by Lisa Gerkey
“They’re not for sale. Is there a reason you keep showing up at my table?”
This might not be the conversation I’d hoped for, but I’ll take any excuse I can find to be close to her for a few minutes. I sit down in the chair beside Jaycee.
“You’re new here. I want to make sure your experience and your first impression of this place is positive. If there’s anything I can do to make it so, please let me know.”
“You could change your stupid alcohol rule.”
“You almost make me want to, but I can’t. I want to keep my club as safe as possible for everyone. There are clubs and bars all over the city for people who want to drink. That isn’t the purpose of The Grind.”
Jaycee’s bouncing her knee under the table. I don’t know if the club makes her nervous or if it’s me. I’ve watched her since she got here. From what I can tell she doesn’t seem too bothered by anything that’s going on. Her eyes roam around the room but she doesn’t linger on one thing too long, probably because she’s embarrassed to watch.
“I think it’s safe to say your club isn’t for me.”
“It’s not for everyone and that’s fine. That’s one reason I included guest night. I want people to have a place to explore their curiosity in a safe environment. If you decide you’d like to see more, let me know. What you see out here in the main area is mild and only a small part of what the club has to offer.”
I ease out of the seat when I see her friends are coming back to the table. Jaycee isn’t in the mood to entertain me or even talk tonight. While she doesn’t hide her interest, she’s a long way from being ready to explore the club. She may never be, and oddly, that doesn’t seem to bother me.
Chapter Three
Jaycee
For months, I’ve searched for information and followed every lead I can find. Unfortunately, all I’ve found are dead ends. I keep hoping Kennedy will show up, but that becomes less likely as more time passes.
David swore she didn’t return home the night I disappeared. I can never be too sure he’s telling me the truth. I suspect when I didn’t return home that night he forced her to leave too. He had an uncontrollable dislike for my little sister, and I never knew why.
I wipe my sweaty palms down my sides and stare at the heavy glass door with the sign, Masters Security, attached to it. I’ve gotten through the last year and a half asking no one for help. It’s the last thing I want to do, but I don’t stand a chance of finding Kennedy without someone to help me.
The police have done nothing. Every time I talk to them, they try to convince me she isn’t missing. She’s just gone off somewhere and doesn’t want to be found, they say.
She and I may have had our problems. We didn’t get along great, mostly, because we were so young when we faced a situation neither of us was prepared to handle. People fail to understand, the relationship she and I had before our parents died was indestructible. Love like she and I have for each other doesn’t go away because we argued sometimes.
“You know, I don’t think the door will open itself.”
My breath catches when I hear his deep raspy voice behind me. My skin tingles from head to toe, but nerves fluttering in my stomach prevent me from turning to see the person attached to the sexy tone. A large arm reaches around me to push the door open. “We’re getting a line going, sugar.”
“What the fuck’s going on here?” Another voice, not as deep as the first one and doesn’t affect me the same, speaks.
Knowing I can’t stand here acting like an idiot any longer, I turn.
Mistake.
I come face to face with a solid, broad chest only a few inches from my face.
Mistake number two comes when I look up at him.
A chiseled face covered with yesterday’s growth and deep blue eyes that twinkle with… amusement… look down at me.
He’s the same man I met at that club a few nights ago. The way he’s looking at me, I’m sure he remembers too.
“I… I… Um… I was hoping I could find someone to help me. My sister… she’s missing…”
“Come inside so we can talk.”
The man behind him mumbles something to himself before he steps around the two of us to go inside the building.
“I guess I can do that.”
All eyes are on us when we walk into the waiting area. Another man sits behind a cluttered and disorganized desk. He takes a break from his work to look up at us. The guy that came in before us is talking to a young blonde haired woman. Her eyes grow huge when she sees me, and it looks like she does a double take.
Why the hell is everyone looking at me?
I researched before I showed up here, so I know I’m not the first person to come here looking for a private investigator. I feel confident they have the manpower and the skills to help me find Kennedy.
If only I can get past the hardest part and talk to someone. All the attention is making it difficult since I don’t understand why I’m so entertaining to everyone.
“I’m taking this young woman to my office and see what we can do for her. If I have any calls, take a message, and I’ll deal with it later.”
“You got it,” The man behind the desk replies, with an odd expression on his face.
I don’t know why, but something tells me my coming here has put the whole damn place on edge.
“I’m Grant Masters. The man you saw behind the desk, he’s my brother, Jonathon. The other guy is Jensen Beck and his fiancée, Madison. She doesn’t work here, but if we take your case and you spend much time with us, you’ll see a lot of her.”
For a second, when we came in, I thought I might recognize her from somewhere, but I shake it off and concentrate on the reason I’m here.
Nerves kick into overdrive. The front I usually keep in place when I’m around people is the only way I know how to deal. Something tells me to turn the bitchiness down a few degrees if I expect anyone here to listen.
“I’m Jaycee. We met before… at the club.”
“You mean The Grind?” His eyes dance and a slight smirk appears on his face… his very, very attractive face.
I can feel embarrassment spread across my skin, and I guess I take a little too long before I say anything.
“Listen, Jaycee, there’s no reason to be embarrassed. The Grind is my club, but I keep that separate from this. We don’t need to talk about anything that goes on there. In fact, if you read the disclosure you signed, you know it’s prohibited to talk about anything you see once you leave the club. If you’d like to discuss your experience there, then you need to come back to The Grind. Let’s keep it to what brings you here today. Shall we?”
“My sister… it’s been a little over eighteen months since I’ve seen her. I don’t know where to look for her. I’ve talked to the police, but they’re convinced she isn’t missing.”
“You don’t believe them? Were you close to your sister?”
“Yes! She is my sister. She’s six years younger than me. Because of the age difference, we weren’t exactly best friends, but we’re the only family each of us has left. When our parents died, we received a large inheritance, but Kennedy can’t touch it until she turns twenty-one. Her birthday is coming up soon. That alone is reason enough for her to contact me. I haven’t heard a single word.”
I stare at the floor while I talk. Being alone with someone inside of a room this small is hard for me, but with Grant, there’s a whole different uneasiness. It’s hard to avoid looking at him. His dark hair and the stubble on his face draw my attention. Even though I try to look away, I can’t. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt any connection with a man, even before the kidnapping and abuse. Honestly, I’m not sure I ever felt like this when I looked at David.
I’m too damaged to think I could be with anyone because I have nothing to offer a man. Whatever feelings stir, I know I should ignore them. Grant’s so strong, and I can tell he’s confident. I’m sure he prefers strong women just like him. For all I know, he alrea
dy has someone in his life. I remember the dark-haired woman I saw him with at the club. I could never be like her or any of the women who go to The Grind.
Although, my friends seem to think the lifestyle could play a big role in my recovery. It works for Kat, but I’m sure it’s because she and Jeff were already together before the ordeal. She already had experience. I have nothing. David wasn’t a great lover, even initially. Besides the assholes Malcolm forced on me, David is the only experience I have.
Grant pushes a notepad and pen across the desk. “Give me your information; name, phone number, address — and everything you can give me on your sister, including her date of birth. I’ll dig around a little and see if I can find something. I’ll be in touch in the next day or two.”
My hand brushes against his when I reach for the paper. I jerk back when I feel the shock between us.
“Thank you, Mr. Masters. I appreciate any help I can get.”
My voice sounds a hell of a lot more fearless than I’m feeling at the moment.
“Call me, Grant and, Jaycee, relax. Okay? I can tell you’re nervous. You’re in good hands here.”
Why do I get the impression, he’s not only talking about finding my sister?
I stand from my seat to excuse myself. He gets up simultaneously and walks around the desk.
“I look forward to hearing from you. Please call me if you find anything. All I want is to know my sister is okay. If I find her, and she’s off somewhere doing her own thing, that’s fine. I only need to know she’s alive.”
When I reach the door, Grant rests his hand against my lower back. The contact is too much when it’s unexpected. Without thinking I whirl around to face him.
“Don’t touch me! I… I don’t like strangers putting their hands on me.”
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Like I said a minute ago, you’re safe here, Jaycee.”
What the hell does he know about my need to feel safe?
He knows nothing about my life, about the fucked up shit I’ve had to do. I only need his help with finding Kennedy and nothing more. Because of that, I bite my tongue and stay quiet.
When we leave his office, there’s one man left out front, seated behind the receptionist’s desk.
“Jon, I’d like to introduce you to Jaycee. She needs help with tracking down her sister. I told her I’ll check a few things out and see if we can offer our services to her.” He turns. “This is Jonathon. Most of us call him Jon. If you think of anything, or something new comes up, you can get in touch with either of us.”
Grant picks up two business cards from the desk and places them in my hand. One has his information on it, phone numbers for his work and his personal cell number. The second card has the other agents’ information.
“I’m sure Grant will take excellent care of you. If there’s ever a problem, let us know. I hope we’re able to help you find your sister. Don’t get disheartened if it takes a little time. These cases don’t always move as fast as we’d like.”
“Thank you. Both of you. I hope you can find something.”
Since I’m finished here, I need a trip to the gym to relax and calm down a little. I’m sure part of my stress and agitation comes from talking about Kennedy, but the bigger concern is being around Grant and how it makes me feel. I’m not sure how to handle it. A good hard workout seems like a good place to start.
Chapter Four
Grant
“So, how do you feel now that she’s shown up here? She looks different from how I remember. She’s a knockout, that’s for sure.”
“You better not let Madison hear you say that.” I chuckle.
Jensen and Madison are solid as a rock. They’ve been through hell, and it took a long time to find their way back to one another. Jensen spent years not even knowing he had a little girl until the two reconnected four years after their first encounter. Jenny’s a spitting image of the two.
I’m glad they have their business figured out, but I wish they’d stay out of mine. They both took turns pestering me, wanting to know when I planned to find Jaycee.
Hell, I had no reason to find her. She doesn’t know who I am, or anything about my part in the things that went down with Malcolm.
“Madison agrees with me. It thrilled her when she saw you and Jaycee together. You know Madison believes in fairy tales and happy endings. I didn’t use to, but I do now. Man, my advice is if you even think you have feelings for her, fight for them. I’m sure it will take patience and work, but it might be worth it.”
“Yeah, whatever. Right now I need to focus on finding her sister. From what I can tell, she vanished about a year and a half ago. She’s got a shitload of social media activity until then, but after that, there’s nothing.”
“Huh.” Jensen scratches his chin, deep in thought.
“Do you suppose something happened to her the same way as Jaycee and Madison? I’m sure Jaycee’s story is different. All the girls have a different story about how they got mixed up in the fucker’s business. You need to sit her down and talk about it.”
Jensen isn’t suggesting anything I haven’t thought myself. I’m not looking forward to asking Jaycee about what happened to her. Eighteen months later, I know the only thing she wants to do is leave it in the past and move on with her life.
I can tell she hasn’t moved forward much. She fails to hide how frightened she is when she’s in a tight space with someone. Hell, she nearly jumped out of her skin when I laid my hand on her back to guide her through the door.
She’s built walls up and does her best to show everyone she’s recovered and moved on from her past. I don’t think many people get to see who she really is.
“I know I should talk to her about it, and I will… soon. I dread it because she doesn’t remember me. Jaycee doesn’t have a clue I was a part of the fucked up mess with Phoenix.”
I can tell he’s uncertain. Hell, so was I when he wanted me to help him get inside Phoenix’s place so he could be close to Madison. Jensen’s a good friend. I know I can trust him, and I’m sure he’ll talk to Madison and make sure she lets nothing slip. Jon always minds his own business, so I know I shouldn’t need to worry about him. He might give me hell when we’re in private, but he’d say nothing in front of Jaycee.
“I won’t say anything, G, but secrets always come out sooner or later. I don’t know what went on between the two of you. It might be better if you come clean with her about everything if you expect her to open up to you.”
I comb my fingers through my hair, frustrated because they all think something went on with her. It didn’t.
Something slammed into my chest the first time I saw her, but I didn’t have the chance to figure out what it was.
“Nothing happened with Jaycee. I watched the shit that went on every day and saw things they forced her to do. I can’t explain why I cared more when it was her. The only time I got close enough to touch her was one night after… I don’t want to get into it. It has nothing to do with finding her sister. That’s all I’ll concentrate on right now. I’ll help Jaycee find her sister, and then I’ll worry about everything else.”
Jensen stands up from his seat.
“Good luck with that, G. If you need my help, let me know.”
“Shit! I almost forgot. Emily’s birthday is coming up soon. I’m having a small party at my place to celebrate. You should bring Madison.”
After Madison got all jealous and upset when she saw Jensen talking to my sister one day, they got together and have become good friends.
“Sounds like fun. I’ll talk to Madison. If we can get a sitter, I’m sure we’ll be there.”
I know Jaycee and Josh are friends, so after work, I drop in the tattoo shop to talk with him. It’s getting late, almost closing time, but sometimes they hang around after hours with their friends.
The bell rings when I open the door. Jeff and Kat spring away from each other, I can tell they weren’t expecting anyone. “Hey, guys. Is Josh still he
re?”
“He’s in the back. Kat and I are heading out. Tell him to lock everything up when he leaves.”
I stop in my tracks when I see her. Long dark hair hangs down her bare back. I can tell she’s in great shape. The muscles in her back ripple when she moves. She’s fucking stunning.
The ink on her skin is sexy. I want to trace every line with my fingertips. She has a dreamcatcher tattooed on her back. I’m not close enough to see every detail, but I can tell a lot of work’s gone into it. I watch her raise her arms in the air and slip her sweatshirt over her gorgeous, curvy body. She wiggles her ass from side to side a little to help the shirt fall into place.
I realize I’ve been standing, paralyzed from watching her when I snap out of it and find Josh watching me with a smug look on his face.
“Grant, you trying to sneak up on us?”
When the woman he’s with spins around, I see it’s Jaycee.
“Nah, I only stopped by to catch up on the latest gossip. I’d planned to call you tomorrow, Jaycee, but since we’re both here, we could talk more about what we discussed earlier.”
Josh looks a little confused. I know the cocksucker’s into her. Who wouldn’t be?
“No offense, man, but I need to lock up and get the hell out of here. I’m meeting Staci at her place later, and I don’t want to be late.”
Staci’s a regular that comes to my club. I know she isn’t interested in a relationship. When Josh says he’s going to her place later, I know the reason. I’ve been in his shoes. Sometimes, I need a willing sub to relieve my stress.
While I brainstorm to come up with a plan that might work to get Jaycee to spend time with me, she says a few words to Josh. I can’t hear their conversation, but I feel a dash of jealousy when he wraps her in a hug.
When she moves past me, in a hurry to leave, I don’t know whether to go after her and try to convince her to have dinner with me or just let her go. I remind myself, it’s not her fault assholes have caused her to fear people and act the way she does, so I hang back to have a few words with Josh.
