Bounty

by Kristen Ashley

  It was not tentative that time when I whispered back, “Yeah.”

  Something passed through his eyes. I wanted to chase it for a variety of reasons, not the least of which it was amazing, but at that moment it made new wet surge between my legs.

  “Made for me,” he muttered, like I wasn’t there, like he wasn’t even a breath away from me, giving me those words and all they seemed to mean.

  I lay unmoving under all that was Deke and stared in his eyes.

  “Shower,” he grunted suddenly. “Condoms,” he went on. His mouth touched mine, “Lots of those fuckers.”

  Before I could agree, or what I was leaning more toward, kissing him, he was on his feet at the side of the bed. Then he was dragging me across the bed.

  And finally, I was over his shoulder and he was stalking toward the shower.

  Okay then.

  We had our morning plan.

  Shower.

  And condoms.

  Lots of them.

  I had a feeling I was not going to get any progress done on my house that day.

  And I did not give that first fuck.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Highly-Tuned Revenge Streak

  Deke

  Deke dumped the five packs of condoms on the counter at the convenience store in town.

  He watched the cashier guy’s face turn startled before he slowly lifted his gaze up to Deke’s then turned it to Jussy who was standing close to his side, holding his hand.

  The man’s face stayed startled as his eyebrows flew up.

  Deke dipped his chin and saw her smiling bright, bold, huge and unashamed right at the guy.

  Christ, she was something.

  Deke beat back the rush of laughter he was feeling and looked back at the cashier when he heard the beeping of their purchase.

  “How’s my face?” Jussy asked and his attention went back to her.

  He took in her eye, saw the yellow was gone, almost all the purpling was gone at the side, but there was still some blue under her eye. His gaze dropped and he also saw he’d been right in his assessment the day before. Not even a shadow left at her throat.

  They made it through last night.

  They’d connected the way they both wanted to connect and it was fucking spectacular.

  And that shit at her throat was gone.

  A good day.

  “Better,” he answered.

  “Good enough to go to La-La Land and not freak out Sunny?”

  He stared at her, his lips moving. “We are not getting coffee.”

  She gave a cute pout. “I need coffee.”

  “Then make it after I take you home and fuck you again.” Caught in Jussy’s cute, the words came out of his mouth before it hit him he had an audience so he looked to the cashier and muttered, “Sorry, man.”

  The cashier was grinning. “Don’t mind me. Just happy a brother is gettin’ some a’ the good stuff.”

  Oh, he was getting some of the good stuff.

  Deke looked down to Jussy to see her again beaming at the cashier.

  He tugged at her hand and she turned that beam to him.

  Yeah, she was something.

  “No coffee,” he stated.

  “Deke, we also need breakfast,” she told him. “You ate all the pizza last night.”

  “Babe, you ate half that pie and I had to fight you for my last slice. That last slice being my slice.”

  “Okay, so we ate all the pizza last night and I can’t breakfast on Baby Ruths and Butterfinger Cups and that’s all we have left.” She gave him a sassy smile. “And we’re gonna need sustenance.”

  The way she fucked, this was undoubtedly true.

  “Right, coffee,” he gave in.

  The sass went out of her smile and it got sweet as she turned into him and pressed her tits against his arm.

  His cock jerked.

  There it was, more indication of how things were going to be changing in a really good way now they both knew where they were at.

  And Deke had a shit ton of indications that he’d be able to get beyond the fact she was rich as sin and famous to boot.

  Christ, she took him hard last night, came through it and it was her that wanted his cum on her. Her eyes wild and hot, watching him jack off on her, her fingernails leaving red crescents in the skin of his thighs, she liked it so fucking much.

  Biker bitches who knew how to live and long since lost any hang ups, drunk women who let the booze slide them to the place they needed to be would give that.

  And then there was Jussy, sober as a judge, just drunk on him, and asking for it in a way he knew she’d give him anything he wanted. He could come on her again. She’d ride his face. She’d let him tie her up. She’d take his cock up her ass.

  She fucked like she lived.

  She wasn’t just open and out there and together in life.

  She was open and out there and together with sex. She knew what she wanted, asked for it or just went for it and got off on it.

  Made for him, yeah.

  Shit, yeah.

  Straight up, one hundred percent made for him.

  So she wanted coffee?

  He’d give it to her.

  He’d give her fucking anything.

  And not just because he got off on her getting off on him jacking on her.

  Because she stood in front of a convenience store cashier with her man, holding his hand and buying fifty condoms and she did it blatantly happy she was soon going to get herself fucked and good, but he knew she was more happy because she was standing right there with him, holding his hand.

  His gaze dropped to the bruise under her left eye and he finished what he had to say about their imminent trip to La-La Land, “But you better hang outside until I know Sunny’s not there.”

  “She’s always there with Shambles. I should have worn sunglasses,” she muttered.

  “That’ll be forty-three dollars,” the cashier said.

  Deke dug for his wallet, let her go to pull out the bills, gave them to the guy and took the change and the bag filled with what was going to make a day already really fucking good get a whole lot better.

  “Thanks. Later,” Deke muttered, using Jussy’s hand to pull her to the door.

  “Later,” Jussy said to the cashier as they moved.

  “Have fun you two,” the cashier called to their backs.

  “We will!” Jussy assured him as he tugged her out the door.

  She was practically skipping at his side while they moved down the sidewalk toward La-La Land.

  He looked down at her, feeling his lips curving. “Happy?”

  Her head tilted back and she gave him another beam, open, out there, not hiding shit.

  Fuck yeah, she was happy.

  Happy to be with him.

  Christ, he wanted that for her every breath she took. Wanted it in a way he knew he’d break his back for it, kill anyone who took it away.

  Fuck. He hadn’t felt like that for any woman, except his mother.

  And he hadn’t even given his ma the second half of that.

  She adjusted her position so the side of her tit glanced against his arm as they walked and she kept smiling as she said quietly, “Yeah, Deke. Happy.”

  With a tug on her hand, he stopped them, turned into her and bent to her.

  She got what he was offering, lifted up on her toes and he touched his mouth to hers.

  Hers was still smiling.

  He was pulling away when his phone started ringing.

  “I’ll take that,” she said, reaching to the bag so he wouldn’t let her hand go to get the call.

  He gave her the bag, dug out his phone, saw it was Decker and took the call.

  “Hey, brother, all good?”

  “Yes, and maybe yes or also maybe no,” Decker answered, sounding weird.

  Deke turned eyes to Jussy. “Right, tell me the yes part.”

  “We found our target a couple hours ago, it just wasn’t the primary target.”
/>
  Deke felt his brows draw together. “Come again?”

  “Place we were told Bianca Constantine was holing up was where she was holing up. It’s also where we found the very dead body of Brendon Caswell.”

  Deke lost eye contact with Jussy as he cut his to his boots.

  “Right…come again?” he growled.

  Jussy moved into his space at the front, her fingers spasming around his, but he kept his gaze lowered, eyes now to her shoulder as Decker spoke.

  “Caswell’s dead, man. Shithole apartment building in LA. Women’s clothes left behind, other shit too, nice shit. Designer. Expensive. Cosmetics. Some jewelry, though nothing worth a lot. Still, we found him, called the local authorities and a female detective at the scene says it’s the good stuff. They’re dusting, already ran prints. They got a lot of ’em and some of them are Bianca’s.”

  “Two seconds, Deck,” Deke said into the phone and looked at Jussy. “Go hit the truck, baby. Keys in my pocket. I’ll get us coffees while I finish this call.”

  “No,” she whispered, staring at his face, the happy gone from hers, and Deke felt heat hit his gut at the loss of it.

  Fuck this Bianca bitch. He was that kind of man, he’d wring her goddamned neck.

  He tightened his hold of her hand, drew in breath and focused on her throat.

  “Back, Deck, you got more?”

  “Well, if your first thought was my first thought, that Bianca heard Caswell strangling her best friend over voicemail and lost her shit during a meet and killed him, we’re wrong. Unless she acquired a professional’s skills while taking her walk on the very wild side, it was someone else. Guy was on his knees, took two slugs, bam, bam, right in the forehead. Have pictures of this girl. She’s tall, got curves, but slim, not sure how she’d get this man to his knees. He was armed, gun in his back waistband, knife in his boot. She drew on him, he’d draw back and this would have an alternate ending. Someone put the fear of God into him. He didn’t even go for his gun. Speculation but I’d say he knew who he was facing down, took direction to get on his knees, was probably hoping he could talk his way out of it, got proved wrong.”

  “Well, then that’s good news and good news,” Deke remarked.

  “Maybe,” Decker hedged and kept going. “Witnesses in this building say that Bianca has been around and not a week ago or days ago but a couple of folks saw her enter this apartment last night. They did not see her leave. They did see another man, well-dressed, good-looking, tall, lean, black, come in a while after Bianca. Neighbor down the hall was coming back from work, saw her open the door to him, smile at him, all friendly, real friendly, and let him in. They did not see Caswell enter and preliminary from the ME states Caswell bought it between midnight and three in the morning. No one saw either of the other two leave. No one heard gunshots.”

  “So, you’re thinkin’…” Deke prompted.

  But Deke knew what Deke was thinking.

  She took care of her girl by finding whatever money she had to find to get a professional hitman to take care of the problem.

  “Bianca Constantine either got her hands on some money or she made a very dangerous friend,” Deck said.

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Deke muttered and Jussy shifted into him. He looked into her eyes and mouthed, “Second, baby.”

  She pressed her lips together and nodded.

  Decker said in his ear. “There’s more, man.”

  “Give it to me,” Deke grunted, his focus on Jussy blurring.

  “Shithole apartment building, not a great part of town, but the furniture in here, Deke, it’s not top of the line but it isn’t crap either. Place is neat and clean. Neighbors say she has a service come in and clean it for her and this is not the kind of building that happens so that’s been noticed. They also say a lot of other shit, loose mouths which is a surprise in this area, but not with what they’re saying. She isn’t one of them. They don’t know this because they sense it. They know this because they see it. They aren’t protecting one of their own. They’re not big fans of having a hit carried out in a neighbor’s pad, that neighbor not being one of them, so they’re giving the cops everything.”

  “And what are they giving them?”

  “She’s always tricked out. She takes a ride, it’s sliding into the back seat of a shiny town car with a driver. Nice clothes. Hair done. Heels. Jewelry.”

  “She’s from money, Decker,” Deke reminded him.

  “She’s clean, Deke,” Decker returned. “Not a single witness says she looks strung out or acts in any way like a junkie or a good time girl. No parties. No callers. In early, not out on the town, stumbling home loaded or high. Quiet. Nice to folks in the halls, not in their business, clearly not wanting them in hers, but she isn’t being an uppity bitch. She leaves at all, it’s during the day, comes home early evening.”

  “Not sure how to take what you’re sayin’, Deck.”

  “What I’m saying is that it might be that Bianca Constantine got herself a sugar daddy who’s into her at least in one healthy way. She was going down that rabbit hole, he pulled her out, cleaned her up and is keeping her. Apartment is rented under a corporation that’s a shell we haven’t been able to trace yet, but it’s moneyed. Again, I’ve seen pictures of this girl and she’s not hard to look at. She caught the right eye, I could see this happening.”

  “And this eye she caught, they’re down with hiring that kind of thing to take care of a problem for her?” he asked.

  “No. The way she greeted the guy who entered her apartment last night, this eye she caught is the kind of guy who knows how to execute a hit,” Deck replied.

  Deke blew out a hissed breath.

  Jussy got closer.

  Decker kept going.

  “From all reports, these from your girl, Bianca’s parents, Thurston…Justice and Bianca are tight. Seriously tight. Known each other years, best of friends. She heard her sister getting strangled on her voicemail, the man she might ask to pay her debt she wouldn’t ask to pay her debt. She’d ask him to make the man who hurt her friend pay. And he’s so into her, he did it.”

  “That’s a lot of speculation, Decker,” Deke told him.

  “Her cupboards were bare, brother. Not a dime to her name. Credit card debt up to her ass. Her house foreclosed on six months ago. Car repo’ed. Not many of her friends have nice things to say about her because she screwed them over a variety of ways or she owes them money, some of that big money. No one has seen her for months but the last ones who did say, if she wasn’t shitfaced or high, she was strung out. And now I’m standing in an apartment with clothes and furniture left behind she could hock easy for a fix or a payoff. Someone is keeping her. And that someone has means. Man who showed last night, witness who saw her open the door to him, that friendly he noted, man said she greeted him in a way you’d greet a lover. Took his hand, pulled him in. No one else seen coming or going. Man’s dead ten feet away from me, Deke, is not dead for a payoff. He’s dead for payback. And from what we got, he was done right in front of Bianca Constantine.”

  “You think it’s too hot to try to find her?” Deke asked. “For you,” he went on to explain and his voice went low. “Emme.”

  “Gonna ask around. Emmanuelle told me Krys and Bubba’s good news, I wanna be home with my woman who’s gonna be giving me that same good news in a few months. I’ll report all this to Chace but told the cops that there’s an investigation pending that I’d been hired to look into that involves Caswell so they’re gonna give him a call too. And I know some folks out here who might know this tall, sharp-dressed black man. Won’t go in hard or send one of my boys in until we know more about him and what Constantine got herself caught up in. But I’m just givin’ it today. Gonna get back to my wife tomorrow. Leave a few boys behind to keep digging but do it careful. I’ll let you know we find it’s too hot or gut feeling tells us to back off.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Deke replied.

  “Right. I’ll let you go
. But at least the good news is solid good. Your girl, she’s safe from this asshole, and no matter how it’s happening or who’s behind it, it looks like her girl is getting her shit together, at least with the partying and dope. Company she’s keeping, that’s the question mark.”

  “Yeah,” Deke muttered.

  “Yeah,” Decker said. “Later.”

  “Later, Deck. And thanks, brother.” Deke disconnected and again focused on Jussy.

  He didn’t even lower his phone before she asked, “What?”

  He looked into her brown eyes, knowing this was Jussy, his gypsy princess. She’d take it in, deal with it and move on.

  “Okay, baby, good news,” he started. “Brendon Caswell is no longer a threat and won’t be because his dead body was found this morning in an apartment in LA.”

  “Holy crap,” she whispered, those brown eyes getting huge.

  “Now for the weird news,” he warned her.

  “Oh shit.” She was still whispering.

  “He was found in Bianca’s apartment.”

  She closed her eyes.

  “Look at me, gypsy,” he ordered, shoving his phone in his pocket and lifting his hand to wrap it around the back of her neck under her hair.

  She opened her eyes.

  “Folks saw her, Jussy. Said she looks good, clean, healthy. Say she’s at home at night, not out partying. Say she doesn’t have folks coming by. She’s nice to people when she sees them in the halls. Decker says the apartment building isn’t the greatest, but her place was clean, good furniture.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t get that, Deke.”

  Deke tried to explain it. “First, Decker, and my guess is the cops he called in, do not think Bianca killed Caswell. The hit appears professional.”

  Her eyes got huge again and her voice got loud when she shouted, “What?”

  “Deck’s speculating a lot but he’s also still lookin’ into things. He’s coming back tomorrow and he’ll let us know what he finds out. But in the meantime, it seems your girl cleaned herself up and seems to be gettin’ on okay.”

  “Except some hitman killed someone in her apartment,” Jussy stated.