Sin Eater (8 page)

“Anonymous tip was just called in, someone reporting a young girl being held at a downtown address. Think it might be your girl?”

Claudia felt the hope flair up in her heart, but knew better than to get too carried away. “Could be. What’s the address?”

“17598, 24
th
Avenue North. Two patrol cars are en route now, and child services are on their way. Thought you might want the chance to be there, too.”

Claudia smiled. “Thanks, Holly. That’s why you’re my favourite dispatcher.”

A male voice came over the airwaves right then. “Thought she was your favourite dispatcher because she’s got the prettiest eyes, Car 67.”

Claudia laughed, then replied, “This radio is for police business, asshole.”

“Roger that.”

She put the mic down on its cradle, then pulled a U-turn, heading towards the north end of town, the
bad
part of town. It would take ten minutes to get there, but she just
had
to know.

Rebecca Jane Simon had disappeared yesterday, walking home from school. It was a nicer neighbourhood, a good thirty-minute drive from the part of town Claudia was now headed to. A few people had seen a suspicious car around at the time, but no one caught a plate number or actually saw anything go down.

Claudia had been at the house as the parents had reported their daughter missing, and even though it had been less than 24 hours since her disappearance, Rebecca was just eight years old so they were on the lookout for her immediately. So Claudia
really
hoped that this was their girl, even though there were still dozens of missing kids out there that had never been found. Kids that all came from households that were still waiting for them to return.

The odds were better with this one because it was so soon … but as for her coming back totally okay, those were odds that Claudia wasn’t going to consider.

The building she was headed to stood out like a sore thumb. The street was dark, the lamp lights being broken who knows how long ago, and she couldn’t blame a city crew that wasn’t jumping at the chance to come down here and change a bulb. But this three-floor tenement was lit up like Christmas by red and blue lights.

She parked across the driveway behind another patrol car. She recognized the Constable that approached her. Trevor Vance was a good guy with a pregnant wife, and he never gave two shits whether she liked men or women. He was always business and never razzed anyone about anything.

“It’s her,” he said, skipping the small talk and greeting. “It’s Rebecca, we got her.”

Claudia closed her eyes, putting her hand to her forehead. “Thank God. Is she … is she okay?”

“They’re letting a psychologist talk to her before they take her out of the apartment.  The lights and all these people might scare her. Do you … do you want to be in the room?”

Claudia nodded immediately
, and he led the way for her into the building. The psychologist was talking to Rebecca on the sofa in the filthy living room, and other patrol officers were taking pictures of the bathroom where she’d apparently been handcuffed to the sink drain. Claudia felt like screaming. She had to find out whoever had taken this girl and locked her up like this and make mulch out of their balls.

Rebecca was quite thin, just starting to grow taller than the boys in her class. Her long hair was a dark auburn-brown, and her brown eyes were wide with fear. But there was also … relief. She was glad to see the police, she was glad to be going home.

Claudia exhaled one long breath. She knew what that meant. She’d seen it before. Rebecca hadn’t been … messed with. She was going to be fine.

Claudia wanted to slump to the floor and cry. Her rage melted, and she just wanted to weep with joy. She couldn’t imagine how much better the girl’s parents would feel to find out that very fact.

The psychologist must have said something funny, because the girl even gave a little laugh. Then she looked over at Claudia, and smiled.

Claudia gave a little wave, then came over. “Hi, Rebecca.” She said, nodding to the psychologist. The shrink gave her a look that said
Don’t push her
, but Claudia could have told her to go fly a kite. This is one place where she always felt she knew what she was doing.

“Hi,” Rebecca said, her leg swinging against the side of the sofa. “I know you. I saw you on TV. You were with my parents.”

Claudia smiled. “I was. We’ve been looking for you.”

“I know. That’s why I was never really scared. I knew the police would find me.”

Claudia felt tears sting the corners of her eyes.  Truth was they wouldn’t have found her without the anonymous tip. She smiled, even laughed. “Well, we sure wanted to find you, honey.”

“Don’t cry,” Rebecca said, touching her arm. “I’m not sad at all. They gave me McDonald
’s and let me stay up late to watch TV.”

A knock on the door brought the Sin Eater out of the bathroom of his hotel suite in a robe, and he opened the door completely confident that the person on the other side wouldn’t care that he wasn’t dressed. And he was right.

At the sight of him, the human woman inhaled so deeply her nostrils flared. She radiated the cayenne pepper smell of her anger, but it dissipated immediately. Her eyes trailed over his chest, the bare skin that wasn’t covered by the terry cloth. Cayenne pepper became hot chocolate.

“Portia,” he greeted her, shutting the door behind her as she stalked past him. Well, if she was goi
ng to play angry that was her prerogative.

“You took my fucking
car
,” she snapped, weight on one foot as she crossed her arms and glared at him, doing a terrible job of faking annoyance.

“I needed it. You said if I ever needed anything …”

“And where the hell have you been? I haven’t heard from you in
days
and when you
do
show up it’s at my house when you know very damn well I’m at work and you take my
fucking car
.”

“Let me get you a drink.” He knew it pissed her off how he stayed so calm, because he genuinely didn’t give a shit if he pissed her off or not. And no ma
tter how mad she was right then eventually she was still going to end up underneath him.

“I don’t want a fucking drink. I want an explanation.”

“I don’t have to explain anything to you,” he said, pouring cognac into a highball glass for her. It pained him, but otherwise he would have had to call the front desk for a proper brandy glass. “You said whenever I need a favour, just to help myself.”

She took the glass angrily. “I never said ‘help yourself,’ I said ‘just ask.’ Asshole.” Then she down
ed the two fingers in her glass in one swig.

He smiled fondly at her. “My mistake. The keys are right there. On the dresser.”

She handed her glass to him, demanding more. “Is that … is it L’Art?”

“I couldn’t find any Jenssen Arcana, so Martell will have to do.”

“Paid for with my money, no doubt?”

Like it mattered. The money she made couldn’t be spent faster than she acquired it. He was
so
glad he’d found her. She was a benefactor of sorts, but of course she had no idea what she was sponsoring. Just a ridiculously extravagant lifestyle for a man whose real name she didn’t even know.

“I’m sharing, aren’t I?” He took a sip from his own glass then lowered himself down on to the sofa. He avoided her gaze, but he knew her eyes were trolling over him. Without a single effort from him he knew he had total control of her due completely to her physical attraction to him. The control was what he liked most in this arrangement, maybe even more than the money. “Besides, isn’t it your birthday next week? Thought you might like something special when you stopped by.”

She softened, and he could have grinned like Alice’s Cheshire Cat. But he didn’t, he locked his eyes to her and took another sip, holding her spellbound.

She worked with nothing but men, men in flashy suits who ran big corporations just like her. She dressed manly to fit in, smoked cigars with them and drank cognac like a pro. And yet she was never getting the key to the boys’ club, and on the other hand, women didn’t trust her either. At least here, with him, she knew what her role was. She was a woman with him. The fact that he was the only one who knew her this way was another part of the attraction. In fact, it was making him hard as he thought about it.

She put down her drink and took off her blazer with angry, jerky movements, but he knew this was still just for show. She was braless under the jacket, and he knew that she felt because her breasts were very small a bra was over kill. The sheen of her blouse showed that her nipples were hard. She grabbed the glass again, taking another swig, but not sitting down. She paced instead. He admired her long legs as they worked her across the floor under her trousers, her dark, short-cut hair shining under the hotel’s dimmed lights. She was long, lean, very thin, with a small high butt as well. He liked the butt view the best.

Anyone else would have felt like a real bastard for taking advantage of her like this … but the difference was this bastard knew she liked it. She didn’t want a husband, didn’t want to be married with kids and a house in the suburbs and all the rest that came with it. Her drive was to be successful, and she achieved it. She was not going to be sharing that with anyone, she did it on her own. Plus, having a man under her thumb pleased her to no end.

She was still a woman, though, and she still liked sex.

Portia was never up-front about it, never asked or begged for it, never made the first move, but the Sin Eater knew when she was ready and when she wasn’t.

She was ready.

He set his glass down, stalking over to her slowly. He took the glass from her hand, and she snarled at him, “I’m not done with that.”

He handed it back with a rueful smile. She downed the rest of the liquid, then gave him her glass, which he set loudly on the coffee table. She started to unbutton her blouse, and he let his smile widen. “I thought you were angry.”

“Shut up.” She let her shirt hang open and pulled the tie from his robe, then pushed it off his shoulders to the floor. She took a deep breath as she took him in, her nails cutting down his collar bone and across his chest.

“Tell me what to do,” he mumbled low. It made her shudder.

“You know what to do.”

“Nuh uh. You tell me. Say it.”

“Kiss me.” He had her pulled against him in an instant, hands under her blouse, across her thin back, the front halves part
ing to let her breasts press into his chest. As her skin made contact to the metal pendant around his throat, she gasped a bit, and he figured it was cold. Her nipples further confirmed it.

He let one hand fall to her butt, and she rolled her hips upward to give him a better grip, in doing so rubbing right against his erection. Yep, that was about enough foreplay.

He pushed her on to the bed, and as she crawled up to grab the top of the comforter he grabbed her by the hips, holding her down at the foot of the bed with him. He reached around front to undo her pants, then pulled them off her legs, along with her panties. She struggled to get out of his grasp, but it was feeble at best. And she was so much stronger than that attempt.

With her knees on the mattress he yanked her hips upwards, getting her up
on all fours before plunging into her without any more preparation. She was wet, warm, and she cried out as he did it. He ran his hands along her hips and ass, loving the way each part curved into the next, even though she was so thin and angular. It didn’t matter, like this she was soft and rounded and female.

But the thing he liked most? He didn’t have to pull any of his mind tricks to get her like this. It was all pretty standard, human, sexual power-play bullshit. And she was totally willing to be a part of it. For once, the man was the whore.

“I’m sorry I took your car,” he growled, pulling out and pausing.

She choked on a whimper. “Keep it,” she gasped, then he drove his arousal home again as a reward. She was panting as she repeated, “Oh God, just keep it.”

Iola slept until
noon, got up and began a ridiculous flurry of activity that would likely rival most brides on their wedding day. She took a nice long bath, deep conditioned her hair and shaved her legs. After a moment’s hesitation she also did a bikini home-wax.

Well, who knew?

She put her hair in rollers while it was still damp, and then as she ate she read the newspaper. Turns out a little girl that was missing for an entire day was found safe and sound and returned to her family overnight. It made Iola think of Claudia, and how happy she must be.

That done, she painted her finger and toenails a bright red. She had a black wrap-around dress she intended to wear, then began to stress that maybe that was too formal for Ricardo’s. She’d never been there. Actually, she had no idea where Ricardo’s even was.

And who the hell could she even ask?

She darted across the hall in shorts and a T-shirt, knocking on Claudia’s door. She hadn’t seen her neighbour since that weird kissing moment, but she was sure their friendship was strong enough to not make this weird.

Fingers crossed
.

When Iola was about to knock a second time, the door opened inward and Claudia stood before her, in flannel pants and braless under a tank top.

Iola forced herself to not notice that Claudia’s breasts were absolutely perfect. Flawless. Guaranteed winner in any wet T-shirt contest.

“Iola? What’s up?” She covered her mouth as she yawned. “Come in.” She left the door open and went back inside, flopping down on her couch. Iola closed the door behind her.

“Were you still sleeping?”

“Late night.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Claudia. I’ll come back.”

“Just come sit. I’m up. What’s doing?” Claudia patted the sofa, but Iola stayed by the door.

“Do you know a restaurant called Ricardo’s? Is it a really nice place?”

Claudia frowned. “Ricardo’s? You’re going to Ricardo’s?”

“Claudia, is it a formal place?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, it’s pretty fancy. You’re going to Ricardo’s? Like, tonight?”

Iola sat next to her, one leg drawn up underneath her. “I have a date tonight.”

Claudia raised her eyebrows. “When did that happen?”

“I met this guy yesterday, and he asked me out.”

“For tonight? That’s quick. Never mind that it’s
Monday.
”

“Well, he’s a doctor and he wasn’t shifted to work tonight. So he asked.”

Claudia threw her head back and laughed. “Oh hell, Iola. A
doctor
?”

“Shut up!”

“Oh my God, tell me about him. Is he cute?”

Iola smiled shyly. “Oh Claudia, he’s adorable. He’s got curly hair and brown eyes and … he’s
so
cute. And he seems really nice.”

“What’s his name?”

“Veneratio Aubericus.” She hoped she was remembering how to say it all correctly.

“What the hell kind of name is that?”

“Latin. And he’s smart, you know how you can just
tell
when they’re smart or not?”

Claudia nodded slowly, her tongue in her cheek as she was grading Iola’s reaction to the very
thought
of this doctor. “Well check you out. You’re excited.”

Iola blushed and looked down at her foot on the sofa. “I am. The more I think about
it, the more excited I get.”

“I admit, I’ll be checking him out through the peephole when he comes to get you. I’ll do a background check on him, too.”

“Claudia, that’s not necessary, it’s just dinner.”

“Mmm hmm. And you’ve got your hair up in rollers, nails all painted, legs all shaved up
just to go out for dinner.”

Iola had to giggle. “Okay, I did all that … but it’s just, you know, in case.”

“So’s a background check. But you better write that name down for me. That’s far too many letters.”

They both giggled over that, then Claudia stopped, pushing her hair over her shoulder and assuming the look of someone wanting to start a Serious Conversation. “Look, Iola, about the other night - ”

“I don’t want you to apologize.” Claudia looked up at her, surprised. “I mean it. Or, I’m not sure if that’s what you were about to do or not. But I don’t want you to. It’s fine. I don’t feel taken advantage of. And Claudia, I really did kiss
you,
right? And you stopped it all. So … what’s there to apologize about?”

Claudia bit her lip. “I know. And I just … I care about you, you’re my only real friend - ”

“I feel the same. So let’s not make it weird and wreck our friendship just because I can’t hold my beer.”

Claudia made a sudden face of almost comical alarm. “Maybe you better not have anything to drink tonight. I’m just saying.”

“Already thought of that. And yes, Mom, I’m taking cab fare with me.”

Claudia was serious again. “Thanks, Iola. Just … for everything. I just think you’re awesome. And I value our friendship.”

Iola gave her a hug of appropriate length, then got up. “Wanna see what I’m going to wear? I want your honest opinion.”

“Sure. Let’s go.”

“I want to know if I look hot in it or just … skanky.”

“Trust me, that I will tell you, and I’m pretty accurate about this kind of thing.”

The Sin Eater wanted to be at the apartment when Doctor Love showed up to pick up Iola. Luckily, Portia usually had no interest in staying past their exchange of goods and services so she was already gone when he’d gotten out of the shower the night before. She’d left him a note saying, “I changed my mind, I’m taking the car back.”