“I guess your dad and I are lucky guys then, because we’re surrounded by beautiful ladies,” he says, winking at me. What the hell is wrong with me? Suddenly, I’m imagining Jack and me married with our own family. Is it possible? I doubt it. If Jack finds out about my past, he won’t want me. Jarod and his buddies made sure of that.
The man that entered the room with everyone snaps me out of my thoughts as he approaches me and extends his hand. I shake it as he introduces himself, “I’m Kurtis, Gia’s husband and father to these little rugrats.”
“Hi Kurtis, good to meet you,” I return.
Okay, I know this isn’t everybody. Where’s his sister Isabelle? I’m kind of hoping she doesn’t show because I’m not sure I’m ready to face her yet. What will I say to her if she does? Umm, I hope you didn’t get the shits the other night. I didn’t really mean it. Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? This’ll be a disaster if she shows up. As if on cue, in walks the supermodel herself. Perfect!
She stops as she enters the room and stares at me icily. “What the fuck’s she doing here?” she snaps.
“Isabelle Rosa De Luca! Watch your mouth! You should be ashamed of yourself,” her mother scolds.
“Sorry, Ma,” Isabelle mumbles as she blushes and looks down at the floor in shame.
Jack hands Lily over to her father and walks over towards Isabelle. I hear him tell her in a gruff voice that he wants a word with her in the kitchen. She nods then leaves the room. Jack comes back to me and says, “I’m going to explain everything to her. She’ll get over it.” Yeah, right. I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.
As he leaves the dining room, his mother approaches and once again wraps her arms around my shoulder. “Let’s get you fed. Put some meat on your bones,” she says while directing me to a seat. Everyone else sits around the table and, shortly after, Jack and Isabelle re-enter the room. He has his hand on her back and both are smiling. I guess their little chat went over well. Thank God!
Jack sits in the empty chair next to me, and Isabelle occupies the one directly across from me. I feel the warmth of his hand on my upper thigh as he gives it a reassuring squeeze. I glance over at Isabelle and make eye contact. Her eyes are still cold and uncaring as she returns my stare. So, I haven’t been forgiven. She still hates me.
“Payton,” she greets with a nod.
“Isabelle,” I return. Yep, this is going to be awkward.
“Okay, now that everyone’s met. The food’s getting cold. Dig in,” Jack’s mother says. Spread all across the large table are dozens of Italian dishes. Everything looks and smells amazing; I don’t know where to begin.
“I don’t even know where to start,” I mutter to Jack, a little overwhelmed.
“Everything’s excellent, but you’ve got to try her Rigatoni con la Pajata and Prosciutto di Parma. They’re fucking phenomenal!”
“Watch your mouth!” his mother hisses from the head of the table.
“Sorry, Ma,” he apologizes sheepishly. I can’t help but smile at his reaction to his mother. It’s another side of the man that I’m just learning about, and I like it. A lot. He dishes some food onto my plate, and we dig in. Oh my God! Everything Maria has prepared is unbelievably good. It’s like a little piece of heaven in my mouth.
I scan the table, observing Jack’s family as they all sit around eating, talking, and enjoying each other’s company. I’m thinking I could get used to this, but then my eyes make contact with Isabelle’s icy stare. She’s the only one that doesn’t look happy about my presence here. Suddenly, Jack’s hand tightens on my thigh.
“Look, I’ve got to get this out in the open. I’ve never been in a relationship before and seeing you with Jack brought out the worst in me. It was the second time I’d seen you together, and I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I’m really sorry about the things I said and embarrassing you in the restaurant,” I huff out. Wow, apologizing’s a lot harder than it looks. Isabelle doesn’t respond to my apology—just keeps glaring at me with her angry, narrowed eyes.
“Izzy,” he warns.
Nada.
“Isabelle, aren’t you going to say something?” her mother asks.
“Apology not accepted,” is her response. “Really, Jack. You could do so much better,” she adds.
I flinch when Jack slams his fist on the table and yells, “Izzy. Kitchen. Now!” He then stands up, leans over, and places a kiss on my temple before leaving the room with his sister.
“I’m so sorry for the way my daughter’s behaving, Payton. She and Jack have been so close since their father was murdered. Sometimes she can be quite protective of her brother. From her actions tonight, I’m sensing that she feels the need to protect him from you. Although, I don’t share the same concerns because I’ve not seen my son so happy in a long time,” she confesses, looking mortified that her daughter has behaved badly.
Oh, this is a new development. Jack’s father was murdered. He mentioned that his father had passed away the other day at our little picnic, but I’d just assumed that he’d been ill like my father.
“No need to apologize, Maria. I can completely understand how she feels. I lost my father, too, and I’ve also got a younger sister and will do anything to protect her,” I inform her, trying to ease her worries.
“Not only are you beautiful, but you’re just as kind and loving as Jack told me. I hope you and Jack will have a happy life together,” she says, getting up out of her chair and giving me a small hug before heading toward the kitchen.
I can’t help but notice the absence of Jack, Maria, and Isabelle as I continue to eat the wonderful home-cooked meal his mother prepared. For the most part, his other two sisters keep me preoccupied with their tales of Jack as a child, teenager, and grown man. Sofie’s in the middle of telling me about her last boyfriend who Jack scared off, when I see him storm back into the dining room with a hard scowl on his face. His mother follows right behind him wearing a saddened facial expression. Isabelle is a no show.
“We’re done here,” he angrily tells me, pulling my chair out from the table. I stand up and tell everyone how nice it was to meet them and hopefully will see them again soon. Maria walks over and once again tugs me into her warm embrace and quietly mumbles an apology into my ear.
I thank her for the lovely meal before pulling out of her arms. Before I can say a proper goodbye, Jack’s ushering me out of the house with a hand on my lower back. We both get into Jack’s car, but he just sits there in silence. I can sense the fury radiating from his body. I don’t know what was said in the kitchen, but it couldn’t have been good.
“Jack, it’s okay. Let it go. Nothing she’s says bothers me,” I say trying to lighten the mood. Sheesh, talk about dark.
“I don’t get it. I finally find someone who I want to bring home, and she acts like a fucking bitch. I won’t stand by and let her treat you like you’re a fucking piece of garbage. Sister or not,” he fumes.
“Jack, you can’t blame her. I was a bitch to her first. If someone spoke to me like that, I’d throw down with them right in the restaurant. I didn’t make the greatest first impression. She’ll come around,” I say, trying to reassure him. Truthfully, I’m not so sure if things between his sister and me will ever be okay, but I’m willing to give it a try for him.
“You’re fucking perfect, you know that?” he says, pulling me across the bench seat of his car onto his lap. I rub my nose against his neck and breathe in his unique scent that I love so much. He smells like the outdoors, soap, and a hint of tobacco. Pure Jack.
His fingers tangle in my hair, and they pull my head back. His soft lips come crashing down on mine in a powerful kiss. When I feel the growl escape the back of his throat I attack him, but he pulls back. “Stop or I’ll take you here, and that’s not something I want my mother to see,” he warns.
Oh shit! See what I mean? I lose all sense of control around this man. Turning my head, I look towards his childhood home and blow out a sigh of relief when I don’t see any
one in the windows watching us.
Jack lets out a throaty laugh, starts the car, and pulls out of the driveway.
Chapter 12
Interrogation
Jack
I’m still a pissed at my sister during the drive back to Payton’s house, but I know eventually I’ll forgive her for the fucking hateful things she said about my girl. Isabelle better fucking get over herself, and fast, because if she asks me to choose between her and Payton, she won’t like my answer.
Glancing over at Payton, I can tell she’s getting seriously sick of the music that’s playing on the radio by the is-this-music-for-real look she’s shooting my way. For all the music my girl likes to listen to, country isn’t one of her favorites. I tell her to go ahead and find something she likes, anything to please her and see the smile come out on her beautiful face.
She flashes me a stunning smile while she reaches down to connect her iPod to my stereo. While she’s doing this, I stretch my arm over the back of the seat to caress the back of her neck with my thumb. I immediately see the reaction of my touch as the goose bumps break out across her skin, causing my own bodily reaction. I fucking love that I have that kind of effect on her. I feel like pulling over and taking her right now, but I control my urges. We can wait until we get to her place. Only another four minutes and thirteen seconds to go, but who’s keeping track? She finally selects a playlist and “Saving Grace” by Stellar Revival begins playing through the speakers. How fitting because Payton’s definitely become that for me.
As we pull up to her house, I see an unmarked police car and a black and white cruiser parked in the driveway. Fuck! I figured they were going to take her in for questioning at some point, but a little fucking heads up wouldn’t have hurt. I find it really fucking hard to believe that my boss or my partner didn’t know about this. I tried to get them to go after Dag for attacking Payton, but was told to let it go, that we were going after him for bigger things. It took every bit of self-control I had not to explode.
Parking behind the cruiser, I glance over at Payton, and she looks a little confused. “What’s going on?” she asks, finally looking over at me.
“Can’t say.” That’s the God’s honest truth. Fuck! I wish I could tell her, but I can’t.
“Are they here for you?” I shake my head no in response.
“You didn’t tell them about what Dag did to me, did you?” She sounds royally fucking pissed with me. I nod my head. “Jack, I’m not pressing charges against him. Nothing you say will change my mind.”
“It isn’t about that.”
“Well, want do they want with me?”
“Told you already. I can’t say.” I really fucking hate not being able to disclose any information to her, but that goes with the job. You’d think I’d be used to it by now.
We get out of my car at the same time that I see my boss and two uniformed policemen step out of their vehicles. As they make their way over toward us, I notice that one of the officers has a folded piece of paper in his hand. I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that it’s a search warrant.
“Jack,” my boss says, looking at me and nodding his head.
“D.W.,” I return curtly, calling him by the nickname I gave him as a child.
“Payton Clare?” he inquires, redirecting his attention.
“Yes, is there something I can help you with?”
“I’m Police Commissioner Dale Weston, and we’ve come into recent information that you are an acquaintance of one Diego Gael Sanchez. He’s a subject of one of our investigations, and we need to take you in for questioning. We’ve also obtained a search warrant that Judge Bernard issued this morning, which covers your house and car. We’ll be conducting the search before heading back to the station,” he informs her.
“What the fuck?” she asks, unfolding and carefully reading the document the officer hands her.
“Can we have the keys to your house and vehicle Ms. Clare?” D.W. asks Payton.
“Sure, knock yourself out,” she says, throwing the keys on the ground. She’s definitely pissed and not going to make this completely easy for them. “Nice ‘stache. Very Magnum P.I.,” she taunts. I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face as I watch him stroke his mustache. I think my girl hit a nerve.
He orders one of the uniformed officers to pick up the set of keys then walks back toward Payton’s Charger. He personally searches the interior of the car and the trunk, but finds nothing. When they enter her house, Payton asks if we should go in after them, but I tell her no. It’s better if we stay out of their way. We both sit on the hood of my car not saying anything to each other. Finally, Payton breaks the silence by asking, “Jack what’s going on?”
“Fuck, Payton. I wish I could tell you everything, but I can’t. It’s already bad enough that we’re involved in a relationship. That alone can still get me thrown off the case, and I don’t want to give them anything else that might jeopardize it.” I really hope that’s enough for her because it’s all that I’ve got to give her right now.
She shifts over closer to me, so I put my arm around her and tuck her into my side. “I’ve done nothing wrong,” she mutters against the base of my throat.
“I know, baby,” I whisper against her hair, resting my chin on the top of her head. Her arms snake around my waist, and she squeezes me tight. I hold her like that, and we remain silent as we wait for the search to be completed. After what seems like an eternity, they finally exit the house.
“Everything’s clear. We found nothing,” D.W. says with obvious disappointment. “Now if you’d get into the cruiser, we can take you into the station for questioning.”
She looks at me unsure. “Get in, Payton. I’ll follow you down there,” I tell her. She does as I say, but doesn’t look happy about it.
* * *
I’m watching her on one of the monitors as her interview’s being recorded. After asking her a few basic questions about Diego, it doesn’t take long before things start turning nasty. My anger builds as I witness the abuse Payton’s enduring at the hands of one of the ATF agents. My hands are gripping the edge of the table so hard my knuckles are turning white.
“Jesus Christ! This isn’t fucking right. She’s got nothing to do with this, and you fucking know it!” I yell at D.W. Not only is he my boss, but he’s also the man who became my mentor and father figure since the death of my father. He graduated from the police academy with my dad, and they became partners when they entered the force. After the murder, he took it upon himself to make sure his partner’s family was taken care of. I’ve known the man, his wife, Donna, and their two daughters, Klaire and Tina, my whole life. I consider them all a part of my family.
“I’m pulling her the fuck out of there, now!” I add, heading for the door.
“Stand down, and let that agent do his fucking job. It’s not like he’s arresting and charging her with anything. He’s just questioning her to see if she’s got any information. Maybe lead us to where the guns are being stored.”
“Jesus, do you even hear what you’re saying? That woman in there knows fuck all.”
“Maybe so, but …”
“No fucking buts about it. She. Knows. Shit!” I snap.
“Jack, stand the fuck down! That’s an order!” he roars. “You’re letting your feelings lead this investigation. You know as well as I do that if it were anyone else in there, you wouldn’t have an issue with it. Am I going to have to take you off this case?” he asks in a calmer voice, his anger dissipating.
“Fuck no.” I’ve put too much of my time into this case to get thrown off of it now.
The sad thing is I know he’s right. If it were anyone else in that room, I wouldn’t have a fucking problem with it. Hell, I’d probably be the one in there conducting the interrogation, and I wouldn’t go easy on them either. My eyes go back to the monitor as I focus my attention on Payton to see how she’s coping.
“Come on, Ms. Clare. You admitted to being in a relati
onship with Mr. Sanchez. You can’t honestly expect me to believe that you know nothing about the man. Give us something.”
“I’ve got nothing. I already fucking told you, I don’t know anything about the guy, obviously. I didn’t even know his real name,” she concedes, clearly frustrated with the man. “And for the record, we weren’t in a relationship. We were just fucking. I can tell you four fucking things about him: He owns an Escalade, has an apartment off of Fallon Circuit, had a girlfriend who has a child with him, and last but not least, isn’t circumcised. I’m well acquainted with his anatomy and didn’t really care to get to know him, to be honest with you.”
“So, you’re telling me that you sucked this guy’s dick, but know nothing about him. Is that correct?” he asks angrily.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m fucking telling you.”
“We have proof that you know more than you’re saying. Just tell us Diego’s location and where he’s storing the weapons,” he says, trying to trick her into confessing something.
“Bull-fucking-shit,” she exclaims with a mischievous smile spreading across her face. “You’ve got shit because I know nothing. Show me the proof or I walk!” she challenges. And by the expression on her gorgeous face, she knows she’s got him. No one messes with my girl. Take that, motherfucker!
I watch intently as the clearly frustrated agent informs her that the interview’s over and instructs her to stay there until a uniformed officer comes to escort her back home. He then turns off the recording equipment, and the screen goes black. That’s my signal to make my way to her in the interrogation room.
When I reach the door to the room holding Payton, I very slowly turn the knob, opening the door. She’s standing with her back to me, examining a crime prevention poster on the wall. I tacitly lock the door and advance on her. I hear her breath hitch as I approach and press my hard body into her soft curves.
“Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” she asks in throaty murmur, as she backs her ass up against my growing erection.
Sweet Ride Page 15