Mistaken Identities (19 page)

The pleasure had built up again to a point where it could no longer be contained and Bryce’s lovemaking took her over the edge. She came hard and long yet the sensation and pleasure continued because Bryce didn’t stop. One after the other in waves that seemed to never end, her body shuddered as she came. She’d never felt like this before. She had sex just to scratch the itch every once in a while but nothing like this. Stasia didn’t know her body could reach such heights of ecstasy. Her pussy had become so wet, liquid ran down her thighs.

“Stasia, I’m going to come,” he groaned. She felt his cock throb inside her as his thrusts increased.

“Let go, Bryce, let me hear you come.” She reached between her legs to cup his balls and caressed them gently.

“God, yes!”

With a loud guttural cry, he grabbed her hips and pumped into her mercilessly as he came. His release sent her into another orgasm as his hot seed filled her. He leaned against the wall, panting. She lay against the carpet for a moment reeling from the aftermath of what just happened. Stasia was speechless. She’d never felt like that before and that scared her now that the passion haze was fading.

Bryce kissed her shoulder and chuckled before saying huskily, “Maybe we can finally make it to your bed?”

Stasia got off his lap. “No, I’ll be going to my bed and you’ll be leaving now.”

“What?” Bryce said with confusion.

“We had sex and it was good, but now it’s time to leave.” Stasia laughed. “Don’t look like that, Bryce, I’m sure you’ve been on the other side of a booty call. Except this time it’s the woman who wants you to go. Come back when you have those papers saying a bunch of cops won’t be waiting for me at the gate at Charlotte Douglas Airport.”

“Stasia, you can’t walk away from what just happened like it was nothing,” Bryce practically growled.

“Why? Did you think you were that good that you’d change my mind and I’d follow you like a puppy?” Stasia laughed. “You give yourself a lot of credit, but, hey, you
were
good.” She moved towards the door, naked and unashamed. “Put your pants on and hit the road.”

Bryce dressed and by his movements she could tell he was steamed.
Tough shit,
she thought and watched him as calmly as she could.

“I’ll be back,” he said as she opened the door to let him out.

“Have that paperwork when you do,” Stasia retorted and closed the door.

She locked it and then peeped through the blinds as he stood on her doorstep for several seconds before walking to his rental car. It was only when he pulled away that she turned to head towards her bedroom. Right on her stairs she stopped and images of their encounter flashed through her mind. It had been more than good; it was epic how he made her feel.

In the shower, she touched her lips still tender from his kisses and her sex still tingled from his loving. She’d have to make sure her barriers were up tight against him. He was the means to get her life back and nothing more. But even as she said it the words didn’t sound believable to her ears.

Chapter Two

Bryce was pissed, no, he was extremely pissed that he was back in Caldwell without Stasia. She had certainly made an impression from the time he walked into the bar. It was like she never changed and he was thrown back into the past where he wanted her, ached for her and couldn’t have her. He was twenty and hot for a sixteen year old and, hell, now he was thirty-two and still wanted her. She was a sucker punch to his libido, seeing her with her hair in a high ponytail and a sheen of sweat on her ebony skin. She wore a tank shirt that barely covered those lovely breasts—the same ones he kissed and devoured later that night. She had those same wide, almond eyes except now they were guarded and wary. Her full lips were still so damn kissable. She didn’t need to wear lipstick because of the luscious, natural color. Then she blew his fucking mind at her apartment and then made him leave. God, he wanted her again, wanted to spend all night making her scream his name. But she’d become jaded and built up a wall that kept him at bay.

But he couldn’t blame her. She’d spent years alone and running when she should’ve been in college and growing up the right way. He’d known from the very beginning that she was innocent and over the years had been compiling evidence to that fact with the Caldwell Sheriff’s Department. He never told her that because he expected her to say no and he needed leverage to get her back home. But, hell, she called his bluff and probably would be a ghost if he even mentioned taking her in again. He was good at reading people and could tell that Stasia had a rough time of it since she left. He also knew from how she talked that she would never tell him what happened until she trusted him and she made it clear she did not.

Maybe if Kim didn’t go missing, he would never have had to find Stasia. Was this karma taking a hand in both of their fates and trying to right a wrong from long ago? He ran his hands through his hair and cursed softly under his breath. He needed to work fast because if Kim was using again or, worse, having an episode, she was in a shitload of trouble and needed him to find her now. Dani was the first hurtle. He needed a confession from her to get Stasia back in Caldwell. It would be no problem finding her; she was serving fifteen years at Stateville Correctional Facility for assault and robbery.

“Hey, Bryce, you back already?”

The voice belonged to one of his deputies who worked the front desk at the small building that housed their department. Jackson Palmer was new, green and wanted to make a difference. He hoped the young guy wouldn’t be jaded in a few years of dealing with criminals and the sick crimes they commit. He’d seen a lot of cops end up on the wrong end of jaded. They only had a small section of jail cells in the back and they could house ten offenders, maybe fifteen in a pinch. He could’ve still been working as a detective in the Charlotte PD but when the position of sheriff of his hometown was offered to him, he took it immediately, wanting to make a difference in the small town where he grew up.

“Yeah, but I may be flying back out tomorrow or the day after,” Bryce answered. “Is Cole back there?”

Cole was deputy sheriff and had been his best friend since middle school. He knew the situation and while he was away he kept the search going for Kim. He also had an invested interest in the case. Cole was in love with Kim and when she ran, it was away from him too, even though they were dating.

“He walked in a little before you did. He’s in his office,” Jackson replied. “Looked pretty steamed too.”

“Thanks. Call me if you need me.” Bryce strode back to Cole’s office and knocked before he entered.

Cole looked up. “You’re back early. Is Stasia with you?”

Bryce shook his head. “Nope. She wouldn’t come unless we got her cleared.”

“That bitch,” Cole raged. “Kim was her friend and she’s worried about her own skin?”

“First, let’s not use the word bitch and Stasia in the same sentence, because I feel punchy when you do,” Bryce said quietly. He clenched his hands at the anger he felt. “Second, can you blame her? She’s been living on the run for twelve years for something she didn’t do. You know it and I know it. She was never given a fair shake and now we expect her to come and help us.”

“All of a sudden you’re defending her.” Cole gave a surprised but cold chuckle. “She got under your skin again, didn’t she?”

“I doubt she ever left,” Bryce admitted and sighed. “Shit, I don’t know, man, but for her help she needs those charges dropped ASAP so I’m going to go up to Stateville and see Dani.”

“Good luck with that. I saw her while you were gone. A cold ass bitch is what she is,” Cole said. “Laughed when I told her Kim was missing and said she hoped she was floating in the Catawba River. I wanted to rise up over the table and just slap the shit out of her.”

Bryce shook his head. “She wasn’t Kim’s confidant, Stasia was, and I know with her help we can find her. Dani used them both. Stasia knew about the abuse, Cole, Kim told her everything when she was too scared to tell me. The night of the robbery shooting Kim hid Stasia and the old man found out. He helped Stasia get away because Kim threatened to tell. He fronted the money to keep a dirty secret.”

“Jesus, she took the abuse to protect a friend?” There was torture in Cole’s eyes when he looked at Bryce. “Then Stasia should repay the favor and help her now.”

“Would you come back with a charge hanging over your head?” Bryce asked. “We played the cards and she called our bluff, now we’ve got to get Dani to fucking confess or we’re screwed.”

“Fuck, this sucks. Why the hell didn’t Kim come to me instead of running?” Cole muttered. “We were in a good place, you know?”

“Some demons you can’t escape, Cole,” Bryce answered quietly. “What she endured for years left a huge, gaping wound.”

“She had just started letting me hold her without cringing away,” Cole said and his voice cracked with emotion. “I haven’t even thought about sex or anything because she wasn’t ready, but I would just hold her to show her some comfort and that she never has to fear me. She fell asleep that way, and then two days later she’s gone.”

That statement spurred Bryce into action. He put his hat on his head and walked toward the door of the office. “Then we go and we get Dani to tell the truth and we get Stasia back here to give us some kind of lead. Even when we find Kim, we’re going to need Stasia to get through to my sister to convince her to come home.”

Cole nodded. “I hear that. Round two, and this time we go in and get the answers we need.”

They left the office together and after giving Jackson directives in case they were needed, they set off to Stateville Prison to see Dani. The drive from Caldwell County to Stateville took a little over an hour and they discussed their plan of attack when they interviewed Dani.

After checking their weapons and signing into the prison, they were shown to an interview room where they’d talk to Dani. Fifteen minutes later she was escorted in, handcuffed and shackled. Bryce studied her as they handcuffed her to the table. She was pretty once, but even then she had an evil streak a mile long. Now her life and criminal past showed on her face like reading the open pages of a book. Her hair was in cornrows and the teardrop tattoo under her eye showed she had killed someone. The three sixes tattooed on her hand showed her gang affiliation even in prison. She was a queen bee on the cell blocks because she had the number eight with a cross through it tattooed on her neck. She had seniority in the gang so not many would dare fuck with her.

When her eyes met Bryce’s they were cold and glittered like brown glass. Her mouth twisted in a cruel smile before she spoke. “So here comes the brother trying to find his poor mental sister.”

“Nice to see you, Dani, you look—”

She laughed. “Beautiful, sexy?”

“You’re something,” he murmured. “I just don’t know what yet.”

“Please, you know you always wanted to hit this.” Dani sat back. “If you want to play a little touchy feely I won’t tell.”

Bryce tried to keep the disgust from showing on his face and said neutrally, “I’ll have to pass. I’m here to hear your confession, Dani.”

She winked. “Okay, I confess I have a thing for you, too. My girl in here, she’s all right but sometimes you just need a hard cock, you know?”

Again, disgust bloomed in him at her crassness but he pushed it away. “No, I want you to confess about the robbery you blamed on Stasia.”

“That little pussy is back in Caldwell?” Dani laughed. “I’ll have to say no to that and hey to sending her to cell block D when she gets locked up. I would have some fun with her.”

“Listen, you low-class street skank, we know you did it so let’s hear the confession so I can get away from your foulness,” Cole snapped.

She flicked an uninterested glance in Cole’s direction. “I see you brought your lap dog with you. Still playing second and kissing ass, aren’t you, Cole?”

“I’ll sweeten the pot for you,” Bryce said before Cole could respond. “Tell the truth because we’ve got some new evidence to the fact that you did it and we can make a deal for a lighter sentence to be served concurrently with this one instead of being tacked on. You can still get parole in eight, Dani. Get out, get your life together so you can have some kind of life.”

“Who says I don’t like my life here?” she asked. “I have three meals a day, a bed, TV and money for the commissary. What more can a girl ask for? I even get a mani and a pedi, so I’m good.”

“Well, then, the video tape will be passed on to the DA and he’ll file official charges and then all bets are off,” Bryce said casually. “Up for another twenty because of a felony robbery, assault in the commission of a robbery. That would mean you don’t get a parole hearing until fifteen, not eight. How much money would be coming in for the commissary when the gang knows you’re out of commission for over a dime? I think a new queen bee will rise and you’ll be the forgotten waste of space in this hole. Then when you’re released, your relevancy will be gone completely.”

“Bullshit, you ain’t got nothing,” she scoffed.

“You were never too smart anyway. I mean, who commits a crime with the camera recording?” Cole said, goading her.

“It seems I remember Kim saying she felt sorry for her because she had little to eat and little sense to even get a meal when she was hungry,” Bryce said to Cole. That was their plan—goad her until she breaks and slips up. “Now, Stasia was the classy one, the one I’d bang in a New York minute.”

Cole whistled. “Yeah, she was the hot, tight little number. Dani was a little sloppy even then and since the teens, it looks like gravity has taken hold. So, yeah, let’s go, we can take the tape to the district attorney—”

Dani slammed her hand on the metal table and the chains on her wrist made a metallic sound on the surface. “Yeah? Stasia was a trick and still didn’t know what to do. Fucking idiots always want the sweet ones. She wasn’t as smart as you think. Do you know how easy I used her to get shit? Cigarettes, drinks, rides in cars, I was practically her pimp. Two steps away from her turning tricks for me and keeping the money from that pussy.”