“So do you think the girl that blew the case trashed them all before she got busted?”
I sit there and think, shaking my head as I flip back through the files again. “I’m not sure. Some of it she wouldn’t have had access to. Or at least I don’t think she would have. There were only a few people who would’ve had access to that stuff at the time and I’m the only one left alive.” I slam the folders I’m looking through.
Grabbing my cigarettes, I storm back to the front porch. He follows me outside as I light up. I take a long pull and exhale. “I knew I should’ve changed my name and everything when I left. I know how to make myself invisible and I didn’t do it.”
“I don’t know what to say, other than I’ve got your back, I promise. Trust me, I don’t want this shit blowing up.”
We sit in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. Finally, he barks out a laugh. “Handcuffed him to a bed? Really?”
I snort. “Seriously, that’s what you’re going to ask me about?”
“I mean damn, girl, we got a little wild one night, but there were no handcuffs involved. I feel a little ripped off.”
After all of the sick notes and pictures I’ve looked through in the past few hours, thinking about the hotel incident has me laughing. “Asshole,” I choke out as he says something like “hellcat.”
“How in the hell did you talk him into that? Remember, I know the guy; he seems like he has to be in control.”
I laugh. “I’m sure he is after that night.”
After few more minutes of us laughing like drunk teenagers, I calm enough to fill him in. “I knew some shit might be going down, so I brought a bag with my weapon, cuffs, badge, gun and agency cell. My cuffs fell on the floor, I panicked and did the first thing that came to mind. It was really fucked up and I felt like shit for leaving him there.” I sigh, “But I also knew he’s the kind of guy who would’ve followed me and it could’ve gotten him killed, so I knew he needed to be detained.”
He nods. “He is that kind of guy. So as fucked up as it was, you probably did the right thing.”
I stand up from the chair I’ve settled into and motion inside. “You wanna beer or something?”
He nods. “A beer sounds great.”
CHAPTER 7
JACOB
We spend three more hours talking about this case, picking her brain for every single detail that she remembers and combing through the case files and her notes. I hold up my hand. “Wait, do you see this?”
I point to the page in front of me, showing her one sentence. She sits back in her chair. “Shit.” She takes a sip from her beer. “I never got to interview the girl, she supposedly committed suicide. I never got to read that report though. That’s one we need to find. To start with they wouldn’t let me talk to her because I threatened to beat her ass.”
I laugh. “Yeah, I could see that.”
“Well, I’d spent so much time under cover. I was pissed and went off because she pretty much tanked two years of my life so they wouldn’t let me near her to question her. That also had to do with the fact that our warehouse was ambushed that night. They were hurt, I was shot and left for dead.” She shakes her head. “The next few days I was in the hospital, then I woke up and my boss told me she’d killed herself.” She sits back in the chair, bringing a foot up in the chair and resting her chin on her knee. “I was stupid to think this was all over.”
I reach over and touch her hand. It feels like there is a jolt between us. “No, you weren’t stupid. I’m going to see if I can get this report. I need you to think back over your team. I know you were close to them, but step away and separate yourself. There was a leak somewhere. We’ve got to figure out where it was. That line, she knew one of them.”
She nods. “Yeah, I get it. It’s just hard for me to believe that one of them fucked with this case. I mean I wasn’t the only one who sunk their life into that case, but there are definitely holes.” Switching legs, she looks at me. “I’ll think about it. Maybe I’ll remember something.”
Standing up from the chair, I stretch. Gathering my files, I look over to her. “I’m gonna get going. Keep that shit locked up and your eyes open.” I glance at her once more. She’s still as sexy as she was years ago.
She nods and follows me to the door. “Night, Foster.”
“Night, Gilliland.” I smirk before walking to my truck.
Settling in my truck, I think back over the notes we’ve gone over. I have a sick feeling in my stomach that things are about to get fucked up in my new little town and I hate it.
~*~*~
Two weeks go by before I hear chatter that some of Juarez’s goons are here in town.
Her phone rings once before she picks up. “Hello?” I know she’s still at the college, just like I am.
“Roxanne.”
“Jacob. What’s going on?”
“I’m coming over in a little bit. I’m tied up with some shit at the moment, but I need to go over some intel with you.”
“Okay. I’ll be in a little after five.”
“I’ll grab pizza and beer on my way.”
The sound of a click lets me know she’s hung up.
Before I can put my phone away, it rings. Seeing my brother-in-law’s name come up on the screen, I think about Rox’s story and cringe. Ugh, we’ve both eaten at the same café, so to speak. I swipe the screen. “Lox.”
“Yeah. Can you swing by the gym? We need to talk to you about some stuff.”
“Sure, can you give me about forty-five minutes? I’m still at the college working.”
“Sure. Thanks, man.” Something in his voice sounds different. I shoot a quick text to Rox telling her I’m going to be a few minutes late.
In the truck driving the short stretch between the college and the gym, I can’t help but see how much I love this area. These guys coming in here pisses me off.
Once I reach the gym, I walk in to find all four of the guys and Marco. “Hey, what’s up?”
“We’ve got a situation,” Lox says. I follow them back to a conference room. As far as they all know, I’m a contractor. Nothing else.
Gibbs looks at me. “I need a top-of-the-line security system at my house. They said you might have a guy.”
Okay, this could help me some, too. “I’m sure I can get one of my guys. What’s up? Did someone break in or something?”
Sly looks at me. “Gibbs’ family has a past. It showed up and threatened him and my sister-in-law last night.”
“Wait, what?”
Gibbs leans forward. “When I was a kid, my parents were murdered. My dad owed some really bad people money. They sliced up my parents, all while I hid. It all had to do with a guy named Mike Juarez from Pensacola. I’m sure that means nothing to you.” If he only knew. “Well, I just got back from finding out I stand to gain a lot of money on my birthday. One of Mike’s guys showed up at Jade’s work yesterday to pass a message on to me that Mike from the gym wants me to get in touch. That it’s life or death. I don’t like the fact that they went after Jade.”
“Jade? Wait, I thought you were with Gia?”
Huck puts up his hand. “Long story, bro. My sister is a nut job like my mom. We have her in treatment. Jade and Gibbs here have always had a close relationship. These people must know that.”
Gibbs turns back to my direction. “So Jade is staying with me until this is all sorted. If they stopped her at work, I don’t want to know what they’d do if they found her alone.”
I nod. “Okay, man. I’ll see what some of my guys can come up with. What kinda price, just a ball park are we talking?”
He looks at me blankly. “Price doesn’t matter.”
This kid has been through some shit. I’ve read the file on him, but it’s nothing like what’s coming from his own mouth. I give him a curt nod and stand up. “Okay, I’ll get you some bids tomorrow.”
Lox gives me a backslapping hug. “Thanks, bro.”
“No problem. Just keep my sister and nep
hews safe.” I mean that more than he knows. This shit is starting.
He nods. “Will do.”
After I order the pizza, I talk to a couple of security guys I know while I wait.
Getting a short text from Roxanne brings a smile to my face.
Rox: I have plenty of beer just bring the pizza.
Me: Great be there ASAP.
I’m about to starve, so I hope the pizza is done soon. I have to admit, she still has this sexy, don’t give a fuck attitude that I look forward to seeing. The cashier calls my name and I grab the pizza and drive to Roxanne’s.
Knocking on her front door, she answers in a pair of running shorts and a tank top. She’s sweaty and panting. Damn, I wanna take her against this wall right now. “Sorry, I just got back in from my run. I was just about to grab a shower. Make yourself at home, I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
Grabbing a beer from her fridge, I hear the shower turn on. I imagine her hot, naked body wet and covered in soap. Fuck, I need to quit. She gets my dick hard. I see she’s brought back out all of the case notes. I grab a napkin and a piece of pizza. Staring at some of the old photos, I don’t hear her come in. “So what’s the new stuff we need to talk about?” She stands there in another small pair of shorts and a tiny tank top.
“I’d heard through sources that Juarez has men in town now. That’s what I was coming over about, but on my way here I got confirmation.” I take a sip from my beer. “Gibbs got a message from him.”
“Really?” she says, grabbing a slice of pizza and a beer.
I nod and tell her about my meeting with the guys.
“So they’re watching how people interact. If they know this Jade girl is his friend or whatever, they’re really watching people. They’re probably watching me. You are going to get made if you keep hanging out here.”
A thought occurs to me. “What if it looks like we’re an item? Friends with benefits? Whatever.” I grin over my beer, thinking about our night in the hotel room.
“I guess. They have no clue who you are, so who would know that I didn’t have a fuck buddy?” she says with a wink.
Fuck, I haven’t gotten laid in forever it feels like. I smirk. “Maybe we should make it real believable.”
She laughs. “Really?” She saunters over to me. “So you think because we had a pretty good night in a hotel room forever ago, we should just hook up again?”
“First,” I hold up my finger. “It was a great night, don’t deny that.” I hold up another finger, “And second, sure, why not? We’re both free, it’s not like we date.” I run my finger from her collar bone over her nipple and down her stomach. “It’d be fun.”
CHAPTER 8
ROXANNE
I’ve been ignoring the sexy thoughts of Jacob. Of course I remember our night in the hotel room. It was hot, it was steamy and I’ve never forgotten it. I’ve had other men since then obviously, but nothing like that night. He was in charge and fucked me until I was spent. I sigh at the thought of it.
I’ve never had a problem with casual sex so why should I now?
Stepping closer to him, I grin. “Well then. Let’s have some fun.”
He reaches down, pulling the thin tank top I’m wearing over my head, then leans down and bites at my nipple through my bra. Suddenly, he reaches down and lifts me up, my legs wrapping around his waist as his mouth covers mine. Sitting me on the table, he lets me go long enough to pull my shorts down while I take my bra off. He leans forward and runs his nose down my body to my wet core. When his tongue touches me, I practically come off the table. It’s been too long, far too long since a man has touched me.
“Stay still, baby. Don’t move.”
He licks and sucks at my clit, starting to use his fingers to assist. “F-fuck, Jacob.”
“Not yet. Don’t go there yet. You come when I tell you to.”
My head whips back and forth on the table. When I think I can’t take it anymore, he pulls away. Now I feel lost and empty, but I hear his jeans fall to the floor and a foil package being ripped open. I feel the head of his erection at my opening. He quickly slides into me, filling me with the long, thick cock I remember from all of those years ago. “Look at me, Roxanne.”
I look at him. “Yes.”
“This is about to get rough and fast. Don’t look away from me.”
I smirk. “Go for it.”
He almost pulls out and then slams into me again. Grabbing my legs, he throws them over his shoulders as he pounds into me. I hear the legs of my table scrape on the floor. “Oh god!”
“Not yet,” he growls.
My body is a constant vibration at this point, I can’t stop. “I’m about to—I’m about to—”
He smacks the side of my ass. “Not yet.” I feel him tense, thrusting into me faster as he takes his thumb and rubs my clit. “Now. Let it go!”
I scream a bunch of incoherent babble as he groans, panting. He leans over me, resting his hands on the table over me. “Fuck. Sorry that was so quick, it’s been awhile.”
I smile. “No problem. It’s been some time for me, too.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t worry, we’ll get in plenty of endurance training.”
I laugh and he finally pulls away, stepping to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. I stand up and slip my clothes back on just as he returns from the bathroom, tucking himself back in.
I gather the files that were knocked to the floor during our heated moment. Picking up an old photograph of me, Frank and Mitch, I stare at it. I miss those guys. The next photo I grab is a picture from Frank’s car accident. Something hits me and I sit down on the floor, spreading out the photos. Jacob stands over me. “Do you see something?”
“Maybe. Hand me that file on the informant.” He hands me the file on Shawna Graves. I skim through until I find the line that stopped me the other night.
I point to it. “She calls someone in the deposition ‘Popeye.’”
“Okay?”
“I knew the other night the things she was saying sounded like she was talking to someone she knew, someone she trusted. The thing about Popeye didn’t come to me until I looked at this picture.” I hold up the picture of the three of us. “Frank had a tattoo of Popeye on his chest.”
“So she really had to know him to know he had a tat on his chest?”
“Yes. I didn’t even know that he had a tattoo on his chest until we’d been partners for almost two years. He got it when he was young, he got drunk one night while he was in the Navy.”
“How old were you when you started with the bureau?”
“I interned there all through college. My dad had worked for them for thirty years. Dick vouched for me. I graduated from college and was hired on my twenty-first birthday.”
“So you were how old when we met before?”
I laugh. “You wanna make sure you didn’t fuck some young girl years ago?”
He shakes his head. “Just wondering how green you were back then.”
I sigh. “You have to remember that I’d interned with them for three years before I was actually hired.” I chuckle. “I was twenty-one. I had dual enrolled in college in high school, so by the time I graduated I also had an associate’s degree. I was two years ahead of the game.”
He sits back against the wall. “Holy shit! I fucked a coed. I fucked a rookie.” Then he stops. “They gave you that much responsibility over a case at your age?”
“I grew up with the ATF as my family. Dick knew me for years because of my dad. He recognized I had my dad’s instincts, put them to the test a few times when I was interning. They needed me on that case because I was young, pretty and female. I could get in one way or another.”
He shakes his head again. “Damn. Still, fucking twenty-one years old. I was, shit…” He thinks for a minute. “Twenty-five, twenty-six.” He thinks for another second while I look through more papers. “Wait. How did Mitch end up married to your sister?”
I laugh. “Well, the first year I intern
ed I was working a college bar for selling underage. I didn’t expect my sister, who was only three years older than me, to be there. She jumped on my ass about being there, almost blew my damn cover. She thought I was trying to pass off a fake ID or something. Mitch was with me, he pulled her aside and explained. They ended up having a drink and fell for each other. The rest is history.” I shuffle back through some of the papers.
“I’m gonna say it again. We need to look over your old team.”
“It’s not like I can ask them. They’re dead, I went to every funeral.”
“Yeah, but there’s got to be a tell here somewhere. Check Frank’s stuff. She knew about his tattoo, that’s an obvious link.”
I nod and stand up. “Yeah, it’s just so hard to think that way. I trusted them, they were my only connection to my world for a long period of time. Mitch kept me updated on my nieces. I just can’t think he would cause all of them to get killed or know that Frank was into something.”
He stands and sets some files on the table. “I’m gonna go. In a few days, I wanna go by Gibbs’ with you. I’m going to use the ruse of checking the security system. I want you to talk to Jade, see if you can feel anything out.” He must see a look on my face. “I’ll make sure they’re the only ones there.”
I nod. “Okay, let me know when.”
Once he leaves, I shut the door, lock it and walk back to my couch, grabbing a fresh beer on the way. Damn, I may not survive it all this time.
CHAPTER 9
JACOB
“We’re just going to go in for a few minutes. I need to check out the security system and see if Gibbs has heard anything else, you talk to Jade and feel her out. Then we’ll leave,” I explain as we drive over to Gibbs’ house.
“Okay. Well, what’s our story for the night?” She motions between us.
“I’m taking you on a date, but we’re casual. We don’t do family functions, anything like that. We’re just screwing,” I state bluntly.
Jacob (Exposed Marco's MMA Boys #5) Page 4
