by Alexis Gold
*
When Jenna awoke the next morning, it was in Lance’s very large arms. She was wedged closely to his chest and barricaded by biceps. She chuckled to herself. This wasn’t exactly what she had planned for her first morning in Buenos Aires, but she would certainly take it. His soft snores greeted her ears, mingled with the ocean waves and cries of the seagulls outside.
Jenna pushed his arms aside and rolled out of the bed, needing to get cleaned up and started on her case. A pang of guilt hit her stomach; while she was off having fun with a new man she had just met, a young woman could be tied up somewhere, or even worse.
Jenna shook her head and tried to brush the thoughts away. Her eyes looked to the bed and then to the floor as she tried to find her clothes. She crouched down and plucked her thong from the pile of clothes, then pulled her shirt off his crumpled jeans. Her shirt caught his wallet, which had fallen out of his back pocket. The soft, Italian leather opened up and revealed his State of New York ID. Jenna smiled, realizing that they were both from New York. Instinctively, she picked the wallet up to see if he was from the city too. Then her eyes grew large and she gasped as she read the name.
At the top of the ID it read, “PIERCE, LACHLANN M.”
Jenna felt her breath escape her. She stood up and looked over at Lance as he slept. In the photo she was holding, Lance had long hair and a full beard. Now he sported a sauve, faded cut with a swept top and stubble; he looked like a completely different person.
“Shit!” She had just slept with Lia Pierce’s brother.
Chapter2
Jenna sat at the end of the bed as she listened to Lance’s soft snores. She had put his license and wallet back, then folded his jeans, briefs, and shirt and placed them on the dresser. She wasn’t sure if she should tell him she was hired to find his sister, or if she should just slip out and continue the case on her own. No matter how badly her intuition told her it wasn’t true, she knew there was a possibility he was involved; in most cases involving disappearance and murder, the suspects tended to be close family or friends. Jenna sighed softly and looked down at her hands. She hadn’t even been on the case twenty four hours and here she was screwing it up.
Lance rolled over in his sleep, and Jenna tensed. She was ready to take off without another word, just get to work on the case, and leave him out of all this. But it felt wrong, not to talk to this man about his missing sister. Jenna’s gut twisted in anxiety. He hadn’t seemed concerned, but what person would tell someone they just met in a foreign city that they had a missing sister?
And what if he happened to not even know that she was missing? According to Lance’s father, Lance had been away the past few years on traveling expeditions with friends. There was a chance he had been so out of touch, he didn’t know and just happened to be visiting Buenos Aires, although Jenna doubted that was the case.
Lance gave a moan, and Jenna felt something gently bump her thigh. Startled she jumped up and looked over to see that Lance had woken up and had pushed her lightly with his foot. He gave her a sleepy lopsided grin with eyes half closed and hair a mess atop his head, and Jenna couldn’t believe how much he melted her heart in a matter of moments.
“Morning, beautiful,” Lance said with a yawn.
Jenna could feel herself blush, and she gave a small chuckle.
“Morning.”
Jenna knew she couldn’t bolt at this point. The voice in the back of her head gnawed at her to just be honest with him; maybe he was here to find his sister and knew something she didn’t.
“What’s wrong?” Lance’s lips pursed, his brow knit in concern.
“I’m sorry, just… a lot on my mind.” Jenna began to pace, a nervous habit she had when she didn’t know what to do.
“Just a piece of advice, don’t play poker for money… ever.” Lance sat up then stood, and the blanket fell away revealing that Greek god build Jenna thought she may have imagined after the few drinks. Incredibly, he looked even more stunning in the morning light, as it filtered through the shades, with his chiseled ab muscles, those sculpted shoulders, and that tight juicy ass. Jenna just couldn’t stop staring at it.
She shook her head and ran her hands over her face, then collapsed with a moan on the bed. Lance tugged on a fresh pair of briefs as he gave her another concerned look.
“Now you’re just scaring me. Everything OK?” He pulled his tight jeans on and began to buckle his belt.
Jenna took a deep breath. “When I went to get up this morning, your wallet was on the floor and I picked it up to put it away and saw your full name. You’re Lachlann Pierce, part of the Pierce Metal Empire?”
Lance held his hand up. “Guilty as charged. How do you know the family?”
“I… I was hired to find your sister, Lia.” Jenna looked up at him, her eyes meeting his as they went from lighthearted to concern in a blink.
“Lance, is that why you’re here? Did you know she was missing or are you just passing through?”
Lance sat down next to Jenna and put his hand on her knee. He leaned into her, and Jenna wanted to wrap her arms around him and pull him close; it was like she could feel the pain radiating from him.
“I got here the day before yesterday to try and find her. I was at the cantina where you were at to look for her. I just started going to all the bars in the city, because she’s a party girl. But… I got distracted.” He nudged her with his knee.
“Lance, don’t take this the wrong way but.... don’t become a private investigator, ever.” Jenna met his eyes with a playful smirk.
His eyes widened in surprise, and he gave her a big grin, “You’re the one who slept with the missing person’s brother, while on the case. You didn't even know AND you’re the P.I?!”
He gave her a shove back as she laughed and covered her face with her hands.
“I know! Not my best work, but I’m going to blame this on the jet lag.”
“Mhmmm.” He rolled his eyes at her.
“Ok, so what do you know? I’d like to get started on the case this morning, so if I can get your report, I can start the investigation and keep you posted on what I find.” Jenna stood up and went to find her purse so she could grab her hand held recorder.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Jenna, we’re going to work on this together. There isn’t any just you working on this case. She’s my sister. That's why I’m here.” Lance stood up and stepped in front of Jenna.
“Lance, please don’t take this the wrong way, but you have no idea what you’re doing here. I can’t risk you getting hurt and your family potentially losing two members. You’re better off enjoying the beach, and I can meet you for updates.” Jenna put her hands on her hips and cocked her eyebrow at him—she didn’t play well with others.
“Jenna, with or without you, I’m going to find my sister. You can join me, or we can go our separate ways.” Lance crossed his arms and quirked his brow at her.
The two stared each other down for a moment, until Jenna sighed and dropped her arms to her sides. He was like a puppy; she couldn’t say no to that face.
“Fine, but you let me do the talking. You’re there to look intimidating, got it, cowboy?” Jenna smiled. He stepped closer to her, his big arms wrapping her in a hug, and she felt her heart flutter at his warmth and scent.
“See, I knew that cowboy outfit would come in handy for something.”
*
Jenna sat at the kitchen island, her mug of coffee steaming heavily in the rays of light that streamed through the giant windows, revealing the beach down below. She stared at the laptop screen. Her fingers tapped away at the keys, but she didn’t look up as she rattled off what she knew so far.
“So, we know that Lia hasn’t had any financial activity. The last thing she bought was a roundtrip ticket here, but she missed her return flight, and no replacement was booked. She was staying with a friend, left for the airport, and wasn’t seen again. The camera footage leaving the place she stayed at showed a license plate to a taxi service; befo
re I left the States, I spoke with them and got the driver’s route for the day. He said he dropped her off at a bar instead. I have the address, but it’s doesn’t fit her M.O. one bit. We need to find out why she went there.”
Lance listened as he finished cooking the over-easy eggs, plucked the bread from the toaster, and placed the plate of food in front of Jenna. He grabbed some orange juice from the fridge and sat beside her to review the bar she had pulled up on the screen.
“Hmmm, shabby bar in the bad part of town. No, it’s not her typical scene… but I wouldn’t be surprised if she stopped for other reasons.” Lance sighed and took a forkful of eggs.
“What do you mean?” Jenna asked as she took her own bite of breakfast.
Lance swallowed, “Lia likes to party and not just drink. She’s been into the drug scene recently. Last time I saw her we had a fight about it. She had been going to raves all over the place and trying all kinds of stuff. I’m not a super stiff guy, but her friend told me she had passed out for hours at one rave. I was afraid she was going to get herself killed.”
Jenna paused; she pushed her egg around with her fork for a minute, the yellow yoke seeping out slowly from beneath the piercing metal.
“So, she could have stopped there to buy drugs, but things didn’t go as planned, and they took her hostage. But if that’s the case, why not contact your family with a ransom? I mean, with your money, that’s what they would go for.” Jenna took another bite.
Lance leaned back and took a swig of his orange juice, “Lia kept a fake ID on her, not for drinking, but because she never wanted people to know who she was. It was too much of a risk for her, to be out partying with all those people and having them know who she actually was. She wasn’t stupid, she knew they would try and use her for money. My guess is, if someone kidnapped her, they have no idea who she is, and she hasn’t told them.”
Jenna looked at him with a concerned face, “You’re telling me she wouldn’t spill the family name, even tied up and with a gun to her head?”
Lance chuckled, “The Pierce family prepares for anything. No, Lia had her own emergency stash account. What they would want would be pocket change to that account. So, if she got herself in a trap, she would likely try to negotiate with them using her own funds. But last I checked, which was yesterday, the account hadn’t been touched.”
Jenna dipped her toast in the liquidy yolk. “Ok, so she hasn’t touched her own funds, her phone has dropped off the map, and no one has seen her…” Jenna trailed off. Her background at the NYPD told her this probably wasn’t going to end well.
Lance felt the shift and set his fork down. He wiped his face and looked at Jenna.
“Look, I know it sounds really bad, even to a PI like you. But, I myself have been in that same position. And I know Lia. One, she can definitely defend herself, and two, she might be a party girl and might have screwed things up, but she’s ridiculously smart. My gut tells me she’s out there; she just got mixed up with the wrong people.”
Jenna nodded, “Ok. I know we’ll find her, but I also know that no one can ever really be prepared for anything. We need to keep our heads level and follow the trail here. Our best bet is to start at this bar.”
Lance stood up and grabbed the empty plates, “We better get moving, then.”
*
Jenna and Lance stood outside the bar in the early afternoon light. The sun was already scorching hot and the humidity made their shirts cling without mercy to their damp skin. Jenna surveyed the spot. The road it was on was off the beaten path, with a shantytown just down the alley revealing multicolor tin roofs and dirt walkways. Locals bustled their way down the streets; they shouted at one another, laughed, and smoked as they socialized. The smell of smoke from a BBQ lingered in the air, mixed with the faint scents of sewer and ocean.
The bar itself was a tiny old stone building. The roof was coming off in spots, while old, shredded umbrellas acted as a patio out front. The doorway was propped open, and an older local man sat in a faded plastic chair as he smoked a hand rolled cigarette. He gazed up at Jenna and nodded. His glossy, yellowed eyes looked tired and his leathered face told her why. Jenna had seen and been through a lot herself. She approached the door and nodded back. Then she and Lance silently slipped inside.
The interior was dark; the only light came from the small windows that adorned the stone walls. The decor was a mix of old, faded traditional Argentinian costumes, exotic feathers, and animal hides. The bar itself was a natural wood, the gloss finish long gone leaving only a soft, worn, deep red wood. Stains and scratches were all over the top; the rings from glasses left a permanent mark, and Jenna couldn’t tell where the natural wood grain began and the stains ended.
Only a few bottles of liquor were behind the bar, but some ancient mini fridges and ice bins held beer and wine coolers. The bartender was a woman who looked about the same age as the man outside, and Jenna guessed they were the couple who owned the place. She looked to Lance and nodded her head toward a table in the back. The wall would be to their backs and they could see everyone who entered the bar.
Lance followed and they sat next to one another, the woman trailing them to the makeshift bar booth. She looked at both of them with an unmoving face, her eyes hard.
“Beber?”
Jenna realized she didn’t appear to speak English, only Spanish.
“Por favor, cerveza,” Jenna asked for a beer, and Lance nodded in agreement.
The woman left and returned just a moment later with their beers. She cracked them open and nodded, gone as quickly as she had come.
Lance looked around and took a swig of his beer. “Seems homey.”
Jenna chuckled. “Just the place I’d want to stay.”
“So, now we just watch and wait?” Lance asked, his fingers gently tapping the tabletop.
“Yep, we sure do.” Jenna raised her eyebrow at him. This tended to be the slower part of the job.
“I see. What are we looking for?” Lance asked in a more hushed tone. He leaned into Jenna, and she so badly wanted to run her hand along his inner thigh and pull him closer.
“Well, we’re going to see what the normal flow is here, see who comes in and what they talk about. We’re going to see if anyone exchanges cash or packages. Just do a lot of listening and watching.” Jenna shrugged as Lance stared at her with a bored look on his face.
“Just a warning, sitting still and doing nothing isn’t one of my specialties.” Lance took another sip of his golden, bubbling beverage.
“Well, it’s going to have to be today, and possibly tomorrow. If nothing comes up today, we’ll stake it out again tomorrow.”
“Oh, goodie.” Lance began to pick the label off his beer.
“We can chat a bit now, since there’s no one here yet.” Jenna gave him a nudge. “Considering I still hardly know you, I’d enjoy hearing a bit about you.” Jenna took a swig of her own beer.
Lance smiled and looked at her with those gorgeous, green eyes. “I’m a man of mystery, right?” He bumped her with his elbow playfully.
Jenna rolled her eyes. “Oh, you wish.”
Lance chuckled. “Alright, challenge accepted, detective. Who am I?”
Jenna’s brow rose in surprise. She paused and then clicked the neck of her bottle to his and their eyes met.
“Well, on paper you grew up in New York, attended an elite private school, and went to a private college, graduating with a degree in Business. You tried your hand at a few start-up projects but didn’t have any luck, so you took a five year hiatus traveling the world and getting away from the family. Am I on the right track?” Jenna asked.
Lance nodded with a small smile. “You are, go on.”
Jenna took another sip, “My guess about you personally… you don’t give a shit about the family business. You’re not a partier like your sister; instead, you fly solo most of the time. You’re a thrill-seeker, always after the next big adventure. Right now you’re working on finding a way to mix t
hat passion with something that will generate income, because my guess from your dad’s office is he’s a pretty tough guy. He’s probably not exactly happy with what you’ve been doing, but you really do want to make him proud. Am I warm?”
Lance’s face had become more serious, and his eyes had trailed over toward the open door.
“Well, you’re not wrong.” His voice had lowered. She seemed to have hit a nerve.
Jenna felt bad. She had always been overly honest with people and tended to not know the line of when and when not to reveal what she saw. She rested her hand on his and squeezed. He turned to look at her, and his face lightened as he met her eyes.