For the Love of Chocolat Read online

  ***

  The sight of Sasha’s tears made Michelle sick. “Go back to the gilded cage Lee put you in. We have nothing else to say to each other.”

  “Forgive me. I love you. I’ll prove it somehow. You’re all I got left in the world. Pops is dead. It’s just me and you. Remember, me and you?”

  It both surprised and saddened her to find truth in her sister’s words. Nothing could convey how deep the breach between them was. She barely looked at her. Sasha dropped her head in defeat and backed away. “I’ll do whatever you want me to. Just tell me and I’ll do it. You know where I’ll be.”

  “Wait!”

  “Yes?” Sasha looked up hopefully.

  “Did Pops talk to you about his last job before he died?”

  “Pops said he was getting out of the business.”

  “I know that,” she said bluntly. “But it was only after he pulled off one big score. Did he talk to you, did you see him after I threw him out that day?”

  “Yes. I went to see him, to apologize.” Sasha stepped forward. “He was drunk, passed out. That’s when I saw the diamonds. Those pink diamonds Lee had me try to take from Rawhead.”

  “He had them?” Michelle frowned.

  “No. He was reading an article on the Internet. He had it up on his laptop screen.”

  “Do you remember anything about the article? What did it say?”

  Sasha shook her head. “I didn’t pay attention. Why? Why are you asking me this?”

  Michelle put her hands in her wet tangles. Another dead end. She was striking out everywhere. “Go back to the penthouse with Kumar. Don’t leave it again. Do you hear me? Not until this thing with Rawhead is over.”

  “I understand. Will you call me?”

  Michelle didn’t answer. She went to her bathroom and closed the door. The sound of Sasha leaving made no difference. Coddling her sister wasn’t an option. Sasha wanted to be a jewel thief; well that’s what they were. It would be to both their peril if she didn’t find a way out for them, and quick.

  Chapter Two

  Michelle had changed into a pair of jeans and white blouse. She opted for her black leather jacket as opposed to any of the furs he stored in her closet. Her hair, separated by a center part, fell past her shoulders. When she came off the last step, Abahti approached. Was he lurking again, acting as Lee’s spy?

  “Lee’s been called away. He wanted me to tell you he will return for dinner,” Abahti announced.

  “I don’t care.” Michelle headed for the door.

  “Chocolat, where are you going?”

  She stopped. “Why?” Her head turned. She cast Abahti a steely glare. “You going to try to stop me?”

  Abahti’s left brow arched. “No, but I need to protect you. Let me get some men to take you.”

  “Give me a car and I’ll be fine.”

  “Things are tense for Lee’s organization now. He’s separated from The Order. It’s not safe. We got Cumminskey out there and Rawhead. Both men are gunning for you.”

  “I’m a big girl, Abahti. Give me the keys or I’ll take a cab.”

  Abahti nodded to one of his armed men who bounded for the door to fetch her a car. “Lee said not to get in your way, and I won’t.” Abahti’s Nigerian accent hardened with an implied warning to his words. “But if you find yourself in a jam you need to call on me first.”

  He handed her his card. She stared him the eye for a pause. Everyone knew what Eddie “The Butcher” Cumminskey was capable of, and how crazy Rawhead and his band of psychos were. Slowly her hand lifted. She accepted the card, then turned on her heel and walked out.

  ***

  As the door closed behind her, Sasha heard him approaching. When she turned, he stood there with a bowl, the spoon leaving his mouth. Despite her depressing state of mind she gave him the best smile she could manage. “Let me guess. Captain Crunch?”

  “You saw Chocolat?”

  “My sister? Um, yes. I saw her.” Sasha dropped her purse, rubbed her temples, and approached the sofa to sit. She wanted to curl up on it and close her eyes to the day. The anger she carried over Michelle’s rejection collapsed into a dull shame during her ride home. If only she had it to do all over again.

  “That bad, huh?” Kumar asked, setting down his breakfast cereal on the lamp table and coming over. When he sat next to her, she immediately turned to his chest and buried her face against it. Kumar lifted her legs and drew them over his lap. Before she knew it, she was scooting so she was fully seated on his lap. It was better to be held by him this way. Kumar, her Indian prince, was all she needed. He was tall but athletically lean like a well-trained tennis player. The muscles rippling across his abdomen under his white shirt made her heartbeat quicken as she pressed her face against it. His dark golden brown skin and jet-black wavy hair made him all the more appealing. But it was his heart that she had grown most accustomed to. Never in her life had she felt so connected to a man, one who truly was genuine and loving as her guy.

  “Talk to me, babe. You know you can.” Kumar’s hand went up and down her arm in a slow caress.

  She wanted to confess all her sins to him. She would start with the first lie, the one between them since the day they’d met. Tell him she had been the instigator to her own kidnapping. That the nightmare they’d survived all began with her selfishness and greed. How could she admit her treachery and not jeopardize their new love? Kumar believed her to be sweet and misunderstood. He never met the calculating wench buried deep inside her. And Sasha remained determined he never would.

  “Sasha? You hear me talking to you?”

  “Yes, Kumar. I do. It’s just Michelle, um…she’s so angry with me. She blames me for the kidnapping, everything.”

  “But it wasn’t your fault. Lee kidnapped you. It’s not like you asked for it. She has to know that?”

  Sasha lifted her head and their eyes met. She opened her mouth to set him straight. The truth was on the edge of her tongue. But still she couldn’t speak. Kumar curled his finger under her chin and ensured she didn’t look away. “Listen to me. Your sister loves you. I saw how panicked she was when you were taken. How hard she fought to get those stones so Lee would let you go. It’ll work out. Until it does, you have me. And I promise I’ll never let anyone hurt you.”

  His smooth brown skin stretched over his high cheekbones when he smiled. His aquiline nose, straight forehead, firm but sensuous lips, all of it combined enhanced his rugged beauty. She was in love. Kumar brushed his lips over hers, as soft as a whisper, to seal his promise. Giving herself freely to his embrace, her trembling limbs clung to him as he lowered her to the sofa while deepening his kiss. Naturally her thighs parted and his arousal pressed down hard against her center, she could feel every inch of him behind the zipper of his long Bermuda shorts. Kumar’s mouth covered her mouth hungrily, and his tongue gave delicious swirls around her own. The kiss of understanding sent the pit of her stomach into wild flutters. Raising his mouth from hers, he gazed into her eyes when he spoke. “I love you, Sasha Dixon. Say you’ll always be mine.”

  “I’m yours, Kumar. Forever.”

  It was a question he asked her many times after their shared near death experience. He too was broken, unloved for many years. He too needed reassurance. And when she vowed to be his, she meant it from her soul. Nothing, not even her lies and deception, would come between them.

  “Forever isn’t long enough, babe. But it’s a start.” Kumar chuckled. She giggled and pulled him back down into her embrace, wrapping her legs around his waist and writhing up against him. Soon passion overcame them both. Together, they tore at each other’s clothing, ripping off shirts, hiking up her skirt to draw down her panties and pushing his shorts off to free his cock. Gently, he entered her. As if he knew their union had to have meaning. She would let him fuck her later. She needed to make love, slow and lasting, to free her. Kumar’s ardor became touchingly restraint as his hips rose and fell while he drove every savory inch in and out of her chann
el. Then she needed more. Sasha breathed in deep soul reaching drafts of breath, clinging to his back. Her hands went down and gripped both halves of his buttocks to make him increase speed. And Kumar began to pound each thrust into her harder and faster. All thoughts of her lies and deception were gone.

  For now it was just them.

  The involuntary tremors of pleasure began with a vibration in her pelvis that spread through her thighs. She gripped him even tighter. She gave herself over, and the pleasure between her heated thighs began to cover every inch of her. A silent gasp escaped her mouth like a soft wheeze as she shuddered through her final release. Kumar kept going driving her to the brink and soon joined her. When he collapsed and filled her with his seed, Sasha kissed his face, neck, shoulders, every place she could reach. There was no love greater than she found with her Kumar. This was where she truly belonged.

  ***

  “Meatloaf plate, Cosmo!” Annie called out.

  When Michelle arrived, the lunch-hour rush greeted her. Her friends, ex-coworkers, were shuffling between tables dropping off the latest pickup order and snatching payments from satisfied customers. Annie turned with her arms loaded and saw her first.

  “Hey Michelle!” She went to the table nearest her, unloading dish after dish, then walked over. “Girl, where you been? Cosmo has been going nuts around here worried about you and that kid sister of yours.”

  Michelle smiled. “How you doing, Annie?”

  “Miss, can I have some ketchup?” a diner asked.

  “Hold up, don’t you see me talking?” Annie winked at the customer. She rolled her eyes upward. “I wish I had chosen school or making babies for some rich man instead of this crap. How you think I’ve been? Please tell me you’re coming back to work?”

  “No, I’m here to see Cosmo.” Michelle rubbed her arm nervously. She would give anything to put on an apron and join the bustle of servitude. It was good, honest work and she’d always enjoyed it.

  “In the kitchen, where else would he be? Excuse me,” Annie said, removing the bottle of ketchup out of her apron pocket.

  Michelle walked through the diner, avoiding tables and the winks of some of the construction workers gathered for lunch. Through the open partition of the kitchen, she could see Cosmo on the grill, barking off orders. She felt a sense of belonging at the sight of him. The onslaught of hunger was swift, thanks to the smells coming off Cosmo’s grill. Going in, she sidestepped Hector, who flew past with a tray stacked with dirty dishes.

  “I told you to flip the meat twice. That means two times, Ben. If you can’t get this right, I’ll have you mopping the alley instead.” Cosmo grunted.

  “Got it, boss,” Ben said, trying again.

  Cosmo sighed and turned. His flushed face deepened red as a tomato at the sight of her. “Michelle Dixon?”

  “Hi.”

  Cosmo hurried over. He threw his fat arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. Michelle leaned in and kissed his greasy cheek. He smelled of garlic and onions, of the life she’d left behind when she joined Lee’s organization. Though it had only been a few weeks, in her heart it felt like eternity.

  “Where have you been? I went to the flat and your landlady said you moved out. Paid off the entire lease then men came and removed your stuff?”

  “Can we talk?” Michelle asked.

  “You damn right we’re going to talk. Ben, you’re on deck!” Cosmo took her by the arm. He led her to the back of the kitchen then out of the side door.

  She had been intimately familiar with the layout, having worked there for the past year. She entered his office and removed her leather jacket, tossing it to the sofa.

  “What’s going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?” Cosmo rushed out the words as he closed the door. With an abundance of nervous energy, he hurried over to her.

  “Define trouble.” She chuckled softly.

  Cosmo touched her arm. Michelle found his eyes glistened with concern and it broke the last of her strength. She threw her arms around his thick neck and held on to him as her sobs unleashed with unexplained urgency. This was her first real cry since the nightmare began. The first time she cried for herself. “I don’t know what to do anymore, Cosmo, I don’t.”

  “It’s okay, it’s going to be okay. I will help. You know I will.” He rubbed her back and held her like a father would. In that moment she missed Pops. She missed him so much it was a physical pain. Cosmo led her to the sofa, and she sat down at his side. He took hold of her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Tell me what it is. Tell me and I swear to you I will try to help.”

  “Sasha and I are with Lee now.”

  Cosmo frowned. “With him? What does that mean: with him?”

  “Working for him.” She pulled her hands away. “I lied. I never enrolled in school. The Jesus Stones that were stolen from the Metropolitan Museum—I took them. And I’ve been working for Leith Sullivan ever since.”

  Michelle finally braved a sideways glance over to him. Cosmo blinked at her, shocked. “It gets worse. Pops did a run, a big one, before he was murdered.”

  “Pops died in a car accident,” Cosmo corrected.

  “No.” She rose and shoved her hands down in the front of her pockets. “No, he was murdered. I found the people who did it and I…they’re dead now, too,” she confessed.

  “Michelle Dixon!” Cosmo’s eyes stretched wide. “What the hell have you done?”

  Her bottom lip quivered so she sucked it in and bowed her head. “We’re in it deep. Really deep, Cosmo. Lee won’t let me go. He says he’s in love with me, and I believe him, because in some sad, pathetic way, I think I’m in love with him, too. I was going to trick him, steal for him then give the jewels to his enemies. Then he told me the truth about Pops’ death, and I joined him, for revenge. Thing is the price is too high. I can’t get out. I can’t think of a way to get out.”

  “He can’t hold you. Let’s call my cousin, he can help.”

  “No. Cosmo, I’ve been lying to you from day one. I’m so sorry.”

  He shook his head. Michelle pained over the disappointment and hurt in his eyes. She felt sick from it. He had so much faith in her. He tried so hard to keep her on the straight path. He was the only person other than Pops that believed in her. And she had proved Lee right. She wasn’t Michelle Dixon. She was Chocolat, and she was born for this life. Nothing more.

  “We have to involve the police.”

  “No!” Michelle pleaded. “Did you hear me? I stole those stones. I did it. They can trace the theft to me. The murdered guard, the one on the news, he saw me. I think they have my description. I can’t go to the cops.”

  Cosmo sat down, stunned into silent acceptance. “I can’t understand why you would do this. You were free. Pops and I made sure of it.”

  Michelle nodded, nibbling on her bottom lip. “I was until Sasha went behind my back to Lee and struck a bargain. They tricked me into believing she was kidnapped. Then used me to steal those jewels. Now it’s out of my hands. All I can do is play by Lee’s rules. Unless I can find something he wants more than he wants me.”

  “What’s that?”

  Michelle stepped to him. “It’s a Golden Chalice. Some ancient thing. It has jewels all over it. It’s so old it’s not been catalogued. Every jewel thief in the world has hunted for the thing and somehow Pops found it. The night he was killed, he planned to sell jewels from it to the Japanese. But someone got to him first. He had already hidden the Chalice, though I can’t think of where.”

  Cosmo shook his head. “Pops never said a thing to me.”

  “He wouldn’t. He couldn’t because it would have put us all in danger. He kept it guarded, but where? Where would Pops put something so valuable neither me nor Sasha could never stumble on it?”

  “I don’t know,” Cosmo said in earnest.

  “Think! It’s important.”

  Cosmo rubbed his jaw. “So you’re proposing selling this thing? Getting in deeper?”

  “Lee has enemies.
They will trade my freedom for it. Lee would, too. If I can find it, then we’re free. Sasha and I can start over somewhere and never look back.”

  “There is nowhere a man like him wouldn’t look!” Cosmo pointed a warning finger at her. “The man is a parasite. You can’t just wash him off.”

  Michelle sighed. “Cosmo, it’s a good plan. I know what I’m doing.”

  “No! You don’t! I saw what The Order did to Pops when he gave up his seat on the council and tried to be a father to you girls.”

  “So you know about The Order, about Pops being a member?”

  “I know a lot of things, Michelle. There’s no time for me to sugarcoat this for you. You’re in big trouble. Those men are invisible to the law, not by accident but by design. Pops gave up a lot to save his girls. He still had to do jobs for those jackals when called upon. And his addiction was their leverage. Now you’re telling me Sasha is theirs? Pops wanted to protect you both from this. Being a good father was all he wanted.”

  “Why did he fail so miserably at it? Huh?” Michelle asked.

  “He had issues.”

  “Really?” she tossed back.

  “He wasn’t perfect. He grew up hard and alone. He was drinking before he hit puberty. His alcoholism was a sickness, Michelle. He tried to go straight, but he couldn’t hold a job. He tried to manage your life, but he couldn’t control his gambling.”

  “That’s what I don’t understand. Yes, Pops was good. But a founding member of The Order? How does a drunk run an international crime ring? It makes no sense.”

  Cosmo gave a bitter laugh. “Pops was a walking contradiction. You knew him, Michelle. He was a functioning drunk. He’d bottom out a few times a year. When alcohol mixed with his self-loathing, he had little clarity. But sometimes, sweetheart, he knew the difference between right and wrong. It’s why he fought to protect you girls. No one was as good as he was. That’s why he could walk in and out of that life if he chose.”