Game On (The Game Series)

by Carella, A. J.

  Well, no more. All this had made him realize that he needed to close this chapter of his life if he wanted to move forward with Tara with a clear conscience. And the only way to do that was to find Lori’s killer.

  The pasta was simple but good. He hadn’t eaten all day, having been distracted from his breakfast, so was now starving. He didn’t talk while they ate, digging in hungrily. Putting his fork down after the last satisfying mouthful, Kyle knew that it was time to tell Tara what was going on.

  She already knew what had happened to Lori but what she didn’t know was how much it had affected him afterwards. He’d glossed over his reasons for leaving the LAPD and he hadn’t told her about his obsession leading to him losing everything. He told her now, how the need to find her killer had taken over his life, had led him to sacrifice everything in the search for justice.

  What he couldn’t explain, just couldn’t put into words was how the phone call had triggered the guilt he felt for moving on with his life or how that guilt had turned into anger toward her. Blaming his actions on the phone call, he explained that the shock of it had caused him to react the way he did, an explanation she seemed to accept. He couldn’t tell her the truth. It would hurt her and that’s the last thing in the world he ever wanted to do. No, some things were best kept to himself.

  ***

  Tara listened as Kyle told her about his family, saw the pain in his eyes as he described the effect their loss had had on him. Her heart broke, but she did not reach out to him, sensing that this would just make it harder for him. She instinctively knew that he was holding something back but she didn’t question him, not wanting to push him away.

  There was no question in her mind now that she couldn’t tell him about the message. She wanted to, she didn’t like keeping secrets from him, but he had so much to deal with right now she couldn’t, wouldn’t, burden him further. No, she would just have to bear this on her own for a while longer. She had survived so much in her life. She would manage this too.

  “So you went there today, to see Luccio?” she asked him, hating the feel of his name on her tongue.

  “Not to see him, to find out what information he had. It was worth it, even though I wanted to reach through the glass and choke him. He gave up a name.”

  “That’s great news! So are they going to arrest him?”

  “No.”

  Tara was confused. “Why not?”

  Kyle explained that even if they knew where he was, and they didn’t, the best they could do at the moment would be to bring him in for questioning.

  “Well, they will find him and he will pay for what he did, I’m sure of it.” Tara said brightly, happy that Kyle was going to get his wish. Standing up, she went over and stood behind his chair, slipping her arms around him and nuzzling his neck. “The police will deal with it properly this time, I’m sure. It won’t be the same as it was before.” Kyle didn’t respond. “You are going to let the police deal with it aren’t you? You’re not going to do anything silly?” Tara needed to know.

  “Of course I’m not. Don’t worry,” he said, turning and kissing her cheek.

  Happy now, she cleared the plates and took them into the kitchen. She didn’t see the look on Kyle’s face. If she had, she would have known that just waiting for justice to happen was not going to be an option.

  Chapter 7

  Kyle woke with a start, breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. The nightmare was back. It had been months since he had had it. Since he met Tara. But tonight it was back. It was always the same. He was standing in the parking lot, watching as Lori got shot but not able to protect her. Paralyzed as his wife and unborn child were murdered. The day’s events had brought it all back into sharp focus and he felt completely torn.

  As his breathing slowed and the sweat cooled on his skin, he looked at Tara, curled up next to him. The moonlight streaming through the window lit the room enough for him to be able to see her clearly. He loved this woman with all his heart and he felt disloyal somehow for his thoughts. But he had loved Lori too and the loss of her, and their child, had left him with an open wound that had never healed and he knew, without a doubt, that it would never heal until someone paid.

  Needing a drink, he gently eased himself from the bed so as to not wake Tara and padded through to the kitchen, holding a glass under the tap. His thirst quenched, he returned to the bedroom to find Tara sitting up in bed, the sheet across her lap and her beautiful breasts exposed. Kyle slept naked and, free of any restraints, his cock hardened at the sight of her.

  He needed her then. Needed to lose himself inside her and forget everything. He knelt on the foot of the bed then and she raised herself to her knees to join him. Taking her face in his hands he kissed her, her lips parting under his. He explored her mouth with his tongue, losing himself in the kiss. He felt her reach between their bodies and gently cup his balls in her hand, squeezing them gently as a small groan escaped his lips.

  Pulling herself away from his kiss, she pushed him down onto the bed. With a smile, she knelt between his legs and lowered her mouth to his cock. Gently at first she flicked her tongue along the shaft, up and down, before taking the tip in her mouth. The wetness on his cock almost drove him insane and reaching down, he tried to pull her head down further. She wouldn’t let him and pushed his hands away with a smile. Teasing, she took more of his cock in her mouth. Slow at first and then getting faster, until he had to tell her to stop. He wanted to taste her now so he pulled her towards him.

  “Let me taste your pussy,” he murmured, his voice husky with desire. Turning her back to him, she lowered herself onto his face, her hands resting on his knees. Gripping her ass with his hands, he buried his face between her legs. Her little mewling noises of pleasure made him bury his tongue deeper, until she was panting. “Oh god, oh yeah, baby, yeah” she was shouting, loudly now. He felt her take his cock in her hand and slip a condom on it. He couldn’t wait. He was about to explode.

  He let go of her ass and she turned around to face him. Looking him in the eye, he could see that her pupils were dilated and her lips were parted. Reaching down between her legs she took his cock and gently placed the tip against her pussy, rubbing it back and forth. He couldn’t stand it. Putting his hands on her hips he thrust his hips up slamming his cock all the way into her wet pussy.

  She was riding him now, the slapping as their bodies met and the bouncing of her tits almost driving him insane. He watched as she threw her head back as her body started to spasm. He could feel her pussy clench around his cock and he was lost. With a shout and a final thrust he came, the waves of pleasure rippling through him and never seeming to end. Panting, she collapsed on top of him, his cock still inside her, and he held her close. Eventually he drifted off to sleep again. This time there were no dreams.

  Chapter 8

  They met at a coffee shop just around the corner from the precinct. Kyle had arrived early, anxious, and was already seated in a booth by the window, nursing an Americano when Sandy walked in. Sliding into the seat opposite him she ordered the same and sat back.

  “So? Have you got him?” he asked immediately.

  “Good morning to you, too!” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. He waved her off, impatiently. With a sigh, she replied, “No. I’m sorry, Kyle, but we’ve looked everywhere, got feelers out, but no one has seen him.”

  Kyle felt himself deflate. He had hoped that she would have good news. “So how much effort are the LAPD actually putting into this? I don’t suppose it’s really that important to them.” He felt bad for saying it as soon as he saw the stung look on Sandy’s face. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”

  Sandy nodded. “Yes. It was.” She looked at him in the eyes. “You were one of us Kyle, and so was Lori. It’s important.”

  Kyle dropped his eyes to the coffee in front of him. “So what now?”

  “We keep looking. Keep talking to our CI’s. Something will give. It just may take some time.”

  Tha
t’s exactly what he was worried about. It was starting to eat him up inside and the longer it went on the worse it was going to get. “Give me five minutes with Luccio, alone. I’ll get you the information you need.”

  Sandy sighed. “You know better than anyone that it doesn’t work like that. And you want him to pay don’t you?”

  Kyle nodded.

  “Then you have to let us do this by the book. The last thing any of us wants is to get this guy and then find out he gets off on a technicality.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I guess it’s just that we’ve never been so close before.”

  Sandy looked him in the eye. “I know it’s hard, but you have to believe that we will get him in the end.” She smiled. “Look, as soon as I have any news, anything, I’ll let you know. Okay?”

  Kyle tried to return her smile, but it looked more like a grimace. “Okay. Thanks, Sandy.”

  Drinking the last of his coffee, he left 10 bucks on the table, said his goodbyes and left Sandy to her coffee.

  Chapter 9

  Something was wrong. Tara had been woken by the sound of the front door closing. Checking her watch, she saw that it was not yet 9 a.m. That was twice in two days now he had left without letting her know where he was going. Their lovemaking last night had been as intense, as passionate, as it always was but she couldn’t help but feel that he was holding something back.

  Throwing back the covers, she slipped on her robe and went to make coffee. Pacing round the kitchen, she felt like a caged animal. She couldn’t spend another day all alone with just her thoughts for company. She had started venturing out more and more as time had passed, but she was still nervous about going out alone so, usually, they went out together.

  But today, she needed to get out. If she didn’t, she felt like she was going to scream. She was not going to spend another day cooped up here while Kyle was off god knows where! Deciding to treat herself to breakfast out she quickly showered, pinned her hair up in a bun and got dressed.

  She paused as she stepped out of the apartment and filled her lungs with fresh air. God, that felt good. She stood there a while, feeling the hot sun on her face. Feeling her mood lift, she decided to head to the mall. It was only a few blocks away and she would enjoy the walk.

  She thought she might treat herself to some sexy new underwear. She didn’t think the bedroom was the problem, but it never hurt to make sure that things stayed interesting in that department! She’d been walking for about 20 minutes, enjoying the bustle and noises of life in L.A. when she happened to glance in the window of a coffee shop as she walked passed.

  What she saw stopped her in her tracks, as if she’d been slapped. Kyle was sitting in a booth with another woman. A very attractive woman at that. Looking away in case they saw her, she turned and quickly headed back the way she had come, all thoughts of going to the mall forgotten. She didn’t feel the tears falling from her eyes as she hurried back to the apartment.

  Fool! What had she honestly expected? She of all people should know what men were capable of. Why had she allowed herself to think that this one was any different? But she had. After everything they had been through to be together it had never occurred to her to doubt him. But now she was.

  Running up the stairs of their building and into their apartment, she slammed the door closed behind her. Leaning back against it she took several deep, steadying, breaths. Calm down! She should have trusted her instincts. She’d known something was wrong, that he was holding something back. But what had she actually seen? All he’d been doing was talking to a woman. An attractive one, yes, but that didn’t mean anything.

  Thoughts were fighting for space in her head now. What should she do? She couldn’t ignore what she had seen, it would eat away at her but she couldn’t let herself jump to conclusions either. She knew she had no choice. She would just have to ask him about it and take it from there.

  ***

  It was a couple of hours after she got home that he returned to the apartment.

  “I saw you this morning.” She tried to keep her voice calm, not to let the fear she was feeling seep through.

  “You went out? Why didn’t you tell me?” He seemed angry. “We agreed, remember? If you leave the apartment you’re to tell me where you’re going. What if something happened to you?”

  Tara had assumed it was concern for her welfare that had made him tell her to let him know where she was, but now she wasn’t so sure. “How was I supposed to tell you? You disappeared before I woke up and didn’t even leave a note!” She couldn’t avoid the catch in her voice this time.

  “I know. I’m sorry. There was something I needed to take care of.” He was definitely hiding something this time.

  “In a coffee shop?”

  He sighed. “That’s where you saw me?”

  Tara tried to stay calm. “Who is she?” The fear Tara felt was now rising in her throat.

  “Just a friend. From before I met you.”

  “So what was so important that you had to meet this friend in secret?” She couldn’t stop herself. She had to know.

  “It wasn’t in secret, I just never told you.”

  “You haven’t answered my question, Kyle. What was so important?”

  “Look, it’s nothing to do with you, okay? Some things are my own business and you’ll just have to learn to trust me!” Turning away from her, he stormed off towards the bedroom.

  ***

  Kyle felt bad for keeping secrets from her, but it was for her own good. How could he possibly expect her to understand this obsession with catching his wife’s killer? He loved her but that didn’t mean that he didn’t need to see justice for his family. Would she understand that? He thought she would but it wasn’t a chance he was prepared to take.

  There was no need for her to know what was going on and when it was finished he would make it up to her. But it needed to finish. He knew the LAPD were doing all they could but they had to work within the law. He didn’t. He had a lot of contacts from his time working for Luccio and it was about time he paid some of them a visit.

  The person he was going to see lived in Compton, one of the most dangerous areas of L.A. Kyle decided not to take any chances and slipped on his shoulder holster, carefully checking that his gun was loaded and that the safety was on. The gun was a throw away that he’d kept from his time on the force. Unregistered and with no serial number, it could never be traced back to him.

  Compton was not a place you went asking questions unprepared to defend yourself. Unfortunately, a lot of the people Luccio dealt with lived or hung out down there. The person he was going to see was Jimmy (JJ) Jonson. Jimmy headed up Luccio’s local distribution network. Somehow, and Kyle hadn’t wanted to ask and invite questions, he had avoided the round up when Luccio was arrested. If anyone knew anything, it was going to be him. He was just slipping on his jacket when the bedroom door opened.

  One look at her face told him that she’d seen the holster. She knew he had a gun. They’d talked about it and she had agreed that it was a good idea to keep it at the moment, for safety reasons, but she’d never seen him wear it.

  “What’s that for?” she asked, her eyes glued to the gun.

  “I need to go out again, see some people. It’s nothing to worry about,” he told her as he zipped up his jacket.

  “What things? And what do you need a gun for?”

  Turning to her, he took her face in his hands. “It’s just a couple of things that need sorting out. I promise you, it’s nothing for you to worry about.”

  She shook her face free angrily. “How can I not worry when you won’t tell me what’s going on?”

  “There’s nothing going on!” He watched as she angrily turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. He was only trying to protect her, he told himself as he opened the door and followed her out.

  She was standing in the living room with her back turned. “I don’t know what you’re getting so upset about!”

  Sh
e turned to look at him and gestured round the apartment. “You don’t know?” Her tone was one of disbelief. “I’m in a strange country with a man I hardly know. One I love, no doubt, but let’s face it. I hardly know you. And you suddenly start disappearing without telling me where you’re going. You don’t think that’s enough to get upset about?”

  He could see that she was really upset. She was trying to be angry but she appeared close to tears. “Why can’t you just trust me? I promise you, it’ll be over soon.”

  Tara turned her face away as he came to kiss her goodbye and, with a shrug, he left. What will be over soon? Tara had no idea but she knew that whatever it was, it was threatening to tear them apart.

  Chapter 10

  After he had gone, Tara sat staring aimlessly at the apartment walls. Had she made a huge mistake? After all, what did she really know about this man? She knew what her feelings told her, but she knew nothing about him. That he was hiding something was obvious. She just didn’t know what.

  Of course she was glad to be rid of Sergei and far away from the men who had used her in so many different ways, it just wasn’t turning out the way she had expected. In fact, she wasn’t sure what she had expected, she hadn’t given it much thought. She’d just been happy that she was with Kyle and away from Sergei.

  A knock on the door made her jump. No one ever knocked on their door. Remembering what Kyle had taught her, she didn’t get too close to the door before shouting, “Who’s there?”

  “Sandy Drake,” came the answer.

  Keeping the chain on, Tara cautiously opened the door a crack. What she saw left her rooted to the spot and momentarily speechless. It was the woman she’d seen with Kyle!

  “Hi, is Kyle in?” The woman was looking at her strangely and Tara realised that she hadn’t moved or said anything since opening the door.