“Wet?” I asked, somewhat taken aback.
She looked a little embarrassed, then she sighed. “That pole isn’t easy to hang onto all night, and with the hot lights beating down on me – I get sweaty, I’ll put it that way.”
I laughed again. “Oh, I see. Yeah, don’t go jumping in a pool of water, but yeah, it can get wet.”
She nodded. “No mud wrestling, got it.”
I nearly groaned aloud at the image that popped into my head of her writhing around half naked in a tub of mud with another woman. I reached down and adjusted my cock, pulling a laugh from her.
Turning serious, I said, “I’m going to head down to the station and talk to Captain Markel about this. You’re going to go through your night like you always do, don’t act any differently, don’t try to look like you’re trying to get information, just do what you do.”
“It’s going to be weird knowing that I’ve got a guy listening to my crotch while I’m giving a lap dance,” she admitted. “I mean, do you think he’s going to care?”
“You would be surprised the things those guys listen to on a daily basis,” I assured her. “You won’t be the worst of it, I can promise you that.”
“Good. I want to be able to save face if I ever see any of them for any reason.”
“It’s okay. Just go through your night as though nothing is different. I have to work until almost seven and then I’ll be able to catch up with the surveillance team.”
“That’s nearly halfway through the night,” she sounded disappointed. “But that’s okay. I know this isn’t your only case and you are needed on the streets.”
“Ideally, I’m going to be rushing in there and arresting that asshole,” I replied. “If you pick up the right thing, then I’m going to be in the area. We’ll jump in and put that sack of shit away for good.”
“So there’s a chance I’ll get to see you on shift?” she grinned, clearly delighted at the possibility.
“Yes. Just be careful. Again, I don’t want you to be obvious about this. Hell, I don’t even want you to be subtle. Just pretend that it’s not even there, okay?” I asked. I looked at her seriously. It was more than a game, and though I appreciated her boldness around me, I didn’t want her to get cocky.
Rocco was still even more dangerous as he was the day he threw her against the wall, because he knew I was involved now. If he suspected that she was working with the cops to try and take him down, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. Not for one second.
“I know,” she said with a solemn nod. “I’m not going to give him any reason to think anything is up, trust me. I’m just going to act like I always do.”
“That’s exactly what I want from you,” I told her. I leaned down toward her and she lifted her chin, meeting my lips with her own.
“Be safe tonight,” she told me.
“You too,” I said with a smile. She nodded and I walked out the door, surprised at how domestic it all felt. It was so natural, how she and I related to each other, I almost couldn’t believe it.
But there was a part of me that was still worried. I trusted she knew what she was doing, and if she followed directions, there was no reason to think she’d get caught. Still, the thought lingered in the back of my mind.
What if she did?
20
Sky
I was feeling confident when I walked out of my apartment that afternoon, but the closer I got to work, the more nervous I became. My confidence was definitely waning, and I told myself to act natural. It became something I chanted to myself as I walked along.
“You’ve got this. You’re just going to get through the shift like you would any other Tuesday. There’s no reason to think that this isn’t going to work. Just act natural,” I whispered to myself.
Though I didn’t think I’d be followed to work, I couldn’t help but look around as I walked. I knew it was the nerves, the paranoia that something was going to go wrong. It did help to give myself a pep talk along the way, but that didn’t take away my fears entirely.
As the club came into view, I felt like I was going to be sick. I didn’t want to see Rocco, but he was the entire reason I was wearing the damn wire in the first place. I wanted to be done with him once and for all and wearing the wire was the only way to make that happen.
Jack just told me to be myself. Act like nothing was different and go through the evening as I always would. The only problem was, Rocco didn’t say anything to me or around me that I felt would be enough to get him locked up. He seemed really careful to keep those sorts of discussions away from the employees.
It wasn’t enough to make me not suspicious of him. I was convinced he was up to no good long before Jack came into the picture. But that didn’t change the fact I didn’t thing I was going to get anything that was going to help without pushing the envelope. The whole thing had seemed like a much better idea before I had the wire in my underwear and was a block away from work.
Jack knows what they need to get this guy arrested. All you have to do is what he said. Don’t be stupid, don’t act any different than you normally do. Just get through the night and trust they are going to pick up something they can use.
I felt a little better, but it still wasn’t enough to erase the nerves entirely. I hesitated before going inside. The brown door with paint chipping off seemed so foreboding. There was a time when that door simply symbolized my poor life choices, but today, it looked like the gate to hell.
And I had to walk through with my head held high and a smile on my face.
Okay, you don’t have to smile, but don’t be so jumpy. Just get in there and get through the night, I told myself. I had told myself that same thing a dozen times before, all without a wire in my crotch. Tonight wouldn’t be any different.
I walked through the door and started for my station, stopping dead in my tracks when Rocco called my name.
“I was hoping you’d show up on time today,” he said.
“It’s rare that I don’t,” I replied. If I was going to act natural, I was going to be my defiant, sassy self toward him.
“Come here, I need to talk to you about something,” he said. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest, I was sure the men at the station could hear it. But I obeyed. I walked over to him and crossed my arms, careful to act just as I normally would. I prayed that my jeans wouldn’t muffle the sound of the wire.
“Into my office please,” he motioned with his arm, and I sighed. I knew if we were going into the office, I was going to be yelled at for something.
At least they’ll get a taste of the temper he doesn’t let show to the public. I obeyed, walking right into the office and standing in front of his desk.
“I’d tone down the attitude a bit if I were you,” he said as he followed me into the room. He pulled the door closed and locked it, then he turned slightly and smiled for me. It was all I could do not to visibly cringe.
“What did you want to talk about?” I shot back. I stood my ground, my arms folded across my chest. He walked around the other side of the desk and sat in his own seat, then he looked at me with a smile.
“Seems to me like you’ve been a busy girl,” he said.
“What?” I asked. “What’re you talking about?” I tried to keep my tone even, but my stomach was twisting itself in knots.
Say it, asshole, say it. Say you’ve been following me and you know I’ve been with Jack. Say it so they can hear you through this stupid wire and can add stalking and intimidation charges to your case. Do it, motherfucker.
“Don’t play stupid,” he said. “You know exactly what I mean.”
“I’ve been off for the past couple days,” I said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He gave me a look that could kill. I silently prayed he’d repeat the threat. Instead, he pushed himself back from his desk and spread his arms. “Come here.”
“I’m just fine right here Rocco,” I said. My heart was once again racing.
�
�You know, in all the time you’ve worked here, I’ve never taken the opportunity to sample the goods. I’ve seen you do your thing for the customers. And I’ve seen how you make them practically come in their pants. But I’ve never enjoyed one of your services myself,” he said lasciviously.
“What are you getting at here?” I asked him, hoping against hope he wasn’t about to say what I thought he was.
“You’re going to give me a lap dance,” he said.
“No the fuck I’m not!” I snapped. “There’s no fucking way you’re ever going to get me to do that.”
The thought of it alone made me sick but thinking about the fact that I had a wire in my panties made it worse. I knew I could control how handsy the customers got, but Rocco would do whatever the hell he wanted. He might not be able to see the wire, but if he put his hands on me, he’d be able to feel it.
“You have plenty of time to go whoring about with your little cop boyfriend despite the fact I clearly told you not to. You obviously don’t care what you do with your body though you love to throw a fit about what I ask you to do here. Get over here,” he said again.
“Fuck you! I can do what I want with who I want when I’m not here. You don’t get to tell me who I can and cannot spend my own damn time with!” I snapped. I wanted to walk out the door, but he locked it from the inside deadbolt, and the key was sitting on the desk right in front of him. There wasn’t any way I could get to it without being within his reach.
“If you don’t let me out of here this second, I’m going to scream,” I said. “I mean it.”
“Do it if you like. I’ve got Boris watching the hall and keeping anyone from coming this way, and you know as well as I do the music is too loud out there. You can either do as I ask and I’ll forgive you for your blatant disrespect, or the next time your boyfriend sees you, it’ll be in pieces.”
“You can threaten me all you want,” I said coolly. I knew the men at the station must have heard what he said, and they’d be on their way. I just had to stall for enough time. “But I’ll never let you put your hands on me Rocco. Not ever. I don’t give a fuck who you think you are!”
Knowing that help was probably already on the way was making me bolder than I probably should have been before they actually got there.
He sighed. I was sure I had won as he reached into the drawer of his desk. My stomach tied into another knot when he pulled out a gun and cocked it.
“You would be surprised how much that music drowns out,” he said. “Do you know how many people I’ve shot standing where you are? And none of you stupid bitches was ever the wiser.”
His words chilled me to the bone, and I thought I was going to faint. He had the gun on me, and I was running out of time. There wasn’t a chance the cops were going to get to me soon enough. I needed to stall and that meant one thing.
He nodded from me to his lap, and I tasted bile.
I swallowed hard. “If I do it, you’re going to let me go and forget about all this?”
He smiled. “Consider it a down payment for my forgiveness. It won’t settle the whole debt, but it’s a good start.”
I hoped to God Jack was able to hear what was going on. I knew he said that he was going to be patrolling for the first part of my shift, but I also had a feeling they were able to send the feed to him if they had to. I didn’t know how any of it worked, I just knew I had to stay alive until he could get to me.
“Fine,” I said. He grinned the most sadistic smile I’d ever seen, and I walked forward.
“No, no, no, take off your jeans. You’re going to do this right,” he said. “And your top.”
Disgusted, I obeyed. I pulled off both my hoodie and my tank, then kicked my jeans to the floor. Half of me was surprised that he didn’t want a strip tease, too. For the first time in my life, I wouldn’t have minded taking my time removing my clothes in front of him.
It would have given me more time for Jack to come to my rescue. I wondered what was taking so long. Where the hell was he? Where was anyone?
I walked over to him, unable to believe I was about to do the one thing I swore to myself I’d never do. Slowly, I eased myself down, not wanting to even think about what I was doing.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” he clucked at me, an evil grin on his face. “I want the VIP treatment sweetheart. Bra off.”
I swallowed and undid my bra, trying not to gag when I saw the way he licked his lips as my tits sprung free in front of his face. His hands immediately went to my waist to pull me closer and his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets as his fingers felt the thin, flexible wire sewn into the seam of my panties.
“What the fuck!” he snapped, his right hand coming up to wrap around my throat. My heart sank. I was as good as dead. He shoved me off of his lap and onto the floor.
“Take it out!” he pointed the gun at me once more, and with a sinking feeling in my chest, I pulled out the wire. “You stupid little bitch!” he screamed.
I was sure he was going to shoot me right there, and I braced myself for the blast. But it didn’t come. He flew from his seat and said something through his walkie talkie to the bouncer in Italian. I couldn’t make out the words.
Then, he turned back to me. “Get dressed!
“Why?” I demanded. “If you’re going to kill me, just do it!” I said, trying to stall.
“Oh, no no no. No, you deceitful little whore. You don’t get off that easily. I’m going to take my time with you.”
My heart was pounding in my chest, I grabbed my clothes and slowly pulled them on, taking as much time as I could. I wanted nothing more than to run, to scream. But as I dressed, he pulled duct tape out of the desk and started for me. He didn’t have to say a word for me to know what was happening.
He was going to take me, and there was no one there to stop him.
21
Jack
I drove past another warehouse, my fist gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles were turning white. I was pissed. Beyond pissed. I wanted to scream, I wanted to punch my fist through the windshield. I couldn’t believe what was happening, and I blamed the whole force for fucking it up.
It had been two days since we’d heard from Sky. The men were in the control room down at the station listening in, but the feed had been shaky. They could pick up sentences and words here and there, but it was hard for them to hear what was really going on down at the club. It had been too loud, and Rocco had clearly had some sort of surveillance scrambling equipment installed in his office.
I’d told them to be on high alert, to tell me as soon as there was any reason for me to get down there. I’d circled through the neighborhood in my patrol car more than once, hoping she’d be able to pick up something that would enable us to rush in and arrest him.
But nothing came through my radio for nearly an hour. When it finally did, they weren’t able to tell me exactly what was going on. I didn’t care, at first. I was going to get in that club, arrest Rocco, and take him in for questioning. If there was any reason for me to think that we could get him, then I was going to go with it.
I didn’t care if we were going to have to let him go. I’d figure out a way to get Sky out of there and keep her safe. Hell, I didn’t even care what the captain had to say about it. I was going to do things my way. I was going to be the one to save Sky since I had been the one to put her in the middle of the shit in the first place. We flew to the club, sirens blaring. I expected with cops surrounding me and our uniforms on, we’d be let right through. But once again, the bouncer did what he could to hold us back. I only played nice guy for a minute before shoving him out of the way and entering the place, threatening him with arrest as well.
The place was crowded, and several of the dancers hurried for the back when we came in. It was hard to get through the sea of people who were mingling around, and I was pissed that there were that many people there on a Tuesday afternoon.
It didn’t make any sense that there should be, as though fate had been wor
king against us the entire time. We burst through the back, guns drawn, only to be met by yet another man in a suit. I was sure he was one of the men Sky had told me about, and he, like the bouncer, refused to listen.
Every minute they were holding us back was another minute they were able to get away with Sky, and they knew it. I wasn’t sure where she was being held, but the guys at the station assured me that it hadn’t been more than five minutes since they last heard her say something and them sending me the call.
“He’s in the office,” the man told us. “But you can’t go in there.”
“Get the fuck out of the way or you’re going to be finding yourself in a cell!” I snapped. I was stupid, so stupid. Of course he was just putting up a diversion. We shoved him to the side, and I gave orders behind me to put him in cuffs. Then, we broke down the door to the office.
And it was empty.
Sky’s purse was in there, with all her belongings inside. She didn’t even have her phone on her. There wasn’t any way to tell where she had gone, and that bastard in the hall had known it the entire time. I ran back through, pushing past fellow officers to the back door. Arriving just in time to see the black car that had been following us round the corner and hit a side street.
I flew around the building, opting to take the sidewalk rather than try to cut through the club again, ignoring Welsh’s calls for me to not go alone. I wasn’t going to let the guy get away with Sky. Who knew what he was going to do to her when he had her alone?
Fuck, he had been connected to so many murders and disappearances. I didn’t care that there wasn’t enough proof. Hell, I didn’t care that we had enough proof now to take him in. If he got away with Sky, then she would be gone either way.
I now understood what victims’ families meant when they told me justice didn’t matter so much when it didn’t bring back their loved ones. I had to get to Sky, and I didn’t care what I had to do to find her.
Men in Charge: A Contemporary Romance Box Set Page 70