“We should swim,” Sera said after a while. The hot sun was making her sweat. She looked longingly at the cool inviting water of the pool.
“Oh,” Carly said. “I don’t really like to swim. It gets my hair wet.”
“Oh, come on, it’s so hot.” Sera set down her drink and walked across the paving stones, hot beneath her bare feet, and dipped a toe in. The water was a pleasant, cooling temperature so she dove in. When she emerged, shaking her hair back and blinking water out of her eyes, Carly and Jessie sat on the side.
“I guess I’ll get in for a minute,” Carly said. She stood up and hesitantly removed the pareo tied around her hips. “I hate wearing a bathing suit.” She looked down at herself with a frown. In her two-piece swimsuit there was no hiding the fact that her hips were substantially wider than her top half.
“You look great, Carly,” Sera said encouragingly. Carly’s pear shape wasn’t unattractive, but Carly obviously felt it was. She slid into the shallow end and stood waist deep, still holding her drink. Sera swam a few laps, enjoying the opportunity to use her muscles, stroking easily through the water. She loved swimming. She’d always been athletic and loved most sports.
After their dip in the pool, Carly took Sera and Jessie inside and showed them the bedroom she used to make her jewelry. “Vince calls it my ‘arts and crafts room’,” she said with a smile. “He used to use it for his drugs, but now he uses the room next door.”
Sera filed that information away for the day it would be needed on a search warrant.
“You have lots of pretty things,” Sera said, picking up a silver wire curled into attractive curves and strung with mauve, periwinkle and blue beads. “I like this.”
“Take it,” Carly said. “It looks beautiful with your eyes.”
“I’ll pay you for it,” Sera offered. “I can be your first customer.”
“No, no, I want to give it to you.” They argued back and forth for a moment and then Sera relented. It seemed to give Carly so much pleasure to make a gift of the necklace.
“Oh my gosh,” Carly gasped, glancing at her watch. “I didn’t realize what time it is! Vince will be home soon and I haven’t even started dinner!”
“I’d better go,” Jessie said.
“Are you driving?” Sera asked.
Jessie smiled sloppily. “Hell yeah. Don’t worry, I’m fine to drive.”
She so was not. Sera had to grit her teeth.
Carly glanced at her watch. “You and Tommy want to stay for dinner? Vince will be home around six. He told me to invite you.”
“I have to check with Tommy. Let me call him.” She dug her cell phone out of her purse and hit the button to call Ryan. He agreed to meet her there around six and she flipped her phone shut, but started the recorder. Too late, but just in case…
Ryan would die when he heard what she’d just learned. She couldn’t help the smile that plucked at her lips.
Carly hurried out of the bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen. Sera trailed along behind her. Carly’d had quite a few lemon drops. Sera had better help her get dinner.
“Does Vince expect dinner ready the minute he walks in the door?” Sera asked in the spacious kitchen. The maple cabinets appeared new and expensive, and granite counter tops gleamed in the under-cabinet lighting. Top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances also looked costly, but the clutter on the countertops and the dishes piled in both sides of the double sink detracted from the luxurious decor. Carly pulled open one door of the refrigerator and stared in.
“What are you making?” Sera asked. “I’ll help.”
“I…I don’t know. I haven’t gone shopping for a while.”
Oh lord. “Why don’t we just order pizza or something?”
“Great idea!” Carly slammed the fridge door shut and turned to Sera. “I’ll find a menu.”
She dug through a drawer packed with junk, including about a hundred take-out menus, from what Sera could see. “Here!” Carly held up a yellow paper. “House of Pizza. Vince’s favorite. What kind of pizza do you and Tommy like?”
Good question. Sera had no idea what kind of pizza Ryan liked. He was a guy, probably safe to go with anything meat. “Pepperoni, sausage. Ham.”
Carly nodded vigorously. “Vince likes this meat lovers’ special. We’ll get one of those. I like…” She bit her lip. “I shouldn’t have pizza.” She looked down at her stomach and hips. “I’m still trying to lose a few more pounds.”
“How about a vegetarian? You and I can have that.”
“I guess. Sure. You know…I’m gonna do some of that angel sugar. Then I won’t eat too much at dinner. You want some?” Carly dropped the menu and headed for her bedroom.
Shit. Now what was she supposed to do?
“I’ll be right back.” Carly’s voice called from down the hall. Then Sera heard a curse.
“What’s the matter?”
“I can’t find the stuff.” Carly returned to the kitchen, the corners of her mouth pulled down. “I thought I had some.” She shook her head. “Oh well. Gotta get some more from Zocco. I should call him.”
Sera leaned against the counter, relief relaxing her muscles. “Yeah. Call him and ask him if he talked to Dominick about getting me more. Tell him I want about fifty hits of the stuff.”
“Fifty!” Carly gaped at her. “You’re going to sell that much?”
“Oh yeah, easily.”
Carly picked up the phone and dialed Zocco, whose number she apparently knew by heart. “Hey, it’s me, Carly. I need more angel sugar. D’you have some?” She nodded, eyes flicking to Sera. “Okay. Yeah. Thursday? Sure. And hey, Zocco, Sera’s here and she says she wants fifty hits to sell.” She listened, nodded. “Okay. Goodbye.”
She hung up. “He’s going to Oakland tomorrow to get more. He’ll bring back some for me and he says he’ll get you some but he’s not sure if he can get that much.”
Sera nodded. “Okay.” Not much more she could do, she supposed.
“I’ll order the pizza now.” Carly again picked up the phone and placed their order, then glanced again at her watch. She nibbled on her bottom lip. “It won’t be here until about six-thirty. Vince’ll be pissed.”
“He’ll survive.” Sera wanted to roll her eyes, but resisted. She couldn’t imagine living like that. She could see Carly’s lack of confidence, her lack of self esteem. She knew for some women, pleasing their man was their way of justifying their existence, giving them a sense of belonging they didn’t think they could get anywhere else. She didn’t like it, but she knew it existed. She wanted to change things, to encourage Carly to make a better life for herself, but this was just a job and she couldn’t do that. She had to watch this woman submit and act like a man’s property, and swallow her revulsion and sympathy.
Vince and Ryan arrived at almost the same time, and greeted each other in the driveway. Carly and Sera had returned to the patio beside the pool for more lemon drops. Ryan walked out the sliding doors behind Vince and his eyes fell on Sera.
“Hey, babe.” She returned his smile, felt his eyes sweep over her, spreading even more heat than the desert sun as the memories of what they’d done last night flooded back. Just seeing him made her go wet beneath her bikini bottom, and she clenched her thighs together. She’d managed to successfully push the hot sex they’d shared to the back of her mind, but now he was there in front of her, it all came rushing back, wild and scorching. Oh Jesus. What had they done?
She resisted the urge to cover herself against Ryan’s heated perusal and held out a hand to him, her lemon drop in the other. She’d had quite a few of them too, and was feeling pleasantly relaxed and fuzzy. She’d better stop drinking.
Ryan took her hand and smiled down at her.
“How was your day?” she asked, truly eager to know.
“Pretty good.” He dropped into a chair next to her. “You girls have fun?”
“Mmm. Yeah.” And the weird thing was, she actually had enjoyed herself. Apart from the w
orking part, she, Jessie and Carly had chatted easily on different topics. She hadn’t had a girlfriend for so many years. That was another thing she’d lost. After her suicide attempt when her friends had thought her a loony-tune, and she’d pretty much felt loony-tunes, she’d turned into a loner. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed the easy companionship of another woman. Not that she and Carly were friends, or ever really could be, but she found she had a spot of softness for Carly.
“Where’s the food?” Vince demanded of Carly.
She smiled cautiously at him. “We ordered pizza? It’ll be here soon?”
He frowned. “You know I like to eat as soon as I get home.”
Carly glanced at Sera and Ryan. “I know, but we have company.” She rose to her feet. “I’ll get you both a beer and the pizza will be here soon.” She scurried off into the house.
Sera was dying to talk to Ryan alone, to find out what had happened with his delivery and pickup, and to tell him what she’d learned. Urgency swelled inside her and made her shift restlessly in her lounge chair. She uncrossed her ankles, and recrossed them the other way. When she looked at Ryan, she saw him staring at her legs.
He looked like a starving man staring at a buffet through a glass window. Heat flared inside her and her tummy did a roll. She licked her lips and swallowed, wanting Ryan to reach out and stroke his hands over her legs. She bent one knee and slowly drew her leg up then slid it back down, knowing he was still watching.
Carly returned and handed him a beer. Then he and Vince talked, but Sera wasn’t listening, aware only of Ryan a foot away from her nearly naked body. Her nipples tingled and tightened behind the triangle cups of the bikini top. Sitting in the sun all afternoon had deepened the golden tan of her skin, and the sunscreen she’d applied gave her legs a nice sheen. Inexplicably she wanted Ryan to find her attractive, especially after last night, and she slowly slid one foot up and down the lounge chair again.
She felt his eyes on her, aware of the contrast between reality and the act they were putting on for the benefit of Vince and Carly. They hadn’t had to sleep together to add authenticity to their relationship. No, that had been completely unplanned, unnecessary and inexcusable. Every nerve ending tingled and her breasts swelled and felt heavy.
And then he did touch her, reaching out to set his hand on her bare shoulder. He stroked down over her arm, fingertips lingering in the sensitive crease of her elbow, making her shiver, then slid lower over her forearm and stopped at her wrist. His fingers rested lightly there and she knew her pulse kicked up beneath them.
She glanced sideways at him and just as she did, he turned to her and their gazes collided in a mini-explosion of heat. Dear god in heaven. Lust cascaded over her in hot waves. She quivered inside, unable to drag her eyes away from Ryan’s warm, golden gaze. He flicked his eyes over her body again, arched a brow approvingly, and she cast him a slow smile of recognition. His eyes darkened, fingers tightened on her wrist and her pulse fluttered even faster.
“Pizza’s here!” Carly rose from her chair and set her lemon drop on the table, slopping it over the side of the glass and into a puddle on the table top. Ryan’s gaze turned puzzled and Sera gave him a little grimace.
“She’s hammered,” Vince commented, watching her walk unevenly into the house. He looked at Sera. “Were you two drinking all afternoon?”
Sera wasn’t afraid of Vince like Carly was. She grinned and held up her empty glass. “Yeah. These are sooooo good.”
Annoyance flashed in Vince’s eyes and then worry nudged Sera. She hoped she wasn’t making things worse for Carly. “Don’t be mad at us.” She smiled winningly. “We were just talking girl talk and looking at horoscopes and Carly’s jewelry and the afternoon got away from us.” She touched the necklace at her throat and turned to Ryan. “See what Carly gave me? Isn’t it nice?”
She never wore jewelry, other than the diamond earrings she’d bought herself a few years ago, but she truly loved the necklace—the shades of blue and mauve and the shiny silver appealed to her.
“Very nice.”
She swung her legs over the side of the chaise and sat up. “I’ll go help Carly.”
“And put some clothes on,” Ryan said.
She stopped and looked at him over her shoulder. They shared a long look. She so longed to say, “Excuse me?” but held it back, turned and walked away with a deliberate twitch of her butt in the skimpy bikini bottom, snagging up the pair of shorts she’d worn over there. In the kitchen, she stepped into them and tugged them up over her hips, but they were low rise and short-short and didn’t cover a heck of a lot more than the bikini. Smothering her smile, she didn’t bother with the tank top she’d also worn, and helped Carly carry out the pizzas, plates, napkins and more beers.
Chapter Thirteen
Ryan pulled into the driveway of the ATF rental house, put the truck in park and turned the motor off.
“I’m sorry I didn’t have my recorder going when she told me that,” Sera said. “I was so mad at myself. I just didn’t expect to hear something like that.”
“It’s okay. I need to hear a confession from Zocco. I have to think about how I’m going to do that.” He’d figure it out.
Sera grabbed the door handle and yanked it open, swung her long legs out of the vehicle. Christ, she was fucking sex on a stick. After last night, he’d been half hard all day, try as he might to keep his mind on work. He’d been kind of hoping that having sex with her would finally take the edge off the sexual tension that had gripped both of them pretty much since the moment they’d met, and they could just get on with things. But no, it had just increased it, making him relive every touch of her mouth, every taste of body, the feel of her around him as he came, all damn day.
Then he’d damn near died when he’d walked out onto the patio and saw her lying there in that tiny bikini, her long, smooth limbs all bronze and gleaming. Her abdomen was flat and muscled, and her tits swelled around the little triangles of black fabric barely covering them. It was all he could do to keep himself from jumping on top of her and fucking her brains out, right there beside the pool.
Then she’d flirted with him, as if she’d known how hard his cock was and how much his balls were aching, and she enjoyed torturing him even more. He’d realized she was just a bit tipsy, his amused reaction a little different than Vince’s displeasure. He only hoped she’d maintained enough control to not blow their covers.
Then she’d dropped the bombshell on the way home—her conversation with Carly about the murder. Back to business.
Zocco. It had been Zocco. He no longer had to worry about finding the former Angels prospect who’d taken a shit kicking rather than commit a murder for them. Huh.
As Sera slammed her door shut, he too climbed out and started walking to the house. At that moment, a furious barking erupted behind the fence separating their house from the home next door. Snarling growls and barks clamored ferociously.
Sera gave a little screech and launched herself at Ryan, grabbing hold of his shirt so tightly he feared she might rip it. He caught her around her smooth and bare waist, and held her. “Hey,” he said.
She trembled in his arms. “Jesus Christ,” she said, teeth chattering. “Is that a dog?”
Amused, he tucked her against his side and looked over the fence. “Yup. It is.”
She rolled her lips in, still clinging to him and trembling.
“Didn’t you know the neighbors have a dog?”
She shook her head, and he saw the fear shining in her pretty eyes. “Sera—are you afraid of dogs?”
She said nothing, swallowed hard and started to pull away from him, but he wouldn’t let her go that easily.
“Sera?”
“What?”
“You’re afraid of dogs. Aren’t you?”
She still said nothing and her reluctance to admit she was actually afraid of something tugged on his heart. “It’s okay. The dog’s on a chain. And he’s friendly.”
&nb
sp; “Oh yeah. He sounds really friendly.”
The two kids who lived next door came out of the house. “Bingo! Come, Bingo!” the boy called. “Hey, Tommy.”
“Hey, Billy.”
“That your girlfriend?”
Ryan glanced at Sera, her face a little less tense. “Yeah. This is Sara. Sara, meet Billy and Crystal.”
Sera lifted a brow at him and he grinned. “Yeah. I know.”
“How come you’re not riding your motorcycle tonight?” Billy asked, approaching the fence. The dog leaped excitedly around him and Billy stroked its head. Sera relaxed slightly against him.
“I need a truck for my job,” Ryan told him.
“What is your job?”
“I deliver motorcycle parts to garages.”
“Oh. That’s cool.”
Billy’s little sister had followed along behind him and was staring at Sera admiringly.
“You have pretty hair,” Crystal said to her.
“Oh. Thanks.”
“I wanna ride a motorcycle just like you, Tommy,” Billy said. Ryan’s gut tightened. He’d talked to these kids before and hated how they admired him. “Maybe I’ll be a Coyote too.”
Ryan cleared his throat, tightened his grip on Sera. “Nah, you can do better than that, Billy.”
“You mean, like, be a Death Angel? Like those friends of yours?”
Ryan scowled. “No, that’s not what I meant. Being in a motorcycle gang isn’t what you should be aspiring to.”
“Why not? You are.”
He sighed. “Yeah, but…that’s because I…uh…made some mistakes. You can do better than that.”
Billy shrugged and grabbed hold of his dog’s collar.
“Billy! Bring Bingo in right now!”
Billy and Crystal turned. A woman called to them from the door of the house next door and Ryan recognized their mother. He’d only spoken to her briefly once when he’d moved in. She seemed afraid of him. And he didn’t blame her. She should be nervous, with the kind of people who visited him at all hours. He sighed.
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