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

“Not surprising.”

“He’s had Lazinski’s office bugged for months, but the man has gotten sloppy and started making calls and meeting with people in his office. Before last week—before the night Britney overheard him discussing her sale—he was elusive. Never met with anyone or even spoke on the phone about his transactions. The cop had begun to wonder if Lazinski was even involved.”

“I wonder what caused him to get lax.”

Blade shrugs. “No idea. Could have been a fluke Wednesday night. In any case, he knows he fucked up and he’s called everyone in the city who owes him a marker trying to find Britney.”

I wince. I wish the fucker would give up on her.

“He’s working hard on a plan B too.”

“Another woman,” I murmur.

“Yes. Shepherd is concerned Lazinski will literally have his goons kidnap someone off the street who looks like Britney. Shepherd has been following one of the goons. I’ve had Spike following another one. If they decide to grab someone, we want to know where they take her, or we may totally miss the transaction.”

I cringe. The thought of a random woman, or perhaps even a young girl, being kidnapped and sold all because we’ve thwarted Lazinski’s efforts with Britney brings bile to my throat. I’m glad Britney is safe and I wouldn’t want it any other way, of course, but I also want to make sure we do everything in our power to stop this transaction from happening at all. I know Blade agrees with me. When it comes to human trafficking, we all get our hackles up.

“Do you need me to be out on the streets? Sounds like you need more manpower.”

“No.” Blade shakes his head. “Not a chance. For one thing, as far as we know, Lazinski only has two goons working on finding a replacement. Got them both covered. For another thing, I need you to be right here with Britney until this is over. You can’t leave this house unless one of us is available to stay with her, so what’s the point?”

I draw in a deep breath out of frustration. The thought of leaving Britney home with anyone makes my stomach churn. I didn’t like doing it yesterday. I’m certainly not doing it again unless I absolutely have to make an appearance in front of Lazinski.

“Lazinski also has Mila Herring looking for a replacement dancer. Last night he told her he didn’t think Britney would be coming back.”

“She must be his stripper recruitment team. She’s the one who met Britney at the thrift store and lured her in. I’m surprised he didn’t have someone already learning the ropes to replace Britney since he knew she wouldn’t be there after this week.”

Blade nods. “I thought of that, but then I decided it would be suspicious if he replaced people in advance of them disappearing.”

“True.” I run a hand over my short-cropped hair. “I sincerely hope he thinks she’s gone for good, but that doesn’t make it safe for her to leave the house. Hell, I took her outside yesterday and my protective instincts kicked in and I didn’t let her leave the patio.”

Blade chuckles. “Why am I not surprised?” He leans back. “Be careful, man. You’ve only known her a week. I can see what you mean about her being a little. There is no doubt, but if you don’t let her set the pace, she’ll revolt.”

I nod. “Believe me, I’ve tried, but that little imp sets the bar very high. It’s like she’s challenging me to see if I’m as strict as I’ve said I am. In fact, I watched her closely while I told her you would be coming over this morning, and though she was verbally nervous, she was aroused. I’ve never seen someone squirm as much as she does.”

Blade smiles. “Good. I’m happy for you.” He sighs. “Anyway, Shepherd has also heard Lazinski talking to whoever he works for.”

I sit up straighter and lift my brows. “Did he get a name?”

“No, but he’s got the alarm codes for the building, so he’s hoping to break in after everyone has left tonight and scour the office for any scrap of information or detail Lazinski might have left lying around.”

“Sounds risky. Lazinski might have an app that lets him know when someone turns off the alarm.”

“Shepherd has some sort of sob story worked up about leaving his wallet behind or some shit, but he doesn’t think Lazinski considers the building worth paying that close attention to. No money is left at night and there’s nothing valuable in the building.”

“At least not monetarily. Let’s hope there’s some valuable information,” I point out.

“Exactly.”

I take a deep breath. “Not sure if I’ll get away without meeting face-to-face with Lazinski before the end of the week. He likes frequent updates on my progress, and he gets impatient over the phone.”

“I’m sure he’s impatient in general since his bread and butter is missing.”

“Sir?” The sweet voice coming from the hall makes me lift my gaze.

“Come on in, sweet girl.”

She pushes the door open hesitantly, nervously biting her lower lip. Her hands are clasped behind her, which is odd since I’ve never seen her do that and I’m surprised she would now with Blade sitting in my office and her inherent embarrassment about people noticing her nipples. In this position, her shoulders are drawn back and her nipples are more obvious hard points than usual.

I frown. “Come here, sweetie.” I motion her forward.

“I didn’t want to interrupt you, but I had an idea.” She still hasn’t moved from the doorway.

“Britney…” I warn, “Come here.”

She shuffles forward slowly, glancing back and forth between me and Blade, chewing on that lower lip with so much tension. When she rounds the desk, she stops just out of reach and repeats, “I have an idea.”

“About what, sweetie?” I frown.

“About how to make it so that my boss no longer wants to sell me.”

I grit my teeth, knowing I’m not going to like this. “Britney…”

She stands taller, shoulders back, every ounce