Surrender Under His Command

looking for jessa

"What do you mean she’s not here?” Damien asked with a frown. “Is it her day off?”

The overweight waitress, who couldn’t been older than eighteen or nineteen, smacked some gum as she stared at him in boredom. She looked him up and down as though assessing him. Suddenly, she straightened.

“She got fired,” the girl said. Chew, smack. Chew, smack. She reached out a hand, touching his chest. “But if you’re looking for a good time, I can help ya.”

Damien barely held in a shudder of disgust. Fired? From what he’d observed, Jessa was a well-liked, efficient waitress.

Wasn’t the end of the world, though. He didn’t particularly like her being on her feet all day.

But he was sure she was devastated. And scared. He needed to find her.

“Can you give me her address?” It was probably against the rules, but he figured this kid was too dumb to know that.

“Her address?” she said slowly, reconfirming his view on her intelligence.

“Yes, I’m a friend. I know she lives in one of the apartments a few doors down, I just can’t remember which one,” he lied.

The girl let out a snort then started laughing. “Dude, don’t know what sort of ‘friend’ you are, but that Jessa didn’t live in no apartment. She’s homeless, man. That’s why my uncle could let her go, cause she was a cash job.”

Damien gaped at her, unable to control his jaw which had dropped open.

Homeless? No way. He would know if she was homeless. There was no way that he had left the diner every day to go home to his nice, warm house while she went to a shelter or worse yet, slept outside. There was no way that he had dropped her off here the other morning while she had nowhere to go.

“Sit down before you fall down.” The older woman he’d seen a few times stood in front of him. She gave him a prod and he sat on the seat behind him. “Go get some work done, you i***t,” she barked at the girl.

The other waitress glared at her. “Shut up, old woman. My uncle owns this joint.”

“Your uncle would kick your ass to the curb long before he’d think about firing me, girl. Go find something to do.” The waitress smacked her gum as she turned away with a huff. “Stupid girl,” Frankie muttered. Then she looked at him, her gaze shrewd.

“You want some coffee? You’re looking pretty pale.”

“No thanks, ma’am,” he said politely, his mind still reeling.

“Please, don’t call me ma’am, it makes me feel old. Frankie’s my name.”

“Was she lying?” he demanded.

Frankie sighed and shook her head, her tight curls barely even bouncing with the movement. “I wish I could say the little cow was spreading lies, but unfortunately it’s true.”

“She’s homeless,” he whispered. “Why didn’t she tell me? I could have helped her.”

“Jessa is a proud woman. She didn’t want any hand-outs. She was working to make a better life for herself. Well, she was until that little cow talked her uncle into hiring her.” She gestured over toward where Jimmy’s niece was currently flirting with an overweight man in a suit that was bursting at the seams.

“I have to find her.” Determination filled him. No way was she spending another night on the streets.

Frankie nodded, a look of relief entering her eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you to return. I knew she wasn’t just a fling to you, even if Jessa probably thinks she was.”

Had she really thought that? Why hadn’t he made things clearer to her?

“Any idea where I’ll find her?”

Frankie nodded. “I’ll write down the address of the shelter I think she uses most. It’s not far from here. But she won’t be there until tonight and if she’s not there then, well, it’s probably like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Damien let out a deep breath, not sure how he was going to manage to wait until tonight, and if she wasn’t there… His stomach gurgled, making him feel ill. He would find her. He had too.

He wasn’t sure his sanity could survive the night thinking about her out there, alone and unprotected.

---

“Look, you have to tell me if you’ve seen her. Is she here?” Damien said with frustration.

The woman behind the counter eyed him suspiciously. “Actually, sir, I don’t have to tell you anything. I think it might be best if you left.”

Damien ran his hand through his hair. He had never felt so desperate or so out of control of a situation in his life.

“I just want to help her, I’m a friend. Her name is Jessa, she’s about five foot two with curly hair and brown eyes. I have it on good authority that she stays here often, you must have seen her.”

Damien could hear his voice rising with agitation, but couldn’t calm himself down. Someone here knew her and he wasn’t giving up until he found her.

“Sir, I am not at liberty to share anything about the people who use this shelter. If she’s such a good friend, I’m sure she will be in contact. Now, please leave.”

“Listen, lady, I have a lot of money, do I need to come back with my check book?”

Her gaze went frosty. “Leave, now. Before I call the police.”

Knowing he was now doing more harm than good, Damien turned and walked out of the shelter.

Frustration and fear grew. What was he going to do now?

After leaving the diner, he’d driven over to the shelter to find it closed until evening. He’d then headed home to shower and change. He hadn’t been able to sleep or eat. Instead he’d done some research on homeless shelters in the city, something that to his shame, he’d never really paid much attention to.

But it was a very real problem. And his Jessa, his sweet, delicate Jessa was one of the faceless one of the homeless. He just couldn’t believe it.

Finally, unable to sit still, he’d gotten into his car and driven around the streets of Austin until the shelter opened.

Part of him had still hoped that it was all a misunderstanding. That she worked there during the evenings and that’s why Frankie had seen her walk into the place.

But he knew he was grasping at straws.

Moving toward his car, he opened the door, wondering what to do next.

“Hey you, rich guy!”

Damien ignored the voice yelling out.

“Are you looking for Jessa or not?”

Damien froze then turned, shutting his car door. A greasy-looking guy wearing a hoodie and track pants stood on the sideway, looking at him with calculating eyes. His long hair was pulled back in a ponytail. He could do with a shave and a shower or two.

“What did you say?” Damien asked.

“My name’s Ronald. I heard you tell that b***h inside that you was lookin’ for Jessa. She stays here a lot.”

“Is she there now?” Damien asked urgently.

The other man shook his head. “Haven’t seen her. But I could let you know when she is here. For a price, of course.”

Of course. Not that Damien cared.

He nodded. “Hundred dollars if you call me as soon as you see her.”

The guy snorted and shook his head. “Hundred bucks upfront. Five hundred when I call you.”

“All right.” Damien grabbed his wallet and drew out a hundred dollar bill. “Give me your cell and I’ll put my number in.” This could all be a trick, but right now he didn’t care. He was desperate enough to try anything.

The man snorted. “Do I look like I carry around a cell phone?”

Damien narrowed his gaze. “Just how were you going to call me?”

“I’ll use the phone in there.” The man nodded his greasy head toward the shelter.

“Not good enough. I’ll get you a phone. Meet me back here in an hour.”

After buying a cheap throwaway cell phone, he returned to meet up with Ronald. Then Damien spent most of the night driving around the streets, looking for Jessa. By 2 a.m. his vision was blurring. He knew he had to go home and get some sleep before he became a hazard on the road.

Bloody hell, where was she?

Jessa shivered beneath the thin blanket she had covering her. It wasn’t that cold, yet she couldn’t stop shaking. Please, don’t let me be getting sick. Please.

She’d never had the most robust health, but she really couldn’t afford to get sick now. She swallowed, her throat aching. Jessa rolled over on the small cot. She’d chosen a different shelter tonight, needing to get away from Ronald and his unwanted attention. But although she had protection from the elements, it just didn’t seem to be enough to shake off this chill she’d developed.

She coughed into the pillow, hoping not to wake anyone around her. The cough was rough and crackly and she sniffed as she felt her nose run. This wasn’t good. Jessa had spent the last two days searching for a job. Perhaps she’d overdone things, but she was desperate. She didn’t have nearly enough money saved.

Her stomach cramped, stress making her feel ill. This wasn’t good for the baby or her, but she had no choice but to get up in the morning and start searching again. With a sigh, Jessa tried to relax, knowing she needed sleep.

A vision of Damien entered her mind. She wondered if he was back from his trip yet. Had he been thinking about her? She hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind. The feel of his arms around her, how safe he made her feel, how easily he turned her on.

Jessa shook, only this time it had nothing to do with feeling ill, no the heat rushing through her blood was due to the memory of Damien’s mouth on her p***y, licking her c**t.

It was going to be a long, long night.