As Zombie left to head to the next crime scene, Nellie walked out, confusion written all over her face. Chief walked up to her and began questioning her about whether she knew who dropped off the letter and if she had seen anything suspicious. Nellie knew my entire team, but didn’t know exactlywhat we did. She knew that Chief worked for the government, and it wasn’t uncommon for him to ask questions. When he’d come into my life, Nellie had undergone a background check and several security clearances to make sure that she wasn’t connected to Ricci.
When asked why she needed to answer Chief’s initial questions, he said it was because an investigation was underway. She didn’t question it. She was good like that. She followed orders and authority figures even though they had failed her girls and her many times. Nellie’s rule of thumb was to treat others as you wanted to be treated, which meant showing respect.
After Chief finished his questions, Machine showed up with burgers and fries. The gesture was sweet, but I craved our banter more than food; I craved the normalcy of our dynamic. I wanted him to ignite the fire in me by calling me Bunny. I wanted him to push back when I said something snarky. I didn’t know how to navigate him being nice and considerate. Aside from the time he’d played nursemaid in the locker room, our interactions had been filled with fire and rude comebacks.
I motioned for him and Chief to come upstairs to my apartment, not wanting the women in the shelter to be spooked by two large men. They followed as I opened my front door and walked up the stairs to the apartment Nellie and I shared.
The stairs led up to the small living room with a weathered tan couch and loveseat. It wasn’t a large place, but it was perfect for two adults. It wasn’t lavish by any means, but it was the first place that I could call home. The room was accented with boho furniture and enough plants to fill a nursery.
I led the men to the kitchen, and motioned for them to sit at the small table there. I grabbed a few waters from the fridge and set them on the table. My mind was racing. Lily was alive.Alive!And those sick fucks had her. I wanted to be reckless anddemand that we go in guns blazing, but I had to be smart about this. The men exchanged silent glances and opened up their food.
Chief’s phone rang. He answered it and went to the other room, leaving Machine and me alone.
“So, how are you doing, Bunny?” Machine asked after a few moments of silence.
Anger cut through my dread when I heard the nickname, but I ignored him. I needed to focus on what I knew now. Lily was alive, and nothing would stop me from finding her.
THIRTEEN
MACHINE
Three weeks had passed since Badger had gotten the news about her sister. It was driving me nuts not knowing all of the truth, so I’d made it my mission to see her every day at the gym. Some would say my behavior was borderline stalkerish. I, however, called it intuition. There was something about Jessica that told me she had a lot buried under her badass façade, and that was something I could relate to.
I was working on a set of shoulder presses next to the ring where Badger was beating the ever-living shit out of one of her students. She looked downright edible with her tight yellow shorts and gray sports bra. I wanted to run my tongue over every inch of her until she was coming undone by my touch.
I adjusted myself, not wanting to show off my hardening dick to everyone in the gym. I placed the weights back on the rack, knowing it was almost time for me to get in the ring with Badger for our scheduled one-on-one training. Was it a desperate move? Maybe. I didn’t care, though. I wanted to be close to her. I wanted to peel back all her layers and know what was hiding underneath.
“Tool, you coming?”
“Yes, Bunny dearest!” I called back, making her roll her eyes.
“Good job today, Edith! You’ll be kicking my ass in no time,” Badger said, patting the girl she had been training on the back. Edith gave her a tired nod and started limping out of the ring.
Jessica folded her arms across her chest, pushing her breasts up. I wanted to lick them, suck them.
“Are you done eye-fucking me now so we can get to work?” she asked, interrupting my thoughts.
I gave her a sultry smirk and climbed into the ring before walking up to her and whispering in her ear. “Don’t pretend you don’t like it when I look at you like that, because we both know you are getting wet just thinking about what I would do to you.”
Badger let out a gasp before executing a move that sent me on my ass. I wheezed from the impact of hitting the ground while Jessica put me in a headlock. My hands wrapped around her slender arms, trying to break her hold, only for her to tighten her grip.
“Might want to stop Bunny, I like choking,” I wheezed.
Badger growled in annoyance and let me go as if I had burned her. “Get up and shut up, Hammer.”
I let out a chuckle, loving that I riled her up. Standing, I got into a defensive position. I wasn’t about to let her get the upper hand on me again.
“As you wish,” I responded, miming zipping my lips and throwing away the key.
We spent the next twenty minutes working on simple maneuvers, Badger correcting my form. I knew the proper way to do them. However, I enjoyed the little touches I was getting and didn’t want them to stop. We took a break to get some water when I got a notification from Kade.
Boss:
Get to RSS now! Ricci is here.
I knew something had to be seriously wrong if he was texting me and not calling me. I looked at Badger before turning around.
“I gotta go, Bunny, this has been fun,” I called over my shoulder.
