View Park, page 12
When he reached for her, she pulled away but he reached again and pulled her to him. She moved her head to the side when he lowered his mouth to kiss her; she wasn’t giving in that easy. He jerked her arm to let her know the games were over, but she only smiled, knowing that they were just beginning.
His lips came down hard on hers, partly in lust, partly in a bit of discipline. He wanted to teach her that she couldn’t toy with him, but as she kissed him back, his body’s reaction told him that this girl could pretty much do whatever she wanted with him.
Haley pushed him away, looking fiercely into his eyes. He thought he could tame her? She would give it to him; that kiss lit a fire, but he had another thing coming if he thought he was going to control this. He’d see who’s about to learn a lesson.
“This is not what I came here for,” he said.
“I don’t give a damn what you came here for.” Haley grabbed him, leading him toward the stairs.
“Wait a second.” He pulled back. “Where are your parents?”
“Who cares?” she asked. “There’s a lock on my bedroom door.”
“Look, Haley.” He broke free of her. “This is not the time to be messing around.”
Haley stood, stunned. He couldn’t possibly be rejecting her.
“Put a smile on your face,” he said.
“That’s what I was trying to do,” she answered.
Sean smiled, thinking how nice it would be to take her right there on the stairs. No, there was work to be done. “Rudio didn’t clean up as well as he thought he did. We found some blood on his boat and forensics matched it to Jorge Nesco. We have his DNA on file from a sex crimes case two years ago.”
“That’s good, right?”
He shrugged. “It could be if some other things come together. What’s really good is that the picture of the boat on file with the yacht club matches your description.”
Haley smiled in relief. “I’m gonna be free again. Is he in jail now?”
“Not yet, but it’s moving forward. We’re picking him up tonight at his club, in front of all his boys for effect. We’re gonna try to keep him all night to see what we can get out of him. We need you to come by in the morning and pick him out of a lineup.”
Haley felt her stomach tighten. She would actually be near him. “Do I have to?”
“We need you to try.”
“I barely remember.” Haley sat down on the bottom step, feeling queasy. “I don’t think I can—”
“You can.” Sean sat down next to her, putting his arm around her. “You remembered the snake after you saw it.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. Fear made her feel weak and she hated it. “What if I don’t?”
“Then we’ll find another way to bring him down.” He cupped her chin, lifting her face to his. “Whatever happens, I promise you we will get him.”
Haley took a deep breath. “I want my mother there.”
Walking out of the bar, Richard wrapped his arm around Leigh’s waist and she leaned into him. She was sending him every message possible and he’d better be getting it, because this was as bold as she had the nerve to get.
“So what’s the plan?” he asked as soon as they were outside.
“I don’t…” Leigh let him pull her aside as a group of women entered the bar. “I don’t think driving would be appropriate.”
“We can leave the cars here. I’ve done it before. I only live a few blocks away, but you…”
“I can take a cab,” she said.
Richard smiled with a shrug, a casual invitation for her. It seemed like slow motion to Leigh as he leaned in and kissed her. Backing into the wall, she wrapped her arms around him and gave in to the feeling. Man, how she missed this. He was so deliberate as his hands caressed her hips and he pressed his body against hers. Leigh felt something surge inside of her. It had been so long and every second longer he kissed her, the more she knew Richard wouldn’t only scratch her itch. He would scratch it good.
“Come home with me, Leigh,” he whispered into her ear through heavy breathing.
Leigh tugged at his shirt as he kissed her neck. His lips were like fire on her skin. You’re a good girl, she told herself, but Richard’s lips told her she was a stupid girl if she didn’t do this. “You’re trying to seduce me.”
“I was waiting for you to seduce me, but you were taking too long. So I decided to lay it on you.”
“Lay it on me?” she asked, unable to control her laughter.
Richard’s lips pressed together to keep from laughing. “That’s what I call it. When I seduce a woman, I lay it on her.”
“Very mature,” she mocked. “That needs some work.”
“Maybe that’s why I can’t get anyone into my apartment.”
Leigh didn’t believe for a second he had a problem getting women into his apartment or into his bed. “Aren’t you glad I pointed it out to you?”
“Eternally grateful.” He kissed her again, this time longer, harder. “I’ll work on it, and maybe next time…”
“Next time?” she asked.
“Next time,” he answered, “it might work.”
Leigh pulled him to her, kissing him to clear up any confusion. “I said it needed some work. I didn’t say it didn’t work.”
“Police? Yes, I need to report an emergency.”
Carter rushed to the front door of the salon. It was closed with bars over the windows and pitch black inside. He was thinking more of himself right now. If Craig meant even half of what he said, this was going to make things a mess for him.
“I think there might be a bomb at the Essentials Hair Salon on Eastern Avenue in View Park.”
Stretching his neck, Carter looked as far back as he could. Just as he was about to assume no one was there, a slit of yellowish white light hit his eyes. It was coming from underneath the door to the back office.
“Just hurry! 7722 Eastern Avenue.”
He hung up, rushing down the block toward the alley. The thought of Avery having to pay for his devious acts and that nut Craig made him forget the danger. She hadn’t deserved any of this, but especially not this. In the alley, he leaped over a gate to reach the back of the store and when he did, all he could hear was music blaring.
Avery gulped the wine straight from the bottle and slammed it back on the desk. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she looked at the papers Karen had given her. It was right there in front of her face. Craig had been stealing from both of her stores and she’d let him do it with her eyes wide open. She might as well have given him permission!
She cranked the radio up a notch, thinking the wine and noise could make her drown out the insanity she was feeling. What a fool she had been about everything; Craig, Carter and even Alex who wasn’t returning any of her messages from his hotel in Philadelphia.
She had let these men break her down. She pictured her father’s arms around her mother as they watched television in peace and quiet and didn’t have the strength to share this with them right now. They were so proud of her and she was too embarrassed to let them know they had placed their pride in an idiot.
She wanted to strangle Craig. She thought of calling the police, but couldn’t even deal with it yet. The thought of having to act rational for whatever time it would take to explain wasn’t something she could manage yet. What was worse was that she really meant it. If she saw him right now, Avery was sure there wasn’t anything that could keep her from trying to kill him. She, the daughter of the chief of police, wishing she could kill someone. Look at what she had let him turn her into.
Her greater sense told her that this wasn’t the end of the world, but she didn’t think she had the strength to fight another day. Maybe she should just give up on it all. Essentials and Alex.
Carter banged harder on the door. “Avery, open up!”
“No!” Avery screamed out loud to all the demons she felt around her, letting them know she refused to give in to the thoughts they were putting in her head. She was strong and she would fight this. She hadn’t been brought up to be a crying, helpless victim. She had worked too hard to let men like Craig Moon take her down.
As the CD wound down its last song, Avery heard the faint sound of banging on the door and it scared her to death. Craig!
“Avery, open the door!”
She reached for the phone, dialing 911. “I’m calling the police!”
“It’s Carter, Avery! Open up.”
She faintly heard the 911 operator pick up.
“Carter?” Phone still in hand, Avery slowly walked toward the door.
“Open the door! You’re not supposed to be here!”
She opened the door and was shocked by the panic stricken look on Carter’s face. “Carter, what are you—”
Before she could say another word, Carter grabbed her, pulling her toward him. She heard an explosion so loud, her teeth shattered and she felt a rush of heat behind her as the two of them were lifted from the ground and tossed into the air. Avery heard herself screaming, but couldn’t feel herself doing it. Then, everything went black.
CHAPTER 7
Avery’s mother had gone to the cafeteria to get something to eat, but Carter knew there was still a nurse in her hospital room so he waited, having already ditched his own parents claiming he had to use the bathroom. He couldn’t get rid of them even though the doctor told them he was just fine.
He looked down at the bandages on his left hand. A few cuts from flying debris wasn’t too bad. The painkillers they gave him the night before would hold him well for a while. He had been lucky, but he didn’t really care about himself. He wanted to see Avery and make sure she was all right. The doctor’s reassurances weren’t enough.
Finally the nurse left the room and Carter cautiously looked around. He made sure his arm was prominent. With new clothes his mother had brought him, the arm was the only thing that told anybody he might have a right to be there.
Avery was halfway sitting up in the bed, drinking juice from a straw. With the exception of a couple of scrapes and bruises, she looked perfect. Relief wasn’t what Carter was feeling and he wasn’t interested in figuring out what it was. Right now he just wanted to watch her peacefully and just be happy she was okay.
When she saw Carter standing at her door, Avery didn’t know what to feel. The events of last night were still a little fuzzy to her, but she knew that he had probably saved her life. She wanted to know so much more even though every thought made her head pound.
“Hey.” Carter approached, standing at the side of her bed. She was looking at him like she didn’t even know who he was. “How you feeling?”
“Still a little dizzy.” She tried sitting up a bit more.
He placed his hand gently on her shoulder. “No, don’t bother.”
“You saved my life.”
Carter looked into her tired and confused eyes feeling the need to comfort her even though he had no right to. He reached over, placing his hand on hers at the edge of the bed.
Avery couldn’t tell, but she was feeling something sweep over her from his touch. His eyes were so tender, so caring, so unlike anything she had seen from him before. There was no way to know if it was genuine coming from someone like him, but right now she needed to believe it was, so she did.
“What happened?”
“I got a call from Craig. He was drunk.”
“You’re still dealing with him?”
“No, Avery, I…”
“I need to know where he is. I have to talk to him.”
“He’s been stealing from you, and…”
“You knew…” Her attempt to sit up rushed to her head and the pain was overwhelming. She bellowed, leaning over and Carter reached for her, but she slapped his hands away. “You knew and you didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t tell you because I—”
“Because you were using it against me to take my shops.” Avery felt tears well in her throat at the thought of Essentials. She didn’t even want to know what it looked like.
Carter didn’t have a response for her because what she suspected was true. “I had no idea he was crazy.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He called to tell me he was blowing up the shop.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.” Carter could see the disbelief on her face. “Really, I don’t.”
Avery looked away from him, not wanting that humble expression on his face to cloud her thoughts. She was having a hard enough time thinking as it was.
Carter had always known the right thing to say in whatever the occasion was, but he was at a loss right now.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” Alex stood in the doorway in a department store business suit, staring at Carter with hate in his eyes.
“What you should be,” Carter said. “Where have you been?”
“Are you questioning me?” Alex’s hands formed into fists.
“Thanks, Alex, I’m doing fine.” Avery was disgusted. The first time seeing her since she was almost killed and all he could do was start a pissing match with Carter.
Alex looked at her with a guilty smile. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to—The nurse told me you were okay. I’ve been trying to reach you.”
“My mother has been calling you since last night.”
“I did the best I could.” His tone was defensive. “There aren’t many night flights from Philly to L.A.”
“There had to be one that could get you here before now,” Carter said.
Avery knew now wasn’t the time to say, but her mother had told her earlier there were two flights before the one Alex took.
“You aren’t even supposed to be here,” Alex sneered. “You’re a suspect in all of this.” Alex beamed at the sight of Avery’s eyes widening. “Didn’t you know that, honey?”
“What—” Suddenly she remembered Carter’s words from last night. You’re not supposed to be here.
“I’ve already spoken to the police,” Carter said, “and I told them it was Craig.”
Alex casually took a seat on the other side of Avery’s bed. “Craig doesn’t have the balls to do something like this and that’s what I’m gonna tell the police the first chance I get to speak with them.”
Carter eyed Alex intently. “You wouldn’t know the first thing about having the balls to do anything. If you did, you would’ve been here a long time ago.”
Avery watched as the two men stared each other down. Alex swallowed hard and it hurt her heart to see him resign himself to being the weaker man. It hurt her even more that she had resigned herself to it before he had.
“Since you’re such a man,” Alex challenged, reaching for the phone, “then you’ll have no problem sticking around while I call the police.”
“Stop it,” Avery said. “Carter was leaving anyway.”
Carter looked at Avery, seeing the doubt in her face. He didn’t want to leave, but he knew what staying would lead to. “I’ll talk to you later, Avery.”
“Why in God’s name would you let him in here?” Alex asked after he was gone.
“I didn’t,” Avery said. “I don’t want to talk about Carter. Alex, my mother said—”
“Have you talked to the police yet?”
Avery just stared at him as he looked down at her. She wanted him to touch her, to hug her or act like he gave a damn about her. She wanted him to reach out to her the way Carter had. “Briefly, but I was tired and the doctor sent them away.”
“The place is gone, Avery.” He began pacing the room. “I drove by on the way here. It’s completely destroyed. He couldn’t stand that you won, so he blew your place up.”
“Carter is an asshole, but he wouldn’t try to kill me.”
“I don’t think he knew you were there,” Alex said. “Maybe he did.”
“It could have been an accident,” she said hopefully. She had almost kissed the man just a week ago.
“Don’t be stupid, Avery.”
“I’m not stupid!” Yelling made her entire body hurt.
Alex stopped pacing. “I…I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry. I’m just upset and I thought you’d be.”
“I have been,” she answered. “Since last night, but you weren’t here to see that.”
“I did the best I could, Avery. Besides, I’m here now.”
“I don’t want to talk about Carter anymore. Besides, he says it’s Craig, and—”
“That article did it,” he said. “It pushed him over the edge. You touched someone who thought he was untouchable. He couldn’t have Essentials, so no one could.”
“I don’t know.”
“You can’t say you don’t think it’s possible, can you?”
Avery reluctantly shook her head, remembering you’re not supposed to be here. “It’s possible.”
“So why did you let him stand next to your hospital bed?”
“That wasn’t my choice,” Avery specified. “But I won’t let it happen again.”
In the very early hours of the morning, Leigh was sleeping soundly in Richard’s arms when she was rudely awakened by her cell phone ringing nonstop. Seeing her home number she knew it was her mother wondering why she wasn’t home. She would love to ignore it, but she knew Janet wouldn’t leave her alone. When she found out what her mother was really calling for, she stumbled over herself trying to get dressed.
Richard rushed her to the hospital before heading off to L.A. General to pick up some donated equipment for the clinic.
Leigh waited in the cafeteria with her parents, her concern for her mother growing. Janet seemed ready to fall apart after taking a Valium even when Steven had asked her not to. She hadn’t even asked Leigh where she had been and Leigh knew that meant she was heavily sedated. After seeing Carter was okay, Leigh wanted desperately to stay with her mother, but a call from Richard less than a hour after he left brought on a desperation of another kind. She had to go.
Leigh felt her heart drop into her stomach when she pulled up to the clinic. Three police cars were parked out front. She just kept hearing Richard’s apology over and over on the phone, urging her to get over there, and when she ran up the walkway toward him, the anguish on his face made her knees go weak.
