by WL Knightly
“Then we need to stick to our original plan,” said Bay. “Everyone needs to be honest and no more secrets from one another. If this bastard calls a hit, we don’t act on it.” He turned and looked at Carter.
“You all know I’m in a tight spot,” said Darek as his girl left his side and headed to the hallway. Bay had sensed some tension between the two since breakfast. “But I want you guys to still call me if you need to. I want to know this killer’s every fucking move.”
“Did you ever get access to Corey’s phone?” asked Bay. He had hoped that if the killer had messaged him, they could tell what the next move might be. All they had to go off of was the last, and apparently, their killer liked to change things up.
“No, I didn’t.” Darek shook his head and let out a long sigh. “Brandy said she got it, but she packed it up, and I couldn’t get to it. I’ll ask Justin later to check it out. He’ll let us know if he got more messages from the killer.”
Bay moved to the center of the room, putting himself in the middle of them all. “We’re not going to let this person make us do their dirty work anymore. If they want one of us, they’ll have to come and fucking get us.”
Chapter 11
Darek
After an early morning flight, Darek and Raven arrived home, and it didn’t take her long to make good on her promise.
They’d only been in the house a few minutes when she went to the bedroom to collect her things, and while Darek didn’t rush after her, he did go in to see what she was doing.
With her suitcase on the bed, she picked her stuff up and went to the closet.
“You don’t have to rush off, Raven, come on.” He let out a huff and then went to sit by her suitcase. “Let’s talk about this some more.” He was still willing to try.
“We’re prolonging the inevitable, Darek. I’m going to go while I still can. It doesn’t change how I feel, but staying won’t change how you feel either.”
“I told you I love you.”
“You were telling me what I wanted to hear. And it was exactly that, but it’s not how you truly feel.”
Darek reached out and put his hand on hers as she closed up her case. “What if you’re wrong? What if you go and realize you’ve made the biggest mistake of your life?”
“Better to be wrong my way than yours. If I stay here and you realize that you were wrong, I’m going to be broken. Call me when you think we’re on the same page.”
He stood up, and she moved into his arms, giving him a farewell kiss. “I feel like we’re always saying goodbye.”
“See you later, Darek.” With that, she pulled away and left.
He walked to the door and helped her to the car, but as she drove away, he couldn’t stop feeling the sense of loneliness creeping back in. Get over yourself, Blake.
He went back into the house, and after taking a long, hot shower, he got dressed to see what he could make of the rest of his day.
He had just peeked at his phone when it rang, giving him a start. He smiled, seeing it was Lizzy, and answered. “Hey, how’s it going, partner?”
“Are you home yet?”
“Yeah, I ended up needing another day. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Max was telling me that you were at Lane Simon’s restaurant. Wasn’t he an attorney in town? I heard Bay Collins notified the court clerk of his hospitalization and said he was shot in New Orleans.”
Darek had a feeling once the gossip mill got to turning, it would be obvious that he and Bay were at the same place and in the same shooting. “Yeah, turns out he knows Lane too. I had no idea they were friends.”
“Small world,” said Lizzy. “Do you mind if I come and see you?”
“I was just thinking of going out.” He wasn’t sure he wanted Lizzy over just yet. Not while he was still licking his wounds.
“How’s your girl?”
“She’s doing okay. Healing.”
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing she has you. You can help take care of her.”
Darek wasn’t sure if it was a dig or not, but he didn’t feel like fighting with her, and he wasn’t in the mood for her pettiness. “She’s gone. Left a few minutes ago to go be with her cousin in St. Louis.”
“Wow, jumping from one vacation to the next must be nice.”
“She was shot in the arm, Lizzy. And she only bailed to see her cousin because shit wasn’t working out.” He knew his voice was harder than it should be. She was only making conversation.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you, Darek. I’d still like to come and pick you up. I’ve been worried sick.” Her voice was soft, and it hit a certain spot with him, giving him an aching feeling in his chest.
He’d done a lot to kill that ache, but he didn’t want to tell her no. “All right. Come on by when you’re ready.”
He hung up the phone and prepared to put himself through the test. Lizzy had always been irresistible, and while he’d love to go down that same road with her again and again, it was just too fucking painful, not to mention, dangerous to his career.
He heard her car pull up, and when he walked to the door, she was already getting out of the Rover. “Sorry, could I use your bathroom?”
“Oh, sure.” He stepped aside and waved her in.
She was a sight for sore eyes with her heels, slacks, and the silky blouse that revealed more cleavage than usual. He had a feeling she’d opened it up more for him before getting out of the car, and if so, it was a welcome sight.
“Thanks, I’ll be right out.” She walked into his bedroom, and he wondered if she were just looking to see if Raven had truly cleared out.
He paced the room as he waited for her, and she walked out a couple of minutes later with a big smile. “It’s good to see you.” She walked over to join him near the door.
“Good to see you too.” He had, for a brief moment, thought that he’d never see her again. As those bullets flew past him, he’d thought of a lot of things.
It grew quiet, and he noticed her lip quiver. “Hey, I’m all right, okay?” He pulled her close for a hug.
She fell against him. “I’m sorry. I guess I look like a fool. But I keep thinking what could have happened to you.”
“But it didn’t. I’m right here, okay?” He searched her eyes, which had grown wet with tears. She sobbed loudly, and he inhaled deeply to smell her hair.
She looked up and met his eyes, and then her lips brushed his. He knew he should push her away, with shit being so complicated between them, but the reality was, he’d take her any way he could get her. He held her closer and deepened the kiss, his tongue mingling with hers as it grew more feverish.
When it ended, she pulled away first and tried to gather herself. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He stepped away. “I’m not. I was scared too. Thought about you and all that’s happened.”
“Yeah, I guess things are a real mess.”
He nodded. “Understatement, but yeah. I know I haven’t handled it well.”
“Me neither,” she said. She wiped her eyes and turned her attention to the window. “I called the department, Darek.”
“New Orleans?” he asked, not believing she’d gone behind his back.
“Yes. Not that it did any good. They told me they’d call me back and didn’t.”
“Jesus.” He shook his head.
“Look, I panicked. I needed to make sure it wasn’t worse than you were telling me. And when you took that extra day, I just had to know.” She looked down at her feet and swayed back and forth nervously.
“It’s fine. I wish you’d at least found out something. God knows they aren’t interested in telling me anything. Just that it was a random shooter, someone probably out for a gang initiation. Can you believe that?”
She looked just as confused. “It’s rare that in today’s world, someone can shoot up a group of people on a city street and it not make the headlines.”
“My thoughts exactly. It’s a whole different world do
wn there on the gulf, and they don’t like other cops sniffing around in their business.”
“No department does. I wonder if Lane Simon regrets moving down there and opening his restaurant now?”
“The shooting didn’t help business. That’s for sure.” He wasn’t going to tell her about anyone else’s conditions or who all was present. And he damned sure wasn’t going to talk about Raven’s wrist unless she directly asked, which he thought was a miracle she hadn’t so far.
She let out a sound of frustration. “No more trips away for a while, okay?”
“Sorry I made you worry.” He gave a half-hearted smile, and she laid her head back on his chest.
It was nice just holding her in his arms. “Tell me, what did I miss at the office? Anything good? Did you make any progress with Sin?”
“Nothing much. The district attorney is confident that Ken Sin is his man. He’s going to pursue the death penalty, and that loser hasn’t stopped being dramatic and creepy. He’s going to play it until the end, I guess.”
“And his people will consider him a martyr, and he’ll be worshiped for all time. Too bad he won’t be around to see it.” Darek hoped the guy got the needle, even though he knew he couldn’t be responsible for the murders.
“No, but he’ll die happy.” She rolled her eyes.
Darek couldn’t believe she was falling in line with the arrest and wanted to ask her if she was really that content to call it finished. The only thing stopping him was he didn’t want to put any doubt in her mind about it. He needed her to go along with it to get her off of his back. Things were much easier when he didn’t have to walk the line. “So, are you still going to pursue his cult members by releasing the markings worldwide?”
She shook her head. “No. Reed caught wind and killed that. He said the local call was enough of a mess that I needed to come up with another plan.”
Darek breathed a sigh of relief. The guys would sure be glad to hear that. He also needed to contact his dermatologist with a few referrals. With any luck, she would make some good money and cooperate without any questions.
“So, what do you feel like doing?” she asked, pulling him a little closer.
He brushed his fingers through her long, brown hair. “I don’t know. Nothing I guess.”
“Let me cook you some dinner,” she said, rubbing his back. “We can stay in and curl up in front of the TV, and we don’t have to think about anything or say anything at all. We can just let the hours tick by together.”
He liked the way she was thinking. “Don’t you have to get back to work for a few hours?”
“I can take the rest of the day off.”
“That sounds pretty good, actually. But let’s make it easier and order out.” He didn’t want his cuddle time wasted with her at the stove. He had wanted him and Lizzy to have the type of relationship where they could just hang out, and things could be so uncomplicated as they had been with Raven.
“I’ve got a coupon in the car for pizza.” She flashed her teeth with her smile.
“Sounds good.” He leaned forward and kissed her, just a soft, quick peck. That kiss led to another, and another. Soon, Darek found himself walking her back to his room. “Are you sure you want this?” He met her eyes.
“Yes,” she said, kissing him hard as her fingers gripped his hair. “I’ve missed you.”
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t take things slow with Lizzy.
He led her to the bed, and she lay down, presenting herself to him as he unbuttoned her slacks and then her blouse. He leaned forward and kissed her, but she pushed him away.
He sat back on his knees. “I’m sorry.”
“No, I am. I missed you, but I didn’t really plan on it leading to this.” She moved to the edge of the bed and got to her feet. “Christ, Darek. Your bed isn’t even cold.” She found her clothes and stepped into her slacks.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “You’re really going to hold that over me?”
“You said it yourself. She just left. It just doesn’t feel right that it’s leading here.”
“That’s why I asked if you were sure about it.” All she had to do was say no.
“I guess I’m not.” She wiped her eyes. “I want what we have to be about us again and not because you’re missing someone else.”
“I wasn’t even thinking about her.” Darek realized that he hadn’t thought about Raven once. The two women were so very different. “You should go.” He walked to his bedroom door, and she stormed out.
Dammit.
Chapter 12
Justin
Returning home without Corey felt almost as strange as it felt to return with Brandy. She was holding it together pretty well so far, but Justin knew it was only a matter of time before she broke down again. They carried in the bags and dropped them on the floor in his living room, and he turned the lights on since the setting sun wasn’t coming in the windows.
“I’ve got to pee!” said Brandy, making a break for the bathroom.
Justin looked over at her handbag and pulled out the plastic bag that the hospital had given her with Corey’s belongings. He quickly took out the phone and opened it to the texts. There were no new ones since he’d arrived, and he felt better knowing the guy hadn’t been keeping anything from him. Before he closed it, something caught his eye. The number. It looked familiar.
He heard a bit of stirring and hurried up and put the phone away, but she didn’t make it back to him. “Justin!”
He walked to the hall where she stood frozen, looking into the master bedroom. “What is it?” He hurried to the room to find it trashed. All of his drawers had been emptied, pictures were taken off the walls, and the one small safe he had installed in his room, the one Beth and Lolly knew about, was wide open, the door apparently cut off with a torch. The furniture, all but for the bedframe, was either toppled or pulled away from the wall.
“Do you think it was Beth and Lolly?” She had known that he’d had a hard time getting in touch with either girl, and he’d even told her he’d had suspicions of someone getting into his house.
“Probably. Those fucking cunts.” He kicked the lamp they’d turned over and sent it sailing into the wall.
“Oh shit, they cleaned you out.” She walked over to the hole in the wall. “Was this all your important shit?”
“No, it was just some small bills and old collector coins. I didn’t keep my good shit in here. They’ll never find that.” He knew they’d have to bulldoze the fucking house down to figure out where he kept his other shit, and that might not even help them.
“Good. But you might want to check. I’ll go look around the house.” She took off to the front of the house where the kitchen was off of the living room. There was a guest room there, and while she did that, he walked into the bathroom and shut the door. He locked it and then opened up his linen closet, where one access point to his secret room was. He had designed the entire house around it.
All of his guns and money were untouched, and he went over and checked his records to find the same. Whoever had broken in hadn’t been privy to all of his secrets, only some of them. He stepped back through the secret door and into the linen closet of his private bath.
“Nothing up there,” she said. “They knew where they were supposed to look.” She walked over and put her arms around his waist. “I’m so sorry this happened. Add this to the list of reasons we should have kept our asses at home.” She sounded bitter, but Justin couldn’t blame her.
He hugged her back. “It’s okay. My money and guns are safe. I never tell anyone where I keep them.”
“One day you’ll die, and no one will be able to find your money. Some liberal family will buy this place for a summer home, start up a renovation for an indoor spa, and stumble across your guns and cash.”
The thought scared him to death. He wasn’t about to fund some pussy day spa or weekend retreat for a bunch of bleeding hearts. “Maybe I should tell someone I trust. The tr
ouble is, I don’t trust anyone.” But that wasn’t true. “Well, almost.”
Brandy laughed. “You should write it down and put it in a safety deposit box at the bank.”
“Fuck a bank.” He realized that he should just tell her. With any luck, she would be sticking around, and his grand scheme was to win her heart. Perhaps the loot might help him out. “Come with me.” Without giving it a second thought, he took her hand and pulled her to the bathroom with him. His heart raced as he shut them inside, locking the door.
“What the hell?” she asked as he turned around.
He opened up the linen closet and stepped through the secret panel. “Come on. It’s my hiding spot.”
“Holy shit. Are you kidding me?” Her mouth gaped, and she looked around at the guns and ammo that lined the walls.
She seemed equally impressed with the money. “Damn. That’s a lot of cash.” There were stacks of money on the table in the middle of the room and about five water bottles full of coins. Each was filled full with a different kind of coin, pennies in two of them, quarters, dimes, and nickels in the others. “How much is it?”
“A lot. And it’s safe here. You could burn this place to the ground, and this would all be left standing. It’s bulletproof too, so you can use it as a safe room. The other exit is just over there.” He showed her where it was. “That one leads into the living room, but I rarely use it. I don’t want it to be conspicuous.”
“That’s crazy. You should have this in the bank.” The way she looked at him made him worry. Did she really think he was a lunatic or mentally unstable?
“I have bank accounts for the business, but this is my money. My personal stash. I can’t trust the federal government with my hard-earned cash.” He gave them enough. He’d been paying taxes as he was supposed to where the store was concerned, giving Uncle Sam his portion, but that only made him even more aware of how important it was not to trust the system.