All the Way Page 29

  They clung to each other, rocked together as wave after wave consumed them. Their ragged breaths filled the quiet room. Light from a neon light flashed sporadically through the window, the pulsing light matching the pulse of him inside her until he was completely spent.

  He trailed kisses along her shoulder, caressed her sides, her back. He nuzzled the place below her ear. She felt so cared for. Surrounded by safety.

  Sliding out, he disposed of the condom, returned to the bed, and gathered her against his chest. He kissed her, held her, and made her feel more adored than she had ever imagined possible.

  I want to spend every day like this. As if I’d never left your arms the first time . I should have stayed with you, Blake .

  “I will,” she found herself saying aloud before she could censor her words. “I will stay with you for as long as you’ll have me.”

  Deep, even breaths were his only reply. Arms tight around her, he’d fallen asleep.

  Turning in his embrace, she gazed at him. She lightly kissed his cheeks, nose, eyelashes. A sleepy smile formed on his lips.

  She dropped kisses over every beautiful angle and plane of his face, and watched the lines on his forehead smooth when sleep fully consumed him. Before any lingering fear in her heart could stop her, she whispered, “I love you.”

  Instinctively, his hold tightened. Layla savored his scent, the feel of his body, his protective embrace, as she fell asleep in the arms of the man she loved.

  *

  Layla bolted upright in bed. Late morning sunlight pierced the room through slats in the blinds. There it was again—what sounded like a rubber mallet beating against their door. She threw the covers off, pulled on Blake’s T-shirt and answered it.

  Tanner filled the doorway, smudges under his eyes, hair finger-combed.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked. A shiver of warning coasted down her spine.

  “I have news.”

  Layla swallowed. “It’s Robby, isn’t it?”

  “Get my brother up. You both need to hear this,” Tanner said gravely.

  Chapter 24

  “I’m up.” Blake’s voice came from behind Layla as he fastened the top button of his jeans. Tanner shut the door and came into the room. Blake offered, “Have a seat.”

  Hoisting himself onto the wooden dresser, Tanner passed a glance between the two of them. “You won’t like what I’m about to say.”

  “Go ahead.” Layla braced herself.

  “You may want to sit down.”

  “Just tell me.” She felt Blake’s bare arms come around her waist from behind, offering his strength and support. Then she noticed a deep red smudge along Tanner’s neck and chin. She gasped. “Is that mark on your neck from the fight?”

  He scraped the back of his hand under his chin. The red came off on it. The corner of his mouth lifted. “I, uh, found myself a cowgirl. While I was out back of The Full Throttle, packing up the band equipment.” The hint of a smile left his face. He frowned at Layla. “That’s when I saw your brother.”

  “And?” Blake demanded.

  Tanner ran both hands through his hair, his gaze trained on the floor. “Whatever he’s doing, it’s bad. Worse than I thought. I know the guy he was with.” He glanced over Layla’s head and met Blake’s eyes. “I remember him from my partying days, man. It’s Johnny Carlos.”

  “Johnny?” Layla exclaimed. “That’s who those gang members were talking about at the bar. It could be Jack’s passenger—the missing link!”

  Blake didn’t share her enthusiasm at the news. He went stone still. “Let me guess,” he said in a raw whisper. “The drug dealer.”

  Eyes round with shock, Layla barged in, “He’s with a drug dealer? But that can’t be!” What trouble had her brother found now? She struggled for composure, but devastation surged through her, leaving her ravaged. “Are you sure it was my brother?” she asked Tanner, praying there was some mistake.

  Tanner met her gaze, nodded. Two tears dropped onto her cheeks. Tanner saw them and his expression conveyed deep regret. “I’m sorry, Layla,” he murmured.

  “I can’t believe this.” She wilted in Blake’s arms, and he led her to the bed, sat with her, holding her. “I tried so hard to give him everything he needed, so he’d stay off alcohol—now drugs—and out of trouble.”

  As she tucked her hair behind her ears, she realized her hands were shaking and dropped them to her lap. She felt Blake’s lips press against her temple. “It’s not you.”

  “Someone’s to blame. It has to be me.”

  Tanner cut in. “Rob is responsible for his own choices.”

  That wasn’t true. Not with a kid. One who’d grown up with a sister as a poor substitute for the loving parents she wished he could’ve had. “I’m responsible for him. I fail to see the separation. Robby is my responsibility and I let him down.”

  “There is no blame, here,” Blake said with conviction. “What we have to do now is figure out a way to untangle him from this mess and get him back home in three days.”

  “It seems hopeless,” she said in a watery whisper.

  “It’s not hopeless. But it is dangerous.” Blake looked at his brother. “Any suggestions?”

  “Sure, but you won’t like those either.”

  “Spill it.”

  He hesitated as though weighing the options, then nodded. “We stage our own version of a drug deal. That way we’re in control. Get Rob away from the gang. Then hightail it out of Sturgis and pray they have no long-range weapons.”

  “Weapons?” She looked up, startled.

  “It’s like any gang, baby,” Blake explained, “they keep track of their own. Anything suspicious and they deal with it however they see fit. Sometimes lethally.”

  “I’ll be the bait,” Tanner said without hesitation. “Johnny knows me. From a few years back, granted, but I won’t be a stranger. That way the deal won’t look staged.”

  “Forget it.” The handsome face Layla knew by heart hardened beyond recognition. “You’d have to slit my throat before I let you walk back to that life.”

  “It’ll be a fake deal.”

  Blake refused. “I won’t take that chance.”

  “It was like four years ago, man,” Tanner said. “Ancient history.”

  “Addictions are never ancient or history. Besides,” Blake muttered, “you’re forgetting one thing. Jack is somehow involved in all this too. Before we do anything, we’ve got to factor him into this equation.”

  Tanner stared. “Are you for real? Since when do you give a rat’s ass about Johnson?”

  “Since Jack tried to barter with Layla. If she went to Sturgis with him, he’d take her right to her brother. If she stayed with me, Jack threatened Rob’s record. Swore he’d be in a position to change the course of the kid’s life. Working with a drug dealer on some undercover op—one who’s selling to the gang Rob is in—could ruin Rob’s future.”

  “Do you think Carlos is working with Johnson…legit? Undercover for the police?” Tanner asked.

  “No.” Blake ran a hand down his face, let go of Layla, and began pacing. “Otherwise Johnson wouldn’t have acted so seedy when Munson questioned him. Instead Jack took off. Like a guy who was afraid of getting caught and held up for questioning.”

  “Then what should we do?” Layla broke in.

  “Find Rob first,” Blake answered.

  “How?”

  Tanner scratched his jaw. “You know, Blake, you could always call Will.”

  With a nod, Blake rummaged through his duffel and pulled out a fresh T-shirt. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

  Layla looked between the two men. “Who’s Will?”

  Blake’s voice sounded muffled inside the shirt as he fitted it over his head. “My friend, the undercover officer who got Rob interested in the grownup version of cops and robbers.”

  Layla said tightly, “Only this isn’t a game. If this friend of yours pulled Robby into this mess, then he should get him out, too!”

/>   Blake tucked his shirt into his jeans. “We don’t know anything for sure. Before I talk to Will, I want to check something downstairs.”

  Tapping her foot impatiently, Layla demanded, “Shouldn’t we be out pounding the pavement, checking with all the people we spoke to yesterday?”

  Blake nodded. “We will. But if Rob hasn’t been communicating by phone—since he won’t take anyone’s calls—I want to see if he’s kept in touch another way.”

  “Such as?”

  “Digitally.”

  “Oh.” She looked at him strangely, until the light dawned. “ Ohh … Hey, that’s a great idea!”

  “Let’s hope.”

  Blake and Tanner headed downstairs. Layla dressed and met them in the empty store, outside the shop’s office. Frank swiveled in his chair to face them.

  “What are you all doing up at the ass crack of dawn?”

  “Frank,” Blake said, ignoring the question, “can we use your Internet connection on the store computer?”

  “Sure. Why?”

  “I need to borrow it for a minute.”

  “Hey, man. Help yourself.”

  Blake barely waited for the affirmation before rushing up to the desk. “Thanks.”

  Frank’s eyes widened. He rolled his chair out of Blake’s way. Then he stood and ambled out of the office. “I’ll just go…do somethin’ else.”

  Blake fiddled with the mouse and keyboard. He asked her, “You and your brother use the same site to get online and check e-mail, right?”

  “Yes, we share a computer and have our email accounts at the same company.”

  “And you both have the password to log on?”

  “Sure, but of course he has a different password than me.”

  “That’s okay. I think I can figure it out, as long as you have his account name.”

  Layla led him through the preliminaries, until they had to type in the password. She blew a strand of hair off her forehead. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

  “I might.” He tried several. Each denied him access.

  She repeated his attempts aloud. “Disturbed…Saliva…Korn—what’s that about?”

  “The names of his favorite bands.”

  “What happened to Nickelback?”

  “That was last year.” He typed in a few more without success.

  “I try to keep up with my brother’s life. I really do. But this is pathetic. I wouldn’t know his password if it smacked me upside the head.”

  “Ah, good one, baby.” He typed in GODSMACK. “Bingo.”

  “Well, his e-mails were safe from me,” she muttered.

  “Now I see why…” Blake kept his face carefully blank.

  He felt Layla lean toward him, peering over his shoulder. “Did you find something helpful?”

  He quickly closed the window. “I don’t know.” He stared meaningfully at Tanner. “I think I need to make a phone call.”

  “Blake, what’s going on? What did you see?”

  “I don’t know yet, baby. I’m about to find out.”

  With an agitated movement, she swiped the back of her hand across her forehead. “Geez, it’s hot out today.” Then she leveled a look at Blake. “Did you find something your friend Will would know about?”

  “No. Maybe. I told you, I don’t know. I need to make some calls before I can answer your question.”

  “Blake,” she warned, “don’t leave me out of this.”

  His smile felt stiff on his face. “No way, baby. We’re in this together.” He firmly guided her toward where Tanner stood, shoulder against the doorjamb. Blake said to his brother, “Do me a favor. Take care of Layla while I check on something.”

  His brother peered at him, an eyebrow arched. “What kind of time do you need?”

  “Half an hour. We’ll meet back at the shop.” He sent a nod to Tanner, silent code for, Cover me. I’ve got business to take care of .

  Tanner gave him a two-finger salute, and Blake knew it was handled.

  Then Blake thought of one more thing. “While I’m gone, stop by the general store for suntan lotion. I don’t want my girlfriend burned to a crisp.”

  Layla’s back straightened beneath his palm. He looked down and discovered round blue eyes staring up at him. His chest squeezed at the emotion he saw swirling in them. Then he realized what he’d said, the endearment he’d ached to use with this woman if only he’d had a second chance with her.

  Here was his second chance.

  And if he didn’t want to blow it, he’d better be honest with her. He would be, he promised silently. After he talked to Will and figured out what the hell was going on.

  Leaning down, he kissed her. A kiss he hoped would melt away any lingering uncertainty inside her. His arms wound around her waist.

  “Ahem.” Tanner cleared his throat from the doorway.

  More than anything Blake wanted to stay right where he was. He wanted hold Layla and reassure her until she understood how much he needed her, and her trust.

  But time was against them. He broke off the kiss. “It’s her fault,” he said reasonably, handing her over to his brother. “She has that effect on me.”

  Tanner rolled his eyes. “Spare me the details.” Then, just to rattle Blake, Tanner draped his arm around Layla’s shoulder and guided her out the shop’s front door. “So, about that suntan lotion…think you’ll need some help putting it on?”

  Casually, Tanner glanced back over his should. Blake sent him a deadly glare. He tipped his head back and laughed. He dropped his arm.

  Smart man , Blake thought. Then he snorted. “‘ Wise Guy’ is more like it,” he muttered.

  No doubt Tanner was just trying to take the edge off, ribbing Blake into momentarily forgetting the dire situation they faced.

  Unfortunately, it didn’t work.

  Stalking toward the nearest phone booth, Blake shut himself inside. He didn’t want to make a scene in public or have anyone overhear him. He scrolled through the archive of numbers in his cell phone, found the one he wanted, and hit send.

  A distracted voice answered.

  Blake gripped the sun-warmed metal casing of the payphone to maintain control. Through clenched teeth, he said, “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t reach through this phone and rip you a new one.”

  “Uh…because I already have a hole there. And it’s really bad for the rap sheet to assault an officer of the law. What’s up, Desanto?”

  “You, Will. At the top of my list of the biggest idiots. What the hell were you thinking, giving a kid the green light to work undercover?”

  “Okay, run that by me again—slower this time.”

  Blake gnashed his teeth. “Layla’s little brother, Rob Farrell, is running with a motorcycle gang in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Something big is about to go down. We believe it might be a major drug deal. And we think Rob is going to get caught smack in the middle of it.”

  “ What? ”

  “Any chance you know how he got here—and why your e-mail address is attached to a thank you note for the equipment you gave him?”

  “Oh, hell.”

  “Yeah, that’s where I’m about to send you. Unless you tell me what’s going on and how to fix it. Oh, and this might be a good time to mention that we have, um, let’s see— tonight —to get the kid out of this train wreck and back to Cleveland in time for court.”

  “Enough with the sarcasm. I get your point.”

  “You’re the one who got him hooked on all this undercover crap. I need answers, Will. Before it’s too late.”

  His friend hesitated on the line. “Hate to break it to you, Desanto, but your kid isn’t doing this with me. Although…” Blake heard a distant clicking in the background before Waller said, “He uploaded a photo. Give me a sec. I’ll bring it up.”

  “You’re telling me you know nothing about this?”

  “Nada.”

  “Then who’s he working with?”

  “Beats me.”

 
“Not good enough,” Blake fumed. “You need to find out.”

  “I don’t have that kind of jurisdiction, man. I can’t just radio out to random forces to figure who some kid is working with.”

  “This isn’t ‘some kid,’ Will, and you know it. Rob is like a little brother to me. And it would destroy Layla if anything happened to him.”

  “Hey, I’m close with Rob, too. I know you don’t want to hear this, but he’s got a natural talent for this stuff. He just might be able to handle himself.”

  “Against gangs and drug dealers? Christ, Waller—”

  “Hang on. The photo’s coming up.” A double-click. “Okay…this is interesting.” Will let out a low whistle. “Man, oh man. You’re not going to believe this.”

  “ What? ”

  “Nothing like the usual suspects. I think we’ve found your Keyser Soze.”

  The reference to the double-crosser in the movie “The Usual Suspects” didn’t bode well. Blake braced himself.

  “It’s your best buddy—Jack Johnson.”

  Blake felt a blast of nausea hit him in the gut.

  Still, he shouldn’t be shocked. It wasn’t like he hadn’t already suspected that probability. Only now he couldn’t shut off the reality of this nightmare.

  “Damn that bastard.” The atmosphere thinned. His chest tightened as if the phone booth had suddenly been pressurized. He struggled for air, for the words that would magically make Johnson disappear. “Why can’t he just stay the hell out of our lives?”

  “Great. Look who else showed up for the party.” Blake didn’t like the grim note in Will’s voice. “Another familiar face.”

  “Now what?” Something clicked in Blake’s mind. “Wait. Don’t tell me. The guy’s got a thin goatee, two gold hoops in his ear, dark complexion.” He swallowed hard. “A.k.a., Johnny .”

  “Hey, Desanto. You’re good.”

  “Lucky guess,” Blake said faintly. A weight sank inside him. “Another lucky guess—his rap sheet’s familiar, too.”

  “Tell the man what he’s won, Bob.”

  The one time he wished he hadn’t been right. “Please give me a silver lining to all of this, Will. Or I’m going to lose it.”