Golden Trail

by Ashley, Kristen

Layne looked to Tripp. He had no idea how his youngest bought that chore but him accepting it gave new meaning to his adoration of Rocky.

  “I think I got a gasmask and industrial gloves in the garage, Pal. And after you do that, I’ll give you five dollars.”

  Tripp sauntered into the kitchen, Blondie at his heels, muttering, “I think it’s worth more like fifty.”

  Tripp was not wrong.

  Both his boys, and the dog, hit the utility room and Layne turned his attention back to the island. He took his hand from Rocky’s stomach, nabbed a slice of the carrot she was cutting and tossed it into his mouth.

  He was chewing when he asked Dev, “How was your day?”

  Devin looked in his eyes and pointedly didn’t look at Rocky. “Good.”

  “How good?” Layne pressed.

  “Real good.”

  Layne swallowed, grinned and tagged another carrot he threw in his mouth before he asked Dev, “Oxygen gettin’ thin?”

  “I already hear someone chokin’,” Dev replied.

  Layne grabbed another slice of carrot and Rocky said, “As fascinating as you and Devin talking in code is, Layne, you take another carrot, you’ll find your hand stuck to the counter with my knife.”

  Devin chuckled and Layne tossed the carrot into his mouth before he put that hand back to her belly, her body, which had relaxed, went stiff again and his mouth went back to her ear. “Baby, I’ve had four cups of coffee and a breaded tenderloin sandwich today. Aren’t you concerned for my nutrition?”

  Her head turned, his came up and she looked him in the eyes. “I’m thinking you’re healthy enough.”

  He dipped his face close to hers and whispered, “You have no idea, but, you want, later I can show you.”

  The fire died out of her eyes, the intensity went into them, she stared up at him, totally off-balance and he knew this because she swallowed.

  He fought the urge to kiss her as the boys, with dog, re-entered the room carrying new weapons to attack their filthy house and Layne decided to give Raquel a break, moved away from her and toward the bags.

  “Tripp, do a good job but do it fast. We gotta have a conversation before Keira gets here,” he announced as he emptied the bottles from the bags and he felt all eyes turn to him.

  “Jesus, boy, you havin’ a teenager over for dinner or you hostin’ a rave?” Devin asked as the bottles were unveiled.

  “Rocky likes red wine,” Layne replied and he felt Rocky’s body, already on alert, jerk to solid beside him.

  “Yeah, I’m seein’ that and then some,” Dev muttered.

  “What do we have to talk about, Dad?” Tripp called Layne’s attention to him.

  “Finish in the bathroom, Pal then we’ll talk.”

  Tripp and Jasper both eyed him then Tripp disappeared and Jasper plugged in the thing that electronically sucked shit up from tile and wood floors.

  While his boys did this, Dev caught Rocky’s attention and they started chatting as Layne put away the bottles of booze and opened one of the reds. He poured her a glass, got himself a beer and then walked back to her to set her glass beside her workspace on the island, workspace she was clearing now that the gargantuan salad was done.

  When her eyes went to the glass then lifted to him, he muttered, “Sorry, sweetcheeks, we don’t have any fancy glasses in the house.”

  “That’s okay, they drink it like that in Italy,” she replied, reaching out to grab the small glass, she turned to Dev. “I’ve never been to Italy, of course, but that’s the way they drink it in movies set in Italy and I always thought that was cool.” She lifted her glass and reached toward Dev, finishing, “Welcome to the ‘burg, Devin.”

  He clinked his bottle of beer against her glass, sucked back a pull and, after swallowing, said, “Dev, darlin’. Pretty girls get to call me Dev.”

  She smiled at him. “Dev, then.”

  “You got time tomorrow, you can give me a tour of the ‘burg,” Dev invited as if he already hadn’t scouted out the lay of the land.

  “I’d love that but I’ve got to work,” Rocky replied. “But I’ll tell you that it’ll be worth your while to get up early, go to Hilligoss Bakery and get yourself a donut. I’ve never been to Italy, or anywhere else really, but I’d put down money on any donut from Hilligoss going up against anything in the world and winning.”

  “I haven’t been to Italy either but I’ve been around and Roc isn’t lyin’,” Layne added.

  “Your treat tomorrow then, boy,” Dev told him.

  “Done in the bathroom!” Trip shouted, rounding the corner and running toward the utility room at the same time juggling an armload of bathroom cleaning stuff.

  Layne looked to Jas to see he was also done and winding the cord up. He turned to the back counter, saw Rocky’s purse sitting by the coffeemaker, walked to it and dug through it until he found her keys.

  Then he turned to Jasper as he heard Rocky start to say, “What are you –?”

  “Jas,” he called over her, Jasper’s head came up and Layne tossed his son the keys which Jasper nabbed one-handed. “You pull the Charger out then pull Rocky’s Merc in the garage.”

  “Layne –” Rocky began.

  Layne talked over her. “Get Dev’s keys too, pull the Calais into the drive behind the Merc.”

  “But –” Rocky tried again.

  “You get Keira, you park behind the Suburban. Drop the door after you pull in the Merc,” Layne finished.

  “Right Dad,” Jasper said, carried the sweeper to the utility room and disappeared as Tripp reappeared.

  “Layne, you can’t –” Rocky started and Layne looked at her.

  “HOA isn’t big on cars parked on the street overnight.”

  “Over –” she began again, this time in a whisper.

  “HOA?” Dev cut in, sounding disgusted. “Tanner Layne, the boy I proudly watched dodge bullets to enter a house filled with hostiles in order to grab a hostage, a rescue during which he took two boys out with only a half-filled clip in his gun, and he ran out without a nick on him carrying that hostage, is livin’ in a place with a home owners association?”

  Layne heard Rocky suck in breath at the same time he heard Tripp shout, “You did that Dad?”

  “Damn straight he did it, boy,” Devin growled at Tripp then his eyes cut to Layne. “A dog, an HOA and domestication, three things I did not think I’d ever see attached to you.”

  “Things change, Dev,” Layne replied, acutely aware that, for some reason, Rocky was staring at him and she was not doing it the same way Tripp was.

  “That sounds cool!” Tripp yelled. “Devin, who were the hostiles, where was this, when…?”

  Layne looked to Rocky while Tripp fired out his questions and the minute he did, her eyes dropped, she turned so he had her profile and her hand lifted so she could take a sip of wine. But she couldn’t hide the fact that her face had paled or her hand was trembling.

  “It wasn’t as dangerous as Dev makes it sound,” Layne lied to Tripp in an effort to reassure a visibly shaken Rocky.

  It was. It was extremely dangerous and it was a hotshot, bullshit maneuver he pulled. He could have been killed and it could have got the hostage killed. The problem was, the hostage was an eight year old, dark-headed boy whose picture reminded him of Jasper. He’d been kidnapped and held hostage for three weeks and Dev had been hired to manage an extraction the Feds had botched – which meant two parts of the boy had been delivered to his parents, a finger and a toe – and Dev had taken Layne along as backup. It was a part miracle that Layne hadn’t been filled with bullets, part excellent cover from Devin. What Dev wasn’t sharing was that he didn’t watch proudly as Layne did this. What he did was lay into Layne approximately two seconds after Dev took down the last “hostile” and they secured the boy.

  “We should wait until Jas gets back so he can hear the story too,” Tripp suggested and Layne tore his eyes from Rocky, who, at this point, had turned her back to him and he looked at his son whil
e walking to Rocky, fitting his front again against her back and leaning both of their bodies into his palm at the edge of the counter.

  “Jasper’s gotta cook and you gotta grab a pop and take a load off after all your cleaning activity. Rocky and me got somethin’ important to talk to you about,” Layne said.

  Tripp’s eyes grew both bright and wary as they looked between Layne and Rocky and he asked, “Really?”

  “Really,” Layne answered. “Get your pop, Pal.”

  Tripp nodded, he got his pop and sat his ass down as Devin appeared to sip his beer casually but Layne knew he’d been alerted by Layne’s serious tone. Through this, Rocky stood noticeably silent in front of him.

  Jasper walked in and Layne stayed close to Rocky even as he turned to Jas.

  “You can do the Calais before you go to pick up Keira, Bud, I want you to hear this and you need to get your pasta bake show on the road. You wait to cook that shit until after she gets here, she’ll miss her curfew, Cal will lose his mind and I’ll have to make sure my gun is loaded.”

  Jasper grinned and walked into the room asking, “Hear what?” then he put Rocky’s keys on the counter by her hand.

  When he did, Rocky quietly said, “Thanks Jasper,” and Jasper turned his grin to her.

  Layne kept her body pinned in just as his son had pinned in her car as he said to Jas, “Just listen, yeah?” and then he turned to Tripp and started to lay it out.

  “Got a head’s up from a friend on the Force and a little while later Rocky shared her concerns about stuff she’s hearin’ at school. She’s got a bad vibe and I’ve got a bad vibe and, Tripp, I need you to help us to do something about it.”

  Tripp’s eyes were glued to him and he didn’t hesitate in nodding.

  “What’s the bad vibe?” Jasper asked from behind them.

  “It’s about the Youth Group at the Christian Church,” Layne answered which he saw made Tripp nod even more enthusiastically.

  “Oh yeah, I can see that,” Tripp said and Layne felt Rocky’s body stiffen against him as his did the same.

  “Me too,” Jasper added.

  “What can you see?” Layne asked.

  “Cult city,” Jasper noted. “It’s freakin’ creepy.”

  “Totally creepy,” Tripp agreed. “Like that pied piper story, except he skipped the mice and went straight to the kids.”

  Rocky forced him back by turning at the same time twisting her neck and looking up at him.

  Layne looked down at her to see she looked even paler and that concern he saw earlier that day was flooding her eyes.

  He took his palm from the counter and forced her back to his front with his arms around her, one at her chest, one at her ribs and he gave her a reassuring squeeze then left his arms where they were.

  Then he looked at Tripp. “We need you to go in.”

  Tripp’s brows knitted and his head tipped to the side. “Go in?”

  “Undercover, Pal, I need you to work this case for Rocky and me.”

  Tripp’s brows slowly separated, his face went blank then he smiled huge and bounced once on his stool. “Oh yeah!” he shouted. “I can do that.”

  “Tripp,” Layne said low, “You gotta be cool about this. This is not a gung ho mission. This requires finesse, Pal.”

  Tripp nodded and his voice was quieter when he repeated, “I can do that.”

  Jasper came to the island stating, “I can too and Keira would be all over it.”

  Layne looked at Jasper. “I’d be open to you doin’ it, Bud, but Keira, absolutely not.”

  “Why not?” Jasper returned. “She’s up for anything and she’s a girl, that guy at the Youth Group, he likes girls.”

  At this, Rocky’s hand came up, her fingers curling around Layne’s forearm so tight they almost hurt.

  “No to Keira, Jas,” Layne replied.

  “She’s a nut but she’s smart,” Jasper returned, defending his girl.

  Layne gave him the honesty. “You wanna keep her safe you keep her far away from this guy. Do you get what I’m sayin’ to you?”

  Jasper stared at him, the blood running from his face, a muscle ticked in his cheek and he nodded.

  Layne looked to Tripp. “Do you get it, Tripp?”

  “He’s a bad guy,” Tripp whispered, the excitement now out of his eyes and those eyes were wide.

  “I don’t know but I’ve learned to listen to my gut and, on this, my gut is tellin’ me whatever is happening there is not good. And I don’t know what he’s doin’ but my gut tells me he likes doin’ it, he’s got a sweet gig goin’ and he’s not gonna want anyone to make him stop, not anyone, not a cop and not a high school kid. That means you gotta go in there and be smart. You feel somethin’s not right for you, you get the fuck out. You feel safe, you listen, you watch and you got two missions to start with. One, you get close to the girl Rocky tells you to get close to, you make friends with her and you do it in a way that, when this is done, you’re still friends with her. You get her to talk to you and you do that smart too. You wanna know about Youth Group, you wanna get involved, you wanna be a part of it all, you wanna be her friend but you find out everything you can about what they do and where they’re doin’ it, what you see, what they’ll let you get involved in but, mostly, what they won’t. The other part is you get me something he’s touched. A can of pop, a pen, I don’t give a fuck what it is. You do your best not to touch it too much and I’ll give you a bag to put it in. I want to pull his prints off it and run them. We gotta know who this guy is and who we’re goin’ up against. He’s in the system, this goes quick. He’s not, we gotta find another way. You think you can you do that?”

  Tripp nodded.

  “Good,” Layne told him and then he gave Rocky another squeeze, dipped his head and said close to her ear, “Who’d you pick for Tripp, baby?”

  She nodded too and Layne lifted his head as she said, “You have three choices, Tripp. Giselle Speakmon, Sabrina Tilley or Darcy Cassini.”

  “Giselle Speakmon,” Jasper said immediately.

  “Why?” Devin entered the conversation on a bark that made Jasper, Tripp and Rocky jump.

  “’Cause she’s hot,” Jasper replied.

  “She’s out,” Devin shot back. “Next.”

  “She’s hot and she’s shy. Freakin’ shy, like, it’s painful. She’s a freshman too, like Tripp,” Jasper continued, his eyes steady on Devin. “Sabrina is nice and she’s okay lookin’, at a push, but she’s a junior and Tripp would be outta her league if she wasn’t just okay lookin’ and, like I said, that’s at a push, so, actually, she’s outta his league. Darcy’s nice too but she’s a sophomore and she’s big as a boat. It’d look funny, he got friendly with either of them. He wouldn’t have any reason to do that. This guy’s a predator like you think he is then he’ll cotton onto Tripp’s game, he gets close to one of those chicks. Everyone knows who Tripp is and everyone knows what Dad does.” Jasper’s eyes went to his old man. “No one would question Tripp gettin’ friendly with Giselle. She’s hot and girls like Tripp, think he’s cute. Tripp would have to work it ‘cause she’s so shy but, if anyone could get Giselle talkin’, it’d be Tripp and Tripp could play it like he’s there just to get Giselle to talk to him. That’s the way I’d play it. And he’ll be cool. He’ll work it, no one will know why he’s there and he’ll get what you need.”

  In that moment, there was a lot happening at that island for Tanner Layne, so much it was too much for Layne to process. The first part of it being the fact that he’d gone beyond vastly underestimating Jasper. The second part was that Devin was staring at his oldest son with blatant respect, something Devin very rarely did. The third part of it being the fact that Raquel Merrick was standing, unresisting, in his arms with her fingers curled tight, holding onto him. The last part of it was Tripp looking at his brother with unashamed love shining from his eyes and Layne had seen a lot of things in his life, the woman he held in his arms being the most beautiful, or she was until Layne saw
Tripp look at his brother like that.

  “Then it’s Giselle,” Layne declared, heard his voice was gruff and he knew Rocky heard it too because her fingers gave his arm a squeeze. Layne cleared his throat and went on. “Youth Group meets tomorrow night, Tripp, seven thirty. You start then.”

  Tripp nodded at Layne again.

  “I’ll take him and go with him the first night,” Jasper offered.

  “That works but no Keira,” Layne replied.

  “No Keira,” Jasper agreed.

  “How do you know he likes girls?” Rocky put in and Jasper looked at her when she continued. “Have you seen this man?”

  “Yeah, he’s everywhere, at the games, at Reggie’s after games, at the Senior Follies last year around about the time he first got to town. He’s a good-lookin’ guy and there’s always a bunch of girls around him. He acts all holy and sometimes even carries a Bible but I think that’s so parents won’t freak. There’s boys in that Youth Group but there’s only about ten of them. They go to be around the girls but they stay because they say this guy is the shit. They say he’s funny as all get out, makes religion cool.”

  “You got friends who go there?” Layne asked.

  “Not friends but I know some of the kids,” Jasper answered.

  “Then that’s your job, you get them talkin’ in school. Learn what you can and let me know,” Layne ordered and Jasper nodded.

  “Does Keira know this guy?” Rocky suddenly asked and Layne’s arms tightened around her.

  “Don’t know but I reckon,” Jasper answered. “Everyone does.”

  “Do you think you could get Keira to point him out to me at Friday’s game?”

  “It’s away, he won’t be there,” Jasper answered.

  “Any game then, without her knowing why she’s pointing him out,” Rocky pushed.

  “Roc, what the fuck?” Layne asked.

  She let him go, turned in his arms and looked up at him. “I want to talk to him.”

  “Why?”

  “And I want to get his picture and give it to Merry.”

  “That I can see, and that I’ll do, sweetcheeks, but you aren’t talkin’ to this guy.”

  “I want to feel him out,” she returned.