Page 28 of Strip Search

Something I’m not sure I’m worthy of.

It’s too late now. This woman is as good as mine.

“Mol.” I reach across and gently rub her shoulder.

She lets out a tiny moan and of course, my dick takes notice. Trying again, I give her a gentle shake but she’s out cold. Jumping down from the truck, I head over to her side and open the door. I debate trying to wake her once more but when I reach in to unbuckle her, she leans in closer and it feels too good. Too right.

Cody’s standing at the kitchen counter when I walk in the door. Seeing Molly in my arms, he laughs and shakes his head. “Wondered what was taking you so long to get your ass in here.” He smirks.

I ignore him and instinctively carry her to my bedroom. I could have easily put her in the guest room for the night. Should have, and yet, here I am, tucking her into my bed. Something I’ve never even considered doing with anyone else before.

I refuse to overthink that fact or linger to watch her. Instead, I turn out the light and walk out, gently shutting the door behind me.

Of course, Cody calls me on my choice as soon as I come back downstairs.

“Fuck off,” I tell him as I grab a beer from the fridge and pop the top off. “It’s been a long day.”

“There’s some weird shit going on too, man,” Cody says as he takes a seat at the countertop across from me.

“In case you haven’t noticed, this whole thing has been a series of weirdness. But, I’m guessing you mean something in particular.”

“It was one of Dallas’ people following you. Problem is, I’m not sure if the dude is legit or not and Dallas isn’t answering right now.”

I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. “He was there until close tonight. We never discussed a tail. So, he’s not telling me everything, or something’s up.”

“My money is on the last one,” Cody responds.

Blowing out a breath, I open my eyes and take a hard look at the kid. Shit, he’s not much of a kid anymore. The poor bastard looks more and more like me every day. We’d probably look a whole lot more identical if not for his darker hair, the only thing he seems to have inherited from our mother.

He’s been with me since I opened the doors onCole Security, my right-hand guy. He’s worked his ass off and caught on to every damn thing I taught him. Hard to believe we’ve been doing this for ten years. Cody stepping up to fill in and running the show a few times when Marine duty called, and I deployed. All the more reason why I trust his gut on this one.

Something is way off.

“Cole. I think they’re running more than drugs here,” he finally confesses after a few long moments of silence.

“You got proof to back it up?”

“I’m close. These containers they’re shipping, it’s not adding up to just drugs. Too many, too often. And if it was only drugs, shipments of this magnitude? They would have slipped up by now. They’re escalating.”

“You’re right about that much. You shared this information with Dallas yet?”

Cody shakes his head, no. “I wanted to be sure first.”

“You still don’t trust Dallas.” It’s a statement, not a question. I know Cody still doubts Dallas is completely clean in all of this.

“Tonight is the perfect example of why.”

“I trust you. Keep me posted. Tomorrow, we’ll take a close look together. I’m going to turn in for the night.”

Cody gives me a knowing smirk. “Good luck.”

“Cody. Don’t make me beat your ass,” I laugh as walk out of the kitchen.

When I slip into my room, I’m surprised to find the lights on and water running in the ensuite bathroom. I’m about to back out of the door and give her some privacy when she steps out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. Under normal circumstances, I’d be hard-pressed to focus on anything else but the giant bruise on her cheek catches my attention.

“What the fuck?” I growl, moving toward her.

“Cole,” she gasps. “I was, I need...Can I get dressed first, please? Can I borrow a tee-shirt or something?”

---