Tough Guy: A Hero Club Novel by Jamie Schmidt (the reading list .TXT) 📗

roughly from behind. I resisted the urge to lift my hips at the phantom cock I could still feel inside me.

“What are you thinking about?” Miles reached over to casually flip my skirt up my thighs.

Busted. I should be thinking about my sister. But I didn’t want the naughty feelings born of freedom and decadence to go away. “I’m thinking about how much of your cock I can take down my throat.”

Miles braked hard as we almost rear-ended the car in front of us. “You should come with a warning label.”

I laughed and leaned my head on his shoulder. “I’ll come any way you want.”

“Yes, you will.”

His voice made me shiver in all the right places. “I’m having fun.”

“Good,” he said. “Jeez, it’s true what they say about the quiet types.”

“You wouldn’t even recognize me in New York.” I stared out the windshield. “I would never strip in a New York club. Aside from being terrified I’d run into someone I know, I couldn’t be this free so close to my responsibilities. The closest I’ve ever come was auditioning for a part in a show recently.”

Reaching down, he linked his fingers through mine. “That’s no way to go through life, sweetheart.”

“I know. I’m trying to move beyond it. It’s going slowly, but I’m getting there. This thing with Lisa set me back a few steps, but these past few days have made up for that.”

“You’re sexy and talented. You’ve been waiting in the wings too long.”

I rubbed my cheek on his arm. “Will you pull my hair when I give you a blow job?”

“Jesus Christ,” he said shakily. “Is that why you put it back into that ponytail?”

He reached over to give it a tug and I shamelessly moaned at him.

“Keep it up and I’ll park and make you give me one before we go find Zeke.”

Satisfied that I could keep a man like Miles Carvello on his toes, I eased back into my own seat. “No way. You promised me dinner and a show first.”

He grunted. “Behave or the show you get to see will be in one of the seedier clubs with my cock inside you.”

I blew out a shaky breath. I had a feeling if I said, “Yes, please,” we’d be derailed from our quest. It was tempting, but if it turned out Lisa was at the place we were going to, then I could devote the rest of the week to making Miles Carvello my sex slave. Or me his. I was up for either.

He left the Strip and drove for a few miles. The city looked empty without all the bright lights and the bustle. “We’re going into a rough neighborhood. Stay close and if things go down, run to the car and lock yourself in.” He parked outside an apartment complex. After we got out of the Mustang, he locked it and tossed me the keys. “I mean it.”

“I’m not a hero,” I said. In fact, I was getting a little sleepy. I’d definitely have coffee with dinner. I didn’t want to waste a moment doing something as mundane as sleeping.

“Good.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what we’re going to find. I don’t know if Zeke is providing your sister room and board or if it’s something more sinister. But no matter what happens, we’re going to get her through this.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

Zeke’s apartment building didn’t have a security lock or, if it did, it wasn’t working. Miles opened the door for me, but made me wait for him to go down the hallway first. Glancing down at his phone, he said, “Third floor. I don’t trust that elevator. Let’s take the stairs.”

Padding up the metal staircase behind Miles, I resisted the urge to touch him. I wanted to lay my forehead on his wide back and let him be strong for me. My mind played havoc on my emotions as I pictured Lisa in trouble behind these closed doors. Angry voices spilled out into the hallways in several different languages. The smell of cooking cabbage and burnt bacon assaulted my nostrils.

Please let her be all right.

Miles stopped outside a door and stood to the side of the peephole. He banged on the door and waited. It flung open and a woman carrying a small child on her hip peeked out.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“I’m looking for Zeke.”

A shadow of fear passed over her face. “He’s not here.”

“Where is he?”

“He went up to Pahrump.”

“Why?” Miles drawled out.

“To chase a girl.”

My breath caught in my throat. “Was it this girl?” I pushed by Miles to show the woman a picture of my sister.

“No,” the woman said. “She was a blonde, somebody he worked with.”

“Dee,” Miles said quietly.

“Yeah, that’s her. Look, my brother makes bad choices. He thinks with his little head.” She set the toddler down. “Go play,” she said to the child, who scampered inside. She stepped outside into the hallway with us and closed the door. “Does he owe you money?”

“No,” Miles said. “I’m his boss from Dalton’s.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Are you hiring?”

“Yes,” he said.

“I’m not like my brother. I’m always on time and I’m loyal to the job.”

“What do you do?” he asked.

“I cook. I clean. I can do anything.”

“Go see Liu at the club tomorrow. If he likes you, you’re hired.”

“Thank you,” she said, making a quick sign of the cross. “I don’t know if my brother is coming back. It depends on this woman. So you probably shouldn’t hold his job for him.”

“Do you know why Dee left for Pahrump?” Miles asked.

“Zeke said the girl had friends up there. He and she used to go up there a lot and stay the night. Then she decided to stay up there and not come back. Zeke got scared.”

“Scared? Of what?” I asked.

“Of losing her.” She looked over her shoulder at the closed door. “So he dropped everything and was determined to bring her back home to Vegas. Like I could fit another body in