Chapter 9: Rule #9: Mastering Others Is Strength.

Beauregard.

I had shifted the plan enough that it wouldn't garner too much suspicion, and so far, everything had fallen seamlessly into place. The first step was getting Beatrice to agree to dinner on a Wednesday night of all nights without raising any sort of red flags. I had anticipated some sort of questioning, especially about why I was leaving town. But there was nothing. Just a quick one-word response, and then a really long gap between.

The easiest part of the plan was getting Abby to agree to come along, she had been peppering my phone with text messages, and phone calls every single hour, on the hour, since I had left Greenville to go talk to Javier, and I was more than eager to finally rid myself of my tether to her.

But in order for the end result to play out as painlessly as the beginning, I'd have to play the role of doting boyfriend for just a few more hours. I had invited Abby to meet with me a few hours before our scheduled dinner with Beatrice for pre-dinner drinks. I needed her intoxicated enough that she wouldn't remember tonight or tomorrow. I needed her conscious for the majority of the night, but I planned to slip something into her drinks to taper her intoxication throughout the evening. She of course pounced on the opportunity for a few hours alone with me, and since arriving at the dive bar she had suggested her lips had not left my face. After trying to suffocate me with her tongue for a solid twenty minutes I finally convinced her to come up for air for us to actually order drinks.

Trying to not to cringe as her wandering hands found their way on my thigh I waved the bartender over, grabbing her hand last minute as it traveled further north.

"What can I get you two?" The bartender asked us, his eyes were trying to not watch Abby as she latched herself onto my ear.

"I'll have an ale, any, I don't really care, and she'll have a..." I pulled away from her, my ear soaked with her spittle. "What do you want?"

"A dirty martini." She seductively whispered.

If I didn't know better Abby was already a little tipsy, but I've come to learn that that's just how she flirts, like a drunken pirate. Slobby and erratic.

"I'm excited about dinner." I tried to distract her from her slow make-out with my jaw.

"I just wish it was the two of us." Abby pouted.

"It's just the two of us now. But I really enjoyed getting to know your friend, and I thought it would be nice to invite her out." I tried to be charming even though I was growing annoyed by the minute, debating if Abby was indeed important to my mission or if I could do this without her.

"But she's so dull... Wait." Abby's eyes grew wide, the bartender placed the drinks in front of us. "You don't like her, do you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked her, grabbing my ale and taking a big slow gulp of it.

"Like... you know. Like her. Please tell me her little sick girl routine didn't charm you..."

I watched this woman who claimed to be my sister's best friend take a large graceless sip of her cocktail and curl her lip in disgust at the idea of anyone liking Beatrice. The mere thought of me being attracted to my own sister was off but to witness someone who claimed to be her friend be so open about their disdain for her made me sick to my stomach with pity.

I slowly brought my hand up to Abby's face and caressed it, seducing her intentionally, she melted into the palm of my hand, her eyes glazed over as I drew my hand back into her stiff over-processed blonde hair, grabbing her firmly by the back of the neck and drawing her to my lips I kissed her with the fakest passion I could muster as she moaned aggressively in my mouth, battling against her for control.

I pulled back, watching her pant as a slow smile crept on her deep purple lips, that was now smeared more than it had been.

"Does that answer your question? Go get cleaned up." I demanded her.

Abby liked it when I was possessive and dominant. She basically squealed with delight as she bounced off of the barstool. I watched her strut off trying to overly swing her hips in the process. Waiting for the bathroom door to close before I looked around and subtly deposited the first dose of the sleeping drug into her drink.

"It's reckless Galán but it's a good plan..."

Javier's presence startled me, I had let my guard down, I was too focused on my task at hand that I didn't keep my eyes open to those around me.

"Javier, what are you doing here?" I kept the suspicion out of my voice.

"I found out the man who's purchased your sister's contract, and I've come to help bring her home." Javier said sitting down on the stool that Abby just left vacant.

"Who is it, Javier? Who?"

"Geun Kal." He responded, holding his hand up for the bartender.

"Shit."

Geun Kal as a new player on the board changed the severity of the entire game. The ticking time bomb was even more dangerous, and my sister's life was confirmed at risk.

"Don't worry Beau. We'll get her out of here."

"But what do I say about my brother just randomly showing up Javier? Seriously like out of the blue? Doesn't that look suspicious?"

"I'm here on a layover, I'm picking you up on my jet on our way into the city. You invited me to dinner, but I didn't think I could make it until the last minute. I was down the street from this bar because I was staying at the hotel downtown until the morning when our flight takes off. You've been talking so much about this beautiful woman named Abby I just had to meet her while I was here."

"Baby! You've been talking about me?" Abby had snuck back up to the table, my damned brain was so distracted by everything I was losing control over everything else in the bar.

"You're Abby?" Javier asked, spinning around; he was good, he was so good. "Damn Beau's description of you didn't do you justice, you're stunning. Hi, I'm Javier, Beau's brother. I'm on a layover, and heard Beau here needed a ride for work, so while I had the jet all hot and ready to go, I figured why not stay over and meet the beautiful Abby!"

"You're staying for dinner, right?" Abby said, tucking herself under my arm beaming at my brother.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Javier replied, handing Abby her drink.