“I sell my body to rich, horny women. What can I say, business is good,” he says, arrogantly walking away. The asshole probably does … trick rich, old women into giving him money.
I watch him get on his bike, put on his helmet, and take off, and I swear he winks at me as he flies by. I wonder what he does all day. It certainly isn’t selling his body … I don’t think. I need to find out. As soon as I get to work, I search everything to find him, but there is no record of him anywhere. Now I am even more curious about him. What kind of man has a name that doesn’t exist? A criminal, for sure. I’m just not sure what kind.
“Austin, come on, we have a call to get to,” Jamee yells. I grab my coat, and we run out the door to check out a double murder.
The scene is gruesome, a robbery gone wrong it would seem, but I don’t believe it. Somebody did this to this couple to prove something, to send a message. Aaron walks in, looking over my shoulder while I check out the woman’s hands. “The best we can tell is the husband was a campaign manager for Michael Colletto. I assume he wouldn’t kill his own manager.”
“Why would anyone do this to a man who seemingly has nothing to do with organized crime?”
“This man might not, but Colletto does,” Aaron reminds me.
“They tortured the man and made his wife watch; they must have wanted him to tell them something. Why do this for no reason?” I ask, looking at the ultrasound picture the woman was clutching in her hand before she hemorrhaged to death. While I am knelt down at the woman’s side, I see something under a nearby table. “What’s that?” Reaching under the table, I find an English book.
“What is it?” Jamee asks.
“It’s a text book, a teacher’s edition with notes in it.” I look up at Aaron. “She was tutoring someone. The notes are dated for yesterday.” I scramble to my feet and begin searching for her cell phone.
“What are you looking for?”
“Her phone.”
“Billy! Billy found it,” Aaron says, racing to the stairs to wait for him.
Billy walks down the stairs with his eyebrows raised. “Yeah?”
“What did you do with her phone?” Aaron asks.
“I bagged it and put it with the rest of the evidence. Why?”
“How did you find it?” I ask.
“It was beeping and vibrating from a corner upstairs. Someone was texting her that he was going to be late for class,” he says. I look at Aaron, and he smiles back at me. “What? What’s happening?”
“I think we have a witness,” I say happily.
“A live one at that,” Aaron follows.
“You know I hate this twin bullshit. I never know what’s going on. Maybe one of you could fill me in.”
We explain to Billy, as well as Jamee, about our suspicions, and sure enough, they are correct. Mrs. Martin was set to tutor Nelson Boone near the same time they were killed. Now, we just have to find him. Unfortunately, Nelson is a known runaway and has only recently been getting back on track with the help of the Martins. The chances of us finding him are not good, but the good news is no one else will be able to find him easily either.
It’s been an exhausting day, and by the time I get home, the market is packed, and I have to make a decision on whether it’s worth waiting in line for soup or surrender to the canned soup I have in the apartment. Then, he walks in. I stand up a little straighter and watch him casually wander the store, picking up fresh vegetables and spices as if he knows what to do with them. He doesn’t notice me until he gets in line. I quickly turn away to let him know I am not the least bit interested in talking to him. I race back to the building and try to get to the elevator before he gets in, but I don’t manage to get the elevator doors closed before he gets on with a new girl. She is all over him, biting his lip and moaning at his every touch of her body. I can barely find a place to look without noticing them. By the time we get to my floor, I can’t get around them before the doors shut again. It’s like he does these things on purpose. We ride all the way to the top, a penthouse loft. He’s in the penthouse? When the doors open, I sit back against the wall. He doesn’t say a word as he glances my way and walks out of the elevator with the latest casualty to women’s lib. Whispering in her ear and rubbing his hand over her body, he escorts her into his lair with no apologies. And here I am … wondering how it feels to be her.
Chapter 9
Austin
Trying to find a runaway in this city is impossible. I might as well be trying to find a needle in a haystack. The only lead I can find on this kid is that he used to buy drugs from Merlin. Merlin is a small time drug dealer we have arrested a few times, but it rarely sticks since he usually gives up someone else to save his own neck.
“There’s the loser now.” Jamee points out Merlin rounding the corner. We both jump out of the car, and immediately, he takes off running. He really needs to stop smoking. We jog to keep up with him and wait until he hits the fence that we know he will never make it over.
Jamee and I both stand at the bottom, waiting for him to finally fall back to the ground. “Give up, Merlin. You’re never going to make it. Besides, we only want to talk.”
“Talk, my ass! Last time you two wanted to talk I had to hide out for three months.” He grunts and groans as he tries to pull himself over the seven foot fence. Jamee shakes her head at me. “Alright we don’t have all day.” I grab his leg and pull him to the ground. “Help! Help! Police brutality! Help they are hurting me¸ hurting me bad. Oh so bad,” he cries, flopping around on the ground.
“Oh shut up. We haven’t touched you, but I swear I will if you don’t quit,” Jamee says.
I grab his collar, pick him up off the ground, and put him back on his feet to his shock. “If you try running again I will shoot you in the foot,” I say to him.
“Don’t worry. I think I busted a lung on that last run,” he says, taking out a pack of smokes. “So what do the queens of the police force want today?” I take out Nelson’s picture and show it to him. “Oh Nelson, yeah what about him? I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Do you know him well enough to know where he might hide out?” I ask.
“Nope. All I know about him is that he likes comic books and weed. If you want to know more, I would checkout runaway row, down at 9th and Ponce. Those kids know every runaway there is, but I doubt they talk to you two.”
“Can you talk to them for us Merlin? It’s really important. This kid possibly witnessed a murder, and we need to find him before the wrong people do.”
Merlin nods. “He’s a good kid. Helped me out a few times. I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t make any promises.”
“That’s all we ask. Thanks Merlin,” I say, punching his arm playfully as Jamee does the same.
“Owe! Damn it! If I bruise, I’m suing!” he yells as we leave him be.
When we get back to the station, our shift is technically over, so I try to sneak in some work to try and locate this kid before it is too late.
“Reed! What are you doing?” my captain asks as he catches me hiding behind my computer screen.
“I was just finishing up some paperwork.”
“Well finish up your paperwork and take a couple of days off before getting back to work. You are over your hours already,” he yells. “I don’t need your father on my ass any more than he already is about budgets.”
The paperwork has never bothered me, but the idea of a few days off, with no clue of what to do with my free time … “Oh, sir, I am happy to come in and help out with filing or …”
“Reed, no. Go home. Do whatever it is you do when you’re not here and enjoy it.”
“I swear, Austin, you have got to be the lamest partner ever.” Jamee crashes into her seat looking me over. “Why don’t you go out, go get laid or something, anything to loosen up that tight ass of yours? I mean, I love you and all, but I can’t take much more of your overenthusiastic love for your job. It’s a job, one that I thought would be exciting but most of
the time it turns out to be nothing but paperwork. And the pay is for shit. I really need to find a rich husband. I would quit this in a heartbeat if I did.”
“I think you would be back. You know you’d miss this place,” I say to her.
“I most certainly would not! I can adapt very easily to being taken care of and living the high life.” She puts her feet up on her desk, checking her email and shopping for new clothes while I fill out our reports.
I roll my eyes. “If you have some place better to be, feel free to go.”
“Are you sure? I would hate to put you out, keep you from … Oh what am I talking about?! You never go anywhere interesting, and you certainly don’t have anyone to go home to. Thanks. See ya,” she says, grabbing her coat and running out the door before I can even think of changing my mind.
When I finish my paperwork, I think of asking my brother and Billy if they have plans tonight, but they are already gone too. I head home and hope that Preston may be home and available to go see a movie or something. I really should stop being a homebody and get out and … most certainly get laid. It’s been since … since, I don’t even remember. Oh shit.
I get a sudden rush of excitement when I do indeed find Preston at home making himself something to eat. “Hey, you are home. You would not believe my day. How about before you take that bite of food we go out to dinner and then maybe a movie. We can catch up on each other’s week?”
“Breathe girl. Don’t worry. I won’t rush out the door and leave you here alone. I think dinner sounds good …” he tosses his food in the trash after taking one bite, “Because these leftovers are awful. However, no movie.”
“Why not?”
“Because sitting in the dark is depressing; we might as well sit here and … no, we are not doing that either. We are going to get dressed up and go out and have fun.” My shoulders sink as I sigh. “No pouting. Surely we can find something in your closet that isn’t so manly.”
“I’m not manly.”
“No, you just tend to dress like one. If I didn’t know better, I would think you were gay.”
“Maybe I am,” I say causing him to laugh. “What?”
“Nothing, but I have never known a gay woman get all nuts over a man before.”
“What man have I gone nuts for … ever?”
“Hmmm … I don’t know.” He hums wandering into my room and opening up my closet. I chase after him and stomp my foot with crossed arms, waiting for him to explain. He sorts through my closet, trying to ignore me. “You can stand there all day pretending you don’t know who I am talking about, but you were dreaming about him the other night, and it sounded like it was a hot and heavy dream.” I step back in shock. Oh shit! I didn’t realize that dream had gotten so vocal. “So you have been dreaming about him. I knew it!”
“You liar! I haven’t been dreaming about anyone.”
“Oh Dace, ohhhh, touch me there, and ohhh I love when you …” I throw a pillow at him as I crash onto my bed, wanting to deny it. I don’t know why I can’t get that distasteful piece of shit out of my head. “I still can’t believe you let him put his tongue in your mouth.”
“I didn’t let him. He caught me off guard.”
“You?! Ha, I don’t think so. I think you would have fucked him right there if he had asked. I don’t blame you, he is ….”
“Disgusting. A beastly …”
“Hunk of a man! Those deep blue eyes and that dark wavy hair, I could run my fingers through it all day long. And did you see how tight his undershirt was on his chest. I saw him drive up on that motorcycle the other day. Damn that man is … well all man and more.”
“Aren’t you seeing someone, like his brother?”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, Antony is amazing, a great body albeit thinner than his brother’s and he has that bad boy persona that makes my knees weak, but he doesn’t have Dace’s piercing eyes and confidence. If I were you, I would play a little hard to get before you fuck him.”
“I am not going to fuck him. What good would that do?”
“What good would it do? Oh my, it has been awhile for you, so long, you have surely forgotten what sex feels like.” I huff at him. “Don’t get upset just put this on.”
“What’s this?”
“It’s called a dress and high heels. I was surprised too that you would have such a thing.” I hold it up to me, and we both snarl at it. “It’s not sexy at all, but I can fix that.” He runs out of the room, yelling at me to stay away until he’s done. He comes back and has done some horrible things to a dress that once was modest and somewhat fit me.
“I don’t think this is going to fit me now.”
“Sure it will. It will fit better than anything you own, trust me. Now get dressed while I go do what little I need to in order to look Ahhh-mazing myself.”
I managed to get the awkward dress on, and after a lot of coaxing, I even take my coat off before sitting down to dinner. “So I am all dressed up. Where exactly are we going after dinner? Dancing? To see a band? Or watch a movie?” I murmur the later quietly to Preston as he quickly stops texting and shoves his phone into his pocket. I narrow my eyes at him, but he ignores my obvious distrust of his actions and begins talking about something else. “Preston! Who were you talking to?” I ask him over and over again all the way through dinner before he finally gives.
“Oh my god! You are insanely persistent. Fine, I was texting Antony. He wants to meet up.”
“Don’t you ditch me! This is our time; you promised!”
“I would never do that. I wouldn’t even think of it.”
I watch him closely as he looks everywhere but at me. “You’re going to make me the third wheel then?” He shakes his head and smiles. “Oh no, no Preston. Who is it? Who are you forcing me to deal with all night while you canoodle with your boyfriend?”
“Canoodle? Really?” He snickers at me.
“Stop stalling and tell me …” I say as Antony walks into the room with some flowers. Oh boy.
He leans over Preston and kisses his cheek respectively as he hands him the flawless display of flora. “Hello, Handsome. How was your day?” Antony says smoothly, causing me to get a little excited, and it causes Preston to actually giggle like a school girl as his love sits down next to him and takes his hand. Oh wow. He is head over heels for this guy. I can’t say that I blame him; Antony is one tall, good-looking man. I wish he wasn’t gay, but they are kind of cute together. I shake my head smiling as I turn up my drink and look down the glass at stormy blue eyes.
“Hello again,” Dace says to me, and instantly my heart flutters. I hate that he can do that to me.
“Hi,” I say, looking around him and toward the people dancing. I don’t like him, and he is not at all good looking … not even a little bit. I glance at him, and his cocky smirk forms. Oh wow. I haven’t been able to sleep without dreaming about him or work without thinking about him. His confidence is attractive, but his bad boy outer layer seems to hide a layer of a man that would hold me all night to protect me from my nightmares. He’s strong and obviously intelligent, and he watches me when he thinks I don’t realize it. There is something about him, and I hate that I am so good at seeing through a person because I really want to dislike him right now.
“Nice dress,” he says with a deep hum in his voice while looking over my body with a slow wandering eye. By the time he looks back up into my eyes, my tongue is quivering. “Did you wear that for me?” I shake my head, unable to speak. “Is that silk? I love how silk feels.” He reaches over and rubs his hand along the fabric up my leg.
“Um, no. I think it’s a poly blend … I think,” I say, feeling a tingle along my skin with his touch.
He laughs. “Okay.”
I look up at him, and suddenly, I feel like an idiot. Taking a deep breath, I sit up straight and cross my legs to the opposite side, causing my dress to push up my thigh. Dace instantly takes notice, giving me my confidence back. “So did you wear that for me?” I ask him
, looking him over with a bite of my lip.
“Actually, I didn’t know you were going to be here until we walked in,” he says with a cool attitude.
I huff softly to myself as he, seemingly bored with the evening, looks away. Determined, I scoot closer to him and rub my hand up his leg as he did mine, which seemed like a good idea in my head but, in reality, doesn’t work out quite the same. “So is this silk?” I mumble awkwardly, sitting in front of him with my hand on his thigh and staring right into his confused expression.
Before I can pull away, he grabs my hand and leans in close. “Is there something you need, Sweetheart?” I shake my head and pull away, mortified.
I look over at Preston and his wide eyes as he mouths, “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Um, I think I need to go …” I get up and quickly try to grab my purse as the three men scramble to stand and help me up, only causing more confusion. I am not sure which direction to go to leave, and I end up rushing away from Dace and right into a waiter who accidently knocks me backwards and into Dace’s lap. Thankfully, he looks as shocked as I do. I try to get back up, but he blocks me. “No, I really want to go home.”
I jump up, and he hovers around me, trying to wrap his coat around me. “I think you should take my coat; it’s longer on you,” he says as I look down at my dress that is coming apart at the seams. The moment I stand up fully, the dress comes apart. Dace buttons his coat around me, and I stand silently, looking at this man that is trying to protect me from complete humiliation, but for some reason, I am disappointed that he is so quick to cover me up and dress me. I would have thought he would enjoy seeing something of me, if even for a split second.
“Thank you,” I say with my hand over my face. “I … I have to go.” I rush out of the restaurant, forgetting my own coat at the coat check, and catch a cab ride home. As soon as I get through the door, I, still wrapped in his coat, crawl into bed and bury my face in my pillow. For once, I wish I could be one of those perfect girly girls and be able to seduce a man, make him want me. I have never been good at being a seductive woman. I prefer wrestling men to the ground and holding them there while I tie their hands and arrest them. I like control more than bending over and letting them have what they want. I prefer my sneakers over heels, my weapon more than a purse, and I would never ask a man for permission to do anything. Needless to say, I haven’t gone on many dates; I’m a little too hard and manly, I guess. The only dates I do go on are ones with fellow cops because, for some reason, when I am on the job, all my awkwardness and social ineptness disappears, and I seem… no, I feel normal, like I belong. I still can’t believe I said that to him and touched him like I was at all sexy in that moment. “Stupid! Stupid! You should have just said, ‘If you like the dress so much then you should see what’s underneath, if you’re man enough that is’.” Oh! That’s pretty good.