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The Missing Pieces

Page 10

by H. S. Strickland


  “I really do call you Killer for a reason, huh?” I gasped between my bouts of laughter. She knew that she would fuck Farrah up and basically ordered me to sit down, eat some popcorn and watch.

  Fucking hilarious, my girl.

  There, looking into her eyes, I realized I was falling in love with her. Sure, we had only been together a few months, but I knew what I wanted and it was her. I wanted to be with this crazy, beautiful, tough woman for the long haul. I wanted to get to know her, and I wanted her to know everything about me even the nasty parts like Farrah and my mother.

  She was the one.

  If only I could get her to see that.

  Chapter Seven

  Sloane

  After Ryan and I had our heart to heart, I told him I was going to take a shower then lay down. At first he wanted to come lay down with me, but I had discouraged it as much as possible, saying that I move to much in my sleep and would possibly injury myself further. He reluctantly agreed, and said he would go spend some time at Mace’s house to see how he was doing.

  As soon as Ryan was out the door, I picked up my second cell phone and dialed Boss’s number.

  “Got any news yet?” He grumbled down the line. He was a very impatient man, and the last two months had been hell trying to get him to slow down.

  “Actually, yes. Ryan’s ex you told me about?” I asked, and wanted for him to grunt or yell at me.

  “Get to the point, Lot.”

  “Don’t say that name,” I growled at him.

  “Gotcha, get on to the good part then, Sloane.” He emphasized my ‘name’, pissing me off further.

  “She’s our in. She just came to Ryan’s house asking for money. She needs it for drugs, probably crack. She was showing symptoms of withdraw. Fucking punched me in the face,” I told him, even though I was not proud that I had gotten punched.

  “Well, what the fuck are you doing? Go after her!” Boss yelled down the line.

  “Oh shut up! Couple of weeks ago, I asked for a tail. Needed someone to help me with all this since it’s so hard to get away from Ryan. I’m sure that he’s following her now.” I soothed his frazzled nerves.

  “Why the hell didn’t you let me know you were using one of my guys?” He, once again, yelled down the line.

  “Boss, you need to chill the hell out. I tried calling you, but I didn’t get an answer,” I yelled right back, pacing the tiled floor of Ryan’s bathroom.

  “Oh, by the way, I think Ryan’s mother is somehow connected to all of this as well.”

  “How?” He grunted.

  “Well Ryan told me that Farrah didn’t start using crack until she met his mother. His mother is the one who got Farrah hooked on it. If I can find her dealer then I will be one step closer to ending all of this.” My chest constricted painfully at the thought. I didn’t want to leave Ryan. I didn’t want to leave Mace, or anyone for that matter. I wanted to stay here and keep pretending that this was my real life. But I knew I couldn’t. I had to finish this one way or another, even though it was going to kill me in the end. I would have to leave Mace again, without giving him answers, again. I would have to leave Ryan without an explanation.

  Sometimes I hated my job.

  I finished my call with Boss, and got off the phone. I jumped in the shower to wash away the stench of the day, and the stress. The shower felt heavenly and was a reprieve from all the lies I had to tell daily. They were starting to catch up to me, and make me feel guilty. I had done this numerous times, but never had a situation hit so close to home.

  When I got out of the shower I noticed I had a missed call from Jeremy, the tail I had called in to help.

  I hit the dial button, and put the phone to my ear, waiting for him to pick up.

  “Yo,” he answered.

  “Yeah, what is it? I saw the missed call,” I replied walking into Ryan’s closet to find some clothes.

  “You may want to get down here. I followed the blonde headed girl that came walking out with a busted up nose,” he said in a deep baritone.

  Jeremy and I had worked together several times, and he proved that he had my back. I trusted him with my life, which is why I called him in for help and not someone else. He was a good man, and I loved working with him.

  “Alright, do I need to switch cars in case the girl notices mine?”

  “I would suggest it,” he said.

  “Alright, let me throw on some clothes and switch cars. Text me the address so I know where to go.”

  “Got it,” he mumbled before disconnecting the call.

  I threw on some blue jeans and a plain black V-neck T-shirt. I was sure I was going to a shitty neighborhood and if I wore something fancy I would be spotted very easily. I didn’t want Farrah to know I had someone following her and then in turn knew where she was. That would not blow over well. I didn’t think I could come up with one excuse if she were to tell Ryan.

  I was right. I was given the location of the shittiest neighborhood I had ever seen. It was a bunch of single wide trailers and small, run down houses. Most of the yards didn’t have its grass cut, and was about knee height. Some of the trailers had boards up as windows, and some of them didn’t even have windows or boards.

  This was the exact place I imagined a dealer would be selling.

  I spotted Jeremy’s black car and pulled up behind him. We would have to make this look like a deal or we would be noticed. I parked the car and shut the door, walking alone the passenger side of his car. He made his way around to me and gave me a chin lift.

  “Now what did I need to see?” I whispered quietly.

  “Your girl went into that house over there,” he jerked his head subtly to the right. I glanced over quickly and noticed a house that looked like the rest. It was old, had lost all its paint. There was no front door, just a curtain. The grass was also knee height, and there was a fence running around the back.

  “Know who lives there?” I asked.

  “Pretty sure it’s your man’s mom,” he told me something I had already expected.

  From the story Ryan told me, his mom was still on drugs as well. It didn’t surprise me at all that she lived in a house like this. Ryan was adamant on not funding Farrah or his mother’s drug habits, therefore cutting them both out of his life. He was also probably pissed at his mother for getting Farrah hooked on crack.

  “Want to go see if we can hear anything without being seen?” Jeremy asked a question he already knew the answer to.

  I gave him a look that said ‘duh’, and moved around his car. Jeremy moved in the opposite direction and we rounded the house together. I really hoped they didn’t spot us because I didn’t have a weapon on me. It was in my other car in the glove box. I already knew Jeremy was carrying by the bulge at his hip, but I still didn’t feel safe without my gun.

  I neared the side of the house and found a window that didn’t have the glass in. Again, it was just a curtain. I could hear mumbled words so I moved right underneath it in hopes the voices would be louder.

  “That fucking bitch punched you?” I heard a gravelly, old voice say.

  “Yeah. I didn’t do nothin’ to that bitch and she punched me. She probably didn’t like the way Ryan was looking at me. If I could just get back with him I know he would pay our debts. Then we wouldn’t have anybody after us.” That was the voice of Farrah. The lying fucking bitch.

  She wanted to get back together with Ryan so he could pay of some drug lord she owed. That was fucking low. And I was shocked that his own mother would go along with it.

  “Let me call and ask to meet with him. I’m sure I could convince him to get back together with you.” Ryan’s mother said, cackling to herself.

  “That’d be great. Thanks.” Farrah said in a nasally voice, laughing with Ryan’s mother.

  I moved out from underneath the window and signaled for Jeremy to do the same. We stealthily moved back to our cars, and drove off. He followed me a few miles up the road and pulled over in a Target parking lot when
he saw that I was.

  I got out the same time he did and asked, “Did you hear them?”

  “Loud and clear,” he growled.

  “You need to stay on his mother from now on. If she moves, you follow and let me know. Tap into her phone, I want to know every number she is calling. If she shits, I want to know about it. I can smell the trouble from here. I don’t want Ryan being pulled into their shit. This is bad news,” I snarled at Jeremy.

  I was fucking pissed. How could Ryan’s mother plan to rope him into something that could potentially be dangerous? Did she not have any maternal instincts at all? She was a careless, cold-hearted bitch and I had every intention on bringing her down, along with Farrah.

  “I need to go to Mace’s house and stay with Ryan in case that bitch calls him for a meeting. If he goes, I’m going with him.” Jeremy just nodded, got back in his car, and drove off.

  I needed to take a minute and calm down before getting in the car and driving while I was pissed. I knew that would be a bad idea, I would wreck before I even got five minutes down the road.

  Thirty minutes later I was pulling into Mace’s driveway, and noticed that Ryan’s car was still there. Thank God. I didn’t want to have to explain where I had been if he had been at home, waiting for me.

  I knocked on the door, and smiled at Liam and Araylia when they pulled it open.

  “What are you–” Ray’s words were cut off by a gasp, followed by her hand covering her mouth.

  “I know. I look pretty awesome right?” I chuckled awkwardly at her.

  She tugged my arm and dragged me into the house. Liam shut the door and followed closely behind us. She dragged me all the way into the living room where I saw Mace and Ryan sitting on the couch with a beer, talking.

  “What in the hell did you do to her?” Ray yelled at Ryan.

  Ryan jerked his head at the sound of Ray’s voice, and his eyes took me in. He was shocked that I was here since he had thought I was going to sleep after I took a shower.

  “Killer, what are you doing here?” He asked, setting his beer down and walking around the couch to come to my side.

  “I missed you, so I decided to stop by.” I shrugged my shoulders and acted like I hadn’t been out for the last hour spying on his mom and ex-girlfriend.

  Ryan tried taking me into his arms, but Ray stepped in front of him and shoved her finger in his chest while asking, “What did you do to her?”

  He held up his hands in a defensive stance and said, “I didn’t do anything. You know I wouldn’t touch a woman in anger. Although, today tested that.” The last statement was said under his breath, but I was sure Ray still heard it because she was so close.

  “Settle down, Big Mama. Ryan didn’t do anything to me. His ex came over today and decided that she wanted to be a jerk and tried punching Ryan, but I was in the middle of them so I caught the fist.” I took her shoulders in my hands and tried to soothe her. She wasn’t done glaring at Ryan though.

  I looked at Mace, pleading with my eyes for help. He understood my silent pleading, and came to stand beside Ray and took her in his arms. He planted a long, scorching kiss on her lips and then let her go.

  “Why do you always have to do that?” She asked breathlessly.

  “Do what?” Mace asked innocently, with a smirk that gave away the fact that he wasn’t innocent. Ray shook her head and stood on her tip-toes to give him one last small peck on the lips before turning around to us.

  “Well since you’re both here why don’t you stay for dinner?” She asked in a much more cheerful tone than before.

  I moved to Ryan’s side, and wrapped my arms around his waist. I bathed in the warmth that only he could give me and smiled up at him. “You wanna stay?” I asked quietly.

  “If that’s what you want to do, baby, then we can.” He smiled and cupped my cheek lovingly.

  “We’d love to stay for dinner,” I turned and said to Ray, but she wasn’t paying attention. She was looking between us as if we were the cutest puppy she had ever seen.

  “You guys are amazing together, you know that right?” She sighed, clutching her heart.

  “Alright, bright eyes, I think it’s time to start dinner,” Mace said and guided her into the kitchen.

  A minute later he yelled, “Liam, want to come help mama cook dinner?” Liam didn’t waste a minute racing in to the kitchen to help Ray.

  I was sure it was hard for her to stand on her feet for long now, since she was due in about two weeks. So I was sure Liam’s help was greatly appreciated and I knew Liam loved doing anything that involved being around his mama.

  For three years, it was just the two of them, with the help of her nanny, and brothers. Because of that, Liam was such a mama’s boy I wasn’t sure he was ever going to grow out of it.

  “I should probably go help in the kitchen.” I gazed up at Ryan, and saw his eyes take on a dark, cloudy blue versus his usual, beautiful, sky-blue.

  “How about you kiss me like you’ve missed me first?” He growled.

  I was pretty sure my panties just became drenched. I loved his growly voice; it turned me on almost as much as the thought of taking his cock again. If he growled at me all the time I was sure that he could have me doing anything. I was a sucker for the sweet, yet rough way it sounded.

  I stood a little taller and lightly touched my mouth to his. I began slowly, just kissing him with a closed mouth. But when he took my hips in his firm grip, and pulled me against his growing erection I opened my mouth and groaned at the contact of his tongue circling mine. I thrust my hands in his hair as his grip got tighter. I wanted to climb him like I was a monkey and he was my tree, but I knew it would be inappropriate in Ray’s house with Liam a few feet away.

  I settled with our mouths being joined, and tasting the beer on his tongue. I pulled on his hair and he growled, further fueling my lust. I abruptly pulled away, and splayed my hands on his chest.

  “Too much,” I gasped, trying to pull more oxygen into my lungs, which was a futile task when Ryan was around.

  “Look at me, Sloane.” I could feel the rumble of Ryan’s words underneath my palms that were laid flat on his hard, heaving chest.

  I obeyed his command and looked into the storm cloud that was Ryan’s eyes. He gazed at me intently for a few seconds before speaking. “You. Are. Mine. Tonight,” he growled yet again, knowing how much it affected me.

  I gulped because I wasn’t sure I was ready to give that part of myself up again, yet. I wasn’t sure if I could have a physical connection with Ryan again because I knew it would hurt him that much more when I left without an explanation. I didn’t want to hurt him more than I had to, and I knew getting physical with him and then leaving would kill him. He was already in too deep with me. I should have pulled away a long time ago, but I couldn’t. Not only because my job demanded it, but because I had real feelings for him. I may have started this relationship under false pretenses, but my feelings were quite real. Everything I had felt since we had started dating was real. The way my heart fluttered when he would stalk toward me. Or the feeling of butterflies when he growled at me. Or the way he looked at me sometimes when he was deep in thought. It was all real. Too real. So real, that it was going to hurt more than anything to leave him. I didn’t know if I had it in me.

  “I’m going to go help Ray now,” I mumbled to Ryan. I stumbled away from him and into the kitchen and found Mace dancing around the kitchen with Ray and Liam. I couldn’t help but fall over chuckling at the sight.

  He glanced over at me, stopped dancing and dipped his head. “Aww, what’s the matter?” I said teasingly.

  He looked up at me, glaring, but his cheeks and the tops of his ears were red, so the glare didn’t do much.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mace embarrassed before. Have you?” I looked to Ray, who was also laughing her ass off at Mace’s red face.

  “Only once. It was when we first met–”

  “You better not say another word, woman!” Ma
ce growled.

  “Oh, come on! I haven’t heard the full story!” I yelled and threw my hands up.

  The rest of the night went much like that. All of us cracking jokes at Mace and embarrassing him. Luckily for me, Ryan was there the day that Ray and Mace met. While we sat around the living room table, he told me all about the story. Mace had a gunshot wound in the thigh, and Ray fumbled to find the right words to tell Mace to pull his pants down. While she was inspecting his wound he got a hard-on right in her face.

  I didn’t think there was a time that I had laughed as hard as I did that night. It was nice; being normal for once, though the thought of Mace getting hard was way too much information and made me cringe inwardly, I couldn’t of course voice that.

  Ryan and I had finally made it home after the dinner Mace had cooked for us. I was in a really good mood, having been around a lot of laughter.

  We stepped into Ryan’s condo, and he was on me like glue. His lips attached themselves to mine, and for once I didn’t fight it. I took what he was giving me, and gave back just as much. Ryan’s tongue was circling mine, seeking more. He picked me up and my core immediately came in contact with his hard cock. I moaned at the sensation. I had wanted him for so long, and we had been building up to this for just as long.

  Ryan growled and stalked to the bedroom, bumping into walls along the way since his mouth was attached to mine and I assumed his eyes were closed. We finally made it to the bedroom and he threw me on the bed. I squealed until I hit the mattress and bounced. I looked up at him in humor, but his eyes said there wasn’t anything funny. He was looking at me like I was his last meal, and he was going to feast for as long as he could.

  He pulled his shirt over his head and I marveled at all that was Ryan. His chest was broad, just liked I liked on a man. His abs were hard, and so very enticing. He had that sexy V that pointed to the real treasure. His cock.

  “Your turn,” he told me, huskily.

 

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