Pride and Prostitution

by Penelope St James

  Renner joined him. “Your girl is brilliant. Did you know that Diane Fuller sold jewelry to at least three of the rings that we’ve brought down?”

  “What?”

  “Don’t know where it’s going, but Gemma knew the designs. We’re pulling the business records now.”

  David looked into the other room. Gemma sat on the edge of the bed with her hair swept up into a bun with a pen.

  “Go play nice,” Renner said as he pushed David toward the bedroom.

  Chapter Nine

  She looked up to see him hovering in the doorway. Her stomach growled when she saw the sandwich. How long had she been looking at these pictures and files?

  “Too bad I can’t just call Annie and talk some sense into her.”

  David crossed the room in three easy steps. “We have her purse. There wasn’t a phone in there.”

  “Annie never kept her phone in her purse. Always told me to keep it in my bra because…” You never know when you are going to have to run, she thought.

  Gemma gulped. Maybe Annie had more of the criminal mindset than she initially gave her credit for. She grabbed the sandwich and sat down, files crumpling beneath her. But Annie had her phone.

  David hovered over her. “So she had it with her this morning?”

  “Along with the cash that you guys lovingly provided for her getaway clothes.”

  David ran his fingers through his hair. “If we gave you back your phone, do you think she would answer?”

  She looked at the time. Nearly midnight. “Of course she’d answer. She’d know that I was bugged, but she always answers.”

  David nodded. “Let me go dig it out.”

  * * * * *

  David ripped open the box. Why hadn’t he thought of it earlier? God, he was off his game on this one. They could figure out what tower the call was bouncing off and have a more precise location.

  If the woman answered the phone.

  If it didn’t get her killed in the process.

  David paused over the box of evidence taken from Gemma’s room. What if it got her killed? What if Annie had run straight into the arms of her handler and having the feds this close would piss them off more than just scaring off the clientele for an evening? David didn’t know who had killed the first hooker. He didn’t know what could happen to Annie. Not really.

  Could he risk Gemma’s best friend to secure his job? The entire thing made him sick.

  “What’s the holdup?” Renner stood in the doorway.

  “They bagged everything.” David continued going through her things. “Including my socks.”

  “Better get that out of there,” Renner said as he walked over.

  David slipped the socks in his pocket. He didn’t remember having time to take them off. Maybe he’d slipped them off in the bed the third time…

  “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

  Renner pointed to David’s death grip on the edge of the table. “You need to calm down.”

  “A girl’s life is possibly in our hands and you want me to calm down? No.”

  “We’ve done this before.”

  David took in a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m saying that if Annie ran back to her pimp or madam or whoever and destroyed all money making for the evening, Annie could be the next evidence photo.”

  “Aren’t you jumping to conclusions here, Agent Hadley? More than likely, she’s just run off. This girl has you crazy. And I think I understand why.”

  David glared at his partner.

  “She’s smart. And cynical and honest. Basically she’s you with boobs. And even I have to like her for punching you.”

  David cracked a smile. He should have known that the only thing Renner would be observant about was a woman.

  “Our job is dangerous,” Renner continued. “We take risks others won’t. But this is the way to go.”

  “That and it’s our last chance before Samson comes in here and puts us on evidence duty for life.” David looked back at the box and finally found a cell phone. “Let’s do this.”

  When he handed Gemma the phone, a million gadgets weighed it down. Their fingers touched for a long moment and David froze. He didn’t pull away, but he couldn’t move toward her.

  “See if she answers. If she does, keep her talking.”

  Gemma nodded as she pulled the phone from his hand. “And if Annie knows that I’m trying to entrap her?”

  “She’s smart enough to have her GPS blocked and she knows that we have you, so she’ll know something’s up.” David closed the door, being alone might calm her down. As if four other agents weren’t listening in on the call. “Be honest with her.”

  Gemma could barely get out her next question. “What if she’s with her handler?”

  David nodded. He had hoped she would make the connection between the violence against the girls and their boss at some point. “Just let her know that you care.”

  Gemma looked down at the phone in her shaking hand and then back at him. “How many people have you run this scenario with?”

  “A few.”

  “How many actually worked?”

  He was honest. He couldn’t lie to her, not now, not like this. “A few.”

  Gemma took in a deep breath and let it out. She pulled a strand of hair behind her ear.

  David kept his distance and leaned against the wall. He crossed his arms over his chest. He hadn’t been this nervous, well, since yesterday when they realized he was going to have to be the face on this one.

  Look how well that went.

  He was about to stop her from making the call when she pressed the buttons on her phone and held it to her ear.

  “It’s ringing.” Gemma’s leg began to bounce and she bit hard on her lower lip.

  It wasn’t until Gemma hung up the line that David realized he’d been holding his breath.

  She looked up at him. “She didn’t answer. She always answers.”

  “But it rang, which means it’s not turned off and it didn’t get sent to voice mail.”

  Gemma put the phone on the table and rested her head in her hands.

  Exhausted from the late hour and constantly fighting himself, David succumbed and went to her. He knelt before her. “Nothing happened. It’s okay. We can try again. Maybe she’s just in the bathroom.”

  He ran his hands up her arms and slid his palm under her chin to raise her face to his.

  Her emerald eyes sparkled with moisture. Her lips were rosy from the nervous way she bit at them.

  God, he wanted to kiss her, ease that pained look on her face, soothe those worried lips.

  But she had said no. Had wanted this to just be about finding Annie. Restraint coiled through his body against the wanting in his arms to be wrapped around her. His fingers ached and that could only be relieved by smoothing them across her silky curves.

  A small smile played across her lips. And then she kissed him.

  Chapter Ten

  It made sense when she did it. He was less than three inches away and she was so cold. So alone and she just wanted something warm. Something familiar.

  His lips were soft, yielding. Gemma was the one who deepened the embrace. She tilted her head and took in more of his lower lip.

  David ran his hands up her arms and cradled her face. She tasted at his lips, needing more, wanting to glide her tongue against his. He parted for her and she plunged into his mouth, taking in the warm taste of him. She curled her fingers into his soft hair and pulled him against her, closer to her, needing his heat, his warmth again. Needing to borrow the confidence he gave her for a while.

  Leaving her face, he ran his strong hands down her sides and pulled her against him, his taut body between her legs. He kneaded her backside as he matched her slow, thorough rhythm.

  It was perfect. For a moment, everything was heat between them.

  Until her fingers brushed over the badge clipped on his belt—cold and stark against the warmth of him. Surprised, she pulled away and looked
into his clear eyes.

  “Hi,” he said, his hands still around her backside, their bodies still entwined.

  “I’m sorry.” It sort of flew out. She wasn’t even sure she meant it. It wasn’t as though she’d stepped on his foot. She’d kissed him. She’d done much more dangerous things with him earlier.

  “I’m not sorry.”

  She dropped her gaze to the collar of his shirt and didn’t know what to do with her hands, so she rested them on his chest. “I think the trauma is getting to me.”

  “You should trust me. I’m a professional.” He smiled.

  It was that wide smile, the real David smile, not the fake agent smile. The one she could stare at all night.

  “We need to work, find Annie, figure out if she’s okay.”

  “She will be. Stop apologizing, Gemma.”

  “Are you saying I’m allowed a lapse of moral judgment?”

  He brushed a strand of hair behind her ears. “I’m saying there was no lapse.”

  “David, I—”

  He stopped her protest with a kiss. She got the distinct feeling he was taking something back. Taking something he needed. He had a stake in this too. And God, could the man kiss.

  He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her as if he wanted all the air from her body.

  Gemma had to pull away and gasp for breath. His mouth didn’t leave though. He worked his way down her neck. A moan escaped her lips as his teeth grazed the tender flesh behind her ear.

  “Good to know I’m not the only one.” David rested his head on her shoulder and held her for a moment.

  She relaxed. For the first time that day, within his embrace, she was content. Just Gemma.

  A loud knock echoed through the room. “Samson’s on the line.”

  David pulled away slowly. His tawny eyes caressed her face along with his thumb running along her jaw.

  “I don’t want to go,” he whispered. “I’m hard as granite right now and all I want to do is carry you over to that bed and make you come until you can’t even quote Austen.”

  Gemma shuddered at his words and the hungry look in his eyes. She had to force out a coherent sentence. “Probably not with your partner listening in though, huh?”

  A smile played along his still flushed lips. “You’re right. Couldn’t do that to him again.”

  The moment his body pulled away, she ached. Ached with cold. Ached with exhaustion. Ached with a promise unfulfilled.

  The bed was too inviting. She grabbed her phone and went to it. She cleared one side of the cream comforter and climbed under.

  The soft vibration of her phone woke her. Gemma smacked her lips and reached under her pillow to answer it. “Hello?”

  “Gemi?”

  Annie’s voice was like a bucket of cold water. Gemma’s heart raced and her palms grew sweaty. “Annie? Are you okay?”

  “Where are you?” she asked, her voice low.

  “Where are you? You jumped out the window to avoid the feds and they took me into custody.”

  “Oh, Gemma. I really didn’t want to bring you into any of this. It’s just business.”

  “It’s illegal, Annie. And dangerous. Did you know that a girl was murdered? And she had one of your necklaces? That’s why the feds are here.”

  “I know.”

  Gemma’s gut twisted. Annie knew and she was still in this? Gemma thought she was going to be sick with the way her thoughts raced around her head.

  She looked over at the clock. It was nearly dawn. “They’re willing to deal. It’s why they took me. To find and flip you to give up the rest of your ring.”

  “It’s not going to happen, Gemma. These girls are like family. I have to take care of them.”

  Gemma rubbed her eyes. Of course Annie wouldn’t turn on them, wouldn’t leave their sides as she had never left Gemma’s when she needed her.

  “The feds are on the line,” she said.

  “I know. I borrowed the phone in case.”

  “Did you just confess to another crime, Annie?”

  “Only if the guy bothers to report it, and trust me, he won’t.”

  “They aren’t going to stop, Annie. They are going to keep chasing you until they get what they want. David’s boss won’t let him stop.”

  “David’s boss?”

  Gemma’s cheeks flushed. “Agent Hadley.”

  “Was he the guy from this morning?”

  “Yes.”

  “The one who kicked down the door?”

  Gemma’s cheeks flushed. It was a horrible reaction, but she couldn’t stop it. It was the truth.

  “You fell for a fed? The one who paid you?”

  Gemma’s head hit the pillow. “Make me feel worse, why don’t you?”

  “Oh my god, Gemma. Tell me about it.”

  She knew that she was going to have to tell the truth. Annie would catch Gemma in a lie in three seconds. She hid under the covers, somehow hoping that the comforter would shield her from the repercussions.

  “He’s amazing, Annie. He’s smart and he’s read every classic there is. And he’s got these lips that are like velvet and when he looks at me, I feel seen, I feel amazing, like the smartest girl in the world.”

  “And the sex? Because I know you guys already slept together.”

  “Three times. In a row.” Oh god. She really had just said that with all the agents in the other room.

  “Holy cow, Gem.”

  “I know.”

  “Is he reciprocating?”

  “There have been a few signs, but nothing for sure.”

  Annie squealed. “I’m so happy for you, Gemi.”

  “I’m not. It means we can’t be friends anymore. We’ll never be able to see each other again. You’ll be on the run the whole time and David will probably always be hacking my email to find you.”

  “You’re making us sound like one of those melodramatic romances. One girl torn between two worlds.”

  “It’s not ideal.”

  Annie sighed. “What are we supposed to do?”

  “Turn yourself in. The only thing they’ve got on you is the confession from this morning. If you really won’t cooperate further, you’ll be out in nothing, right? And then we can go on like none of this ever happened.”

  “I can’t, Gemma. Not yet. The girls aren’t safe. But I’m almost there, sweetie.”

  A voice echoed across Annie’s line. “Who are you talking to?”

  “It’s okay. Two more seconds, honey.”

  The man grumbled and Gemma grimaced as she realized how Annie had gotten the phone in the first place.

  “I need a little more time, Gemma. Time to make sure that they are safe.”

  “Annie, why did you invite me to New York?”

  “Because I thought I was out, and then something happened. God, I want to tell you all of it, Gemma. But I can’t. Not yet.”

  Gemma didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know any other way to convince Annie to come back to her. So she did what David said to do, she was honest. “Be careful, Annie. You might have all those girls, but all I’ve got is you.”

  “You too. Those feds are snakes. Except yours, of course. I have to go. Bye, Gemma.”

  The line disconnected before she could say goodbye.

  Gemma buried her face into her pillow. What have I done?

  “You okay under there?”

  Gemma sighed. The comforter wasn’t doing its job of protecting her from the world, so she sat up and pulled it into her lap.

  David stood next to the bed. She ran her fingers through her hair as he sat down.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Do I have a choice of being something else?”

  He only smiled.

  “You didn’t get anything did you?”

  He shook his head but kept smiling at her. “We got a location and are sending our guys, but I doubt anything actionable will be left.”

  “Why are you so perky? Isn’t your boss coming to tear you a new one? A
ren’t you completely out an informant? Isn’t this the worst plan ever?”

  “No.”

  Gemma couldn’t keep a straight face with him looking at her like that, like a kid who knew a secret. “What?”

  “You confessed, on record, that you might like me. Got the whole thing on tape.”

  “Would you believe me if I said it was all for show? Just to convince Annie?”

  David looked down at his hands, rubbing his long fingers together. “Don’t think it’s come up in conversation before, but I was top of our class at Quantico. I know when someone is telling the truth.”

  He smiled his wide, goofy smile and that tequila warmth pulsed through Gemma’s body again.

  “You’d better get ready for the boss though. There’s going to be yelling.”

  “What’s the next step?”

  He leaned forward and dropped his voice ’til it was more than an intimate whisper. “Give Annie time, like she asked. See if Samson has any more intel. And try my hardest not to completely take you over a desk with half my unit in the other room.”

  Gemma gasped as he pushed off the bed and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

  When the door latched, she fell to the pillows again. Her pulsed raced and her mind couldn’t leave the thought of him taking her from behind. His hard shaft ramming into her, filing her completely as her hips dug into the dark mahogany.

  She went wet thinking about those broad shoulders, the smell of his sweat on her. The confidence that he gave her.

  She flipped the buttons of her jeans open and slipped her hand down to touch herself. She hadn’t done this in ages, but then again, she hadn’t had a man who drove her to distraction in ages.

  She was already swollen and her fingers were cool as she circled the hard nub. Just as he had with those long powerful hands. She bit back a moan as her pussy clenched, wanting to be filled.

  Was she really that into redheads? Or was it that perfect arch of his upper lip? A shiver shuddered through her body. She grew bolder in her strokes, her mound slicker.