by Jessie Cooke
“Okay, I’m on a case…”
“Now, Noah. I need to see you now. It’s about Ciara.”
Noah flipped the car around and headed for Hayden’s house. He was being very cloak and dagger, which was unlike him, and Noah’s heart was slamming against his chest again by the time he pulled into Hayden’s driveway. Before he made it to the front door the garage door rolled up and Noah saw that Hayden was inside. Hayden had a three-car garage. They used the big side for regular garage stuff and Hayden had turned the smaller side into his man cave. The walls were plastered with sports paraphernalia and he had a sixty-inch plasma television bolted to one wall. There was a black leather couch and two recliners pointed at it. Hayden sat down in one of the recliners with a beer in each hand.
“What’s going on?”
“Sit.” He held out one of the beers. Noah took it and sat down.
“You’re scaring the shit out of me.”
“I’m sorry. I got the DNA results back on that hair we found on the newest vic. It matched a prostitute we collared about six years back.”
“So you I.D.’d the victim? What does that have to do with Ciara?”
“No, the victim wasn’t in the system, but the hair was. It belongs to Ciara, Noah.”
Noah dropped the unopened can of beer on the floor. His mind went back to Tuesday evening. He pictured that ball of hair Hayden had plucked off of that girl’s chest. It was wet and matted with blood. “The blood…?”
He nodded. “Ciara’s too.”
He couldn’t sit still any longer. “Fuck! What the fuck does this mean?” Hayden knew that Noah didn’t expect an answer so he sat quietly and let him pace. When his head finally quit swimming he said, “He left it there for me, didn’t he? He has Ciara.”
“I wish I knew, Noah.”
“Who else knows about this?”
“Everyone working the case knows that the DNA belongs to a prostitute who is in the system. I’m the only one who knows she’s your sister. Ciara is in the system under her street name.”
Noah ran a hand through his hair. His head felt like it was going to fucking explode. For thirteen years he’d been trying to prepare himself for the day when he either found her body or someone else did, but it hadn’t worked. He felt like he needed to throw up. His phone started ringing and he looked and saw it was Ava. He tossed it to Hayden and said, “Talk to her. I’m going to be sick.”
Collin chickened out about talking to Ava. It wasn’t that he was afraid of her…it was that he was afraid of losing her, the way it seemed he’d lost the rest of his family. He had a few days before he would talk to his captain, and then report to the club as the newest prospect, so once she was home with Aiden, he drove home and got his bike and then drove to 911. He knew Daniel was working, and Sean would be home with his fiancée, so he didn’t have to chance running into them. Finn had texted and invited him out for a bonfire, but what he needed was to be alone with his thoughts, and about six shots of whiskey. At least that’s what he thought until he saw the hot little fifth-grade teacher walk into the bar. She sat down at the other end and Collin caught her eye. He raised his glass to her and the bartender said:
“Who is that?”
He downed what was in his glass and said, “The newest member of my fan club.” The bartender rolled his eyes as Collin got up off his stool. The guy worked part time as an EMT at the firehouse where Collin worked and as Collin started to step away he said:
“I guess I’ll see you at work on Monday?”
Collin stopped and remembered again that he was talking to his captain on Monday about leaving. His stomach rolled at the thought. The captain would be as judgmental as his family, and probably most of the rest of the guys as well. He forced a smile and nodded at the bartender and then proceeded to head for the stool next to Aiden’s teacher. By the time he reached her, he’d replaced his nerves with his usual swagger. Taking the stool next to her he said, “Hello there, I’m Collin Kelly.”
“Um…Hi, I’m…”
“Oh, I know who you are,” Collin said. “Miss Barber, the best teacher at St. Mary’s parochial school, not to mention the prettiest.”
He had his eyes locked onto Miss Barber’s chocolate brown ones. She smiled shyly and said, “It’s Ann.”
“Ann, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Can I buy you a drink?” It took three shots and a beer, but by that time, the sexy little Catholic schoolteacher turned into a wild, sexy vixen. He offered her a ride home and all the way there on the bike, she touched him in wildly inappropriate places. It was all he could do to keep from stopping and fucking her alongside the road. The only thing stopping him was the thought of a cop coming along and there being something else for his family to hate on him about.
Before they got to her place, while he was stopped at a red light, she whispered in his ear:
“I have a roommate. Is your place clear?”
Collin’s cock almost jumped out of his jeans then. He hadn’t been sure he was going to get lucky…but it sounded more promising by the minute. As soon as they got to his place, he let her in the door, kicked it closed with his foot, and grabbed her around the waist. Turning her towards him quickly, he gave her a hard, brutal kiss. Her body was hot like there was a fire surging inside of her as he pushed her back into the wall. Her hot little hands reached up and gripped his shoulders. He felt her flex her hips into his as he sucked and bit at her lips. She was giving as good as she got, and she was the one to break the kiss and begin to suck and lick and bite at his neck. He groaned as he felt her teeth nipping around his jugular vein and her hands unbuttoning his shirt. Once she got it unbuttoned all the way, he pushed it off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. She pulled back and looked at his chest and he saw her body shake.
“It looks better than I imagined it,” she said.
Collin grinned. “You imagined it?”
“Pretty much every day since the time you picked Aiden up from school.” That admission, from what he’d thought was a sweet, demure little Catholic girl, was hot. He growled and bent down and ran his tongue across her neck. She tasted sweet and he wanted more. He pulled the straps of her little top off her shoulders and licked and teased the skin there before reaching down and pulling it off over her head. He tossed it aside and then reached down and unhooked the clasp on the skirt she was wearing and let it fall to the floor. She shivered again as her hands went to his belt and began to fumble with it. Collin kept kissing and caressing her neck with his tongue until she finally got his belt undone, and the button and zipper followed quickly.
She wasn’t shy any longer. She grabbed the pants and his boxers in both hands and slid them down to his ankles. While she was bent down he unhooked her bra and she let it fall off. He pulled her back up and after another hot kiss while he fondled her perky little breasts, he slid her super sexy, not-at-all-like-a-teacher panties down her sexy legs to her feet and she stepped out of them. Reaching down into his pants pocket, he grabbed a condom he always carried just in case, and ripped it open with his teeth. She watched with wide eyes as he rolled it onto his aching cock and then as she leaned in for another kiss, Collin grabbed her thigh and pulled her leg up over his arm. She was flexible, and that excited him too.
He pushed her harder into the wall and thrust his cock into her in one stroke. He had to admit that it was slightly ruthless, but he planned on making it up to her later. He needed the distraction, badly, and he was dying for that pussy. As soon as he was inside of her he realized that it had been everything he imagined and then some. The feeling of being buried inside of her sent shockwaves through him and he groaned into her mouth. She moaned back into his and suddenly did a sexy little bounce thing and like magic, both of her legs were around his waist. Collin put his hands on her waist and slid her up and down on his cock, striking bottom each time he went in and pulling out to the tip before doing it again. She was panting and groaning, and each time he started to feel a little bit guilty about just fucking
her up against the wall like that, she would moan and quiver and he was assured that she was enjoying it as much as he was.
She dug her fingers into his flesh and squeezed him with her thighs. Collin pounded into her and she shoved back against him over and over. She finally had to break the kiss and suck in a deep, hard breath. Once she did, she attacked his neck again, nipping and sucking and licking. She brought her mouth up to his ear and licked and sucked on the earlobe before whispering his name. It sounded sexy on her lips, and he slammed into her even harder. He felt the velvet walls of her wet pussy grip him tighter and she sighed out his name again. The wall behind them vibrated as he slammed her into it. He dropped his mouth back down to her neck and bit into it while sliding one of his hands up and pinching down on a hard nipple. She cried out and he felt her spasm and that did it for him. He growled as the orgasm ripped through him and he thrust into her several more times as they both finished. Then Collin let her legs down slowly and pressed into her, holding her against the wall until they both could function enough to walk into the bedroom, where he fully intended to start over from the beginning, but this time take his time.
“That was amazing,” she panted out.
Collin grinned. “Oh yeah, baby? That was just the appetizer. Are you ready to see what kind of fire I can start in the bedroom?”
“I can’t wait,” she panted out. Collin reached behind him to lock the door and as soon as he touched it there was a knock. It startled him and Ann both. She looked at him with big wide eyes and he shrugged and put a finger to his lips, hoping whoever it was would go away.
“Collin, it’s Noah, man, I saw your bike and the car downstairs. I know you’re here. Open up! I need you!”
Fuck! Collin bent down and scooped up Ann’s clothes and handed them to her. With his finger still to his lips he pointed down the hall. She turned and he was treated to the gorgeous sight of her naked ass as she retreated to the bedroom. He reached down for his boxers and with visions of killing Noah in his head, he slid them on, until he opened the door. He could see then that something was really wrong.
“Is Ava okay?”
“Ava’s fine…”
“Aiden?”
“Aiden’s fine! Can I come in?” Reluctantly, Collin stepped back and let him through the door. When he saw that he was in his boxers, Collin saw his eyes fall to the clothes on the floor. He had forgotten to give Ann her pretty little pink bra. It was lying on top of his pants. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“You really should be, Noah. I hope this is good.”
“I need your help. I called Jace first, but he was out on a run. I need help to find my sister, or someone who has seen her.”
Fuck. Collin had no desire to go out on the streets looking for Ciara. He’d been there and done that before with Noah. It was fucking ugly out there. “Tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Why tonight?…Hasn’t it been a few years since you’ve heard from her?”
“Yeah, I have reason to believe she’s in trouble. You know I can’t get the police to help me on this. I don’t want them out there looking to arrest an addict and a prostitute. I want my sister. I need to know that she’s okay.”
There was no way that Collin could say no. If it were Ava, even if he wasn’t in love with her, Noah would be the first person there to help. Shit! “Okay, let me get a cab for my…date…and get some clothes on. Do you mind waiting for me in the car?” Collin didn’t want to put Ann through the walk of shame past one of the parents of a student in her class…and he also didn’t want to listen to Noah’s shit about his fucking her.
“Yeah, I’ll be right out front.” Collin nodded and as soon as Noah was gone he went in to break the bad news to Ann. He found her spread out naked on his bed looking like a sex goddess, and it took everything in him to tell her that she had to put on her clothes and go home. He told her it was a family emergency but he could tell that she was hurt and maybe a little embarrassed.
“Can I have your number so I can call you and maybe we could go out sometime?” That seemed to brighten her mood. She took the phone he was offering her and put in her name and number. Once they were both dressed, Collin called her an Uber and walked her downstairs. He didn’t see Noah anywhere and was wondering if he’d left without him. About the time he helped Ann into the Uber and gave her one final hot kiss, Noah drove up behind them. As soon as her car drove away, Collin went over and climbed into the passenger seat of Noah’s car. From the way he was looking at him, he could tell that Noah recognized her. He put the car in drive and said:
“If Aiden so much as gets a ‘B’…”
20
Ciara knew that something was different as the room came into view slowly like a kaleidoscope of colors. It started out as a blur and slowly, one piece at a time, the images of her surroundings came into view. Her first conscious thought was, Why the fuck does my head hurt so much? I’m supposed to be dead. She wasn’t dead, and she wasn’t happy about that. There was an excruciating pain in her face. Her face hurt like no kind of pain she knew existed.
She closed her eyes and then re-opened them slowly as she tried to remember what happened, blinking several times as she tried to focus. The simple motion of her eyelids felt like the blunt end of a hammer had been slammed into the front of her skull. It took some time, but when things at last began to come into focus again she realized two things. One, that she could only actually see out of one eye, and that the other one was filled only with dark shapes and shadows. The second thing she realized was that she wasn’t tied down to a bed. The eye that she could see out of wasn’t looking up at a naked bulb but straight at a dirty wall. There was a bloody handprint on it.
Her arms were completely numb—she couldn’t feel them at all—and for a second she actually imagined that he had cut them off. She concentrated painfully on moving one of them and realized it was pulled up above her head…they both were. She was suspended from the ceiling somehow, but neither her eyes nor her head were in any shape to look up and see what it was. Since her head was heavy anyway, she let it drop. She could see that her ankles were shackled with rope and tied to some kind of metal ring and she was dangling about two inches above the nasty wood floor. She was also still naked and fresh blood had run a path down both of her legs.
“Good morning, sunshine!” The face of evil began to come into view in front of her, making her wish that she was blind in both eyes. Everything came rushing back then. The bald, ugly naked man with the latex gloves in front of her was holding her captive. He wanted her to die, but he didn’t want to kill her. He wanted her to do it on her own…slowly…and he wanted to watch. Who would have thought dying was so fucking hard?
Ciara realized that her lips were swollen and that she was probably missing a few teeth in front as she tried to say, “Fuck you,” and instead it sounded something like, “Uck ooo.” She hoped that he got her drift anyway.
The son of a bitch laughed. “Well, I thought you might wake up confused and even forget for a minute that you’re a worthless whore, but I guess not. Do you want some water?”
Ciara’s mouth was completely dry. There wasn’t a trace of moisture inside of her anywhere, but she would be damned if she was going to take anything from the bastard after he slammed a bat into her head. He was right in front of her holding a cup with a straw and if she could manufacture any saliva, she would spit in his ugly face.
He held the straw to her lips and with every shred of willpower she could summon, she refused to suck. Besides not wanting anything from him, it was time she just got this over with and died. It wasn’t like anyone was going to bust in and save her. She was pretty sure that she had been there for months and it hadn’t happened yet. “Take a sip my dear, you’re dehydrated.” You think, motherfucker? “I know your lips are sore but try to close them down around the straw.” Ciara didn’t try. She doubted if she had that they wouldn’t have closed anyway. Psycho Joe, as she’d begun calling him in her head, looked annoyed. “
Drink the water!” He was apparently not ready for her to die yet. It was all the more reason to do it. She stubbornly refused to move her mouth at all and after a standoff of sorts the ugly bald bastard said, “Fine, you don’t want a drink, you don’t have to have one, my angel.” He smiled at her and then said, “When I carve up your brother I’ll tell him you just weren’t strong enough to fight for him.”
“Uck ooo!”
He chuckled. “You know, Ciara, if you had been just any whore I would have let you have your black balloon before I slit your pretty throat and watched you die. I’m not a hateful man. The only reason I send them back where they belong is to make sure that they don’t procreate. Think about it, Ciara, if your mother had been smart enough not to get pregnant, twice, think about all the pain she would have spared you. Those children hardly have time to grow up before they’re down the street from their mothers, turning tricks themselves and poking needles into their arms. They were doomed from the start to live a disgusting, disease-infested existence.” If anyone had any question about it, she thought, the creep was well hydrated. “Disease-infested” came out in a spray of spit that misted her face. “A man of course should be smart enough when he couples with a woman like that to never leave his seed inside of her. But men aren’t always that smart when faced with the prospect of quick fuck. How many men left their seed in you, Ciara? How many abortions did you have while you were turning tricks? How many children are out there in foster care because you never should have conceived?”
The answer to all of his questions was none. It wasn’t that she was ever straight enough to be careful, but for some reason she just never got pregnant. She hated to admit that anything the psychotic fool said was right, but she had often had the same thought about her mother. If only she had been smart enough to never get pregnant, Ciara wouldn’t have been “doomed” to live this worthless life.