Lethal Justice (An Alliance Agency Novel Book 3) Read online

  “Tell me your body doesn’t want it, Frida. Prove me wrong.”

  At the bottom of her t-shirt, he kissed the skin of her stomach before pulling her top off. He removed her bra at the same time, freeing her breasts to his hungry gaze.

  Malco rubbed his prickly cheek on the tender skin of her breasts a few times before repeatedly lavishing her breasts with his mouth. Her entire body was undulating under him. Sex-starved, she wanted him to remove his clothes too, but he ordered her to keep her hands on the table.

  “I’m the one that needs to make my case.”

  He kissed her again, pure desire replacing finesse, and she watched the flame in his dark eyes. His rough hands tickled her ribs and kneaded her hips before undoing her pants. Wisps of sanity tried to return, but Malco slid his tongue into her mouth, and they vanished.

  Without realizing it, Frida was now completely naked, offered up on Malco’s kitchen table, and when the man stood back to look at her, she’d never felt so wanted in her entire life.

  Ignoring his order, she seized his waistband, but he pushed her hands away with a wicked smile.

  “Malco…”

  Instead of answering, he licked his lips and fell to his knees. Her world stopped when she realized what he was about to do, and then there was no doubt about it once his muscled arms circled her thighs, pulling them wide and dragging her ass to him until his mouth made contact.

  Her world was focused between her legs, on what his incredible lips and tongue were doing to her. He devoured her the same way he ate, with a deep hunger, only focused on ravishing her. His tongue made her squirm and sigh, and the hint of teeth turned her breath into a gasp.

  When she dared to look down, the intensity of his eyes revealed everything. He tracked every one of her reactions, clearly looking for ways to push her even further. And he did exactly that when he pushed two fingers inside her and sucked gently on her clit. Frida went from fire to inferno, propelled so quickly toward orgasm, her entire body shaking in anticipation. One more lick, one more suck, and she’d be there, but once more, Malco derailed her by slowing down, his mouth releasing her, his fingers slowing down.

  The moan of frustration that came from her made him smile. “Have I convinced you, your honor? Is becoming temporary lovers now on the cards?”

  Even if she snarled, a smile peeked through. “I’m not a judge, only a lawyer.”

  At her answer, he laved her folds with one long lick, tickling her clit and forcing a curse out of her, and ultimately, her surrender.

  “Oh, God!” Her back arched, and she fought against his hold for a second before blabbering her answer. “Okay, I agree, let’s do it. Let’s explore whatever this is until the case is closed. Damn it! I can’t stand it anymore.”

  And with a dark chuckle, he gently bit her inner thigh and finally buried his face between her legs once more.

  Just the sight of him, this dangerous agent who obviously rarely went to his knees for anybody, was the final push Frida needed to succumb. A torturous orgasm seized her core; a cry ripped out of her lips as Malco never relented and pushed her even further.

  Finally spent, Frida barely noticed Malco rising to his feet and taking her limp form in his arms, surrounding her with warmth and strength.

  His lips skimmed her forehead and cheek before kissing her ear. “Case closed.”

  The certainty in his voice made her smile. He may be her protector, but he was also an enticement, a distraction. She couldn’t be sidetracked from her objective. The heart was the worst advisor. They were two adults with needs and were honest about them. It was only sex, after all. Maybe they could indulge in each other for the duration of this case. After all, what could possibly go wrong?

  Chapter Seven

  His ringing cell had Malco cursing as he watched Frida pick up her clothes from the kitchen floor and walk back to the room she’d slept in. Every bone in his body wanted him to ignore the call and follow her, but his sensible side wouldn’t let him do that.

  Sliding the phone from his pocket, he saw Shane’s name flash across the screen. He wondered what he would say about what had just happened. Their relationship, or perhaps the secrecy regarding their history, bothered Malco in ways he couldn’t explain and didn’t want to look too closely at.

  He answered with a curt, “Yes?”

  “You need to get to the office. We’ve just had a case come in, and you’re gonna want to be here for this.” Malco felt his gut clench at the urgency in his boss’s voice. His pique over Frida was forgotten.

  “Tell me.”

  “We just had a call from Reiner Ward, the supervisor at the Youth Center. Tycen Neal went missing last night. His mom is going crazy with worry, and Ward wants us to look into it.”

  Malco felt the cold knot of fear squeeze his gut. Tycen Neal was one of the good kids, getting himself on track to pass his exams and graduate school. At sixteen, he was the oldest of the Neal kids with four younger siblings and wanted to make a better life for himself and for them.

  “I’m on my way. Give me twenty minutes.”

  “Yeah, fine, they won’t be here until she’s given a police statement anyway.”

  “Police statement? What for?” he asked, confused that the police were already acting on it. It was a sad fact the police didn’t take the disappearance of gang kids seriously, at least not until there was some kind of evidence to suggest foul play.

  “His jacket was found covered in blood near the old train yard.”

  Malco didn’t react outwardly, but inwardly he was screaming. This couldn’t happen again, not to Tycen. He was a good boy; he’d turned his back on the gangs.

  “I’m on my way.” Malco hung up and walked toward the room where Frida had slept. He didn’t knock but pushed open the door to see her standing in a towel, still wet from her shower. Already hard from making her come, his cock stood up even harder. His eyes traveled over her warm silky, wet skin, and he wanted nothing more than to lay her down and make her scream his name, but it would have to wait.

  He walked toward her, and she read the look on his face.

  “What happened?” Malco fingered a wet strand of hair before letting his eyes catch hers.

  “Shane called, one of the kids I work with at the Youth Center went missing last night. They found his bloody jacket out by the abandoned train yard.”

  Her sharp intake of breath told him she knew the significance of that. The train yard was a well-known gang hang out.

  “We need to go.” She shed the towel with no self-modesty whatsoever, and he almost swallowed his tongue as he looked at her beautiful naked body. Pulling her pants up, she looked at him and smirked.

  “Go, get the car, I’ll be two minutes.”

  Malco took one last lingering look, then turned and headed for the garage, grabbing and securing his firearm in a holster before pulling his shirt over the top to cover it as he went. He’d be going back into a world he had fought to leave, and there was no way he was going in unarmed.

  He pulled the car out then exited it to wait for Frida.

  The door between the garage and the house opened and Frida stepped out. She was showered and fresh, wearing one of his old shirts and her pants from yesterday, her hair pulled into a neat ponytail. She looked nothing like the cutthroat lawyer he knew she was. She looked like the girl next door that every boy in the neighborhood had fantasies about.

  He wasn’t sure which look he liked best on her; both worked for him, but then perhaps it was just that Frida worked for him on so many levels. She moved toward the car, and he quickly locked up behind her and secured the alarm before getting into the driver’s seat.

  They drove to Alliance in almost silence, not strained in any way but restful as if each were in their own head, preparing for what was to come in their own way.

  He parked and turned to her. “I need to work this case this for Tycen Neal. He’s a good kid, and deserves better than this life.”

  Frida nodded her agreement. “A
nd I want to help in any way I can too. So how about we work this and my case together? I can’t help thinking that the sudden uptake in violence, his disappearance after my attack, and the break-in at my office aren’t a coincidence.”

  Once again, this woman had surprised him with the way she made the connections so quickly. He’d been thinking the same thing, and Frida’s offer to work the cases side by side was a good idea.

  “I agree. Let’s go speak to Shane and get everyone’s thoughts on this.”

  Thirty minutes later, they were in the conference room with Shane, Emme, Alex, Caitlin, Kingsley, James, and Mercy.

  “I agree with Shane, we need two defined teams on this.” Emme moved to stand beside her fiancé.

  Malco sighed. “The cases are connected.”

  Shane crossed his arms over his chest. “I guessed as much, and I agree, but you can’t work a case this big alone. We need one team working the evidence Randall gave Frida, and one working Tycen Neal’s disappearance. I propose we split the cases and work them side by side with you and Frida as the team that links everything. That way, you get all the information you need for both cases and speed the process along.”

  Malco turned it over in his mind and then looked to Frida; after all, she was the paying client for one of these cases. The other would be pro bono for Tycen. Frida nodded and turned to Shane.

  “I like the idea, but I want to bring one of my researchers in, she’s shit hot with research and will be able to help go through the files.”

  Shane cocked his head. “I thought the whole purpose of this was that the Chief only trusts you?”

  “It is, but I trust my team, or they wouldn’t be on my team. I’ll leave the rest to keep the office ticking over until this is done. Which reminds me, my first point of interest is to find out who broke into my office.”

  “I have a theory on that, actually.” Alex stepped toward the laptop on the desk, flashing an image onto the large screen behind them. Everyone turned and saw a grainy image of Detective Charles Kasten come onto the screen. It was dark, and he appeared to be in an underground parking garage. The image showed him talking to a white male of around forty, who wore a suit. His face was turned away from the camera so they couldn’t easily ID him.

  “Talk to me, Alex,” Shane snapped.

  “This is Detective Kasten meeting with a man named Clark Pool. As you probably know, Pool is the local DA. That meeting took place thirty minutes after Frida arrived here.” He flipped a button, and the image changed so that Kasten was shown across town. “This was a block from Frida’s office and ten minutes before the call came in about the break-in. Coincidence? I think not.”

  “Son of a bitch.” Malco’s voice turned into a growl.

  Frida stood and began to pace, which he was coming to learn was her way of thinking things through. She paced, and she talked it out.

  “So Kasten is on someone in the DA’s office payroll. Which means this corruption goes from the top to the bottom.”

  James leaned back in his chair, crossing his booted foot over his knee. “So, how does this link to Tycen Neal?”

  Malco gritted his teeth before he replied, the thought of the kid involved in this turning his stomach. “That’s what we need to find out, and before it’s too late.”

  “Agreed. Okay, everyone, I want Alex and Mercy on the files.” Shane began to dish out orders. “Romeo and Caitlin, work with Kingsley on finding Tycen Neal. This is time-sensitive, I want this kid found.” Shane turned to Frida. “Frida, have your person come in and work with Alex and Mercy here. Cleo will make a computer available for her.”

  “Thank you, Shane.”

  Malco felt a split-second surge of jealousy when Frida smiled at Shane before he shut it down. He wasn’t a twelve-year-old boy with a crush. He was a grown-ass man who would act like one. He and Frida were messing around, having fun, that was all. This was not the Alliance Agency’s next great love story.

  Just then, Cleo popped her head around the door. “Shane, Mrs. Neal is here with Ward.”

  Malco’s heart ached for what he knew this woman must be feeling. He didn’t know her well, just from the times she’d picked Tycen up from the center. She seemed like a woman doing her best in a shitty situation. It was far too reminiscent of his own mother for his liking.

  “Thanks, Cleo, show them into my office. I’ll be there in two minutes.” Cleo nodded and disappeared. Shane speared him with a look. “You ready?” Malco nodded. He was as ready as he ever would be.

  “Can I come?”

  Frida’s voice from so close beside him made him jump, breaking the painful memories from his mind. He turned and looked into eyes so dark and so deep he wanted to drown in them. He realized her presence centered him in a way he couldn’t explain. Like they were kindred spirits formed from the same hell and thrown together to fight it once more.

  “Yes. I’d appreciate you being there.” She smiled, and Malco felt stronger again, ready to go into this battle and win.

  Chapter Eight

  Frida followed Malco into the conference room, where the mother of the missing boy stood before a man who looked as grim and preoccupied as she felt. It was clear life hadn’t been kind to the mother. She seemed determined, but the worry was etched deep. Her dark ebony skin had lost its light, as had her mahogany eyes.

  The person by her side was a mountain of a man and younger than she imagined for someone in charge of a youth center. Ebony black skin, a large, muscled body, and by the way he stood and moved, Frida could guess he had some kind of military background.

  Malco only nodded at Ward and came around the table to offer his hand to Tycen’s mother. “Mrs. Neal.”

  The woman gripped his hand and held tight. “Malco, I’m beside myself. I don’t know what to think or do. Everything was going so great, and I thought we’d turned a corner. And now this.”

  Frida stood back silently as her heart ached for the mother. She knew firsthand how a gang could impact the lives of not only the member but also their family.

  “Please sit down, Mrs. Neal. Would you like water or coffee?”

  The woman shook her head but let herself fall into the chair. Malco didn’t let go of her hand as he sat facing her. It was fascinating for Frida to see Malco in this situation. For the first time, what he was feeling, his emotions were clear on his face. He was so open when he spoke to this woman; she was in awe of it.

  “Mrs. Neal, this is Frida Montalvo, she’s a lawyer and is working with us on a case regarding the gangs in the city.”

  The woman offered her a small smile. “I wish there were a way to stop this scum. Because of them, my son may be dead.” Her voice wobbled on the last word.

  Ward, who had stayed silent so far, put a hand on her shoulder. “We don’t know that yet. We can’t be sure if it’s his blood on the jacket.”

  Now tears filled her dark eyes. “And if it’s not his, whose is it? Has my son killed someone?”

  Malco pulled her attention back to himself. “Easy. We don’t know anything yet. Have the police told you anything?”

  Desperation immediately turned to anger. “Told me what? How incompetent they are? They said they’d investigate, but I don’t believe them. We’re not important to them. They didn’t believe me when I told them Tycen had turned his life around, that he wasn’t in a gang anymore. One even laughed and told me I was delusional.”

  “Kasten.” Ward almost spit the name. In Frida’s opinion, Mrs. Neal was right to think that the police would do nothing to save her son, not under Kasten’s watch. “He said we were wasting money with our program and everyone would be better served by giving it to the people who protect the city.”

  “They’re convinced Tycen is guilty and has returned to the gang. They said they would help, but I know they won’t do anything. Malco, you’re my only hope to bring Tycen home.”

  He brought the older woman’s hand to his mouth and kissed it, clearly worried. But Frida could feel the determination emanat
ing from him.

  “I’ll find your answers. In the meantime, call me if you hear anything, or if you feel threatened in any way. You or your family. Do you understand?”

  Mrs. Neal smiled. “I will.”

  Ward stood with Mrs. Neal and escorted her to the door. “May I have a minute?”

  Mrs. Neal nodded, and Ward closed the door before turning to them.

  “I didn’t want to tell her about this, but Tycen isn’t the only one of our boys who has gone missing in the last couple of days. Georgie and Miles too. I reported their disappearances but got the same answer from the police.”

  Frida frowned, juggling her thoughts. “Why is there a sudden resurgence of activity? And why are boys who’d left the gang life being pulled back?”

  Malco rubbed the back of his neck. “It must be in preparation for something big. A war over territory or a big cargo of drugs coming in.”

  Ward seemed to ponder the possibilities before he shrugged. “I’ll see if I can get some of the other boys to talk. Others must have been approached, and if that’s the case, it’s only a question of time before they disappear too. I’ll see what I get and keep you posted. Another thing about Kasten. I don’t know what’s happening at the precinct, but he has fingers in everything gang-related, even if he’s not the lead on it. I know a guy there, and it has intensified over the last few months to the point where a few people have made complaints.”

  “Nothing happened?” Frida almost wanted to make a statement.

  “Oh, things happened. Everyone pressing too much was reassigned to other task forces or stonewalled.”

  Malco whistled. “The brass is listening to Kasten, and that’s not a good thing.”

  “Or the brass is in it with Kasten.”

  Both men turned to her, and Frida saw the realization on their faces.

  Ward sighed. “If that’s the case, we’re doomed. How can we protect our kids if the police are teaming up with the criminals?”

  “By going higher. There’s clearly something or someone tainting the force, and the only way to get rid of it is to bring it to light. Shake the hornets’ nest until we get rid of them completely. However, that won’t be easy. Many won’t talk, and we’ll need titanium evidence to bring them down.”