Song for the mood: Shadow by The Chromatics. The song is about disillusionment, survival, and strength.

https://youtu.be/IGUboLZx3Tk

A snippet of the lyrics:

Your shadow fell like last night's rain
For the last time
For the last time

Alistair

The Church, nine p.m., Sunday, December 23

Gazing at the brothel room window, I admired the full moon above the ocean.

Managed by Angelique, or Mistress B as Vera called her, my establishment offered two services. The first floor was home to a fancy strip club, while the brothel business resided on the upper floors. My customers were primarily politicians, entrepreneurs, and wealthy tourists.

Unlike the shady brothels people hear of, the rooms here were classy, spacious, and convenient. Scented with fresh lavender, each room included a spa and overlooked the city's coast.

"Scotty, she's here," Angelique announced, standing with a petite blonde at the room's entrance.

I motioned the blonde, blue-eyed beauty to come forward, then nodded at Angelique, whose eyes lowered as she slightly bowed her head.

"Very well, then. I'll shut the door on the way out," Angelique said, then left.

The woman who faced me was no more than five feet and four inches, with shapely legs and a pretty face. She wore a short, blue lace negligee.

"What's your name, love?" I asked, eyeing her curves.

"Hmm. Do I need a name?" The woman moved like a panther, swinging her seductive hips before adjusting my collar.

I smirked and shook my head. "You're beautiful. However, you'll need a name. I'm your first client, right?"

The hot babe kissed my face and ran her fingers through my hair. "You're a handsome man, Mister Scott."

I gently tugged her blonde curls and growled, "Name, please?"

"Alexis," the prostitute's full lips breathed into my neck.

"Just Alexis?" I pulled her hair with greater force.

"Just Alexis." She winced, then relaxed when I released her.

"Alright, love. Have you worked in a brothel before?"

"I was an escort while I was in college years ago."

I raised one eyebrow. "Who hired you?"

"I can't say. Plus, it's not relevant."

"Seduce me," I commanded, letting go of Alexis's hair.

"There's just one problem, Mister Scott."

"What's that, angel? Hmm?"

"You've got a girlfriend." The whore removed a strap from her shoulder, revealing one bare breast.

"Does it matter?" I asked, feeling my cock stir into a state of arousal.

"From what I hear, you've never been the monogamous type. I guess a leopard doesn't change its spots, Mister Scott."

"Perhaps I have, perhaps I haven't. Convince me. Show me why I ought to spend a thousand bucks for a night with you."

"What would you like me to do?" she asked, glancing at handcuffs and a paddle on the bedside table.

With one swift move, I yanked down the flimsy negligee, breaking the strap. "I want to see all of you."

Reacting in sudden shock, Alexis instinctively tried to cover herself, but it was too late. I grabbed her throat with one hand and traced her right nipple with the other.

"You like men with power, don't you, sweetheart?"

She nodded.

"You want my cock, huh?" I taunted, roughly playing with her pussy. "Beg for it!"

"Mister Scott, I want your big cock," she pleaded as I rubbed her wet slit.

"Lie on the bed and show yourself," I ordered, and she obeyed, exposing her genitalia as she lay on the four-poster bed.

After removing my shoes, I unbuckled my belt and unzipped my pants, then lay on top of her.

"Tell me you're a whore," I rasped, kissing her breasts. I swirled my tongue around their peaks, causing her to gasp, writhe, and shake in delight.

"I'm a whore!"

"Good." I fingered her with skill and speed, feeling the slippery sensation of her juices. "Say it louder!"

"I'm a whore!" She screamed, bucking to my need.

Noticing a small syringe in her hand, I said, "Now, tell me one last thing..."

I quickly seized both her wrists, lifting them above her head, and tightened my grip until she screamed in pain.

"You're hurting me!" Alexis cried as the syringe slipped out of her hand and rolled away. She tried to wriggle and writhe away from me, but I was bigger and stronger.

Grabbing the handcuffs on the bedside table, I cuffed one wrist and fastened the other cuff on one of the bed's sturdy posts.

Maintaining domination, I took the needle as I got out of bed.

"A syringe. How original. Poison?" I asked, placing it on a coffee table far away from her reach.

"Enough to kill you," she hissed.

"Nice try, Alexis," I said, zipping my pants and buckling my belt. "Or, is it Miss Holly James?"

After putting my shoes on, I removed a few coins from my pocket and threw them at the naked woman.

"I wouldn't waste a dollar on you," I scoffed.

"You bastard!" Holly yelped, tears streaming down her eyes.

"I already know that. I also know that you are Saira's whore!" I spat and wiped her taste off my mouth.

Hearing the door click open, I turned around to meet familiar mocha-brown eyes and the Mona Lisa smile.

Sighing with relief, I smiled at my woman. "Vera!"

***

Vera

I rushed to Alistair and wiped off what was left of Holly's lipstick from his cheek.

"Are you okay, darling?" I asked, placing my hand in his warm hands.

"Never better." He grinned, clenching me tightly.

"You worry me."

"Ditto."

"Well, well, well." I turned to Holly, then glanced at the syringe on the coffee table. "What do we have here?"

Alistair shook his head and pulled me back. "Don't touch it. It's filled with poison, and Lieutenant Berry will take it as soon as he gets here."

He picked up a towel on the edge of the bed and threw it at Holly, muttering, "You disgust me."

"Feeling humiliated?" I asked, glaring at the traitor. "Betrayed? Stripped of your dignity? Well, that's how I felt after you assaulted me."

"Your boyfriend enjoyed what he saw," Holly snarled.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," I replied.

"Tell me, Holly. Why would you poison me? What has my ex-wife misled you to believe?" Alistair asked.

I sat next to my ex-lover and cocked my head to one side. She silently glared at me, then at Alistair.

Feeling anger creep into my veins, I gave Holly a sharp slap. "Answer the fucking question!"

"Libby is dead because of you!" Holly yelled as she pointed a shaky finger at Alistair. "She was brutally beaten to death in jail. Saira said you were ruthless and wanted revenge for what I did to your girlfriend-that you sent people to kill my sister."

"Your sister is dead because Saira willed it," he replied.

"What?!"

"Who did Libby smuggle drugs for?" Alistair shifted his stance.

"It was for the Vittorio brothers-"

"Who work for Saira Quinn."

"Holy fuck!" Holly exclaimed.

"Saira paid the prison officers to murder your sister, Holly. I'm sorry that Libby was dead when you found her in Fortaleza," Alistair said, placing his hands in his pockets.

"B-b-but...Saira said-"

"That I instructed my men to find Libby and kill her?"

Holly nodded.

"You see, this is where you're wrong. This is all Saira's doing."

"You're lying."

"He's telling the truth," I said. "Saira is a vengeful psychopath who used you, just as she used others. She needed you to be desperate. You never told me that you were an escort during your college years."

"I did some work for Saira for money to get my sister into a drug recovery clinic. She was an addict and needed help."

"What have you been doing after you performed that botched surgery on me? When did you come back to Lester Harbor?" I asked.

Holly refused to answer and stared at Alistair.

"She'd been living in isolation after Libby's death," he said. "That was until Saira convinced her that I played a hand in the murder and offered an opportunity to get revenge."

"H-how do you know? Have you been spying on me all this time?"

Alistair laughed, revealing his straight, white teeth. "Holly, what you did to Vera is inexcusable. You deserve a little jail time for the assault, don't you agree?"

"Alistair has people who protect him," I cut in. "They've been watching you, and they warned him about you. I also paid a visit to Saira this morning, and she hinted you'd be on the loose. Alistair and I put together the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle during lunch."

"The fact that Angelique had just hired a new employee who fit your description was the final piece to the puzzle, so I booked you for the night," Alistair said.

"Y-you set me up!" Holly's bewildered eyes looked at me.

"On the contrary, you set yourself up, honey," I corrected.

"Without my sources, I wouldn't have known that you intended to kill me one way or another," Alistair said.

I silently thanked Lou and his thugs, Lieutenant Frank Berry, and Bianca Cavalli. They had provided all the pieces we needed to get the whole picture and end the wicked witch's mess.

"Holly, when you mess with Vera, you mess with me," Alistair lectured sternly.

I stroked Holly's fine hair as she wept. "Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry for your loss. However, we should have just talked it out in the first place."

"What are you going to do to me?" Holly's resentful eyes searched mine.

"Jail seems like-"

A knock on the door interrupted our conversation.

"It must be Frank," Alistair said, then opened the door.

"You fucking bitch!" Erin barged in, screaming her lungs out while holding a handgun.

Holly screeched as I held her tightly.

"You!" Erin cried, then fired, aiming at us. "This will shut you up!"

A pop of the gunfire was all it took-very sharp, startling, and loud-for hell to break loose again.

A/N: Well...your thoughts? I'm speechless.

Thank you for sticking with the story. Three chapters left...