Stone's Mistake

by Adrian J. Smith

  Morgan’s stomach churned. “What else did you run?”

  “Drugs, sometimes, but they don’t trust me with them much. It was only when Tuck wasn’t around.”

  Letting out a breath, Morgan refocused. “You said to my friend the other day that Mr. Jimmy liked you. Did he like the pictures of the girls, too?”

  “No. He only likes boys.”

  “Okay. Okay. So when you would run for P-dog, where would you go to give the stuff to Mr. Jimmy?”

  Dimitri got quiet. His cheeks paled, and his nose reddened. Morgan knew she was walking into dangerous territory, but she needed a location, somewhere she could send some people to meet with Mr. Jimmy or at least search him out some more.

  “Dimitri, I know this is hard, but I really need you to tell me everything you can about Mr. Jimmy.”

  He nodded in the slightest way possible. “What do you need to know?”

  “Where did you go to meet him?”

  “A hotel.”

  “Which one?”

  Dimitri shook his head. “I had to get on a plane to go there. It took a long time. Big John always went with me.”

  “Who is Big John?”

  “My boss.”

  “Okay. What did the hotel look like?”

  “It was nice. Had gold doors, and white floors, lots of trees inside. We’d drive right up to the entrance, then I’d go in, up the elevator to the top floor, and I wouldn’t come out until Mr. Jimmy was ready to send me back.”

  “Thank you, Dimitri. I also need to know what Mr. Jimmy looks like.”

  Dimitri’s eyes watered, and his nose got even redder. “I can’t.”

  “I need you to. It’s the only way we’ll catch him.”

  It took Dimitri a full minute before he answered, and Morgan let him sit with his decision. He was doing excellent for such a young kid who had been through so much. He was giving her a lot of useful information, and she hoped, he would be willing to testify. The next part of their conversation was her least favorite.

  “He has brown hair and brown skin. He’s not very tall.”

  “How old do you think he is?”

  “I dunno. Your age?”

  “Okay, that’s good. I’m fifty.”

  “Yeah, he’s your age.”

  Morgan filed away every piece of information she could in her brain, thankful they were recording the interview. She would no doubt watch it a couple dozen times in the next few weeks. “Does he have any scars or tattoos or birth marks?”

  Dimitri shook his head. “He’s skinny and fit. He works out like every day.”

  “That’s good. Thank you! That’s really helpful. Anything else?”

  “He has a stupid dog he keeps with him.”

  “A dog?”

  “Yeah.” Dimitri wrinkled his nose. “It bites. It’s a little brown dog.”

  “Like a chihuahua.”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. It bit my leg.”

  “Oh no! Is it okay now?”

  Dimitri nodded. “Mr. Jimmy had a doctor come and look at it because we couldn’t get it to stop bleeding.”

  “Oh good. I’m glad you’re okay.” Morgan sent him a smile, hoping now he was talking a little more regularly she was building to having a relationship on good footing. “We’re going to put you into protective custody, okay, Dimitri?”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “It means you’re going to go live with a family who is going to take really good care of you.”

  “I’ve lived with families like that. They always kick me out.”

  “These people won’t. I promise.” Morgan licked her lips. “It also means, though, that when we find Mr. Jimmy you’re going to have to tell your story again and again and again. That way we can make sure Mr. Jimmy will never get out of prison.”

  “No.”

  “Dimitri, I need you to do this.”

  “No. I won’t do it.”

  Morgan sighed. “I need you to do this, so he won’t hurt any other little boys.”

  That made him pause. Morgan’s stomach twisted. She hated pushing him this way. It was too much manipulation, too much pulling teeth and making people do what they didn’t want to do. She was good at it, but she did not like it.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Okay, that’s all I could ask for. My friend is going to come in and talk to you about where you’re going to stay, okay?”

  Dimitri nodded. Morgan grabbed her papers she hadn’t even touched and left the room. As soon as the door shut, she let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. She hated sex crimes. She’d take serial murderers any day of the week over a sex crime.

  ###

  She’d spent two days getting Dimitri oriented in his new home, double-checking his story, and making sure he would be willing to share it again, which he did twice more. She was confident he was in a good place, although she really wished her sister and her sister’s girlfriend were the ones who were hosting him. She trusted them implicitly. This family, she wasn’t sure about.

  Morgan sat in the airport with her laptop on her knees as she waited for her plane when her phone rang. Wrinkling her nose and praying it wasn’t her mom, she pulled it up and smiled when she saw Pax’s name. She pressed the phone to her ear and answered with a smile.

  “Howdy, partner.”

  “Don’t do that,” he snarked. “Did you see it?”

  “See what?” Morgan leaned over her computer, checking her email for what she had missed. Sure enough, it popped through as soon as she refreshed the browser. “Oh, now I got it.”

  “Open it.”

  “No shit, Sherlock.” Morgan opened the email, and her eyes lit up. It was a hit on their stolen credit card they were watching. She scrolled through the data. Restaurant somewhere in St. Louis. “Fuck.”

  “What?”

  “The one time I decide to fly to Kansas instead of driving.”

  He snickered. “That’s what I was thinking.”

  “You send someone out there?”

  “I thought you might want the honors.”

  As much as she would love to change her flight, the plane was due to board in ten minutes. It also wouldn’t be very economical for her to change her flight when they had people on the ground who could check it out for her.

  “As much as I would love to,” she began, “it’s probably best to send someone else this time. I’ll catch up to our mystery murderess some other time.”

  “You’re sure?”

  He sounded concerned, which was nice of him, but for the time being, she knew she was in the right. It would not likely be approved by Taylor, and she would probably piss him and someone else off in the process if she didn’t follow protocol. Not to mention she’d told her mom the other day that she was a cop and followed the law. Rolling her eyes, Morgan shifted into her seat to try and be slightly more comfortable.

  “Yeah, just this time. I’m gonna get me this one.”

  “You do that.” He chuckled. “I’ll make the call.”

  “Thanks. How did our kid do up there? Did the information match the witness here?”

  “Kind of. Not as well as we had hoped, but it might be enough to try and find Mr. Jimmy.”

  Shutting her laptop as boarding started, Morgan shoved it into her backpack. “What did he say?”

  “Not much, just that he’d go to a hotel, do his duty, and be done with it, and Mr. Jimmy would send him home.”

  “All right. I’ll watch the tape when I get back.”

  “You do that. See you soon, Stone.”

  “Back at you, Jones.”

  Rubbing the ache from the back of her neck, Morgan packed up the rest of her stuff and got on to the plane. It would be a much shorter journey home than last time, but this time, she had a lot more on her mind.

  Chapter Ten

  Lollie sat on Samantha’s couch and peeked through her phone. Samantha was in the shower, the water running, and the door closed. Lollie had made sure to take
it slow the night before and didn’t push Samantha toward a relationship. There was something she liked about wooing her dates. It made her feel important and as if they actually liked her.

  Smiling at herself, Lollie typed in Andrea’s name into the search bar on her phone. Swallowing, she looked at the reports out of Chicago. They’d found her decently quick, but it also didn’t look like they had any leads. She typed in Katie’s name and found the same.

  She hated not having access to the police files. That would tell her a whole lot more about whether or not they were going to find her, but sticking with the news outlets was going to have to do for now. Lollie typed in both names to search them together. There was nothing connecting the two.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Lollie leaned into the couch and covered her legs with the blanket Samantha had given her to sleep with. It wasn’t the most comfortable blanket, but it had done the trick. That morning, they had shared coffee and conversation, and Lollie had worked on being even closer to Samantha.

  With a glance toward the bathroom to make sure Samantha was still in it, Lollie typed in two more names to her search bar. There was nothing new on the first, and the second literally showed nothing at all in the news. They must not have found her yet. Lollie closed and cleared out the search history, setting her phone on the coffee table as she waited.

  She had to leave when Samantha went to work in an hour, but she wanted to lay the groundwork for coming back. She liked Samantha. They had a lot in common, but more importantly, they had chemistry. That had been what Lollie was after from the beginning and what had lacked with Andrea. She wanted that deep connection with someone, the trust and the relationship to build on that.

  When Samantha came out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around her middle, Lollie looked up at her and grinned. She was a goddess. Steam billowed out around her, her hair wet down her back and darker than before, her cheeks rosy from the heat and trails of water dripping down her skin. Lollie licked her lips as she cast her gaze up and down, letting Samantha know she was interested in something beyond mere friendship.

  Samantha grinned and pressed a hand to Lollie’s shoulder. “I’m going to get dressed, but do you want to grab some breakfast before I head to work?”

  “Absolutely.” Lollie smiled up at Samantha as she sauntered out of the room. Her plan was working. They were connecting. She saw it in the way Samantha looked at her, felt it in the way Samantha touched her. Lollie brought her hand up to where Samantha’s fingers had lingered on her shoulder and kept it there, remembering the slight squeeze of Samantha’s fingers, the gentle tug at her lips for a smile. They were made for each other.

  Samantha came back shortly, her hair towel dried but still wet as it hung down her back. Lollie grinned at her and stood up, stretching. Samantha came around the last corner, and Lollie grabbed her hand, spinning her until their lips touched. Lollie breathed in and smiled as Samantha pulled away.

  “I’ve wanted to do that for hours.”

  Samantha giggled. “Me too.”

  Lollie took the opportunity and leaned in, brushing their mouths together in a sweet embrace. She didn’t want to push Samantha too hard or too fast, but she couldn’t get over her lips. Something about them was addicting. Once again, she found herself grinning as they kissed.

  When Samantha moved and put a finger to Lollie’s mouth, her eyes crinkled at the corners. “I do have to work today, so we do need to go get breakfast if that’s what we’re wanting.”

  “Right,” Lollie answered, looking around for her purse. “And I need to move all my crap into my apartment, at least what stuff I do have. I don’t have much. Is there a second-hand store around here?”

  “Uh, yeah.” Samantha grabbed her wallet and slipped it into her back pocket. With her keys in her hand, she walked to the door.

  Lollie stopped and folded the blanket, setting it on the edge of the couch along with the two pillows Samantha had lent her for the night. She couldn’t get enough of Samantha. She was gorgeous in a subtle kind of way. Lollie sauntered over to her with an added sway to her hips.

  After they walked out, Samantha locked the door. “The second-hand store is just down the road from here. If you go to the corner of Logan and twenty-first, you’ll find it.”

  “Awesome. Thanks. Where are we going for breakfast?”

  Samantha snorted. “Donuts.”

  ###

  Lollie wasn’t sure how, but she’d convinced Samantha to meet her for dinner that night after she got off work. Lollie had spent the day preparing. She went to the mall, bought herself a new outfit. It was a tight button up royal purple shirt that she conveniently left the top three unbuttoned. The new pair of jeans was still stiff because it hadn’t been washed, but light material with fading was perfect for her figure.

  It showed off every one of her curves. Lollie had danced in front of the mirror several times before she swiped her card and left with her outfit on. She felt so good. She stopped by a local florist and picked up a bouquet for Samantha. She certainly wanted to woo her. Lollie wanted to make sure this relationship worked. Samantha was damn near perfect.

  With the flowers in hand, Lollie headed for her vehicle. She’d wasted away her day, and when she checked the clock in her rental car, it told her she had just under an hour before Samantha would be done with her shift and ready for dinner. They’d already decided on a place.

  Lollie drove there and waited. As soon as Samantha arrived, Lollie got out of the car and met Samantha at hers. She leaned in and pressed their mouths together. Samantha didn’t hesitate when she deepened the embrace, surprising Lollie. Samantha’s hand slid up behind Lollie’s neck, holding the two of them together.

  The air outside bit at their skin, but the heat they created together was warm enough to keep them in place. Lollie moaned as she pressed hard against Samantha and pushed Samantha into her car. She slid her hand up Samantha’s front, cupping her breast. Samantha moaned and tightened her fingers in Lollie’s hair.

  “Maybe…” Samantha cleared her throat and tried again. “Maybe we should go back to my place.”

  Lollie grinned. “I thought you said you wanted dinner.”

  “We can order in.” Samantha’s mouth was at her neck, and she nipped at the strong corded muscle of Lollie’s skin. Lollie moved her head to the side, enjoying the feel of Samantha’s teeth against her skin. It sent shots of pleasure straight to her core. If they were this good at making out together, the sex would no doubt be amazing.

  “Let’s do that, then,” Lollie whispered, her fingers carding under Samantha’s shirt and jacket until her fingertips met skin.

  “Get in my car.”

  Samantha reached behind her, opening the back door. Lollie giggled as she climbed in and Samantha came in after her. Lollie was waiting with her arms open as Samantha crawled on top of her. They couldn’t even wait to get to Samantha’s apartment. Lollie tugged Samantha’s jacket and shirt off, brushing her fingers along her very practical beige colored bra. This was what she had imagined that morning. Touching all over Samantha’s body.

  Bending down, Samantha’s mouth worked against Lollie’s once again. It was awkward, but it was perfect for their first time. Lollie unbuttoned Samantha’s pants, working her hand between her legs. She found Samantha warm and waiting as she moved her fingers rapidly. Samantha whispered in her ear how to move and where to move. Each time her breath cascaded over Lollie’s ear, pleasure coursed through her chest and her belly.

  Samantha moved with the slight of her hand. Lollie brought her leg up to cradle Samantha’s body, her lips brushing against Samantha’s chest whenever she got a chance. Samantha laughed and leaned down, whispering into Lollie’s ear, “I have literally thought about this all day.”

  “What? Sex in a car?”

  Snorting, Samantha shook her head. “No. Sex with you. You naked under me. Me tasting you. Everything you can imagine.”

  A shudder ran down Lollie’s spine. She quickened her f
ingers, wanting to bring Samantha to the edge over and over again for the rest of the night. This was the closest she had felt with another woman. Their perfection together was insurmountable.

  Lollie jerked her hand harder as Samantha’s moans echoed in the car. No doubt the car shook as they moved, but Lollie didn’t care. She had the love of her life right where she wanted her. When Samantha came, her voice echoed in the still and hot air. Lollie kissed a line up her neck, over her cheek, and to her forehead before back down the other side until their lips met in a deep and sweet embrace.

  “Your turn.” Samantha grinned.

  Lollie didn’t hesitate. She grabbed at her brand new jeans and shoved them down her hips. Samantha pulled them even more, past her knees. She spread Lollie’s legs and smirked as she stared down.

  “So beautiful.”

  Lollie’s heart clenched with joy. “You going to stare all night or you going to do something?”

  “Oh, absolutely going to do something.” Samantha bent her head and nipped at Lollie’s thigh. After that, she didn’t wait and brought her tongue straight to Lollie’s center.

  They were both aware they were in the middle of a parking lot during the height of the dinner rush. If they weren’t careful, someone would see them, and if they weren’t quick, someone could call the cops on them. That was the last thing Lollie wanted. She grabbed hold of Samantha’s pony tail, tugging like she had wanted to do the day before in the coffee shop.

  Lollie gave over to every sensation Samantha pulled from her. She careened up and then down, her body rising and lowering as her legs shook with pleasure. She licked her lips as she took in a deep breath, trying to keep her voice from screaming out. Reaching back, she gripped the seatbelt and held on as Samantha took her over.

  When Samantha was done, and Lollie’s body was still coming down from her high, Samantha crawled up and pressed their mouths together. Lollie tasted her own flavor on Samantha’s tongue, and she tried to suck off every little bit of her juices she could. She held Samantha’s head to her own until she was done, and when Samantha pulled back, they laughed together.