Eyes on the Target Read online

  “You boys ready? I got a blanket for Thompson to sit on so he doesn’t get fur on your seats.”

  “That’s great. Let’s head out then, woman, I’m hungry.” He grabbed Thompson’s leash and smacked her ass as she made her way to the door. Her laugher filled his heart with joy. One thing was for sure, once this was all over and done with the three of them would make the oddest trio.

  Chapter Twelve

  The three of them arrived at the ATF agent’s location. Derek Wells was someone both he and Preston spoke on the phone with on a weekly basis. He was their main contact with the ATF, and it seemed he was not home. Coffee was able to trace his location from his cellphone to a small building on the outside of Ridgeville. What he was doing there they had no clue, but when they pulled up Thompson started to bark and go a little nuts in the car.

  “Thompson, settle down. Stay here and be a good boy,” Jess told him as they exited the car. Liam felt off too as the three of them exited the car making sure the windows were cracked for Thompson.

  “Something is wrong,” Preston said as he pointed to the front door that was standing open. Pulling his gun out and clicking off the safety, he aimed it straight forward while the others took aim in different directions allowing them to cover all areas easier.

  “Derek Wells, this is Liam and Preston from the FBI. Are you in there? We just want to talk.” But there were no sounds coming from the house. Pushing open the door, the smell of dust and mold assaulted his senses. He indicated that Preston and Jess should check the other rooms while he made his way through the small house. As he rounded the corner to what seemed to be the kitchen, he was surprised to see a tarp on the floor and the toolbox on the counter.

  “Shit, Preston, Jess, in here. I found him, someone needs to call this in.” As he moved to the front of the chair he saw Wells held down with zip ties on his hands, arms, and legs. His mouth was duct taped and his eyes were swollen shut. It looked like the man was tortured. Stabbed several times with what looked like a screwdriver. Someone wanted answers, and by the looks of it, Wells hadn’t given them what they wanted. He had several broken fingers.

  “Well fuck me, this totally sucks,” Jess said, looking around the scene while she holstered her gun. She took a moment before looking around the room, but she froze as she stopped by a small knife that was on the floor at his feet. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she started swearing up a storm.

  “What?” Something had set her off and he needed to know what it was, because right now he needed to make sure to call this in without them being spotted.

  “It’s my knife.” She pointed to the small knife that lay covered in blood.

  “Wait, you sure?” Preston said as he pulled out a small glove from his pocket and picked it up.

  “Yes I am sure. I got it from Zach as a gift for my first case. I joked about not having one when I stabbed the prick with a screwdriver. Fuck, he was stabbed with a screwdriver too wasn’t he? Shit, someone is trying to pin this on me too. What the hell did I do to this person?” She was now pacing back and forth around the room.

  “Okay, well we take the knife with us and go from there. I am sure we can figure this out. You have an alibi remember, you have been with us the whole time right.” She looked at him and then the body.

  “Maybe, but I bet the time of death was right before I got picked up. Rigamortis is set and gone. He has been dead for at least three days, guys. So yeah, this isn’t good.” Liam didn’t know what to do or say. It was Preston who grabbed her and shook her straight.

  “You listen and listen good, woman, because I don’t want to repeat myself. You didn’t do this, and we will find out who did. Someone is out to get you, and for some reason they know you well enough to make it happen. So we are going to take the knife and wipe all our prints clean and then get the hell out of here. Okay?” Jess nodded and took a deep breath, and then another before heading back out the car.

  Preston was furious now, because he could easily see that someone was trying to frame her. She was the target of an obsession, and the worst part was that she could have a list a mile long because of her job. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, but he would find the fucking needle if he had to separate every piece of hay to do it. Carefully wrapping the knife up with some plastic wrap he found on top of the small fridge, he watched as Liam wiped down areas they had touched.

  As they made their way back to the car, he stopped just out of earshot of Jess when he called Coffee.

  “You are on with the master of master, speak to me,”

  “Hey, it’s Preston, and we have a problem.”

  “Okay, I’m listening.”

  “Someone is out to get Jess.”

  “Okay like how? A little more detail, love.”

  “Like they somehow got her knife and killed Derek with it, and used a screwdriver to torture him, sound familiar.”

  “Crap on a cracker, okay, well Bubbles and her guys are on their way to the mayor’s house, so maybe he has some answers. But I have to ask, what did you do with the knife?” Preston knew she wanted to know if they took it.

  “I have it, they can’t trace anything to her, but we need to find this fucker and quick. So can you call it in to this address so someone can find his body?”

  “Will do, be safe, over and out.” And then the line went dead. Walking back to the car, he saw her petting Thompson and talking with Liam. Now his next stop would be the warehouse. He was sure they could find more information than the investigators at scene, plus he needed to see the area she was at, and possibly the direction of the shooter. Getting in the car, he was happy to see that both Jess and Liam were on the same page.

  It took over an hour to get back to the warehouse where Thompson whimpered like a poor puppy by her side. She didn’t know how to make things better for him, but to put him on his leash and take him along. Preston argued with her at first, but soon he realized that it was best not to argue with her in this matter. With her gun secured at her back and Thompson to her left, she walked to the warehouse she and Thompson were holed up at.

  “This is where we were at when we heard the shots. I was sitting on the ground, and Thompson was lying next to me. The first sound startled me, but I thought it was a start gun, you know like races, but it was loaded. Then someone shouted outside, and the second came, followed by the sirens and the fucker who cuffed and groped me,” she grumbled the last part.

  “Groped, what the hell, Jess.” Preston stopped and looked at her. “Some dickhead put his hands on you?”

  “Chill, he was frisking me, but he got a little more than a feel for the girls if you know what I mean.”

  “I’m going to kill the fucker for putting his hands on you. You’re mine, ours. Do you understand me?” Preston was dead serious, and seriously pissed off too.

  “Yeah, I gottcha, now chill out, it’s over and done with. Let’s move on to the other warehouse. Maybe we can get a trajectory of the bullet.” Not giving them a chance to change their minds, she moved Thompson with her out the door and into the other building. Thompson was pulling her away from the door as she got closer. Not wanting him to stay there, she went to the dumpster she used to climb and set the cameras up and tied him to it. She knew that if he wanted out he could snap the rope, so she didn’t have to worry about someone taking him.

  “Okay let’s take a look.” Bracing herself, she opened the door, shocked that it was unlocked. She had been close to the warehouse and she could look from the outside, but it was a whole different feel inside. She knew it was all in her mind, but the feel of evil penetrated the walls of the warehouse, making her shiver. The smell of bleach and blood clung in the air from the cleanup of the dogfight.

  “Okay, let’s do this and get the hell out of here,” she said and walked over to the area that was originally the ring. Preston, like normal, snapped into action moving to where he stood.

  “We were here, facing this direction when the announcer went off about the dog stats. Verona plac
ed a bet, and soon the gun rang out to let the dogs lose, but it was off, and not a normal pop gun. I looked down and saw Verona was dead.”

  “Okay, that gives us something to work with.” She went to work standing right were the body was and looked in the direction. She could see her camera angle, and the angle of where the bullet came through. The window was open so it made it an easy show. Since the head didn’t shatter into a million fragments, she wasn’t looking for a high velocity weapon. Something that would be needed for long-range shots. Understanding the direction now, she walked outside the building not waiting for the men to follow. Thompson barked at her, but she tuned everything out, only focusing on the angle of the bullet. Looking around the outside she spotted another warehouse, this one held items. Not sure about anything she took off in a run, she knew exactly the location of the shooter.

  “Damn it, woman” she heard Preston yelling and he followed suit, but she didn’t hear Liam until a couple seconds later with the padding of four paws following.

  “It’s there, up there on the roof. I know it. I bet the detectives didn’t check this one, they went to my building, which would have worked, but it also would have blown Verona’s brains everywhere. It would have been too close of a shot. This one was done from here. Here help me up.” She started to scramble on top of a dumpster letting Preston lift her up onto the roof. The roof was hot since it was made out of metal, so the shooter had to have come during the night, or had a blanket to lay on or he would have burned himself. Walking around carefully to make sure she stayed on the beams of the roof and not fall through, she spotted cigarette butts. Bingo.

  “I found something. Find me a bag, and I can take them with us, and I think Trent has someone in forensics that can help us out.” Preston scrambled looking for something, when she sighed. “Look at Thompson’s leash, there is a small area with poop baggies, but they will work.” Liam laughed, but soon Preston was tossing her up bags. Bending down she picked up the butts and couldn’t find anything else, but this was definitely the spot. “Okay we got them, let's head back and check on Bubbles and the others.” Both men agreed and Preston kissed her before helping her completely down.

  “You are so damn sexy when you talk like a man. You don’t even know how much it turns me on when you talk about guns too.” She smiled a crooked smile.

  “Well maybe you can show me tonight when we get home.”

  “Damn, woman, you are going to be the death of me, now I have to drive back with a hard-on.” He kissed her hard one more time before letting her down. Liam was leaning against the car with Thompson sitting patiently waiting for them.

  “Let me guess he told you he had a hard-on when you talk guns, right?” Jess couldn’t help but laugh and nodded. Taking a page out of Rainbow's book, she leaned into Liam to see what he did.

  “And, Liam, what can I do that turns you on. Preston likes guns, and what turns your motor?” rubbing her hands up and down his chest.

  “Oh, baby, why don’t I show you?” She liked the sound of that.

  “I’m game, let's drop this all off, and get some food then I am all yours.” Right then both men busted up laughing,

  “Woman, you eat more than any one person I have ever met. I don’t know how you do it.” She smiled.

  “It’s a gift,” she retorted and then climbed into the passenger seat waiting for the men to get a move on.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I’m happy that Trent was able to take everything to the forensics guy he knows. Are you sure it’s not going to get him in trouble milking his contacts?” Liam smiled as Jess talked to Dylan about his brother. The last thing she wanted was to get anyone in trouble along with her.

  “No, Smokey Eyes, you’re good, go home, rest. When we find the mayor and question him, you will know. There really isn’t anything you can do right now.” Dylan was adamant when he spoke to her. Dylan then looked at both he and Preston, “Keep her out of trouble until we get this figured out. We don’t need any more people pointing fingers at her. Whoever this fucker is, he messed with the wrong people.” He agreed and led Jess out to the car. The four of them headed home to relax as Dylan said, but both he and Preston had other ideas. He wondered what she would say or do when he told her or showed her his fantasy. She was in for a long night, and he couldn’t help but grin.

  Pulling into her house, Thompson barked with anticipation and wagged his tail smacking Liam in the face. He couldn’t yell at the poor beast, he was just an overgrown teddy bear. Preston opened the door as Jess ran up the stairs to let him inside, and then outside to the backyard. Her small townhome was nice and he found that he actually liked being here more than the small two-bedroom apartment they were renting.

  Shutting the car door, he saw that she was throwing a ball in the backyard with Thompson, mainly to wear him out for the night. The dog bounced and ran after the ball now covered in slobber and brought it back each time. It was a joy to watch really, she was happy and it was like a ready-made family, complete with a dog. Preston came up next to him handing him a beer.

  “So what are you thinking?” Preston asked him.

  “I was thinking about what she asked me at the warehouse and what I liked.”

  “You think she will do that?”

  “I don't really know, but there is one way to find out,” he responded as he twisted the top of his beer, drinking down a good portion of it in one gulp.

  “There sure is. I’ll go lock up for the night, and bring in our spare bags.” Liam nodded and continued to watch her play outside. She looked back at them through the small glass door and waved at them. He smiled and waved back. It was only a few minutes more before Preston came in with their stuff and sat down to watch her play. The sun had set and the outside security light clicked on when she came in with Thompson next to her. They both went into the kitchen where she gave him fresh water and filled his food bowl before walking over to both of them smiling.

  “You guys okay. Wanna watch something?” She looked so cute and nervous.

  “Oh, baby, we have a couple ideas, but we were thinking that since poor Thompson is worn out, we need some exercise too, the three of us. After all it was Dylan that said we need to relax some, I also promised to show you what my turn on is.” He watched as her face blushed and looked up at both of them while he grabbed her hands.

  “Come with me.” He didn’t need to say anymore and Preston was right there with them. As he entered her room, he was excited to see she actually had a king-sized bed that happened to have a headboard with slats.

  “Jess, do you know what a safe word is?”

  She nodded her head, but he needed to hear the words, raising an eyebrow he waited. “Well?”

  “Yes, I know what a safe word is, and I even have one.” She responded with a smirk.

  “Sugar, if at any time you get scared or nervous and want me to stop, just say your safe word. And we will just make love to you, all three of us together. Do you understand?” Liam wanted to make sure she knew she could stop, because he was getting so damned turned on just by the thought of what he was going to do.

  “I’m game for anything, stud. I’m a big girl.”

  “Okay, sugar, what’s your safe word?”

  “ It's Kibble.” She giggled. He grinned and nodded. Liam liked that she was toying with them. Looking down at her, he could see the excitement in her eyes by the thought of the unknown. He nodded to Preston who bent and removed a small necktie from his duffle bag and stood behind Jess as he placed the tie over her eyes so she couldn’t see anything.

  “When we are done with you, there will be no mistaking who you belong to. So be prepared woman, you will be fucked in every way imaginable, and then some. You will cry and beg for more, and when it is all said and done, there will be no else. Understand?”

  Jess nodded, her trust given was an overwhelming feeling to him. He swore to himself that she would not regret trusting him. Preston stood in front of her pulling her hair back while taking he
r mouth in a heated kiss, not giving her room to move. When her hands started to come up and hold him, he grabbed them pulling them behind her back.

  “No touching.” It wasn’t a question, but a command. She said she wanted them, the real them. Liam was a demanding lover, as was he, but he got a thrill watching his brother work. Leaving her lips, he stared down as Jess stood in the middle of the room.

  Liam had already gone and found his cuffs from his bag and moved in behind her. Not wanting to hurt her too much, he moved her arms in front of her body and snapped the cuffs on her wrist. He knew they would cut into her wrists if she struggled, so he made sure not to put them too tight. He could see her breathing accelerate as the fear of the unknown started to plague her.

  “Follow me.” He pulled on her upper arm to steer her in the path he wanted her to go. She didn’t hesitate and did as he asked. He had already checked out the room and found that she had a large walk-in closet. Moving her into the closet area, he and Liam hung ropes from the top shelves to hold her arms up. He threaded the ends of the rope through the grates of the shelving, wrapping each end several times around each wrist, and tied the ends to the shelving units. His cuffs were placed above her head for use later if they decided to change her position again.

  Preston stood to the side, knowing that Liam planned to introduce their little captive to one of his favorite games. He could swear the wheels in Liam’s mind were spinning a mile a minute as he watched the man do his thing.

  “You know what turns me on, sugar? You know my deep dark secret? I am sure you’ve already figured it out, but don’t want to say it, so let me see if you can guess.” Liam bent and removed a small blade from his boot. He walked over to Jess running the cold metal along her cheek with the flat side of the blade. She jumped at the contact. He didn’t stop and moved the blade down to the top of her shirt, pressing just slightly against her skin.