Recover Me

by Beth D. Carter

  “Yes, sir.”

  Groto hurried to the waiting helicopter, and he and Santiago climbed aboard. Moments later, they ascended into the sky and headed toward the capital. As Bishop turned around to head toward his office, he knew he was going to have to come up with a contingency plan.

  His own office was located on the same floor as Groto’s, although he didn’t have the fancy furniture the other man had. Instead, he liked functionality over décor. As he sat down, he clicked on the monitors on one wall and brought up the bank of videos that watched over the casino floor. Of course, security had their own state-of-the-art equipment, but like Groto, Bishop preferred to have a bird’s eye view on the casino floor. He placed his call to Blackout’s sponsor, then learned the fighter had a match in Reno planned in a few days that he was sure Groto would be interested in attending. As he finished the call, he glanced over the numerous television screens and, as if a magnet drew his gaze, he immediately spotted a long-haired girl walking determinedly through the casino floor.

  Evelyn.

  Son-of-a-bitch!

  Bishop rose and hurried out of his office. His one thought was to intercept her from whatever her mission seemed to be charging toward. Was she coming to see him? Groto? Or was it something more innocent? Just passing by? Somehow he doubted the last one. He punched the “down” button on the elevator several times before the car dinged open, and he hurried inside. Patience had always been hard for him, but now it was downright frustrating as he had to wait for the car to reach the first floor. When he finally made his way in the casino, he made a beeline toward the area he calculated she was heading.

  A moment later, he spotted her. She stood near the high stakes area, looking inside. Confusion clouded her face. She looked tired and malnourished, and his first instinct was to take her for burger and fries. Walking up toward her, he took hold of her arm. Evie emitted a little squeal of fright and her other hand came around to hit him, but he caught hold of it before she could strike him.

  “Hold up, little hellcat,” he muttered. “It’s me.”

  Her eyes widened and she stopped struggling. “You scared me!”

  “What are you doing here?”

  She tugged both arms free and he let her go.

  “I’m trying to find my brother,” she said, but her gaze shifted away. Immediately, his guard rose.

  “If your brother is working then don’t bother him, or I’ll have to fire him,” Bishop said.

  “What? Why?”

  “Because I don’t like drama, Evelyn.”

  “All I need to do is ask him a question.”

  “What question?”

  She sighed, looked toward the high rollers area once more, and then turned away. “Never mind.”

  She made to leave, taking a few steps back the way she’d just marched, but he tightened his hold on her.

  “Oh no, you’re not getting away that easily,” he said. “We’re going to get something to eat.”

  She frowned. “But I’m not hungry.”

  “When was the last time you ate?”

  She didn’t answer right away and her brow furrowed. “I ate toast this morning.”

  “Toast? That’s it?”

  “I’m not a big breakfast eater.”

  Bishop glanced at his watch. “Well, considering that was roughly ten hours ago, we can now move onto a very late lunch. That’ll put dinner about four AM.”

  “Ha ha, very funny,” she said without one ounce of humor.

  “Come on,” he said. “I know the best burger place. The fries are amazing.”

  He didn’t give her a chance to decline, keeping hold of her arm and guiding her toward the front of the casino where the entrance emptied onto the street. Tourists strolled down the sidewalks, but Bishop was used to maneuvering through the crowds, and several minutes later, they entered a popular hamburger joint. He led her to the bar counter and they sat side by side.

  “Howdy, folks,” said the waitress behind the counter. “What can I get you?”

  “Two cheeseburgers, loaded, with fries and two beers,” Bishop ordered. “House special is fine.”

  “You got it,” she said and left to put in their order.

  “Maybe I don’t like cheese,” Evie snapped. “Maybe I don’t like beer.”

  “Be quiet, Evelyn,” he said calmly. “You’re about twenty pounds underweight, probably haven’t eaten a decent dinner in days, and you’ve been taking way too much sleeping medicine.”

  “It’s my life,” she countered. “If I want to sleep it away, that’s my prerogative, isn’t it?”

  “I reckon so,” he replied. “Once upon a time, but you’ve dragged me into your life and I refuse to see you waste away to nothing. So you’re going to eat the burger and drink the beer. We’ll work on the addiction later.”

  When she rolled her eyes, he thought there was nothing cuter. Evelyn wasn’t a raving beauty, but she held a wholesomeness that appealed to him.

  “Jesus, you sound like my brother.”

  “Well, your brother has a point. You need to leave him alone at work. It’s a good thing that Mr. Groto left today. I don’t want him seeing you.”

  “That’s good because I don’t want to see him.”

  The waitress placed two pints of beer in front of them before hurrying away. Bishop lifted his drink and took a deep drink of the cold brew.

  “That might be so, but you’ve caught his eye,” he told her. “And Sherman Groto isn’t the kind of man you just ditch.”

  “Tell him I’ve left the state,” she said. “Or I’ve had a relapse and am back in a coma. Or I have a boyfriend. Yeah, tell him that one.”

  “And who should I say is this imaginary boyfriend of yours?”

  He took another sip at the same time she said, “You.”

  He choked on the beer. “What?”

  She smiled, obviously happy at his distress.

  “Tell Mr. Groto that we’re dating.” She shrugged. “Surely he’d leave me alone if he knew I was dating you.”

  “This conversation is quickly going downhill,” he muttered. “You know how long it took me to get where I’m at? Too many years to let a woman mess it up.”

  She opened her mouth to say something but just then the waitress returned with their burgers. Bishop picked his up and took a large bite. He pointed to hers.

  “Go ahead and eat up.”

  She sighed and poked around her fries before eating one. After eating some fries, she picked up the burger and nibbled on it. He figured if she wasn’t used to eating so much, her stomach wouldn’t be accepting too much either. For a few minutes they were silent as they ate, and Bishop kept a watchful eye as Evie slowly finished her food. She even licked the ketchup and fat juice from her fingertips.

  “Good?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “I didn’t realize I was so hungry.”

  “So why did you need to see your brother?”

  Evie pursed her lips and looked away. “He took my meds.”

  “You mean your sleeping pills?”

  She nodded, blew some hair out of her face, and looked back at him. “He said he’d allow me to scale back, not quit cold turkey. I need them.”

  “You don’t need them, Evelyn. You just think you do.”

  “Don’t patronize me, okay? I don’t want to hear that from you.”

  “Why? Because I look like your dead John?”

  “Yeah,” she snapped. “That’s exactly right.”

  Annoyance sluiced through him. “Perhaps you should leave John in the ground and focus on living your life.”

  “You’re just like Chris, judging even though you know nothing.”

  He sat back and folded his arms across his chest. “Then explain to me what I don’t know. Explain why you prefer sleeping over living.”

  “Because I don’t know the ending,” she said, breathing hard. “They woke me up before I got to the end of the story. And I need to know.”

  Tears pricked her eyes and
she blinked rapidly, as if to hide the fact that she was so emotional over her revelation. Those tears punched Bishop in his gut.

  “Tell me something about John,” he heard himself say. “Something nice he did for this girl you think you are.”

  Her gaze defocused as she thought of something, and when she talked, it was like she were describing something from memory.

  “There aren’t any flowers in the desert,” she said softly. “At least, not like you’d find in a flower shop. The ones in the desert have adapted to the harsh environment by having thorns or a foul-smelling fragrance. Despite that, John found some of the most amazing colors in bloom, and even though he had to weed through cactus thorns and spider webs, he brought me a bouquet the second day I was there.”

  Bishop frowned as her words came to life, as if he were remembering them himself. He shook his head slightly, to clear the disturbing thought.

  “What else?”

  “We fell in love rather quickly,” she replied, lifting her chin a bit in a classic act of defense. “Walks through the moonlight. Stolen kisses when we had a chance. We were going to leave the desert one day, leave the hunt for gold behind.”

  “You say that’s the last memory?”

  “More or less. I just want to know the rest.”

  “What if you don’t like the rest of the story? What if John was a conman who cared nothing about you?”

  She cocked her head. “Are you asking that because you care about nothing?”

  Once again, she managed to outmaneuver him with words.

  “Come on,” he said gruffly as he pulled out his wallet and threw two twenties onto the counter. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “Are you going to take me to Chris now?”

  “No,” he replied as he took hold of her arm again.

  “But—”

  “Evelyn, he’s working.”

  He didn’t want to discuss it anymore. Growing up, he’d seen his fair share of people going down the slippery slope of drugs, and the last thing he wanted to see was her following that path. He was glad her brother had taken the initiative and thrown out her stash, but now he had to keep her occupied.

  Sex immediately came to mind.

  Although to be fair, he’d been thinking about sex with her from the first moment he’d lain his gaze on her. It would be one way to keep her mind off her brother and her missing pills.

  “We’re going to your house,” he announced.

  She stared at him. He could feel her angry gaze like laser beams burning a hole through him, but regardless, he was determined in his new resolve to keep her preoccupied. It would only take a day or so get over her craving for the sleeping medicine, and in the meantime, why couldn’t they have a little fun? He’d be able to fuck her out of his psyche.

  “I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

  “So you can ditch me? I don’t think so. Hold it until we get to your place.”

  “Fine,” she muttered.

  He considered that a victory. A small one, perhaps, but still one step in the right direction. With her dragging her feet, he led her back through the casino to the garage where his Tesla was parked.

  “You know, you don’t strike me as an environmental type of guy,” she said as she slid into the passenger seat.

  “What?” He was more than a little distracted with thoughts of fucking her.

  “Tesla is an electric car, right?”

  “Yes, but that’s not why I bought it. This car is the brand new design and amazing to drive. Don’t read any more into that.”

  She rubbed the spot in between her eyes and sighed.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “My head is starting to hurt. I need my pills.”

  “If it’s behind your eyes, it’s simply a tension headache. It’s the addiction talking, not a migraine.”

  “I wish everybody would stop telling me what I do and don’t feel!” she yelled. “You weren’t the one tumbling down a mountain, afraid that was the moment death was coming to claim you. Jesus, it hurts.”

  “Tell me about that day,” he said, trying to distract her.

  “What?”

  “The day of your accident. Tell me what happened.”

  She was quiet for a long time, simply staring out of the passenger window and absently rubbing her forehead. He thought she had decided to ignore him, until she started talking.

  “I love the desert,” she said in a soft voice. “I used to hike all over Mt. Charleston, and Red Rock. Exploring caves, the ghost towns, and their old mines. One day I was with a group of friends and we were in the Sheep Mountains when I slipped and fell backward. Gravity pulled me down and I hit my head on a huge boulder. My friends took me home and later, when my head started really hurting, Chris drove me to the hospital.”

  She moved aside some hair and he glanced over to see that a large section underneath was a lot shorter.

  “I guess I could’ve cut it all off to grow back evenly, but I had a hard time letting go.”

  “Yeah, I know the feeling,” he replied. “Before I came to work for Mr. Groto I lived on the streets. At first I didn’t want to live by his rules or do what he told me to do, but after I got used to the fact that the rug wasn’t going to be pulled out from under me once more, I changed.”

  She looked at him. “You mean you cut your hair.”

  He ran a hand over his flattop. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

  They drove the rest of the way in silence. Porch lights lit patches along the street as he pulled up in front of her house and shut off the engine. He turned and slid one arm along the back of her seat as he faced her.

  “Invite me in,” he ordered gently.

  Her gaze darted to his mouth. “Why?”

  “You know why.”

  She bit her bottom lip and indecision seemed to war on her face.

  Slowly, he leaned in and gently … so very gently … he placed his lips upon hers for a brief kiss. Although he wanted to do much more, he restrained himself because this was all about seducing her.

  “Invite me in, Evelyn,” he murmured.

  “Y-yes,” she said, breathlessly.

  Chapter Ten

  As soon as the front door closed behind him, Bishop wasted no time for Evie to change her mind. Not that he wanted to coerce her, but if he gave her time to think, he knew the withdrawal symptoms threatening to drag her under would once again take root. He cupped her face and tilted her chin. They stared into one another’s eyes, and for a brief moment, he thought he saw forever.

  He captured her mouth with his, the kiss starting out light but rapidly deepening as he swept his tongue inside to touch hers. Shit, he needed to get closer to her. He needed to feel her body against his, to taste her. He broke off the kiss to launch tiny ones across her cheek.

  “Evelyn,” he whispered against her skin. “I want to lick and suck your little pussy until you come on my tongue. Will you let me pleasure you, baby?”

  She moaned and nodded in a wordless agreement. Excitement surged through him, making his hands slightly shake.

  “You’ve been driving me crazy for days,” he crooned. “I can’t seem to get you out of my thoughts.”

  His hand left her ass and slid up her rib cage until he found the curve of her breast. He cupped the shape, molding her to his palm as he gently squeezed. Her nipple pebbled under the thin material and he traced over the turgid peak with his fingertip. She arched and gasped, and that was when he began to maneuver her toward her bedroom, walking her backward as he kept lavishing her skin with soft kisses.

  Once inside the room, he kicked the door closed with his foot and then captured her lips in another soul-melting kiss, sliding his tongue in to dance with her own. Her knees hit the mattress and then he helped her scoot up so he was on the bed with her. Leaning over her, he pushed her top up and over her head, revealing her small but perfect breasts, the tips pointed in invitation. He bent his head and closed his mouth over one, rolling it gently between tongue an
d teeth, tugging tenderly until she lay beneath him writhing. Her nipples were ripe little berries, made redder by his sucking.

  Bishop worked his way down her body, unbuttoning her jeans and sliding them down, taking a moment to tickle her belly button as he dropped them on the floor. He bypassed the apex of her thighs, where he could smell her womanly scent beckoning him. God, he wanted nothing more than to sink his steel-hard cock into her wet cunt and pump her until they both splintered apart. But whatever sanity he had left knocked on his shoulder and raised a red flag.

  Did he have the right to do this in her own bed, under her brother’s roof?

  Did he have the right to do this when she was so confused over who she thought he used to be?

  Did he have the right to use sex as a coping method of drug withdrawal?

  “Evelyn, do you want this?”

  Her eyes fluttered open.

  He brushed the soft hair at her temple. “Do you want this to happen? Between you and me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  Bishop didn’t have it in him to question her further because his need was too much. He rose and took off her clothes before kneeling on the floor and pulling her body to the edge.

  “Open for me,” he murmured.

  Exerting a little pressure, she slowly relaxed and let her legs open. He got his first glimpse of her pretty pussy, all plump and swollen with her desire. Moisture glistened around the curls covering the hood. He ran a finger gently through them, barely brushing against her slit and a moan erupted from her lips.

  “Fuck, you’re wet,” he murmured. Then he kissed her, right on the spot he’d just touched, and her hips jerked up, bumping against him.

  “Bishop,” she said breathlessly.

  “You taste so damn sweet, baby.”

  He slid his tongue along her slit. She moaned again and the little sound took him over the edge. He had to fully taste her now.

  “I want you to come so I can lap up your cream,” he said. “Let yourself go, baby, as many times as you can.”

  Using two fingers, he spread her until he found her clitoris, and then proceeded to lick her. As soon as his tongue rasped against her sensitive nub, her body arched like it had touched a live wire. Her hands buried in his hair, pulling it almost too aggressively, but he loved it. It gave everything an edge that pumped through his blood, lighting him on fire. He licked and sucked her, sliding one finger into her heat as she bucked against his hand.