Vice (Tortured Heroes Book 1) Page 11

  I cried out his name as I felt the rising wave of pleasure. I couldn’t hold back a second longer. Jase arched his back and let me set the pace. The stairs creaked so loudly for a second I thought they might crack beneath us. I wouldn’t have cared. Every cell in my body exploded with simultaneous pleasure as I took my release. Jase kept himself still, driving into me deep as wave after wave crested through me.

  When I could barely hold on another second and my legs started to turn to rubber, Jase reached back and held my knees as he took his pleasure from me. It was all I could do to stay in place as he thrust deep inside me. I felt him twitch and spasm and found the strength to curl my legs around him and hold him tight. He kissed my neck and whispered my name over and over as he came inside me in the darkness.

  It felt good and right even if it was only for that one moment. Whatever happened next, whatever secrets we both kept, for one perfect moment, it didn’t matter. Jase was mine and I was his.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jase

  If there is a heaven, it couldn’t compare with the feel of Devin, snoring in my arms in that darkened basement. We’d found a box with old tablecloths inside of it and I lay them out at the base of the stairs. She’d curled into a ball, afraid to touch the cement floor, and I cradled her against me when she finally drifted off.

  A sliver of light stabbed through the glass block window. Morning had finally come. In an hour, maybe two, I knew Floyd would show up. He liked to work a split shift, doing food prep in the morning then coming back just before the bar opened in the evening. Part of me wished he’d be late today. As Devin stirred against me, it was the first time I’d had peace in God knew how long. I was exactly where I wanted to be and I’d forgotten what that felt like.

  I’d explored every inch of her with my fingers and lips last night, getting to know her by touch when I couldn’t use my eyes. Now with the dim light bathing her in blue I drank in the sight of her. I shifted my weight, putting a little space between us so I could get a better look.

  God. She was perfect for me. I grew bold and trailed a finger down the slope of her shoulder, loving the feel of her creamy white skin. I smiled as she groaned and shifted, rolling to her back but bent at the hip so her legs stayed tucked to the side. Her round ass pressed against me. She looked exactly like I’d imagined in the dark last night. Better even. I smoothed my hands over the contour of her hip, down her muscled calves. I leaned down and kissed each of her wine-colored nipples, loving the way they rose to peaks for me. Then I moved up and kissed her on the lips. Even with morning breath, she was sexy as hell.

  My balls tightened as she grew agitated in her sleep, drawing her dark brows together, those bee-stung lips curling into a pout. I kissed her again. Her eyelids fluttered. For an instant, confusion clouded her honey-brown eyes as she tried to puzzle out where she was. Then a slow smile curved the corners of her mouth and squeezed my heart.

  I was falling in love with her.

  Fuck. I was in love with her. Impossible. Reckless. Selfish. Everything she thought she knew about me was a lie. Everything I had to do would hurt her one way or another. I wouldn’t have to worry about begging for her forgiveness, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. She didn’t deserve me.

  “Mmm. No fair.” She yawned and stretched, arching her back enough to drive me mad.

  “What, baby?” Her eyes flashed. I shouldn’t have said it. I should have been cold and distant. Let her think this was just a hook-up to pass the time. That would be safe. Cleaner. I wasn’t strong enough. This was Devin. One word pounded through my brain like a pulse. Mine. Devin was mine and I never wanted to let her go.

  “Why do you have clothes on? What’d you do with mine?”

  “Sorry. Spiders got ’em.” I couldn’t help myself. She reached up and tried to swat me. I leaned down and kissed her again. I couldn’t help that either. It was too good. She was too good. We’d spent the night in a bubble, shielded by darkness, away from both of our realities. I didn’t want to step back out. Not yet. She worked on me like a drug. Now that I’d had a taste, it would be that much harder to stay away.

  “Any idea what time it is?” Devin reached up and touched my face; I kissed her palm.

  “I heard the garbage service lift the dumpster in the alley about fifteen minutes ago. It’s probably just before seven. What time does Floyd usually show up?”

  She stretched again. “A little after that. I get in around nine or ten and he’s always long gone before that. Now I’m serious. I can still barely see. Help me find my clothes.”

  “Mmm. Maybe I’m not done looking at you.”

  She laughed and reached for me, pulling herself up. Her hair stuck out in frizzy cones and peaks and a wild mess of ringlets on one side. “Never mind your clothes,” I said. “Let’s see if we can find you a rake for that?”

  Giggling, she made a lunge for me but I caught her by the wrists and pulled her into my lap. She didn’t put up much of a fight. God, it was like we were drunk with each other. The minute she touched me again I was done for. I couldn’t care less if Floyd or the entire Northpointe PD descended those steps, I was going to kiss Devin again and kiss her hard.

  She seemed to have the same idea. Her arms went up around my neck and her quick tongue made swirling circles that drove me half mad. She did that to me and so much more in the late hours of the night. My cock stiffened again and I knew if we kept this up much longer, we’d both need satisfaction.

  But heavy footsteps fell overhead. Shit.

  “Shit!” Devin scrambled out of my arms. “Shit! Jase! Help me. Floyd comes down here first to get those heavy bags of fry batter.”

  Sure enough, we heard Floyd’s unmistakable whistle as he got closer to the basement door. She found her jeans and I grabbed her tee shirt off the stairs. Devin threw it over her head and tried to comb her hair with her fingers. A hopeless effort that only made it stick out worse in the opposite direction.

  “Here!” I whisper shouted and tossed her boots to her. She winked and smiled and pulled them over her feet.

  “Floyd!” she yelled. “I’m locked in down here! Can you hear me?”

  Then she turned and held her hand over her mouth. “Do you think he’ll suspect anything?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you want me to hide?”

  She smiled and shook her head. “Ugh. No. Fuck it. Who cares.”

  “What the fuck?” Floyd’s gruff voice moved closer. Then the heavy door swung open, sending shards of blinding light flooding over the basement steps. Devin lifted her hand to cover her eyes and put on a brave smile.

  “Hey!” she shouted up. “You’re literally a sight for sore eyes. We came down to change the lines last night and … well …”

  Floyd got halfway down the steps then froze when he saw me. I couldn’t read his expression. Shock. Anger maybe? Then his eyes widened in understanding as he looked from Devin to me and back again. I had to give him credit for looking half embarrassed.

  “Well, I guess break time’s over,” he said, scratching his head.

  Devin turned back toward me. The easy expression had left her face. She pursed her lips and took an awkward step up.

  “Thanks, man,” I said as I came up behind her and slapped Floyd on the shoulder. He narrowed his eyes and gave me a murderous glance I didn’t anticipate. What the hell?

  Devin made it to the top of the stairs and walked out the door. She turned to face me as I stood with one foot on the top step and the other on the landing. It felt like the difference between Oz and Kansas. Down there, last night in the dark we were one thing. Topside in the harsh light of day, we had to be something else. I wished desperately I could tell her the truth. Even if I could, she would probably hate me for it. She gave me weak smile, mindful of Floyd’s watchful eyes. Then I took the last step and closed the door behind me.

  My foot crunched over the small wooden wedge she used to prop it open. Reaching down, I picked it up then tossed it to her. Devin ca
ught it between her palms and her smile widened. “Maybe I’ll give Kinney one last chance to redeem himself and fix the lock today.”

  Kinney.

  My heart thundered in my chest and I ran my hand over the scruff of my chin. Shit. I’d missed my meeting with him by hours and with it, maybe my last good chance to find out who his supplier was. Gates and Lewandowski had expected a call from me last night when I knew the final details. I needed to get one of them on the phone and quick before they got worried something happened to me.

  I made a move toward Devin. My instinct was to draw her into a goodbye kiss and tell her I’d call her later. With Floyd looming over my shoulder and the uncertainty in Devin’s eyes, I held back.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow night,” I said, nodding. I turned to slap Floyd on the back again. “Now if you don’t mind, I need a shower, shave, and a few hours of sleep.”

  Devin nodded and tried to wrangle her wild hair again. Her eyes went from me to Floyd and back again. He had to know something was up but to his credit, he kept his mouth shut. She put an awkward hand out to shake mine. Giving her a smirk and a knowing glance, I played along. I took her hand in mine and shook it. Then I headed for the kitchen and grabbed my jacket. My phone buzzed inside with a new text message.

  Nineteen missed calls. Three from Kinney. The rest from Stan and Gates. Stan was in the process of texting me now.

  “Where the hell are you? We need to meet this morning. Betsy Ross Diner on Fifth Street. Can you be there in fifteen?”

  I ran a hand through my hair and looked around the corner to make sure I was still alone. “Give me twenty. Order me eggs and black coffee,” I texted back.

  The cursor blinked but Stan didn’t answer. Not a good sign. I had just enough time to use a toothbrush then head across town. I slid my hand into my back pocket to double check I still had Gates’s flash drive with Kinney’s phone dump. I felt a hard, reassuring square outline beneath the denim then headed out the back kitchen door.

  I didn’t know Mitch Gates well enough to read him, but he didn’t meet my eyes when I walked into the diner. Stan did. He pounded his fist against the table and muttered something that meant the opposite of good morning.

  “Hey,” I said, jerking my chin as I sat down. The waitress set a cup of steaming black coffee in front of me. I fingered the rim and leaned against the back of the booth.

  “What happened last night?” Stan said, leaning in close. “The deal is you call. You check in every few hours.”

  I put a hand up in surrender. “I know. I know. Something came up.”

  “What …” Stan raised his voice, drawing a look from the booth across from us. He took a breath and lowered his tone to a whisper. “What the hell could possibly come up that’s more important than your safety. Or my sanity when it comes to your safety.”

  Now that I was forced to explain it, I suddenly realized how unbelievable it would sound. “I got locked in The Dive Bar basement. Broken fucking latch. My phone wasn’t on me. I’m sorry, man. Unavoidable.”

  “What about the drop?” Mitch asked. He was supposed to come with me, stay hidden, and be my ears in case anything went wrong. I can only imagine the shit storm and silence my six hours AWOL had to cause. I felt like a shit, but there really wasn’t anything I could have done. I did my best to explain what happened, leaving the intimate details with Devin far out of it. But I had to tell them she was with me. I couldn’t lie to either of them outright. No matter what, I relied on these guys to have my back. We couldn’t do right by each other if I wasn’t honest. For the moment, they didn’t ask for more.

  Stan slammed his cup against the table. Mitch reached over and made a wave with his hand, gesturing for Stan to calm the fuck down. Stan leaned back hard and looked out the window. His nostrils flared and he took a breath. Finally, he looked at me, eyes blazing.

  “I’m asking you for solid progress, you’re giving me a sitcom, Jase. You have no idea how close I am to having to shut this whole thing down.”

  He reached down and brought up a crumpled newspaper. Laying it flat on the table between us, my heart lurched. The headline stared back at me. ‘Two Teens Found Dead in Beacon Hill.’ Beacon Hill was Northpointe’s most affluent neighborhood. Chances were the kids in question were connected to somebody if their death was front-page news.

  “Doctor’s kids,” Stan said. “My guys found smack at the scene. We’re testing it, but it’s Hot Shot. You know it is. Now I’ve got the mayor breathing down my neck. One of the kids is on his son’s lacrosse team. They’re best friends. Please tell me you have something.”

  Before I could answer, Mitch spoke up. “You’ve gotten close to her,” he said. “Marsh’s niece.” It was a statement, not a question, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Fucker didn’t miss a trick. I knew deep down that made him a good cop. It also made him irritating.

  “This isn’t Devin,” I said, raising my voice as loud as I dared. “You’re going to have to trust me on this. She’s in the dark.”

  “You sure you can be objective as far as she’s concerned?” My blood ran cold as Stan stared at me. Mitch’s hard glare matched the accusation in Stan’s question too. I gripped the side of my coffee mug hard until my fingers started to burn. I got the strong sense the two of them had a conversation before my arrival. My guess, they probably drew fucking straws to see which one of them was going to ask me straight out about Devin.

  “Yes.” I hissed my answer. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the flash drive and tossed it between them.

  “Hers?” Gates said, surprised as he lifted the small black square and put it in the pocket of his golf shirt.

  I shook my head. “Kinney’s. The bartender.”

  Stan slammed his fist against the table again and groaned. “That wasn’t your objective. She was. Tell me now, Jase. Are you capable of finishing the job I hired you to do?”

  “Kinney’s small time,” Gates said. “We all know that. We need the bigger fish, Jase.”

  “I know that. He made a call to set up the meeting right in front of me. I made my move and got your data.”

  “The meeting you didn’t show up for?” Stan said.

  “Why the hell are you busting my balls so hard? It’s my ass on the line down there. I’m telling you, the girl’s the wrong tree to bark up. She doesn’t know anything.”

  “You willing to bet your career on that?” Stan’s eyes flashed.

  I set my jaw hard. I knew how this looked. Hell, if roles were reversed and Gates were in my place, I know exactly what I’d think. I’d think he was in danger of fucking up my case by thinking with the wrong head. Shit. Except I knew I wasn’t.

  “Just dump the phone,” I finally said. “We’ll take it from there.”

  Stan leaned back in his seat, his expression weary. “When I said we’re out of time, I wasn’t bullshitting. Mayor wants a task force. You want me to spell out for you what’s going to happen if he backs me into a corner on it?”

  He didn’t have to. If the corruption within the Northpointe PD ran as deep as Stan said it did, the mayor’s task force would ruin this entire investigation. They’d stomp through Devin’s bar and every other distribution point. Cyrus Marsh would just close up shop and wait it out. Maybe he’d sacrifice a low-level guy like Kinney to make the media happy. But then six months from now or less, it would be business as usual.

  “I’ll get the meeting. I’ll reach out to Kinney in a few hours.”

  “You think he’s not spooked by your no-show?” Gates asked.

  I rapped my fingers on the table top. “Kinney’s the reason for the no-show. Faulty door latch was his fuck-up. I can lean on him again. I can still make it work.”

  “Good,” Stan said. “I’ll leave the two of you to work out the details. I need to get my ass out of here. The longer I’m seen talking to you, the worse it is for all of us. But make no mistake, Jase. This is a now-or-never proposition. I need a break in this case. I need it yesterday.
Don’t make me regret putting my trust in you. I’m the only thing standing between you and your badge. You ever want it back, you close this deal. We’re never going to have a chance to nail Cyrus Marsh like this again. If we fail, I’ll know exactly who to blame. I can do a hell of a lot worse to you than Lincolnshire did. Remember that.”

  I swallowed bile and rage as Stan Lewandowski rose to his full height and slammed his fist on the table.

  Meeting adjourned.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Devin

  “He did what?” I stood with my hands on my hips as Georgia delivered the news that would make tonight a potential fucking disaster.

  “Called in sick,” Georgia said while tying her apron around her waist. “Relax though. Monday’s a slow night. You know that.”

  It wasn’t that I disagreed with her. But Kinney knew better than to use Georgia to relay that kind of message. He also knew I was pissed at him about the basement door. Even as I thought it, a tingle of remembered pleasure shot through me. If Kinney had fixed the door, last night wouldn’t have happened. If he were here and knew about it, his gloating would be epic.

  “Everything okay, boss?” Georgia cocked her head sideways and put a hand on my shoulder.

  “What? Uh. Yeah. Just … yeah. I’ll deal with Kinney myself. You guys know the rules though. Sick days and vacation requests have to come through me. No exceptions.”

  Georgia nodded and Leslie gave me a weak smile from behind the bar. They knew something was off with me. I’d need to do a better job fixing my mask in place. If they suspected anything between Jase and me, I’d never hear the end of it and it would undermine me with each and every one of them. I gave them a nod and headed back toward the kitchen.

  That was a mistake.

  Older and wiser, Floyd knew me better than any of the rest of them. I was far too obvious as I looked to the right, expecting to see Jase. My step faltered and I froze for an instant. Jase wasn’t there. I tried to cover. Lifted my chin and painted on a smile. The instant I did it, I knew that was the dead giveaway.