I hang up without hearing an answer and smirk.
Marlow is friends with them. So it only makes sense to put them in his care and see how reckless they get when it’s one of their own in the line of fire.
Ty is a decent guy. Too nice, in fact. He snapped two years ago, so it was only fair that I banned him to the Eastside. He lost his parents, who were property developers. He is the heir. It’s not all lost in the West world. Not the money and inheritance, at least. I keep track. Of. Every. Single. Thing. So when the Eastside comes bowing to my feet, I might show them that I am willing to give them access to civilization and their funds as long as they comply.
I am on my third glass when the gate sensor goes off with a beep on my phone, and I pull up the front camera on my phone to see Margot stride toward my villa.
No one knocks anymore—I should start locking my house, which I only do at night.
I tilt my head back against the office chair and grunt in exhaustion as I close my eyes. I don’t want fucking visitors, but this is an important time to keep tabs on everyone.
The clacking of Margot’s high heels against the living room floor slows as I emerge from the office. She tosses her bright-pink hair that cascades down one shoulder and lazily pulls off her sunglasses, studying me up and down as if something changed since yesterday.
Like she needs to check on me. Every day.
She is in a light-blue designer flowery dress, loose sleeves falling off her shoulders. She has so many deliveries from the mainland that she could use an entire cargo ship for herself. She was born a genius, turned into a Barbie. Money will do that.
Right now, she is swinging her hips in front of me like a cat in heat as she strolls by, too closely, almost touching my shirt, and takes a seat on the couch, elegantly crossing one leg over the other.
How does she not get that I won’t fuck her? Women can’t use their brains around guys they want. But kudos to persistence. If she were born poor, she would’ve been an excellent gold-digger.
“A drink?” I ask.
“The usual.”
At least she is a team player.
I make her favorite Martinez—a martini with vermouth and maraschino liqueur—then bring it over to her. We might not like the people we are close to, but we sure learn their tastes.
Somehow the new arrival, Katura Ortiz, comes to mind. I wonder what she likes. She is a savage, though, so maybe she chugs cheap beer out of a beer bong.
I watched her plenty on cams during her two weeks on the Eastside. Nosy, that one. For a reason? Maybe. Hiking, swimming—a sporty type. I would like to see her fight. Martial arts training, her file says—peculiar.
The thought of the cuffs on my bedposts flicker in my mind like unsolicited porn images. The last time I used them was four months ago when we had escort girls from the mainland.
Shit, I need to get laid.
With all the women on this island, it feels like everyone is sleeping with everyone. I don’t want to double dip. Don’t want seconds. Don’t want to see the girl’s face for the next however many months or years after I rammed her. I despise rumors. And I don’t want clingy. Margot would be a good fuck, but…
No. Not an option. I have too much respect for her. And she has too little for herself. That’s a turnoff.
“So, you are bringing the Eastsiders here?” Margot asks as she sips her Martinez.
She doesn’t know I’m bringing in escorts tomorrow.
“The lost cargo,” I say instead, pretending I am busy with something on my phone.
“Anything I should know about?”
“Just something to mix up this boredom.”
“Is it about Droga?”
That name keeps dropping off others’ lips like there is a story going around. Most of themknowthe story. But someone leaked the info about his girl. Marlow, maybe. They all party together and talk shit. Understandable—we are cooped up.
Margot asks something else, but my thoughts drift to Katura Ortiz again.
Not quite my type. A little thicker than I like them. A mixed kitten. Gorgeous. Wild. Fierce gaze and pretty full lips that would look perfect wrapped around my cock, that braided mane of hers undone and splayed across my thighs.