As I informed the site of my interest, I couldn’t help but giggle to myself. This guy was trying way too hard with his profile. Any girl would take one look at it and determine that he was a huge tool. Still, I bet that he drummed up a bit of curiosity, especially with girls looking for a luxurious, and free date.
Now I just had to wait for a response. I looked good in my picture, so if he was the virile man I assumed he’d be, he would be likely to take the bait. He seemed like the type to be perfectly fine with young gold diggers looking to have a few drinks and go back to his place for boring sex. I didn’t want it to get that far with James, but I guess I’d have to wait and see what kind of information he had for me.
After a few hours of limited information and no target sightings, I was getting sleepy. My night with Bryce was taking its toll on me. Sitting in my warm car, I drifted off to sleep.
I woke up about an hour later, furious with myself for getting so complacent on the job. For all I knew, James came home, looked straight into my car, and called the cops because someone was passed out behind the wheel.
I checked my phone and there was one missed call from Bryce. I was feeling guilty about him finding out about Max Malone and scared to talk to him. If he had something serious to tell me, he would have left a message.
I had one new notification on my dating app so I eagerly opened it. While I was napping, James Keen showed interest in me, and wanted to go on a date!
Hey, I messaged him. Want to hang out sometime soon?
I waited impatiently for his response. It was still early, but the sooner I could meet him, the better.
That would be great, he responded a few minutes later. How about this weekend?
That wouldn’t work for me.
My schedule is busy this next week. How about tonight?
If he were after what I believed he wanted from a date, he would accept my offer, if he no prior engagements.
Perfect. Want to meet me at The Coromandel at 8 for drinks?
I looked up the name of the bar. It was one of those fancy places in the lobby of posh hotels. In fact, it wasn’t more than a few blocks from my office. I could park my car in the garage, maybe get a little work done, and then meet James for drinks. It would be perfect. If things went badly, I could always hightail it back to the office, where I would at least be protected by the security cameras in every corner. It wouldn’t stop one of those guys from hurting me, but it would at least leave a little evidence behind.
Now that I had him right where I wanted him, I didn’t have to sit in front of his house. I checked my hair and makeup in the rearview mirror. Good enough. I started my car and drove to a diner for a small meal. If I wanted to stay sharp, I couldn’t drink on an empty stomach again.
I felt reenergized after making plans with James. It was time to figure out what Office Supply LLC had to do with Tommy Tilucci.
At ten ‘til eight, I turned off my work computer and made my way downstairs and out the door. I was looking good and feeling confident. In the empty office, I worked on questions that were first-date appropriate, yet probing enough to forward my investigation.
It was already dark outside, which did little to help calm my nerves. The streetlights provided an illusion of protection, but I knew how easily crimes could go unnoticed in a place like this. As I walked along the cracked sidewalk, I wondered if Bryce was thinking of me. Would he try to stop me if he knew what I was about to do? I fantasized about him running after me, begging me to be careful because he needed me to be okay. Of course, I didn’t need saving, but the thought of someone being concerned about my wellbeing was nice.
As I walked up the steps to The Coromandel, I realized that I had never been anywhere so nice. When I wanted a drink, I favored grungy dive bars over sophisticated cocktail lounges. Slightly underdressed in my department store skirt and blouse, I was feeling a little self-conscious around all the women in designer clothes that cost more than my car.
I scanned the room until I spotted James seated at the bar, sipping an amber colored liquid from a whiskey tumbler.
“James?” I purred, trying to give the appearance of a coy and innocent woman. I often heard that I was intimidating on dates, so I did my best to tone it down, as not to scare him away.
“You must be Jessica,” he smiled, taking my hand into his. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
“I’m glad to meet you too,” I gushed.
“What are you drinking?” he asked.
I thought for a moment. I usually just ordered whatever wine was cheapest and could get the job done. Otherwise, I’d just get a vodka water. Neither of those seemed like appropriate choices for this type of date.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I said. “What are you drinking?”
“I don’t think you’ll like this,” he said condescendingly. “It’s one of the finest aged bourbons in the city. It’s quite strong. I’d recommend one of the signature cocktails. Want me to order one for you?”
“Yes, please,” I said, already annoyed with this man’s attitude. The martini he ordered me was great, though, so I felt like I could put up with the ruse if the drinks were flowing.
“Tell me about yourself,” I said, hoping he would be the type to go on for ages about every boring detail. Luckily, he was.
“I’m an executive at an office supply company, so basically, my job is to tell people what to do so we can make as much money as possible.”
I giggled. “And how’s that working out for you?”
“Well, if we can afford to drink $30 cocktails, then business isn’t bad, is it?”
He was unbearably smug. Originally, I only wanted to use him as a source, but now I was feeling more inclined to take him down too.
“Is it one of the major office retail stores?” I asked.
“No, we deal directly with businesses. We sell to a lot of banks, schools, and even newspapers. I know, I know,” he chuckled, “it sounds boring. But that’s not all I do during the work day.”
“Yeah?” I pressed. “What else do you do?”
“My company takes part in a lot of different charitable organizations. One of them takes poor, underprivileged teens and young adults in impoverished areas and relocates them to places where they can find work and have a better chance at life.”
“That’s amazing,” I said. “What kinds of jobs do they work?”
He cleared his throat. “I’m not exactly sure. I’m not really involved in that part. I’m more involved with depositing the money in the right accounts to make sure things happen.”
“Wow, that’s so great of you,” I said. I wanted to ask him if his human trafficking business was what funded our date tonight. Suddenly, the cocktails didn’t taste as good.
I must have been downing my drink to tolerate this man drone on about himself because without asking, there was a new one in front of me. I accepted it and continued with my line of questioning.
“That charity sounds cool,” I said nonchalantly. “Is it something that I could volunteer with? It would be fun to go to fundraiser events with you,” I flirted.
“I’m not sure,” he said, frowning. “It’s funded by people living in the country, but all of the actual work happens overseas.”
“Huh,” I mused. “That’s too bad. I’m always looking for good volunteer experiences. So,” I said, changing the subject, “if your job can buy you expensive drinks, what else does it have to offer? Maybe I should consider a career change.”
He was pleased that I was mentioning his wealth again. “Do you want to come to my home to see for yourself?”
I took a long sip to buy myself some time to think. I wanted to see if I could dig up any more dirt on him, but I didn’t want to have any sort of physical relations with him if it came to that.
“I don’t mean to come on so strong,” he backtracked, sensing my apprehension. “We can stay here if you like.”
“No,” I decided. “I’d like to see your place.”
“Well t
hen,” he said, looking particularly pleased, “I’ll have the valet bring my car around.”
A cream Bentley pulled up to the front of the building and James tucked a twenty into his hand. I got in the passenger seat and nearly slid off the sleek leather interior.
“This is my new toy,” he said, driving off into the night. I wanted to roll my eyes so badly.
My phone vibrated in my purse, so I sneaked a look to see who it was. Bryce was calling. Enough time had passed that I was ready to talk to Bryce again, but it was a bad time. I didn’t want James to hear me talking to anyone, let alone another guy. I would have to text him back when I had a moment alone.
James talked about various trips he had been on in the past year and listed all the countries he had visited. Luckily, he wasn’t particularly interested in what I had to say, so I zoned out and added in the occasional response when appropriate.
When we got to his house, he offered me another drink and I took it. Cautiously taking a sip, I looked around his place. It was overly ornate but not in a tasteful way. It looked like he picked out the most expensive decorations one could buy, and hired someone to arrange them. He had animal skin rugs on the floor and shelves of leather bound books covered in a thin layer of dust.
“You’re an exquisite woman,” he said, petting my cheek. I tried not to recoil. He leaned in and pecked me on the lips.
“Don’t be shy,” he said. “I really like you and I get the feeling you like me too.”
He leaned in again, this time putting his full weight on top of me. He kissed me forcefully, jamming his tongue into my mouth. I tried to gently shake him off, but he persisted.
I wished that Bryce were with me so this guy wouldn’t think that he could take advantage of me like that. James was obnoxious and not spilling the secrets like I wanted him to. I could try to get him drunk and sleep with him to get more info, but after my conversation with Bryce this morning, I didn’t want to do that kind of thing anymore.
I did have one other option. I could find a way to subdue James for a few minutes and search his house for something that would help me. He was a little bigger than me, but I thought that I could overpower him with the element of surprise. It would be a big risk, and it would draw a lot of attention to me, but I had two viable options: rough this guy up, or sleep with him.
The guy was an asshole. It didn’t take long for me to make my decision.
I grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him in closer to me as if I were into his sloppy kisses. Once I had a little momentum, I pushed him back with all my strength. We fell to the ground and he broke my fall. The back of his head smacked against his gaudy wooden coffee table, hard. He was out cold.
I quickly checked his pulse to make sure his vitals were normal. Once I found a regular pulse, I took off running through the house. In a room off the main hallway, I spotted his office. I searched the desk for anything unusual. His laptop sat on top of the desk, but I couldn’t take that—it would be too obvious. In the top left drawer, I found an ornate wooden box containing several flash drives. One flash drive was even labeled “Global Industries”.
I took the whole box and booked it back to the living room to grab my purse and make a run for it. Once I got far enough away from James’ house, I could call Bryce and have him pick me up. We could look through the files together.
When I grabbed my purse, James was gone. I spun around just as I heard him cock his handgun.
“I’m guessing your name isn’t Jessica, is it?” he said slowly. “No, I’m guessing it’s Jane.”
“Put the gun down, James,” I said calmly.
“What do you have in your hand? Why do you think that those are of any use to you?”
I set the box down on the ground, secretly slipping a few into my shirt sleeve and raised my hands just above my ears.
“What do you think you know?” he pressed.
“Nothing,” I said. “I don’t know anything. Please put down the gun and we can discuss this.”
“No,” he said, grabbing his phone with his free hand. “I’m going to make a phone call. You stay still.”
I slowly looked around to see what my options were. My purse, containing my gun, was out of reach. If I lunged for it, I wouldn’t get it before James could fire. I was stuck.
“Max,” James said into the phone. “She’s here. I’ll tell her how excited you are to see her.”
She’s In Trouble
Bryce
Even though I told myself I’d give Jane another hour to herself before giving her a call, I couldn’t work up the courage to dial her number. Every time I was about to call or send a text, I was nervous that she would ignore me or have some harsh words in response. I wasn’t particularly kind when I left her house and I didn’t think she’d take my apology so easily. Despite my brief career as an enforcer, I wasn’t great with conflict.
I went home around seven after I ran out of work to do. After a couple hours of silence, I finally worked up the nerve to call her. When she answered, I would tell her that I was sorry for the way I reacted and that I wanted things to go back to normal. I wanted her to know that I was committed to exposing Tilucci by any means necessary.
It rang and rang before it went to voicemail. No problem, I’d call back in a few minutes. I twiddled my thumbs for a little bit, imagining how she would respond to me.
I called again, the same result. I called again but left a voicemail. She could listen to it and decide if she wanted to call me back. I told her that I was sorry and that I wanted to make she was okay.
I sat back on my couch and stared at the ceiling. Waiting was agony. I was starting to get nervous, the worst possible scenarios racing through my mind. I had no idea what she was doing today so it wasn’t like I could go out and find her.
When the waiting got to be too much, I needed to know that she was safe and indeed, ignoring me. I called Andrea, who thankfully, picked up on the second ring.
“Hi, Bryce,” she answered.
“Andrea, have you heard from Jane lately?”
“Not since before I saw you today. Is something wrong?”
I paused. I didn’t want to worry Andrea if it was nothing, but I couldn’t be too sure. I didn’t want to tell Andrea that I lost track of Jane, especially after she warned me not to let her self-destruct.
“I don’t know,” I confessed. “She won’t answer my calls.”
“Don’t tell Jane this when you find her,” she said, “but I installed a tracking device on her phone.”
“A tracking device?”
“I know,” she said quickly, “it sounds bad. But you know how I worry about her. I offered to provide security but she denied me. This was the only way to keep a little peace of mind.”
“I’m not going to tell her. I’m glad you did it.”
“Give me a second to look it up.”
I waited patiently as she tapped on her phone. I had a bad feeling that she had gotten herself into trouble. I had an even worse feeling that I drove her to it.
“Okay, I’ve pinpointed her location and I’m sending you her GPS coordinates. Click on the map and it will give you turn by turn directions to her.”
“Thanks, Andrea. I’m leaving right now.”
“Do you want me to come? I can get someone to cover for me here.”
“No,” I responded. “I’ll be fine by myself.” The truth was, I didn’t trust anyone but Andrea to watch Arianna. I couldn’t have her leave her post.
“Please let me know that everything’s okay, will you?” she asked.
“Of course.”
I ran out to my car and let the GPS directions lead me. By my phone’s calculations, I’d get to Jane in twenty minutes. If I drove fast enough, I figured I could make it in less than fifteen.
I sped out of my neighborhood and onto the main streets. It was the hour where people settled into their homes for the night, so, fortunately, the traffic was minimal. Still, I wove in and out of traffic, nearly missing cars th
at lazily turned the corners into their homes.
My phone directed me into a ritzier part of town that I wasn’t familiar with. Jane certainly didn’t live there, and I couldn’t begin to guess who she was seeing. Nothing about this situation made sense to me. Up until this point, she had always shared her leads with me. Now, I had no idea where she was and who she was with. It was as if she was deliberately hiding something from me.
I approached a large home guarded with a tall iron fence. It looked like Dracula’s castle to me. People don’t fence their home in like that unless they were trying to keep something out—or in.
I double checked the map. It insisted that Jane was here, even though I didn’t recognize it as a gang member’s home. I got out of my car and walked closer, the dark shielding me. I saw warm light coming from a window on the first floor, near the front door. I squinted, trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of Jane.
Then, as if it happened in slow motion, I saw the chiseled face of Max Malone close the blinds, his signature sneer on his face.
Dead Meat
Jane
Max must have been near because he came striding through the front door mere minutes after James hung up the phone. Now that he had backup, James nudged me toward one of his couches, gun still in my face.
“To be honest,” James said, shoving me onto the sofa, “I’m a little disappointed that you’re Jane Madison. Jessica would have been a good screw.”
I scowled at him. I regretted not giving him a decent ass-kicking while I had the chance.
Max sat down beside me, too close for comfort. He draped his arm around my shoulders. I didn’t dare try to fight him. I was outnumbered and ill-equipped for this battle.
“Sweet Jane,” he murmured into my ear. Like always, he looked like he was straight out of film noir. He rarely dressed in anything other than a three-piece suit. “We’re reunited at last. Did you miss me?”
There was no correct answer to that question. “Max,” I pleaded. “I never sold you out.”
Her Protection: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Omerta Series Book 2) Page 13