by T L Swan
Ben pinches the bridge of his nose. “Fucking great.” He sighs. “That’s going to go down like a lead balloon.”
“You going to have trouble explaining that one to the missus, mate?” I smirk.
Bridget hates undercover work. She especially hates anything to do with women. Her being pregnant with twins while Ben is at this club is going to make her go batshit crazy.
“Don’t you fucking talk. I’m sure Tully will be thrilled with you going there, too.”
“Hmm.” I run my hands through my two-day stubble. It’s weird having to think about undercover jobs now.
“We’ll go tonight, see what we can find.” I sigh.
“Hey, did you see the address of where Peachy Sue got murdered?” Ben asks.
“No. Why?”
“I think it’s in Tully’s neighbourhood.” He frowns as he looks it up on his phone. “The street name was familiar.” He brings it up on his screen and passes it over to me. I instantly frown.
“What the fuck? That isn’t just Tully’s neighbourhood. That’s her fucking building!” I snap.
I take out my phone and dial her number. She answers on the first ring.
“Hey, boss,” she teases, and I find myself smiling at the sound of her voice.
Ben shakes his head and rolls his eyes.
“Hey, Pock. What time are you having lunch today?” I ask.
“In about an hour, why?”
“Ben and I have to talk to you. Can we come meet you?”
“Yeah, sure.” She hesitates. “Is everything all right?”
“Of course. Some shit’s gone down and I just wanted to run it past you.”
“What kind of shit?”
“Nothing to worry about. See you in an hour.”
An hour later, we are sitting in a crowded restaurant. Ben is at the counter ordering. Tully is with me.
She takes my hand over the table. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I frown as I sip my drink. “Nothing serious.”
Ben comes back and sits down.
“How’s Bridget feeling?” I ask.
“She’s good.” He smiles. “Until I speak to her and then she becomes feral.”
I laugh roughly.
Ben rolls his eyes.
I turn to Tully. “So, we have to go undercover tonight at a gentleman’s club.” I sigh.
Her face falls. “Oh. What does that mean?”
“We have a tip off, which means we have to go to this place to see if we can dig deeper,” I reply.
“Well, what happens at this gentleman’s club?” she asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know.” I scratch the back of my head, feeling uncomfortable. “It’s probably full of strippers and shit, I imagine.”
“How deep undercover are you going?”
I pick up her hand and kiss the back of it. “Not that deep, babe. Don’t worry.” I sip my drink again. “But you’ll have to stay at my house tonight.”
“If you’re not going to be home, I’d rather be at my house.”
“Not happening. Someone connected to all of this was murdered at your apartment building while we were away.”
Her eyes widen. “What?”
“A prostitute,” Ben adds.
“Not Peachy Sue?” She gasps.
My face falls. “You know her?”
“Oh my God.” She puts her hand over her mouth. “Someone was bashing her up the weekend before we left.”
“What? Who?” Ben snaps. “That was when she was murdered.”
She puts her head into her hands. “I should have called the police. I thought it was her pimp,” she whispers in distress.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” I ask her coldly.
“It was the night we went out with your work friends, and I...” She pauses as she remembers. “I came home early because you were being a psycho, as usual. I was waiting for the lift and I heard something smash against the wall, followed by her scream.”
Ben and I exchange glances.
“And I didn’t want them to see me, but the lift was taking forever so I hid in the janitor’s closet.”
I scowl, furious. “You didn’t think to fucking tell me this shit?”
“Oh my God. I was so outraged with you, and I thought it was just another bit of apartment drama.“
I roll my eyes.
“Tell us exactly what you heard, Tully,” Ben urges her.
She slides her hands over her eyes as she thinks. “I heard Sue scream get the fuck out before something smashed up against the wall. I thought that was her throwing something at him—her pimp. That’s what it sounded like, anyway.”
She frowns as she thinks. “And then it was really quiet, and I heard another door open.”
She stills, remembering as much as she can.
“What?” I ask.
“Meredith,” she whispers.
“What about Meredith?” I frown.
“On the Sunday, remember before Simon came over? I went to say goodbye to Meredith and she was freaking out. Talking about a black jacket and...” She pauses. “Oh my God.”
“What?” Ben snaps.
“It was her. It was her door that opened.” She turns to me. “I think Meredith saw it. She was friends with Peachy Sue.”
“Friends?” I frown.
“She hangs out with all those girls. Wendy Woo. All of them.”
“Who is Wendy Woo?” Ben asks.
“She’s a lady boy who fucks men for money.”
Ben and I exchange looks. “What does she look like?” Ben asks as he scrolls though his phone.
“Dark hair and gorgeous,” she says quietly.
Ben brings up a photo of the woman who was seen leaving Chancellor’s room. “Is this her?”
Tully stares at the image on the phone and her face falls. “That’s her.”
Fuck. Another piece of the puzzle.
“Where is Meredith now?” I ask as my heart rate rises.
“I took her to her mother’s.” Tully is wide-eyed and on the verge of a major freak out, I can tell.
Ben dials a number on his phone. “Miller, it’s me. I need you to get over to... wait.” He turns the phone down. “What is Meredith’s mother’s address?”
Tully scrolls through her phone and brings up the address, passing it to Ben. He reads it out to Miller.
“What’s going on?” Tully whispers. “Brock, this is scaring me.”
I take her hand in mine. “I don’t know, babe, but you can’t go home. Why don’t you stay at your mother’s tonight? I have to do this work thing, and I don’t want you being anywhere alone.”
She nods. “Can you come over and meet my family before you go?” she asks hopefully.
I smile and lift her hand to kiss her fingertips. “Sure.”
“Brock,” she whispers. “Is Meredith in danger?”
I dust a thumb over her bottom lip. “We have some men on their way around there now. It will be okay.”
“Do you promise?”
I shake my head. “I can’t promise that.”
Ben hangs up the call. “We got two cars on their way there now. Let’s hope she’s there.”
I pull into the driveway and exhale heavily. Tully smiles from her place beside me.
“I met your family and now it’s time for you.”
“Yep.” God, I hate this shit. I don’t want to meet her family. I already know they don’t like me.
Suck it up… for her.
I get out of the car, and Tully comes around to the driver’s side, draping her arms around me. “Don’t say anything about me moving in with you just yet, okay?”
I clench my jaw. Here we go. “Why not?”
“Brock.” She widens her eyes at me. “We need to give them time to warm up to the idea of us first.”
“How about we just get married and really piss them off?” I reply deadpan.
She smirks. “The weird thing is that you’re so crazy, I actually have no idea i
f you’re joking right now or not, so I’m just pretending I didn’t hear that.”
I raise my eyebrow as she leads me up the front path.
“Hello?” she calls out when we get to the front door.
“Tully.” A man smiles and comes to greet us. He’s middle-aged and overweight, but he smiles my way, anyway. “I’m Michael,” he says to me.
“Michael, this is Brock. Brock, Michael is my stepfather.”
“Hi.” I smile and shake his hand.
“Come in.” He holds his arm out and we walk through the house. It’s small and quaint with dated furnishings. It’s also impeccably clean. We walk out into a large area at the back of the house that looks like an extension, and there I see Tully’s mother.
“Hello,” she says, faking a smile.
I fake smile back right back. “Hello.”
No love lost here. She still hates me.
“Where’s my little sis?” I hear a male voice call down the hall, and I turn just in time to see a blonde man swooping in to tackle Tully in his arms. He’s good looking, tall, and probably around my age.
I glance over to see another man come in from the back yard. He rolls his eyes at the man’s interaction with Tully. Hmm.
“Put me down.” Tully laughs as she slaps him.
“Brock, this is Peter, my stepbrother.”
“Hi.” I smile and shake his hand.
Peter looks me up and down, sizing me up, but I just look at him blankly. Does he have a problem with me, too?
“And this is Brad, my brother.” Tully smiles affectionately.
I turn and shake the other man’s hand. He seems to be around the same age as Peter, but with the strawberry blonde hair and similar features that make him look like Tully. This must be her biological brother.
“Hi, mate.” He smiles warmly, and we shake hands.
“Would you like a drink or something?” her mother asks.
I smile politely. “Just a soda, thanks.”
The two parents disappear into the kitchen and my eyes roam over to the mantle where there’s a huge photograph of Simon and Tully in each other’s arms on display. They’re at their prom or something, all dressed up. I hate that she has a past with him.
I clench my jaw. Calm, calm… keep fucking calm.
A Labrador comes running in from the backyard and Tully bends to pat him. I glance up to see Peter’s eyes drop to her ass. The edge of her G-string is showing slightly as her jeans ride down.
He stands there and stares as if nobody else is in the room.
What the fuck?
“So, what do you do, Peter?” I ask. I’ve seen him before but I’m not sure where from.
He glances up from his ogling of Tully’s ass, and he stands and folds his arms in front of him, spreading his legs. “I’m a detective.”
My eyes hold his. Yeah, I thought so. “Ah.” I nod. “Interesting line of work.”
“What do you do?” He raises a brow.
“I work for a security company.” I’m not telling him my shit. I already know this guy is a fuckwit.
Tully drops to the floor and rolls around with the dog. Peter’s eyes drop to her again, and his tongue comes out to slide across his bottom lip as he watches her lie on her back.
Okay, what the fuck is going on here? He’s checking her out.
“So, you’re Tully’s stepbrother?” I ask.
He smiles slyly. “Yeah, we’re joined at the hip. Aren’t we, Tull?”
I glare at him. Not any more, fucker.
I turn to Brad. “What do you do, mate?”
“I’m in I.T—”
“He’s unemployed,” Peter interrupts.
“He got retrenched—” Tully cuts in. “Your dream job is coming any day, Brad.” She smiles enthusiastically. “I just know it is.”
Tully stands, and the dog jumps up on her again. She bends with her back to Peter, and he puts his hand on her hip.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention and I can’t help but glare at him.
He glares back.
What the actual fuck is going on here?
Stepbrother?
“Tully, take the dog outside, please,” her mother calls from the kitchen.
“Okay.” Tully makes her way to take him outside. “Come on, Mitchy. Come on.”
I step forward and get in Peter’s face once Tully is out of earshot. “Let’s get one thing straight, cunt,” I whisper angrily. “You look at Tully’s fucking ass again and I will break you like a fucking twig.”
Peter’s face falls, clearly in shock that I called him on it.
Brad hisses and breaks into a chuckle. “Fucking finally,” he whispers.
Peter lifts his chin. “What are you talking about?” He sneers. “And I wouldn’t get too cocky if I were you. She’s going to dump you any minute now.”
We stand face to face glaring at each other. “This is your first and final warning. You keep your filthy fucking mind out of Tully’s panties.”
“Fuck off,” Peter scoffs.
“I’m not trying to win a popularity contest with the oldies, so you should know that I basically don’t give a fuck if you die,” I whisper, and I know I’ve got to get out of here before I start swinging.
Brad chuckles again.
Tully comes in from the back yard, wraps her arm around my waist and smiles up at me lovingly.
“I got to go to work, babe,” I say through gritted teeth as calmly as I can.
Her face falls. “You’re not staying?”
“I can’t, I’m sorry.” I walk into the kitchen to her mother and father. “I’m sorry, an emergency has just come up at work. I have to go.”
The stepfather actually looks disappointed, but Tully’s mother’s face lights up. “Oh, dear,” she fakes disappointment.
“Next time?” I smile. “Maybe you can come around to our house?”
Tully’s mothers eyes widen. “Your house?” She frowns.
“Oh, didn’t Tully tell you?” I act surprised. “She’s moving in with me.” I smile broadly, watching as the blood drains from their faces. “Have a nice night, everyone.”
I turn and grab Tully by the hand. “Walk me out, babe.” I glare at Peter and wink and Brad before we disappear out of the front door.
“Brock,” Tully whispers on the way out to the car. “I thought I told you not to say anything!”
“Yeah, well.” I pause for a moment. “I changed my mind.”
“You’re impossible,” she whispers angrily.
I smile, lean down, and I kiss her. “But completely loveable, too, right?”
She smirks and kisses me, and after a sweet goodbye, I start my car and drive down the street, shaking my head.
Well, that’s got to go down as the worst meet-the-parents moment in history.
Her fucking stepbrother is into her.
Ben frowns at me from across the table. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Her stepbrother was looking at her ass?”
“Yes.” I sip my beer, anger pouring out of me.
We are at The Roundhouse, sitting in the back corner, and I want to be anywhere but here. Gorgeous women are parading around, dressed to the nines in designer clothes, each of them available for a hefty price.
It’s a different crowd to the normal strip joint. This place is for the wealthy—a gentleman’s club that cost fucking thirty-thousand to join. “I better get my fucking money back when we solve this case,” I whisper as I look around.
“So, what did you do?” Ben asks. “To the stepbrother?”
“I told him I was going to snap him or some shit.” I shake my head in disgust. “I don’t even know, and then I had to leave before I belted the crap out of him.”
“Jesus,” Ben mutters. “This shit could only happen to you.”
“Right?”
We look over the crowd again. It’s men in suits, mostly.
“We’re looking for a cop then?” Ben si
ghs. “I have Tane in the office waiting to look up the IDs of any suspects we send him an image of.”
I nod. “Or a group.” I shrug. “It’s hard to tell. The witness said it was a cop, but she said they… which means there are more than one of them.”
He narrows his eyes as he thinks. “Meredith and her mother are missing, but the neighbour seems to think they’ve gone on vacation. What do you make of all this?”
The boys went around to Meredith’s today and nothing seemed amiss. There were no sign of anything being wrong. The neighbour said that they went away unexpectedly because their grandmother was ill.
“I think the girls are being made to film themselves with these rich men, and then sometime soon after, they’re forced to find them and bribe them with the footage.”
“Like the other case?” He frowns.
“Just like the other case, but somehow the girls have started to fight back. Or something is going wrong somewhere.”
“You think the girls are double crossing whoever the boss is?” He sips his beer.
“Why else would he be killing them?” I frown.
“Maybe he kills them after their job is done?”
“No, because then the girls wouldn’t do it anymore. He’s doing it to keep them in line, which means they’re doing something wrong or getting close to turning him in.”
“Hmm.”
I sip my beer again and look over to the door. That’s when my mouth literally falls open.
“Peter’s here,” I whisper.
“Who’s that?’ Ben frowns.
“The stepbrother.”
Bens eyes widen. “You don’t think…?”
“He’s a cop. He’s here.” My eyes hold his. “What are the fucking chances of this shit happening?” I exhale heavily. “Fuck,” I whisper. “I got to get out of here before he sees me.”
We watch him walk through the club and take a seat at a table with three other men.
Ben zooms in on his camera, pretending to read something on his phone as he takes the shot. “You go, I’ll stay. I’ll send these to Tane and get an ID.”
Tully
I wake up with a start to my phone dancing across the bedside table. I glance at the clock and see that it’s 3:00 a.m.
“Meredith.” I scramble for my phone. I’ve been frantic all week trying to track her down. Brock won’t even let me go back to my apartment until she’s found in case they’re watching over there for her. He went out and bought me new clothes, toiletry supplies and everything.