Nurturing Britney (Surrender Book 7) Read online

  I’m pissed, and I need to send a message to Lazinski that when I say no interference, I fucking mean no interference, so, unfortunately, I’m going to have to rough this guy up. He may or may not know much about the job he’s been sent to do, but that isn’t my problem.

  I tuck the gun back in my holster, but then casually with no notice, land a right hook straight at the bouncer’s jaw.

  He stumbles backward, his body hitting the wall.

  I manage to get another punch to his gut in before he comes after me.

  We’re evenly matched. I find this out quickly when he body slams me against the door I just came through. “What the fuck?” he seethes. “What’s your goddamn problem?”

  “Right now, you are, asshole.” I grab the front of his shirt and then kick a leg out so that he goes down. The moment he drops to his knees, I knee him in the stomach. While he’s trying to catch his breath, I pull my gun again and level it at him. Something isn’t right. I don’t like it. There’s a vibe in the air. My entire special forces team in the Army joked that I had some crazy sixth sense. I can’t explain it, but I can often catch a vibe that makes my hackles rise. I saved my own ass and countless others on more than one occasion.

  I back up, holding the gun at him. I need to call Blade. I’m reaching for my phone when the guy holds up a hand.

  “Stop.” He’s gasping for breath as he rises to his feet, both hands in the air. “Dude. I’m not working for Lazinski.”

  I narrow my gaze. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  He points at his pocket and then watches me carefully as he reaches for his wallet. A moment later, he flips it open and holds up a badge.

  “Fuck,” I mutter, glancing up at him, deciding he’s legit. I lower my gun.

  “Yeah, fuck is right, because now I have to fucking deal with your sorry ass, and that’s messy.”

  I shake my head. “I’m not working for Lazinski either. Not any more than you are.”

  The guy takes a step back, eyes wide. He’s rubbing his jaw. “Start talking.”

  “I’d rather you go first, but I’m betting that isn’t going to happen.”

  “Not a chance.”

  I hear the squeal of tires outside. “That’s going to be my backup.”

  “You have fucking backup? Who the fuck are you?”

  I give him a slight chuckle and motion for him to follow me back to the front. Blade is walking into the building, gun drawn. “It’s okay,” I tell him. “Dude’s undercover.”

  Blade lowers his gun and blows out a breath. “Jesus.”

  The big guy says, “Great. Now that we all know who I am, ruining my cover, someone please tell me who the fuck you are.” He shows his badge to Blade and then looks at him closer. “You were with this guy the other night.” He turns to me. “What was your name? Brock Jacobs?”

  I chuckle. So does Blade. “Sure. That’s what my ID says.”

  He holds out a hand. “Gordon Shepherd.”

  “’Bout as legit as Brock Jacobs, I assume.”

  “Probably.”

  Blade crosses his arms. His feet are planted wide, forehead creased. I can feel his impatience. “If you’re undercover, why the hell are you here?”

  “Same reason you are. Need to find the missing woman before Lazinski or any of his goons do.”

  “Well, you can save yourself time on that task and go have some coffee,” Blade retorts. He’s not often a fan of cops.

  Gordon lifts both brows and glances at me before looking back to Blade. “You know where she is?”

  Blade nods. “She’s safe. No one’s going to find her.”

  Gordon lets out a deep breath. “Thank God. Who hired you?”

  Blade doesn’t hesitate. “She did.”

  Both of Gordon’s brows lift even hirer. “No shit?”

  Blade gives him no other information.

  Gordon draws in another breath. “Look, last Thursday night I saw her leave like someone was about to chase her down and kill her. I followed her here. I knew she worked here. Been watching the place. She never came back. That’s why I came today. Was hoping to find some information in her file that might help me find her without having to alert the owner, Cindy, that anything was wrong. When I arrived, she immediately assumed I was with the alarm company and...” He sighs. “Well, fuck me, that would be you guys.”

  “Yep,” Blade says.

  Gordon rolls his eyes. “Alarm company. Sure. Whatever. Anyway, I used that info to get inside, hoping to be gone before Cindy realized I wasn’t who I said I was. I try to keep every civilian out of it that I can.”

  Blade stares at him. I’d be chuckling at how imposing he can be if the situation were remotely funny.

  “Look,” I interject, “obviously we’re on the same team, like you said earlier. Not what you meant, but here we are. You want to help us or are you planning to make things difficult?”

  “Depends,” Gordon says. “I was about to say the same thing about you.”

  Blade clears his throat. “We’ll share what we know if you do too, but the woman stays in my custody, ya hear? Not a chance in hell I’m turning her over to the cops. She’s safer with me.”

  I appreciate the fact that he’s implied he has Britney himself or put her somewhere.

  “Agreed. You know my boss won’t care. He’ll be happy not to have to expend the resources.”

  “How long have you been working this case?” I ask.

  “Almost a year. Ever since the last woman disappeared.”

  “Did you know Britney was the next target?”

  “I suspected, but I wasn’t sure. Boss man got sloppy when he met with the middle man in his office that night. He knows it too. He’s been a dick ever since. I’m betting he even suspects Britney overheard him.”

  “Scared the fuck out of her. Couldn’t your people have moved in a bit sooner?” Blade accuses.

  “You know the cops don’t operate like that.”

  “Of course, I do,” Blade tosses back. “Why do you think we didn’t even call this in?”

  Gordon sighs. “I get it. I do. But at the precinct, we have to work within the law and with limited resources.”

  “How many women have been abducted and sold so far?” Blade asks.

  “Not sure. At least three.”

  “I’m up to six,” Blade tells him, posturing.

  “Fuck.”

  “Yep. One a year. Could go back farther. That’s as far as I’ve gotten.”

  I turn to Gordon. “Do you know who the buyer is?”

  “Not yet, but it’s someone from the Middle East. Lazinski is supposed to bring Britney to a rendezvous point this Saturday. The buyer comes personally that day. He likes to approve of his purchase before he hands over the money.”

  “Fuck. This Saturday?” I stiffen. That’s not much time. “He was vague with me. Didn’t give me a specific date.”

  Gordon nods. “I had to do some digging to figure that out myself. Eavesdropping mostly.”

  “And what about Lazinski?” I ask. “I assume he’s a middleman too. He’s laundering a lot of money, but not as much as he’s receiving.”

  Gordon nods. “You’re right. Don’t know the answer to that yet either.”

  “Is the buyer always the same?” Blade asks.

  “Can’t tell you that either, but it seems like a specific arrangement. Yearly, as you noticed. The women are all…similar.”

  “Yeah, we got that.”

  Gordon shakes his head slowly. “I’m guessing Lazinski isn’t interested in more than one transaction a year. He doesn’t want to arouse suspicion among his employees—the other women, I mean—nor does he want to get caught. He’s making just enough money to look legit.”

  “We gathered that too,” Blade says. “His club is underwater otherwise.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Shit.” I turn and shove through the front door, remembering Cindy is across the street freaking the fuck out. I glance both ways and
then run across the road. Hudson is there. Not surprising. Glad she called him.

  Hudson lifts his gaze to me. “What the hell?”

  “It’s all good now. Well, sort of. The man who tricked Cindy into letting him into the back room pretending he was working for me is an undercover cop.”

  Hudson pulls Cindy tighter into his side. “Scared the fuck out of me.”

  “I know. I lost several lives myself.”

  “You can come back inside now. We’re done sharing information.” I motion for them to follow. “I am going to upgrade your security though, and for the love of God, keep the front door locked when you’re not open and always have another employee with you. You shouldn’t be here alone.”

  Hudson nods. “The only reason I agreed to her coming in early today was because she was meeting with you.” He turns to look down at her and tips her chin so that she’s forced to meet his gaze. He says nothing else, but I know that look and the one she returns. She’s going to have a very sore bottom tomorrow.

  Cindy is one of the most private people I know. Few people are aware of her lifestyle preferences. The only reason I’m aware is because of a terrible mistake I made years ago, one that hurt her. Now, I would never breathe a word to a living soul, nor would I point out the obvious out loud. It’s their business.

  It will be beyond ironic, however, if in the end, Britney stays with me as my little and continues working for Cindy. I wonder if there’s any chance in the future they might share their secret with each other. Plus, there’s the added problem that Cindy, Hudson, and I all belong to Surrender. If Britney stays with me, I’ll want to take her to the club.

  I’m going to have to consider all this after the crisis is averted and talk to Hudson before I make a move. The truth is that if Hudson says he doesn’t want Britney to know about Cindy, I’ll have to honor that and drop my membership.

  I shake these thoughts that are for another day and jog back across the street while the two of them head to move their cars. I find Blade and Gordon in the back discussing the alarm system.

  Gordon glances at me. “Your boss tells me you were here this morning to increase security.”

  “Yes. And I’m going to do so now if we’re done.”

  Blade holds up a card. “I’ve got his number. He’ll ignore you at the club. You’ll ignore him. He also knows about Spike.”

  Gordon holds out a hand and we shake. “Sorry about your face.” I smirk.

  He rubs his cheek. “I’ve had worse. What are you going to tell Lazinski?”

  “That Britney had no contact information and no one here has seen her either. Hopefully, he’ll take my word and consider this place a dead end.”

  “Lazinski has no idea I’m here, of course. At least I can stop looking for Britney and focus my energy on finding the buyer and the seller.”

  “You’ll contact us immediately if you get more information,” Blade demands.

  “Yes.” He waves as he heads out the back door.

  Blade blows out a breath after it slams closed and lets his shoulders drop. “Jesus.”

  “Yeah. This situation could have gone very badly.”

  “I’m outta here. And you,” he points at the alarm box, “finish up here and get back home. I don’t want her unprotected. You either need to stay home or I’ll put one of the other guys on her when you need to leave the house. Got it?”

  I nod. “Agreed.”

  “Lazinski isn’t going to give up. He’s got too much on the line. Possibly even his life if he shows up empty-handed.”

  He’s right. This situation has the potential to explode. Every day that Lazinski doesn’t have Britney, he’s going to get more and more nervous.

  Chapter 19

  Master Davis

  When I open the door and step into the kitchen at lunchtime, Britney is sitting at the kitchen table coloring. She jumps up, her face lighting up, and runs toward me.

  There is no greater feeling in the world than the moment she throws herself into my arms.

  I lift her off the ground and hold her tight for several seconds. I honestly don’t want to put her down. I bury my face in her hair and inhale her scent. It’s true that I love the powdery scent from her shampoo and conditioner, but it’s more than that. It’s mixed with her own personal scent, and that makes all the difference.

  She tips her head back. “What are you doing home? I thought you wouldn’t be here until dinner.”

  I kiss her briefly. “I decided to take the rest of the day off.”

  She squeals. And God, I love that sound. I also love the fact that she’s so delighted I’ll be with her for the rest of the day.

  As I let her body slide down mine until her feet touch the ground, her dress rides up. I set my hands on her bottom and give a squeeze. “Were you good? Did you get your morning chores done, sweetie?”

  She nods, wiggling in my hands. I know the way I’m holding her, especially the fact that I’m teasing her bottom now with my thumbs against the seam of her panties, is making her squirm. “I made my bed and cleaned my bathroom and I even put away my tea set after Bunny and I played with it.”

  “Good girl.” I pat her bottom and release her reluctantly. I’d rather hold her all day like this, but it’s not practical, and besides, there are other things I’d like to do also. “Did anyone come to the door?”

  “Yes. But I didn’t answer it like you said and I was very quiet. I hid under the table in case they looked in the window.”

  I smile at her. “Good girl. I bet it’s a package for you. Shall I go take a look?”

  She claps her hands together. “Yes.”

  I leave her standing in the kitchen where she can see me as I make my way to the front door and open it. Sure enough, there is a package on the front stoop and I grab it before closing and locking the door again.

  I carry it to the table and set it down. “You can open it after lunch, sweetie.” I love prolonging her excitement. Denying her for a while will make her eager and fidgety.

  She gives me a look I was half-expecting but couldn’t be sure she had in her before now because I haven’t seen it. As we navigate this new dynamic, I’ll slowly get to know all of Britney’s quirks alongside her. She pouts. “I have to wait?”

  “Yep.” I pull her close once more and kiss her forehead. “Just until after lunch. Unless you want to continue pouting. In that case, I’ll keep it for another day.”

  She forces her lips back to center and shakes her head. “I won’t pout. I promise.”

  “Good. Now, how about you pull out the lunch meat and cheese while I go change clothes? Then we can make sandwiches.”

  “Yes, Sir.” She rushes to the fridge as if hurrying through lunch will get her package into her hands faster.

  I chuckle as I leave the kitchen, but I don’t waste time either. I’m back at her side in worn jeans and a black T-shirt five minutes later. I’m also not carrying a gun. “Did you find everything, sweetie?”

  “Yes, Sir.” She points at the island where she has indeed piled up the bread and lunchmeat and cheese and a few condiments.

  “How about some apples too? Do you like apples?”

  “Yes, Sir.” She rushes back to the fridge and finds two apples. “Will you cut it up for me?”

  “I sure will, sweetie.” I swing her up onto the stool and proceed to make us both a sandwich. I cut hers into triangles and slice her apple into bite-sized pieces before arranging it on one of her pink plates. “Do you want milk or water?”

  “Water, please.”

  I pour her a cup of water in one of the matching pink plastic cups and set it in front of her.

  She takes a big bite of the sandwich and starts chewing.

  “Slow down. You’re going to choke. And it’s not going to get you to the package any faster because you have to wait for me to finish also.” I watch as she fidgets on her seat, rocking back and forth while she eats. She takes my breath away. I’m so attached to her already that I know it will
kill me to lose her. I need to remind myself that she is not mine to lose yet. She needs time. A lot of it. I can’t pressure her.

  Her dress today is white with pink horizontal stripes. It has a pink ruffle along the top and bottom. The sleeves are just an extension of the ruffle. It’s short. It also has no definition. It hangs straight down from the ruffle. Which means it’s swaying across her nipples all the time.

  The upside is that she’s squirming. The downside is that I can’t see the definition of her nipples. Tomorrow I’m going to choose something more fitted.

  When I watch her stuff two pieces of apple into her mouth at once, I reach over and set my hand on her wrist. “Slow down,” I remind her. “Chew your food. Smaller bites.”

  “Yes, Sir,” she murmurs after she swallows. She picks up just one chunk of apple next and brings it slowly to her mouth between her finger and her thumb.

  “Good girl.”

  She finishes before me and sits semi-patiently. She plays with the hem of her dress, and I gather she has something to say. “Talk to me, sweetie. What’s on your mind?”

  She lifts her gaze and bites her bottom lip before finally opening her mouth. “Can I call you Daddy?”

  My chest seizes. My ears start ringing. I can’t move or breathe. And I have to shake myself out of it before I freak her out with my inability to respond. No sweeter words have ever been spoken to me.

  I reach over and cup her face. “That would make me very happy, sweet girl.” I’m in so much trouble. How will I ever let her go?

  She beams.

  I somehow manage to finish my lunch even though she’s just given me the best gift a Daddy can ask for, and then I take my time cleaning up to prolong her excitement. Finally, I lift her to the floor and take her by the hand, leading her to the table.

  I hand her the package. I’m seriously almost as excited as she is because I can’t wait to see her expression when she opens it.

  She tries to get the end to rip, but fails and hands it back to me. “You open it, Daddy,” she exclaims, bouncing on her feet.

  My chest gets all tight and warm again. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that word coming from her lips. She’s slaying me. But I pull the top of the package open and then hand it back to her so she can be the one to reach in and pull out the contents.