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“Casey Smith.”
I grunted. Casey was a real pretty name. Though I doubted Smith was real. “Gladys wasted no time getting you the information.”
His grin showed off his perfectly straight white teeth, making me want to lean in and bite his lip. “What can I say? My aunt loves me.”
I looked at him, really looking into his eyes, letting him see my sincerity. “You know you’re enough for me, right? So if you want to end this now before it even begins, that’s what we’ll do. I know I don’t say it often enough, but... I love you.”
He reached out and grabbed the back of my neck. “Babe, I know you do. And we talked about this years ago. We both love the idea of a woman, even if neither one of us has ever been with one.” He breathed out a low chuckle, the slight gust of air fanning over my lips. “We’ve both felt the need to have one as part of us, between us. We knew that this day would come, that one day she would come. Hopefully, we aren’t wrong, and this girl is who we’ve been waiting for all these years. I trust your judgment. You know I don’t say that lightly. I. Trust. You. We pursue Casey, and if it’s right, she becomes ours. It doesn’t take away from what we have together. It will add to what we have. Okay?” He squeezed my neck and placed his forehead against mine. “We do this together, and we will all be happy. Together.”
I breathed out my relief at his acceptance and nodded against his hold. “Yeah. Together.” He pressed a hard kiss against my lips and then backed away.
“We’ll form a plan tonight. Miss Casey Smith won’t know what hit her.” He looked back in the direction of the inn. “She needs us.”
I started the engine of my truck. “Yeah, she does.”
I drove back to the work site, ready to get the day over with. I had plans for the evening that included getting rid of one nasty son of a bitch, then ending the night with dreams of bringing a sweet, damaged soul closer. Unfortunately, the day couldn’t end fast enough.
I busied myself with what needed to be done at that renovation site. We had just finished setting up the flooring to be ready to lay the new wood planks when the alarm on my phone sounded.
“Alright, people, that’s a wrap for the day. Get your shit and get out of here.” I called out. Our days started early, and my workers were grateful to have their evenings clear for their families.
“See you tomorrow, boss!” Lydia, one of my best, called out as she picked up her tool belt and pulled her keys out of her pocket. I nodded to her and grunted to the rest of the crew as they called out their goodbyes.
I packed my own supplies into the toolbox that was bolted into the bed of my truck, and then locked the metal latch. After watching everyone else drive away, I started my engine. Instead of heading in the direction of home, I made my way back to the law office of the asshole that was about to regret ever laying a hand on his little girl.
I waited next to the side door, staring at the little red BMW. His wife drove a ten-year-old piece of shit that was held together with prayer and a string. The car that she was expected to transport this piece of shit’s children around in. I hoped she traded the tiny car in on something more practical. But if I saw her driving it around town one day, I was sure it would be with a smile on her face.
As the door began to open, I straightened my shoulders and uncapped the needle, pulling the cap off and shoving it into my pocket with my gloved hand.
“Hey, asshole,” I ground out as I plunged the needle into his neck. “I hear you like touching little girls.”
Four
CASEY
I’d sleptlike the dead. The sun was already shining brightly by the time I blinked my eyes open. I rolled over, facing the window, and stared at the filmy, pale yellow curtains. The inn was perfect. The room I was in was cute, with sage and pale yellow tones decorating it, making me wonder what the rest of the rooms looked like.
The place was called an inn, but it more resembled a quaint bed-and-breakfast. Except I had a private bathroom in my room. It had a regular lock and key on the door instead of the electronic locks most motels had switched to since before I could remember. Not that I had stayed in many hotels or motels. My parents were hard workers, but California was an expensive state to live in. My dad’s job at the hardware store and my mom’s cashier position at a local grocery store didn’t exactly allow for many vacations. Our family getaways usually consisted of day trips to the beach when I was growing up. Just because I lived in a coastal town didn’t mean I spent much time in the surf.
As I lay there thinking about my parents, I couldn’t stop the pain that washed over me. They were good people that loved me deeply. It hurt to not even be able to call. So far, I had missed two, maybe three, Sunday dinners. I was already losing count.
“I miss you, Mom.” I closed my eyes and sobbed into my pillow, allowing the pain and hurt out in a way I hadn’t been able to while surrounded by strangers. It had been hard holding all that pain in for so long.
Yesterday, when I arrived at the inn, I was given a rate that I was sure was far below normal. I dragged my suitcase, along with my exhausted self, to my room and stripped down to nothing, so relieved to finally have a real shower. After a long, hot shower that went far to ease my aching joints, I had crawled into bed while the sun was still high in the sky. I must have been out the minute my head touched the pillow because here I was, blinking my wet eyes at the sun shining through the pretty curtains.
I thought of what I should do next. The thought of climbing back onto another bus had my body revolting at the memory of all the traveling and sitting for days on end. Of dodging men with lascivious gazes, ignoring questions from strangers that wanted nothing more than to pry into my life’s history.
If I stayed frugal, I could continue to travel for several months with the money that my parents had given me. Or I could settle in one place. The money would run out quicker unless I found a job willing to pay me in cash. I thought of the diner. And then I thought of the man that had walked in before again, quickly clearing that image from my mind. He was taken. I was determined to remember that.
I could work at the diner. I was sure that Grace would work something out with me. Maybe. I wouldn’t mind the work. I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling as the face of the detective that had stopped me on my walk to the inn invaded. He was a different kind of handsome. Where the construction worker was light, blond, and had green eyes. The detective was dark. His honey-colored eyes had been entrancing. I’d nearly been hypnotized by them. It was the only excuse I could come up with as to why I had stopped in the first place when he pulled up next to me, calling out.
I had paused, looking over at him, and my breath caught in my throat. One light, one dark. It was enough to give a girl wicked fantasies. He had been nice, his deep voice soothing. Even though he looked big and capable of causing harm, something about his manner told me that he would never hurt an innocent person. But even so, when he had offered me a ride to the inn, I had backed away, thanking him for the offer, and quickly continued on my way. I hadn’t looked back, but I could feel his piercing eyes as they followed me.
If I were interested in a man, he would be the type that I would want. Someone large but kind. Either him or the blond one that I couldn’t shake, no matter how hard I tried.
Taken.
I would keep telling myself that over and over until I stopped fantasizing.
