Free Siren's Garter: Issue One August 2016 by Miriam F. Martin Page A

and warm. If he
knew what to look for, he’d also note how sweaty and warm her palms
were. At least that made them even, Elsie hoped.
    Time to ask the tough
questions.
    “ What is Biggins blackmailing you
for?” Elsie asked. She couldn’t call the woman “Molly.” Not after
the oral Elsie received from her. Molly Biggins was good with her
tongue and lips, the thought of which made Elsie wet
again.
    She squeezed her legs shut, trying
not think of either Biggins or Kevin going down on her.
    “ It’s complicated,” said
Kevin.
    “ Look,” Elsie said. “If we’re
going to go face off with her, I need to know what she wants from
you. The more you tell me, the more I can help you.”
    “ I doubt it. I can’t be
saved.”
    “ That’s not helping.” The tone of
her voice came out more harsh, more critical than she intended.
Elsie let go of his hands, and balled hers into fists. Every nerve
in her body felt raw. Too many surprises, too much random sex, for
one day.
    Elsie wanted a nap. She wasn’t even
sure she wanted to know whatever Kevin’s deep, dark secret he was
holding in.
    But she needed to find her mother
soon, before the day was done. Elsie would not be able to sleep
tonight if she didn’t do something.
    She needed weapons to fight
Biggins.
    “ Kevin, sweetie,” she said. Elsie
took a deep breath. “I know this is hard, trusting other people for
help. But you got to trust me. Okay?”
    God, who was she to say high and
mighty things about trust?
    Kevin wiped his forehead and face
with both hands. He sighed. “Do you know what business Biggins
really is in?”
    “ No.”
    “ Puppies.”
    “ What?” What the
fuck?
    “ You heard me,” Kevin said.
“Puppies. She operates a puppy mill network throughout the States
and Canada. It’s a cover for other things she does, like weapons
smuggling and such. But her primary crime is puppy
mills.”
    “ Okay.” Elsie wasn’t sure if she
wanted to laugh or slap Kevin for being such a good liar. Far as
she could tell, he was telling the truth.
    “ I know it sounds like bullshit,”
he said. “But it’s true.”
    “ Then how did you…”
    Kevin leaned forward, and touched
her forearm. His fingertips were warm and tender. “I used to spy
for a puppy chow corporation.”
    “ Okay.” Elsie had a hard time
thinking of a more appropriate response to what he was saying. She
cleared her throat. “Those puppy mills must’ve been lucrative for
your bosses.”
    “ Exactly.” Kevin rubbed her
forearm. He looked her in the eyes. “Stealing dog food recipes was
boring work. I wanted out.”
    “ I can understand.”
    “ So I revealed the puppy mill
chain to a rival corporation. It felt like the right thing to do
before I moved on to new work. But somehow Biggins learned about
me. She wanted money at first, and then she threatened to out me to
my new bosses.”
    “ So let me guess. She’s had you in
her pocket ever since?”
    “ Yup. I know, stupid story. But
I’ve never gotten rid of her. I didn’t even know she was a female
until today. And today she sent an email, demanding the rest of the
money she wants.”
    Elsie touched Kevin on the cheek.
She bit her lip, trying to hold back a laugh that demanded to be
released. Stealing puppy chow recipes? Puppy mills? Elsie would’ve
killed to have such ludicrous problems. The Wall Street executives
she seduced for a job were vicious assholes.
    Dog food makers sounded…
quaint.
    Her cell phone buzzed. A text
message.
    A picture from her mother, of a
brown wooden sign that read “Mendota Bluffs” in white paint and an
arrow.
    “ I know where Mom is,” said Elsie.
“Let’s go.”

 
    Chapter
Twelve
     
    Kevin shifted the LaSabre in gear
and drove five miles over the speed limit to Mendota Bluffs. It
wasn’t far, and would’ve made a lovely walk if money and
potentially lives weren’t at stake.
    Hands on the wheel and eyes
laser-focused on the road, Kevin pretended to be in the zone. Truth
was, he felt