by Smoke, Lucy
“Do you mind if I try?” I asked.
She looked up and scooted her chair back, nodding for the computer. Relieved, I leaned over and moved the mouse down to the times and moved up until it was past mid-afternoon. Slowing down the frames, I let it run for a few minutes before I saw the same woman Texas had pulled up a picture of on the security footage from Bricker and Stein.
I watched the woman on the screen for several long minutes, screenshotting a few of the frames. As accommodating as Maria was, I hesitated to ask for the full footage, so I asked if I could print off some of the screenshot frames. By the time those were done printing, Marv still hadn’t come back so I thanked the woman and headed to the front, folding the images I had taken and tucking them into my back pocket.
Anxiety began to work its way through me when I saw that Marv was nowhere to be seen in the shop. Pulling my phone out, I stepped into the bright sunlight and took a path to the side, scrolling through to his number as I paused in the mouth of an alleyway, but a figure leaning over and talking to a gruff-looking homeless man had me putting my phone away and approaching cautiously.
Marv noticed my arrival and nodded, quietly thanking the man on the ground, half shaded by a cardboard overhang that was obviously self-built. Marv passed the man a few bills and turned, heading my way before I was even halfway over.
“Did you find out anything?” I asked, tucking my cell phone away.
Marv nodded. “Not here,” he said, taking my elbow and urging me out onto the main stretch of road. He waited until he had flagged down a taxi and nudged me inside before he spoke. “That man’s name is Gadson and Jenna spoke with him every time she visited Bean Water,” Marv relayed.
“Did he see anything?” I asked. The car we were in turned onto the highway and jostled a bit, causing me to slide a bit closer as Marv shook his head.
He reached out and hooked his hand around the curve of my waist and brought me even closer as he spoke. “No, he didn’t see her disappear—we’ve already determined that a car picked her up and to our knowledge, that car never made it to her destination.”
“So why—”
Marv pressed two fingers against my lips, halting my questions as he smiled. “Let me finish, Sunshine,” he said. “I promise I’ll tell you everything I know, okay?” I blushed, but nodded nonetheless, settling against him with an expectant expression. He chuckled before sobering. “I spoke with Gadson because a lot of people don’t see the homeless as actual people. They don’t realize that these men and women can see and hear just as well as anyone else. They’re actually pretty amazing in their ability to seem anonymous and remain hidden and practically invisible in plain sight. I asked if Gadson had seen Jenna on the day she disappeared, he admitted that he had, but he didn’t see any car that had taken her.”
“So we’re back to where we started.” I sighed.
Marv shook his head. “Not completely. I asked if Gadson had seen anyone on any of the previous occasions that she’d stopped to talk to him. If she stopped to see him every time she went to Bean Water, there’s a likely chance he might have seen someone involved in her disappearance.”
“Why would you think that?” I asked, my brows puckering with confusion.
Marv lifted his head and stared out the back window of the car as he continued. “Usually when someone disappears, they’re taken by someone they know. Right now, we’re assuming that the man responsible for taking Jenna is involved in the lawsuit case for embezzlement she was working on before she vanished.”
I bit my lip, sliding my palm up his forearm as I moved in and pressed against his side. “Then shouldn’t we be looking at him?” I asked. “It makes sense to determine his whereabouts and figure out if there’s some place he could be holding her.”
Marv nodded without looking down. “We’ve been keeping an eye on him—Texas has anyway. His name is Karl Tennison, and so far, he’s maintained the same schedule he ever has without any deviation.” Marv paused, a scowl gracing his lips. “He’s disgustingly routine,” he admitted. “If he’s responsible or even involved in her disappearance, then he’s hired outside help to do it.”
The car pulled off the highway and turned onto the same street as our hotel. I waited until Marv had leaned up and paid the man and we both got out before asking the question rattling around in my skull. “How did you know to ask Gadson?” I blurted as Marv took my hand and led me through the front glass doors.
Marv shot me a grin. “I know Clarissa,” he said, stopping in front of the elevators and pushing the button, “and I figured if her niece was anything like her then Jenna would make time to talk to people everyone else ignored. She’s a kind soul.”
I frowned. “She seems to be in a bad profession if that’s the kind of person she is,” I commented.
“Not necessarily,” Marv argued as we stepped inside and the elevator doors slid closed. “Many people get into law because they want to help others. They want to right wrongs and exact justice in their own way.”
I released his hand and scrubbed my palms down my face, groaning in frustration. “We still don’t know where she is and we haven’t gotten much closer to finding her.”
Marv moved closer, turning and pressing his back next to mine against the wall. “We’ll find her, Sunshine,” he said quietly after a moment. “You have to believe that.”
“The first seventy-two hours are the most important in a missing person’s case,” I said. “We’ve bypassed that. How likely are our chances?”
I remembered how good Clarissa had been to me in the beginning of my relationship with the guys. I recalled how nice she’d been, how helpful. I didn’t want to let her down and the further into this we got, the more anxious I grew. I worried we weren’t going to be able to find Jenna Wiedleman, and I didn’t want to be the person to tell Clarissa we had failed her.
“Hey,” Marv reached out, turning me towards him, “we’re going to find her. Don’t worry. We’ve already come so far and we’ve only been here for a few days.”
“I know,” I said, but I was still unconvinced and he must have seen that on my face because he abruptly pulled me into his chest, squeezing me close.
His breath brushed over the top of my head. “I’m sorry,” he whispered against my hair. “I know this isn’t what—” The elevator dinged, interrupting whatever he had been about to say. I pushed back slightly, trying for a smile and a small shake of my head before I exited the elevator and headed for the hotel room. “Harlow,” Marv called.
I pulled out the keycard, inserted it, and quickly jerked it back out. “It’s fine,” I called over my shoulder, turning the handle and pushing into the room. “I’m just worried about her is all.”
Marv paused just behind me as the door swung inward to an empty space. I sighed, spotting the note from Knix and Texas on the desk. I moved towards it, unfolding the paper with the word ‘read this’ scribbled across its face.
On our way to speak with the owner of the car. Will call with any new information. Be back soon.
— Knix
I set the paper down and strode across the room, sinking onto the furthest bed. At least some of us had gotten good leads. Marv picked up the note and read over the words before he flashed me a look. Hopefully, they would have better luck than we’d had.
But what else could I do? I wondered. I laid back, closing my eyes as my mind raced. I started when the papers I had shoved into my back pocket poked me. Opening my eyes and sitting back up, I pulled them out and smoothed their edges.
“Harlow?” Marv’s voice drew my gaze. I looked up at him before glancing back down at the papers.
“Here,” I said, holding out the images. “I got these off of the security footage at Bean Water.” Marv took them and set them to the side without looking at them. I frowned. “You should look through them,” I said. “I wanted to get the video footage, but I didn’t want to push our luck. Texas can probably get it later.”
“I’ll review them later,”
Marv said, moving until he stood in front of me, staring down as I tilted my face back to meet his eyes. “You didn’t let me finish in the elevator.”
“I knew what you were going to say,” I replied.
“We feel bad that you had to come do this with us instead of going on your honeymoon.”
The corner of my mouth twitched. “It would’ve been your honeymoon too,” I pointed out. “And I didn’t have to come; I came because I wanted to help.”
“You’re worrying we won’t find her.” His hands came down on my shoulders, moving until his thumbs dipped into the wide collar of my t-shirt, smoothing across my skin. A low simmering heat started up low in my abdomen as I gazed up into his murky gray eyes. “But we will,” he continued, “and everything will work out.”
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to contradict him because I hoped he was right even if I didn’t have the same amount of hope. Instead, I watched as the low simmer I was feeling somehow began to burn within him. I continued to stare back as he leaned down, drawing closer and closer until he blocked out the rest of the room with his body. Until it felt like it was just me and him—we were the only ones and the world narrowed down to just the two of us.
Chapter 10
He lifted his palms and cupped my cheeks gently—holding them between his palms as his eyes roved over my face. He held me as if I were something precious—as if I were as valuable as a rare gemstone. Perhaps, more so. I let my eyes slide shut when he bent forward.
“Harlow…” I expected the feel of his lips against mine, but when they never came, my eyes shot open and my lips turned down. Eyes the color of thunderclouds bored into me. I jerked, nearly tearing myself from his grip. “Do you trust me?” he asked. I licked suddenly dry lips and nodded. “Can you say it?”
“I trust you, Marv,” I said.
“Good,” he replied. “Then trust that no matter what happens, we’ll find Jenna and we’ll work out everything else.”
“You can’t promise something like that,” I warned him. “There are always going to be things beyond your control.”
“Are you kidding me?” One corner of his mouth lifted into a rueful grin. “I’m all powerful, Sunshine.”
I groaned. “You sound like Texas or Grayson.”
His eyes flashed—lightning behind the clouds. “I guess they’re finally rubbing off on me,” he said just before he swooped down and took my lips. I sucked in a breath, my lips parting automatically and he took full advantage.
His hands cupped the sides of my head, holding me still as he invaded my mouth. A moan worked its way up my throat as that low simmering heat came to a fast boil. I reached for him, snaking my hands over his shoulders as I gripped fistfuls of his shirt and tugged upward.
Marv broke the kiss and quickly ripped off the shirt before nudging me up on the bed, his hands going to the waistband of my shorts. He took them and my underwear down, pulling them until they were free from my legs and sandals. Chuckling to himself in a deep reverberation, he gently slid fingers beneath the straps of my shoes and removed them as well.
Tossing them away, he put one knee on the bed. I stopped him with a hand on his bare chest. “If you get on this bed,” I warned. “I’m going to want you. Take off your pants.”
Marv’s eyes widened at my daring, but when my fingers went to the hem of my own t-shirt and I whipped it over my head throwing it to the side, he quickly moved to follow my commands. He shucked his jeans down his legs and crawled onto the bed as I fiddled with my bra—struggling in my haste to get it off.
He moved over me, pressing a soft kiss to the bare skin of my shoulder as he reached behind me and deftly flicked the snaps of my bra open and pulled the straps down my arms. “As sexy as I think you are in your underwear,” he whispered against my skin, sending goosebumps trailing up my arms and down my chest, “I like it even better when you have nothing separating us.”
I spread my legs, letting him settle between them as I reached up and cupped his jaw, nudging him gently with my nose until I could kiss him the way I wanted to—slowly, reverently, torturously. I was practically vibrating with my need for him. I wanted him as I wanted nothing else. His love was my drug—an addiction from which I never wanted to be cured.
“Harlow...Sunshine…” His rough voice shivered along my spine. His fingers sank into my hair, holding on as he angled my head back and licked at my bottom lip.
I sighed into his mouth and pushed up with one hand flat on the bed, the tips of my breasts brushing against his chest. One of the hands against my face left and trailed down to feather across one of my nipples as he cupped me and leveraged himself more firmly against me. The heat of him burned up the inside of my thighs as he nudged my entrance and then slipped inside.
I whimpered at the feel of him, tearing my lips away as I panted. “Hold onto me,” he urged, reaching for my wrist and tugging it up to his neck. I moved as he commanded, wrapping my arms more tightly around him until I clung to him. Only then did he roll and swing me so that I was on top and he sank even further than I thought was possible as I sat up.
Pleasure rolled through me, heating my skin and bringing a light pink flush to my cheeks. Marv’s eyes glimmered with something I couldn’t discern as he fingered the ends of my hair and gazed up at me through hooded lids. “Move, Sunshine,” he said, tilting his hips so that he slid out just a bit before he canted them up and shoved inward once more.
My muscles tightened. “Marv.” I gasped his name, reaching for something to hold onto. He put his palms out. Our fingers connected lacing together and I used the grasp I had on him to lift up and drop down.
The first thrust made my mouth pop open and shape into the form of an ‘o.’ “Do that again,” I commanded, drawing a low chuckle from his chest.
But he acquiesced to my demand and pulled out slightly only to surge back in with a rough force. We repeated the motion, letting the swell of pleasure rise and rise until it crashed over us. I heard the depth of his groan as he went rock hard and froze. All the while, my muscles clenched and unclenched in jerky, spasming movements. My skin came alive with sensation until it felt as though I were overwhelmed by everything from his touch to the sunlight coming in from the windows.
I sighed once it had passed and sank down more fully, resting my head against his chest as we both breathed hard. Our breaths came heavy and panting, puffing out in long drags. “How can it feel like that every time?” I asked, wonder in my tone.
I felt Marv’s smile against my forehead. “Because it’s you,” he replied. “It’s never been like that with anyone else and I don’t think it’ll ever be. I’ll hazard a guess that it’s the same for the others. The common denominator is you, Sunshine.”
“I’m not special,” I protested.
Marv tugged a lock of my hair in retaliation. “Lies,” he hissed between his teeth as I shifted and he slipped out. “I...shit,” Marv cursed as he realized something I already knew. “I didn’t use a condom,” he said. “I’m sorry, Sunshine. I didn’t think, I—”
“It’s okay,” I said, pulling back. “Bellamy and I—we...the other night, I mean—we didn’t either.”
Marv’s expression darkened. “I should have thought—we both should have, him and I. It won’t happen again.”
I frowned and thought about it. “Why?” I asked, tilting my head. “I mean, I’m on birth control now, but even if I wasn’t...I mean, we’re married. Would it really be the worst thing in the world?” Marv looked dumbstruck and my stomach sank. “I mean, we should be fine, so there’s nothing to worry about,” I rushed to say. “Birth control—”
“It wouldn’t be bad at all, Harlow,” he interrupted me with a shake of his head. “Seeing you—having a son or a daughter with you—it’s...I can’t even describe the feeling...Harlow, if you get pregnant, it would be the most magical thing in the world. I love you.”
Slowly, my anxiety faded. I took a deep breath. “I’m not sure if I’m ready, but if it’s with you
or one of the guys...I wouldn’t...it would be...I think I’d be okay with it,” I finally said. Marv blinked as I bent and pressed a light kiss to his lips. I pulled back with a grin. “I think we’re okay for now, though.”
“I’ll be more careful next time,” he promised. “But whenever you’re ready…” He let the sentence trail off, but the meaning was clear. I nodded and slid off of him.
“We should get showered and dressed,” I suggested. “Knix and Texas will probably be back soon with more information.”
He nodded his agreement, and I went to the bathroom. As the door clicked shut behind me, I pressed back against it and took a deep breath, releasing it on a slow exhale. A kid. With Marv or one of the others...the very thought sent butterflies dancing around in my stomach. I couldn’t deny that I wanted it—but when we were all ready.
I’d be more careful in the future, I decided, until the guys and I had a chance to talk about it more.
* * *
A little over an hour after Marv and I had showered, dressed, and eaten—the hotel room door beeped and clicked open. Knix stepped inside, ducking beneath the doorway a smidge as he usually did to keep from hitting the top of the doorframe. I sat up and Marv came back in from the balcony as Bellamy, Grayson, and Texas stepped in behind Knix and closed the door.
“What happened?” I asked. “Did you find out anything?” My eyes moved from Grayson to Bellamy and back to Texas and Knix, but all four of them shook their heads. My shoulders drooped.
“The owner of the car that picked up Jenna but never dropped her off is Thomas Ollison,” Knix said as everyone came in and spread out around the room. Bellamy and Texas dropped onto the opposite bed, Knix stood, and Grayson took the chair at the desk across from where I sat. “Texas and I tracked down his whereabouts—he lives in an apartment complex outside of the city limits—but he wasn’t home.”
