Separated: Cuffs & Briefs, #3

By Valentina Don and Petra W.

We were separated.

 

Carson Pierce had me.

 

All of me.

 

But I would never tell him.

 

I would never give him the upper hand.

 

So, I do what I do best.

 

Run.

 

Part Three in the Cuffs & Briefs Series

• Language: English
• Publisher: Perfect Escape
• Release date: Jan 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393497776

Book preview

1. THE WAITING

Laura Moore may have been a fool in another life, but in this one, Stone was anything but. Hell, that was why the codename was born—to remind herself of how she had changed over the years. She had a hard life, growing up after her mother died with a father who didn't give a damn about her. She turned to her friends and men, assuming they'd be there for her like no one else had been. But she soon realized they, men especially, weren't worth the trouble. She married quickly, at a young age, and divorced just as quickly. Her ex-husband Eli didn't deserve to take up any more of her headspace, so she rarely thought about him. But lately, all he did was consume her thoughts. It was all because of her arrest. Correction, second arrest. She had been arrested once before in her life, thanks to Eli. This time though, she couldn't blame him. No, it was all on her. She was caught stealing that damn Jason Pollock painting—No. 5, 1948—that was supposed to change her life, just like all of her other pursuits had.

She made a career as a thief, stealing rare and expensive items to make her fortune, a name for herself—one that people feared, questioned, Stone she called herself. Now, the world knew she was Stone. She didn't like it.

What's more, she didn't necessarily like the situation she found herself in. At the mercy of a man, a criminal defense lawyer, who promised to save her. Stone didn't trust it. She didn't trust him—Carson Pierce, esquire extraordinaire. But she was smart enough to know she had to trust someone unless she wanted to rot away in prison until the end of time. The police connected her to all of her prior thefts and the prosecutor made a nice case against her, bringing up charges that should have been brought against her in the past, had they known who she was at the time. The list of crimes she was being charged with was ridiculous. In that way, it was a good thing she had agreed to work with the suit that manipulated his way into her life—he had gotten a number of the charges dropped and others lessened. The bad thing was that after doing that, he let her down miserably—she was convicted of grand larceny along with a few other felonies. Sure, he had her out on bail awaiting her sentencing, but soon, that'd end and she'd have to face the music. That was what was killing her most of all—the waiting. She may have taunted Suit that he didn't have patience, especially in the sack, where they found themselves far too often, yet not nearly enough, by her way of thinking, but she was no better.

In a lot of ways, she and Suit were quite similar, maybe even well-matched, but under these conditions, they would never be anything but two people forced together by circumstance who just so happened to have incredible, off-the-charts chemistry. Lucky for them, that chemistry helped pass the time. Like now, Stone needed to help pass the time. She daydreamed about him and went to find her tall, dark, and handsome lawyer who also happened to be her roommate. For now.

2. THE PRISON

It wasn't unlike Sam, Paul, and Timothy to pay close attention to the day of a sentencing. This one, however, was unlike the rest for them. They were ready for this one to come down hard with the gavel.

They each played their distinct roles as prison guards, but when they were away from the job, they played dutiful roles as husband, and for Sam, boyfriend, to understanding and compassionate women, the complete opposite of their personalities.

Sam was the most laid-back when compared to Paul and Timothy, but that didn't mean he still wasn't as ruthless as the day was long. He didn't take kindly to criminals who got away with their deeds. However, he often believed in karma, which helped him sleep easier at night knowing that they would eventually get what was coming to them.

It wasn't the same for Paul or Timothy though. They believed differently, they wanted to see criminals behind bars, locked away. It wasn't over for them until someone paid the time for the crime. For them, it was a sense of validation in the criminal justice system. Sam sometimes joked that someone hurt them bad to have that sort of reaction. But they told Sam that he was the youngest of the pact and that he still had a lot to learn where the system was concerned. He supposed he had to have been at the job for as long as Paul and Timothy had been to have such a wicked outlook on the world. For now, Sam still had hope, which was something the job didn't afford them. Paul and Timothy had come to learn that, although a hard pill to swallow, they were forced to.

Do you know what today is, boys? Timothy walked into the room with his fingers through his belt loop and his blond head of hair held