MJ 4: The Nightlife Case

I kicked the door closed and loomed over him. "The game is up. I know why you hired me, and yes I found Gasser, Liz's drug-connected friend for you. I know through me you found Liz and Cherokee, faster than I did. You counted on Hank to slow me down, and he did, but thanks to him I figured it out. You may have gotten Liz ad Cherokee but blew your boy D-bag's brains out on the highway and Gasser is free to go.

"Where's the money, Bowers?"

"I don't have it."

I stalked to the bed, grabbed a pillow, and put it over my gun. He understood and blanched. "Wait! Yes, I hired you to find Liz, Cherokee, and her contact for me, but also the money. The money is still out there."

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up! There are so many lies, so much betrayal my fucking head is spinning! Where is the money?"

"Liz played us all for fools! Even that drug connection! Okay, I sold it all but the last batch worth fifty grand. She was meeting with him to try and find my real connection, and she did! She took the money, it was all set to go!

"Javier came into town and she took off with it, thinking I would take the fall. I went into hiding and called you for help."

"Why all the lies?"

"I was going to do it to you, okay? I was going to let you find everything and leave you for Javier."

"Does he have my name?"

"Yes! But if we get this money I'll split it, fifty-fifty, it's enough for us both to leave the country, get to where Javier can't touch us."

"Where is the money? Where is the fucking money1?"

"Her brother has it!"

"Who is Liz's borther?"

"I don't know! His real name is Andy but I can't find him!"

Suddenly I froze.

A brother who looked like Liz (tall, athletic, sun-blonde)...

A brother who would be searching for her (and would take off the first chance he got once she was found)...

A brother who would cry hysterically to see her dead body...

I shot in my rage. Hank. All this time Hank had the money. Hank used me to find his sister, and when we were too late he took off the first chance he got.

When the red haze of pure rage cleared Bowers was dead on the floor. I was panting heavily but retained my wits. I tossed the room and came up with fifty grand in a backpack...the last batch had been moved, apparently. I took it, but there was no sign of the rest.

Made sense as Hank had it.

I ran back to the car and though I knew it was foolish, I drove back to the Coon Saloon. Javier had my name and unless I could get him his money I'd be dead, and he'd find me soon enough.

They were all dead but Gasser, but in the end he didn't matter. Hank, I had to get to Hank before he did something really stupid, or something really smart.

I pulled into the Coon Saloon at eleven a.m. and it was dead quiet, no Mustang in the lot. I looked into the windows and no one was inside so I went around back and climbed the stairs. Inside was emptied. I left the door open from where I'd broken the window and reached around to unlock it. Clothes, toiletries were gone, everything removed in a hurry. A giant safe I'd mistaken in moonlight for a nightstand was open, empty.

I sat down on the bed and cried. There was still hope, still time to find Hank-Andy, whatever his new name might be, but at that moment I had a trail of dead bodies behind me, one of the world's most powerful drug lords gunning for me, and a measly fifty grand to show for it.

"You're a hard woman to track," a smooth baritone said from the living room. At the familiar voice I jumped up with my gun.

In the front door he stood like a horrid vision of my past come to life. But Finn was different; longer hair in a ponytail, the beginnings of a beard neatly sculpted for a Devil's chinstrap. His blue eyes matched his shirt and despite the hot promise of the day he wore a full suit.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

He closed the door behind him and leaned on it, locking it. I kept my gun up as he sighed. "Marly, Marly, Marly...I've been following your every move. When you landed, I knew about it. When you came to visit me at work and pussied out, I knew. When you left your hotel and Bowers I lost track of you, but finally caught up. They found the Mustang at LAX, there were still a couple of gas receipts in it you missed."

"Finn, I don't have time to explain what's going on. The short of it is that there are millions of dollars that belong to a very bad man, everyone else who knows about it is dead, and I've been left to take the fall. You don't want to be standing too close to me when the snipers come."

He laughed then, a rich, intoxicating sound that was quite like cool satin sheets on hot bodies. I really, really wanted to shoot the patronizing bastard.

"Marly, who do you think Javier came to L.A. to see?"

That made me start. "What!?"

"He's an investor in Gold 'n' Rod. He brought me up to speed. All you have to do is tell me who has the money and you'll be free to go."

"I don't believe you. Javier wouldn't send you."

"I intervened. I'm saving your ass, Marly. And I asked for the privilege of this little conversation. And I must say, aside from your puffy eyes you look wonderful."

"Fuck you."

"Who has the money?"

I sighed, nothing to lose. "Liz Bowers, her maiden name is Droste. Her brother Andy Droste has been living under an assumed name. Henry Lucas Mobley aka Hank. This is his place. He has the money. You might best find him by talking to this guy." I pulled out Gasser's card and tossed it to him.

Finn looked it over and slid it into his jacket. "Want to tell me from your perspective what happened?"

I was exhausted and finally put the gun down but left the safety off. "In short it was one big fuck you. Multiple used me to find multiple things, but in the end it was all one big setup to disappear with millions and leave me to hang."

"Javier will take care of it, don't you worry your pretty little head over it."

"Go fuck yourself, Finn. You know, after you left me high and dry to face two murder charges I couldn't pay my legal bills. I'm in deep with our old pal Montgomery. I need a million to get free, and this case was my ticket out. I'll be enslaved to Montgomery for all time. Death by Javier would be a blessing."

Anger boiled up and I dropped the gun. He was a full six inches taller, much better muscled, and in the end meaner, but I was way more pissed off.

I pretended to kick and he moved to sidestep and twist, so I punched him in the kidney. Finn roared and tackled me, but I didn't go down without a fight. I kicked and bit and scratched but all too soon he had me pinned, both my wrists in one hand, and his legs between mine. The fucking bastard slapped me.

I calmed then and stared into his eyes. "Some day I'll kill you."

He smiled Satan's smile. "Sweetheart, you already have."

I'd been expecting it but still fought it when he kissed me. Finn...he was the first man I'd ever kissed. When we'd met I was barely out of college, and before it had been boys.

Finn had always been a man, always talked, walked, kissed, and fucked like one. No one would ever know my secrets so well, no one would ever play me so expertly, and no one would ever break my heart.

A part of me knew this was madness; we could never be together, but for these fleeting moments. And on the thought I kissed him back, slid my tongue between his lips.

He didn't let go of my wrists and instead went under my shirt. His kiss was brutal, his rough hands were gentle. He stroked and teased and cajoled, fingertips barely brushing the undersides of my breasts. By the time he palmed one I was mad for it, moaning and writhing, arching up to grind my pussy against his growing erection.

He bit my lip and drew blood. Ahh, just like old times. I bit him back and returned the favor and he pinched a nipple so hard I cried out.

Finn nibbled harshly down my cheek to my ear, making me shiver madly. I struggled to get free and he just laughed. "Marly, I've got you and I'm not ready to let you go. Relax babe and I'll go easily on you."

"Fuck you," I grunted out as he lowered his face to my exposed breasts.

"Have it your way," he cooed and bit my nipples in turn.

I cried out and whimpered and he rolled off me. I was picked up as he climbed to his feet and he slammed me against the wall, grinding into my ass.

"I hate shorts," he said and jerked mine down and off. He pinned one arm behind my back with one of his and I heard him open his zipper. So I wouldn't even get a look at that amazing body.

Two meaty fingers sank into my pussy taking away conscious thought. I heard the slick sounds of my arousal ring out and then he cursed.

Finn sank into me viciously. I was aroused, sure, but still tight. I felt his knees hit my the backs of my legs as he knelt, and eventually his whole impressive length was inside me.

"Marly..." he whispered like an endearment, and then he fucked me like a crazed machine.

I cried out, grabbing futilely at the wall. It felt so right, it felt so wrong, my body and mind were torn. Then he swiveled his hips slightly and my lust-crazed body won out.

I reached back with my one free hand brought his face close to mine, trying to turn for a kiss. Instead he bent down and bit my shoulder, hard enough to break skin.

That drove me wild. He let go of my arm and shoved his thumb in my mouth. I knew this game and sucked, laved it until it until it was sopping wet. He removed it and seconds later he was screwing it into my ass.

I almost swooned with pleasure feeling the burning slide of his cock inside and out, and now the fullness of that thick thumb. A man of true talent his other hand snaked around to press the heel of his hand against my clit and the motion of our fucking rubbed me.

He resumed biting me and my nipples scraped the drywall. It was dirty, it was soulless, it was filthy, and it felt so goddamned good I thought the top of my head would blow off.

I came with a scream that would probably draw cops, and then his hoarse shout of triumph drowned me out, ending in a beast-like snarl.

We collapsed into a dirty, sweaty, stinky pile. I knew I was bleeding from the bite marks and I didn't care.

"What does this mean?" I asked, too tired and satiated to care if I sounded like a whiny female.

"That no one can fuck you like me." He kissed me, pulled out, zipped up, and went to wash his hands. I redressed and gave up on staunching the slight trickle of blood.

"I meant with Javier."

"You're safe. Go back to Chicago." He dried off and walked to the door, unlocking it and holding it open. "And Marly? I'll be watching."

With that he left and I stood there stunned, unsure.

That was when I realized the bastard had taken the backpack with the $50,000 and my gun.

I broke everything in the place before I left, cursing the day I met Michael Finnegan over and over again.

***

One month later a knock came at my office door bright and early. I pulled myself off the couch, belted a robe, and answered to the silhouette of a UPS driver.

"Sign please."

I signed the electronic doohickey and he passed me a padded envelope. Curious I patiently waited until I emptied my bladder, poured coffee, and brushed my teeth before opening it.

I poured coffee and tore it open. The padding was mostly bubble wrap inside, but there were only four papers. The first was a cut out from a newspaper in Mexico with an English translation pinned to it. The picture was unmistakably a dead and bloated Hank.

"Unknown man found dead off the coast," I read from the translation. The details didn't matter, that Hank was dead was all that did.

The third piece was a receipt written in a scrawling hand that all property had been returned to a Mr. Alejandro Javier.

After that I paused and with a shaky hand lit a cigarette.

The final piece of paper was Finn's square all-caps script. It simply said "Call Montgomery. Now."

I took a drag and figured what the hell. I dialed Montgomery and got his personal secretary.

"Marly Jackson. A friend told me to call Montgomery this morning."

"Hold please."

Seconds later Montgomery came on the line. "I got a call from an Alejandro Javier, Marly. He just wired me your total owed. We have come to an understanding that you are free of your debts, and I hereby release you."

Stunned the cigarette fell to the desk before I recovered. "Thank you, Mr. Montgomery. Call me if you ever- need anything," I finished after he hung up.

I picked up the cigarette and relit it. The flare of the lighter showed me there was writing on the backside of that final slip.

I turned it over and read aloud, "Javier wired it for me. You're welcome, I love you."

And this was why I'd never, ever be free of Finn.

Damn it.