by AJ Llewellyn
“Sure.” He put his small iPad into my hands. “It’s downloading the footage now. We have to be quick, Mingo. I don’t want to wait any longer before we get to our girl.”
“You think she’s in mortal danger?”
“God, I hope not.” He took off at breakneck speed, and I waited for the video to do its thing. We got stuck on Kam Highway with Honolulu Police Department officers patrolling the shoulder on foot. One of them approached Francois’s side of the vehicle. Francois obliged by lowering the window.
“Howzit?” Francois asked.
“Traffic jam. Be about ten minutes. Do I smell cake?” The officer took an appreciative sniff.
Francois grinned. “We just dropped it off.”
The officer nodded, looking disappointed and moved down the line to the vehicle behind us.
“Howzit?” Francois turned his attention to me.
“Still downloading.”
“Oh man. Wi-Fi must be bad out here.” He squinted, and I glanced at his gorgeous crotch. He had the biggest, most beautiful cock in the world, and we were stuck in traffic. According to the egg timer thingy on the downloading video, we had six minutes for it to complete. I stuck my hand out, letting it fall right on the massive boner in Francois’s pants.
“Holy crap, Mingo. What are you doing?”
“Having a little mid-morning snack.”
Francois pushed my hands away from his button-down fly. “We’re in the middle of the frickin’ highway, babe!”
“I know.” I also knew this was a huge fantasy of his. Getting caught. Well, almost getting caught was his fantasy. Getting caught was mine. He held his breath as I popped the buttons. I adored his buttons. I adored his vintage jeans.
And I adored the fuck out of Francois.
“Oh, Francois,” I whispered as I released his gargantuan cock, and it sprang willingly into my possessive hands. I swabbed the glistening head with my tongue, anxious to get every inch of his length into my mouth. But I didn’t want to hurry too much. I licked across the top and down the sides.
“Oh. Don’t torture me,” he snapped. “Suck it. Suck it. Arghh.”
I curled my right forefinger around the base and sucked in every last inch. I’d had a lot of practice and had had to use hypnosis videos I’d found on YouTube to work on my pesky gag reflex. I swallowed him with pride, pulling my mouth up and over the shaft, releasing him with a pop.
He tore at his hair, then my hair, slapped at the steering wheel and let out another groan as I flicked my tongue across the beads of come on his leaking cock head. I waited a beat then drove my tongue into the slit. Just as quickly, I took my tongue away and drove his hot shaft into my mouth again. He bucked against my chin.
“Oh, shit. There’s a cop.”
I didn’t care. I kept sucking with abandon, but I flicked an eye on the road around us. No cops. We were at a standstill. And I noticed the car in front of us had a huge yellow bumper sticker that read I Was Addicted to the Hokey Pokey but I Turned Myself Around. That made me laugh. I focused on the delicious cock in my mouth and tightened my lips around the head. He was really worked up now and kept lifting his ass from the seat as I neared the base. I tightened my grip with two fingers now, and Francois went crazy.
“Mingo! Fuck!” He shot into my mouth and I worked hard to swallow his load.
A knock on the window made us both jump. But it was just some guy panhandling. He took one look at our ferocious man-on-man action and backed away, just missing getting hit by a bus.
“Fantastic.” Francois slumped against his seat and took a breath. I was still swallowing when the cars behind us honked.
“I owe you one.” Francois gave me a loopy grin. “Maybe two.” He surged forward; his cock still semi-hard outside of his jeans.
His iPad pinged. “It’s finished downloading.” I recognized that thick, sleepy tone to his voice, and for the first time, truly got the meaning of blowing a man’s brains out.
And I was mighty proud of myself for doing it.
Chapter Three
I smacked my lips. Mmm. Tasty. I went through the footage from seven-thirty in the morning. The footage from the sushi bar was remarkably clear. And in color.
“This looks like good quality,” I said.
“Of course it is. I installed it, babe.”
I viewed the footage and was stunned to see Benny’s boyfriend, Sage Brantley walking from a parked vehicle right near the camera and moving toward the bakery. He was giving his cock and balls a good shove and a tickle. I’ve never understood why men do this in public and think nobody can see them.
“Sage Brantley was there a little after seven-thirty,” I said.
“Huh. That’s interesting.”
There was a weight of worlds in those words. We’d had a few frisky threesomes with Sage until we ended things with him on account of our growing, serious relationship with each other. Sage didn’t take it too well, but he’d been an FBI agent and had been busy with big cases. We’d er, helped him discover his true, gay sexuality, and I think he was really hung up on Francois.
Each time he returned to Oahu; he’d contacted us. Then we introduced him to Benny, and he and Sage seemed to hit it off. Their only problem seemed to be that Sage’s law enforcement career was ending, and Benny’s was in full bloom. Lately, they seemed to be either madly in love or stony silent with each other. According to my most recent conversation with Benny, things had turned red-hot between them, but I was still unclear about what Sage was doing these days.
“Holy crud!” I shouted.
“What?” Francois had been driving and slammed his foot on the brake.
“Vitoria has all our bread. We forgot to get it.”
His face turned an interesting shade of green. “I thought you got bread at Kam Bakery.”
“I got some. But she was making braided bread rolls for the main course.”
He looked like he was going to hit something. “What’s on the video, Mingo?”
“Sage picked up a box of baked goods. He was stuffing his face as he walked back to the car.”
Francois stared at me, slitty-eyed. “I put him on a low-sodium, gluten-free, sugar-free diet.”
I stared back at him, appalled. “Leaving him to eat, what exactly? Lettuce leaves and mung beans?”
“He wanted to join HPD and they wanted him to lose twelve pounds. I was trying to help!”
“I had no idea you two were talking and…stuff.”
“Mingo. I haven’t seen him. We’ve talked and texted. Nothing more. Jeez. Are you jealous?”
“Who, me? Of course I’m jealous.” I felt demoralized. Sage and Francois were talking. “This is weird. He’s eaten about six malasadas so far. And now he’s eating a bread roll.”
“It better not be one of ours.”
“Doesn’t look like it. I don’t see a braid on it.”
Francois snatched the iPad out of my hands. “He’s going crazy here. Wait. He’s stopped eating. He’s talking to someone.”
“Who?”
“Can’t tell.”
My cell phone rang. I checked the screen. Benny. I took the call as Francois fiddled with his footage.
“Help!” Benny squawked.
No conversation ever went well with Benny when it started with the word, help.
“Sage is in the pokey!” Benny screamed.
The last time Benny called all hysterical like this, he was the one in the pokey.
“Did I hear him say Sage is in jail?” Francois ignored the row of cars honking us and kept his gaze on me.
I nodded.
“Only Benny could make a guy contemplate empty carbohydrates or embark on some kind of crime spree. Frankly, the way he scarfed six malasadas is bordering on criminal behavior if you ask me. I mean, six. Who does that?”
I do. When I’m not with you.
“Mingo. Help!” Benny shouted. “I gotta spring Sage, and I have a client I bonded out who’s disappeared.”
“What’s
Sage in for?” I asked.
“Don’t you dare,” Francois shouted. “It’s our wedding day.” He waved his iPad around. “And he’s killing his triglycerides.”
If you say so. I had a rudimentary idea what they were, and I had a feeling malasadas weren’t good for them.
“Any idea who he was talking to?” I asked Francois.
He shook his head. “Hang up.”
“Who are you talking to?” Benny asked me.
“Francois.” My lover was going berserk trying to get me to hang up. “I’ll call you back,” I told Benny and ended the call. “What’s going on?”
With a sigh, Francois turned the iPad around to me. Oh. My. God. Sage was talking to some guy and it looked flirtatious. Then they were kissing and then Sage offered him a malasada. How many did he buy? I wondered.
Then came the kicker. The guy he was talking to spun Sage around and slammed him against the hood of the car.
Francois pointed to the guy’s badge. “He arrested him. Looks like an undercover op.”
“Oh. God. You mean he probably got arrested for soliciting?”
“Looks like it.” Francois kept watching the security footage. “We’ve got enough problems. Sage is such a dumbass. Shoulda stuck with his diet. All that sugar after so much deprivation will make anyone crazy. And being with Benny is enough to make any man eat a gazillion donuts. Or contemplate felonious activity.”
“Sweetie, I think you’re being a bit harsh. He was probably flirting. I can’t imagine he was soliciting sex at seven-thirty in the morning. Especially with a box full of baked goods in his hands.”
“So says the voice of experience.” Francois shook his head.
My phone rang. Benny again. He kept ringing. And ringing.
Francois said, “Mingo. Did you get a look at the guy who arrested him?” He looked worried now.
“No. I didn’t see his face. Is it somebody we know?”
Francois froze the frame, then tilted the iPad toward me. My heart stopped. I swear. It was Jason Strand, the guy I’d been seeing when I met Francois. In fact, Jason had posed as a recently released felon from the mainland but had started stalking me. I’d called Francois on Leilani’s recommendation to catch him in the act. We’d discovered he was a private eye hired by Benny to follow me. He’d been obsessed with Kaolin Grace, a man we’d both loved and lost. For some reason he believed I’d taken Kaolin back, which I hadn’t. But thanks to Benny’s insanity, Francois came into my life.
My cell phone rang again. Benny! Damn him! That duplicitous, untrusting snake! He’d brought that loony tune Jason into my life. My home. Why was I even still dealing with this guy?
“Better answer it,” Francois muttered.
I took the call the fifth time Benny called. “Help!” he shouted again. I was curious how he was going to explain Sage’s arrest.
“They say he solicited an undercover officer,” Benny said before I could even utter a word.
“Do you know who the officer is?” I asked.
“No. They won’t tell me anything.”
“Jason Strand.”
“Who—oh my God. You’re joking, right?”
“No, Benny. I’m watching the footage right now. He got taken down at your cousin’s bakery.”
“What was he doing at the bakery?” Benny sounded unhinged.
“Eating malasadas and bread rolls.”
“Oh no. Don’t tell Francois. He’s had Sage on a real strict diet.”
“Yeah. I know. He’s not very happy. And he’s tormented about Sage’s triglycerides.”
“I’m worried about his head,” Benny said.
“His head? What’s wrong with it?”
“When I get my hands on him, I’m gonna pulverize it!”
“I see. Well, what can I do for you?” I asked.
“You surprised me by telling me Jason is the one who arrested him. I didn’t even know he was on island. Are you sure it’s him, Mingo?”
“Yeah. I’m sure. What do you want from me?” I was angry now.
“Well, I don’t want your help getting him out of there, that’s for sure. He can stay there until tomorrow as far as I’m concerned.”
My thoughts raced. One less wedding guest? Ferric is gonna freak! On the other hand, it might not be such a bad thing. The way Sage was scarfing down those baked goods, he mightn’t have left anything for anyone else.
“I’ve got another problem,” Benny said. “I bonded out a suspect late last night, got him to my apartment to get him showered and cleaned up before we went to court today, and he’s disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“Yeah. And he took my car, that frickin’ lowlife!”
“I hope you reported it stolen.”
“Hell, no. I want him to come back home. I don’t want to scare him.”
“Back home?”
“He’s my cousin,” Benny said.
Fine company you keep. It took everything in me not to say the words aloud. “What was he arrested for?”
“Multiple charges. He’s a lovely guy, Really. But ever since he lost his job, he’s been a bit of a nut.”
“So, what do you want me to do?”
“I want you and Francois to find him. I know Francois put some doohickey on my car last month as a favor. Maybe he can activate it.”
“We’re getting married today!” I yelled. “Call HPD. Get them to put a BOLO out on your cousin.”
“No can do. They’re plenty mad at me for getting him out. They said he’d be a flight risk.”
“Have you checked the airport for your vehicle?” I asked.
“No. I don’t mean a literal flight risk. He’s deathly afraid of planes.”
“I know what flight risk means!” My blood pressure wasn’t coping too well with my conversation with Benny. I glanced at Francois. He was grinning at me. What was so funny?
Benny went on. “I’ll send you a photo of Lippy now.”
“Lippy?” I asked.
“Yeah. Lippy Maleo.”
“His mother called him Lippy?”
“Well, no. But he got a fat lip in a pre-school scuffle when he was three and it’s never gone down. His real name is Lewis. But nobody calls him that.”
“How fat is his lip?”
“You’ll see.” Benny had the audacity to hang up on me. He sent the photo. Yowser! That was some huge lip on that guy’s face! It almost reached his nose. His rap sheet wasn’t cute either. His early record had been sealed until he reached the age of seventeen and embarked on a life of disorderly crime. He appeared to have a fondness for ah, scuffles and stealing women’s lingerie from department stores. His latest infraction involved check kiting. I followed a link Benny had sent. An article in the Star-Advertiser reported:
Police say they have uncovered a check-kiting ring involving at least six people who stole from at least fifteen victims.
Five people have been arrested so far including Lewis L. Maleo, 24, whom a police source said is the ringleader of the group.
Maleo was arrested on Friday and charged over the weekend on second-degree theft and warrant charges. Other counts may be pending against Maleo, of no current address. He is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.
He was arrested at the Navy Federal Credit Union on Radford Drive at the joint Pearl Harbor/Hickam Air Force Base about noon Friday.
“Oh, boy, he’s stupid. Pulling a con job at Pearl Harbor.” I showed Francois the article and kept reading.
Police believe he used a group of people to open accounts and deposit checks into them, and then withdrew the funds before the checks were found to be non-negotiable.
“He sounds like a winner.” Francois rolled his eyes. “Benny sure has some classy cousins. Oh, look at that. Three other people believed to be his accomplices were arrested the previous week at the same place. I guess when Lippy got that fat lip, it affected his brain as well.”
“He’s a chef. Lost his job w
hen his restaurant closed down six months ago,” I said. I was starting to feel sorry for Lippy.
“Boo hoo,” Francois said.
I couldn’t argue with that kind of sarcasm. “What about our bread?” I asked, changing the subject.
Francois’s expression turned sour. “I’m sending your mom over there. Vitoria won’t be able to say no to her.” He tapped away on his cell phone.
“And what do we do now?” I asked.
“I’ve been checking the surveillance footage. I saw our girl. She never went into the bakery with the dog, but it looks like she went in there on her own. The footage cuts out after that. No idea why.”
“Think someone tampered with it?”
Francois seemed deep in thought. “It occurred to me. But they can’t delete it from me. I created the system. I’ve got access to it for thirty days, but I need to get home to my computers. I need to get to that bakery footage. That asshole Benny changed the password to the system.”
“That was sneaky of him. Can’t you override it?”
“I can. But then I’ll owe Benny big time and I don’t want to owe that little peanut a damned thing.”
“Right. I’ll ask him for it.”
Francois heaved a sigh. “With what leverage?”
“Oh, yeah. Well. How about I tell him you’re tracking his car? Just like he asked.”
Francois’s expression brightened. “Okay. Do it.”
“Are you going to track his car?”
“Maybe.”
“You’re gonna make me lie?”
“We have a priority.” Francois swung the SUV around and almost collided with a vehicle coming from the opposite direction.
“Hey, that’s Mom.” I pointed. “She’s got Mele and Debbie in the car.”
“She just gave me the finger. Mingo, does your mom think I can’t see her?”
“I’m sure she doesn’t realize it’s you.” My cell phone rang. A text from my mom. She said something rude about Francois I’d rather not repeat.
“Is that her? Did she say something about me?”
“No, no,” I lied. Geez. I was already getting good at it. I texted Benny and told him we were on his cousin’s trail and could he please give me the code for the surveillance camera at the bakery.
