by KB Winters
I stood under the hot spray until it turned lukewarm. Then after I was all dried, powdered, and lotioned, I took my time getting dressed in a floral print dress that I paired with a denim jacket and my red Ferragamo pumps. I felt hot and confident, and that was exactly what I needed to give me the courage to pack my shit and get the fuck out of Ashby Manor.
I knew the security team wouldn’t let me out on my own, so I texted Hulu to pick me up, leaving my bags in the trunk as I headed to Midnight Mass. My shift started in less than an hour, just enough time to grab a bite to eat and pretend that this morning never happened, despite my body’s efforts to remember every delicious moment.
“Thanks, Ginger.” I wore a wolfish smile as the waitress set the steaming plate of steak tips and colcannon in front of me. Usually, I fucking hated cabbage but lately, I couldn’t get enough of the stuff.
The pub was mostly empty this time of day. A few small-time gangsters met in corner booths and dark tables to hide the fact they did business together, and a few old-timers hung out to day-drink and watch soccer and pretend they were back in the ‘old country.’ It was the perfect time to indulge in a meal and bury my thoughts and worries deep before my shift began.
The bell above the door trilled, and Agent Beck strolled in, a smirk on her face that told me the bitch was here to kick up shit. I cursed not being at the bar to activate the recording device Jasper used when he needed to blackmail someone into doing shit they should have agreed to in the first place.
Instead, I quickly pulled up the voice recorder app on my phone and hit the big red circle, just as Bitch Face saddled up to the bar. As soon as she noticed me, she walked over to where I was sitting.
I looked up, feigning surprise. “Agent Beck, to what do I owe the displeasure of your company?”
She laughed. “Someone’s feeling feisty today, bold coming from a well-known whore.”
“We’re all whores, honey. I’m just honest about it.”
“I’m not a whore,” she grimaced, and I knew I hit a nerve.
“Sure you are. Look at you, out here risking your life, your fragile mental state, and offering your governmental cunt to Jasper, all to get dirt on his mother.” I let out a snort mixed with a laugh. “I’m just a better-paid whore, and that’s what pisses you off.”
“Oh, I’m not pissed off, Maureen. Not at all. Why would I be? I fucked Jasper because I wanted to, not to get info on Sadie.”
I didn’t believe her. Despite the knife that pierced my heart at her words, I didn’t believe that shit for one fucking second. Even if I did feel envy in some kind of way, Jasper wasn’t mine to be jealous over.
“A drink for Agent Beck,” I said loud enough to let the customers know we had a cop on the premises. “Something strong and fruity to remove that giant stick up her scrawny ass.”
“Cute,” she growled. “You must be fuming right now, ready to hit me.”
“Only because you’re interrupting my meal.” I’d do a lot more than hit the bitch if I wasn’t pregnant.
“Not because I took a ride on your man’s dick. Because I have to tell you, it was worth the ethical lapse. His cock is a masterpiece, and the way he uses it, he picked the wrong line of work.”
Now I knew she was lying , and I stared up at her, still chewing my colcannon. “Is that why you’re here, hungry for another cock ride? I can go get him for you.”
“I know where to find him if and when I decide to have him again. Which I might.”
“If you’re not here for Jasper, why are you here?”
“For you, of course.” Agent Beck let out a laugh that was supposed to be light and carefree, but I heard the hitch in her voice, saw the signs of tension that aged her prematurely. “You know you can’t trust the Ashby family.”
“You don’t know shit. You think you know so much thanks to your government databases, but the truth is you don’t know anything. My guess is you’re here talking to me because you don’t know shit.”
I didn’t trust cops, not as far as I could spit. They never showed up when they were needed, and if they did, they always took the side of the man—the abuser—not the victim.
“What I do know is that you can’t trust this family. I know that eventually, you’ll outlive your usefulness and end up dead on the side of the road or buried somewhere in the desert. Your parents will never know. You won’t even get a proper burial.”
I laughed at her words that just proved she knew fuck all about nothing. I had no parents to give a fuck about me, and I didn’t give a shit about a burial, proper or improper.
“Good to know. Thanks for the advice.”
“Wow,” she sighed and shook her head. “It must be more than a crush.” Beck laughed. “That’s even more fucked up than I thought.”
I said nothing, just ate my food, and chewed slowly as she tried to bait me. Her tactics were amateur hour, but since I was recording her, I let Agent Beck dig her own fucking grave.
“Let me guess, you can help me? Protect me from the big bad Ashby family?”
“I can.”
“You’re a fucking idiot if you believe that.”
“I can if you have information I find useful.”
“Great offer,” I told her with a mouth full of steak. “At least it would be if you weren’t a fucking liar. And a fed.”
“Look at what they did to Bonnie. And she was one of them, married to an Ashby. You’re just an Ashby fuck toy. Disposable.”
“Did you solve Bonnie’s murder? I didn’t see it on the news. Weird.”
“Oh, come on, Maureen. We both know the Ashbys killed Bonnie.”
“I don’t know that, and if you had proof, you’d have someone in handcuffs. For real this time.”
The bitch had harassed and arrested Sadie just because she could, and that shit didn’t sit right with me.
“It’s only a matter of time, Maureen. Do you want to pay for their crimes? Because that’s what’s going to happen. They’ll throw you under the bus to save themselves.”
I laughed. “But I’m just a…what did you call me? A well-known whore? What could I possibly know that would make me dangerous to them or helpful to you? I just lay on my back for those hard cocks.”
I shook my head at her desperation. “If you need to know how the Ashby cocks taste, I’m your girl. Want to know how they prefer to be fucked and who likes a finger up the ass? I can tell you that. I can even tell you what they fucking had for dinner. Otherwise, I’m just trying to eat before my shift starts, Agent.”
Beck stared at me, gears churning in her head while she tried to find which approach might get me to slip up and say something useful. She hadn’t expected me to agree with her about being a whore, about being unimportant to the Ashby family.
“I can make your life very difficult, Maureen.”
“Yeah?” I finished my food and pushed the plate away, leaning into her space. “Considering you admitted to fucking someone you’re investigating; I doubt you’ll do much. Fuck Jasper all you want. That’s your career on the line, not mine. I don’t really give a fuck. He’s a hard cock to me. Nothing more. Nothing less. But if you come in here and harass me again, I’ll be the one calling your superiors.”
She laughed. “And who do you think they’ll believe, me or some prostitute?”
I smiled slowly and stood. “Try me and find out. What do I have to lose?”
I wanted to let her in on my little secret recording, but one thing Sadie had taught me early on was never show all your cards. Ever.
“Have a nice day and get the fuck out.”
Beck stared at me for a long time, probably wondering what Jasper or Sadie had on me to garner such loyalty. Or maybe she was just trying to figure out why I wouldn’t help her. Either way, she stared long and hard. “This isn’t over.”
I smiled and waved as she stormed out of Midnight Mass. Once her government-issued sedan was out of sight, I forwarded the recording to Jasper’s phone.
Why?
> Because fuck that bitch.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jasper
“Keep your bitch away from me.”
Drama. Women came with so much fucking drama. That’s why I didn’t have one.
When my phone buzzed with Mo’s number, I expected an offer of a midday blow job, maybe a repeat of the shower this morning, not an angry text message with an audio file attached.
I stared at the message for a long time, trying to figure out what or who had pissed her off in the hours between the shower and her showing up for her shift. The waitresses were all flirty because I was the boss. The young, rich, single boss. They weren’t above trying to get a piece of me. Mo wasn’t the jealous type, though. Not usually.
Maybe it’s baby hormones. That had to be it. It was the only thing that made fucking sense in a world that made no sense lately.
I tapped the audio file, curious what had pissed her off so badly. The minute I heard Agent Beck’s voice, heard her talk about how she fucked me and rode my cock. How we would kill Mo because she wasn’t important to the family. All kinds of bullshit that was nothing but lies.
Mo had to know they were all lies. Didn’t she?
I didn’t have time to hold her hand or deal with her emotions, not while I had a clearly insane FBI agent stalking my every move. Beck was clearly out of her fucking mind to say that shit out loud to an Ashby employee of all people. She needed to be dealt with.
Now.
I picked up the phone and called the one person I needed with me. “Terry. You around?”
He laughed. “Yeah, just pulled into the parking lot. Mo took off, but Hulu said she’s here.”
“Her shift starts in a few minutes, so she should be. Stay in the car, we’re going for a ride.”
“I’m out front.”
I was on my feet before the call ended, eager to put an end to Agent Beck and her bullshit. I grabbed my jacket because men in suits were easy to ignore in this town and made my way through the restaurant.
“Mo.”
She turned with a bored expression on her face. “Yeah?”
“Thanks.” I patted the breast pocket where I kept my phone, filled with gratitude that she was the one who gave me what I needed to get Beck off my back for good. One way or the other.
Mo shrugged and turned back to the bar where she stacked shot glasses and beer mugs on a tray. I waited a second, but she never did turn around. One more thing to deal with. Later.
“Where we headed?” Terry pressed the gas before I could answer.
“The long stay hotel Agent Beck calls home.”
Terry wiggled his blond eyebrows. “Business or pleasure?”
“Business I’m gonna take great fucking pleasure in.” I told him about the recording and played it for him. “Got everything I need to get what I want.”
Terry nodded. “What if she doesn’t take a bribe?”
“Then she’ll probably end up out of the FBI. Either way is good enough for me. There’s no evidence to implicate Sadie, or the rest of us, for anything. Because of Beck’s personal agenda, she won’t give up as easily as whoever replaces her.”
“That’s why you’re the boss, always thinking ahead. I heard Sadie woke up.”
I nodded. “Just for a fucking second. The doctor said she’ll wake up in her own damn time.”
“Nothing they can do for her?”
“Nope,” I said. She was everything to me, my ma, my mentor, and a pain in my ass. But I hoped like hell she’d wake up soon.
We pulled up to the dreary hotel, and I unbuckled my seatbelt. “Stay here. This won’t take long.”
Agent Beck opened the door with a sultry smile on her face, tits pushed out like she thought I might be here to fuck her instead of fuck her over. “Jasper. What brings you by?” She took a step back and motioned me inside.
I heard the door close behind me, and once I had confirmation she was alone, I turned with a smile aimed right at her.
“You, Agent Beck. I’m here for you.”
Her nostrils flared, and I had to prevent the smile that threatened when I had this feeling, like a predator about to strike.
“Oh yeah? Tell me more.”
“But you’ve already said so much.” Confusion pulled her brows into a frown, but still she moved forward. Toward me.
“I haven’t said anything.” She played at being coy, and I let her.
“That’s not true. Is it?” I pulled out my phone and let the voice recording play.
Horror was the first emotion to cross her face, followed quickly by regret and then fear. She paled and shook her head. “That’s not what it sounds like.”
I focused on her fear and took great fucking pleasure in it. I reveled in it, and the more it built up, the more it tortured her face, the happier I felt.
“It sounds like you’re admitting to fucking someone you’re also investigating. Now I’m not a rule follower all the time, but I’m pretty sure that’s grounds to get your ass booted from the FBI.”
And if there was one true thing I knew about Addison Beck, it was that her job meant everything to her.
“They’ll know I was just talking shit, playing the bad cop to get a witness or suspect to talk. It’s called routine investigative work.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Maybe, unless I confirm that we did fuck. I have footage of you all dressed up and coming into my office for a good thirty or forty minutes. That’d be pretty hard to dispute, especially considering your obsession with my family. With me.”
Beck folded her arms and scoffed. “Oh, please. That’s bullshit.”
I tucked the phone back in my pocket. “I guess that means you don’t want to make a deal?” I shrugged. “Too bad. I thought you were smarter than that.”
She opened her mouth to speak, frowning when I cut her off before she could say a word.
“You want to know about your old man, I’ll tell you the truth. The whole truth, whether you want to hear it or not. I do that and you take the two million and get the fuck out of Nevada forever.”
She stared at me, those icy blue eyes trying to figure out if I was lying or not. “If you ever come back, I promise to forget that you’re a federal agent. Got it?”
She nodded but said nothing, looking wholly dejected.
I dropped down on the stiff sofa listening to the cushions sigh. “Jack worked for us. He drove trucks, eighteen wheelers mostly, and he was a good man and a loyal employee.”
“You knew him?” Hope swam in her eyes, desperate to know every detail I could remember.
“Some. I was a kid, but I remembered him being around. A lot. Especially after Colm died. There might have been something between him and Sadie but I can’t say for sure. What I do know is that she genuinely liked him, considered him a friend.”
Beck shook her head, trying to process the details I provided. That wasn’t my problem, so I kept talking.
“When that shipment went missing and Jack along with it, she didn’t even consider that Jack had betrayed her. Betrayed the family. That’s how loyal he was.”
Sadie had been worried and then angry after the first week of his disappearance. “We scoured the roads and everywhere in between for him. For a full year we searched for him. Then we found him.”
Beck gasped and looked up from her hands. “You found him?”
I nodded. “He was hiding in a trailer park out in the desert between here and California. He worked as a handyman for the park and picked up odd jobs that paid him in cash.”
She looked up. Life had returned to her eyes, color to her skin. “What happened to him?”
“The Crusaders highjacked his truck and shot him. He was worried Sadie wouldn’t believe him since he’d survived. He was more worried The Crusaders would come after you if they knew he lived.”
Sadie had been furious that The Crusaders would come after her employees. It was the last time they made that mistake.
“We nearly burned down Glitz and Vegas to a
venge his so-called death and then set him up off the grid where he could live in peace, and his little girl wouldn’t be in danger.”
Beck nodded as she took in everything I said. I waited with very little patience for her to put the pieces together. “You mean…he’s alive?”
I nodded. “He is. Alive and healthy and maybe even happy. And I’ll tell you where when you leave the Tri-City area for good. Forever, Beck.”
She nodded, seeming to go for the deal, but I didn’t buy it. When she looked back up at me, I saw in her scheming blue eyes she wasn’t accepting the deal. Not yet. “I need to think about it.”
I knew what she was thinking. “You won’t find him, Beck. I know you’re thinking of trying to do it yourself so you can fuck me over, so I’ll just wait for you to tire yourself out searching for him. And when you’re ready to accept my deal, you know where to find me.”
And once she did that, accepted the money, and left town in disgrace, it would be one less fucking thing on my plate. One less woman making my life difficult. One more woman not driving me crazy. That would give me time to focus on the two women who drove me utterly crazy, and I couldn’t pay them off.
Sadie.
And Mo.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Mo
I stood above my mentor, my protector, the woman who saved me. The woman who’d given me a job when I first came to the bright lights of Las Vegas.
It was hard staring down at Sadie, seeing her so small and frail. The typical hospital blankets had been replaced with a soft wool houndstooth blanket. Her skin was pale. Her blond and silver hair brushed straight back so that she looked more like an old lady instead of the bad=ass boss bitch she was.
She’d fucking hate this. The thought came to me instantly, and I was happy I’d come prepared. Even though Thomas had said she’d only woken up for a moment, I had a feeling the woman who taught me all about the finer things in life would hate looking like some old hag who was happy to find bargain basement deals.