by Karen Rose
He released her breast and she grasped the back of his neck, urging him back down. ‘More. Please. Don’t stop.’
‘Scarlett.’ No longer smooth, his voice sounded raw. Nearly a growl. ‘Look at me.’
She did, and instantly felt her inner muscles contract, her body responding to the urgency in his eyes. His hand slid between them, his fingers tugging on the button of her slacks. ‘Yes or no?’ he whispered hoarsely.
She bucked her hips up against his hand, looking him square in the eye so that there would be no doubt for either of them. ‘Yes.’
Lincoln Park, Michigan
Tuesday 4 August, 4.30 P.M.
Drake Connor sat in his sister’s car, glaring at the gas gauge and its fucking ‘E’. The ads lied. Belle’s Civic didn’t get nearly the miles per gallon they promised. He should have been able to make it into Detroit. Instead he was sitting on the side of the road with an empty tank, his buddy wasn’t answering his cell phone, and his bitch sister had reported her credit card as stolen.
Just because I borrowed it. She didn’t have to get her nose all out of joint.
He hadn’t been able to get gas a few exits back because the card had been declined. He was lucky he hadn’t been caught. He didn’t dare try again and he’d already spent the cash he’d taken from her purse on another box of bullets and a greasy burger. The burger had been hours ago and he was starting to get hungry. When he got hungry, he got mean.
So he tried to never get hungry. Thanks to his bitch-face sister, it looked like hunger was going to be unavoidable.
Cursing, he tucked the Ruger he’d stolen from Stephanie’s father at his back, in the waistband of his jeans, and untucked his shirt to cover it up. He was going to have to walk.
It was probably for the best. If Belle had reported her credit card stolen, she may have reported the car stolen too. He’d look for food and another car. Then he’d hunt down his buddy and figure out how to sneak over the border.
He set out on foot, wondering where Stephanie was and if she’d given him up to whoever had broken into her house and dragged her family away. If she was even still alive.
He hoped not. If she was dead, she couldn’t squeal.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Tuesday 4 August, 4.45 P.M.
Yes. She said yes.
Marcus didn’t wait. Couldn’t wait. He yanked at the button on her pants then jerked the zipper down, rearing back to kneel on the sofa. She lifted her hips so that he could pull the slacks off her long, long legs while she struggled to get her shirt and bra over her head. The garments he’d so impatiently shoved up her body now joined her pants on the floor, leaving her bare except for the tiny pair of panties cut to show off her legs and hips.
He knelt there for a long moment, staring his fill, rubbing the back of his hand over his mouth. Almost forgetting to breathe. She was all curves and lean muscle, her breasts as perfect as he’d dreamed. The panties were plain white cotton, but the damp spot so clearly visible between her legs made them sexier than the sheerest lace.
He lifted his gaze to her face, saw her watching him with a confidence that stoked him even higher. She was proud of her body, as she should be.
Not breaking her gaze, he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged out of it. He was working on easing down the zipper of his jeans when she sat up and started pulling on the Velcro straps of the Kevlar vest. His hands froze on his jeans when hers streaked up his bare chest, her fingers raking through the hairs there.
‘Do you know how much I wanted to do this in your office?’ she murmured huskily.
‘As much as I wanted you to?’ He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her hands petting him until they abruptly dropped to his jeans, still hanging on his hips. He opened his eyes to see her licking her lips.
‘Hurry, Marcus.’
His brain short-circuited and snapped. With his last vestige of sanity, he found the condom he’d stuck in his pocket, then ripped off his jeans and her panties and might still have had the control to lower himself to her gently if she hadn’t dug her fingers into his ass and pulled him down against her. He took her mouth without finesse and she kissed him back as wildly, her fingernails raking his ass a sweet hurt.
He slicked his finger between her legs and groaned into her mouth. ‘So wet. My God.’
She nipped at his lip. ‘Hurry, Marcus,’ she whispered.
Somehow he got the condom on, and seconds later plunged into the hottest, tightest, wettest . . . He shuddered violently, his hips rocking up into her of their own volition, hard and fast. He didn’t think he could have gone slowly had his life depended on it.
Finally. He slid his arms up under her back, his hands hooking over her shoulders, kissing her mouth, her neck, anything he could reach, all while he rode her hard. She threw her head back, her eyes closed, her mouth open slightly as she met him thrust for thrust.
Suddenly he needed to know she was with him. ‘Scarlett. Look at me.’
She struggled to open her eyes, but when she did, his breath froze in his chest. Staring up at him, she was straight from his fantasies, better than any of his dreams. ‘I need this,’ she said breathlessly. ‘Need you.’
He was brutally close to coming, but needed to know he’d gotten her there too. Without slowing his thrusts, he reached between them, found her slick, swollen clit and pressed down with his thumb.
Her body went rigid and her fingers scrabbled for purchase on his ass as she teetered on the edge. He sucked her nipple into his mouth and bit her, shoving her over.
With her scream echoing in his ears, he buried his face in her neck and followed her.
He surfaced to feel her stroking his hair, the hands that had clawed at his skin now gentle. ‘Oh my God,’ he murmured, and she laughed quietly.
‘That about sums it up.’
‘I’m crushing you.’
‘I don’t mind,’ she said lazily. ‘I think I took a layer of skin off your butt.’
‘I don’t mind either. It’ll grow back.’ He exhaled, knowing he had to get up, but not wanting this moment to end. ‘Thank you.’
Her hands stilled, her fingers threaded through his hair. ‘No thank yous,’ she said seriously. ‘I needed this too. I don’t think I could have concentrated if I hadn’t vented off a little of the need.’ She kissed his temple, lightening her tone. ‘I think the pressure will build up again pretty quickly, though. I got a lot of need saved up for you, mister.’
He smiled against her skin. ‘Good. I got the same for you.’
The muted ringing of a cell phone made them both groan. ‘That’s me,’ she said, blindly reaching to the floor, feeling around for her pants, retrieving her phone just as it stopped ringing. ‘Shit,’ she muttered. ‘It was Isenberg. Give me a second.’ She redialed, then grimaced when her boss answered. ‘It’s Scarlett. Sorry, I was walking the dog.’
Marcus lifted his head. ‘Lame,’ he mouthed, and grinned when she rolled her eyes at him. He dropped his gaze, taking a few moments to admire her breasts again now that his higher brain functions were returning. He’d left a few marks, he noticed, feeling possessively proud of them.
Her nipples were still hard, and he nuzzled one, making sure to pay attention to its mate. Squirming, she grabbed his hair and pulled until he looked back up at her. She was scowling at him. He grinned again.
‘Yes, ma’am,’ she said to her boss. ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ll have to pick him up on the way.’ She hung up, and he took the phone and tossed it on top of her pile of clothes.
‘Who are you going to pick up?’ he asked.
‘You. You’ve been summoned to Isenberg’s office.’
He lifted his brows. ‘Why?’
‘I don’t know. Let’s find out.’ She pressed her lips to his chest, and then her tongue darted out, licking his nipple, surprising a gasp out of him. ‘At least I didn’t do that when you were on the phone with your boss,’ she said with a pointed glare.
His smile was smug. �
��I am the boss.’
Her lips twitched. ‘I have to shower up, boss. If I do end up interviewing a woman named Annabelle Church, I don’t want to do so smelling like sex.’ She smacked his ass. ‘If you want to shower, there’s one in the bathroom down the hall. You’ll find towels in the closet, next door down. I’m going upstairs. Do not follow me.’
Her tone was playful, but she was serious. ‘Why aren’t we conserving water?’ he asked, reluctantly pulling out of her body. He rolled to his feet, already missing the wet heat of her.
Halfway to the stairs, she paused and looked over her shoulder. ‘Because I haven’t had enough of you yet,’ she said quietly. ‘If I get in a shower with you, I’ll be very late.’
Groaning at that mental image, he went in search of the bathroom at the end of the hall, more ridiculously happy than any man had a right to be.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Tuesday 4 August, 5.00 P.M.
Ken nodded his thanks to Alice as she put a cup of tea on the dining room table in front of him. ‘Did you feed Stephanie Anders?’ he asked her.
Alice made a face. ‘Yes. I nearly fed her my finger, because she tried to bite it off. Burton had to put her in the cage. I fed her through the chain links. I feel sorry for the man who buys her. He’ll have to muzzle her. And oral? I don’t think any sane man would even ask.’
Ken chuckled. ‘The man who buys her will do so for the challenge of taming her.’
Alice sat down and sipped her own tea. ‘So you say. Make sure they know that there are no refunds on that one. And tell them to get a tetanus booster before they take delivery.’
Decker joined them at the table, his laptop under one arm. ‘Surely she can’t be that bad.’
‘She’s worse,’ Ken said flatly. ‘Pretty, but deadly.’ He pointed to the laptop Decker was setting up on the table. ‘What’s up with that?’
‘Sean didn’t think he should leave the office,’ Decker said. ‘Especially with Reuben still AWOL. We’re going to hook him up online.’
Burton came in from the attached garage, stripping a pair of latex gloves off his hands. ‘Where’s Demetrius?’
‘Following up on Marcus O’Bannion,’ Ken said, not bothering to hide his annoyance. ‘O’Bannion has more lives than a damn cat. Demetrius will call in from wherever he is. So will Joel. He says he’s too busy with the books to spare the time to come out.’
‘Why?’ Decker asked with a frown as he finished setting up the video call with Sean.
‘Because he has too much work to do himself since I put you back on Security,’ Ken told him. ‘I need to hire a new accountant to assist him.’
Decker shook his head, looking exasperated. ‘No, I mean why is Demetrius spending so much time tailing O’Bannion? Just shoot the fucker in the head.’
‘That’s what I said,’ Burton muttered.
Alice raised her hand. ‘I agree. I read the Ledger. That man and his reporting team have made more enemies than anyone can count. Just shoot him, for God’s sake. Frame one of the people he put in jail a few years ago. They all get out eventually. You could even make it look like O’Bannion killed the guy you’re framing in a shootout. Easy peasy.’
Ken smiled at her. She was too cute. ‘Easy peasy?’
She folded her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing. ‘Yes. Seriously, Dad, take Demetrius off the job and give it to me. I can shoot as well as any of these guys.’
He patted her hand. ‘I know you can. Give Demetrius a little more time. If O’Bannion is still alive by morning, he’s all yours.’
‘What?’ Sean asked from Decker’s laptop screen. ‘Who’s all Alice’s?’
‘O’Bannion,’ Burton said. ‘We’re tired of Demetrius missing him.’
‘Hell, yeah,’ Sean grumbled. ‘Kill the fucker and let’s get back to business.’
‘Drop it for now,’ Ken ordered. ‘Connect Demetrius and Joel on the call.’
Joel looked harried when he answered. Ken frowned at the dark circles under his accountant’s eyes. Surely Decker hadn’t been carrying that big a load? The kid had only been exposed to the legit business before this morning. ‘Joel, when was the last time you slept, man?’
‘Two nights ago. I hit a snarl.’
Ken frowned. ‘What kind of snarl?’
‘One I need to discuss with you privately.’
That didn’t sound good. ‘When we’re done with this call, I’ll call you back,’ Ken said.
When Demetrius answered, they heard road noise over the speaker. ‘I’m following my bait to lure O’Bannion. I got nothing new to report. Call me if anything comes up.’
‘No,’ Ken said coldly. ‘You stay on the line. This is a team meeting. First up, where is Drake Connor?’
‘He popped up on a CPD BOLO filed this morning,’ Sean said. ‘His sister, Belle, reported her car stolen. Later this afternoon, she reported her credit card stolen.’
‘I wanted to make sure she wasn’t protecting Drake,’ Decker said. ‘I visited her, searched her home. Her car is missing and there’s no sign of Drake. I told her I was a cop, following up on the reports she filed, and asked her why she didn’t report her credit card stolen until hours after the car. She said she didn’t know that Drake had taken the card until her credit card company called asking if she was in Michigan. Someone tried to use the card to buy gas.’
‘Stephanie’s boyfriend is headed for Canada, just like I thought,’ Ken said. ‘Can we track him?’
Decker shook his head. ‘His cell phone appears to be a throwaway. Sean’s trying to locate the car using its GPS.’
‘I just started searching, so it’ll be a little while before I come back to you with a location,’ Sean said. ‘But we know he’s near Detroit. How damaging is it if he gets away?’
‘He knows that men with guns broke into the Anders house and carted them all away, and he knows that Anders was buying labor from someone. But the cops know both of those things by now, without Drake’s help. Considering he killed someone this morning, he’s unlikely to go to the cops anyway. It’s more that he’s a loose end.’ And Ken did not like loose ends. ‘There isn’t anything damaging he can do to us. I just don’t like that he’s out there as a wild card.’
‘When I finish with O’Bannion, I can go after him,’ Demetrius offered.
Luckily he couldn’t see the rolling eyes of the other members of his team. Even Burton was shaking his head – and Reuben’s second-in-command had always welcomed Demetrius’s assistance in dealing with security threats. Demetrius had lost the respect of the team. Perhaps it was time to do away with the old guard and bring in a new team. Demetrius had gotten sloppy.
So had Reuben, wherever the hell he was. And Joel looked like he was about to have a heart attack any minute. Whatever snarl he’d found in the books was going to be bad indeed.
‘Just focus on O’Bannion,’ Ken said to Demetrius. ‘He’s the biggest threat.’
Alice folded her arms and gave Ken a pointed look. He knew what she was thinking – his biggest threat shouldn’t be trusted to someone who kept missing the mark. His girl was right, even though he didn’t want to hear it.
‘Where is Drake’s sister now, Decker?’ Ken asked. ‘If she can ID you, she’s a loose end.’
‘Already taken care of,’ Decker said. ‘I removed her from the house and snipped the loose end.’ He drew a quick line across his throat with his forefinger. ‘No blood in the house. I took care of her at the disposal site. She’s mixed in with the Anderses.’
Ken looked surprised. ‘Who told you to do that?’
‘I did,’ Burton said. ‘I’ve been busy going over Reuben’s car.’ His jaw tightened, his eyes flashing with bitter anger. ‘And taking care of his wife.’
Ken leaned back in his chair, very unhappy. ‘Next time, ask me first, Burton. And if your duties upset you that much, perhaps it’s time you resigned.’ Burton paled, and rightly so. No one resigned. They just stopped breathing. Ken looked Decker up and down. ‘Y
ou don’t seem to be any worse for the experience.’
Decker just shrugged. ‘I saw men exploded to bits when their Humvee hit an IED. Body parts strewn all over the goddamn place. I was on the cleanup crew. A woodchipper pointed into an open grave is a lot neater, actually.’
Alice looked horrified. ‘Oh my God, Decker. You picked up body parts?’
He didn’t blink, his face like hewn stone. ‘Somebody had to. We scooped them up, separated them out as best we could, then ID’d them and sent them home in full-size coffins. Waste of a coffin, but I guess it helped the family.’ He turned to Ken. ‘I didn’t mind, sir. Don’t blame Burton. I asked what I could do to help. I don’t have forensic experience, Burton does. It made sense to us.’
‘I decide what makes sense,’ Ken said. ‘Clear?’
Decker nodded. ‘Yes, sir.’
‘All right, then. What else do you have to report, Decker?’
Decker hesitated. ‘I went to the hospital to eliminate Tabitha Anders, but they have an armed security detail. I figured I needed to wait until we had a plan to get around the guard. For now the old lady isn’t saying a word. She’s unconscious and isn’t expected to live.’
Ken rubbed his forehead. ‘You were right to wait, Decker. Alice, you still have that nurse’s uniform?’
Alice nodded. ‘I’ll take care of Aunt Tabby. Not tonight, though. I’ll wait until the guards do their shift change in the morning.’
“Thanks. Sean? Have you gone through the computers seized from the Anders house?’
‘I have, and I’m glad we got there first. Chip Anders was an idiot who wrote down important and damaging things and thought he could hide the files by encrypting them. A five-year-old could’ve broken into his files. I have his bank account information and the locations of all his safe deposit boxes. And . . .’ Sean sighed, ‘a file listing us as his supplier. Specifically Demetrius and you, boss, by name.’