Dirty Thief

by Tia Louise

  She jumps and makes another little cry. Her body is arched and straining, and precum seeps from my tip. I can’t make us wait anymore.

  “I wish I had that belt,” I say, and she makes another little noise.

  Kissing her again, I get on my knees behind her, catching her by the hipbones and moving her closer. Holding my dick, I’m lined up right with her core when I thrust hard and deep.

  “Oh!” she cries, and I give her ass a slap. She jumps and clenches, and pleasure shoots up my legs.

  “Yes,” I hiss. “Work me, baby. Let me feel you.”

  Another, harder slap as I pound deeper, and her insides erupt into a shower of spasms, pulling and massaging me. She’s coming hard, and my eyes close. My ass tightens at the sensation of her body coaxing my eruption from me.

  Leaning my head back, I hammer her hard, stopping to hold steady as my orgasm hits. The pulsing waves of bliss move through me, and I reach down, grasping my shaft and milking out every last bit of come.

  Reaching for the tie, I loosen her arms, helping her bring them to her sides. I rub her shoulders still easing down from the galaxies above, and she turns her head to look up at me. A lazy smile is on her lips, and I pull out, dropping to the bed beside her and gathering her into my arms.

  “I would do anything for you,” I say, touching her chin with my thumb. “What do you want? Name it.”

  Her perfect nose wrinkles, and she reaches out to place her palm on my bearded cheek. “I already have everything I want. I have you, I have this beautiful life, and now we’re having a baby.”

  Warmth expands in my chest, and I pull her to me. “Sleep, my angel. I have to check on Cal, but I’ll be back.”

  She nods her head as her eyelids begin to droop. I kiss her shoulder and slide to the end of the bed. Stepping into the bathroom, I dampen a towel and use it to clean up. I step out to the bed, but Ava is already dozing. Tossing it back in the basket, I pull on my pants, not even bothering with the boxer briefs.

  Walking down the hall, I enter the study and take out my phone. It only takes a moment before my brother answers.

  “Zelda says you had an interesting dinner,” he says before I can ask a thing.

  “Mother saved you a seat,” I say, and he laughs.

  “I heard she was on a hunting expedition.”

  “No secret is safe with her around. But enough of that, what’s happening on your end?”

  “Nothing,” he answers fast. “Not a god-damned thing.”

  My brow furrows, and I walk over to the window. “Nothing?”

  “I’ve been sitting outside this Monte Cristo hotel for hours, and Elvis has not left the building.”

  Reaching back, I scrub my hand through my hair. “Are you sure? Is Freddie monitoring the bug?”

  “Freddie can see Vega’s phone on his app, so unless he turned invisible and walked out without it, he’s still inside.”

  “How can we be sure he’s still inside?”

  My brother and I are quiet for a moment, thinking. “André isn’t well-known as a guard. Send him to the room and have him knock,” I say.

  “Give me a few minutes.”

  We disconnect, and I drop into the satin-lined armchair beside a small table to wait. Placing my face in my hand, I rub my eyebrows trying to understand what went wrong. I run our conversation through my head again, and the only thing I can think is somehow seeing that wallet and counterfeit bill diffused his mania.

  He said he’d stolen it from the first girl. Could Ava possibly identify which one was first? She said there were three of them in addition to her, and I know the money wasn’t hers. I also know two of them are dead.

  My phone buzzes, and I answer it quickly. “What happened?”

  “He’s still there. André said he answered the door seeming drunk and groggy.”

  Considering this, I lean back. “I think you can come on in. Keep André on watch tonight and have Freddie monitor Vega’s phone. We can reconvene tomorrow and post-mortem.”

  “Figuratively,” my brother adds.

  “Right.”

  Chapter 24

  Ava

  Zelda goes with me to the orphanage the next morning to collect Suad for our meeting with the German ambassador. I’m nervous she won’t come with me without crying, and we hope Belle might be an incentive for her to trust us.

  Clare is waiting when we arrive. “Here she is, Suad,” the gentle teacher says, smiling and holding the little girl’s hand.

  She’s wearing a white, pin-tucked dress, with white ankle socks and black Mary Jane shoes. Clutched in her arm is that worn bunny, and I kneel in front of her.

  “Suad?” I say gently. “Will you come with me?”

  The little girl only blinks, and her hand tightens in Clare’s. Looking up at Clare, I ask, “Does she speak any English?”

  “A little,” Clare says, and she lifts her hand toward me. “Yes, Suad?”

  The little girl blinks those bright green eyes at me, and I hold my breath as her little hand twitches in Clare’s before finally letting it go. I reach my hand out, and as she carefully takes it, my eyes heat.

  “Oh, thank goodness,” Zelda says through an exhale. “Here!” She puts Belle down beside the girl, and lifts my niece’s hand. “Bee, meet Suad!”

  My toddler niece isn’t terribly interested in making friends, but Suad watches her. She holds out the hand clutching the bunny.

  “You’d better hang onto that,” Zee says. “Bee might slobber all over it.”

  “I doubt she speaks that much English,” I say quietly, still holding Suad’s hand. “Let’s go.”

  We take a few tentative steps, and before long, the little girl is walking easily with us to the car. Hajib stands at the door in his usual military posture, but I don’t miss the warmth in his eyes.

  * * *

  Dieter Trammel greets us in the lobby of the consulate downtown. “Good morning, your majesty,” he says, holding out a hand. “This must be Suad?”

  “Yes,” I step forward to shake his hand. “This is her.”

  He bends down and holds out his hand. “What a pretty little girl.”

  Suad doesn’t shake. She only observes him with those same wary eyes.

  “That’s all right,” he says, patting her shoulder gently instead.

  We walk to the elevator, and I tell him the story. “Her mother was killed in the bombings, but we’ve been able to find her aunt in one of the camps in Germany.”

  “I have a surprise for you.” We follow Dieter out of the elevator and to his office.

  Zelda and I exchange a glance. I can’t imagine what kind of surprise he could have. Suad’s eyes are enormous, and I can’t help wondering if she’s ever been in an elevator before. I feel like she must have.

  Once we’re inside the office, he circles his desk and sits in front of a large computer monitor. “The U.N. worker in Hamburg has her aunt waiting to Skype with the little girl.”

  “Oh…” I look to her and to Zelda. “Do you think that might scare her? I’m not sure she’ll understand, and I don’t know how to explain it to her…”

  “Her aunt speaks the language,” Zee says. “Let’s give her a chance.”

  My heart beats faster. “Suad?” Anxiety filters through my stomach as the little girl looks at me. “Sanaa,” I say, pointing to the large monitor.

  Her little dark brow pulls together, and her green eyes move from my face to the computer screen.

  “Let’s give it a try,” Dieter says.

  He pulls out his phone and taps out a text, and the computer begins to ring. A few clicks, and the screen fills with the face of a young woman with dark hair and eyes. Her expression is worried, and she’s gazing intently at the screen. As soon as she sees the little girl, her face melts into a smile, and tears flood her eyes.

  “Suad!” she cries, and the little girl jumps out of her chair.

  “Sanaa!” She rushes forward and reaches out to touch the screen.

 
The two begin speaking quickly in their language, and Suad is more animated than I’ve ever seen her. Her eyes flash, and she bounces on her tip toes as she talks to her aunt. Sanaa is smiling, and she keeps wiping her eyes. I can tell she’s asking her questions by the way her voice goes high at the end of her sentences She must be satisfied with the answers, because she hasn’t stopped smiling yet.

  Zelda and I are both wiping our eyes. Suad’s bunny is on the floor, and Belle picks it up, holding it out to the little girl. Suad takes it and says something, holding out one of Bee’s curls. Sanaa only laughs.

  “I don’t think it scared her,” Dieter says, and the three of us let out relieved laughter.

  We take our seats and wait until the two have said all their words. Suad seems tired, and Sanaa tells her something we don’t understand. The U.N. worker steps up and places her hand on the other woman’s back.

  “Sanaa has explained to her niece she can come and pick her up next week,” the worker says. “Is that correct?”

  I look to Dieter. “That’s correct,” he says, sliding forward in his chair. “I’ve spoken with the prime minister, and we have a special visa prepared that will allow her to come here and collect the child. We’ll let them say their goodbyes, and we can work out the details on our end.”

  “Thank you,” Sanaa says as we start to go. “Thank you so much. Hamida would be so happy to know her daughter is safe.”

  “Clare will call you,” I say. “We’ll be in touch about next week.”

  The woman does a little bow, and I stand, holding Suad’s hand. This time the little girl takes my hand willingly, and when I glance down, she looks up at me and smiles. I can’t resist. I bend down and give her a warm hug.

  * * *

  The queen mother gives us a break at dinner this night, and Zelda and I take ours in the theater with Belle. My sister is curled up in a recliner, and my niece is sitting in a chair between us with a tray across her lap.

  Of course, we’re watching Beauty and the Beast. Bee points at the screen every time her princess appears, and in spite of the dark errand growing closer by the minute, I’m able to smile.

  “Does she think she’s in the movie?” I ask, handing my niece another cheese cube from her tray of dinner.

  “You think I know what’s bouncing around in that two-year-old brain?” Zelda laughs. She and I are splitting a pizza and ginger ales.

  “It’s a pretty brilliant cartoon.” I hold my half-eaten slice of pizza while my niece is content to drink from her sippy cup.

  “They’re all beasts until the right girl comes along,” Zee says, sitting sideways in her chair.

  “I was talking about the music.”

  “Oh, that, too. I’ve seen it about five hundred times now. I know all the words.”

  The three of us watch silently as movie Belle spins around in her yellow dress to the “Tale as Old as Time.” Niece Belle holds her cup and doesn’t move the entire dance.

  I take out my phone and snap a picture of her. I’m just lowering it when it buzzes with a text. It’s Rowan.

  Miss my girl tonight, he writes.

  When will you be back? I have to know. Before long, I have to slip away to my room and set up a time to meet Dwayne.

  Every time I think about it, a shimmer of fear moves through my stomach. It’s not too late to back out, I think. But no. Tears burn my eyes, and I know I can’t back out. He hurt us. He killed Grace. He killed Ramona. I have every reason to believe I’m next. My throat is tight when Rowan finally replies.

  Not until after midnight, he texts. I’m sorry.

  Please be careful.

  My husband is working with the police to find the killer in Monagasco. It’s possible Dwayne isn’t the person committing these crimes, but if he is, he’s growing bolder.

  Rising from my chair, I step over to my sister and kiss her cheek. “I’ll be back.”

  “Give me a few minutes,” she says, rising as well. “I’ll put Bee to sleep, and we can watch Bad Moms!”

  My smile is tight. My shoulders are tight, and all I can think about is finishing this terrible chore. “I’m so exhausted. I think I’ll just bathe and sleep. Is that okay?”

  Zelda touches my hand. “Of course it is. I remember how exhausted I was when I was growing Belle. It takes a lot out of you.”

  “I’ll see you in the morning?” I step forward and hug her.

  “Yep! Sleep well.” She squeezes me back, and when we part, she holds my arms. “You did good today, sis. I’ve never been so proud.”

  We hold hands as we walk to our rooms. Belle is on her mother’s shoulder sucking her fingers, and I can tell she’ll be asleep soon. We reach the landing where our paths diverge.

  Another hug, and we go to our rooms.

  Chapter 25

  Rowan

  “Well that idea was a flaming bomb.” Cal paces the war room when we reconvene the next day.

  “It was a good idea,” I say, musing our current status. “I still believe we’re right—Vega is our guy. He has to be, but something different happened. His demeanor changed when he saw that wallet.”

  We’re sitting around the heavy wooden conference table waiting for our guards to arrive. We scheduled this meeting for the afternoon, since Freddie and André had to be up all night.

  “Up all night watching nothing,” Cal grumbles.

  “I’m glad I didn’t contact the police.”

  That draws him up short. “You never contacted the police?” My eyes are fixed on my hand, but I can hear the suspicion in his voice. “Something you need to share with me, brother?”

  “No.”

  I don’t want him to know the dark plans pressing on my mind. Dwayne Vega is bad news. We might be having trouble setting a trap for him, but I’m not going to let him walk out of my kingdom alive. Not after what he did to Ava.

  I’d like to catch him in the act of committing a crime, something that would give me an out should it come down to one versus the other, but I’m not waiting around for it to happen. If I do this, I’ll do it alone, and I won’t have Cal implicated.

  My brother won’t let it go. “Why didn’t you contact the police?”

  Sitting in my chair at the head of the table, under the massive flag bearing our family’s crest, I rub my fingers over my eyes. “Several reasons.”

  “Give me two.”

  “I didn’t want them storming in and tipping him off. The more people who know about a stakeout, the more chances our cover will be blown.”

  My brother nods and takes the chair to my right, his seat in the hierarchy. “Okay, that’s one. What’s two?”

  “Our evidence is thin. So we think Vega is the guy because he met us on the beach and started raving like a lunatic right before the first murder occurred?”

  “He’s also a known felon and a suspected murderer.”

  “It’s not enough.” I shake my head. “We don’t have him on record threatening Ava. It’s her word and her past experiences against his. I’m not putting her through that level of public scrutiny. I haven’t even told her we’re searching for him.”

  My brother’s lips tighten, but he nods in agreement. “That was more like three reasons, but I take your point. Still…” Hazel eyes meet mine. “I want to know if you’re planning to do anything.”

  How to answer this question? “I won’t back down from doing what needs to be done.”

  The door opens, and our moment breaks. André and Freddie enter, going to their usual seats around the table. Freddie arrives in problem-solving mode.

  “The bug worked all night, but he didn’t wear it all night. It was too warm, and it didn’t rain. Still, the good news is his phone also remained on my tracker the whole night.”

  I lean back in my chair, thinking about this development. “So there could be moments when we can’t see him.”

  “Long moments.” Freddie’s tone is ominous.

  “Moments when someone is being killed,” André adds, as if we had
n’t already figured that out.

  Cal jumps in at that. “How can we account for this?”

  “More manpower.” Freddie looks around the room at each of us. “We all need to be out there, so if he moves, someone is watching every corner.”

  “I had a feeling you were going to say that,” my brother replies.

  “Do we have reason to believe he might strike tonight?” André asks.

  “Hell, I’m out of the predictions game,” Cal says, leaning back in his chair.

  The reality of what’s at stake weighs on me. “We have to involve the police this time. We can’t take a chance of him slipping through our fingers and another woman being hurt or killed.”

  “We… didn’t already do that?” André’s voice is quiet. I don’t bother to answer.

  “I’ll take care of it,” I say, rising from my chair.

  “Wait,” Cal calls out, stopping me. “Considering all the things you said earlier, I think you were right to hold off on telling them.” He turns to Freddie. “We can do a watch tonight, and if we lose him, how long would it take to get police on the scene? Five, ten minutes?”

  “Monagasco is so small, it probably wouldn’t even take that long,” Freddie says.

  My brother looks up at me. “I say we give it one more night.”

  I look to the clock over the mantle. It’s after four. “The first murder occurred sometime around now?”

  “Police placed the first murder sometime between five and seven p.m.,” Freddie answers me.

  “Freddie, you need to be where you can have clear communication with all of us—either here or at a central location in town.”

  “Here is good.” He places his phone beside the laptop on the table.

  “Cal, you, André, and I will triangulate around the Monte Cristo. We’ll cover all the entrances and exits. Whatever happens, don’t let him out of your sight. If he moves tonight, we can’t lose him.”

  * * *

  A light drizzle starts after nine o’clock. I’m sitting in a black Mini Cooper around the corner from the hotel with a driver’s cap pulled low on my head. The overcast sky and rain makes the night even darker, and as far as I can tell, no one is going anywhere this evening.