Chapter 2
Sylvia
“Oh my God.” Sylvia sank farther down into her folding chair. “Go away.”
A huge stack of folders slammed onto the table in front of her. The screech of the other folding chair scraping across the cement floor made Sylvia’s teeth hurt. Kinda like how looking into Joseph’s face made her body hurt. Tingles? What tingles? No tingles! Just hurting rage!
“Hi, Sylv.” A man covered in sandalwood cologne sat down in his chair. White shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal tanned, muscular arms covered in long dark hairs. Not too much hair, of course. Enough to make him look more masculine than he had any right to be. The right amount of testosterone, Sylvia supposed. Whatever that meant. “Or are you still going by the name Quail?”
“Fuck off with that.” Sylvia never wanted to hear that name again. Burn it. Scorch it from the earth. Strike it with lightning and drown it in the ocean. “What are you doing here? Didn’t know men of your high standing worked at 10 PM on Thursday nights.”
“I was actually about to head home when I heard you had been brought in.” A folder opened. Sylvia still refused to look him in the face. “Thought we might catch up.”
“Catch up?” Sylvia scoffed. “You had me brought in here so you could shoot the breeze with me? Come on. I need to be booked so I can spend my night in jail and get the fuck out of here. Aren’t you obstructing justice right now or something?” You know, like you tried to do the night of the FBI raid? Great. She was thinking about it.
And she was making eye contact with him. Not on purpose, of course. Quite the opposite. Sylvia wanted nothing to do with those chestnut brown eyes, those slim black brows, and that mussed dark hair that had been finely combed that morning… but now looked like bed head. Nor did she want to scope out his big, silver watch on his wrist or that smirk of acknowledgment gracing his sharp features. Joseph Montoya may have been an ass, but he was a cute ass. Sylvia had to give him that.
Not like I minded sleeping with him… but that was before I knew he was undercover.
And before she knew two of their other companions were undercover FBI agents, but he hadn’t known that either. So, ha!
“Like I said. Wanted to talk.”
Talk. Talk? What was there to talk about? When Sylvia thought of Joseph, she only thought of negative things, most of which weren’t even his fault. But she also thought of some saucy little blonde gal who was way too high-maintenance for a low-key guy like this.
“You still with Starling?”
That smirk faltered. Good. Sweat in your shoes, asshole. “No, Stella and I are no longer together. We broke up shortly after the… well, you know.”
“Sorry to hear that. I also hear she’s writing some tell-all book about that bullshit.” Sylvia leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. “Not that she’s consulted me on any of it. I’m sure I’m in it, though.”
“Yes, well, she apparently needs a talking to.” Joseph looked over some of his papers. “I don’t want to talk about her, though. I’d rather talk about what you’re doing here and how I can help you get out of it.”
“Aw, for old time’s sake?”
“And for other reasons, I suppose.”
“I’m in here for solicitation. I’m sure you know what that means.”
“I am very familiar with your work history, yes. Last time we saw each other you were being arrested for that very same thing.”
Uh huh. Marched through an army of FBI agents by a woman she thought was kinda on her side. Bitch straight up arrested me for doing my job! Sebastian, her ex-boyfriend – if he could be called that – had hired her to be his girlfriend since he was such a busy man and couldn’t find a real girlfriend on his own. Sylvia never thought it was love, but after they were both arrested for different charges – her for the solicitation, and him for his association with a psychopath – they had gone their separate ways. Then Sylvia had to get a “real” job for the first time in ages. She was still attached to her gravy trains, even if they didn’t exist anymore.
“I can help you get out of that charge. Help you clear all your charges.”
Sylvia was dubious at best. “Go on.” This should be good.
Joseph slid a piece of paper across the table. “I’m launching an undercover operation again. I want you to help me.”
Sylvia cocked her head. “I’m a civilian, you know.” That word meant something very different in her professional world. “Pretty sure we’re not supposed to do that.”
“You can if my commander signs off on it. You’re perfect for the job, Sylv. I was already racking my brain trying to choose someone to go undercover for me. When I heard you had been brought in? Well,” he smiled again, this time showing off every pearly white as if Sylvia had never seen good teeth before, “it felt like fate.”
“You’re full of shit, but okay.”
Joseph pointed to the paper. “Do you know Alexander Sheen?”
Sylvia glanced at the words in front of her. They didn’t mean anything. Nor did the blurry black and white picture of some well-bred fucker in a well-made suit. “I’ve heard of him. Some big investor with a shipping company. What about him?”
Every time those muscular arms moved across the table, Sylvia swore she saw veins popping up and down. God. Right in my weak spot. Over the months she had forgotten how damn good looking this man was. Cops. They had some of the best bodies. That should’ve tipped her off the few times they had dirty sex as members of some psychopath’s BDSM club.
“To be blunt, we think he’s involved in human trafficking. Particularly out of the PNW.”
Sylvia rustled in her seat. “That’s disturbing.”
“No kidding. He’s got a bunch of business coming up here in Portland. We’re launching a full undercover investigation, but he’ll recognize most of us from our last investigation. You know, the one that made worldwide news.”
“I doubt you’re his type anyway.” Unless this Mr. Sheen was gay, she supposed. “Where do I come in?”
“We have set up a fake escort service. Our insiders tell us that’s how he gets his first girlfriends in every city around the world. As it so happens, Mr. Sheen will be directed to use our fake service for his needs, and our madam – who is an agent, of course – will suggest you be his girlfriend of the month. Once you have access to him, you’ll gather all the intelligence possible about his supposed exploits until we have enough evidence to take him down.”
“Would I get to wear a wire?”
“Eventually.”
“Sweet.” Not that Sylvia was actually considering this. Going undercover to gather intelligence on some alleged human trafficker? And probably having sex with him? Sounded like suicide. “Why me? You could bring in a cop that nobody recognizes from anywhere in the country. Yet you want me to believe that you came running down here the moment you heard I had been arrested? Smells like bullshit.”
“It’s unconventional, sure, and I don’t doubt that my superiors will want me to do as you suggested. But I’d rather have someone who knows what she’s doing.”
Sylvia rolled her eyes. “I bet. Wouldn’t want to have one of your pure and clean officers have to get her pussy dirty.”
Joseph’s expression remained unchanging. “I can assure you that undercover officers are willing to do whatever it takes to finish their mission.”
“Even fucking their mark?”
“Yes, Sylv, even fucking their mark.”
She crossed her arms and leaned in closer to him, eyebrows traveling up her brow in curiosity. “Is that what you were doing when you fucked my brains out when you were undercover? Doing your job? Doing whatever it took to get to Crow? Following the sick rules of his perverted club so you’d look like another member of the gang?” Snorting, she sat back again. “Here I thought we genuinely had a good time.” Or at least she didn’t recall Joseph being unable to get it up and fuck her until they both almost fell out of the bed. “You like breaking girls’ hearts, baby?”
He never once broke eye contact with her. Nor did he flinch when she brought up their sexual history. The only thing Joseph Montoya did was allow a simper of amusement flirt with his cheekbones. Fuck me. I remember kissing those lips. What was supposed to be a simple late-night swing between “established” couples had turned into a damn good fuckfest. The only thing that ruined the evening was when Sebastian called her a whore afterward. I didn’t let it get to me… because if I let every man who called me a whore get to me, I wouldn’t have much of a soul left. Her possession of one was debatable, anyway, and it had nothing to do with her profession.
“The idea that I could possibly break your heart is ridiculous.”
Sylvia frowned. “So what do I get out of it? In exchange for endangering my life, anyway. I have a feeling you’re not allowed to pay me. Anything he pays that supposed escort service is going right into evidence.”
“Yes.” Joseph eased back, arms crossing on top of his folders. “We won’t be paying you, but I will offer to have your record cleared.”
“I was already given immunity after I agreed to testify against Crow.” Those feds were hard-up for witnesses if they offered her immunity. That was the last time she saw Joseph, too. She hadn’t been around to watch him testify as Agent Montoya, undercover agent, but he had sat in the audience while she got on the stand and talked about Xavier Crow’s nasty sex club. “He would make us swing with other couples in order to stay in the club. You stayed in the club because you were either afraid of him… or he offered your boyfriend so many good business connections that you were afraid to refuse.” She had glanced at Joseph more than once during that time, unable to believe that she had fucked a damned cop. Bastard came in me and everything. Well, they had used a condom, but Sylvia had been so into it that she swore she felt every little bit of it.
Now would’ve been a really bad time to shudder.
“It’s a good deal, Sylv,” he said softly. “You shouldn’t be in any immediate danger, but in case, we’ll train you in self-defense.”
“Oh, I feel better already.”
“I’m serious. Think about it.” Joseph slid a card across the table. “Call me if you decide you want to do it. We need to get the ball rolling by the end of next week.”
Sylvia pushed the card back toward him. “Don’t think so. I’d rather deal with the charges.”
Joseph sucked in both cheeks. Don’t give me that look. Sylvia hated it when men looked at her like that. As if she were too dumb for her own good. “Take it anyway.” The card slid back toward her. “In case you change your mind.”
“I’m not going to change my mind.”
He sighed. “Is this about what happened between us?”
“Oh, good!” Sylvia planted both of her hands on the table. “You remember me!”
“Yes, I remember.”
Sylvia glanced around the interview room until she found the camera. Now, was there someone on the other side of the window? Didn’t matter. “We fucked!” she shouted at the camera. “Twice! Two separate occasions.” She held up two fingers in case the person watching didn’t get the point.
“Lovely,” Joseph muttered. “They’re never gonna let me live that one down.”
“That’s what you get for fucking a woman under false pretenses.”
“False… what are you talking about?”
“I had no idea you were a cop!”
“That was the point. I was undercover.”
“And having a ton of fun, huh?”
Aw, he was trying to give her the cop glare. He wasn’t good at it, though. None of the Portland cops were good at it. They either looked lazy or too babyish to take seriously. “I didn’t have as much fun as you might think.”
Sylvia cocked her head. “I was a highlight, though, hm?”
He didn’t answer that.
“Can I go now? I’m pretty sure I’m due in a holding cell for the night.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve already cleared your charge. Consider it a freebie.”
“I know all about freebies.” Sylvia stood up, ignoring the card on the table. “And I know you don’t have that kind of power.”
He held her gaze. What is it with him and making me feel like melted ice cream inside? That was the only way to explain the way he looked at her. Fucking alpha men. All cops are alike in that regard. Every man who joined Crow’s nest of kinksters was pegged as an alpha male. Yes, even the male FBI agent who turned out to be gay enough to have a husband. Didn’t stop him from being an alpha type.
“Think you might be surprised what kind of power I can muster up around here.”
“Oh, right.” Sylvia grinned at him. “Your mommy’s the commander.”
“Indeed she is. Comes in handy sometimes.”
“Yay nepotism.”
“Trust me. A lot of this is my own merit.”
“I’m sure it is. Now can I go? Thanks for bailing me out, I guess. Tell your friend he’s a dick for trapping me like that.”
“Last I checked you were the one engaging in solicitation to begin with.”
“As long as you don’t ask for a freebie in return for yours.” Sylvia snorted. “I’ve got a business to run. Come on, man, you’re not even going to pay me for being your rat? How am I supposed to eat? I’d have to still work on the side.”
“I would make sure you’re taken care of.”
He said that so softly that at first Sylvia fell for it: that tender tone that lured her down more than one bad hallway. Fuck off, Maxwell Carlisle. He was the start of her downfall. Sebastian merely took a vulnerable girl and broke her down some more.
She wouldn’t fall for it again. Especially not with a cop who had no problem screwing her when he was on the job. She didn’t care what he offered her in return. Don’t think about how rich he is. Everyone related to Crow’s case knew that Joseph Montoya was the son of the commander of these investigative forces and a Mexican multimillionaire. I hear the Montoyas are worth over a billion dollars. So what was Joseph doing working like this? Shouldn’t he have been taking over his father’s company, and not pursuing his mother’s legacy?
Nah. Not worth pondering.
He showed her out of the interview room, always two inches behind her no matter how quickly she moved. When his arm caught the door so she could get out, she was treated to the flex of his muscles beneath that almost sheer white shirt. Damnit. Sylvia had not asked for this bullshit. The last thing she needed was to keep being sexually attracted to this asshole.
Even though he smelled good. And looked good. And sounded good. And always smiled at her as if he actually cared about where she went that night.
It was all a lie. It was always a lie with men.
Bitter, Sylvia marched forward, heading for the front desk in the hopes that Joseph hadn’t lied to her.
He hadn’t. The station let her go, but not without a stern warning to not be caught soliciting again.
“Sylvia,” Joseph said at the main entrance. He wasn’t going to give this up, was he? “I know that was a lot to digest. But, please.” He took her hand and slapped his card into it. “Think about it. Let’s help each other out.”
Funny thing, that. The only way Joseph could truly help her out was by making sure every cop left her alone. Forever. I have a feeling that’s never going to happen.
“Yeah. Sure. I’ll think about.” Sylvia stepped out onto the sidewalk. She didn’t look over her shoulder until she reached the end of the block, and when she did, all she saw were those white rolled up sleeves glistening in the streetlamp light.
She hurried home after that, pitching his business card into the first trash can she saw.