floor, he took her hand and backed her to the bed. Her eyes
bored into his, a window into her thoughts, and he would give her
what she needed in one respect. More would come later, but for
tonight, he’d help her sleep.
She sat, and he went to one knee and removed
her shoes.
“ Go brush your teeth, doll.
I’ll be right here.”
Surprise flashed in her eyes for a second,
then she stood in her flimsy pink panty and bra and walked past
him, her knees a little wobbly but head held high.
* * * *
Ethan squatted under a tree in a darkened
front yard a few houses down from pretty little Dena Lindsay and
her new best buddy. Fuck buddy, from what he knew about Steve
Gladston. The man was a legend in the BDSM community, a rap Ethan
wanted to shred. Nobody could be that good with the women.
Now the man was a full blown thorn in Ethan’s
side. Two of his friends were in lockup after a short stint in the
hospital and they still didn’t have the information he needed.
Those passcodes had to be somewhere in Dena’s
house or office. They were too important to leave lying around, but
he hadn’t found any kind of safe in the house. And now he’d have to
wait another day to search again. He’d been in the back bedroom
when Gladston’s truck pulled into the drive, barely managing to get
out through the window. Thank fuck the housing code required escape
windows for fire safety. From the looks of it, getting back in
would be harder tomorrow.
A persistent vibration in his pocket had him
pulling out his cell. Lloyd with good news, he hoped. “Speak.”
“ Got in. Got out. No
problem.”
“ Tell me you found what we
need.”
“ Can’t be sure. Did a search
and downloaded all her files to a zip. On the way home now to go
through them.”
“ I’ll meet you there in a
bit. Want to see how long Gladston stays tonight.”
“ Who?”
“ That fucker that beat up
our guys. He took her out tonight and almost walked in on
me.”
“ Shit. Guess that means you
didn’t find anything.”
Her house went dark. “Fuck it. He’s staying
the night.” Ethan stood and checked the neighborhood before moving
out of the shadows. “I’ll meet you in half an hour.” Without
waiting for a reply, he stepped out onto the sidewalk. Arms loose
and carefree, he ambled down the block like joe-shmo neighbor out
for a late-night stroll. Two blocks over, he ducked behind a quiet
church. Best place in the world to hide a vehicle. Nobody thought
to look behind a church.
It took him half an hour to drive across town
to Lloyd’s shabby apartment. Damn, if this was all he could manage
with a law degree, he should’ve gone into the trades like his dad.
Plumbers ran in his family and they all had nice houses, from what
Ethan had seen during high school.
For Ethan, growing up meant sit down dinners
with family and listening to his parents talk politics. Mainly,
they rehashed what his uncle was doing in the State Senate. Boring
shit that Ethan had no need of. Sooner or later, Gramps would croak
and he’d come into a nice little fortune. Until then, he played
games of chance. Trouble was, he didn’t always win.
He tapped on Lloyd’s door and it popped
open.
“ I’m into her system, but
can’t find any reference for the accounts.”
Ethan handed him the laptop he’d grabbed on
his way out of Dena’s house. “Keep looking. If I don’t get those
numbers, I’m shit out of luck.”
“ We. We need the
info.”
Right. Lloyd wasn’t completely gullible. “Of
course, that’s what I meant.” He leaned over the old desktop and
watched the pages flip with every click. “And you got
everything?”
“ Copied every last bit of
info from her workstation onto this hard drive. Maybe the info we
need is somewhere else in the building.”
“ Maybe. John and Bill had
their hands on some stuff, but it stayed in the building. Besides,
the info we need isn’t likely to be hardcopy. Maybe it’s on her
personal laptop.” Ethan tapped on
bored into his, a window into her thoughts, and he would give her
what she needed in one respect. More would come later, but for
tonight, he’d help her sleep.
She sat, and he went to one knee and removed
her shoes.
“ Go brush your teeth, doll.
I’ll be right here.”
Surprise flashed in her eyes for a second,
then she stood in her flimsy pink panty and bra and walked past
him, her knees a little wobbly but head held high.
* * * *
Ethan squatted under a tree in a darkened
front yard a few houses down from pretty little Dena Lindsay and
her new best buddy. Fuck buddy, from what he knew about Steve
Gladston. The man was a legend in the BDSM community, a rap Ethan
wanted to shred. Nobody could be that good with the women.
Now the man was a full blown thorn in Ethan’s
side. Two of his friends were in lockup after a short stint in the
hospital and they still didn’t have the information he needed.
Those passcodes had to be somewhere in Dena’s
house or office. They were too important to leave lying around, but
he hadn’t found any kind of safe in the house. And now he’d have to
wait another day to search again. He’d been in the back bedroom
when Gladston’s truck pulled into the drive, barely managing to get
out through the window. Thank fuck the housing code required escape
windows for fire safety. From the looks of it, getting back in
would be harder tomorrow.
A persistent vibration in his pocket had him
pulling out his cell. Lloyd with good news, he hoped. “Speak.”
“ Got in. Got out. No
problem.”
“ Tell me you found what we
need.”
“ Can’t be sure. Did a search
and downloaded all her files to a zip. On the way home now to go
through them.”
“ I’ll meet you there in a
bit. Want to see how long Gladston stays tonight.”
“ Who?”
“ That fucker that beat up
our guys. He took her out tonight and almost walked in on
me.”
“ Shit. Guess that means you
didn’t find anything.”
Her house went dark. “Fuck it. He’s staying
the night.” Ethan stood and checked the neighborhood before moving
out of the shadows. “I’ll meet you in half an hour.” Without
waiting for a reply, he stepped out onto the sidewalk. Arms loose
and carefree, he ambled down the block like joe-shmo neighbor out
for a late-night stroll. Two blocks over, he ducked behind a quiet
church. Best place in the world to hide a vehicle. Nobody thought
to look behind a church.
It took him half an hour to drive across town
to Lloyd’s shabby apartment. Damn, if this was all he could manage
with a law degree, he should’ve gone into the trades like his dad.
Plumbers ran in his family and they all had nice houses, from what
Ethan had seen during high school.
For Ethan, growing up meant sit down dinners
with family and listening to his parents talk politics. Mainly,
they rehashed what his uncle was doing in the State Senate. Boring
shit that Ethan had no need of. Sooner or later, Gramps would croak
and he’d come into a nice little fortune. Until then, he played
games of chance. Trouble was, he didn’t always win.
He tapped on Lloyd’s door and it popped
open.
“ I’m into her system, but
can’t find any reference for the accounts.”
Ethan handed him the laptop he’d grabbed on
his way out of Dena’s house. “Keep looking. If I don’t get those
numbers, I’m shit out of luck.”
“ We. We need the
info.”
Right. Lloyd wasn’t completely gullible. “Of
course, that’s what I meant.” He leaned over the old desktop and
watched the pages flip with every click. “And you got
everything?”
“ Copied every last bit of
info from her workstation onto this hard drive. Maybe the info we
need is somewhere else in the building.”
“ Maybe. John and Bill had
their hands on some stuff, but it stayed in the building. Besides,
the info we need isn’t likely to be hardcopy. Maybe it’s on her
personal laptop.” Ethan tapped on
Similar Books
