Desperate (Cunningham Security Series Book 3)

by A. K. Evans

  “Sundae for dinner only if you share the pie for dessert,” she retorted.

  “Deal.”

  As she took a few bites, I simply watched her. She ate slowly; I’d never seen someone eat so slow before. I didn’t mind, though, because I was just going to get to spend that much more time with her.

  “So I think I remember hearing something about the women in Windsor sex-trafficking ring being found,” she started. “Were you behind that?”

  “Not just me, but I was on the team that was mostly responsible for it. One of the women who was taken acted quickly and is a big part of the reason we found them when we did.”

  “That’s incredible. I’m happy they were found,” she said.

  I remembered that day vividly. Seeing the terror on the faces of the women that had been taken was difficult to witness. I was happy that Ekko hadn’t been one of them. I gave her what information I could about the case, which was mostly everything that had been in the news already.

  As I spoke, I struggled to remain unaffected by her innocent and effortless sexiness. I couldn’t get over the way she ate. It was like she was savoring every single morsel she put in her mouth before taunting me by bringing her pretty pink tongue out to lick her lips. And it seemed as though she was doing it in slow motion with each bite.

  Ekko is a natural beauty. She didn’t have an ounce of makeup on her face and even though she looked tired, she was still breathtaking. She’s very petite, easily a foot shorter than me, with golden brown hair that falls to the middle of her back and a set of hazel eyes that have specks of gold and green in them.

  “I can imagine how scary it must have been for those women. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there for me that night,” she shared as her eyes filled with tears.

  I wanted to reach out and hold her hand in mine to offer her some comfort, but I didn’t know how she’d feel about it. And even though I had a pretty good idea she was no longer with her boyfriend, I still hadn’t confirmed it. I needed to know.

  “I’m glad I was there,” I assured her. “How have things been going for you since that night?”

  Immediately, she looked uncomfortable. I didn’t like seeing it, so I quickly added, “Hey, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I was just making conversation.”

  She shook her head and insisted, “No, it’s fine. I ended up losing my apartment and had to move in with my boyfriend.”

  Damn it.

  She didn’t say ex.

  And now she was glancing around the restaurant nervously.

  I didn’t want to be the one to cause her the kind of distress I saw in her face, so I cleared my throat and caught her attention. “I’m…I should get going so you can finish up and get home. Can you get me the check?”

  She stood and shook her head.

  Confused, I waited for her to offer clarification.

  “I told you I wanted to thank you for what you did for me that night. The least I can do is buy dinner for you.”

  “That’s not necessary, Ekko.”

  With a few quick nods of her head, she said softly, “It is. Thank you again for that and for asking me to join you for some dessert. It was nice to take a break.”

  I certainly knew she needed one after the way she’d been working.

  I got up out of the booth and pulled out my wallet. After throwing some money down on the table, I admitted, “The pleasure was all mine, sugar.”

  The sultry look in Ekko’s eyes burned into mine. She didn’t say any words before I went on, “Take care of yourself.”

  Her eyes rounded briefly in surprise before she replied, “I’m trying. You too.”

  After I gave her a quick nod, I turned and walked out.

  I made my way out to my truck that was parked discreetly in the corner of the lot. I was going to make sure that Ekko made it somewhere safe tonight. Sitting across from her for that short time, listening to her soft voice and watching her perfect mouth, I couldn’t bear to think she’d be sleeping in her car again. That’s why I threw two hundred and fifty dollars down on the table before I left. I figured if she was no longer living with her boyfriend, that money would easily get her a nice hotel for the night.

  Once I was in my truck, I watched through the window of the diner as she cleaned the table we’d been sitting at. I saw the shock register when she saw the money and the utter relief in her face and body moments later when she held it up to her chest over her heart and closed her eyes. As good as it felt for me to know I’d done something to help her, it also bothered me that she felt that kind of relief over such a small amount of money.

  Just over ten minutes later, she walked out of the diner and to her car. I waited for her to pull out and drive down the road a bit before I followed. Sure enough, when she stopped driving it was in the parking lot of the Windsor Public Library, which was already closed.

  No way was I going to sit and watch while she slept in her car again in the cold. I waited about twenty minutes trying to figure out how I was going to do this. When I ultimately made my move, I still had no idea what I was going to do or how it would play out.

  I pulled into the lot, turned off my truck, and got out. I walked up to the driver’s side window of her car and, thanks to the light in the parking lot, I saw she had lowered the back of her seat and was lying on her side facing the passenger’s side. Her eyes were closed, but there was a smile on her face.

  I tapped lightly on the window. She was startled and shot up in the seat, panicked.

  Opening her door and getting out, she called, “Dom?”

  “What are you doing out here?” I asked, cutting to the chase.

  She looked everywhere but my face. “I was tired,” she finally replied.

  “Okay. And you thought you’d sleep in your car?”

  I watched as she pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth and blinked back her tears. “I don’t have anywhere to go,” she whispered. “Did you follow me?”

  “Yeah, and it’s a good thing I did. I thought you moved in with your boyfriend,” I reminded her of her earlier admission.

  “I did. And I was living with him until I left him two days ago. I didn’t have a place lined up yet to move to, though.”

  She left him.

  “You left him when you had no place to go?”

  She nodded.

  That didn’t make any sense.

  “Why?”

  At my interrogation, her breathing grew quick and shallow. Fear.

  “Ekko?” I called.

  When she brought her beautiful eyes to mine, I asked gently, “Did he hurt you?”

  She shook her head slowly as a tear fell down her cheek. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just…I walked into the apartment two nights ago and learned that he’s a drug dealer. I refuse to be around that stuff, so I left.”

  “You have nowhere to go?” I pushed, already knowing the answer.

  She swallowed hard and shared, “Thanks to you, I will soon.”

  “Me?”

  “I feel awful about accepting it, but the money you left at the diner today gave me enough so that I can finally get my own place.”

  The relief on her face when she was at the diner was because she knew she’d have a home again.

  “When can you get into your new place?”

  She lifted her shoulders and guessed, “Not long, I hope. Maybe a few days, I’m assuming. I am going to call the landlord first thing in the morning.”

  “You can’t sleep out here tonight.”

  “I’ll be fine,” she assured me.

  “I won’t.”

  “What?”

  “Ekko, follow me and you can stay at my place as long as you need.”

  She shook her head and vehemently refused. “I can’t do that. You’ve already been generous enough and you don’t even know me.”

  I narrowed my eyes a bit before I teased, “I think I can protect myself if you try to harm me.”

  S
he let out a laugh but quickly stopped herself. “That’s not what I meant.”

  I barely heard her words because I was so intrigued by the sound of her laughter. It was captivating.

  “I know,” I confessed. “I also know that you’ve fallen on some hard times and you need some help. There’s nothing wrong with that. I can help you.”

  “Okay, but I don’t really know you.”

  “I rescued you from an attempted abduction and we just had dessert together. You know I work for a private investigation company and that the local police know who I am because of the work I do. Do you really think I’d hurt you?”

  She shook her head and responded, “No.”

  “So you’ll stay with me then?”

  “I don’t think I should.” She held firm in her decision.

  “Fine,” I declared. “Then let me get you a hotel room for a few nights while you get your living arrangements sorted. There’s no deadline.”

  “You would do that?”

  There was no denying the surprise in her voice.

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  I grinned at her before I answered honestly, “Because you need help right now and I’ve got the means to give you that help.”

  Her lips parted, and my eyes dropped to them.

  “What’s it going to be, sugar?”

  “You’ve already given me so much,” she argued. “I can’t accept any more money from you.”

  “Looks like you’re staying at my place then,” I noted as I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked an eyebrow. I couldn’t miss the heat that flashed in her eyes.

  A moment later when I thought she was going to give in, she said, “I’ll get myself a hotel room.”

  I held my hand out to her car door and said, “Lead the way.”

  “What?”

  “I’m going to make sure you have a safe, clean place to stay tonight.”

  She sighed and got in her car. Once she started it up, I got in my truck and followed her out of the lot. Not much later, I pulled in behind her at what had to be the dumpiest, most unsafe motel in the entire city.

  I hopped out of the truck, marched up to her door, and opened it. “Not a chance in hell you’re staying here,” I warned her.

  She looked at the motel and back at me. “Why not?”

  “I’m not convinced they even have beds here. Besides, if you moved out of your boyfriend’s place because you don’t want to be around drugs, then you shouldn’t be staying here.”

  “Dom, this is all I can afford,” she croaked.

  “Let. Me. Help. You.”

  I enunciated each word so she’d understand just how serious I was.

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you’re you.”

  “Yes, I am me. That’s not really a good reason.”

  “I have no business being anywhere near someone like you.”

  What the fuck did that mean?

  “Someone like me?”

  “You’re going to make me say it out loud?” she worried.

  Even though I had a feeling I knew what she was getting at, I returned, “Ekko, I have no idea what you are talking about. If you don’t want to tell me what that means then tell me that you’ll come with me back to my place where I’ll give you a safe, clean, comfortable place to stay for a few days while you get your stuff sorted.”

  She closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

  Finally, she gave in. “Alright, it’s not like my luck could possibly get any worse. If you kill me, you’ll really just be helping me out of a very difficult situation.”

  I didn’t like hearing her say that.

  “Nobody is killing you,” I asserted.

  “I’m just saying…it wouldn’t be the worst thing that’s happened.”

  I shook my head and demanded, “Follow me. My place isn’t too far.”

  “Okay.”

  At that, Ekko followed me back to my place. The entire way there I tried to figure out how I was going to get her to see that she deserved to have someone who’d be there for her.

  This couldn’t possibly be happening to me.

  Though, I shouldn’t be surprised because this was just the kind of luck that I had. I was about to experience the most mortifying moment of my life.

  As if having to reveal the truth about my housing and financial situation to Dom last night wasn’t embarrassing enough, now there was this.

  After our standoff outside the motel, Dom insisted I come back to his place with him. I couldn’t say I wasn’t grateful for his hospitality. I was. Other than Ms. Grace, nobody else had ever shown me the kindness that Dom did.

  We arrived back at his home last night when it was dark out. I didn’t really have an opportunity to take in the neighborhood, but I knew we were in an actual neighborhood. He had his own house, not an apartment. I moved to grab my bag out of the back seat when he came up behind me and took it from me.

  “Got anything else in the trunk?” he asked.

  “That’s it,” I responded.

  I felt ashamed by my lack of possessions, but Dom never made me feel like he was judging me.

  “Okay,” he replied. And for the first time since the night he rescued me months ago, he touched me. He put his hand on the small of my back and began guiding me toward the front door. Feeling his hand on me sent shivers up and down my spine.

  When we got inside, he turned on the lights and I was pleasantly surprised to see it was almost fully furnished. There were blankets thrown over the back of his massive sectional in the family room and a huge television mounted to the wall. He had hardwood floors throughout the entire first floor, a decently-sized kitchen with modern, stainless-steel appliances, and a cute, cozy breakfast nook off the kitchen. He had a formal dining room, but it wasn’t yet furnished beyond the massive table occupying most of the room.

  “Did you want anything to eat or drink?” he asked.

  Food that I didn’t have to pay for or ration? I wanted to take him up on it just because I had the opportunity, but the truth was that I was still full from the desserts we shared earlier.

  “No, I’m good.”

  “Come on,” he urged, as he put his hand at the small of my back again and directed me out of the kitchen. “Let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

  We walked upstairs and down the hall to the open door at the end of it. When I stepped through the door, I realized we were in Dom’s bedroom.

  “Is this your room?” I wondered.

  He gave me a nod.

  I immediately tensed up as I suddenly figured out the real reason he was willing to help me out. It looked like I would be heading back to my car.

  “Relax, Ekko. You’ll sleep in here; I’m taking the couch,” he explained, calming part of my fears. Even with the explanation, I still wasn’t completely at ease.

  “You can’t give up your bed for me,” I argued.

  He merely dazzled me with his dimples. “Don’t try to change my mind. You’re getting the bed, I’m good with the couch.”

  “Dom,” I started before he cut me off again.

  “Did you see my couch when you walked in?”

  I gave him a nod.

  “Good. Then you know it’s huge and comfortable. I have fallen asleep there many times before now. I’ll be fine there. I want you here, where I can give you what I promised…a safe, comfortable place to sleep.”

  He was such a good man.

  “Thank you,” I squeaked, fighting not to break down.

  “You’re welcome. The bathroom is just through that door over there. Help yourself to anything you need.”

  I perked up. “Would you mind if I took a shower?”

  His face softened. “Not at all.”

  I couldn’t wait to take a nice, hot shower. I’d be quick about it, but I was going to enjoy every second of it.

  “If you need anything else, just let me know.”

  “Thank you.”

/>   “I’m serious, Ekko,” he warned. “Anything at all and I’m right downstairs. Promise you’ll let me know.”

  “I promise.”

  And making that promise was the worst thing I could have done. Because now I was here, it was just after eight in the morning, and I was in a bit of a pickle.

  Dom’s bed was the definition of comfort. It was so magical I was certain that if I hadn’t woken up with excruciating stomach pain, I’d still be sleeping.

  I rolled out of the bed and went straight into the bathroom. That’s when I realized I’d gotten my period. It was bad. It’s been bad just about every month for the last eleven months, and I’d hoped every month that it would get better. At this precise moment, though, I would have agreed to a lifetime of excruciatingly painful, heavy periods to avoid this situation.

  I was at Dom’s place with no tampons and I’d gotten my period, which leaked through my panties and my grey sweatpants. I had a feeling I was going to walk back out to his bedroom and find that I’d leaked through to his bedsheets.

  I quickly cleaned myself up and tried to come up with a game plan. Walking back out into the bedroom, I found that my suspicions were true. I needed to strip his bed, wash his sheets, and get them back on before he noticed. Of course, I also knew this was going to be an impossible feat.

  Why did this have to be my life? Why couldn’t I have just one thing that went right for me? As I pondered these questions, I crumbled to the floor next to Dom’s bed. I pulled my knees up to my chest, breathing slowly through the pain.

  Then, things got worse.

  There was a light tap on the door before I heard, “Ekko?”

  When I didn’t answer, hoping my silence would make him think I was still asleep, the door opened. My eyes traveled up his body, which was covered only in a pair of lounge pants and a t-shirt, to his face. For the first time, I was seeing him without a hat. He had a perfectly-shaped bald head. I couldn’t even fully appreciate him because I was distraught and in pain.

  Dom wasted no time in coming over and squatting down next to me. “Are you okay?”

  I shook my head.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “This is so humiliating,” I quietly cried.

  “What? Ekko, you’re just staying here for a few days until you can move into your new place. There’s nothing for you to be ashamed of.”