Reckless: Triple R Security, Book 2

by Imogen Wells

  Someone already brought the pizzas and Chinese in with some plates and cutlery. As I look around, I realise how small the lounge is or that it’s just not designed for three huge males.

  Blue, Cam and Rick are on the sofa, while Jay takes a seat in the armchair to the left, and that just leaves the other armchair on this side of the room. I go to sit on the floor beside it so Seb can take the chair, but I’m lifted off my feet again as Seb sits in the chair, placing me on his lap.

  We tuck into the food and chat casually, and it’s so good to have everyone here. Jamison sleeps peacefully in Cam’s arms, despite the raucous conversation and laughter around him. Slowly the conversation turns to tomorrow, and Jay and Seb finally tell us what happened earlier.

  I’m not sure how I feel about Noah being dead. I mean I’m angry about what he did to me, and I’m disgusted at the idea he might have been involved in trafficking girls, but as yet, we don’t know if that’s true, so my feelings on his death are mixed.

  What surprises and disgusts me more than that is Jasper and his role in all of this. From what Seb and Jay are saying they believe, at the very least, he’s involved with whatever is going on at Tempest.

  “If Jasper is involved with Tempest, does me going with you tomorrow mean that your cover will be blown if he’s there and sees you with me?” Jay drops his head, and I see Rick look to Seb behind me at my question. “I’m right, aren’t I?” I ask when no one answers me.

  “Yes and no,” Seb finally says, and I turn to face him. “Because we don’t know of Jasper’s involvement, if any, means we don’t know what he’ll make of seeing us there together.” And before I can say anything, he adds, “But we don’t even know if he’ll be there, so it’s a pointless discussion. You’re coming. I want you with us, with me.” His eyes burn with something that looks a little like fear and possessiveness, and beneath that I even spot the love he mentioned earlier.

  It’s almost the exact same feeling I have in my gut for him. “I don’t want to put you in more danger, Seb. Either of you,” I say looking over to Jay. “You were already nearly shot that night at Rosco’s saving my arse.” I feel Seb tense beneath me, and now I have the answer to the thought that just ran through my head about what Jay was doing there in the first place. I lock my eyes on Seb, who’s trying to look everywhere but at me.

  Leaning down, I whisper, “You had him follow me, didn’t you? We will talk about this later.” I turn back to the room, tuning back into the conversation going on between Rick and Blue.

  The surprises just keep coming as I listen to Rick talking about a guy he’s had following my dad over the last few days but hasn’t seen anything out of the ordinary. I listen raptly, taking it all in and trying to put this puzzle together, but I know we don’t have all the pieces yet. I use this opportunity to share my concerns about my mum, even telling them about the guy, the same guy Jasper spoke with at the station the other day, who was there the last time I visited.

  “We don’t know who he is, other than he’s a solicitor and most likely a legal aid one, and we don’t know how he’s involved or what he was doing at your mum’s, but I’ve asked Ray to look into him.” Rick confirms.

  “Have there been threats made against my mum too?”

  “That’s why we have Scott watching her,” Rick says.

  I suddenly feel like a fish in a fishbowl with everyone’s eyes on me, and it makes me uneasy. “Yes, but has she been threatened, other than this solicitor guy, Rick?”

  His moment’s hesitation is all I needed because Rick doesn’t hesitate. He’s always so sure of the answers, but this time he seems reluctant to answer. When the answer comes, it’s not from who I would have expected at all.

  “Not a direct threat, no. Your dad was sent some pictures of your mum,” Blue tells me.

  “Yeah, I know about tho—” I break off, going over that day at Mum’s versus the pictures I found in my dad’s office. “You’re not talking about surveillance photos, are you?” Blue shakes his head as Rick glares at him. “That’s what was in the envelope.”

  “What envelope, Jamie?” Seb asks, turning my head his way. “What envelope?”

  “That day, she had an envelope and couldn’t get whatever it was in it fast enough. When I asked about the man and what she had in the envelope, she got cagey and defensive and told me to mind my own business.”

  “That’s why you wanted to go to your mum’s yesterday, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. I knew something wasn’t right, and then when I saw the same guy talking to Jasper, well, I had to find out what she was hiding. My dad said she didn’t know everything, but I don’t think that’s true. I think she knows more than even he does because he obviously doesn’t know she has those photos.”

  Rick seems pissed, but he agrees my mum is more involved than we first thought. When he asks me if I’ve spoken to my dad, I tell him not since we were last at his. And I’m surprised to find out that Dad hasn’t been answering Rick’s calls either. For now, Rick is at least happy he has eyes on both Mum and Dad, and I trust him to know what he’s doing.

  We chat a little longer about the event at Tempest, but without being sure if Jasper is going to be there, we have no way of knowing how things will go.

  Rick reluctantly gives me more details about what they suspect goes on there, and it turns the pizza in my stomach. Some of the girls come from abroad and others are already here, not all foreign, there are some British girls too.

  Their intel claims the girls are initially lured there with the promise of work, such as waitressing or dancing in the private rooms. To be honest I didn’t even know they had private rooms. What they don’t know is that while they work, the men get to check out the goods for sale. The girls that have the biggest interest are then put forward for the VIP events and auctioned off. Some are bought outright, and others are bought for a certain amount of time, be it a week, a year and sometimes just a single night.

  Up until the night of the auction the girls don’t have a clue what’s going to happen. Rick thinks they are drugged before the auction starts so they are docile and don’t cause problems. However, something has inevitably been going wrong with the bodies that have been turning up.

  Rick didn’t want to go into too much detail about the dead girls, but all of them had high levels of drugs and alcohol in their systems, and all but one of them had suffered multiple injuries.

  While Rick has been talking, Blue disappeared outside, returning several minutes later carrying a small box. Planting it on the coffee table, he opens it.

  Inside, there are two white pocket squares and a pair of beautiful drop diamond earrings. I lean forward to get a better look, and Seb moves with me.

  Jay reaches over and pulls one of the pocket squares out, and as it unfolds, I notice that one of the corners has some type of embellished monogram. “If these are what I think they are, they are the dog’s bollocks. Dean did good.” Jay exclaims.

  “Yeah, he did, and I fucking hope you know how to fold that back up properly,” Blue retorts.

  A look of panic comes across Jay’s face, and I can’t help leaving him hanging, then as he goes to answer, I cut him off.

  “I got it, Jay,” I say, holding out my hand for him to give it to me. I give him a wink as he places it in my hand, and he mouths a thank you.

  I begin folding it as Blue talks us through how they work, and then hot breath on my ear makes me pause.

  “You’re full of hidden talents, aren’t you? What else can you do, Firefly?” Seb whispers, running his tongue up the shell of my ear, making a wicked shiver run the length of my body as a rumble of laughter vibrates through Seb’s chest at my reaction.

  I turn my head as Seb nuzzles my neck, and whisper, “Oh, Seb, you have no idea what else I can do with my hands, but if you’re a good boy, maybe I’ll show you something special that involves my tongue and your cock.”

  “Fuck me!” he exclaims a little too loud as everyone stops to look at us, and just f
or the hell of it, I wriggle on his lap, rubbing my arse over his hard cock, and a pained groan leaves him.

  Blue snorts a laugh before continuing. Basically, the embellished monogram on each pocket square, and the diamond earrings for me, holds a tiny listening device, and although we won’t be able to hear each other, Rick and Blue will be able to hear us and those around us within a short distance. There is no way to safely take recording equipment, so this is the next best thing.

  There is a possibility they have a scanner to detect such equipment, so Dean has designed them to be switched on after we enter Tempest in the hope that if they aren’t emitting a signal the scanner won’t pick them up.

  It looks like tomorrow night involves a lot of ifs and buts and lots of things have the potential to go wrong, not least that if the bugs are discovered, then we won’t even get a foot in the damn door.

  By the time we finish up, it’s almost 11pm, and Blue has to wake Cam up after she fell asleep almost an hour ago. We say our goodbyes with Cam making me promise I’ll be careful.

  As Seb sees Rick out, I begin clearing up the mess in the lounge, not really wanting to get up to it in the morning. I’m just putting the last plate in the dishwasher, when arms grab me, spinning me around and throwing me over their shoulder.

  “Seb! For fuck’s sake, put me down.”

  “Nope,” he says carrying me upstairs. “Time to pay up, Firefly. I’ve been hard for the last forty minutes, so you owe me,” he declares, slapping me on the arse.

  Thirty-Four

  Jamie

  I thank the cashier as I pick up the bag on the counter and walk towards the exit. Just as I’m exiting, a woman entering the shop is carrying today’s newspaper, and one headline jumps out at me.

  Shit. I hurry back to the car, throwing my bags on the back seat, and set my phone in the cradle. As soon as the engine is on and my phone is connected, I call Seb.

  He doesn’t answer the first time, so I try again and try to keep a lid on the panic swirling in my gut. Just as I think it’s going to ring off again, he picks up.

  “Hey, what’s up? Did you get everything you needed?”

  I breath out a sigh of relief, then mentally slap myself for being such a drama queen. “Yeah, I’m good. Err…have you seen the news this morning?” I ask hesitantly.

  “No, why? What’s going on?” I hear the concern in his voice.

  “They found another body, Seb,” I say, pulling out of the multi-storey onto the main road.

  “Shit!” I hear a bang and know he’s either thrown or hit something. “Where are you?”

  “I’m on my way home now. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Go and call Rick, and I’ll see you when I get back.” He tells me to be safe, and then the call disconnects.

  This is not what he wanted to hear before tonight, and I know he thinks it’s the girl him and Jay saw at Tempest. I really hope it isn’t her, but even if it’s not, the chances of them finding her are slim to none.

  When I enter the house, I can hear Seb talking on the phone in the kitchen, so I quickly take my bags up to my room while he finishes his call.

  I hang my dress for tonight in the wardrobe and have just finished placing my shoes on the bottom shelf only to turn and find Seb leaning against the door frame, watching me.

  “How long have you been there?” I ask as he comes further into the room.

  “Long enough to get a hard-on watching you bent over putting those fuck-me heels away,” he drawls as he grips my chin and pulls me in for a kiss.

  I’m surprised by the ease of which he has slipped into my life, and if it weren’t for all this crazy shit going on right now, I would be blissfully happy to spend my days wrapped up with him. The doubts I have about letting another man into my heart haven’t gone away, now they are just a slightly irritating tic in the back of my mind. And I know there is something Seb hasn’t shared with me yet about why he’s never had a long-term relationship. Why he hides behind the cool, cocky exterior when underneath there is a man who is fierce, loyal and loving that shines so bright it’s blinding. Hopefully, he will soon, and for now, I’m just going to ignore my brain and listen to my heart.

  When he pulls away, there is a look of hunger in his eyes, but beneath that is a thread of worry.

  “What did Rick say?”

  He takes a step back, rubs his hands down his face, then tucks them both in his pockets. “It’s not her. Rick spoke to Ray, and the description doesn’t match, which is good news and bad news.”

  “Okay, so best-case scenario, she’s still hiding, and worst is—”

  “The fuckers caught her, and that means she’ll be among the lots tonight,” he bites out.

  “If that’s true then it’s still good news.”

  “How do you figure that?” he scoffs.

  “Because that means she’s alive, and who knows, maybe we’ll get the chance to get her the hell out of there to somewhere safe, Seb.” He doesn’t say anything, and I get the feeling he’s not convinced that’s even a possibility.

  Seb is quiet for the rest of the day, and I let him be as I’m not sure how to help or if I even can. I make us dinner, which he eats, thanking me and tidying up while I go off to get ready.

  I have a bath, hoping it will soak away some of this tension that’s strumming through me. It hasn’t really helped. I’m still nervous about how tonight will go, and I’m unsure how Seb feels right now.

  Since I’ve accepted this thing between Seb and me, I seem to have lost a bit of my snark. Ironic really, considering he used to infuriate me.

  When I come back in the bedroom, Seb is standing there in his suit trousers, head bowed slightly in concentration, with his white shirt undone, giving me an unfettered view of his ripped stomach. The dim light from the bedside lamp, glints off his bronzed skin as he does his cufflinks up, and each flex of his arms ripples across his abdomen. As he turns his head to look at me, his black hair falls forward on one side, and the corner of his lips turn up in a smirk as his caramel eyes flash with knowing. If I were wearing any knickers, they would have been incinerated in a second, as it is, I feel wetness pool between my thighs.

  I’m about to drop my towel and step toward him when the light-hearted look on his face vanishes and is replaced with cold-hard seriousness.

  “I need you to do exactly what I say tonight, Jamie.” Not what I was expecting, and I’ll admit it’s pissed me off a little. “It’s important, and no, not because it’s my job, but because you are important.” This time it’s him who steps forward, and my anger at him dissipates a little. “Important to me.” He reaches out a hand, cupping my face as his thumb brushes over my bottom lip, and my eyes close at the tender touch. “I don’t want you getting hurt. I can’t let you. Just promise me you’ll do as I ask. Promise me.”

  I open my eyes and look up at him, and I see how much he needs this, so I give it to him. I slip my hands up the ridges of his abs, it would be shameful not to touch him, as I say, “I promise not to do anything stupid. I promise to listen to you. And I promise that nothing will happen to me or you.” His eyes study me before he leans in for a quick, tender kiss, that quickly turns molten as my fingers dig into his flesh. Fucking hell, I’m done. Before it can go too far, he pulls back, and I’m left gasping for breath.

  “Later. We will finish this later. That’s a fucking promise.” His voice is rough, strained and dripping with arousal. “We need to finish getting ready, the car will be here in an hour,” he says, adjusting himself as he steps back to the bed and picks up his tie off the bed.

  “Car?” I say, sitting down at my dressing table to do my hair and makeup.

  “Yeah, I arranged for a car, and Jay is going to meet us there as he’s closer.”

  I brazenly watch as he does the buttons on his shirt up before collecting his wallet and phone, then walking towards me and kissing me on the head.

  “I need to make a call and check the equipment. I’ll wait for you downstairs.” I nod and watch
, drooling, as he walks from the room.

  I step into the lounge fifty minutes later and watch in amusement as Seb’s eyes nearly pop out of his head when he sees me.

  “Fuck me sideways!” he exclaims as I saunter towards him, lifting a hand beneath his chin to close his mouth as I pass him. I hear a groan and Seb muttering under his breath as he catches sight of the back of my dress, or lack thereof.

  It’s a tight fitting, beaded black dress that finishes mid-thigh with an open back that drops low, finishing just above the top of my arse.

  “Are you trying to kill me?” he asks, and I laugh at the affect I’m having on him.

  I pick up the earrings, quickly but carefully, putting them in as a horn blares outside. I go to grab my phone from the charger in the kitchen, but Seb calls out to leave it behind. I don’t like the idea of having no phone, but I promised to do as he asked, so I leave it on the counter.

  When I question him about the whole phone thing in the car, Seb tells me no phones are allowed on the VIP floor tonight, and if you have one, you have to leave it at the door. Seb didn’t bring his either, but Dean gave him and Jay burners to use just in case.

  Tempest looks entirely different as we pull up with its draped awning lit up with fairy lights, but instead of a red carpet, they have a black one. How very fucking ironic.

  The driver stops directly outside the covered entrance, jumping out to open the door for us to step out.

  “Have a good evening, Mr Roberts, and I will be waiting for you,” the driver tells Seb as we step away.

  “That was a little cryptic,” I say as I slip my arm in Seb’s, and he leads me up the walkway without replying.

  As we approach, the doors are opened, and I spot Jay looking dapper in his suit.

  “Wow. You look sexy as hell, Jamie,” he says, as we reach him, and I ignore the growling beast beside me.

  “You don’t look so damn bad yourself, Jay—son.” Shit. Seb squeezes my arm reassuring me as Jay steps forward, dropping a kiss on my cheek.