Love and Law (5 page)

“Maya, wait!” he calls after me. I’m nearly to the door when he grasps my upper arm, stopping me. “I’m sorry. I need my best friend back, so I’ll keep my feelings in check,” he remarks sadly.

I just nod and pull away from him, making haste to the car we borrowed from the police inventory. He hops in the driver’s seat and I take the passenger’s seat—just like always. We’re out of the garage in minutes, cruising down the street again before either of us speaks.

“Be careful out there,” he grumbles.

I absolutely hate the place we’re in right now. Last night was a huge fucking mistake. That’s the last time I let my hormones dictate my actions.

“I always am,” I clip out.

We pull up to an alleyway not far from where Jane Doe was found last night.

“I’ll let you out here. I’m sure when you round that corner their scouts will be looking. Play it cool, Maya. Don’t fly off the handle and go batshit crazy like you have a tendency to do. Remember, we’re trying to get to the head honcho, not these small-time drug pushers. The drugs flowing through this city have always been a huge problem, and that’s because we’ve never been able to successfully locate the main source. I’ll be watching you even when you think I’m not,” he says.

I look over at him one last time with my hand on the door handle. Miguel really is sexy as hell, but it would just be physical. I don’t feel the butterflies in my stomach like I should.

“I’ll be careful. You know I will play my part well. Being a tough bitch is sort of my trademark. I will report back when I can,” I assure him. We locked up my badge, gun, and ID at the station. It’s just me and the clothes on my back.

I climb out of the car and begin walking down the alleyway when he calls after me.

“Let’s get these fuckers!”

With a wink and a smug grin, I remind him, “We always do.”

“HEY, LADIES. YOU SELLING?” CJ flirtatiously asks the two teenagers standing at the corner.

I told him before we reached them that they didn’t seem like good prospects, but he didn’t fucking listen. The girls’ eyes widen at first because CJ isn’t a bad-looking guy. I think they’re stunned that he’s actually talking to them. He stands well over six foot and has a pretty face. Women usually fall all over themselves for him.

“What? No!” one of them shrieks.

I roll my eyes and keep strolling past them. CJ chats for a couple more minutes, probably getting their fucking numbers, before catching back up to me.

“Dead end,” he huffs after his short jog.

No shit, Sherlock.
I don’t reward him with a response as we keep walking.

Some guys are hanging out on a porch a few houses ahead and get quiet as we approach. I know they’re probably going to try and intimidate us, but once they see who I am, they’ll back the fuck down.

“You assholes lost?” one of the losers calls out to us.

CJ flips him off as we approach.

“Motherfucker wants to get his ass kicked,” another one of them growls out.

Again, I ignore them until I reach the pathway leading to the porch.

“Oh, looks like these douchebags want to play!” declares a third voice.

There are at least five of them, but I’m not fucking scared.
They
should be. Once they figure out who I am, they will be. Yanking off my sunglasses, I glare at each one of them, taking my time before moving on to the next one.

“Shit! Ah, man, we didn’t realize it was you, Pac. You’re never up on this side of the hood. We didn’t mean anything, sir.” Finally, some fucking respect.

Deciding to get straight to business, I finally speak to them. “Any potential recruits around here? I’m looking for chicks.”

One of them laughs. “Some shitheads were snooping around here earlier looking for a job, but we told them we were having an economic furlough.” Furlough isn’t a word these idiots use around here in everyday language. This kid is a college student.

I quirk an eyebrow at him. “Wayne State?”

Embarrassment floods his features, and his eyes flicker around nervously. All I get is a half nod.

“Don’t be fucking ashamed, my man. We need good businessmen. That degree will get you moved up our ranks real quick,” I praise.

His buddy grins and punches him in the arm. Finally, the embarrassed kid smiles with pride.

“We saw some chicks down on Mack Avenue working the corner,” another guy provides.

CJ chimes in for me, “Nah, man. We’re looking for recruits—female recruits, not fucking hookers.”

They all just shrug their shoulders, so CJ and I keep walking. We’ve gone a few more blocks when a woman pops out of an alleyway. Her demeanor is nervous until she turns and sees us. Almost immediately, she goes from walking like a lady to sauntering like a thug. Interesting. She starts moving our way with a purpose she is trying to keep hidden by looking over at the houses as she strolls along.

“This one,” I tell CJ lowly.

He nods as we make our way to her. I can see her fidgeting, but then she visibly calms herself. This chick is definitely new to the neighborhood. I wonder what her story is.

“Lost, baby girl?” I call out to her when she’s no farther than a house-length away from us.

Her head whips over to where we are and her innocent features morph into a hard look. “I’m not your baby girl, and I’m not lost,” she snaps and keeps marching along undeterred.

As we get closer to her, I’m struck by her beauty. Girls from these parts don’t look this good. This woman looks better than good. She looks fucking perfect. Her baggy T-shirt does little to hide the swells of her perky tits, and I feel my cock tighten from the thought of seeing them.

“Then where are you off to in such a hurry,
baby girl
?” I growl at her.

Instead of answering me, she continues to storm past me—that is until I grab ahold of her arm and stop her. She’s not getting off that easy.

She whirls around to face me, still in the clutches of my grasp, and I’m taken aback by the fire in her light-brown eyes. She looks as if she’s holding back from going off on me by a very thin thread. It almost seems like she’s ready to kick my ass, and dammit if that doesn’t fucking turn me on as well.

“Let me go, asshole,” she spits out at me.

My eyes drop from her fiery eyes down to her plump, pouty lips. They’re painted an ugly fucking color, and I want to suck on them until they are their natural pink hue.

“I’ll let you go when you tell me where you’re going,” I laugh. I don’t know what the fuck’s come over me, but I don’t want her out of my sight.

She glares at me furiously. “None of your business,” she seethes.

I drop the smile and narrow my gaze at her. Everything in this town is my fucking business.
Including her.

“See, doll, that’s where you’re mistaken. This is my territory, and you’re traipsing through it like you’re fucking Princess of the Ghetto. Now I will ask one more time. Where. The.
Fuck
. Are. You. Going?” I’m starting to get pissed. If this is one of Blaze’s bitches, I’ll find out.

Panic crosses her features, but she quickly swallows it down. “I’m looking for a job. My parents kicked me out. Now if you’ll leave me the fuck alone, I can get on my way.”

“Ah, shit,” CJ mumbles from beside me. I can’t decide whether he’s admiring her balls or fearing for her safety at this point. Lucky for the both of them, I find her fucking cute.

Tightening my grip on her arm, I pull her close to me, and her breath hitches. Momentarily, I wonder if she finds me attractive. The thought is ludicrous. All bitches think I’m hot as fuck. I’m a Tupac lookalike—hence the nickname Pac. I even had “Thug Life” tattooed across my abdomen just like him. Dipping my head down to her ear, I hear her whimper. I’m not sure if it’s in fear or something else. Either way, my cock twitches delightfully.

“The name’s Pac. I’ll give you a job,” I breathe into her ear. Our chests are nearly touching, and every time she breathes, I can feel her tits graze my chest.

“What kind of job? I’m no whore,” she says matter-of-factly.

I relax my grip on her arm and gently rub her bicep with my thumb. “Nobody’s asking for sex, baby girl. Well, at least not yet,” I whisper, blowing hot breath into her ear.

My words must be getting to her at this point, because she sways and her hand automatically grabs my waist to steady herself. The action causes my dick to go rock hard. Her small hand is surprisingly strong, and I want it gripping my length, not my fucking hip. Shit, I need this girl on my dick like yesterday.

Using the line Oculus taught me long ago, I tell her, “We’re looking for salesmen. Or in your case, saleswomen. The pay is good. The company is better.”

Her hand is still on my hip, which makes me smile. She clears her throat and starts to pull away, but I tighten my grip to keep her from going anywhere. Since she can’t escape me, she turns her head so that her nose drags across mine. Now I have a full-on, raging hard-on that gets impossibly harder when her tongue darts out to lick her lips.

“What do you sell?” she asks innocently, but the light in her eyes tells me that she knows what I’m going to say before it comes out of my mouth. Her breath smells like cinnamon gum, and I want to taste her.

“Are you a cop?”

Her brown eyes widen in shock. “What? No…I, uh…” she stammers. Her lips poke out in a sexy little pout, and it takes everything in me not to pull her to me and kiss the hell out of her.

“I’m kidding. Come with me. I’ll personally show you the ropes. You’ll make good money, and if you need a place to stay, we can hook you up with that as well.”

Apparently at a loss for words, she just nods. Reluctantly, I pull away from her, and she briefly closes her eyes at the loss. I’m glad to know that she’s just as fucking affected as I am.

It’s now that I am at a distance from her that I can fully appreciate her body. She’s wearing a nice pair of jeans—probably Lucky or Abercrombie from the looks of them. Something about her outfit screams ‘not from around here.’

Not ready to part from her, I grab ahold of her hand, causing her to gasp out in surprise.

“This way,” I grumble. I’m going to figure out her story and soon. “Why’d they kick you out? Your parents,” I clarify.

Her hand goes clammy in mine, and I can tell that she doesn’t want to answer me as we walk down the sidewalk, CJ wisely following quietly behind. This is why CJ is a good sidekick. He usually knows when to behave.

“Drugs. I was doing drugs and they hated it. Just kicked me out,” she tells me none too convincingly. Clearly there is another reason that she doesn’t want to tell me about.

“I know you’re lying to me, but I’ll let it slide this time. Don’t lie, baby girl,” I admonish.

“Okay.”

She tries to appear unaffected but she looks nervous as fuck.

We walk on a few more blocks in silence before she speaks up again.

“Pac?”

In this moment, I want to tell her my name. My real name. The name none of these other motherfuckers even know—not even Oculus. He just called me “son” until I came into the nickname of Pac. Instead of doing something so stupid with someone I’ve only met moments ago, I refrain.

“Yes?”

“Where are we going?”

I chuckle and squeeze her hand. “Boot camp, baby girl. I’m about to teach you things. Lots of things. You’ll be all mine during training. When I finish with you, you’ll be exactly what I want—what I need.”

She’s quiet, but I hope she caught the double entendre because I’ve already claimed this woman whether she likes it or not.