HardJustice (3 page)

“Sweet dreams,” Layla teased before she hung up the phone.

“Shea will be available for us to tap if we need more
information down the track. In return I promised we’d speak to her first when
this all wraps up, are you okay with that?” Layla asked. Ben nodded.

“Might as well be her as anyone,” he agreed. “The fact we
have a research Investigator on our side is a bonus.”

“Hey,
I’m
an Investigator too,” she reminded him with
a light slap to his shoulder. “I just plan to be by your side for this whole
roller-coaster ride. I have a feeling that, much like last night, once the
action really gets moving then all the fun will be wherever you—and possibly
Rob—are. I don’t want to be left out of a thing.”

Ben’s gaze lowered hotly to her lips. He lifted a finger and
traced the outline of her mouth. The words dried up in her throat and all
thought flew from her brain. Layla flicked her tongue out and tasted his skin.
Ben moaned lightly. Feeling wicked, Layla opened her lips and encompassed his
finger inside her mouth.

Running her tongue along the thick digit, she teased him,
sucked him hard and laved at him as if his finger were his cock. Ben’s eyes
darkened, his gaze searing her to the core.

“I need to make this call,” he croaked. She raised an
eyebrow cheekily, as if to say,
So make it
.

Ben pulled his finger out of her mouth then used that hand
to cup under her chin and tilt her face up. Pressing his lips upon hers, they
ate at each other desperately, as if the world would end if they didn’t devour
one another in the next few minutes.

When he pulled away they were both gasping for air. Layla’s
pussy had grown slick once again, her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted
to crawl up into his lap then ride him like her favorite toy.

Reality intruded in the form of the knowledge he had to make
a call to get Britney under surveillance before she left her condo for the day.
Ben had picked up the receiver and dialed a number by the time Layla’s thoughts
returned.

“Yo, dude, rise and shine.” Ben said, clearly relishing
waking one of his buddies up. Layla could hear a moan and a few choice cuss
words being directed at Ben, but he took it all in stride.

“Remember when you called me onto the Debaisey case? What
was that? Half past four in the morning? Well, buddy, this is payback.”

The wizard on the other end spoke more naturally and so
Layla could only catch bits and pieces of what he said.

“…you loved it…do you need? Tell me it’s not another…”

“Nah, strictly surveillance this time, I swear. No wet work.”

Layla heard a sigh from the other end.

“…tell me the details.”

“Britney Joddins. Twenty-eight, five six, curly brown hair.
No idea where she works, but she’s been dating a Miles Lancaster, deceased as
of yesterday, and is a person of interest. I’ll only need you on board alone
for…hmm, let’s say until four or five tonight, so that’s twelve hours. I’ll
relieve you after that and call in backup if I figure we need it.”

Ben repeated Brit’s address slowly, clearly his friend wrote
down the details and asked Ben to repeat a few of them a second time. Ben then
was silent, listening to the other end. Layla started booting down the computer
and collected the memory sticks they’d saved all their data onto.

“Yep, better get moving, dude. I’ve got my cell out in the
car, so buzz me on that if you need. You got my latest number?”

Layla looked around her tiny office and tried to think of a
safe place to store the small sticks.

“That’s it. Thanks. Call me if anything crops up. Or if she
starts moving around a lot, feel free to add in more help. I don’t have a
budget as yet, but I have a feeling this might grow into something pretty
important. Don’t skimp on extra hands because money is a concern, right?”

Layla pulled her handbag out of the bottom drawer of her
desk. To be safe, she threw two of the memory sticks into the depths of her
bag. While not the most original of hiding places, items had been lost for
months down there, never to see the light of day again. Recalling how Tanya had
hidden the original files of her Investigation down the bottom of Layla’s drop
box in the foyer of their offices, she figured using that place a second time
would not be a bad idea.

Ben hung up the phone after saying his goodbyes.

“Riley is a brilliant Tracker, one of the best there is. He’s
currently pissed that I woke him up at this hour, but he owes me quite a few
favors. He’ll be outside Brit’s door well before dawn, keeping an eye on her
and following wherever she goes.”

“Well, that will buy us some time,” Layla replied with
relief. “I think I’m going to store these down the bottom of my drop box. It
worked perfectly well for Tanya as a temporary hiding spot, so I can’t think of
a reason why it wouldn’t serve equally well for us.”

“I saw you put two in your bag. I think it’s sensible to
split them all up. I only live about ten minutes from here. If you like, we can
keep one of them at my place and keep the other in your bag,” Ben stood up and
gathered his belongings. Layla watched as he shrugged into the shoulder
harness, checked his large handgun and then placed it into the holster. Only
after he had pulled a well-cut jacket over the ensemble and pulled his woolen
beanie down over his bald head did she speak.

“That would be smart,” she said. “My car is below in the
garage. I tried to get an apartment closer into the city, but I just didn’t
like the bustle as much as I thought I would when I first moved here seven
years ago. I’m about half an hour’s drive up the freeway. It’s a pain to
commute every day, but I have a killer view of the harbor and a really nice
backyard.”

“You shouldn’t be driving as tired as you are,” Ben replied
with a frown. “I was going to suggest you come stay with me, at least for
tonight, but that was before I knew you had such a trek to make. I might have
to insist now.”

Layla grinned. Before she could reply, Ben had swooped down
once again. Shivers rocked through her body as he stroked his tongue out over
her cheek. She shrieked as he pierced his tongue into the tiny indentation her
dimple creased in her skin.

“Do you have any idea how seductive those dimples are when
you grin?” he asked. The question seemed rhetorical as he immediately pulled
her closer and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. She melted into him, her
body inflaming with the need that seared through her. Lust burned all shreds of
tiredness from her mind, arousal rolling liquid through her blood.

Layla wrapped an arm around Ben’s waist and pulled herself
flush against his body. The heat of his hard muscles seeped through her
clothes. She craved to feel his flesh soft beneath her fingertips, the hard
plane of his chest pressing against her breasts and the feel of his hot, slick
shaft pushing into the flatness of her belly. Arching up into him, she moaned.
Her fingers rose to the buttons of his shirt and began to undo them each in
turn as their tongues fought for dominance.

“Mmm, you have no idea how much I want to push you back
against this wall and fuck you. Right here. Right now,” Ben moaned thickly. His
hand disappeared up her skirt, his fingers stroking her wet lips through the
incredibly thin shield of her lace panties.

Wrapping one leg around his slim hips, Layla pulled her
skirt high enough so she could lift her aching pussy and rub it against the
thick ridge tenting Ben’s pants.

“I’m not stopping you,” she purred. “I’m hot, wet and aching
for you right now. I can’t think of a single reason for you to restrain
yourself.”

“It will be fast, I can’t give you the foreplay you deserve,”
he warned her. Layla chuckled, looked deeply into his dark gaze.

“If you touch me I’m likely to come immediately. You make me
hot, Jackson. You get this look in your eyes like I’m the last available item
on the menu and you’re starved. Oh yeah, that’s the look.”

Ben shoved her skirt up to her waist, both his hands now
pressing inside her lacy panties. He attempted to tug them down her thighs,
growling as the delicate fabric refused to stretch to his liking. With a hard
yank he tore the lace, removing the item from her body in two ragged pieces. He
sniffed them and a bolt of lightning struck Layla in the stomach.

“You smell of sex and musk,” he said darkly. Layla licked
her suddenly dry lips. She could only gaze at him, all words and thought having
left her in an overpowering wave of lust.

Utterly open to his every touch now, Layla shivered as Ben
stroked his fingers over her slick, swollen lips and up to stroke over her
clit. The juices he had gathered on his fingers lubricated the hard nub. He rubbed
her clit, stimulating her pleasure and driving her closer to the brink.

“I have regular tests,” he panted, clearly restraining
himself only barely. “I’m clean, I swear I am. I want to feel you, all of you,
naked and surrounding me.”

Layla moaned, pleased that she had always been so careful of
her personal health.

“I have suppression shots, I won’t fall pregnant,” she
promised him. “My last series of blood tests were perfectly clean. Please, Ben,
just fuck me. I need you inside me. I’m burning up here.”

Without waiting a moment further, he freed his shaft, tilted
her hips to the angle of his liking and stroked the length of his cock over her
swollen pussy. In seconds he was slick from her juices, fully lubricated and
both of them couldn’t catch their ragged breaths. Panting hard, Layla’s head
fell back with a small thump onto the wall as he plunged deeply into her
warmth.

Ben withdrew with agonizing slowness, then thrust into her
in a long, hard stroke. Meshed together, they bumped against the cardboard-thin
wall. Groaning, he withdrew and stroked into her again, and again, and again.
Each time he pressed her back a little harder into the wall, the thuds growing
in volume.

She couldn’t have cared less.

The hard, unyielding wood against her back was more than
compensated by the hot, smooth flesh of Ben’s body as he caressed her through
their clothes. Only her legs and thighs were naked, her intimate secrets spread
for their mutual pleasure. His ass and cock were unrestrained, but otherwise
they were perfectly decently attired. Layla stared at them as they joined,
marveling how incongruous they must look, professionally dressed and copulating
against the wall like a couple of randy teenagers who couldn’t hold themselves
back a moment longer.

Through her shirt, he stroked her nipple, the peak hardening
and pressing into the lace of her bra. Pleasure rocked through her system and
as she’d warned him, she steadily climbed closer to her peak. Heat suffused her
skin, a large knot of lust wound through her stomach, reaching ever further
out.

“I’m so close,” she panted. Ben grunted, appearing to be
beyond words. Over and over, he stroked into her, both of them reaching for the
golden, shining pinnacle that lay just on the horizon.

Layla’s body contracted, pleasure shooting from her as she
suddenly crashed over the brink. She stiffened, then with a particularly hard
thrust, Ben pushed her over. Screaming, she came hard. Her body felt as if she
expanded even as her walls clenched down, tightening and shrinking to grip his
cock in a rock-hard embrace. Milking him, she jerked as she struggled to catch
her breath at all.

Ben cried out and she felt the heat of his seed shoot from
the tip of his head, filling her body as he plunged into her over and over.
Together they rode through the climax, straining into each other as if they
wished to climb into one another’s skin. Panting, exhausted, Layla was glad the
wall helped keep her upright. Her legs trembled and she knew had she been
standing unassisted she would have fallen to the floor in a crumpled heap just
then.

Wrapping her arms around Ben, she drew his body closer to
hers, his head rested on her chest. They stood there for a moment, each of them
lost in the beauty of what they had shared.

“Now that was a wonderful, quick fuck,” she said as she
pressed a light kiss to Ben’s lips.

“Hadn’t planned on that one,” he admitted. “Thought about
having a quickie when we got back to my place, but you’re just too damn
delicious, babe. Those dimples of yours and the way you stare at me with those
beautiful, big blue eyes. How’s a wizard supposed to resist that combination?”

Layla laughed. They untangled themselves from each other.
Ben grabbed some more tissues and they cleaned themselves as best they could.
Layla lowered her skirt, her panties a lost cause in Ben’s pocket.

“We can have a quick shower when we get to my place,” he
promised her. Layla flicked her long hair out of her face.

“We need to swing by the drop boxes on the way out, and I
need to grab a change of clothes out of my locker. I keep a few sets there,
since I live so far out from the city. It’s come in handy when I’ve gone to the
gym at lunch and need to shower and change.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Ben replied. Layla grabbed her purse
and took Ben’s hand in hers. With small smiles that showed they shared a secret
together, they left her office and headed outside.

Layla woke up to the phone ringing. She moaned, everything
within her denying the fact it could possibly be morning or time to wake up. Exhaustion
sapped at her and she couldn’t bear the thought of having to open her eyes, let
alone answer the person on the other end or have to get up and ready for
another day.

She turned over in her comfortable bed, moving into someone
large, warm and directly next to her. Her eyes flew open in panic. She couldn’t
remember the last time she’d spent the night next to another warm wizard. Who
the hell did she share a bed with?

Sun shone through the curtains, the room lit up and the
morning clearly well progressed. A large, darkly handsome wizard muttered and
cursed next to her as he rolled over and groped on his bedside table for the
phone. Her panic eased. Layla recognized the man next to her instantly as Ben.
Memory flooded back and she recalled everything that had occurred in the last
forty-eight hours.

“Yeah,” Ben muttered into the receiver as he rolled over
toward her. Their heads lay together on the same pillow, the receiver between
them. Casually, Ben threaded his free arm warmly over her waist, chaining them
together. Ben’s eyes were still shut, though she could tell from the set cast
to his face he listened intently to the voice on the other end. He was just
currently in denial, still obviously hoping to deal with whomever had called
and go back to sleep.

“Dude, your target is wearing a talisman against Tracking,”
a masculine voice said with clear agitation. Layla watched Ben’s eyes snap
open. “Worse, she must be the most paranoid witch I’ve encountered in a long
time. Not only did I have to tail her old school, but she doubled back so many
times I had to call in reinforcements like you suggested. After the third set
of evasive maneuvers I just couldn’t follow her anymore.”

“Are you saying Britney lost you?” Ben replied, incredulous.

“Am I stuttering?” Riley replied with some heat. Layla met
Ben’s gaze for a moment. They sat up simultaneously.

“Give me a second, I’ll put you on speakerphone,” Ben
insisted. Reaching over to where the phone sat by the alarm clock, he pressed a
button then hung up the receiver.

“Okay, Riley, my…partner, Layla Collins is here too. She’s
an Investigator. How the hell did one skinny little witch lose you, of all
wizards?”

“I told you, I couldn’t Track her. I was on edge and
concerned the moment I realized I couldn’t sense her essence or get a reading
on her magical signature. Anyone rich enough to purchase a talisman and
paranoid enough to be wearing one is usually trouble from the get-go. I admit
though, in hindsight I should have called in a few buddies immediately,” Riley
admitted wryly. “But like you, I assumed one witch couldn’t possibly be a match
for me.”

“I’ve got news for you, Riley,” Layla spoke up so the other
wizard could hear her over the line. “Witches have been ducking out on wizards
since the dawn of time. Most of us can spot a Tracker from a mile off. It’s
rare, but sometimes they’re cheating and already prone to paranoia, but most of
us are a lot cleverer than wizards will give us credit for. A pretty face and
sweet little body doesn’t mean there isn’t a brain underneath that perfectly
coiffed hair. You might want to remember that next time.”

“Noted,” Riley replied with a laugh. “What do you want me to
do now?”

Ben huffed out a breath while he thought.

“I can scry for her,” Layla offered. “I’ll need to prepare
myself first, I’m not in a position to channel that energy just now and I’ll
have to grab a few supplies, but I know how to do it.”

“If she’s paranoid enough to be ducking tails, now she’s
caught onto Riley, there’s no way she’d leave herself open to that,” Ben
insisted. “Why don’t we—”

“She didn’t spot me,” Riley interjected with indignation. “She
was paranoid, doubling back and making false starts all over the place. I could
see she was looking for a tail, but she didn’t catch sight of me at all. I lost
her because I had to keep moving when she continued to turn around and retrace
her steps. If I hadn’t she would’ve spotted me.”

“What about the other set of eyes?” Ben asked. Riley snorted
in disdain.

“I thought they’d arrived. They said fifteen minutes, but
the bypass was blocked off and they couldn’t contact me. I’m sorry I blew it,
but she isn’t aware of being followed. Not yet, at least.”

“Shit happens,” Ben sighed. “We’ll try and get her from
here. I’ll get back to you.”

“Sorry, man,” Riley said. Ben shrugged.

“Nah, it’s okay. Thanks for calling so promptly.”

Layla tapped a finger thoughtfully to her lips as she
glanced at the clock. She’d managed to have almost five hours sleep. She didn’t
feel on top of her game, but she no longer worried she might pass out from
sheer exhaustion either.

“I’ll need to take a quick shower, to cleanse myself and get
into the right headspace, clear out the cobwebs. Can you find a white candle, a
large bowl of fresh, cool water, some sea salt, sage and matches?”

“I can rustle all those things up. I should have supplies
for all that in my own ritual kit.”

Layla smiled at him.

“I’m curious about those rituals you mentioned earlier. One
day you’ll have to tell me about them,” she said. He grinned at her, a slow,
sexy smile that spread across his face.

“Assuming we ever get enough time to sit down and eat a
proper meal, I’ll happily share some of my secrets, as long as you reciprocate.”
His tone was low, suggestive. Layla laughed in delight as she stretched and
climbed from the bed.

“That sounds like a fair trade to me,” she agreed. Scooping
up the small backpack she’d taken from her locker on their way out of the
office, she paused in the doorway. Looking up and down the hall, she only had a
dim recollection of Ben pointing out the main attractions of his condo before
they had both stripped and dropped onto the mattress.

“Second door on the left down the hall?” she checked. Ben
nodded and pointed in the direction she had indicated.

“Yep, she’s all yours.”

Layla blew him a kiss, winked and sashayed out of the
bedroom, wriggling her ass cheekily as she did.

* * * * *

Layla inhaled the clean steam of the hot shower as she
washed shower gel over her body. Ben’s scent enveloped her and this distracted
her mind from the task she needed to focus on. His dark eyes, the way his mouth
hitched at the corner when he tried to not grin at her, the wicked spark his
touch ignited within her, Layla knew she was falling under the influence of his
sensual spell and she didn’t even want to deny him.

She wanted to learn everything about him, his work, his
hobbies, whether he preferred cold cereal for breakfast in the morning or a hot
meal or whether he skipped it entirely. Layla wanted to come home to him in the
evenings and share her day with him, exchange snippets of gossip and let the
wonder blossom between them both.

None of this would help her uncover the corruption within
the Council.

With a sigh she turned around and let the hot water pound
from the showerhead and massage her back and neck. The pressure needled her
skin and helped wash away the last tendrils of tiredness that clung to her.
Hunger rumbled in her stomach but she easily pushed that away. They could eat
after she’d found where Brit had gone. The longer the witch ran free the more
damage she could potentially do.

Layla tried to empty her mind, to allow her magic, her
instincts to rise within her and lead her actions. Far too often she
overthought every step and subconsciously squashed the edge her magic gave her.
It was in her nature to push everything, to search deeper and further until
nothing remained. It was her greatest asset but also her most major flaw.

Irony was a bitch.

Her mind too full of ideas, she closed her eyes, breathed in
the steam and imagined it cleansed her from the inside out. Emptying her mind,
she let it wander over the witch she sought. Layla decided if she had to focus
on something at least it would be relevant to her purpose.

Clearly the witch was paranoid, probably naturally. Should
Layla lose her mind and turn against her own kind guilt would have her
constantly checking over her shoulder, too. Frustrating as it was, she could
understand how Riley might have underestimated Brit and lost her, particularly
if the choice had been between hoping the wizard he’d called to assist him
could keep track of her, or let himself be seen. Had Brit spotted Riley,
all
of them would have a far more difficult time.

“I’d go somewhere I felt safe, somewhere I knew I could lie
low,” Layla murmured, the thought crystallizing in her head. Should her scrying
not work they could begin with known haunts of both Brit and Miles. Maybe the
witch wanted to feel closer to her dead lover and relive some old memories?

Layla used the washcloth to start rinsing off her body as
her mind turned the idea around. Not only would turning to friends or loved
ones give Brit a sense of security, but also they could protect her, Layla
decided. These were not innocent people Brit dealt with. A number of Brit’s
cautions to Miles in their email exchanges reminded him they were low on the
totem pole of power.

Brit did not indicate she was scared of these people, but
the wizards and witches they dealt with were ruthless. Layla wondered if Brit
were safe, now Miles had been exposed and their cell would be under scrutiny.
Layla paused in the act of rinsing as her instincts flared. Her mind cleared of
all but the knotty problem she mulled over, her gut informed her she was on the
right path here.

She tried to tease more details out.

Brit evidently was using caution. What if she were under
threat? With Miles gone, much of her political pull had disappeared, as had her
network and connections. Would the others see her as a loose end, needing to be
clipped?

A sense of urgency gripped Layla.

Rinsing the last of the soap from her body, she turned off
the faucets and stepped, dripping, from the shower. As she dried and dressed,
Layla calmed herself and found her instincts finally opening once again to her
magic. Maybe the paranoia was contagious, but her senses urged her to hurry.

Walking back out into the living room, she found Ben had
pushed the couches and chairs back against the wall, creating a large space in
the middle of the room for her to work. Thick carpet felt warm and soft beneath
her bare feet. Glancing at him, Layla smiled with thanks.

“I have the feeling we need to get moving with this,” she
said, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the dramatic fashion of her suspicions. “Brit
would be paranoid for a reason. If she feels hunted, or in danger, then chances
are the Council members or more powerful wizards have given her just cause to
feel like that.”

“While you were showering I thought maybe we could try and
turn her, guarantee her immunity or cut a deal,” Ben added. “But like you, I
realized these people she represents, whom she and Miles work with—they aren’t
angels.”

“Exactly, they rose to power not only because of their
magical abilities, but because they are inherently ruthless, are willing to cut
throats to get what they want, and probably most important of all—they’re not
willing to take no or failure as an option.”

They were both silent in understanding with each other.
Layla thought about Ben’s idea of trying to turn Brit. From the emails, Layla
had come to understand Brit was the cautious one, the brains behind her and
Miles’s rise. Layla didn’t believe Brit would be interested in doing the right
thing, but neither did she want to close a door on the thought before they’d
given it a good try.

“We could see if she’d be open to working with us,” she
continued. “But first we need to find her.”

Ben moved back to lean in the doorframe, his arms crossed
over his well-toned chest. Layla’s skin prickled with awareness as he watched
her, his gaze sharp but interested. The weight of his stare penetrated her
every sense. She had to wonder why he hadn’t thought to join the Enforcers.

It didn’t take much imagination to realize with Ben’s large,
heavily muscled form standing nearby and the intensity of his undivided
attention three-quarters of common criminals would likely confess their sins
just to have that laser-like scrutiny pass on to someone else.

With nothing to hide or feel guilty about, Layla found her
body responding to the more alluring ramifications of his stare. Aroused, she
had to resist the urge to touch herself for relief. For a moment she let
herself wonder just what it would feel like, to know she would always be the
only recipient of that unflinching, unwavering intensity and the feeling of
power and comfort that could come for it.

For always.

Breathless at the thought, she turned away from the darkness
of Ben’s gaze and readied herself. Time was slipping away and she couldn’t
afford to let herself be distracted. Not matter how enticing and tempting it
might be.

Layla picked up the glass pitcher Ben had filled with cool
water. Weighing it in her hand, she cast her senses out, letting her magic
trail across the cool depths of the liquid. It felt clean, pure. When time
permitted or when a casting was important enough, she often preferred to use
water the morning after it had been left out in the rays of the full moon.

Such water always felt charged with electricity, a spark
from the moon’s new beginning, the start of a whole new cycle with untapped
potential and the road clear before it. Beggars, however, could not be
choosers. The fresh, clean cool water was perfectly adequate for what they
required.

Layla dipped her hands briefly in the water, sending her
magic out into the jug to charge it herself. Instantly the water held a faint
hum to her senses. She frowned, surprised by the intensity of her power. It was
as if someone had turned up a dial on her innate magic.