“How do you know it was self-defense?”
“Because she told me.”
Reba rolls her eyes.
I lean forward. “And because I believe her. She’s an amazing woman, Reba. She’s educated, she’s talented… I have a feeling in my gut.”
“Feelings are lovely,” she says, slapping the file closed. “I had a few of them ten minutes ago in that damn elevator. You shut them all down.”
My jaw twitches.
“Do you have any evidence?” She pushes the file away.
“I… can get some,” I say, even though I have no idea where to begin lookin’ for it, especially since Candy told me to leave this and her alone.
“If we have evidence of her abusive history, it’ll be a no-brainer,” she says with a shrug, “but without it…”
“I’ll get it.”
Reba narrows her eyes. “What’s in it for me?” she whispers.
I swallow a sigh. This was the fuckin’ part I’d been waiting for. “What do you want?” I bite out.
My question causes her to ram her chair back and stalk over to where I’m sitting, until she’s in my lap. She tries to smother with kisses and affection, but I’m gentle with her as I turn my face to the side and create distance. “I’m sorry, Reba. I can’t give you that.”
“What… do you mean you can’t give me that?” she asks, neck twisting back slightly. “Just a few months ago, you were willing to give me whatever I wanted.”
“Yeah,” I recalled, “that was until I met Candace. I like her a lot, Reba. In fact, I like her more than I’ve… liked anybody my whole entire life.”
“You sound ridiculous, Emmerson,” she accuses me, still settled on my lap. “You haven’t even known this woman long. Aside from that, she’s a felon. She’s the kind of person you lock up and throw away the key.”
“I already told you, she’s innocent,” I argue. “And I’m gonna’ give you what you need so you can prove it. In the meantime, I want the Feds off her.”
Reba rolls her eyes away from me, but I tilt her chin until her gaze is back on me. “Reba,” I whisper. “You’re the best woman for the job. You’re a beast in the courtroom – it’s an established fact. Even if there was somebody else I could go to with this, I wouldn’t because I know you’re the best at what you do.”
Her expression softens. A little.
“I’ll give you whatever you want,” I assure her, running my hand over her candy curls. “Just not this.”
Reba expels a long, deep sigh and finally removes herself from my lap. I watch as she straightens her attire and walks over to an elaborate painting on her wall and stares at it.
“There’s a guy I’m fucking in the federal office,” she mutters.
Silence.
She turns around to face me. “I’ll have him handle the arrest warrant. In the meantime, I need you to get that evidence you keep talking about. Once I have that I can fix everything.”
I can’t keep the smile off my face. If I didn’t think she’d read more into it, I’d kiss her. I hop out of the seat. “Thank you, Reba,” I say. “Thanks a million. And as for that guy in the federal office, if he acts like a jackass, you know who to call. I’ll handle him.”
Candy
My legs are like jelly by the time I make it home and it’s for several reasons. One, I can’t believe Trigger knows about my past. Granted, if he didn’t know it, I sure enough told it to him. But to think, the entire three days, he’d acted like he was so into me, when all he’d come to do was take me in.
The other reason my legs were shaking was because they missed being wrapped around his thick waist. Damn, his dick had been strong and long. When I’d wrapped my mouth around it, the surface was smooth like dulce de leche and he tasted like a dream. I’d never met a man like Trigger: the confidence, the sex appeal. Those long locks… he was like a cross between a terminator and Rapunzel.
I needed to stop thinking about him. It made no sense, served no purpose. Whatever foundation we’d built through that online dating platform and over the past three days was weak. That was the problem with meeting people online. It was also the problem when meeting people in real life: you couldn’t trust them to be who they said they were. Both Alex and Trigger had deceived me.
I got to work in time for my shift and acted like nothing had happened. Part of me wanted to tell Madame Elektra, but I didn’t want to alarm her. I’d told Trigger to leave it alone and if he knows what was good for him, he’ll listen to me. Still, as I peek into the buzzing mid-week Golden Girlz crowd, I half expect him to be there.
He isn’t.
Disappointment apprehends me, but I nudge it away, just as Madame Elektra rounds the bend.
“Candy, you’re off the pole and working the floor,” she announces. This is her way of saying, welcome to work. Tonight, she’s wearing a leather jumpsuit, which punctuates her boss-lady status perfectly. She’s so amazing, but…
“The floor?” I balk. Wait, if you’re putting me on that floor, that must mean – ”
“I’m promoting you,” she beats me to the punch. “I’ve been watching you and I think you’re ready. In fact, I’m doing a little succession planning.”
My brows crease as I approach her. “You’re leaving Golden Girlz?”
“I’m never leaving Golden Girlz,” she asserts, incredulous, “but I’m thinking ahead, being proactive. I brought you here three months ago, and my intel suggests that attention is being brought to the club. I need to switch things up a little. I’m still trying to figure it all out, but in the meantime, I’m going to move you around. Might even send you somewhere else, if the shit gets too crazy.”
My throat tightens.
“I have a few ideas in my back pocket, but I’m not sold on any of them yet. Either way, we need to start thinking more seriously about how we’re going to handle your situation.”
I nod, head feeling like a bowling ball on my neck.
“I was married to Alex for three years,” I tell her. She’s heard the story, but I feel compelled to remind her of the details. “He started becoming abusive on the honeymoon. It was three years of hell and I felt powerless to do anything about it. People at work would turn a blind eye to the situation because he was my boss. Half of them shunned me when they learned we had a relationship in the first place.” I shake my head, trying to erase the tears stinging the back of my eyes. “None of them were willing to help.”
“We don’t need them,” Madame says placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “But we need someone. We just have to figure out who it is.” She pauses and looks ahead, thinking.
I’m thinking too. About Trigger. Maybe I should tell her about him, but how can we trust him? How can I trust him? Thanks to Alex, I don’t trust anyone anymore.
“I have video,” I whisper out of the blue.
Madame’s hand tightens on my shoulder. “Video of…”
“Of Alex,” I explain, “manhandling me. The last few times, before it got to the point where I…” I can’t even finish the sentence… “I set up my camera and tucked it in the corner of the room. I got the idea off the internet.”
Madame Elektra’s mouth pulls into a thin line. “It’s a start,” she says. “Maybe if we get a good lawyer and give them the video, it’ll be enough to prove you were defending yourself.”
I nod, hopeful.
Madame grunts. “Get to work,” she suggests. “Later, I’ll send you home to get everything you have. We’ll figure something out.”
Hope rises inside of me.
“How’d everything go with that new client?”
I almost choke on spit. “It… went well,” I answer, fitting a smile onto my face. “He was a real gentleman. He couldn’t get enough of me. You saw my bank balance.”
She laughs. “None of them can get enough of the Candy,” she says, lowering her gaze. “When he comes back, you’ll have to – ”
“He won’t be back,” I say.
“Oh.” Her
back straightens. “Okay…” She pauses, but the look in her eye lets me know I haven’t fooled her completely.
I ease away from her, eager to change the subject. “Which section of the club do you want me to host?”
That seems to do it. Madame Elektra issues my new orders and a team of stylists arrive to offer me a new wardrobe. This isn’t remotely as sexy as what I’m used to wearing on stage, but I’m not that girl anymore. Hell, I was never that girl. All the moves I know have come courtesy of my new sisters and a trial-by-fire training during my first week. Sadness snakes over me when I realize I wish Trigger – no, Emmerson – had met Candace and not Candy. That’s who he’d seen on N2U. Now, the only picture he had of me was the slut who worked a pole for cash and fancy hotel rooms.
I sigh and shift my mind into work mode, but Trigger isn’t far from my thoughts.
Trigger
Three Days Later
I make a conscious decision to rent the same car I had last week, because when I bump into Candy, I don’t want there to be any qualms about who it is throwin’ her into the backseat. Anticipation has me quaking in my boots. It’s only been a few days since I seen her, but it feels like it’s been months and I can’t wait to touch her again – if she’ll let me. But before I can resign myself to these delightful reminisces, there’s something I gotta’ do.
After I coaxed Reba into handling the case, I realized I’d signed myself up for an impossible task. I needed to find evidence that Candy’s ex-husband was an abuser, but how the hell am I gonna’ do it? I’d left Reba’s office and gunned it back to the ranch. Colt was nowhere to be found, which meant I could use the database without the benefit of him hanging over my shoulder, askin’ questions or houndin’ me about that motherfucker, Sammy Hill.
I’d searched the entire internet for information on Alex Parker, but the only things to come up were all of his prestigious accolades and achievements. The asshole was clean – no history I could refer to. No records or files to pull.
Now, back in Atlanta, the only thing I can do is try and talk to Candy again, see if she has something. Of course, though, she ain’t talking to me – and when I go to Golden Girlz that night, she ain’t dancing. I waited for an entire hour and she never graced the stage.
Gottdamn, where you at, Sweetness?
I leave the establishment and sit in the Lexus, which I done parked in the same spot I’d sexed her in, just last week. Whipping out my cell phone, I call her cell number. She didn’t given it to me, but I’m a bounty hunter and the hell if she thinks I won’t have ways to track her down. I even know where she lives, and if she doesn’t answer this call, that’s gonna’ be my next move.
The phone trills and trills.
Candy never picks up.
I can’t even relish in the sound of her sweet voice coming through on a voicemail message. It’s only the generic one.
I smash my finger on the button to end the call and drop the cell onto the empty seat next to me.
I’m gonna’ have to go to her house. There’s no other option.
I plug her address into my GPS and head straight for her apartment. The place is in darkness when I get there, but maybe that’s a good thing. Had she been home, there’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll be distracted from my task. I have an entire to-do list. I need to gain access and scour the place. Not only that, I need to be strategic about it. With Candy near, the only evidence I’ll be getting is her soaked through panties.
I pull the Lexus up against the curb and sink down in the seat for ten minutes, just to make sure there’s no activity. When I’m satisfied, I approach the front door and easily pick the lock.
The space is small and quaint, like she is. I draw in a breath and catch traces of her perfume. Just like that, my cock stirs.
This is bad. No woman has ever done this to me; but Candy… I want her so badly. Even after three days, her taste is still on my tongue. If I was a dirty-ass bastard, I wouldn’t have bathed or even cleaned my teeth, just to keep her scent on me.
I scan my new surroundings in the dark, taking a few cautious steps.
The place is completely empty.
I turn on my cell phone’s flashlight, grateful for the illumination it affords. Then, I start my investigation. I rip open drawers and cupboards and scour them, peering at papers and in envelopes. After ten minutes, I put everything back in place and advance deeper into the house. I continue, searching every room, looking for something – anything – that will prove Candy’s ex-husband was a monster. Maybe she has letters. Maybe there’s some kind of footage she got or…
The thought arrests in my mind.
I creep my way through the small apartment until I’m in her bedroom, but I freeze on the spot.
There’s her single bed, adorned with stuffed animals. It’s nothing like the one she laid on in the Ritz. It’s common and modest. I turn the flashlight and survey the room some more. The furniture is worn and tattered. It looks second-hand, like she got it from Good Will. Paint is peeling off the walls and the carpet is ragged.
Something in my heart jerks, especially when I think of the life she could have. I can’t imagine the shit she’s been through. Candy is so sweet, like her name. Sweetness doesn’t deserve this kinda’ livin’. If she’d only give me a chance, I’d make it all better. She’d never have to worry about me disrespecting her. She’d never have to worry about me manhandling her. She’d never have to worry about anything.
My teeth grit with a new determination as I pull open the drawers to her rickety dresser. I dig through her undergarments and when my hands curl around an out of date cell phone, I pause.
For more reasons than one…
“What the hell are you doing in my apartment?”
I’m immobilized by the sound of Candy’s voice. She’s whispering, but it’s gritty and it sifts through me like rushing water. This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been caught in a compromising position, but it sure as hell is my first time being caught and turned on as fuck by it.
I lower my hand to my side and turn to face her. “I told you I’d be back, didn’t I? Guess you didn’t believe me,” I whisper. I take a step in her direction and she backs away.
I don’t have a problem playin’ cat and mouse. “Don’t run from me, Candy,” I advise.
“I…” her voice cracks. “I told you to leave me alone, Trigger.”
“And did you actually think I’d be able to do something like that? Huh? After three days having you all to myself?” I cock my head to the side. “You thought one serving of Candy would be enough for me? I’ve got a serious sweet tooth, Love.”
Candy’s eyes flutter, but there’s a determination in them, making them glint. “I should call the damn cops and tell them there’s a burglar in my house.”
I chuckle, amused by her threat. There’s no need for me to counter. We both know she ain’t calling no-damn-body.
My silence makes her back stiffen. “Why the hell are you searching through my drawers?” she demands. “What do you think you’re going to find?”
“Evidence,” I answer.
“What?”
“I told you I can fix it,” I remind her, “and I did. Made contact with a top-notch lawyer in Bisbee who’s agreed to take you on – get everything sorted out. All she needed was somethin’ to prove that your ex-husband is the guy you say he was.”
Her mouth twitches and I hold up the phone.
“Anything on this?”
She doesn’t move and I quickly approach her before she can think about running away from me.
The plan is to give her the cell phone.
The plan is to charge it up and go through her photos and videos.
But the best laid plans of mice and men are nothing in the face of primal lust and desire.
The minute I’m within kissing-distance, that’s exactly what I do. I take Candy’s mouth with mine and I ain’t gentle about it either. I want her so bad, sense ain’t common no more. My mouth crushes h
ers as I cup the back of her neck and draw her closer. I’m half afraid she’s gonna’ deny me this pleasure, but when she smashes herself against me and moans into my mouth, that fear disappears.
“You miss me?” I rasp. I’m undoing the fancy-ass shirt she’s wearing.
“I…”
“Did you?”
“Yes,” she breaths. She deepens the kiss. “I missed you, Trigg, but – ”
I don’t wanna’ hear ‘but’.
I groan and slide the top off her smooth shoulders.
“I missed you too,” I admit.
Cowboys don’t make themselves vulnerable, but the hell if I ain’t a pansy-ass tonight.
“I need that pussy, Candy,” I continue to reveal, mouth now on her throat. I take her soft breast in my hand and roll my thumb over the nipple, pressing against her lace bra. “Fuck, I need you.”
She pulls away. “You… need me? Really Trigg?”
“Really, Sweetness.” I graze my thumb over her cheek. “Really. I could never lie about somethin’ that.”
There’s nothing more to be said, only action to be demonstrated. I fucked her in the back seat of a Lexus, so a twin-sized bed won’t be a problem.
I lift her off the ground as our mouths connect, and Candy wraps her slender legs around my waist. This damn belt buckle is gettin’ in my way.
As if reading my mind, Candy reaches down and undoes it. Then, she unzips my demin to eject my throbbing erection.
I take her to the bed and finish the job of undressing her. The skirt slides down her thighs, leaving garters and panties.
“You knew I was comin’ back, didn’t you? That’s why you’re wearin’ this shit. For me.”
She laughs.
As pretty as they are, I want them off.
Her kitten, plump and moist stares at me like it’s daring me to take it. Accepting the challenge, I dip my face between her shaking thighs and taste her again, for the first time in three days. Her sensual cream fills my mouth as I flick her clitoris with my tongue.
Double Dipped: The Lunchtime Chronicles Page 4
