Blackmail (5 page)

Gabe stood speechless. The girl in front of him was every bit as gorgeous as she had appeared when he had watched from the car. Her breasts were large but appeared firm. Either that or she wore a very supportive bra. He wanted to rip off every bit of clothing that kept them from his sight, and his hands, and his lips. Her hips were made to be snuggled up to and those goddamn legs! He had never seen such long, shapely legs. Get rid of the shorts, his mind screamed.

Avery found her voice first. “Yeah, what?” She slouched against the door jamb. Arms crossed above her waist forcing her breasts higher. 

“I'm Detective Inspector Gabriel Jervis. Can I come in and talk to you please?”

Avery jolted upright on hearing the familiar name. “Jervis?”

“Yes. I’m Gabe, Tegan's brother. I need your help.”

“I can't help you.” Avery attempted to slam the door but he placed his hand on it and held it in place.

“Please Avery, may I call you that? My parents need answers. They want to know who killed their daughter and why. I need to know who mutilated my beautiful sister.”

Avery sighed. What did she have to lose? She had already lost everything that was dear to her, if Vince killed her it may be a blessing. “Come in.” She held the door open and Gabe stepped inside.

The apartment was as filthy and run down inside as it was from the outside. He glanced around at the bare room as Avery ushered him to a chair, one of two at a small plastic table. It was pitiful. He sat down.

“Sorry, I can offer you a glass of water but I have no tea or coffee. My power has been turned off. I couldn't pay the bill. The water will probably be disconnected next.”

“Water is fine, thank you. You get straight to the point don't you?” He spoke to her back as she filled a glass with tap water.

After placing the glass in front of him she sat down. He noted the pile of envelopes on the table between them. She pushed them aside.

“No use hiding anything from you. You're a cop and will find out any way.”

“Maybe,” he chuckled. He liked this girl, she seemed honest and forthright, something he hadn’t expected. “Can I ask you some questions?”

“You can ask as many questions as you like. I can't promise I will answer them.” Avery knew in her heart; she would answer whatever he asked. For the first time in weeks she felt like she had someone who would help and protect her. A light at the end of a dark, deep tunnel. But, if she opened up would he listen? Would he believe her?

Gabe swallowed a mouthful of water and set the glass down. He studied Avery's face before he spoke. She squirmed under his gaze. He reached for her hand and gently caressed it between both of his. “Don't be afraid, Avery. I promise I won't hurt you.”

The words and the gentle touch set a fire burning in Avery's belly. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and allow him to take care of her for the rest of her life. “I know,” she whispered.

“How did you meet Tegan?”

“I met her at the club. She started about a week after me.”

“Is that your only job?”

“No?”

Now Gabe was confused. “You have another job?”
Why the hell does she live in a dump like this if she has two incomes?

“Yes, well …. no, I
had
a job as a PA and Accountant for a firm in town. I was fired.”

“Are you still, um…. dancing at the club?”

“Call it what it is, stripping, and no, I quit.”

Gabe was still confused but he knew in his gut, there was something that wasn’t making sense. Something he didn’t quite understand.

“Why did you get fired from your day job and why did you quit stripping?”

“It's a long story.”

“Can you tell me about it if I feed you? Seeing as you have no power, how about I order in Chinese?”

Avery locked eyes with him. “I'll tell you whether you feed me or not. I'm tired. Tired of hiding, the lies. I don't give a fuck what happens anymore.”

Gabe noted the utter despair in the woman’s beautiful eyes. He used his cell phone to order the food and returned to the questioning while they waited for the delivery. “Are you ready to tell me what happened?”

Avery nodded.

Gabe re-gathered her hand hoping to strengthen her resolve. He also wanted to hold her. To feel the silky softness of her skin. His cock flinched as the warmth of her hands seeped into his body. He would address these strange feelings later.

“I studied Accounting at University and graduated with Honors just over two years ago. I secured a coveted position with James Ro & Associates as Mr. Ro's PA and Personal Accountant.”

Gabe whistled. “Prestigious firm. Difficult to get a job there from what I've heard. You must be good.”

“I was, until I made the biggest mistake of my life.” Avery explained how she had been drugged while at a bar, set up with a strange woman and then blackmailed to perform at the strip club.

A knock interrupted them. Gabe stood, opened the door, paid the delivery boy and set the food on the table. While he removed containers from the carry bags, Avery organized plates, eating utensils and two candles.

Gabe emptied the water from his glass into the sink and found another glass in an overhead cupboard.

Avery followed what he was doing with a questioning expression on her face.

“Soda?” Gabe held up the glasses.

“Yes, please.”

Avery lit the candles which cast a glow over the room, softening its dilapidated austerity. It would have been romantic at any other time.

They sat at the table and spooned rice and various meats onto their plates. Gabe filled their glasses. Once settled, he spoke again.

“Why didn't you go to the police?”

“Vince, the owner of the club, said if I didn't do exactly as I was told, he would release the pictures for all to see. I couldn't risk it, so, like the other girls, I did as I was told. It would have broken daddy's heart if he’d seen them.”

“But the pictures are online anyway. The Detectives investigating Tegan's murder found them.” He paused before asking the question that had lingered on his lips since entering the apartment. “Were you my sister's lover?”

“Fuck, no.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I was filling in for Tegan the night after she must have been murdered. When she didn't show, I was called in. Vince and I argued, mother and daddy were dead so it didn't matter to me who saw the pictures.” She shrugged. “I quit. The following day my boss, ex-boss, was sent the link, saw the photos and fired me. The pictures on the internet are fakes. Tegan and I were never naked together. She was only eighteen for fucks sake.”

“Fifteen,” Gabe corrected quietly.

Avery dropped her fork as her head jerked up. “What?”

“My baby sister was fifteen not eighteen. She was still at school.”

“Shit. Vince mentioned she was eighteen and Tegan never said any different. She was probably too scared. How the fuck did she end up in the club? She was too young to have been set up in a bar like me.”

“I don't know why she was there. I was hoping you could tell me. She was a great student, top of her class. She didn't drink or do drugs, heaven knows I had lectured her about them often enough and, she swore she would never touch them. She did go to the occasional party. Maybe that's where they got her.”

“Maybe, I just don't know. It was something we didn't talk about.”

“Was there anyone at the club who had threatened her?”

“There was one man. Marty. A fucking asshole. He was always at her. Often I would replace Tegan on stage because he would come into the dressing room and reduce her to tears. I wanted to go to the police but she wouldn't let me. She was terrified and made me promise not to. I understand why, now.” Avery smiled at Gabe. “She wouldn't have wanted her big brother to know where she was and what she was doing.”

“I wouldn't have cared. I would have helped her if I had known.”

“I know you would have.” And, somehow, Avery did know he would have helped his baby sister. No matter what.

“This Marty, did he harass all of you girls?”

“Not that I know of. I worked the same nights as Rachel and Tegan. He didn't even speak to us.”

Gabe's brows drew together as he frowned. “I wonder why he only picked on her.”

“I wish I knew more. I wish I could help you figure it out.”

“You have helped me so much. You can't tell me anything you don't know.”

“I know Marty killed Tegan. I can't prove it, I just know. I don't think Vince knows anything about it. He gave me the impression he thought she had run off. That’s probably why he picked her to set up in the pictures with me. He wanted her to pay for defying him.”

“Was Marty doing anything outside the club that Vince didn't know about?”

“I honestly don't know. If I still worked there I could have asked the other girls for you.”

“Hmmm, it’s getting late. Can I call over again tomorrow?”

“Yeah sure. It's not like I have a job to go to. I can’t even get an interview thanks to the pictures.”

Gabe's heart ached for her. “Ten, okay?”

“Sure.”

They both stood. Avery followed him to the door, they wished each other goodnight and she closed and locked it behind him.

She blew out one of the candles, picked up the other and headed for the bathroom. After washing and undressing, she crawled into bed, naked. She blew out the candle and prayed Gabe could help her out of this mess. She drifted into sleep.

****

Avery slid down Gabe's body. Her silky soft hair caressed his rock hard body as she descended to his cock. Her fingers brushed lightly at the sides of his body. He shivered with desire. Arousal flared like a bonfire.

She caressed his cock with her hand as she placed kisses inside his thighs. He was long, thick and hard. Satin covered steel, and he wanted her.

He tangled his fingers in her hair. She was killing him. He needed her mouth, her pussy, her hand… whatever. He needed release. “Avery,” he groaned as he wriggled.

“Hmmm?”

“I want you. I need you.”

Her hand enveloped him and slowly but firmly, slid over his length. He was being tortured. When he couldn't take any more, she captured him with her lips and drew him deep into her mouth.

“Shit, that feels fucking fantastic,” he gasped. His hips began a rhythmic up and down movement. She was taking him balls deep!

Avery opened her throat and took the full length of his cock. Cum trickled from her lips. She slid her hands under his ass encouraging him to lift his hips closer. He was now completely helpless, at her mercy.

Gabe was flying. Liquid fire raced through his veins. He grasped the sides of the bed. She had him pinned with her mouth, unable to move and, fuck it felt good. Stars flickered in front of his eyes as he erupted.

She milked every drop of cum from his body before removing her hands and allowing him to relax.

Gabe flopped back into the mattress. Avery curled in his arms.

An alarm sounded. Gabe's eyes flew open, his hand grasped his dick. It was soaked.

“Fuck.” He climbed from his bed and headed to the shower.

It had been almost ten years since he'd had a wet dream, back when he was an eighteen-year-old nerd. Why had Avery sparked one? It had felt so real, so vivid. Was it a sign of what was to come?

He grinned as he stepped under the hot water and began washing. He found himself looking forward to visiting the girl of his dreams.

****

Avery shivered under the cold shower. It was hellish but would have to suffice. She was hoping it might douse some of the flames which still burned after her dream about Gabe.

What was it about this man that made her feel so different? Almost vulnerable. Sure, he was handsome, probably the sexiest man she had ever met but, it was more than that. Her gut told her, she could trust him. Apart from her daddy, she didn't trust any man. Especially after Brett.

After she’d showered, Avery dressed in her prettiest pink sundress and slipped white sandals onto her feet. She cleared the dishes from the previous night, washed them and put them away. It wasn't long before a knock sounded. Her heart catapulted against her rib cage. She was looking forward to seeing him again.

Avery opened the door and stood back, inviting Gabe inside.

“Good morning. You look lovely.”
Lovely? She’s fucking gorgeous.
His cock danced in his pants as he observed her closer. The dream from the previous night popped into his mind and his cock hardened.

“Thank you.” Her cheeks warmed with the compliment. “Glass of water. I have some soda left over but it's a little warm. I have no fridge.”

“Water's fine.” Somehow, he had to get this lovely girl out of this dump. One way or another, she was going to move away from this hellhole.

Avery slid into a chair opposite him.

“Did you happen to remember anything after I left last night?” Gabe asked.

She shook her head. “No, sorry.”

“Don't be.” He paused and took a large gulp of water. “I've been doing some thinking. How hard would it be for you to go back to the club?”

“As a guest? I can't, it's men only.”

“As a, umm ……. stripper.”

Avery jumped up sending her chair crashing to the floor. “What?”

“We need to get someone inside asking questions. You won't arouse suspicion like one of our female officers.”

She paced the floor.

Gabe rose and stopped her with his hand on her shoulder. “Calm down. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to.”

Avery gazed up at his face. Tears filled her eyes. She wanted so badly to help him but just couldn’t. “I can't Gabe. I…I... I felt so …. dirty and defiled.” Tears spilled from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

He removed a handkerchief from his pocket and gently patted the tears away before pulling her into his arms. She rested her head on his chest. His body jolted with passion. Her hair smelled of violets as he placed a kiss to the top of her head.

“I'm sorry,” she sobbed.

He positioned her away from him and gazed at her tear sodden face. “We will find some other way. Go and freshen your face and I'll take you for lunch. Is there somewhere special you like to go?”

“I love Sophia and Carlos' restaurant uptown. It's called
La Torina
but you mustn't tell them about where or how I live. Sophia would have kittens and want to help. I don't want to impose on her. Please, promise.”

“I promise. My car is out front so as soon as you are ready we'll head up there.”

Avery slipped off to the bathroom where she washed her face and freshened her make-up. Gabe smiled as she re-entered the room.

“Ready?”

“Yes, thank you.”

He captured her hand in his and led her out to the car. 

****

Sophia loved Gabe on sight and, the feelings were mutual much to Avery's delight. He kept his word and didn't mention what was going on in her life. The meal was delicious as usual but Avery was pre-occupied with thoughts about making Marty pay for the murder she knew he had committed.

Sophia refused to allow Gabe to pay the bill so on the way out he slipped a fifty into the tips jar.

Again he clasped her hand as they crossed the road to the carpark.

“Did you enjoy the Cannelloni? It's Sophia's specialty.”