by Sharp, Tracy
“I’m fine,” I said again, pushing his hands away. I hate people fussing over me.
“Look, I’m not going to be responsible for those cuts getting infected and you getting the flesh eating disease or some shit.”
“Your concern overwhelms me,” I muttered, following him into the shop.
Grudgingly, I let him pat a tissue soaked in peroxide on my cuts. The stinging felt good. Let me know I was still alive, which was shocking under the circumstances.
“There,” he said. He was standing close to me. Too close. I liked the smell of him.
“Thanks,” I said, turning away from him.
“Leah, come on out back for a minute. I want to show you something. It’s a surprise. I think you’re gonna like it.”
“Oh, if I only had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that line. And it usually isn’t a surprise. Just sad. Just very, very sad.”
“Will you just come on?” he said over his shoulder, heading out the door and into the parking lot.
I heaved a frustrated sigh. I’d had enough fun and games for the evening.
We headed outside to the back of the repo shop. It was dark and windy outside. Cal had the place well lit. I could see the forms of maples and poplars that lined the property and the only sound I could hear was the whispering of their leaves as they moved in the wind. It was peaceful, and all I wanted to do was curl up beneath one of those trees and sleep.
Several of the week’s repos sat back there and Cal stopped in front of the Rubicon. It seemed to shimmer under the moonlight. My heart ached.
I didn’t show it. “Yeah? What about it? Daddy can’t make the payments like little Miss Cheerleader thought?”
“Nope. He couldn’t. So I bought it cheap at auction.” He pulled some keys out of his pocket and tossed them to me.
I stared at him, baffled. “What’s this?”
“It’s a reward for doing a great job. Your training is over.”
My mouth fell open and I stared at the keys in my hand. “No way.”
“You’ve been whining about needing a vehicle. There you go.”
It was a dilemma. I never took anything for free. Plus, the Rubicon was far, far too nice a gift to accept.
As if reading my mind, he said, “Consider it a company car that you can take home with you. A company perk.”
“I--” The protest died in my throat. I wanted that Jeep. I wanted it bad.
“Leah, you’ve earned it. Just say thank you.”
I had earned it.
I really had. Hadn’t I?
I gave him a big, loopy grin. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
I closed the distance between us. “How will I ever thank you for such a generous company perk?”
He smiled. “I’m sure you could think of something but no thanks is needed, Leah. Really. You’re one hell of a repo agent and you deserve that Jeep.”
“I deserve you.” I stepped past him to the Jeep, turned and looked at him. “Inside of me.” I pulled myself up onto the hood of the Jeep. “On top of the Jeep.”
Callahan grinned. “You do, do you?”
I opened my legs, one hand on each knee. “Yes. So come here.”
He walked over and stood between my open legs, leaning in to kiss me. “You know, anyone could show up here at any moment.”
“Really?” I murmured against his lips. “I guess you’d better get those jeans down in a hurry.” I reached down, undid the button of his fly and slid them down his thighs using my feet to tug them down to his knees.
By then he already had my button undone and fly down. I lay back on the hood of the Jeep, watching as he tugged my jeans down my legs, pulling them off. He began folding them.
I leaned up, resting on my elbows. “Oh, for God’s sake, Cal! Just drop them!”
“But I don’t want to get them dirty.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “I want you to get me dirty. So drop them.”
Without another word, he held out his arm and opened his palm, dropping them to the ground.
“Good boy.” I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him toward me.
“Hold on,” he said. “Not so fast.”
“What?”
He bent down so my knees rested on his shoulders. “This,” he said, and kissed an inner thigh.
“Oh.”
His mouth moved over the inside of my thigh to the crease between my leg and my pussy. I lifted my ass to get closer to his mouth and he ran his tongue along that crease, making my head swirl and desire come slamming into me. His mouth moved over my clit, sucking gently, flicking his tongue lightly over it.
“Oh, fuck,” I moaned. “Oh, fuck.”
He slid two fingers into me and curled them upward, moving them slightly back and forth. The pleasure was so intense that I yelled out into the night. I moved myself up and down on his fingers, rubbing my clit against his mouth. “Yes,” I breathed. “Oh fuck, Cal. Yes.”
I opened my eyes and saw the clear, black sky, speckled with a blanket of stars. I’d never seen such a gorgeous night. One star shone brighter than the others and I thought of making a wish on it, but then I was coming, crying out and riding Cal’s fingers as pleasure coursed through me.
Before my orgasm had finished he slid into me and I was still contracting as he began thrusting. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him in close as he fucked me. He leaned in, pressing his pubic bone up against my clit, first pushing hard, then rubbing against my pussy, making waves of desire roll over me again.
“That what you like, baby?”
“Yes, ooooh, God, Cal. I’m going to come again.”
He pulled me into a sitting position and slid his hands under my ass, pulling me tight against him. He ground against my pussy, flaming my passion, sending me into a wild rapture. I knew I’d come any second. I gazed up at him, his eyes cloudy with desire.
With a growl, he pulled out and flipped me over onto my stomach. The feel of the Jeep was cool beneath my belly. His hands found my hips and he pulled me down over his cock, thrusting into me hard. He yanked my hips up so that my face pressed against the Jeep and my ass rose higher into the air. My knees scraped against something but I didn’t care.
As he drove into me I reached a hand down under myself and found the juicy folds of my pussy. My swollen clit jumped out at me. Just a couple of flicks of my fingers and I was riding a pleasure so exquisite I had to scream. My pussy clenched at his rod, pulling at him as he hammered into me. He cried out too, gripping my hips, kissing my back, his mouth hungry on my skin.
He pulled out of me, his breath ragged, turning me back over onto my back. Collapsing on top of me, he rested his face against my belly. I lay back on the hood of the Jeep gazing up at the stars, wishing this moment would never end.
We’d promised each other that the sex wouldn’t affect the job. We’d try to keep both separate. Seemed we weren’t doing a very good job of it so far.
Chapter Nineteen
The next day, when Callahan told me about the target, I felt bad. The woman was a thirty-five-year old schizophrenic who frequently forgot to take her medication. Callahan’s partner, Will, had gathered a lot of information on her and I was amazed the guy hadn’t gotten his private detective license. The boy was skilled.
Wynona Baker was a bank manager at a local bank and had an impressive job history. She was a straight arrow who’d always paid her bills before she’d gotten sick. She was recently divorced. It was a heart-breaking story all round. So I felt horrible about taking the woman’s car. She clearly had a ton of problems already. Part of her illness was forgetting to make car payments. On the other hand, I’d feel a whole lot safer about being on the road myself knowing that she wasn’t driving during a schizophrenic episode.
This time I decided to knock on the woman’s door and let her know I was taking her vehicle. I couldn’t kick her while she was down by just taking it from her without telling her. A pretty brunette with rimless glasses and a
warm smile answered the door.
As kindly as I could, I let her know the situation and asked for her keys. She nodded, eyes fluttering downward in embarrassment before she said, “Of course. One moment, please.”
She returned moments later and handed me the keys, softly wishing me a good day before closing the door. I stood on her doorstep for a moment before turning and heading to her yellow Ford Escape. I glanced at Callahan sitting in his tow truck on the street before climbing into the truck and dropping the repo papers onto the passenger seat.
I thought about the woman as I made my way onto the highway, unable to shake the sadness I felt for her. I told myself that I couldn’t save everyone as I glanced in my mirror at Callahan who was a few cars behind me. As I fiddled with the radio buttons, I accidentally ejected a CD from the CD player. I pulled it out and looked it over quickly as I drove. It was a female artist I’d never heard of. I made a mental note to get the CD back to the woman.
Suddenly a siren sounded behind me. I looked into my mirror to discover a police cruiser following me, lights flashing. I was being pulled over. I frowned. I was sure I hadn’t been speeding more than five miles over the speed limit, and on this highway they usually let you go ten over. I pulled over to the shoulder with a deep feeling of foreboding rising up in me.
I watched in my side mirror as the trooper approached. He was short and stocky, and looked like a scrapper. Great. When he reached the window I tried to stay calm, offering him a friendly smile. “What have I done now?”
His face was serious as a heart attack. “Step out of the car, please, ma’am.”
I felt my smile fall away from my face. “Excuse me?”
“I said, step out of the car.” His mirrored sunglasses reflected my confused face back to me. It was like an image in a funhouse mirror, warped and strange.
I climbed out of the Escape, stood beside the cop and watched him look into the truck.
“I’m an auto recovery agent, officer. I’ve just repossessed this vehicle. My paperwork is there on the—”
“Turn around please, ma’am.”
I gaped at him. “What?”
“Turn around please.”
“What for?”
“Just turn around!”
As I turned, I looked frantically for Callahan’s tow truck but he was nowhere in sight. Where the hell was he?
I felt my hands being pulled behind my back and handcuffs being placed on my wrists. My bladder felt suddenly full. I’d seen COPS. I knew they cuffed people when they had reasonable suspicion that there was something illegal in the vehicle. There was no way the woman I’d just spoken with had any drugs or guns in her Escape. She just wasn’t the type.
She was schizophrenic. She had to be paranoid. Maybe there were guns.
The trooper searched the vehicle and within moments was standing in front of me, waving a bag of what looked an awful lot like cocaine in my face.
My stomach turned to ice water. “That’s not mine.”
“Oh, sure it’s not.” The sneer in his voice matched the one on his face. “It never is.”
“No.” I heard my voice rising, the high-pitched panic creeping in and I hated it. “I’m an auto recovery agent. My paperwork is right there on the passenger seat.”
He reached into the Escape and grabbed the paperwork, held it up to my face and tore it into little bits, letting the pieces fly off into the wind.
“What paper work?”
* * *
Thank Christ Cal’s a defense attorney. That’s what I was thinking as I sat in the holding cell of the smallest police station I’d ever seen. It was located just off the highway and run by two cops who said nothing to me. I sat there keeping the faith for two hours before Callahan, looking a little worse for wear with two black eyes and a split lip, sprung me. My concern for my own problems faded when I saw him.
I took a deep breath when we hit the outside. I’d only been in jail for a two hours and I had no intention of visiting again. “What happened to you?”
“I was pushed off onto the exit, then off the road, beat up and had all four tires shot out. There’s also some extensive damage to the windshield.”
I nodded slowly as if I understood. “Uh huh. I don’t suppose that was just bad luck?”
“Um, no. It was strongly suggested to me to stay the fuck out of Woodard’s business.”
“I see.” The music in the truck was grating on my nerves, so I reached over and turned it off. I didn’t feel like listening to music just now.
“I guess what happened to you was related. Either that or it’s one hell of a coincidence.”
“You proved to them that I work for you and I had nothing to do with those drugs?”
He nodded. “Yeah. The drug thing was bullshit. It was just to scare you, show you what they can do to you if you don’t back off.” He was having trouble speaking through swollen lips. “They didn’t know I’m a lawyer. That little fact seemed to back them off quite a bit.”
“Well, see? Your law degree did come in handy.”
He didn’t smile.
“So they’re just letting me go. Gotta love small little hick town cop shops. You don’t think they’ll go after Wynona Baker, do you?”
Callahan shook his head. “No. It has nothing to do with her.”
“So Woodard has some cops in his pocket. Surprise, surprise. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before.” No wonder nothing was done about the Asian women Woodard had trucked in. This cop had probably been on the scene. Or at least some close Trooper buddies of his. Woodard didn’t move the women at all. They were there all along.”
“Exactly. Oh what a tangled web we weave.”
“Please, I can’t handle Shakespeare right now.”
“So, are you going to back off?” He glanced at me, his dark curls flicking in the wind from the open window.
“I’m rattled. I’m not backing off just yet, though.”
“That’s what I was afraid you’d say.”
“You?”
“What? And miss all the fun?”
I closed my eyes and smiled into the wind.
Chapter Twenty
Buddy’s ears perked up. I’d heard it too.
In the woods lining the back of the house, twigs snapped. Buddy’s ears went almost flat against his head. His muscles bunched and he was suddenly an inch taller. He was instantly in defense mode, growling deep in his throat. I didn’t have him on a leash, so I knew he’d take off like a rocket after whoever was out there. I just hoped they didn’t have a gun.
I reached behind me and pulled my 9mm out from the waist of my jeans. These days, I wasn’t about to go anywhere without it. I cocked it and aimed toward the sounds.
“Holy shit!”
I knew that voice. I’d know it anywhere.
I grabbed Buddy by the collar just as Sean came stumbling out of the trees.
“Sean! What in hell are you doing sneaking around in the woods behind my house?”
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Buddy. “Wow. Big dog.” His eyes moved to the gun I’d lowered to my side. “Wow. Gun.”
“What are you doing out here?”
“I got lost. My place is just down the road. Thought I’d walk over and surprise you. I think they’ve moved the path that used to be behind those woods.”
“My dog almost ate you.”
“I didn’t know you had a dog.”
I patted Buddy on the head. “It’s okay, Bud. He’s a friend.”
Buddy sat down but kept his eyes on Sean.
“Sorry I scared you,” he said, walking slowly over to us.
“Yeah, well, you might want to call first next time.” I replaced the gun in its spot between my jeans and lower back.
“Oh, I’ll remember next time,” he said, wary eyes on Buddy.
I kept my face expressionless. “Good.” I turned and headed toward the front porch. “You want a beer?”
“That’d be great.” He followed me u
p to the front door.
I turned and stopped him with a look. “Stay.”
Buddy sat down.
Sean knew that I meant him and he backed up, stepping wide around Buddy to sit on the top front step.
I went in and got a couple of beers out of the fridge. I twisted the cap off one and considered making him twist his own damned cap off but didn’t want to have to pick the cap up later and throw it away. So I twisted his off too. When I went back out onto the porch, Sean and Buddy were watching each other suspiciously.
“You keep looking at him like that he’s going to bite your face off. Eye contact is considered a challenge in doggy world.”
Sean looked away from Buddy. “It’s considered a challenge in human world, too. I don’t like your dog.”
“That’s good. Maybe it’ll keep you away.” I handed him a beer.
“Thanks,” he said, taking a long pull from the bottle.
“So, what brings you here? My charming personality?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Seeing you at the shop just brought back good memories. Just felt like I wanted to see you.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
I heard movement inside the kitchen and turned my head to see Jesse standing at the screen door looking out at us.
“Oh, hey, Sean. I heard voices. I knew these weren’t the ones in my head.”
Sean chuckled. “Hey, Jess. How’s it goin’?”
“Good.” He nodded, looking at Sean, then me, then Sean again. “Okay. I’m gonna grab a coke and watch T.V. Later.”
Sean lifted his beer to Jesse.
“I won’t be long, Jess,” I said, more for Sean’s benefit than Jesse’s.
“Whatever,” Jesse said over his shoulder.
There was a long silence as we sat outside, watching dusk gather around us.
“You seem the same,” Sean said, smiling. “That’s nice.”
I wished he wouldn’t smile at me. It made my chest all fluttery.
It was hard just sitting next to him. My attraction to him was so chemical. It was as if my body actually craved him. Every inch of me wanted to reach out for him. “I’ve changed a lot.”