Bare (Miss Demeanor Series Book 2) (6 page)

Chapter Nine

Three hours later, Shay entered the agency. Cory ran up and hugged her. “It’s good to see you, Shay.” She took Shay’s arm and led her into the celebration. Her partners cheered with their champagne glasses.

Tears filled Shay’s eyes. Everything had happened so quickly. She smiled confidently. “Thank you,” she said quietly and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Congrats on your first successful case, Shay,” Maile was the first to hug her and the rest followed with a group hug.

“I couldn’t have done it without my partners.” Shay looked over at Mike, “That includes you too”.

He mouthed a thank you.

“I figured you might want this.” Cassie reached for Shay’s sport bag.

Shay smiled. “Thanks Cassie. You are a savior. These heels are killing me.”

“Does that mean you’re an easy target to beat a five-mile at the moment?”

Cassie’s remark made Shay laugh. “It would be the only time you’d win. But watch out for tomorrow’s five o’clock run.”

Cassie accepted Shay’s proposition immediately. “You’re on.”

The bell chimes from the front door rang out. Cory announced she’d get it. She disappeared quickly behind the wall and returned momentarily.

“Dante” Shay hadn’t expected him to show up at the agency. She’d asked for him before she left the DEA but was told he was still in interrogations.

“Shay, I wanted to make sure you were okay. The agent that took your statement mentioned he dropped you here.”

Shay smiled. “I’m fine. How’s Beth? And Renee?”

“Shaken but fine; I just drove them home. Beth had to release her badge and has been temporarily suspended upon investigation. I had no idea her mother had been involved with Rick. Beth let it get personal. She knows that now. The suspension will give her time to think about her actions and both mother and daughter need to repair their relationship.”

Shay still had no idea of Renee’s involvement with Rick or why Beth withheld the information. She needed to fill in the gaps but when she heard someone clear their throat; it reminded her that her partners had no idea who Dante was. She turned to them.

“Sorry, where are my manners? This is Special Agent Dante Pierce with the DEA, Beth’s partner.”

Cassie interrupted. “You’re the bartender?” Cassie shook his hand. “I see what Shay meant by a distraction.”

Dante chuckled through a blush and turned to Shay. “So my charming moves did have impact? You had my ego worried.” Shay raised her eyebrow and smiled. “Your moves were fine, but I had a job to do.”

“A girl after my own heart,” Dante placed his hand over his heart. “Does that mean you’ll say yes to a drink? I think we both deserve one.”

“I have some paperwork to finish up here—”

River interrupted. “It’s not going anywhere, Shay. We can finish in the morning.”

Dante opened the passenger door for her and she slipped in. He put the key in the ignition and turned to Shay, “Where to?”

“I have cold beer in my fridge. I’d love to get out of these heels and I don’t think I can handle another club right now.” She kicked off her shoes and moaned with satisfaction at their removal.

“Your place it is. Do I get to play bartender?” He winked and then focused on the road as he shifted the car in gear and merged into traffic. Before he shifted into second gear, Shay answered him.

“As long as you’re charming and those smooth moves are replayed. I haven’t yet had the chance to act on them.”

He promised. “At least I won’t worry about disarming your thigh strap.”

Shay touched her thigh and sadly remembered the agent held her pistol because she’d fired.

“You haven’t seen my collection yet,” she said but then assured him no weapons were required, only handcuffs.

His sudden shift into fourth gear confirmed he was game.

Shay unlocked her apartment door and pushed open the door. She motioned for him to step inside and followed.

Dante stepped into the small kitchenette. “I assume this is your bar.” He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a couple of cold ones. He paused as he handed one to her. “Does the detective require a glass?”

Shay laughed. “Not this detective.” She opened the bottle and took a swig and then set it on the counter. “I’ll be back in a minute. I have to change. Actually, I’d like to burn this outfit and hope I never have to waitress again.”

She attempted to turn but felt his hand reach around her waist and pull her in close to him. The same feeling rushed through her body when she’d felt his heat on the staircase the day before. His gaze weakened her at the knees. She swallowed hard as she watched his head lower. She wet her lips anticipating his kiss and was disappointed when his head tilted at the last second. For days she’d longed to plant her lips on his. She felt those lips at her neck. Disappointment left her thoughts as he devoured her neckline with kisses and nibbles. A slight groan through his kisses only enhanced her excitement.

She heard him set his bottle on the counter and then felt his hand settle on her hip. He tugged at her waistline to loosen her blouse from her skirt. Shay’s hands pressed against his hard chest and slowly crept upward. Her hands travelled through his hair. It was as soft as she’d imagined. His trail of kisses below her chin moved up to finally meet her lips. “Dante” She whispered his name through his kiss. Shay’s hands grasped his hair and pulled his kiss deeper. His heavy groan confirmed his desire had been as built up as hers. She felt his arousal grow as his hands moved her hips against him. She whimpered when he removed her hand from his hair. He continued to delve inside her mouth with his tongue. The sound of a click made her release from the most pleasurable kiss she’d ever experienced. She looked down at her cuffed hand.

“You said no weapons but cuffs were allowed.” His boyish grin made her laugh, “I did make that statement.” Dante smiled and placed the other cuff on his hand.

“We belong to each other for the night, if you’re okay with that.”

Without a word, she led him down the hall into her bedroom. His lips returned to hers and he unbuttoned her blouse as they found their way to her bed. He opened her blouse to the lacy fabric that surrounded her breasts. His tongue teased her senses as he outlined the fabric from one breast to another. She moaned in delight which only led him to release the back hook and devour her inch by inch. Shay reached for his zipper and released the restriction between them. His pants puddled around his feet on the floor and she pulled him with her as she fell on her bed. The events of the day disappeared as he took her away into a world she’d never known existed. No man had ever made love to her. His touch fulfilled her every desire and satisfied her from tip to toe.

“I didn’t expect you to show. What did you do with the bartender?” Cassie teased during her warm-up stretch.

“And miss the chance to beat you? I left him in my bed handcuffed with a note I’d be back in an hour.” Shay smirked.

“And” Cassie nudged Shay for details.

Shay took off after her stretch. “You’ll have to keep up if you want the details.”

Cassie laughed and raced to catch up.

Chapter Ten

T
wo weeks later

Hi, I’m Beth Mills. Is Detective Brooks available?

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Beth. I’m Cory. Shay speaks highly of you and your mom.”

Cory took Beth by the arm, “Come with me”.

“Beth.” Shay stood from her desk. “It’s good to see you. How are you and your mom doing?”

Beth hugged Shay. “We’re doing a lot better. The trip was exactly what we needed. I’d missed her so much. It really hurt to mislead her and remove her from my life. But it was something I needed to do at the time. I just wanted to stop by and thank you again. If it wasn’t for you and your agency, we might not have been successful with the arrests. And you saved my life. My mom and I are forever grateful Rick is out of our lives.”

Shay reached for Beth’s hands. “You had a big part in this too. You know that.”

Beth nodded. Tears filled her eyes. “Yeah, but the DEA was right. I did let it get personal. I shouldn’t have withheld that information about my mom and dad’s connection to Rick. I was just so focused on getting him any way I could.”

“That’s the hardest part of the job Beth, not allowing it to get personal. You’re young. You’re a great agent. Experience is a big part of the job.” Beth knew Shay tried to assure her but she’d already made her decision.

“At least it’s out in the open now. My mom no longer has to hide the fact that Rick drugged her in college and then he and his friends raped her. She should have had him arrested but she was too ashamed. She didn’t want my dad to know. But when he told my mom last year that he’d joined the club, she finally confessed. He’d confronted Rick and then never returned to the club. I only discovered my dad’s membership after his death when we sorted through his papers. I found the access card and my mom grabbed it from my hands. I couldn’t let it go, especially after my friend took her own life. She’d been waitressing at the club. I suspect she wore the cocktail dress.” Beth knew Shay understood the girls in dresses were escorts.

“So that’s how your mom had access to the club that day.”

“She was so worried that I was going to end up dead. She’d already lost my dad. She said she barely remembered driving to the club.”

Shay hugged Beth, “Oh honey, I’m glad you didn’t end up that way either. I heard they exhumed your dad’s body and discovered his heart attack had been induced by foul play.”

“My mom and I still believe that was Rick’s doing, but I guess we’ll never know for sure.” Beth then confessed to Shay that the DEA temporarily suspended her from withholding the information, but time away with her mom gave her time to think. “I’ve decided to leave the DEA and go to law school like I planned. The DEA has been cooperative and spoke to the school for me. I begin in January and in the meantime, I have some catching up to do with my mom.”

“Well, that’s not bad news Beth. I’m happy you’re getting your life back on track.”

“Thanks Shay. And thank you all for helping bring down that bastard. He is where he belongs; in hell.” Beth turned to smile at Shay’s partners.

River walked over and hugged her, “You know if you ever get bored of being a criminal lawyer, we’d love to have you at the agency”.

Beth laughed. “You just never know. Undercover work may still be in my blood, just not now”. She waved goodbye and Shay walked her out.

     ****

“She’s such a sweet girl. I wish her and her mom all the best,” River spoke up when Shay returned to her desk.

“That she is. I’m happy it all worked out.” Shay grinned.

“I know what that grin means. You’re also happy it all worked out with the bartender.” Cassie laughed.

“Yes, Shay; you were telling us about your weekend getaway with Agent Pierce. So spill girl. Did he bartend on the weekend?” Maile added to shock her partners, “With just a smile on?” Shay laughed as she remembered how shy Maile had been in the beginning.

Maile laughed, “What? My partners are rubbing off on me.”

“I think it’s time for Maile to get a little male bonding time.” Cassie winked.

Shay smiled at her friends and grabbed her purse. “On that note, I must go. I have a hot date with a hot bartender.”

“What? No details Shay?” River probed.

Shay turned and winked. “It’s a secret under-the-covers operation. If you know what I mean.”

Look for the other stories in

The Miss Demeanor Series

P.I. I Love You

Story 1

Rivers don’t let rocks hold them back.

River Nightingale has decided to blow past the rocky men in her life. She’s played by the rules for too long—especially when it came to her career as a cop. She was the top closer of cases for years, but promotions in her small town cop shop went to her less productive male counterparts. River’s friends, three other women cops, are also ready to change careers. Together they leave behind their small towns, become their own bosses, and purchase a Seattle private detective agency.

Homicide Detective Gage Hamlin takes pride in his job; he closes cases and fosters justice. All that changed the day River Nightingale sauntered into his office. River has him questioning his pride, his cases, and his aversion to private detectives, especially beautiful private detectives.

River’s client thinks Gage got it wrong, and River is forced to prove Gage missed a murder. Will River and Gage find a way to play nice, or will River be forced to leave Gage behind?

Bare

Angela Ford

Story 2

  Small town cop Shay Brooks is frustrated with her attempt to rise in the ranks. Thrilled ten years ago to secure a job in her hometown of Connell, Washington; she now thrives for excitement and advancement. Shay joins a Lady Cop chat room and forms a bond with three other lady cops who feel the same. Their friendship grows and when they meet in person, they decide to leave their small town lives. Shay quits her job and moves to Seattle to join her friends in their new venture to open the Miss Demeanor PI Detective Agency.

Shay leaves behind the charming community of Connell; one of the safest towns in the country. She’s thrown into the world of drugs, murder, and all the lies and unthinkable deeds the city draws.

Renee Mills hires Shay to save her daughter. Renee believes her daughter, Beth, a straight-A student; dropped out of college to strip. Her mother blames the owner of the club and drugs. Shay goes undercover as a waitress at the club in hopes to save Beth and crack open a drug operation. An inevitable mutual attraction with the bartender, Dante Pierce, is a distraction. But is he involved in the drug operation?

Murder, drugs, secrets and deceit may put a stop to their relationship before it begins.

Choreographed Crime

Jackie Marilla

Story 3

Maile Kuhiwinui is tired of her dead end job as a police officer in Hilo, Hawai’i, so when she joins a group of lady cops on vacation and one proposes opening a detective agency in Seattle, Maile goes all in.  She’s excited about the prospects Seattle offers, but after the grand opening of The Miss Demeanor Detective Agency, Maile finds herself sitting on the sidelines feeling inadequate while her three partners are hired to solve cases.

Kalama Haleamau considers himself a simple guy who loves to cook.  When the wahine from the Big Island starts to hang out at his Happy Hawaiian Food Truck, he figures they’d make a pretty good pair and asks her to spend time with him.

When Maile finally gets her first case, she’s thrust into a world of refined deceit as she investigates the murder of a principal dancer at the Seattle Ballet.  When she discovers Kalama’s murky association with the key suspects, she’s forced to separate her feelings for Kalama in order to identify the killer.

Check soon for

Golden Ribbons

Lauren Marie

Story 4

Cassie Holmes has made a big change. She left sunny, warm Arizona and moved to Seattle to join three friends in a new endeavor. They started Miss Demeanor Private Detective Agency. She wants to carry an umbrella, but is told by people around her that to live in the Northwest means not using the dreaded thing.

Her first case involves the disappearance of a fourteen year old girl, Cami Reynolds. Her mother is desperate to find the young girl and, even though she doesn’t have much money, hires Cassie for the job. The new private detective finds a dark underworld lurks under the Via-duct that runs along the Seattle Waterfront. Some kids are used, some turn to prostitution, and others find solace in drugs.

In the process of her search, she meets Jack Donovan, an undercover detective connected to a Seattle drug task force. He’s six-foot-four and appears to her as a homeless man, who she labels as Sasquatch, but she knows he’s a cop and as the two compare notes, discover their cases criss-cross paths.

After a rocky beginning, the two begin to work side by side to take down one of the worst prostitution rings in the Northwest. Will their camaraderie bring them closer together than just work?