by Sophia Rae
The gravel crunched under Eve’s black wedge sandals as she made her way to the porch. Grady moved toward her as well, saying nothing.
“Let’s go inside,” she said, leaving the men no option but to follow.
Once inside, which didn’t provide too much privacy considering the wall to the living room was pretty much gone, Eve forced herself to remain strong, no matter how angry and hurt she was. At least the other feds snooping around outside for clues wouldn’t see her rage… They would only hear it.
“First of all,” Eve started as soon as Grady and Nick took a seat on the sofa. “Let me just say that if it weren’t for me pursuing this matter, neither one of you would be involved.”
Nick squirmed in his seat, casting a suspicious look in Grady’s direction. Eve stood on the other side of the coffee table, hands on her hips.
The glass had been cleaned off the floor and furniture since yesterday. Too bad it wasn’t that easy to wipe her mind clean.
And her heart.
“Have something to say, Nick?”
Without looking directly at her, he shook his head. “No.”
“Fine, then.” Eve raked a hand through her curly hair, a frustrating gesture caught short by a damn tangle. “I want to know why the two of you think it was best to keep something like this from me. Once you answer that, you can tell me what else you’re hiding.”
“Eve,” Grady said in his boss voice. “Sit down, and let’s talk about this like the adults we are. I know you’re angry—”
“Angry?” Eve repeated. “I’m furious, working my way toward a nice stage of seriously pissed off.”
Her boss held his hands out. “Okay, you’re entitled to be pissed, but you may understand if you hear why Nick kept Roman’s identity from you.”
“Don’t be mad at Grady,” Nick chimed in. “I asked him to keep quiet.”
Eve snickered. “That’s no excuse. If he wanted to tell me, he would’ve.”
And that is what hurt the most. The fact that Grady sided with Nick over her. Grady knew the death of her father took precedence over anything else in her life…including her career. So what could be the reason for keeping this secret?
“You’re right,” Grady agreed. “But for the time being, I thought Nick’s reasons were valid and I still do.”
Eve locked her eyes onto Nick’s as she brought her hands back on her hips. “I’m just dying to hear this,” she said dryly.
Nick sighed. “I was afraid you’d run.”
“Run? Where would I run to?”
He came to his feet, but remained between the sofa and the coffee table. “I was afraid if you knew Roman was my stepbrother, you’d run. I didn’t want you to look at me like you’re looking at me now, thinking I had something to do with all this. I haven’t spoken to Roman in years.”
“But you knew I’d be meeting him?”
Eve’s heart sank even lower when Nick shook his head. “I knew the day you set up the meeting with Hank. I was standing outside the office.”
If he would just punch her in the face, it wouldn’t hurt as bad as hearing this. She now truly understood the meaning of heartache.
“Is that why you tried to talk me out of going to the meeting?” she asked, point blank.
“Yeah.”
Grady came to his feet and cleared his throat.
Eve held out a hand to stop him from leaving. “I never would’ve taken you for a coward, Grady.”
Yes, this man was her boss. Yes, this man held her career in his hands. And yes, that said career had probably just disappeared.
Eve didn’t care right now. She had nothing left to fight for other than justice for her father. Everything else be damned. Including her career, Grady and most of all, Nick.
“I know you don’t mean what you’re saying right now,” Grady said.
“I know exactly what I’m saying,” she countered with a bit of bite to her voice. “I can’t believe of all the people in my life, you lied to me. You know what all I’ve gone through, what all I’ve given up to be here.”
Grady smiled. “That’s precisely why you shouldn’t be so angry, Eve. Think about what you’re doing. Nick isn’t the only one with secrets.”
Eve felt Nick’s glare, but refused to turn to meet it.
“We aren’t talking about me,” Eve insisted. “From here on out, I’m doing this my way. I don’t want or need either of you deciding what’s best for me.”
“Why don’t you let me handle things from here?” Grady suggested.
“Do what you want. I’m outta here.”
Without waiting for another word to be said, Eve spun on her high heel and marched out of the house. Angry tears filled her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall now. Maybe when she finally got some alone time she could enjoy a good pity party. Until then, she would be strong.
She didn’t need Grady or Nick. She didn’t need them controlling her life. She didn’t need their help in finishing this case.
So why did she feel so deserted?
***
Hopeless. Utterly hopeless.
Allison knew her days were numbered. She would never see her family again. Not that her parents cared about her, but her sister actually did.
What would her sister think had happened? Would she give up on searching after a certain amount of time had passed? Would she assume Allison had gone off on her own?
She had to get out of here, but something or someone had scared Junior and he hadn’t been back in to see her for a couple of days. Maybe that new guard had warned him to keep his distance from the prisoner.
There had been more commotion lately. She’d overheard the guards talking outside her room about how the new guard Max was an ass-kisser to Roman and he would get special treatment with “the new girl”. It seems they’d heard how beautiful Allison’s replacement was, how she might stick around longer than any other because the boss had special interest in her.
So where did that leave Allison?
More than likely dead, if she didn’t get her ass in gear. There would be no way she would be sold. Somehow in the exchange, she would try to escape.
It sounded like a good plan, but her inner devil’s advocate told her if it were that easy, all the other missing women would have escaped.
Maybe she could talk Roman into letting her stick around for a while. Maybe if he thought she was into more than one bed partner, he would find it tempting. Wasn’t that the secret wish of all men?
Without Junior, Allison knew she’d be on her own. No biggie—hadn’t she been that way her whole life? This predicament happened to be a little more challenging and a hell of a lot more dangerous.
Allison crept closer to her locked bedroom door. The guards on duty now were speaking quietly, but she laid her ear against the solid oak door and listened.
“She’ll be here tomorrow,” one of them said with excitement.
“I can’t wait,” said the other. “The boss is really excited about this one. I can’t imagine another woman being better stacked than the one in there.”
Allison looked down to her “stacked” chest. Size-D breasts had always been a curse, from the time she’d had to start wearing a bra in the third grade until now.
“The boss says the girl’s name is Eve.”
“Does that mean one of us gets to play Adam?”
The guards made sick jokes and laughed at themselves. All the while Allison felt her stomach churning, threatening to toss up the fresh pineapple she’d had for breakfast.
She could only pray that whoever this poor, unknowing girl was, that they would be put in the same room. Even if only for a day, they could work out a plan of escape.
Allison wasn’t naïve enough to think she could do this on her own… She needed an ally. Now she’d wait. Wait for Roman’s next victim.
***
Eve put on the finishing touches of her make-up at her vanity table. The crowd at the club tonight seemed to be larger than usual, but that had nothing t
o do with the nerves in her stomach.
Hank had told her Roman would be here to watch her dance again and he intended to speak with her after the club closed. Would Roman insist she work for him?
Eve stood in front of her lighted mirror and smoothed her hands down the front of her policeman’s jacket. The same jacket she’d had on the night Nick dragged her from the club.
In two days, he hadn’t called her or tried to talk to her. Oh no, talking wouldn’t be nearly as bad. The sneaky bastard slept in a rental car outside her hotel room.
Every morning and night he would simply look at her as she came and went to work. He even followed her to her apartment that first night. After she’d gathered some necessities, she found him still waiting outside her building.
Not only did it infuriate her, Nick’s controlling actions made her feel vulnerable. Did he really believe she couldn’t take care of herself? She’d been trained as an FBI agent, for crying out loud. But then, he didn’t know that. And as far as she was concerned, he never needed to know it.
If and when the time came for her to leave this town and go back to Virginia, she would never see Nick Shaffer again.
The whistles and shouts grew louder over the blaring blues music as Eve made her way to the stage. A large portion of this mission might have gone to hell, but Eve still had a job to do, an image to portray.
She knew Roman wanted her to be the next girl; she all but had this gig in the bag. Eve stepped onto the stage when the lights dimmed. The music began for her routine. Now she only had to dance to seal the deal.
***
Nick nursed his second shot of whiskey while he waited for Eve to perform. He’d watched her every damn night, then waited in his car with the most uncomfortable boner while she changed her clothes at the end of her shift.
She knew he followed her. He didn’t miss the glares she cast in his direction when she got into her own rental car in the hotel parking lot each day.
It might be his imagination, but it seemed she dressed more provocatively since they’d parted ways only two days ago. Her shirts were either halter tops or strapless and they were always paired with a short denim skirt that barely covered her sweet ass.
Did she want to kill him? Had it been her intention to make him suffer? More than likely, yes. He deserved the torture, after all.
The music started and only the red lights glowed onto the stage. A long, toned leg slid through the curtain.
Nick would know that leg anywhere. He’d touched it, tasted it, dreamt of it.
Times had surely changed. Now instead of the good ol’ days when Eve would taunt him by looking his way, licking her lips, she purposely avoided him. An easy feat, considering he stood at the same end of the bar each night.
More than anything he wanted to rush the stage, wrap a long coat around her and haul her out of here like some barbarian. Now that he’d had that body, he didn’t want other men ogling it.
As long as Eve still held his heart, her body belonged to him.
Nick’s zipper threatened to pop the second she ripped off the dark blue jacket and tossed it aside. Tonight she wore red sheer underneath—leaving nothing to the imagination.
Images of Eve wearing the red leather bustier filled his mind. The way it had molded to her body just before he took her out of it. Eve lying back on the bed as he pleasured her in the most intimate way.
Nick tipped back the rest of the amber liquid, welcoming the burn. Maybe that would knock some damn sense into him. She’d made it clear she didn’t want him around anymore.
Unfortunately for both of them, he wasn’t going anywhere until his brother was behind bars or dead. Preferably the latter.
When Eve sank to her knees at the edge of the stage for the eager men to stuff bills into her G-string, it was all Nick could do to remain still.
How could she let other men touch her after what all they’d shared?
Because they’d really only shared sex. They hadn’t shared too much about their pasts—at least he hadn’t. Eve, on the other hand, had confessed her fear of why she hadn’t let men touch her before him.
So how could she do this now?
Because she’d loved her father that much and still wanted his approval, even in death.
Nick still didn’t know the reason Eve’s father and mother split, nor did he know the reason Eve sought acceptance from a dead man.
Once Eve sauntered offstage, Nick breathed a sigh of relief. He’d made it through another routine without killing some perverted bastard for whistling or yelling at her to take it all off.
He didn’t know how much more of this…heartache he could take. Heartache? God, yes. It was heartache he felt.
There had been an empty place inside him since Roger’s death, then Eve had come along. She’d fit into the gap perfectly. Now, the ache forced its way back into his life and he knew it would never be filled again.
He’d fucked up and had no one to blame but himself.
When Eve came into his sight again, Nick shook off his pitying thoughts. She moved along the outside wall, wearing jean shorts and one of those damn halter tops. This one in white.
Like the pathetic guy he’d become, Nick kept his eyes on her until she disappeared into the back office.
Déja vu.
He moved over so he could hear the conversation.
“I’ve considered your offer, Mr. Burke.” Eve’s voice filtered through the door. “I think it would be a good career move for me. It would be silly of me to turn down such a generous amount of money.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Roman said. “I’d like you to start at the end of the week.”
“This week?”
Dread and apprehension filled Nick as he continued to listen. The end of the week would come all too soon.
“Is there a problem?”
“No,” Eve replied. “Not at all. I just didn’t expect it to be this week.”
“I have another girl who I’m sure will show you the ropes, and she’ll be leaving soon.”
There was still another girl alive and unsold? Nick’s worry for Eve shifted to the back of his mind, only for a second. If the other girl was still around, maybe Eve could get her out.
With his help, of course.
Now he only had to convince Eve she needed him…as much as he needed her.
Chapter Eleven
Nick’s car sat empty in the parking lot of The Excalibur. Eve didn’t wonder where he had gone to. Really, she didn’t.
Okay, maybe a little part of her wondered.
She used the keyless remote to unlock her rented beige Ford Taurus. Bor-ing.
Thankful another night of letting well-manicured hands rub her thighs had ended, Eve slid behind the wheel. Soon it would all be over and hopefully it would all be worth the humiliation and misery she’d suffered.
And once all was said and done and she was back in the field, she’d request never to see another gentlemen’s club again.
“Miss me?”
Eve screamed and spun in her seat. She didn’t have to wonder about Nick any longer. Not only did his overwhelming presence fill the car, his fresh, masculine scent did as well.
“What the hell are you doing hiding in my car?”
“I want to talk to you and I knew you wouldn’t invite me into your room if I followed you back. This way I’ll talk while you drive, sleep in your car and you can bring me back here tomorrow to get my car back.”
Eve started her car, willing her heart to beat at a normal pace again. “You have ten minutes.”
Nick sat up in the back seat. “It takes twenty to get to the hotel.”
“I feel like driving faster tonight. Call me crazy.” She pulled out of the lot and sighed. “Do you have to sit in the middle? All I see is your damn head.”
He shifted…somewhat.
“Please reconsider working for Roman,” he pleaded in the dark.
She couldn’t let that sweet, Southern accent affect her hormones. “No.”
“Do you have any idea what he’s capable of?”
“Gee, no, why don’t you tell me.”
“Don’t be a smartass.”
“Let me run down the list,” Eve said. “Kidnapping, selling women as sex slaves, illegal prostitution, stalking, attempted murder, possible murder… Should I go on?”
“Only if that impressive list hasn’t changed your mind.”
“Nothing will change my mind.”
The streetlights lit up Nick’s ominous face every so often. Eve tried not to look in the mirror at him—she didn’t like the look she received in return.
God, she’d give anything if he would just go away. She’d give anything if she didn’t have to look at him again. She’d give anything if she could get over him, mend her heart and get her old life back—the life she’d had before her father had died.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t turn back time. If she could, she would have never trusted her heart to such a dangerous man.
When she pulled into the hotel parking lot—exactly nine minutes after leaving the club—Nick spoke up again.
“Let me come in.”
“No.”
“We still need to talk,” he insisted. “If you’re so adamant about this, I want to help. Don’t be stupid and think you don’t need me.”
Eve met his eyes in the rearview mirror. The streetlight behind the car illuminated his head. His face still remained shadowed.
“I know I’ll need some help, but it won’t come from you.”
“Who, then?”
“Much as I hate to say this, Grady will be helping me.”
Nick nodded. “At least you’re not still angry with him.”
“Oh, I’m angry, but I know without his help, I could end up in a world of trouble. I’ve become enlightened lately as to what exactly I’ve gotten myself into.”
“God, Eve, you can’t know how sorry I am.”
Eve looked out the driver’s side window. “I think the only thing you’re sorry for is the fact you got caught.”