Freedom to Trust [Freedom, Colorado 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Melody Snow Monroe

  Zane couldn’t imagine what had gone through Nikki’s mind when she spotted the two men who she thought were human traffickers sitting in their living room. Given she’d been a vice cop, it wouldn’t be good. More importantly, what did she think about them for befriending Conner and Harper? Hopefully, he could prove to her that the two men he and Garth had known for years were on the up and up.

  He dialed Harper, who answered right away. “Hey, Zane.”

  “Morning. You figure out a plan to present to Sussman?”

  “We’ve been making calls all night. Word on the street is that Jack is pissed that we don’t want him back, which is what we suspected. Apparently, he hired a man named Tony Duvall to spread those rumors about us to Sussman. He’s the one who hired Sussman.”

  “Can you get a photo of the guy? Maybe he and Sussman met face to face.” Zane would like to have as much evidence at possible before telling Nikki’s boss he’d been fooled.

  “Can do.”

  He gave Sussman’s address to Harper. “We’ll meet you there at two.”

  “I appreciate you convincing Nikki to tell us the truth. We would have been blindsided if she hadn’t.”

  “She’s a good person.”

  Harper disconnected and Zane headed back to his office to do a little research on this Sussman character. Finding his site was easy. The website looked professional, which gave him hope the man might listen to reason. Anonymous clients had provided testimonials, but there was no mention of Freedom Securities Services, for which he was grateful.

  “Knock, knock.”

  He spun around and grinned. Nikki looked half asleep but ever so adorable. He still couldn’t get over how well she’d obeyed them last night. His cock hardened imagining her naked right now. “How are you feeling?” He hoped he hadn’t been too rough. His usual control had disappeared.

  “Good.” She rubbed her rear. “Can I take out this plug yet?”

  He laughed. “Yes. Thank you for asking.”

  She blew out a breath, entered his office, and leaned over his computer screen. “What are you doing?”

  He stood and pulled her to his chest. “You don’t always have to be in cop mode, you know.”

  She looked up at him with a coy smile. “It’s called being curious.”

  He tapped her nose. “Tell me, Ms. Curious, what made you such an inquisitive person?” Before she could say it was none of his business, he led her over to the sofa and sat next to her. Zane wanted to learn what made her tick, what she dreamed for in her life, and why she’d built the steel cage around her heart.

  Nikki shrugged. “I don’t know. I just want to know things.”

  “Tell me what it was like growing up in your house.” Were her parents demanding? Affectionate? Loving?

  “My mom was wonderful, but my dad always kept his distance.”

  “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  “Just three older sisters.”

  He leaned back and stretched out his legs. “You all got along?”

  “Kind of. We weren’t very alike, though. I don’t know when they figured out that nothing they did would make Dad pay a lot of attention to them, but they spent their time working on more artistic endeavors rather than scientific ones.”

  Her father must be quite the character. “Tell me about your father.” He seemed to be a key in understanding Nikki.

  In his experience, aggressive women often wanted to impress their dads when growing up. Zane loved pleasers. That made them the perfect candidate to be a submissive.

  “He’s an engineer in Denver, but when he’s not working, he’s trying to find the next great invention.”

  “See? Inventors are full of curiosity. Maybe you got your desire to find the truth from him.”

  She glanced to the ceiling as if she’d find answers there before returning her gaze to him. “Maybe. I admit I always want to be like him. Too bad I sucked in science and math.” Her back straightened. “Mom said my dad dreamed of having a son, but after I was born, the doctor told her that she shouldn’t have any more children.”

  “I’m guessing your dad was disappointed?”

  “I was too young to notice, but Mom said he was.”

  This gave him insight into who she was. “From what I’ve been told, it’s not unnatural for a man to want a son to give him a second chance at childhood.”

  “I think that’s why I worked hard at being someone who would be worthy in his eyes.” She wove her fingers together and glanced down. “Unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could do growing up that would impress him. He was super smart.”

  She was smart, too. Zane leaned back in the seat. “But you wanted to be the one your dad loved the most.” It was a statement, not a question.

  She looked up at him, and her chin wobbled a little. “You some shrink?”

  His chuckle came out soft. “Just good at listening to what people don’t say.”

  She gnawed on her bottom lip. Being with someone who examined a person’s real motivations scared a lot of people. He hoped Nikki would see he wouldn’t judge her, no matter her actions. Unless he knew the reason for her thoughts, it would be hard to move forward.

  She pushed her hair behind her ears, which he found tender and sexy.

  “When I decided to become a cop, my dad said he’d never have been brave enough to go into law enforcement. I never believed him, but I think that was his way of saying he was proud of me.”

  Zane grinned. “I’m sure he was.” Her little story told him a lot about his woman. She wasn’t going to be cowed by anyone. It didn’t matter her three older sisters couldn’t please their dad. Nikki liked the challenge and was going to do whatever it took to make him love her.

  He ran a palm along her forearm. “What did he say when you decided to start your own company?” He hoped her father recognized that it took a lot of guts to take on a venture like that.

  “To my surprise, he was happy I quit the Force. He said it was the first time in five years he’d had a good night sleep.”

  Zane laughed. “What kind of mother was your mom?”

  “She loved having girls.” She smiled. “I think she was secretly happy she never had a boy. She constantly bought me clothes, trying to find something that would accentuate my figure. All that accomplished was making me more self-conscious. All of my sisters are tall and thin like my dad, while I took after my mom.”

  He tilted her toward him. “I love the way you look, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts.”

  She glanced to the side probably trying to decide if she should shoot back some snarky comment. If she did, he might have to paddle her butt.

  When she kept quiet, he continued his probe. “How does your mom get along with your dad?” That would indicate what she thought of long-term relationships.

  “They seem happy. Mom basically does whatever dad wants.”

  That meant she had good role models growing up—sort of. Nikki would never blindly do as anyone asked, which made her willingness to submit all that more glorious.

  She leaned back on the sofa. “Now that you know what motivated me to become a cop, how did you and Garth end up being forest rangers?”

  “Dad pushed my two older brothers, Josh and Drew, to be ranchers. He said it was in their blood. While they seem to love breaking their backs every day, Dad wanted more for us. We were ‘different’ he said.”

  She smiled. “You definitely are different. I don’t see you being content driving cattle from one field to another.”

  “Hardly.”

  “But why forest rangers? And especially search and rescue. That’s so dangerous.”

  He leaned forward and inhaled her sweet scent. His cock stirred. If she wasn’t careful, he’d be tossing her on her back and making love with her again. For her own safety, he scooted back. “I’ve been saving animals my whole life, whether it be an injured bird or a squirrel who lost its mother.”

  “I can see that both you and Garth are car
egivers.”

  “Ouch. That sounds so beta.”

  She laughed and the sound made his cock harder.

  “You’re both aggressive and sensitive at the same time.”

  As long as she liked the combination, he was fine with her description.

  Garth plowed in the office. “There you two are. Got breakfast almost ready. Let’s get a move on it. We need to do some brainstorming before we hit Sussman’s office.”

  Zane stood and held out his hand. Though she was capable of standing on her own, he appreciated she took his offer. This relationship just might work. “Let’s shower.”

  “Together?”

  He loved the sparkle in her eyes. “You bet.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Get a move on it, babe.”

  Nikki dressed as quickly as she could. Her body still sizzled from having Zane’s hands all over her, and while the shower wasn’t overly bright, there was no doubt he’d seen and touched every inch of her. Never once had he acted disinterested. From the way his cock remained big and hard, he liked being with her. Whoopee!

  Once ready, she jammed her old clothes into her duffle and hustled out to the living room. “All set.”

  Garth lifted the bag from her fingers and motioned her ahead. The sun was out, the sky clear, and no snow looked to be in the forecast. She could only hope winter was behind them. She decided that as soon as the Conner-Harper incident was cleared up, she would ask if one of the men might teach her how to ride. The trip to the pond with Mark had been so ideal that she wanted to return and sit for hours.

  They all piled into the car. “Mrs. Cunningham is okay keeping Mark another few hours?” Zane asked.

  “She said they were having a good time.” Nikki thought her neighbor was still trying to make up for not stopping Mark from running away.

  Zane drove and poor Garth had to sit in the back seat again. Next time she’d suggest they change seats.

  Garth leaned forward. “How willing do you think Sussman will be to listen to Conner and Harper’s side of the story?”

  She wished she knew. “Sussman is a professional in everything the does. He gives us information on a need to know basis. We never would have thought to wait behind the casino had we not been told what to look for.”

  He leaned back in his seat and said nothing more. She’d given the whole catch-the-girls-being-exchanged incident a lot of thought. One of her first Denver PD cases involved walking into a crime scene and finding the murder weapon on the floor next to the victim. When the lab examined the gun, the perfectly clear fingerprints on the handle pointed to a man who’d recently been paroled. Everyone thought it was a slam-dunk case. However, during the long court case, more clues reveled that someone had sold the suspect drugs the day of the murder. While he was out cold, the real killer carefully pressed the man’s fingers to the gun handle. His mistake was not putting any print on the lever. Eventually, the real killer was found and the accused man let go. The moral of the story was that sometimes when something was too easy, there was a good reason.

  She’d only been to Sussman’s office, which was located on the outskirts of the town, one time. When they parked in front of his building, Conner and Harper emerged from their vehicle down the street and came toward them.

  Harper nodded to her. “Nikki. Thanks for doing this for us.”

  She wasn’t so sure she was doing it for them, but rather she wanted to find out the truth.

  Once they went inside, Mr. Sussman led them into his office, where he’d placed several folding chairs. He kept his back ramrod straight as if he wanted to be prepared in case he was attacked. She wouldn’t be surprised if he had one or more weapons in his desk in case things turned ugly.

  “Okay, Nikki. Convince me you were set up.”

  For the next half hour, she told what she knew, and both Conner and Harper added their information.

  Conner pulled a folder from his backpack. “We made this up for you. One part contains our operating budget for the casino.” He handed it to him. “You’ll see we’re not doing well financially. That might imply to some that we need to find an alternate source of money, but that’s not how we operate.”

  Harper stood and placed two photos in front of Sussman. “Do you recognize either man?”

  Sussman glanced to the side. His action implied the answer was yes, but which man did he recognize?

  He tapped the photo on the right. “This is my client.”

  Conner leaned forward. “His name is Anthony Duvall, or big Tony to his friends.”

  Sussman removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “You say he’s an ex-con?”

  “Yup. Got out a week before Jack Marr.” He told him their history with the man.

  Her boss blew out a breath. “You believe he came to me to find evidence against you so Marr could ruin you.”

  “That about sums it up,” Conner said.

  Sussman shook his head. “I usually investigate my clients, but he said it would be a quick job, that you two bring in women all the time. He gave me this sob story about his baby sister being one of the girls you took and later sold.”

  Conner’s fist clenched. “Bastard.”

  Zane leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “So now what?”

  Harper scanned the group. “I’d like to hire Dani and Nikki to spy on Jack Marr. I want that bastard to go down.”

  She wasn’t so sure she’d find anything. “He already got what he wanted—footage of women being transported behind your casino. What do you hope to catch him doing?”

  Harper smiled. “That’s the beauty of the plan.” He looked at Sussman. “Assuming we can enlist your help.”

  “If I have been duped, I want to make it right.”

  “Call Duvall and tell him your surveillance experts messed up, and that the video was unusable. The photos, when they finally arrived, were too grainy to be able to make out anything.”

  “You basically want me to lie to him.”

  “He lied to you.”

  Sussman’s lips thinned. “I’ll tell him I’ll ask my team to stake out the back of the casino for one more week free of charge.”

  Harper’s shoulders slumped forward. “We’ll pay the going rate. I want this resolved soon.”

  They discussed more logistics, but in the end she was convinced the real jerk would be brought down. They’d have to scope out Marr’s place. Getting evidence of them arranging for the women to be transported would be enough to turn over the information to the authorities.

  The men stood and shook Sussman’s hand. Once they stepped outside, Conner faced her. “Give us a day to get a feel for Marr’s habits. We don’t want you walking into something dangerous. We’ll give Garth and Zane a call when we know more.”

  “We’ll be ready.”

  The men shook hands, and she and her men piled into the car. As soon as Zane pulled away from the curb, he glanced over at her. “Just to let you know, either Garth or I will be going with you during the surveillance.”

  She bristled but understood the request. “That will look rather suspicious if there are three of us all sitting in one car with a camera aimed at his house.”

  “This isn’t up for debate. We can park elsewhere, but I don’t like you two being anywhere near this deviant.”

  Arguing with him wouldn’t do any good. She’d been duped, too, and wanted to right the wrong. “Fine. Can either of you shoot a gun?” She didn’t need to have more targets for Marr’s men to aim at.

  Garth leaned over the seat. “If I recall, someone challenged me to a shooting contest. Zane, how about if you grab Mark from Mrs. Cunningham’s and Nikki and I will go to the indoor range and test our skills.”

  Zane glanced in the rearview mirror. “Works for me. I just bought that new video game Mark was talking about. I know he’d love to spend the afternoon trying to beat me.”

  Did she love these men or what?

  Love? Is that what this funny feeling in the pit of my s
tomach is?

  She smiled at Garth. “I’m game.”

  She hadn’t practiced in months, but when she was on the Force, she’d been an excellent marksman. She bet it wouldn’t take long for her to get her instincts back.

  * * * *

  Garth couldn’t decide how to play this. He came to the shooting range often and had a stack of trophies stuffed on the top shelf of his closet for winning many of the tournaments. Nikki, too, might have a few stashed away, but her humility would prevent her from displaying them. She’d consider her talent just part of the job.

  Too often, he’d warded off animals that wanted to feast on a soon-to-be dead person. He’d also run into injured animals that were caught in human traps. To put them out of their misery, he’d put a few down.

  Practicality demanded he be excellent, but how would Nikki react if he placed the first few shots in the center of the target? To let her win wouldn’t be a victory either, especially if she thought he cheated.

  They were standing in front of the target with their earphones in place. “Ladies first.”

  She looked over at him and spread her legs for a better stance. Arms straight, she aimed and pumped out three shots. While he couldn’t be positive, they all looked like she’d gotten close to the center.

  She smiled and looked over at him. “Your turn.”

  If he wanted to have a chance at winning Nikki’s heart, there could be no secrets between them. If he was good at shooting, then he had to show her. Besides, it would probably convince her that he and Zane could be good backup for her.

  He winked, aimed, and fired four shots. He set down his weapon and pressed the button to draw the target near. She did the same. Nikki stepped to his lane and removed her earmuffs.

  “Holy shit. You’ve been holding back on me, cowboy.”

  All four of his shots had hit dead center. “Never said I couldn’t shoot.”

  “True.”

  “How about you?”

  She scrunched up her nose. “I’m a little rusty. Only got two in the center circle.”