He paused to give me a what the f**k look, but quickly moved on to reply, “I don’t think you’ll need to involve the police with this until you’re taken, and by then you’re already taken, so they’ll just have to move fast enough to find you before he realizes they’re tracking you.”
“Tracking me?”
“I was thinking GPS.”
“GPS,” I parroted, shrugging my shoulders, not really agreeing with him. “It’s not like he’s going to let me keep my cell phone. And I’m pretty sure he’ll destroy everything I have when he takes me.”
“I was thinking more on the lines of like an internal lojack. You know, like they do with animals.”
I paused to think on it. Did they do that with people? Zander wouldn’t know about it, and he couldn’t destroy what he didn’t know about. My heart fired up, picking up speed as the excitement grew within me. That could actually work. “I don’t know anything about GPS. How would it work?”
He reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. “I don’t really know either. But I have a friend in the security business. Let’s ask him.” He was already dialing, and after confirming that someone named Carlos was indeed at the store tonight, I was following Jesse on his motorcycle for half an hour as he led me to some street on the north side of Seattle. I parked beside him and scanned the store in front of me – Herrera Security Technologies.
“My friend’s name is Carlos and his partner is Miguel,” he told me as he climbed off his motorcycle, securing his helmet in his hand. “They’re good people but if you don’t want to tell them anything personal, we can just ask them some things hypothetically.” I nodded as he pulled the door open to let me in.
I don’t know what I was expecting – an office full of people monitoring home security systems or what – but what I got was an actual retail store specializing in all things security. There were hidden cameras like the one’s I’d been looking up, a selection of microphones and microchips, stun guns, heat sensors, even those alarm tags used on expensive clothing. Basically, everything but guns. It was like the Sharper Image of spy and security items.
“Huh,” I muttered, casually drifting case to case while Jesse disappeared in the back. I took it the guy behind the counter who said hello wasn’t Carlos or Miguel. A minute later he came back with two Hispanic guys. One had a round face with a thin beard that traced his jawline, the other more oval and clean shaved. Both had similar shades of light brown skin and dark hair. Carlos, who I was introduced to first, was the rounder one, and Miguel the taller, lankier one.
“I was asking them whether or not there were lojacks for people…” He led off, and it was because he expected one of the other two men to pick up, but it took several seconds for it to click for Carlos.
“Yeah, right. Um…those ones they put in animals are not GPS. They’re basically just a microchip that stores an identification number. Pet goes missing, microchip gets scanned, then the vet can look up the ID in a database and return the animal to its owner. Internal GPS isn’t easy.” I inwardly groaned, my balloon of excitement that lifted me to higher ground slowly deflating with each exhalation. “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone out there is selling them. It’s just with GPS, there has to be a power source for the chip to continually send out its radio frequency, and you have to have a program set up to receive and record the transmissions. As you can imagine, we have no long term power source, so even if one was used internally, it would have to be removed time and time again to replace it or recharge it.”
Like I even cared that I would have to be cut into on a regular basis. So long as I could be found.
“But it’s still possible?” I asked hopefully. I didn’t care what the hell had to be done to get it into my body or the maintenance that came along with it. My only concern moving forward was the cost. Too bad there wasn’t an organization out there collecting donations to GPS people in dire need. That would’ve been an awesome help.
“Yeah, certainly. But you’re talking about something that’s probably experimental and really tiny, like the size of a single piece of rice. So the battery would have to be super tiny too. You’d be lucky to go a year before needing it pulled out.”
“Which would be super fun,” Miguel chimed in sarcastically, crossing his arms, “because by that point your muscles and fat or whatever was around it, would’ve begun to grow over it, maybe even covered it up.”
I couldn’t help but make an ew face. But still… “I don’t care. How do I find out if someone out there actually sells these things to the public or offers them up for beta testing?”
“Well, we can look into it for you if you can give us a few days,” Carlos replied, waving his hand between him and Miguel, looking to him for agreement. Miguel nodded his head amiably. “But are you sure you wouldn’t prefer something external? They’re vastly more available and will be a hell of a lot cheaper.”
I pressed my lips together and strongly shook my head, looking toward Jesse. He’d remained silent through this whole conversation and he returned my pressed smile. Obviously, if he planned to tell them the truth of why I wanted internal GPS, he hadn’t done it yet.
“All right. Well, we’ll let Jesse know what we find and get together then.”
I told them thank you and goodbye, even to Jesse, who was going to stick around a few minutes before heading back to catch the lesson that followed mine. Now he was probably going to tell them my dilemma, so I was more than ready to check out and head home.
I texted to let Maggie know I couldn’t meet her afterwards for coffee like we had planned. Technically, I could’ve still made it, but I just wanted to get home and share my good news with Nick. I laughed to myself when I reached to use the GPS on my phone to get me the hell back to a part of town I recognized. Who knew the answer was right there in front of me this whole time? Now more than ever, I was glad I stuck it out and kept Jesse as my partner. And for letting him know my secret. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t feel so jovial, because in just a few days, I might have a brand new way of staying safe. And for once, I felt really happy. Carefree. Like life was worth living again.
13
I heard the garage door open and close in the laundry room, followed by the five musical notes that activated our alarm, and I walked into the living room to meet with Megan. She was half an hour early. Stunned by the look on her face, my feet literally stopped. It was…a real smile, something I hadn’t seen in forever, and my own lips began to curl in response. She hadn’t smiled like that since she was sixteen and living without a care in the world. It was the before smile, and for those few seconds, it almost felt like nothing had changed between us, that her world hadn’t taken that devastating turn. It was the kind of smile I expected to see in that alternate universe where our lives went merrily on their ways without contest and Megan still went by the name Claire.
“Hi,” she said excitedly, dropping her bag on one of the barstools, her motion never even pausing as she practically skipped her way toward me. Her hands reached out and fixed themselves on the back of my neck, bringing my lips down to greet hers.
I was dreaming, right? In this reality, Megan didn’t act this way anymore.
But hell if I wasn’t going to take advantage of a decent dream for once. My arms slid around her waist, pressing her closer and closer against me. My mouth was hungry. Starving, in fact. I could sense the growl building inside my chest, ready to unleash as my hands braved a more exploratory mission, one going straight to cup her ass while the other longed to get knotted within her silky locks, even if they were still slightly damp from her workout.
She moaned, but still pulled away, leaving her arms draped around my neck. “No, wait. I want to talk to you.”
Damn. I rolled my head back, letting my eyes go even farther, my hands retreating back to their starting positions. Yep. I knew this couldn’t be real. “To hell with my life. Even in my dreams you turn me down,” I mumbled in frustration. My c**k was twitching, actually get pissed by the teasing visuals my mind was already skipping ahead to.
She playfully smacked my chest. “You’re not dreaming. Look, for once I feel ecstatic inside, okay?” Her hands went up to rest flat against my chest, but she didn’t try to break free of the hold I had on her waist. “Jesse took me to meet these two guys who run a security company. And they think they might be able to get a hold of some kind of GPS device that I can insert inside my body that’ll act like a tracking device.”
“Like in the movies? People really do that?”
“Apparently. They’re not popular, probably even experimental, but it’s something, right?” She didn’t wait for me to answer, her eyes lighting up and her smile shining brightly. “So forgive me if I’m out of character, but for once I feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. That I don’t have to fear the day when Zander comes, because I’ll know there’s a way to keep him from keeping me. That you and the police can actually come find me, and him in the process. Stealing me will actually be his downfall the next time I see him. And it makes me giddy inside. Fucking giddy.” She shoved me even harder, but I was brick wall compared to her, so I barely even rocked back.
“And you know how I want to celebrate?” She fisted my t-shirt and yanked me closer. “I want to sleep with my boyfriend, because for once, I actually want you to touch me and claim me for your own. Because I am yours.”
I couldn’t contain the smile that had been creeping upwards. I leaned in to kiss her but she cut me off at the pass. “But seriously, I need to shower first. I practiced with Maggie before class. I’m ick.”
I groaned and banged my head for effect as she slipped into the hall. She was finally willing to mess around again. If she seriously thought I was going to stand back and let her hands be the ones that got to lather soap all across her body, then she was certifiable. I gave her a three minute head start, then followed her down the hall, stripping my shirt and hopping to remove my pants before I even passed our bedroom threshold.
Before she could even say no, I shut the shower door behind me and drowned myself under the flow. My eyes were closed but I could hear the entertainment painting her voice. “What are you doing?”
“It seems we both need a shower. Figured we might as well share.”
“Uh-huh.”
Of course she didn’t believe me. I was always showered and ready for bed by the time she got home from class.
“Can I at least finish washing my hair before you accost me?”
Accost? She really was feeling good if she could use that word and mean it in a playful manner. It was cute the way she puckered her lips in a twisted way, her hand firmly covering up one side of those h*ps I loved to grasp.
“Depends,” I replied smartly. “What step are you on?”
“Conditioner. And there’s no depends about it. Move.”
She pushed until I backed out of the stream. Two more steps of my own accord had me flat against the side wall. I’d always liked this oversized shower. I leaned back and enjoyed the view as she rubbed the conditioner from her hair, secretly wishing she’d rub other things on her body instead. Several streams of water took independent paths down her shoulders, but my eyes were more focused on the ones that took the forward path, particularly by way of her br**sts.
My mouth twitched, remembering what it was like to take her tips inside and suck, thriving off the moans that came to life because of it. My lips, my tongue, ached to drag themselves across the smoothness of those curves, to caress, to even bite, because it never failed to seize her body and force herself to bow into me. And the breathless whines that escaped her mouth when I did it...
My mouth was no longer the only thing twitching. Sensations shocked my c**k alive the moment she kissed me, but now it was swelling and stiffening – probably afraid she’d change her mind if it wasn’t ready to go from the get-go – and my hand reached down to help it get there faster.
I didn’t care that she wasn’t finished, that she was currently rubbing in a second coat of conditioner. And by the way her eyes were teasing me while she did it, I had no choice but to give in and follow my feet forward. She giggled softly as my hands took over for her, stroking the conditioner through her hair. Her head tipped forward, soothing whimpers escaping her mouth as I gently massaged her scalp. Her hands slid up my chest, then down my abs. When she traced the V that led to my groin, I just about slammed her against the wall right there. But I bit back the urge as her hands slipped around my h*ps and settled down.
I nudged her backwards and her head fell back against the flow, where I continued to stroke my fingers through her roots and strands until the conditioner washed free. Then I diverted the water to the rectangular rainforest option above us. Tiny flecks of water trickled down on us, the smallest streams of water working their way around our joined mouths.
I didn’t dare ask her if she was sure, the head on my c**k in command of my actions now. But I did take it slowly, gently, not wanting to push her too far too soon. Our arms and legs tangled, our mouths moving to explore the other’s skin. Throats. Chests. Stomachs. Her hips. Ears. I wanted to get to know them all over again, but it was the spot where her neck and jaw met and the tip of her br**sts that really got her to melt into me.
She paused our movement to trace the line down my left peck, a circle of rough scar tissue right in the middle. I wished she wouldn’t – it always depressed her. But it was a part of me now, just as her marks were a part of her. I grabbed her chin and angled it upward, her brown eyes sadly gazing into mine. “Don’t. I would’ve stood before you and taken that shot even if I had known it was coming. No regrets.” Then I smothered her with kisses before she could sulk or wallow in despair, thinking it was her fault I got hurt.