Love's Protector: A Maverick's Shield Novel

by Charisma Chloe

  “Are you ok?” he asked.

  “Yeah, just waiting for you to finish showering so we can go through all of this.”

  “Alright, I’ll be done in a sec. Just let me throw something on okay.”

  She looked up at him before she replied and instantly lost her ability to breathe when she’d realized he’d come out of the bathroom wearing just a towel around his waist. Her entire body heated at the sight of his nearly naked one. Naked, muscular…and wet. When she was finally able to catch her breath, it suddenly became rapid and her heartbeat began to accelerate. She managed to get out a meek, “Okay.” but she wasn’t sure if he’d heard it, she barely did. When she noticed the lower half of her body had reacted to him in much the same way her upper half did, she quickly turned away from him and stared at the floor.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said, and then stepped inside his room and shut the door.

  After taking a few minutes to cool off, she quickly lifted the top off of one of the boxes and started to take out a few of the large yellow envelopes inside of it and sat them on the coffee table in front of her. Even though she didn’t want to do this alone, she’d decided that this would be a perfect way to get her mind off of what she’d just seen.

  “Okay…so what do we have here?” Jason asked as he entered the living area and sat beside her on the couch. He’d put on a tank and pajama bottoms but she couldn’t get the thought of him in that towel out of her mind.

  She looked up at him and could tell that he had just shaved. His stubble was gone and she could smell his aftershave lotion which was very intoxicating to say the least. Her hands tingled at the thought touching his face. She cleared her throat. “Well, I have a few envelopes here. I haven’t opened them yet, I was waiting for you.”

  He picked up one of them, opened it and pulled out several papers held together by a large rubber band. After removing it, he studied them. “This just looks like a bunch of bank statements and bill receipts. What do you have?”

  “Photos,” she said softly. She handed him half of the stack in her hand after he’d placed the papers he had on the table. “Wow, look at her. She was so young in these photos. She couldn’t have been more than eighteen then.” She then picked up a photo of Carly sitting on her father’s lap. After studying the picture for a few seconds, she said, “This must’ve been when they’d first met. That looks like a tray of drinks on the table next to her.”

  “They met in a bar?” Jason asked.

  “No.” She chuckled. “Not exactly, it was a lounge where my mother worked as a cocktail server.”

  “Would that be the Eleganti Lounge?”

  “I guess. How did you come up with that?”

  “Well, she’s posing in front of it in this picture with some brunette chick and they’re both wearing very short dresses so I just assumed.”

  She grabbed the picture from him. “Wow. That must’ve been the place then. I wonder who that woman is with her.”

  “So do I. We should keep this with us just in case we run into someone who can recognize her.” Jason picked up another picture. “It’s incredible how much you look like her.”

  She took a deep breath. “I know.”

  “Your mom definitely passed her hotness onto you,” he said giving her a quick wink then staring back down at the picture.

  All she could do was laugh because she didn’t know how to respond to that. She picked up another stack of photos and looked through them.

  “Did your father ever mention a woman who looked like this to you?”

  “No he didn’t. If she had any friends he didn’t know any of them.” After looking through all the photos in her hand, she put them down and picked up another envelope. Dumping out the contents of it, she heard the sound of something hard hitting the glass table before dropping onto the floor beneath them. “What was that?” she asked.

  Jason reached down to pick up the object. “It’s a key.”

  “I wonder what that belongs to.” Taking the small silver key from his hands, she noticed it had a small black tag attached to it that had the numbers 5861 on it. She looked up and said, “It has numbers on it.”

  “It looks like it belongs to a safe deposit box. I’ve seen enough of those in my line of work to know what they look like. Now where the box is, I have no idea. Since there are literally hundreds of banks in L.A., providing that it’s even in the city, finding it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Even if we do manage to find it, the likelihood of her things still being in it is slim.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because after a while if the bill stops being paid on it, they turn it over to the state’s unclaimed property office. Unless your father kept paying on that as well, that box is a done deal I’m afraid.”

  She rolled her neck as fatigue started to consume her. “I’ll ask him in the morning if he knows anything about it.” She let out a yawn and stretched.

  “Okay.”

  She turned to him and fixated on the tattoo of a large snake that started from the top of his shoulder, curled around his upper arm and stretched all the way down to his forearm. This was the first time she’d noticed it. “When did you get that?”

  “What?”

  “Your tattoo? That’s awfully huge.”

  “Oh, when I was sixteen.”

  “What made you get it?”

  “I don’t know. Rebellion I guess.”

  “That had to hurt,” she said while cringing.

  “It may have, I don’t remember.”

  She laughed softly. “How can you not remember what getting that felt like?”

  He looked at her and said, “Because I was completely stoned.”

  She laughed again. “Boy do I know the feeling.”

  His hazel eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Yeah…”

  “That’s surprising.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you don’t seem like the getting high and partying type.”

  Did he really think she was that uptight? “Well I have, lots of times.”

  He laughed. “What could you have possibly gotten high on?”

  “Let’s just say there’s a reason why I didn’t want to take your Norcos.”

  His facial expression turned blank. “You were addicted to pain pills?”

  “Bingo!”

  “How long did you use?”

  “About two years.”

  “Did your father know?”

  “After a while he did. It was easy to hide it in the beginning though. That’s the stage when you’re a functioning addict and you think to yourself, why do people become hard core addicts? What’s wrong with them?” She snickered. “That’s when you can skip a few days and it won’t affect you and you start quoting those famous last words: “I can stop anytime I want.” But you don’t and before you know it, the need to have it takes over your mind, body and eventually your soul. Then you get to the final stage when you’re willing to do anything for it, even if it means hurting the people you love.”

  “Your father,” he said softly.

  “He had been diagnosed with his illness two years prior. He wasn’t in a wheelchair at that time but he still need help to walk. One morning I had come home from being out all night and I was literally passed out the whole day. He hadn’t eaten, bathed or anything at all that day. He tried to wake me but I was so stoned I didn’t budge so he tried to take care of everything by himself. He managed to get up out of his recliner and slowly walk to the bathroom but he lost his balance causing him to fall and hit his head on the side of the bathtub and pass out.”

  “What happened?” Jason asked.

  “Luckily one of our neighbors happened to come by to see him. I accidently left the door unlocked when I got home and I’m so glad I did. She came inside and called for help when she found my father.”

  “That was a pretty damn close call.”

  “Yeah, at that point my mind was gone. I’d nearly gotten kicked of
f my racing team because I wasn’t showing up for practice and when I did, I was so high or hung over I couldn’t even function enough to drive a regular car, let alone a race car.” She inhaled slowly, and then let it out. “And that’s when I checked into rehab. I’ve been clean for a year now.” It was extremely hard for her tell Jason all of this, but once she had, she’d felt like a huge weight had lifted off of her shoulders. I felt good to talk about it with someone who seemed to understand what she’d gone through.

  He gently stroked the back of her head. “At least you got the help that you needed.”

  “Yeah…that’s partly the reason my father is always so worried. He doesn’t want me to go back to that.”

  “I can understand that.”

  She let out another yawn, this time much bigger. “I’m tired. I think I’ll head to bed now.”

  “Alright, I think I will also, I’m pretty tired myself.” Jason said as he stood to his feet.

  “I think we should pay a visit to the Eleganti Lounge tomorrow. What do you think?”

  “I agree. We will, but for now, let’s get some sleep.

  CHAPTER 13

  Amour had awakened to the sound of Jason shouting in the living room area. By the time she’d risen out of the bed and stepped out of her room, he’d made his way to the kitchen.

  “You can’t do that mom! What the hell is wrong with you? Are you crazy?” Jason shouted into his cell phone.

  What was going on there? She didn’t want to make her presence known to him, so she slid inside the small hallway. He was clearly very pissed off at his mother for something. “What the hell?” she said quietly to herself.

  “Really, mom? After everything you’ve gone through with him? I don’t understand this!”

  That time he’d spoken even louder causing an echo to bounce off the walls in the kitchen. This was deep, whatever it was. She felt a little guilty about eavesdropping on his conversation with his mother, but with all the shouting he was doing, it was impossible not to. She could tell he’d walked back into the living room area when he spoke again.

  “No I’m not going to calm down mom! I’m pissed and I don’t want to hear anymore of this bullshit! I’m hanging up now!”

  Was he really talking to his mother that way, and in that tone? She must have really pissed him off. When she’d heard what sounded like his phone hitting the coffee table, she slowly stepped inside the living room area to see if he was alright. By the time she’d gotten in there, he had gone to the kitchen again, picked up a glass and before she knew it, he’d hurled it across the kitchen shattering it against the wall above the sink.

  What the hell was…that? She was almost afraid to approach him; not because she feared him, but because she wasn’t sure if he would accept her concern. She wanted to comfort him, but when he’d looked up saw her standing there, the look in his eyes told her that comfort was the last thing he wanted. “Jason…is everything okay?” She knew that was a stupid question, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “Yeah,” he said softly.

  He was obviously lying to her, but she didn’t want to press the issue. “Do you want to take time off from all this case stuff and have the day to yourself? I’ll understand if you do.”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure? Because if you do…”

  “I’m fine!” he interrupted. “Let’s just get ready to go.”

  “I’ll drive if you want me to.” Clearly he wasn’t in the right mind set to do so. “I haven’t driven my replacement rental since I’ve gotten it anyway.”

  “Whatever. Do what you want, let’s just get out of here.”

  Jason was awkwardly quiet during the drive to Eleganti Lounge. She wasn’t sure what to say to him. It was so much tension in the air between them that she could cut it with a knife and she couldn’t let that continue. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

  “No, I’m fine really. Don’t worry about it. I won’t drag you into all of my drama.”

  “We all have drama Jason. I’m sure whatever it is, it won’t be foreign to me.”

  “It’s not for you to worry about Amour so just forget it.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m just saying that if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry too. I know I scared the shit out of you earlier.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” It was definitely something that she’d seen before. It was also something that she herself didn’t like to talk about, so she certainly understood his reluctance to.

  He looked up at her and asked, “Why do you keep doing that?”

  “Doing what?”

  “Tapping your fist on the middle console. You’ve got something in there?”

  She hadn’t realized she’d been doing that. Her mind had been all over the place lately. Maybe she was the one that needed a day to herself. She laughed. “Oh, sorry. It’s probably because I’m so used to driving cars with manual transmissions. This one isn’t, so I’ guess it’s force of habit.”

  “You don’t like automatic transmissions?” he asked.

  “Not in sports cars, it’s kind of a waste. The red Mustang they gave me before at least had a manual. I didn’t want this one, but it was the only one they had left and they didn’t have any other sports cars available.”

  “I see,” he said with a nod.

  “So where’s this lounge anyway?”

  “It’s in Beverly Hills. Just stay on the 405 north and exit on Santa Monica Boulevard and I’ll direct you from there.”

  The 405 freeway wasn’t nearly as congested as it was when she’d taken it earlier this week. She’d guessed that maybe it had something to do with it being Friday. “You’ve been there before?”

  “Yeah, I’ve had a few male clients in the past that were members.”

  “Members? It’s an exclusive place?”

  “Yep, it’s a men’s cigar lounge and only rich and powerful ones are allowed in. They’re very strict with their policies. If you don’t make at least ten million a year, you can forget being accepted.”

  Her mother worked in that kind of place? At that age? She must’ve known someone really important to land a job like that. “They don’t allow women inside?”

  “Inside yes, but not as members. The women or more or less there to provide the men entertainment.”

  “They’re whores?” she said in surprise.

  “Basically.”

  Was her mother a whore? No…she couldn’t have been. She didn’t want to even think about it. She couldn’t think about it. “Oh…”

  He reached over and placed his hand on her thigh. “I know what you’re thinking. They actually do have legitimate jobs there. If your mother was a server, that’s all she did.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I know a couple of girls that worked there. The whores were professional girls.”

  She let out the breath that she’d been holding. Coupled with all of what’s been going on with this, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to take knowing her mother was a prostitute. “You know some of everybody don’t you?”

  “You have to in my line of work. It’s beneficial, especially during times like this. It helps a lot when I’m doing P.I. work as well.”

  “That’s why I sit back and let you be the boss.” He gave her a quick wink which made her smile. She liked when he winked at her, she found it very sexy.

  “Here’s the place. Just pull up to the front and they’ll valet your car for you.

  “Alright, let’s see what we can possibly come up with here.

  The Eleganti Lounge was very incognito on the outside. The plain white building had no identifying marks besides the black and gold sign that said its name. The two of them were greeted by a hostess with shoulder length blonde hair and a pair of huge breasts that were obviously implants. And judging by the way she’
d greeted the two men that came before them, was clearly hired because of her looks.

  “Hello, welcome to the Eleganti Lounge! I’m Cassidy. How can I help you?” the woman said in a vacuous tone.

  “Hello Cassidy. We were wondering if somebody here could answer a question for us,” Jason said.

  When the hostess fully focused on him, her upbeat tone quickly turned seductive. “What’s your name love?”

  He stared at her giving her a provocative smile. “Jason.”

  Amour could tell that the hostess was more interested in impressing Jason then she was in helping out their cause. “And I’m Amour.”

  Clearly not appreciating Amour interrupting her shameless flirtation, she stared back at her, now speaking in a flat tone. “Hello. What did you say you needed?”

  This woman was really starting to get on her nerves. “Information.”

  “What kind of information?” the woman asked.

  Jason stepped closer to the hostess’s podium. Amour sensed that he was well aware of her frustration. “We’re trying to find out if anyone here knew either of these two women.” He pulled the photo of Carly and the brunette woman out of his back pocket and showed it to the hostess.

  The woman studied the picture. “Well, I don’t know who this blonde woman is but the brunette’s Angela.”

  “Angela?”

  “Yeah, this looks like a really old picture but it’s definitely her. Boy has she really let herself go!” she said handing the photo back to Jason.

  Amour wondered how this woman managed to maintain a job here because she was clearly an idiot. “So you know her?” she asked.

  The woman smiled. “Sure do. She’s my boss.”

  “Is there any way we can talk to her?”