“Your turn. I want to hear all about you and the sexy investigator.”
This felt so very wrong.
Chris liked to protect his relationship with her, but he’d made a deal.
“Elizabeth is my best friend. We’re not a couple. Well, we’re kind of a couple, but without the sex part. We do everything together.”
Tony listened.
“Is it weird that we do?” Chris asked. He needed a neutral person’s opinion.
“I need specifics. What kind of stuff do you do? Are we talking beers after work, or are you cuddling on the couch?”
He thought about it.
“Both.”
“Really?”
“We sleep at each other’s homes, we eat together, and a couple of months ago, we went away on vacation.”
“Together? Or did you stay in separate rooms?” Tony asked.
Chris lifted a brow.
“Hey, I’m just trying to help you figure this out.”
He relaxed.
“We stayed in the same room.”
“Separate beds?”
“No.”
“But no sex?”
“None.”
“Why the hell not? You’re attractive, and she’s a total babe. The ass on her…”
“Stop.”
“Well, you know what I mean.”
Chris didn’t have a definitive answer. He wasn’t sure what the hell was wrong. Oh, wait…yes, he did. Elizabeth had told him if they slept together, it would suck and ruin their friendship.
That scared him.
Not the sucking part—the losing her part. She was the only person in the whole world he’d felt any attachment to in life, and he couldn’t bear the idea of losing that.
It would kill him.
“We just don’t have sex.”
“Are you gay?”
“WHAT?”
All the techs looked over.
Tony shushed him.
“Sorry,” Chris said, getting red. He hoped people didn’t think he was gay. This was even more reason he needed to figure something out.
“Not that it matters,” Tony offered. “If you are, that’s cool. I’m just trying to figure out why you haven’t jumped her yet. She’s really hot.”
Yeah, he was aware. Chris was tired of trying to scare off all the men who checked her out.
“I’m very much hetero. I want to have sex with her, but she’s my best friend.”
Chris prayed the man would keep his trap shut, or Elizabeth was going to super glue his shut—permanently.
“So you’re stuck in the friend zone?” he asked.
Chris stared at him. “What’s that?” he asked.
“That’s where the person decides you’re better off as the friend, they start treating you like you’re the best guy for the job, and you never move past it to seal the deal. You have all the duties as the boyfriend, but none of the sex.”
Yes, he was stuck in the friend zone.
Only, he didn’t want to be.
Maybe.
He wasn’t sure.
“Yeah, I can see by your face you’re stuck there. You like her, but she won’t bounce in your lap, will she?”
He shrugged. Chris knew if he talked to Elizabeth, she’d likely sleep with him. If he pushed it, she would.
But did he want to go there?
Maybe he was just lonely and horny. Maybe this ‘online dating’ thing wouldn’t catch on, so he should try it once before it disappeared.
Tony studied the man. Chris was an attractive guy, he had baby blue eyes, and the glasses made him look smart.
Then again, he was probably smart since he worked for the FBI.
“You should try it. If you want, I can help you make a profile,” he offered. “If you have a laptop here, we can log on and bang it out.”
Chris smiled. “I do, but can we keep it quiet? I don’t really want anyone finding out about it.”
Especially Elizabeth.
He didn’t want her to bust his ass or hear about this through the grapevine.
It was mortifying.
BIG TIME.
He couldn’t believe he was going to do this, or that he was even considering it. It was trolling for babes to get laid, and nothing more. He didn’t want a relationship. He already had a great one in the ‘friend zone’.
Chris thought back to that morning in the shower…
Yeah, he was out of options.
He was going to try to find a woman online to hook up with so he could forget how much he wanted his best friend.
Shit!
He was screwed…or at least that was the goal.
* * * E l i z a b e t h L a R u e * * *
Bao Yu’s
Apartment
When she pulled up to the building, it looked like somewhere a hooker would live. The place was chaotic, run down, and over packed with residents.
It was in the seedier side of DC and likely far cheaper to live there. Bao Yu was definitely a working girl.
Inside the building, there were about twenty Asian women hanging out.
Literally.
They were hanging out of rooms.
Hanging out in the stairwells.
And hanging out of their very revealing clothing.
Yeah, she was in the right place.
Here was the proof.
Heading in, she knew that she needed to get some information about her victim and it wasn’t going to be easy.
“Can any of you tell me where Bao Yu lived?” she asked, looking around.
Silence.
No one would speak to her. Instead, they began chattering in a language she didn’t understand. Clearly, they were talking about her. They kept pointing and looking over at her.
Yeah, well, she could solve that.
When she pulled out her badge, there was one hell of a mass exodus from her presence. They were getting the hell out of dodge, and fast.
Apparently, her initial impression had been right. She’d stumbled into a hooker’s haven. These were working girls, and they wanted nothing to do with the law.
This put her in an awkward situation.
What was she supposed to do about it?
Elizabeth made a mental note to call in INS so they could do a sweep. She didn’t think half the women she’d just seen were legal. Normally, she wouldn’t be a stickler, but if there were some sex trade crimes going on, she needed to make sure the authorities were alerted. Trafficking illegals was big business in DC, and they all knew it.
In fact, maybe that had something to do with her case.
At this point, who knew?
It looked like she was going door to door.
Great.
As she worked her way through the hallway, she was cognizant of everything around her. No one had her back, and she couldn’t let down her guard.
It was the story of her life.
Honestly, she was getting sick of it. Being a loner was so damn hard at times, and this was one of them.
As she approached the last door, she raised her hand to knock. Elizabeth didn’t have a chance. The door was ripped open, and some short man with a crowbar started swinging as if he was trying to knock it out of the park.
Unfortunately, he was aiming at her head.
Elizabeth dodged the first swing, but he managed to clip her in the shoulder before she knocked him on his ass. The family, still inside the small apartment, was wailing and shouting.
It was pandemonium.
As she was cuffing him, someone came up behind her, and she pulled her gun.
“Back off!”
The man raised his hands. “I’m just trying to help,” he said in broken English. “Mr. Yu doesn’t speak your language.”
She stayed focused on the man even as she kept her knee in the older man’s back. “Who are you?”
“Tao Sin.”
“Okay, Tao, tell him to stop struggling.”
Her heart was pounding in her chest. The whole thin
g was a little too close for her own comfort. She was in a building full of people, and she was all alone.
Now would be a good time to have a partner watching her back.
“He said he’s defending his family.”
“From who?” she asked. “Me?”
He talked a little more.
“Yes, he said you are coming to take the rest of his daughters away, like with Bao.”
Well, it looked like she found where the girl lived, and somehow, she didn’t think she was turning tricks out of this little apartment.
Elizabeth got off of him. “Tell Mr. Yu that I’ll uncuff him if he stops swinging.”
He did as she asked.
“He said he’ll behave.”
She had no choice but to trust him. It looked like it was going to be a gamble on her end.
Well, here went nothing.
She set him free.
The man began talking super-fast.
Tao Sin listened.
Then he translated.
“He said his daughter is gone, and they don’t want to see their other children die.”
“Ask him what Bao did for a living.”
She watched the doorway as a little girl came to the opening. She was curious, and Elizabeth got that. She’d been a curious child when she was little too.
Now she was a curious adult.
“She was in customer service.”
Yeah, she was serving customers on the street. This man didn’t have a clue.
“Who did she work for?” she asked.
He asked the man again.
The older man yelled into the apartment, and some older lady came out carrying a card. She held it out to Elizabeth. When she took and read it, there was only one name on it.
Clayton Frost.
On the back was a number and the words ‘Customer Service’.
So, her pimp had found her like this. He was trolling the streets for women he could manipulate and string along as working girls.
What an asshole.
“Does he know where his…office is?”
Okay, she needed to do some research on this. Who was pimping out the other ladies? Did Naima have one? Could she have been skimming?
Later, when she was doing her research, she’d hopefully find out.
“She’s dead,” Elizabeth said. “Do they know?”
He nodded. “They think it was an accident. If they find out that was the way she died, they will be shamed and hurt themselves. Her father will take it as a personal affront and a shame to the family. They will all pay for it.”
Elizabeth stared at the little girl. That horrified her. “The child too?”
“That’s her little girl. They will take it out on her.”
“Who is her father?”
Tao Sin asked the older man.
“He says she was raped. They don’t know who the father is, and they don’t care.”
The mood changed. Elizabeth could feel it.
“How old is she?”
He asked.
“Three.”
“How long had his daughter been working in ‘customer service’?” she asked.
Tao sin asked him.
“Five years.”
Elizabeth doubted that it was rape. Bao Yu had gotten pregnant by a John, and this little girl was the product. Her heart hurt for her. She was going to grow up motherless.
Elizabeth knew how much that sucked.
“Do you know what really happened?” she asked. The man didn’t look like an idiot. He was likely aware of what was going on around him.
It was fairly obvious.
“She was street walking and selling herself, wasn’t she?”
She nodded.
Before she could speak, he cut her off. “Please don’t tell them.”
“I won’t.” Elizabeth would protect the child. She was innocent in all of this.
“Is it common here?” she asked.
“Yes, it is. Half the women in this building do it,” he offered. “It’s not all the American dream here. They think they have to do anything so they can to survive.”
Yeah, that wasn’t the American dream. Unfortunately, when you came here illegally, or part of the sex trade, it was grim. This was what happened. There were no white picket fences and happy memories. Instead, you were riding dick in a back alley to pay off your pimp.
Elizabeth knew this was a dead end. She had a name, and she’d work that angle. No one in the building would tell her anything more. These women wouldn’t go there. They’d protect their own.
“Thank you, Tao Sin.”
“You are welcome. Are you taking him?”
She stared down at the scared old man. “No. I’m not taking him. Just tell him not to start swinging when the door opens. The next person might shoot him.”
Elizabeth crouched down. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a candy bar. She’d grabbed it for Chris, but he’d live without it. This little girl needed it more.
She was scrawny.
Elizabeth loved kids. They were sweet, curious, and good. That was what the world was missing.
“Here.”
She held it out.
The little girl reached for it. She was tentative. You could tell she was afraid of people.
“What’s her name?”
“Linda Yu.”
She patted her on the head and motioned for her to go back inside. When she was gone, Elizabeth focused on the dead woman’s father.
“Please tell him I'm sorry for his loss. I’ll be working on finding the person who hurt her.”
He did as she said.
The old man reached out and touched her arm with his gnarled hand. His eyes were filled with tears.
“Please,” he said. “Please.”
“I will. I promise.”
She patted his hand and headed down the hall. In her mind, she was thinking about so many things. Linda Yu, the old man’s sadness, and a pimp who needed to be bitch slapped to kingdom come.
She wanted to do a search on Clayton Frost.
She was curious.
And for him, that was not going to be a good thing. As far as she was concerned, this was on him.
He’d stalked that girl and dragged her into prostitution. They had a date.
And it wouldn’t wrap up with a happy ending—it would mean jail.
* * * E l i z a b e t h L a R u e * * *
Wednesday Afternoon
Gabe’s Office
He was working when his door opened. Without looking, he knew who it would be. No one just walked into his personal space but his boss, the President of the United States, or his wife.
Since he’d already seen the first of the two earlier that morning, it had to be Livy. She had a doctor’s appointment an hour ago, and she was likely coming in to see him.
When he looked up, he wanted to weep. His wife was big, round, and lush with child. She was small to begin with, and their daughter was giant. The sight of her in full pregnancy always took his breath away.
He loved kids.
Before, he never thought he would, but he loved the idea that the little girl growing in her body would be his to protect.
Plus, the waddling was cute.
Apparently, his wife was having a linebacker.
“Livy,” he stated, getting up to help her into his office. “You could have called me. I would have come down to get you out of the garage or I would have had someone escort you up. Where’s your security detail?”
“Downstairs. You don’t have to worry.”
“I do have to worry. It goes with the shiny gold rings we wear.”
She laughed. “I’m good, Gabriel. I wanted to walk up here by myself. The doctor said that it could induce labor. Maybe, if I’m lucky.”
“Still nothing?” he asked.
She shook her head. “At this point, if you know anyone who has some Voodoo or spells, I'm game. This is getting out of hand. I’m going to pop.”
He gr
inned.
“I really think that this child is never moving out,” Livy offered, pulling back her red hair.
He could tell she was nervous.
“Is she healthy?”
“Yeah, she’s perfect. I can’t wait to see her.”
Gabe knew his wife. Her voice didn’t hold the happiness it should, and he knew why. She was worried about him. This wasn’t his child. ‘The Butcher’ had left behind a constant reminder of what had happened. It was his legacy, and now it was Gabe’s to carry for the rest of their lives.
Livy actually thought he was upset.
Gabe wasn’t.
He was going to love this little one with all he had, simply because she’d had a shitty start. She was the one good thing that came out of what had happened.
Elizabeth’s career had tanked.
Livy was perpetually afraid.
His wife was carrying another man’s child—her rapist’s.
Yet, this baby was important. He wanted her in the worst way, and he would love her for the rest of his life. This wasn’t that animal’s baby.
This was his and Livy’s.
“Talk to me.”
“I’m fine.”
She lied. He heard it and saw it. Before they were husband and wife, they were boss and employee. He could smell lies a mile away from all of his agents. It was a matter of letting it go or calling her out on it.
He opted for the latter.
“Livy.”
“I’m scared.”
“About?”
“What if she’s just like him?”
And there they had it.
Here was her secret fear.
Gabe understood what had her rattled. It worried him at first, but he wouldn’t let it destroy them. They were stronger than the sicko who hurt her. They were titanium.
“She won’t be, Olivia. She has us. We’re her parents. He was the sperm donor. I’m going to be her father.”
She wiped her eyes. “I don’t want her to know.”
“We don’t have to tell her.”
She stared at him. “I don’t want anyone to ever know, Gabriel. I need you to promise me that no one will ever look at her and think of her as some rapist’s baby.”
He sat beside her and kissed her cheek. “Deal. She’s my baby. She’s my little girl. I’m going to name her, I’m going to love her, and she’s going to be the first of many in our family, Olivia.”
Stalked by the Past: An FBI Flashback Novel. (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 17) Page 9
