by C. J. Thomas
I could feel my lower back beginning to sweat and I hated feeling like I was being interrogated. But if she already knew about Kelly and me, which I suspected she did if Kelly was telling me the truth, then why not just come out and say it?
“Don’t know what to tell you.”
“You can start by telling me the name of the person you fucked.”
My tongue clucked when I turned my gaze out the window. The fucking Madam. It was always games with her and because of that, it always made for tough conversations—conversations that didn’t need to be dragged on if she would just get to the fucking point. I rolled my gaze back to her. “Do you know?”
“Of course I know.”
“Then why does it matter if I say his name or not?”
“Because it changes the conversation when you hear it coming out of your own mouth.”
“Look, I know how it looks, but believe me when I say that it’s not my fault. I can’t help being wanted by multiple men at the same time.” My hands swiped through the air as I unleashed all my pent-up frustration. “You must know what it’s like. Men are dumb. They do stupid shit when it comes to fighting for what they want. If you want to be angry, be angry with Kelly Black. He’s the one who keeps doing this.”
Madam’s eyes were wide as she listened without speaking. “So you did fuck him?”
“Who are we talking about now?” I gave her a questioning look as confusion clouded my brain. That was the appearance I was hoping to give her, anyway, because the truth was, I was too afraid to admit what I already knew—that she called Kelly to tell him where I was.
“Kelly?”
“Yes.” I slumped back into my seat, a feeling of defeat weighing me down. “Well, it was more like he fucked me. But, yes. We fucked. But that was the plan all along, wasn’t it?”
There was a knowing glimmer in her eye that told me she finally understood that I’d connected the dots. Then again, maybe this was exactly what she wanted to happen. It was too early for me to care. Madam dug in her giant purse, then pulled out an envelope, handing it to me.
“What’s this?” I asked, taking it between my fingers.
“A delivery.”
“And what do you want me to do with this?”
“Deliver it.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Then Kelly Black goes away.”
My gaze dropped to the envelope. It was thicker than the one before and by the weight of it, I knew it wasn’t a date card like my last delivery where she initially set me up with Kelly. “What’s this, money?” I joked, thinking back to when Alex found all that loot. It had the same weight to it, just not nearly as much as what Alex had found.
“I don’t understand your attraction to him.” She opened up her compact mirror to reapply her cherry red lipstick.
This time, I just stared, knowing that no matter what I said, she wouldn’t understand.
“You need to be careful with Kelly.” She snapped her mirror shut and tossed it back into her purse. “Like I keep saying—to deaf ears,” she glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, “he’s not the man you think he is.”
“And what kind of man do you think he is?”
“You really want to know?”
“I do.”
Madam dug inside her purse and pulled out a photograph of a man’s face perfectly framed in a mug shot image. “A defense attorney who represents rapists.”
Suddenly I felt ill. My hands fell over my belly as it twisted over itself. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying Kelly sets rapists free.” She gave me a curt nod. “In fact, he’s meeting with this rapist-slash-murderer right now.” Madam handed over the photograph of the accused but I refused to look. As far as I was concerned, representing a rapist was the same as the one doing the raping and I wasn’t going to stand for it.
31
Kelly
“Why didn’t you want him to tell you what he knows about Stone?” Giselle asked as we approached my waiting SUV.
Maxwell was waiting with the back door held open just outside the county jail, and I liked that we didn’t waste any time when moving on to our next visit. The day was quickly slipping by and there was still so much that needed to be done before tonight.
“We need to fact check his story.” I allowed Giselle to slide inside to the back seat first. “Then, if everything comes back just as he said, we know that whatever he shares about Blake Stone is true.”
Maxwell shut the door behind us and walked around the front, taking the captain’s seat behind the wheel. “Mr. Black, where to next?”
I barked off instructions to a production studio in Hollywood, and Maxwell knew it well enough to not have to resort to using GPS. He dropped the gear and set the car in motion.
“What do you think Mario knows about Stone?” Giselle pondered as she caught up on her emails.
“I don’t know, but I’m suspecting it has something to do with the cartel.”
“Do you think he’s guilty?” Giselle lifted her gaze from her phone and moved her eyes over to me.
My fingers drummed with anxiety on top of my thigh. “I don’t.”
“You saw it too, then?” She tucked a loose bang behind her ear.
“I did.” I nodded as the sincerity we both saw in Mario’s eyes flashed behind my lids. A guilty man would have to be a magician to give off the kinds of looks he was showing us today. “And I believe what he said, too.”
“We need to bring him on. If he didn’t do that to Maria, it’s up to us to get him off.” Giselle’s voice was confident as she prepared for the long battle ahead. “You know the DA will pursue the stiffest sentence possible.”
I swallowed what little doubt I had and said, “Let’s first see what Nash Brooks knows. Mario thinks he’ll give us some answers, and if that’s the case, then we’ll see what he knows about Stone before agreeing to represent him.”
“Sounds solid.” Giselle agreed to the plan.
I pulled my phone out from my inside breast pocket and scrolled to a number I had stashed away from the day before. “Here. Put a quick call into Nash’s assistant and let her know that we’re on our way.”
Giselle quickly dialed the number I gave her and I turned my head to the outside, thinking of Kendra.
She should have received my gift by now, and I hoped that she was free for dinner tonight. With her constant refusal to sign my contract, maybe it was time to change tactics. And I hoped that I could convince her that I needed this done in order for our relationship to move to the next step.
My cock twitched to life as I thought about how her tight pussy felt wrapped around me, how she clung to me when her body shuddered through a climax.
Whether or not she was aware, God knew it was only a matter of time before I made her my submissive and did things to her that no man had done before. I’d light her body on fire and she’d beg me to put out the flames.
But none of that could happen until that damned contract was signed.
“Fantastic. Thanks for your help.” Giselle ended her call and turned to me saying, “Nash is out of town. On location. However, his assistant director is at the studio, and get this—”
My brows raised with perked ears.
“His assistant director is none other than,” she paused to purposely add to the suspense, “Alex Grace.”
“The plot thickens.” I pulled my sunglasses over my eyes. “Then let’s see what she has to say about all this.”
The moment we arrived to the studio, both Giselle and I invited ourselves into the building, following the signs that led us to a very dark room made for video editing. It was there we found Alex sitting behind a couple of bright computer monitors with headphones covering her ears. I nodded to Giselle and she gently tapped Alex’s shoulder. “Alex Grace?”
Alex pulled her headphones off her ears. “Yeah, that’s me.”
“My name is Giselle and we’d like to ask you a couple questions about Nash Brooks.
Can you give us a few minutes of your time?”
Her eyes darted between us. “What’s this about?”
“It’s about the quarter million dollars you found,” I said, causing Alex’s face to go pale.
Her brows pulled together. “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”
“I don’t believe you do.”
“Are you detectives?” She stood with a wrinkled brow and moved to the wall behind us, flipping on the overhead lights.
“Ms. Grace, you’re not in any kind of trouble. A potential client of ours mentioned that maybe Nash Brooks knew about the missing money and we were hoping he could shed some light on that.”
Alex crossed her arms over her chest, leaned her back against the wall, and bent her knee. “Nash isn’t here.”
“We’re aware. But we’d like to hear your version of events, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure.” She told us the same story Mario had shared, filling in the holes where he couldn’t, and as soon as she was done, she said, “All I know is that it seemed like someone was trying to frame Nash.”
Giselle licked her lips. “Why would you say that?”
“Nash is a lot of things, but he’s no killer.” Alex’s eyes widened. “Is that who you’re representing? The man who killed that intern? Because if he did what the papers say, then he needs to rot.”
“Ms. Grace, you said that you believe Nash was being framed.” It was important I changed the subject before emotion took her rational thoughts away.
She nodded. “That’s what it seemed.”
“Who would want to frame him?”
She lifted herself up on her toes and glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone else was in the room. “Professor Ted Fields,” she whispered. “But I thought this was over.” Her head dropped into her hand as she rubbed her forehead.
“It’s never over until the guilty is convicted,” Giselle said. “I’m confused about one thing though.”
Alex lifted her head.
“Whatever happened to the money you found?”
“I paid off my debts. It’s stupid, I know.”
“And the owners were okay with that?”
“Nash took care of it. I didn’t ask too many questions at the time. Like everyone else involved, I just wanted to get it over with and move on with my life.”
My eyes narrowed. “Where, again, did you say you found it?”
“Outside Mojito. The new joint on Rodeo drive. I’m sure you know the place.”
I turned to Giselle. “Wesley Reid’s new establishment.”
“Is that it?” Alex dropped her arms to her side and bounced on her toes. “I really have lots of work that needs to get done by the end of today.”
“One more question.” I stepped one foot forward.
She arched a brow and cocked a hip.
“Do you think Nash murdered that girl?”
The door opened behind us and two of her colleagues walked in carrying soft drinks.
“Look,” she said, leaning close and lowering her voice, “let’s just say that I wouldn’t be dating him if I did. If you need someone to talk to, ask that nosy reporter Sylvia Neil. She seems to have an interest in this particular case—more so than anybody else. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really have to be getting back to work.”
32
Kendra
The Madam left me on the curb with more questions than when the day had started. And as soon as her stupid glossy limo was far enough away, I threw up my middle finger and told her to fuck off.
I didn’t know if she was telling me the truth or if it was just her way to make me doubt Kelly. Regardless of her intention, it had worked. I was completely rattled. As I stood there, a sense of loss crept up my body causing my mind to frazzle.
Tonight was supposed to be free from drama. It was supposed to be the day I signed Kelly’s contract. The day we officially took our relationship to the next level. And he was supposed to reward me with the onslaught of toe-curling orgasms that made me scream his name until the lights went out. But now, instead, I didn’t know what I was going to say to him.
When a car horn honked in front of me, I blinked, turned on a heel, and stormed into my building.
Passing the front lobby, I hoofed my way to the elevator, ignoring Mr. Anderson’s greetings completely. It wasn’t that I wanted to be rude, it was just that I knew that whoever talked to me next was going to get more attitude than they probably deserved.
I swatted at the air, totally annoyed that there wasn’t an empty car waiting.
My mind raced as I paced back and forth, waiting.
How could he represent a rapist?
We didn’t know each other that well, and it wasn’t like he hid the fact that he was a criminal defense lawyer. But defend a rapist? And to learn this only days after I had to leave him because he set off a trigger of my own past trauma?
A pinched expression puckered my face.
The thought of Kelly fighting to set this man free was sickening. I violently rolled my shoulders, suddenly feeling disgusted in the very clothes I was wearing. I knew what it was like to be a victim of rape. Every day I feared that I’d cross paths with my assailant. It wasn’t just some made up thing to draw attention to myself. No, the feeling of paralysis was real—crippling.
A fucking rapist. How could he?
When the doors finally opened, I leaped inside, hurrying to hit the button to make the doors close. There was nothing I wanted more than to be alone with my thoughts and inside the safety of my own home.
My gaze sprang up off the floor just as my stomach dropped.
Shit.
He knew where I lived.
Kelly was here.
This morning. Or late last night.
He was here inside my building. Fuck.
Suddenly the walls began to close in around me and a feeling of claustrophobia nearly did me in before the ride slowed to a stop. I gasped for air as soon as the door opened, striding down the hall, fumbling for my keys.
Except I didn’t have them.
Nothing was in my hands but this stupid package Madam insisted I deliver as part of my new job description.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Jerome was so determined to get me in front of the Madam that we’d left without my personal items. No phone. No keys. No nothing. And, worst of all, I found my door had been left unlocked this entire time.
“You fucking bitch,” I cursed the Madam. “You did this on purpose.”
Stuffing the delivery package under my arm, I hesitated a second when opening the door. As it fell open, I peeked my head inside. Holding my breath, I listened. It was mostly quiet except for the pounding of my own heart.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
It felt like it was about to explode inside my chest.
My head hurt and my palms were gross with sweat.
Finally, I took the courage to step fully inside, feeling stupid for not feeling comfortable inside my own home. No one was here. Everything was exactly where I’d left it and when my gaze landed on the gift from Kelly, the tension between my shoulders released and I blew out a heavy sigh.
“You fucking asshole.” I laughed as I touched the dress Kelly gave me to wear.
The Kelly I knew was a good man with a heart determined to win me over. He made me feel good and he wasn’t anything like the picture the Madam painted of him. She had it all wrong.
I plopped down in the seat at the table, running my hand through my hair.
I was sure Kelly had his flaws, and whatever those were, who was I to judge? I was a shattered woman with a dark past and a history that, if discovered, wouldn’t be so easily ignored.
When I took my cell between my fingers I noticed the time. I had to get going before the afternoon slid into evening. With no time to waste, I gathered my things, tossed my cell into a deep tote along with the package, and headed back out the door.
I had a driver requested by the time I reached the elevator. This time I smil
ed at Mr. Anderson who simply nodded as I hurried out the lobby doors, making my way to my pick-up spot, hopeful that it would be my new friend to drive me once again. But when I rounded the corner I frowned, realizing I wouldn’t be so lucky to have two lifts by him today.
The driver greeted me and I told him where I wanted to go but, beyond that, we didn’t say much else. Instead, my toes tapped and I couldn’t stop fidgeting during the entire ride across town.
It seemed as if everyone was subtly—or not so subtly—warning me to stay away from Kelly. And though I refused to believe any of them, it was enough to plant my own seeds of doubt. I wasn’t looking for an excuse or a reason to avoid having to ask him about why he was choosing to represent someone who did something so awful, it was just that with all that happened with Alex and that money she had found, I wondered if I should at least try to be a little more careful with the decisions I was being forced to make.
“Here we are, miss,” the driver said, bringing me back to the present.
“I shouldn’t be long,” I said, glancing at the big warehouse building we were parked next to. “Would you mind waiting here until I’m back?”
“I can do that.” His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “No problem.”
I smiled and touched his shoulder before stepping out under the hot late afternoon sun. I had no plans to socialize with whoever it was I was supposed to be meeting. All I wanted was to make the drop and get my ass back home so I could get my thoughts straight before I saw Kelly tonight.
A shiver caused my body to shake as soon as I stepped inside the cold warehouse. “Hello?” The sound of my own voice echoed off the walls.
When no one answered, I perused the floor, seeing what it was they had in storage. Pulling the tops of several cardboard boxes open, I found everything from hair-dye and make-up to women’s perfume. There were all sorts of different kinds of beauty products and I couldn’t resist the urge to try a perfume for myself. I pulled the cap off and sprayed a little on the inside of my wrist, rubbing it in with my other wrist. I smiled at the floral scent and thought this wasn’t so bad.
