Stealing the Moon & Stars

by Sally J. Smith

  “What are you talking about? Big hit?”

  “Milo says the guy’s scared you’re getting too close. He wants all he can get now, right now. One final time, the big haul. Big. Huge. More than a couple of million. All at once.”

  Oh, crap. Wait. “What other guy? Slow down.”

  “There’s this other guy, Shepherd or Sheepman or something. No, wait. Shetland. It’s Shetland. He’s the one, the one Milo answers to. Milo gambles a lot, a lot. He’s unlucky. Yes, unlucky. He owes this Shetland guy a boatload of money. A boatload, which is why ….”

  They both turned at the sudden squeal of tires as a dark Expedition came screaming around the corner.

  Emmett yelled. She couldn’t tell if it was a word or just a shout of fright and surprise. He shoved her. She hit the pavement in front of her parked car and rolled onto her back.

  The SUV bore down. The engine roared. Tires squealed.

  “Move!” Jordan yelled.

  Emmett lurched toward the far side of the road. The monster car swerved and hit Emmett straight on. His body bounced off the grill and flew through the air.

  He hit a car parked down the way and landed with a sickening thud on the pavement.

  The Expedition never braked or even slowed. It raced down the block, turned right onto Sixth Street and was gone like it had never been there.

  Passersby stared in mute horror, Jordan among them, but only for a brief moment. She got to her feet and ran to his side. Her heart screamed in her chest. She dropped to her knees beside Emmett’s crumpled body, put two fingers to his neck and to her relief felt a pulse—faint, uneven, thready.

  Even as she sensed others going for their phones, she reached into the pocket of her hoodie, grabbed hers and dialed.

  Thank God it was an instant connection. “Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”

  Jordan tried not to yell. “It’s a hit and run. Pedestrian. Bad. It’s really bad.” She gave as much information as she could, stayed on the line and waited.

  People milled around on the sidewalk but stayed clear of the patch of pavement where Emmett ended up. Jordan took off her hoodie, rolled it and placed it under his head. A man offered a lightweight jacket to cover him for warmth. The wail of approaching sirens finally calmed her.

  Emmett’s pale eyes fluttered open. “Um, hurts.”

  He looked confused, vulnerable, more like an overgrown boy than ever. Jordan pushed his hair off his gray face; his skin was cold. His breathing came in shallow, wheezy pants. There was blood matted in the red curls around his face. Jordan knew he was mortally injured.

  “Don’t move. You’re hurt pretty bad, but there’s an ambulance on the way. Hear the siren?” She rambled but couldn’t help it. “Where is it? Why are they taking so long?”

  After what seemed like hours but was probably only five or six minutes, an ambulance and fire truck wheeled in, lights strobing, sirens fading. Paramedics tumbled from both emergency vehicles like dice on a come-out roll and rushed straight to them.

  After one last look at Emmett, now unconscious, Jordan stumbled out of their way.

  Another ambulance arrived and two SPD patrol cars. One officer taped off the scene, while others handled crowd control and asked questions.

  A young fireman came and took her to one of the ambulances where he looked her over, took her blood pressure, and checked her reflexes.

  “Jordan?” Ann Murphy’s familiar face came into her field of vision. Jordan had never been so glad to see her. “Did you see what happened?”

  “They ran him down. They aimed right for him.”

  “So you saw it? Let’s go over there and sit down. You look pretty shook up.” They walked to a bench over in front of the wine bar.

  “I don’t believe it. First Tanner and now Emmett Sullivan.”

  Ann stared at her. “You know him?” She took out her notebook. “Tell me everything.”

  She told Ann every last thing. At this point, it was way too dangerous to hold anything back.

  Across the parking lot, one of the paramedics pulled a sheet over Emmett Sullivan. She clutched Ann’s hand. “Oh, no, Annie.”

  Ann looked across at the covered body. “Stay here.”

  She crossed the street into the parking area, spent a couple of minutes talking to the paramedics then returned to Jordan.

  “I’m sorry. They say there was no pulse when they arrived. They never got him back.”

  Jordan didn’t say anything. She only stared at the body, at the officers taking measurements, at the crowd milling around. It all seemed to be happening very far away and in slow motion. A nightmare in red and blue flashing lights.

  “Jordan?”

  Jordan knew she should answer but didn’t have anything to add, so she just sat there and watched. How long? Twenty minutes? Thirty?

  “Poor Emmett,” she said several times. The wind was coming up. She began to shiver so hard her teeth rattled.

  Miraculously, Eddie appeared beside her. He wrapped her in his strong arms and sheltered her with his warm body.

  The tears came. “You’re here.” She cried even harder.

  “Shush. Yes, I’m here. You’re havin’ one hell of a day.”

  “I can’t believe it. Emmett called me and wanted to meet. He came clean about it. Eddie, he saved me. I would have been hit too. Poor Emmett.”

  “It’s okay, babe. Just breathe. I’m gonna take you home now.”

  CHAPTER 31

  She didn’t remember much about the ride home. It seemed Eddie helped her into the car one minute and the garage door closed behind them the next.

  He led her to her bedroom, sat her on her bed, pulled her boots off and tucked her between the covers, still wearing her jeans and T-shirt.

  Sadie paced at the foot of the bed, whining.

  Jordan lay back and pulled the covers to her chin. In the sanctuary of her home, beneath the warmth of her eiderdown comforter, she could deal with hard reality. She closed her eyes.

  When she opened them again, Eddie stood by the bed holding a snifter more than half full. “Drink this.”

  Brandy. It simmered all the way down, but it didn’t stop the shaking.

  She clenched her jaw to try to stop her teeth from chattering. “I can’t get warm.”

  He watched her a moment, peeled off his shirt then took off his shoes and socks. “Move over.”

  He crawled in next to her and pulled her against him.

  The heat of his skin warmed her through her shirt and the brandy did its work as well, easing the tension. The shaking stopped.

  “Two men I knew died today,” she whispered. “Yesterday they were alive and breathing. Today they’re just … gone.”

  She clung harder to Eddie, surprised where her feelings carried her, aware of the contours of his muscled body. She turned her face into his bare shoulder and inhaled his unique scent—a mixture of soap, leather, and masculinity.

  “It’ll be okay. I promise.” His words vibrated against her neck.

  She shifted onto her back, looked into his dark eyes, and acknowledged a new sense of well-being. She felt closer to Eddie than ever before. Overwhelmed by her feelings, she laid her hand against his cheek then reached to slide her fingers through his thick hair.

  His eyes locked onto hers. His breathing grew rapid and shallow. He lowered his head. Their lips met for a moment. A moment was all it took.

  Her heart and body responded in a flash. She pulled him to her and he kissed her again. She answered with a flame of passion that burned so high, so fast, its spark must have been there all along.

  He pulled back slightly. “No, Jordan. Not now. Not like this. You’re not really … You don’t want—”

  “Don’t tell me what I want, Marino.” She pulled him down and locked her lips onto his.

  Eddie moved over her, his lips trailing kisses across her cheeks, over her eyes, back to her lips.

  She didn’t realize she was crying until she tasted the salt of her tears on h
is kiss. An explosive current raced through her. She ran her hand down the planes of his chest and the taut muscles of his abdomen, then lower, until she cupped his erection.

  He shivered and sucked in his breath.

  She arched up; her hand moved against him. “I’ve never wanted to be with you more than I do right now.” She looked into his eyes. “Something tells me you want me too.”

  “Ah, Jordan.” He put his hand over hers to stay its movement. “If we start now, there’s no turning back. I have more on my mind than just cuddling, and I’ll be in big trouble if you start something with me you don’t want to finish.”

  “I want you to be here in the morning. No one makes me feel more alive than you, and I need every cell to be burning up with life tonight. Help me feel it.”

  Eddie got up and stripped out of his pants and briefs.

  Jordan couldn’t take her eyes off his strong body and the obvious proof of his desire for her. Under the covers, she slipped out of her clothes and tossed them on the floor.

  He came back to her, warm and pulsing. The gentleness of his touch reassured her. She returned his kisses. She had held in her passion way too long.

  Eddie was a skilled and tender lover; she moved beneath his touch and delighted in what he gave her. She gave him everything in return.

  When they were sated, spooning, his warm skin against hers and the beating of his heart against her back, she couldn’t keep uncertainty from creeping into her thoughts. “I hope we weren’t wrong. Will things change now? Maybe not for the best?”

  He dropped a kiss on her shoulder. “How could something so awesome be wrong? I knew sex with you would be good. Not just good, great. But I want all of you. What’s here,” he laid a hand on her chest and her heart beat an answering tattoo, “and here,” he brushed his hand over her hair, “and this too.” He slid his hand between her legs and she tingled in response. “With me it won’t be just a one-time thing.”

  All of me? Like Etienne? Give myself completely? Do I want to? She rolled to face him and threw her leg over his hip. “You scare the hell out of me. I tried to be strong and resist my feelings for you, but I can’t. You’re more alive, more vital than anyone I’ve ever known. You make me vibrate.”

  “Wow. I thought we would take it slow, but when you say things like that, parts of me disagree with that plan.” He stirred against her thigh.

  “It’s not a joke.”

  Eddie caressed her arm. “I don’t take love lightly, and I’m going to keep coming after you until I have it all, even the secret dreams you never tell anyone else. I’m in love with you, Jordan. I want you to be in love with me. Nothing less will do.”

  To prove how serious he was, he made love to her again until they both lay exhausted in each other’s arms.

  CHAPTER 32

  Thursday morning brought sunshine. When Jordan woke, she was alone in her bed. No sign of either Eddie or Sadie.

  They were on the back patio. Eddie sat on the deck, barefoot and shirtless. His hair was tussled and his beard stubble prominent. He smiled when he saw her.

  Sadie’s head rested on his thigh. She didn’t bother to move at the sight of her mistress but thumped her tail on the pool deck.

  It’s okay, girl. I wouldn’t move either. He’s crazy beautiful.

  Do I love him? The feeling filled her like love, moved her like love, made her heart sing, but she wasn’t ready to acknowledge it.

  Loving this man would be intense and more. How could it be one iota less powerful than everything she imagined it would be? He was Eddie Marino.

  She walked out to stand beside him. “Hi.” Hi? Really? What am I, a schoolgirl?

  His face was lifted to the sun, his eyes closed. “Good morning. You feeling better?”

  “I am.” She got down on the Kool Deck beside him and turned her face to the sun. “There’s a reason for putting chairs on the patio. People sit in them. Ever try it?”

  He sighed, seeming content, and rubbed Sadie’s ear. Sadie smiled at him in ecstasy.

  He handed Jordan his coffee cup and she took a sip. She tried not to grimace. Eddie drank black coffee. She added so much cream and sugar, hers was more milkshake than coffee.

  “Couple of things.” He sounded nonchalant. Jordan was instantly on alert. Eddie never sounded nonchalant. “I wish you’d called me last night. If Muggs hadn’t been your cover, if he hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t have known you were in trouble.”

  “I wasn’t in trouble. Emmett was.”

  “You were. Capital T.”

  “Right here in River City?” She didn’t argue the point. “So Muggs is how you knew. I didn’t realize he was the bodyguard du jour.” She tried to sound indifferent to the reassuring news.

  He took back the coffee mug and nodded. “I told him I was on my way and he took off after the SUV.”

  This, too, was news. “And?”

  “Nothing. Lost ’em in traffic. Never got close enough to do any good or get anything.” His voice grew softer and she responded to the change in volume by turning to look at him. “The point I’m trying to make here is, I’d do just about anything for you. Anytime. Any place. Anything. I’ll always be there if you need me. I just want you to know that.” His voice was soft, easy. He looked off at the mountains as if making a casual statement.

  It was anything but casual. It was powerful.

  She’d be lying to herself if she denied the turmoil she was in. She didn’t know what to say to a commitment like this. Did she need it? Did she want it? Could she return it? Such a declaration deserved a response. “Thanks.” Could I be any more lame?

  “Whenever you get in a jam, let me help you. I’m asking you.” He cleared his throat, rubbed his nose and continued to look off in the distance. “After all, it’s what partners do. Right? Also lovers. It’s what lovers do, too.”

  Jordan wanted to tell him that sometimes she needed to be the strong one. She wanted to handle her own jams, not rely on him to come swinging in on a rope vine, not every time. Wasn’t that what had happened last night? Hadn’t he come to her rescue when she was just a turbulent mass of quivering jelly? Hadn’t it felt just right? Aye-yi-yi. If she didn’t quit spending so much time in her head, she’d go crazy. Maybe she should just let go and see what happened? Ugly memories of the painful aftermath in Paris popped into her head. Did she really want to risk heartbreak again? That time it hurt so badly it wasn’t only as if Etienne had left, but died.

  She didn’t speak. It would have diminished his words.

  Eddie took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “We okay?”

  His love was a warm blanket wrapping around her. How could she be afraid to love such a man?

  She leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. “We’re okay. What was the other thing?”

  “The other thing?”

  “You said, ‘a couple of things.’ That was one. What was the other?” She lifted her head and looked into his face.

  “Oh, yeah, the other thing.” A wily smile lifted his lips. “Wanna go inside and,” he paused, “take a nap?”

  She laughed. “I don’t need a nap,” her turn to pause, “but we could certainly go inside and see what happens.”

  They did, but things didn’t turn out quite as planned.

  In the kitchen, Hannah was already loading the dishwasher. She looked up when Jordan walked in, said “Morning,” and grinned when Eddie walked in behind her. “And to you too, sir.”

  “Good morning, Hannah.” Eddie went to the fridge and began to rummage around.

  “You’re early this morning.” Jordan was slightly embarrassed but determined not to make a big thing of it.

  “Having the car worked on. Sam dropped me off early.” Hannah looked at Eddie. “Sam’s my son.”

  Eddie smiled, nodded, and went back to peeling the orange he’d pulled from the refrigerator.

  “Why don’t I rustle up some breakfast for you two?”

  Jordan opened her mouth,
but before anything could come out, Eddie answered. “Hannah, my dream girl, that would rock.”

  Over waffles, turkey sausage and freshly squeezed OJ, Jordan told Eddie every word Emmett uttered before he died. He listened and didn’t speak until she was done and spent. Reliving the nightmare took more out of her than she expected.

  Eddie laid his hand on hers. “What you just told me meshes with what Diego gave me yesterday afternoon. You know my crew’s been covering Wachowski for a few days now.”

  She pushed her plate aside and pulled her coffee cup in front of her. “Let’s hear it.”

  He began, “Milo Wachowski goes to work at eight and likes to eat lunch out at different sports bars. Usually he leaves work about four thirty. On workdays, after he leaves the office, it’s his habit to stop off at a sports bar for a few beers. He sits by himself and doesn’t talk to anyone. Just watches the games. The guys tell me he texts or makes notes on his phone. Now here’s the good part. Monday, he didn’t stop for beers after work. Instead, he hit a Gamblers Anonymous meeting.”

  She snapped to attention. “Whoa.”

  “Yeah, but I think he must have skipped one of the twelve steps. Saturday and Sunday he went out to the Indian casinos, spending most of those two days hopping from one to another. They said he seems to have a system, but it works like crap. The guys don’t know how much he lost, but they think it was a good chunk of dough.”

  “And gambling debts would explain what Emmett said about him owing big money to Owen Shetland,” she said.

  “It would.” He puzzled. “I don’t get the connection between the embezzlement from the foundation and Owen Shetland. Shetland works for Vercelli, and I gotta say, if there’s one thing Vercelli is not, it’s cheap. He pays his people really well. Smart. It keeps them close.”

  She thought about it. “I see what you mean. If Shetland’s doing so well working for Vercelli, why does he need Milo taking money from the foundation? Is he doing it for Vercelli? Is Vercelli in on it?”

  He shook his head. “I’m gonna say no. It’s not Vercelli’s style. He fancies himself a bit of a Robin Hood, a defender of the downtrodden. Yeah, he’s a crook, and he does things that would scare the hell out of you—believe me, I know—but he’s got this weird code of ethics. He holds it sacred. Stealing from a children’s charity would definitely fall outside his code. If Owen Shetland’s the man behind the curtain in this caper, my guess is, he’s acting on his own.”