe, kept you a step ahead of the law, and more informed than most law agencies since we were gaining a collection of information from around the world. Bishop was simply known as Bishop. No one had ever seen him. My father had dealt with him for over twenty years, and after my father’s downfall, I had been dealing with him since I was twenty-three.

  A workshop could pop up once a year or three times a year, depending on the urgency of information that had been gathered. With a workshop popping up a few days before my wedding, it would have to be put on hold until my return.

  “Hey. What’s up?” Khane answered on the first ring.

  “Hey, little brother. What are you doing?” I asked, although I knew he was probably knee-deep into killing some unlucky soul. He hated it when I called him, little brother. It humanized him when he preferred living up to the beastly version of himself that the rest of society had adopted.

  “I’m cleaning shit out of the bed of my truck.”

  “Do I even want to know the details?” My nose wrinkled at the idea.

  “Probably not, unless you want to know step-by-step instructions on how to make a grown man shit himself.” I shook my head, knowing he would eagerly quote me the details of some new torture technique he had come up with.

  “I know you’re trying to hunt down the asshole that hired someone to take a shot at me, but I need you to do me a favor.”

  He went silent on the other end, and I could hear the water spraying against the metal bed of his truck.

  “What could be more important than me hunting down someone taking a hit out on you? Last time it happened, it was a member of our organization and that motherfucker got off easy as the syndicate put a quick bullet between his eyes.”

  Someone was always gunning for a Vallin. Therefore, the idea of having a hit out on me wasn’t as exciting as it used to be. We’d find them, kill them, and create the prospect for more trouble. The cycle was an endless one.

  “I know,” I finally replied. “I want to kill whoever it is myself, but I need you to protect someone for me. You remember the deal I told you that would open the doorway into more business for us. Well, the deal is a go, but I just received a call from Denise. Bishop has called a workshop.”

  Khane would rather gnaw off his own arm than to attend a workshop. He hated the idea of large gatherings and groups.

  “So, where is this person you need me to keep an eye on?” he asked after a long pause.

  “It’s my new fiancée. I need you to do a little more than keep an eye on her for me. Where are you? I need you to keep her with you until I come back.”

  “What the fuck? You know I don’t like anyone invading my privacy. I’ve already agreed to this crazy getting-married shit. Now, you want me to babysit too. What’s next? A bachelor party? I get fitted for a fucking tux?”

  When it came to the business side of things, Khane was hands-off unless he didn’t have any other choice. Truth be told, he was smart as hell, but he didn’t like dealing with people unless he was planning to kill them.

  In the time that I would be gone to the workshop, he would handle all the business I usually did, financial investors, accounting, payroll issues. You name it. You better believe he could handle it.

  “Khane, you know as well as I do with someone gunning for me, I can’t leave her exposed. I already put someone on her cousin. Besides, the moment she became my fiancée, she became as big a target as I am. You’re it, little brother, the only one I trust to protect her. She’s quiet and won’t be any trouble. All you need to do is keep her alive until I get back. Please.”

  Silence followed, but my lips twitched with a waiting smile, knowing he wouldn’t let me down.

  “Okay, but I’m not even in the state. I probably won’t make it back until tomorrow night at the earliest. Have Sam take her to my house before you leave. If I don’t think I’ll be there in time, I’ll have someone I trust watch her until I arrive.”

  “Thank you. Appreciate it. I’ve already programmed her retinal scan and fingerprints into your house’s security system so she could get in. And, I know you like to think that you’re the baddest killer in the land, but be careful.”

  His low chuckle sounded. “Later,” he said before clicking off.

  Khane hadn’t even asked for the women’s name when I informed him that we were getting hitched as a part of the deal I had struck. All he knew were the basics and would rely on me to fill in the blanks whenever he felt like he was ready for the details.

  Had I made the right decision when I’d asked for a wife for my brother too?

  5

  Desiree

  An annoying buzz dragged me from a dreamless sleep. It had taken me hours of tossing and turning to finally drift off, only to be awakened by a loud, incessant buzz that would not stop. I had figured out how to draw the blackout curtains remotely, so darkness surrounded me like thick black clouds.

  The red blinking light near the door found me through the thick darkness and alerted me that the house’s intercom system was the reason for the unwanted intrusion. I sat, staring and rubbing my eyes before my arms flailed about searching for the lamp. I ambled to the device on weak and sleep-deprived legs. “Yes,” I answered, my voice groggy and deep.

  “Breakfast is ready,” Arjen’s voice came through the intercom, che
ery and bright. I hated mornings, and due to the work hours I kept, sometimes, working well past one or two in the morning, I was not usually up before nine.

  “Okay,” I said, fiddling with the button, not sure if I was pressing the right one. I shuffled to the bathroom and did a quick relieve and refresh. I threw on the dog-eared black robe I wore religiously throughout most of my workdays and headed to the kitchen.

  I had pulled my shoulder-length locks into a loose ponytail and patted them a couple of times like it held the magic touch. If Arjen expected a fashionista, he should have picked Mecca. She had the incredible ability to jump out of bed runway ready. His eyes met mine before scanning my attire. His brow lifted, but he didn’t comment.

  “Good morning,” we greeted each other at the same time.

  The lavish display of food ignited my hunger, causing my stomach to make a low rumble as I shuffled around the table. Scrambled eggs, toast, pancakes, mini omelets, and breakfast sausages made up the scrumptious spread. There was also a variety of fruit and condiments. I took up a plate and began the task of collecting what I wanted to eat, sensing eyes on me the entire time. I met Arjen’s waiting gaze after taking my seat.

  “What?” I asked, knowing he was amused at the amount of food I had piled on my plate. I was no stranger to missing a few meals because I couldn’t cook, but I made up for it when I did come across a viable food source.

  “I notice you’re not afraid to eat.” He shot another glance at the stacked plate sitting on the table before me.

  “I can’t cook, so when I’m presented with a good meal, I don’t waste it by pretending to be a meek eater.”