by A. K. Evans
I moaned.
I whimpered.
Most of all, I gave myself something that nobody else could give me. Not an orgasm, but power over my sexuality. If I wanted to feel good, it was within me to give it to myself. And while I couldn’t wait to share it with Cruz, because I knew deep down he was the man I wanted to share it with, it felt freeing to know I was finally in control. It would be my choice to give myself what I needed when I needed it.
Minutes later, I fell asleep.
“What do you have for me?”
I had just pulled up and was sitting in my truck outside the Rusty Spur. A minute after I parked, Dom was sitting in the passenger’s seat next to me. Pierce and Lorenzo had gone inside.
“Jenkins called Reynolds not long before I called you,” Dom started. “He’s been here nearly all day, every day since the two of you stopped in. Poor guy’s been torn up over the whole situation.”
“This is his town,” I put in. “He’s a good guy; he feels the way we do. It’s happening in our backyard. For him, it’s happened several times at his local hangout.”
“Well, apparently, he can spot these women as soon as they walk in. That’s precisely what happened tonight. There’s no guarantee, obviously, but he’s convinced that she’s going to be the next one targeted. She fits the profile, which doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but it’s the fact that Jenkins said there’s also a guy in there that’s not a regular. He said he just doesn’t fit in. Instinct kicked in and he called us.”
“Game plan?”
Dom shrugged and explained, “It depends on how it goes in there. If this does, in fact, turn out to be one of these cases, nothing is going to happen here. We let Reynolds and De Luca scope it out in there until she leaves. They call us when she walks out, we follow her. They will come behind us unless there’s a reason for them to follow someone else. As much as I don’t want this woman to be scared, I’m thinking we should try to see where they are going to try to take her. We know we aren’t going to let anything happen to her and maybe we’ll be able to save a few more girls in the process.”
I dipped my chin in acknowledgement. “Fuck, I hope this gets us somewhere tonight. Not thrilled about the possibility of another woman being terrorized, but if we can get ourselves one step closer to finding the other women it’ll be worth it.”
“I hear you, brother,” he agreed. “This case has been eating at me. My apologies, again, by the way.”
I turned my head to the side and asked, “For what?”
“Interrupting your time with your girl. I know she’s the first you’ve been serious with in a long time.”
My girl.
Lexi.
Before Dom mentioned her, I was already struggling to stay focused. I spent the entire drive from her house to this parking lot replaying my evening with her, specifically the last part of the evening. Knowing what she’d been through a few years ago and seeing her find the courage to ask for what she wanted was a relief. More than that, I couldn’t deny how good it felt to know she felt safe enough with me to trust she could ask me to give her what she needed and wanted.
I viewed each step she took toward giving herself what she deserved to have as a gift, especially when she took those steps with me. Now, I couldn’t get the feel of her writhing underneath me or the sounds of her whimpering in desperation out of my mind.
“That look can only mean one thing,” Dom interrupted my thoughts of Lexi. When I brought my attention to him, he grinned and continued, “You’re in deep.”
I chuckled. “A little.”
I wasn’t going to deny it. I was in deep and it was certainly more than a just a little.
“It’s good to see. Happy for you, bro.”
I didn’t get a chance to respond because Dom’s phone rang.
“Is it go time, De Luca?” he greeted. He paused and waited while Lorenzo answered. I watched as his eyes became fixed on the front door of the tavern and narrowed. Then, he continued, “Got her. You got a guy in there?” More silence. While he listened, I watched as the woman who walked out by herself made her way to her car. That’s when I noticed a black SUV near where she was parked had just had its headlights turned on. It could have been coincidence, but I had a feeling it wasn’t.
“Black SUV, headlights,” I stated so Dom would know what I was thinking. He jerked his chin in acknowledgement.
Dom responded into the phone, “More than one then. If your guy in there is on the phone he’s probably calling the guy in the SUV out here.”
Silence.
“Headlights just went on. Parked close to her. She’s in her car now and backing out. We’re following. Stay on your man. I’ll follow up if I can. You two get your situation sorted with him in there. If you haven’t heard from me by the time you deal with him, call Michaels. Have him track the GPS and get a lock on our location.”
Dom disconnected the call and updated me. “They’ve got a guy in there that’s not a regular. As soon as she walked to the door, he was on the phone watching her. Jenkins recognized the guy because he’s not a regular and he’s definitely one that stands out. Reynolds and De Luca are going to stay on him. We’ve got her.”
I nodded and the two of us watched as she drove to the entrance of the parking lot. Sure enough, the SUV followed behind her. We stayed back far enough that they wouldn’t know we were trailing them.
Twenty minutes after she left the tavern, the woman turned into the parking lot of an apartment complex. I kept my truck parked pretty far back from the entrance where we saw the SUV turn in after her. We didn’t want to give them any indication they were being followed and, thankfully, our view into the lot wasn’t obscured by any walls, trees, or shrubs.
“She’s going around the back side of the building,” Dom noted. “If he follows, we go in.”
The SUV was moving slowly, but followed her around the back. I pulled away from the curb and drove to the entrance of the parking lot. Taking the same route they did, we drove through the lot and toward the back, but never went completely around the back.
“I’m on foot from here,” Dom declared. “I’ll check it out, but I’ve got you in my ear.”
We got ourselves connected so Dom could scope out the scene without alerting them to our presence and let me know when he needed me. Leaving the truck unmanned wouldn’t bode well if they managed to get her in that vehicle and we needed to hightail it out of there.
I watched as Dom moved quickly around the back side of the building.
“She’s parked about two hundred feet from where you are, Cruz,” Dom said in my ear.
“The SUV?” I shot back.
“Two spots away from her. It’s dark, but the lot is lit back here. She isn’t going to notice them and they sure as fuck aren’t going to know I’m here.”
“How many guys?”
“Can’t see yet,” he said quietly. “She just got out of the car. I’m getting closer. About a hundred feet away.”
I debated on whether or not to get out of the truck or to wait until we knew for sure how many guys we were dealing with.
“Interior light on the SUV just came on. One guy. He’s getting out.”
I heard Dom’s breath hitch. This alarmed me.
“Talk to me,” I instructed.
“Fuck,” he whispered.
“Dom. What’s happening?”
“She’s so fucking beautiful, Cruz,” he explained. “Get your ass down here. You get him; I’m getting her. She’s not going anywhere with this guy.”
He was letting this get personal.
“Keep your head on straight, brother. There are other women that we can locate if we follow him.”
“He just walked up to her. She’s terrified. You better be on your way down here.”
“Stay focused on the bigger picture, Dom.”
“Imagine if it were Lexi. He’s got his hands on her and she’s fighting back. I’m not playing. Get here now, Cr…fuck! The motherfucker just punched her
in the stomach.”
I came up behind him and ordered, “Get her; I’ve got him.”
We took off in their direction and, as he hauled her toward his SUV with his hand over her mouth while she kicked her legs, he bellowed, “Lucky for you, you aren’t worth much if your face is busted. You keep it up, though, and we’re going to have problems.”
She was struggling so much he never saw us coming. We approached him from behind. I got my hands on him and Dom went around the front to her. Being caught by surprise, his grip on her loosened enough that Dom was able to pull her away from him.
“I’ve got you,” he said gently. “You’re safe.”
That was all I heard before I focused all my attention on the guy. As much as I wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp, I knew we needed to get some answers. I neutralized him just as Tyson and Holden appeared.
Noting my surprise, Tyson clarified, “Reynolds called Michaels and explained the situation. They’re going after their guy and thought you could use back up. We were close by, so we figured we’d come down and see if you needed a hand. Looks like you’ve got it covered.”
I rolled my eyes. “Can you hang with this motherfucker while I call Detective Baines?”
That got me a chin lift.
I took two steps away and shared, “Just so you know, he thought he was doing the girl some favors. Claiming her face pretty and not battered would be worth more, he decided to punch her in the stomach instead.”
“Go call the detective,” Holden urged, more than a hint of anger in his eyes. “We’ll take care of this guy until Baines and his team arrive.”
I walked away across the lot to where Dom was standing with his arm wrapped protectively around the girl’s shoulders. Before I made an approach, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Detective Baines.
“Cruz Cunningham,” he greeted me. “I hope you’ve got a good update for me.”
“Just stopped an abduction. We’ve got the girl safe and the guy who attempted to take her here with us. Two of my other guys were following another accomplice from the tavern. I haven’t heard anything yet on where they are with him.”
“Where are you?”
“Highland Apartment complex. Back lot on the east side. Behind the building.”
“Nice work. We’re on the way.”
He disconnected and I slid my phone back in my pocket. I walked over to Dom.
“Baines is on the way,” I informed him as I got closer.
I could tell he was keeping a loose hold on his anger as he held the girl in his arms. She looked downright terrified.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“It hurts to breathe,” she responded quietly. Her eyes drifted from mine to Dom’s. “Thank you for helping me.”
His grip on her shoulders tightened. “What’s your name, sugar?” he asked.
“Ekko,” she responded.
“Echo?” he repeated.
“E-K-K-O,” she clarified.
He gave her a look of understanding and asked, “Why were you at the Rusty Spur?”
Her eyes rounded in surprise before she dropped her gaze to the ground and nervously bit her lip. Aside from that, she made no move to answer his question.
“We’re the good guys,” I assured her. “We aren’t here to judge you, darling. What we do need is any information you can give us because there were a few girls before you who were abducted and they’ve not been found yet. Anything you can tell us that can help us locate them is very much appreciated because they weren’t as lucky as you.”
Her voice was feeble when she answered, “I’m not sure I’d consider myself lucky.” She paused a moment, fighting to stay strong when her face showed she was close to breaking down. She took two slow, deep breaths before she continued, “I was desperate. I’ve hit a bit of a rough patch and I’m going to lose my apartment if I don’t figure something out.”
“So, what were you being offered? And by who?”
“A nice man in a suit. I’m a waitress at a diner and he came in a few times. I was having a particularly bad day earlier this week and he happened to be there. He asked me about it and I just couldn’t shut up. When he heard about my troubles he told me he had a great opportunity for me. He said he was an executive at a modeling agency and that I could make a lot of money if I got into the business. It’s not really my thing, but I’m desperate.”
“And you just believed him?” Dom asked.
She shrugged her shoulders, but the disappointment was written all over her face. It was easy to see she now felt foolish. Even still, she explained, “I know I’m short and not typical model material, but he gave me his card. He was dressed nicely and he’d been to the diner a few times. I didn’t think he was a bad guy.”
“Do you have that card?” I questioned her.
She dipped her chin and replied, “In my purse in my car.”
“We’ll need that before we leave.”
“Sure,” she mumbled. “It’s not like I’m going to be calling him again.”
“Just to confirm, I’m guessing because you looked as panicked as you did when this guy approached you that he is not the same man who gave you his card.
She shook her head.
“Don’t you have anyone that can help you out?” Dom pressed her.
She shook her head. “I’ve had an on-again, off-again boyfriend. He offered to allow me to move in with him, but I’d rather not. It’s not…well, that doesn’t matter.”
“What about family? Friends?” I asked.
She didn’t answer with words. She looked down to the ground and it was evident there wasn’t anyone.
“How bad is your situation, Ekko?” Dom asked.
She let out a sarcastic laugh and answered, “They could write a book about me.”
At that, she walked away from us toward her car. Dom and I stood there watching her. Or, I should say, I watched Dom as he watched her walk to her car.
“She’s got a boyfriend,” I reminded him.
His eyes cut to mine. “Yeah, one she doesn’t want to move in with. You heard her hesitation. If that woman was in my bed, she’d not be hesitating. She’s on my radar now.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?”
Dom turned his attention back to Ekko when he answered, “She won’t know. I’m waiting it out, though. When she’s had enough of this guy and he becomes the off-again boyfriend, he’ll never have the chance to become on-again.”
Now it was my turn to laugh.
Ekko walked back over to us and held the card out to me.
“Can I ask you a question, Ekko?” Dom wondered.
“Sure.”
“How is it that you’re surprisingly calm for someone who was just nearly abducted? Most other people would not be handling that this well.”
“Most other people haven’t lived my life,” she answered. “Quite frankly, as terrifying as it was in the moment, the fact that you were here gives me a shred of hope that maybe my luck is turning around. Even if that hope is out of pure desperation.”
Dom and I barely had a minute to process what she said before we heard the sirens.
Several hours later, I was in my truck headed home.
I had briefed Detective Baines on the events of the evening and the meeting Pierce and I had with Frank Jenkins a couple days ago. While I did that, Dom stayed with Ekko as she gave her version of the events that had transpired to one of the detectives. Tyson and Holden dealt with the officers who were there to cuff the suspect and take him to the station. Dom and I then took Ekko to the police station so she could give an official statement. As Dom waited with her, I took the time to reach out to Levi and let him know what had happened. He informed me that Pierce and Lorenzo had called into the office. They tailed the guy from the tavern, but decided against approaching him. They followed him to a townhouse, which they presumed was where he lived, but they decided to wait it out to see what his next move would be. They had given Trent the address and he w
ould be looking into finding any information we could on the guy.
When we left the police station, we took Ekko back to her apartment. Dom saw her safely inside before I took him back to the office so he could get his truck.
It was late. It was much later than I had hoped it would be, but certainly not later than I had expected. Ultimately, it was undoubtedly well past the time that I would be willing to drop back in at Lexi’s place. As much as I wanted to see her and continue what we had started earlier that evening, I wasn’t going to do it at just after two in the morning.
So, I drove myself home.
And the entire way there I allowed myself the opportunity to put the case out of my head as thoughts of Lexi filtered in. It was a good place for my mind to be. Visions of her sweet little body underneath mine filled my brain. I replayed the sounds of her whimpers and moans.
As I pulled into the garage, I grew more and more turned on by thoughts of Lexi. I walked through the house, straight to my bedroom, and into the master bathroom where I turned on the shower. I needed to find some relief, so I stripped out of my clothes and got in. Then, I did what I had to do to alleviate some of the sexual tension.
When I finished in the shower, I found that my attempts to tamp down the desire for Lexi were mostly wasted. All I had to do was think of her and my cock was hard again. Exhausted and feeling little satisfaction, I collapsed on my bed and shoved my face into the pillow. Then, I groaned through my feelings of frustration hoping the slow course with Lexi was going to lead to everything I expected and hoped it would.
It was now Wednesday and had been one day shy of a full week since Cruz left my place to go save the world. He hadn’t come back that night, but he did call me first thing the next morning. Considering he and Dom stopped an attempted abduction, saved a young girl, and made sure one of the bad guys was put behind bars, I didn’t hold a grudge.
