Pretty Stolen Dolls (17 page)

He finally pulls away, eliciting a whine from me. A deep chuckle rumbles from his chest and he presses his forehead to mine, dark eyes locking in on me.

“What is this?” I ask heavily.

“This is real. This is how it should feel, Jade. This is perfect.” And with that, he backs away and orders, “Put on some shoes. I’m taking you somewhere. I want to show you something.”

I’m still heady and weak from our kiss. “Does this trip involve pancakes?” I question with a grin.

He winks at me. “I promised I’d fatten your skinny ass up. Now move, Phillips, before I carry you back there. And if I carry you to your bedroom,” he says with a wolfish grin, “we’re most definitely going to miss breakfast.”

He turns into the gravelly drive of a dilapidated cemetery and the giant breakfast we consumed roils in my belly. When I risk a glance at him, his knuckles are white on the steering wheel and his jaw clenches. He drives toward the back of the small burial ground and shuts off the car once he’s parked underneath a large oak. Thunder grumbles somewhere miles off, which means our little cemetery visit will be short lived.

“Why are we here?”

He gives me a grim smile and climbs out of the vehicle. His muscled back tightens as he takes long strides toward a headstone near the tree. It’s the newest looking piece of granite in the entire fenced in area and fresh flowers poke out of the vase on top. I follow him over to it and read the name.

Delaney Scott

November 14
th
, 1981 - May 3
rd
, 2010

Beloved daughter and sister

Frowning, I place my hand on his hard shoulder. “Is that—”

“My little sister,” he confirms. “She would have turned thirty-five this year.”

I slide my hand down until I grip his with mine. After our kiss and the playful flirting at breakfast, it feels right to comfort him this way.

“I’m sorry.”

He turns to look at me, pain flashing in his molten chocolate orbs. “Me too.”

“What happened?”

Anger ripples through him. I start to pull my hand from his grip at the sudden change of his mood, but he tightens it and turns his hardened gaze to mine. “Some asshole she dated. Chip was his name. I fucking hated that guy. Always knew my sister was better than his sorry ass.”

I frown at his words. “Did he hurt her?”

He scoffs. “Hurt? He did more than hurt her. Jade, he fucking destroyed her. The guy was a lowlife. Drugs, alcohol, petty crime. He was a loser and she was consumed by him. He made her promises and she believed every one of them. It wasn’t long before we didn’t even recognize her anymore. He got her hooked on heroin and knocked her up.”

A gasp leaves me as the first drop of rain splashes on to my cheek.

“She managed to get clean and I warned that fucker to stay away and he did, or so I thought.” He shakes his head, looking to the ground. “I had no fucking idea he liked to beat up on women.”

Shuddering, I think of all the times Benny struck me. A thunderclap in the distance makes me jump in surprise.

Dillon runs his free hand through his dark hair and lets out a hiss of air as if it pains him to tell me this. “On Jasmine’s first birthday…”

I raise a brow.
Jasmine?

“My niece.”

A genuine smile reaches all the way to his eyes, but it’s fleeting.

“He showed up and fed Laney a load of bullshit about being clean and changing his ways.”

Gritting his teeth, he looks at me. “Lies. The bastard—he hit her a little too hard. And when he realized he’d gone too far and fucking murdered my sister, he fled. The motherfucker didn’t even try to get her help or notify the authorities. He left Jasmine in her room and just disappeared.”

Hate radiates from him and he breaks from my grip to kneel down at her head stone. His powerful hand grips the granite as he bows his head. I allow him his moment of silence as a storm of thoughts brew in my head just as quickly as the one closing in on us.

Did they find Chip?

Is he in jail for murder?

Where’s Jasmine?

Lightning followed by a loud thunderclap jerks Dillon out of his moment and he stands. Fat rain drops begin to pelt down on us and his white T-shirt quickly becomes soaked, revealing his sculpted torso beneath. We don’t run to the car. Instead, we stand in the pouring rain, staring at one another. With two quick strides, he eats up the distance between us, spears his fingers through my hair, and tilts my head up to look into his angry eyes.

“I searched for him tirelessly for almost three years. Three long years I spent every evening and weekend hour doing what my own department failed to do.” He leans his forehead against mine. “I obsessed over this shit. I wanted justice for Delaney and to know he could never come for Jasmine.”

My chest aches for him, but I know exactly how he feels. “Did you find him?”

A low growl escapes him. “I found him. Found him in some shit motel in another state. Tracked his ass all the way to Nebraska.”

“Did you get your justice?” Our eyes meet and understanding flashes through us like electricity from the storm soaking us to the bone.

“He died from a heroin overdose. His body was found with a rubber band tied around his arm and a needle hanging from his vein. Nobody called for help. Nobody fucking cared. Two days before they found him.” My fingers flutter over his soaked chest heaving with fury.

“You made him pay. He deserved it.” My words are but a whisper, getting lost in the howling winds.

His lips hover over mine, the only warmth in the chilly rain shower. “Finding Chip was my only thought. My only care. My motherfucking reason for living. And now that he’s gone, a weight has been lifted. He got what he deserved. Watching his eyes widen with fright as I shoved the needle into his arm was the highlight of my whole damn life. Then watching him drain from this world into the depths of hell became my new favorite moment.”

Yanking at his T-shirt, I pull him to me and our lips crash together with fury. His large hands find my ass and grip me so hard, I know I’ll be bruised for days. A needy moan pours from my mouth into his as he devours me.

A deafening crack of thunder jolts us away from each other and he steals my hand as we run back to the car. Once inside, safe from the storm, he narrows his gaze at me.

“I know how it feels, Jade. What you see as a social disability is something I can understand with each part of my poor broken heart. I’m not some pussy who gets his panties in a wad when his girl fights for justice.”

My heart flutters at his words. “Who are you then?”

A smile blooms on his soft lips. “I’m your partner,” he says, and then his voice lowers. “And I’m your friend. Hell, I may even be more than that if you keep kissing me like that, woman. But one thing is for certain…”

I blink at him, my eyes darting between his in question. “What’s that?”

“I’m going to help you get your justice. We’re going to find your sister and that fuckface who took you two.”

“And then?”

A murderous scowl passes over his features. “And then, we’re going to do much worse than shove a needle in his vein. We’re going to make him pay for every goddamned thing he ever did to you.”

Hope, for the first time in forever, blossoms inside me. Could we really track that psycho down like he tracked down his sister’s killer? Will this all finally be over soon?

“Together, Jade,” Dillon says, his voice grumbling like the thunder above us. “We do this together, every step of the way.”

“Think these two are linked?” I question, shoving two newspaper articles across my kitchen table toward him.

Dillon picks them both up and scans them. “Two young teens. Missing, but not thought to have run away. Bodies later found strangulated. Hmmm,” he says, his eyes narrowed, “doesn’t seem like his MO.”

I know I’m reaching. For eight years, all I’ve done is reach. Hence the reason I have five gigantic boxes full of articles about missing girls all over the US, including the ones my parents collected the four years I was missing. “You’re right. Benny doesn’t strangle them. He mutilates them.”

My stomach grumbles and Dillon chuckles, breaking the tension some. “I’m ordering pizza for dinner. Those damned pancakes are long gone from this big boy’s belly. You’re a slave driver, Phillips. I don’t even work through lunch at the precinct.”

A smile graces my lips and I glance over at him. After the cemetery visit, we swung by his modest home on the outskirts of town so he could shower and change clothes. It was his day off and he was spending it bringing me up to date on the case so far. We’d driven past a flea market and it was lively with people. But experience told me that even though we were taken on a Saturday from a hellhole like that one, it was a fruitless endeavor to go. Most of the vendors were regulars and after years of interrogating everyone there, I’d pretty much been banned from coming back. Dillon had slowed, but I waved him on. There were no answers there on a Saturday.

He steals my laptop to place the order. After a few moments, his brows furl together. “Check this out. When I pulled up local events between here and your hometown, several crafting fairs pulled up. Some even advertise doll vendors. Have you checked into any of these?”

Climbing out of my seat, I rush over to him and lean in, placing my hands on his shoulders so I can view the screen better. His clean body wash scent envelops me and I inhale it. The smell is comforting and I instantly take a liking to it.

“Are any of the vendors called Benny’s Pretty Dolls?” I shudder just saying the name of his booth. “Benjamin is another name it could be under.”

He scrolls down the list of the vendor names. When he makes it to the J’s, we both point at the same time. Doll with the Jade Eyes.

A shiver ripples through me. “Do you think?”

Turning, he looks over his shoulder at me and I see the hope dancing in his eyes too. “Very well could be. I mean, you don’t have green eyes, but your name is Jade. Too close to ignore.”

I smile broadly at him, fat tears welling in my eyes. “Oh my God. What if it’s him? What if we finally find Macy?”

He stands up and pulls me to him for a hug. Bo always wanted me to run from my past, yet here’s Dillon—so strong and passionate—running with me toward it.

“We’re gonna find her, Jade. The craft fair opens at ten on Monday and is in town until Friday. I’ll take my lunch break at eleven. Meet me at the station and we’ll ride over there together. The two of us can take his ass down if it comes to it.”

Nodding, I agree and press a chaste kiss to his handsome mouth. “Thank you.”

I start to pull away, but his fingers thread into my hair and he deepens our kiss. He’s hard between us and desire licks at my flesh with the need to explore him. Thankfully, he’s the stronger willed of the two of us and tears from our heated kiss. A need that matches my own flickers in his eyes.

Benny always took what he wanted.

Bo was always so gentle and asked what I needed.

And Dillon steals kisses. His touch is rough and bruising, yet he doesn’t ever do anything I’m not equally hungry for.

For once, I find myself desiring a man like never before. The playing field is equal—two partners navigating a messy path together.

“I’m going to run out and pick up some beer while the pizza is on its way,” he says gruffly, stepping away from me.

My eyes fall to his jeans where his hardened cock makes the fabric bulge. “Are you staying the night again?”

He growls and it makes me shiver in delight. “I’ll stay one more night. On the sofa. Alone.”

Our eyes meet and his need for me is unmasked. It rages like the fiery sun.

“You don’t want…” I can’t bring myself to finish. A small pout forms on my lips.

His chuckle is sexy and it drives me crazy. “Woman, I want you. Believe me. But know this about me,” he says as he scoops his keys from the table by the front door, “once I start, I don’t stop. The moment I have you underneath me, I’m going to want to spend every waking second tasting your milky flesh. And right now, we have shit to focus on besides each other.” He winks at me before the door slams shut behind him.