Bound For Hell

  Bound For Hell

  Miss Fortune World: SS Beauty, Volume 2

  Kamaryn Kelsey

  Published by J&R Fan Fiction, 2018.

  Copyright © 2018 by Kamaryn Kelsey

  All rights reserved.

  This story is based on a series created by Jana DeLeon. The author of this story has the contractual rights to create stories using the Miss Fortune world. Any unauthorized use of the Miss Fortune world for story creation is a violation of copyright law.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author and the publisher, J&R Fan Fiction, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Bound For Hell (Miss Fortune World: SS Beauty, #2)

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

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  Author's note:

  This is Book 2 in the SS Beauty series and is not intended to standalone.

  The series is not about Fortune Redding, Sinful, and the Swamp Team. SS Beauty is Sandy-Sue Morrow and the series is about her and the life she makes for herself.

  This is a work of fiction. Other than Jana DeLeon's original story elements, the characters and names are creations of the author's imagination.

  The S.S. Books revolve around Morrow's niece, Sandy-Sue. She tires of her European vacation and comes home early, to Morrow's dismay. Wondering about her inheritance in Sinful, she takes a bus trip to check it out.

  Morrow sends Matt Meadows, who has done security work for him in the past, to keep an eye on her and to keep her from crossing paths with Fortune, and blowing Fortune's cover.

  At this point in her life, Sandy-Sue decides she's leaving the past behind, along with her name. She shortens it to Sady (sometimes she uses Sassafras or Sassy, the name she first gave Matt in book one of the series.) I took the liberty of giving Morrow a first name, John, since he makes appearances throughout the series and it didn't make sense for Sady to refer to him as Uncle Morrow.

  After the adventure in Louisiana, Morrow sends Sady to work for two former operatives, now retired and operating their own business, Knight Investigations in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Harry and CJ Knight are a husband and wife team.

  Character descriptions:

  Sady Morrow- Tall, slender, with long brown hair and big brown eyes. She often uses beauty pageant skills on the job. At this point in her life she is sweet, and sometimes goofy. However, she's intelligent and can been tough, when necessary.

  Matt Meadows- Tall, dark, and handsome. Matt sometimes uses Sady's pet name, Sassafras.

  CJ Knight- Short in stature, with clipped gray hair, green eyes, and an even shorter fuse. CJ is impatient and lethal with her hands. Even though she's small, she keeps them all in line.

  Harry Knight- Hot dang handsome with Siberian Husky light blue eyes, a stunning white smile, and good build. Amanda calls him Handsome, and he is- even though he is bald. Harry looks out for his team and plays the big brother/ father to Sady.

  The stories behind the supporting characters are developed throughout the series.

  CHAPTER 1

  TUESDAY- Sady Morrow looked out the window as she got ready to exit the plane at Detroit Metro Airport. Once again she wondered if she had been too hasty in allowing her uncle to arrange her life so conveniently. It felt like maybe he pulled another fast one.

  Like finding (upon returning early from the European vacation he arranged) a strange woman living at her inherited estate in Sinful, Louisiana... with his consent. And the guy he sent to keep an eye on her when she traveled to Sinful. So this might not have been the best idea. She should have arranged for a short stay in Michigan before allowing him to move her to the Great Lake state.

  Sady squeezed her carry-on bag and took a deep breath. It was too late now. Like the time she ate a vegetarian meal for lunch only to learn it was mostly beans and she had a swimsuit round that afternoon. Good luck trying to hide a bloated stomach in a bathing suit. Even a tall brunette with big brown eyes couldn't pull that one off successfully.

  The crowd behind her, eager to get off, forced her into the terminal. She headed to claim her checked bag and sat down to wait for the ride Uncle John arranged. While she waited she pulled out her laptop and read the email he sent. Someone named CJ would pick her up at two and take her to the apartment he'd rented for her in Ann Arbor. The clock in the terminal showed she had a half hour wait.

  An internet search of Ann Arbor showed it was a college town, proud home to the University of Michigan. It looked like a nice place to live as did the pictures of the apartment he included with the email. She hoped the reality lived up to the expectation. Well, it couldn't be worse than Sinful, could it?

  At two o'clock sharp a small, gray-haired woman approached her whose age she couldn't determine. She was attractive in a rough-looking way. She wore her hair short, but it suited her. Green eyes assessed Sady with a look she recognized. It seemed anyone associated with her uncle had that same piercing look. Probably standard government issue. Sady wasn't surprised when the woman grabbed the larger bag and introduced herself as CJ. Sady shook hands and felt the strength in the short woman's fingers. I bet she breaks pencils to keep in practice, Sady thought.

  "C'mon," CJ said. "My husband's waiting in the drop-off zone." Sady guessed no one gave CJ grief about parking there. She expected her husband to be a huge brute with battle scars. Sady saw a man fitting that description parked in the drop zone and headed toward his car. CJ yelled, and she turned around, stopping in awed silence. Well, who knew Detroit Metro had a choir on staff? The man who took the bag from CJ and stowed it in the back of the SUV could put the Greek gods to shame. He was bald, but it enhanced his amazing good looks.

  Striking light blue eyes, black lashes, tanned skin, white teeth, medium height and powerfully built, but not bulky. Like CJ his age was indeterminate. Sady knew she stared but couldn't help it. This guy should be on a magazine cover, she thought. Then she remembered where she was and sent a mortified glance in CJ's direction. CJ laughed and said, "Don't be embarrassed. It happens all the time. Meet my husband Harry."

  Sady shook hands and got the same impression as when she shook CJ's hand- strength, intelligence, and secrets. Definitely not John and Jane Q. Public. There was no doubt in her mind these two would make formidable enemies, like the blonde in Sinful. Harry was silent and concentrated on driving to Ann Arbor while CJ grilled her. Sady knew they expected a woman who dressed and acted like a teenager. She could act the part and liked to do so for the benefit of her uncle. He wasn't the only one who could hide his identity. Any lingering doubts about his job as an IRS auditor being a cover for something bigger were laid to rest. IRS employees didn't have people like this for friends. As they drove Sady asked CJ what the initials of her name stood for. She saw Harry's smile in the rear-view mirror, but CJ wasn't amused.

  "If I tell you, then you will forever have to be Sandy-Sue," she replied.

  "Well, CJ it's nice to know you. I'd have gone with the initials thing myself, but S.S...?"

  CJ looked at her husband and warned, "And don't you tell her behind my back."

  "Hey, leave me out of this. I'm just the driver, ladies." CJ's reply was inaudible but Harry must have understood it because he said, "Now be nice. I didn't give you that name."

  Sady left that hot potato in the front se
at. She could sympathize with CJ when it came to embarrassing given names. Sady watched the Motor City expressway madness and felt her blood pressure rising even though Harry drove. She hoped her job wouldn't take her to Detroit often, or she'd likely end up in trouble.

  When they reached the outskirts of Ann Arbor Harry pulled into the lot of an apartment complex. As CJ led the way to Sady's apartment Harry followed with her bags. CJ unlocked the door and held it open for Sady to enter. Well, she had to give Uncle John credit for good taste and efficiency. Someone moved all the belongings from her last residence into her new apartment. She wondered who chose the layout and glanced at CJ.

  She snorted and shook her head. "This is out of my scope of work." She let Sady have a couple minutes to walk through her apartment then told her to take a seat. When Sady sat on the couch CJ pulled out two files and dropped them on the cushion next to her. Before Sady could open them CJ said, "For the next three weeks those files are your job. Let me make this clear- I'm only doing this as a favor to your uncle. Normally I'd expect someone to handle these in seven to ten days." She cleared her throat and Sady looked up. "I won't hold your hand and I won't babysit you. Frankly, I don't even want you here so if you want to do this work then you have to do it on your own. There's a desk set up at our office for your use, and any equipment you need will be available. If you get yourself in trouble, don't call me because I won't come to the rescue. Is that clear?" Sady nodded, a little terrified. "Questions? Good!" CJ didn't give her the chance to ask anything.

  Instead, she handed Sady a business card and a set of keys for a rental car. "We'll see you in the morning," she said as she left. Sady sat frozen and tried to refocus when she heard someone clear their throat. It was Harry. He gave her a thumbs up and a friendly smile before CJ's penetrating voice told him to shake his tail feathers. Harry's smile widened, and he left Sady even more confused.

  They seemed a strange couple, but devoted to each other. The smile Harry gave her was one of encouragement. Sady didn't doubt for a minute CJ would literally skin them both alive if it they were more than friendly.

  Sady blew the front of her hair and grabbed the business card CJ left. Knight Investigations. Well, at least she had a last name to put with CJ and Harry. She opened the folders CJ had dropped and saw they were case files. The first file had to do with a suspected arson in Hell, a small community near to Ann Arbor. That was almost funny. Sady unexpectedly thought about Matt, wondering what he was now doing. With a small smile she knew he wasn't cooling his heels in Sinful, Louisiana. Nothing was cooling in Sinful! Even though it was summer in Michigan Sady knew one thing for certain- Sinful was officially hotter than Hell.

  The other file was for a woman wanting proof that her husband was cheating. That one seemed fairly easy but Sady was glad CJ had given her three weeks to work on them. She had been joking when she suggested working as a spy to her uncle, but maybe he took it seriously.

  Sady put the files aside and checked her apartment. She would leave most of the things where they were. The movers must have an OCD staff. Drinking glasses perfectly lined up in the cabinet to the right above the sink, etc. Overall she was pleased. The apartment was at ground level and well built. Sady didn't hear slamming doors and footsteps from the upper level. That was good.

  Her apartment kitchen opened to both the entry hall and the dining area. The dining area and entry hall opened into the large living room. French doors off the living room exited onto a patio full of plants that screened off the view of her neighbors. Down the hall from the living room were two bedrooms and a bathroom. She could only enter a large master bath through the master bedroom. Sady unpacked the two bags Harry set in her bedroom and stowed the cases in the walk-in closet. The clothes she sent with the movers already hung neatly.

  She downloaded a map of the City of Ann Arbor to her phone, then went online and looked over a larger map to familiarize herself with the major roads. Then with excitement she grabbed the keys and headed to the parking lot. A push of a button and the lights of a new Ford sedan flashed a welcome. Sady decided she first needed to drive the route to the Knight's office. She didn't want to be late for her first day and she would have enough issues with traffic.

  After she traveled the route to the office, she drove the major boundary roads of the city, hoping to get a feel for areas of traffic congestion and headaches. Finally, feeling comfortable that she wouldn't end up in Detroit by accident she stopped at the store and picked up groceries on her way home. She fixed supper and researched Knight Investigations while she ate. Then she emailed her uncle to let him know she arrived safely, and to thank him for the apartment and car he had ready for her.

  Sady cleaned up after her meal and pulled out her clothes for work before bed. Nothing about the company suggested formal, yet CJ didn't seem like a woman who would look kindly on sloppy or too casual work clothes. Sady decided a pair of khaki pants and a short sleeve button front shirt would be appropriate for her first day. Plus a pair of flat shoes. She'd worn enough high heels for a lifetime.

  CHAPTER 2

  WEDNESDAY- On her first morning Sady realized with a yawn she should have mapped the nearest coffee shop when she had been out driving the previous day. A new apartment and a new job hadn't been conducive to a good night's rest. She hoped the office had a coffee pot.

  Arriving ten minutes early, she parked behind the building which housed Knight Investigations and entered through the front door. She smelled coffee and almost dropped to her knees in thanks. CJ came out of an office, saw her look, and pointed to a small break room at the end of a short hallway. Sady gave her a smile of thanks but didn't speak until after she inhaled a couple sips.

  Then CJ showed her around the office. Harry's door was closed and CJ indicated he was meeting with a client. It surprised Sady when CJ showed her to a desk in an office. She expected a table shoved off into the corner of the broom closet. She set down her bag and the files, then followed CJ for the rest of the tour.

  The most interesting room housed the tools of the trade. There were cameras and recording devices of every type imaginable. Night vision goggles? CJ ignored the look of interest on Sady's face and continued showing her the equipment, but she didn't open the locked gun safe. They labeled each piece of equipment and supplied a logbook to keep track of the item and job.

  CJ handed her a digital camera and binoculars. "You'll need these for starters," she said as Sady signed out the equipment. As they walked back to their respective offices CJ added, "If you need anything you know where to find me."

  Sady didn't take that as an invitation to sit down and chat so she thanked her and headed to her office.

  Someone stuck a note with her user name and password to the laptop so Sady logged on and got busy. She started with research on the cheating husband case. Michael and Veronica Powell were influential movers and shakers in the city. Both sat on the boards of corporations and charitable foundations. Married for about eight years, no children. They lived in a high end subdivision.

  Sady decided since CJ hadn't handed her a list of employee rules she was free to do her work as she saw fit, so she headed out to the Powell neighborhood. Expensive mansions sat on perfectly manicured lawns. The only activity was coming from the people hired to maintain the homes. Sady heard the whir of lawnmowers and hedge trimmers. She parked on the street for a short time, then moved on not wanting to draw undue attention to herself.

  She left the subdivision and went back to the office. It wasn't the most efficient use of her time but she was new to the investigation business. It would take time to adjust. Back at the office she pulled up the news articles on the suspected arson fires in Hell. Copies of the police reports were in her file folder. It was odd. Other than a house all the fires were small and quickly contained- a trash barrel, a park bench, a wood planter, a picnic table. The house had been a total loss.

  Sady downloaded a couple county maps to her phone and checked the route to Hell. She might as well take the d
rive and look over the town. It would take 45 minutes and the weather was gorgeous. Sunny with blue skies and a light breeze. Sady opted for open windows and found a radio station. Well, the drivers in the Detroit area might leave something to be desired, but she had no complaints about the music. There was an endless variety of stations.

  She smiled as she drove down the main street of Hell. They tied just about everything into the name of the town. She hopped out at a small park and read a history plaque. It didn't take long to find where the burned park bench had been. A quick walk through town and she saw the spots where the other small things had burned. One of the few places that didn't put a joking spin on the name was a nursing/ retirement home. It was newer and instead of advertising the name of the town the sign read "Livingston County Shady Acres." Sady guessed Mom and Pop wouldn't go quietly if they knew they were being sent to Hell.

  She parked and took a seat on a bench near the nursing home. She'd made the rounds as a beauty pageant winner at nursing homes and schools. One thing she learned is that many older people were lonely and liked to visit when someone listened. After a while a group of older women passed on what appeared to be a brisk walk for health reasons. They chattered and gossiped as they made their way past Sady. She smiled, and they smiled back but kept moving. Sady grinned when they passed by later with ice cream. Most of them continued back to the home, but one lady came over and sat by Sady.

  She introduced herself as Carol and they struck up a conversation. Carol had lived her whole life in the area. She looked sad when she told Sady her husband had died ten years ago. Sady felt bad and patted her hand in sympathy.

  Carol wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't know what I'd do without my friends," she admitted. Then with a laugh she said, "Well, I probably wouldn't be eating ice cream and pretending to work it off with a short walk." She confessed with a giggle that the walk ended in the park and they played poker before heading back to the home.