Pierced: Pierced Trilogy Boxed Set

by Lashell Collins

  “I will not go to her,” I say definitively. “I shouldn’t have to; I’m not the one who needs to apologize. I meant what I said to her, Lucas. She is not welcome in my life until she is ready to accept me. Not the me she envisions. But me. Now, if she can do that … great. But if not…,” I shrug my shoulders and let that thought dangle in the air, and I feel Josh’s hand lightly rubbing my back once more.

  Lucas says nothing but nods his head at me with a small, sad smile. “Well, we should go,” he says, patting Karen on the thigh.

  “This was fun,” Karen says, looking at me and Josh.

  “It was fun,” Lucas agrees. “I had a great time. Josh, you are a very talented musician. I had no idea.”

  “Thanks,” he smiles dismissively.

  We all stand then and I hug Lucas tightly. “Thanks for trying to play peacemaker, Lucas. And thanks for coming out. This was such an unexpected surprise and so much fun.”

  “I’m glad we came,” he says. “And hey, if you don’t have anything to do tomorrow, the game’s a home one. Josh, why don’t you bring your friend Lee? We’d have a great time.”

  Josh smiles at him and I think he’s taken aback. “Thanks. I’ll uh … I’ll think about it. I might take you up on it.”

  “I hope you do,” Lucas smiles. “I noticed he’s a Bud man so, I’ll have some on ice, just in case.”

  They head out then and Josh turns to me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. “You like my brother,” I tease him in a singsong voice, and he laughs at me and nods.

  “Yes, your brother is … growing on me,” he smiles down at me.

  “I heard you tell Lee that you and Lucas had a good talk last Sunday?” Josh says nothing but nods at me. “What did you talk about?”

  He smiles at me and narrows his eyes, and I know that he doesn’t want to tell me what was said. “You. Me. Your mother.”

  Oh. Perhaps I don’t want to know what was said after all.

  “We also talked about your dad.”

  “You did?”

  He nods again.

  “You’re not going to tell me what you said, are you?”

  “It’s nothing for you to worry about, baby. Just some things your brother wanted me to know.”

  Hmm. I wonder what that could be? But I suppose it really doesn’t matter if the end result is this new friendship between them. That’s all that’s important to me.

  “So. Do you want to go to the game tomorrow?” he asks with a raised eyebrow and a smile, and I know that he really wants me to say yes.

  “Do you want to go to the game tomorrow?” I ask, teasing again, and he shrugs.

  “If you do.”

  “You can go without me, you know,” I giggle, and he pouts.

  “Be more fun with you.”

  He is so cute when he pouts. “Okay,” I agree, leaning in and kissing his lips. “On one condition.”

  “What condition?” he frowns.

  “You invite Lee and Molly.” He smiles at me and smirks. “You might as well. Lucas is going to have the beer iced down anyway.”

  Josh rolls his eyes at me, still smiling.

  “Don’t you want to invite him?”

  “I would love to invite him,” he answers, looking into my eyes. “I just don’t want to take advantage of your brother’s generosity.”

  “But it’s not taking advantage if Lucas told you to invite him.” He thinks about that for a moment and nods, and I take him by the hand and lead him over to where Lee and Molly sit at the bar. Josh pats his shoulder and Lee turns to look at us.

  “Hey, you two headed out?”

  “Yeah, in a minute,” Josh confirms. “But we wanted to ask what you guys are doing tomorrow?”

  “Oh. I don’t think we have any plans tomorrow,” Lee says, looking to Molly for correction, and she shakes her head.

  “You guys maybe want to go to the game with us?”

  “You scored tickets at this late date?”

  “Uh, well no … I don’t have tickets,” Josh says a bit awkwardly. “Sam’s brother just invited us to his suite at the stadium. He told me to bring a friend. You want to go?”

  Lee looks a bit stunned for a moment. “Hell yeah. Sure, we’ll go!”

  Josh looks almost relieved and I don’t understand what his anxiety is all about. But as I think about it, I suppose it makes a crazy sort of sense. In Josh’s mind, Lee is his father figure, the man he looks up to and seeks approval from – just like any real father/son relationship. So, if Lee were to disapprove of Lucas or my family, it would probably be a very stressful situation for Josh to be in.

  We hammer out the details of when and where we’ll meet them tomorrow at the stadium and then say our goodbyes. Then Josh takes my hand and leads me over to the stage and I watch as he packs up his gear. He takes his flannel shirt from me and puts it back on. Then he picks up his amp and his guitar and we head out through the back entrance of the bar.

  Chapter Nine

  Joshua

  I’m turned sideways in my chair, sitting in the briefing room at shift change, waiting for roll call to begin and sort of half listening to the guys chattering around me as I text Sam:

  Hey, Sunshine.

  Can’t stop thinking

  about u this morning.

  R u gonna tell me

  where u learned to do that?

  I can’t help the ridiculous smile on my face right now just thinking about the sexy morning we spent before I had to leave for work. For someone who had never had sex before she met me, Samantha has become quite the little pleasure seeker in the short time we’ve been together, and I am loving it. She is so incredible. My phone beeps as she answers my text.

  Now Detective.

  U know that I’ve had

  no prior experience b4 u.

  That was just something

  I’ve heard about & wanted to try.

  I take it u enjoyed it?

  Her response makes me laugh out loud for a second and I glance up and look around me, not wanting to draw any attention to myself right now. Is she kidding?

  In case u couldn’t

  tell this morning … YES!

  I enjoyed it very much.

  Got any other positions

  or tricks u want to try?

  ‘Cause I am loving

  your sense of adventure, baby!

  I hit ‘send’ and I can’t help conjuring up an image of her in my arms this morning. Her hair all tousled, a sexy sheen of sweat on her brow and a satisfied grin on her delicious lips. She is the most amazing woman in the world and I can’t get enough of her! I smile as my phone beeps again.

  Gotta go now.

  Realtor emailed back n

  wants to show me a few places today.

  Wish me luck!

  And if u like adventure, Detective,

  we could always buy a copy of

  the Kama Sutra & work our way through it!

  ;-)

  My cock actually twitches as I read that last part. God, just the thought of her excites me!

  You’re on, baby!

  Good luck with the realtor.

  I send that last text just as Dave sits down in the chair beside me, sipping a cup of coffee, and Lee takes a seat in the chair behind me. He taps me on the shoulder as he sits.

  “Hey, kid. Thanks again for that game yesterday, son. Molly and I had a great time.”

  “Yeah, I’m glad you guys came. Sam and I had fun too,” I answer him. “She really enjoyed talking to Molly and getting to know her.”

  “Well Molly liked her a whole lot. She really is a great girl, Guy. And I may have misjudged that brother of hers. He seems like a decent man,” Lee says, and his words put me at ease somehow.

  “I’m glad you think so too,” I tell him.

  “Why’s that?” he asks with a puzzled expression.

  “Because I trust your judgment,” I shrug at him. “And if you think Lucas seems like a decent guy too, it means my perceptions
of him weren’t wrong or … clouded by my feelings for Sam. It’s just nice to have your opinion, that’s all.”

  He smiles at my words and for some reason, his smile embarrasses me a little and I roll my eyes at myself. Sometimes Lee makes me feel like I’m still that little kid he used to check on all those years ago.

  “So, what did you think of that luxury box?” I ask him, deliberately changing the subject. “Pretty sweet, huh?”

  He shoots me an exaggerated roll of the eyes and shakes his head. “Can you believe that place? Incredible. That view!”

  “It’s nice.”

  “What we talking about?” Conner asks as his ears perk up.

  “Lucas Colby’s private suite at CenturyLink Field. I took Lee to the game there yesterday.”

  “Oh yeah? How was it, Lee?”

  “Man! Luxury is an understatement. The view was unbelievable, Conner. Best seats in the world!”

  I smile as I listen to Lee tell Conner all about his experience in the luxury box. Before I know it, there is a small circle of guys surrounding us, listening to Lee’s tale. And I inwardly groan because I know what’s coming next.

  “Yo, Guy. Do we all get our turn in the luxury family box now that you’re doing the billionaire princess?” one of the guys calls out. The question is immediately followed by laughter and I can feel my jaw tightening. I know they’re just kidding around but, the whole thing is getting really old, really quickly. I try to just take it in stride and ignore the ribbing but, it’s getting harder the longer it goes on.

  “Hey, what other perks you gettin’ outta this relationship, Guy?” someone else yells from across the room. “I don’t see no new fancy clothes or Rolex watches.”

  “Nah, he’s probably just stringing her along until he gets a high-dollar ride out of the deal, I bet,” Donaldson chimes in.

  “Hey, why don’t you just marry her and put your feet up, man? Let the little woman bring home the bacon,” Frank says. Then with a lewd sneer he adds, “I’d let that fine little thing take care of me anytime!”

  More laughter follows, and I am immediately pissed. “Yeah, you want to come within striking distance and say that to me, Frank?” I practically snarl at him as I stand up, ready to pounce. But there is instantly a wall of bodies around me, forming a human barricade between me and my target, and I can feel numerous hands on my chest and my shoulders, restricting my forward movement and keeping me from launching myself at the dick who made the snide comment.

  A pair of those restraining hands belong to Lee, and his voice is harsh as he snaps, “Hey! Calm down, kid!”

  “Whoa, I was only joking around, Guy,” Frank offers quickly, looking apologetically at me while standing on guard. “I didn’t mean nothing by it.”

  “Let it go, son,” Lee repeats sternly. “Frank was just fooling around, being an idiot. Isn’t that right, Frank?”

  “I said I was sorry,” Frank mumbles.

  “Is there a problem, gentlemen?” Marcos asks as he enters the room, surveying the scene with trained eyes.

  “No,” Lee answers for us, looking at me pointedly. “No problem.”

  “No, sir,” I mumble, finally tearing my vicious glare away from Frank and moving back to my seat. Roll call gets started then, and I focus on the front of the room to give Lieutenant Marcos my attention as he gives us the updates of the local crime situation in our area. He tells us about a hit and run that happened overnight and gives us a partial plate number and description of the car in question that we’re to all be on the lookout for. Then he tells us about an officer killed in the line of duty overnight up in Edmonds, and asks for a couple volunteers to send to the funeral. Edmonds is only about 11 miles north of Seattle and Lee’s always talking about how important it is honor those who have fallen on the job so, I’m not surprised when he and Turner volunteer to go.

  After Marcos hands out a few assignments and we all file out of the briefing room, Conner and I head to our desks, talking over the new case we were just handed. A nasty one involving a young married couple assaulted during a walk through a local park last night. They both ended up in the hospital, the husband badly beaten and fighting for his life while the wife was beaten and raped repeatedly.

  “Sometimes I really wish there was some way we could get to the assholes before they commit the crimes,” I say through clinched teeth as I drop the file onto my desk.

  “Oh, yeah, like in that movie where the criminals were arrested for the crimes they were going to commit in the future. What was that called?” Conner asks.

  “I don’t know, but this one pisses me off,” I answer, knowing the scene before roll call is partly to blame for my current mood. “I really want whoever did this.”

  “Well, let’s get to it,” he says.

  I throw myself into my work, trying desperately to forget about the incident in the briefing room and wondering how much longer this shit is going to go on. If they’re not needling me about the paparazzi attention and the girls in the bar this weekend wanting autographs, then they’re insinuating – jokingly, of course – that I’m just in it for the money. Fucking idiots. And I try unsuccessfully to push those thoughts from my mind as Conner and I head out to the hospital to try and speak with the wife.

  We take a female officer with us, just in case the wife is uncomfortable with Conner and me, and it’s a good thing we do. She’s still very emotional, understandably so. But we explain to her that the sooner she talks to us, the better our chances of finding whoever did this to her and her husband. She finally agrees to talk to the female officer and we learn that we’re looking for four guys, all early twenties, three Caucasian, one African American. She says one of the guys grabbed her while two others held her husband and the fourth worked him over with a baseball bat. They made sure he was incapacitated before they each took their turn with her. Sick bastards. Before we leave the hospital, we check with the doctors on the husband’s condition. Serious but stable.

  Once we leave there, we head over to the park where the uniforms already have the area taped off and the CSU is going over it with a fine-toothed comb. Lucky for us, they find lots of fibers and hairs, and even a substance they think might be semen at the scene. But as we head back to the station to get started on some of the paperwork, I’m feeling slightly less than hopeful about this one. Sure the CSU found an abundance of samples back there but, it is a public park after all. A lot of what our guys found may or may not even pertain to our case. I think this one might be a real gamble.

  We get back to the station and get to work, and I am just finishing up my report on our conversation with the wife when my phone beeps. It’s a text from Samantha and I smile.

  Josh, I know ur busy but, could u meet

  me at this address when u can.

  It’s important.

  I frown as I read the text over a second time and I instantly wonder if something’s wrong. She doesn’t give me any information and the tone of the text doesn’t carry the same playful quality of our earlier communication.

  Baby, is everything ok?

  Where are you?

  I stare at my phone, willing her to answer me quickly. And thankfully, she does:

  Everything’s fine.

  Just busy and excited.

  Can u come?

  She sends me a strange address and, when I look it up, I discover it’s in the Redmond area. Out near Bellevue. An area I don’t really get to much. Or at least, I didn’t before I met Samantha. I sigh and look up at Conner.

  “Hey,” I say, getting his attention. “You think you can spare me for about an hour?”

  “What’s up?

  “I don’t know,” I shrug. “Just got a text from Sam; I need to go check it out.”

  “She all right?

  “I don’t know,” I repeat with a little exasperation.

  He studies me for a second and then says, “Yeah, go do what you gotta do.”

  “Be back as soon as I can,” I say, getting to my feet. I g
rab my leather jacket from the back of my chair and head out, texting Sam back as I go:

  Leaving now.

  Be there soon.

  I leave the PD and slide into the Charger and, as I drive out to Redmond, I can’t help wondering what she is doing out here. I figured she’d be looking for another apartment near the downtown area, but maybe the realtor found her some kind of upscale condo or something out here. Kind of a pricey place though. Not like she can’t afford it, Pierce. I smirk to myself at that thought. Yes, she can certainly afford it. No doubt about that.

  And that thought brings to mind the dicks in the briefing room this morning. I don’t know why I’m having such a hard time letting that go. I know that they honestly don’t mean anything by it. At least, I don’t think they do. They’re just doing what guys do, making stupid jokes at each other’s expense. Still, it gets to me. And I can’t help but think back to the argument Sam and I had last Saturday after the wedding and what she said about giving all of her money to Lucas if it would make me more comfortable. I frown at the thought. Why does Sam’s money make me so uncomfortable?

  I know that Sam holds a quarter share of Colby Coring stock. Her brother owns another quarter and their Uncle Ken holds the other fifty percent. I shake my head at the idea of owning twenty-five percent of a multi-billion dollar corporation. And I remember from my investigation of her back when she was first attacked, that she has a near $220 million in her trust fund. How do you wrap your head around those kinds of numbers? Of course, if that’s all you’ve ever known growing up, there’s no need to wrap your head around it, I guess. It’s just her everyday reality.

  When I start to near the address in Samantha’s text I slow down and begin looking at house numbers. And then it hits me. House numbers? Checking to make sure nothing’s behind me, I pull over and come to a complete stop and look at the address once again, making sure I’m in the right place. And then I look up and glance out the window off to my left, taking in my surroundings. Slowly, my eyes scan the area, my head turning from the left over to the right, and my eyes widen at the scene. I am in a very upscale, residential area and the houses all look like miniature castles or starter mansions or something. They’re huge, and there’s at least a couple acres of land between each house and its nearest neighbor. What the hell?