Damaged Goods

by Dane, Cynthia

  Sylvia walked in on Alexander on the phone. He paced back and forth in front of the bed, hand on one hip and teeth chewing on his bottom lip. That was not the relaxed demeanor of a man ready to enjoy the company of a young woman.

  “Fix it,” he hissed into the phone. He may have kept his back to Sylvia, but she could still hear everything he said. She didn’t doubt her microphone picked it up too. “That cargo needs to leave town tonight. What the fuck am I paying you for? You botch this and you’ll be as good as tiger meat. You understand me?”

  By the time he hung up and sent Sylvia a wild look, she was convinced that he was talking about illicit activities. The kind that wrecked homes and ruined lives. Jesus… Suddenly Sylvia was rethinking this whole collar and lingerie thing. “Everything all right, sir?”

  “Nothing that fucking concerns you.” Alexander pocketed his phone and grabbed his jacket. “Sorry to cut this short, Sylvia, but some pressing business matters have popped up. Afraid I can’t spend the night with you. You’ll have to leave.”

  “Oh…” Was that relief or disappointment swirling within her gut? Probably both. Relief that she didn’t have to do anything with this guy, and disappointment that she wouldn’t be getting anything else out of him. “That’s too bad. I’ll have to remind you that you won’t be refunded for services unrendered due to you cutting this…”

  “That’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Alexander nodded toward her on his way out of the hotel room. “Get dressed and please leave. I’ll meet you at my luncheon tomorrow afternoon. I’ll make doubly good, I assure you.”

  “I look forward to it.” And I look forward to you leaving this room… Sylvia removed the collar from her throat. It felt good to freely breathe again. “Sorry it has to be this way, sir. I was titillated by you all night.”

  “Trust me, I’m the one suffering right now.” Alexander diverted from his path toward the door and met Sylvia by the bathroom. She did not expect him to pull her into an embrace and kiss her. In fact, she barely registered the event until he released her and flew out the door.

  Sylvia plucked her dress off the couch and began getting dressed. “That was a kiss.”

  She half-expected Joseph to say something cheeky about that. Instead, he jumped right into, “Scope out the room, but be quick. Don’t draw suspicion.”

  Sylvia did as told as soon as she had her dress on and the bondage gear off. She flipped through Alexander’s folders, looked through his suitcase, and even scoped out the (empty, save for a Bible) drawers for anything incriminating. There was nothing, or at least nothing on the surface. Sylvia made sure to get a shot on the camera of everything she perused. If there was anything of note, the boys and girls of Joseph’s department would pick it apart and make use of it.

  “I’m outta here,” she announced after neatly refolding Alexander’s silk boxer shorts and closing the lid on his suitcase. “See you at the meeting spot, boys. Oh, and I want some donuts. You guys are cops. You better have donuts for me as a reward.”

  “We don’t have donuts, Sylv.”

  “VooDoo’s is still open…”

  “Shut up, Jim.”

  Sylvia chuckled as she turned off the room lights and slipped out, closing the door behind her. “Dunno. Gotta go with Jim on this one. You guys owe me some VooDoo’s. The more cream filling the better.” She grinned in the elevator. “I love cream filling, Joseph.”

  He didn’t respond. He better be out getting her some donuts.

  Chapter 13

  Joseph

  “You did great in there,” Joseph said, once Sylvia was settled in the back of the van. “You asked all the right questions.”

  She made herself comfortable in Jim’s abandoned chair. The idiot went to get donuts… As a man who did not care for the doughy dessert, Joseph could not understand the stereotype prevalent in his career. Yet the moment Sylvia said d o n u t s Jim had a one-track mind that was going to get them all in trouble if he wasn’t careful.

  “Thanks. Other than some creepy vibes, it wasn’t a bad night for me either.” Sylvia crossed her slender legs, forcing her black skirt to ride up her thighs. Joseph looked away. It was dark in the back of the van, but he wasn’t about to be caught staring at her flesh. I can’t afford to look anyway. He had seen enough of Sylvia’s skin the past twenty-four hours. First having sex with her… then her reflection in the bathroom mirror as she dressed up in bondage gear…

  Joseph had been fighting back a hard-on from the moment Sylvia dropped her dress around her feet. All right, not a fucking hard-on. Jealousy, of all things, had simmered within him. While he recognized he had no right to be jealous, nor did such jealousy make any damn sense, it was still there, hitting him like a soccer ball to the face every time he glanced at Sylvia.

  What had he told her when she asked about sleeping with Sheen? Do what you gotta do to not blow your cover. He had meant it, too. Whatever he felt about Sylvia, it wasn’t up to him whether she carried out the more sordid parts of her job. She sleeps with men for money. You know this, idiot. One of those facts he didn’t dwell on when he thought of Sylvia in a more abstract way. She was a person. She had her life. She was useful to his investigation. They had a couple of flings. No big deal.

  No big deal, man.

  “Creepy vibes, huh?” Joseph channeled his energy through his pen. He pushed the clicker so far in that a man could cut himself on the inked tip. So much for writing up his notes. “Didn’t think he would be a problem for you.”

  “It doesn’t matter how much experience I have. When a guy creeps you out, he creeps you out. You learn how to handle them better.”

  “I see.” Joseph flipped his notebook shut. The cameras were off now that Sylvia was back in the van, but he was still waiting to hear back from Agent Kline, who was trailing Sheen from the moment he rushed out of the hotel room. She had been silent for the past ten minutes. “We should talk about what happened back there before Jim gets back.”

  “Oooh, I hope he’s bringing me the jelly I asked for. Didn’t think he would actually go get donuts.”

  “Sylvia.”

  “What?” She shrugged. “What is there to talk about? I did my job. I led him into certain conversations, got everyone he talked to and half his hotel room on camera so you can do your boring background checks and follow new leads, and I did it without rousing suspicion. Didn’t you pick me because I would be the smoothest? Not to mention my reputation, which he loved…”

  Don’t remind me. Joseph hadn’t been deaf to how Alexander Sheen kept bringing up Sylvia’s previous partners. He knew that tone well. He’s the type of sicko who gets off on stealing other men’s women. How many married women had this guy seduced in his life? I also didn’t miss the way he kept leering at her. Or how he was going to… What was with all that bondage gear, for fuck’s sake? Was he going to spank Sylvia? Gag her? Tie her up? At least Joseph could say those images didn’t turn him on.

  Just made him really, really jealous. They do not turn me on. They do not turn me on…

  “I can take care of myself in those situations, Joseph. The guy was a creep, but I’ve slept with creepier.”

  “That doesn’t reassure me.”

  “No. Because you’re jealous.”

  He was going to say something. Either to dissuade her from the truth or to try to make her see the inherent danger in the situation, but his thoughts were interrupted by the back doors opening. Jim stood on the street, holding a pink VooDoo Donuts box. Sylvia hopped up with a squeal and helped herself to a jelly donut. Joseph turned his share down. He’d rather have a beer.

  “Any word from Kline?” Jim asked, careful to keep crumbs from getting near the equipment. “You didn’t page me, so I’m guessing not.”

  “Bet she lost him. Last I heard, she was reporting at least three car transfers on Sheen’s behalf. He really doesn’t want to be followed.”

  “Think she was made?”

  Joseph shivered. “I really hope not. One of us should h
ave gone with her.”

  “We were both needed here.”

  Yes, but you’re not the one who has to explain that to his mother. “Let’s debrief so we can get home. We’ve got another long day tomorrow and material to submit in the morning.”

  The debriefing took only ten minutes, and most of that was going over what would happen when they reconvened for the luncheon the next day. While they spoke, Sylvia went through two donuts and not-so-covertly shoved a third into her purse. “What?” she had said when Joseph caught her. “That’s the one you don’t want. Get outta here. Not my fault you have terrible taste.”

  Jim offered to drive the van back to the garage. Joseph’s car was parked in an underground lot a block away. That left Sylvia, who repeatedly checked her watch to see if she could catch a bus home. She also muttered something about walking, since it wasn’t exactly cold during those summer nights. Joseph imagined her trekking a total of twenty blocks to get back to her neighborhood and cringed. He could as easily drive her there in fewer than ten minutes, depending on the lights.

  “I’ll drive you,” Joseph insisted. “It’s too dangerous to walk.”

  “No need. I’ll get an Uber.”

  “No. I’ll drive you. We need to talk, anyway.”

  Sylvia glared at him, but did not protest. Does she want to talk? Joseph had only said that to give himself an air of authority.

  Jim waved them off as he got into the driver’s seat and drove away. By then, Joseph and Sylvia were already in the parking garage, heading toward the black sedan he had been driving for what felt like half his life. (In reality, it was two years.) I’ve driven three women around in this car now. Angelica, Stella… and now Sylvia, who was in his car for the second time in as many days. She looked like she belonged there, with her elbow comfortably leaning against the door and her fingers combing that brand new haircut.

  “You wanna talk here or when we get to my place?” She was the cheekiest girl alive when she looked at him again. “Or are we going back to yours?”

  Joseph had already started his car by then. “I’m dropping you off at your place.” He wasn’t going to address the implications of taking her back to his. Why does she have to be so casual about us sleeping together? Was that a byproduct of her job? Or did she feel that comfortable around him? And why, if that were the case?

  “Hm. Okay. I don’t think my roommate is home on Tuesday nights.”

  “Why does that matter?” They idled, waiting for the gate to open.

  Sylvia chuckled. “Did you forget how much I was screaming last night? Dude, I’m loud in bed. Naturally so. Don’t have to charge extra for that.”

  Joseph almost missed his chance to drive out onto the street. “We are not doing that.”

  “Tonight? Or ever again?”

  His jaw clenched. Don’t think about it. Think about what? How good she felt when he was inside of her, losing himself in the foolish way men often did? He hadn’t even noticed any screaming – that was how far he retreated into himself during the act. His senses hadn’t returned to him until he came and realized what a stupid mistake he had made.

  A mistake that had felt like the millions of dollars to his name, but a fucking mistake nonetheless. Not only was it a bad idea to start any kind of sexual relationship right now while an investigation was underway, but with Sylvia? Somewhere, his grandmother Juanita was waking up with her usual “bad omens” that were directed at her male progeny. His mother Genevieve was likewise pacing in her downtown office waiting for her son to report. The longer it took, the more she would assume he was botching everything up.

  “Tonight,” he snapped. The light turned green, allowing him to turn left onto Burnside. With any luck he would soon have Sylvia out of his car and no longer tempting him.

  Just his luck. A streetcar was crossing the roadway right beside Powell’s Bookstore. They would be sitting there an extra minute.

  “Why are you so cranky about it? I don’t know what my pussy did to you last night, but you’re being a dick. If you regret us fucking, say so, and I’ll stop flirting.”

  “That’s flirting?”

  “Uh huh.”

  They were silent the rest of the way to Sylvia’s house. Joseph pulled up alongside the curb, noting the lack of lights on in the house. Either her roommate was already asleep or, like Sylvia had wondered aloud, was gone for the evening. She thinks we’re having sex, huh? Joke was on her. Joseph had every intention of keeping his seatbelt on and waiting until he got home to address his dick threatening to harden at any moment. Sylvia’s flowery perfume was doing a number on his libido.

  Be professional, dumbass.

  “I’ll see you at ten tomorrow. Same spot.”

  Sylvia unbuckled her seat belt but didn’t get out of the car. “I thought you wanted to talk.” Her hand rested on the door handle. “I want some tea, anyway. Why don’t you come inside and talk over Darjeeling?”

  “No thank you.”

  “First you don’t like donuts, and now you don’t like tea?”

  “I like tea fine.” It was second to coffee and beer, but tea was okay. “I don’t think it’s a good idea that I go in with you.”

  “Because then we’ll fuck.”

  “Would you come off it?” Joseph squeezed his steering wheel so hard that his forearms began to hurt. “All right. You wanna talk? Let’s talk about it. We had sex last night. There. We talked about it.”

  Sylvia clicked her tongue. “I only want to talk because you’re being such a child about it.”

  “I am not.” The moment he realized he said that, Joseph sighed. “Look. Now’s not a good time for me to be fooling around with anyone, let alone someone I’m technically working with. It has nothing to do with… you.”

  “Such a gentleman.”

  “I’m serious. We shouldn’t have had sex last night.”

  “So you regret it?”

  “Yes… I mean no… fuck.”

  “Uh huh.” Why was she laughing? Wasn’t she offended? Any other woman would have been offended by Joseph insinuating that them having sex was a mistake. “You wanted it, though.”

  “Of course I wanted it,” he muttered. “Didn’t I tell you as much?” Took all the restraint in my body to keep me from… that. When he had succumbed, he knew he wasn’t in his right mind. Instinct. That’s what it was. A beautiful woman he knew he enjoyed sex with. A moment of emotional weakness. The need to be with someone sexually. Hurting. Still avoiding the demons lurking within the darkness. What else could Joseph say to explain what had happened? Moment. Of. Weakness.

  Sylvia’s hands fumbled in her lap, her eyes pointed downward. “You know,” she began, voice cracking, “it wasn’t just sex to me. I mean, that’s fine if it was a one-time thing and all, and I definitely don’t think we have a ‘thing’ going on outside of some crazy chemistry, but once we poured our guts out regarding the shit we’ve been through… well, to be quite frank, you talking about your ex-girlfriend made me think we at least had some understanding between us.”

  “That so?”

  “Hey, I’m not deluded enough to think you ‘felt’ something too, but unless you made that story up and are a more convincing actor than your department gives you credit for, you didn’t tell me that stuff just because. Maybe you did it to make me feel better about my bullshit, I dunno. But I felt good when you kissed me. Don’t be a dick about it.”

  I felt good too. Even when his brain was screaming at him not to do it, Joseph had to admit nothing felt sweeter than feeling her lips against his. Her tongue didn’t feel bad against mine either. Sylvia tasted so sweet, her mouth begging for more of him.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “Everything.”

  “You don’t have to feel sorry about what we did up to the moment you kicked me out of your place. That was the part that sucked and made me feel shitty.”

  “I’m sorry for whatever I did to make you feel bad.”

  Sylvia
sighed, hand still clinging to the door handle. “You’re not a bad guy, Joseph. I feel like we could be friends when this is all said and done. Nothing serious, you know? You’ve got your life and I’ve got mine. If we wanna fool around… that’s not a bad thing.”

  “What is this really about?” Joseph couldn’t believe they were still going on about this.

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing? It’s about nothing?”

  “Maybe I’m the one who wants to drop it now.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t get to barbecue me alive and then avoid the grill yourself.”

  “Fine.” Another dramatic sigh filled the car with heavy breaths. “I want to clear the air because you were the first man I’ve been with and didn’t… you know…”

  Joseph understood almost immediately. “I’m the first one in a long time you had sex with purely because you wanted to.” If that didn’t put a lot of pressure on a guy, Joseph didn’t know what did. “Not to make a living.”

  “Technically, the last guy I freely had sex with was Maxwell over a year ago.” She scoffed. “Which is bullshit because I had no idea at the time that he didn’t think of it that way.”

  “I’m sorry.” Joseph didn’t know what else to say.

  “Whatever, right.”

  He finally released the steering wheel, one hand supporting his head while the other curled into a fist at his side. “You were right about Stella being a rebound. Angelica really fucked me up when she dumped me. Stella was… convenient, at the time.” Sylvia wanted to talk about regret? Stella was almost six feet of walking blonde bombshell regret. And now she was making people’s lives – including Angelica’s – miserable with her stupid tell-all bullshit about what it was like in Xavier Crow’s den of sin. Can’t wait to read about our sex life. It had been wild for a time. They both used their undercover guises as an excuse to explore the darker worlds associated with sex. How many times did we perform in front of these people? Including in front of Sylvia? BDSM displays. Sexual intercourse. Back then, Joseph was so deep undercover that he didn’t think twice about it. He was almost… excited… to do it. Stella had definitely been into it. Part of the reason they broke up afterward was because Joseph came to his senses and realized he couldn’t keep a lifestyle like that up. Stella always wanted more. More kink. More rough sex. More risky sex. Stella had caught the exhibitionist bug and wanted to fuck in the middle of parks late at night. Fine thing for a couple of agents to be arrested for indecency.