Chapter Ten #2
An ambulance quickly pulled up, blocking the street, and a firetruck arrived behind it. Neighbors started coming out of their homes, and a short woman rushed out from next door, asking questions in rapid-fire Spanish.
I turned to Bailey. “Can you speak with her? Ask if she knows where Rita is?” Bailey nodded and walked away with the baby as the deputy got out of his cruiser.
“You call in an emergency?” The nametag on his uniform read Garrett.
“My partner did, Deputy Garrett. I’m Bail Recovery Agent Jagger Hansen. I work for Sparks Bail Bonds in Las Vegas. I was here searching for a fugitive, Maria Ramirez. That’s her son.” I pointed to Ruiz, who was now in the arms of the older woman.
Deputy Garrett nodded as I walked him to the door of the small house. “Maria Ramirez is in there on the couch. I went inside after the little boy opened the door and took my hand. I touched her wrist for a pulse. When I got none, I cleared the rest of the house, not finding anyone else inside.
“My partner removed the little boy and took him to the swing before calling law enforcement. Maria’s information can be found in the Criminal Justice Information Services.
She had a trial scheduling hearing this morning that she didn’t attend, so I was instructed by my employer, Jesse Sparks, to find her. ”
Deputy Garrett asked me a few more questions before I gave him my business card for follow-up.
According to Bailey, the neighbor lady had taken the baby to her house to feed him, so Deputy Garrett called Child Protection Services and went inside Rita’s house while he waited for the scene to be processed.
I walked over to where Bailey was sitting in the truck with the window down. “We’ve done as much as we can. Let’s go back to the office. I need to alert Sparky to this mess.”
“What happens next?” Bailey was visibly upset by the turn of events, though I wasn’t sure if it was because of Maria’s death or Ruiz’s newly orphaned status.
“We’ll file the papers for a refund of the bail to release the property bond, and that’s the end of our part in it. I always feel like I should be doing more. It’s a hard habit to break.” Man, was it.
Bailey opened the door for me to get into the passenger seat. “Let me drive back.” Once I was inside the truck, he closed the door and gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze through the open window before he walked around and got inside.
It was hard to understand why a young woman would take her life—much less shoplift a luxury handbag from an overpriced resell store in the Miracle Mile Shops on The Strip—when she had a beautiful little boy depending on her.
At the end of the day, no one knew what motivated people to do the things they chose to do.
As I stared at Bailey Gregory, I could see a man dead set on solving problems, be they for the suddenly orphaned little boy or a blackmail threat against his brother. Every part of me wanted to help him. I just had to figure out how to do it.
We arrived back at the office about forty-five minutes later. There were so many first-responder vehicles at the Ramirez home, and we’d been trapped. It took a good fifteen minutes for them to be cleared so we could leave the scene.
By the time we arrived at the office, Bailey and I hadn’t spoken to each other since we’d left Jean, and my mood had soured from the dark thoughts circling my mind.
When Bailey parked my truck behind the shopping plaza, I got out without another word and went inside. I went to my desk to put my mace and Taser in the top drawer and the gun in the bottom, locking it up before I went to Sparky’s office and knocked on the closed door.
It opened, Kade Leonard and Jordan Digby stepping out. “Hey, guys,” I greeted. Neither of them looked any happier than I felt.
“Come in, Jagger. What can I do for you?” Sparky was in his office behind his desk with a big grin.
“Uh, is everything okay?” I hitched my thumb over my shoulder in the direction of Leo and Diggs.
“I’m sending them to San Diego to assist Keats and Gree. Fitz and Monty will be coming back early.”
No wonder he was smiling from ear to ear. His man was coming home. Based on the expressions on Leo’s and Diggs’s faces, they weren’t pleased at all.
“I see. Anyway, Maria Ramirez is deceased. She was at her aunt’s place and committed suicide, leaving her two-year-old unattended.
It’s a fucking mess. I gave my card to the deputy on the scene, so after he files his report, he’ll send me a copy so we can file for a bail refund. ” It made me angry to think about it.
“Damn. That was a shitty thing for her to do, but I guess sometimes people feel as if they have no other choice. Uh, will you tell Denise so she can mark the calendar in case the deputy drags his feet?”
I nodded. “So, uh, if Monty and Fitz are coming back, can I take a few days off? I’d like to go to Carson City with Bailey to look into who might be blackmailing his brother.”
“How long do you need? Monty and I are going to take a few days and go to Florida to check on an old arson case of mine, but we can wait until you get back.”
“I can be back by next Monday. Hopefully, we’ll at least have a good idea by then, and Bailey can wrap it up on his own. Do they have an arsonist in Florida?”
Sparky huffed. “I was framed for taking a bribe when I was an arson investigator down in Florida. That’s why I left and moved out here. My life was going to shit. Hardy’s mother divorced me and moved to Memphis, so I came out here for a fresh start.
“Anyway, my unrelenting progeny—that would be Hardy—has been digging into some of the folks I worked with back then, and he wants to go with Monty and me to do more digging. We’ll go next week.
Jake will be leaving us at the end of the month to go to the police academy, so we’ll be shorthanded until we hire someone new.
Denise is handling the application process, but I’d like you to sit in on some of the interviews when you get back. ”
Sparky sat back and clasped his hands over his head, waiting for me to answer. Unfortunately, my attention was focused on the revving engine of a Harley Fatboy roaring out of the parking lot.
“Sure, uh, yeah. Whatever you need. I’ll call to check in.”
Bailey was leaving, and something wasn’t right between us. I’d been pissy when we were coming back from Jean, and I’d clammed up on him instead of talking. Fuck!
I started out of the office until I remembered something. “Remind Hardy that I’m happy to watch Dixie while you guys are gone. I’ll keep in touch.” I hurried out of there, stopping at my desk to get my gun before rushing out of the office to my truck.
Bailey had left as I thought, so I drove like hell to get out to the house we shared. When I pulled into the driveway, I saw his bike parked on the side of the driveway so I could park in the garage.
Once the garage door lifted, I pulled inside and grabbed my Sig from under the seat. I had a .38 in the lock box in the house, but I hadn’t used it in a while. It probably should be cleaned for me to take to Carson City.
I closed the garage door and went into the kitchen, though Bailey wasn’t there. “Bailey?”
“Back here, Jagger.”
No Trooper? I was warming up to it, even though it wasn’t my correct title.
I made my way to the bedroom to see Bailey packing his stuff in a large backpack. “Where are you going?” My gut squeezed as if I was expecting a hard punch.
“I’m going to Carson City to talk to Thomas. Something isn’t right. Plus, you’re needed at work, and I’ve taken up enough of your time.” He walked out of the bedroom with his pack dragging behind him.
“You… I was going to go with you. I thought maybe it would be quicker if we flew up. It’s like a six-hour drive.” My voice sounded shaky as hell.
Bailey put the large pack on the floor and walked over to where I was standing.
“Oh, Trooper, I’ll be back. I’m leaving the rest of my stuff here with you.
I don’t plan to let you go, Jagger. You’re too…
You’re important to me. I’m leaving my heart here, along with my bike.
I’ve called an Uber to take me to the airport because I agree it’s easier to fly.
“I love—thank you for offering to come with me. That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me. I need to talk to Thomas, and when I introduce— Well, you know him, but when I tell him I have a fella, I want it to be under better circumstances.”
Bailey placed his hand on my neck and pulled me closer, his lips brushing mine. His tongue swept over my lips, and I opened to take it inside. He placed his free hand on my ass and brushed our hard dicks together through our jeans.
My heart was pounding. Finally, I pulled away. “Do you have to go right now? Can you go later? I’ll take you to the airport and reimburse you for the canceled Uber.”
I hoped he couldn’t ignore the pleading in my voice. What could I say? I was weak when it came to him.
Bailey pulled back and grinned. “Let me make a couple of calls. How about I leave in the morning? I can change my flight, and you can drop me off before you go to work. You okay if we eat later?” I nodded, leaving him in the living room to make his calls.
A few minutes later, he came into my bedroom where I was sitting on the side of the bed waiting for him. I stood and walked over to him, hurrying to undress him before I slid down the front of his naked body, leaving a trail of kisses over his chest and hard abs.
I hit my knees before sucking his ample cock into my mouth. I’d only received up until that moment, but I wanted to give Bailey a reason to come back to me, aside from his motorcycle.
Never having given head before, I could only take half of his length into my mouth. Before I could panic, Bailey touched my right shoulder. I glanced up to see him motion for my hand, so I gave it to him.
“Use this to jack me so you don’t choke. It’s okay if you just suck the tip, baby. It feels incredible.”
I moaned as I continued to try to take more of him in. The thrills running through my body at his moans and groans were nothing I’d ever experienced. I wanted so much more.
My tongue swirled around the tip of his hot cock, and before I knew it, Bailey pulled me to my feet and stripped me. My clothes were all over the floor, and he jerked my boxers down with a derisive chuckle as he helped me step out of my underwear. “When I get back, baby, shopping trip.”
We fell onto my bed, staring at each other. “Still no condoms?” He smirked.
“I haven’t gotten to the store. We’re both tested regularly. Can’t we go without?”
“I trust you, baby. Do you trust me?” Bailey’s question was unnecessary.
My breath hitched. “With my life, Bailey.”
He found the lube in the drawer of my bedside table and flipped the cap before he met my gaze. “Do you want to go without?”
I exhaled, knowing the answer immediately. “I do. I want to feel you, not a condom, Bailey. I’ve never had sex like this, but I trust you. I want you inside me uncovered.”
Bailey rolled onto his back and took my hand off his cock. “I haven’t gone without before, but I want to try a lot of things with you.”
He poured lube into his hand…the same lube I’d used to tackle my carnal desires before Bailey showed up in Vegas. I’d often thought about Bailey and what might have been had we been given more time, reliving the scant memories from a few years ago as we sat on the swing looking out at Angel Lake.
The man had stuck with me. There was nobody like him, and when I’d met him, I’d wished to hell I hadn’t lost track of him.