Crushing Beauty (Harbingers of Sorrow MC): Vegas Titans Series (2 page)

Britton opened her eyes to the rising sun. She was safely in
her bed, tucked under the blankets. She hadn’t remembered finding her way home
last night, but she did. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing that even while
her body was failing her, she had the sense and energy to make it home. She
slowly moved out of her bedroom and made her way to the kitchen. The food in
her cabinets disgusted her. Still, she knew she had to force herself to eat.
She grabbed a piece of bread, tore off the crust, rolled it into a ball, and
shoved it into her mouth. There, she ate something. She sat down on the couch
and reached for her bag. She pulled out the file she had looked at every day
since it was given to her. His face. She couldn’t run away from it. That
picture was with her wherever she went.

She knew Jagger had gotten in with the wrong crowd back in
high school. He'd made excuses, but she wasn’t oblivious. She knew that the
nights they didn’t spend together were nights he was out there risking his
life. She didn’t know what he had gotten involved in, but she knew it wasn’t
good. At that time, all that mattered to her was that they were together. Now,
that meant nothing. Now, it was her job to find him and take him down.

Britton graduated from Quantico with full intentions of
going straight after Jagger Stromm and his crew of bikers. She knew too much
about them, having focused her thesis on his group, the Harbingers of Sorrow.
She hated that name. It made her teeth grind together, her fingers stiffen, but
most of all, it made her heart ache. She leaned her head back, recalling her
return to Las Vegas.

College was her way out. After the accident, her only goal
was to get out of Nevada and never look back. Still, she couldn’t help but want
revenge on the man who practically left her to die. When the FBI offered her a
choice of any branch in the country, she could do nothing but request the town
she grew up in. She knew he was still there. She knew a return would be the
only way to face him again.

Britton worked hard, never giving up on a case until it was
solved. After a year and a half with the FBI, her boss had called her into his
office.

“Special Agent Howard, you wanted to see me?”

“Britton, you can call me David.”

“Yes, sir.”

He snickered as he gestured for her to take a seat.

“I have something for you.” He threw a file onto the desk
in front of her. A picture was stapled to the top. His picture. Britton froze.
This is what she had wanted since her decision to pursue a career in law
enforcement, but now that it was literally staring her in the face, she
couldn’t take the leap.

“I can’t.”

“You will.”

“Sir, I know this man.”

“I know you know him. I read your thesis paper.”

“No, I personally know him.”

“Britton, I’ve done my research. I know about you. I know
about your relationship. I think we can use it to our advantage. I want you to
go undercover.”

“I’ve never been undercover.”

“I think this is the perfect case for you to start with.
You already know him, so just be yourself before you joined the bureau.”

“I… I…” she stumbled. Words refused to leave her lips.
She couldn’t be herself before the FBI. She was no one before the FBI. Jagger
left her as a shell of a person. She was lost without him. It wasn’t until
joining the FBI that she had found some semblance of an idea of the woman she
could become away from her family, and away from him. Now she was being asked
to go back to that life. It was all she'd wanted for so long, but now, faced
with the reality for the first time in so many years, she just couldn’t bring
herself to do it.

“Agent Ramirez, I’m not asking you. You start tomorrow.
You have an interview with the Halanu Star Casino at 10:00 a.m. Don’t be late,
and make sure you get the job.”

“Yes, sir.”

She was startled out of her daydream by her alarm clock
screaming from the bedroom. It was 7:00 a.m. and she had a meeting in two hours
with her boss from the casino. She had no idea what it could be about. She had
been nothing but a perfect employee for the past eighteen months. Everyone
loved her. She was punctual, diligent, never called out sick, and often had
regulars come in just to sit at her table. There was no way they could fire
her. There was no way she had spent all that time working this case to fall
short and be thrown out. There was no way.

A thought crossed her mind. What if she was getting a
promotion? It could be just the promotion she needed. Britton knew that she
would have no chance of running into Jagger until she was promoted to the high
roller’s room. Her ex-boyfriend, the love of her past life, was through those
giant golden doors, and every night was just another night he got away from
her.

She walked into the empty casino and moved swiftly to
Larry’s office. She spent enough time around men to know how to get what she
wanted, and the outfit she had donned would do exactly that. Preceded by a
small knock, she cautiously opened the door. Larry smiled as she walked in, but
was suddenly taken aback. He always thought Britton was gorgeous, but he had
only seen her in the casino uniform: black pants, a button up shirt, vest, and
a bow tie. He couldn’t help but hold his breath as she fully walked into his
office. This woman had a body.

She was wearing deep purple suede heels to contrast her
tight white dress. Britton had thought the white dress would make her appear
innocent, like she didn’t have a strategy that led beyond this casino. Larry
was too focused on the curves of her hips. He immediately pictured himself
grabbing them in the throws of passion. His eyes traveled down. Her dress was
short, leaving little to the imagination. Her legs were tanned and muscular. He
was completely lost in his own fantasy to remember why he'd asked her into his
office.

“Larry, are you okay?”

“Yes, of course, sorry. Wow, Britton, you look gorgeous.”

“Oh, this old thing?” She couldn’t believe she'd just said
that. What kind of a line was that? She was obviously nervous.

“Well, I don’t want to hold you up, but a few of our regulars
have taken a liking to you. It’s been suggested that you move into a dealer
position in the high roller’s room to bring more regulars to the higher table
minimums. Would that be something you’d be interested in?”

Her heart stopped. It was happening. The case she had been
working on for half her career was finally coming to a point. She was going to
take down the bad guy. She was going to get her revenge on Jagger Stromm.

“Wow, absolutely, Larry. I can’t tell you how much I
appreciate this. You won't regret it.”

“I’m sure I won’t. You’re welcome to pick your own wardrobe,
but may I suggest you stick to this sort of thing?” He tries to conceal his
excitement as he motions to her form-fitting frock.

“Yes, that’s great. Again, I really appreciate this.”

Britton could barely contain herself as she shook Larry’s
hand and ran out of the casino. She hadn’t felt that great in years. She
couldn’t stop the corners of her lips from rising. She was smiling. She was
actually smiling. She was going to see Jagger again. Britton paused. Was she
happy to that she would finally be able to take him down, or was it because she
missed him. At that moment, she had no idea. The thought terrified her.

“David,” she yelled into her phone. “I got the promotion.
I’m moving into the high roller’s room.”

“Well done, Britton. Well done. I am so proud of you.”

She loved to hear those words. If her first goal in life was
to catch Jagger Stromm, her second was to make David Howard proud. He was the
first person to ever tell her he was proud of her. It felt childish at first,
but she found herself craving his acceptance, craving his pride. And today, he
was proud of her. He continued.

“How shall we celebrate?”

“I’m hungry. How about brunch?”

“The usual?”

“Perfect.”

Britton’s stomach growled. Her stress was subsiding. She had
been so nervous about her first undercover case, but now it was all falling
into place. She didn’t realize how happy she could be that her body was asking
for food. She jumped in the car and headed to meet her boss at their favorite
brunch café.

David was already seated when she walked up. He was beaming.
She reached the table, and he stood up to greet her. They ordered and began
their meal. Food never tasted so good.

“I got you something.”

“What do you mean?”

“I got you a gift to congratulate you.”

“David, you did not have to do that.”

He pulled a box out of his suit coat jacket and handed it to
her. She lifted the lid and gasped. He had gotten her jewelry. It was a
beautiful white gold bracelet with a single charm. It was a casino chip.

“I thought it would be a fun way to remember your first
undercover case.”

“David, this is too much.”

“It’s not…”

David smiled and placed his hand on top of Britton’s. Her
heart jumped. She quickly raised her eyes to his, and for the first time, she
actually saw him. He was a good-looking man, maybe ten years older than her.
His hair was light, with specks of gray. His smile was real, and it reached his
bright blue eyes. His hands were strong but gentle, and she felt heat radiating
under his touch. How had she not seen this before? How blind was she?

The Bureau would never allow it, so he would have never
acted on it, but this man cared for her, and he cared more deeply than she had
realized. For the first time, she briefly pictured herself with a man other
than Jagger. She tensed, feeling a sensation that she had forgotten. At that
moment, she found confidence. She would be able to face Jagger, and she would
be able to beat him. No longer would he have this hold on her. After finding
closure, she would be free to be with other men, to move on with her life, to
love again.

They finished brunch and said their goodbyes. David politely
outstretched his hand, and Britton returned the farewell. They smiled at each
other, and Britton knew what he was thinking. She knew what he was wishing. She
didn’t know it was possible for anyone else to look at her that way. It felt
wonderful.

Britton ran through the line of FBI high fives at work as
everyone wished her luck. She was leaving the office early to get ready for her
new job as a dealer in the high roller room. Tonight she could possibly see
Jagger. What would she do? She toyed with all the possibilities. Would she
ignore him? Would she pretend not to recognize him? Would
she
not
recognize him? How much might he have changed in ten years? Would he come up to
her first? She was so nervous.

She undressed and turned on the shower. As she was about to
step into the tub, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She had no
idea where this night would lead, and needed to do a quick assessment. Her body
had definitely changed since he had last seen her. Her hips were wider and her
chest had filled out. She was a woman. Britton placed her hand on her stomach, imagining
that it wasn’t her own. She yearned for the touch of another, and now she could
admit it.

After Jagger, there had been a few men she had used to try
and rid her memory of him, but with no success. After awhile, she gave up. She
didn’t want a companion. She wanted to be alone, but the last few days, things
have felt different. She imagined David’s hand on hers. She felt that spark
shoot through her body. Her hand traveled up, between her rising breasts, and
landed on the top of her chest, cupping the base of her neck. She wasn’t able
to touch herself. It scared her. This scared her. All of a sudden, her mood
completely changed. She found herself fearing him again. She needed to gain
control. She couldn’t walk into that room and show this weakness. She needed to
be strong, stronger than him. She needed to be stronger than Jagger.

The time to leave her house was rapidly approaching as she
opened her closet door. Which dress would she wear? Which would make him want
to tell her all his dirty little secrets? She slid her clothing to one side and
noticed a flash of red, draping from the final hanger. That was the dress he
had bought her. She had forgotten she still had it. Why had she held onto it
for so long? She knew it could never fit her; her body was completely different
than it was in her teenage years. Still the urge to try it on could not be
denied.

Britton slipped off her robe and slowly stepped a single leg
into the dress. She remembered the feeling of this fabric. It quickly brought
back the painful memories of that night. She wanted to take it off. She wished
she hadn’t seen the dress. Her breathing hastened, and she threw the dress
across the room. Her legs gave out from under her and she fell to the floor.
“No!” She screamed at herself. She couldn’t do this. Not today. Today she had
to be resilient.

Now she
had
to wear the dress. It would prove to him
that she had moved on; that she had no memories of him haunting her. She
confidently stepped in and let the fabric cling to her body. She looked at
herself in the mirror. To her surprise, she filled the dress out quite nicely.
She let her mahogany splashed hair fall from its clipped confines. She was
ready.

Britton pulled up to Halanu Star Casino, her home for the
past year and a half. She had a few minutes to spare, so she grabbed the file
she had spent the last year and a half memorizing.

 Jagger Stromm

Twenty-eight years old

President of the outlaw motorcycle club, Harbingers of
Sorrow

Suspected of drug trafficking and possible money laundering

Spends evenings at the Halunu Star Casino, high roller’s
room

That was all she needed to read. She was ready. Britton
stepped out of her car and confidently made her way to the employee entrance of
the high roller’s room. She couldn’t have imagined the beauty and elegance of
this place. She had seen pictures, but they didn’t come close to the grandeur
she was witnessing before her eyes. This is where she would spend the remainder
of her time undercover. She shook at the thought that, in a few hours, she
might come face to face with the man who left her to die on the side of the
road.

She was stationed at the blackjack table. She loved blackjack.
Growing up, her siblings and her would play by flashlight when they were
supposed to be sleeping. They would place obscenely high fake bets, fantasizing
that they were a wealthy family of royalty, having nothing to do but hang out
in all the fancy hotels in Vegas, and winning a ton of money.

She briefly thought about her siblings. They didn’t know she
had been back for three years. When she left so long ago, she knew she was
abandoning them. She had to make a decision, a choice: them or her. She chose
herself, and it’s a choice she'd struggled with every day. That’s why she couldn’t
reach out to them now that she was back. Britton also knew if she found them,
it would mean that they didn’t make it out—knowing for sure that they were still
stuck in the hell they grew up in would be too much. She wanted better for
them, and for her sanity she had to believe that they all left Nevada.

Time slowly ticked by, though the high-roller room was more
exciting and filled with the tension of serious money at stake; she was waiting
for one specific person to enter. Just as she began to think she'd wasted her
dress, her head started to spin as the scent of his cologne filled the room.
She searched the faces, trying to find him, but she couldn’t. That scent took
her back ten years. She was straddling him. She was biting his neck. It was the
same scent. It had to be him. Then, the crowd of guests seemed to part as he
walked toward her.