I’d be stupid if I said I wasn’t scared. I was terrified. But I wasn’t about to let them see that.
“I’ll get in. I promise.”
“You remember the safe word?” Audra asked.
“Rainbow.”
She nodded. “We’ll be listening the entire time. If you feel threatened, just work that word into the conversation and we’ll come for you.”
“How will you do that without revealing what we’re up to out here?”
Audra and Shaw exchanged a look. “Your safety is more important than the case.”
I shook my head. “We take this guy down. That’s the deal.”
“Kari—”
“I won’t let myself get raped, but I can handle these guys. They’re just bullies.” I stood up and tugged my short skirt down over my hips, revealing more of my midsection than had already been on display. “It’ll be alright. Just promise me you won’t come in unless I say the word.”
Again, they exchanged looks.
“Promise me!”
Audra sighed. “We can come in without anyone being the wiser. Who’s going to look at the two of us and automatically assume we’re any sort of law enforcement?”
I knew she was trying to put my mind at ease, but it wasn’t working.
“Promise you won’t come in unless I saw the safe word.”
“We promise,” Shaw said softly. “And we’ll keep the FBI idiots up the block out, too.”
My eyebrows rose, but I didn’t say anything to that. “I can handle myself.”
“We all can,” Audra said, “but that doesn’t mean we should have to. We’re a team at Gray Wolf, right?”
“Of course.”
Audra grabbed my hand a squeezed it lightly. “Good luck.”
“Yeah. Don’t let them get the better of you.”
I shot them both a smile, but it disappeared the moment I stepped outside of the van. My knees were shaking and I had to press my hands against my hips to keep them from shaking, too. My thoughts moved briefly to Tommy, wishing he hadn’t been out of town last night. Not that I could have seen him since they had me staying in this rundown, one bedroom apartment a few blocks from the motel, but we could have talked. Sometimes just hearing his voice helped.
Don’t fall in love…
But sometimes you couldn’t predict what might soothe your soul.
I walked down the street, taking note of the dark SUV parked on a distant corner, not really as subtle as they probably thought they were being. There was a man wearing sunglasses in the driver’s seat, pretending to be studying the cellphone in his hand, but if anyone paid enough attention they would notice what I did: the screen was reflected in the side mirror and it was clearly blank. There was nothing for him to look at.
FBI idiots!
The motel was a run-down building across from a pawn shop and a bar that was fairly busy despite the fact that it was only two in the afternoon. I pushed through the glass doors, pulling myself up to my full height as I approached the front desk. The lobby was dark and depressing, the carpet so threadbare that I could see hints of the pine floors underneath, the walls covered in a dark wallpaper that went out of style in the sixties.
Emma was behind the desk. She smiled when she saw me approaching. In the lobby were two men, one sitting on a low sofa, a magazine in his hands, the other leaning against the front desk, his eyes hidden behind mirrored sunglasses.
“Sam, this is the girl I was telling you about.”
The mirrored sunglasses gay was already checking me out, pulling the glasses down to the end of his nose so that he could study me unfettered. He had dark eyes that were bloodshot, the red matching the lovely color of his bulbous nose. He was clearly a drinker, his belly swollen with fluid that made his arms and legs look almost comical with their thinness. He was about forty, maybe slightly older, clearly not old enough to be so sickly looking. If this was the guy who was supposed to take me to the back room, there’d be no issue. I could knock him out with a look.
Infused with a sudden confidence, I stepped forward and held out my hand to him.
“Kari,” I said softly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wilson.”
“Oh, no, sweetheart, the pleasure is all mine.” He took my hand and lifted it to his lips, his breath heavy and hot. “You are certainly as beautiful as Emma said.”
I lowered my eyes, tried to look demure. “Thank you.”
“You understand what the job entails?”
“Emma explained it.”
“And the interview requirements?”
I didn’t have to act embarrassed then, or demure. A hot flush moved over my cheeks.
“She told me that, too.” I looked up to meet his eye. “But it’s only the one time, right?”
“Sure, sweetheart.” He touched my arm, his hand heavy, his touch creepy. “Next time it will be completely consensual.” He winked like he thought I’d be more than happy to go to bed with him once I got to know him.
In his wildest dreams!
He looked me over for a longer moment, then he nodded after exchanging a glance with the man on the sofa.
“Alrighty, then,” he said, taking my upper arm and leading me to a door behind the front desk. My heart was pounding, my palms sweating, my knees knocking. I glanced at Emma and she shot me a worried look, raising the alarm bells that were ringing in my head. “Our partner, Malcolm, is waiting for you in the office. We debated over who should get the honor of interviewing you properly, but since he’s new to the team we thought…well, he needs to be broken in to our way of doing things. I’m sure you understand.”
“Of course,” I gulped around the lump in my throat.
Sam smiled brightly, a smile that almost made his ugly face handsome. “You’ll enjoy Malcolm. The girls seem to think he’s quite pretty.”
He knocked on the door, then opened it without waiting for a reply from within. He shoved me inside before I had a chance to argue, his laughter haunting as he slammed the door. I turned toward the closed door, seriously trying to figure out how I could get out of this without raising any eyebrows. I was here for a reason, here to save these women from the clutches of these sick, depraved criminals. But I didn’t want to become one of them in the process.
My hand was on the doorknob and I was about to turn it when I realized there was nothing I could do to get out of this room short of using the safe word. If I just walked out, that would end all the preparation, all the work Audra and Shaw had already put into this case. They’d have to start all over. I couldn’t be responsible for that.
With a deep sigh, I dropped my hand and turned. The room was fairly small, just big enough for a desk tucked up against the wall to my right, a long, narrow cot to the left. There was a set of filing cabinets against the far wall, coming right up to edge of the desk. Across from me, the wall was bare save for a narrow window. He was standing there, his back to me, this huge black man.
I shivered a little.
His head was clean shaven, his bulging muscles barely covered by the tight, white t-shirt and jeans he was wearing. He looked like he could give Arnold Schwarzenegger a run for his money back in his heyday, become Mr. Universe himself. There was tension flowing from him, a vibration that I could almost feel as I stared at his back.
My hands were shaking, my knees threatening to give out on me. I was scared. I was more than scared. I was terrified. How was I supposed to fight back against this guy if things didn’t go the way they were supposed to?
At least there was no lack of muscle mass to inject the sedative into.
And then he turned.
What the hell?
Chapter 8
Thomas
I think I was just as shocked to see her as she was to see me. She opened her mouth to say my name. I couldn’t let that happen. I crossed to her in two strides and pressed my hand to her mouth.
“You don’t need to speak, bitch,” I said harshly. “Just follow orders.”
S
he stiffened, her body more taunt against mine than I think I’d ever felt it. Seeing her was such a mixed bag: I was relieved to see a familiar face, to see the face I saw every night when I closed my eyes, but pissed as hell to see it here, in this place. What the fuck was she doing here?
I turned her and pressed her against the wall where I’d been standing, trying to figure out how I was going to get myself out of this current mess, blocking her face from the camera that was seeing everything we did, hearing everything we said.
“You want a job here, do you? I hope they warned you what that would require.”
She moved her head in response, her lips moving against the palm of my hand.
Then what are you doing here?
I didn’t know how to communicate with her without the assholes watching the whole thing out in the lobby figuring out what was happening here. I’d worked too damn long to get to this point, I couldn’t risk it all now. Not even for her.
If I could just explain to her…
I stepped back, far enough to give her room to move, but not far enough for the camera to catch more than hints of her.
“Take off your clothes.”
“What?”
I slapped her with the back of my hand, snapping her head back against the wall. “I told you, don’t speak! I like my whores quiet!”
She pressed a hand to her cheek, her eyes wild as she searched my face. I tried to tell her everything in a look, in the way I studied her face with my eyes, but I could see the disbelief in her own eyes. She wasn’t getting it. All she knew, all she saw, was the insanity these people expected me to dump all over her.
Damn it! Why was she here? Why her?
“Take off your clothes!” I barked again.
Her fingers shook as she reached behind her to unhook the single button at the back of her neck that held her thin halter top in place. It fell easily, exposing the narrow strip of material that was the strapless bra she wore underneath. I felt sick to my stomach as I watched, more turned on than I should have been under the circumstances. What did it say about me that I was hard as a steel rod watching her breasts fall into view as she slipped the bra over her head? What did it say that watching her push that skirt down over her hips made my breath hitch in my throat?
“You ever work the streets?” I asked, knowing the men watching over the camera feed would expect me to ask questions like that. “Ever work with an escort service?”
She shook her head, refusing to look up at me as she pushed her panties down her long, slender thighs.
Why did she have to be so damn beautiful?
My brain short-circuited for a second. I stared at her, that incredible body bared exclusively for me. It wasn’t the first time she’d undressed for me and I sincerely hoped it wouldn’t be the last—after this, though, there was no guarantee—yet, it hit me like it did the first time, like a sledgehammer slammed into the center of my chest. She was so beautiful, I could hardly believe she’d consented to lay with me.
I whistled under my breath. “Are you sure you only want the hostess job? We could make a hell of a lot of money off that body!”
She blushed deeply, her eyes falling to the floor, her thighs moving together in an attempt to hide that triangle that had driven all men to distraction from the beginning of time. I needed to see her face, needed to look into her eyes. I grabbed her jaw, forced her head back. Anger snapped in those perfect green eyes as she finally looked up, uncertainty and distrust mixing in. How could I tell her about the camera? How could I tell her that if we didn’t do this, they would know something was up? Clearly she was here for a reason. She wouldn’t want her cover blown either, would she?
I forced my lips against hers, kissed her roughly, needing to wipe the distrust from her eyes. I needed to show her that it was still me under all this bullshit. She tried to pull away for an instant, but then she responded, hesitantly, but she responded. My hand slid down her throat, brushed one of those perfect breasts on its way to her side. I tugged her close to me, my palm slipping easily over her bare ass. Her skin was like silk, her muscles tone and strong, vibrating with a tension that was slowly seeping away with my touch.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered roughly against her ear as the camera came back to the forefront of my mind. They wanted a show. It was time to give them one.
I turned her roughly, shoving her so hard against the wall that she grunted with the impact. I let her go long enough to cross to the desk and take one of the many condoms in a bowl there, making sure the bulk of my body covered the camera’s view as much as possible. She glanced back at me, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the small, square package.
“Relax,” I said before she could speak. “It’ll be much easier if you don’t fight it.”
She shook her head quickly, her long hair flying around her shoulders. “Please, is this really necessary? I really need this job, but I—”
“This is the only way you’re getting the job, sweetheart.”
She shook her head again, her eyes moving wildly around the room. I wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but knew she couldn’t spot the camera because I was blocking it. It crossed my mind briefly to move aside, to allow her a quick peek at it, but then they’d get a full view of her, bare ass and all. The possessive side of me simply couldn’t allow that to happen. I didn’t want those assholes discussing her body in raunchy detail over the next few weeks. I could put up with a lot to see this thing to its conclusion, but not that.
“My boyfriend will never forgive me.”
Her eyes touched on mine then. “He doesn’t need to know.”
She nodded, tears beginning to run down her cheeks. It killed my soul to see that. I didn’t want to hurt her. It’d taken so much to get her to trust me from the moment we met. I knew the skittish look she’d given me upon our initial introduction, knew she’d had her heart broken. I was patient, deciding she was more than worth it, working slowly to chip away at the wall she’d put around her heart. I was still chipping at it, still trying to move into more than just her bed.
All that work was going down the drain right now and it killed me because there was nothing I could do to stop it.
“This job is worth it,” she suddenly said, catching me a little off guard. “It’s too important.”
I got the impression she wasn’t talking just to me. Of course, she would have backup somewhere. She was telling them not to interfere.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
I moved up behind her, slipping my arms around her waist and sliding my hand down over her lower belly. My erection had begun to wane, but it came back like a strike of lightening as my fingertip brushed her clit. I pulled her tight against me, bending my knees so that her ass fit perfectly against my hips. She gasped, her juices flowing despite everything.
I knew her, knew where to touch her, how to touch her. I took a second to remind her of that, pressing my mouth against her shoulder as I explored her dripping triangle. She moved her hips slightly, pushing back into me when I touched a spot I was very familiar with, a spot I knew could drive her crazy under the right circumstances.
“Camera,” I whispered against her ear like an endearment. She stiffened briefly and then her hand slipped down over my hand, her fingers squeezing me lightly. She understood.
Or maybe comprehended was a better word. I don’t think either of us truly understood why this had to happen, why it had to be like this.
I released her with one hand, tugging at the button on my jeans. She stiffened again, her body like a marble statue as she felt me slip the condom on. She shook her head slightly, but she didn’t turn her head to try to look at me. It was easier, having her face the wall the ways she was, but it was still a moment that I knew would haunt me for years to come.
I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to hurt her.
I almost pulled away. I almost put an end to it right then and there. She must have felt me step back, must have felt my reluctance. She reached back, her
hand pressed to my thigh pulling me toward her. Her hips moved, her ass sticking out at just the right height. She was offering herself to me, asking me to finish what I’d begun.
Her name was on my lips, but I didn’t say it. I knew as stupid as they were, as callous and broken as those men on the other end of the camera feed were, they would still catch it. They would hear the emotion on my voice and it would give us both away.
I closed my eyes as I thrust inside of her, sickened by my own actions, by my own callousness. She tried not to fight it, but I could feel the tension in her body, could feel the lack of trust. Her body fit mine perfectly, just as it had done night after night for the past few weeks, but it was different now, too. She wasn’t welcoming. She wasn’t responding.
I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…
I kept my eyes closed and thought about the last time we were together, those long moments in the shower. I thought about the affection that had radiated from her eyes that morning, the tenderness in her touch as she wrapped her body around mine. I could feel her hands moving over my head, feel her lips on mine. I could almost feel the warm water cascading over us, could feel her body envelope mine like it was made for me. It was a pleasure like nothing I’d ever imagined, a pleasure I was afraid I’d never experience again.
It was that memory that propelled me, that drove the thrusts of my body against hers. She was silent, stiff, accepting but not compliant. It was only the memory that pushed me over the edge, that provided the ending those fools on the other end of the camera demanded.
The moment it was over, I stepped back and dropped the used condom on the desk, staring for a second into the eye of the small camera. When I turned, zipping my jeans back into place, she was already pulling her clothes back on.
“Come back tomorrow,” I said. “About this time. We’ll get you set up behind the desk.”
She inclined her head without looking at me, tears still running down her cheeks. “I’ll be here.”
She tugged on her halter top and headed for the door. I grabbed her arm, not sure what my intention was. She slapped me with all the strength she had in her small body. My lip split against my teeth, blood immediately filling my mouth. And then she was out the door, the sounds of Sam’s appreciative whistle filling the room.
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