There’s only one woman that I want in my bed, and if I can’t have her, then I’d rather sit here and rot.
“Suit yourself.” Robert Townsend patted my shoulder and started to stand. “You should probably call in sick to work tomorrow—they won’t need you.”
“Why?” My head snapped in his direction. “What are going to do?”
“That’s nothing for you to concern yourself with right now. I need you ready to start giving speeches when the time comes for you to take your place behind Chief Dade’s desk.
But that’s not the real issue—it’s what will come next that makes me worried.
All I could do was get drunk—and I did that quite nicely. I couldn’t go home, so I checked into a hotel near the club. I sent a message to Chief Dade to let him know that I wasn’t going to be able to make it in the next day. I had never called in sick, so I didn’t expect him to ask any questions. Thankfully, all he did was respond with empathy and wish me a quick recovery. I sat down on the edge of the bed with my head in my hands. I hated Robert Townsend. I hated him for what he was going to make me do. I hated him for depriving me of the woman I loved—even if it was a necessity to ensure her safety. Following his orders was necessary, but it burned me up inside. I was indeed in a bind—one that I couldn’t escape without doing precisely what Robert Townsend wanted. But I did have one alternative—one that I had never even thought about until I was inches away from rock bottom.
“This could be a huge mistake…” I fell back against the mattress and stared at the ceiling for a moment.
I want to keep Rachel safe, but—I can’t let her go without a fight. I just can’t.
I picked up my cell phone and scrolled through my contacts until I found the number I was looking for. I was about to take considerable risk, but I didn’t have a choice. There was no other alternative. The thought of losing Rachel was too much for me to handle, especially after the way things ended the last time, we were together. Not only that, Chief Dade had always been kind to me. The thought of betraying him was like a second dagger in my heart next to the one that was ready to be permanently lodged there if I didn’t have Rachel in my arms. My finger hesitated on the screen. I honestly didn’t know how far Robert Townsend’s reach extended—but it wasn’t likely to get any shorter if he had a pawn sitting at Chief Dade’s desk. I wasn’t an honorable man—not one that would ever serve Robert Townsend blindly because I shook his hand. I finally found the courage to dial the number that my finger was hovering over—terrified of what it would mean if the voice on the other side proved to be an ally of Robert Townsend.
“Hello? Is this Special Agent Jones?” I pushed the phone close to my ear. “You may not remember me, but we spoke a few times when you were here working on the arsonist case in New York…”
“Gerard?” His voice sounded both excited and confused. “Holy shit, I never thought I would hear from you again. Please tell me you don’t have another issue at the fire department…”
“No—not exactly.” I sighed. “My problem is a whole lot worse. Have you ever heard of a man named Robert Townsend?”
17
Rachel
“This isn’t betrayal—this is different.” I sat on the edge of the couch with tears forming in my eyes after Liam told me why Gerard hadn’t come home.
“He struck a deal, and I don’t think it’s one he’s going to be able to get out of.” Liam exhaled sharply. “I did everything I could to convince him otherwise, but I saw the look in his eyes. He fully understood what it was going to cost him…”
“Whatever he’s going to do—whatever Robert Townsend is going to make him do.” I squeezed my eyes shut to block the tears. “We can’t let him go through with it. He could end up in prison—or worse.”
“I know.” Liam nodded. “I just don’t know how to get through to him at this point.”
“I lost Gerard once, and I didn’t have a way to fight for him. I’m not going to go through that again. I know he meant what he said when we were together—we’re only in this situation because of Billy.” I shook my head back and forth. “Gerard shouldn’t be the one cleaning up his mess.”
“Neither should you.” Liam reached out and took my hand.
“My Dad will be back tomorrow.” I sighed and looked down at the floor. “I know how he is, too. If he figures out that Billy put us in this situation, he’s going to lose hi
s mind.”
“This might be one secret you should keep from your father.” Liam squeezed my hand. “Anyone who gets involved is in danger. I could be in danger just because I walked into that club—I’m pretty sure you were in danger from the start.”
“Yeah.” I nodded slowly. “But that doesn’t mean Gerard has to sacrifice everything. There has to be another way.”
Liam and I continued saying the same thing over-and-over as we sat there on the couch. We both wanted to save Gerard from whatever deal he had made with Robert Townsend, but neither of us knew how. Gerard hadn’t been very forthcoming with information, which made it a challenge. We had no idea what Robert Townsend wanted from him. We might as well have been trying to stop a hurricane with a hairdryer. Nothing we could do would prevent the storm from crashing into us—stop it from sweeping Gerard into Robert Townsend’s vile clutches. We were finally decided to go to bed, and despite all of the despair, I needed something to distract me—even if it was just a momentary respite to take my mind off things. I slid close to Liam and moved my hand down his abdomen, hoping that the stress wasn’t too much for him to chase a distraction with me. He gasped when my hand moved into his boxer shorts, and I felt his cock twitch when my fingers brushed against it.
“I need you.” I pressed my lips to his ear and purred.
“You have me—always.” He let out a groan, and I felt him getting hard.
Passion couldn’t undo everything, but it could give us a glimpse of something beautiful—that was what I needed at the moment. I pushed his boxers down and started stroking his cock once it was engorged in my hand. Even in the dimly lit room, I could see the desire in Liam’s eyes. He needed the distraction as much as I did. His hand moved over to my hip and then dropped to my inner thigh—where it slowly started tracing the tender flesh that led to my pussy. My panties were already getting wet, just from feeling his desire, and when he brushed against my pussy, a surge of bliss caused me to moan. I needed him—more than I wanted to admit. The closeness wasn’t going to bring Gerard back to our bed, but it would allow me to believe that he would be there one day—even if I had to lie to myself to quell the madness forming in my head.
“I want this.” I gave his cock a gentle squeeze and stroked his cock. “I don’t want you to be gentle—please don’t be gentle.”
“Okay.” He nodded as turned towards me, stripping my panties off my hips as he did. “I won’t.”