by Bex Dane
"I'm on my way," Remy replies.
The urge to run to her takes over. I can't wait for the others. She needs me now. "I'm moving in."
"Mace, wait. Wait for us to get there," Wayne warns. "We got her. We're on our way to back you up."
"I can't wait. I can't. I want her out now." I strain to see into the residence, but there's no movement. "I'm going in."
"Mace, wait," Wayne yells, but this isn't his gig. It's mine.
"If you want me to hold off, you need to get here in the next sixty seconds. After that, the volcano explodes, and it's game over."
"Wait for backup, Mace." Cutter's voice. "You helped me. Let me help you."
"I work alone."
"No. Mace. Not today." My dad's voice is the only one with a chance of reaching me when I'm like this. "We're your family. You don't get to make this choice. We're telling you to hold off till we're there. You have to trust Loralei on this."
I growl back at my dad. I can't argue with him. He's right. He's so right, and I hate it.
"Hurry the fuck up." It'll drive me insane, but I'll wait.
"We'll be there in a few minutes," Cutter says.
Okay. Cutter is close. I'll wait for him. He's good with a knife. I check my gun for the four millionth time. I don't need his knife. My gun will work just fine.
A car I haven't seen before pulls into the drive and parks in front of the garage door. My muscles spasm when Diablo of all fucking people gets out of the car. He approaches the front door casually like he's here to pick up a package. No way. He's not getting anywhere near her.
"Diablo's here."
I said I'd wait but that was before. This changes everything.
As he's taking the steps to the front door, I exit my vehicle and barrel toward him like a rabid dog who's been stuck in a cage his entire life and finally set free.
Diablo hears me coming and pulls a gun. He gets a shot off and misses. The momentum of my body hitting his throws us both to the ground and knocks the gun from his hand. I'm taller than him, but he's thick and starts throwing some loaded punches at me. I don't care if I get hurt as long as I can keep him away from Lola. Even better if I can distract Simon long enough for her to escape.
I hear a scuffle in the background, but I can't see what's happening. I'm too busy beating Diablo's ass.
Blood stains my knuckles and his face before Cutter finally shows up and stops me. He takes control of Diablo's arms and presses a knee to his back. "Where's Loralei?"
"Inside." Panting, sweating, heart pounding, I stand up and enter the house. Simon is passed out on the floor, and the place seems empty. Looking around, I catch a flash of brown hair flying out of a door. I follow her and see her jump into a Land Cruiser as it's pulling out of the garage.
Chapter 20 Hannah Clark
Loralei
Simon pokes me in the back with the barrel of his gun. So unnecessary. I'm not even fighting him.
I'm still angry he searched me and tossed all my tracking devices in the trash, but I'm not trying to get away. I don't want to escape Simon right now. I want him to lead me to whoever has this bounty on my head, so I can arrest them. We're in a luxury house up in the hills with the air conditioning blasting even though it's a cool day outside. I hope Mace and his family were able to follow us here. If not, I'm on my own.
Out of habit, I catalogue all the exits. Behind me, the front door, a big sliding glass door off the living room, and the inner garage door near the kitchen that we came through to get in. I remember noticing other cars in the garage, so there could be more people here. We stand silently and awkwardly in the living room. "Why are we here?"
Simon looks up. Giselle struts leisurely down the stairs like Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. "Well, hello, Simon."
Ah, so it was Giselle. I would've bet money Diablo put the bounty out on me, but it was her. She must be very worried I'll spill everything I know, and she'll end up rotting in prison.
Seeing her triggers my memory again. Diablo dropped me off on the island. Introduced me to her. He kissed her. Diablo kissed Giselle. I get it now. They're a couple, and she was facilitating the transfer of women to Arthur.
I remember how she was so nice and welcoming to me, but then she offered me drugs. When I refused, she forced it on me. She doesn't look like a bad person. She's dressed elegantly, like someone who has money. It's so hard to believe she's secretly trafficking women to transport drugs.
She reaches the bottom of the stairs and walks over to me. "Hello, Loralei." She fakes a smile and a sweet tone, but I see right through her act. "Or should I call you Leona?"
"Why am I here, Giselle?"
"I just wanted to speak with you."
"Here I am. Speak." I'm listening outside for any sign Mace has found me, but I don't hear anything.
"About the island. Well, people are trying to make it seem like I'm involved in some kind of drug operation, but I assure you I'm not."
She absolutely is. She's a fantastic liar. "Again, why am I here?"
Her gaze flicks over my shoulder to Simon. "I just need you to tell them you never saw me on the island."
She wants me to lie for her? "But I did see you, and you drugged me against my will."
Her eyebrows narrow. "Are you like your father?"
What? I'm shocked to hear her mention my dad. "What do you mean?"
"He was a goddamn self-righteous one too. Acting innocent when he wasn't. Accusing me of things." She leans back and props her wrists on her hips.
"If you mean am I going to tell the truth and get you arrested? Yes, then I'm exactly like my father."
Her face turns red. "That didn't work out so well for him. Did it?"
Oh. Now we're getting somewhere. "Were you involved in my father's death?"
"Of course not." She shakes her head and avoids my gaze.
"You were. You and Diablo are a team. You took out my dad for threatening to turn on you. Didn't you?"
"No." She feigns shock in her voice, but it's all clear now. These people took down my father, and now they want to take me out too. I need to get this guy off my back, so I can take her into custody, but he's not moving.
That's when I hear it.
A thump at the front door. Thank God. Is Mace here?
As we all turn to look, a shot rings out.
This is my chance. Approaching Simon from the rear, I slip my arm around his neck and pull him into a choke hold as I wrench him sideways. I push him off center and he falls. I jump one leg over his torso and stomp on his wrist until he drops the gun.
Giselle takes off running.
"Dammit."
I kick Simon in the balls as hard as I possibly can. He twists and grunts, but I still have his neck. I stomp on his balls with all my weight. He groans and doubles forward. He'll be hurting for a little while.
I leave him and chase after Giselle.
She has the garage door open, and she's backing a Land Cruiser out.
I run around to the passenger side and jump in just as the car is pulling away.
"Get out!" She pushes my shoulder.
I slam my door shut and put on my seatbelt as she looks out the back window.
Mace is running after the car.
She floors it, and we're off down the hill.
I punch her in the face. Her head snaps back and the car jerks. "Ow! That was uncalled for, Loralei."
"That was for Cass and Cutter."
She holds up a hand to block me, but she's trying to drive and she's an easy target now.
I punch her in the nose and hear a crack. "That's for Hannah Clark." She slams on the breaks, and the car starts spinning. I reach over to grip the wheel and hold it steady. I manage to grab the key and cut the engine. All I can do now is wait for us to slide to a stop.
Bushes crunch and tires skid before we finally come to a halt. I can't tell where we are, but the car is tipped at a steep angle.
Mace yanks my door open.
"Mace!"
His massive arm surges in and grabs my elbow. The car slips and I scream.
I hold onto his arm for dear life. "Don't let go, no matter what."
Mace wraps a strong arm around my waist and pulls hard. Once I'm out, I kick the frame of the car.
The Land Cruiser creaks. "That was for my dad."
The car slips and shakes.
The ground falls off below it.
The Land Cruiser tumbles down the steep cliff.
A blast knocks my eardrums, and the car bursts into flames. The dry brush around it ignites and a fire erupts.
Helicopter blades beat over our heads. Remy is watching from above.
Cass and Cutter come running down the street.
"Remy called 911," Cutter says.
We all stand around and watch the car burn.
Mace holds me tight in his arms.
I can't believe what just happened.
Sirens approach as he kisses me. "God. I hated that."
"It's okay. We're okay."
"Yeah."
Firemen and police arrive with sirens blaring, but I'm numb. They climb down the slope to put out the fire.
After twenty minutes, they pull her burned body from the Land Cruiser and cover it with a blanket.
Mace kisses me again. "I was so fucking worried."
"I didn't know if you guys were here."
"I was here. Cutter was right behind me."
"That was too close."
"You're okay now. You're safe."
Chapter 21 Shopping
Mace
A week after the ordeal with Diablo and Giselle, Lola continues to impress me. She handled all the fall-out like a pro. She had to interact with her counterparts at SFPD, and seeing her in her professional role for the first time confirmed what I already knew. Lola has a spine of steel. She doesn't crack under pressure, and she knows who she is. Her strong sense of justice guides her every decision, and she takes the law seriously, at least in front of her peers and superiors at the police department.
Lola ends the call with her captain and presses her lips together.
"What did she say?"
"Diablo's been transferred to the DEA." She speaks curtly and precisely, but emotion simmers in her eyes. She looks away when she senses me trying to read her.
"This is good news. He'll probably sing to get a reduced sentence. You've done a good thing." She's shown no sign of guilt or regret for sending Diablo to prison or Giselle to visit the devil, so why is she hesitating now? Delayed reaction?
"I'm going shopping." Her knuckles turn white as she rubs her hands together.
"Okay." I stand up and grab my keys.
"What're you doing?" She stares at my keys in my hand.
"I'll take you."
"It's just shopping. I can do it alone. You'll be bored."
"Babe. You just got off the phone with SFPD, a vein is popping in your temple, and your voice is strung out. I'm coming with you on your shopping trip."
She looks around like she's misplaced something. "Um. Okay."
All this is suspicious from a woman I'd trust with my life. "You gonna tell me what this is really about?"
She jets around the room, grabbing her shoes, a purse, a jacket and stumbles to the door. "Right now I'm going shopping. That's all I can tell you. If you're coming, let's go. I'll drive."
"I'm driving."
"I need to drive." She spins and growls at me like a caged lion. "I need to drive my Maserati. Fast. If you're coming, be prepared to buckle in and shut up."
I chuckle and push my keys into the pocket of my jeans. I walk over to her and kiss her temple, but she remains stiff. "If you need to work off something, we can do that right here without breaking the speed limit. I'm fully able and willing to let you take this out on me." I raise my arms and look down my body.
Her gaze follows mine down to my shoes. On the way back up, she stops to stare at my junk, her eyes turning hot. Her tongue juts out and swipes her lower lip, but her shoulders are still up to her ears. "Later." She shakes her head to break the hypnotic power of my dick through my pants. "Right now I need to drive and go shopping. Then I'll take it out on you."
I have to laugh at how she's making elaborate plans to deal with whatever's stressing her out instead of just doing what feels right to get it out. "We could fix this all right now with a good hour in my bed, but if you need to shop and drive first, I'm okay with that."
"You're confusing me, Mace."
"You're overthinking this."
"No. No. Because if we stop and have sex right now, I'll still need to go shopping afterward. It won't fix this. So shopping, driving, then monkey sex."
"Sounds like a plan." I smile and wrap an arm around her waist as we walk out of my cabin. "Whatever you need, my love."
She gasps and looks up at me. That's the first time the L word has come out of my mouth around her. I just grin down at her. I said it. Deal with it. She's going to be hearing a lot more about love from me very soon, so she'd better get used to it.
***
After a hair-raising cruise in the Maserati, we end up parked in front of Fantasy Island Adult Gifts in Sacramento. "A sex shop?"
"Yep. This is perfect."
"We buying toys?" We haven't used any toys in the bedroom yet, but if she wants to, I'm open to it.
"One toy. A dildo."
Uh. Maybe I'm not open to that. "If you're looking for a dick up your ass, I'd be happy to provide one."
"This isn't about one dick, Mace." She pulls the key out of the ignition and opens her door. "It's about a lot of dicks."
She closes the door and marches into the store. I watch her from the car and laugh. I have no idea what she's up to, but she has my full attention.
***
Two stops later and her backseat is loaded up with dildos of all sizes and colors, plastic wrap, and glitter. She still won't tell me what she's up to, but I'm laughing my ass off as we drive out to San Mateo.
"You wanna tell me who we're getting revenge on?"
She stops in front of a two-story condo at the top of a hill. "Griffin."
"Ahh." Her ex who had ties to Diablo. "I thought you said he was small fish?"
"That was before he cost me my job."
She reaches into the backseat and grabs handfuls of her supplies.
"He cost you your job?"
We both close our doors and talk over the top of the car.
"My supervisor just laid me off. Permanently. No more uncertainty. All because stupid Griffin told Diablo I was back. He set off the chain of events that led to the bounty on me and Giselle falling to her death. And the end of my career as a cop."
"I see."
"So now he pays." She marches toward the front door and I follow her.
"I have to say I like your ire so much more when it's not directed at me."
She plops her bags down on the porch and starts duct taping dildos to the front door. I sit back and watch her do her work. A big pink one on the door handle itself has me beaming.
The plastic wrap is weaved between them and anchored to a post. She works quickly with determination. There's no humor for her in this. I'm laughing my ass off watching her take this so seriously.
"Almost done."
The final step is glue and rainbow glitter all over everything she just created. No one is going through that door without getting glittered. I have to laugh remembering when she did this to my truck. I had that shit in my hair and fingernails for days.
She takes a step back to admire her work. "It'll do." She turns and marches back to the car with her empty bags.
I get in and smile at her. "We done?"
"One last thing." She picks up her phone and presses the screen. "Hi, Captain Sanchez. This is Loralei Valentine. I want to add to my report one of Diablo's dealers." She says the address twice. "I'm sure you'll find plenty of evidence inside that residence." She ends the call and looks at me. For the first time since the call with her supervisor, she's sm
iling. "Done."
I wrap my hand around the back of her head and pull her in for a kiss. "You are diabolical."
"A little revenge on the former employer at the same time doesn't hurt."
"Are we gonna stake it out and watch?"
"Nope." She wipes her hands together like she'd dusting off the last of the glitter. "I don't need to watch. I'm good."
I kiss her again and laugh. "Let's go to the bluffs."
"The bluffs? Why?"
"Let's go tell your dad Diablo is in jail, Giselle is in hell, and Griffin will pay in glitter."
She giggles and starts up the car. "All right."
***
The wind of the bay pushes her hair back and whips it around her face. I'm sitting on the hood of the car near the front driver's side tire, my legs spread, Lola between them looking hesitant again after her display of unfettered mojo earlier.
I run my thumb over her cheek. Her skin is cold, so I place my palm there to warm her up. I wrap my arms around her and hold her to my chest. "Tell your dad."
"No. It's silly."
"Tell your dad what happened today or I will."
She purses her lips and shakes her head.
"All right. Hey, Emrick. This is Mace!" I call it out into the wind like he's standing at the edge of the bluffs. She giggles. "Your daughter here is badass."
She pushes on my chest. "Shut up."
"Your girl took down a drug lord, a human trafficker, and a dealer all in one week."
"His girl also lost her job. The career she's given up everything for since he died. It was all I had. I was trying to prove…"
"What were you trying to prove?"
"I don't know. That he wasn't a bad guy. That I'm not like him. Redeem the Valentine name. God, it sounds stupid to say it, but getting fired from my job makes me feel like a failure. I can hear the gossip at work. She's like her father. Bad to the core. Giselle said it too. She asked me if I'm like my father. She called him self-righteous."