Bind (Manhattan Lux Book 1): Manhattan Lux (14 page)

“Aiko,” Jinx warned. “Don’t you dare.”

Aiko ignored her sister and caught Wyatt’s eye through the foggy glass.

“You have her number, Wyatt,” said Aiko. “Don’t worry about that. You’re right. She was hurt. Bad. By a total douchebag who humiliated her in front of all our friends.”

“Aiko, I swear to God.”

“Shut up Jun, it’s true. And it’s also true that he was a complete tool. Nobody liked him, he’s a monster loser, and you are so much better off without him it’s not even funny. So ovary up, get past that shit, and stop using it as an excuse. Wyatt deserves better than that.”

Jinx glared at her sister.

“And you deserve better too,” Aiko said. “Stop overthinking everything. Just take a chance and see what happens.”

They were locked in a silent staring contest for a few moments, Jinx’s anger a palpable force that seemed to have sucked all the air out of the room.

“Well,” said Aiko, breaking the tension. “On that note. I’ll be going. Later dude!”

“Great chat!” Wyatt waved a hand at her over the top of the shower as she headed for the door.

“Oh wait!” Aiko stopped, turned and rifled through a vanity drawer. A second later a handful of condoms rained down on them from above.

“What the fu—” Jinx began.

“Well, I figure you two are gonna have angry sex now, and as much as I’m looking forward to nieces and nephews with terrible names, I don’t want you getting ahead of yourselves.”

Jinx flipped Aiko the bird while Wyatt squatted to pick up the condoms.

“Ooo ribbed for her pleasure. Thanks sis!”

“I got you bro.” Aiko pounded her chest twice and flashed the peace sign. “I’m out!”

Jinx waited until she heard the bathroom door click shut, then sighed in relief.

“Well that was a total shitfest.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Wyatt frowned and nodded in response. “So inappropriate.”

“Oh stop. You thought it was funny.”

“Not funny no,” he said. “Just… validating. She’s you’re sister. She loves you.”

“I know.” Jinx pushed the shower door open and stepped out, grabbing a towel and draping it around her.

“Wait,” Wyatt said, following behind her. “What about the angry sex?” He held out a palm full of condoms. “Whaddaya say?”

“Well duh. But wouldn’t you rather go to the bedroom? That shower is so cramped.”

“No no no.” Wyatt peeled the towel off of her and dropped it to the floor. “You do not understand the epic feat of self-control it took to refrain from ravishing you in that tiny steamer pot.” He leaned back into the shower and turned the hot water up till steam billowed, took her hand, and led her back inside.

“There is a time for talking,” Wyatt said. “And that was earlier, when we needed to figure out why you were annoyed.” Placing the condoms on the tiled seat he reached for the lilac rose body wash and poured some into his palm. “And there is a time for play,” he said. “Which is now, when I can rub my soapy hands all over this sinful body and just…” He shuddered with pleasure when his hands cupped her breasts, slippery and silky, his thumbs rubbing over her hardened nipples until she shuddered too.

Every care washed away. All hint of annoyance was cleansed from her when those nimble fingers began caressing. Wyatt pulled her close, crushing her hips against his, his cock already hard and hot against her stomach as he kissed her deeply. Soapy hands glided down her back, over the curve of her ass, down, around, to stroke slowly through her folds.

“Wyatt,” she breathed against his lips.

“You have no idea how difficult it was,” he said, one finger dipping to circle her entrance, “when you were bent over in front of me, that round pink ass bobbing up and down, to resist all my instincts.”

“And what instinct was that exactly?” Jinx arched a brow. “Cowboy.”

“And just like that,” he said, his gaze searching hers. “Just like that, we’re back.”

“What do you mean?”

“You called me cowboy, kitten.” He grinned. “You’ve gone all fuzzy in my hands. You’re practically purring. No more brick?”

Jinx shook her head and smiled. “No more brick.”

Wyatt ripped a condom open with his teeth and swiftly rolled it on. When he lifted her, she circled her legs around his waist, groaning as his hands grabbed her ass and his cock sank deep.

“God I love you,” he said, his voice hoarse and strained as he stroked into her hard.

“I can’t say that back.” Her voice cracked on the words. “Not—”
Yet
was the word she thought in her head, but she couldn’t bring herself to say even that. “I’m sorry.” Two words, not even close to the three he
really
wanted. She felt terrible.

Wyatt laid his cheek against hers, buried his palm in her hair and braced her against the shower wall, pressing kisses to her face as he thrust. “I know sweetheart,” he said tenderly. “I don’t say it to hear it back, I say it because it’s true.”

“But I—”

“If you want to, you can just say thanks. That’s enough.” He pushed back, his gaze traveling hotly from her eyes, down the length of her body to the place that they joined. His thumb found her clit, moving in circles, slow at first and then faster, in time with his hips.

Jinx bucked against him as the first spirals of orgasm began to hit her. “Okay,” she said, trying to talk through the pleasure, desperate to say something to him, something as deep, something as meaningful as the words he kept whispering to her.

“I love you.” He whispered it again while he fucked her, plunging inside, deep and hot and hard as though he thought he could make her believe it with his body, if not with mere words.

“Thank you,” she stuttered, as orgasm ripped through her. “Thank you.”

“
D
on’t think
anyone’s ever actually thanked me for sex before.” Wyatt drawled the words over his shoulder, dimples flashing mischievously as he unlocked the door to Daisy’s apartment and stepped inside.

“Keep it up, cowboy,” Jinx said as she followed him. “That smart mouth will get you in trouble, and you’ll be right back on Dr. Shelley’s table, trying to undo the extreme damage I will do to you if you don’t knock it off.”

“Touchy, touchy.” Wyatt grinned and headed for the kitchen, setting his duffel bag on the counter before commencing his search. The sound of slamming cupboard doors announced the path of his progress. “Wouldn’t mind going back though. The shower sex was super fun, but I was hurting big time after. Now, not so much. Dr. Shelley has the magic touch. She’s a wizard, that one.”

“Hey,” Jinx said, following him into the kitchen. “I thought I had the magic touch.”

“Oh you do darling, you do.” His eyes popped wide. “No one is in your league. She’s like Gandalf to your Dumbledore.”

Jinx raised an eyebrow. “You think Gandalf is
less
of a wizard than Dumbledore? Seriously?”

“Um…” Wyatt bit his lip. “I’m more of a Harry Potter fan. I never did get through Lord of the Rings, all the son of this guy, who was the son of that guy shit. Made me want to gouge my eyes out.”

“Oh my God. I can’t believe I’m dating you. Gandalf is a far superior wizard to Dumbledore any day.”

“No he’s not! Dumbledore was the greatest, and by the way, I’d like the record to reflect you just admitted we’re dating.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“No no, I want to explore this.” He bent down and opened another cabinet door. “Ah shit.” Wyatt disappeared behind the kitchen island. Cursing and shuffling sounds echoed from deep inside the cabinet.

“Yep, Daisy was here alright,” he said, coming back into view, a pile of squashed TastyKakes boxes in his hands.

“Jesus.” Jinx eyed the boxes. “It’s a wonder she has a single tooth left in her head.”

“She’s using again,” he said. “Pretty sure of that. She always had a craving for this stuff when she was using. Got rail thin on it too. I guess a diet of soda, drugstore cupcakes and crystal meth will just melt the pounds right off.”

“That’s what she does?” said Jinx, her eyes wide with concern. “Meth?”

“I dunno.” Wyatt waved a hand. “I’m just being an asshole. Once upon a time it was heroin. Not sure what her poison is now.”

“She’s sick Wyatt.” Jinx crossed to him, and put a hand on his bicep. “Addicts have an illness. This is not the Daisy you know.”

“The Daisy I know has always been a horrible person.” Wyatt leveled his gaze with hers. “She’s not horrible
because
she’s an addict. She’s horrible
and
an addict.”

“Wyatt,” Jinx said gently, taking the boxes from him and setting them on the counter. “How do you know? From what you told me, she started young.”

“Yeah, like thirteen or something. That’s Bryce’s best guess.”

“So think, what was she like before that?”

Wyatt sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Kind of a brat to be honest. Selfish, spoiled. Liked to rat on us and then gloat about it later.”

“So kind of a shitty kid.”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

“But you’ve known other kids that were kind of shitty.”

“Well sure. Of course. But usually people grow out of that crap.”

“That’s what I’m saying,” said Jinx. “I don’t know that you can judge who she is as a person, who she
could
be, who she
should
be, when she never really had a chance.”

Wyatt stared at her, their eyes locked for one long moment. Then he shrugged.

“Fair enough. I acknowledge your point. But does that mean you think I should be handling all this differently?”

“No.” Jinx shook her head. “It just means that I think we should try to stay in touch with our compassion, no matter what we find out. And when the time comes, if we can get her real help, we should do it.”

“If she’s willing.” Wyatt held up a finger. “That’s the thing. Bryce has tried that, so many times. At some point, he’s gotta stop trying, for his own sake.” Wyatt placed his hand over hers, and squeezed.

“Well,” he said, his eyes surveying the rest of the apartment. “Whoever
really
lives here isn’t much of a decorator. But Daisy’s definitely put her own touch on the place.” He walked into the living room, and Jinx followed. “Dirty clothes, old food containers, empty cigarette boxes.”

“I didn’t realize she smoked,” Jinx said quietly.

“She doesn’t, usually.” Wyatt turned back, his gaze meeting hers. “Only time I saw her smoking was when she was trying to quit using. Which also explains the impressive quantity of those one-shot Keurig coffee cup dealies in the trash can. Trading drugs for cigarettes and coffee.”

“So she could be trying to quit?” Jinx asked. “Right now?”

Wyatt nodded. “She could be, but with this mix of evidence I’ve got no idea where she is in that process. Is it trying? Or tried?”

“Right.”

“C’mon,” he said jerking his head towards the hallway. “Let’s check out the bathroom.”

They walked down the hallway together and into a spacious bathroom, floor to ceiling white tile. Absolutely spic and span.

Wyatt whistled. “And the plot thickens.”

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Jinx spun a slow circle in the center of the tiled floor. “We’ve established she’s a slob, and the rest of the place is a mess. But this bathroom—”

“Has been handled.” Wyatt finished the thought for her. “Proof that she’s working with someone,
for
someone. Someone who felt the need to clean up after her.”

“Yeah but why only the bathroom?”

“Because something happened in
here
. Something
specific
that they wanted to cover up.”

“Oh no.” Jinx covered her mouth, her eyes wide.

“Right,” Wyatt nodded his head, knowing right where her mind had leapt, because his had leapt there too. “But let’s not jump to the worst conclusions yet. It’s possible she hurt herself, or was sick, OD’d or who knows. But definitely somebody else was in here and they cleaned up.”

“You think whoever is behind all this was here.”

“Nope.” Wyatt frowned. “Not the guy in charge. Just some henchmen.”

“Henchmen?” Jinx raised an eyebrow.

Wyatt echoed her expression, then grinned. “Yep, henchmen. Minions. Probably mean, definitely stupid.” He fished deep into his pockets and pulled out a hefty multi-tool utility knife. “And I’m betting, extremely lazy.”

“What’s that for?” Jinx eyed the knife.

“To prove my theory,” Wyatt said, leaning over the side of the tub. He used the knife to pry up the metal cap to the drain. “Hey, see if you can find me a wire hanger in one of these closets, would ya?”

“There was one in a pile of clothes in the living room actually,” said Jinx. “Be right back.”

When she returned she was already untwisting the hanger, anticipating Wyatt’s next move.

“Oh my God, you’re my dream girl. Look at you making me a snake for this drain!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jinx smiled and handed him the wire. “Have fun with that.”

Wyatt fed the wire into the drain, twisted it around a bit then fished it back out. A clump of stringy, red-streaked blonde hair dripped from the end.

“Blood,” he said, his gaze meeting hers. “Damn. I hate being right.” Wyatt threw the wire down in the tub and then crossed to the sink. He opened the cabinet doors beneath the basin, then lay on his back upside down underneath the pipes.

“What are you right about?” asked Jinx.

“Something happened in here, intentional, accidental, self-inflicted, or foul play, I don’t know, but somebody got blood all over the floor.”

“And then somebody cleaned it up,” Jinx finished. “The henchmen?”

“Nope, they’re lazy remember? I have no doubt they were told to clean it up, but what they probably did was force an illegal, with little English and no options, to clean it up for them, while they supervised. Hopefully they paid the poor fucker off, and didn’t just kill them.”

“That’s awful. Shouldn’t we call the cops?”

“Probably,” said Wyatt. “But as far as I’m concerned that’s still Jack’s decision.” He worked quickly, his hands twisting at a cap at the base of a bend in the pipes.

“What if he decides not to?”

“Then I will persuade him to see reason.”

“Is this where you hold up a fist and say ‘meet reason’ in your best Schwarzenegger voice?” Jinx asked.

Wyatt twisted so that he could see her around the pipes. “No,” he said, indignant. “Man you really think I’m corny don’t you?”

“Oh come on,” Jinx teased. “Don’t pretend to be offended, that totally sounds like something you’d say.”

“Does not.” Wyatt huffed and kept working on the pipe.

“Okay then what’s reason?” she asked.

“Show tunes, sung loudly, and poorly, for as long as it takes. If I have to, I’ll resort to interpretive dance.”

“Oh my God.”

Wyatt laughed. “Worked when we were kids, worked last week when Bryce and I wanted to watch Deadpool on movie night, and Jack wanted to watch the Notebook.”

“Wait what?” Jinx held a hand to her chest. “I’m not sure which part of that sentence I’m having more trouble with. That you dweebs still have sleepovers, or that Jack’s favorite movie is the Notebook. I never pegged him for a romantic.”

“It’s not a sleepover, just a boys’ night. And I don’t know about romantic. I think it’s more that he has the hots for that redheaded girl. She reminds him of… Nevermind.”

“Oh no you don’t. Spill it.” Jinx knelt on the floor beside Wyatt, and put her hands on his chest. “Gimme the dirt cowboy.”

Wyatt grimaced at her, and gave the cap on the pipe one last hard twist. It yielded, dumping a mess of hair and gunk all over his chest. He probed the blob with one finger while Jinx watched in horror. “Aha. There it is,” he said, holding up a small piece of plastic between his fingers.

“What is it?” Jinx said. Rising to her feet, she held a hand out to Wyatt and helped pull him upright.

“It’s a SIM card. It’s what makes your smart phone work, it’s where everything you did on that smartphone is stored, as well as a complete record of wherever you’ve been.”

“Oh,” Jinx said with reverence. “That’s great. How did you know that would be in there?”

“I didn’t.” Wyatt handed her the card and peeled his dirty shirt off, careful to avoid getting any of the sludge in his hair.

“Then…”

“I’m just not mean, stupid or lazy.”

“Like the henchmen.”

“Nope.”

“You’re thorough,” she said. “You know to look for what’s not there. You see more than people realize.”

“Yup.”

Jinx looked up at him, her gaze trailing over his torso, bare chested, with a light sheen of sweat glittering on his skin. He was beautiful, and strong..and… She studied him, her expression half puzzlement, half amusement. And so much more.

“What?” he said finally, as though he was unable to bear her scrutiny any longer.

“Nothing.” She smiled. “Just…Thank You.”

Wyatt grinned, then kissed her on the tip of her nose.

“You’re welcome,” he said. “Now c’mon. I need a change, lunch, and then we gotta get that SIM card to your sister.”

* * *

A
fter Wyatt changed
into a clean shirt from his duffel, he and Jinx scarfed down a couple of supremely delicious meatball subs from a food truck, then took a cab to Glow.

As soon as they arrived Jinx headed to find Kristie mumbling something about “playing spy getting in the way of her running her club.”

Wyatt watched her disappear into her office and then delivered the SIM card to Aiko, who’d set herself up a work station in a corner of the club’s security room. Aiko immediately shoved the card in a small cup of dry rice, explaining that the rice would draw out any moisture the card might have soaked up during it’s stay in the bottom of a sink drain.

“What do you think?” Jack asked, hovering at her shoulder.

“I think you need to back it up boss, and let me do my job.”

“Aiko.” Jack sighed.

“I think we have a very good chance of getting this puppy to work,” she said. “SIM cards are heartier than most people realize, and relatively waterproof. Whoever disposed of this down the drain had been watching too many spy movies.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t flush it,” said Jack.

“They may have tried to. But a little piece of plastic like this, it probably floated and wouldn’t flush.”

Jack nodded. “So they tried the sink. Well, their stupidity was Wyatt’s gain.”

“Yep. And as long as it’s not waterlogged, I’ll be able to get it to work.”

“Great. Let me know as soon as you do.”

Aiko waved him off, and Jack moved to sit next to Wyatt, who was staring mindlessly at the bank of monitors at the far side of the room.

“Good work,” he said, slapping Wyatt on the back.

Wyatt inhaled sharply and rolled his shoulder out from under Jack’s hand, wincing as he shifted in his seat, trying to find a position that didn’t cause him pain.

“What the fuck, dude?” Jack stood, took off his suit jacket, draped it over his chair and began rolling up his sleeves. “I thought you saw Dr. Shelley today?”