by Dawn Doyle
“You’re all the way over in Dover City,” I pointed out while checking my on-screen map. “You’re fifty miles away and way out of our usual pick-up zone.” It would cost him a small fortune just to get picked up.
“Yeah, I know,” he replied on a breath, and my hand automatically lifted to my neck, my fingertips gently stroking over the prickles that had run down my skin just under my earpiece. “I prefer this company, though, and I’ve got the cash.”
“Okay, yeah, I’ll get right on it,” I replied, fumbling over my words. I was more exhausted than I thought. I checked the drivers in the area and saw Greg was around again. “We have a driver over in East Norton, but it’ll be about forty minutes for him to reach you.”
“Hmm, yeah, that’s fine,” the caller replied as though his thoughts were elsewhere. I wondered what had caught his attention, and decided it was probably his girlfriend or even his wife.
God, I was insane. “Okay. Name?” I paused with anticipation as I waited for him to tell me, hoping that it was the same caller from last time. There was no way there could be two people on this planet with that voice.
“It’s Bob,” he said, and I bit down on my lower lip to stop the smile from erupting across my face.
“Okay, Bob,” I repeated, then cleared my throat. “Greg is on his way.”
“Greg?” he asked. “From last time?”
It is him!
My heart raced, and I had no fucking idea why. I’d never met the guy, didn’t even know if it was his real name, and here I was, fantasizing about how that voice would sound in real life, whispering sweet nothings into my ear,
“Yeah, is that a problem?” I asked, then swallowed down the pool of saliva in my mouth.
He chuckled, the soft buzz from the receiver tickling my eardrum. “Tell him Batman’s waiting, and he should bring his cape.”
“Huh?” I seriously hoped my boss didn’t choose my calls to listen to today. Just this one would probably get me a strike, and I already had one of those. I couldn’t afford to look for another job, not while I had a lot left to save.
“Call him Clark. He’ll know who I am.”
“Sure thing,” I replied, totally confused. “I’ll tell him right away.”
“Okay, then. Bye, lady. I hope to call you again soon.”
My heart leaped up toward my throat and plummeted right back down again. “You have our number,” I replied, trying to sound as though he hadn’t just almost knocked me off my damn seat.
“I sure do,” he said, his voice sounding close to the phone.
He ended the call, and I reached out for my bottle of water, gulping half of it to cool me down. I’d never been affected by a voice before. Hell, I hadn’t even been affected by a guy’s appearance as much as Bob’s tone, and I didn’t know who he was, or even if Bob was his real name. He sure didn’t sound like a Bob. He sounded like sex on legs, and they could run in my direction any damn day.
I clicked on Greg’s system and sent a call out to his cab. “Hey, Greg, gotta pick up on Bridge Street, East of Hale Cove,” I said, repeating Bob’s instructions. I could’ve done it over the system during the call, but Bob had distracted me too much.
“Hey, Robyn. That’s over in Dover City.”
“Yeah, but he was adamant he wanted us, so…”
“Sure thing. Patch through the details on my system, and I’ll get on it.”
I did just that then added, “Oh, he said to tell you Batman’s waiting and to bring your cape.”
Greg burst out laughing. “Ah, that kid was a strange one. Said I looked more like a Clark.”
Kid?
“What did he look like? I asked, quickly checking my boss’ door for movement.
“Tall, blond, early twenties… Funny as hell.”
I could’ve painted all kinds of pictures with those details, but one thing kept coming back to me, and that was the early twenties part. The same age group as me.
I checked the time on the wall and stood quickly, grabbing my phone and my keys before bolting out the door. I had a ten-minute break, and I needed an ear to release my frustrations on.
“Hey, girl!” Ella squealed when she picked up. “Is it break time?”
“Yeah, it sure is,” I replied as I got into my car and locked the doors. I reclined my seat and relaxed back. “I’ve got about eight more minutes before I have to get back inside.”
“Excellent. So, what’s happening? Any gossip to share?”
God, I was desperate to spill to her, but I didn’t know if it would be a good idea. Was I crazy to get all hot and bothered over a phone call? One two-minute interaction that had me checking around the area to see if anybody could overhear the sounds coming from my earpiece? Damn it, I needed to vent, or I would most definitely crack up. I had to make sure I wasn’t going crazy.
“Ella, have you ever been turned on by a voice?” I asked, wanting to take the words back as soon as they left my stupid mouth.
“I don’t know. Say that again in a deeper voice, and I’ll tell you,” she replied, then laughed.
“Fuck off!” I chuckled. “I’m not speaking to you anymore if you keep going on about that," Ella said that when I spoke in a lower tone, I had a porn voice. Yeah, that wasn’t disturbing at all. Since then, I’d made a mental note to control my tone when talking to her. “I meant when a stranger has called. Have you ever, you know“—I squirmed in my seat—“Gotten a little hot while listening to a client’s voice?”
“Not really,” she replied as though thinking hard about it. “Although, there was one guy who sounded like he had a southern drawl, kinda sexy in a cowboy way. I imagined him with the boots and chaps, and you know how I like those things.”
I did. We’d gone to see a show on our weekend vacation last year, and the dancers wore chaps and cowboy boots. She’d gone completely crazy over those things.
“No, this guy has a regular accent, but there’s something…” I blew out a breath. “God, Ella, I got goosebumps when he breathed down the phone.”
“Oh, girl, it sounds like you need a mattress party for two.”
“I do,” I sighed. “But I’m not getting involved with anybody just so I can get some action between the sheets.” It had been a while since I’d shared my bed, and I wasn’t ready to do it again.
“Who says you need to get involved?” she asked, and I could swear she was grinning like a mad person. “Anyway, there’s a sweet guy who’d give his right arm to be with you.”
“I am not hooking up with Mica,” I fired back. I was going to be working him the next day, and I was dreading facing him. My morning shift today was fine because he wasn’t there, but I caught the knowing smile from my Aunt. “Just, no.”
Ella laughed loudly, and I pulled my phone away from my ear to save my hearing. “I’m kidding,” she said through her chuckles. “He’s sweet and all, but I know there’s nothing there for you. So, what are you going to do? Wait until he calls again and hope it comes through to you? Ask him out?”
“God, no.” I snorted. “I’m not that insane, Ella.” I was at other times, but this was a whole different show from what I usually got up to. “What if he turns out to be like, sixty, but he just happens to have a hot voice? I mean, his name is Bob.” I knew that was a lie from what Greg told me, but if I let on that I knew he was way younger, I’d never get off the phone.
“Ha! Yeah, he’s probably a grandpa, cabbing his way around to get some time away from his nagging wife and grandkids.”
“Way to dissolve my fantasy, bitch.” I knew he wasn’t, but I wanted to keep those detail to myself right now. Not that I could do anything about them, but Greg was now a world of information for me, and I planned on interrogating him as soon as I could.
Ella giggled again. “Anytime, honey.”
“I gotta go, so I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said when I saw I had less than a minute to get back inside and log on to the system.
“Bye, babe. Have a good night.”
&nbs
p; And I was planning on that, right after Greg would send the signal that his fare had paid and he was free again.
I waited and waited, taking every call and rushing through just in case Greg’s cab was available. Of course, the drivers could call through if they were nearby and almost ready for the next fare we put through to all those in the area, but I never heard anything back from him. I checked his location and saw he was heading toward the last place he’d picked up Bob before now—the corner of Bronson and Seventh.
“Come on, Greg,” I chanted over and over. The clock was almost on the end of my shift, and Oscar didn’t like us to linger around afterward. He was such a douche most of the time, and when he wasn’t, he was still a pain in the ass. “Yes!” I was about to tap through to Greg when Oscar’s door opened.
“Robyn. You’re always so quick to get out the door at this time. Why are you lingering?” he asked, his dark eyes narrowed, and his bushy brows pulled down. “Log off your system and go home.” He pointed toward the exit, his blue and white pin-striped shirt sleeve hanging off of his bony arm.
I had to stop myself from huffing, and plastered on a smile that would dazzle anyone. “Sure, Oscar. I’m on my way out now. Just grabbing my stuff and”—I clicked to end my session—“I’m all done.”
“Oh, and Robyn,” he called just as the door was about to close behind me. I caught it just before it did, and pushed it open enough to see Oscar’s smirk. “Data protection is of the highest importance here. You wouldn’t want to break that now, would you?”
Fuck, he had me over a goddamn barrel. While I couldn’t ask Greg any details about the mysterious Bob over the system, there was nothing saying I couldn’t ask in person, in private, right before he walked in to begin his shift when nobody else was around to overhear.
Well, I suppose my imagination and my drawer buddy would get rid some of the tension coursing through me, but right then, I would’ve settled for slamming Oscar’s stupid head down on my desk and laugh as his greasy, slicked back hair messed up.
Fuck, why am I so taken in by just a voice?
Only hell knew that answer, and I wasn’t going into the flames to find out right now, because I needed to keep this job for a few more months until I could walk out that door and never look back.
Chapter 3
Blaine
Three more to go. The list was getting shorter, and I was almost to the end of the month when I’d get a little break before it started all over again. I had to go further out, as far as the next city, because the demands for specific models couldn’t be fulfilled in Norton.
The cops had gotten wise, I was sure of that, but it wasn’t down to the sweet girls that I’d taken off the streets, it was the ones that I rode all night and sent them back home well used. Laying low to throw the cops off for a while wasn’t a problem for me—not like the others thought—because my other activities made up for the lack of quality time. The thing I hated most, though, was the fact that my secret job felt just like that. It wasn’t exciting, I wasn’t doing it for me, and I certainly wasn’t making anybody happy but the greedy fucks who profited off my gift.
Fuck, I’m the one complaining when it was all my fault to begin with.
My friends think it had begun with me and ended with Lucian, but it was far from over.
I had to get another cab home. It cost me a ton of money, but I had the cash to pay. There was another reason, and it was the voice I’d heard twice now. There was something in her tone that sang to me right down to my pants. It was like she was reaching through my phone and stroking my cock with her words. I’d be fucking dead if I came face-to-face with her and she was nothing like the image I’d conjured up in my head. Probably married and had a bunch of kids. I was an asshole sometimes, but I never touched a woman who was in a relationship. Fuck, Charlie would hang me by my balls if I did. It was one of those things he hated, but it wasn’t my place to ask him about it.
I pulled out my phone and pressed the number I’d saved to my contacts.
“Hello, Alpha cabs, how can I help you?” the voice on the other end greeted me.
It wasn’t her, I could tell right away. This voice was higher in pitch, almost excited— kind of like the high maintenance types you banged only once to get rid of your blue balls. If they came back for another roll in the sack, I wasn’t interested.
“Hey, I need a cab,” I replied, scanning the area. It was dark, and only the streetlights made me visible from the side of the road. “I’m at Stables and Longston, just outside Caletown.”
“You’re quite far away, sir,” she said. “We don’t have any cabs in that area. We cover most of Norton City and a little further at a push—”
“Can you have someone out within the next hour?” I asked, stepping out of the lit up area when headlights appeared from down the road. I walked behind a meshed fence, the metal rusted over, desperate to be replaced, and pulled my hood further down over my face. “I can wait.” I couldn’t really. I needed to get back as soon as possible before the guys caught onto my avoidance tactic.
I still hadn’t called them, and they hadn’t called me. The only person who’d tried was Luca, but I hadn’t picked up the phone. I knew she would be reporting back to the guys, and Charlie would probably be keeping tabs on where I was, but I’d easily gotten around that. All he would see was that I hadn’t left the house in four days.
My friends didn’t know shit about what I was doing, and I liked it that way, but since the scene at Lucian’s place, I’d begun to wonder if they even cared. Why would they? I was the constant fuck up in their lives, no matter how much I kept them out of my business.
“We have somebody about forty-five minutes away,” the woman said, gaining my attention.
“Great. I’ll be waiting,” I replied. “The name’s Bob.”
I heard her quiet gasp. “Bob?” she asked.
“Yeah, why?” I looked around again once the cars had driven past, and came out of my hiding spot. I began walking to the area I’d told the woman on the other end.
“Oh, nothing. I’ll send your details to the driver right now, and he’ll be with you as soon as possible.”
“Cool.” I ended the call and put away my phone. A fresh joint lay at the bottom of my pocket, and I took it out and rolled it between my finger and thumb.
Why the fuck not?
I put the end between my lips and searched for my lighter. Flipping the metal lid back, I struck the wheel, the flame bursting out and casting a glow in the darkness. Once I lit the end, I put it away while taking a long, much-needed drag. I blew a stream of smoke into the air, the white clouds billowing past as I continued down the road. “It’s time for bed, Cecil,” I said to my backpack. “We need our rest before we get this shit finished.”
I reached the corner of Stables and Longston and didn’t have to wait long until the cab pulled up. I was relaxed after my smoke and just needed to get in the back and chill for a while.
“Bob, we meet again,” Greg said, and I smiled when I saw his grinning face.
“Clark, my man,” I greeted him and opened the rear door. I slipped inside and put on my belt. “Are you stalking me, dude?”
He laughed. “I guess us superheroes always find a way to stick together,” he replied, checking the road before he pulled away. “Must be fate. When that happens, there’s always a bad guy that needs taking out. Know any?”
Of course I did, and one was sitting in the back of this cab, stoned, and ready to sleep for a while.
I lifted my heavy lids and stared at his reflection in his rearview mirror. “Nah. I think the area’s safe with us around, Clark. The crims are too scared to try anything with a couple of studs like us patrolling these filthy streets.”
Greg laughed again. “My night just got a lot more interesting with you, kid,” he said, shaking his head.
“Greg, have you picked up?”
I shot forward from my seat the second I heard her, my seatbelt locking with my speed.
“Lynnfield,” I replied. “The mall.”
“Lynnfield,” Greg repeated. “Hey, Robyn, Batman’s in the back.” He chuckled to himself. “More supers.”
I smiled slowly. Robyn. I played around with that name in my head, trying to place the sexy voice with the image I’d made up. “Hey, Robyn,” I said, leaning toward Greg. “How are you?”
“I, uh, I’m good,” she said, the quake in her tone causing my smile to stretch wider, making me look like a goofy prick.
“Do you know each other?” Greg asked, glancing over his shoulder at me and then to the screen on his system.
“Nope.” I shook my head and sat back. “Not yet.” My intentions were there, I made sure of that, because if there was one thing I knew, I went all out to get what I wanted, and I wanted to know who this girl was that turned me on just by picking up the phone. The line was silent, and I sat back, planning on how I was going to get Greg to spill the beans on my mystery porn voice. Fuck, now I had filthy, nasty sex on my mind, and the last thing I needed right then was to get a fucking hard-on in the cab with Greg right there.
“I gotta go, but let me know when you’re dropping off,” Robyn said quietly, her sultry tone sending shivers right down to my stirring dick. “Speak to you soon, Greg.”
“See ya, kiddo.”
“Bye… Bob.”
I paused, my eyes snapping toward the illuminated screen with the thin, long black speaker at the side. “Bye, Robyn,” I replied, then licked my dry lips. “I’ll call you again soon.”
She blew out a long breath. “I’m sure you will,” she purred, and that was the last fucking straw. I was like a rock in my sweatpants, and there was no fucking disguising that when I got out of the cab.
Greg hummed to himself as he drove, and all I could do was stare at the back of his head.
“You’re not going to tell me anything?” I asked incredulously. “Like, who the hell is Robyn, and why does she sound like I need three layers of protection before even meeting her?”