Wild Child (A Soul Sister Novel Book 1)

by Audrey Carlan

  “It’s okay, baby, take your time.” I ran my hand down his thigh.

  He covered my hand with his and held it. He inhaled a long, slow breath while staring into my face. I smiled softly and held his hand pouring all the strength I had into it.

  He swallowed and licked his lips. “Turns out there was a folded-up piece of paper lodged in her throat.”

  “Excuse me?” Sonia said, her tone wary.

  “Yeah, it, uh, looks as though it was placed postmortem.” He winced.

  Blessing and Charlie both made a stink face while Liliana put both of her hands in prayer position at her chest.

  Genesis just stared at Jonah with a compassionate expression.

  “There was a series of numbers and a letter on the paper.”

  “Can you share it with us? Or is that confidential?” I asked.

  “No, Ryan and the Director think it’s some type of clue to where he is or perhaps it connects to a past or future victim. We wanted to see if the numbers made any sense to you. Keep in mind this is all extremely confidential. The FBI doesn’t make a habit of sharing case details with civilians but in all honesty, we’re at a dead end. This is pretty much all we have until we get her toxicology report and I doubt they’ll find anything but alcohol since we know she was at the pool hall.”

  I shrugged. “Lay it on us.”

  Jonah pulled out his phone and read the number. “A121094.”

  “That’s it?” Blessing asked. “No dashes or spaces? The numbers ran all together like that?”

  “Yeah. We’re thinking maybe it’s an address or an ID of some kind. We’ve already checked drivers’ licenses and license plates and have a list of addresses that have variations of the numbers. Boots are on the ground knocking on doors now, but I don’t think he’d be so obvious as to give us an address or a license number. My gut says this is a clue to the next victim or someone he already has.”

  Liliana closed her eyes and started praying under her breath in Spanish.

  “That’s whack, leaving numbers on a sheet of paper in a dead woman’s mouth.” Blessing gagged and covered her mouth breathing deeply through her nose.

  “Since this guy is obsessed with you and Simone, that number has to relate somehow,” Charlie said. She reached for a crayon and a blank coloring page on Rory’s book. “What’s the number again?”

  “A121094,” Jonah repeated, and she wrote it down.

  She wrote it down a few more times and ripped the scraps of the page and gave a piece to each one of us. “My theory is, keep looking at it. Let your mind wander, then do it again. Maybe it will make sense at some point. It has to be obvious. I mean this guy doesn’t know that much about Simone. Maybe he knows more about you?” Charlie continued. “My guess is it’s super simple and the odds are you’re thinking too far outside the box.” She shrugged and tapped the ripped piece she’d kept.

  “It would be great if you all could think on it. Go over it with your mother and Addison too. I’ll share it with my folks and her parents to see if the connection is on mine or Helen’s side instead of yours.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Sonia stood up. “I have to go, Quinn is waiting for me. I have a press conference to attend about all of this. Would it be possible to talk to Agent Russell, maybe have him speak on the FBI’s behalf?”

  Jonah scrubbed his hand across his clean-shaven chin. Another thing he’d tended to before I got up, instead of waking me and having morning nookie. Dammit.

  “I don’t know. It’s all hands on deck…”

  “We have to address the public. The media is in an absolute tizzy over Simone’s involvement and her being my sister. And according to Quinn, a few of the rag mags have put two and two together about your relationship. There’re photos of you coming and going outside of your home in the same car. They’ve figured out that she is staying at your house and calling the whole thing a tawdry love triangle. Not only does that look bad on you, it looks bad on the FBI.”

  “There’s no rule against me falling for a survivor,” Jonah mentioned flatly.

  “Aw, honey. A survivor instead of a victim. I like that.” I stood up from my position on the couch and wrapped my arm around his back. “She’s right, though. If something involves Sonia, the press goes nuts. And since I’m the wild child to her prim and proper, it’s some juicy gossip.”

  “I’ll talk to my Director and get back to you.”

  That appeased Sonia as she nodded, buttoned her blazer, and ran her hand down the sides of her hair. “Excellent. I look forward to hearing from you.”

  “The rest of you, please stay inside and with someone as much as possible. Any time you can take off work right now is a day more your safety is ensured. And speaking on behalf of myself and Ryan and the FBI, I want to thank you for keeping things quiet and uprooting your lives. I’m sure it hasn’t been easy and I’m grateful to you all.”

  Charlie popped up off the couch and pulled Jonah into a hug. “No worries, dude. We’re family. We do what needs to be done for one another.”

  Blessing got up and held her hand out. She was a hugger, but not by nature. Jonah would have to earn that by treating me well and staying around for a while. “We’ve got your back, brother.” She shook his hand with both of hers. That was something.

  Liliana dashed over to me and hugged me hard and kissed my cheek then got up on her tippy toes to hug Jonah who hunched his much larger frame over to hug her back. She also kissed his cheek. “Ve con Dios.” Go with God, she said and smiled.

  Genesis gave me a long hug. “You doing okay, sister?” My goodness, her amber eyes were mesmerizing against her soft brown skin. She was so beautiful it stunned me sometimes.

  “Jonah’s got me. I’m good, sis.”

  “Okay,” she took a breath and let it out. “I’m gonna check on Mama and Rory. I’ll bet Mama is asleep and Rory is awake singing along to the songs.”

  I chuckled and watched as she gave Jonah a hug. “Thank you for keeping my sister safe. If there’s ever anything you need from me or anything I can do at my work, don’t hesitate to reach out.”

  “Thank you, Genesis. That’s very kind of you and I will. Sometimes I come across some wayward kids in my work that could use a little help.”

  “I’m there. Phone call away.”

  “Appreciate it.”

  Jonah turned to me now that the sisters were moving along to whatever it was they were going to be doing today.

  “What next, FBI man?” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body to his.

  “After the shit that went down at Tracks last night, I’ve come to really enjoy the idea of you working at A+ Construction. Figure we could visit my father, you could take a tour, meet some of the guys, chit chat with Lisa who has the job now, and maybe we can speed up that job change.”

  My eyes bulged because I felt like I’d been squeezed to the limits at the level of my excitement. I couldn’t help but bounce up and down. “Really? Do you think he might consider hiring me before I finish my last class?”

  He hooked his arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple. “Yeah, babe, I think he gets a load of how excited you are, driven, smart, and how much you mean to me, and he’ll be jumping at the chance to bring you on board. I was thinking we could discuss a part-time situation with him. That way the other hours of the day you could devote to your studies and the flower shop until you’re ready to go full time. This would also allow for you to have a full month of training.”

  I grinned. “And I could quit Tracks.”

  “And you could quit Tracks,” he smirked.

  “And be far away from Trey and his grabby hands,” I added.

  “Definite fuckin’ plus.”

  I nudged his shoulder. “Don’t pretend that isn’t the real reason…”

  He led me out the door and into the hallway. “You being safe with people I trust working around you is the goal. And it helps my father. My father deserves good help.”

  “And what about
Luca?” I hedged because I didn’t want to tiptoe around anything with Jonah. That’s not who I was, and he made it clear he wanted me to be honest in all things.

  He sucked in a breath and let it out on a sigh. “I’ll have to deal.”

  I stopped at the front of the elevator. “Honey, I don’t want you to have to deal with anything extra. If you don’t want me working with Luca, I won’t. Sure, it sounds like the most amazing opportunity but I’m not going to risk the opportunity I have with our relationship for a prospective job. It’s just not worth it to me.”

  Jonah tipped his head to the side. “Simone, what’s your end goal? Perfect world type scenario?”

  I pursed my lips together and thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. “I want to have a good job where the work I do contributes and is important to the company. I want to feel needed. I want to be part of a team.”

  “All doable. And what about your personal life?”

  I smile and placed my hands to his biceps. “I want to have a husband and kids one day. Have Mama Kerri watch my babies while I work, raise them in a similar manner as she raised me, with love and a kind hand toward discipline. And then I want to come home and be a mom and a wife. I don’t want to change the world or invent the next best thing. I just want to make a solid day’s pay for an honest day’s work and enjoy my family time. Oh, and maybe a dog. I’d really like a dog. Dogs are awesome. How about you?”

  Before he responded his lips crashed down over mine. He licked deep and kept the kiss going for so long we heard the elevator doors open and then close and the lift go back down with us not in it. I locked my arms around his neck and went right into my Jonah kiss haze where all things happy and good lived.

  He pulled away but kept his forehead pressed to mine. “I keep wondering when you’re going to turn.”

  “Turn?” I panted, still out of breath from his kiss.

  “Yeah, turn into a bitch, or become needy, or crazy, or any of the above. Simone, you’re too damn perfect to be true and I’m having trouble believing all I’ve ever wanted ended up in my lap during one of my cases. I went through hell with Helen, baby. Ever since I was promoted to a profiler five years ago, it all turned to shit. She became someone I didn’t recognize. And maybe that had to do with me. We’d been together for so long we got used to one another. Then when I wasn’t there all the time, she changed. Or maybe that’s who she always was but I didn’t see it. Whatever the case, I never felt this connected or on the same path with a woman. Are you sure you can handle a man whose career means you’re going to be having a lot of those dinners alone with your children?”

  I shrugged. “If my husband was out protecting other people from being killed and trying to put away extremely bad people for crimes I wouldn’t want committed on my worst enemy, yeah I’m pretty sure I’d be fine. I’d miss you heaps, but that would just make it more exciting when you got home. Something to look forward to.” I cupped his cheek. “Relationships are hard. Lord knows I’ve had my fair share. More than my fair share to be accurate. Though I never once saw myself in a white dress with kids underfoot like I have when I’m in your arms. You make me see a future. A real one that’s all mine. One of my own making, and that’s something to hold on to. I’m sure any marriage is hard, but if you keep the lines of communication open, anything can work. You just have to be willing to try.”

  He kissed me again and bit down on my bottom lip. Arousal slid through my form on gossamer wings. “Can we maybe go back to your place first?”

  “Why?” He pressed the button on the elevator to bring it back to our floor.

  I squirmed where I stood and bit into my own lip sizing him up.

  He shook his head. “Oh no. No way. We stop back home we’re not leaving, and I’ve made up my mind about Tracks. You don’t love it. It’s not your dream. It’s not even a stepping stone to your dream so we need to get you checking into other options. And since I need to talk to my father anyway about the numbers, we should go there first.”

  I pouted. “Fine. Ruin all my fun.”

  “We’ll have fun, baby. A lot of it. Tonight. When we’re safely locked into a hotel.”

  “A hotel?” The surprise in my tone was obvious.

  “Not making love to you for the first time and having Ryan busting in. I fear I may pull my gun on him.”

  I chuckled and the elevator doors opened. He led me inside.

  “This is an excellent plan.” I batted my eyelashes and stared into his handsome face.

  He pecked me on the lips. “I know. You. Me. No interruptions. Candlelight dinner in. Chocolates. Champagne. The whole nine.”

  I covered my pitter-pattering heart. “You do have a plan. Still, I want to stop at your house on the way. Pick up something special to wear tonight and a change of clothes.”

  His eyes blazed white-hot fire with the amount of lust searing me. “Done.”

  “Any special requests?” I taunted.

  “Black. Lace.”

  “Naughty.” I grinned, knowing exactly what I was going to wear.

  Jonah tugged at his collar and adjusted his crotch before the elevator opened.

  Tonight, was going to be epic. I just knew it.

  A+ Construction headquarters were set up in an older part of town about twenty minutes from Oak Park. The front was made of horizontal windows with painted green slats surrounded by brick and beige-colored concrete. I had expected some type of rugged, rusted out warehouse, but was pleasantly surprised at how the front of the building was a bit contemporary with a touch of downhome Midwestern charm.

  Jonah opened the door for me and placed a hand to my lower back as I entered.

  The front had a crescent-shaped wall that separated the large reception desk from the waiting area. A set of six seats and a coffee table were on one side of the room. In the other corner was a pretty table with a pristine white orchid sitting on top, a gilded brass rectangular mirror hanging on the wall above it. Behind the reception desk I could see glass partitioned offices.

  Luca was standing over the desk holding a file folder and discussing something with a heavily pregnant Asian woman. I lifted my hand and gave a jaunty wave. Luca smiled, finished his conversation, and left the woman’s office. He walked the short hallway to the door that separated reception from where the bulk of their offices were.

  “Hey, I uh, didn’t expect to see the two of you so soon. Everything okay?”

  Jonah tightened his hold on my hand. “Here to see Dad. He mentioned to Simone he’d show her around the company. If everyone feels she’s a good fit, I’d like to see about him hiring her earlier, prior to her finishing her last class. Maybe in a part-time capacity. This would allow her the time to study and secure her degree, while giving Lisa time to train her on the position in advance.”

  Luca blinked slowly and didn’t say anything for what seemed to me like a long time. My nerves were ramped up to the max and I had to keep myself from spewing all my thoughts a hundred miles an hour into the weighted silence.

  “To be honest, Dad did tell me about the idea of Simone working here and I wasn’t sure you’d be okay with that. Considering our history.”

  “Maybe this was a bad idea.” Jonah grumbled and made to turn to the entrance, but I locked my other arm around his and held on.

  “I’m very interested in working with you and Marco. I’ve had a ton of experience in customer service, and I filled in at Tracks any time the business manager was sick or on vacation. I’m a super-fast learner, intelligent, and you will not find a harder worker. And I’m looking for a position that I can stay with long term. Something that will support the future I want.”

  Jonah looped his arm over my shoulders. “Hope some of what you want in the future has me in it, baby.”

  I grinned and elbowed him in the ribs.

  Jonah chuckled. “Ouch. Sorry. Okay, okay.”

  “Well, you’ve come to the right place. Dad was taken with you. You have been all he’s talked about for the las
t couple days. Why don’t you come on back and I’ll introduce you to Lisa and the rest of the office team? Most of the men are out on jobs.”

  “Do they clock in here?”

  He shook his head. “No. The office isn’t open until eight. Our team starts when they step foot on the job usually around six-thirty or seven in the morning depending on the weather and what the job site entails. We trust them to do their job and follow their foreman’s lead. We have five foremen. Each person has a team of four to five under him or her. We have one female foreman and two female construction workers.”

  “That’s cool.”

  “Women can do most anything a man can, but we focus on our team’s strengths. The female foreman we have is more talented in the design intricacies of a job. We send her in to work her magic. Then her team will either do the job or we’ll pass it off to one of the other teams. It all depends on what’s needed. The job determines the workers, if that makes sense.”

  I followed behind Luca as he spoke, and Jonah trailed us without interrupting.

  “Actually, it makes perfect sense. You want to employ the right people in the right roles. That way, you’ll get the best outcome.”

  “Spoken like a true business manager in training,” Luca teased, and my heart started to pound. When Luca faced forward, I turned around and gave a thumbs up to Jonah who shook his head and rolled his eyes.

  “Can you believe your dad hired me on the spot!” I spun around in a circle once Jonah led me through the hotel room door, tossing my bag into the chair in the corner. After I twirled, I went over to the bed and plopped backward, letting myself fall to the king-sized bed. The room was beautiful but not ostentatious. Hugging each side of the bed were black lacquered end tables with shiny silver handles. A squat, silver-based lamp sat on each side of the bed.