There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her now. He wanted to protect her and keep her safe; he also wanted her out there in the world, doing her work and shining her light on people in the darkness. She was the brightest thing he’d ever seen and he knew he couldn’t keep her all for himself. But he wanted to.
It was all a huge mistake, he knew. He kept waiting for her to come to her senses and move on and the thought of it tore him up inside. Nick was sure that day was coming, and he dreaded it. But until then, he’d be there… as long as she wanted him.
**
“So, how did a New England girl end up in Colorado?”
Mia lifted her head off Nick’s chest and stared at him. “How did you know I was from New England?”
“You told the doctor.”
“That night at the E.R.?”
“Yeah. You don’t remember?”
She shook her head.
He smiled. “It’s OK, babe. Nothing much about that night was worth remembering, really.”
“I know.” She still hated to think about what might have happened to her if Nick hadn’t stepped in.
He saw her face and pulled her in for a kiss. “OK?”
“OK.”
“So – New England?”
“Oh. Well, I moved out here after my parents died.”
“They – what?”
“A car accident six years ago.”
He stared down at her and thought about the smiling photos in her living room. “My God, Mia. Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
She ran her finger over his strong collarbone. ‘I don’t talk about them much.”
“Do you want to?”
She took a deep breath. “I find it hard… I mean, I just miss them. Every time something good happens, I want to tell them and I can’t. It breaks my heart a bit, I think.”
“I’m so sorry, Mia.”
She gave him a small smile. “Anyway, I love the ocean… but I needed a change of scenery after they died, and I decided on the mountains. It came down to Arizona or Colorado, and I realized that I’d miss the snow. So here I am.”
“You have any brothers or sisters?”
“No. But I have a whole gaggle of aunts and uncles and cousins back there. I see them maybe once a year, usually over the summer.”
“Christmas?”
“I spend it with one of my friends. Usually Katie, since she isn’t in touch with her mother and stepfather and can’t always get to her brother’s place in Miami. ”
He gently raised her chin with a finger. “And this year?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it yet.”
“Maybe with me?”
“With you?”
“Yeah. With me.”
She gazed up at him and felt tears start. “I’d love to spend Christmas with you.”
Nick kissed her and his desire flared at the first touch of her mouth. She felt it and moaned in response. He rolled her over and settled between her legs. She arched against him, felt herself opening wide to take him.
“Didn’t we just do this?” she asked.
“Yeah. How about we do it again?”
“Sounds good to me.” She smiled, her body humming under his. “Sounds very good.”
**
Mia came out of her bedroom after a long shower and found Nick standing and surveying her dining room table. He had obviously noticed that the stacks of papers and printed pages and piles of books were all steadily growing. They had spilled on to the floor now and covered her two smaller tables.
“Hey, Mia. What’s all this?”
She walked over. “My research and notes for my next book.”
“There’s a lot here… what’s it going to be about?”
“Something a bit different for me. I’ll be writing about PIP – The Protect Innocence Project.”
“What’s that?”
She sighed. “A Colorado-based group trying to end human trafficking. They focus mostly on the sexual exploitation of kids.”
“So, what? They work with the groups you know in Asia? Is there some connection?”
“Oh, no. They’re working locally.”
“Wait. They’re trying to stop the sex trafficking of kids… in Colorado?”
“Yes. Here in Denver, mostly. And I’m not talking about kids from Vietnam or Cambodia being imported for sex… this is all about American kids.”
Nick stared at the piles of paper. “I didn’t know there was such a thing here. I mean, Denver is tame compared to Hong Kong or Bangkok, right?”
“Well, sure. I guess these things can be considered relative. If we look at the problem in terms of numbers, then yeah, Colorado is no biggie. But to those kids? It’s hell on earth.”
Nick looked at her, standing there so beautiful and fierce. He shook his head.
“Are you saying that you’re looking in to kiddie porn and prostitution rings right here in this city?”
“I am. I’ve been to see Tom Devinger twice already – he works with PIP. He’s been helpful about giving me information.”
Nick was silent for a few seconds. “OK, look… I know this is your work and you love it and it’s important. But – you’re being careful, right? I mean, these people won’t find it too hard to figure out you’re going around and asking questions.”
Mia smiled. “I’m working with PIP, Nick. They’re watching my back.”
“And you won’t go out on your own?”
“Of course I will. I have to. People will talk to me more openly if I’m not with anyone from an official organization. But I’ll be careful.”
He went over to her and put his arms around her. “So, you don’t want me coming along with you? Acting as bouncer and bodyguard?”
She kissed him. “Isn’t Adam the bouncer? And you’re the bartender?”
“Come on, Mia. I’m serious now.”
She pulled back and studied him; his face was tight and hard.
“Nick, I swear I’m fine. I’m not looking to put myself in harm’s way, and I know what I’m doing.”
“OK, OK. But if you need someone with you when you go out and do your research? You just ask. You promise me?”
“I promise.”
Nick stared down at her as a strange feeling rose in his chest. He realized that it was genuine concern, real worry for her. OK, yes, she was smart as hell – far smarter than he was, no doubt about that – and her work proved that she was no amateur. Mia wasn’t some naïve tourist wandering around foreign countries and bad neighborhoods looking for ‘real’ experiences or some kind of thrill. She was serious and committed and tough. But he was struggling with the knowledge that she was out there most days, trying to shine a spotlight on things that were sunk deep in shadow and which were happier staying in the dark. She was in danger, he knew.
He ran his fingers through her hair. “I worry.”
Her breath caught in her chest as she looked at his gorgeous face. “Nick…”
“No. I worry. You just let me do that for you, alright?”
“Alright.”
Nick touched her cheek, her mouth. Her lips parted slightly and her eyes turned warm. And just like that, he wanted her. He needed her to be close to him. He had to have her again.
“Is there maybe something else I can do for you, babe?”
She arched as his fingers trailed between her breasts, down her stomach. “Umm. Maybe.”
“Yeah?” Nick’s hand was between her legs now. “How about this? Can I do this?”
She gasped.
He reached down and lifted her dress up, past her knees and thighs. His fingers moved to her sex and he blinked as he made contact with hot skin and silky hair.
“You’re not wearing any underwear, Mia.”
“I know.”
“You bad girl…”
“Just for you, Nick. Do you like it?”
“You know I do.” His fingers were coated in her honey. “And I can feel that you do, too.”
He k
issed her now, his tongue plunging in time to his fingers. He shoved her against the wall and she shuddered at his size and strength. His body trapped her in place and her hips moved back and forth on his hand, riding his fingers as he thrust deeper. He turned his hand palm-up and started making ‘come here’ motions inside of her. He was literally stroking her sweet spot and she sobbed.
“Nick… oh, God.”
With his other hand he lifted her leg and wrapped it around him. She clutched his shoulders and threw her head back, starting to lose control. The flickering started deep inside her, where his fingers were pressing and teasing, and she shook wildly as her whole body tensed for release. Then it started, the wave rolled over and over, and she gave a cry.
Nick watched her face as her climax started to break over her. Seeing Mia come was better than coming himself, in some ways. Just knowing that he was doing this to her, that she was letting herself go with him, was touching and hot and beautiful.
Mia opened her eyes and saw him looking at her, his gray eyes full of heat and emotion.
He smiled at her. “You are so gorgeous… and you’re all mine, babe.”
“I am,” she said.
“I want you to come for me, Mia. Now.”
She gasped as her pussy did exactly what he told it to do: it clutched and tightened on his fingers, the sensations getting stronger and keener. She gave a strangled scream as her orgasm was ripped out of her and her whole body went limp; if he hadn’t put her leg around his hips, she’d slide down the wall on to the floor.
Nothing better, he thought. Just nothing.
Mia was sobbing, trying to catch her breath. He pulled his fingers out of her shaking body and wrapped her other leg around him. He lifted her gently and carried her to the sofa. They sat, Mia in his lap, her legs around him, her face buried in his shoulder.
When she started to cry, it took them both by surprise. Nick stroked her back and held her as close as he could.
“It’s OK, babe. It’s OK. I’ve got you.”
Mia didn’t know why she was crying after something that had felt so good, but she couldn’t seem to stop her tears. All she knew was that she felt overwhelmed and small, and she needed Nick to make her feel safe again.
Slowly, her tears stopped and her body relaxed on his. She pulled back and saw the worry on his face.
“I’m OK, Nick. I just – I don’t know what happened. It was just so – intense.”
He kissed her gently. “Good intense?”
“Very good.” She smiled at him as she felt his cock start to nudge her. “Maybe you want something intense, too?”
His eyes gleamed. “You know I do.”
Chapter Seven
Mia stood outside the café, shivering a bit in the winter wind. The forecast called for snow and she felt it in the air.
She had spent the past three weeks intensively doing research and all her leg-work had finally paid off: just yesterday a prostitute named Yasmine had told her about a former-prostitute she was still friendly with named Justine.
Apparently, Justine’s boyfriend was pretty involved in the kids-for-sex trade and Justine was being forced to take part. Yasmine asked Mia to try to convince Justine to flip on her boyfriend to the cops, to get away from him and out of the kiddie ring. But Justine was terrified, too scared to even make an anonymous call. The fact that she had agreed to meet Mia was nothing short of a miracle, and she had one condition: Mia came alone. No debate.
Mia had considered asking Nick to come with her and hang around, just keep an eye on things. In the end, though, she couldn’t break Justine’s confidence. After all, what she was asking the woman to do required great courage and trust – so Mia figured she’d better exhibit some of those qualities herself.
She glanced at the clock on her cell phone. Justine was almost an hour late. She wondered how much longer she should give her… maybe thirty minutes?
“Hey.”
She turned, startled.
“Hey.” A woman’s voice.
Mia squinted in to the dark side street.
“Over here.”
No way am I going in there.
She stepped closer, looking around.
“Stop there.”
Mia paused.
She knew she was being examined and she felt an urge to turn and run.
God, was this a mistake?
Then a woman stepped in to the light and Mia sighed with relief.
“Mia?”
“Yes.”
“You’re alone?”
“Yes.”
The woman came closer. Mia took in her dark eyes and blonde hair and tiny body. She looked terrified.
“Yasmine said I could trust you.”
“You can, Justine.”
Justine looked around again. “OK. Well, let’s talk.”
Mia nodded. “Is this café safe?”
“Yeah. Let’s go. You’re buying, right?”
“I’m buying, Justine.”
**
Mia’s neck was a bundle of stress. She massaged it as she stared out the window, watching the snow fall and waiting for her phone to ring. After another week and two more meetings and numerous promises of anonymity, she had finally convinced Justine to call her and give her the address where the kids were being kept, and every minute felt like an hour.
Come on, come on. Please Justine.
Her phone rang and she spun around and practically jumped on it.
“Hello?”
“Mia?”
“Justine. Thank God. Are you OK?”
“I can’t talk long… I had to leave the house and find a pay phone and Danny will be wondering where I am.”
“OK.”
“You sure you want the address?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t ever, ever tell anyone where you got it. Not even that guy at the Project.”
“I know, Justine. I promise I won’t tell anyone your name. Not ever.”
Justine was silent.
“Justine?”
It took more courage than most people will ever really understand for Justine to give Mia the address. But Mia understood completely, and she was still and quiet for a very long time after the women hung up. She hoped that Justine lived long enough to get out and away from Danny. The signs of physical abuse that Mia had seen on her face and body were haunting her dreams.
Her phone rang again and she saw that it was Tom from PIP. She sighed.
“Hey, Tom.”
“Mia. You talked to your source?”
“I did. And they gave me the address.”
He was silent. “Who is this person, Mia? Are you sure you can trust them?”
“I’m sure. And I’m not going to tell you, or anyone. I promised.”
“Mia, come on! This isn’t a game…”
“I know that, Tom. And it isn’t for them either. If these people knew that someone on the inside had ratted them out? My source would be dead.”
“Look, I get that. So tell me. Just me.”
“No, Tom. I’m sorry.”
She felt his frustration through the phone. “Mia, come on. If I knew for sure that the source was reliable, then I could get the police more willing to get involved.”
“You’ll have to do that without a name, Tom. This is the way it is… we all have to work with it.”
Tom sighed. “OK, Mia. We’ll do it your way. Tell me what you know and I’ll inform the police. What’s the address?”
**
“So the person called and gave you the address where this guy is based?” Nick said. “This disgusting piece of shit who exploits kids?”
“Yeah.”
He walked over to her, watching her closely. She looked wrecked: stressed and exhausted and something else. Scared? Worried? Guilty?
“Are you OK, Mia?”
“I don’t know.” She stared at the towering piles of papers covering her table. “I think maybe… I’m in over my head.”
A chill pass
ed over him. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure… something feels wrong.”
“OK, hold on.” Nick sat down and took her hands. “Are you telling me that these people may know who you are?”
“Oh, no. No way.”
“You sure?”
“Completely. I’ve been careful to the point of paranoia and I’ve only talked with one person about everything, and not even totally openly.”
“Tom.”
“Yes.”
“OK. So, what feels wrong?”
“I don’t know. Something. I just – when I was doing all my work in Thailand and Macau and Hong Kong in to sex trafficking, I learned early on to trust my instincts, even when they made no sense.” She sighed. “And my instincts are sending up big red flags all over the place here.”
Nick wrestled with himself. His impulse was to demand that she stop right now, that she just drop the whole damn thing. He wanted to grab her and bring her to his place and lock the door. He wanted to hide her away from this whole sordid business and keep her safe.
But he knew that Mia would never stand for it; she’d tell him that this wasn’t about her, it was about those kids. She’d say that she was a professional researcher in to this kind of thing, and that she’d taken every precaution possible to take. And she’d be right. The fact that she’d refuse to stop, refuse to back off, was just one more reason that he’d come to adore her.
“So what do we do now?” he asked.
She looked at him. “Nothing. I carry on. And you don’t stop me.”
“OK, I’ll try. But… I’m worried about you.”
“I know, Nick.” She smiled at him, a real smile. She looked like herself again and he was hugely relieved.
“I just – I don’t want anything to happen to you.” He got to his feet, agitated, running his hands through his hair over and over. “If I lost you… I don’t know, Mia. I don’t think I could take it.”
“You’re not going to lose me, Nick.” Mia stood up and moved in to his arms. “I promise.”
“You do? Really promise?”
She kissed him, loving him in his surprising vulnerability. “Really, really.”
He held her and felt afraid for the first time in a long time: he knew that what he’d told her was true. He knew that if anything happened to her – if she got hurt – he’d lose his mind.
Fighting Hard Page 7
