Surrender Read online

  As he looked more closely he couldn’t believe the level of violence that encapsulated his entire body. Granted, there was so much blood that he couldn’t make out the extent of his injuries but the killer had taken his time with the slaughter. “Can I examine?”

  “Just put these on.” Charlotte handed him a pair of latex gloves. “You and I have to stop meeting like this Detective or people are going to talk.”

  Sighing, Jax glanced up into her eyes and nodded. They all joked to aid the wretched acts but this time there was little that could be said.

  “Doc, what the hell could have done the chiseling to his ribs and stuff? I mean, holy shit that doesn’t look like it was done with any machine,” Mike asked quietly.

  “Could be a hack saw in truth but I won’t know until I get him down to the lab,” Charlotte breathed, shaking her head back and forth.

  “I ain’t never seen a hack saw that could do something like that,” Mike chortled.

  “The guy would have to be pretty damn strong.” Jax slipped his fingers across the flap of skin, pushing it aside and touching the edge of one of the ribs. He glanced to his left and could see broken bits and pieces of bones in chunks indicating the killer ripped out the ribs. “There is something weird about this.”

  “That’s the understatement of the year, Detective.” Charlotte sighed. “Hey, can you guys keep the press out of here?” She barked toward the back door eyeing the blond creeping closer.

  “I’ll get her.” Mike hissed and moved around them.

  While the kid was naked, a bloody towel covered his torso. “Was he found covered?”

  “No. I did it because the first two officers couldn’t stop retching. Don’t worry your officers were able to take pictures before the evidence was disturbed.” Charlotte crossed her arms. “I can honestly say in my long years doing this Jax, I’ve never seen anything like this and I dare say I don’t want to again.”

  Jax shook his head and lowered the towel. In his career of almost eighteen years, he’d seen people beaten to death, near beheadings and even certain forms of bondage torture, but the sight below him was almost too much for his system to bear and took a particular brand of sick to inflict. “Oh fuck…I…” He could feel the first threat of vomit rattle from the depths of his belly and it took everything he had to calm the raging storm.

  “I know.” Charlotte put her hand on his shoulder.

  Jax closed his eyes. “For the love of God don’t allow this to get out or we’ll have more nut cases that we can handle.”

  “You know what freaks me out the most about this?” Charlotte whispered.

  “I’m afraid to ask you.”

  “I think it was bitten off.”

  Jax slid his eyes apprehensively toward the body, lowering the towel all the way down his bruised legs. He reached out, his hands shaking to the point he clenched them closed and willed his nerves to calm down. Gingerly he touched the edge of the boy’s penis and fought the whimper that nearly erupted from his throat. The jagged edge did indeed look like a strong set of jaws had bitten off the bruised muscle. “Pre or postmortem?” Jax shivered and closed his eyes. Who the fuck and why would they do something like this?

  “Given the state of the blood surrounding the muscle and the condition, I would say the poor kid was very much alive.” Charlotte sighed and she moved onto her knees as she pointed toward the edge. “And this I need to check but I think the kid was um…hard when it happened and that um helped the killer be able to…to force it a bit easier into his rectum.”

  Jax nodded as Mike walked back into the room, his gaze settling across the bloody mess.

  “Ho–ly fuckin’ Jesus Christ! What the fuck is going on here?”

  “Like I said, no one knows this. I have a terrible feeling there is much more going on with this murder than we will begin to understand.” Jax stood, his legs shaky and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t understand why the kid didn’t scream bloody murder.”

  “Simple, his larynx was crushed and from the looks of it, by a blunt force.” Charlotte stood.

  “No hand prints?” Jax asked.

  “None.”

  Jax looked at Mike. “The kid was probably surprised and incapacitated first.”

  Charlotte nodded. “Okay boys, I need to get back to work.”

  “Detective Steele?” A fresh-faced officer kept his wide eyes pinned onto Jax’s face, but it was easy to tell he had glimpsed enough.

  “Yeah?”

  “The boy’s parents are on the phone and they’re demanding that they talk to the officer in charge.”

  “That would be you buddy.” Mike nodded.

  This was the part of his damning job that he hated the most. “I’ll be right there.” Jax glanced back at the boy one last time trying to figure out what the hell to say to his parents.

  ***

  Jax sat on his dilapidated back deck swilling a cold beer and contemplating life and at the moment, his own. He was a beaten man in every way and this case just might do him in. “Poor bastard.” The beautiful early May evening still held a slight chill and somehow the tingles that raced down his body reminded him that he was very much alive. It would be a very long time before he would get the vivid and brutalized pictures of the handsome boy out of his mind. Dear God what the kid must have gone through. The torture was unlike anything he had ever seen. His mind raced around the evidence, what little there was. A selected team, himself included, had remained in the house long after Charlotte had taken the body away but found nothing that would indicate either motive or that someone had entered without being invited.

  From what they could tell, the boy had gotten back from a club as evidenced by the entrance tattoo. The garish stamp remained on his hand from the night before and Mike had jumped on that lead. In truth, Jax was grateful. He was emotionally drained from the scene. By all appearances Greg Barnes was an upstanding senior getting ready to graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree is mass communications. Too bad he wouldn’t make his graduation.

  As Jax sipped his beer he tried to figure out why someone would want to slaughter a seemingly nice kid from a well-respected family from Indiana. The Dean had been very helpful telling him that he made better than average grades and had never been in trouble with the school. Greg had no criminal record and from what his friends had said, he didn’t use drugs or get involved with the crazy party scene. Perhaps Greg had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps. Or maybe he thwarted the killer somehow.

  He knew little about Dark Towers except that they attracted a rather Gothic crowd of partygoers; however, the sultry club did cater to some particular proclivities and ones that were not for the faint of heart. Somehow the dark club seemed out of place for Greg. He gazed at the almost full moon as it rose in all its dazzling glory over the mists of tangerine and crimson horizon and realized he needed a real vacation.

  “I thought I’d find you back here.” Her soft lilt fluttered across the end of the deck.

  Jax smiled. “Hey stranger. Rough day?”

  “Evidently not as rough as some.” She inched forward, keeping her eyes locked onto his.

  His one delight as of late, Amanda Parker was not only a very good friend and had seen him through the last stages of his court battle but they enjoyed each other’s bodies on the somewhat rare occasion that they could be together. She worked too many night shifts as a nurse at MCV and knew her own level of horror from the emergency cases. They commiserated over their separate horror stories far too often. He shrugged. “Yeah, you’re right. I thought you had to work.”

  Amanda walked up the steps slowly, her face saddened and sat beside him. Taking his hand, she feathered her thumb across his palm in slow and lazy motions. “I heard the anguish in your voice and managed to switch swifts with another girl. I couldn’t leave you alone all night long tonight. I just couldn’t. You sounded so…haunted. It scared me this time, Jax. No matter how strong you are, this time…I don’t know.” A
manda gazed at the moon and shook her head.

  “Its nice somebody worries about me.” Jax took her hand and brought it to his mouth, pressing her fingers across his lips. Her perfume, a beautiful exotic mixture of citrus and jasmine filled his nostrils finally forcing the damning stench away. Swallowing hard, he inched back and eased her chin toward him. He stared into her beautiful eyes, highlighted by the soft glow from the kitchen light and the shimmers from the dancing moon.

  “You know I worry…after…”

  “I know but I’m okay. I just wish I could get a handle on this thing.”

  “From what you told me I don’t think anyone could be able to get a handle on it. There are monsters in the world that’s for certain.”

  “Yeah and I know you’ve seen your share, Mandy.”

  “I have, but fortunately most of my patients are alive and not mutilated.”

  While he had been unable to tell her much, she knew him well enough to know when a case bothered him and this one could possible torture what was let of his soul. Hell, he had even been called to her hospital more than once and worked on cases together. “I know.” Light wind whipped through her golden locks framing her lovely face and he couldn’t resist leaning in to brush his lips across hers.

  “Mmmm…” Amanda sighed and fell into the kiss, wrapping her arm around his waist and guiding him closer to her body.

  Jax slid his hand back to cup her lithe neck, kneading her moist skin as he pressed his tongue past her lips, drinking in her sweet essence. She fit into his arms so well and the moment the heat of their bodies slicked together, he was hungry. The tangy hit of sour cherries filled his mouth stirring his cock. His slid his hand down her back, caressing her with gentle touches as the kiss became more manic. He yanked her as close as their bodies would allow and tipped her head back, forcing his tongue further inside, tasting and exploring her mouth as she moaned and shivered with every touch.

  He inched the edge of her thin skirt further up her thighs, tracing circle after circle over her creamy skin sensing her growing hunger. Breaking the kiss, he darted his tongue out to taste her sultry skin. With each passing second his cock grew harder, pressing into his jeans painfully, begging for release.

  “Jax…oh…Jax…” Her whispers now breathless, Amanda palmed his chest and pushed back gently.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” Gingerly he slipped his fingers into her silky tresses, pulling her head back and exposing her neck. Using just the tip of his tongue, he licked from the edge of her chin down to the pulse of her life, slowly lathering her glistening skin with wet pulses.

  “I…hold on Jax…I…” She pushed back again and sighed her voice ragged.

  Unsure, Jax stopped. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong…it’s just…” Her eyes darted back and forth across his. “Hey, let me get you another beer and I could use one myself.” She smiled, her look sliced with a wicked bent.

  “Okay.” Hmmm… She’s playing a game tonight? He loved when she was a teasing little vixen.

  Amanda stood and walked toward the back door, stopping briefly as she opened it and turned slowly to stare at him, her smile now mischievous.

  Jax adjusted his crotch and shook his head. In the three short months they’d been lovers, they’d only been together four times, but each time had been more enjoyable. He sipped the last dregs of his now lukewarm beer and tossed it in the trashcan meant for his work on the deck. Well, at least it was getting a work out anyway. He took one more look at the night sky and smiled as he stood. Greg Barnes could wait for a little while longer.

  He stood watching her sensuous form from the back door. There were times he was terrified that he would crush her petite body. Standing barely over five foot two, her rough and tumble demeanor somehow didn’t fit her ultra feminine beauty, soft and sweet. Yet the combination worked for her. Intelligent and very in tune to his needs, their relationship was easy and yet the passion was there. He advanced toward her as she grabbed the bottle opener and pulled the top on two Coronas. Somehow he’d been surprised that she enjoyed beer almost as much as he did. He would have imagined her for a wine drinker but instead she craved an ice-cold beer straight out of the bottle. It was just one in a series of things about the girl that gave him a needed smile.

  Amanda turned and slid back against the counter holding out one beer while she took a long pull on hers.

  He could see her eyes twinkling even in the dim lighting and in this moment he wanted nothing more than to be inside her hot pussy. They both played the titillating cat and mouse game for a few moments, allowing ravishing looks and subtle gestures of raw desire. “You turn me on, lady.”

  “You turn me on as well. So, um, what’re we going to do about it?”

  Jax chuckled. Moving toward her with the stealth of a cat in raging heat, he grinned and blazed a long and sensuous trail down the length of her voluptuous body. Dressed in a fuchsia tank top and the barest slip of a skirt, he could see the hard tips of her nipples pressing through the tight material forcing his cock to throb against his shorts. He took another long swig of his beer, all the while keeping his eyes locked onto hers.

  With lazy abandon, Amanda slid her tongue around the opening of the beer as her eyes danced back and forth across his. She brushed her hand down the length of the bottle, gripping it tightly as she darted her tongue out, feathering long licks down the neck to the just where the glass began to bubble out into its thick base.

  Jax watched her sensuous moves as she continued her little play, becoming the vixen that she loved to tease him with. He chuckled and slanted his eyes as she continued licking and drawing the bottle in and out of her mouth in long luxurious movements allowing just the barest hints of whimpers to flow around her nefarious actions.

  Taking the bottle out with a forced pop, Amanda wiggled against the counter. “Mmmm…so…damn…tasty.” With a toss of her head she laughed, the golden timbre easing across the heat of his skin sizzling the prickles that danced in frenetic motions.

  The hunger within him grew to the point he could no longer play the game. And damn the consequences, he had to have her right then. His motions a touch crazed, he jerked the bottle out of her hand and set both down on the far counter with a thud. “I want you, baby. I have to have you.”

  She giggled and pushed back at him, scooting around him quickly and darting for the hallway.

  Jax caught her within two steps and jerked her quivering body to his.

  Squealing loudly, she laughed and pushed harder. “Oh you think you can get what you want all the time, huh?”

  “Yes I do.” In one easy motion, he jerked her slinky top up and over her shoulders and pitched the unwanted material to the tile floor. Her firm naked breasts caught his attention and he marveled at their round beauty for a moment, relishing the way her nipples were hard reminding him of perfect rosy diamonds. Remembering how they fit perfectly in his large hand, he licked his lips and toyed with her until he had to have a taste of her sweet flesh. With nothing but the need to devour her on his mind, he lowered his head and captured her nipple, suckling until she moaned.

  “Oh...Jax” Amanda tossed her head, sending her back into a deep arch as her hands clawed his arms.

  He licked her nipple, tasting the sweet essence of her tender flesh as he cradled her in his arms, drawing her closer to his throbbing cock. Her soft whimpers fueled his growing hunger and he drew her bud between his teeth, biting down with enough pressure she squirmed and moaned, kicking her legs out.

  “God Jax, what you do to me!” With one hand she snaked her fingers down his chest and slid her tips just underneath the waistband of his shorts. Easily finding the end of his shaft, she teased feathering him with short swipes as she purred.

  Jax broke his hold and groaned. “Careful how you’re teasing me woman.”

  Encouraged, she slid her hand in further, grasping his cock and pulsing up and down as she forced her arched body up to stare into his eyes. “Oh yeah? Whatcha gon
na do about it?”

  Growling, he placed his hands around her buttocks and jerked her body to his dick, pressing his throbbing shaft into her belly, shifting his hips back and forth. “Hmmm… You’ve teased me too long girl.” He kissed her savagely, forcing his tongue past her lips for a shameless moment ravaging her mouth as his hands kneaded her ass with rough touches.

  Her fingers entwined in his shaggy midnight locks, drawing them closer and forcing her sandals off to cascade to the floor. Amanda whimpered and ground her hips into his throbbing erection as her fingers danced down the heat of his neck.

  As hungry as he had ever been, Jax dragged her body toward the outer wall, kicking his shoes off in the process. He pushed her against the counter roughly and allowed her feet to touch the floor. Fumbling, he found the button and zipper and his actions become that of a wild beast as he jerked her skirt down past her hips.

  “Jax!”

  He pushed the skirt to the floor and lifted her lithe body, kicking the material to the side. “What? Don’t you want me?”

  “God yes!” Her hands jerked at his drawstring and freed his pulsing cock.

  Grunting, he gripped the tiny slip of elastic that held her lacy purple thong and wrangled the saucy material down and off, the slight sound of the gauzy material ripping at his imploring touch sent shivers racing down his spine. He stared down at her glorious naked body and licked his lips, ready to consume every drop of her luscious cream.

  One hand wrapped around his cock while the other cupped his balls, squeezing until he moaned. “Oh God, Jax…fuck me.”