Logan’s cock began to throb with excitement. “He’s right, Nina. You have been a bad girl. You have to be disciplined.”

  “But it hurts,” she explained, looking to him for sympathy.

  “You have to take your punishment, but if you play nice and accept it, I’ll make it a little easier for you,” Logan promised, licking her hard nipples and sucking on her raised areolas.

  Nina bobbed her ass up and down once more before Kyle paddled her bottom again. It stung just as much as the first time, but Logan’s tongue on her tits was making her pussy wetter. She suddenly realized that the more Logan sucked on her tits the more she wanted Kyle to spank her tender ass cheeks.

  “Have you been naughty, Nina?” Kyle asked.

  “Yes, I’ve been bad,” she replied.

  Kyle was pulling on his dick, forcing pre-cum to ooze from his cockhead. “What happens to bad girls?”

  Running her hands through Logan’s thick head of hair, she said, “Nothing happens.”

  Again, she felt two swift stinging swats of the wooden paddle against her ass. Her clit started pulsating between her slick, bare pussy lips.

  Kyle gently massaged her cheeks. “Your ass is red with paddle prints, baby, and you still want more. This is turning you on, isn’t it?” He smacked her bottom once more, sending sharp spasms of pleasure racing through her body.

  “Yes, yes, I like it,” she admitted.

  “That’s what I wanted to hear,” Kyle told her. After kissing her bruised bottom, he spread her cheeks apart and started tonguing her puckered rim.

  “Oh, this feels so good,” Nina moaned.

  Logan grabbed hold of his stiff prick and stuck it in her wet pussy. Nina began to ride his dick, leaning forward so he could still suck on her tits.

  “He can’t have all the fun,” Kyle said. “My dick feels like it’s carved from granite right now. It’s the perfect time to open you up back here.”

  Nina turned toward him slightly. “I don’t know if I want you to stick your big cock in me back there.”

  “Yes, you do. It’s exactly what you want. Don’t tease me like this, Cali,” Kyle replied. “I need to stick my dick in your incredibly tight ass and fuck it until I come in it.”

  Kyle heard Nina start to teasingly laugh at him and his need. He had had enough. Spreading her cheeks apart, he positioned his helmet against her tight anus. Grabbing hold of her bottom, he thrust himself inside of her and began pumping her ass full of his hard dick.

  Nina’s mind was set on auto-pilot. Never before had she seriously contemplated having two men at once, but now, it felt as natural as breathing. At that moment, all she could do was let them penetrate her with their love. Every move they made within her was pushing her closer and closer to climax, and with her body in a semi-upright position, she was ready to go the distance with them.

  “Oh, you’re ass is so tight!” Kyle shouted. As beads of sweat covered his body, he began sucking on her neck.

  Logan felt Kyle’s rhythmic thrusts inside of Nina’s unrelentingly tight hole. It made his cock even harder. “Keep stroking that ass, man.”

  Kyle thinned his lips. “She’s so tight back here. It feels like my dick is in a vise grip.”

  Logan was persistent. “She wants it so bad. I can tell.”

  Trapped between their two wet, hard bodies, Nina continued to ride Logan’s cock, sliding her clitoris against his erection until she exploded in orgasmic pleasure. “Fuck me. Fuck me harder…I’m coming!” she screamed, pressing her head against Kyle’s broad shoulder.

  The sweet sound of flesh slapping against flesh continued until Kyle and Logan lost all control.

  “I can’t hold back. Ah, shit, I’m coming,” Kyle shouted, wrapping his arm tightly around Nina’s waist. Tensing his tanned, muscular glutes, he blasted a hot load of cum into her backside. A few remaining squirts of jizz hit her rectum after he pulled his prick out of her ass.

  Logan grabbed her by both butt cheeks and pumped her up and down the length of his shaft until he shot his thick, creamy cum into her insatiable cunt. “Oh, God, your pussy is sooo good, Nina. I can’t get enough!” he shouted, before he sat her down on his soft prick.

  The three of them stayed in bed together, falling asleep completely satisfied for the moment, with Nina lying snuggly in between them. They would have remained there for the rest of the day, that is, until Chief Moore interrupted their solitude. When their phones rang out in succession, the calls sent them scrambling to get dressed and out of the house in no time flat.

  Chapter Nine

  Nina was first to arrive on the scene of the four-alarm blaze at the Woodbridge apartment complex. Like the sudden rush of water escaping from a broken dam, the past came flooding back to her mind. Her heart pounded, and her breathing became shallow. Recognizing the sensations of anxiety setting in, she braced herself against the seat and took a moment to regain her composure. The arson fire, which had been contained to one building, was extinguished, but this time it had claimed a victim.

  Nina stepped out of her car and waited for the two men to exit Logan’s silver gray Mustang. They walked across the street, arriving curbside just in time to see a body being loaded into the coroner’s wagon.

  “Just a minute,” Nina said to one of the attendees, flashing her badge at them.

  One of the men unzipped the body bag enough for them to see the head, neck and shoulders of the young woman with a deep bruise on her forehead.

  Nina turned to Logan and Kyle. “Oh, God…I’m so sorry. I thought we would have had more time. He’s picking up the pace.”

  “This time it’s personal,” Kyle said, grinding his teeth intensely. “Debbie was a sweet girl. She didn’t deserve this. When we find this prick I’m gonna—”

  “We’ll get him, man, and when we do, he’s gonna pay,” Logan assured him, patting his shoulder.

  As the attendee zipped up the bag, Nina asked, “Has her family been notified?”

  “Yes, ma’am, they have. They live in Sherman County. Her remains will be delivered to the coroner’s office there,” he explained.

  “That’s good. Thanks for letting us know,” Logan said.

  They were just about to enter the building when Nina paused. “Hey, wait!” she called out to the attendee.

  Logan and Kyle followed her.

  “What is it, Nina?” Kyle asked.

  “May I take another look?” she asked.

  “I don’t see why not. She died of smoke inhalation. She’s not going anywhere,” the man replied.

  “Hey, you need to have some respect,” Logan warned.

  “Sorry, it comes with the job,” he said, unzipping the bag again.

  “That’s no excuse for being an asshole,” Kyle told him.

  “Gentleman, please,” Nina requested. “Where’s the necklace?”

  “This is exactly the way we found her. She wasn’t wearing one,” the attendee replied.

  “Thanks again,” Nina told him with a quick nod of her head.

  * * * *

  Inside of Debbie’s one-bedroom apartment, the trio assessed the damage. It was clear the fire had started in her unit. The smell of gasoline still filled the air. Kyle and Logan had a lost look in their eyes. It made Nina’s heart ache.

  After conducting a thorough search of the bedroom, Nina rejoined them in the dining room area. “She was wearing the necklace at the restaurant, remember?”

  “I remember. She kept playing with it,” Kyle said.

  “I saw that, but what’s so important about it?” Logan asked.

  “She told us she always wore it, that she never took it off, so why wasn’t she wearing it today?” Nina asked.

  “Maybe the jerk that did this took it,” Kyle answered.

  “That would explain its absence,” Logan agreed.

  Nina had a very determined look in her eyes. “In every case, a necklace was reported stolen, but after the fires broke out, every one of them was found at the crime scene.”

  “I don’t get it,” Logan said. “If the items were stolen and then later returned, where’s Debbie’s necklace?”

  Before Nina could answer him, Kyle said, “Her killer has it.”

  “Exactly,” Nina confirmed. “All those other blazes…Don’t you see, they were practice runs for what he was ultimately going to do. He made sure those houses were empty before he set them on fire. He returned the necklaces and then set the blazes.”

  “So Debbie was the target, but why her?” Logan asked.

  “She’s the only one he killed. My guess is he did this because she wouldn’t take her back,” Nina told him.

  “What?” Logan asked, confusion filling his face.

  “Debbie told us she kept the necklace, but she suspected her former boyfriend was cheating on her. What was his name again?”

  “She called him Danny,” Kyle reminded her.

  “We’ve got to find him,” Nina said. “Let’s get out of here.”

  * * * *

  As soon as they stepped outside, Chief Moore quickly approached them. He looked royally pissed.

  “I knew this day was coming. It was only a matter of time before he took a life,” the chief said, shaking his head in pity. “Are the three of you any closer to finding this sicko?”

  “We were just on our way to check out a lead,” Logan answered.

  “Her old boyfriend is at the top of the list,” Kyle added.

  “Uh, huh, Ms. Taylor, if you don’t mind, I need a moment with my men,” Chief Moore told her.

  “They’re all yours,” Nina replied “I’m going to conduct some interviews.”

  While the three men spoke in private, Nina began to question some of the neighbors in the area. No one seemed to have any pertinent information to offer. She was just about to give up her effort when she came across the widow, Mrs. Abigail Dyson, who lived in the townhome community across from Debbie. She was one of the few onlookers who still remained on the street. Dressed in a lilac colored housecoat and matching slippers, her auburn hair was pulled up in a bun. She looked quite upset.

  “It’s such a horrible tragedy. Debbie was sweet as peach pie, one of the nicer neighbors, you know. If she was around, she would always help me carry in my groceries. She even watched my cat, Mr. Wiggles, for me when I took that cruise to the Caribbean last year,” Mrs. Dyson said.

  “What were her friends like? Did you ever meet any of them?” Nina asked.

  Tapping her index finger to her chin, the woman appeared to be in deep thought. “Hmm, let’s see. I remember an attractive young lady with dark hair like yours. She would visit now and then, but I haven’t seen her in a while.”

  Pangs of desperation were brewing in Nina’s stomach. “Do you remember Debbie mentioning her name to you?”

  “I believe her name was Laura Patterson. Debbie called her Elle for short. After I didn’t see her coming to visit, I asked Debbie if she had moved or left town.”

  “Well?” Nina asked.

  “Well what?”

  “What did she say?”

  “I guess there’s no reason to keep a confidence now that she’s no longer with us,” Mrs. Dyson stated. “Debbie told me it was because of that boy.”

  “What boy? Who are you referring to?” Nina questioned, hanging on the woman’s every word.

  “Why, Daniel Oliver, of course. Debbie really fell hard for him, you know what I mean?”

  “I think I do,” Nina replied.

  “When they first started dating, Debbie seemed so happy. They were together so much I thought he was going to move in with her. Not that I condone that sort of thing outside of marriage, but you young people nowadays,” she said, pausing for a moment, glancing at Kyle and Logan approaching. “You’re so open to the possibilities. Anyway, after a while, he stopped coming around, too.”

  Nina began to feel a little uncomfortable with the woman’s comments. “You seem to be quite perceptive. So, what do you think happened?”

  “That girl, Laura or Elle, is what happened. They had a falling out over that boy, Daniel. When the both of them stopped coming around, I could tell Debbie was upset about it all. For weeks, she stopped looking like herself. She was quite pretty and always pleasant. That all changed for a while, but then just like that, she was back to her old self again.”

  “Maybe she realized that this Daniel person and Laura weren’t worth the bother,” Nina commented.

  “Yes, she probably did. Good for her,” Mrs. Dyson added. “Anyway, I’m going to miss her. God rest her soul.”

  “Well, thank you for taking the time to talk with me. Here’s my card. Please give me a call if you think of anything else,” Nina said.

  After accepting the card, she patted her bun, eyeing both Kyle and Logan. “I sure will, dear. Now y’all have a nice day.”

  “You, too, ma’am,” Kyle replied.

  “Yes, ma’am, have a good day,” Logan added.

  As they turned and walked away, Kyle smiled at Nina and nudged her shoulder. “Sounds like you got an earful.”

  “I certainly did,” she confirmed. “We’ve got to track down a former friend of Debbie’s named Laura Patterson. It seems they had a falling out possibly over Debbie’s old boyfriend, Daniel Oliver.”

  “Are you saying you think this Daniel character set the fire that killed Debbie?” Logan asked.

  “We can’t know for sure until we catch up with him and have a chance to question him,” Nina replied.

  Kyle looked anxious. “It’s a good lead. Where do we start?”

  “Oh, no, fellows, this is where we part company for a while,” Nina announced.

  “What are you talking about?” Logan asked.

  Nina looked up at him. “It’s Sunday afternoon, and we’ve had a, ooh, how should I put this? We’ve had a very active weekend. We’ve got to hit the ground running. The Halloween bash is this coming Friday. I want this perp behind bars by then. The residents of Melville deserve to enjoy the celebration and be confident in the fact that their homes will still be standing when they get back to them.”

  “I hate to admit it, man, but she’s right.” A smile spread across Kyle’s face. “I think we ran a thorough check of her equipment. It’ll still be intact when we check on it later. You know what I mean?”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Give us a call when you get home,” Logan told her.

  “Are you keeping tabs on me?” Nina asked.

  “You get the picture. Let us know you got home OK,” he requested.

  “OK, I’ll call,” she promised.

  Chapter Ten

  The first half of the work week was devoted to running down leads. Nina, Logan, and Kyle canvassed a large portion of the county. They knew that time was of the essence, for every passing moment drew them closer to the Halloween extravaganza. On Wednesday, October 29, they finally hit pay dirt when Nina received a call from Mrs. Dyson.

  Returning to the Woodbridge complex, Nina knocked on the front door of the two-story townhome. The woman quickly opened it, peeping out looking from her left to her right.

  “Mrs. Dyson, thank you for making the call. You wanted to speak with me in private?” Nina asked.

  “Yes, dear, come on in. It’s better if we talk inside,” she replied, looking very nervous. “Would you like some hot tea or coffee?”

  Nina offered her a reassuring smile. “Thank you. I’ll have a cup of tea.”

  After the elderly woman placed two cups of Old English on the dining room table, she sat down across from Nina.

  “I won’t waste your time, Ms. Taylor. I asked you here because I thought of something after we last spoke,” she said, taking a sip of her drink.

  Nina was bursting at the seams with curiosity. “What is it, Mrs. Dyson?”

  “That girl we talked about, Laura Patterson…I saw her Saturday morning, the day before the fire.”

  “Are you sure it was her?” Nina questioned.

  “I’m sure. I walked right pass her in Nicholson’s grocery store. I remember she was wearing a white smock. You know, it was the kind they wear at the local drug stores.”

  Nina stared at her intensely. “I need you to think back carefully. Do you remember if she was wearing jewelry of any kind, a necklace maybe?”

  Mrs. Dyson’s eyes squinted as if she was in deep thought. A few seconds later, her face lit up, and her eyes widened. “Yes, now that you mention it, I do remember she was wearing a necklace.” Placing her hand to her chest, she said, “It had a silver chain and a heart-shaped locket attached to it. I remember it because when I passed her, she was sort of toying with it nervously. She seemed to be in deep thought, like she had a lot on her mind. You know, come to think of it, Debbie had one that looked a lot like it. I wish I could be of more help.”

  “Mrs. Dyson, you have no idea of how helpful you’ve already been. Thank you so much, but if you’ll excuse me, I have to go now.”

  “Yes, of course, dear. Will you let me know how things turn out?”

  “You’ll be one of the first, I promise,” Nina told her, getting to her feet, shaking the woman’s hand.

  * * * *

  “Have you heard from Nina today?” Logan asked.

  Kyle sliced his ham and cheese sub in half and opened a bag of BBQ chips. “No, she hasn’t returned my calls.”

  Logan shut off the hose he was using to wash down one of the firehouse’s emergency vehicles. “She is conducting this investigation without us. I don’t like it. What if—“

  “She’s fine, Logan. Chill, man, she’s just doing her job. You worry too much. She’ll be OK.”

  “If she doesn’t contact us soon, we’re gonna go looking for her,” Logan said, wiping the perspiration from his forehead.

  “How about we give her a little time?” Kyle asked.

  “The Chief assigned us to back her up for a reason. If she plans on running around town tracking down leads, then we need to be with her,” Logan said, taking out his phone to dial Nina.

  * * * *

 

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