by KB Winters
My eyes snapped to his.
Bennett laughed. “Don’t act so surprised. I talked to her last night.”
“You what?”
He calmly unwrapped his burger, taking his time folding back the paper. “She called me. You’re the one who gave her my number, so don’t act so surprised. Fuck.” Bennett took a big bite out of the burger like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“I didn’t think she would. What did she say?”
Bennett chewed agonizingly slowly and washed it down with a chug of beer before replying, “That she’s desperately in love with you, bearing your child, and waiting for you to whisk her away to her country castle any day now.”
My hands clenched at his sarcastic reply and the faux doe-eyed look he gave me. He laughed at his own joke and cleared his throat, before adding, “You’ve completely lost your sense of humor. You know that, right?”
“Marshon, I’m not in the mood. Just tell me what she said.”
He wiped his fingers off on a napkin and leaned back in his chair. “She wanted to know about Tori, okay? We talked about the case and what was happening. I told her the truth—probably more of it than I should have, but I figure it’s the least I could do. The whole thing is pretty fucked. Anyways, that was pretty much it.” He started back on his meal.
I paced away from the table, when an instant replay stopped me. “Pretty much? What else?” I asked, whipping around to face him.
Bennett relaxed his elbows down on the table. “I told her you were in love with her.”
“Fuck…” I threw my hands in the air. “Why’d you do that?”
“Because it’s true!”
“She already knows it!”
“I know she does.”
I rolled my eyes. “Always sticking your nose into my business…”
“Whatever man, you’re just pissed, and probably hungry. So, why don’t you drop the attitude and eat a fucking burger. Why’d you give her my number if you didn’t want me talking to her?”
I dropped into the seat across from him. “First of all, I never thought she’d actually call you, and secondly, I wanted her to have someone to talk to in case something happened. You know, with Tori. I was thinking worst case scenario.”
Bennett smirked. “Who? You? Worst case scenario? Naw, that doesn’t sound right.”
“Yeah, yeah. Call me crazy all you want, but you and I have both seen enough crazy shit in our life to know it’s better to be prepared.”
He held up his hands in mock surrender. “All right. Fair enough.”
We munched in silence for a while. He’d been right, as much as I hated to admit it, I was hungrier than I’d thought and managed to wolf down two burgers before I even realized how much I’d eaten. When I was done, I leaned back and nursed the beer Bennett had opened for me.
“What did she say?” I asked. “When you said that I was in love with her.”
“She said she knew. That was it.” Bennett’s smile faded, and a genuine sadness reflected back at me.
I nodded. “Right.”
“It’s not a no…” Bennett added.
I shrugged, trying—and failing—to play it off like it didn’t matter. We sat in another span of silence. When my beer was done, Bennett got up and got me another one, but I stopped him before he could pop the cap off. “You remember what we were talking about the other night? About clearing Tori?”
“Sure. What about it?”
“Let’s go out, like you said. I’m stuck here until tomorrow afternoon. I need a distraction. Maybe we’ll find something.”
Bennett shrugged. “I’m game. It’ll be like old times. One last hurrah, before you turn into Farmer Joe out there in the sticks.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his description, and it filled me with a warmth between brothers that had been absent for far too long. I stood from the table and went to put on my black leather jacket. “Let’s roll.”
Bennett rolled his eyes. “Sadly, I’m gonna miss your cheesy 90’s references.”
“I know.” I flashed another smile at my friend before leading the way out the door.
* * * *
We spent two hours going door to door in the neighborhood the Sanderson’s main base had been located in. There was still police tape blocking the whole house off, and none of the neighbors were surprised when we came asking questions. Bennett flashed his badge, and everyone was an open book. Sadly, none of the information was helpful. Most of the neighbors had assumed the house had been just another family. Some recalled thinking it was odd there were so many visitors, but figured they were just football fans that liked to throw parties.
And none of them recognized Tori’s picture.
“What do you think? You wanna call it?” Bennett asked, as we made our way back to the black SUV he’d been driving since arriving in Vegas. It was nearing eight o’clock and dusk had fallen. Our window was shrinking. If we continued much longer, the people we questioned would only be annoyed by the interruption to their evening and far less willing to give up any information of value.
I sighed and looked across the street at all the houses we’d already stopped at. We’d covered an impressive amount of ground considering we were a two-man team. My gaze went to the house next door to the Sanderson house. We’d stopped at it but hadn’t received an answer at the door. I watched as a green sedan pulled into the garage. “Wanna circle back to that one? Looks like someone just got home,” I asked, jerking my chin at the house.
The garage door slid down into place and Bennett started back over to it. I followed and joined him on the porch as he pressed the doorbell. Seconds later, a portly man in his mid-fifties answered, a bewildered look on his face until Bennett introduced himself and flashed his badge. “Oh! This is about what happened…next door?” Recognition flashed in his face as he leaned out and peered over at the police tape surrounding the neighboring property.
“That’s right,” I answered, taking a step up to be on equal footing with Bennett and the man. “We’ve been canvassing the neighborhood seeing if anyone recognizes this woman.” I held up my phone that displayed a picture of Tori’s head shot from the burlesque club she worked at.
His face shifted, the corners of his mouth pulling his lips into a frown as he studied it. I braced myself for his dismissal, but his eyes darted back to mine and he nodded, “Yeah, I’ve seen her.”
Bennett went rigid next to me. “You have?”
The man nodded. “Do you want to come in? I’ll tell you all about it, it’s just that I have ice cream melting on the counter. I was just getting home from the store when you stopped by.”
“Sure,” Bennett answered, glancing sidelong at me.
We followed the man through his house and into the kitchen. “I’m Mike, by the way,” he said, scurrying to empty the paper sack of ice cream cartons into the freezer.
“Thanks for helping us with this, Mike. What can you tell us about the girl from the picture?” I asked.
Mike closed his freezer door and turned back to face us. “I don’t know exactly what day it was, but it was a few weeks ago. I was outside tending to my succulent garden and see, there’s a hole in the fence. I keep meaning to patch it, but I’m not super handy…anyways, I was watering my sempervivens…” Bennett shot me a look and I shrugged. “…I saw the girl out in the driveway with another girl, a dark-haired girl. I liked the redhead better though…” Mike drifted, a glossy look coating his eyes, as though he were seeing Tori again.
Bennett bristled, and made a step forward, but I reached out a hand to stop him. “Okay, that’s really good. Do you remember anything else? What they were saying?”
Mike’s eyes snapped back to mine. “Yes! That’s why I remember…well…part of why I remember. God, she was something else…”
I resisted the urge to shake him. Urgency was surging up inside me and I was hanging on his every word. “Mike?” I prompted.
“Right, right. Sorry. Uhm, where was I?”
Mike didn’t acknowledge the comment. “The dark-haired girl, she was saying something about money, and the redhead girl, she started yelling at her. She told her that she’d already done enough and that if she asked for more money, then she was going to go to the police and turn herself in.”
My heart slammed in my chest, pounding against my ribs. My breath stilled even as my lungs ached for me to take another breath. Beside me, Bennett was just as engrossed.
“They started arguing again, and the redhead told the dark-haired girl to go to hell and then she stormed off.”
“Do you remember any of that? What they said?” I asked, finally able to suck in a breath of air.
Mike shook his head. “Bits and pieces. It was a little choppy because they weren’t staying in one place. The redhead tried to get away and the dark-haired girl chased her down. I’m sorry.”
I held up a hand. “No, no, please, don’t be. That was very helpful.”
“Thank you,” Bennett said. He fished a card from his pocket and handed it to Mike. “If you think of anything else.”
We were about to leave, when I stopped in my tracks. I typed into my phone and found the image I’d been looking for. I turned back to Mike and showed him my screen. “By any chance, was this the dark-haired girl?”
Mike’s eyes bugged out of his head and he nodded frantically. “Yes! That’s her!”
I flipped the phone, so Bennett could see.
“Fuck,” he whispered.
On my phone was a picture of Cassandra George.
Chapter Twenty
Everlie
Once I made up my mind, the plan fell into place rather quickly. There was just one last step to take care of, and it was the one I was dreading the most. I sat in the kitchen, phone in hand, my fingers wiggling out of procrastination as I looked down at my mother’s phone number. One click. One tap of a fingertip. That was all it would take to finalize my plans.
And yet…
I set the phone down and groaned, frustrated with myself, and even more frustrated with the situation I was in.
A knock at the door interrupted my mental self-bargaining process. I jumped up from my chair and raced to the door, hoping against hope, that Tori’s red curls would greet me on the other side. I peeked out the security hole.
“Son of a bitch!” I growled.
It was Ryker.
I flung the door open. “Back to stalking me, huh?” I crossed my arms.
Ryker didn’t even look fazed. “Trust me, I’m on my way out of town. But, there was one thing I had to do first…” He stepped aside, and I threw both hands up to cover my mouth as I sucked in a massive gasp.
Tori had just taken the last step onto the concrete landing, Bennett right behind her. I launched at her, swallowing her petite frame in my arms, crushing her to my chest.
She giggled against me. “What a fantastic welcome home! I’ve always dreamed of cradling my head between these gorgeous tits of yours.”
I dropped my head back and roared with laughter. It was so Tori.
After another moment, I released her, and my gaze ricocheted between Bennett, Ryker, and Tori, my confusion building with each second. “Someone tell me what’s going on!”
Bennett smiled. “Can we come inside?”
“Of course!” I stepped back inside and let them each pass. As Ryker swept past, his arm brushed mine and a shiver shot down my spine at his slight touch. I pressed my eyes closed and willed myself to hold it together. I had no idea what was going on, but all that mattered was that Tori was free and she was home. I wasn’t going to let my unresolved issues with Ryker darken the happiness and overwhelming joy of the day.
Once we were all settled in the living room, Bennett and Tori on the loveseat, Ryker and I with a cushion length between us on the larger couch, Bennett launched into his explanation. “Tori was the victim of blackmail by a woman named Cassandra George.”
Tori looked down at her feet at the mention of the name. “Bitch,” she hissed under her breath.
Bennett swung an arm around her and she brightened. “In a nutshell, Cassandra was a female lead in a very extreme militia group here in Vegas. They’d already carried out a few small attacks and were planning more devastating attacks in the coming months. At first, we believed Cassandra was innocent, just caught up in the lies of the leader. It was only in the last twenty-four hours that we learned the truth and were able to free Tori.”
“What happened? How did she blackmail you?” I asked Tori, my eyebrows creased. I knew Tori and Cassandra had a relationship, but the last thing I’d known was that they had briefly dated. If Tori was being blackmailed, wouldn’t she have told me?
Tori kept her gaze on her shoes. “She had a sex tape…”
I stiffened in my seat and glanced at Ryker, but he was watching Tori.
“I was seeing a client from the club. It’s against every policy that exists, and on top of that, we were having sex at the club. God…I was so stupid…” She paused to collect herself and when she stopped shaking, she looked up at me. My heart swelled at the tears pooled in her bright blue eyes. “Cassandra got her hands on the tape from the security officer she was fucking—and I don’t know why. If she was jealous or pissed because I was seeing her at the same time, she should’ve checked out the fugly officer she fucked to get the tape.
Whatever that sick bitch thought, jealousy, or love, or just pissed off, she cornered me one night and told me if I didn’t give her a thousand dollars, she was going to take the tape to the owner of the club and I’d lose my job. I told her to go to hell at first, but then changed my mind, and gave her the money from my own account. Well, once she realized she could get more money from me, she kept hitting me up like I was a fucking piñata. Eventually, the sum got to twenty thousand. I didn’t have that kind of money, so she said if I stole it from the club, it would be the last time—she’d stop asking.”
Tori stopped and looked down at her shoes again. A tear slid down her cheek and Bennett pulled her closer. “Cassandra was never going to stop,” he said, taking over the explanation. “That’s not how it works. Once they get leverage over you, that’s it. In the end, Tori did take the money from the club…”
I sucked back my shock. “Twenty thousand dollars? Wow.” I didn’t know for sure, but I Figured embezzling that kind of cash carried a pretty harsh penalty. I shuddered, unable to imagine how scared Tori must be. “Are you going back to jail? Are you only here to say goodbye?”
My frantic eyes landed on Ryker. He held my gaze for a moment, before picking up the story. “When Bennett and I helped the FBI in the take down of the Sanderson organization, we took Cassandra into custody too, not as a part of the group, but as a witness. While we were questioning her, she gave Tori up as being involved. She said Tori was stealing money and giving it to Sanderson in order to fund the organization. The FBI went to the burlesque club and found that there was an open investigation into missing funds. When they dug through those records, they found it was Tori who had taken the money. At that point, they had no choice but to arrest her not only for the theft, but for aiding a terrorist organization.”
“Tori…” I whispered, unable to hold in my horror.
“Last night, Ryk and I went door to door in that neighborhood to see if we could find anyone who remembered seeing Tori anywhere around or at the Sanderson house. In that search, we found a witness who had overheard a conversation where Cassandra was trying to extort more money from Tori. Tori was indeed at the Sanderson house, but she had no idea who was inside. She thought it was Cassandra’s residence. When we took that information back to the FBI, they went to Cassandra and through another thorough interrogation, she finally broke and came clean. She admitted that Tori had no idea who Sanderson was or anything about the militia group. She also confessed to blackmail and is being charged as an accessory to the theft, in addition to all her other charges.”
&n
bsp; Relief rushed through me, and I released a slow breath, realizing I’d been holding my breath while Bennett finished the story. “So, Tori is free?”
“Not exactly,” Tori answered, meeting my eyes again. “They still have me for the theft. But, if I testify against Cassandra, the DA is willing to drop those charges.”
“That’s great!” I smiled but it faded once I realized none of the three faces looking back at me looked celebratory. “Isn’t it?”
“Well, there’s a hitch,” Tori answered. “The trial could be months away and the FBI has to have my testimony in person. So, until this all goes to trial, I have to go into protective custody. That’s the only way they can make sure Sanderson doesn’t send people after me to keep Cassandra safe. Without my testimony, there isn’t any proof she was involved.”
I sagged back against the couch, like a balloon that had a slow air leak. “Months?” The word echoed through the room.
Tori nodded, her face grim. “It’s the only way, Ev.” She got up from her place on the loveseat and came to take the empty seat between Ryker and me. “Can we have a little time?” She asked, looking back at Bennett.
He nodded at her, and Ryker and him both shoved off the couches and went back outside to the porch.
“I’m sorry for all the stress, Ev. I wanted to call. I begged for them to let me call you, but they didn’t believe that I wasn’t going to call whatever criminals I was supposedly tangled up with. God, it was such a nightmare.” She pushed her curls out of her face and collapsed back against the couch.
“I can’t even imagine.”
“It wasn’t all bad…” Her eyes rolled to the window where we could see Bennett and Ryker on the stoop. “It was kinda fun having a knight in shining armor coming for me.”
“Yeah, after he arrested you. Or, have you forgotten that part?” I replied with a giggle.
“You should see him in his FBI gear. God, it melted my panties right off…” Tori mused, ignoring my comment entirely.
I rolled my eyes. “Tori! As nice as it is to see you’re still the same person before ya did time, come back to me for a second.”