Page 20 of Deuce

I nodded dumbly, wondering how long we had before her friend came looking for her.My cock had recovered from its shower activity and was eager for another round.

Sophia moved over to the bed and picked up the pants.She made putting them on the most fascinating show I’d seen in over a decade.The woman had a flair for performing, even without the usual musical accompaniment.The stretchy material of the pants hugged her figure as if it had been painted on, and my imagination pictured that tiny scrap of lace on her mound, now hidden from view.

Fuck, I needed to start wearing boxer shorts under these jeans!

Pulling the sweatshirt over her head, she tilted her neck.“Ready?”

I slid off the bed and grabbed her hand.“I was born ready, darlin’.”

She paused, her expression suddenly turned serious.“Just because we, you know, it doesn’t mean we’re a thing.It was just…” She paused and took a deep breath.“It was just sex.I don’t expect anything from you.It was awesome of you to stay last night, but I’m good now.I can handle this.”

I shook my head.“Nope.This isn’t over.”

“Yeah, it is.”

The woman had a stubborn streak, but so did I.We headed downstairs, still holding hands.Before I could continue, her friend came out of the kitchen, and at the same time, my cell phone pinged.I pulled it out of my pocket and glanced at the screen.Ace.

“I have to take this.”I nodded at the woman assessing me from the kitchen doorway and dropped a swift kiss on Sophia’s forehead before striding back upstairs.I had a feeling whatever Ace had to say wasn’t meant for everyone to hear.I could fill Sophia in on whatever I needed to later.

I waited until I heard Sophia and Janet retreat to the kitchen before I hit the call back button.Ace picked up on the first ring.He didn’t waste any time.“You still with the woman?”

“Yeah.Her friend just got here.”

“Good.Shadow ran a check on that dating site.Mostly it’s aboveboard, but in the last two months three women registered on it have gone missing right after setting up dates.The men involved mysteriously disappeared from the database at the same time.Not deactivated or account cancelled.They wiped all traces of their profiles and any chats, likes, and activities.Gone like fucking ghosts.”

I frowned.“That doesn’t sound good.How do they manage that?”

“Shadow found a back door, but he hasn’t managed to trace it back to the source.Which means this isn’t a local scam run by a couple of con men.You need big guns to pull that off.Shadow put out a few feelers on the dark web.Rumor has it you can pick a woman on that site, and for the right price she can be delivered to you.Not as in a date.As in, you’re buying her, and they guarantee no consequences.”

“Fuck.”

“Exactly.”He paused.“Someone picked that woman you’re with and paid for her.They’re not just going to let her go.It appears she used a fake address when she set up her account, so that’s in her favor, but she needs to keep a low profile for now.”

“What do our friends at the bureau have to say about this?”

“They’re extremely interested.It appears this isn’t the only dating app that’s been compromised.They promise full cooperation and whatever backup we need if we pursue this.”

I glanced toward the stairs.From up here I could just hear the low murmur of voices.Sophia and her friend.Sophia’s laughter rang out at something her friend said, and I felt a surge of protectiveness.

“Yeah, we’re going to pursue this.That woman pried open a locked door and jumped out of a moving vehicle to escape.That takes guts.A lot of guts.How many others didn’t make it?”

“Figured that would be your answer.First off, you need to warn that woman… Sophia, is it?”

“Yeah.I’ll warn her.I’ve got a couple of prospects running perimeter guard now.I’ll keep them in place.”

“Good.If she goes out, one of them needs to shadow her at all times.The other can keep watch on the house.I’ll leave it up to you to coordinate that.”

“Roger that.”I ran my hand over the scruff on my chin.I’d need to fetch some supplies if I was going to stay for a while.Those cute pink razors in Sophia’s bathroom weren’t up to the job.

Chapter Five

Sophia

That kiss on my forehead nixed any chance I had of convincing Janet there was nothing going on.

“Well, that’s handy.”Janet handed me a steaming mug of coffee as I slid onto the seat at the island.

“What’s handy?”

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