Laurelyn hung up and said, “Here they come.”
She braced herself against the dash with one hand and Ray looked up into the mirror in time to see blue fill the view. The Chevelle slammed into them and the Mustang swerved as the back end got pushed around. Ray wished he had more power. Unable to pull away, the brakes doing little except smoke the tires, they were along for the ride.
Surprisingly, the Chevelle backed off and when Ray pulled away he thought they were going to run again.
He was wrong.
The Chevelle came around their right side, in the breakdown lane, and pulled up next to them. The driver’s window came down and a pair of masked faces stared at them. The driver was grinning through the hole in his mask.
A gun came up in his hand.
“Gun!” Laurelyn said and ducked.
Ray swerved and braked at the same time, but the Chevelle matched them and then the gun fired. It missed wide.
Ray went to accelerate, pulling away, and when he saw the Chevelle commit to keep up, he jammed the brakes and blue paint swept by him. Just as the Chevelle’s rear end came up to his front bumper, Ray pulled the wheel right and connected with the left rear end.
The Chevelle slid sideways, tires screeching and smoking, as Ray continued right around the out of control muscle car and accelerated away.
Laurelyn came up as they passed and watched the Chevelle slide off the highway into the grass. It came to a stop in a cloud of smoke and dust.
“Go back,” Laurelyn said.
“Are you sure?”
She looked at him. “We have to get these guys.”
Ray nodded and pulled into the breakdown lane, slowing. He threw it in reverse and spun the wheel, backing up in a cloud of burnt rubber, turning the Mustang around in the grass. The Chevelle was doing the same thing.
Ray slammed it in drive and floored it. The tires spun in the turf, spitting up chunks of grass and dirt but not finding much purchase. The Chevelle sped away into oncoming traffic, staying in the breakdown lane. Ray eased up and the tires caught. They lurched forward, following.
The ruts cut into the asphalt in the breakdown lane caused the car to vibrate excessively and Ray had to adjust, keeping one side of the car in the grass. It was slowing them down. Up ahead he watched the Chevelle swerve onto the interstate head-on with the traffic. A truck was stopped in the breakdown lane.
Horns were blaring and cars were swerving to get out of the way.
Ray went around the broken down truck on the grass side and started losing traction on the slick embankment. He got it under control and sped up, still in the breakdown lane.
The Chevelle was trapped in the far right lane with opposing traffic keeping him in the wrong-way flow. A semi was bearing down on them and saw the way blocked by the Chevelle. It turned hard away from it and started to jacknife.
The semi’s brakes were locked, the tires smoking as it slid sideways down the highway blocking all lanes. The Chevelle skirted right of it and squeezed around.
The other cars next to the semi had to veer off the highway into the breakdown lane and grass, blocking the way completely. Ray slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop. He could see the Chevelle cross the median at a break in the guardrails and fade into the distance rapidly, now on the right side of the highway.
They had lost it. Again.
* * *
They never made it to the beach.
Ray leaned against his car, arms crossed, as he watched Laurelyn get a butt chewing from the St. John’s County Sheriff herself.
As a woman in a leadership role, she was a total bitch and apparently not cutting Laurelyn any slack. Laurelyn was not backing down and he watched her point at the woman and shout right back. He could not hear what was being said.
Laurelyn pointed one more time and then threw up her hands. She stormed over to where Ray waited.
“What a bitch!” She said. “Come on. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
She pulled the door open and sat in the seat, fuming.
“At least I didn’t get a ticket,” he said.
She leaned sideways in her seat and pulled something from her back pocket. She handed it to him. It was a citation for reckless driving.
He looked at it and then turned to her where she sat with her arms crossed, staring straight ahead. Neither one said anything for a second or two. She turned and looked at him. He crumpled up the citation and threw it in the back of the car. He grinned at her.
He saw it in her eyes first and then her lips curled up into a grin. They both laughed.
“Let’s drive,” she said.
“The beach?”
“No. To find these guys. I have their license plate number.”
She pulled out her phone and dialed a number from memory.
“You didn’t give it to them?”
“I wouldn’t give that bitch a ride if she was stranded and I was the only car in town,” she said. “It’s my case. I’m not giving her shit.”
“You’re starting to sound like Jaxon.” Ray was smiling at her.
She smiled back as she pressed the phone to her ear.
“Marty,” she said into the phone. “It’s Hawks. Run a plate for me…Yeah, I know it’s my day off. I just need it.”
She gave Marty the number and waited. After a moment she scribbled the address down on a napkin and hung up.
“Where to?” He asked.
She shook her head. “The Pines.”
“My apartments?”
She nodded.
“What’s the number?”
“237.”
“That’s a couple down from me.”
She looked at him. “Let’s go meet your neighbors.”
Forty-five minutes later they pulled into Ray’s apartment complex and he parked.
“Do you want to go to my place first?”
“Yes. Might as well keep appearances up and you can show me your stuff.”
“I don’t have stuff.”
“Nothing? What do you sit on?”
“A chair.”
“That’s stuff.”
He shook his head. “You’ll see.”
They stepped from the car and looked around.
“I don’t see the Chevelle here,” he said.
“We’ll wait and see if it shows.”
“Then come and hang in my upscale abode young lady.”
“Is it safe?” She grinned.
He unlocked the door to his apartment and pushed the door open. He let her go first, waiting to see her reaction.
Closing the door behind them, he turned and watched her expression. It remained neutral. Then she saw the cinder-block shelf with the TV and the matching cinder-block and plywood coffee table.
She turned and looked at him. “Cinder-blocks. Really?”
“That cost me forty cents,” he said, pointing to the table.
“I’m surprised it cost that much. At least you have a couch.”
She moved toward it.
“I don’t sit on it,” he said.
She stopped. “Why not?”
“Try it.”
She hesitated, but then moved to it, where she proceeded to lower her rear onto it. She sank into the cushions and then lost her balance as something gave way in the springs, her body sagging to the left and leaning sideways. She braced herself on the arm of the couch. She started laughing.
He grinned and went over to her, extending his hand to help her up.
“Why do you even have this in here?” She asked, still laughing.
“To pull chicks.”
“Right.”
“It hasn’t worked so far…until now.”
She pulled him down and he collapsed onto her, pinning her. She smiled up at him, her body at a weird angle but crowded firmly into his. He felt he could never get enough of her pressed against him.
“See. It’s working,” he said.
She kissed him and he melted into her. They heard an engine rumble ou
tside and stopped.
“I guess it’s back to work,” she said.
“Damn bad guys. I’m pissed now.”
She grew serious. “Come on.”
He helped her up and they moved to the window. He peered through the curtains and saw an old Charger pulling through the parking lot.
“Not our friends,” he said.
He moved over to her and put his arms around her, pulling her in close from behind. She leaned her head back against him, smiling, but said, “Will you stop. We have to catch bad people.”
“But what if this is our last time together? Our last embrace? You don’t want to miss out do you?”
She turned inside his arms, looking up into his eyes.
“Don’t say that,” she whispered.
He had been joking, but she grew serious.
“I’m only playing,” he said.
“Sometimes men can be so stupid.”
“Actually, I’m like that all the time.”
A smile appeared at the corners of her mouth and he bent and kissed each side, softly. Then he pulled back and looked into her eyes, growing serious himself.
“You’re so beautiful. Are you real?”
“As real as they get, Mister.”
“Prove it.”
She rose up on her toes, touched her lips to his and pulled him to her, the tip of her tongue teasing the tip of his. She ran her hands to the back of his neck and caressed him there, moving to his face. She broke the kiss but stayed close. So close he could feel the heat of her lips warming his.
“I’d call that pretty real,” she said, her breath playing across his lips.
“Damn, woman. Screw the bad guys.”
“No. How about me instead?”
He kissed her and then picked her up. “Deal.”
“We’re not going to the couch are we?”
“No. The study.”
She held onto his neck and said, “You like carrying me around don’t you?”
“Me big, strong. Tarzan. You Jane.”
“I can’t believe I’m hanging with a guy who’s this corny.”
“I’m sweeping you off your feet.”
“I’m definitely off my feet.”
Ray made it into the bedroom without dropping her and he lay her down on the bed. He slipped in beside her and she turned to where they could lie face to face. She had a smile on her face, her eyes shining in the low light. He reached up and pushed her hair back behind her ear.
“I could get used to this,” she said.
“Me carrying you around?”
“Well, that too.”
“I kind of like the making out part, myself.”
“Is it your favorite?”
“It’s close.”
“What’s your favorite?”
“Watching you laugh.”
She smiled and he touched the corner of her mouth. “You have a cute dimple here that is really sexy when you laugh.”
“I didn’t know dimples could be sexy.”
“Only on you.”
She touched her lips to his, softly. Pulling back, she smiled then brushed against them, lightly. When he moved in, she pulled away, grinning, and lightly pressed her lips to his once more. The softness of her, mixed with her scent, was intoxicating, he wanted to pull her to him and never let her go.
He lay there, letting her caress his lips with hers, the tip of her tongue running along the very edge of his lower lip, a velvety smoothness and warmth that made him want her even more. He tried to kiss her harder but she pulled away, teasing him with her softness.
She giggled.
He didn’t want to breathe for fear of making her stop. When she grew closer, he reached up and ran a finger from her ear to the dimple on the side of her mouth and caressed her lower lip as she touched it to his. He could see her watching him with those beautiful eyes. The intimacy of the moment was something he had never experienced and he felt as if he could get lost in her and never come back. And he wanted that to happen. More than anything.
Her warm hand found the back of his neck as she pressed her lips harder to him. He responded in kind, but she pulled back coyly, moving into him again only after they completely separated. Her breath was sweet and warm and he was so aroused he thought he would burst from his pants.
She sensed it and moved her hand to caress his face, her lips showing her own urgency as they found his with a firmer touch. Her tongue slipped inside and he tasted her sweetness as she moaned and then moved with a greater desire. Then their hands were all over each other, trying to find all the right places at once. Her top was pulled off and tossed to the side as his shirt came free. He fumbled with the tie on her bikini, but finally ripped it off as she gasped.
When their clothes were in a pile on the floor, she pulled away and put her hand to his face. He was breathing hard.
“Do you want me?” She whispered.
He nodded.
“Tell me.”
“I want you.”
“Bad?”
He nodded.
“Show me.”
“What would you like?”
She grinned.
Afterward, he stayed inside her until he grew soft, kissing her tenderly and touching her face. They fell asleep, side by side, with her hand to his neck and her breath on his skin, his world a new place with her in it. One he could envision her in for a long time. He glanced at her one more time before he drifted off. Her face, peaceful in sleep, a slight smile to her lips as she dreamed.
Something was happening and he knew he couldn’t stop it. Not now. Maybe not ever.
* * *
He awoke in the afternoon and watched her sleep.
He propped up on his elbow and tried to keep from waking her. Her features were serene, as if nothing in this world could disturb her. Unlike now, she could sometimes have that tough air that gave her beauty an edge that attracted him to her. Right now, here in his bed with the soft light sneaking in between the blinds and her quiet, slow breath touching his skin, he could see her real self and it was oh so much more. He watched and wanted to touch her, but resisted.
Finally, he could stand it no longer.
He reached out and put his fingertips to her lips, then moved them to her ear, tracing its edge softly. Her eyes opened and she smiled. God, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
She put her fingertips to his lips and then moved to his neck where she let her hand linger, a soft, warm touch that felt like home.
“How long have you been watching me?” She asked.
“Hours.”
Her smile grew bigger. “It must have been torture.”
“It was the worst waste of a day, ever. Grueling.”
His hand caressed her ear and she leaned into it, reaching up and holding it in hers.
“I can imagine. Did I snore?”
“That’s why I woke you. Cross between a goose and a donkey. I think the word ‘bray’ popped into my head.”
She slapped him in the chest and said, “A donkey?” She giggled as he pulled her tighter.
“Oh yeah. Do you want to hear? I think I can imitate you.”
“No!”
He started to make this awful noise and she beat on him some more telling him to stop.
“I don’t really sound like that, do I?”
He stopped laughing long enough to stare into her eyes. “No.”
He put his lips to hers and she laughed against him. He kissed her until she stopped giggling and responded back. He broke away and looked deep into her eyes.
“You were like an angel. So beautiful it hurt to watch. I was afraid to wake you.”
“We’re getting all mushy now, aren’t we?”
“You’re worth it.”
She wriggled closer and pressed her body against his, snuggling in his warmth. He held her and stroked her soft hair.
“What now?” She asked.
“With our life? I’m still kind of young. I always wanted to be a
shepherd.”
She laughed. “A shepherd? Where did that come from?”
“I was stressed as a child. I need peace. Shepherding sounds peaceful.”
“I was talking about food. I’m starved.”
“Chinese.”
“I love Chinese. I’ll get dressed.” She went to get up and he pulled her back down.
“Let’s order in. I want to eat naked with you.”
She looked at him, a funny little grin on her lips. She leaned in and whispered.
“We probably won’t eat much if we do that.”
“Fine with me.”
“Who will answer the door?”
“I have a butler.”
She kissed him and sat up. “Ok. I’m game. I’ve never done this before.”
“It’s liberating. I do it all the time.”
“With who?”
“Myself. Don’t you?”
He grabbed his cell from the pile on the floor and called it in. She ordered Chow Mei Fun and he, broccoli and beef.
When the delivery came, he pulled the sheet around him and went to the door. She watched, grinning. When he went to tip, the sheet slipped and he was briefly exposed. She laughed at him, her hand to her mouth, trying to stay silent.
When the door closed, she broke out in hysterical laughter.
He dropped the sheet and walked to her, naked, grinning. She stared and twirled her finger in a circle. He spun, giving her a view of everything. He realized she had never really looked before. She giggled and then nodded.
They ate crossed legged on the floor, naked, just like he wanted, and fed each other with chopsticks. It got messy and she laughed more than she ate it seemed. He laughed with her.
When he stopped and stared for a minute, her laughing subsided. She stared back.
“You’re fav?” She asked then, remembering.
He nodded. But then he pointed to her body with his chopsticks.
“Though, this is a close second.”
She blushed. She brought a noodle to her lips with the chopsticks and sucked it in seductively. He picked up a piece of broccoli and did the same. She cracked up. Then she slipped a noodle into his lips and he tried again, exaggerating the effort.
“Better,” she said, smiling.
Father Figure (A Jaxon Jennings' Detective Mystery Thriller Series, Book 3) Page 13