by Rhea Wilde
Don’t let him see you. Don’t let him know.
I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t let him know what I was about to do.
“Sheila…”
I knew he was behind me. His hands fell on my shoulders. His grip was gentle despite how strong his hands were. He slowly turned me around and I looked up at him.
The same man I saw the first time I met him was there. Blue eyes. Ruggedly handsome.
“I remember,” I whispered as I reached my hand back up to his face.
“You remember what?”
“I remember what I said that night when you saved me. Do you remember?”
“Yeah,” he said with a soft chuckle. “I think it was my hero.”
“Yeah, my hero…”
I smiled back at him. The memory of it all was clear even though I’d been drinking that night.
“I still owe you,” I said.
“You don’t owe me anything, Sheila. You never did.”
“No. You saved my life. Now… Now let me save yours.”
“Sheila… What are you saying?”
“Just let me pay you back, okay?”
“…What’s wrong? Is there something wrong? You can tell me. You can trust me.”
“I know. I know I can. I believe in you. I believe that you’re going to do some amazing things with your life.”
“Sheila…”
Don’t tell him. Don’t let him know. He can’t know.
Before he could say anything more, I put my hands up to his face and brought it toward me. He didn’t resist. His arms wrapped around me, Noah leaned forward and kissed me. I sighed a deep breath into his mouth as his tongue moved forward. My entire body felt like it was going to melt in his grasp. All the tension I felt was slowly floating away up toward the high ceiling of the garage.
With the music as our backdrop, we entangled ourselves with one another. Our kiss became deeper. Tongues probing. Lips smacking. My hands knocked his beanie off his head and ran through his golden blond hair. His hands rested on the small of my back, keeping me tight against his chest. I felt so secure in his embrace. I felt like I was flying and Noah was holding me up.
He must have read my thoughts. I was only just beginning to enjoy the moment but he had other intentions. His arms still wrapped around me, he lifted me up off the ground completely. I ensnared him within my arms and legs, clinging to him and not wanting to let go.
He carried me over to his workbench and set me down upon it. He pulled away from me just long enough to pull his t-shirt off. I marveled at the sight of his physique. Broad shoulders that tapered down to his bulging chest and hard abs. His tan skin beginning to sweat and shine underneath the dim lighting of the garage.
Before I could take in the picture for much longer, he rushed toward me and brought our lips back together. I pressed my hands down on the workbench to hold myself in place as he worked his mouth down to my neck. He raised my shirt up and I gasped when he kissed my stomach. He moved his way back up to my breast, pulling my bra down to suck on my nipple. My head fell back. My mouth opened wide and a deep sigh of satisfaction escaped my throat.
I was breathing hard, panting embarrassingly like a dog. Every kiss against my skin sent tiny little jolts of electricity tingling through me. He kissed back down my chest, to my navel, until he got to my panties that were peeking just above my jeans.
He pulled away again from me. He worked the zipper on my fly effortlessly then tugged hard at my jeans. I pressed down on the workbench just enough raise my ass and legs so he could pull my jeans off.
Noah dove his head back between my legs. I cradled his head in my hands, writhing in pleasure from him working his tongue over my panties toward my sweetest spot. He pulled my underwear to the side just enough to taste the glistening honey spilling out of me.
But it was only for just a moment.
“I want you,” I groaned. “I want all of you.”
He didn’t need another reminder. He moved his head back and tore at the fabric of my panties. I raised myself up just enough so he could rip them down. My shoes fell to the ground. My jeans followed. My panties managed to cling onto one of my ankles and stay there as my legs remained dangling over the edge of the workbench.
His lips pressed to mine as he worked his belt. I reached down and started to help. In a furious frenzy of desire, we both managed to get his belt off and throw it to the ground. He practically jumped out of his jeans. His cock did the same out of his briefs.
I reached down and massaged his length in my hand. The size of it wasn’t something I could get familiar with so easily. Every inch was something to marvel at even though I’d experienced it before. Noah was anxious to make me experience it again.
Our kiss became messy. Tongues collided in a fit of passion that probably made both of us look silly. But I didn’t care. My only focus was on feeling him inside of me.
Noah obliged quickly. Pulling away from me just long enough to look me in the eyes. He wasn’t gentle. He wasn’t smooth. His tip resting upon my entrance, he buried his cock into me completely. My eyes locked on him were now shut. The thud of his body slapping against my skin was joined in unison by a gasp of ecstasy that managed to squeak through my throat.
I tried to open my eyes again but could only get them halfway. In my clouded vision, I could see him staring back at me. Blue eyes with an intensity only desire could bring. I wrapped one of my hands around his neck and braced myself as he proceeded to give it to me.
Hard and deep strokes. Slow, forceful and out of rhythm. Noah thumped his body against mine. Every thrust into me so hard I thought the workbench was going to break. I began to fall back. I pressed my free hand against the wall as if it would save me.
Noah’s hands started to roam. His fingers danced over my chest as he pulled my bra down once again, giving him just enough room to tease my nipple. His other hand moved down and took the small of my back.
I was at his mercy. Now and then he would pull away from me just long enough to let me breathe. Instead, nothing but whimpers came out. Incoherent moans drowned out the rock music in the distance.
I could no longer keep my eyes open. I could barely move my hips to join his. The smell of the garage and Noah’s sweat filled my nostrils. Every thrust sent me closer to the edge. I was being consumed by him and it wouldn’t be long before I lost myself completely.
I reached around his neck with both hands as I got closer. My nails dug into the hard muscles of his shoulders. He pulled his lips away from me. His nose was pressed to mine. I managed to find the strength to open my eyes just long enough to stare back at him. The intensity he gave me was all I needed to tip over into the ecstasy that waited for me.
“Noah… I’m gonna… I’m gonna…”
Oh… Oh, God…
I didn’t have it in me. I was spent. My mouth hung open and my eyes shut as my orgasm crashed into me. My body convulsed against the edge of the workbench, shaking it more violently than it had been this entire time. I squeezed tight around him. My muscles contracted. My core exploded with a pleasure that pulsed through my body. A cool warmness flowed through my veins. My body shuddered in an uncontrollable, orgasmic rhythm.
Sensing my orgasm, Noah slammed into me hard. He grunted, his lips near my cheek. I tightened myself around him as much as I could and milked his cock. Every drop filled me up. My insides were already wet enough but Noah made it even worse.
Together, the two of us came to an end he had so passionately worked me to.
I wanted it to last forever. But slowly, everything started to come back to me. The pleasure subsided. Noah pulled out of me and the feeling he had just given me dissipated. I opened my eyes. My vision started to clear. I saw Noah standing there in front of me, a perfect specimen covered in sweat, other fluids dripping down from his glistening length.
I sat on the edge of the workbench, my legs still spread as I collected myself. Only after feeling such a wonderful high did the ominous low I knew was coming
hit me.
That was it. That was the last time.
“Stay with me,” he whispered. “Stay here with me.”
He leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. I closed my eyes and sighed. The rough feeling of his scruff against my skin gave me a blissful feeling I couldn’t describe.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I can’t.”
“Sheila…”
He pulled away from me. I looked into his eyes and saw the concern.
Don’t tell him. You can’t tell him.
I couldn’t stare back at him. I looked away and cleared my throat, my senses now returned to me. A hand across his chest and gentle push moved him out of the way.
I hopped off the workbench and pulled my pants back up. My back turned to him, I put myself back in order but Noah wasn’t in the same kind of rush.
“Sheila, is something wrong?”
“No,” I sighed again. “Nothing’s wrong. There’s just… There’s just something I have to do tonight.”
“Well, let me go with you.”
“No,” I said as I turned around and looked at him. “It’s… It’s something I have to do.”
I owe you this.
The obvious concern on Noah’s face didn’t go away. But he didn’t question me any further, letting me put myself back together in silence.
I waited just long enough for Noah to close the garage once again. I hailed a cab and Noah stood by me.
“I’ll be at Fresco,” he said. “If you feel like joining me.”
“Yeah, I’ll think about it.”
Just before I got into the passenger seat of the taxi, Noah took my right hand. I watched him as he stared at me and kissed my knuckles. His touch never failed to make me feel special.
“Goodbye, Noah.”
He didn’t say anything. He just nodded to me. I looked away from him and got inside of the cab.
As we sped off into the distance, I looked in the rearview mirror. He stood there with his hands in his pockets like a statue, watching me the entire time until he finally disappeared in the distance.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I noticed a missed message and opened it up. It was from Officer Dion.
“It’s time.”
Chapter 24
Officer Dion called me to confirm everything was on schedule. He texted me an address I didn’t recognize. It only took me a few minutes before I’d arrived at a small Italian restaurant. I was double-checking the address to make sure I was at the right location when Dion sent me another text.
“Walk through the entrance. Make your way to the back. Go through the kitchen and out the backdoor.”
I took one last look at the entrance of the restaurant then exhaled a deep breath before stepping inside.
The restaurant was dimly lit. There were a few patrons. The waitstaff didn’t pay any attention to me as I walked briskly to the back. When I got into the kitchen, all of the chefs and cooks were too busy to pay any attention to me. Either that or they were told not to.
When I arrived at the back door, I pushed it open and stumbled into a dark alley.
“Over here.”
I heard a voice and followed it. I saw Officer Dion sitting in the back of a white van. Next to him was a man I’d never seen before.
The man wore a plain white dress shirt with a red tie. His face was stoic, his eyes looking me over like he was examining me. He had a fair complexion and his face was indistinguishable from the average men I saw walking down the street in the city. His short black hair was combed lazily over his head like he was in a hurry.
He sat there calmly along with Dion as I made my way up and into the back of the van. There was another man there, his back turned to me as he examined several television monitors. I glanced at them but couldn’t make anything on the screens out.
I took a seat next to Dion then he shut the van door behind me.
“This is your last chance,” he said to me. “Once you’re in, you can’t get out until our people extract you. You have to be absolutely sure you want to do this.”
“I’m sure,” I said, not hesitating.
Dion looked at the man with the black hair and nodded to him. The van started to move. I could feel my stomach beginning to shift right along with it, a nervousness coming out of nowhere that I didn’t welcome.
“This is Detective Holmes,” Dion explained. “Detective Holmes is heading the Castle investigation. He’s the one running the show here. So you listen to him.”
“Miss Cooper,” Holmes addressed me, his voice calm and collected. “Lift up your shirt.”
I jerked my head to the side and stared at Dion, confused.
“What?” I said.
Dion pointed back at Detective Holmes.
“Lift up your shirt,” Detective Holmes repeated. “There isn’t much time left to explain.”
“But—”
“I have to place this bug on you.”
He held up the barely visible microphone between his fingertips.
“We’re running out of time,” he said.
“Oh… Right.”
I gingerly placed my hands at the bottom of my shirt then lifted it up toward my head. I looked away from both of the men as the detective stuck the microphone along the wire of my bra.
“Okay,” the detective said. “You’re ready.”
I quickly pulled my shirt back down and saw both of the men staring at me.
“The receiver has a radius that should cover all of New Gardens,” Holmes explained. “No matter where you are, as long as Castle stays in this city, we’ll get everything.”
“I understand,” I said with a nod.
“Good. Now there’s the simple matter of getting you inside and close to Castle.”
Detective Holmes turned and pointed at the monitors toward the front end of the van that the other man was observing.
“Our people have put surveillance at these strategic points on Harbor Drive,” Holmes continued. “Every spot on the docks is covered. We can’t get any cameras inside for obvious reasons. But should anything happen outside, we’ll have it all on video.”
“And what if something happens inside?” I asked.
“If something happens inside, we’ll have the audio. We’ll be with you every step of the way, Miss Cooper. It might feel like you’re alone but we have people listening.”
“Right.”
I sighed a deep breath then wiped my suddenly sweating palms against my jeans.
“It’ll be all right,” Dion said to me.
His words did little to calm me down.
What the hell am I doing?
I didn’t know how it had gotten to this point. All I wanted was to bring the man responsible for Kimmy’s injuries to justice. Now I was inside of an unmarked police van, the center of a sting operation. I wasn’t even sure how legit everything was.
“Once you’re in, get the confession out of him,” Holmes told me. “I know you believe he’s responsible for something he did to someone you know. But you need to get more out of him if this is going to stick. The DA won’t press charges.”
“What else is there?” I asked.
“Get him to talk. If Castle is the kind of guy they say he is, then he’ll brag. Once we got enough, we’ll send our people in.”
“What if I can’t get him to talk? What if he won’t confess? What if something goes wrong—”
“Miss Cooper, we’ll be with you every step of the way. If there’s any sign of danger, we’ll send our people in.”
“How will you know?”
“You’ll need a codeword. The microphone is sensitive. Do not hesitate to say it.”
“Okay. What’s the codeword?”
“That’s up to you. We don’t have our own codewords because it’s possible they could leak. We leave that up to you.”
“Right…”
I looked down at the floor of the van. It had to be something distinct. Something I knew wouldn’t come up during a
conversation with Castle.
“…Fresco.”
“What?” Holmes said.
“Fresco,” I repeated.
“All right. Fresco.”
“Now… Let me explain what’s going to happen exactly.”
Holmes pointed one of the monitors.
“The end of the waterfront begins right here. That’s where Harbor Drive begins. Castle’s people watch every single car that goes in or out. If we drive by, they’ll see us. It was hard enough just to get the surveillance cameras up. An unmarked van would be suspicious enough for them to do something about.
“We’re going to park a few blocks away. You’re gonna have to make the walk yourself.”
“Don’t you think that’ll draw even more attention?” I asked. “A woman like me in the middle of the night, alone, in this part of town?”
“It might but it shouldn’t. Castle has girls working these corners. It won’t be suspicious.”
“Do your best to try and blend in,” Dion said to me. “It shouldn’t be too much trouble for you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I said as I turned and looked at the cop next to me.
“W-wait… I didn’t mean it like that…” Dion said, flustered. “W-what I meant was—”
“There are working girls there,” Holmes explained. “You won’t be alone out there. And should anything go wrong, we’ll be with you. Remember, we can hear everything that’s happening. And once you get to the docks, we’ll be able to see everything, too.”
The plan didn’t seem like it was all it was cracked up to be. I suppose it made sense that everything was unsettling. It still felt like there were so many things that could go wrong and there was no way to address them.
“Then what?” I asked. “I make my way to the docks and what do I do after that?”
“Just keep walking,” Holmes said. “Make your way to the docks. Everybody will keep ignoring you. Then head to the information kiosk at the center. Ask for Castle.”
“That’s it? You want me to just walk up to the front door and ring his doorbell?”
“The last time I checked, you did the exact same thing and it got you a front row seat. Am I wrong?”
