Devil May Ride

by Roberts, Wendy

  She whirled to face him, trying to hide the guilt that was no doubt all over her face.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Like hell you don’t,” he said, his lips tightening into a straight line. “Let me guess. You and Maeva decided to go out there and confront an evil spirit that tried to burn you alive, and figured the best way to handle it was to set an entire community on fire?”

  “It wasn’t like that,” she said quickly. “We didn’t start the fire. Louise suggested a smudging would help and—”

  “Who suggested a what?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Yeah, it does,” he said, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her close. “Everything about you matters to me, Sadie.”

  He cupped her chin in his hands then and kissed her. His mouth was warm and insistent. It would’ve been easy for Sadie to lose herself, but she shoved him away.

  “You can’t keep doing this. Maybe before . . . last year . . . after we, you know . . . damn.” She crossed her arms across her chest and simply glared at him. “You’re a year too late, Zack.”

  Zack combed his fingers through his dark hair.

  “Look, things were different then. It wasn’t the right time. You came to stay with me because someone had just tried to kill you. You needed comforting and I dragged you into bed. It was wrong. I should’ve at least waited until you were stronger.”

  “Oh, and now that I’m being chased by bikers and hunted by satanic ghosts, it’s time to pick things up where we left off?” Sadie asked with bite. At his defeated look she continued. “I don’t remember you holding a gun to my head last year. As a matter of fact, I remember being pretty damn willing.” She allowed a small smile at the memory. “But, God, Zack . . . we’ve worked together nearly every day since then and you’ve barely looked me in the eye. Any time we accidentally touched, you jumped like you were in pain. And now, now you suddenly make a move for round two?!”

  “I guess I figured if I left you alone, things would work out. That I could go back to the way we were before.”

  “And?”

  “First you nearly passed out at that shed after we got the baby. After that, that evil spirit, or whatever the hell it was, hurt you, and then Curly almost killed you, and now this!” He waved his arms to encompass the house.

  “So you’re not exactly coming to the conclusion that what’s between us is bigger than the both of us, right?” Sadie said quietly. “This is about you needing to protect me. Be my rescuer. Again.”

  “It’s not just that. It’s—”

  She put her hand up to stop him and took a moment to swallow the lump in her throat.

  “It looks like since you’re not a cop anymore, you can’t help but rescue the damsel in distress.”

  “I’ve tried to get you out of my head!” Zack shouted. “I tried because I thought it would be a disaster, but . . .”

  “But what?”

  “But, yeah, I guess it’s bigger than both of us,” he said, his voice low. “At least it’s bigger than me.”

  He hooked his finger in the waistband of her shorts and pulled her body to his. Then he lowered his mouth and kissed her slow and passionately until she was breathless. When he released her mouth, he pressed his lips to her neck and traced a line of kisses down her throat while his hand slid under her shirt and found her breast. The feeling of his hands on her was new and yet familiar. Like she’d been holding her breath and waiting for it forever.

  Somehow they found her bed among her tossed belongings and they couldn’t remove each other’s clothes fast enough. When he discovered her bandaged shoulder, he didn’t ask—he just murmured, “Poor baby,” and placed gentle kisses all around that spot. She lost herself in the feel of his hands as they roamed her body. Thoughts of protest bloomed in her head, but Sadie pushed them away. She only wanted to feel. When he entered her, it was as though every nerve in her body sang with pleasure.

  Afterward she lay curled against him. His head rested on the top of her head and they didn’t speak. It would’ve been great to just fall asleep together, but the world was not going to allow that.

  A cell phone rang and she recognized the ring as hers. Sadie rolled over and searched their pile of clothes for her phone but couldn’t find it.

  “It’s probably Jackie,” Sadie said to Zack. “She’ll be looking for work today. I’ll just let it go to voice mail and call her later.”

  She rolled back toward Zack, but immediately after her phone stopped ringing, Zack’s started.

  “Jackie must be trying you now.” Sadie had always told Jackie to try reaching Zack for information about jobs if Sadie herself was unavailable.

  “Leave it,” Zack said, his voice tight.

  But Sadie already had his phone in her hand. She was handing the cell phone to Zack when she noticed the display. The incoming number said that the call was coming from Zack’s own home. Sadie’s breath caught. She answered the call before she could stop herself.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello . . . um, Sadie?” Jackie’s voice, sounding half-asleep, answered. “I’m sorry, I thought I was calling someone else.”

  “He’ll call you back,” Sadie replied, unable to keep the hurt from her voice.

  She hung up, got to her feet, and flung the phone at Zack. He caught it deftly before it could hit him square in the face.

  “I can’t believe this! You left her in your bed to come into mine?” Sadie shouted.

  The misery in Zack’s eyes was evident. But he didn’t deny it.

  “Do me a favor and talk to your lover after you’ve shut my door behind you,” Sadie said, storming out of the room and heading for the shower.

  14

  Sadie forced the ache in her heart into fury and used that emotion to propel her into cleaning her house at a fevered pitch. She took her gun from the upper shelf of her closet and kept it within arm’s reach, just in case the bikers decided to make another visit. But her mind wasn’t on bikers. As she waded through the debris, her mind continuously drifted to Zack.

  Within three hours she had drunk her way through another pot of coffee and managed to sweep and pick up most of what had been dumped from closets and cupboards. She’d used nearly a dozen trash bags to contain the debris.

  She turned on her kitchen radio and welcomed the annoying arrogance of a local announcer as she wiped down a smudge of ketchup that Zack missed. The sound of the disc jockey cracking jokes was better than the sound of her own labored breathing as she cleaned. And better than the murderous thoughts inside her own head. Soon the biggest telltale sign that something bad had happened was the fingerprint powder that offered smudged marks, most likely all her own, throughout the house. Fingerprint powder could be difficult to remove, but Sadie had more than enough experience cleaning up worse substances.

  Dawn called as she was put away her cleaning supplies.

  “Aunt Lynn and I have decided to come and help you clean.”

  “You’re too late. I’m all done.”

  “There’s no way you could be finished so soon,” Dawn exclaimed.

  “Well, I am.”

  “Okay, then I guess we’ll go to the mall. Want to come?”

  “Why don’t you stay home today? Put your feet up and relax.” Sadie nibbled her bottom lip with concern.

  “I don’t want to hang around the house all day,” Dawn protested. “I’ve still got lots of stuff I need to get for the baby.”

  Sadie thought about it and realized being surrounded by a throng of shoppers would probably be a safe place for Dawn.

  “Okay, but call me later,” Sadie told Dawn.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

  “Thanks, but I’ve got my own shopping to do. I’ll probably go and pick up a new computer monitor.”

  “I don’t like you hanging around that house. It’s dangerous.”

  “I won’t be hanging around here. I’m almost done,” Sadie said.

&n
bsp; “Are you okay? You sound kind of, I don’t know . . .> sad.”

  “Just tired. Could you make sure you give Hairy some food and fresh water before you go out?”

  She said good-bye and then surveyed her surroundings. She’d done good for a woman scorned, but she definitely needed a second shower.

  When she emerged dripping and pink from the hot water, the first thing she heard was raucous laughter. Her heart skipped a beat, but then she realized it was only the radio. She shook her head at her own skittishness. She dressed and walked into the kitchen to make toast. The radio morning man was cracking jokes about the heat.

  It’s so hot in Seattle this week, the trees are whistling for the dogs.

  Sadie rolled her eyes at his lame joke and turned down the radio just a bit before dropping a slice of bread in the toaster. Just as the toast popped, the phone rang and Sadie snatched it up without checking the incoming caller.

  “Hi, Sweets,” Scott Reed’s voice smoothed into her ear.

  “What do you want?”

  “Besides your body next to mine, you mean?”

  “Yeah. Besides that,” she snapped.

  “The Bellevue meth house is ready to be scrubbed spick-and-span and I’m anxious to do the walk-through with you.”

  “Yes, the out-of-town owner called their insurance company and got approval for me to proceed when the cops gave the place a go-ahead. But I haven’t heard the property is ready,” Sadie said. “Sorry if I have to go by more than just your say-so.”

  She really did not want to clean another meth lab and she sure as hell didn’t want Scott Reed tagging along.

  “Hey, my sources tell me it’s a go.”

  “Your sources don’t mean squat to me, Scott. Besides, I’m really not in the mood—”

  “Yeah, sorry to hear about your place getting bulldozed, Sweets. Too bad the bikers think you’ve got some of their cash, but, hey, you know sometimes having contacts in the media can be a good thing. . . .”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Maybe I could, you know, talk to a friend at the Seattle Times and hint that the cops believe Jake the Snake hid more cash somewhere else and not in that house, or something.”

  “I doubt it would work. Those goons probably don’t even read,” she said, but Sadie couldn’t help but like the idea.

  “Don’t underestimate these guys,” he warned. “They’re a lot more educated and business savvy then you give them credit for. You’ve only met the soldiers. The guys on the street with their tattoos, skullcap helmets, and bad teeth straddling Harleys. The Fierce Force leaders are respectable businessmen who wear suits and work in offices. Organized crime is organized for a reason. They’re not amateurs. They’re as good at what they do as you are at what you do.” His tone lightened. “Speaking of what you do, what do you say? I make a couple calls to the Times for you, and you call around and see how quickly you and I can walk through the property for me?”

  “Okay, I’ll make a phone call,” Sadie said.

  “You’re not calling Zack or Jackie to join us, are you? I’d rather it just be us two.”

  “The last person I’d call would be Zack,” Sadie said.

  She hung up and dialed David Egan’s number.

  She got his voice mail and hung up without leaving a message.

  Sadie thought about the situation while eating her toast and washing it down with another cup of coffee. If Egan came back into town, she could happily turn the next meth clean over to him. Of course she could always refer it to another cleanup company, even one of the guys who’d gone solo after leaving Egan. That didn’t seem right considering Egan had stood by her when her own company’s name had been dragged through the mud last year.

  She ate the last bite of her toast and redialed David Egan’s cell. She was prepared to leave a detailed message and was really surprised when he picked up.

  “Hi, Twisted Sis, how’s it hanging?” he sang into the phone.

  “You’re up bright and early,” Sadie replied. “I was preparing to leave you a Dear John message.”

  “Dear John?” Egan asked.

  “Yeah. I’m breaking up with you.”

  “Meaning?”

  She could hear a commercial jingle playing in the background and it was loud and annoying, so she spoke up.

  “Meaning, I hope you’re about to tell me you’re coming back into town to resume your work as chief cook and meth washer for Scour Power, so that I can get Scene-2-Clean back on track as a blood ’n’ guts cleaning company.”

  “Aw, Sadie, I appreciate your holding the fort for me. I know this has been tough on you, but seriously, couldn’t you hang on a few more days?”

  “There’s this job that came in and I really don’t want to take it on, Egan, so I was hoping—” She stopped herself short when she realized something.

  It’s so hot Seattleites are flocking to Mama’s Mexican for jalapeno chili to cool themselves off.

  Sadie reached and turned the power off on her radio, only to hear the same morning DJ cackling over the joke in the background on Egan’s end of the line.

  “You’re in Seattle!” Sadie cried.

  “What? Why would you think that, Sis?” he babbled quickly. “I’m tied up with a family emergency out of town. Just like I told you.”

  “I can hear King County Ken in the background, Egan. I’m listening to the same friggin’ station here!” Sadie growled. “Know what? I’m done covering for you. These last few days have been hell on wheels, so, yeah, I’m just . . . done.”

  “Ah, c’mon, please? Just a few more days,” he begged. “I’m in trouble here and I need more time to, um, fix things.” He paused. “You know I’d do it for you.” She could hear the sincerity and emotion behind his pleading tone when he finished. “Please, Sadie? Give me a few more days. I’m in trouble, but I’m just needing space to sort it all out. I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll pay you for the jobs you’ve lost.”

  Sadie blew out an exasperated breath.

  “Whatever you got going on, I expect you’ll have your act together soon. Real soon. Like in three days. I’m taking on only one more job for you and that’s it.”

  She hung up the phone and reluctantly called Reed back.

  “I have to wait until I verify clearance,” she told him. “But if the house has been cleared, we can meet there this afternoon.”

  “That’s great,” he enthused.

  “But afterward, I want to talk with you about everything you’ve got on the Witigo Alliance and Fierce Force, okay? Everything.”

  “You got it, Sweets, but can you handle satanic shit without falling apart on me?”

  “I mop guts for a living, Scott. I think I can handle a few satanic symbols without totally losing control,” she said sarcastically.

  But after Sadie hung up the phone, she closed her eyes and drew in a deep cleansing breath. She felt like she was playing with fire.

  15

  “Is all of this gear really necessary?” Scott made a childish face at the blue hazmat overalls Sadie handed him.

  “Nope. Not necessary at all.” Sadie leaned against the Scene-2-Clean van she’d picked up from Zack’s parking lot and she zipped up her own coveralls. “If you don’t want to wear the gear, you can walk right through that door and breathe in the wonderful cocktail of benzene, toluene, acetone, chloroform, lye, and hydrochloric acid, and if you’re lucky, you’ll only experience a headache, nausea, and dizziness. Of course if you’re in there more than a few minutes, you can expect chest pain as well as chemical irritation and burns to your skin, eyes, mouth, and nose.”

  “Fine, but it’s not what I’d call comfortable in this heat.” He rolled his eyes and wriggled the suit on the rest of the way.

  “Welcome to my world,” Sadie replied.

  She didn’t like the idea of having Scott Reed with her in a meth lab he claimed had held a satanic ritual. She was anxious to get it over with.

  Once he was covered and they were bo
th sweating in the heat even in the shade of the bungalow’s carport, she handed him his respirator.

  “After we’ve got the face masks on, it’s difficult to communicate unless we’re right up close and nearly shouting.”

  “Hey, I don’t mind getting up close to you.” He winked and Sadie couldn’t help but laugh.

  Scott looked utterly ridiculous in the getup. Of course, most people did look silly outfitted in hazmat gear.

  Not Zack, Sadie thought with a combination of regret and anger. Yes, Zack pulled off wearing a hazmat suit fine. Yup. If possible, he looked even more macho in hazmat gear.

  “Why do you suddenly look like you’re about to punch me in the face?” Scott asked.

  Sadie shook thoughts of Zack from her head and stabbed a finger at Scott’s chest.

  “You’re not going to touch a thing in there, got it? You’ll look around, but looking does not involve touching, is that clear?” Sadie demanded.

  “Sure.”

  “Good. Now, I’m going to be busy taking my before pictures for my records. Do you have any idea what you’re looking for? ’Cause I don’t want this to take all day.”

  “Signs of satanic rituals,” he replied. “If I point to something in particular, will you take the pictures for me?”

  “Yeah, but we’re getting in and getting out and you’re not allowed any souvenirs.”

  She helped Scott with his respirator before pulling on her own, then snagged her camera and the house keys. She opened the door from the carport entrance and Reed was right behind her.

  The carport door opened into a laundry room. The washer and dryer looked dilapidated and coated with a thick layer of grime. A soaker sink between the appliances looked painted with a dark red phosphorous stain. Sadie snapped photos of the room and continued down the hall to the kitchen. As she took pictures of counters loaded with debris and chemical stains, she also kept one eye on Scott. He walked around looking curiously in every corner.

  The kitchen was the area heaviest in debris. There was red chemical staining on the counters, walls, and floor as well as burn marks in several locations. The people from Better Homes and Gardens would’ve had a coronary. Sadie busily snapped photos in a routine fashion and nearly forgot about Scott entirely until she heard a door open down the hall. Sadie finished her shots of the kitchen before going after him.