Mimi hesitates for a second. I understand. What the hell would I be thinking if I was in her spot? I barely understood what I just said. How could she?

  “I’m in,” she says, suddenly, with all the confidence in the world. “What do you need me to do?”

  I stop myself for a moment and take in the beautiful creature before me. She beams with a heavenly glow. Her soft cheeks are still pink with passion.

  She’s mine, and we both know it.

  I feel my inner emptiness filling up with instant loyalty. “I’ll make it up to you,” I whisper, stepping forward. I make the time to give her a passion filled kiss goodbye.

  “You’d better.”

  Chapter 6

  Mimi

  This is insane.

  The rain’s letting up as I step out onto my porch and set my sights on the nervous, twitching man who’s pacing back and forth outside my building.

  I can’t see his face – he has his jacket up over his head like a makeshift umbrella – but Jaxson made it very clear who I was to target.

  So, Jaxson’s a private detective, huh? That explains his mysterious nature. He says his guy down below is a dangerous man. It’s up to us to bring him to justice. I don’t know anything about justice, but I do know that I want Jaxson to be done with this job so he can come back up to my place. We have our own score to settle and I can still taste his cool, glacier scent on my lips.

  I hold my cell phone in my left hand and a home-made donut in my right hand. I have my marching orders; I’m just waiting for the go signal.

  Jaxson said he thinks the guy’s waiting for a car, and I have to do whatever I can do to stop him from getting in before Jaxson can get to him. He left the ‘how’ up to me and then jetted out of my apartment like a dream. The guy must have been a former athlete, because I’ve never seen someone so big move so fast before in my entire life.

  I quickly came up with a makeshift plan, now I’m just waiting for the starting gun. Either I get a text from Jaxson first, or a car pulls up. Either way, I’m ready.

  It’s funny to think how quickly my little business has fallen by the wayside. I’m even ready to use some of my own unsold product as fodder for someone else’s objective.

  Is this what it feels like to want to be a part of the team?

  I already feel like I’d follow Jaxson off a cliff. It’s crazy, but what’s even crazier is that I feel like he’d follow me off a cliff too.

  Is this what love is supposed to feel like?

  I don’t have time to ponder, because before I know it, my phone’s vibrating in my hand.

  Jaxson and I exchanged numbers just before he left. If this is just some elaborate plan to get into my pants, then I’m all for it. My heart’s beating out of my chest. This is the most exhilarating night of my life.

  I’m somehow getting even wetter from all this excitement. My legs tremble but I feel strong and sturdy as I answer my phone.

  “Hey, ready?” Jaxson’s low, guttural growl rumbles through my speaker.

  “Yeah,” I respond, gripping my donut.

  “OK, go for it.”

  I take a deep breath and hang up, then I step out to the edge of my porch. I’m only on the second floor, so Jaxson’s perp is barely a stone’s throw away.

  “Hey!” I shout out. My voice is shaky. This shit is intense. Jaxson didn’t tell me what this guy’s done, he just said he was a bad guy. My big strong guest looked serious when he told me that, so I’m taking the threat seriously. If this guy’s bad enough to make someone like Jaxson worried, then who am I to confront him?

  “You’re amazing,” Jaxson had said, just before he left my place.

  You know what? He’s right. I AM amazing.

  “HEY!” I shout out again. my voice is strong and confident now. I finally catch the perp’s attention.

  He lets his jacket fall from his head and he looks up at me. I shiver at his gaze. This dude looks evil. Even without Jaxson’s warnings I would have stayed clear from a guy like this. Yet, here I am, trying to make conversation... trying to distract him... all for love; all for a guy I met less than an hour ago.

  The perp looks around for a moment, as if evaluating the situation. There’s no one else on the street.

  I wave.

  “What!?” he asks, already fed up with me.

  I flinch at the harshness of his voice. His voice is high and jerky -- the complete opposite of Jaxson’s.

  “Can I offer you a treat?” I ask, salaciously.

  I see the perp’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. He’s not an attractive man. This has probably never happened to him before in his entire life.

  “What?” he asks, less harshly this time.

  I hold up the donut. His face drops.

  “I don’t want your pastries, you fat pig!” His insult echoes through the empty street.

  I stumble backwards, hit hard by the sudden abuse.

  I hadn’t been expecting that... but I HAD been expecting what comes next.

  With the perp’s attention fixed on me, Jaxson comes rushing out of the apartment’s front door like a bull. Before the perp can take a breath, he’s splayed out across the ground. A loud wheeze escapes his slimy mouth as the breath is knocked out of him.

  I can’t help but take a little satisfaction in his pain. Maybe Jaxson is instilling a little devilishness in me... I love it.

  Jaxson pulls out a pair of handcuffs from his damp blazer and subdues the bad guy in the blink of an eye. I watch him in complete awe.

  I’ve never been more turned on before in my entire life.

  What a goddamn stud.

  Chapter 7

  Jaxson

  “Come on down!” I yell up to my curvy princess.

  She doesn’t need any more convincing.

  “Yeah, OK. One sec!” she shouts back down to me.

  Before I can blink, she’s disappeared from her balcony. I miss her already.

  Biggie Brotto squirms underneath my grip.

  “You don’t know who you’re FUCKING with!” he spits.

  I huff. I’ve heard it all before. This guy’s bad but far from the worst. I’ve been tasked with bringing him so he can be questioned about a much bigger fish. His boss, Stone Simpson, is someone to be really worried about. Biggie here’s just another pair of muscles. I can deal with muscles; I’ve got a few of my own. It’s the truly evil fucks like Simpson who I can’t stand.

  Hopefully my little catch tonight will be the first in a long line that leads to the mob boss. That fucker has killed so many acquaintances that I’ve lost count.

  He’s got some paying to do, and I mean to make him.

  Biggie’s only the start.

  I rough-house the goon all the way to my car. He’s no angel and he doesn’t deserve to be treated gently. I push him against my driver’s side window as I open up the back door. Before I can get him in there, though, a black car screeches up in front of Mimi’s apartment building.

  Not a second later, Mimi obliviously bounces out of the front doors. She looks as happy as can be.

  My stomach drops.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  I quickly open the back door and try to shove Biggie in. It doesn’t take him long to make the connection, though. A door on the black car opens up and Biggie immediately starts shouting.

  “GRAB THE GIRL! GRAB THE GIRL!”

  I kick the handcuffed goon inside the backseat and slam the door shut, but by the time I turn around it’s already too late. Two muscle men have grabbed Mimi. One has his hands over her mouth, to muffle her cries for help. The rage that builds up inside of me is unquantifiable. I’m on fire as I spring towards the black car.

  These are professional goons, though. It only takes them a split second to shove Mimi in their backseat and peel out. I lunge for the bumper... but miss.

  I fall empty handed onto the empty street as the sound of screeching tires echoes down the block. I can only watch helplessly as the light of my life is whisked away to the darkest regions of the underworld.

  Chapter 8

  Mimi

  I can’t see a thing.

  Cold tiles abuse my bare feet. A leaking pipe drips water somewhere nearby. I’m completely blinded by the black bag wrapped around my face. I try to breathe slowly, but I’m panicking.

  What the hell is happening? What the FUCK have I gotten myself into!?

  Everything was going so well. Jaxson was a sexy gentleman and I was as hot for him as I’ve ever been for anyone. Our encounter was like a sudden break in the case of my lonely existence. I had found a companion... and then his enemies had found me.

  An entire movie had played out within the span of mere moments, and now, here I was: hostage to some unknown evil.

  Jaxson will come for me...

  I try to stay calm.

  I don’t know how long I’ve been held captive already – I’m so delirious – but I can still taste the hunky detective on my lips. We were so close to something so much more... now I’ve never been further from anything.

  I’m as dry and cold as a lonely bone.

  I hear footsteps echo through whatever basement complex I’m being held in.

  My headgear is ripped off. I blink. My vision is blurry. The room I’m in is brighter than I had expected it to be.

  “We have your phone,” growls a raspy voice. “Tell us how to contact the man who took our friend.”

  My vision corrects itself just in time to see my phone screen shoved into my face. My contacts list is up. I can already see Jaxson’s number.

  What do I do? I don’t want to give him up, but I’m not sure some criminal is worth my well-being or life. I’m not a vigilante, I just wanted some love... I just want Jaxson.

  I hesitate. My captors don’t like that.

  “Listen, Lady. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. We don’t mind the hard way, but it’s up to you.”

  I curl my toes off the cold, hard ground. I get ready to sneer, but I decide against it. Who the hell do I think I am? All it took was a couple of mean words from their friend earlier to send me stumbling back from my porch like I had been punched. How well could I realistically take any actual violence?

  I shudder in fear. The confidence Jaxson had given me earlier is almost completely gone. I can’t stand up to anyone, I’m just a baker...

  “I’m going to count to ten,” growls the voice.

  Before he can even start, though, my phone vibrates alive.

  I blink and re-focus on the screen. My heart flutters with hope but my stomach drops with realization.

  Jaxson’s calling me.

  One of the goons pulls the phone away from my face and checks the screen.

  “Who’s this?” he asks.

  I don’t answer.

  “I. SAID. WHO. IS. THIS!?” he shoves the phone back in my face.

  These criminals have no chill.

  “Is this the guy who took our friend?” the growl asks.

  I don’t know what to do. I’m completely shaken.

  I subtly nod.

  I hear a grunt. The goon answers my phone.

  I’m filled with shame.

  What a poor excuse for a partner I would make.

  Chapter 9

  Jaxson

  “Deal.”

  I hang up and sneer to myself.

  Those bastards...

  Mimi doesn’t deserve this. She’s not part of this world, but I wouldn’t expect any less from these vile human beings.

  I can hear Biggie chuckling from the backseat.

  “Looks like you almost had me today, boss. Better luck next time.”

  I don’t answer. I’m filled with rage. I don’t even care that I’ll lose him. My biggest fear is that I’ll lose Mimi, even if I get her back.

  What kind of girl would want to stick around with a guy who’s involved in this kind of shit? We haven’t even gone on a date yet and she’s already been kidnapped.

  Fuck me. I don’t deserve her, and she doesn’t deserve this. The mob can have Biggie back. I’m out of this game. Tonight’s my last foray into the underworld.

  I drive in silence to the meetup spot. I can’t bear to talk to Biggie. He’s gloating like an asshole in the backseat. He’s probably feeling invincible, while I’ve never felt more vulnerable.

  Being in love with Mimi is like having a piece of my heart walking around outside of my body. Any incursion onto her well-being is a stab to my heart.

  I swear to god, though. If they put a hand on her...

  I pull in to the empty gravel parking lot in the factory district. Smoke rises from industrial chimneys on the horizon. The whole area smells like grime.

  I pull up under a streetlamp and we wait. I’m used to waiting in my car for something important to happen, but I’ve never experienced anything like this. I’m actually stressed. One of my most useful features has always been my stoicism, but all of my cool and calm collectivism is out of the window tonight.

  I met a girl and we instantly fell in love. Nothing will ever be the same for me. I just need to make sure that it’s because I’m going to quit this game, and not because these goons are going to force me into a rage-filled, revenge tour.

  I don’t know how long we’re waiting before I finally realize we’re not alone.

  Headlights suddenly flash alive from a spot of darkness not so far away. Those bastards have been waiting here for me the entire time... making me wait, letting me get angry. They know Biggie’s here; they just want an excuse to get violent. I can’t give them one. I need to make it out of here with Mimi, safe and sound.

  The hidden car pulls out of the darkness and slowly rolls under the same streetlamp as my car. It stops just in front of me. No one gets out. We’re playing a game of chicken.

  I’m the first one to break. I have no patience for this shit. I just want my girl.

  I get out of the car, open my backdoor, and pull Biggie out.

  I shove the piece of shit onto my hood and take out my gun. I was hoping I wouldn’t ever have to use such a thing around someone like Mimi, but all bets are off now. There’s only one thing I care about: getting her back.

  I hold my pistol at Biggie’s head and wait for a response.

  It takes a minute, but eventually two goons exit the idling car. I see that familiar curvy silhouette among them. My heart clenches and my trigger finger tightens. I’m used to these types of tense situations, but never have I been in a position to exchange something so valuable.

  Suddenly, their car engine sputters and the bright headlights shinning in my face go off. It takes me a second to re-adjust, but when I do, I catch a peculiar figure sitting INSIDE their car.

  When it hits me who it is, I have to call on every reserve of strength in my entire body not to react.

  The headlights sputter back on and I’m half-blinded again.

  “Hand him over!” yells one of the goons from behind the wall of light.

  “Her first!” I demand. I aim my pistol high, right at the back of Biggie’s head, to make sure they know I’m not messing around.

  “Alight, alright. Cool it, hot shot.”

  The goons escort Mimi towards me. They have a black bag covering her head. I sneer in anger. They’re treating her like a common criminal. Rage courses through my body.

  I motion with the gun for them to take the bag off. They do.

  Mimi’s close enough that I can see her face. I let out a sigh of relief when I see she hasn’t been harmed. She’s scared and disorientated, but I can fix that. Her once rosy cheeks are flushed pale and her previously sparkling eyes are shimmering from fear now, but I know that once I get her back, everything will change.

  “You,” I say, pointing at the goon closest to her. “Put her in the passenger seat.”

  He hesitates for a second, but when his accomplice nods, he follows my orders.

  I don’t loosen my grip on Biggie until I hear the passenger door close behind Mimi. When the other goon is in my sights, I ease up on the perp, but I keep my gun trained on him.

  I slowly back up towards my driver’s seat door.

  “You guys can keep the handcuffs,” I say, before pulling my door open and getting in the car. I keep my gun ready as I pull backwards. The goons don’t budge, they just watch.

  When I’m far enough away, I click the safety on my gun, put it on the dashboard, and peel out of the parking lot.

  I don’t allow myself to look at Mimi until we’re around the block. I pull up outside an abandon warehouse and spill my guts.

  “Baby, I’m so sorry...”

  Before I can say anymore, though, Mimi’s lips are on mine.

  It takes me a moment, but when I recognize what’s happening, I let myself relax. Our kiss is hot and fiery but filled with relief. I don’t want it to ever end, but there’s something else I have to deal with.

  I reluctantly pull away.

  There will be more time for that later. For now, though, there’s an urgent matter at hand, and it will be my LAST as a private detective... and definitely my biggest!

  Chapter 10

  Mimi

  The roar of a helicopter passes overhead.

  An army of police sirens approaches in the distance. One by one, cop cars flash by us. They’re all heading towards the same place. The parking lot where Jaxson and I made our exchange.

  “Are you sure?” I ask, after he’s explained everything to me.

  “Yep,” he says, through a tight-lipped smile. I can tell he’s cautiously holding out hope. “If it was just those small-time guys, I would have never said anything, but for some reason Stone Simpson was in that car with them. I’ve only seen him a few times before, but he’s unmistakable. He’s almost never seen in public, so he’s been impossible to catch, but now we have him surrounded. If the lights on their car hadn’t gone out for that split second, I would have never been able to see, and if I was a less accomplished detective, I would have never known it was him.”

 

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