Stakeout

by Karen Raines

  1,368…1,369…1,370

  “You’re free to go.” The officer says breaking into my rousing game of count the craters in the cinder blocks and I’m so fucking thankful. It’s been a long three days and I want to take a hot shower and sleep until I forget it all.

  “Thank god!” Syd cries and practically sprints to the opening of our tiny cell. Having to talk her out of panic attacks more times than I can count from being in a confined space, I understand her need to get the hell out of here.

  We’ve been in jail for the past few days without any contact from the outside world. I’ve seen more of Syd than I care to share. Let’s just say when you have a toilet without the comfort of being surrounded by walls, you lose your modesty really quick when you have to get down to business.

  After my… god I don’t know what to call him. Brother sounds too chummy. Anyway, after my brother dropped the bomb on me, we were rushed to the precinct and booked for homicide. From there we were separated into two separate rooms without any communication with one another for hours. They kept asking the same questions over and over which we expected. This isn’t our first observation into interrogations, we’ve just never been on this side of it.

  Finally, after several hours we were placed in the same cell where we found Chantel and Skylar. I’m not ashamed to say we all cried like baby’s when we saw each other. The officers weren’t exactly forth coming when it came to our questions about each other and the last intel we had on the group was shots being fired and screams. We weren’t sure if we’d ever see them again.

  The girls assured me that Colby was fine, but they weren’t too sure about Cross and Markus. They seemed unsure as to what was going on with them having been handcuffed on the spot and dragged away. With gunshot wounds and an extreme amount of blood loss, their spirits were in the shitter. All of ours were. This was a less than ideal situation and we didn’t know how we were going to exonerate ourselves.

  A short while later Sky and Chantel were let go. There was no evidence linking them to the murders. Thankfully something was going our way.

  They promised to find the footage that Chantel sent to her mom back home. I know that sounds like a weird place to send intel, but when you’re about to be ambushed try remembering random email addresses. It’s not so easy.

  So, there we sat… for three fucking days. In a foreign prison with no contact with the outside world. Nobody would tell us if Cross and Markus were okay and Colby’s whereabouts was still a mystery. Did he get out when the girls did? Is he still locked up in a cell? What about my brother? Was he really gonna try and get us out?

  There were too many unknowns and for women that strive to know everything… it wasn’t easy. All we did know was that our prints were on one of the guns and we were found at the scene of the crime. The little intel Chantel could tell us was the feds would never find anything on our computers because the Mayor made sure his men trashed everything. Anything with a motherboard was thrown in the ocean and the rest was fried.

  We walk down a long hall with our hands linked together in solidarity. We just went through something no one should have to and I now understand the saying innocent until proven guilty… even though we were treated like terrorists.

  “We are going straight to the airport and never coming back. They just lost my business forever. Sydney Malone will never step foot on this soil ever again.” Syd places her head on my shoulder and I know she feels just as broken as I do.

  Once we get through the basement of cells and start walking up the stairs, my mind wanders to Colby. Truthfully it hasn’t been far from him in the last few days. Will he be waiting for me? Is he still locked up?

  When we burst through the doors and the sunlight hits my face I close my eyes and revel in my freedom. My eyes open a second later to find our friends waiting for us looking just as exhausted as I feel but the relief on their faces is evident.

  Chantel tackles me into a bear hug and quickly explains how we were released. I squeeze her extra tight hearing that her brilliant thinking worked out. Sending the audio and video footage to her mom back home was genius thinking on the fly and ultimately what got us out of here. I cannot wait to hear the rest of the story… after we’re long gone.

  When I quickly look around I realize I don’t see Colby anywhere. “Where’s Colby?” I ask in a panic.

  “Right here.”

  I whirl around and see a dog-tired Colby standing at the entrance of the police station with a smile on his face. Without thinking, I race to him and jump into his arms. I’m relieved he’s okay and missed him so freaking much. Tears start to fall from my eyes causing Colby to laugh.

  “I’m okay, I’m fine. Of course you’d make your grand exit as I’m on the phone. Reception’s shit in here.” He wipes under my eye with his thumb trying to catch the tear drops. “What happened to my little badass?”

  “She spent three days in jail and deserves a good cry before exacting revenge.” I sniffle as he quickly looks around.

  “Shhh… don’t want anyone to hear you.” He looks down at me and his hands frame my face. “Damn I’ve missed you.” He lowers his mouth towards mine and when our lips touch I truly know we’re going to be okay. The kiss starts getting good when our friends start cheering us on.

  Colby turns us towards them and flips them off. “Maybe if you guys weren’t pussies you’d be able to do the same.” He laughs as Cross and Marcus turn red faced and look at the women that cause them nothing but grief. Or so I assume from knowing the man haters so well.

  I’m surprised to see Cross and Markus here after hearing about their injuries. I would have assumed they’d be in an uncomfortable hospital bed rather than waiting for us. Markus has a sling on his arm and looks a little worse for wear whereas Cross looks pretty good with the addition of a set of crutches.

  “Let’s get the fuck out of here!” Marcus announces and a short hour later, we’re sitting cozy on a plane back home. This time it’s our plane, not someone else’s.

  “What’s the damage Cross?” I hear Sydney discreetly ask a few seats down as if she’s indifferent about his injuries. He’s sitting with his leg propped up but looks better than I’d thought. I guess I’m lucky I didn’t see him after he got shot. The bullet went in then right out… best case scenario. No surgery was needed, just a couple stiches. Marcus ended up having a pretty nasty concussion along with a gunshot wound to the shoulder, but he’s on the mend as well and I’m happy those were the only hits our team took.

  Sydney comes to sit next to me and I pull her hand into my lap. “No amount of words…” I struggle with what to say. This whole situation was completely my fault. Hell, two of my family members were involved. I’m the reason we ended up in jail and why Cross and Markus ended up in the hospital.

  “No, don’t even go there girl. We’re a team and we always have each other’s back.” She levels me with a stare and I nod my head. “And pretty please, can we wait a long time… like forever, to work with the boys again? My heart can’t take the excitement.” She laughs.

  “That just might be doable. I’m sure your heart needs a break.” I laugh. “After we figure out what’s going on back home, of course.” The mood grows solemn as the two of us think about the Mayor. That son of a bitch is gonna get a wakeup call if I have anything to say about it.

  I pat her hand and stand up making my way over to Colby. He oomphs as I drop into his lap causing me to laugh. Snuggling up with my man is just what I need right now if I can’t have a nice hot shower. I probably smell rank and my hair is in some serious need of a good shampooing, but I don’t care. And neither does he apparently.

  “Don’t mind my stinky ass.”

  “Never.” He kisses my temple and starts massaging my thigh.

  “And that’s my cue to leave.” Cross winces as he gets up, grabs his crutches and goes to sit in another seat far away from us.

  “What have you been up to for the past few days?” I snuggle into him a little deeper.
>
  “Oh you know, I was in the slammer for a bit, made a guy named Big Sally my bitch. Nothing huge really.”

  I pinch under his arm telling him to be serious.

  “I don’t really know what happened. I was released the same time Chantel and Skylar were, which is funny because apparently one of the guns came back clean. Don’t know what happened there but who the fuck cares. It got me out and I was able to focus on clearing your name.”

  “How were we released then?”

  “I don’t know all the details, but I do know your brother was involved.”

  “Wait, the gun Nadia used to frame you came back clean? How is that possible?”

  “That would be your dear brother again I’m assuming.”

  “Does anyone know anything?” I laugh for the first time in days and it feels strange.

  “The police weren’t exactly thrilled with us, so they kept everything on a need to know basis. Apparently, nothing was need to know. Bastards.”

  “What happened to all those women?”

  “Fuck if I know, it’s a mystery, it’s like they’ve vanished into thin air.”

  That thought leaves me unsettled and I vow to track them down.

  I stay in Colby’s arms until we land back in the states. Landing is surreal after all we’ve been through. It’s only been a week, but in some ways this trip will forever change our lives.

  We all split up to head home once we’re off the plane except Colby crashes in on me and Syd’s ride back to our place. Neither of us wants to be without the other and I’m fine with that.

  Colby closes the door to my bedroom and beelines for the bathroom. I hear the shower turn on and I groan.

  “Hell yes, you must be able to read my mind.” I kiss his lips when he comes back out into the bedroom and start stripping out of my clothes. Once I’m stark naked, Colby prowls towards me.

  “Why Mr. Maitland, you have far too many clothes on for this party.”

  “Let’s remedy that…” He whips his shirt over his head and pulls his pants down in one swoop. Colby throws me over his shoulder and I’m laughing my ass off, so ready for this to happen… when Syd interrupts us.

  “Bri, get out here for a sec. Lover boy can wait a minute.”

  “How do you know what lover boy can do right now?” Colby fires back on a growl.

  “I’m serious Bri, Chantel popped in for a second and she wants to talk to you.”

  I groan and slide down Colby’s hard body and when my sensitive areas brush up against a rock-hard appendage I’ve been dreaming about, I sigh.

  “I’ll get rid of them as soon as I can.” I kiss Colby’s chest and throw my bathrobe on.

  “I’ll be in the shower starting without you.” He winks and heads for the bathroom.

  When I walk out of my room and come upon my friends I glare. “This better be good.”

  “Sit.” Chantel commands.

  “This doesn’t sound good.” I try to gauge where this is going but I’m getting nothing so I level my gaze on Syd.

  “Don’t look at me.” Syd laughs. “I have no idea why she’s here.”

  “I need to talk to you about your brother…” Chantel starts talking while fidgeting with her fingers.

  She precedes to tell us how he was a big part in getting us out of jail. He worked tirelessly with Chantel to get her to and from the US with the information she needed to free us and clear our names.

  “He was really sweet and you should be thanking him, not me. He also asked me a favor…” She looks nervous and has me questioning what the hell this favor is.

  A phone ringing making the three of us jump. She takes a small phone, my guess would be a burner phone from the looks of it, and hands it to me.

  “God he’s always a step ahead.” She shakes her head laughing. “He just wants a few minutes.” She states and my mouth gets dry.

  A brother I never knew existed is calling me. A brother that’s now the head of the Irish mafia completely cementing the fact that we’ll never have a relationship. It would be so easy to ignore this and go about my life, but I can’t. I owe him a lot apparently and the right thing to do would be to answer and give my thanks.

  I flip the phone open. “Hello.”

  “Hello Briella.” A deep confident voice answers. “I wish we could have met under better circumstances, but we can’t go back now.”

  I laugh. “Tell me about it. Have you always known about me?”

  There’s silence before he answers. “Yes.”

  “When he left us, was it for you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Don’t be.”

  I don’t know how to answer that so I stay silent as my heart begins beating erratically.

  “The reason I’m calling is to speak with you and let you know you have nothing to worry about. Your name is cleared and nothing else can fall back on you. I’d deal with Mayor Stephenson but, it wouldn’t work well for my business so I’m afraid he’ll go on living and fucking up people’s lives.”

  “Not if I have anything to do with it.”

  He laughs. “I think we’re more alike than I thought. If things were different, I’d enjoy getting to know my sister. But that can’t happen.”

  “It can’t.” I agree. “You’re on one side and I’m on the other. When did my life turn into a cheesy movie?” I laugh and look up to find the girls eyes trained on me.

  He chuckles. “It’s best if we act like we don’t exist to each other.”

  I sigh. “Agreed. Now that that’s all out of the way, can you tell me what happened to all the girls?”

  There’s a long pause before he answers. Then he simply says, “Stay safe Bri.”

  Click.

  Damn that panned out way differently than I had expected. I suppose it really is for the best.

  I look at the girls, hand the phone to Chantel and leave for my room. Before I enter, I ask over my shoulder. “Chantel, what’s his name?”

  She laughs. “He wouldn’t tell me. So, I called him Brooster, because I had to call him something. And… he was so freaking broody.” I chuckle and open my bedroom door. Once I enter Colby is walking out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. I’m sure he can tell something’s up from the look on my face.

  “Go take a quick shower then come to bed.” I nod my head and quickly make my way for the bathroom. Not in the mood for a long drawn out shower anymore, I quickly lather up my body and hair, rinse and get out. When I walk back into the bedroom Colby’s waiting with one of his shirts held up. I let him place it over my head then drop the towel and push my arms through the holes.

  Colby pulls back the covers of my bed and I get in with him close behind me. He plays the big spoon to my little spoon and the reason why I love this man so much is apparent when he lets me gather my thoughts before telling him about the phone call. I tell him everything and he lets me speak without interrupting.

  “Damn. Are you doing okay?” He’s stroking my hair as I nod my head yes.

  “But your dad and your uncle…”

  “No, they were nothing to me. I haven’t seen either of them in years. They aren’t and never have been my family. Any good memories I have of them are just that… a memory.”

  “Okay Bri… but we’ll bring this up another time when it’s not so fresh. For now, sleep, I just want to hold you.”

  I snuggle back into his warmth and drift off into a mindless slumber as the past week slips from my memory.

  Tomorrow’s a new day.

  A perfect day for new plans… and revenge.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Colby

  Leaning against a huge desk, I adjust my pants for the fifth time in as many minutes. “Uncross your legs, baby.”

  A coy smile adorns Bri’s lips as she obliges. She places her hands on her thighs, slowly pulling the already too short for my liking material up her shapely legs and spreads her legs wide. I can see… fucking hell. She
’s wearing the black lace thong I pulled out of her drawer earlier. It’s a tiny scrap of thin, nearly transparent lace and it’s barely getting in my way right now.

  She bites her lip and hitches one leg up over the arm of the chair. Absently, she lets a hand drop down to the smooth skin of her inner thigh, right near my dick’s happy place, and traces circles on the creamy surface.

  “Is this what you meant?”

  What I would give to see her fingers knuckle deep in that sweet pussy. I growl, my own hands giving up any pretense of discreetly adjusting the boner in my pants. Now I’m just outright palming my cock and gritting my teeth.

  Her eyebrows rise, a mix of amusement and calculation showing on her beautiful face. “I don’t think we have the time, Maitland.”

  I groan, knowing she’s right but really wanting her to give me a show anyway. She laughs, throwing her head back against the wall and looking even more sinful. I’m seconds away from saying fuck it, storming across that floor and burying my face in my favorite place when she stands up and calmly walks over to me. How the hell does she manage that? She looks all business, I look like a Viagra tester.

  “If it wasn’t for the fact I wanted to be here today, I swear I’d be home sitting on your face right now,” she sighs.

  Fuck me, she can’t go around saying shit like that to me. It’s hard enough having to be back at work without her teasing me. We had a much-deserved week off to re-cooperate from the Caribbean hell. At first, we’d stayed at hers, but Sydney kicked us out after 12 hours. Apparently, the walls were thin. So, the rest of the week, we’ve been holed up in my apartment. I don’t think there is an inch of the place left that hasn’t seen some action thanks to our desperate need to be attached whenever possible. Not that I was complaining. Falling in love with my best friend was the best thing I ever did.

  Who knew, right?

  Now as I watch her straighten her skirt and run a hand through her hair, my thoughts return to the matter at hand. “Are you ready for this?”

  She glances at her watch, then gives a strong nod as she reaches for her ear and presses her earring. The click is barely audible, but I know that the motion has set off a camera on her blouse button, as well as a microphone. The same as when I push on the middle of the fake glasses I’m wearing.