by CJ Thomas
He stood there with his dick hanging out. “My main residence is private.”
“Even for your Bella?”
He strode over to me and took my shoulders in his tight grip. “You’ll need to earn it.”
“Can I ask you something?”
Kelly nodded, pushing me back into the bedroom and toward my bed.
“Why is Sylvia’s life being threatened?” His eyes widened and I knew he was surprised to hear that I knew. “Madam told me.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Kelly said, pushing me back until the backs of my legs hit the edge of the bed, sending me floating down on top of the comforter. My legs draped over the edge and he fell to his knees, letting his hands run up the length of my legs before wedging the tips of his fingers into the waistline of my underwear. Slowly, he pulled them completely off, revealing my glistening pussy. “This,” he said, playing with the short hair that was growing since Alex and I last got waxed, “needs to go.”
I bit my lip, nodding.
Alex was right. I did find my own version of Nash.
Then Kelly’s mouth fell over my clit, sucking it between his teeth, sending my eyes to the back of my head in orgasmic bliss. Whatever you say, Counselor.
4
Kelly
When Giselle didn’t have her head down, buried in her phone, she kept glancing at me. “I have a bad feeling about this, Kelly.”
“It’s fine,” I said, turning my attention out the window.
We’d been over this before, and rarely did Giselle fight me on something once we’d made our decision. It wasn’t like I didn’t invite debate; I did. But it was the second-guessing on our agreed upon plan that I didn’t like.
My driver, Maxwell, was behind the wheel weaving the vehicle through the city on our way to county to visit Mario. Though I refused to look, I could still feel her gaze boring into the back of my head. “We should really be talking to Nash first,” she said, clearly annoyed.
“We’ve been over this.” My fingers drummed on my thigh. “Nash is out of town.”
“Yes, but he’s the one person who we really need to hear from.”
Giselle wasn’t going to let this go. My muscles tensed a second before I snapped, “Don’t you think we learned enough from Alex? Sylvia? Hell, even Wes?”
Giselle clenched her jaw, holding her chin high, refusing to cower to my anger. God, she was irritating today. But I’d find even more reason to be annoyed with her if she backed down to my raised voice. Weakness was one quality in a human that I found repulsive, especially in our profession.
“It will be fine.” I sighed, taking a deep breath to calm myself down. “Besides, what’s the difference if you still believe Mario is innocent?”
I never did share with her that Wes mentioned Nash having a one-night stand with Sylvia. Sure, that gave reason for Sylvia to want to get back at Nash but without evidence to support any accusations, I wasn’t about to complicate things.
“I can’t stop thinking how long Mario has been sitting in a cell,” Giselle’s voice cracked, “waiting until a little luck comes his way.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it.”
“I know that.” She reached up to touch her hair, noticing that Maxwell had slowed the vehicle just before turning into the parking lot. “Except, to him, we are his luck.”
I eyed the entrance and watched two detectives follow a cop outside. “And there is nothing Nash can say at this point to make us think Mario is anything but innocent.”
“Maybe you’re right, but wouldn’t you like to know for certain?” Giselle undid her buckle and gathered her things.
As soon as the engine shut off, Maxwell jumped out and opened my door. I instructed him to stay close and moved around the back of the vehicle to open Giselle’s door. “Let’s forget this,” I said, taking her by her hand, letting her feet find solid ground. “We’ve both been under tremendous amounts of pressure.”
“You have no idea,” she muttered as if there was more to it than what I knew. But now wasn’t the time to ask. And if it wasn’t business related, I didn’t want to hear it.
“It isn’t fair to Mario if we leave any doubt we aren’t capable of doing our jobs.”
Giselle nodded in agreement and smoothed her hand down the front of her skirt as we marched into the building with our heads held high. We passed security without an issue and found Mario already waiting in a visitation room. “Make my client comfortable,” I snapped my fingers at the guard, “and please, for God’s sake, take those cuffs off of him.”
Mario rubbed his wrists once the cuffs were removed, and Giselle situated herself next to me on the opposite side of the metal table. “How are you doing, Mario?” I asked.
“Good.” He glanced up at me. “Considering.”
He seemed a bit more down than the last time I’d seen him, and I’d been around the block long enough to recognize when a man was losing hope. It went through a series of stages. First, anger. Second, fear. Third—worst of them all—depression.
“Anything we can do to make your stay more comfortable?”
Mario gave me an arched look. “You can get me out of here.”
“We’re working on it,” Giselle said.
Mario turned his head to her. “Did you speak with Nash?”
My fingers worked to undo the buttons of my jacket before taking a seat. Giselle’s tailbone sat gingerly on the edge of hers and she was already reading the paperwork she’d spread out in front of her. “Unfortunately,” she flicked her eyes up to meet Mario’s, “Mr. Jimenez, Nash Brooks is out of town.”
“So you didn’t get to speak with him?” Mario gave a stony expression.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on top of the table. “What was it you wanted us to hear Nash say, exactly?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Mario flipped his palms up to the ceiling, rolling his eyes over to me. “That he did this.” He swallowed hard, like he had something stuck in his throat. “I didn’t kill her. He did.”
I shared a glance with Giselle. It was what Sylvia wanted us to believe, too.
“What makes you believe Nash is guilty?” Giselle calmly asked.
Mario put his hands beneath the table and leaned forward until his chest dug into its edge. “He was after the missing money, and he was the one who knew Maria. Until I was arrested and shown a picture of her,” the crease between his brows deepened, “I had never seen her face in my life.” Mario shifted his gaze over to me. “I thought you were the best there was.”
“Mr. Black is the best,” Giselle said firmly, leaving no room for argument. “But if you’re having doubts,” she paused, “you’re free to take your chances with a public defender.”
All the air in the room was sucked out as the two of them stared into each other’s eyes.
“Fuck,” Mario huffed, “I might as well just plead guilty if I go down that road.”
“Then we’ll be staying.” Giselle nodded.
Mario looked at me and narrowed his gaze. “Then we better move on to the next order of business.”
My brows raised. “That’s why I’m here.”
“Blake Stone.” Mario titled his head to the side. “Are you still interested to learn what I know about him?”
I pressed my lips together, my thoughts smoothing themselves out, holding his stare. Then it hit me. I shut the folder I had open out in front of me and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Jimenez, but I can’t represent you.”
Mario’s face pinched. “Are you serious?”
“Kelly—” Giselle angled her body toward me, disbelief etched across her face.
I held up my index finger to her and fixed my gaze firmly on Mario’s brown eyes. “You heard me.” I pushed my chair back and stood. “And, yes, I’m serious. Representing you would be a mistake.”
Giselle’s mouth fell open as I turned and left the room. I told the guards that I was finished and heard Giselle’s heels clacking quickly behind me to catch up. “What was tha
t about?” she asked.
“We’ll talk about it in the car.” I quickened my pace.
“Kelly,” Giselle widened her stride to keep up, “we can’t do that to Mario.”
The second we rounded the corner, I nearly stumbled into Oscar Buchanan, District Attorney. “Kelly Black.” He smirked, his hands hiding in his pockets.
“Not now, Oscar.” I purposely plowed my shoulder into his as I passed.
“What’s wrong, Kelly, lose another case? Did justice prevail?” His laugh followed me all the way outside.
I didn’t have time for Oscar’s bullshit, and especially not with Giselle on my ass about to explode on me for the decision I just made in choosing to not represent Mario.
As soon as Maxwell saw me storming for the vehicle, he pulled forward, hopped out, and opened my door for me to slide inside without a hitch. Giselle followed my lead a second later with words flying. “What the hell just happened in there? And why couldn’t you have given me a heads up?” As soon as she shut her door, Maxwell set the wheels in motion. “Fuck, Kelly. You have some explaining to do. I hope you know what it is you’re doing, because it’s not fair of you to blindside me like that.”
I remained quiet, choosing to let her get all she had to say off her chest before I explained to her our new plan.
“I thought we were in agreement on this one.” She arched a brow and refused to take her eyes off of me. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“Are you done?” My voice was calm, quiet.
“I’m ready to listen.” She leaned back and squared her shoulders.
“Weren’t you the one who didn’t like us going in to speak with Mario before first talking with Nash?”
“That’s what this is about?”
“Not quite.”
“Kelly, if we don’t help Mario, no one will.” She shoved her hand through her hair and turned her head away. “You know Oscar is gunning for him to go down for this.” Her head snapped back to me.
“I realized something in there,” I said, picking a piece of lint off my thigh. “Representing Mario would be impossible if we’re going to also take on Blake Stone as a client.”
Her eyes popped wide-open.
I nodded. “That’s right. Stone is our new priority.”
“Look, Kelly. You know I’m up for the challenge, but we can’t just let Mario hope for the best. Oscar will eat his case alive. You and I both know that.”
I stroked my chin, appreciating the smoothness of a freshly shaven face. It was mornings like these that I lived for. Surprises. Turns of events. A reason for my blood to pump through my heart as if my life depended on it. Giselle might not be seeing the bigger picture as clearly as I was, but she’d come around. That much was certain.
“If we’re going to represent Stone, I can’t also represent a client who is going to offer up information that would put him away,” my eyebrows raised as I nodded once, “because that’s what seems like was about to happen in there. Wasn’t it?”
Giselle’s blue eyes darted across my face. “What the hell are you up to, Kelly Black?”
The corners of my lips curled up into a grin.
“And who are you going to have represent Mario?”
Reaching inside my jacket pocket, I pulled out a business card. “Call him,” I said, handing Giselle the card.
“And what is it you would like me to discuss with him?”
“That’s who will represent Mario.” Her face tightened. “Tell him I told you to call.” She pinched the card in the corner and glanced down, reading it. “And Giselle?”
She looked up from under her bangs.
“Let him know that my request is urgent.”
5
Kendra
“Either your hair grows much faster than mine, or your man has made a request.” Alex smirked when she found me in the spa lounge sipping a mimosa.
I crossed my leg over my knee and swung my foot. “Hun,” I said speaking to the six-foot hunk behind the counter, “could you be a doll and please bring my friend here a drink?”
“That’s all right.” Alex turned to the man and waved him off. “Too early for me.”
The man looked to me for a definitive answer.
“No, really.” I nodded. “Her tight ass needs to loosen up. Make the woman a drink.” I winked.
He glanced at Alex, nodding as if seeing what I saw. Alex was stiff, and I knew the reason why, but it wasn’t worth saying anything in front of the handsome man now stirring up a drink for her. I’d been chatting him up from the moment I arrived, and since Alex was running late, she only deserved to obey the demands I made for her. Besides, having one drink wasn’t like I was asking the world of her.
Alex glared at me.
“Or shall I say,” my brows raised, “your tight ass needs to be loosened up?”
The man handed her a tall glass of orange juice bubbly. “You’re disgusting.”
I swung my foot to the floor and stood. “C’mon, let’s go,” I said, hooking my arm in the crook of hers while slamming back what remained of my second drink. “No time to waste. I’ve got a little trimmin’ up to do.”
“So, what is it?” Alex looked over at me as we headed back to our usual room. “Does your hair grow exceptionally fast or is there some other reason you’re here today?”
“Okay, fine.” I stopped, turned and faced her, and let out a long, low sigh. “Since you won’t shut up about it.” My gaze shifted to look down the hall just as Mr. Handsome Drink Man passed. If Nash never came back, I would hook him up with Alex. He looked like a fun toy to play with. “Kelly wants me to keep a landing strip.”
Alex covered her mouth, and though I couldn’t see her lips, I could see it in her eyes—the way they began to water—that she was stifling a burst of laughter.
“You can laugh.” My hands rooted on my hips. “It’s okay. I can take it.”
She hurled over and busted up laughing. I stood there and took it just as I said I would. And when she came back up with a purple face, she said, “He’s a lawyer, not a pilot. What the hell does he need a landing strip for?”
I tugged on her arm, needing to find my place of exile before anybody walked by and overheard our conversation. “It’s better than the love triangle I gave him.”
Alex giggled her ass off the entire way into the room. But when she didn’t make a move for a robe, or make any indication she was going to remove her clothes, I pinched my brow and gave her a look.
“What?” She shrugged. “We were just here.”
“And you’re telling me nothing has poked through? No roots to pluck?”
Alex plopped her butt down in an empty chair. “Nash is away, so what’s the point? It’s not like I’ll be getting any anytime soon.”
“That’s the spirit.” I rolled my eyes, my words laced with sarcasm, as I began to undress.
“Besides, I only came because I needed a break from work. I can’t stay long.” She looked down at the drink she was still holding and finally decided that drinking in the morning was the way to go. “Nash is sending tons of work my way and expects it all to be done come tomorrow morning.”
“That guy is an asshole.” I snickered, unclasping my bra, letting my twins hang free.
“And I’m already behind on work.” She took another sip. “This isn’t so bad,” she said peering down into her glass.
“Like I’d suggest you drink something bad?” The side of my face scrunched up like an accordion. “How is Nash, anyway? You still wearing that little number while video chatting?”
“He’s busy. We haven’t been talking as much as we did when he first left.”
“But he still sends you flowers.”
“Yeah,” she sang.
I stepped out of my panties and moved to the wall where the robes where hanging. I plucked one off the hook and turned to Alex. “Do you ever worry he’s not being loyal?”
“Why would you say that?” Alex’s nostrils flared.
“It’s just a question.” My eyes rounded as I pulled the robe over my shoulders. “Once a playboy, always a playboy,” I muttered under my breath.
“I knew I shouldn’t have come.” Alex reached for her drink and swallowed down a healthy gulp. “Are you asking because you’re doubting Kelly’s loyalty?”
“Our arrangement is different,” I said, lying back on the cushioned table.
We all had our doubts and nagging insecurities, but I wasn’t about to admit mine. Even to Alex. Maybe there would be a time that would make sense, but I was feeling rather spirited today and I didn’t intend to ruin what was setting up to be a perfectly good day.
“I know Nash is totally into you.”
“Thanks. That makes me feel a whole lot better.” Alex’s tone was sarcastic. Then she picked up a magazine from the table and snickered. “Have you read this?” She held up the cover of the tabloid for me to see.
“Isn’t that William Wade?”
“AKA Big Willy.” She burst out laughing.
“Huh?”
“So you haven’t read the article?” She turned the magazine around so I could see the cover. “It’s been out for ages.” She glanced up at me.
I shook my head.
Alex pulled the magazine back into her lap and flipped to the story she was referring to. “Here. Read this.”
I took the magazine from her and began skimming the story. “What is it with this town? Does every man have a dick the size of an elephant?”
“So what if they do?”
My eyes scanned more of the article and I felt my lips tug to my ears. “You’re right. This is funny. Big Willy.” I rolled my head over to Alex. “How much do you think he paid to have this article written about him?”
“Big bucks I’m sure.” Alex shrugged her shoulders.
When the room fell quiet, I broke the awkward silence by saying, “I never did tell you what happened with Kelly yesterday, did I?”
“You mean after you refused to talk about…well, you know.”
She was referring to my rape, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk about it. Because I knew she would only worry about me, question Kelly’s intentions, and be concerned about Kelly setting off another trigger. “Anyway, the dude totally went detective on my place.”