Deserved

by Victoria Johns

  The closet door was hanging off, but I could see a few outfits dangling from a couple of wire hangers. The drawers were open, showing shorts, underwear and denim pants, which looked laundered but not pressed. Daring to pick a few things up, it seemed possible that they were Carly’s. They looked about the right size. I bent down to grab a handful and then changed my mind. If they were hers, why didn’t she pack them? I thought about grabbing the teddy bear, but didn’t want to actually touch anything. Instead, I left, stepping over rubbish in my quest for the door. If any of this was hers and Jed wasn’t pulling my pecker then it could stay here where it belonged. It was bad enough that anyone had to live like this. Whatever Maisie was into had clearly escalated and got out of hand, and the sheer thought that a little girl—my flesh and blood—had endured this was soul destroying. If that was her room, where did she get her sense of wellbeing from? When all around her was shit, she still made her bed and folded her clothes.

  Gloria and Maisie were going to fucking pay for this.

  “You done snooping around now, boy?” I heard Jed bellow as I got to the door. I was debating whether to go back for the teddy again, but I didn’t want Carly to be upset and uncomfortable about me seeing where she’d lived. I ignored Jed’s persistent requests for a loan of beer funds and climbed back into my truck. With no real plan and no idea where either Gloria or Maisie could be, I headed back to Hawkstown, hoping to call in a favor from someone who might be able to unravel this shit for me.

  When I got into town, I made straight for the law offices where I knew Oli Hart would be working. Getting him to smooth the path with Jonas Drakeson was vital. Once upon a time, his wife Dolly and I had teetered on the edge of becoming a thing. She’d always intrigued me. Unfortunately, Jonas intrigued her more and as a result, we never got off the ground. I do remember getting her off at least once, though, and then being caught by the insane man himself, which was not good, especially when I was touching what he considered his. We nodded and passed each other by, but arm’s length was always necessary with that scary motherfucker, especially after you’d danced with his dark side.

  “Tommy, what brings you by?” Oli greeted me with one of those cool man, half hug-back slap things and I returned it automatically. We communicated regularly on a business level and that was good enough for me. He was a sharp entrepreneur and his ideas were like gold dust. In terms of stature, we were evenly matched. I kept myself trim, but I didn’t run as religiously as he did any more. Running a cab firm played havoc with my sleep patterns and doing laps of the school track was the last thing I felt like facing with a screwed up body clock. He was as bald as a coot, whereas I could shave twice a day and still sport stubble any male model would kill for.

  “Need a favor,” I began, opting to stay standing in case things didn’t go my way.

  “Business or pleasure?”

  “Not business, but unsure whether you’d class it as pleasure. Need you to see if Jonas will work on something for me.”

  I watched Oli take my words in and compute them before laughing. “Must be fate… I’m meeting him at Jo’s now. Let’s go.”

  Shit. “Not sure a public place is best for this.”

  “I hear you, although if you have bad news about any of his kids or Dolly, you do know I can’t contain him alone.” He pulled out his cell before punching a button.

  “J, relocate. My office, something just cropped up that requires specialist attention apparently.” I assumed Jonas agreed because before I could protest, Oli was already pocketing his cell phone.

  Five minutes later, the office door swung open and the menace that was Jonas Drakeson glared down at me. It was obvious that I still irritated him. His jaw was tight and he was fighting an eye squint that screamed, ‘I could kill you with my pinky.’ He said nothing in greeting, and Oli looked at me, urging me to get on with it before the atmosphere nose-dived any further.

  “I need to find someone, or actually, two people.”

  “Why would I help you?”

  “Forget it and fuck you,” I snapped. I knew staying standing was the right call.

  “Ah, now don’t be like that, you big pussy.” He was baiting me and it wasn’t taking much to get me to rise to it. I’d had a gutful already.

  “Oli, catch you later. If it’s okay with you and Lottie, I’d like to offer Lacey some work.”

  “She’s a little over qualified to be a cab driver, don’t you think?” Jonas chuckled.

  I ignored him completely and faced Oli, but before I could answer him, my cell started ringing.

  “Lacey, what’s up?” I watched as both Oli and Jonas’s interests rose. I barely registered that, though, as she explained that she was out with Carly, but they didn’t have a key to get back in. “No problems, I’ll be home in twenty.” I said the words sweetly, knowing it would piss them off. When I hung up, I could tell I’d stepped over the boundary line I knew I was dancing around.

  “Why would Lacey need to know when you’re heading home?” Oli said, his tone calm but underpinned with a threat.

  “I would have explained if your Neanderthal friend here hadn’t come in swinging his cock and balls round like he owned the place. It would appear I have a daughter. She was dumped on me late yesterday. I tried to call Lottie for help, but Lacey came to my aid instead.”

  “What? A daughter?” Jonas’s face was filled with disbelief and I was pretty sure it was the same one Carly had seen on mine the day before.

  “Yeah, smart ass. A fucking living, breathing twelve-year-old I knew nothing about. It seems my monster of a mother and Maisie Greaves have been hiding her from me.”

  “Fuck, no kidding?” Oli interjected.

  “Do I look like I’m fucking joking? She’s spent the day with Lacey while I attempted to track them down and get some fucking answers.”

  Jonas was wearing his serious face now. He knew all about my upbringing, and the only time we’d ever got on was when I’d been on the fringe of a bad crew he was getting tight with. Jonas knew I’d done some ugly shit to survive. The time I’d spent sleeping rough was a period of my life we didn’t talk about.

  “I’ll do it,” he said.

  “Do what?”

  “Find ‘em for you.”

  “I’ll owe you,” I replied, feeling relieved that I got what I came for.

  Oli got up and stood in front of me. “How do you know she’s yours?”

  “For certain? I don’t. Timing and a birth certificate are all I have to go by,” I said with complete honesty. The thought of having a heart-to-heart in front of Jonas wasn’t my idea of a swell time, but it wasn’t like I had any choice. Who else was I going to speak openly with?

  “You need to be smart and get a DNA test done. I can arrange that quietly. We do it all the time through Grove House.”

  “Appreciate the offer.” I nodded. “Let me know if you find them, Jonas. I need to keep this between us, just until we track them down.”

  “I don’t think you’ll be able to hide a twelve-year-old for long,” Jonas bit back.

  “Not her. The investigating shit. I don’t want to spook her. It won’t help either of us to settle down.”

  “That’s my payment,” the big guy ordered. “Get her settled down or hand her over to those who can. That, and stay the fuck away from my wife.”

  I couldn’t help but burst out laughing, “Get over that shit. She’s the mother of your babies. Her interest in me is history.”

  “Not fucking historical enough for my liking,” he grumbled. Nodding my thanks to both of them, I walked out of the office. I felt better knowing that Jonas was on board. If anyone could track down the scum and the great unwashed of this earth, the slime balls who didn’t want to be found, it was him.

  And that was exactly what Gloria Sevens and Maisie Greaves were.

  Scum.

  Lacey Talbot

  We arrived back at the house at the same time as Tommy. We’d had a really great time, and seeing Carly’s enthus
iasm at the library had been inspiring. Whatever went down with this kid, she still had a thirst for life, knowledge and trying to better herself. It takes a certain kind of thinking in her situation to grasp the fact that none of it is down to you and that maybe, just maybe, you deserve a little more.

  As soon as she saw Tommy, she began chirping, “We had a fab day. Lacey and I went out in Tula, and she showed me the best local places to get well… everything, and then we stopped at the library. I’ve got lots to keep me occupied so you don’t need to arrange a sitter for when you go to work. I can amuse myself.”

  Her enthusiasm made me smile. Tommy looked grumpy, or exhausted… probably both, and only came back with, “Tula?”

  “Lacey’s Honda.”

  “Fuck, chicks name cars?” I caught his F-bomb slip up and looked his way with a raised brow. “Time for dinner. I’m ordering in. You good with pizza, Carly?”

  “Yeah, just no fruit. Pineapple is for breakfast or dessert, not pizza.”

  I helped her carry her library books inside and then grabbed my purse. “I’ll see you soon, Carly.”

  She rushed back in my direction and hugged me. “Thanks for an awesome day.”

  I returned her affection and made for the door.

  “Hang on, can we talk?” Tommy asked, nodding to indicate he would join me. When the front door closed behind us, I saw his nerves surface. “Was she okay?”

  “Fine, we bonded.” I smiled back at him.

  He paced on the spot and ran his hands over his stubbly chin. “What the fuck do I know about kids? Did she say anything? I gotta tell you, I went to my mother’s today and it wasn’t pretty. It was basically a deserted hovel.”

  “She didn’t say a lot, but she did panic when she realized I lived at a home for kids.” I had his attention now. He seemed eager to soak up the information, anything to make things easier for both of them. “I’m going to be honest, Tommy. She’s fragile. She acts like a grown up, but she is extremely vulnerable. Her biggest fear right now is that you might pack her off.”

  “I would never fucking do that.” His reaction was almost violent, and I knew I needed to calm him down before he went back inside to her, so I stepped forward and placed my hand on his forearm. My tiny fingers barely fit around half of his arm.

  “Calm down. I know that. I told her that, too, but you’re still a stranger. I’ve been where she is, and I know she’ll bend herself in half to be helpful.”

  “So helpful that I’ll want to keep her?”

  “Exactly. Just get to know her. She’s into books, likes cooking and is a girlie girl at heart.”

  “Any chance we can make this a semi-permanent arrangement? I don’t want her alone and I’ve got to work. I can pay.”

  “Of course, but payment won’t be necessary. You can owe me.” I felt myself winking at him. What the hell was wrong with me? When he didn’t react to my foolishness, I looked down and mumbled that he should text me with what time I needed to be there the next day.

  Shoving his hands in his pockets with his lips glued shut, he nodded again and let me leave. I was an Idiot. In one fell swoop I’d made him uncomfortable and I still had to work for him. God, I could have slapped myself silly.

  When I got home, Lottie and Oli were waiting for me. I was still bubbling from my high at the thought of what this work could bring me—that and the fact I’d dealt with a kid who needed help without needing their intervention. It seemed that this, however, did not impress them. I learned very quickly that Tommy had spoken with Oli, who had clearly filled Lottie in. I stood and listened to her opinions, all while wanting to scream back, ‘I’m twenty four, I’m an adult and I’m as fucking qualified as you.’

  But I didn’t.

  Just like Carly, at heart I was still an orphan who didn’t feel like she deserved the life she was living, and I was afraid to rock the boat.

  “I still want you to write up official case notes, Lacey. This could go south and we need to be able to say we were impartial and dealt with it correctly. Just because Tommy’s a friend doesn’t mean we don’t do this by the book.”

  “Jesus!” I finally snapped. “I know that. Thanks for the vote of overwhelming confidence.” Lottie looked like I’d slapped her, so it was Oli who stepped forward and got in between us to calm things down. Lottie and I had never argued over a case, but it was irritating that she lacked faith in my ability to do this properly.

  “Lacey, I’m gonna be straight with you.” Oli’s tone got my attention. “Tommy came to see me and he’s not happy about the shit he discovered when he tried to find Carly’s mom. Jonas is doing some work in the background that may really rock Carly’s world. Not least the fact that there is no physical proof yet that Carly is actually Tommy’s daughter. For everyone’s sake, you have to remain objective because this involves our friend.”

  “And a twelve-year-old,” I reminded him.

  “And a lost girl… Please be careful. If you need us, we’re here, but I assume you’re going to work on this and help Tommy?”

  “Absolutely.” For me, that was non-negotiable. I’d felt a connection and synergy with Carly that meant I couldn’t have left it alone if I’d tried.

  Lottie came forward and hugged me, leaving me with a gentle kiss on my forehead. “Jake is due in an hour. Apparently you’re on wingman duties.”

  “Best get ready then.” I smiled back.

  Two hours later, I was stood in Purps club like a spare part, again. Jake had arrived, picked me up, armed me with a beer and then spotted ‘potential’ across the dance floor. I hadn’t seen him since and had spent the evening so far chatting to the guy behind the bar. He was cute, friendly and, unfortunately, gay. I knew he was on guard duty, but luckily for me, he was changing a beer pump when a brave jock came over to check me out.

  “You are way too pretty to be left alone in this meat market.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “I could watch your back,” he offered, and there was a cheeky glint in his eye as he placed his bottle on his lips and let the liquid flow through them.

  Turning to give him a bit of attention, I found myself looking at a clear athletic type in snug jeans and a button down shirt that was straining over his biceps and iron pumped chest. “So how do you propose to watch my back?”

  “While it’s naked and in front of me, possibly leaning over my couch, my bed and then flush up against a wall of your choosing in my house.”

  I nearly dropped my drink. His straight up, put it out there attitude was one you didn’t hear very often. He totally knew this and the cheeky glint in his eye only got worse because of it.

  “Or you could watch it while I walk away from you?” I countered, trying to sound braver than I felt.

  “Or I could watch it as I follow your pretty ass to that dark corner where I can run my fingers up and down said pretty ass?”

  His words made me shiver, and I knew he saw. With a couple of beers inside me, I called on some courage and decided that fate was working with me for once since Jake hadn’t magically appeared to wrangle the stranger away from me. I decided to roll with it and dumped my beer bottle before shuffling off the stool. I did my best hip sway and headed towards the corner he’d indicated. He didn’t get up and follow immediately, and I was desperate to turn and see if he was going to when I heard the distinct thump of a beer bottle hitting the marble bar top. By the time I made it to the corner, he was close—so close that I could feel his breath on my neck. I tried to spin around but he held me in place.

  “No,” he said firmly with his lips on my neck. “Let’s cross this view off our list. This will be the against the wall option.”

  The mystery man’s tone made me shudder as he continued to nibble on my neck. In one smooth move, he’d palmed my jaw and pulled my head back so that he could access my mouth.

  My heart beat fast as he licked my lips, and when I opened them, he seized his moment and found the tip of my tongue with his own. The kiss was slow to start,
but became more frantic as I felt a need I hadn’t felt in, well… forever.

  “Beautiful,” he whispered, then began to spread my legs apart with his own knee. The hand at my chin stayed put, letting me know he liked having complete access to my mouth. His other hand drifted slowly down my back until it was at my hip, where he squeezed me hard and then smoothed his hand around to the front.

  I began to feel a bit heady and out of control when his fingertips ran along the waistband of my skinny jeans, and with expert precision, he flipped the button open before sliding down the zipper. I knew I should probably stop him, but I couldn’t. This guy had avoided the Jake radar and was approaching territory I was desperate for.

  I moaned into his mouth when I felt his finger breech the elastic of my panties, and as fast as his long middle finger traced the downward slope of my wet seam, he was gone.

  “Get your fucking hands off her,” Jake roared.

  “Jake!” I screamed in frustration. The music was loud and I was less than happy about being pulled from my moment.

  “Shit, Griggs, is she yours as well? I thought you’d got your hands busy already tonight?” the stranger barked back at him, making me feel like a cut of rump on a butcher’s counter.

  “Walk the fuck away, Kyle, and don’t let me ever see you this close to Lacey again.” Kyle—only now did I learn his name—leaned forward and gently kissed my lips, winking at me before strolling back into the throng of the Purps dancing masses. In one quick flash, I’d gone from having a moment to realizing I was just another moment on someone else’s fun list.

  “Honestly, Lace, do your goddamn pants up.” Jake’s face was seething with anger, and his reprimand made me feel like a wayward daughter who’d been caught having a fumble by her parents. Tears were threatening, on the verge of escape, and there was nothing I could do to prevent them.