Blood Secrets - By Jeannie Holmes Page 0,15
good mood, sweetie?”
“None of your damn business,” he grumbled, blowing smoke in her face. He stretched while she coughed.
“Can’t you give me a teensy weensy hint?”
Muttering obscenities under his breath, he grabbed his wallet from beside the bed and opened it. He pulled out a wad of cash and tossed it at her. The stack of hundreds and fifties bounced off her chest to scatter over the rumbled sheets.
Piper blinked and then the sight seemed to finally register and she shrieked in delight. “Where did you get all of this?”
“New client.” He took a draw off his cigarette and blew the smoke out his nose like a dragon. “He has a very specific taste and is willing to pay out the wazoo to satisfy it.”
She gathered the bills and laid them on top of her naked form, creating a sort of money blanket. “What does he like?”
“Redheads.”
Piper’s expression froze. “When did he pay you?”
He didn’t answer.
She looked at the money and then at him. “Did you send Mindy to him?”
He thumped her forehead and made her flinch. “What have I told you about asking too many questions?”
“I’m sorry,” she whimpered.
He stabbed out his cigarette on the edge of the nightstand. “Mindy was scheduled to meet him but that dumbass cousin of yours flaked out and didn’t show. Now I’m going to need you to find me a new redhead.”
“Where am I supposed to do that?”
“I don’t care, just find one, by tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow?” She sat up, spilling money across the bed and floor. “Why so soon?”
Kirk yawned and stretched again. “I’ll have to break her in before I can send her out to clients.”
Piper’s eyes flashed angrily. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you have to break in every girl?” She pouted. “Aren’t I enough for you?”
He laughed and pulled her on top of him. “Darlin’, I’m not gonna fuck her. Those bunnies are just the warm-up for the main event. You know that.”
She straddled him and wiggled her sex against his growing erection. “And I’m the main event, right?”
“Damn right.”
“Prove it.”
His arms snaked around her, crushing her to him as he kissed her. He rolled her over onto her back, hundred dollar bills crunching beneath them, and gave her the proof her body craved.
Allen and Leah Johnson lived in a Victorian manor in the heart of Jefferson’s Old Towne district. Tasha had always loved the eclectic mixture of elegant antebellum mansions, brightly painted Victorians, and earthy mid-century bungalows. She’d even dreamed of the day she, Caleb, and Maya would own a home in the coveted neighborhood.
It was a dream that would never come to fruition now, and she found herself settling for a rented cottage in one of the fringe areas surrounding Old Towne.
As she guided her unmarked police cruiser into the driveway beside the Johnsons’ stately home, she couldn’t help feeling a twinge of jealousy. She pushed aside the resentment and made her way up the front walk while the various possibilities behind their daughter Mindy’s disappearance ran through her mind, a new one forming with each step.
Kidnapping for money had been ruled out. More than forty-eight hours had passed without a single ransom demand made. Of course, money wasn’t the only reason people were abducted. Even though Mindy’s car had been found the possibility she’d left town of her own volition couldn’t be ruled out. However, as the days fell away without the girl contacting her family, it seemed unlikely.
The most likely scenario involved foul play. Tasha started her law enforcement career as a street cop a few years after high school and worked her way up through the ranks. Over the years she’d honed her investigative instincts and her gut told her Mindy wasn’t being held. It told her the girl was most likely already dead but she couldn’t voice that opinion. To give it voice would ripple through the cosmos and make it reality.
Leah Johnson answered the door before the final chime of the bell had faded. “Lieutenant Lockwood,” she said, brushing a strand of coppery hair from her face. “Has there been any word on Mindy?”
“I have some news.” Tasha avoided directly answering the woman’s question. “Is Allen home?”
“Yes, he’s home.” She stepped back, opening the door wide to admit Tasha. “Please, come in.”
Tasha entered the home’s small foyer and then a cozy room to the right as indicated by Leah.
“What’s the news? Did you find Mindy? Is she all right?” Leah’s questions came rapid-fire, burning with the same strained hope that filled her jade-like eyes.
“I think