Chasing Thunder (22 page)

“What do you do?”

“Consulting,” Bob replied. “You?”

“Construction,” Snake lied easily.

“Married?” Bob asked, and Snake shook his head and shrugged.

“Still waiting for my childhood sweetheart to friend me on Facebook. You?”

Bob shook his head. “You know how it is. When your life is your job, you have to make certain sacrifices.”

Snake nodded. “I hear that,” he said. He raised his glass and they toasted. Before another word was said, their attention was caught by a half-naked redhead who walked out onto the black T-shaped stage. The lights narrowed to a spotlight on the new solo dancer taking center stage.

It was M.J.

A slick beat underscored each movement as she took command of that stage like a pro. Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for someone in particular, and finding him. She locked eyes with Dominic Isbecky across the room and began to swirl around the pole with a finesse and an expertise that shocked both Bob and Snake as they sat stupefied on the sidelines.

M.J. did not even register their familiar faces. She had one job to do and she planned to do it well. Her eyes held Isbecky’s as she beckoned him closer with nothing more than the sway of her hips and her overflowing cleavage. She opened her legs as she squatted low, then curled back around the pole.

Her moves were aggressive as she stalked the stage. Patrons threw dollar bills her direction, which she’d stoop to retrieve, inspect, and throw to the side with a derisive sneer. She was worth way more, and she let every single one of them know it as she assaulted that pole. She lifted her weight off of the floor and into the air, arching her back until her head almost touched the stage. She spun around to the heavy bass, then landed in a split on the floor. Her arms rippled as she pulled herself back up again, climbing along the pole like a snake. She was in complete control as she held back what they wanted most, the ultimate tease. The crowd went wild as she finished her act, even though she didn’t drop one stitch of clothing or accept one dollar. Her disdain for them only made them hotter.

She hopped down in front of Isbecky, standing in front of him face-to-face. His smile was more of a snarl as his fingers clamped around her bare arm. Her face remained stoic as she eyed him triumphantly, even while he dragged her from the stage. Bob jumped up, but Snake pulled him back down again. Their eyes met and Snake shook his head. “You follow her, it’ll only make it worse.” He stared off after M.J. “She can handle it.”

“You know her?” Bob asked.

Snake drained the rest of his beer. “We’ve met.” He slammed the empty glass on the table and stalked from the club.

Bob sighed as he pulled his phone from his hoodie. He had missed a text seven minutes before because of the loud music. It was from M.J. And it was an address, followed by a photo of the missing teen wearing a Slick uniform.

Detective Kelly Harris hopped to his feet and followed Snake out the door.

15. U + UR HAND

B
aby sat on the sofa, playing with her new phone. It was a marvel in her hands. She had never been allowed an expensive smartphone before. “You’re not mature enough,” the voice echoed. “We’ll have to work on that.”

She shivered in spite of herself, shaking her head slightly as she continued to explore her new gadget.

Kid plopped down next to her. “Having fun?”

She smiled wide. “A blast,” she admitted. She turned the phone around in her hands. “It’s like having a cosmic remote control. Pew,” she said, pointing the phone at the TV, “play my favorite show. Pew,” she said, aiming it at his game console. “Play the newest games. Pew,” she said, pointing it at him. “Call my new friend.”

They laughed as they settled back against the cushions. “What would you do with a cosmic remote control?” he asked. “If you could have anything you wanted in just the push of a button.”

She thought about that a minute before admitting, with a sheepish grin, “I suppose if I were a good person I’d wish for world peace or to end world hunger or to cure cancer.”

“You are a good person,” Kid asserted. “One of the best.”

She shook her head. “You don’t even know me.”

His eyes met hers. “Yeah, I do.” After a beat, she looked away. “Really. You can tell me.”

She stared at her phone for a long moment before she answered. “I wish I could be an entirely new person. Just start over again from scratch.”

“Isn’t that what you did?” he asked her.

She glanced around the homey, masculine room. There were pictures on the wall, pictures of Snake and Kid and their parents. There were pictures of M.J. and pictures of Jimmy, and of a man named Joe Bennett that she had never met. She felt more at home in this quaint house than she had in some of the finest houses in North Carolina. She had a new name. She had a new look.

So why did she feel like the same corrupted person inside?

“I think I need a tattoo,” she decided, examining the inside of her delicate wrist. It seemed fitting. A beautiful scar on the outside to mask the ugly ones on the inside.

He laughed. “You’re not old enough.”

“You have one,” she pointed out, reminding him of the cartoon character he’d gotten on his left arm for his sixteenth birthday.

“True,” he chuckled. “But M.J. will never allow it. There was a time when she thought tattoos made people too identifiable. That’s why most of hers are where they usually can’t be seen.”

Baby considered that. “Well, it was just a thought,” she said. She yawned and stood. “I think I’m going to head to bed. You?”

He shook his head. “I think I’ll level up first.”

She nodded. Right as she reached the doorframe, she turned back. “You should call Maddox,” she said.

“Why?”

“Maybe it’s time for you to be a new person, too,” she said with a small smile. “Night, Kid.”

“Night, Baby,” he replied softly.

He shivered as she turned away. Her name felt like honey on his tongue. It tasted so good he indulged any reason at all to say it. He’d been smitten before, of course. He’d had crushes and he had gone on dates. He’d even played spin the bottle and gotten to second base with Allison Newman in a closet, playing seven minutes in heaven. Sure, it had taken him six minutes to get there, but he had done it. Not bad for a geeky biker gamer dork who didn’t really fit in with anyone.

But with Baby he felt like he belonged. They could sit side by side and say nothing, yet still make a connection. Just a look, or a brush of her hand against his skin, or even the smell of her perfume on the furniture made him feel renewed. Like he wasn’t left alone in the universe anymore. He had waited a very long time to feel that again.

More than that, she gave him purpose. It made him feel like a man to look after her and take care of her. He was her protector now. He liked what that had awakened inside him. He knew he could be anything he wanted to be, just because this complete stranger had faith in him.

He pulled out his own phone and called Maddox.

Dominic thrust M.J. into his office, locking the door behind her. She sauntered easily toward one of the chairs. “So what do you think?” she asked as she flopped down. “Do I have what it takes?”

His dark eyes glittered as he stared down at her. “Normally I would never hire anyone with tattoos,” he said with an evil sneer. “But the crowd seemed to love you. Apparently they like a dirty girl.” He perched on the edge of the desk.

She parted her legs before draping one over the other. “The dirtiest,” she said, popping a sour green apple sucker into her mouth. She had snatched the candy from the Green Room when she had grabbed the black leather bra. Whether he recognized either remained a mystery. He made no comment as he studied her, his eyes narrowed.

“You should know you’re playing a dangerous game. I’m not a man to be toyed with.”

“No?” she asked innocently. “I would think a guy like you had lots of toys.” She stood. “In lots of rooms. With different themes,” she added as she leaned closer. Her body may have been inviting, but her eyes were lethal.

Just as he was adding two and two, someone knocked on his door. He walked over to answer. “She’s gone,” the voice said from the other side.

Dominic said nothing. He locked the door with a push of the button and faced M.J. “I thought I warned you about sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong,” he growled as he advanced.

“And I thought you mentioned something about a trade,” she said with a slight smile. “I know there’s a few more miles on this engine, but you shouldn’t count me out until you take a test drive.”

He was intrigued. She could tell by the tightening of his trousers. He resumed his seat on the ebony desk and beckoned. “Impress me.”

She stepped closer, running her hands under his jacket and up his chest. His eyes swallowed her as she leaned close and whispered, “Play something with a beat.”

He leaned back to grab his console control. He scrolled past the classical music for a harder-edged rock tune. She began to writhe and gyrate around his body, just like she had on the stripper pole. She unbuttoned his jacket and slipped it from his broad shoulders. With a delicious grin, she moved her hands over his rock-hard chest. “Someone works out,” she crooned.

His hand slid from her shoulder down to the curve of her hip. “I could say the same about you,” he murmured.

“You have no idea,” she whispered as she bent forward, undoing each button of his shirt with her teeth. She didn’t stop until she was on her knees in front of him. He pulled his shirt free from his pants as she unbuckled his belt. Her finger slipped inside his slacks and released the button. She brushed her breasts on the insides of his legs.

He grinned as he tangled his hand in her hair. “You’re just a filthy little whore, aren’t you?” he murmured. “Like all the rest. At home on your knees.”

She shook her head. “Oh, no. I think you’ll find I’m very different from all the rest.” She pulled his slacks open, revealing the bulge straining against his underwear. She ran a hand along the shaft and he shuddered. “Are you ready?” she whispered.

He shoved her head downward and she smiled as she made a production out of pulling his underwear down and revealing his angry, purple-headed erection. She took her time, cradling his balls, tugging them from his trousers, until he was massive and naked right in front of her face. The moment her breath touched the sensitive skin of his head, his eyes fluttered closed and his head tilted back.

“You like that?” she asked, and he murmured his affirmation.

In one swift motion, she grabbed the zipper and yanked it up full force, until all of the skin of his erect penis and tender testicles was eaten up in the metal teeth.

With a roar he knocked her away, delivering a backhanded blow to her jaw. Though her smile was bloody, she reveled in the fact he was doubled over in pain in front of her. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak. All he could think about was the pain in his genitals. She made it to the door, but he had changed the lock configuration since her last visit. Before she could figure it out, he was nearly on top of her.

“You forgot something,” he sputtered. He yanked the black bra off her body so violently he nearly took skin with it. “That’s mine.”

She stood before him half nude. She didn’t make one move to cover herself. Let him get an eyeful of what he would forever be denied. As he was still compromised, she was able to step in, slip her arm in one sleeve of his shirt, and spin them around until she had wrested it from him. He fell, bleeding and groaning, onto the floor.

She hit the electronic box with one hand while she held the shirt closed with the other. The door opened and she darted down the hallway, flying down the steps toward the front door. Isbecky’s goons were quick to follow, and four big muscleheads nearly cornered her at the door. She dove under a table to roll out of arm’s reach, then scooted right between some patrons at the front of the line waiting to enter.

The thugs followed her, gaining ground. She nearly ran into the street to get away from them. As she turned back to see where they were, a strong arm grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up on a motorcycle.

With a roar of thunder, they sped out of sight.