HardJustice (2 page)

Ben resisted the impulse, wanting to bring as much pleasure
to Layla as possible. He wanted her drunk on him, ensnared by the electric
chemistry that burned between them, singeing the air.

Her eyes appeared drunk with lust, the pupils enormous and
her irises thin, dark rings.

“Please,” she murmured, the words seeming trapped in her
throat.

“Tell me,” he insisted, circling his head around her opening,
teasing them both the even greater heights as the erotic tension stretched
between them, almost to breaking point.

“I want it,” she panted. Her slender hands clutched at him,
urging him closer.

He loved the sensation of her fingers scrabbling to draw him
into her, her body shaking with the force of her lust. “I want you. I need to
feel you inside me. I want everything. Your cock. Your tongue. Those hot,
beautiful eyes gazing at me like you could consume me whole. Give it to me,
Ben. Please.”

With a muted roar he thrust his cock deeply inside her
pussy, piercing her with a hard thrust.

She screamed, arched high against him, her body spasming at
the intimate possession. Ben forced himself to pause, allowing her a moment to
get used to the thickness of his girth. It only took a short time before Layla
bucked beneath him, urging him to move within her. Eagerly, he complied.

Withdrawing to the brink, he pressed into her once again,
filling her until his balls beat against her tender skin. In and out he moved
in a steady, hard rhythm. Her nails dug sharply into the skin of his back.
Hissing in pleasure, Ben jerked harder, his hips snapping his prick into her
warmth.

Heat suffused his cock, even through the thin latex. Raw
cravings beat against his chest and Ben could feel the magical power rise
within him as control slipped. Seeming to be lost in her pleasure, Layla
pleaded hoarsely for more. Ben quickened his pace, as eager as she to find
fulfillment.

The tiny pinpricks of her nails spurred him to push her
higher. Once again he twisted an inch of his index finger into her tiny back
hole. Twisting around, he sought the delicate nerves he knew resided inside the
tight passage of her anus. Layla shivered, shaking as her system became
overwhelmed.

It was exactly the gift he craved to give her.

Twisting harder, pumping furiously into her, magic danced
across his skin. He could feel himself becoming lost in the moment, his control
slipping until in a powerful wave Layla fell apart in his arms. Her magic
exploded within the tiny room, rushing over him like a wave in the ocean
crashing to shore. Dimly he heard a hiss and snap, the lights flickered but he
couldn’t have cared less.

Her pussy contracted around him, squeezing him to within an
inch of life. Power flooded the room and Layla’s nails dug hard into his back.
The surge of magic coupled with the sting of her pleasure and her walls
contracting around him surged into Ben. Pushed over the edge, he roared, a
shout welling from deep within his soul. He came in a hard, hot shot, his cock
pumping repeatedly as his seed exploded from his cock. Over and over, he thrust
in hard, deep strokes, pressing Layla farther up the desk and pressing her into
the hard, unforgiving wood.

Emptied, wrung completely out, he shuddered forward and
wrapped his arms around her willowy frame. She clung to him, both of them
heaving for breath. He didn’t need to ask if she had reached satisfaction.
Every ragged breath he heard her suck into her lungs confirmed she’d been as
overwhelmed as he.

Smug, utterly masculine pride surged within him. He’d wanted
her from the moment he’d seen her. Working closely with her had been a study in
restraint. Ben could hardly believe he’d been so patient. Now he’d experienced
her taste, could still scent her on his lips and roll her unique flavor on his
tongue, he knew he’d not be able to hold back any more.

He craved her.

Only as the sweat on his skin began to cool did he
understand he’d have to move. Layla didn’t seem in a rush, but he knew she
would ache in small, tender places if she didn’t take care of herself. With a
heavy sigh he lifted his body and carefully withdrew from the snug comfort of
her body.

Searching the room, he picked up a box of tissues and held
them out to her. With no embarrassment she grabbed a handful of them and he
took some himself, cleaning his cock and disposing of the condom. They dressed
and while Layla re-buttoned her shirt he turned his attention to the computer
belatedly.

The telephone had fallen from her desk and the printer
appeared to be fried, smoke still curling from its inner electronic workings.
Ben snorted with wry amusement. It struck him again how delicate modern technology
could be around magic. The electric surges more often than not ended up
destroying new devices. Long-term exposure could slowly degrade electrical
circuits, but heavy usage or waves of magic—such as he and Layla had just
created—could be devastating.

Wincing, he switched the computer back on and hoped Layla
wouldn’t need to requisition a new machine. The computer sounded distinctly
unhappy, but after a minute or longer it did boot up. Grinning, he turned to
face Layla with a cheeky look.

“How good are we?” he said cheerily. She laughed, but
refused to be drawn further.

“The last thing you need is me feeding your ego.” Layla
placed a hand against his chest, pressed a kiss to his lips before pulling her
seat back to the desk and running a hand through her long, wavy hair.

Ben enjoyed the fact he could so distract her, but he knew
the time for them to get back to work had arrived.

“Do you need a break?” he asked, concern tingeing his tone. “You’ve
been at this for hours.”

“No, I often Investigate and try to sort through the
mountains of data we search through at odd hours of the morning. Usually it’s
the only time when I can get stuff done without Council members breathing down
my neck or management watching over my shoulder and asking endless questions. I
know Investigators can often be glamourized, but really it’s usually just
having a good network of people to talk to who trust you, and being able to
sift through piles of data and unearthing the gems.”

“Sounds a lot more difficult than being an Assassin. You
either have the skills and magic inherent in you or you don’t.”

“Surely it’s a lot of work?” Layla asked as she faced him,
curiosity in her eyes.

Ben shrugged.

“There are rituals we need to learn, to cleanse our souls
and keep our magic…pure sounds wrong, but healthy, at least. And there’s
endless training. As you can imagine accuracy is everything in our work. So it’s
not a walk in the park by any means, but neither do we go half blind squinting
at the screen and searching the streets for that one person who saw what you
need confirmation of, either.”

Layla grinned at him. The dimples that deepened in her cheek
could possibly be the cutest thing he had ever seen in his life. He longed to
run his tongue over them, dipping in the hollow they created.

“You’re lethal,” he murmured at her. He allowed himself to
trace a finger over her cheeks but forced himself not to distract her further.
Or not yet, at least.

“I think you’re the lethal one,” she returned with a
chuckle. “You’re a terrible influence. I’ve never overloaded so many machines
in one hit before. I can tell you’re going to be trouble for me. Interesting
trouble, but a danger nevertheless.”

“Pleased to be of assistance,” he murmured. Layla shook her
head and seemed to steel herself to return her attention to the computer. She
brought up the data they had been searching and with a no-nonsense tone
recapped the work they’d managed to achieve so far.

“Miles covered his tracks really well. With Grant Gower
giving us the all-clear and shaking the foundations of the Council by insisting
on an all-levels access Investigation into their network, we’ve been granted
his emails and most of his private computer files.”

“Surely he won’t have left a trail with emails?” Ben replied
thoughtfully.

Layla clicked an icon and opened Miles’s email archives.

“You’d be surprised. The vast majority of wizards are only
just beginning to understand how simple using a computer can make life. Sure,
we go through three or four of them in any given year and they are notoriously
unreliable for us, but they still are superior to ink and paper. Email even
more so. You can have an entire conversation that isn’t tapped like a phone
call and no one can take damning pictures like if you meet face-to-face. With
the right training and subterfuge, email is perfect for shady dealings. Mages
are notorious for ignoring computer, email and more modern technology all
together.”

Ben watched, impressed, as Layla navigated her way into
Miles’ Sent Mail folder. She clicked a tab to have them listed by order of date
and Ben pulled over a second chair to read over her shoulder.

Running his eye down the subject headings and the names Miles
had recently sent emails to, he noticed an almost fifty-fifty split between
personal emails to his girlfriend Brit and numerous colleagues and Council
members. The entire length of the screen only covered a little over a day.

Frowning, Ben started to understand the enormity of the task
he and Layla had undertaken.

“Scroll down a bit, babe,” he murmured as he cast his eye
down the sections.

The sort function had made a break between the days. He
counted more than fifty emails sent in the last day Miles had used his email.
As Layla obligingly scrolled the screen farther down he saw more than eighty
from the day before and a similar number each day previous to that.

“There’s no way we can go through each and every one of
these emails,” Ben decided. “Can we sort them maybe by the subject title? If we
can follow the threads of his various conversations maybe we can narrow our
search down.”

Layla did this and they both went back to the top and
started again.

“Here, this is a discussion between some of Miles’s
coworkers. The subject title is ‘Winfred nomination’. George Winfred is one of
the new political candidates, trying to get a seat on the Council. We can
probably file those away and keep them for later if we get desperate.”

Ben nodded.

“Perfect. We need to narrow our focus. If we put anything
that seems innocuous to the side we can return to it later if we come up with
nothing obvious.”

They fell into a fast-paced rhythm, scrolling down page
after page of subject titles. Anything where they recognized what the matter
contained within the emails would be they saved onto a memory stick.

“I can’t believe the sheer bulk of emails Miles exchanged
with Brit,” Ben whistled. Something nagged at his instinct. He understood how
in a relationship a couple could frequently communicate together back and forth
with the minutiae of day-to-day life. Don’t forget to pick up the milk on your
way home. Please collect my suit from the cleaners. Would you like steak or a
stir-fry for dinner, honey?

Regardless, something in the frequency of the emails struck
him as wrong.

“There has to be more with this amount of notes passing back
and forth between Miles and Brit,” he finally insisted. “Let’s just go through
a few of them. I might be completely off base and they simply had an amazing
amount of internet sex or something, but something tells me there’s more to it
than that.”

Layla glanced at him for a moment, studying him in a way
that gave him pause.

“What?” he asked after a moment.

“Considering the fact we’re prying into every aspect of
Miles’s life it sounds ridiculous even in my head,” she explained. “But you don’t
think it might be a bit over the line? Reading his private emails with his girlfriend?”

Ben didn’t smile or joke, a part of him understood where
Layla came from.

“Miles Lancaster is part of a deep conspiracy we know almost
nothing about. He’s responsible for tipping off six rogue wizards—or six that
we’re aware of—when they were about to be captured and brought to justice in
front of the Tribunal. You heard Miles claim how he was merely one cog in a
large machine, his death solves nothing in the greater scheme of things.”

Layla nodded, but the manner in which she averted her eyes Ben
sensed he hadn’t satisfied her objection fully. Ben scooted closer to her and
laid a hand on Layla’s shoulder.

“Hey, babe, I’m not here to get a thrill from reading the
wizard’s private thoughts and desires, nor do I want to read smut talk between
him and his witch. If they’re describing in intimate details how much they want
to do things to one another we’ll skip it and go back to doing this your way. I
just have a feeling about this, okay?”

Ben caught her gaze and held it, willing her to see the
honesty in his response and bring her on board. He saw a flicker of relief
enter her gaze and she flashed a brief smile at him.

“Okay, I’ll sort them by who Miles sent each email to, that
will make it easy for us to archive them if his letters to Brit are innocent,”
she agreed as the mouse clicked again.

The folder of emails to Britney Joddins at a glance seemed
endless. Ben whistled as he cast his eye down the screen. Many of the emails
were sent back and forth every few minutes, showing they had held entire conversations
over the electronic medium. Ben’s instincts hummed.

“Let’s try these,” he pointed a finger at the screen.

“‘Today’s jokes, fwd.’?” Layla replied, her tone skeptical.

“I can’t explain why, but humor me, please,” Ben replied,
wincing a little at the pun.

Layla opened the first email in the series. Instead of a
dirty joke or cartoon, Ben felt the hum of instinct flare into a full-blown
aria as they hit pay dirt.

“Fantastic,” he murmured and they both read in silence.

“Hang on, let me scroll down and find the initial email
Miles sent,” Layla moved the mouse curser over the file and the words blurred
as she moved down the screen. “It will be easier to read if we start at the
beginning.”

Ben waited, excitement of the hunt stirring in his stomach.
Eagerly, he read Miles’s initial letter, certain his gut had paid off again.

So the Tanya thing has blown up in our faces. I need to
speak to Grant and organize some ass-covering. I need you to buy me a few more
days to get everything under control. Zahra won’t be a problem—or not one I can’t
handle, at least—but that bastard Rob Padden just won’t lie down. We might need
to be ready for more drastic measures. What do you think?

In happier news, we should be almost ready for Phase 2. I
hate being in the dark, I really think we should discuss how to approach the
Council members and talk about changing our strategy in full. The Cell Network
has worked well for us, but the game is changing, as it always had to. I
strongly feel instead of us all being in the dark we should become more
involved, seeing the bigger picture for what it truly is—complete domination.
What do you think, my love?

M

“Wow,” Ben said, thrilled with what they had found. “That’s
way better than I could have hoped for.”

“And it proves not only that he wasn’t acting alone, but
that Britney is neck-deep in this as well,” Layla scrolled up, her gaze still
roaming as she glanced at the ensuing conversation.

“Miles seemed to be impatient,” Ben summarized. “It wasn’t
enough that he was already blazing a trail politically. Gower told me that they
were on the brink of grooming him for his own seat in the Council. Regardless
of that, Lancaster wasn’t satisfied with that. He seemed to be sounding out how
to stage a mini-coup and force them to share more of the inner workings with
him.”

“Britney seemed able to keep him in check though,” Layla
added. “She strokes his ego, feeds him what he wants to hear and then pulls him
back. She was the brains of that pair, he the charm and bright grin.”

“Skip to the last few exchanges in this thread,” Ben
requested. “I’m curious as to whether they formed a plan to try and break this
cell-like structure of the conspiracy or not.”

The pointer flew over the screen, windows minimizing and
maximizing as she worked. After a moment she clicked open another email.

“Here,” she said and they both read again.

I still think we need to be cautious, but you’re right,
my love. The time is ripe for us to push the advantage your actions in the last
few weeks have garnered for us. Once you have neutralized the threats against
us we will have enough power between us to force our ascension in the ranks and
our wildest dreams will start to bear fruit.

Can’t wait to see you tonight,

B

“I’ll be damned, he talked her into it,” Ben murmured.

“Not quite,” Layla pointed a finger at the screen, showing
the date at time of the email. “This is only hours before he invited Grant to
his condo, before Miles tried to force Rob and Zahra into handing over the
files we have. Miles and Brit never would have had a chance to meet anyone, or
force this ascension they were planning.”

“Well, at least we’ve answered the question of why there are
countless emails between Brit and Miles,” Ben replied. His smug feeling
evaporated promptly when he realized what that meant.

They would now need to read—or at the very least scan
through—
all
the emails. A slow ache throbbed behind his eyes at the
thought.

“Let me back this up, I want a few copies of what we have,”
Layla said tiredly. “We came a bit close to losing this lot earlier and I don’t
want to risk it again. Can you get us some coffee? It looks like it might be a
long night.”

Ben cupped his hand around the back of Layla’s head. Her
hair felt silky against his fingers, the thick weight of it curtaining them
both like a blanket as he tugged her forward so their lips could meet. They
kissed hungrily. Her fingers trailed down his chest, leaving a molten path of
burning desire in her wake.

Tiny sparks of energy zinged between them and Ben had to
force himself to move back. Her eyes were faintly glazed, her pale skin
flushed. The clear response to his touch, to their tasting one another etched
his growing arousal up another notch.

He made himself wait, though, knowing when they were next
able to come together he wanted all the time and privacy in the world. He didn’t
want them to be forced to rush, to look over their shoulder and make certain
they were not about to be interrupted. Ben more than understood the extra spice
the thrill of the unknown could add to a good, hard fuck. He loved the
spontaneity such quickies added to his life.

Next time, though, he wanted a slow, lazy lovemaking session
with this witch. He wanted to peel her layers away, gaze at her from every
angle for as long as he wished. He desired to be able to make her come time
after time and for them to have no reason to stop unless they were too
exhausted to move farther.

“I’ll go get that coffee,” he said huskily. Layla nodded silently,
the intensity of their kiss having seemed to rob her of the ability to speak.
Grinning wickedly, Ben stroked his hand over her soft hair, stood and left the
room in search of some hot, fresh caffeine.

* * * * *

Layla rubbed tiredly at her eyes. Her computer clock read
almost five a.m. She and Ben had read the vast majority of the emails exchanged
between Britney and Miles. Nowhere did either of them name the Council members
with whom they colluded with.

“This would have been so much easier if they weren’t so
paranoid,” Layla grumbled. Ben leaned back in his chair, his hands crossed
behind his head.

“It will all be pretty damning when we discover who they
are, though,” he pointed out. “‘If we inform Council wizard C of the progress
of the Investigation into Lars, C will surely see the urgent need for his
removal.’ Now if that isn’t informative when Lars Sandstone was murdered under
suspicious circumstances hours before he was arrested by the team of Enforcers
on his ass, I don’t know what is.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t help us at all right now. Hindsight
is a glorious thing, but it doesn’t solve the puzzle when you’re still in the
dark.”

Knowing a large part of her dejection remained rooted in how
exhausted she felt, Layla put a memory stick in the USB port of her computer
and started to copy the emails from the computer for safekeeping.

“We need to get some sleep,” Layla suggested. “I’m almost
cross-eyed from exhaustion. Any minute from now I’ll start babbling like a
lunatic. For the life of me I can’t think straight.”

“I’d feel better if we had a plan of action,” Ben admitted. “I
know we both need some rest, but I hate the thought of Britney or this group
getting ahead of us. Maybe we should put a tail on Britney, see who she tries
to contact now Miles is out of the picture?”

“Maybe one of these other cells they mentioned will get in
touch,” Layla suggested. Despite her need for sleep, her brain continued to
tick over and seek answers to all the questions that crowded her mind. “Or who
knows? Maybe a member or two of the Council are ruthless enough that they think
Brit and Miles have botched their mission entirely. An easy way to sever all
ties and wrap up those loose ends would be to kill Britney, bury the body and
lie low for a while. Once a few more political dramas have unfolded and new
problems have wiped everyone’s memory clean again they could pick up exactly
where they left off with no one the wiser.”

Ben picked up the phone, cradled the receiver between his
shoulder and ear.

“What’s Britney’s home address? Can you look it up easily? I
can’t believe we didn’t realize she was involved in this sooner. We need
someone watching her twenty-four/seven.”

Layla pulled out her address book and flipped through her
contacts until she found the number she sought.

“Shea will know,” Layla insisted as she took the receiver of
the phone from Ben and punched in the numbers for her friend’s home line. “She
worked closely with Tanya, covering the political and more sensitive,
confidential investigations. She’ll have contact details for Max and everyone
associated closely with him. There was a lot of gossip when he and Britney
started dating less than a week after he and Zahra broke up. Everyone knew he’d
been cheating on her and for all of five minutes Miles and Britney were a hot
item of gossip. Shea will have her address from when we all followed up on
that.”

Layla waited while the phone rang, cringing a little at how
displeased the witch would be to answer a call at this hour of the morning.
After the fifth ring she worried Shea might not be sleeping at her home, or
possibly the witch just might not feel like answering her phone.

Mentally Layla ran through the message she’d leave and
debated whether to tell Shea to call her back at her place or whether to leave
a message for her here at work. She didn’t know what Ben’s phone number was and
they hadn’t discussed whether they would go rest together, or to their
individual homes or—Layla forced herself to stop that train of thought right
there.

Overanalyzing a situation was an occupational hazard for
her. All too often her instinct, driven by her magical talents, urged her to
look deeper and deeper into any given situation until the full picture in all
its glory unveiled itself for her. While at work—during an Investigation—her
tendency to look so deeply was awesome.

When it came to her personal relationships, it played a
merry kind of hell with her mind. Thinking so deeply more often than not got
her into far more trouble than her friends.

“This better be good,” Shea mumbled as she picked up the
phone.

“Shea, it’s Layla. I’m so sorry to be calling at this
unearthly hour, but it’s really important. Do you remember back when Miles
Lancaster hooked up with Britney only seconds after he and Zahra Gower broke
up? Where did you put that file on Brit? With her address and details and all
the information we sifted through.”

“Mmm,” Shea replied, sleep still thick in her tone. There
was a silence on the other end and Layla held her breath, hoping the witch hadn’t
fallen asleep on her.

Layla waited a few beats, Shea’s breathing on the other end
the only sound she could hear. A moment later the witch continued.

“Yeah, I know the file you’re talking about. Brit was living
in some swanky condo in one of the new developments, living way above her
means. It looked for all the world as if she’d been a kept witch even while
Miles ran around with Zahra. My file should be in my personal filing cabinet.”

“Do you remember her address off the top of your head?”
Layla grabbed a pen as she spoke, ready to jot the address down if Shea could
recall it.

“Um, I think so. Let me think a moment.” There was a pause
for a fraction of a second and then Shea rambled off a street address. Layla
nodded. She knew the area and it was a recently renovated, up-market yuppie
style of neighborhood. It fit what they’d just discussed regarding Brit and her
ties with Miles.

Layla tore the sheet from the notebook she’d scrawled the
address onto and handed it to Ben. He studied it, looked thoughtful for a
moment then nodded, clearly satisfied.

“Shea, you’re a gem. I owe you the biggest Danish ever.
Thank you.”

“Whatever you’re doing, it sounds like fun. Care to share?”
Shea sounded far more awake now. Layla studied Ben, weighing her options before
answering.

“I don’t think I can do that just yet,” she replied with
genuine regret. “But I will tell you this, I am in the middle of something. If
you keep your ears to the ground and agree to help out with any other research
or data mining when I need over say the next week or so, when this breaks—and
trust me, it will be
huge
when it does—I’ll not only give you the inside
scoop, but I will do everything in my power to make sure all the Investigating
sections talk to you first.”

Shea sucked in a breath. What Layla had offered wasn’t
something to be casual about. Much like the Enforcers there were numerous
divisions within divisions within divisions, all interlinking like the most
complex of labyrinths. Under normal circumstances all the different factions
had their own agendas, their own purposes and their own set of rules—or lack of
them.

Just as the Enforcers tried to work together but often
splintered off as soon as they disagreed and it all became too difficult, so
too did that occur commonly with all the Investigating bodies. Especially when
it came to politics, the Tribunal and/or the Council these factors all too
frequently entered into the equation and more often than not only one side of a
multifaceted story could be told.

Since Ben was an Assassin, usually associated with the
Enforcers’ side of the fence and Layla was an Investigator, she didn’t feel she
was misleading Shea with the amount of pull she would be able to command for
this, particular, case. Particularly not when she planned to be fully involved
until they had the whole story.

It would certainly be explosive. Something Shea could barter
for favors with for months if not years to come.

“You serious?” Shea confirmed.

“I promise. Do we have a deal?”

“Absolutely. Should I risk another few hours sleep?”

Layla smiled.

“If I were you I’d grab a few more while you can. I plan to
grab a couple of hours myself. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes right
now though, so I’d be ready for at least a few sleepless nights in the near
future.”

“Done. Thanks for the heads-up, Lay. I’ll wait for your
call.”