Laced In Lies

by Colleen Helme

  I swallowed to calm my nerves and picked up a lot of impatient thoughts from various minds that I was taking too long. There was also some loud cursing to go along with it. Discomfited, I took a deep breath and hit the ball as hard as I could. It popped up off the table before bouncing down, then barely moved, coming to rest right next to the headpin.

  “I think it tapped it, so that counts, right?”

  Big Kahuna’s lips twisted, and he held back a laugh while his friends tittered behind my back. “Why don’t I break?” Lumbering around the table, he came to my side for his turn, and I quickly moved out of his way.

  He leaned over the table and moved the cue ball back behind the line, wondering if my ineptness was all an act. Of course, it didn’t really matter, since he was pretty sure there was no way I’d come into his bar just to play pool with Kyle.

  He lined up his cue stick and hit the ball with enough force and finesse to send two balls into the side and corner pockets. He glanced at me and smiled. “Looks like I’m stripes.” Then he got to work and put a few more stripes into the pockets before deciding that maybe he should miss, just so he could check out my playing style and determine if I was sincere or trying to take advantage of him.

  I swallowed my protest and glanced up, realizing that quite a crowd had gathered around us. My gaze slid to Kyle’s booth, and my brows puckered with dismay to find both him and Keola gone. I sucked in a breath, disheartened that he’d take off and leave me to fend for myself.

  Big Kahuna missed his next shot, just like he’d been planning, and sent me a nod. “Looks like you get another chance.”

  “Oh goody.” I hoped that didn’t sound too sarcastic, and I turned my attention back to the table. I looked for an open shot and picked up that he was thinking I should go for the blue ball, so I listened to how he thought I should accomplish that.

  Hearing his thoughts of exactly what I needed to do made taking the shot a little easier. After lining the balls up, I let her rip and pocketed the ball. Wow, his strategy worked just how he’d imagined it.

  Happy that I’d made the shot, I tried not to act surprised, since that might not go over so well. Then I studied the table and listened again for his recommendations. Moving into position, I took the next shot and hit the ball toward the pocket. I didn’t hit it as hard as I should have, so I wasn’t sure it would go in. As it teetered on the edge, I held my breath, and then let out a whoop as it fell into the pocket.

  Smiling, I glanced up to find Big Kahuna staring at me with narrowed eyes. He wondered if I was playing him. There was nothing he hated more than being played, especially by a woman.

  That wiped the smile off my face pretty quick. I studied the table for a moment, catching several different thoughts from those watching about the next shot I should take. I decided on the easiest one and sauntered with a confidence that I didn’t feel to the other side of the table.

  A few of the guys moved back to give me some space, but when I leaned over, their attention came to rest on my backside. Hearing their lustful thoughts rattled me so, without wasting any time to line up my shot, I hit the ball pretty hard. Naturally, the cue ball flew wide, missing the ball I’d wanted to hit. Then it ricocheted off the edge and into a ball with stripes, which then hit a yellow ball, causing it to roll into the corner pocket.

  “Whoa!” I said, completely astonished. “Did you see that?”

  Big Kahuna narrowed his eyes, thinking that I was either a pool shark or one lucky bitch. “Yeah. Nice shot.” Then he wondered if I was silently laughing at him.

  Oops. “Uh… thanks, but it was all luck.” I swallowed, knowing I needed to miss my next shot before he got upset. But that shouldn’t be too hard, since I wasn’t any good at this. Still, I needed to make it look like I was trying to win.

  I lined up my shot, picking the easiest ball to hit, and managed to hit it straight on without aiming at any of the pockets. The ball shot across the table and angled off the side to bounce back and hit another solid-colored ball, sending it into the far corner pocket. Crap.

  Mortified, I kept my gaze on the table and caught thoughts of surprise from most everyone, along with a heavy dose of suspicion from Big Kahuna. Blocking their thoughts, I hurried around the table to the cue ball and went for an impossible shot. This time my true skill showed, and I totally missed it. With a sigh of relief, I straightened and glanced at Big Kahuna.

  He’d caught my sigh of relief, and his lips twisted into a scowl. He was thinking that maybe it was time to take me in the back room and forget the game. Then he glanced at the crowd and tugged at his ear.

  Not wanting to disappoint them, he decided that he might as well play through to the end. He could finish the game off pretty quick, so it wouldn’t hurt to keep playing. Then he’d get to the bottom of my visit there.

  Oh great! How was I ever going to get out of this?

  He lined up his next shots pretty quick. One by one, they all hit their mark. Before I knew it, he was calling the eight ball into the corner pocket. He took the shot, and it went in. Just like that, the game was over, and my heart hammered in my chest. Now what?

  I sent him a smile and leaned the cue stick against the pool table. Then grabbed my purse off the floor and slid it into place over my head and shoulder. “Uh… looks like you won. Thanks for the game. Let’s do this again sometime.” I took a couple of steps toward the door, but none of the guys would move out of my way.

  “Before you go,” Big Kahuna said. “Let me buy you a drink. One with a lemon in it.” He was thinking that if I knew what was good for me, I’d go along with him. Otherwise, he’d have to get rough.

  “Uh… okay.”

  “Hey Jet,” he called to the bartender. “Get the lady another drink, and be sure to put a lemon in it this time.”

  “Sure boss.”

  “And bring it to my office.” He glanced back at me before lifting his gaze to the two guys behind me. He nodded, giving them the silent command to physically move me if I refused to cooperate.

  Now what? If I went into that office with him, who knew what would happen? My stun flashlight would only get one of the men standing behind me. As outnumbered as I was, I didn’t think stunning one of them was a good idea. Maybe, once I was in his office, I could use it on Big Kahuna and slip out a window before anyone knew what was happening.

  He turned toward the door that led to the restrooms and back office, expecting me to follow, but for some reason, I just couldn’t get my legs to move. Behind me, one of the guys nudged my back, knocking me forward.

  Furious, I caught my breath and turned around with my hands on my hips and a stubborn pout on my face. My bravado faltered just a bit when I saw how far up I had to look before coming to the guy’s face, but I couldn’t stop now.

  “Hey,” I said, channeling my inner tough-girl attitude. “Don’t touch me. I don’t like it.”

  His eyes widened with shock, and he sucked in a breath, thinking no one like me had ever talked to him with that cocky tone before. “Uh… whatever, lady. But you need to get moving.”

  “Exactly.”

  To his surprise, I shoved between him and the other guy to run in the opposite direction that led out the front door, but they were just too big. It was like trying to squeeze through the bars of a jail cell. Before I knew it, both of them had grabbed me under the arms, and they began dragging me backward toward Big Kahuna.

  “That’s enough! Let her go.”

  My breath caught. I glanced up to find Ramos standing in the middle of the room with a deadly scowl, and his eyes filled with fire. Even though he was surrounded by some big, scary dudes, not one of them made a move toward him. Whoa… he looked so bad-ass that my heart rate spiked, and I had to swallow before I drooled or something.

  The men holding me stopped in their tracks, and the whole room went still. A few seconds passed, then they quickly let go of me and stepped away. Straightening my jacket, I took a few steps toward Ramos. Then Big Kahuna shoved between his
men, not liking that I was getting away without an explanation.

  “Hey, wait a minute,” he said, reaching out to grab me.

  Not about to get caught, I jerked out of his reach and scrambled toward Ramos, hearing frustration in Big Kahuna’s mind that I was slipping through his fingers. Then I caught that he had a deal with Manetto to stay out of each other’s business, so what was going on?

  “Is she with you?” he asked Ramos. I thought it was a stupid question, but hey, what did I know?

  “Yes,” Ramos answered, keeping his frosty gaze on the big guy. “And she’s no concern of yours. Unless you want to make something out of it.”

  Big Kahuna frowned and lowered his eyes. Going against “The Knife” was a death sentence, and their agreement hinged on keeping the boundaries drawn. But if I was with Ramos, what was I doing there in the first place? Was I spying for Manetto? Had he changed his mind and decided to take the business back. Was Kyle in on it? Was that why he’d come back to the gang?

  Oh great! Now what had I done? I stopped in front of Ramos, picking up from him that he wasn’t pleased that I was there either, and now I was making a mess of things for all of them.

  Wanting to straighten everything out, I turned to face Big Kahuna.

  “Uh… don’t worry about a thing. I’ll tell Uncle Joey it was all a misunderstanding. I’m sure he’ll be happy to leave you alone. Unless you make trouble. Then he won’t be so understanding. You know how he is. He might want to go back to the agreement you had before. You know… the one where you give him a hefty percentage of your profits? So… let’s all just forget this ever happened. Sound good?”

  I took a step back, bumping into Ramos’ chest. The feel of his solid presence at my back uncoiled the leftover panic in my heart and helped bolster my courage.

  Since Big Kahuna wasn’t too happy with me, I decided to kill him with compliments and see if that softened him up. “Oh… and thanks for the game. It was great… fun. You’re really good. Uh… see you around… well, probably not, but if I ever come back, let’s play again. Okay?”

  Big Kahuna relaxed his stance and shook his head. He couldn’t help smiling at my spunk, and thought that Manetto certainly had his hands full with me, especially if I was his niece. He might have to send out a few inquiries of his own to make sure he knew what was going on, as well as have a long talk with Kyle. After so many years, showing his face in this bar had to mean he was up to something. If it involved Manetto, it’d be nice to know.

  “Yeah, sure,” he said. “Come back anytime.”

  I heaved a big sigh of relief, then smiled brightly, and gave him a nod. Ramos moved sideways to let me head to the door, then followed behind. Weak with relief, I pushed it open, grateful to get out of there in one piece.

  Outside in the sunshine and fresh air, I threw my head back and took a couple of deep breaths, then turned to face Ramos. “Sorry about that, but thanks for coming. I wasn’t sure if the tracker on my watch still worked.”

  He shook his head, catching my gaze with his dark eyes, astonished at the trouble I got into. How did I do it? “Come on. Let’s go someplace where you can explain what the hell just happened.” With his motorcycle parked right there in front of the bar, he moved toward it, swinging his leg over and starting it up in one smooth motion.

  Not one to pass up an opportunity to go for a ride with him, even if it meant I might get chewed out, I obediently got on behind, noting that he must have been in a hurry, since he didn’t have his helmet or his leather gloves.

  I barely got my feet settled on the stands before he took off, and I had to grab him tightly or risk falling off. Not that I minded. With relief coursing through me, I gave into temptation and leaned my body close against his broad back, grateful to be safe.

  Without a helmet, my hair flew around my face, but I didn’t mind because it meant I could rest my cheek and forehead against his back and inhale his special scent.

  This was a rare treat for me, since Ramos was off limits. Sitting behind him like this was about the only time I could indulge in the forbidden desire that I felt for him, so I held on and enjoyed it while it lasted.

  The two of us had been through a lot in the last year that we’d known each other. As Uncle Joey’s hitman and bodyguard, he’d come to my rescue more times than I liked to admit, but since that was his job, I couldn’t feel too guilty about it.

  Uncle Joey was the main reason for most of my troubles. He was the local mob-boss, and I’d had to tell him that I could read minds in order to stay alive and keep my family safe. Now, after a year under his thumb, things had changed. In fact, we’d become like a real family, and I didn’t see an end in sight, especially after the incident where he’d met my kids. I’d even introduced him to them as my real uncle.

  My stomach clenched just thinking about it. Since meeting Uncle Joey, every aspect of my life had changed. My husband, Chris, was now a partner in his law firm, mostly because of Uncle Joey, who just happened to be his new main client. My kids thought we were related to him and had just met their ‘cousin,’ Miguel, who was Uncle Joey’s eighteen-year-old son.

  It was all a lie, and I hoped it didn’t come back to haunt me.

  Along with that, my kids didn’t know that I could read minds, but I was afraid one day I’d have to tell them the truth. That scared me more than anything. Would they ever trust me again? They thought I had premonitions, like I told everyone else, and I hoped with all my heart that I could keep it that way.

  Even when I wasn’t helping Uncle Joey, our connection got me in and out of a lot of scrapes. Like today. Complicating my life even further, I’d started my own consulting agency, and I continued to help the police with cases needing my special touch to solve. I’d even helped a federal agent a couple of times.

  But only a few people, like Uncle Joey and Ramos, along with Dimples (AKA Detective Harris), my husband, Chris, and Kate, Uncle Joey’s erstwhile niece, knew the truth. Well, and Inspector Gabriel Dumont. But he lived in Paris, so I wasn’t too worried about him spilling the beans.

  Still, it was Uncle Joey who I always turned to when I was in trouble. I owed him a huge debt that probably spanned the rest of my life. It should worry me but, for some reason, I actually liked working for him. How crazy was that? Maybe I should see a shrink or something.

  If that wasn’t bad enough, reading minds created its own set of problems, and I had to keep everything I heard, spoken or not, straight. All the lies, half-truths, secrets, and hidden desires. I knew them all, and I had to remember which ones I could talk about, and which ones I wasn’t supposed to know.

  There were some days when I just wanted to run away. But sitting here behind Ramos… well, I guess it kind of made up for it. Plus, if I lost my mind-reading ability, I’d be devastated. It would be like losing a part of who I was. I’d hate it. So I probably shouldn’t whine too much, even if there were times I could easily go insane.

  Ramos pulled off the road into a park with stately trees, green lawn, and a little pond with a water fountain. He parked the bike and turned off the engine. I scrambled off, holding onto his shoulders for support, then walked the short distance to a picnic table under a tree and waited for him to slide into the bench across from me.

  His deep, brown eyes warmed as he studied me, and he was thinking that even though it was a pain in the butt to come to my rescue all the time, taking me for a ride on the bike helped make up for it… mostly because he liked the feel of my arms around him, and my body pressed close against his back. Still, I’d better start explaining, and it had better be good.

  “Okay, here’s the thing,” I began, trying to ignore the heat that flooded my face. “I went to lunch with my friends from high school the other day. I haven’t done that since I got my mind-reading powers because I just wasn’t sure I wanted to know what they were thinking… you know, about me and each other? Anyway, I kind of let it slip that I had my own consulting agency. At first they didn’t believe me, so I told them ab
out a few of my cases…”

  His brows rose with alarm, so I quickly continued. “Nothing to do with Uncle Joey, just some of the smaller cases I’ve worked on… well, and the serial killer with the fire and all, since that was huge.”

  Ramos twisted his lips and shook his head, knowing exactly why I’d done that. “I’ll bet that impressed them.” Taking it one step further, he cocked his head and asked, “Did you tell them about me?”

  Oh great! How did he know? “Um… yeah… I mean… you saved my life, so I sort of mentioned you and your, uh…” I wanted to say total hotness, but he was thinking that I’d probably gushed about him and he couldn’t wait to hear what I’d said. “Uh… okay, so maybe I gushed a little.”

  He raised his brows in challenge, so I relented with a sigh. “Okay, I gushed a lot, but I didn’t tell them your name or anything, so your identity’s safe. Although, I have to admit, after I got through, they all wanted to get a good look at you because they honestly didn’t believe me.”

  He chuckled, and I smiled, happy to give his ego a boost, even if he didn’t need it. “So, anyway, one of my friends wanted me to check on her husband and see if he was cheating on her.” I shrugged. “How could I say no to that? Especially after everything I’d told them, you know?”

  He was thinking, yeah, right… go on.

  “He’s a counselor at a remedial school for troubled youth. Today I followed him after his school got out. He went home and changed into a completely different outfit, and then ended up at that bar. So… I had to follow him inside.”

  “Did he see you?”

  “Yeah, and I found out what he was doing there. It looks like he’s made friends with one of the boys, and he’s trying to infiltrate the gang, but I don’t know why. It sounded like he’s been at it for a few weeks, so he wasn’t happy to see me, but he left as soon as the game started.”

  “Game? What game?”

  “Oh… the pool game.” I shrugged and told him how Big Kahuna wouldn’t let me leave until he knew what I was doing in his bar. “I couldn’t exactly tell him the real reason, so I told him I was there to play pool. He knew I was lying, so he called my bluff, which turned out to be a good thing, since I had something to do while I waited for you to show up.”