Golden Trail

by Ashley, Kristen

“Never done a stakeout.”

  “Today’s your day,” Layne told him and his cell phone on the desk rang as Ryker replied, “I’m on it.”

  Layne looked at the display to see it said, “Tripp calling”.

  His brows drew together. Tripp should be at football practice.

  He gave Ryker a one-minute finger, flipped the phone open and put it to his ear.

  “Hey Pal, what’s up?”

  “Dad,” Tripp whispered and Layne’s back went straight at his tone.

  “Tripp, what’s up?”

  “I told Coach Fullerton I had to use the john,” Tripp told him.

  “You’re callin’ me to tell me –”

  Tripp cut him off. “It’s Rocky, Dad.”

  Layne stood instantly and walked to the monitor to switch it off, asking, “What’s Rocky?”

  “She’d be mad,” Tripp said. “I didn’t know if I should tell you but I reckon I should tell you and this is the first chance I had to call.”

  “Tripp,” Layne bit out.

  Tripp started talking in a hurry. “I think she’s gonna do somethin’. I went to her classroom after school, you know, just to say ‘hi’ and ‘see you tonight’ but I didn’t go in because I heard her talkin’ to Mrs. Judd.”

  Shit. His woman was a nut. This could be leading anywhere and with Raquel it was a crapshoot as the various degrees of bad it could be leading.

  “What was she saying?” Layne asked, his eyes slicing through Ryker who was sitting, watching him, reading Layne’s tone and body language and therefore on alert. Layne walked to his desk, dumped the nine millimeter in the drawer, locked the desk and grabbed his jacket from the chair.

  “I don’t know for sure,” Tripp answered. “But it sounded like they were makin’ plans to break into the management office at The Brendel for some reason.”

  Shit! Where it was leading was bad considering it was felonious.

  Layne cocked his head to hold his phone between ear and shoulder and swung his coat over an arm.

  “You did good tellin’ me, Pal,” he told his son.

  “You won’t tell Roc I snitched?” Tripp asked.

  “No, Tripp, our secret. I’ll take care of it. See you tonight,” Layne answered, taking his phone out of his shoulder and shrugging on the other side of his coat.

  “Okay, cool. Later, Dad.”

  “Later, Pal.”

  Layne flipped his phone shut and Ryker barked, “What?”

  Layne headed to the door saying, “Gotta go, brother, just got word my woman is plannin’ on committing a felony.”

  Ryker immediately unfolded his big body from the chair and followed Layne. “Shit, things aren’t borin’ for you.”

  “I’d pay for boring,” Layne informed him of the God’s honest truth.

  “Trust me, bro, you wouldn’t,” Ryker replied as Layne opened the outer door and Ryker strode through.

  Layne punched in the code to the alarm thinking that Ryker was way wrong.

  * * * * *

  On his Harley, Ryker trailed Layne through the gates of The Brendel and then through the grounds as Layne followed the signs to the management office.

  When they made it there, Layne’s jaw got tight as he saw the operation was already in full swing. Josie Judd was standing outside with two young, attractive women wearing expensive suits. One was the blonde who showed Rocky her apartment. Josie was gesturing wildly with her arms toward a Jeep that was parked in front of the offices and she looked in full snit.

  Layne parked outside the management office three spaces down from the Jeep that Josie and the women were standing on the sidewalk in front of, Ryker pulling up on Layne’s side.

  Layne got out and heard Josie shout, “Who’s gonna pay for that? Hunh? I got that nail in my tire here! Innocently visiting my friend and the next thing I know I have a flat! I have kids to take to school! I have errands to run! I have bills to pay that don’t include a patch job I should not have to get on my tire!”

  Josie, apparently, was providing distraction.

  Layne’s eyes sliced to Ryker. “You shut that shit down in there.” He jerked his head to the management office where Roc, no doubt, was breaking into file cabinets. “I’ll deal with this.” And he jerked his thumb toward Josie.

  “Shouldn’t that be the other way around?” Ryker asked and Layne gave him a look that Ryker read. If he went inside and caught his woman doing whatever she was doing, hell would be paid. It was going to be paid anyway, it just wouldn’t be as bad if he had to go inside and drag her ass out.

  Therefore Ryker grinned, muttered, “Gotcha,” and loped off.

  Layne rounded the hood of his car and approached Josie and the women and neither of the women looked his way because they were both staring at Josie who was still shouting. She did this until her eyes came to him and she didn’t let on that she knew from one look at him that her best friend had just bought herself a world of pain. Instead, she approached him.

  “Tanner! I’m so glad you’re here!” she exclaimed, wrapping her fingers around his bicep and giving it a squeeze. “These women,” she flung an arm out toward the women, “say there’s no construction on The Brendel but I had no nail in my tire when I visited Rocky last night and I had one in my tire this mornin’ and it was flat! I saw it my damn self when they showed me the tire so I know it wasn’t an imaginary nail!”

  She was good. He knew Josie didn’t visit Rocky last night and he knew she had no nail in her tire but even he was half-convinced she did the first and had the second.

  “Josie,” Layne said but got no more out. Josie let his arm go and turned back to the women.

  “The rent here is outlandish. With that kind of dough, you can at least sweep the streets. At least!” she shouted.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, but The Brendel can’t take responsibility for your vehicle. We have no construction on site and you can’t prove you picked up that nail on the premises. You could have picked it up anywhere,” one of the women put in.

  “But I didn’t pick it up anywhere, I picked it up here,” Josie lied and she did it loudly.

  “We’re sorry for your troubles but we really can’t do anything to help,” the woman who showed Rocky her apartment stated.

  “This is outrageous!” Josie shouted.

  “Josie, let’s go,” Layne said and grabbed her arm, pulling her to her car.

  She looked up at him giving him a swift, short shake of her head indicating she felt Rocky needed more time. Layne looked down at her, giving her a swift, short nod of his head indicting Rocky’s time was definitely up. Her eyes got big and Layne’s narrowed. Then she gave in.

  “You haven’t heard the last of this!” Josie threatened as she stomped to her car, Layne’s hand still on her arm.

  “I’ll meet you at Roc’s,” he murmured after he let her go and she yanked open her car door with apparent fury.

  “She’s –” Josie started to whisper but Layne interrupted her.

  “I’ll meet you at Roc’s,” he repeated.

  Her eyes went beyond him, they got wide again and her lips parted. Layne turned to see both the women still standing on the sidewalk outside the office watching them and rounding the building was Rocky with Ryker. Ryker’s arm was draped casually around Rocky’s shoulders. Rocky was wearing a face like thunder.

  When Ryker and Rocky got close to the women, they both started and stared as his woman and his… whatever, walked passed them.

  “Yo,” Ryker said to them as they stared up at him.

  “Uh…” one mumbled and, in the face of all that was Ryker, the blonde who showed Rocky’s apartment didn’t have it together enough to speak.

  Ryker’s eyes cut to Layne. “She on the back of my bike or in your truck?”

  “I’ll go with Josie,” Rocky snapped.

  “Truck,” Layne clipped.

  Rocky glared.

  Ryker led her firmly to the passenger side of Layne’s truck. Layne bleeped the locks and looked back at
Josie who was folding herself in her car. She bit her lip and looked up at him before she closed her door. Layne turned, nodded to the women who were looking back and forth between the four of them appearing both confused and slightly freaked out but Layne ignored that and walked to his SUV. Ryker was “helping” Rocky into her seat while she now glared at him. When she cleared the door, Ryker shut it, turned his head to Layne and grinned his ugly grin.

  “Where do we meet?” Ryker muttered when Layne got close.

  “Rocky lives here, unit E, apartment three.”

  Ryker nodded, rounded the back of the Suburban and headed to his bike. Layne rounded the hood and got in the driver’s side.

  “How’d you know?” Rocky snapped the minute he cleared the frame and he knew she was pissed.

  He slammed his door and turned to her, resting his forearm on the wheel and locking eyes with her.

  Yep, definitely pissed.

  “Sweetcheeks, advice,” he stated. “Take the two minutes you got while we drive back to your place to shut down that attitude. Yeah?”

  She leaned in and hissed, “Layne! You can’t just –”

  “Shut it down,” Layne repeated.

  “I don’t believe you!” she shot back and his hand snaked out, hooked her around the back of the neck and he pulled her to him as he leaned in.

  “Shut it down,” he growled. “You do not know what you’re doin’. I do this shit for a living, I know what I’m doin’. I do not need you runnin’ wild, actin’ like a nut, gettin’ yourself into trouble. You let me handle this.”

  “I was trying to help,” she bit out.

  “If there’s a time you can help, I’ll tell you when that time is and what you’ll be doin’. You do not go off on your own draggin’ your best friend into this shit. You got caught, she got caught, you’d both be arrested.”

  “My brother’s a cop, Layne,” she reminded him.

  “Yeah, sweetcheeks, but just because your brother’s a cop doesn’t mean you have comprehensive immunity to do any fuckin’ thing you want. You do the crime, he can’t do shit for you and, by the way, breaking and entering is a crime.”

  “I didn’t break, I just jimmied and entered,” she returned.

  Layne let her go, looked to the gearshift and took in a deep breath.

  “Layne –”

  His head shot up, he pierced her with a look and she clamped her mouth shut.

  Then Layne asked, “How much does Josie know?”

  Rocky’s eyes slid to the dashboard but her face stayed turned to him.

  “Roc,” he prompted and her eyes slid back.

  “I let her in on the whole operation,” she whispered.

  “Fuck,” he clipped low.

  “She was the one who talked to me about it!” Rocky defended herself hotly. “She’s heard things about TJ Gaines too. She saw us at church on Sunday and she figured we were up to something and she’s been calling, like, every day to find out what’s going on. She guessed and offered to help. I couldn’t say no.”

  “Yeah,” Layne replied quietly. “Yeah, you could say no.”

  “She’s my best friend!” Rocky cried.

  “Well, that’s good. Least she’d be there to have your back when some rough chick in lockdown made the move to make you her bitch and you’d be able to return the favor.”

  Rocky rolled her eyes. “That would hardly –”

  “Sweetcheeks,” Layne growled, she shut up and glared at him but didn’t say more.

  The silence lengthened as they went into stare down.

  Layne didn’t have time for it so he broke it by saying softly, “You earned a spanking with this shit, baby.” He watched her lids lower and her mouth get soft and he liked it but he was too pissed to let it penetrate so he went on. “No, Roc, seriously, this shit means I’m gonna tan your ass.”

  Her soft look disappeared and she whispered, “You do that, Layne, we have problems.”

  “Sweetcheeks, we already have problems,” he pointed out the obvious, turned to the wheel, slid in his key and started the truck.

  Rocky was silent as he backed out of his spot and drove to her apartment. Josie’s Jeep was in one of Rocky’s slots, Roc’s Merc in another and Layne pulled in between them. Ryker’s Harley was not in sight which likely meant that, since he’d breached The Brendel’s outer fortress, he was scouting the lay of the land.

  Rocky was out of the SUV before he switched it off and she was hoofing it across the street toward the stairs. Josie was standing at the top, waiting for them. Layne took his time following his woman and he did this in an effort at gathering patience. Rocky and Josie were both in the apartment by the time he entered.

  “Do you want a drink?” He heard Rocky asking Josie.

  “Love one, hon, but you know Chip’s a dinner-on-the-table-at-five-thirty-sharp type of guy. I gotta get home and start cookin’,” Josie answered then asked, “You find anything?”

  During this exchange, Layne took off his jacket and threw it on the armchair. By the time he turned, Josie was finished speaking and Rocky was standing in the kitchen.

  Her eyes flashed to him as she answered her friend, “No, I was interrupted.”

  “So all that was for nothing?” Josie asked and while she did, she turned to pin him with an angry woman glare too.

  Layne crossed his arms on his chest. “Tell me, Cagney and Lacey, what were you looking for?”

  “Rental agreements,” Rocky returned instantly.

  “On what?” Layne shot back.

  “On an apartment, Layne,” Rocky retorted with deep sarcasm.

  “What apartment?” Layne asked and Rocky’s head jerked slightly.

  “Sorry?”

  “What apartment, sweetcheeks? I didn’t tell you which unit he was in and I already told you he’s got nothin’ in the name of TJ Gaines in this ‘burg, so how, exactly, were you gonna find an agreement when you didn’t know what fuckin’ agreement you were lookin’ for?” He watched her glare turn even angrier as he pointed out her incompetence, he ignored it and continued. “There’s fifteen units in this complex, forty-five apartments, not counting the twenty townhomes. Every unit occupied. Were you gonna copy them all?”

  “I would have thought of something,” she replied sharply. “Except I barely got through the window before Scary Biker Bob interrupted the proceedings.”

  “Count yourself lucky Ryker was with me, Roc, he thinks this is amusing. I do not.”

  Rocky gave him a long, last glare then turned to Josie. “You know how I was telling you the other day that getting back together with Layne was like someone had answered my prayers?” she asked conversationally and Layne’s chest froze.

  “Unh-hunh,” Josie answered on a mumble, her eyes darting back and forth between Rocky and Layne.

  “Well, I take that back,” Rocky snapped.

  Layne looked at his boots as Josie asked, “Do I need to take Rocky into protective custody?”

  Layne looked at Josie. “It’d be smart but I’m not gonna let you do it.”

  Josie studied Layne awhile then she grinned. “I expect punishment won’t be too harsh.”

  She probably wasn’t wrong about that. Probably.

  “Anyhoots!” Josie suddenly cried, “I gotta go.” She hitched her purse more firmly on her shoulder. “Even though the operation was a bust, it was fun anyway since The Brendel didn’t hire Chip to do their security and brought in a firm outside the ‘burg which is way uncool and meant I couldn’t have that trip to Hawaii I was planning after he put in his bid.” She started to the door but she did it with her torso twisted to Rocky. “See you at the game tomorrow?”

  “Maybe,” Rocky replied. “I’ll want to see Tripp and Jas play but I won’t want to be anywhere near their father so I’m undecided as to my plans tomorrow night.”

  Layne’s neck got tight but Josie smiled like she was trying not to laugh and replied, “Okay, see you at the game then.”

  At any other time, Layne would have
laughed. At that time, Layne didn’t laugh.

  Josie had the door opened and was standing in it when she delivered her parting shot and she did it to Layne.

  “She’s worried,” Josie stated quietly. “They’re young girls and she’s worried. Yeah?”

  She finished on a question but didn’t wait for his answer; she knew she’d driven her point home. She just stepped through the door and closed it behind her.

  Layne’s eyes cut to Rocky who was moving around the kitchen but she wasn’t ignoring him. He knew this when she spoke.

  “I have things to do tonight. Go to the grocery store, grade papers, make some calls about the bachelor auction, stuff like that.” She pulled the coffeepot out of the coffeemaker and went to the sink to rinse it. “I’ll give your house a miss again.”

  “Roc,” he called and she picked up some plastic thing filled with yellow dish liquid and swirled its sponge around the pot. What she didn’t do was respond.

  “Roc,” he called again and she rinsed the soap out of the pot and upended it in the dish drainer.

  Layne walked to the bar separating the kitchen from the living room.

  “Sweetcheeks, eyes to me,” he ordered quietly.

  She turned off the sink, leaned to the side, grabbed a dish towel and turned, drying her hands with the towel. Her eyes hit him and her brows went up.

  Layne spoke. “Cosgrove got word from three colleges they wanted to talk to Jasper. He didn’t pass on those messages.”

  Her brows lowered, her lips parted and she started to look concerned as she tossed the towel on the counter behind her.

  Layne continued. “It’s time I started focusing on Rutledge again but I don’t have that time because I gotta work to pay my bills. I also gotta keep an eye on Stew and Gabby’s house. It’s likely that fuckwad is gone and Colt’s lookin’ into shit but she goes home tomorrow and my boys go back to her tomorrow so I can’t lose track of what’s goin’ on there. I gotta keep sharp about Cosgrove because he’s thrown down, fucked with Jas and he’s the kinda man who won’t see his shortcomings and understand he brought all this shit on himself, he’ll make someone pay. I reckon that’ll be Paige and Seth, Jasper or you. And I got nothin’ on Gaines except I know what he drives, I know where he went last night and I know he’s gotta be shut down. Both my boys are out there on this and somehow, Rutledge, a dirty cop who’s makin’ the Department look bad enough that pretty soon the Chief’s gonna get his head outta his ass and figure out what’s goin’ on, he’s gonna step in and he’s gonna fuck it all up because he got to be Chief not by bein’ a good cop but by bein’ good at playin’ politics. But my boys and my woman come first. You want Gaines and Tripp and Jas are seriously tied up in all this shit and I gotta have their backs.”