His Princess Unmasked

Alliance

  I was watching Tori slip one of my T-shirts over her head; she deserved better than to live out of my dresser. I could appreciate that she wasn't the type of woman to complain or make a fuss about clothing or material possessions, but I wanted her to have the world. I longed to spoil her, to see her true smile, not the one she forced to appease those around her. There was so much that I wanted to give her. I would; I knew I was capable. That wasn't the issue; it was the timing with everything that had fallen into our laps concerning her parents. There wasn't time to take her shopping, cook her three-course meals, or bathe her in essential oils every night before bed. Right now, my focus was on getting the foot that was on her throat off; I would get her free even if it took cutting that f*****g foot off at the damn knee. She would be free. Clenching my fist, I can feel my teeth begin to grind against one another in my mouth. There was no excuse for either of them to be treating her the way they have. I was doing the best I knew how not to flat out confront the whole scandal at face value, but I understood that wasn't the best option. This was a sensitive operation that needed proper execution. 

"I need to get back in there with Andre, but I want you to get some sleep. It's 4 am; you don't have to worry about waking up at any specific time." I tell Tori standing and walking to her side of the bed. I smile, realizing she'd even chosen aside. "I don't know if I can sleep." Tori yawns, "Uh-huh. Get in." I say sarcastically. "I want to help you come up with a plan." She says, crossing her arms squinting at me. "Right now, the plan is to have Daniel play double agent. There isn't anything else planned, so let's not worry about any of that right now. You can help me when you wake up; you're so tired. I can see it in your eyes. Now, come here and lay down." I say sternly, moving back the blankets and motioning for her to get under them. "I feel useless," Tori says, her arms going lax and handing at her sides. "You have been fighting this fight alone for a long time now. You said you knew something was off, and you knew that both your parents were keeping something from you. What part of that speaks of useless to you? You have been strong. I admire the hell out of you for how resilient you have been. I can empathize and wish there had been someone to step up and tell me to rest. Someone to lighten the load. Please, let me carry some of this for you and rest." I state gently again, motioning for her to get into bed.

"Sleeping while the men plot. How utterly medieval of me." Tori says using an English accent. I grin and shake my head. Each time she used her sense of humor, I fell in love more. She truly was funny, and it was her wit that did it for me most. She was quick to come up with something to make another go "Ah-ha" with little to no effort on her part. "Come lye down, my lady," I say, totally butchering the English accent. "Yeah, don't do that. Not your thing." Tori teases me. I roll my eyes as Tori slides up under the blankets. "You're lucky I don't spank you for that smart mouth of yours," I state, keeping my tone low so that she knew I was serious. Tori's eyes grow large, and her breathing slows. "Do you think you should tease Daddy like that? Hmm?" I ask her, keeping my tone the same. "N-no." Tori stutter; I raise an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, Daddy." Tori sighs, pulling the blankets up. "That's a good girl. Nighty night." I say, kissing her temple. Once at the bedroom door, I look back and use the fade feature on the lights system. "Thank you," Tori says softly. "You're welcome, Princess; I figured you wouldn't want to sleep in complete darkness after tonight. If you need me, call me. Your phone is on the bedstand charging. I love you." I say, going to shut the door. I hear Tori's voice, "I love you too, Daddy," Before closing it all the way. 

At least I wasn't in only boxers; I went with a pair of red basketball shorts instead. Walking into the living room, I take a deep breath before walking into the kitchen. The door leading to the garage was closed. "Ay yo, what's good, brother!" Greets, who I could only assume was Raphael. Andre had his back turned towards me, turning; he nods in acknowledgment. He looked tired. "You should get some rest," I say, coming to clap my hand on his shoulder. "I'm good." He says, turning his attention back to Raphael sewing up a cut on Daniel's face. "You both really f****d him up good," Raphael says; his Spanish accent was thick. He was very wiry-looking. He was in a part of black joggers; a grey dry-fit athletic shirt clung to him like a second skin. I could feel his intense energy vibrating off of him. It was crazy how still his hands were with how fast his knee was currently bopping. He was almost completely covered in tattoos; the one on his neck attracted my attention. Sacred geometry, interesting.  His hair was thick at the top and shaved at the sides, his nose was large, but it didn't overwhelm his face for some reason. His face was long and angular. I'd heard his look described by a girl once as being "Ugly Hot," he was attractive in a very odd way. Turning his eyes up, Raphael gives me a crooked grin. "Which one of you about cracked his eye socket? He definitely has a few broken ribs. Those are a real b***h, my guy." He says, poking Daniel, who flinches in pain. "f**k! Stop!" 

I could tell that Raphael was the class clown type when he pretends to pout. "Probably think twice about f*****g with veterans, eh?" He laughs, going back to stitching. "I only got one solid hit in; the rest of the damage you see was Brent."Andre scoffs, jamming his elbow into my ribs. I laugh, "Damn." Raphael says, looking back up at us. "Remind me never to piss you off." He smirks, giving me a wink. I smirk back and nod up at him. "Thank you for coming on such late notice. This isn't something I want to involve the authorities with; I hope you can understand." I say, paying close attention to Rapaheal's reaction. He cringes his face, "I don't mean to sound like an asshole when I say this, but do I look like the type to talk to feds?" Raphaels asks, putting his hands above his head and motioning down his body. "Only reason I haven't been arrested is that I'm too slick to get caught, homie. I stay ready to be a part of this kind of s**t. You need me; I'm here, brother." He adds, tilting back; I hadn't noticed that he'd pulled up my weight bench to sit on. Checking the stitches over Daniel's eye, he nods. "That should do it." Your ribs will heal on their own in like a month or two. That blood clot you coughed up was from your nose, which is broken, by the way. I can set it if you want. You don't have any internal bleeding. You'd have passed out by now if that were the case. Any questions?" Raphael asks, slapping his thighs.

"My ribs don't need to be set to heal?" Daniel asks, his brows coming together. "Nope, they heal all on their own. They'll hurt like a b***h, though, if you try and do any strenuous activities. I suggest some breathing exercises. You can google it." Raphael answers, folding his hands over his lap. Daniel blinks and then looks up at me. "How the hell am I going to explain to Tori's mom why my nose is broken? I look like I've been mugged." He asks me sarcastically. "You were mugged, remember?" I answer with a grin. "Alright. So what the plan. Seeing how you have all the answers." He replies, rubbing at the stitches now above his eye. I look over at Raphael, "Like I said, brother. I'm in. Anything you need. I have connections all over Tampa, Orlando, and even out in Miami." He says, leaning forward, his fingers loosely laced together. He had model hands; I noticed these things as a talent recruit. My eye for detail is what made me good at my job. Had we not been in the situation we were in now, I would recommend he look into hand modeling. "Andre, you said that she texted back about agreeing to twenty grand?" I asked, glancing over at Andre with my fingers to my chin. "She added an extra five grand for good measure." He answered, "Said she takes care of those who take care of her." He adds, rolling his eyes, "What a piece of work she is. It sounds like a narc if I ever knew one. Throwing away extra money and giving out compliments on herself to manipulate. Classic. This means we could manipulate her using her inflated ego." I scoff, rolling my own eyes as Andre did.

"Daniel, you ever came on to Mrs. Lycroft?" I ask, grinning, looking down at him devilishly.  "Oh god. Listen, bro, I can play the double spy, but I swear to God if you make me f**k that ice queen to get answers, I will drag my ass to the police station and turn myself in." He groans in reply. I grin, "Oh, you don't think you could get her to f**k you then, huh?"  I taunt, knowing the reaction I would receive. "I could have her screaming my name by f*****g yesterday. She's come on to me several times. I ignored it because I have no interest in dealing with her wealthy husband finding out. It's how guys like me going missing. I might be dense, but I'm not a complete idiot." Daniel spits out, leaning back in his chair. "Nah, I bet you've tried, and she turned you down." Andre teases, catching on to what I was doing. "What's she look like?" Raphael asks, licking his lips. He wasn't catching it, but being a hot-blooded male, it was obvious he was interested in where the conversation was going. "First of all, I could f**k her if I wanted! And to answer your question Doc, imagine Angelina Jolie f****d Megan Foxx and then had a baby." He answers, motioning his hands to make the hourglass shape. "Well damn, sign me up to f**k the mom. I'll do it for free." Raphael says, throwing his hands up. "You know what, fine. Not because I need to prove anything, but because I've wanted to get my d**k wet anyway. I'll do it. I'll f**k the hot mom. Take one for the team like the hero I am." Daniel says sarcastically. 

"Good boy." I tease, giving Daniel a slow wink. Daniel's face turns red, "f**k you." He spits, adjusting the crotch of his pants. Andre chuckles and shakes his head; Raphael looks confused for a moment and looks up at Andre and me I. "Wait, what just happ-" He starts to say but then the realization hits, and it lights upon his face. "Y'all some nasty mother fuckers. I dig it, though." He laughs, slapping his thighs. He'd been sitting there with his legs jumping rhythmically. He more than likely was hyperactive. "So the plan is for you to get your information by getting close to Mrs. Lycroft. Use that boyish charm of yours to get her to spill. You will tell her you were mugged outside a club after snooping out my place. How does she send you money?" I ask Daniel bending at the knee to crouch. Andre moves behind me and drags the chairs for us to sit in. "This really is going to be a long night." He yawns, sitting in it and tapping mine. "I don't have an old lady, and I am my own boss. Plus, I have severe ADHD; sleep isn't really a thing for me." Raphael chuckles. So I was right about the hyperactivity; you could definitely tell. I sigh, "I'm going to start some coffee and get a notepad. This needs to be written out." I yawn and stand to make my way to the kitchen. "I like mine black," Daniel says with a grin. Looking back, I give him the bird, "You'll take it however I feel like giving it." Before walking into the kitchen.