Suspicion At Sea

by Nichols, Amie

  How are you doing?

  I text Suzy, while sitting on one of the deck chairs.

  While I wait for a response, I pull up the internet on my phone and type in LDR to see if the initials bring up anything.

  I'm addicted to her, have been since the very first taste of her. My dick has been rock hard for the past five days. Everything she does turns me the fuck on.

  I don't know what the little tattoo means, and I can tell it is nothing good by the way her body reacts when I see it or ask about it. I don't know what happened to her, but I will find out and make whoever hurt her pay.

  My initial search for LDR doesn't bring up anything that would make sense, and I receive a text back before I can search further.

  I'm here.

  I didn't expect her to be sunshine and giggles right now, but her vague answer is unsettling. I put my hand to my forehead, rubbing, thinking if I should respond or just go over there.

  “Hey, you,” I hear Ellie's sweet voice behind me and turn my head to see she is standing there in my t-shirt.

  “Hey, babes.” I slap my leg to motion her to come sit on my lap. She sits sideways, pulling her knees up, and I wrap one hand around her back, the other around her legs.

  “How you feeling?” I whisper against her temple.

  “Good, really good,” she responds, her hand going to my chest over my heart.

  “I need to go check on my sister, come with me,” I say, rubbing my hand back and forth on her upper thigh. Her skin is so smooth and I can feel my dick itching to get out again.

  “Are you asking or telling me?” She lifts her head and turns to stare in my eyes.

  “Umm, asking?” I laugh at her expression, one eyebrow raised.

  “You're lucky I like you, because I don't usually take orders this well.” She giggles and nuzzles her face into my neck.

  “Why does that not surprise me?” I chuckle, resting my cheek against her forehead.

  “You've been spot on so far, so I'm sure it doesn't,” she says, her lips against my neck. I move my hand to her ass and slap it through the thin material of my t-shirt covering it, making her head jerk up in shock.

  “Well, let's go.” I laugh at her reaction. She leans down and bites my chest, rather hard I might add. She doesn't break the skin, but it is sure to leave a mark. “What was that for?” I laugh even harder, rubbing the now tender spot.

  “You are getting a little bossy, just letting you know.” She smiles big with satisfaction.

  I make like I am going to bite her on the boob, clamping my teeth together making a clicking sound. She screeches and scrambles off my lap, running in to the room. I chase her delicious ass inside.

  An hour later we finally make it out of the room and to my Jeep. I had to tackle her on the bed when I chased her inside, she was laughing hysterical as I tickled her. She got off easy, threatening with having to pee. I reluctantly let her go, and triumphantly she shook her butt all the way into the bathroom. It put a huge smile on my face as I watched her go, but my dick was rock hard so as soon as she walked out I attacked.

  I've lost count with how many times I've fucked her in two days. All I know is it's a personal record for me. Never been so attracted to a woman like this before. Yes, I've slept with a woman twice in a night, but I'm more than happy to send them packing as soon as I'm done.

  I pull the Jeep out of the shed and she climbs in. I sit and wait.

  “What?” she says as I stare at her.

  “Seatbelt?” I remark with a stern look. I can't even believe how much I want to keep her safe. Maybe it was letting her fall off a cliff, but I am now going to do everything in my power to keep her out of harm's way.

  “Jeez, I was getting to it.” She rolls her eyes. I'm satisfied when she is buckled up, and shift the Jeep into reverse. Once we are on the road, I lay my hand on her thigh. Most of her upper thigh is exposed by the white shorts she is wearing. It's like they are just begging to be touched. Her whole body just screams touch me.

  “I'm excited to meet Suzy,” she says to me when we reach her block. I have to use my hand to shift again and cuss out the old Jeep in my head.

  We pull up to my sister's house, and when Ellie walks around the Jeep I take her hand.

  “She's been a basket case lately, so don't take anything she does or says personally,” I tell her, hoping that Suzy doesn't say anything inappropriate.

  Ellie rolls her eyes at my comment. “I'm sure she is. I'd be a raving bitch if I was going through the shit she's going through right now.”

  “Yeah, well,” I get out, not sure how to respond. Was I being a jerk explaining away Suzy's behavior?

  After knocking a few times with no response, I open the door and yell in.

  “Maybe she's not home,” Ellie observes, pulling on my arm to keep me from entering Suzy's house. “You shouldn't just walk in,” she says, looking around like I am breaking and entering.

  “It's my sister,” I respond, and walk into the entrance way of her Tudor style home. It is the one thing she owns that she loves, and has always been very proud of it. “Suzy,” I yell, and hear some movement in the living room.

  “Jay, what are you doing here?” Suzy walks out wearing sweats and her hair a mess, looking like she hasn't slept for days.

  I don't answer her, but go to her and engulf her in my arms for a bear hug. Guilt takes over me that I wasn't here sooner. “I'm sorry, sis, I should have...” I stop, holding her at arm's length. “Has something else happened?” I know she is not this upset about Jade, they've been over for a while. Not that she wished him dead, but I know that she, like me, will not be crying over his grave.

  “Tammy's pregnant.” Tears start rolling down her cheeks. Suzy once blamed herself for losing Jade. If she could have gotten pregnant he wouldn't have strayed. I knocked that right out of her. Jade was a controlling asshole. It didn't help that Mary McGill told the whole town about her barren daughter-in-law. Everyone knows that Mary is bat shit crazy, so most paid her no mind, but it was still hard on Suzy.

  “I know, Jake was boasting about it...” I let slip and regret it instantly when I see the look of betrayal on my sister's face.

  “You knew and you didn't tell me? I found out when I ran into the bitch at the supermarket. It was humiliating. She kept bragging about how she was going to get everything.” She sits on the couch with her head in her hands.

  “I just found out a couple days ago.” I sit next to her, putting my arm around her shoulders. That's when I see Ellie hovering in the doorway. “Suzy, this is Ellie Marks,” I introduce them when Suzy notices her also.

  “Hi, it's so nice to meet you.” She comes straight over and sits next to Suzy.

  “God, what I must look like,” she says, putting her hands up in her hair trying to straighten it out. She wipes her cheeks with her hands.

  “You look fine. I'm sorry about everything you are going through,” Ellie says with sincerity. “Have you heard anything about the search?” she asks straight away, surprising me she would be so forward with Suzy.

  “Not much, other than they want me to listen to the mayday,” she says, turning to talk to Ellie.

  “Why would they need you to do that?” It's like I am seeing her transfer into FBI Agent Ellie Marks.

  “Mary doesn't think it is any of her boy's voices.”

  “Who would it be?” Ellie asks, but looks away like she is not expecting an answer to the question. “I don't mean to pry, and I hope you don't mind, but Justin filled me in on some of the details. Was there a large life insurance policy that you know about?” Again, I am shocked at the boldness of her questions.

  “I don't know. I have no access to the business funds. There was a life insurance policy, but I'm not even sure if I'm the beneficiary anymore. I was, but by the way Tammy was talking about inheriting money, who the fuck knows,” Suze says. I can't believe how she is spilling this information out in front of a total stranger.

  Chapter 25

  El
lie

  “You have absolutely no access to any accounts?” I ask, wondering if maybe money was the main motive in the accident.

  “Jade told me it was because of tax purposes, now I know he was just a lying asshole. I was so stupid.” She shakes her head and I can tell she is thinking very poorly of herself at the moment.

  “Hey, he was your husband. If you can't trust the man who is supposed to protect you, who can you trust?” I instantly try and comfort her.

  “Yeah, I know, that's what hurts the most. I don't think he ever truly loved me. I think it was always about getting his hands on my money.” A single tear rolls down her cheek.

  “See why I've been less than upset about the disappearance?” Justin barks.

  “What about the warehouse? Can you get in there?” I wouldn't mind poking around in there, maybe check out the computer. If they did have anything to do with LDR, then there might have been some drug money involved.

  “I have a key, but I don't know if the locks have been changed. I haven't been there in a long time,” she answers as she gets up. She goes into the kitchen and comes back with a single key on a ring. She hands it to me without even questioning what I want to do with it. I hold the key in the palm of my hand and look over at Justin who is also staring at it.

  “Suzy, aren't you even curious why she would ask you that?” Justin stands, taking steps toward his sister.

  “I really don't care. All I care about is this house and I will probably lose it if I don't get the life insurance.” She wraps her arms around her brother’s waist, resting her head on his chest. Justin looks down at me and I can see the pain in his eyes.

  “You are not going to lose this house. I will help you,” he says, his chin resting on the top of her head.

  “I'm not taking your money.” She pulls away from him and crosses her arms in front of her. I can see the resemblance now as she stands like he does a lot.

  “I'm going to make a quick phone call,” I announce, pulling my phone from my purse and walking into the kitchen just off the living room. Neither of them seem to notice because now they are arguing about whether or not Justin will be giving her money or not. I call Cody just to see if there have been any updates. I get his voicemail and leave him a quick message to call me back. Just as I go back into the living room, I stop, hearing Justin and Suzy's conversation.

  “So who is she?” Suzy asks Justin, now sitting on the couch.

  “She's just a friend,” is Justin's rather unenthusiastic reply, which kind of stings a little. A friend, that's all I am. “She's also an FBI agent,” he adds after she nods to the friend comment.

  “Explains the questions...” her voice gets lower and I can't hear what else she says so I go back in.

  “Did you get a hold of him?” Justin asks when I return to the living room. I'm just about to ask how he knew who I was calling when he gives me that fucking knowing smile. That stupid smile that says he knows everything, which makes me even madder after the just a friend comment.

  “No, I left him a message.” I sit in the chair opposite the couch instead of the seat next to Justin, and he notices.

  After some more light chitchat, Suzy says she wants to take a nap.

  “It was nice meeting you,” she says, hugging me before we leave.

  “You too,” I reply after she lets me go.

  Back in the Jeep I haven't said anything. We are both silent. He starts driving to the other side of the island and I assume we are going to check out the warehouse. He rests his hand on my thigh when he doesn't have to shift. I don't know what I was expecting, but his non-enthusiastic friend comment has me a little annoyed. I don't know what we are—

  “Everything okay?” Justin interrupts my thoughts.

  “Yeah, fine.” I smile toward him and then turn to watch the passing ocean.

  His fingertips dig into my inner thigh to get my attention.

  “Stop that,” I yell over the wind, even more irritated. The vehicle swerves to the side of the road and comes to a stop.

  “Do we need to take another dunk in the ocean?” I turn to him, horrified. He wouldn't dare. “I'm not going to, it was just...” He sees my expression and stops. “What is wrong?”

  “Why do you think something is wrong? You are not the be all and end all knower of my feelings,” I snap.

  “Jeez,” he acts wounded by my words. “Can you just tell me what I did?” I would think he would have removed his hand from my thigh by now. Nope. He holds on strong, staring holes into the side of my head. “Ellie?” his tone stronger.

  “Nothing, friend, you did nothing wrong.” I turn and stare into those dark eyes. Those fucking expressive eyes, and they soften right in front of me.

  “You heard me talking to Suzy.” He takes his hand off my thigh and slides it around the nape of my neck, pulling my face closer to his.

  “I'm just a friend, it's okay. It's not like I'm your girlfriend or anything. I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself. I don't know why it bothers me so much. I don't even know what I expected you to say, but you could have been a little more excited about it.” I'm rambling now, his face getting closer and closer until he finally shuts me up by placing his lips on mine. His mouth opens and his tongue brushes my bottom lip before forcing my lips apart. Pressing on the back of my neck, he pushes his lips harder on mine until I give in to him. I can't help it, his kisses set me on fire. My tongue darts into his mouth as my hand goes up to his head. My anger is completely gone.

  “Do you think that is how I would kiss a friend?” he breaks the kiss, his face still close to mine and our breathing strenuous.

  “Apparently so,” I whisper, once I've caught my breath.

  “She was so sad. I didn't want to flaunt my happiness in front of her so I down played.” He places another hard kiss on my now tender lips. “Sorry,” he whispers against them. Now I feel like a giant asshole. He was just protecting his sister's feelings and I made a big deal out of nothing.

  “Fuck, I'm an idiot,” I say with my forehead pressed against his.

  “Hey, nobody talks about my friend that way.” He chuckles and squeezes the nape of my neck lightly.

  Chapter 26

  Justin

  I take her straight to the warehouse. I don't know what she is looking for, but she asked if my sister had a key. So I figured we could go check it out. I knew something was wrong the minute she came out of the kitchen. When my sister asked who Ellie was, I wanted to say she's my future wife. Fuck if that wasn't a bit scary, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

  “What are we looking for?” I pull up to the side of the warehouse out of view of the street. It's off the main road, so unless someone is actually coming to the warehouse, no one will see us.

  “Not sure yet,” she says, taking out her gun she had put in the glove box. When we left the room she put it in her purse and I’d given her a look that she ignored. I had asked her what she needed her gun for when she had grabbed it from the drawer when we left.

  “I'm just used to having it,” she shrugged. I can understand that, I spent the past ten years with a gun on my person at all times, but now on Bailey Island it hardly seems necessary.

  Getting out of the Jeep, she lifts her shirt, placing the Glock in the waist of her shorts at her back. Yep, dick hard again. She does this like it's second nature.

  She is totally in her element as she scans the surroundings and the building.

  “What would a typical fishing company have in their warehouse?” she asks when I've gotten out of the Jeep. I lean against the hood with my arms crossed and watch her scanning the building.

  “Freezers, bait traps, lines, and live tanks for lobster are just a few things,” I answer.

  “Why would someone spend so much on high tech security then?” She starts pointing out cameras at different points on the building. I would have never noticed them if I wasn't actively looking for them since they are camouflaged. I've never actually been here before, and would never
think to look for hidden cameras anyway. “And I don't think we are getting in with the key Suzy gave me.” She nods to the keypad on the door. The side doors that open for loading and unloading are chained and padlocked. “This kind of security isn't cheap, Justin,” she reiterates.

  “I've never seen cameras like that.” I point to the one above the door. It looks like an ordinary light, but at closer inspection it is a camera. I never would have noticed if Ellie didn't point it out to me.

  “Well one thing's for sure, if we go in there it won't be incognito.” She stands back and starts chewing the inside of her lip.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “Going in with a key that was given to us by the wife of the owner is one thing, but the keypad...we don't know the combo. The only other option is B&E and I'm thinking that is not a good idea, especially in broad daylight. I don't want to take that chance when I'm not even sure what I'm looking for or who is watching.” She leans up against the Jeep next to me.

  “I think now would be a good time to tell me what Cody said.” I turn and face her, wondering what the thought process is here since she is considering breaking and entering a fishing warehouse.

  “Not here. Let's go back to the boat.” She gives in rather easily which shocks and worries me at the same time.

  Chapter 27

  The stranger at the B&B.

  I watch the cameras that I placed at the McGill warehouse. It takes longer than I thought for Special Agent Marks to go there. She points out every camera. Everything has been working out as planned. In fact, her hooking up with the SEAL brother-in-law is perfect. Better than I could've imagined.

  Keeping the media away has proved challenging, but so far word has not gotten out. He wouldn't risk coming if he knew there was media. But knowing Ellie Marks is here, well, that was something he could just not resist.

  He won't be happy she is with Justin Bennett, but all the more reason for him to come.