Nurturing Britney (Surrender Book 7) by Becca Jameson (best books to read fiction .TXT) 📗

“Are we?”

He looks annoyed. “Of course, we are. What the fuck are you talking about?”

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