“Pretending to be your girlfriend was the best decision I ever made,” she said. The two of them had given her so much more than a way to face her family for Christmas and have an enjoyable holiday. They had given her a life she loved, a future and now—a family.
The End
I hope you enjoyed Double the Mistletoe and want more because Taken Book 4 will be here before you know it! Now, buckle up for your inside sneak peek at Double Down (Taken Book 4) by K.L. Ramsey.
Lyla
Lyla Devlin was the first woman in her family to graduate from college with not one but two degrees. While her father was thrilled with her accomplishments, her mother seemed less so. Her mom made it all too clear she wanted her daughter to settle down and get married, as was tradition. As an Asian-American, Lyla walked a fine line between her mother’s traditional culture and her father’s American ways.
Her parents met when her dad was stationed in Korea while serving in the U.S. military. He got her mother to agree to move to America after she found out she was pregnant with Lyla but she still clung to her family’s old ways and traditions.
Her mom paraded suitor after suitor through for Lyla, hoping one of the good Asian boys she chose for her daughter would spark some interest. But Lyla wasn’t interested in settling down and raising a traditional Asian family. In fact, if her mother knew what Lyla wanted out of a relationship she might not ever speak to her daughter again. Instead of falling in love and living happily ever after with one of her mother’s choices, Lyla used her master’s in criminal justice to help the FBI. She had worked for them for over five years now and as an undercover agent, she had helped countless women escape many of the human trafficking organizations that had popped up across the Southwest.
She was the person the FBI sent into the trenches. Lyla knew firsthand what it felt like to be sold off as a sex slave and she vowed as long as she could do the job, she would make sure every woman held against her will would go free. Their faces haunted her dreams and the ones she couldn’t save stuck with her the most. They were the girls and women she’d never be able to help, the ones that would never return home to their loved ones. Those women were her reason for giving a fuck on days her job sucked. When she was finished with the case, she got to go home to her family when so many other women didn’t and they never would.
That was probably the reason she was sitting up to the bar tonight, drowning her sorrows in tequila and hoping to find someone or even two someones to take her mind off her latest case. She lost two women if they could be called that. Neither of them were barely eighteen and the thought of having to tell their parents they were dead, gutted her. She threw back her third shot and ordered two more. Four was her hard limit but tonight, she wanted to push the envelope. Lyla knew she would pay for her shitty decisions tomorrow, but tonight she just wanted to forget everything.
Two guys walked into the bar and she knew just by looking at them they were her type—the type of guys who wouldn’t mind sharing a woman for the night. Lyla liked men who were big and had a little edge to them and the first guy fit the bill. He was at least six-five and had sleeves of tattoos up both his arms she was betting they didn’t end there. Her fingers itched just to lift his shirt to take a peek at what he had going on under his tight black t-shirt that hugged his bulging biceps. The man-made her mouth water and when he caught her shamelessly staring at him he had the audacity to wink in her direction. Lyla gave him her flirty laugh and wave as he and his handsome friend sat down at the end of the bar.
She pouted over the fact they weren’t sitting closer and the second guy threw back his head and laughed, causing Lyla to wonder if it was the way he looked when he came—his head thrown back and mouth open, shouting out her name. The only problem was they didn’t know her name and they never would unless she got up the nerve to tell them. The second guy called the bartender over and nodded in her direction and she was sure she was being summonsed. He was so different from his big friend. He was a few inches shorter but still over six foot and his blue eyes were the prettiest she had ever seen. He looked like someone straight out of GQ magazine, in his tailored suit and tie he had loosened, but still had in place. His blond hair fell over his forehead and Lyla imagined tugging the ends while he was between her legs, as she shamelessly rode out her orgasm.
“Um Miss,” the bartender stuttered. Lyla had to admit, she was thankful he didn’t call her Ma’am since she looked a good deal older than him. Maybe she was just still pissed he looked to be about twelve and he didn’t ask her for her ID before serving her. At thirty, she guessed that ship had sailed, but it would have at least been nice if he pretended she was too young to serve. She shot the poor guy a look and he took a step back from her as if he was worried she’d bite.
“Yes,” she questioned when he didn’t continue.
“The two gentlemen at the end of the bar asked if you would like to join them.” The bartender held up a hotel key card and she looked down at the end of the bar where the two sexy men stared her down. “Um, up in their room,” he squeaked. Well, this was a new one for her. Lyla had to admit that being asked to go up to someone’s room via a young, fresh out of high school looking bartender, was one for the books. She took the card and smiled sweetly down the bar to where the two eager guys waited for her answer. Lyla decided to have some fun with them before she agreed to a night of hot threesome sex. It was the least she could do to them for sending in a boy to do a man’s job.
She crooked her finger to the bartender, beckoning him forward. “You have a sharpie Darlin’?” she asked. The poor guy looked about ready to pee his pants. “How long have you been doing this—you know, bartending?” she questioned. He grabbed a black marker from beside the cash register and handed it to her.
“This is my first week on the job—you know solo. Before that I trained with the regular bartender,” he admitted.
Lyla nodded at the guy, not listening to his answer. She pulled the cap off the marker using her teeth and wrote, “Did you two leave your balls at home tonight?” Then, she turned it over and wrote, “Call me when you find them, along with her number.” Lyla replaced the cap to the pen and handed it back to the bartender, along with the now marked up key card.
“Can you please deliver this to the two gentlemen at the end of the bar?” she asked, flashing him her devilish grin. The poor guy hesitantly took the card and read both sides. He sighed and reluctantly walked down to where the two big guys sat and handed them the key card.
She couldn’t help herself, she watched as they read the message and God, she felt as if she was holding her breath waiting for them to make a move, anything really, but they didn’t. It felt like an eternity had passed until the big guy whispered something into his friend's ear and they both laughed. Lyla threw back her last shot, figuring she had blown her chance with her only prospects. It was time to head up to her room and pass out on her bed. She had an early flight to catch in the morning and knew even though she wouldn’t be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, she needed to be on time and on that plane. There was no way Lyla was going to let anyone else give those poor girls’ families the news of their deaths. That was her cross to bear and like it or not, she was going to be there to do just that.