Malice: After Dark

Mosquito Chase Prologue by Jaycee Ford

Mosquito Chase (Prologue)

Summary: Caleb Harris devotes his life to serve and protect his small North Carolina town, but once the badge comes off, he does little to protect the hearts of women. Everything he thought he knew about crime and women is tested when a knock on the door brings him face to face with the last person he ever wanted to see.

Determined to break free of the rumors surrounding her past, Angela Butler abandons her small town, chasing a fresh start. When being in the wrong place at the wrong time makes her a target of the drug cartel, she has no choice but to go back to the world she tried so hard to forget.

Genre: Romance

Rating: PG-13

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Mosquito Chase (Book #4, Love Bug Series)

by Jaycee Ford

Prologue

The pounding beat pulsed through my body. My eyes remained closed as I stood in front of the shiny pole, reached up, and felt the smooth brass in my grip. I climbed up, gracefully moving in ways the men below me seemed to appreciate. When I reached the top, I squeezed my legs around the pole and slowly spun toward the ground, back arched and chest bared for all of Atlanta to see.

A pang of regret speared my heart. This wasn't what I thought I would be doing with my life. There had been a moment when I'd believed I could've had a life with Lance. We had a chance. Who was I kidding? I was Angela Butler, the town slut. People who knew me well enough called me Angie, but ever since the rumors, Lance had been the only person to call me Angie.

Jesus. He dumped you years ago. Let it go.

I never said I wasn't a bitter person, and thanks to certain men in my past, I had a lot to be bitter over. Life would be better if I stopped holding on to grudges. I knew that, but the idea of proving to them I was worth more than the slut they thought me to be was worth holding a grudge.

My back met the cold tile, and I pushed my chest up, arching my body off the ground. I turned my head to the side as that spear in my heart vanished. A comforting warmth soothed the ache as the brown eyes I had fallen in love with stared back at me. A smile tugged on his lips. I relaxed, his words echoing in my head. "Just a few more weeks and we'll start somewhere new. Maybe Alaska. Just you and me, baby. We'll leave this world behind."

I loved Simon. He made all of this madness worth it. He called me Angie.

A smile eased up my cheeks and I flipped over, laying eyes on some poor soul who thought he was going to get me into bed. I crawled over to him as if he would win me over with his expensive suit and his perfectly styled black hair. I knelt in front of him, sitting back on my heels. I arched my spine and slowly rolled my body to the beat of the music. His eyes landed on the small patch of red lace covering my most intimate part. He reached inside his jacket pocket, pulled out a bill, and stuck it between my skin and the string. I peered down and saw Benjamin Franklin smirking at me.

Alaska was expensive.

I turned over and bounced my ass in his face while his hand glided up the back of my legs. The customers weren't supposed to touch, but I let it slide as he took hold of the lace and shoved another bill underneath the string.

Alaska was expensive.

Smaller bills were tossed at me from the patrons sitting beside Mr. Franklin. I glanced at Simon in the back corner, but he wasn't there. It was rare for him to not be there during my performances. Thankfully, my song had ended.