by L A Dobbs
“I don’t know, Dino. Lou might act like a jerk, but he’s been at my side the whole time. He never gave me any reason to suspect him.”
Dino helped her into the car then jogged around the front to take his place in the driver’s seat, giving her a pointed stare as he started the engine. “The worst ones never do.”
21
Twenty minutes later, Dino parked the Tahoe in front of Jan’s house. He got out and came around to help her from the car then led her inside. There was still unfinished business between them, but given the fact that her stalker had been apprehended and she looked ready to drop where she stood, he figured their talk could wait.
Jan tossed her bag on the table in the foyer then stood there, looking around like she had no idea what to do next. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her until they forgot about everything except each other.
He opted for a safer route instead. “Why don’t you have a seat in the living room and I’ll make you some cocoa?”
“Cocoa?” She chuckled, a low, sexy sound. “I haven’t had that since we were kids.”
“My special recipe. I use a secret ingredient that makes it a bit less PG.”
“Sounds intriguing.” She rubbed her arms and shrugged. “Okay.”
“Great.” Dino removed his jacket and headed into the kitchen. Ten minutes later, he emerged with two steaming mugs and carried them over to the large overstuffed leather sofa. After handing one to Jan, he took a seat beside her and sipped his steaming drink gingerly. Usually he used Irish Cream, but he hadn’t found any on hand, so he settled for some bourbon instead. The rich, dusky flavor helped mellow out what was left of his rough edges. “So?”
“So.” Jan tried her drink as well then smiled. “This is really good.”
“Thanks.” He took a larger drink then set his cup aside. “Feeling better?”
“Yes.” She held the steaming cup between her hands. “Still a little unsettled about Lou, though. I know all the evidence points to him, but this just doesn’t seem like something he’d do.”
“People do crazy things sometimes.” He looked around the room, out into the foyer, anywhere but at the woman next to him. If he watched her too long, he got lost in her. “I’ve learned that the hard way.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” She kicked her shoes off, snuggled farther back into her seat, then tucked her feet beneath her. “And things don’t always turn out like we expect.”
Dino had a feeling they weren’t talking about Lou anymore. “No, they don’t.”
She took another long gulp of cocoa then watched him over the rim. “Look at you.”
He raised a brow at her but remained silent.
“You were all set to become this great football star. Blake too. Now, you’re both in the protection business. I never would’ve guessed that one.”
“How about you, Miss Country Star?” He gave her a crooked half smile. “Can’t say I didn’t expect that, though. You were always a star to me.”
Jan bit her lip and lowered her gaze, a slight flush staining her cheeks.
With the bourbon oozing through his system, his strict self-control faltered a bit, and he shifted in his seat to face her, resting his arm along the back of the sofa. This private little space seemed perfect for sharing secrets, or making confessions. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” She leaned over and put her mug on the coffee table then drew her knees into her chest, wrapping her arms tightly around them as if to make herself as small as possible. “Go ahead.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you break up with me back then?” He pinched his bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger, frowning. “I’ve thought about that day from a million different angles, and none of them make sense.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“Humor me.”
“Well.” Jan ran a hand through her long, loose curls, and Dino had never wanted to be someone else’s fingers so much in his life. “People were saying things, about you and Erin McCabe. And I was afraid they were true.”
“What kinds of things?”
“That you were sleeping with her behind my back.”
“So, you broke up with me because of a rumor?” He gave a rueful snort and shook his head. “Did it never occur to you to, I don’t know, ask me about it?”
“I was seventeen, and you were the most popular guy in school. Teenaged angst and poor decisions aside, I didn’t really see a point. You were headed off to college in the fall, and I was going to lose you anyway. I thought it was better to make a clean break, so I ended it.”
“Clean break, huh? What you did damned near killed me.”
“I’m sorry.” She lowered her forehead to her knees. “I was so self-conscious back then, so shy and introverted, and I never understood why you would want to be with me in the first place. So when I heard that you’d taken up with the gorgeous, outgoing head cheerleader, it made sense. Way more sense than you and I being together back then.” She sighed. “If it’s any consolation, it damned near killed me too. You were my best friend.”
Jesus. Dino scrubbed his hands over his face. He would’ve laughed if his heart didn’t ache so badly. All those years. Fifteen wasted years while they were both off living their separate lives—they could’ve been building their future together. And why? A bunch of stupid lies and rumors.
He reached over and took Jan’s hand, lacing his fingers through hers, unwilling to let another day go by without her knowing the truth. “Nothing happened between Erin and me. Hell, I barely knew her. She flirted with me a couple of times, but then she flirted with all the guys on the team. I turned her down, and she moved on.”
“You turned her down?” Jan raised her head slightly, her gaze narrowed on him. “Why?”
“Because the only girl I ever wanted was you.”
She scoffed and tried to pull free from his grip, but he refused to let her go. Not this time. “Yeah, right. I wasn’t popular. I wasn’t pretty. I wasn’t—”
He leaned over and kissed her.
By the time he pulled away, they were both breathless.
“You’re gorgeous, sweetheart. You always were. Inside and out.” Dino gathered her in his arms and laid her back on the sofa, covering her body with his, loving the feel of her soft curves against him. “I think we should make a fresh start. Forget the past and move forward, just the two of us. No more rumors. No more lies. What do you say?”
Jan reached up and traced her fingertips down his cheeks, over his jawline, slipping them into the hair at the nape of his neck. He shivered against her and smiled. “I think that sounds like an awesome idea.”
Feeling like finally things were on the right track again, Dino finally let himself relax. With Jan’s stalker in jail, he no longer had to be hyper-vigilant. No longer had to keep looking over his shoulder, on alert at all times. Now he could focus all his attention on Jan.
Which was why he never noticed the angry shadow peering in the window at them as they lost track of everything but each other.
22
Hours later, Jan woke up in her living room, feeling better than she had in years.
Dino was up as well now, sitting on the sofa in just his jeans, and she hesitated at the sight of him, contemplating sliding onto his lap and kissing him. Except, given his now serious expression, she doubted that option was on the table anymore.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, walking back in the living room. “Is it Lou?”
“No.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her down on the sofa beside him, kissing her gently before tucking her beneath his arm. “I got a text from the office. They located Stacy’s cell phone in some dive motel off the Strip.”
Her buoyant heart deflated. “Oh, no. Is she all right?”
“No idea.” He exhaled, long and slowly. “I should probably head over there. Check it out.”
“I’ll come with you.” She threaded her fingers through his and
met his dubious gaze with a smile. “I will. I want to help.”
He pulled her closer and kissed her on the forehead then let her go and stood. “Okay. Let me finish getting dressed, and we’ll head out.”
“Okay.” Jan gathered their mugs and took them to the kitchen while he tugged his shirt back on. She didn’t trust herself not to pull it right back off again if she stayed there. Nestled in his arms, surrounded by his warmth and spicy clean scent, she’d never felt more cared for or protected. That realization both elated and terrified her.
Honestly, they’d never really discussed where this new thing between them was headed. For all she knew, he wasn’t looking for long-term.
“Hey, you ready?” He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back into his muscular chest. “The sooner we get over there, the sooner we can come back here.”
He waggled his brows suggestively, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Fine. Yes. Let’s go.”
Dino took her hand and grabbed his car keys and her bag off the table in the foyer on the way out. “My GPS says it’s a place called The Hideaway Inn over on Flamingo.”
“Never heard of it,” she said, climbing into the passenger seat of the SUV then clicking her seat belt into place.
“Neither have I.” He got in behind the wheel then started the engine. “That’s what worries me.”
Thirty minutes later, he swerved into a spot near the curb in front of a dilapidated white stucco building. The creaking sign blowing in the breeze out front said Hideaway in faded block letters.
Jan started to open her door, but Dino stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“You better put this on.” He handed her a gray knit skull cap. “Wouldn’t want anyone to recognize you in a place like this.”
“Oh, yeah.” She gathered her hair into a bun then shoved the whole mess beneath the hat and tugged it into place. “Better?”
“No.” He smiled and pulled her in for a kiss. “But if it keeps you safe, that’s all that matters.”
With a wink, he exited the car then came around and opened the door for her. Aviator shades in place over his eyes, Dino held her hand as they walked into the musty-smelling lobby and over to a cluttered, ramshackle desk stuck in one corner of the trashed room. A guy in a stained white tank top stretched tight over his bulging beer belly sat behind it.
“Excuse me?” Dino said, walking over. “We’re looking for somebody.”
The clerk looked them both up and down then sneered. “Ain’t we all, pal.”
Dino’s grip on her hand tightened slightly, and she looked over to see a small muscle ticking near his clenched jaw. The sheer power leashed behind his calm façade made her heart beat faster. “This person is a friend of mine.”
“So?”
“So.” Dino took a deep breath then stepped closer to the desk, looming over the short, squat man behind it like some avenging angel. Even Jan had to admit she was a bit intimidated. “How about you tell me which room she’s in and I won’t send you to the ER?”
The guy stared up at Dino, his mouth slack and his eyes wide. He swallowed hard then fumbled for the guest ledger on his desk. “What’s the name?”
“Stacy Winters.”
“Uh.” The clerk traced a shaky finger down his list then stopped beside a line near the bottom. “Yeah. Got her right here. She’s in room 105.”
“Thanks.” Dino strode back to the entrance, tugging Jan along beside him. He didn’t drop his tough-guy act until they were outside and around the corner of the building. Once they were out of the clerk’s range of vision, his shoulders relaxed and he tucked her up against his side. “Sorry about that in there.”
“You mean that was an act?”
The soft caress of his lips against her hat seemed completely at odds with his harsh demeanor. “Yep. I’m not like my old man. I don’t punch people unless there’s a good reason. Especially now that I have someone soft and warm to balance it all out.”
She slipped her arm around his waist and squeezed him. “C’mon. Let’s get Stacy and go home.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He pushed his sunglasses up to the top of his head and led her to a white door across the small, pothole-strewn parking lot, gold numbers stuck crookedly on the front, proclaiming it was the room they were looking for. “Ready?”
“Ready.” She stepped behind him as he knocked then waited.
Nothing.
Dino pounded on the door again. “Stacy, it’s me. I know you’re in there. Open up.”
A few bumps and a small crash issued from inside, but the door remained closed.
“Let me try,” Jan said, moving in front of him. She rapped lightly, doing her best to keep the worry from her tone. “Stacy, honey. It’s Jan. Please let us in.”
Finally, the door cracked open about an inch, a thick chain securing it in place. Stacy squinted at them. “What do you want?”
“We want to talk to you.” Jan forced a smile she didn’t quite feel. “Please?”
Stacy sighed and shut the door in her face.
Seconds later, the sound of the chain rattling followed by the snick of the lock opening sounded.
“Let’s go.” Dino reached around her and pushed inside. “Stacy, what the hell is going on?”
“Nothing. Jeez.” She ran a trembling hand through her mussed hair then rubbed her nose. “What are you guys, the cops or something?”
“Or something.” Dino gave her a stern look then did a quick inspection of the room. He held up a baggie filled with traces of white powder near the bottom along with a glass pipe, and Jan’s heart sank. Dino cursed and tossed the stuff back in the trash before walking over and grabbing Stacy by the arm. “We need to get you out of here.”
“What? Why?” She tried to shake him off but couldn’t. Her steps were wobbly, and her face was drawn and pale. Dark shadows marred the skin beneath her eyes, and there were bruises on her neck. Bruises in the shape of a man’s fingers, Jan noted. “I’m not going anywhere. I like it here.”
“Stacy, hon.” Jan approached and wrapped an arm around her cousin’s shoulders. “This place isn’t safe. Why don’t you come home with me and we’ll talk about this some more?”
Stacy gave her a sidelong glance. “Can we paint our nails?”
Dino gave Jan a questioning look over the top of Stacy’s head, and she grinned. “We used to do that all the time as kids. And yeah.” She pulled Stacy closer. “We can paint our nails if you want.”
“Okay.”
Stacy allowed them to lead her outside to the SUV then balked when they tried to load her inside. “What about my purse?”
“Got it right here.” Dino held up a small black leather clutch. “Now get in.”
“You’re so bossy.” She poked him in the chest with her finger. “Stop being so bossy.”
“Stop acting like a child, and maybe I will.” He hoisted her slim weight easily into the backseat and strapped her in despite her protests. “Now, be a good girl.”
She flipped him off in response.
Jan snorted. “We Winters gals do like to speak our minds.”
“I’ve noticed.” Dino slammed the door then walked around to get into his seat while Jan did the same. Once they were both buckled in, they took off back toward Jan’s house. They drove for several miles in silence before Dino said, “You know she needs professional help, right?”
“Yeah, I realize that now. What was that stuff back there in that baggie, anyway?”
“Crack, most likely. Maybe some cocaine thrown in for fun.”
“Doesn’t sound like fun to me.”
“There’s a rehab facility over near the Greenbriar. I called a few weeks ago, and they were willing to take her in.” He glanced in the rearview mirror at a suspiciously silent Stacy, then back at Jan. “We could get her checked in today, if you want.”
“I don’t know.” Jan winced. Knowing someone had a problem was one thing. Forcing them into rehab
against their will was quite another. She and Stacy had just gotten close again, and she hated to do anything to drive a wedge between her and the only family she had left. But given what she’d seen back in that motel room, maybe this was the only reasonable course of action. “Do you think that’s the best thing to do?”
“Yeah, I do.” He reached over and took her hand again, showing her the strength and support she so desperately needed right now. “She won’t get any better without help.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” At the next corner, Dino veered right and turned away from their original destination and toward what Jan assumed was the direction of the rehab center. Ten minutes later, they pulled up in front of a group of modern-looking buildings that looked more like a high-class spa and less like a home for drug addicts. Hell, if Jan wasn’t so busy, she wouldn’t mind spending a few days meditating among their peaceful gardens and waterfalls.
Dino got out and opened Jan’s door then leaned in close to whisper, “This might get ugly.”
“Why?”
“She’s somewhere she doesn’t want to be. Even if you and I know it’s for the best. She might fight back. I just want you to be prepared.”
Jan nodded then stepped down from the vehicle, expecting to do battle with her cousin if necessary to get her the help she needed. But once Dino pulled open the back door and unbuckled Stacy’s seat belt, she remained oddly quiet. She exchanged a concerned look with Dino then followed behind him as he led Stacy inside.
“Hello, there,” a middle-aged African-American woman said, approaching them. “How may I help you today?”
“Hi.” Dino slipped his sunglasses off once more and smiled at the woman. “I called a few weeks ago about having my friend here admitted. Her name is Stacy Winters.”
“Ah, right.” The woman led them over to a large oak desk then stepped behind it and clicked a few keys on her computer. “Yep. I’ve got that information right here. Are you a family member?”
