by Jen Talty
“Who is it?” Blaine whispered.
“What do you want, Nino?” Kaylee asked.
Blaine kept her gaze, mouthing her to keep him on the line. Not something she wanted to do.
“I just want you to come home where you belong.”
“We’re through, Nino. You don’t love me; you’ve made that painfully clear.”
Dave had flipped open his cell while Blaine continued to hold her gaze, giving her strength and comfort.
“Oh, but I do love you, and you must come home. Please don’t make me have someone come find you.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Oh, baby, not at all. You see, there is this matter of a criminal case and those documents you stole. I don’t want to have to subpoena you. Or worse…have you arrested. You are an important witness, and you must come and testify.”
“No, Nino, I won’t lie for you.”
“Don’t be foolish. You know what could happen.”
A sudden, sharp twist in her muscle reminded her of what could happen. She could feel herself begin to weaken, but she knew if she caved this time, she’d be dead as soon as she put the receiver down. “I’m not frightened of you anymore.”
“Your ex-husband can’t help you. As a matter of fact, I could take him out right now.”
“Blaine!” she shouted. “He can see you!”
Everyone in the room rushed to her side as she buckled to the ground. “Nino, please don’t do this,” she whispered, but all Nino did was laugh as the phone went dead.
Strong arms cradled her, lifting her off the floor. “Give her some room,” she heard Blaine say.
“He can see us. He said he’d take you out.” She looped her arms around his shoulders, burying her face in his neck. “He’s going to kill us.”
“If he wanted us dead now, I think there’d be gunfire,” Toby said.
Blaine carried her into the den. He set her down on the love seat, then sat next to her, drawing her close to his body. She tried to relax, but her body shook. She knew Nino had found her when someone shot at her, but hearing his voice. Hearing his threats…knowing he could make them come true.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“It’s not your fault.”
“I have to take responsibility for my own actions,” she said. “Not doing that destroyed us years ago. I’m not going to let it kill us now.”
He tilted her chin then brushed his lips against hers tenderly. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt us anymore.”
She wanted to believe that, but life had taught her differently. He kissed her again. His touch was gentle and loving. She clutched at his shoulders, not wanting to let go, but he pushed her back. “As much as I like where this is headed, I have a safe to blow up.”
“You’re going to do what?”
11
Kaylee swallowed, crossing her arms around her middle.
“Are you sure you want to do this now?” Dave asked.
Kaylee felt the blood drain from her face. “No. I’m not sure, and I’m not the one making some kind of bomb.”
“We can open the safe another time,” Dave said with soft, caring eyes.
“I think now is good,” Blaine said, not looking up from his tools that would safely blow up the safe, at least according to him. Kaylee had to wonder. “I don’t want a locksmith coming. I don’t want anyone else in this house.”
“I don’t like bending—”
Blaine interrupted Dave. “You didn’t have a problem with it when I suggested it.”
“Kaylee,” Dave said. “I really need a verbal consent that you want him to do this.”
“Just open the damn thing.” She wrinkled her nose. “That stuff smells.”
Blaine glanced up, his eyes sparkling like a kid in a candy store. Kaylee got the distinct feeling he enjoyed doing this. “You get used to it.”
She rubbed her nose. “Not.”
“I thought they taught you how to diffuse them, not make them.” Dave laced his fingers around Kaylee’s forearm. “Maybe we should take a step back.” Dave tugged her down the hallway and into the foyer.
Blaine fiddled with some wires and then stepped back with a smile. “If I can’t build one, I can’t take one apart. If I can’t take them apart without blowing myself up, I should have gone into a different line of work.” He winked. “Watch this.”
A loud pop filled the room as the door to the safe flew from the wall, crashing into the other wall before landing on the floor with a thud.
“Oops. I guess I used too much.” Blaine wiped off some of the soot that had reared up and landed on him.
“Glad I stuck with homicide in my early days,” Dave muttered.
“You have to be homicidal to work bomb squad,” Blaine said.
Kaylee shivered “I can’t believe you did shit like that for a living.”
“And survived,” Toby added, rubbing his scruffy face. “Man, I’m impressed.”
“Kaylee, why don’t you take a look inside,” Dave instructed.
She took small, tentative steps toward the hole in the wall and stood next to Blaine. “Can you see anything?” she asked.
“Just a shoe box.” He gave her a reassuring smile, but it didn’t really help.
“I can’t do this.” Kaylee froze.
“Can I look?” Blaine reached into the safe, pulling out a box.
Kaylee just nodded.
“Well?” Dave said.
“Pictures,” Blaine said, not looking up, but flipping through them.
“Of what?” Dave asked.
“I think I’ll leave the room,” Kaylee said, but Dave kept a strong arm on her, foiling her escape.
“What do we know about Rachael and this boyfriend of hers?” Blaine asked, shifting things around in the box.
“Rachael?” Kaylee ran her trembling fingers across her throat. “What does she have to do with this?”
“Not sure.” Blaine tilted his head, showing his dark, intense eyes.
“She told me she thinks he’s the one,” Kaylee added. “But why do you ask?”
“Poor, unsuspecting bastard, someone should warn him about that wacko,” Toby said.
“She’s not a wacko,” Kaylee argued.
“Wanna bet? She had the balls to claim I was the father of a baby who didn’t even exist.”
“Why would she do that?” Kaylee knew Toby and Rachael had problems with each other over the years, but this was news to her. “She doesn’t even like you.”
“All that woman wants is to get married and have a kid,” Toby said. “And she doesn’t give a damn who it’s with. Or who it hurts.”
“You and Rachael?” Kaylee asked, staring at Toby.
“Eons ago,” he said. “One night.”
“Let’s focus on Rachael’s present love life,” Blaine said.
“What do Rachael and her love life have to do with what is in that box?” Dave asked.
“By the looks of these pictures, I think Rachael had an affair with Rutherford.”
“Oh, God, no.” Kaylee rushed forward and yanked the pictures from Blaine’s hands. There had to be some mistake. “Holy shit! Oh, Daddy, what the hell were you thinking?”
Blaine held up a note. “And it looks like she was blackmailing him.”
Kaylee knelt next to Blaine. “Why would she do that? She was my friend, why the hell would she sleep with my father? Why would my father sleep with her?” She rocked back on her heels, staring at pictures she wished she’d never seen.
“Kaylee,” Dave said as he knelt down beside her and glanced at the photos in her hands. “I need to take these pictures, okay?”
She nodded. “Next thing, you’ll tell me the nice police chief here is my dad.”
“Impossible…and not funny,” Dave said, lifting a brow.
“I’m sorry, but my life has become a comic strip. I need a drink.”
“Sounds good to me.” Blaine took her by the hand and led her into the family room. Getti
ng good and drunk wouldn’t solve anything, but it would take the edge off. She stood in front of her father’s liquor stash. She wasn’t much of a liquor drinker. She preferred wine, and could tolerate beer, but hard liquor made her sick.
“I’ll get you something.” He motioned to her father’s favorite wingback chair. She settled into the oversized chair. It had been her father’s throne, and no one ever sat in it without permission. She watched as Blaine poured two drinks. She’d always liked watching him. He didn’t have to be doing anything. Could be reading a book. Sleeping. Whatever. Watching him always made her feel calm. He handed her a drink. She swirled the brown liquid then took a good gulp.
“Whoa.” She shook her head. “Just what the doctor ordered.”
“What is it about Rachael that appeals to you?” Blaine asked. “I mean, she was always trying to outdo you. Be better than you. Hell, she even made a pass at me while we were together.”
“I don’t know,” Kaylee said. “We’ve been friends since we could talk.”
“But she always tried to put you down.”
Kaylee took another long, slow sip. This time it didn’t burn as much, but her stomach did sour, sending a warm chill across her middle. “Not really.”
“She tried to break us up.” He leaned against the bookcase, legs crossed at the ankles in that sexy stance of his.
“So did your parents, my parents, and half this damn town.”
“Point taken, but I still don’t understand.”
“It’s not any different than you and Toby.”
“Toby has never done anything hurtful to me.”
“Maybe not, but he did tell you we were making a mistake by getting married.” She tossed back the rest of her drink and then let out a little belch. “Sorry.”
“That’s different.”
She laughed. “He might have been nice about it, but he made his point loud and clear.”
“He still stood up with us. He was still there for us. For me.”
Blaine was making this too easy for her. She’d be able to make her point and then go pass out. “You had to guilt him into it. He only stood there because he owed you. You two are like brothers. You love him because you don’t know anything else, no matter what. I feel the same way about Rachael. She may have done and said some things because she was hurt, or out of spite, but she was always there for me.”
“That close friend of yours had an affair with your father,” his words were clipped. “Giving her motive to kill him.”
Blaine refilled her glass, ignoring his inner conscience. She never could handle her alcohol, but the day’s events had been overwhelming. He also understood her point, but it didn’t help. Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Rachael was now a suspect. “I’ll be right back.” Blaine handed her the glass and slipped out into the hallway.
“Who takes pictures like this?” Dave asked, going through the box.
“Emma, would you go sit with Kaylee?” Blaine asked. He no longer thought she’d run. He just didn’t want her to be alone.
“Sure.” Emma squeezed his shoulder and disappeared into the other room.
“These are killing my eyes. I just don’t get it. Does everyone take naked pictures these days? Have sex tapes?” Dave dropped the pictures in a bag.
“No, Dad. Only people who want to jerk off…or someone with an agenda,” Toby sat down on the steps and rubbed his scruffy beard. “I bet Rutherford didn’t even know the pictures existed until she showed them to him.”
“Why would he sleep with her? Hell, she’s a child.” Dave shook his head.
“Am I a child?” Toby asked with a lifted brow.
“You know what I mean. It would be like me going after Emma or Kaylee.”
“Not even close, Dad.”
“I beg to differ.” Dave sat down on the step next to his son. “Rachael had been his daughter’s best friend. He’s known her since she was in diapers. That’s gross.”
“But she is—and was—a grown woman in these pictures, and age doesn’t necessarily matter in affairs of the heart,” Toby said.
Blaine let out a dry chuckle. “Because you’re an expert on this subject?”
“No,” Toby said. “Just saying.”
“How long have you and Emma been seeing each other?” Dave asked.
“About six months,” Toby said. “And this has nothing to do with Rachael or Rutherford.”
Blaine watched shock register on Dave’s face. Dave had never thought his son would change his wild ways. Hell, neither did Blaine, but sometimes the right woman changed them for you.
“You have a girlfriend,” Dave said. “A real girlfriend. I think your mother is dancing in heaven.”
“Speaking of Mom,” Toby said. “I’d like Emma to be the only one. As a matter of fact, I was hoping to give her Mom’s ring.”
Blaine slapped his hands together and laughed out loud. He wasn’t laughing because it was funny, but the look on Dave’s face was classic. “Dave, you okay?”
“Ring? Diamond?” Dave managed between coughs. “You? Emma? Oh, boy. I’d better sit down.”
“You are sitting down, Dad.” Toby slapped his hand on his father’s shoulder.
“Does Emma know any of this?” Blaine asked.
“No, and you better not ruin it,” Toby said.
“When are you going to pop the question?” Dave asked.
Toby rubbed his scruffy beard, and his face turned white. “As soon as I get up the nerve.”
“That could take a while,” Blaine teased. “I could tell her for you.”
“You screw this up for me, I’ll deck you.” Toby stood, eyeing the other room. “You let me handle my love life, okay?” Toby nailed Blaine in the chest with his finger. “You take care of Kaylee.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Blaine’s arms flew wide.
Toby cleared his throat just as Emma appeared in the foyer.
“How’s Kaylee?” Dave asked.
“Halfway to drunk, and she’s totally creeped out by Rachael and her father. Not to mention the phone call from De Luca.” Emma slipped under Toby’s arm. “I wouldn’t want to be her right now.”
“Emma, I’d like a word with you about Kaylee’s situation,” Dave said.
“Nothing to talk about. She’s my client, and I’ll make sure things go through the proper channels and your office is covered.” Emma smiled. “Blaine, you should go back in there. She’s kind of all over the place, and I think she’d rather have you around right now.”
“Thanks.” Blaine took a deep breath and then peered into the family room.
Kaylee sat right where he’d left her. She’d just emptied another glass. Time to get her to bed.
Blaine helped Kaylee up the stairs and tucked her between the sheets in her father’s room. The paleness of her already porcelain skin appeared ghost-like in the dim light. “I’ll have Emma make you some French toast and cocoa.”
“I’m sorry.” She hiccupped, snuggling with the pillow. “I hate to cause you such problems.”
“You’re not the problem.” He forced himself to remain standing, when he really wanted to climb between those covers and hold her.
Her eyelids fluttered open. “Do you really think Rachael could’ve had an affair with my father?”
“They were having an affair,” Blaine said, recalling seeing them at the local diner a few times.
“Not that I don’t think my father was attractive, but why would she be interested in him?”
“That’s what I intend to find out.”
“What about Nino?” She closed her eyes and began to roll away.
“You let me and Emma worry about him.” He took a step away from the bed. Deep down he knew in a day or two he’d be forced to turn her over to someone else, or turn his back on everything he believed in.
“Go to sleep,” he whispered. He turned off the light and headed down to find Dave. It was time to find out what the hell Rachael was up to.
“You ready?” Blaine a
sked, grabbing his keys from the counter.
“Any idea where she is?” Dave asked.
“Let’s try her house first.”
“I’ll follow you.” Dave opened the door and headed for his pickup.
Once on the road, Blaine radioed the dispatcher to call Rachael.
“Go ahead, she’s on the line.”
“Ms. Hicks, this is Assistant Police Chief Walker…”
“Why the formalities?” Rachael asked.
“This is official. I need to speak with you.”
“Oh my God!” she screeched. “Are my parents okay?”
“They’re fine; just sit tight. I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”
“Okay,” she said, and the line went dead.
Thank God. He couldn’t handle talking to her another minute. He’d always tolerated her because of Kaylee, but he didn’t trust her.
A few gray clouds filtered though the dark sky as evening gave way to night. The air was still crisp and cool, but the softness in the wind gave the subtle hint that old man winter was on his last gasp.
The driveway to Rachael’s small, quaint home was completely cleared of snow, but mounds of the white stuff lined the drive. Blaine wondered how she afforded this house. She’d bought it at the same time she’d started her new antique business, and after she’d done nothing but hop from decorating job to decorating job, not doing much of anything. Blaine wondered who could have been paying her bills when he peeked into her garage to see her shiny convertible and a new Lexus SUV.
Dave knocked on the door, tucking the shoebox under his arm. “Don’t get her all defensive.”
“Yes, boss.”
“I mean it, Blaine.” Dave lifted a brow just as the door rattled.
“Good evening.” Rachael gave them a half-smile, opening the door and waving them in. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, thanks, ma’am,” Dave said.
Blaine followed them into the family room, all the while checking out the expensive antique furnishings and paintings. He suspected it had cost a small fortune to decorate this house. “How long have you lived here?”
“I’ve lived in this town my whole life, except for the four years I was at school.”