Robert looked down at her and her golden eyes. She tilted her chin up a little further so he could get a good look at her full mouth. "I think you're the one winning right now," Robert said as he was about to turn away.
"Then I'd like my prize," Hannah said as she pulled him down into a kiss.
Robert hadn't expected her to kiss him. He gasped. Her mouth was sweet.
"I can’t," he murmured as he backed into the table, half-standing, half-sitting.
Hannah smiled. "I can," she said before she kissed him again.
This time his hands found her back. "Stop trying to distract me," he said hoarsely.
"Who, me?" Hannah asked playfully. "Distract you from what?"
Now Robert kissed her. "Your play tonight," he said, but from the base of his throat. "You wanted to make sure someone had to do damage control so you could do something else."
She nibbled on his lower lip. He pulled the back of her head closer to him with one hand and slipped his hand under her shirt with the other. "Really, Robert?" she whispered. "What do you think I could have done in the three hours that we were separated?"
She put her hand to his belt. He stopped and his gaze hardened. He grabbed her hand. "Don't."
"Sorry," she whispered. "If you want to keep dancing, that's fine, but it's getting late."
He pulled her closer and leaned her against the table as he pressed into her. "And you like to play games all of a sudden?"
She looked from the corner of her eye at the hand he was still holding. "Make up your mind."
He kissed her again. "You're trying to screw me," he whispered.
"That's the general idea."
"No, you're trying to disable me," he said, pinning both of her hands to the table. She opened her knees a little so he was forced to fall in even closer to her. "You're either going to tell my captain that I blackmailed you into bed so I can't go looking for what you're really doing, or you're going to make sure I'm very sleepy in the wee hours of the morning so you can run off and finish what you started."
She hooked one of her legs around his, causing him to come down even further. "Does that imply that I think you're not enough of a gentleman to leave if I ask you to?"
He did his best not to show that he felt every stroke of hers against the back of his leg, but pressed down as he was, he knew that wasn't working. "What if I want to arrest you?"
She leaned back so she was lying on the table. Her hands spread out to her sides and he pinned them down even more, gently rubbing one of her wrists with his thumb. "On what charge?"
"Solicitation," he said huskily.
"I never have sex for money," she said as she wrapped her other leg around him. "I only have sex when I want to."
"That'll sound great at the arraignment," he said, but he kept rubbing her wrist and she kept moving her leg along his.
"I didn't go into anyone's room."
"Then it's entrapment," he said, starting to lose his ability to put words together.
"Suddenly I'm a dirty cop?" She smiled. "Would that turn you on?"
"What are you pulling, Hannah?"
"Nothing yet, but let go of my hands and we'll see what I can come up with."
He let go of her hands, but also stood up. He tried to discreetly pull his trench coat around him, but Hannah smirked. She pulled back to sit on the table, then took out her ponytail, shaking her head. "No deal?" she asked, laughing—laughing at him—as she leaned back.
"No sex on the job. Kind of a rule."
Hannah leapt off the table and walked to her door. "And we all know how much you like to follow the rules, right?"
He put his hand on the door before she could open it. "Is there something you want to say to me, Ms. Bruges?"
"Back to Bruges? Did I touch a nerve, Detective Teague?" She crossed her arms and leaned back on the wall.
He put his hands on the wall next to her, so they were next to her head on either side. "You are trying to piss me off, which just confirms what I already know: you are trying to get me so worked up that I won't notice what you're doing in plain sight. You did good, kid; I am pissed off. So I'm going to sit downstairs in my car, and I'm going to figure out what you're doing. And I'm going to brush off the schoolgirl attempt at seduction so you won't have to feel too embarrassed the next time I look at you, okay?"
"Right," Hannah said slowly, letting her smile build. "You didn't take off with the schoolgirl... It was the pharmacist who really kept your attention, wasn't it?"
"I can't stand smartasses."
"Lucky for me that I'm just smart," she said. She nodded toward the door. "Were you leaving, Detective?"
"You want me to leave?"
"I want you to stay, I want you to leave... What is it I want again? Why don't you go sit in your car and figure it out?"
"You're doing this wrong."
She ducked underneath his arm and opened the door for him. "Or am I?" she asked mockingly.
He walked out, then gritted his teeth as he heard her laugh behind her closed door. She's playing you, he reminded himself as he walked out of the building. That's all.
But he allowed himself a minute to remember how sweet her mouth tasted when she kissed him.
~~~
He fell asleep a little before the sun came up. He set an alarm on his phone so he would only be down for twenty minutes. He dreamed that he was back in Hannah's apartment, and he hadn't stopped her when she put her hand on his belt. She whispered everything to him, but it was so soft he couldn't hear.
He woke up when there was a tap on his window. He startled, then rubbed his eyes when he saw it was Hannah. He looked at his phone; the alarm still had two more minutes before he had to wake up.
She walked around to the passenger's seat, then tapped again. He unlocked the doors. "What's going on?" he demanded, rubbing his eyes again.
"All questions, answered," she said as she sat down. She was in jeans and a sweater, with a tee-shirt peeking out. She looked at him, then gestured her impatience with a movement of her head. "Well?"
He started the car. "Where to?"
"South Boston."
Chapter Eleven
Mariela had known it was dangerous to be too ambitious. There was a tight line she had to walk; she would get nothing if she didn't push, but if she pushed too hard, things could become much worse.
She was old enough that she could have run away, but she would never leave her mother. "Life could be better for you," her mother whispered one night.
"I want it to be good for both of us," Mariela said before she drifted off to sleep.
The next day, the man came to their house after their shift was over. Maria told her daughter to sleep on the couch because she had to have a long conversation with him. Mariela realized for the first time what this conversation would entail, and couldn't sleep as she remembered all of the other times she had been sent to the living room.
Mariela had finally drifted off, but then woke with a start when the man came downstairs just before dawn. He didn't look at her. He just said, "Tomorrow you're going to start working in the mall. Your mother will buy you some clothes." Before she could say anything, he walked out the door.
Mariela wept thinking about what her mother did.
The man had given Maria money so that Mariela could have three outfits suitable for working in public. It was the first time she had ever had new clothing. "Mom, do you think this will fit you?" she said as she held up a shirt. Maria laughed, then kissed her on the top of the head.
She was excited when she got to the kiosk the next day and her job duties were explained. Someone else might think that standing around was boring, but she thought it was much better than sitting in an office with nothing to do and no one to see. She wouldn't be expected to sell too many scarves and wallets until after Thanksgiving, but if a certain man came to her kiosk, she was to give him any merchandise he asked for, no questions asked.
Mariela had sometimes snuck glances at magazines while her
mother was cleaning, and some of the merchandise looked very similar to what she had seen on those pages. It made her feel like she was a part of something to be selling the same things that people wanted to buy all over the country.
One day in the fall, a well dressed woman came to her stall and ran her hands over the scarves. "Very good quality," she murmured, inspecting the fabric closely. She picked up a wallet as well, opening and closing it. "I'll take five scarves and two wallets."
Mariela tried to contain her excitement as she rang up the sales. "They'll look very pretty on you," she said as she took the woman's credit card.
"Oh, they're not for me," the woman scoffed. "I'll use them for teachers' Christmas presents. As knock-offs go, these are pretty good quality."
"Knock-offs?" Mariela repeated as she handed the woman her receipt.
The woman leaned in. "Do you prefer 'counterfeits'?" she whispered conspiratorially, then winked. "Don't worry, I won't tell." Mariela handed her the bag filled with her scarves and wallets, then mumbled "thank you" as she walked away.
Mariela was picked up that evening in the van. She sat next to her mother, who asked her how work was. "What does 'knock-off' mean?" she asked.
Her mother turned her head sharply. "What?" she hissed.
"And 'counterfeit'?" Mariela asked, but this time she whispered.
Maria stole a glance at the man, who was driving. He didn't appear to have heard them. "Where did you hear those words?"
"From a woman who bought some scarves and wallets today." She looked up at the man as well. "She said they were very good."
Her mother swallowed. "Don't use those words again," her mother said, more sharply than she had ever said anything before.
Mariela was taken aback. "But what do they mean?"
"Stolen," her mother whispered. "Fake. Illegal." She closed her eyes. "Prison."
"But—"
"No. Don't talk about it anymore." Maria looked straight ahead, then closed her eyes. Mariela knew that she shouldn't ask again, even when they were alone to go to sleep.
Months later, she told Josh about it. He came around every day and stayed for fifteen minutes. When it was quiet, she would come close and let him hold her hand. When she was sure that no one was in the long corridor except the employees of the store, she let him kiss her. It didn't happen often, but it was the hope of being able to do so that made her want to wake up in the morning, no matter how late she'd been up.
“I have a question,” she said when they were alone.
“Anything,” he said in that way that stopped her heart.
“Is it illegal to sell something…” She lowered her voice. “…counterfeit?”
Josh frowned as he thought. “I mean, yeah,” he said finally. “I don’t know much about the law, but I know if I put a piece in an engine that I said was from one manufacturer but it was really from another, I could get in a lot of trouble. And you can’t pass around counterfeit money, that’s for sure.” He took her hand. “Why are you asking?”
“These are...fakes," she said, gesturing to her kiosk. “I don't want to get in trouble."
Josh laughed. "Oh, Mari, no, don't worry. If they ever came down here, you wouldn't be the one they'd want."
"Who would they...want?"
"The person who bought these things to sell them, but probably more the people they got them from."
"What would happen?"
"I don't know," Josh answered honestly. "I know my boss has talked about how much money people make running counterfeit auto parts, and how someone got busted a few years ago and went to prison for a long time. But maybe it's different with...ladies fashion," he said with a snicker.
"What are you laughing at?" Mariela pouted.
"Nothing," Josh said, smiling. "I just can't help it when I'm around you."
"You think I'm funny?"
"Sometimes," Josh said, intertwining his fingers with her. "But mostly you just make me happy."
"You make me happy too," Mariela whispered a moment later. "But now you have to go."
~~~
Hannah researched counterfeiting that night. Billion dollar industry, serious penalties, smuggling rings... "Yeah, Mariela's right to be worried."
"They'd arrest her?" Josh asked incredulously.
"It looks like they'd arrest everyone until they got who they really wanted."
"That's not fair," Josh said indignantly. "Mariela doesn't even make any money."
"What do you mean she doesn't make any money?"
"They don't pay her. She says she's doing it to work off her room and board."
Hannah frowned. "She's sixteen. That's not..."
"Legal?" Josh asked dryly.
"This is bullshit!" Hannah exclaimed. "Why don't we just put Mariela and her mom in the apartment?"
Josh leaned against a wall and sighed. "I thought about that too. But Mari's too scared to leave, much less talk about it with her mom."
"Then let's call the police," Hannah said.
"That's supposed to make Mari less scared?"
"No, but it'll give them a chance to run."
Josh sighed. "And where would you go then?"
"I can take care of myself, bro. You know that."
Josh kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, I know."
~~~
"So what's in South Boston?" Robert asked as they drove. Even in the early morning, there was more traffic than he would have imagined.
Hannah raised an eyebrow. "You're asking me?"
"My dad was from Southie; I'm from Dorchester."
"Some city cop you are," she muttered, looking out the window.
Robert was too tired to withhold a sneer. "Fine. Ramon made contact with you, and you're going to put the screws to him in yet another diner."
"Not even close. Take this next turn."
"Wouldn't it be quicker to get onto 93?"
"Jesus Christ," Hannah said under her breath. "I might as well walk."
"But you won't because you need me for something."
"Do you know how hard it can be to catch a cab this time of the morning in my neighborhood?"
"And driving your own car would be silly, right?"
"Especially if someone knows what my car looks like."
"Who's someone?"
"Someone very dangerous."
"What did they do?"
"The worst things you can imagine, and you would never think they were capable."
"You'd be surprised at who makes it onto my radar screen."
"Yeah? How many of the people at that party last night did you want to arrest? Because last time I checked, buying someone for sex is a crime."
"What's in South Boston?" Robert repeated.
"Commodities people buy and sell."
"I'm calling for backup."
Hannah put her hand on his as he reached for his phone. He tried to ignore the surge of electricity he felt to have her skin on his and not remember, again, what it was like to kiss her. "Please, wait until we get there." She paused. "In case I'm wrong, and then we don't both have to look stupid."
"When are you going to tell me everything?"
"Today. Right after you put the cuffs on my wrists."
"Jesus, Hannah."
Chapter Twelve
Of course Mariela balked when Hannah laid out her plan. "No!" she said, and it was the first time Hannah had seen her angry.
But Hannah wouldn't let it go. "I have somewhere you and your mother can stay."
"The apartment you stole from a dangerous man! It wouldn't be safe."
"It's mine," Hannah almost shouted. "He wouldn't go anywhere near there because he knows I could send him to prison for the rest of his life if he did."
"That makes him more dangerous, and if he comes back, he'll find me and my mother. No," she repeated before Hannah could say anything else.
"Fine," Hannah said calmly. "Then we'll find a new place for you."
Mariela turned red. "You are not going to find another
man who likes to hurt girls and you are not going to take pictures of yourself wearing almost nothing."
Hannah put her hands on her hips. "I was thinking I could just sell the apartment and buy another one, if that's okay with you."
"And then what?"
"And then we'll all live there: you, your mom, Josh, and me."
Mariela turned away, but not before Hannah could see her eyes tearing up. "You haven't even met my mother," she said, trying to straighten her already organized kiosk.
"She must be a very good mom if you're willing to stay there for her," Hannah said softly.
Mariela wiped her eyes and smiled. "She is a very good mom." She swallowed. "But why are you staying if you don't like your parents?"
"I won't leave Josh alone with them," Hannah said. It was the first time she'd ever surprised herself.
Mariela blinked. "But Josh is grown, and he can take care of himself. He wants the best for you."
"Josh can take care of himself, but he's too good to." She shook her head. "He won't leave without you, you won't leave without your mom." She smiled. "It's simple, really."
~~~
"Atlantic Avenue was your idea of a shortcut?"
Hannah bit her lip. Wherever they were going, it was important they get there. Robert reached for his siren so he could justify breaking a few traffic laws.
"Don't," Hannah said, putting her hand on his again.
"We'll get there faster, and this is police business."
"I don't want them to know we're coming."
"How do you know we're going to the right place?"
"Because I ran a title search on the person who sent all those working girls to the party last night. I was pretty sure, but I needed confirmation. The call came in a few hours ago. There's no other reason someone like that would own something like this."
"People are being kept in a warehouse?"
"This is where you go when they need to break you."
~~~
Hannah liked to do her homework, and the stuff she got in school was too easy not to finish in study hall. She found the perfect apartment in Back Bay, but the price was more than she was willing to spend. This was going to require a little research.
She skipped school on Tuesday to meet with a realtor she'd found. The woman was amused when Hannah told her she wanted to sell her property and where it was, and didn't believe her until she produced the deed.
Needs, Wants and Other Weaknesses (The New Pioneers Book 6) Page 9
