Chapter 42
KNOX
My captain looked at me with suspicion. “And you can’t reveal the sources who helped us catch all these high-profile people engaged in bidding on young girls? The ones who took down fourteen Russian hideouts, helping us effectively shut down the Russians’ women trafficking operations in our city?”
I sat across from him, my demeanor calm. “No, sir.”
“And they helped you catch Ruslan Karpov. But the other two men, the Orlov brothers, went missing?”
I couldn’t exactly bring their hacked-up body parts in.
“Yes, sir.” I gave an intentional pause, knowing that the captain was happy we had solved the case, arresting forty-five low-level lackeys working for the Russians, and two high-profile billionaires who were officially caught with young girls in their possession on-site, all of which gained him recognition by the city.
“I wouldn’t worry about them reappearing. ”
A small smile crossed the captain’s face. “Good. I do like thorough work.”
I smiled. “I’m aware.”
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell me, Knox. Are these sources of yours the anonymous vigilantes taking care of the abusers and sex offenders?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.”
He nodded and got up from his chair, effectively dismissing the meeting. I was at the door when his voice rang out. “I would thank them for their little services if they were my sources.”
“I would too, Captain,” I said, and walked out of his office, a smile on my face.
The moment I entered my office, Brandon and Clark were right on my heels. They closed the door to my office as I took a seat. I indicated for them to take a seat, their bodies screaming their impatience.
“Brandon, Clark, thank you for handling everything while I was predisposed.”
Brandon nodded. “Is your lady alright, sir? Did Vadim inflict any harm?”
My lady. I liked that. I looked at them and knew that they’d kept everything from the captain.
When the captain had inquired about my absence from the auction site, the two of them had informed him that I’d gone after the Orlov brothers.
“Yes, she is fine. She was more of a bargaining chip for his brother. Couldn’t exactly do much damage if he hoped to reunite with his brother. ”
Clark cleared his throat. “And if you don’t mind me asking, what happened to them?”
I gave him a sardonic look. “Vadim took my lady. He got what was coming to him.”
Brandon shuffled impatiently in his seat, his eyes twinkling with downright excitement. “And sir, if you don’t mind me asking,” he said, exchanging a look with Clark. “Is your lady the vigilante we’ve been tracking?”
I’d already informed Lena that I would be notifying Brandon and Clark about the Wildcats. Not their identities but their existence. I needed more people on my side if I was going to keep the ladies out of trouble. I pressed my lips in a smile and nodded. “One of them.”
A squeak escaped Brandon’s lips as he looked at Clark with a manic glee. “He said, one of them.”
Clark turned to me, and with an audible gulp, asked, “If you don’t mind me asking…”
“You both need to stop saying that. If I minded, you wouldn’t be asking.”
Clark nodded quickly. “Yes, sir. Umm, how many of them are there?”
I looked between them, and I knew I could trust them. Still, I asked, “You do realize that if I say more, and if you do not keep this to yourselves, I’d have to take care of the situation, correct?”
Brandon sputtered, “Of course, sir. We’d expect nothing less.”
“Good. They’re called Wildcats. Five core leaders and ten recruits on their team.”
Their jaws dropped. I wondered if I looked the same when I first discovered them. Probably not. I was cooler than they were.
“Sir,” Clark whispered, as if in awe. “Can we meet them?”
“Maybe. We’ll see about that.”
“So we’re officially closing the case on finding the vigilantes?” Brandon asked.
I quirked my eyebrows. “Yes. And burying all the records on the people they’ve taken care of.”
“And we’re going to be working with them moving forward?”
I smiled. “In some capacity.”
“As in?” Brandon asked.
Clark, being the one to pick up cues quicker, said, “We send forward the names of the despicable criminals who walk free.”
Brandon shivered in excitement. “I’m not sure what I want more now. To catch a criminal or to let them go.”
“Join the fucking club,” I muttered. “But we’re going to do our jobs to the best of our abilities. We’re going to bring in every criminal and do all our due diligence. If we fail, if the system fails, we ensure that the victims get the justice they rightfully deserve.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, I won’t feel so bad about some of these billionaire fuckers who walked out on bail,” said Brandon, sharp relief shining in his eyes.
Once everything was resolved at the precinct, I started packing up my shit. “Alright, boys. Since you’ve got everything handled, I need to go to another meeting. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir,” said Clark, standing up from his seat.
Brandon followed suit, but right before opening the door of my office, he turned around. “And sir, if you could pull some strings so we can meet the Wildcats, that’d be awesome.”
I smiled and waved my hand at him, shooing him out of the office.
In the next five minutes, I was out of the precinct and on my motorcycle. I hadn’t seen my girl in hours, and my body was suffering through withdrawals.
The moment I stepped into the apartment, loud barks were followed by Shadow’s large body lunging at me, pushing me back a step. “Whoa, boy.”
I closed the door behind me and gave him some scratches, my eyes going straight to my little fairy tale, lounging on the couch, tucked under a blanket for a change.
I walked to her and kissed her head. “Daddy’s home,” I whispered, making her giggle.
She pulled me to her lips, pushing her tongue inside my mouth, wrapping her arms around my neck. Warmth infused my body, and without missing a beat, I picked her up, carrying her to the bedroom, locking the door behind me to keep Shadow away from Mommy and Daddy time.
“Did you eat?” she asked between breathless gasps.
I dragged my hands across her legs, her little violet dress a siren’s call to my blood. “I’m about to.”
With that, I dropped to my knees, pushed her dress over her waist, and my eyes immediately snapped to her in a delightful surprise. “What the fuck?”
Dark-red blush coated the top of her cheeks as she bit her lip. “Umm…surprise.”
On my girl’s left inner thigh, covered in transparent tape, was a tattoo of teeth marks in dark red ink.
When I raised my eyebrows in question, Tara bit her lip with a shy smile. “Remember how you bit me real hard last night, and I squirted on your face?”
My eyes snapped back to the tattoo, my teeth marks forever etched on her beautiful inner thigh.
Gently, I brought my hand up to trace around the tattoo, being careful to not touch over it, and found my thumb shaking.
My heart was trying to slam out of my chest and embed itself inside my girl’s body, because that was how I felt. Like she owned every piece of my soul.
Happiness, pride, fucking ownership of my little beauty spread through my entire being like a wildfire. I licked around my permanent marks on her skin, tasting her claim on me. My cock fucking throbbed in my pants, aching to be inside my girl. But I was starving, and I needed to fucking feast.
I looked at her and ran my thumb around the redness. “You finally realized you’re never getting rid of me, huh?”
She moaned as I started to feast, clutching my hair in a tight fist. “I figured, I’m never ever letting you leave. If you try, I’ll just stalk you, subdue you, tie you to my bed, and keep you with me forever.”
“Maybe I should try to leave.”
Her chuckle turned into a whine as I ate to my heart’s content, before thrusting deep inside my girl, showing her just how much I loved her tattoo.
Four orgasms for my girl later, we got out of the bedroom to a whiny Shadow. He growled at me viciously, and I could feel his complaint about stealing his mom from him without him having to say a word.
I winked at him and gave him a treat, while Tara pulled a pot on the stove. “I cooked some chicken tikka masala and naan.”
“Smells fucking delicious.”
“I do love eating Indian food after a big mission. And this mission, it warranted a hearty, home-cooked meal.”
Once we’d demolished the food, Tara stretched her arms with a yawn. “Fuck, I need some coffee if we need to go downstairs for the briefing.”
“Must we go?” I asked, my eyes falling over after all that food. Who the fuck can work after eating Indian food?
She dragged herself off the chair and started the pot of coffee.
Once we’d each filled our cups to the brim, we walked to the door, and I noticed something even more surprising than the tattoo.
“No mask?” I asked as we walked out the door toward the elevator. My girl always kept her mask on in front of the recruits.
She met my eyes, and with a vulnerability that had me pulling her into my arms and kissing the top of her head, she shook her head. “No more mask.”
“You’re so full of surprises today, little beauty.”
When we walked out of the elevator, Tara rolled back her shoulders, straightened her spine, and stepped foot inside the headquarters, her head held high.
I merely tagged behind my obsession, my fairy tale, prepared to glare daggers at anyone who dared to look at her wrong.