Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 79020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
But, hell, maybe that was the thrill. Maybe she's tired of being safe. Maybe she wants a thrill or two to liven up her monochrome world.
If it's a thrill she's seeking, then a thrill I can give her.
"You coming in?" she asks, her eyes drifting down my body as I climb off my bike.
I'm not exactly upset with the hunger in her eyes when they drop to my thighs. There's a lot of power in them, and my muscles flex in anticipation of using them tonight.
I follow her up the short driveway and onto the tiny stoop that's too small to even be considered a porch, waiting right behind her as she unlocks the door. I resist the urge to bury my nose in her hair, but just barely.
I step inside, waiting to look around until she flips on the living room light. I glance all around like someone is supposed to when first entering a home, as if I wasn't in here just ten minutes ago.
I found nothing among her belongings to indicate that she's involved in any other business with Wilkinson other than covering shifts at the bar, but a good criminal isn't going to leave out ledgers and proof for anyone to find. She also doesn't have a safe or any form of valuables. She doesn't have a box of stuff in the back of her closet with secrets.
The minimal recon I've been able to do on Tommy Wilkinson is leaning toward a small-scale prostitution ring rather than actual sex trafficking, but even if the girls are willing to work for the man now doesn't mean he isn't up to even more dangerous shit. I've seen how some pimps will turn on their women if they have a change of heart on any given day. What we think he may be doing is still very criminal and illegal, and it's something we need to shut down.
I wanted to move on from this case and call it like it is, but I've been instructed to wait and see. There's always a chance we'll catch him with a down-on-her-luck, underaged girl who ran away from home.
"You want a beer or a bottle of water?" she asks, and I shake my head in response.
I stare at her as she pulls off her thick coat, revealing arms already covered in goosebumps.
"Are you afraid of me?" I ask, sincerely wanting to know.
"No," she whispers.
"That's a mistake," I return, watching as she keeps her eyes on me while she kicks off her shoes.
The woman doesn't dress the way I've seen a lot of female bartenders dress. She doesn't wear revealing, tight clothes, as if she's trying to entice the customers to tip better. With it being mostly locals here, I imagine her wardrobe plays a very small part in how much money she makes on any given night.
When her tongue skates out over her lips, I read her body's reaction to what it is, arousal. She's turned on, not afraid.
I risk fucking this all up with my next words.
"You said you weren't fucking Wilkinson, but he can't seem to keep his hands to himself when he's around you."
The memory of him pressing a kiss to her temple makes me want to drag her into the shower and scrub her body clean, and he didn't even show his face at the bar tonight. The man shouldn't have the ability to slip into my head the way he does.
Zara pulls in a deep breath, as she stares at me, and I can tell she's giving me an opportunity to change the subject, but I won't back down. As much as I want to sink inside of her tight cunt, I have a job to do.
"You really want to talk about Tommy right now?"
I cross my arms over my chest, raising an eyebrow in response.
She looks disgusted, and I like it, but I also need any information she may have.
"Tommy is my brother-in-law. Well, he's my ex-brother-in-law. I recently got divorced from his asshole brother. He offered me a job when I didn't have anywhere else to land."
I know all of this. It was in her file.
"The temple kisses?" she asks with a look of disgust on her face and an all-over shiver as if she's completely repulsed by the idea of him. "I don't know why he does that."
"He shouldn't touch you if you don't want it."
"And I should be able to find work where I don't get hit on by every other man, including the married ones, but life isn't as simple as being happy and doing something that you love."
Instead of staying to talk to me, she turns and leaves the room, walking down the short hallway that leads to the only other two rooms in the house, a bedroom, and a bathroom.
Of course, I follow her. I'm not going to leave without getting the information I need.