Bare (Miss Demeanor Series Book 2)

by Ford, Angela

  “I didn’t expect you to show. What did you do with the bartender?” Cassie teased during her warm-up stretch.

  “And miss the chance to beat you? I left him in my bed handcuffed with a note I’d be back in an hour.” Shay smirked.

  “And” Cassie nudged Shay for details.

  Shay took off after her stretch. “You’ll have to keep up if you want the details.”

  Cassie laughed and raced to catch up.

  Chapter Ten

  Two weeks later

  Hi, I’m Beth Mills. Is Detective Brooks available?

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Beth. I’m Cory. Shay speaks highly of you and your mom.”

  Cory took Beth by the arm, “Come with me”.

  “Beth.” Shay stood from her desk. “It’s good to see you. How are you and your mom doing?”

  Beth hugged Shay. “We’re doing a lot better. The trip was exactly what we needed. I’d missed her so much. It really hurt to mislead her and remove her from my life. But it was something I needed to do at the time. I just wanted to stop by and thank you again. If it wasn’t for you and your agency, we might not have been successful with the arrests. And you saved my life. My mom and I are forever grateful Rick is out of our lives.”

  Shay reached for Beth’s hands. “You had a big part in this too. You know that.”

  Beth nodded. Tears filled her eyes. “Yeah, but the DEA was right. I did let it get personal. I shouldn’t have withheld that information about my mom and dad’s connection to Rick. I was just so focused on getting him any way I could.”

  “That’s the hardest part of the job Beth, not allowing it to get personal. You’re young. You’re a great agent. Experience is a big part of the job.” Beth knew Shay tried to assure her but she’d already made her decision.

  “At least it’s out in the open now. My mom no longer has to hide the fact that Rick drugged her in college and then he and his friends raped her. She should have had him arrested but she was too ashamed. She didn’t want my dad to know. But when he told my mom last year that he’d joined the club, she finally confessed. He’d confronted Rick and then never returned to the club. I only discovered my dad’s membership after his death when we sorted through his papers. I found the access card and my mom grabbed it from my hands. I couldn’t let it go, especially after my friend took her own life. She’d been waitressing at the club. I suspect she wore the cocktail dress.” Beth knew Shay understood the girls in dresses were escorts.

  “So that’s how your mom had access to the club that day.”

  “She was so worried that I was going to end up dead. She’d already lost my dad. She said she barely remembered driving to the club.”

  Shay hugged Beth, “Oh honey, I’m glad you didn’t end up that way either. I heard they exhumed your dad’s body and discovered his heart attack had been induced by foul play.”

  “My mom and I still believe that was Rick’s doing, but I guess we’ll never know for sure.” Beth then confessed to Shay that the DEA temporarily suspended her from withholding the information, but time away with her mom gave her time to think. “I’ve decided to leave the DEA and go to law school like I planned. The DEA has been cooperative and spoke to the school for me. I begin in January and in the meantime, I have some catching up to do with my mom.”

  “Well, that’s not bad news Beth. I’m happy you’re getting your life back on track.”

  “Thanks Shay. And thank you all for helping bring down that bastard. He is where he belongs; in hell.” Beth turned to smile at Shay’s partners.

  River walked over and hugged her, “You know if you ever get bored of being a criminal lawyer, we’d love to have you at the agency”.

  Beth laughed. “You just never know. Undercover work may still be in my blood, just not now”. She waved goodbye and Shay walked her out.

  ****

  “She’s such a sweet girl. I wish her and her mom all the best,” River spoke up when Shay returned to her desk.

  “That she is. I’m happy it all worked out.” Shay grinned.

  “I know what that grin means. You’re also happy it all worked out with the bartender.” Cassie laughed.

  “Yes, Shay; you were telling us about your weekend getaway with Agent Pierce. So spill girl. Did he bartend on the weekend?” Maile added to shock her partners, “With just a smile on?” Shay laughed as she remembered how shy Maile had been in the beginning.

  Maile laughed, “What? My partners are rubbing off on me.”

  “I think it’s time for Maile to get a little male bonding time.” Cassie winked.

  Shay smiled at her friends and grabbed her purse. “On that note, I must go. I have a hot date with a hot bartender.”

  “What? No details Shay?” River probed.

  Shay turned and winked. “It’s a secret under-the-covers operation. If you know what I mean.”

  Look for the other stories in

  The Miss Demeanor Series

  P.I. I Love You

  Story 1

  Rivers don’t let rocks hold them back.

  River Nightingale has decided to blow past the rocky men in her life. She’s played by the rules for too long—especially when it came to her career as a cop. She was the top closer of cases for years, but promotions in her small town cop shop went to her less productive male counterparts. River’s friends, three other women cops, are also ready to change careers. Together they leave behind their small towns, become their own bosses, and purchase a Seattle private detective agency.

  Homicide Detective Gage Hamlin takes pride in his job; he closes cases and fosters justice. All that changed the day River Nightingale sauntered into his office. River has him questioning his pride, his cases, and his aversion to private detectives, especially beautiful private detectives.

  River’s client thinks Gage got it wrong, and River is forced to prove Gage missed a murder. Will River and Gage find a way to play nice, or will River be forced to leave Gage behind?

  Bare

  Angela Ford

  Story 2

  Small town cop Shay Brooks is frustrated with her attempt to rise in the ranks. Thrilled ten years ago to secure a job in her hometown of Connell, Washington; she now thrives for excitement and advancement. Shay joins a Lady Cop chat room and forms a bond with three other lady cops who feel the same. Their friendship grows and when they meet in person, they decide to leave their small town lives. Shay quits her job and moves to Seattle to join her friends in their new venture to open the Miss Demeanor PI Detective Agency.

  Shay leaves behind the charming community of Connell; one of the safest towns in the country. She’s thrown into the world of drugs, murder, and all the lies and unthinkable deeds the city draws.

  Renee Mills hires Shay to save her daughter. Renee believes her daughter, Beth, a straight-A student; dropped out of college to strip. Her mother blames the owner of the club and drugs. Shay goes undercover as a waitress at the club in hopes to save Beth and crack open a drug operation. An inevitable mutual attraction with the bartender, Dante Pierce, is a distraction. But is he involved in the drug operation?

  Murder, drugs, secrets and deceit may put a stop to their relationship before it begins.

  Choreographed Crime

  Jackie Marilla

  Story 3

  Maile Kuhiwinui is tired of her dead end job as a police officer in Hilo, Hawai’i, so when she joins a group of lady cops on vacation and one proposes opening a detective agency in Seattle, Maile goes all in. She’s excited about the prospects Seattle offers, but after the grand opening of The Miss Demeanor Detective Agency, Maile finds herself sitting on the sidelines feeling inadequate while her three partners are hired to solve cases.

  Kalama Haleamau considers himself a simple guy who loves to cook. When the w
ahine from the Big Island starts to hang out at his Happy Hawaiian Food Truck, he figures they’d make a pretty good pair and asks her to spend time with him.

  When Maile finally gets her first case, she’s thrust into a world of refined deceit as she investigates the murder of a principal dancer at the Seattle Ballet. When she discovers Kalama’s murky association with the key suspects, she’s forced to separate her feelings for Kalama in order to identify the killer.

  Check soon for

  Golden Ribbons

  Lauren Marie

  Story 4

  Cassie Holmes has made a big change. She left sunny, warm Arizona and moved to Seattle to join three friends in a new endeavor. They started Miss Demeanor Private Detective Agency. She wants to carry an umbrella, but is told by people around her that to live in the Northwest means not using the dreaded thing.

  Her first case involves the disappearance of a fourteen year old girl, Cami Reynolds. Her mother is desperate to find the young girl and, even though she doesn’t have much money, hires Cassie for the job. The new private detective finds a dark underworld lurks under the Via-duct that runs along the Seattle Waterfront. Some kids are used, some turn to prostitution, and others find solace in drugs.

  In the process of her search, she meets Jack Donovan, an undercover detective connected to a Seattle drug task force. He’s six-foot-four and appears to her as a homeless man, who she labels as Sasquatch, but she knows he’s a cop and as the two compare notes, discover their cases criss-cross paths.

  After a rocky beginning, the two begin to work side by side to take down one of the worst prostitution rings in the Northwest. Will their camaraderie bring them closer together than just work?

  About the Author

  Angela Ford

  Angela Ford originates from Nova Scotia…Canada’s Ocean Playground!

  Her love of the ocean and sunsets are always in her heart and give her inspiration. Her love for words keeps her turning the page. She is never without a book, whether she’s reading or writing. Now residing in Ontario, Angela works in Finance – numbers by day – words by night.

  Angela Ford’s dedication to volunteer and involvement with cyber safety seminars gave her an Award of Distinction and sparked the idea for her first book Closure – crime suspense that hit Best Selling Action/Adventure. Ms. Ford continued her FBI series with Forbidden with the final in the series coming in 2015. In between mysteries, Ms. Ford writes short contemporary romance…sometimes sweet...sometimes spicy and sometimes with a dash of suspense!

  Between two jobs and two kids, mom’s home is always filled with young adults and rather interesting stories. But it is the furry family members who rule the house – a Puggle, a new Chug puppy and two loveable cats. Every possible quiet moment she finds, she treasures and just writes about the moments to come.

  Angela is an avid reader of romance, a member of the RWA, KOD (Kiss of Death – Suspense Chapter) and Mississauga Writers Group. You can follow her at BTGN www.bookstogonow.com or visit her website/blog Romantic Escapes at http://www.angelafordauthor.com to connect with her on her social network sites. She loves to hear from her readers – they keep her smiling!

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