Rough Justice (The Scarecrow and Lady Kingston Book 1)

by Tristan Vick

  Jersey looked over at Julie and shrugged as if to say it was a perfectly reasonable request.

  “Fine,” Julie stated, having no choice but to concede to the conditions. “But I’m going with you,” she insisted, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

  Satisfied with the answer, Jersey signaled Jack with a nod, and the two of them left the room. Julie put her palms down onto the interrogation table, leaned forward, and looked deep into Beck’s dark brown eyes.

  “Ju, again, I can’t thank you enough for not pressing charges,” Beck said with all sincerity.

  “I just don’t know why you didn’t tell me sooner that Blake was threatening you. Beck, I know I can be rough around the edges, hot tempered, and obtuse sometimes, but if you’re ever in trouble, don’t hesitate to call on me.”

  Beck leaned forward so that her nose was practically touching Julie’s. As she stared back into Julie’s emerald eyes, Beck sighed. “I guess I just didn’t have my head screwed on straight. With the new movie having just wrapped up, I haven’t had time to settle into my own mind it seems.”

  “Well, I’m going to keep you safe now,” Julie said, shooting Beck a warm smile.

  Beck put her hand on Julie’s hand, and the warmth of her touch sent a charge through both women. “If there is any way I can make it up to you,” she said, flashing a playful smile, “just let me know.”

  “Anything?”

  “Anything at all,” Beck said in her sultry southern accent.

  Julie smiled back deviously. “Actually, there is something. But I may be asking a bit much of you.”

  “I doubt it,” Beck said, her breathing growing heavy. “I would put myself out there for you. I’d open myself up for you. I’d let you have your way with me if you wanted.”

  “As much as I appreciate that, Beck, I sort of had something else in mind.”

  Her lips hovering just mere centimeters away from Julie’s, Beckensale huffed dreamily, “Well a girl can fantasize, can’t she?”

  Julie smiled endearingly back at Beck. She didn’t know what was going on between them, but she definitely felt a deeper attraction to Beck. Julie wasn’t going to even begin to try to quantify her feelings. After all, in her mind, there was no gay or straight controversy. She felt it came down to just one thing: people loving people. Plain and simple. She didn’t know why that wasn’t good enough for some. It was damn well good enough for her.

  Although she didn’t mind Beck’s constant flirting so much, she did find it a bit distracting. It confused things, and she needed to keep a clear head and focus on the case. She pulled away and let the spark fade before it could turn into a flame, then she explained to Beck exactly what she needed her to do.

  Beck found agent Jack Wolfe drinking a coffee in the cafeteria. She made her way to his table and sat down next to him. He smiled at her but suddenly found himself caught up in the intensity of her smoldering brown eyes. Also, the fact that she was like Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson all rolled up into one mega-babe was something he definitely liked about her. What he liked even better was the fact that she was currently single.

  “What can I do for you?” Jack asked, his voice nearly cracking due to his lightheaded excitement. Just to be sure his excitement wasn’t mistaken for boyish charm, Jack cleared his throat.

  “It depends,” Beck said, the corners of her mouth curling up into a sensual smile. “I’ve been feeling a little, I dunno, insecure lately. I guess it’s because of everything that’s going on in my life. The past few weeks have been a little dizzying to say the least.” Beck leaned in and wrapped her arms around his, feigning a bit of vertigo, and batted her eyelashes at him. “I guess what I need most is just a shoulder to lean on. If that’s alright with you?”

  Jack Wolfe smiled. “Of course. No problem. After all, a policeman’s job isn’t just about catching bad guys. It’s also our duty to serve and protect the public,” he said.

  “Well then,” Beck sighed. “I have one idea how you may be able to serve me.” Leaning in, she whispered the details into his ear.

  Jack nearly fainted when he heard what she had in mind. Tugging on his collar, he turned to Beck and smiled. “Yes, ma’am,” he answered. “You’ll be glad to know I’ve got protection in my back pocket, and I can serve you any way you please. I mean, if that’s really what you want?”

  “Enough talking,” Beck said with authority. Grabbing his hand, she hastily pulled him up out of his seat and guided him toward the restroom at the back. Before they had even passed through the door, the two of them were making out like a couple of hot and bothered teenagers.

  Stumbling into the bathroom, Beck swiftly peeled off her tank top. Her breasts suddenly bounced back down into their proper place, revealing the sexy black brassiere she wore underneath. Leaning in for another kiss, she suddenly shoved Jack backward, and he fell into the bathroom stall.

  The metal door flapped as the two clambered in. Beck kissed Jack’s mouth and fumbled trying to unbutton his shirt at the same time. After a moment of struggling with the buttons, she became frustrated and just tore his shirt off, half of the buttons popping off as she pulled it down over his shoulders. Jack didn’t care though, as he was simply overjoyed by the fact that he was in the middle of being seduced by Hollywood’s leading lady.

  Beck peeled his shirt the rest of the way down around his shoulders, which made it hard for him to move his arms, kind of like a straightjacket, but he didn’t think anything of it. Bending over, she rubbed her soft hands up and down his thighs, then unfastened his belt. Jack’s pants slipped down to his ankles, and he fumbled a bit to keep his balance. With his arms and legs immobilized, he felt a bit like a caterpillar awkwardly trying to squirm his way into position. Rising back up, Beck abruptly shoved Jack down onto the toilet. Unable to catch his balance, he nearly fell into the open bowl.

  Beck grinned at the shocked look on his face as he landed on the seat with a thud. “I hope you like it rough,” she said, licking her lips seductively.

  “Actually,” Jack informed, “I’ve had sort of a rough day. Would you mind playing nice?”

  “I hate to break it to you, big boy, but all is fair in love and sex. What’s the matter? Am I too much woman for you?”

  “No, it’s not that. It’s just …”

  Before Jack could finish his sentence, Beck leaned in and nuzzled his earlobe, giving him a light bite with her teeth. The sensation of her hot, moist breath on his neck sent hot surges through his entire body and caused him to forget what he was going to say.

  Beck had him right where she wanted him. Stopping short of his lips, Beck smiled mischievously as if she wasn’t going to continue. Before Jack could realize that it wasn’t a tease, it was already too late. All he heard was the clank of handcuffs that she had slipped out of his back pocket, and onto his wrists. Looking down, Jack discovered his wrists shackled to the piping of the toilet. Beck pulled back, leaving him high and dry, and grabbed her tank top and put it back on.

  “Um, look, I’d usually be up for this sort of thing, but … do you mind unhooking me?”

  “That depends,” Beck said.

  “Depends on what?”

  “On whether or not it would be okay.”

  Perplexed, Detective Jack Wolfe asked in a shrill voice, “Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

  That’s when they heard the sound of the toilet flush in the neighboring stall.

  Jack gulped. “Somebody else is in here,” he said in a hushed tone.

  “I know,” Beck replied in her usual voice, no longer putting on an act of seduction. The stall door swung open, and Jack’s face suddenly became austere. Julie Kingston stood before them, casually eyeing the scene.

  Julie leaned in and put her arm around Beck, who playfully nudged Julie’s ear with her nose, and the two women looked down at poor, manipulated Jack.

  “Next time you get in bed with the Feds, make sure you don’t fuck up the case by spilling sensitive information while the blonde is hump
ing your brains out.”

  “I’ve been played, haven’t I?” Jack asked with a voice full of disappointment.

  “Like a fiddle,” Julie said with a vengeful grin.

  “What gave me away?”

  “Your perpetual hard on for every skirt except for Jersey, for starters. That could only mean one thing: You were already tapping that hot piece of ass.” Julie paused, waiting for him to deny the accusation, but he simply diverted his eyes. A guilty gesture if there ever was one.

  Continuing on, Julie informed, “More noticeably, when Jersey got to Beck first, I put two and two together. Unless the FBI is into the habit of tapping police headquarters, someone had to have tipped her off. Then there was the fact that Blake was spooked long before we had a chance to question him. Something had him so rattled that his lips were sealed tighter then a fresh jailbait’s asshole in the prison showers. At first, I couldn’t figure out what had spooked him so badly, but it could only have been a message from Jersey. The prodigal sister’s return had majorly upset him, but according to visitor records, she hadn’t actually been in to see him. So I checked the prison visitor log for on duty officers, and lo and behold, you had been in to see him a full day prior. So what did she have you say to him that made him scared shitless?”

  Jack let out a defeated sigh. “Honestly, I don’t know. The message didn’t make all that much sense.”

  Beck paused long enough to stop molesting Julie’s ass and chimed in, “What do you mean it didn’t make sense?”

  “Her message, it wasn’t about anything in particular. It was strange.”

  Both women looked at him, eagerly waiting to hear what the message was. “Well?” Julie said impatiently. “Spill it.”

  “The message was simply, ‘Remember Mexico.’ Like I said, it doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Actually,” Julie said, ruffling Jack’s perfectly-molded hair just to annoy him, “it makes perfect sense.” With that, she spun on her heel and walked out of the ladies’ restroom.

  Beck reached down and grabbed Jack by the scruff of his neck, pulled him in one last time, and gave him a deep, sultry kiss. “Word of advice,” Beck said, still holding tight to Jack’s hair, “Office romances—they never last.” Then, following Julie’s lead, she winked at Jack and left the way she had come.

  “Wait! It was a rookie mistake. I won’t make it again. Promise! You can’t just leave me here,” Jack pleaded, but they were already gone. Pausing for a bit, Jack called out, “Hello? Anyone there? Anyone at all?” But all he received was the reply of his own voice echoing off the bathroom walls. Slamming his head into the side of the stall, Jack muttered to himself, “Balls.”

  19

  FACEOFF WITH THE DEVIL

  Pulling up behind the blue Carrera GT, the silver Aston Martin stopped in the driveway of the safe-house high in the Hollywood Hills. The mansion was a modern design featuring an unconventional, block-like architecture that stood out among the older mansions on the drive. It largely consisted of thirty-five foot glass panel walls framed by eco-friendly woodwork with sharp ninety-degree corners. It had a great view of the city high up on the hill.

  Julie’s idea was to hide Beck, a Hollywood actress, in the midst of the upscale lives of the rich and famous. In other words, plant the needle in a stack of needles. Blending in was the best way to disappear. Beck was sure to be safe.

  Jersey had brought Beck ahead of time due to the fact that Julie had to swing downtown to pick up John Scarecrow. Although she could have simply asked him to meet them there, she thought it would be better to bring him up to speed personally.

  As they sat in the car, John looked excitedly over at Julie. “I’m telling you, it was a bona fide ninja sighting!”

  “I think you’ve been watching too many kung-fu movies.”

  “Kung-fu is related to classic Chinese martial arts, whereas ninjas and samurai are from Japan,” John informedher grandly.

  “I didn’t mean to offend,” Julie laughed.

  “No offense taken.” John winked at his partner, then got out of the car. “Still, do you think it is wise to leave Beck inside with a suspected killer?”

  “You really are smitten with her, aren’t you?” Julie inquired.

  “Beck? Well, yeah. Kind of.” Scarecrow said, scratching the back of his head. He was almost embarrassed to admit it, but Julie knew him too well for him to hide it. He couldn’t sneak anything past her.

  “Don’t worry about Beck. If Jersey really is trying to get revenge for her sister’s death, she’ll try and make it look like an accident. Poisoning Beck now would be a clear giveaway that she was the killer, so she’ll bide her time.”

  “It seems like a big gamble,” John replied.

  “Beck has been briefed on everything. She knows what she’s getting into.”

  Getting out of the car and shutting the door, Julie looked over at John, who was coming around to her side. “I think I might be starting to warm up to her myself.”

  “You two were totally meant for each other,” John said reassuringly.

  “It’s just that…” Julie stopped mid-sentence.

  “Just what?”

  “This whole falling in love with a girl thing. I mean, I know I shouldn’t care about that, but I just … It’s new. A little bit scary, if you know what I mean. What if she doesn’t feel the same way back?”

  As they approached the door of the mansion together, John reassured her, “Hey, don’t worry about that. Beck is totally into you. When she’s around you, she can barely contain herself.”

  “It’s that obvious, is it?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.” John stopped at the top step and looked at Julie. “Hey, wasn’t Special Agent Jack Wolfe supposed to meet us here?”

  Sticking with telling the God’s honest truth, Julie informed, “Actually, he won’t be able to make it after all. He got tied up with something else.”

  “Oh, I see,” John said.

  “I can tell you’re broken up about it,” Julie laughed.

  “Hey, who am I to complain? I get to spend time trapped in an undisclosed mansion with a group of gorgeous women overlooking the city lights at night.”

  Julie reached down to grab the door handle. “Ever the romantic, you are.”

  John watched curiously as Julie’s face went from an amused smile to a stone cold look.

  “What’s the matter?” asked John.

  Raising the palm of her hand, she showed it to John. Moist red stains glistened on her palm.

  “Is that blood?” John asked as he squinted under the soft glow of the porch light.

  Pushing open the door discreetly, Julie drew her sidearm and put her finger to her lip, letting John know she was going silent. With catlike steps, she cautiously entered the home.

  Checking the various choke points, Julie cautiously aimed her gun at every entrance. John followed closely behind and provided cover.

  Making their way into the living room, Julie heard a soft thud from behind the sofa. She motioned to John to go around the other side.

  As they enclosed the chair, Julie saw black pants. She quickly came around to find Jersey Blair clutching her right arm. A large gash cut into her flesh, and it was bleeding profusely.

  “Don’t worry about me,” groaned Jersey, trying to fend off the sharp pain. “You’ve got to rescue Beckensale. He took her out back.”

  “He?” Scarecrow asked.

  “The killer,” Jersey informed. “I went to the bathroom for just a moment, and when I came out, he was already on top of her, trying to force the poison down her throat. I managed to pry him off of her, but then he pulled a blade on me and …”

  “Is he still on the premises?” Julie interrupted, scanning the room.

  “That’s what I’m trying to say,” Jersey replied, taking a big gulp, trying not to let the pain cause her voice to rise. “He stepped out the back the moment you arrived.”

  Julie motioned with the barrel of her gun for John to take care of J
ersey. “Stay here,” she demanded. “I’m going after him.”

  Bending down, John tore the tattered sleeve from Jersey’s arm and made it into a tourniquet, tying off her wound.

  Stepping stealthily up to the glass patio doors, Julie edged alongside the wall toward the facing entrance, which lead out to the back pool.

  Once she got close enough to peer out of the glass, trying to be as quiet as possible, she slid the glass door open and stepped out onto the back patio. The glow of the pool lights and the rippling water created a blue illumination that danced around everything it touched.

  At the end of the pool, Julie saw a dark figure holding Beck hostage. It was a male with a hood, and he had a long Bowie knife pressed to Beck’s throat.

  “Julie!” Beck cried out.

  “Who are you?” Julie demanded, taking aim.

  “What do you mean, who am I? I’m your friend Beck!”

  Julie sighed. She would have done a face-palm, but the whole maintaining her aim thing prevented her from expressing the true depth of her frustration. “Not you,” Julie informed, motioning toward Beck’s captor with the muzzle of her gun. “Him.”

  “Put down the weapon, or your girlfriend dies,” boomed a deep, rattling voice. Masked by the mechanical sounds, it was clear the man had a mask on.

  “What do you want?”

  The man began to slice into Beck’s shirt and slowly cut it open, revealing her voluptuous bust wrapped tightly in a sexy, burgundy brassiere. Slowly, he dragged his blade across her breasts, slicing them very lightly.

  “Aieeeee!” Beck screamed out.

  Julie fired a shot at the villain’s head.

  BLAM!

  The shot hit his forehead dead-center but ricocheted off, grazing Beck’s shoulder. She screamed again.

  Unable to advance, Julie took drastic measures, and fired a shot through Beck’s right leg. Beck screamed even louder, “AIEEEE!”