Baring Mia
By: Kallista Dane“I won’t do it.”
“You will if you want to stay out of jail.” The man’s voice was cold, hard.
“That’s an empty threat. I have a signed agreement saying the FBI won’t prosecute me, even if I don’t find evidence that Harmon had anything to do with the theft.”
“Slight problem there. I signed that agreement with you, but, as it turns out, I don’t have the authority to grant immunity to anyone. My bosses never agreed to the deal. They never even knew about it.”
“You really are scum, aren’t you? You’re threatening me, forcing me to plant fake evidence in the Dream Quest computer system, knowing it will destroy him.”
“It’s him or you, lady. Your choice.”
“No. You can’t make me do it. I’ll go to your bosses, tell them what you’re planning.”
“As if they’d believe you, our prime suspect in a major crime. What’s the matter? Has being Harmon’s slut turned out to be more fun than you thought it would? Don’t worry. I’ll be happy to step in once he’s out of the picture. I’ll whip your ass good and then make you get down on your knees and suck my dick. To be honest, I always thought Cabrera was a fucking liar. I never pictured you begging to be punished and humiliated. Guess I was wrong. But I gotta tell you, it gets me hard just thinking about it.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“Plant the evidence on this flash drive – or we’ll arrest you and prosecute you instead. I’m a personal friend of a couple of wardens in the federal penitentiary system. If I pull a few strings, you’ll end up some place where I’ll be allowed to stop by and ‘interrogate the prisoner’ privately now and then. It will make a nice change for you from having to go down on some dyke every night. But then, who knows, maybe you secretly like that too.”
Sam turned off the recorder. “This was recorded yesterday by one of the men we have following her whenever she leaves here. She met the FBI agent, Patterson, at a restaurant in Coral Gables. Our man managed to get close enough to record the last part of their conversation. She got up and left without saying another word. But she took the flash drive with her.”
“Thank you, Sam. I appreciate your hard work and your diligence in protecting me.”
After Sam left, he sat at his desk for a long time, processing the information. In love? Maybe Carmen had been right in the first place. Maybe he’d been a fool to allow Mia to get so close to his heart. His original plan had been sound. Fill the empty spot in his life. Find a woman he could enjoy spending time with occasionally, one who aroused his mind as well as his cock. One who wasn’t blatantly after all the perks his money would bring.
Mia had done that – and more. She’d gotten him out of the lab and introduced him to a world he’d never experienced. A world most people took for granted.
They’d slipped out of the penthouse last Saturday and gone across the street to the crowded reggae festival in Bayfront Park. She looked relaxed and beautiful that day, not her usual buttoned-down self. Her hair hung loose, down to the middle of her back, and she had on flip-flops, a hot pink tank top, and a full-length skirt in a bright tropical print. He’d worn his uniform of jeans and black tee.
As soon as they got there, she bought him a tie-dyed Bob Marley T-shirt and insisted he put it on. They wandered around for hours, drinking mojitos out of plastic cups and sampling food from vendor carts while swaying to the music.
Another night Mia taught him to merengue at a club in Little Havana. They danced till it closed at four a.m., thanks to the café Cubana she introduced him to. They’d eaten ropa viejo for dinner, on the patio under a star-filled sky. After the meal, she ordered her usual strong brew. He gave in to her coaxing and ordered one too. The waiter came back with a white cup and saucer as tiny as a child’s tea set. She laughed when he complained to the waiter that it was too small.
“Bring me a man-sized cup,” he demanded.
“Senor, I promise to come back and refill it as often as you want,” the waiter replied, winking at Mia. “You have only to beckon me, and I will be here.”
