by Aria Ford
I hope this works, Megan thought.
Her phone buzzed and a text from Gabriel was on the screen.
Are you able to come over tonight?
Megan sighed; it had been fun while it lasted. Probably not. I might have found Charlotte. I think that she’s hiding out in North Carolina.”
A noise similar to water dropping in an overflowing sink sounded and Megan looked at the screen. Miranda had written: She’s not much of a blogger, actually, she’s super mad that I posted her gorgeous face on here, lol.
Megan typed back, Can I at least see what her going-out style is like? I need a good look for this club my sister and I want to go to.
She called Gabriel. His voice was like silk on the opposite end. “Hey, there. Just lying here, alone. It would be nice to fuck- I mean, see you.”
Megan couldn’t help but giggle. “Of course it would be. Put it in your pants, though. I might be bringing your adulteress home soon. She’s in North Carolina with a makeup blogger named Miranda Kelli.”
“She always watched her videos but I had no idea that they knew each other,” Gabriel said.
The website alerted her to another response.
“Apparently, no one did. Her husband didn’t even mention it when I asked if she knew anyone out of state she might have gone to if she were in trouble.”
Megan scrolled back to her comment conversation with Miranda and the newest comment slowly loaded a photo of Miranda and Charlotte dressed up for a night out. They stood in front of a tall brick building, and just over Miranda’s shoulder was a sign for a pizzeria. The Last Slice.
Gotcha, you sneaky bitch.
Megan grinned and said in to her phone, “I’m an open-minded woman. Would you like to drive to North Carolina to retrieve your girlfriend with me? I’ve got a point to prove to my chief.”
“I’ll rent a car and handle all of the expenses. See you tomorrow morning.” Gabriel hung up, and Megan put her phone in her pocket.
She gathered her laptop and her notes, her shoulders relaxed and her headache waning but questions rang in her ears.
Charlotte, who are you hiding from?
Chapter 7
“Ahh,” Megan hummed as Gabriel spelled the alphabet onto her clit. Her silky locks spilled over the soft hotel pillow as she arched her back and roughly grabbed onto his hair. He chuckled into her pussy and she bit her lip. I don’t need the hotel staff sniffing around here about a noise complaint.
Gabriel snagged Megan’s wrist and said, “If you keep grabbing my hair like that I’m not going to have any left. No one wants to be set up with someone by a patchy bald guy.”
He punctuated that by crossing flicking his tongue over her clit once again. She shuddered and smacked him on the shoulder. “How are we going to find Charlotte if you’ve got me like this all morning? Its past seven I want to get to the-,’
She gasped, as her pussy clenched and her orgasm rolled out the first wave. Gabriel pulled his face out of her crotch and sleepily licked his lips. “Okay. Do you want to get dressed and grab a bite then?”
Megan rolled a quiet laugh off of her tongue. “That wouldn’t be fair. I’ve had my fun, but you haven’t.” She slid away from him and rolled over. She sat up and arranged herself over his briefs.
Gabriel smirked and leaned back on his elbows. She shimmied his briefs over his hips, his thighs, and then tossed them into a corner.
“I hope I can find those later.” Gabriel threw his head back as the warmth of Megan’s tongue spread throughout his whole body. Her lips grazed the side of his shaft as she suctioned his entire length.
He moaned softly and quietly as she swirled her tongue around the tip of his cock. He ground his hips into her mouth and her lips grazed the soft hair at the base as she took him as deep as she could.
“This won’t do,” he said, in between shallow breaths.
“Huh?” Megan replied.
His fingers got tangled in a bundle of her hair, and he pulled her off of him. He got on his knees behind her and plunged his cock deep into her pussy.
Megan couldn’t help the scream that erupted from deep in her throat. Or the next one, as he pounded into her. Her eyes frantically searched for something to stabilize her, anything she could grab onto. She bounced around as he fucked her, her thighs smacked into his ass he groaned.
Megan settled for a part of the bedding that was crumpled, and stuffed part of the peach hued sheets into her mouth. Her pussy and thighs twitched as Gabriel mercilessly slammed into her G-spot.
She clenched tighter around him and his fingernails dug into her cheeks. The sound of his palm slapping against her ass rang throughout the hotel room. He sighed as he finished inside of her.
“Now we can get the day started.”
It was an awfully hot day in Greensboro. Megan and Gabriel moved through the crowded sidewalks once they parked in the precinct’s parking lot. Megan opted for a pair of denim shorts along with a lime colored blouse, her badge tucked into the back pocket of her shorts. Gabriel admired her perfect ass as he shrugged off his jacket to reveal a solid black v-neck.
They climbed the steps and Megan pushed the doors open, nodding at a patrol officer that was heading out. He gave her ass and cleavage an appreciative glance. She approached the front desk and the woman’s fingers kept pecking at the keyboard for five minutes before she acknowledged Megan.
“Yes?” She rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her caramel-scented coffee. “What do you need, Miss?” she asked, more insistent.
Megan took her badge out of her back pocket and put it in the officer’s face. “I’m a Detective, from LA. I’m working on a missing person’s case; her name is Charlotte Mortez. She’s the head of advertising from LoveConnect.”
The woman stared at Megan blankly. “Is that Gabriel Geroux behind you?”
“What? Yes, it is. He’s her boss and he’s very concerned- I need information on Miranda Kelli because she might be staying with her.”
“Do you know all of the nation’s relevant famous people?”
“Miss, focus. I would really love it if you ran her name through the system and pulled up her last address.”
The officer scoffed and curled her lip up at Megan in a sneer. “Brings in the country’s most handsome bachelor and wants to put me to work, I don’t understand people nowadays,” she mumbled, as she got up and walked over to a different terminal.
Megan grinned at Gabriel. “I didn’t know that you were famous.”
“Only a little. I think there’s a picture of me on the LoveConnect website so I think most single women know who I am.”
“I didn’t.”
Gabriel scoffed. “Like you would need to be on a matchmaking site.”
The woman came back and slammed a manila folder down on the desk. “This is Miranda Kelli’s file. She’s been arrested once- intoxication in public. This is the address listed when she was arrested.”
Megan sighed and flashed the officer a wide smile. “Thank you so much!”
“Yeah, whatever.”
***
Gabriel opened the car door and they approached a high-end apartment. Gabriel nodded at the doorman and he nudged Megan. “This is a pretty good neighborhood.”
Megan rolled her eyes as she pushed the bar on the glass door. “Why did you expect it not to be? She’s a famous makeup blogger who probably sells high end makeup for all of the big companies.”
Gabriel pressed the up button on the elevator and stuck one arm out to rub Megan’s shoulders. “Are you excited? You’re about to solve your first big case.”
She shrugged his arm off of her. “I’m about to bring your girlfriend home, stop touching me.”
They got on the elevator and the smell of potpourri permeated the box. They rode up, and it opened on the tenth floor. Before they could step out, Gabriel grabbed Megan’s arm.
“I told you, she isn’t my girlfriend,” he said defensively.
Megan took a deep breath and nodded as they
walked down the hall to apartment 1014. She knocked on the door and but didn’t hear anyone stirring on the other side. She peered down the hall but it was vacant.
Suddenly, the door swung open and a woman stood in front of them. She was wearing an apricot-colored robe and her hazelnut hair hung in stringy, wet, pieces around her shoulders. Her eyes grew big as saucers as she scanned the expressions of Gabriel and Megan.
“What? How did you…?”
Gabriel cleared his throat. “You’re a missing person, Charlotte. I thought you would have figured that by now.”
Megan shook her head clear and held up her badge. “I’m Detective Lowe. I was assigned your case, and it looks like I’ve found you. Unharmed. Do you just like wasting LAPD’s time? Not to mention scaring the shit out of your husband?”
Charlotte grimaced. “This is a predicament.”
“It’s a bit more than that, Miss.” Megan said, raising her voice.
Gabriel stared in silence. Miranda poked her head over Charlotte’s shoulder. “Hey, Charlotte, are these your friends? You have to let me know if you’re going to have friends over. Why is she holding a badge?”
“I’m a Detective, and I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on here.”
Miranda slapped Charlotte on the shoulder, which elicited a yelp from Charlotte. “Well, invite them in. I’ll set out some coffee.”
They made their way through a narrow hallway that opened up to an extravagantly decorated living room. Megan and Gabriel sat on a long white sofa, and Miranda rushed up to them and offered them mugs of coffee.
She sat on the other end of the couch. “Why are you guys looking for Charlotte?” she asked.
“I’ve been working Charlotte’s case for about a week now, trying to figure out if she’s been murdered or kidnapped. Gabriel went to the police when she went missing, and her husband hasn’t eaten in damn near a week, he’s been so worried.”
Miranda looked shocked. “Jesus! If I’d have known- She stopped by a few days ago to hang out, but I see that she didn’t bother to tell anyone. She said she got time off of work.”
Gabriel said, “No. She didn’t, she just went missing after I sent her to the notary.”
“No, I went missing after you slept with me.” Charlotte walked back into the room and was dressed in jeans and a dark shirt. Megan shifted on the couch and Charlotte crossed her arms.
“You woke up like nothing had happened and started barking orders at me,” she said, sounding wounded.
Gabriel’s voice was thick with frustration. “I am your boss.”
“You let me think it was more! At first I thought it would be fun to fuck the boss, mess around a little because Lewis is always busy. Then I went ahead and I fell in love with you. Talk about stupid. I wanted to leave Lewis for you, but Tuesday morning I realized that I would never be more than a good time piece of ass. I needed some space to breathe and figure my shit out.”
Megan and Miranda shifted glances toward Gabriel. His lips were sealed. Charlotte started pacing in front of them. “I’m flattered that you got a detective to come looking for me. I was thinking that my life was such a mess. My husband is never around; he only focuses on work and his dog to avoid what’s going on with us. I have a successful career that I’ve risked by falling in love with the man that literally signs my paychecks. So, after I went to the notary and got those documents notarized, I pawned my wedding ring and rented a car. Miranda was the first person I thought to visit.”
“It would have been nice to know that a crisis is what made you land on my doorstep,” Miranda mumbled.
“Are you going to resign, then?” Gabriel asked.
Charlotte scoffed. “Always worried about business. I’m going to have to because I took all of the advertising plans that I was working on and sold them to another matchmaking company.”
The skin on Gabriel’s neck and face turned dark red as he jumped to his feet. “How could you do that?” he roared.
“Don’t you dare scream at me, Gabriel. Not after what you did. How could you pretend not to notice how I felt? Why do you have to fuck everyone around you?” She thrust a finger at Megan. “Is he fucking you too? Has he made you feel safe and better about your mess of a life?” Charlotte’s throat was hoarse as she yelled. “Watch. He’ll abandon your plain ass after this case is sealed. Well, it looks like you found me, Detective.”
She pointed at Gabriel. “Look, her work thing is over. You can leave now, Gabriel. This poor fool has served your purpose, now you can kick her out like you did me.”
“You’re insane!”
“Because of you!” she shrieked and she stomped into the kitchen. Megan swore as her muscles tensed, sensing that this was going to take an even uglier turn. Why did I leave my pistol in the car’
Miranda started to rise off of the couch and called after Charlotte. “Charlotte?! Oh my God, Charlotte! What are you doing?”
Charlotte came charging back in with what had to be the world’s largest wine bottle. She bent her knees and slammed it on the dining room table. Shards went flying and the wine exploded all over the carpet. Miranda screeched and Gabriel covered her from flying glass. Megan jumped to her feet.
“Get on the ground, Charlotte.”
“Fuck you! You’re screwing him, you’ve been enjoying it too. I can see it!” she hissed.
“Put the bottle down, now! You don’t want to waste a quarter of your life over some dickhead who screwed you over. You said yourself, he’s not worth it,” she tried reasoning with the distraught woman.Charlotte released a battle cry and held the sharp pieces of what remained of the wine bottle in her bloodied hand. “Get out of the way. This is between me and Gabriel.”
“I said put the glass down and give it up! So far you haven’t injured anyone; you can resign from your job at LoveConnect and live here with Miranda if that’s what you want. You’re not in trouble just yet.”
“I told you to shut up!” Charlotte barked, and she charged Megan. Megan steadied herself and delivered a perfect clothesline. Charlotte fell on her back but snagged Megan’s leg. They wrestled, with Charlotte screaming and Megan shouting, “You are under arrest! You have the right to remain silent! Anything you say or do can be used-”
Megan took a hard elbow to the jaw and spit in Charlotte’s face. Charlotte plunged a shard of the wine bottle into Megan’s abdomen.
Miranda was in hysterics. ”Oh my God! Charlotte, what did you do? What did you do?” she screamed.
Gabriel took out his phone and dialed 911. “Hi, I’m going to need an ambulance and some police. An officer has been injured, and our attacker hasn’t been subdued. Please come fast.”
Megan took in the biggest and most painful gulp of air she could. Adrenaline surged through her as she sent her fist into the center of Charlotte’s throat. Charlotte coughed and struggled to catch her breath. Megan grabbed a handful of hair and pulled as hard as she could. Charlotte tumbled off of her and Megan straddled her. Her hands sought out Charlotte’s throat as the dark red stain on her blouse tripled in size.
“Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, the court will appoint one to you.”
Charlotte gasped for air and Miranda howled, “She’s killing her!”
Gabriel restrained her as she tried to jump in the middle of it. He could hear sirens faintly and tightened his hold on Miranda.
Charlotte’s limbs went limp and her eyes shut.
Megan stood up and announced, “I need to get my handcuffs and gun. I don’t know how long I have before she wakes up. You two are witnesses. She was read her rights. She attacked me, and she’s going to go away for a very long time.”
She pressed on the wound on her stomach with the flat of her palm. Gabriel released Miranda and she darted to Charlotte, frantically checking for a pulse.
“Oh my God, Charlotte. I didn’t know that you needed help,” she sobbed.
�
��Let me get your handcuffs and gun, you’re hurt.”
The pain was starting win over but she still had a job to do. “I’m fine.”
The door flew open and three uniformed officers came in, guns out. Megan collapsed on the sofa, and flashed her badge. She pointed a leg in Charlotte’s direction. “That’s your suspect. She’s been read her rights. She tried to attack me. She’s a missing person’s case from my jurisdiction in L.A.”
The officers swarmed around Charlotte and Megan sleepily said, “Thank God you’re here.”
It sounded like she heard Gabriel’s calling out from deep underwater.
Chapter 8
The judge was impatient. He looked back and forth between Noel, the city’s best criminal defense lawyer, and the plaintiff’s representation, the City of Los Angeles. Sonia King represented the City. She took a breath, one that should have smoothed out the wrinkles on her face and released some of the obvious tension she felt. Her case had made national headlines over the past two weeks. High profile news sites and gossip blogs flocked to the story; a prominent LA business figure, a sociopath, and an officer injured on the job.
“Mrs. King, are you ready to present the evidence you mentioned?”
She nodded and stepped forward, her black hair piled on top of her head in a court appropriate bun. She walked a manila envelope to the judge and announced to the court, “Charlotte Mortez attacked Detective Lowe upon Miss Lowe’s attempt to restrain her once she became violent toward Gabriel Geroux. The following is a complete report from Los Angeles Central Hospital of Miss Lowe’s injuries. It’s not a question of if Mrs. Mortez should serve time, it’s a question of how long.”
The judge studied the material, and nodded. “Does the defense have anything to add?”
Noel smoothed the lapel of his suit. “I do, your honor. I don’t feel that we should punish a woman with a severe mental illness. Based on the events that occurred on June 18th, 2015, it’s clear that Miss Mortez is in no way in her right mind.”
