. 02

This is a continuation to the story "Starting Over", which was written several years ago. It was not just a stroke story, but had some more fleshed out characters. I've tried to get started on this sequel several times, but never got going on it.

In the first chapter of Book II, we saw John Jackson pulled back into another crime that has been inflicted on one of the strippers from the same club he went to in the first Book. In this case, it was kidnapping. He and Luke Cole, a detective with which he had problems before, find her and one gets shot. This is the aftermath and continuation.

Main Characters

LTC (Retired) John Jackson, 5'11", 180, 46 years old.

Marie Jackson, John's dead wife, 5'8", 140, 44 years old.

Angelica Jackson, John and Marie's daughter, 5'5", 125, 19 years old.

Mary Bradford, bartender, 5'5", 120, 34 years old.

Margaret (Maggie) Bradford, Mary's sister, 5'6", 115, 37 years old, and John's love interest.

Madeleine (Maddie) Bradford, Maggie's daughter, 7 years old.

Juliet Margolin, waitress, 5'4", 145, 24 years old, Mary's cousin.

Samantha (Sam) Walker, 5'6", 130 pounds, 39 years old, John's neighbor.

Joyce Walker, Sam's daughter, 5'4", 120 pounds, 20 years old, and now an exotic dancer.

Marion Walker, Sam's daughter, 5'4", 115 pounds, 18 years old.

SFC (Retired) Craig Smithson, 6', 190, 47 years old, NCO from John's Army unit.

Captain Jeff Smithson, 5'11', 185, 44 years old, SFC Smithson's brother and a captain in the Seattle Police Department.

Jeanne (aka Jasmine) Welch, 5'5", 110, 21 years old, exotic dancer.

George Watkins, 6'4", 280, 35 years old, bouncer.

Olivia, 5'4", 120 pounds, 21 years old, called Livy, exotic dancer.

Luke Cole, 5'10", 180, detective in the Seattle Police Department.

Marcus Candiotti, strip club manager.

Previously:

----

"Gun!" John shouted and he threw his body at Luke to tackle him out of the way. The door would slow down almost everything, but the windows and the wood panels on the bottom panels of the windows would not. He had worn a lightweight protective vest, but he was not sure that Luke had.

Everything happened so fast it took a while to put it together. Mason grabbed Livy's foot as she passed over him, bringing her down and she hit her head, dazing her. Jake turned and let loose a shot that passed through the window at about waist level at the time that John was tackling Luke.

So Livy was down, Mason was up and running and he and Jake took off out the back door. Meanwhile, Luke was rolling John off him to see what was wrong.

----

Everything was jumbled and chaotic.

The bullet went through the window easily and had struck John on the lower back, on his vest, but still hard enough to do damage. Luke was thrown to the ground under John. He rolled John out of the way, and came up with his gun. Mason had gotten up, bolted up the stairs and started toward the back door after hearing the shot and seeing that it was Jake that was shooting. Jake followed on his heels. They burst out the back as Livy was slowly coming up the stairs, trying to keep her balance after being a little dazed from banging her head.

Luke was on his knees checking out John with his gun out. He peeked into the house to make sure the individual with the gun wasn't coming out and then went back to John.

Livy got to the top of the stairs just as Luke determined that John had been hit in the vest. He grabbed his police mic and yelled for an ambulance, backup, and gave the full name of Jake and added that he was with an accomplice. Luke had done his research after Juniper's statement the day before and determined that her son's father was Jake Alfredson. He just didn't know where he was staying as he had already had a patrol check out his last known address, where they found that he was no longer living.

Luke then rolled John onto his back, which hurt.

"Fuck, don't put me on my back." John was protesting.

"I'm going to pursue." He looked up at Livy as she came out of the house in just her bra and panties to crouch down next to John. "Stay with him until the backups and ambulance arrive. We'll get your statement from you soon." Then Luke took off through the house and out the back to see if there was any sign of them. He had to check John first, then call in the situation, then pursue. He had radioed his location when they first arrived at the house as was required, so his compatriots knew where he was. Now they just had to get there.

Livy knelt next to John, who had turned on his right side to keep the left off the porch. "Stay there John." She leaned over and gave him a kiss. "I knew that the club would call you in and that you would find me."

John groaned. "Yeah, but it looked like you were already loose. You got free?"

Livy grinned. "Yeah, just now."

Meanwhile, Luke had run out the back and all the way to the next street, but there was nothing that indicated he would find anything out there. He looked around and studied anything that might be moving or changing. Nothing. They had gotten away before he could get there. He headed back over to John and Livy.

The police backup arrived just three minutes after Luke called and the ambulance 5 minutes after that. The EMTs checked out John and then Livy and transported them both to the hospital in the same ambulance. Luke had gotten a quick description from Livy of her experience while the EMTs were loading John. He then explained what had happened to the other police while he directed them to cordon off the place with tape in preparation for the arrival of the forensic team. He needed the name of Jake's accomplice. He also wondered about the two of them. Jake had taken a shot at a police officer and Mason had allowed Livy to get the drop on him. This didn't sound like a crack team of kidnappers or whatever it was they were. There was probably a lot more to this. He waited and thought.

----

Livy was taken to the hospital and held until early the next day. She was really only dehydrated and scared. She got up and got ready to go see John when they told her they were both going to be released. John had not rested as comfortably.

----

April 16th, 2013

John slowly came awake the next morning. He opened his eyes and looked around the room. There was a clock on the table that read 8:57. He was in the hospital and hooked up to a drip. He felt like he had gotten hit by a car.

He groaned and lifted his left arm and could feel the tape and gauze on his lower back and side. He was stiff and sore, but not too bad. He wondered what drugs they were giving him for that.

The door to the room opened. Luke and a pretty, smiling woman walked in. John nodded at Luke who was looking at him a little funny. Then the woman came over and leaned over him.

"Hi, I'm Maria Cole, Luke's wife." She bent over and kissed him on the mouth briefly. "Thank you for protecting that fool over there who was not wearing a vest and would have probably gotten gut shot if you hadn't jumped over to tackle him."

John smiled. "You're welcome." He looked over at Luke who was looking properly chastised.

Maria stood up and went over to her husband. She locked arms with him. "He lives to make mistakes for another day." She grinned and elbowed him.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Thank you, dear." The dear had plenty of sarcasm in it. "John, she's right though. I would have been shot if you hadn't reacted quickly. Thanks."

"No problem. Always got to protect your team."

"Team?"

"Well, we approached together so that meant we were a team."

"Thanks. I'm just glad you put your vest on when you got out of the car."

"Me, too. So it appears that you already knew about Jake."

"Yes. And more. I found out about Jake from Juniper's statement after the kidnapping. I talked to some of the other girls and we did some research back at the station. I found out about him and his last known address in Ballard. That's why I didn't press you to figure out his last name when you questioned Juniper."

"I noticed that, but didn't say anything. I figured you knew more than you were letting on."

"Yes, there is more. As of this morning, the group at the station has canvassed the surrounding counties and communities and we have a list of three strippers and two other women, all who seem to have been kidnapped in the last six months. It appears that this is not an isolated incident."

John looked at him for a few seconds. "Wow. Several of them. Well, you'll have your hands full now."

Luke turned to his wife. "Can you wait outside for a second?"

"Sure." She turned to go. "Thanks again John."

After she left Luke came closer. "I owe you John. I told her that that bullet was heading straight for my belly. That would have been decimating. Maybe even deadly. I owe you big time. You let me know if you ever need anything, okay. And if you want to continue to work this case, I'd be glad to let you assist in it, although off the books. I think I misjudged you and I owe you." He took a deep breath. "Now I have to take Maria home, so I'll talk to you later."

John nodded, speechless at Luke's words. It wasn't until after Luke left that he muttered to himself, "Wow that was surprising."

Just a minute later Livy burst into the room. "John!" She came over and gave him a big kiss and hug. John groaned, but only a little, and basked in her energetic attention. "How are you?"

"Getting better."

Before he could talk more with Livy the doctor came in and Livy backed away to let him in. He said that John could be released and went over the problems that he had. He told John that he had two bruised ribs, the bottom one had a hairline fracture, and he was bruised all over the lower back. The doc told him he was lucky that he didn't get a bruised kidney. He told him to get dressed and a nurse would be in to take him out. The doc also said that the nurses had filled a couple of prescriptions and he went over what they were and their interactions with John.

Livy went to the closet. "I'll help you get dressed, John."

John grinned. "You just want to get me down to my skivvies."

Livy shrugged. "Well, of course, but not here." She sidled up to him, handed him his pants, and whispered in his ear, "I want to get you home and crawl into bed with you."

John laughed. "Livy, you have wanted to sleep with me since that night you guys brought me home drunk."

Livy tried to look a little hurt. "Little old me?" Her smile gave away her playful attitude.

John grinned and started getting dressed. Livy watched, not acting at all sheepish about watching.

The nurse came in and John got in the obligatory wheelchair and was out-processed and taken out of the hospital. They called a cab and it pulled up to take them to John's.

They arrived at John's apartment just before lunch, so Livy walked across the street to a small deli to get some food for them. John was sure that he had nothing in his refrigerator that he wanted. While she was gone, John called Jasmine and left a message on her cell. She was probably still sleeping.

When Livy came back, she laid out the food. She had a couple of sandwiches, chips, and sodas. John wolfed it down. He was suddenly very hungry. He watched as Livy did the same.

When they were about done, John asked Livy to tell him about what happened. Livy went through it all, even describing her thinking behind all her planned actions. John just nodded as she went over each step.

"Wow, that's some smart thinking." John was impressed with how Livy had held up.

"Well, a girl in my line of work has to be able to protect herself."

"What you described has nothing to do with your line of work. It has to do with having a good father who taught you a lot about being practical."

Livy looked down. "I still miss him."

John reached over and took her hand. "You always will. That's true for anyone who has good parents."

Livy got up and started cleaning up. John got up and headed for the bedroom. "I think I need to lay down for a while and rest."

Livy finished cleaning and came into the bedroom just as John was finished stripping down to his boxers. She grinned at him, knowing from the last time she was there that he liked to sleep naked.

"Waiting for something?" John raised his eyebrows at Livy.

Livy started stripping. "No. I'm going to join you."

"Livy, I'm a little tired, have some drugs in my system, and I'm very sore on my left side. I don't think I'll be much fun right now."

Livy shrugged. "I'm tired, too. So we'll nap for a while."

They got into bed, both naked, and fell asleep quickly.

----

Jake and Mason arrived at their boss' house about the time that Livy and John were drifting off. They looked at each other and agreed that they were going to be in trouble, but that maybe they could still get something out of it. They needed another payday.

The Boss lived in a big house on Bainbridge Island. They both hated taking the ferries around Seattle because once it left the shore you were stuck. They felt trapped. But they did it because they had no choice to in order to meet the boss. They couldn't drive all the way around to the other peninsula for the one bridge.

The house was very nice and they admired the size and the power it represented. Neither one knew anything about the furniture, paintings, and other items in the house. They just knew that it looked very expensive and they wanted some of that money.

The Boss was not happy with them and took a few minutes to chastise them for what had happened. But he also took part of the blame for using a stripper that knew them and had a tie to them. He was sure that she had taken part in how the police found them. He also told them that the news said a non-police officer was shot and he would have the name shortly. He slid an envelope across the table to them and told them to get lost somewhere at least 50 miles away from Seattle for a week. Then he would provide them the information they needed to get the guy who had found them.

They left and waited until they got into the car to count the money. It was $10,000 and they were elated. They drove to the ferry planning on heading to Portland and the strip clubs down there. They could probably find a prostitute in the clubs or someone to hook them up with one. They were going to have fun.

As the Boss watched them leave, another employee of his came into the room.

"You ready?" he asked the tall, hard-looking man with a scar across his left eyebrow that left a scar where it parted the eyebrow hair.

"I put a tracker on their car while they were in here. I'll follow using the next ferry."

"Good. I don't want to see them again."

The man gave a nod as he left to follow the two idiots.

----

John slowly started coming awake, aware of the dull ache all along his left side. He was lying on his right side. He opened his eyes and could see the back of Livy's head. She was still sleeping. The clock read 4:50.

John looked down along her profile. It was warm and they were both just covered with a sheet. Livy was on her back with her head turned away from him. He looked down and could see the shape of her body. Her nice tits and flat stomach were outlined by the sheet. She was young and in shape. She was not skinny, but well-built and soft in all the right places. John lifted the sheet and looked down. There were those delectable tits that he had seen when she undressed, but didn't get to touch. He could now. His back was feeling better and maybe having sex with this young woman might do him good. He grinned. He was single, Maggie was not talking to him, and he was horny. Why shouldn't he enjoy a beautiful young stripper?

John leaned over, staying on his right side, and slowly licked around her left nipple and then gave it a light suck. Livy came slowly awake.

"Mmmmm. I like that, John." She turned her head and John leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Me, too. You have beautiful tits."

Livy grinned. "Thank you. Now please continue. I don't want to you to hurt your lower back, so you have to tell me what position to get into and everything. Okay?"

"Okay." He stared down her body. "Lovely." John leaned over and sucked on her left nipple again and Livy put her right hand on his head.

Livy grabbed his cock, which had become very hard. "So, no second thoughts about that other woman?"

John lifted his head. "Right now it appears that we are on the outs and she won't even go out with me, so I want to enjoy myself a little now. I think I have been a good person all my life and if I am a little bit of a bad boy now, well, that's to be expected. I do have certain needs."

Livy laughed and squeezed his cock. "Yes, I can see you do." Lily pulled his head back down and guided it to her right tit. "The other one." John lifted up a little and Livy turned more on her side to make it easier for him. "I love having my nipples played with. It turns me on. It won't get me off, but it gets me ready to be fucked."

John lifted his head for a second. "That's the idea my beautiful, young woman."

Livy grinned and pushed his head back down to her nipples. "Mmmm. Thank you. I have a big crush on you, John. I don't want to live with you, but I want to fuck you."

John gave one last suck on her left nipple and moved into a kneeling position. "You don't mind that I'm twice your age?"

"Not in the least. We all know you are a good person and someone who really likes his ladies to have fun."

"You guys have discussed this?"

"Just Jasmine, me, Lily, and maybe a couple of others." She grinned at him.

John shook his head. "Well, that's a tough rep to live up to." He knelt over her and kissed his way down her belly. Livy moaned and spread her legs. Like most of the strippers he saw in the club, she was shaved bare. Her pussy looked small and her inner lips were barely visible. John ran his hand over her mound and down through her gash. She was wet already and her outer lips parted a little.

John got up off the bed and groaned as he felt the pain from the fractured rib and the bruising. Livy started to get up. "Stay there. I can put up with a little pain for some shaved pussy." John pulled her to the edge of the bed.

Livy laughed. "Yes, sir."

"That's right. You do what I tell you my little plaything." John winked, then leaned over and kissed her on top of her pubic mound. Livy reached down and pulled her legs back, spreading them and her pussy, the lips opening a little more and showing the wetness.

"Please."

"No begging. I'll get to your delicious little pussy when I'm ready." John leaned over and kissed her on the left thigh just where it met her crotch. She flinched. He then did the same to the right, and she flinched again, her moan sounding like she was in agony.

"You are more of a tease than I am, you bastard."

John kissed her right on her pussy, eliciting a small gasp and then a moan. He started to lick her then. He licked up and down the outsides of her pussy, running the rough part of his tongue over her outer lips. He put his hands on her thighs and pushed them further back. Livy became exposed all the way to her asshole. John leaned over and lightly licked the pretty pink star. She jerked and this time her moan was one of ecstasy.

John then went to work on her. He licked up through her pussy, parting her inner lips, which stayed open like a flower in the sun. He gave it a quick glance and then licked from the bottom of her pussy up through it and onto her clit. She moaned and pulled on his hair. John grinned and brought his right hand up to her pussy. He worked first one and then two fingers in as he kissed her pussy and clit. She was now writhing on the bed.

"I'm getting close." Livy whispered.

John increased his attention to her sensitive areas. He rubbed her g-spot and placed his tongue flat on her clit. He started humming and that pushed her over the edge.