Just For You, Sir (Doms of Decadence) (10 page)

The overweight waitress, who couldn’t been older than eighteen or nineteen, smacked some gum as she stared at him in boredom. She looked him up and down as though assessing him. Suddenly, she straightened.

“She got fired,” the girl said. Chew, smack. Chew, smack. She reached out a hand, touching his chest. “But if you’re looking for a good time, I can help ya.”

Derrick barely held in a shudder of disgust. Fired? From what he’d observed, Jacey was a well-liked, efficient waitress.

Wasn’t the end of the world, though. He didn’t particularly lik
e her being on her feet all day.

But
he was sure she was devastated. And scared. He needed to find her.

“Can you give me her address?
” It was probably against the rules, but he figured this kid was too dumb to know that.

“Her address?” she said slowly, reconfirming his view on her intelligence.

“Yes, I’m a friend. I know she lives in one of the apartments a few doors down, I just can’t remember which one,” he lied.

The girl let out a snort then started laughing. “Dude, don’t know what sort of
‘friend’
you are, but that Jacey didn’t live in no apartment. She’s homeless, man. That’s why my uncle could let her go, cause she was a cash job.”

Derrick gaped at her, unable to control his jaw which had dropped open. Homeless? No way. He would know if she was homeless. There was no way that he had left the diner every day to go home to his nice, warm house while she went to a shelter or worse yet, slept outside. There was no way that he had dropped her off here the other morning while she had nowhere to go.

“Sit down before you fall down.” The older woman he’d seen a few times stood in front of him. She gave him a prod and he sat on the seat behind him. “Go get some work done, you idiot,” she barked at the girl.

The other waitress glared at her. “Shut up, old woman. My uncle owns this joint.”

“Your uncle would kick your ass to the curb long before he’d think about firing me, girl. Go find something to do.” The waitress smacked her gum as she turned away with a huff. “Stupid girl,” Frankie muttered. Then she looked at him, her gaze shrewd.

“You want some coffee? You’re looking pretty pale.”

“No thanks, ma’am,” he said politely, his mind still reeling.

“Please, don’t call me ma’am,
it makes me feel old. Frankie’s my name.”

“Was she lying?” he demanded
.

Frankie sighed and shook her head, her tight curls barely even bouncing with the movement. “I wish I could say the little cow was spreading lies, but unfortunately it’s true.”

“She’s homeless,” he whispered. “Why didn’t she tell me? I could have helped her.”

“
Jacey is a proud woman. She didn’t want any hand-outs. She was working to make a better life for herself. Well, she was until that little cow talked her uncle into hiring her.” She gestured over toward where Jimmy’s niece was currently flirting with an overweight man in a suit that was bursting at the seams.

“I have to find her.” De
termination filled him. No way was she spending another night on the streets.

Frankie nodded, a look of relief entering her eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you to return. I knew she wasn’t just a fling to you, even if Jacey probably thinks she was.
”

Had she really thought that? Why hadn’t he made things clearer to her
?

“Any idea where I’ll find her?”

Frankie nodded. “I’ll write down the address of the shelter I think she uses most. It’s not far from here. But she won’t be there until tonight and if she’s not there then, well, it’s probably like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Derrick let out a deep breath, not sure how he was going to manage to wait until tonight
, and if she wasn’t there…

His stomach gurgled, making him feel ill. He would find her. He had too. He wasn’t sure his sanity could survive the night thinking about her out there, alone and unprotected.

***

“Look, you have to tell me if you’ve seen her. Is she here?” Derrick said with frustration.

The woman behind the counter eyed him suspiciously. “Actually, sir, I don’t have to tell you anything. I think it might be best if you left.”

Derrick ran his hand through his hair. He had never felt so desperate or so out of control of a situation in his life.

“I just want to help her, I’m a friend. Her name is Jacey, she’s about five foot two with curly hair and brown eyes. I have it on good authority that she stays here often, you must have seen her.”

Derrick could hear his voice rising with agitation, but couldn’t calm himself down. Someone here knew her and he wasn’t giving up until he found her.

“Sir, I am not at liberty to share anything about the people who use this shelter. If she’s such a good friend, I’m sure she will be in contact. Now, please leave.”

“Listen, lady, I have a lot of money, do I need to come back with my che
ck book?”

Her gaze went frosty. “Leave, now. Before I call the police.”

Knowing he was now doing more harm than good, Derrick turned and walked out of the shelter.

Frustration and fear grew.
What was he going to do now?

After leaving the diner,
he’d driven over to the shelter to find it closed until evening. He’d then headed home to shower and change. He hadn’t been able to sleep or eat. Instead he’d done some research on homeless shelters in the city, something that to his shame, he’d never really paid much attention to.

But it was a very real problem. And his Jacey, his sweet, delicate Jacey was one of the faceless
one of the homeless. He just couldn’t believe it. Finally, unable to sit still, he’d gotten into his car and driven around the streets of Austin until the shelter opened.

P
art of him had still hoped that it was all a misunderstanding. That she worked there during the evenings and that’s why Frankie had seen her walk into the place.

But he knew he was
grasping at straws.

Moving
toward his car, he opened the door, wondering what to do next.

“Hey
you, rich guy!”

Derrick ignored the voice yelling out.

“Are you looking for Jacey or not?”

Derrick froze then turned, shutting his car door.
A greasy-looking guy wearing a hoodie and track pants stood on the sideway, looking at him with calculating eyes. His long hair was pulled back in a ponytail. He could do with a shave and a shower or two.

“What did you say?” Derrick asked.

“My name’s Ronald. I heard you tell that bitch inside that you was lookin’ for Jacey. She stays here a lot.”

“Is she there
now?” Derrick asked urgently.

The other man shook his head. “Haven’t seen her. But I could let you kno
w when she is here. For a price, of course.”

Of course. Not that Derrick cared.

He nodded. “Hundred dollars if you call me as soon as you see her.”

The guy snorted and shook his head. “Hundred bucks upfront. Five hundred when I call you.”

“All right.” Derrick grabbed his wallet and drew out a hundred dollar bill. “Give me your cell and I’ll put my number in.” This could all be a trick, but right now he didn’t care. He was desperate enough to try anything.

The man snorted.
“Do I look like I carry around a cell phone?”

Derrick narrowed his gaze. “Just how were you going to call me?”

“I’ll use the phone in there.” The man nodded his greasy head toward the shelter.

“Not good enough. I’ll get you a phone. Meet me back here in an hour.”

After buying a cheap throwaway cell phone, he returned to meet up with Ronald. Then Derrick spent most of the night driving around the streets, looking for Jacey. By 2 a.m. his vision was blurring. He knew he had to go home and get some sleep before he became a hazard on the road.

Bloody hell
, where was she?

***

Jacey shivered beneath the thin blanket she had covering her. It wasn’t that cold, yet she couldn’t stop shaking.
Please, don’t let me be getting sick. Please.

She’d n
ever had the most robust health, but she really couldn’t afford to get sick now. She swallowed, her throat aching. Jacey rolled over on the small cot. She’d chosen a different shelter tonight, needing to get away from Ronald and his unwanted attention. But although she had protection from the elements, it just didn’t seem to be enough to shake off this chill she’d developed.

She coughed into the pillow, hoping not to wake anyone around her. The cough was
rough and crackly and she sniffed as she felt her nose run. This wasn’t good. Jacey had spent the last two days searching for a job. Perhaps she’d overdone things, but she was desperate. She didn’t have nearly enough money saved.

Her stomach cramped, stress making her feel ill. This wasn’t good for the baby or her, but she had no choice but to get up in the morning and start searching again. With a sigh, Jacey tried to relax, knowing she needed sleep.

A vision of Derrick entered her mind. She wondered if he was back from his trip yet. Had he been thinking about her? She hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind. The feel of his arms around her, how safe he made her feel, how easily he turned her on.

Jacey shook, only this time it had nothing to do with feeling ill, no the heat rushing through her blood was due to the memory of Derrick’s mouth on her pussy, licking her clit.

It was going to be a long, long night.

***

Derrick glanced down at his phone as it buzzed. As soon as he saw the number on the screen, he jumped to his feet, not caring that he was in the middle of a meeting.

“I have to take this, excuse me,” he managed to say as he walked swiftly out of the double doors.

“Ronald, you’ve seen her?”

“Yeah, just caught sight of her on
Lavaca between 5th and 6th.”

“Follow her,” Derrick said urgently. “I’m on my way.”

“That’ll cost you extra,” Ronald replied.

“I don’t care. Just don’t lose her.
” Derrick said as he hung up and ran out of the building sliding his cell phone in his pants pocket.

He pulled up to the curb
and saw Ronald leaning against a crosswalk sign.

“Where is she?” Derrick asked as he climbed out of the car.

“About a block ahead of us,” Ronald said.

Derrick
started to take off, when the other man grabbed his arm.

“Hey,
where’s my money?”

With a mutter of impatience, Derrick grabbed his wallet from his pocket and thrust some bills toward the other man, not looking back as he raced down the block, his heart pounding.

He came to a standstill as he saw her. She was walking slowly along the sidewalk.

Thank God.

Relief almost brought him to his knees.

Then he noticed how she
was walking unsteadily. She fell to one knee. His stomach dropped as he raced toward her. Had she tripped? Was she hurt?

“Jacey! Jacey?” He kne
lt beside her on the hard pavement, ignoring the people around him as he clasped her cheeks between his hands to raise her face. Shit, she was burning up.

“Oh hell,
you’re sick.” Standing, he scooped her up into his arms. Turning, he carried her toward his car.

“Derrick?” she murmured. “What’s going on?”

“Shh, baby. Just relax, I’m going to take care of you.” He let her legs drift down as he reached into his pocket for his keys and unlocked his car. Opening the passenger door, he picked her back up and placed her inside.

“Derrick, this isn’t a good idea,” she said tiredly, opening her eyes to stare up at him as he
buckled her in.

He brushed her hair off her face, worried about how pale she was.

“What’s not a good idea is you wandering the streets when you’re obviously burning up with fever.”

“I’m fine. It’s just a cold.” A cough wracked her body and he winced at the
wheezing sound as she gasped for breath. Leaning her forward, he rubbed her back.

“
Come on, baby. Breathe, just breathe for me. Good girl. Now you just sit back and rest while I get you to the hospital.”

He shut her door and r
an around to the driver’s side.

“Hospital?” she murmured. “No hospital
…can’t afford it.”

“Don’t you worry about it. I’ll take care of it. Just like I’m going to take care of you.”

Reaching over with one hand, he squeezed her thigh gently.

Despite the fact that he was worried about her health, a surge of relief and satisfaction filled him. He intended that nothing would happen to her again.