Gina Takes Bangkok (The Femme Vendettas) (26 page)

He moved to the other breast, while massaging the freshly suckled one with his hand.

From the corner of his eye he saw her hips take to rotating. He broke suction, touched his lips to hers. “I keep this up with your breasts, will you come for me?”

Her lips trembled under his. “Halfway there already.”

Kannon returned south. Her right breast, he discovered, was the most responsive, causing her to squirm, the heels of her bare feet rubbing the length of the hood. The left one wasn’t to be ignored either and made Gina’s back arch. The trick was to get both working for him when he had only one mouth. The best he could do was squeeze the two together to close the space, and that alone drew a deep orgasmic moan out of her. She wouldn’t be long now. He risked a glance to the water and spotted the powerboat coming to pick up Gina. He’d have to make it happen soon. He bent his head again and didn’t let up with his mouth even as her body went rigid, her hands clamped onto his head and he got his arm underneath in time to have her pound out her orgasm.

After, she herself pulled up her dress, swung those dancing legs around and hopped down, tucking away her phone and figurine into their usual safe spots. “The boat’s almost here. Or I’d return the favor.”

Something was wrong. She didn’t look as…satisfied as he’d hoped to make her. There was no way she could’ve faked it. Or had she? He crowded her against the vehicle door, even as the boat idled close. He hitched up her dress and skimmed a finger between her legs. “You’re soaked. You didn’t fake it.”

She gave him an appalled look. “I never fake it. What’s the point of that?”

“You don’t look…quite done.”

She looked at him wide-eyed as she maneuvered space between them to wiggle her heels back on. “What do you expect? I only came once.”

He blinked. “How many times can you come?”

She shrugged. “My record is 22 times. But”—she gave him a quick kiss and a pat on the cheek—“I don’t expect it from you.” She slipped away and did a skip-scurry toward the boat.

Had she handed him a challenge? If so, he accepted. It was going to be one hell of a third date.

THE SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT was a marvel of engineering. Its vast, bright and ultra-modern construction seemed to defy gravity. Flowing steel arches spanned epic distances while towering hoops of glass provided a breathtaking view of the sprawling public gardens at its heart. The monumental main terminal was decorated with huge, colorful murals and towering statues of Thai dragons, warriors and gods.

It was also very, very, very long. Gina’s feet felt as if her shoes were designer vises. “Holy hell, I shouldn’t have worn heels today,” she shared with Kannon. “How much farther is it to the arrival gate?”

He lifted his chin to the long line of stores, restaurants, spas, beauty salons and way off, bowling alley. “The route we’re taking, another twenty miles. The economy won’t collapse if you bypass a few of these, you know.”

“But why risk it?” she said, hobbling toward a stand of comfy shoes. Kannon snagged her elbow. “Come on, girl, or we’ll be late.”

Gina didn’t protest. She could always come again. Maybe when she flew back to L.A. Whenever that was. Her life in America seemed unreal right now.

By the time they swam upstream through the arriving visitors pouring out the gate, Gina was barefoot. “Do you see them?” she asked as the flow of exiting passengers washed up onto the welcoming shores of friends and relatives.

Kannon scanned the lake of heads. “There.” And swam on, Gina in his wake.

Brian, Delta and two backpacks were by a golden statue of one of the many fertility goddesses. Brian squared on them as they approached.

“We’re not doing this. She’s pregnant.”

Kannon took in the statue. “That was fast.”

Brian wasn’t finished. “Do you know how I found this out? On the plane over. She upchucks after her eggs. She’s never been sick in all the years I’ve known her. She tells me not to worry. ‘I’m just pregnant, is all.’ Why, you are probably wondering, didn’t she tell me this before we got on the plane? Because she didn’t want to worry me.”

Kannon released a long, exasperated breath, and set his hands on his hips, his suit jacket pulling open to show his wide torso in a royal blue shirt. He looked awesome in that color. As good as the black one last night. She couldn’t wait for the third date when she might get a peek of what he looked like without one. A third date also marked the end of their temporary trial period which was all she’d told him she wanted. Only—

Only, she was happy he was with her. He could talk Brian down.

“The day my wife told me she was pregnant I caught her petting a stray cat,” Kannon informed them.

Crap, he was on Brian’s side.

The rigid line in Brian’s shoulders relaxed. “So you agree that Delta can’t risk doing this.”

“I do.” Kannon slid off his mirrored glasses. “Congratulations, Ms. Fox.”

“Mrs. Chanse,” Brian corrected. “And it’s the only ‘chance’ she’s taking from now on.”

Delta looked up at her husband with an expression of forced patience. “I already told you, Brian, It’s not like I’m suddenly made of glass. I know what I’m doing.”

Kannon looked at Gina and gave the barest tilt of his head toward Delta. He wanted her to talk her boss’s wife and her friend out of going. Except Delta was their best hope. On the other hand, she could understand Brian’s worry. Whatever happened here in Bangkok, risking the lives of the two he loved the most, his wife and his unborn child, wouldn’t be worth it.

Gina sighed. “Okay, you guys, you need to come to an agreement, whatever it is. And you need to do this quick, because time’s kind of short here.”

“We are decided,” Brian said firmly. “We’re going back to L.A. on the next flight.”

Delta turned to Gina. “When’s that?”

Gina did a quick search on her phone. “Tomorrow morning. 7:20 departure.”

“Okay. We’ll go then.”

Brian narrowed his eyes at her. “And what will we do in the meanwhile?”

Delta stole a look at Kannon.

Brian exploded. “You haven’t listened to a word I’ve said, have you?”

“Maybe, we should—” Gina started but Delta interrupted.

“I know this is a risk, Brian. I get that. Back at the airport in L.A. the bookstore had this pregnancy manual I flipped through. Turns out I shouldn’t have had the shrimp platter last week. Turns out that my pelvis might be too small. Turns out that there are tests for genetic markers we could’ve taken, so we might have to deal with the consequences of that. Point is, we’ve already taken the biggest chance by just choosing to have a baby.”

“I’m talking about unnecessary risks. And this is unnecessary.”

“You were fine with me doing it before you knew I was pregnant.”

“At least then it was your body and your decision. Now you’re making decisions for someone else.”

Delta got in close to Brian and spoke in a way that seemed to close them off from the rest of the world. “I’m not walking away from this one, Brian. I can’t. This isn’t about springing some Godfather. This is about all the kids those sick bastards are going to hurt if they’re not stopped. If anyone can take care of business it’s Kannon, and I’m damn well going to get him inside so he can do his job. I know I’m risking our child, but I need to do this before I go home with you and have our baby. Okay?”

Gina didn’t know the full story of Delta’s past. She wouldn’t be surprised if Delta had only told Brian the bare facts. There’d always been a pocket of reserve about her that made her seem aloof, and in a lot of ways Kannon was similar. He’d dropped little stories but, like Delta, would always hold himself back. Being with him would be like Brian’s relationship with Delta. Dealing with a stubborn and strong-willed person, used to doing things their own way. And from the seriously unhappy expression on her boss’s face, it would suck.

Brian swung up both backpacks. “Okay, I’m buying our tickets home right now. You do whatever the hell you need to do. Come 7:20 tomorrow your butt is on the plane to L.A. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

Brian jabbed a finger at Gina and Kannon. “Anything happens to Delta and I’m holding you two personally responsible because this is your fucking problem that you”—he focused on Kannon—“caused when you let your boss get kidnapped.”

Gina felt a sudden flash of anger. “Hey, wait a min—”

Kannon cut her off. “Agreed.”

He looked grumpy. Delta looked defiant and tense. Brian looked like a sick tourist. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

She tapped on her phone. “You want to see what I did on my birthday yesterday?” She turned the display to Brian, Delta sliding in beside him. They peered at the screen, their eyes widening, and both looked simultaneously at Kannon.

“Dances pretty well for a man considering he’s sixty, huh?”

Kannon slid his sunglasses back on in obvious embarrassment.

There. A distraction, and if it happened to focus on Kannon, all the better.

Victoria leaned over the rail of the powerboat and dry heaved, her empty stomach having nothing to offer. She got nauseous from water taxi rides, let alone plying the turbulent estuary of the Chao Phraya river. Within minutes of getting underway that morning, she was seasick, and as the boat crossed the river mouth and headed once again to the open ocean, she let out a low moan of dread.

The radio beeped and crackled, and the static-y sound of Ek’s voice reached her. “Anything yet?”

Victoria stumbled past the rakshasa piloting the craft to pick up the receiver. “Nothing,” she said. “Where are you?”

“Patpong,” he replied, the sounds of the red light district’s street noise almost drowning him out. “Spent all night and this morning here, but no luck. Bastard could be hiding anywhere. Let me know if you find anything.”

“Will do.” Hanging up the radio, she ran her tongue around her mouth. “Agh! I’m so sick of the taste of vomit. I swear I’ll flay that old man alive when I catch him.”

“I thought that was your plan anyway,” the rakshasa said.

Victoria flashed him an irritated glare. “Yes, well he’ll deserve everything he gets, making me suffer like this.”

Her brother had figured out it was Vincenzo Zaffini helping Kannon, but finding the old man was proving to be a real bitch. Even with the eyes of Ek and his men glued to Zaffini’s brothels and massage parlors, they hadn’t caught sight of the man or any of his known associates. Word on the street was he was dying. Some said he’d gone to seek treatment abroad. There was even speculation that he was already dead, and his wife was running his businesses now. All their leads were coming up dry, except there was one that they hadn’t crossed off their list yet—
The Pink Pussycat
.

According the harbor authority, the yacht had set sail for Australia weeks ago, a claim verified by the fact that its berth at the Ocean Marina Yacht Club was empty. Her brother suspected that the Pussycat wasn’t as far away as they were being led to believe. She was assigned the task of searching every nook and cranny a yacht could squeeze into.

The powerboat bounced over the waves, each bump making Victoria’s stomach slam against the back of her throat. She held the binoculars as steady as she could and scanned the waters. The coast was dotted with both fishing and sail boats, with one or two larger pleasure craft making their way toward the city. Nothing big and pink.

“Gulf’s huge,” the rakshasa muttered behind the wheel. They’d already boated all the way to the neighboring city of Chon Buri and back—a hundred miles of misery. But her John had an instinct for spotting deception, and she wasn’t about to give up the hunt.

“Take us over there,” she ordered, pointing at a nearby fishing boat, its red paint peeling, its body flecked with rust.

With a grunt the man complied, and a minute later they were pulling alongside the battered old craft. Fishermen, faces streaked with chalk to protect them from the scorching rays of the sun, glanced down at them with cautious curiosity. They were all Burmese by the looks of them, illegal immigrants who’d come to Thailand searching for a better life. Probably little more than slaves, exploited by their captains as cheap, disposable labor. Nothing men like these wouldn’t do to get out of their situation.