Triggered by Love

by Rachelle Ayala

  Jason squeezed his eyes shut and visualized Ernesto sitting in his ill-fitted suit. “I don’t remember seeing anyone with those shoes. Of course, I wasn’t looking at anyone’s feet.”

  “Larry was sitting behind us,” Avery said. “He certainly would have remembered if his brother was present.”

  “Maybe not.” Jason’s eyes snapped open. “There was a horsey-looking woman near Ernesto. I remember thinking her clothes fit worse than his.”

  “He must appear in photos,” Avery said. “Let’s look through my laptop. Maybe he was there the entire time, and we just didn’t see him.”

  “Or her.” Jason’s voice perked up.

  As soon as the airplane hit cruising altitude and they were allowed to use small electronics, Avery booted up her laptop.

  They huddled together, hunched over the tray table, and scrolled through all the images she’d collected.

  “I see Ernesto, hiding in the back,” she exclaimed.

  “Next to him.” Jason pointed at a brash-looking “woman” in a loud polka-dot dress. “Why would he wear something so obvious?”

  “To draw attention away from the fact he’s not female,” Avery said. “Same as wearing aviators. To get people to focus on the ugly old man glasses and believe he’s older than he is.”

  “Boy, I need to borrow some of your fashion sense for police work,” Jason said in a joking manner. “We’ve got him.”

  “Yep, I bet if we enhance the image, we can make out something underneath the dress. See that shadow?”

  “Might be either his jockstrap or a gun,” Jason said. “I’m going to upload this as soon as we land.”

  “Why wait?” Avery asked. “This airplane is equipped with internet. We’re in first class.”

  Jason gaped at her and then threw his head back and laughed. It figured a rich girl would know these things.

  Avery tapped the screen in front of them, and it came to life. She hit an access screen and the news came up.

  “And here I thought the screen was for the safety instructions,” Jason said. “I haven’t flown in years, maybe decades.”

  Avery kissed the big lug and teased him. “If you want to be my man, you’ll have to fly all over the world for my fashion shows.”

  “There’s no better job title than to be Avery Cockburn’s man.” He uploaded his evidence and after scanning the news, which reported Blade Camden agreeing to sing like the bird or dickhead he was, he signed off.

  “I aged fifty years in that split second when I thought I’d lose you again.” Jason’s voice burred as is eyes held tender concern for her.

  “I would have been a goner had you not worn those gloves. What made you prepare?”

  “Boy Scout, plus Matt Swanson’s lei gave your destination away. I figured you were being watched by the blackmailer.”

  Avery shuddered at the thought. “And here I was, dismissing him as a drama king.”

  “You never can tell,” Jason said. “The important thing is you’re safe now.”

  “You’re safe, too,” she murmured, while fortifying herself to tell him she loved him.

  “I never want to see another porcupine quill as long as I live.” Jason leaned over the console and kissed her long and hard.

  “Ahem, maybe we should draw the curtains,” Avery said as she wrapped her arms around her man’s strong and stalwart shoulders.

  Chapter Sixty-One

  It turned out Avery had Saul’s memory card all along.

  And what a moment to find it.

  After a long flight and another puddle jumper to her brother’s resort on Maui, Avery hit the showers with Jason, and things got heated up.

  The soap and shampoo made Jason’s hard, hot body slippery—so sexy and urgent that all she wanted was his cock inside of her.

  “We took a chance last time.” Jason kissed and sucked her breasts, rubbing her to a lather of lust. “I bought condoms.”

  “I don’t care to be safe,” she muttered. “You’re not safe for work or play.”

  “Neither are you.” He lowered his lips downward, licking and sucking her hips, below her belly button, and parting her folds to the promised land.

  The shower head gushed water over them, and Avery gushed slick juices, throbbing and pulsing with exquisite pleasure. He laved and lapped, sucking on her clit, and entering her with his fingers, and Avery shot so high she couldn’t catch her breath.

  She could come over his mouth again and again, except she wanted him inside of her—filling her huge and hard. The sharp spikes of the orgasms he gave her were different from the rumbling deep ones she shared with him.

  The only problem?

  Jason’s bicep was bandaged—in fact, he shouldn’t even be getting it wet, and he couldn’t pick her up and have shower sex. They’d have to go horizontal.

  “Race you to the bed,” she said, shutting off the water.

  “You go ahead. I have to find the condoms.” He grabbed a towel and dried himself.

  She knew he’d still have to unpack, and she couldn’t wait a second longer. “I have a few in my purse.”

  It wouldn’t be the end of the world to have Jason’s child, but she saw his point. There was still too much uncertainty awaiting them in New York.

  Harvey Leach’s trial would be a media circus. Blade would squeal like a stuck pig, and Jason’s boss, Chief Grimes, would be taken down along with the corrupt Mayor DeBrassos. Larry Leach would need to pay for what he’d done to the male models, and of course, if Richie Overton was involved, he’d have to be brought to justice.

  Naked and dripping, Avery grabbed her purse and dumped the contents. Mints. Receipts. Pens. And a condom packet.

  “Got it!” Avery rolled onto the bed, but her glee was short-lived. “Who tore it open? Ewww!”

  Jason dried his bandaged arm and pounced on her. “Maybe it’s the one I didn’t get to use. I didn’t know you’re like that hoarder I investigated, rolling it back up.”

  “It looks new.” She removed the condom and squinted at the tiny chip in the center. “What’s this?”

  “Holy shit!” Jason said, flicking the chip over and exposing the golden pins. “It’s a microSD card. Did you know it was in here?”

  “No. Do you think this is Saul’s camera card?”

  “Only one way to find out.” Jason was halfway to her laptop. “You have a card adapter?”

  She fumbled in her laptop bag and produce one which fitted the microSD card into the slot.

  Making love was completely off the table for the next hour, maybe two.

  Saul’s card was a treasure trove. He’d apparently gotten in with a pass from Joselito. He, Ernesto, and Joselito posed together before the show, and when Jason enlarged an image, the orange tip of a toy gun poked from Ernesto’s hand.

  “I feel like shit,” Jason said. “I can’t believe I killed a man with a toy gun.”

  “You didn’t know. You had to make a split-second decision while taking fire, and you saw him waving that gun around.”

  “There’s no excuse. If I shot the wrong guy, I should turn myself in.” Jason stumbled to his suitcase and put on clothes.

  “Where are you going?” Avery’s heartrate raced. “Let’s look through the rest of the pictures. There might be more clues.”

  “I can’t look.” Jason slumped onto the bed and cupped his hands over his eyes. “If I killed the wrong man … I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself.”

  “Just don’t go anywhere or call anyone.” Avery pulled on a robe and tied it tight. “Stay put.”

  She went back to the image library, flipping through the gallery. There were pre-show pictures of Ivanna. She was posing with various accessories and wearing cat-eyed glasses studded with rhinestones, the same ones Avery had seen being sold online. Trent and Jayla appeared in a few shots, as well as models both before getting dressed and later, walking down the runway. Saul had a great eye for candid shots, and he could sell some of these photos for a pretty penn
y.

  “I wonder if Saul never showed anyone these photos because of what happened next,” she said.

  “I hope he didn’t take pictures of the shooting.” Jason moaned. He remained huddled on the side of the bed with his head down.

  “I think he hid this card because he was afraid of what it might show.” Avery fortified herself for what would come next.

  Tears streamed down her face at Brando’s brave and strong form as he held out his arm for her. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, and then Jason was at her side with his arms around her.

  No matter how much it would hurt, he wasn’t letting her face the memories alone.

  She leaned against him and tapped the arrow key to move forward. There she was, standing with Brando at the top of the runway.

  “The thing about Saul’s pictures,” Avery commented. “Is that they weren’t taken from the photographer’s pit. He got an entirely different viewpoint.”

  “Wait.” Jason barked. “Go back.”

  She backed up.

  He pointed to a man in the audience. “That’s Chief Grimes. I don’t remember seeing him at the show.”

  “He’s wearing the same black-on-black attire most models wear when they’re off,” Avery remarked. “Same as the photographers.”

  “Why does everyone wear black-on-black?” Jason asked.

  “To not distract from the outfits on stage.” Avery hit the arrow key. “Let’s see what he does.”

  “He has his hand inside his jacket.” Jason pointed to the man who Avery would never have picked out of a lineup. He was too ordinary looking.

  “I see Ernesto now,” Avery said as she advanced to the next image. “See how he stands out? Wearing a tan suit in a sea of black. Look at that orange tie and how it doesn’t match. Double-breasted is so out of style.”

  “I can’t look at him. It’s so unfair. Because he stuck out like a sore thumb, he got killed.”

  “He still had a gun, toy or not,” Avery reminded. “In the heat of the moment, you couldn’t have been able to tell. Plus, with the tan suit and orange tie, it would not have contrasted enough. The jury can get you off.”

  “If I screwed up, I’ll take the punishment.” Jason’s voice was as tough as rusty nails. “Go to the next one. I want to see what happened.”

  “Okay,” Avery said. She and Brando were beaming at each other. In the next one, they started walking down the runway. Photographers were jockeying for position. Saul must have been positioned behind Jason and Alida.

  In one of the photos, Avery saw the back of Jason’s head. Alida was inconsiderate and wore her hat inside, blocking the view of the person behind her who was craning his neck to the side.

  That was Larry Leach, and next to him was Harvey, dressed as a woman in a polka-dot dress. In one of the photos, his feet were too big for a woman’s.

  “Look what Harvey’s wearing,” Avery said. “Polka-dots and dorky looking clogs, of all things. That should have been a dead giveaway.”

  “I didn’t pay her any attention,” Jason said, shaking his head. “It was a good disguise. For sure, no man would have been checking that thing out.”

  Avery chuckled as the horsey-looking woman next appeared on the other side. “Looks like he went over to talk to the chief.”

  “Oh yeah, they’re in cahoots.”

  “There.” Jason pointed to Ernesto. “Look who’s behind him.”

  “Your chief. What is he doing? Now I wish Saul took a video.” She advanced the image, worried they’d miss something.

  “I see a gun. Enlarge it?” Jason asked excitedly. “Yep. It’s a handgun. Not a toy.”

  “Where? In your chief’s hand?”

  “This sucks so bad,” Jason said. “Chief Grimes shot Brando, and I shot Ernesto.”

  “I almost don’t want to go to the next image,” Avery said. “Look at Brando. He was so full of life.”

  A sob choked through her as all of it slammed into her again. The pride in Brando’s face as he looked at her was exactly the way she remembered. They were approaching the turnaround.

  “I’ll look. You can lean on me.” Jason sounded resolute, like a sea captain facing towering waves head on.

  The next photo appeared. There was a handoff.

  “Are they trading guns?” Avery hardly dared to breathe.

  “Stupid fool,” Jason growled. “Grimes is such a prick.”

  “I can’t look at the rest,” Avery said. “We need to call the authorities and turn this in.”

  “Not before I upload all the images to the cloud,” Jason said. “I’m sorry, Ave, but it looks like we’re going back to New York City. We have to hand carry this back. I don’t trust the mail.”

  “Who are we going to give the memory card to?” Avery asked. “How did it get into my purse inside a condom wrapper?”

  “Ask Saul,” Jason said. “I think we should hand this card to your father’s lawyer. I don’t trust the police chief for obvious reasons. I think Saul is in danger. We’d better call him.”

  Sure enough, Saul admitted he’d slipped the card from the camera while Blade and Trent were helping Avery. He’d picked up the purse she dropped and peeled open an unused condom just enough to slip the chip inside.

  “You understand why I did it?” Saul asked, sounding worried. “If the police chief switched the guns, he’d come after me. I didn’t trust Blade or Jason or any cop.”

  “Why didn’t you correct Ivanna when she said Ernesto had a toy gun?” Avery asked.

  “I didn’t want her to know the rest of the story. She’s safer if the murderers think she didn’t know. I was just as shocked when I saw the switch. Joselito must have seen it too, but he didn’t keep his mouth shut. He went to the after-party to confront Larry Leach. He told me he believed Larry Leach ordered the hit.”

  “Larry and Harvey. They might have been in cahoots,” Avery said. “Do you think they were both blackmailing the people in Orson’s videos?”

  “Definitely. That’s what was so complicated,” Saul said. “They gave each other alibis because they look so much alike.”

  “And they wore wraparounds, aviators, and designer cross-trainers to distract,” Avery said. “Only they got too attached to the mirrored cross-trainers.”

  “The big mistake,” Jason said, kissing the side of her head.

  “What are you guys going to do next?” Saul asked. “Should I disappear?”

  “That’s up to you,” Avery said. “We’re going to upload the photos into the cloud and let people know if anything happens to any of us, including you, Ivanna, and Trent, the photos will go out to news media automatically. Looks like Jason and I are back to New York on the next flight.”

  “Sorry, I ruined your vacation,” Saul said. “But it’s a load off my mind. You’re not too upset with Ivanna, are you?”

  “Nah, she can keep selling those cat-eye glasses on Shopahol,” Avery conceded. “The ones on AlleyCat’s store, but she absolutely cannot sell porcupine Mohawks.”

  “Not even for little old prickly me?” Jason kissed the side of her head after she ended the call with Saul.

  “Especially not you. Porcupines are so last year,” she giggled and went to book return flights.

  The next day, Avery and Jason were on their way back to New York City after spending the shortest time ever on Alex’s resort.

  It was refreshing anyway, even after the long hours on the phone with her father and his lawyer, explaining everything and planning on how to get the police chief and other high officials.

  And then, there was the nightcap which lasted most of the night. The only thing Jason had unpacked was his box of condoms.

  Avery was content, although seeing the last photos of her and Brando was bittersweet. Intellectually, she knew she had to let him go.

  He would always be with her. He loved her so much.

  As soon as the airplane reached cruising altitude, she took off her seatbelt and cuddled with Jason. He didn’t like first class becaus
e of the console in between the passengers. This time, they got the two seats next to the window, and after lifting the armrests, she could practically be in his lap.

  “I finally feel like I can relax,” she said, letting out a long sigh.

  “The trials are going to be stressful,” Jason said. “We will both have to take the witness stand.”

  “I know, but at least you didn’t do anything wrong.” She tapped him lightly on his chest. “You’re a good cop, Jason.”

  “That is a high honor coming from you.” His grin was humble. “It’s always a fine line between reacting too fast and with too much force and screwing it up and letting the victim be hurt.”

  “I trust your reflexes and instinct.” She nuzzled against him and held his hand. “I’m glad you never gave up the investigation.”

  “Not when it comes with you as a fringe benefit.” He snuggled with her as they settled down to catch up on the sleep they’d missed the night before.

  Avery was happy, and so was Jason now that Harvey Leach was caught and all the molesters were stopped. With Overton and Orson Leach dead, she might not even have to be exposed. She would have to heal, and so would Jason. Knowing Tatiana was on her side helped bigly, and she wished she could be friends with her someday. She said a silent prayer for the fiery woman who turned out to be a sexual justice vigilante.

  Tatiana had also been good for Jason’s recovery. After their conversation about not feeling responsible for someone else’s bad decisions, he started dealing with the misplaced guilt he felt over his mother’s death.

  Now, it was Avery’s turn to give him what he truly needed. She loved him, but she needed permission from Brando to move on. She was waiting for a sign, but had a sign or many signs come and gone already?

  Perhaps it was staring at her in the form of a prickly policeman. How did she get so lucky to find not one, but two men she could love with all her heart, yet two that were as different as night and day?

  She let Jason sleep, and as she watched him, the jumbo jet’s dipping and bobbing on the turbulent air currents brought her thoughts back to Brando.