by KB Winters
“Give it to me, master.”
“That’s Mistress to you. Oh, even better Mistress of Knowledge.”
“Okay Mistress of Knowledge, what’s your advice?”
“What? Oh, right. My advice is for you to treat everyone you’re not sure about, Beck and the old dude sidekick of hers, Charlie, Savannah, everyone. Treat them all like fucking perps.”
“Perps? Did you just say perps?”
“Tease all you like, Jamie, but I watch enough true crime that I’m familiar with the lingo. I’m probably more cop than you are at this point.”
She was joking. Of course, she was joking.
“Very funny,” I shot back.
“Who’s joking?”
“Maddie,” I groaned.
“It’s the truth whether that hurts your law enforcement sensibilities or not, Jamie. Treat them like perps.”
“So treat everyone with suspicion?”
“No. One of the things I’ve learned by observing the Ashbys is that knowledge is the real power. The more knowledge you have, the more you can use it to gain even more knowledge. So use what you have to get a little bit more. Find out what makes Agent Beck tick and your life might get easier by increments. Just an idea.”
“So, wait a minute. Your advice is to dig into the background of a federal agent?”
“Why not? You don’t think she dug into your background to see if she could find anything to hold over your head? I’m sure she’s looked into you.”
“You sure you haven’t met her before?”
“I haven’t had the pleasure, thank fuckness. But I did overhear Kat say that Beck thinks the Ashbys killed her father. Maybe that’s the kind of intel you can use to make your life a little easier, and if not easier, more bearable.”
“Thanks Madds. You’re the best.”
“I am pretty great, aren’t I?” Her tone was serious but she ruined the effect by laughing. “My pleasure, Jamie. Always.”
“Go out with me, Maddie. On a real date. Get all dressed up and let me pick you up. The whole nine.”
Silence fell on the other end of the call, and suddenly, I was nervous. Did I misread the situation? “If I get dressed up, can I drive myself?”
“You can drive over to my place, but I’m driving, Madds.”
She let out another throaty laugh. “Me man, me drive on date.” After another round of laughter, she finally agreed. “That works for me. Make sure you wear something sexy for me, big boy.”
Before I could say another word, the crazy woman ended the call.
With a smile and a renewed sense of what I needed to do, I jumped back on my bike and rode just for the fucking pleasure of the ride.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Madison
“I can’t believe I bought a new dress for a date.” Sure, it was a date with Jameson, technically our first date, but still, I bought a new dress. And what’s more? I spent three hundred bucks on the dress! I could afford it and then some, but aside from the bridesmaid dress I wore for Maisie’s wedding, this was the most expensive dress that had ever caressed my body.
I fucking loved it.
The fabric was soft, and the shopgirl said it was luxe, whatever the hell that meant. She said it was all right to try something other than a little black dress. I smiled at that good news because the deep blue dress had caught my eye from the moment I spotted it in the display window. It clung to the few curves I possessed, and the soft fabric highlighted my boobs and made me look petite everywhere else. I looked at myself from all angles in the full-length mirror with a satisfied smile.
“Damn, I’m hot,” I said with a smile. Still in awe that a man like Jamie asked me out. I’d never—in my whole life of trailer parks—had a man so deliciously amazing lust after me.
I’d found a pair of sexy black heels and figured it couldn’t be a bad thing to look sexy and touchable on a first real date with Jameson.
I looked good. Sexy. Like really fucking hot, for the first time in my whole damn life, and I couldn’t stop smiling. The only thing that could have made this night better was if Molly was here to see me looking like this. To give me advice, to point out a few strands of straight hair I’d forgotten to curl in back or remind me that I needed to do my lipstick right before leaving.
But she wasn’t here. Not yet anyway.
A knock sounded on my door. “Come in,” I called out.
“Hey Maddie,” he started to say when he walked into my room and then stopped in his tracks. “Damn girl, where are you going all dressed up?”
Cal’s green eyes gave me a very thorough once-over before he dramatically clutched his hands to his chest. “Wow.”
I turned with a smile, and yeah, a hint of a blush at his words.
“Thanks, Cal. What’s up?”
He dropped down on the bed, all casual like, and stared at me. “What’s up? That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
I sighed, knowing he wouldn’t let up until I gave him a few breadcrumbs. “I have a date.”
“With?”
“Jameson.”
“Ellison? Charlie’s kid brother?”
When I nodded without giving him anything else, he said, “But I thought you guys were just friends?”
“We are. We were, I guess. But he asked me out on a real date.”
“Good job, girl. Jameson is a good man.” His words sounded right, but his far-off gaze left me wondering if this was jealousy or genuine worry.
“Just be careful, Maddie. People always seem to end up dead or missing when they hang out with the Ashbys and the Bastards.”
I let out a loud, snarky laugh and shook my head.
“He’s not a Bastard, and I’m not an Ashby, so by your logic, we should both be safe.”
I knew Cal’s thoughts were colored by Bonnie’s murder, and I didn’t want to minimize that.
“You know what I mean, Maddie.”
“I do, Cal, and I’m grateful to have someone like you looking out for me. But the truth is that my sister might be dead, likely murdered, and it has nothing at all to do with your family or Jamie’s.”
I was still hopeful that Molly was out there and even more hopeful that I’d run into her on my next trip to the diner, but Calvin was right about one thing. These days, death seemed inevitable.
“Molly isn’t dead, Maddie.”
Without missing a beat, I snapped, “You don’t know that!” I appreciated his hope and optimism, but I had to approach this with a measure of logic, or I’d set myself up for hurt and failure.
“In fact, I do. She’s not at that little diner in the desert anymore. She’s up near Reno under a different name. Polly Bennett.”
My gaze landed on Cal’s satisfied smile as the shock turned my stomach. “How do you know this? Are you for real?”
Before he could answer, I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed tight. “I can’t believe you did this! It’s amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Uncomfortable with all the praise and affection, especially after telling him I’d rip his balls off, Cal peeled me off of him and took a step back.
“You’ve been a really good friend to me, Madison. Better than I deserve, and I wanted you to have some answers about your sister. So I kept digging. I wrote a quick algo on facial recognition and hacked into all the cameras on the west coast. And I found her.”
“You did what? Algo? What?”
“Computer shit. Just, don’t expect perfect, Maddie. She’s been through a lot and chances are she won’t be the same girl you remember. Bonnie, the way you knew her, wasn’t the same woman I met at first. Not even close.”
His words brought me up short, like a big fat safety pin that was slowly letting all the air out of a balloon. I nodded. “I’ll figure it out. But I’m so fucking grateful to you for this, dude. Truly. Fucking. Grateful.”
“Friends look out for one another.” He pressed a brotherly kiss to my forehead and smiled. “Have fun on your date tonight.”
>
“Oh, I plan to,” I called back with a smile.
I gave myself one final glance in the mirror, touched up my lips, and made my way to Jameson’s place. I didn’t know what I was more excited about, having a new lead on Molly or my date with Jameson.
It was a tossup, at least until Jamie opened the door and set my panties on fire. “Hot damn, Jamie, you look good enough to eat.”
His lips curled into a sexy grin as he took in my appearance, starting with the beachy waves that took an hour to achieve. He worked his way down, so slowly that his gaze was like a soft, lover’s caress all over my body.
“You look beautiful, Madison.” The words came out on a growl that made me feel beautiful for the first time in my life. Before I could come up with some sarcastic comment, Jamie pulled me in close and devoured my mouth for several long, hot minutes. “So fucking gorgeous.”
“Well, thanks.” I took a step closer and Jameson put a hand on my shoulder.
“Nope. Not now. If you come inside now, we won’t leave until morning, and we have a date.”
Bummer. “Lead the way, handsome.”
Jamie adjusted the impressive erection trying to break free of his slacks and put a hand to my lower back, guiding me right back to my car.
“Nice ride.”
“Thanks.”
“Can’t wait to drive it.”
He slid behind the wheel and steered us into light traffic. “Feels good, right, Madds?”
I ran a hand over the dashboard with a gentle smile. “It feels really damn good, not just to have something that’s mine but to know that I paid for it. That I could actually afford to pay for it. Cash money.”
“I’m happy for you, Madds.”
“Thanks, Jamie.” It took about twenty minutes before we arrived at one of the smaller casinos on the outskirts of the tri-city area, but I was happy with the choice.
“I didn’t even know places like this still existed!” It was total old school Las Vegas with a dinner and a show, waitresses dressed up in sexy little tuxedos, offering up everything from loose cigarettes to cocktails and appetizers. It was the perfect backdrop for this date, my first grownup first date.
“It’s not too much? Too cheesy?”
I shrugged. “I love cheese.”
“Good to know,” he said around a chuckle and guided me to our table. A half circle booth with high backs for extra privacy without impeding our view of the show on stage. “How was your week?”
“It was good, mostly uneventful. Except for one thing.” I couldn’t deny that I was bursting to share my news with Jameson because he, of all people, knew how important this was to me.
“And a date with me is why you’re bouncing in your seat?”
I froze at his words and laughed. “Actually, yes. That’s part of it, I mean you do look pretty hot tonight. But that’s not the only reason.”
He waited, amusement tickling his smile while I gathered up the courage to say out loud my news. “Calvin may have found Molly. Well, I haven’t officially seen her, but he gave me the information on her new identity, Polly Bennett, and that’s almost the same thing. She’s up in Reno. I’m going to drive up there tomorrow. How cool is that?”
“Pretty fucking cool,” he agreed with a crooked smile that I felt all the way down to my toes. “You know if you wait until the weekend, I can go with you.”
I sighed. He was right. “It’s just, I mean…she has a new name, so that means she’s safe, right? Out of the clutches of the sex traffickers? And with Mueller and the Crusaders gone, she should be okay, right? I just need to get up there and find her. I do wonder why she hasn’t attempted to reach out to me. Not that she’d know where to reach out to. I gave that waitress lady my number to give to her, but if Molly moved up to Reno, I’m not sure that lady would have seen her after I left.”
I hated that ideas like that were invading my mind when I should be floating on a cloud, not injecting self-doubt in my heart.
“Maybe she doesn’t know it. Maybe she’s still afraid for you, Madds. Who’s to say she knows Mueller’s dead?”
“How could she not know? It’s been all over the news.” Another thought hit me. What if Molly hadn’t left San Bernardino just to get away from Mom and her latest boyfriend du jour? What if she’d been trying to get away from me, too?
“Never mind. I’m done obsessing about it. Let’s just enjoy our evening.”
“You think she ran away from you, too.”
I blinked. Was he reading my thoughts now?
“No, no I don’t.” That was a little too much realism on a night when I wanted the fantasy.
“You do, and that’s okay, Maddie. You’re allowed to have feelings about this.”
“I don’t want to have feelings about this, Jamie. I want to find Molly, and I’ve spent more than a year searching for her. Only now, when I’m so close, did it even occur to me that maybe she just doesn’t want to be found. Not by me, anyway.”
“Look at me, Madds.” I shook my head, and he reached over and grabbed my chin to force my gaze to his. “Remember what she’s been through. She was almost certainly trafficked and everything that goes along with that. Maybe she’s embarrassed or ashamed. Maybe she doesn’t want you to see how she is right now. I saw Savannah when Charlie rescued her, and that shit wasn’t pretty.”
“So don’t give up?”
“I can’t tell you what to do, but the woman I know isn’t a quitter.”
“No? What is she?” My question was playful and flirtatious because, goddammit, this was a date, not a fucking therapy session.
“She’s strong and sexy,” he said and circled a thumb around my shoulder. “She’s tough as fucking nails, funny and sweet.” His fingertip slid across my collarbone in a slow, dragging, back and forth movement. “She’s hotter than she knows.”
“Wow. She’s all that? Sounds pretty amazing.”
I don’t think anyone in the world, not even Molly, thought all those great things about me. It was intoxicating. Like I mattered. For the first time in my life, I mattered to someone.
“She’s pretty fucking amazing, Maddie.”
I leaned in closer and brushed a whisper-soft kiss to his lips.
“I think you’re pretty fucking amazing, Jamie.” From there, the kiss spiraled out of control, and I was grateful for the private booth as his hand slid up my thigh and found my panties wet and my pussy swollen for him. Only for him. I pulled back with a sleepy smile, my body on fire for what came next.
“How about you invite me back to your place for a nightcap?”
A deep chuckle sounded as his thumb circled my clit through my panties. “Hey Madds, after dinner, do you wanna come back to my place for a nightcap?”
“Mmm, I thought you’d never ask.” I kissed him again and I couldn’t stop smiling. “This is the best first date I’ve ever had, minus all the sad bastard talk.”
“That made it even better, Maddie, because we’re friends first. Everything else comes after that. Everything.”
I rolled my eyes but my lips curled into another unstoppable grin. “Everything? Promises, promises.”
We ordered some fancy steak and frites and sat back and watched the show.
Exactly how I hoped our date would go.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jameson
Once we got back to my place, I knew Maddie needed a distraction from thoughts of her sister abandoning her. And what better way than to lose herself in a few hours of carnal pleasure. Hell, I needed the same distraction, so I was happy to oblige.
She was hungry for it. For me, actually. And that was enough to make me hard as she pushed me down on the sofa, dark intent turning her light brown eyes the color of melted gold. If nothing else, the girl was determined to forget, to lose herself in a good fuck, and I was just as determined.
“You with me, Jamie?”
I nodded slowly and licked my lips, letting my gaze rake over her heaving chest because Maddie’s tits were a t
hing of beauty and tonight she’d dressed up, just for me. The blue dress had my fingers itching all night to peel it off so I could feast on her sweet body.
“Right here, Madds.”
“Good.” Determination transformed her features into something darker. Something erotic. Then she came closer and straddled my hips before she put her lips to mine. The kiss came slowly at first, like a timid little kitten, but as it went on, as Maddie explored, our kiss intensified and she began to grind on my cock. Hard and slow, every stroke making her breath catch, the sound making me hard and ready to fuck. She pulled back with a dark but playful smile. “Jamie.”
“Right here, Madds.”
She wiggled again. “Yes, yes you are.” She moaned when my hips thrust up, bringing the hard length of my cock up against the thin layer of panty covering her pussy. “A lot,” she repeated and slid off my lap and down to the floor, between my legs.
Holy fucking shit, was she about to suck me off? “Maddie.”
Her hands went to the waistband of my slacks and her gaze met mine.
“Yeah, that’s my name, only I want to hear you growl it.” She smacked my hips and I lifted them so she could yank down my pants and my boxer briefs. “Damn, that’s a pretty cock.”
“Pretty?” The word came out on a strangled groan as her soft hands gripped my cock and squeezed.
“Yeah, pretty. And thick. I bet it tastes like heaven.” She slid down and put the tip of her tongue to the spot behind my balls and licked, slowly until she was at the little bead of pre-come at the tip of my cock.”
“Madds…Maddie,” I groaned and dropped my head back when her thick lips circled the head of my cock. Despite her confidence, Maddie wasn’t all that experienced. The blow job was clumsy but, fuck me, it got the job done. Her full lips were wet and her mouth was hot, but more than that she wanted to suck my cock, wanted to make me growl her name and that was hot as fuck.
“Mmm,” she moaned around my cock and took me deeper, choking on the length but she didn’t let it stop her, she kept going, practically impaling her throat on my cock and moaning like it was her favorite flavor of ice cream.