SEIZED Part 4: A Steamy New Adult Romantic Suspense Thriller (Seize Me Romance Fiction Series) by JC Coulton Read Free Book Online Page A

have turned in the power dynamic between us. It’s the way it should have been a long time ago.
    I briefly look over at the straggly working girls she’s got stationed behind her. I can’t see their faces but neither body looks familiar. They’re stoned, bedraggled and trashy enough in their skimpy red dresses to be invisible. I can see the open sores on one of the girl’s backs as they cluster together in some half stoned conference behind the woman that feeds them heroin.
    “Jesus Neon,” I tell her, “this is a rough trade you’ve got going on there.”
    I say it with an acid tongue because I want her to feel my disregard. I want her to take offence.
                  “You shut your mouth Blake. It’s none of your business what my girls get up to. Who the fuck are you to make comments about my life?”
                  “I’m the guy who’s just walked the last six blocks of rival territory. I see the competition you’re facing, Neon.” I leave it at that but I can see I’ve started her thinking.
    “What do you want?” She hisses at me, obviously unable to resist my hook, but resentful all the same.
    “Don’t you dare try and play me. A couple of weeks ago, some thugs attacked my girl, Carrie. They took her friend. Her case is going cold. Word on the street says you know more about it than you’re letting on. Is this true?”
    She shakes her head emphatically. “I don’t know and I don’t fucking care.”
    “You can lie all you want Neon, but I’m gonna get the goods from you or someone else. If you’re smart enough to get me what I need, I’ve got a little something that’ll make you very, very happy.”
    “Why the fuck would I know what’s happening to your little lady?” She says it with a snarl and that’s when her mouth starts to curl upwards. It’s obvious she’s lying.
    “Neon, you know what I’m talking about. You’ve been calling her, stalking her, and playing her just because she’s mine. What is it? Are your feelings hurt because I’ve finally moved on?”
    She looks over at me. For a split second, I catch the shame wash over her face before she changes the subject.
    “All I give a shit about is looking after my girls, Blake.”
    She looks somewhat fondly down to the curb as the second one climbs into the passenger seat of yet another customer’s car. “I should introduce you...” I can tell she’s trying to change the subject by mocking me again. I’m not going to put up with it.
    “Right. Guess you’re not interested in the reward, either.”
    I need to convince Neon I’m willing to go elsewhere for the info I need. I start to walk away, but I stop to rub it in. “And thanks but no thanks on that offer. I’ve got someone real to keep me warm at night.”
    The way things are with Carrie right now, this may not necessarily be true. But I’m not giving anything away.
    “You just think these girls are all bad, don’t you Blake?” she asks. “Becoming a cop has turned you into a judgmental son of a bitch. You used to be human once. I bet you don’t even remember.”
    “Oh I’m still human. You’re just deluded. The pain and suffering you’re causing these girls is gonna fuck them up for life. You’re not helping them. You’re hurting them. Every single day they give themselves away for money and every single client takes another piece of their souls. Don’t you get it? Eventually the drugs won’t work anymore. Then you’ll feel it too. You’ll see the harm you’re causing.”
    “Listen here, Blake. I’m not turning fresh young things into whores; these two have come here right from Buffalo, New York.”
    She gestures at the two women standing with her at the bottom of the brownstone. I try to look closely at them, but she makes a point of standing in my line of sight.
    “They were beaten and raped and ripped off by the men who used to run them. Now they’re here with me. They’ve got a safe place to stay and a safe corner