Chapter 33

The mission intruded before anything happened that I couldn't take back. Hussein called my cell phone, wanting to see if we were free to meet him for lunch in a very special Italian restaurant on the outskirts of Monte Carlo. Azur Bar Monaco is considered the finest Italian cuisine in the region, and I was looking forward to trying something I'd only read about. Hussein said he had reservations on the chance we were free.

He had documentation for the proposed purchase and wanted put it in my hands. We had to eat anyway, so I checked with Winnie, and she was up for Italian – who wouldn't be? I have always believed it is un-American to not love Italian food. We agreed to meet in an hour and three-quarters.

Over an hour went by before we were properly bathed and dressed, which meant we had to hurry to be on time. Edward had secured a small car and dropped us right at the front door of the restaurant. The food was beyond incredible, ending up somewhere approaching heavenly. Our waiters – we had three – pampered Winnie like she was the second coming of Princess Grace and looked after Hussein and me impeccably.

I am not much of a wine aficionado, but Hussein raved about the red and then the dry, white. He seemed to like to mix wines as often as he mixed hard liquor. The wine steward seemed displeased with Hussein's guzzling of his best wines, but Hussein was certainly enjoying them, which was the point after all. Winnie sipped every vintage that the steward suggested, settled on a modest Chianti, and nursed two glasses through lunch.

I stuck with iced tea and liked it, much to their surprise. "Are you, as you Americans say, 'on the wagon?'" Hussein was not quite pickled, but getting there, and laughed loudly at his attempted humor.

"I am pacing myself. The last couple of nights have been tiring, and a bit of moderation is just what I need to perk me up." Hussein appeared to accept my logic and not let it interfere with getting drunk on two-thousand-dollar-per-bottle wine.

We chatted about everything from the weather to the new yacht. He was desperately interested in the ATLANTIC MOON and too lit up to inhibit his behavior. When he asked one question too many, I cut him off by saying that we had only had it for a few days, and he was asking things beyond my limited knowledge.

It was all a dance, and knowing the 'investment' was a scam made it hard to play along. I was so tired of playing along, that if the Judge didn't need their inside knowledge so badly, I would arrange to put them down and go home. As it was, the Judge claimed just what we'd done so far had yielded excellent results in both details about how they operated and who they used. If I just put them in the ground and left, it wasn't going to be a total loss, but I couldn't.

In for a pound...

Winnie was the only sensible one in our threesome. She enjoyed her lunch, while I inhaled mine.

Hussein inhaled the wine, and I doubted he could get back to the hotel alone. We helped him out to the car, and Edward drove him to the front door of the hotel and helped the doorman get him inside.

When we drove away towards the dock, I realized he hadn't handed over the documents.

Was that due to drunkenness, or design?

I needed to talk to the Judge and find out.

When we got back, Regina was lounging by the hot tub outside the master stateroom. Her hair was wet, so it was safe to assume she'd had a dip. It looked so inviting, I ran to grab a suit and soak. Winnie met me in the dressing room and said to leave the suit off, and she would join me. When I inclined my head to indicate Regina, she smiled and said, "Let her decide if she wants to get naked with us, or not."

She was serious, and she'd already talked it over with Beth Ann, Colleen, and Rebecca.

Did I say I was well and truly screwed?!

"I called them when it was obvious that Regina was crushing on you, and you weren't going to give her the time of day. She's grown up enough to decide what she wants, and with a dead dad, both grandparents dead, and a mother in prison, she has very few options that don't include an orphanage.

"Let her choose us.

"You wouldn't force her, coerce her, or pressure her if your life depended on it, so whatever choice she makes will have been all her, and it will be the one she needs to make.

"Let her." Winnie had a way of making me see things her way, whether I wanted to or not. This was one of those times.

I wrapped a towel around myself and padded out to the Jacuzzi, then slipped in without making a naked spectacle of myself, but not without exposing the exact manner of my dress. Regina would have to decide, but without pressure and without me watching her decision making process.

I relaxed into the hot water with my back to the girls and stayed that way. Winnie dropped in beside me and pulled herself in for a hug and kiss. I gratefully returned the compliment and petted her a little to make sure she knew how happy I was to be with her – naked - in a Jacuzzi, on a mega-yacht, in Monte Carlo.

We cuddled and chatted until felt the water swish up around me. Regina crawled in just as naked as us. She blushed when she saw me taking in her curves and attractive, womanly body, but let me look before sliding over and sitting against me on the opposite side from Winnie.

I realized that I now had another woman, albeit a very young one, wanting to be with me in every sense. It gave me a sense of pride, power, and a jolt of responsibility. My girls needed me to protect them, care for them, love them, and never hurt them. Our newest love had joined us in the midst of grave danger.

Was I up to the job?

We snuggled in the hot water until our skin started to prune up, and then regretfully crawled out. After drying off, we walked hand in hand to the bedroom, where we showered and got under the covers for a much-deserved nap.

Regina held my hand as she drifted off to sleep.

Winnie held Mr. Johnson.

It was nice...

I decided I could get used to it, but then I realized I already was, and spoiled besides.

Our timetable for success against Hussein and company was set by their schedule. If they pulled up stakes and moved on, it would ruin any chance I had to get them to open up, tell some secrets, disclose their real intentions, and do something stupid enough that I could get away with putting them in the ground.

In short, I had to figure a way to get them to make their move on me. Winnie suggested we have an intimate little gathering and invite them along with some of the others we had chatted up while in Monte Carlo. I realized that was a smart idea, and quietly got right on it.

We made our nightly foray into the casino, enjoyed losing some money at the craps table, and settled down on some couches with a cold drink to people watch. As always seemed to be the case, several of those we'd met wandered into the sofa area and pulled up a seat. Our conversations ranged from sublime to downright ridiculous, as we entertained ourselves, waiting for something exotic, exciting, or irrational to happen.