I could see that threw her since she wasn't expecting me to capitulate that easily. It was easy to since I had no plans on letting this farce go much farther but it was nice putting her through her paces. "I'm interested in renting out your space maybe having a private party for a hundred people or so." I looked at her for a minute before answering, let her sweat. "Sorry not interested." "Pardon?" Oh that ruffled your feathers did it sweetheart? "It wouldn't be cost-effective for me to do that; I make more money in one hour than I would by renting you the space for such a small number, unless you were willing to pay the premium plus overhead, plus the fee per person not to mention the liquor charge. So you see your little venture really doesn't hold any appeal for me." Chew on that agent Stone let's see what else you have in that bag of tricks of yours, her eyes smoldered for just a second before she got it under control.
"So Cierra Stone tell me about yourself." "What would you like to know Mr. Mancini?" Did she have any idea of the danger she was in right now with that flirty look she was throwing my way? I wondered how much of that was real and how much was her job because I had no doubt that she was attracted as I was but she was a cool one. Not by so much as a twinge did she give away any sign of discomfort at this new turn of events, in fact other than the slight color in her cheeks there was nothing to give her away; well done agent Stone. I'd read her profile from front to back so I knew this was her first real field operation; so far she'd been tested in controlled situations but this little gander was her first foray into the real world; too bad she was going to fail. "What would you like to tell me Cierra?" Like a cat with a trapped mouse; the imagined visual almost made me smile. "That's a weird way to put it what if I wished to remain a mystery? Afte
Denise came back with the appetizer platter and a new glass for Cierra, it hadn't escaped my notice that she seemed a little out of sorts I'll have to have a word with her about her attitude around the customers. Cierra didn't seem too impressed by her either as I noticed a slight change in her body language. "So what's it going to be?" I questioned as soon as we were alone again. She took a deep swallow before lifting her eyes to mine; my gut clenched, there was definitely something going on behind those eyes of hers but even more than that was the pull I'd felt from the first moment I laid eyes on her photograph. She had something in her that pulled at the heart of me and regardless of the reasons for her being here I'm not going to stop until I'd explored all the possibilities. Let's hope we both made it out unscathed. "I'm not sure how to answer your question I don't think I've ever been put in such a position before." "What you're not accus
We ended the night with the understanding that we'd take the time to get to know each other and see if there was anything there to explore. It was a bone for her no doubt, I'm sure she was thinking she'd survived her first face-to-face with the monster and though she hadn't learned anything incriminating she'd found an in; one I'd given her because obviously I'd lost my fucking mind. Sniffing around a damn federal agent. Way to go Mancini she'll probably end up fucking you in more ways than one. I watched her walk away after rejecting my offer to at least see her to her car; special agent Stone has a first class ass.***Cierra*** I spent the next day going over everything I knew about Hank Mancini when I wasn't replaying the events of the night before over and over again in my head. I still couldn't shake the feeling that we were missing something; I couldn't reconcile the straightforward plain speaking sex symbol of the night before with the child trafficking c
"What's up guys your wives kick you out or what?" "Funny bro...so?" Adrien dropped down on the couch while Jaxx went towards the minibar to get some sparkling water. He threw each of us one before settling next to Adrien on the couch. "So what?" Of course I knew what they were after but I enjoyed busting their chops every chance I got. "Don't fuck around bro we know you met with the undercover Fed last night how did it go?" It was always Jaxx's way to let Adrien take the lead, me I'm always the one stirring shit up and making them both crazy. "What, you didn't hack into the system to get a look at the report?" "She hasn't sent anything in yet I'm dying to see if she's as good as they say." "Jaxx you're rather quiet what's on your mind buddy?" "I hope you know what you're doing bro getting close to this chick; why didn't you just tell her you knew who she was and be done wit it?" "How do you know I didn't?"
There, that felt better, as long as I remembered what was really going on here I was fine. Yes the lust for her was stronger than in the past but that didn't mean anything. Nothing had changed, I'm still the same Hank Mancini that I'd been before I'd ever heard the name Cierra Stone. "We'll see, thanks for looking out bros but I'm good, I'll leave the pansy ass shit to you two, speaking of which Adrien that wife of yours a pain in the ass." "Uh huh, and what would you like me to do about it?" "Get her off my ass for one, that'll be a good start." "No thanks, if she's giving you shit that means it's my week off you're on your own brother." "Gee thanks you're all heart if you two can't control your women what makes you think I want that fucking headache?" "Because what we do control makes it all worthwhile, you'll see lil brother it wont be long now." They both thought that shit was funny as they headed for the door. I was already deep in t
I remembered Gracie's warning to not be too cocky going in, how that attitude had caused many others before me to fail. Looks like this one was going to take longer than expected. It was going to take all my considerable skills to bring down the great Mancini, if that were even possible. The question is did I want to? Yes I had a job to do but was I really doing that job if I let others dictate what I should believe? Something inside of me was very against the idea of his being guilty of the things we'd put on him; if he wasn't guilty of the list of criminal activities we suspected him of then what? Because when all was said and done Hank Mancini has been up to something for the past decade or more; problem is no one seems to know exactly what that was. I spent the next few minutes on the phone going over strategy with my boss while feeling slightly sick to my stomach. I had a weird feeling that I was about to embark on a very twisted journey full of pitfalls and stumbl
I had to set things up with my guys before going in because once I boarded the ship I had to be in constant motion and we couldn't afford to miss a step once we got the ball rolling. There was most definitely going to be firepower exchanged; my job was to see that none of the innocents were caught in the crossfire. I hated losing any of the unfortunates on my watch and so far I've been lucky where others haven't. This cargo was made up of young girls who were bound to be terrified; one of my operatives is a female who specializes in these matters, we've done enough of these runs that we're almost expert by now but there was always an unknown element that could pop up out of nowhere. In the old days we would've just rushed the shit and taken the hostages by force, there would most likely be lives lost, among them some of the victims. These days we handled things with just a bit more sophistication; I have accrued a reputation as a dealer so to speak, I'm known all over
Christmas in New York! I'd spent the last week showing her the city. I had no idea the stalwart special agent was into this fluffy shit until I heard her giggle like a little girl each time her new sisters brought up Rockefeller Center and the abominable tree. Shit I hadn't even thought of doing in years was now on the menu. When she wasn't dragging my ass all over the city I was parked at my parents' house or one of my brothers. Ma is in heaven. She had them all eating out of her hand, the little sneak and I dared not piss her off or I'd have four angry women on my ass with their shit. She hadn't quite forgiven me for going to see Durant behind her back, and now she had something else to be pissed about. This was the third morning she'd puked up her guts and I'd finally told her that I'd fucked up her birth control. Durant to spite me, refused to put her ass behind a desk, so I found the next best way to get her there. Now I had her impaled on my cock with her
Oh good gracious, crazy man on the loose. He all but dragged me out of the restaurant and I didn't have time to say hello to the young man whom I'd finally remembered. He was an up and coming agent, we'd worked indirectly on a program together a few months earlier and that's why I'd had a hard time placing him. Minimal contact. Things had cooled a little during lunch but I felt his tension once we were leaving and we passed the table. He hadn't said two words to me on the way back to the hotel and I could feel a different kind of tension in the air when he dragged me into the elevator and pulled me down the hallway and into the room. He'd never touched me like this, with that sense of desperation. I didn't complain when he tore my nice blouse or at the way he dragged my slacks off and threw them. I did make a little squeak when he threw me to the bed and came down on top of me. He's so fiercely intense always, that sometimes I'm afraid he'd consume me with all h
I didn't even break a sweat when I drove into the enemy camp. The jovial, laid back husband was gone and in his place was a man ready to tear someone's throat out through their ass. I walked into the building like I knew where I was going, like I'd done it a thousand times. It was surreal to see my face on fucking posters all over the place. These fucks are demented. I ignored the stares and whispers as I headed to the big man's office."I'm here to see Durant." I stopped long enough to tell the secretary in the outer office but didn't wait for her reply."Sir wait you can't go in there." I opened the door and walked in on some kind of meeting. The man himself stood up from behind his desk. I could see surprise written all over his face but he wasn't prepared. "Mancini, what the hell do you want?" That's the best you can do after hunting my ass for ten years?I walked up until I was in his face or as close as I could get with the slab of mahogany between us. The
I covered her head and upper body with mine as glass flew and bullets rained down around us. I'm not one for emotion in the middle of battle, but the fucker was dead, he shot at my fucking wife. What the fuck! I waited for another break in the action and then with my body shielding hers, got her back to my car. "Hank I have to stay with my partner.""Stay your ass in this car I'll be right back." I went around the other side from where we'd come and looked for an opening. The shots had come from outside, closer to the water. There was still a good chance no one was inside with the girl if she was still here. The asshole agent was still out there where I'd left him I was guessing; amateur.I found a door and worked to pry it open. Inside the place was cavernous and the only light came from the moon and the stars through the filthy windows. I didn't have time to comb the place so I closed my eyes and opened up my senses. The first floor was too obvious so I ma
I sat in the room he offered and waited. It wasn't long before he came back with the kid in tow. "I'll take it from here thanks." He huffed a little but closed the door behind him when he left. The kid looked like he was about to shit his pants and I hadn't even started yet. I walked around his chair and stood behind him, crowding him. An old interrogation tactic to put him off center. I wanted his nerves shot by the time I asked him the first question. "Are you ready to go to jail for the rest of your life?" He turned his head and opened his mouth to speak but I shushed him. "Before you say anything, think very carefully. In another hour or so, your friend Sven is going to be released to his parents, leaving you and your little cousin holding the bag. His parents are already making plans to get him off the island and who knows where he'd go into hiding." I didn't know that for sure but I know how that type works. The truth is, unless this was a horse and pony s
I accepted the new information he brought and looked over all the Intel they'd gathered thus far. My mind was already processing and discarding. "You've checked the whole island and you've had divers out there already." I said it more like a statement. "Yes, that's protocol in a situation like this. Plus there were a few sightings near the beach." "What about these boys she was seen with?""There's nothing there." Not the question. I looked up from the report I was reading over and stared him down. "You have these boys in holding?" He didn't like the question and I quite frankly didn't give a fuck. "Yes, but we can't hold them for much longer. Without any evidence of foul play, you know..." Yes I know only too well. Another reason I resent the fuck out of law enforcement. They cater more to the criminal than the victim. Thank fuck I don't suffer from that stupidity. "And why have you come to the conclusion that they're not involved?" I almost expected him to
I leapt off the bed and headed for the closet where I kept my travel kit with everything I could possibly need for a job. "How long?" I didn't have to iterate, I knew he'd read between the lines."Four hours. She went on holiday with some kids from college. They went out on the town and she just disappeared from the club they went to. The girls didn't take any chances and sounded the alarm right away so at least we have that on our side." "The plane's ready I presume.""Yes, Tony has the location, you're heading to Bonaire. I don't have to tell you how important this is to me. Cassandra is a flighty little thing but she's dear to my heart. Bring her home Hank." "Send me everything you have." There had been a batch of murders involving cruise ships in the last couple years. Something not many people knew about since it wasn't broadcasted for obvious reasons. The assholes that be, were more interested in the money tourism brought in than preserving lives. I
"That wasn't so bad now was it?" I was dancing ma around the makeshift dance floor under the marquee she'd had set up in the garden behind the family home. The wedding I'd expected to have at the most ten people had turned into about seventy-five. Don't ask. Since Cierra had no real family, Gracie was her only guest and the rest were distant relatives and friends of the family that ma had dug up from somewhere. "No, it came together quite well for all the notice you gave me.""You loved it. I had no doubt that you could do it." I kissed her cheek and spun her around, making her laugh like a little girl. "She's lovely Hank, I'm proud of you.""How come?" That was an odd thing to say."Because for the longest time I despaired of you ever finding the right girl and settling down. The girls and I had many discussions about it and we all agreed, you were a mess when it comes to women." "What girls? Sabra and Star?" Figures. "And what was wrong with the women I
Whatever, I'll just have to talk her into staying put in the city. We pulled into the short driveway of the ranch style house just as the sun was going down. A middle-aged man came to the door and looked out. I would've known him anywhere since I'd spent a lot of time researching all the players in this game. I probably had a better dossier on them than they had on me, something for which I was eternally grateful since it was about to come in handy. He recognized me as soon as I stepped out the car and I could see the indecision written on his face. Fucker wanted to go inside and slam the door in my face, but the intrigue of my very presence kept him where he was. "I'm guessing no introductions are necessary, but you might be wondering what I'm doing here.""You could say that. What is this? Have you come to turn yourself in?" He grinned in a way only a demented spook could but I didn't return it."No." I let that sink in until the stupid look dropped off his face.