“It’s fine. I’ve made up all of the work I missed when I was out for a few days before going to the foster home. My teachers told me my grades are back to where they should be.”
“I talked to your English teacher and your art teacher the other day. They have nothing but good things to say about you.”
Betina smiled shyly, the pride shining in her eyes as she tried to contain her pleasure at the compliment.
“In fact, your art teacher told me that if you keep up the good work, she thinks you could get a scholarship to an art college if you wanted.”
The girl’s eyes grew wide, shining with tears as she clutched Sherrie’s hand. “That would be such a dream.”
Giving her hand a squeeze, Sherrie asked if she had any new drawings. Nodding, Betina jumped up from the table and ran back to her room. Marcella came in from the living room, obviously having heard the conversation, and she asked, “Do you think she could go to college?”
“I don’t see why not. She can apply for financial aid and with scholarships, should be able to cover the costs. It would be a way for her to have a good paying job.”
Marcella seemed to waiver, her eyes darting toward the door. “She has a job with her step-father. She doesn’t have to go away to college for that.”
“But don’t you want more for Betina than to work all hours in the store or laundry?”
Before her mother could answer, the back door opened and Hernando strolled in. Seeing Sherrie, he plastered a smile on his face making a big production of kissing Marcella. “Hello, Ms. Mullins. Here to talk to our Betina?”
Our Betina, my ass.
Smiling back, just as insincerely, she said, “Yes. She’s just gone to show me some more of her artwork.”
Marcella turned toward Hernando saying, “Ms. Mullins and her art teacher think that Betina could go to college.”
“Bah, who needs college? I have no college and I manage three laundries and a grocery store,” he scoffed.
Choosing her words carefully, Sherrie acquiesced. “I agree that not everyone needs to go to college, but Betina could have the chance to choose whatever career she would like to have and not just work for hourly wages.”
She caught the steel glint in his eyes as he said, “There is nothing wrong with working for wages. My workers are well compensated and they are happy.”
Just then Betina walked back into the room, her art pad dangling in her hand, as her eyes moved between the three adults in the room.
“Don’t you agree, Betina? Working for me is a good thing. Who would need college?”
“Yes,” she answered meekly.
“There,” Hernando said, effectively closing the conversation.
“Well, Betina, let’s sit and go over some more questions I have…about school,” she added quickly, hoping to have a chance to continue her conversation alone.
Satisfied, Hernando and Marcella headed to the den, but Sherrie noticed that he sat in the chair nearest to the kitchen door, making it easy for him to hear their conversation. Keeping the questions light, she was disappointed to see the glow go out of Betina’s eyes. The excited teen, eager to consider college, was now sullen and giving short answers to Sherrie’s questions.
As the meeting came to a close, Betina seemed deep in thought before stealing a glance into the den to see Hernando and her mother watching TV. As the girl’s gaze moved back to Sherrie’s, she placed the art pad on the kitchen table and slowly pushed it toward her. Licking her lips nervously, she looked at Sherrie and said, “I want you to have this.”
“Oh, honey, I can’t take your drawings,” Sherrie protested.
Betina’s hand stayed firm, not allowing Sherrie to push the drawing back. “I need you to have them,” she said.
Sherrie considered Betina’s intent expression, feeling that she was trying to tell her something, but not knowing what it was.
“Okay,” she said slowly. “If you’re sure.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Betina stated firmly. “My life, my world is in these drawings. I need you to understand that.”
The intense expression on the teen’s face had Sherrie’s heart pounding. Glancing down at the drawings, she wondered what she was supposed to understand.
“My world,” Betina repeated, her eyes pleading.
Hearing Hernando getting up from his chair, Betina jerked her hand back and Sherrie found herself sliding the pad into her oversized bag. Not knowing why she felt the need to hide it from him, it seemed important to keep him from knowing that Betina had shared anything of consequence.
Wanting to end on a positive note, Sherrie said, “Betina, your teachers mention that you are really kind to others also. You offer food money to some of the kids that don’t have lunch money and I saw you talking to some students about getting food at the grocery. It seems that you really look out for others and I’ll be sure to put that in my report.”
Betina’s eyes grew large as she licked her lips nervously. Hernando walked into the room, placing his hand on Betina’s shoulder, slightly squeezing.
“Yes, she’s a real sweetheart, isn’t she?” he said.
Sherrie kept the smile on her face while her mind was racing. He’s not happy about something. What the hell did I say that he didn’t like?
“Yes,” she agreed. “It seems you are too with the offer of food.”
“No one should go hungry. Betina and I just help out some kids. No obligation of course. I’d hate for you to put something in your report that would give the grocery any undue publicity.”
His words were taut and his eyes were cold. Glancing back at Betina, Sherrie could see his fingers flexing into the girl’s shoulder.
“Of course. I understand,” she said with a forced smile that was beginning to hurt her cheeks.
“Ms. Mullins, can you stay for dinner?” he asked.
While his question was welcoming, his tone was not. Smiling, she shook her head saying,
“Thank you but I must be going. Betina, you’re hearing will be coming up soon and we’ll need to meet at least one more time before that.”
The girl nodded nervously and headed back to her room as Marcella showed Sherrie to the door. Walking back to her car she could feel eyes boring holes in the back of her. Climbing into the driver’s seat, she saw Hernando standing at the window. His expression chilled her. I know something’s up. I just don’t know what. Yet…
*
Saturday dawned clear and the freezing weather gave them a small break, with the high reaching the mid-forties. Tony had insisted that they could grill out for their party, but she had been sure that the cold winter would never allow for that.
“I told you so,” Tony teased, as he reached around her in the kitchen, seasoning the steaks and chicken.
“I don’t see how you stand being out there,” she exclaimed. “I hate the cold weather.”
“But babe, cold weather is what brought us together.”
She could not help but giggle at the reminder of their winter storm cabin adventures. “Well, you men can go grill outdoors in the cold while us women keep warm inside.”
The house soon began to fill up with their friends as Gabe, Jennifer, Shane, Annie, Matt, Lily, BJ, and Suzanne came in bearing platters of food. Jobe came by himself and said that Vinny was picking up his date.
The men headed out to the patio to begin the grilling. After a few minutes of small talk, Tony asked Shane and Matt if there was anything new they were working on.
Sharing a look, Matt admitted that they had been pulled into some missing children investigations.
“What’s that got to do with vice?” Jobe asked.
“Maybe nothing,” Shane answered. “But ever since the Department of Justice gave a presentation on Human Trafficking, vice is now looking into missing child cases, especially if teens are involved.”
“I hate to ask a stupid question, but isn’t that the same as smuggling kids across the borders?” Gabe asked.
“Nah. That
’s human smuggling. Human trafficking is exploiting persons for sex or labor.” Seeing the looks of confusion, he continued. “Basically it’s luring someone into working for you, whether sex or just labor. You pay them shit and they are trapped.”
Shane picked up the explanation. “Could be sex or it could be working in someone’s sweatshop. Problem is that statistics show that there are a lot of kids and teens involved. Believe it or not, human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world.”
“Jesus, fuck,” Tony growled. “We can’t even keep our kids safe.”
“Richland is a huge area for it, with the crossroads of three major Interstate highways. We are on a connection from New York to Miami,” Matt added. “So we are starting to patrol the bus stations and train stations.”
“And when the detectives working missing children cases think there might be a problem, they contact us,” Shane added. “We try to get the pictures up of the kids, so that the cops on the street will have something to look at.”
Matt added, “I’ve looked at those pictures so much in the last few weeks, I see them in my dreams.”
The men quieted as the back door opened and Sherrie poked her head out. “Hey sweetie, just checking on the grilling.”
“About another ten minutes, babe,” Tony called back.
“Vinny’s just pulled up,” she called. “I’ll send him out.”
A few minutes later, Vinny came out with his flavor of the day—a tall blonde with fake boobs showcased in a tight sweater, looking extremely out of place at the gathering. Vinny tried to convince her to go inside but she insisted that she wanted to stay with him. Frustrated, he went back inside with her to keep her from interfering with the men’s conversation, finally settling in the living room with a ballgame on the large screen TV.
Gabe shook his head saying, “I swear, even on my worst day I wasn’t as big a horndog as Vinny.”
The others laughed as Tony shook his head and said, “It seems like he goes for the same type every time. I can’t tell the difference between this girl and the last twenty women I’ve seen him with.”
Jobe moaned, “You all are married or,” looking at Tony, “almost married. I’m the one he drags along to his bar nights. Jesus, the women flock to him but I swear he only goes for bimbos. Any other woman there? Nope. Just the bimbos.”
“That way he doesn’t have to think. Or talk. Or anything other than buy them a drink, dance with them on the floor then take them back to their place and dance with them in their bed,” Shane added.
“Y’all have nice apartments. Does he ever take them to his place?” Matt asked.
“Oh no,” Gabe and Jobe said simultaneously. Jobe continued, “No way. He wants to get them off, get himself off and get the hell out of there. He’ll never bring someone back to his place.”
“Well, if he ever does end up with someone there, then send out the invitations ’cause he’ll be getting married,” Tony quipped as the others laughed.
*
While the men grilled outside the women worked in the kitchen, side by side, moving seamlessly around each other as only friends can do.
Annie and Suzanne talked about the new veterinary clinic Annie had opened just outside the city. Annie was the veterinarian and Suzanne was the vet tech.
“I need to make an appointment for Pippi,” Lily remembered, referring to her little dog.
“Just remind me before we leave today and I will put it on our automatic call list,” Annie said. “At least everyone loves Pippi. You should see it when I have to bring my own cats in. They’re horrible.”
Suzanne agreed, adding, “Annie’s cat, Rags, is especially naughty. He howls the entire time.”
Jennifer got off her cell phone, apologizing to the others. “Sorry, I had to take that call from Ross.” She was the guardian of her young brother. “He’s with Gabe’s parents for the weekend and had to tell me about the outing they had on the boat this morning.”
The conversation continued to flow and the women tried to include Vinny’s date when she came in, but she insisted on plastering herself to Vinny’s side. Rolling their eyes, the women finished up the preparations quickly.
As the men came in with the meat from the grill, they were just setting everything out. Picking up an art pad, Jennifer flipped though it admiring the drawings.
“Sherrie, where did you get this?” Jennifer asked. “These drawings are so lifelike.”
“They are amazing, aren’t they?” she replied. “My CASA case draws them and she gave the pad to me. I think those are drawings of her friends from school.”
Lily looked over Jennifer’s shoulder, admiring the pictures. “Wow, these are fabulous.”
The other women circled around as Jennifer flipped the pages over, each revealing another beautifully detailed face.
“It’s as though I’m looking right at their faces,” Annie exclaimed. “I have no artistic ability at all, so I’m always amazed when I see something like this.”
Matt walked by, kissing his wife’s neck as she closed the art pad, placing it back on the table. Suzanne laid it on the kitchen counter out of the way of the table.
Everyone filled their plates with an abundance of food that was brought. At times like this, Sherrie was still in awe of how her life had changed. For the better. Good food. Good times. Good friends. Glancing up at Tony’s profile as he sat with his legs touching hers, she could not help but think of the best change of all. A good man at her side.
*
“Is she going to be a problem?” Quentin asked.
“No, no,” Hernando assured his boss. “I’ve got her under control.”
“Really? I don’t give a shit about details, just make sure you do.”
“No worries, boss. I’m not letting a piece of pussy ruin us.”
Quentin chuckled. “Speaking of pussy, I’ve got some news and need your help. You got a chance to really step into the big time here if you play your cards right.”
Hernando eagerly awaited, always on the lookout to impress the higher ups and make more money. Managing the grocery and laundries was fine, but he knew more money could be made as long as he played his cards right.
“Need new girls for the upper rooms in the clubs,” Quentin replied.
“New girls?”
“Yeah. We want ’em young. Got men that are wanting young.”
Hernando licked his lips, his mind already planning what would need to be done. “How young we talkin’?”
Quentin chuckled again. “Mostly teens. We got some customers that’ll take ’em younger, but most just want young pussy. You think you can accommodate? It’ll be worth your time. You do good on this and you got a good shot at being the manager of one of the clubs down on the river.”
The idea of being a strip club manager instead of spending his days in the grocery and his nights in the hot laundry made his mouth water. “I got this, don’t worry. I got a girl thats good at recruiting. She’ll do what I say ’cause I got her mother as bait.” Smiling to himself, he could see the money piling up. “Oh, yeah, I got this.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch. Just make sure your recruiter doesn’t make any mistakes. There’s been a shit ton of money we’ve missed out on ’cause we weren’t in the market. Those days are gone. I want those girls and I want that money.”
“You got it boss,” Hernando said, hanging up. Sitting back in his chair, he pondered how to get Betina to continue to recruit without knowing what she was recruiting for. Licking his lips again, he knew just how to convince her. Either she keeps recruiting…or she goes into the stable. Palming his dick, he wondered how tight her virgin pussy would be. He had not touched her since he had been living in Marcella’s home, but if she ended up in the stable? He would make sure to be one of her customers.
Chapter 18
The winter sun peeked through the blinds, sending shards of light toward the bed. Tony woke first, staring at the woman curled up into his side. Her long blonde
hair, spread across the pillow, tempted his fingers to curl in their silky tresses. He shifted slightly, rolling more toward her while keeping her firmly in his embrace. Her face, angelic in sleep, was too much to resist and he moved his forefinger softly over her cheek.
Her eyes fluttered as she was pulled from her dreams, finally opening and settling on his gaze. Watching a smile spread across her face he felt his heart stumble. How did I get so lucky? Smiling back, he vowed to do whatever he could to keep her looking at him that way every morning.
Her hand, warm on his bicep, smoothed over the corded muscles as she moved it lower. Down his rigged abdomen. His eyes widened as her hand continued its path, ending as it encircled his already engorged cock.
“Hey, you,” she greeted, licking her lips as she began to move her hand up and down his hardness, rubbing the pre-cum around the head.
His voice, rough as broken glass replied, “Hey back,” before he pulled her over, latching his lips onto hers. I’ll never get enough of her, was the last conscious thought he had as he breathed her in, consuming her mouth.
Immediately awake she felt the onslaught of his lips right down to her core, as she felt his cock swell in her hand.
“Tony,” she pleaded, but anticipating both of their needs, he was already rolling on a condom before pulling her over. With her back tucked to his front, he slid his hands to her breasts, tweaking and tugging her nipples. The jolt shot straight to her pussy as it clenched in need.
His dick, with a mind of its own, moved straight toward her drenched entrance and he seated himself in one push. Jesus, fuck, he thought as her tight inner walls squeezed him.
“You okay, baby?” he groaned, knowing they had little foreplay.
“Go. Now!” she cried out, craving the friction that only he could provide.
“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled, pumping in and out, faster and faster. Moving as a piston he held her tightly, loving the moans emanating from deep inside of her. While keeping one hand on her breast he slid the other hand down, giving her swollen clit a squeeze.
Tony: Alvarez Security Series Page 19