Seek

by Anne Conley

  “Still have that spot, I see,” he breathed into her neck as he pulled her closer, flush against his body. Zack flicked out his tongue and licked her neck down to her shoulders, where he bit her softly.

  “Mmmm … yeah. Lots of people walking up and down the street but no one really seems suspicious.” She closed her eyes against the onslaught of Zack’s mouth as one of his hands traveled up her waist to land on her breast. His ragged breathing showed he was still affected by her. It was the same as before, but better, and she struggled with her emotions. She wanted to enjoy this; however, she’d sort of insisted on doing this job, so she needed to actually do it.

  But it was obvious he was enjoying this, too. His mouth was still marking her neck and shoulders, sucking and biting, interspersed with hot, open-mouthed kisses as he pushed her against the wall. She couldn’t move if she wanted to, and she certainly didn’t want to. A pulsing rhythm started in her belly, flowing down to her groin, and she mindlessly started grinding on Zack’s knee between her legs, pressing the seam of her jeans against her clit.

  Bonnie’s limbs were jelly, and then he made a noise. She felt it start in his chest—his rock-hard chest, so different from the smaller version she’d pressed against in high school—and it rumbled up his throat and out of his mouth, sounding in her ear. A sexy, growly noise that made her breath stop. The hitch in her air flow affected Zack, and he attacked with renewed frenzy.

  There was no way she could focus on their surroundings. Zack grabbed a handful of hair, yanking her head to the side, and refocused his energies on that spot behind her ear while his other thumb toyed with her nipple through her clothes.

  Eyes closed, she stretched her neck further to give him better access. Bonnie was hot, her skin flushed from the adrenaline pulsing just beneath it, and she wanted nothing more than for Zack to take her right here.

  “Are you watching?” If she hadn’t heard the grin in his voice, she certainly would have felt it right before his teeth nipped at her neck.

  Snapping her eyes open, she tried to see through the lusty fog he’d put her in, but despite her best efforts, she couldn’t concentrate on anything.

  That was, until she saw a familiar pair of angry, brown eyes focused intently on her and not nearly far enough away.

  “Shit, nine o’clock.” But she was too late. Quinten had a handful of Zack’s shirt and spun him around. Zack’s hands went up defensively, but he couldn’t compete with an angry Quinten. “Stop it!” Bonnie yelled at Quinten. Ryan was running from his station at the corner, eyes wide.

  Too late. Her brother punched Zack in the gut, doubling him over. Bonnie grabbed at Quinten, but it was futile.

  “Quinten, I said stop it!” With one heaving push, Quinten was done, but Zack was sprawled out on the ground. Ryan grabbed Quinten from behind, but he’d quit fighting. He shook off Ryan and started yelling, his face red.

  “My fucking sister?! You are such an asshole if you think I’m just going to stand by and let you use her like a Kleenex. She is not a conquest for you anymore. This will stop.” Quinten’s intensity was scary, and she hadn’t seen it often but knew it must terrify opponents in the fight rings. Fortunately for Bonnie, she was his sister and not scared of him in the least.

  “What about me, Quinten?” Putting herself in front of her brother’s massive frame, Bonnie pushed him, never mind he was a foot and a half taller and probably had a hundred pounds on her. “When do I get a say? You’ve devoted your life to keeping us apart, and I’m sick of it. I’m twenty-four fucking years old, and if you don’t stop it, I may just run off with him.”

  Zack had gotten up and caught Quinten off guard, pinning him against the wall with his forearm. Everyone knew Quinten could easily throw him off, but he stilled to listen to the words Zack gritted out.

  “Listen, asshole, I know you don’t like me for something I did years ago, but your brother sent me here on an assignment. Bonnie is helping me out.”

  She sidled closer to hear the conversation.

  “How’s it coming?” Quinten asked, still visibly angry but seemingly trying to get a handle on himself.

  “It could be better.” Zack didn’t let up on Quinten, and the bigger man allowed him to have his say. Bonnie had to admit, she was a little jealous of the respect Quinten seemed to have for Zack, even pissed at him. “I’m a blind man, Q. How do you think I was going to see anything out here? Bonnie was being my eyes, while some stinky motherfucker has been following us around. We’ve got a lead that the girl is in this club, and we’re going in to find her. So fuck off and let me do this. Oh, and Andrew slipped me some little blue pills that aren’t anti-inflammatories.” Zack ground his erection into Quinten’s thigh, and the look of disgust that crossed her brother’s face brought a giggle to Bonnie’s throat.

  Quinten threw him off, and they both stood there, staring each other down.

  Just like old times. Bonnie rolled her eyes.

  Knowing her brothers relished the damsels in distress told her the girl they were talking about was most likely in peril, probably scared and vulnerable. Bonnie had been there, and that’s what motivated her now, the men’s stupidity forgotten.

  “There’s a girl in danger in there?” She cocked her head toward the big neon sign for The Wave.

  She was being ignored. Zack spat at Quinten’s feet, intent on getting the last word, while Quinten was still staring him down. Bonnie took a step forward. “Can we go in now?”

  Zack shook himself and walked toward her voice. “Yeah, we can.” Turning back to Quinten, he said, “When this is over, I’m going to talk with your sister, and I don’t need your fucking permission. You feel me?”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Fuck you.” Then quieter, “You covering us?”

  “Bet your ass. I got a camera/mic system from Evan that will help you out.” Quinten held out a handful of tiny buttons and stickers, shaking his head. “I can’t fucking believe this.”

  They ducked into an alley, and Bonnie watched in awe as her brother helped Zack get mic’d up. Everything was so small it wouldn’t be seen in the dark club. A clear, matte sticker on his neck served as a microphone, she guessed. There were tiny cameras hidden on various parts of his body. All undetectable. Hopefully. Finally, Zack was finished, and he spoke softly, testing the equipment. Nodding to himself, he winked in Bonnie’s direction.

  Without another look behind him, Zack threw his arm around Bonnie’s shoulder, drawing her close. Together, they walked inside the club. Stuffing her confusion into the recesses of her brain, she decided she would examine what was happening later.

  Chapter Eight

  “Hi! Welcome to The Wave. Are you just here for drinks and dancing?” The cocktail waitress was dressed tastefully in a dress Bonnie admired—a simple black affair that showed off the girl’s features.

  Ryan spoke hesitantly, “Uh, we’d heard there was other stuff?”

  Bonnie and Quinten shared a quick look and blushed. They did not want to see a sex show with each other. But Bonnie jutted her chin out and gave him her most defiant look, which made him sigh and look at his hands. She smiled in triumph.

  The waitress easily slid into salesman mode. “Yes, the first floor is a dance club, the second floor is for people more interested in exploring a wilder side. There are shows and demonstrations and such. You may go up and watch for a fee and participate for a larger fee. The third floor is for VIP members only.”

  Bonnie extracted her credit card from her back pocket and laid it on the table. “I’m buying, guys.”

  “Just to let you know, we typically don’t let men in unattended on Thursdays, as it’s ladies night. I’ll make a slight exception tonight, but I won’t be able to let all three of you boys in. We like to have an environment where the ladies don’t feel like they’re on parade, you know?”

  Quinten opened his mouth to speak but simply hissed something unintelligible to himself. Zack laughed, apparently having heard it in his earpiece. “Okay,
she’s buying for everybody but her brother.”

  The waitress giggled with a shrug. “Well, I’ve seen most everything. Let me get you guys the paperwork. There’s a room where you can fill it out. Follow me.”

  After Quinten excused himself to go to the bar with a warning growl in Zack’s direction, Bonnie, Zack, and Ryan followed the girl to a small office space behind the bar. Everything was expensively decorated yet tasteful. Not at all what Bonnie had been expecting, the contradiction between her expectations and reality enhancing her anticipation of the unexpected. She was feeling edgy but couldn’t put her finger on why. Sure, they were chasing bad guys, and the air of danger was thick, but there was something else.

  Ryan and Bonnie filled their paperwork out, then Ryan scooted Zack’s over to him and began completing his. It was sweet the way these alpha guys took care of Zack without making a big deal of it. Bonnie figured they had assumed identities or something with all the super-secret spy shit that was going on. But she didn’t. She’d used her own credit card to pay for all this, and though she didn’t mind doing it, she still felt a little exposed giving all her information on the papers.

  “You guys won’t be able to hit the third floor tonight, as we have to check all the paperwork before you can become members, but just so you know, as soon as all the references are checked and verified, we usually don’t have problems getting you in the next week.” She was ridiculously cheery, and Bonnie wondered what working here would be like.

  “Um, do we have to take our clothes off on the second floor?” Bonnie asked, knowing that was an elephant in the room. If Zack and Ryan had to disrobe, their mics would probably be discovered. Surely there were rules against that sort of thing in a sex club.

  “Not unless you want to. This is all about your comfort,” the girl smiled.

  When all the paperwork was finished, the three of them stepped to the bar to get a drink and went to the second floor to check things out, arm bands firmly affixed on their wrists.

  The first thing Bonnie noticed was there were people everywhere in various stages of dress or undress, as well as lots of intimacy. There were people having sex, but there were also people just talking, making out, and some just sitting and watching the rest.

  The walls were lined with wide leatherish sofas, with chairs arranged across from them. The four corners of each room were bare, for what she assumed would be scenarios. Bonnie read erotica, she wasn’t a prude. But still, seeing people in the corners getting blowjobs, having sex against walls, or cuffed to the installments available was something she hadn’t prepared herself for when she’d gotten ready to go out tonight.

  A whisper in her ear brought her back to reality.

  “You’re my eyes here, Bon-Bon. Talk to me.” She looked at Zack, who had his arm around her. Ryan had disappeared somewhere as soon as they’d gotten up the stairs.

  “Okay, uh … There are people making out everywhere,” she hedged. Although the sounds of sex filled the room, there wasn’t any denying that. Zack’s grin told her he wasn’t fooled.

  “See anything you like?”

  Ah jeez …

  “Uh, there’s a sex swing over in the corner.”

  “Is it being used?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Take me to it. Let’s watch for a minute. You seem tense.” His voice was a husky murmur in her ear, the warm breath tickling her as his lips brushed the shell. She hated to tell him she was tense. And watching the people in the swing wasn’t going to help that.

  She led him by the hand to where the swing was set in the far corner with a small crowd of people around it. “It looks like my yoga swing,” she said stupidly.

  Zack groaned in her ear and pushed a fully erect penis against her ass. With the Viagra he’d been slipped and all the noises of this place, he was probably going nuts.

  “Well, it does.”

  “I don’t need to know you have anything remotely resembling a sex swing in your house.” He laughed. “And Quinten is apparently fit to be tied, if the cussing and rumbling in my earpiece is evidence of anything.” His laugh faded to a chuckle. “Seriously, though, tell me if you see anything weird. We need to find Macy.”

  Anything weird in a sex club? Okie dokie.

  She tried to look around without looking like she was staring. She and Zack were facing the corner and it was hard to see anything else. Most people were either facing one of the couples having sex or in their own little world. Nobody was looking around.

  Which made her stick out.

  So she focused on the couple in the swing. Bonnie liked this place. It wasn’t full of beautiful people. It was filled with normal people out having a good time. Some overweight, some underweight, some with inappropriate body hair, some with scars, some with frizzy hair, some with too much makeup. But they were all comfortable in whatever skin they wore, and that made them all beautiful.

  Like the couple on the swing. The man had a tiny penis but appeared to be using it effectively, as the woman—who’d clearly had kids relatively recently—was enjoying it immensely. Head back and ass up, she moaned loudly while the man fingered her clit and used the swing harness to move her against him with quick, sharp movements.

  Bonnie turned, realizing she was getting caught up in things and needed to be watching for more important stuff.

  Zack’s hands went around her waist, resting on her ass as he pulled her closer to him. “What do you see, Bon-Bon?”

  “Sex everywhere. What am I looking for?”

  “Something that’s probably on the third floor where the VIPs are, honestly. Underage girls and rougher stuff, I’m thinking. Or maybe some private rooms?”

  Bonnie’s eyes fell on the opposite corner of the room, where a man and woman were both receiving oral sex. Drawn to the man’s pure pleasure as a woman sucked him, Bonnie couldn’t help but see the imminent power in the position. He was totally at her mercy, head thrown back, eyes closed. Anything could happen to him at this moment; judging by the look on his face, he wouldn’t give a good goddamn.

  “You want to see what’s down the hallway?”

  “Lead on. Quinten’s gotten in upstairs somehow, he’s looking around up there.”

  “How’d he get in?”

  “He says he has more money than you.”

  “He lies,” Bonnie said, although she really had no idea.

  “Q says to come on up. Ryan’s on his way.”

  “Okay then.”

  “Dad, it really is a genius business model. They come to us for a reusable product to fulfill their most deranged fantasies. They get caught, they take the fall. My guy has it all set up so we’re totally in the clear.” Jonas was trying to explain to his father, once again, how he couldn’t continue trafficking the girls through Jonas’s club anymore. “The way you’re currently working, there’s too much face-to-face time. Too many chances for the girls to escape and squeal. Too many people involved to keep it confidential. My gig doesn’t have any of that. There’s nothing for them to escape. Nowhere for them to go. The burden is all on the perp, which is not us.”

  Senator Ed Lawrence sat back in the leather sofa that lined the back wall of the office where his son, Jonas, was watching the video monitors behind the desk. Jonas tried not to get angry as he calmly rested his hands on the back of the sofa and smiled indulgently at him.

  “It’s your baby. I trust it in your capable hands.”

  Jonas knew the internet-based stuff was beyond his father’s mental capacities. When Jonas started talking about code and hidden Easter eggs and back doors and such, the senator’s eyes glazed over and he got that look in his eyes.

  The one he had right now.

  But at least Jonas had the green light. With a heavy exhale, he turned his chair back toward the security monitors. “Well, we’ll have beta testers ready next week. Just letting you know.”

  “Keep me posted.”

  Jonas eyed the monitors, seeing his dad’s latest acquisition cowering in a corner o
f the screens, waiting for el Jefe to come in. Macy was cute and had been a handful to bring in, but dressed in the pink lacy baby doll nightie, she looked every bit the young, naïve princess el Jefe had asked for. She wasn’t a virgin, by any means. Jonas had tested that theory already, but the buyer didn’t care. El Jefe was one of the diplomats here this week for the South by Southwest symposiums blending politics with electronics, finding new ways for governments to make money off software developments and such. Everyone had a finger in a pie somewhere. Fortunately, the senator had something el Jefe wanted, and el Jefe had deep pockets.

  That was the difference, though. Jonas’s father catered to the diplomats, the CEOs, the people with deep pockets, no morals, and a reason to hide. Jonas didn’t have the compunction for blackmail like his father did. He didn’t like all the follow-up work involved in keeping mouths shut, which was why his little project was perfect.

  But whatever. His dad saw him as targeting the little people and didn’t see the money in that. Whereas Jonas saw the little people as the other ninety-nine percent. So while his dad would only target a small population for his customer base, there were a ton of twisted people who made less than eighty grand a year. People with illegal fantasies Jonas had figured out a way to profit from.

  A ton of people.

  As Jonas scanned the bank of monitors, his feelings of self-satisfaction melted away as he zeroed in on one monitor toward the bottom—the screen showing the stairs to the third floor.

  Three people were trying to talk their way up—two men and a woman. He knew the woman.

  “Fuck. Me.” She called herself Bonnie Pierce these days, or the last time he’d seen her, but Jonas knew exactly who she was. He spoke into the microphone that fed into the bouncer’s earpiece. “Let them up. And then get me their paperwork.” The bouncer nodded once, then stepped aside, letting the trio pass.

  She’s gotten away from him before, but he’d be damned if he’d let that happen again.