Laced In Lies

by Colleen Helme

  He glanced at me with annoyance. “She has a tutor who travels with us. Jody wouldn’t neglect her own daughter like that.” I picked up that Dusty had a lot of conflicted feelings about the tutor. There was some anger and even a little hate… along with love, affection and downright misery. Yikes. It sounded to me like he was in love with a crazy person, and I felt a little sorry for him.

  “Besides, Jodie’s got a boyfriend now,” he said to Ramos. “So you don’t have to worry that she’d want to get back together with you… which is a good thing in my opinion.”

  Ramos sent him a piercing glare before giving in. “Fine. I’ll come.” Then he leaned forward and grabbed the front of Dusty’s jacket, pulling him close and letting him see the menace in his eyes. “And between now and then, I promise you that I’ll find out what this is really all about, and when I do, you’re going to answer for it.”

  “Hey.” Dusty pulled back but couldn’t get out of Ramos’ grip until he let him go. Dusty sent Ramos a glare and straightened his collar. “Geeze man, there’s nothing going on. I’m just looking out for my sister.”

  While tugging at his sleeves, Dusty glanced at the bar, then at the surrounding people, before his gaze came back to our booth. He hoped the idiot following him had missed that. But even if he hadn’t, it wouldn’t matter in the long run. Things would work out just fine. They had to.

  He pulled a special V.I.P. pass from his pocket and handed it to me. “Make sure you bring this when you come. It will get you backstage for a few minutes alone with Jodie.”

  I took it from him with a nod, feeling the desperation coming off him in waves. Dusty glanced at Ramos, thinking how much he’d like to tell him off, but nodding instead. “See you Friday.”

  “Unless I change my mind,” Ramos answered, still not sure whether he wanted to go or not.

  Dusty grimaced and shook his head, then turned on his heel, eager to get out of there before he said something he’d regret. As he exited the club, I watched carefully to see if anyone followed him out.

  There were several people that exited after him, but they were mostly couples. From Dusty’s thoughts, I knew it was a man, and he was alone, but I couldn’t see anyone like that… or pick up any thoughts that would help me. To top it off, several people gathered around the bar and totally blocked my view.

  “Uh… Shelby?”

  “Huh?” I jerked my attention back to him. “Did you say something?”

  “Yeah. Who are you looking for?”

  “I was just trying to see if someone followed him out, but I couldn’t tell. There were too many people in the way.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Because he was thinking that someone was here, watching him meet with you.”

  Ramos shook his head and swore in his mind. “What else?”

  I sat back in my seat and took a swig of soda. “Well, he seemed sincere about wanting you to meet with Jodie to settle things between you.”

  Ramos fingered the photo of the little girl Dusty had left and glanced at me. “Is she mine?”

  “I don’t know. Dusty wasn’t thinking that she was or wasn’t. Maybe he was telling the truth that Jodie doesn’t know. It’s hard to say.”

  Ramos sighed and shook his head. “Go on.”

  “Um… from what I could pick up, you’re right that there’s more to it. He has plans that he needs you for. I wish I knew what they were, but he never thought about that.” Ramos clenched his jaw, thinking that wasn’t much help, so I quickly continued. “But there’s something in the envelope besides the tickets.”

  With narrowed eyes, he picked up the envelope and peered inside. His breath caught at what appeared to be a tiny zip-lock bag with a couple of encapsulated pills inside. “What exactly was he thinking about this?”

  “Are those pills?” I asked. “Dimples told me just this afternoon about some pills that a couple of junior high school kids had taken. One of them died. Do you think they’re the same pills?”

  Ramos shrugged. “I don’t know but, if they are, I’d be interested to know why he’d give them to me. Can you tell me what Dusty was thinking about them?”

  “Yeah. He was pretty worried that I’d see them. Then he worried that the packet would fall out and ruin all his plans. He was also hoping the man following him had seen the exchange. That’s actually why I grabbed it first. In case he was framing you with what he’d hidden inside and the guy was a cop. Dusty didn’t think about it being drugs though, so I didn’t know what it was.”

  Ramos thought he needed to take them to someone who could determine exactly what was in them. They could just be regular old pain pills, since there was a market for them. But since Dusty had gone to all the trouble, there had to be more to it. So, why would Dusty give him the packet and not say anything about it? What was his endgame?

  He glanced at me, knowing I’d picked up his thoughts, and tried to tamp down his annoyance. “Anything else?”

  “Yeah, he knows all about your bad… uh… bad-ass… reputation, but despite that, he thought coming to you was worth the risk, whatever that means. I think he’s in some kind of trouble.”

  Ramos’ brows rose, and he thought that was pretty obvious, but he didn’t want to say it and hurt my feelings. Although… he’d just done that, hadn’t he?

  “Oh… it’s okay. You didn’t hurt my feelings. I just wish I had more information to give you.”

  “I do too,” Ramos said, grateful I wasn’t one to get easily offended.

  “So what are we going to do now?”

  His gaze caught mine with that no-nonsense glare that raised my ire. He was thinking that there was no ‘we’ about it, and I’d done enough. He’d take care of the rest, especially since I was in cahoots with the police.

  “Hey… I’m not about to give you up to the police.” That kind of hurt my feelings, and here he thought I wasn’t easily offended. “At least let me come to the concert with you.”

  He shook his head. “Who says I’m going to the concert?”

  Now it was my turn to raise my brows at him. “You are. I know you want to go. You can’t hide that from me. Maybe it’s a good thing. I mean…” I took a breath and glanced down at the photo. “If she’s your daughter…”

  “No. You’ve got it all wrong. If she’s my daughter, then she’s better off without me in her life.” He meant it, but I also caught the yearning in his heart to claim her as his own. He was all mixed up about it and not sure of anything. It raised all kinds of questions and brought out an emotional side of him that he didn’t like. “She’s probably not mine anyway.”

  “Maybe not,” I quickly agreed. “Maybe Dusty was just trying to get to you the only way he knew he could, first through Jodie, and if that wasn’t enough, then through her daughter.”

  Ramos nodded his agreement, relieved that I’d pulled things into perspective for him. “You’re right. Now I need to figure out why.” He was thinking it was time to call in a few favors and… his gaze caught mine. “Uh… thanks Shelby, I’ll take it from here.”

  I tried not be offended and took in a deep breath, then slowly let it out, knowing this was as far as he wanted my help. “Okay. Sure. Um… let me know what you decide to do about the concert, okay? I’d still like to go. And if you want to know about her…” I glanced at the photo. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard for me to pick it up.”

  He twisted his lips and nodded, then signaled to Ricky to come and get me. In a way, I couldn’t believe he was just dismissing me like that. But I also knew getting involved with the kind of illegal plans he wanted to make was probably not a good idea, especially in light of my work with the police.

  Still, I wasn’t quite ready to leave. I’d wanted to talk to him about my visit to New York in the morning and ask him what he knew about the New York Manettos. It would have been nice to hear his take on them, but he was already lost in a million thoughts about how to figure out what Dusty was up to.

  Ricky appeared by my side, s
o I scooted out of the booth and stood. As I turned to say goodbye to Ramos, he was already standing right next to me. Catching me off-guard, he leaned in and kissed my cheek. I inhaled with surprise, and he glanced down at me with that sexy half-smile of his. “Thanks Babe. I owe you one.”

  Standing this close, I felt the heat of his body radiate over me and picked up the faint scent of his aftershave. I fought the urge to close my eyes and breathe in his scent, since I didn’t want him to see how much his close proximity unsettled me.

  “I’ll talk to you soon,” he promised, then stepped away, and I could finally breathe again.

  I nodded and then turned to follow Ricky with a shake of my head to break the spell. I picked up satisfaction that Ramos had totally rattled me. He also thought that putting on the wig to fool him was pretty funny… uh… cute. But as much as I rocked the black wig, he liked my blond hair much better.

  I shook my head again, tempted to glance over my shoulder at him, but his thoughts about me had ended. Without looking, I knew he’d disappeared somewhere behind a door, leaving a noticeable emptiness in his wake.

  Ricky pulled back the curtain behind the stage, and I followed him down the hall and out of the building. I breathed in the cool evening air, grateful that had gone so well and that Ramos wasn’t mad at me anymore for being there.

  As Ricky drove me home, I had a moment to decide what I was going to tell Chris. I’d told him this whole meeting was about Uncle Joey before I left, but that wasn’t true, and a pang of guilt curdled my stomach.

  In the past, I’d decided there were things it was best that he didn’t know, but that hadn’t always worked out so well. Still, it was hard to talk to him about Ramos. But did I even have a choice? Ramos was part of my life. If I wanted Chris to trust me, then I needed to tell him what was going on. He deserved the truth, even if he didn’t like it.

  Ricky pulled into my driveway. I thanked him and climbed out of the car. He watched while I unlocked the door, so I waved and closed it behind me.

  Only the lamps in the living room gave off light, so I flipped the switch, plunging the room into darkness. I hurried up the stairs to my bedroom, eager to take off the wig and wash my face. The light coming from the bedside lamp lit up the hall, showing me the way.

  I paused in the doorway. Chris slept sitting up with a book resting against his chest. He’d been waiting up for me but lost the battle. A wave of warmth washed over me, and I crept to his side, easing the book from his chest, and setting it on the nightstand.

  “What time is it?” Chris asked. His eyes squinted open, then he closed them and rubbed a hand over his face.

  “Uh… close to eleven-thirty.” It was closer to midnight, but if he kept his eyes shut, he’d never know, and eleven-thirty sounded lots better.

  “Hmm… so how did it go?”

  “Good. It went really well. Hey, I’m going to wash my face and take this wig off. Then I’ll be right back. Is that all right?”

  “Sure,” he said, sliding down under the sheets and getting comfortable. “But if I’m asleep, wake me up. I want to know what’s going on.”

  “Okay.” I hurried into the bathroom and pulled off the wig. Then I pulled out the pins and ran my fingers through my hair, grateful to massage my scalp. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I changed into my pajamas.

  Chris’ breath came deep and even, and I hated to wake him up, but I knew he’d be mad if I didn’t try. So I slipped into bed, then reached across him and turned out the light. As his arms closed around me, I snuggled against him and breathed in his scent.

  “So what happened?” he asked, barely awake enough to talk.

  Deciding to tell him the important parts, I began with Uncle Joey’s request that I go to the club and listen in while Ramos chatted with someone from his past. I explained the connection to Jodie McAllister and her brother, then ended with Dusty having a hidden agenda that included plans for Ramos.

  “I don’t know what they are,” I concluded. “But at least that’s a start, and Ramos can take it from there.” Chris didn’t answer for a long time, and I thought he’d fallen back asleep and missed everything. I didn’t know if that was good or bad.

  “Mmm… good,” Chris finally mumbled, pulling me close against him. “I’m glad you’re back.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  He nuzzled his face into my neck and trailed kisses along my collarbone. “You’re not going to be here… tomorrow night… are you?”

  “Uh… no,” I answered, breathlessly.

  “Hmm… all of this gallivanting around… I’m not sure I like it.”

  I gasped as his lips found that ticklish spot behind my ear. “I guess… I’ll have to… make it up to you.”

  “Hmm… I like the sound of that.” He kissed me deeply, only pulling away long enough to growl some of my favorite words. “Oh baby, oh baby.”

  Chapter 6

  T he next morning, Chris pushed the snooze button until the last possible moment, then we both had to rush to get ready for the day. While he showered, I made sure the kids were up and set cereal on the table for their breakfast. At least it was better than Pop Tarts, right?

  Uncle Joey texted me to say the limo would pick me up at nine a.m. sharp, so that gave me enough time to get everyone out the door before I needed to get ready. As Chris left, he gave me a quick kiss. “Call me when you get there, okay?”

  “You bet,” I agreed.

  “And… I’m not sure I got everything you said last night, especially that thing about going to a Jodie McAllister concert with Ramos. What was that all about?” He didn’t like that part, and he thought he must have heard me wrong.

  I let out my breath in exasperation. “You missed it? It’s kind of the main part of the whole story. Now I’ll have to explain the whole thing again.” I let out a breath. “Don’t worry, you’ll understand it better then, but there’s not enough time to go into it now.”

  “Wait, so you’re really going to the concert with him?” He hadn’t heard much of anything else, since that had kind of stuck in his craw. How could I go to a concert with another man?

  Surprise and a little guilt tightened my stomach, so I backtracked to make it easier. “Not necessarily… but I need to be there when he talks to Jodie about her daughter.” His blank stare told me all I needed to know. “… because she might be his.”

  His eyes widened in astonishment. “Oh… wow. I must have missed more than I thought.” Mollified, he continued, “Okay… we’ll talk later. I want to hear it all again.”

  “Sure. I’ll call you.” I gave him a smile, trying not to let my annoyance show, and he rushed out the door.

  As the kids left, Josh told me to have fun in New York, even though he was a little concerned that I was going off in a private jet that belonged to someone with a questionable reputation. He’d had a chance to google Joe E. Manetto, and what he’d found troubled him.

  I made a mental note to google Uncle Joey myself, just so I’d know what Josh had picked up. Would it really say that he was a crime boss? Or had ties to organized crime? Yikes.

  Savannah reminded me to pick up a souvenir for her. “And wish Miguel luck for me!”

  “I will. Love you! See you tomorrow.”

  I closed the door and let out a sigh. When did my life get so complicated? Oh yeah… when I went to the grocery store to buy some lousy carrots. Who would have thought? Now if Josh found out about Uncle Joey… how was I ever going to explain that? My stomach clenched, making me grateful I hadn’t eaten breakfast.

  I showered and dressed in my comfy jeans and a tee with a grey hoodie for traveling, then I finished packing my overnight bag. Along with my pajamas and make-up essentials, I packed my lacy black dress with my black pumps and jewelry to match.

  I could probably wear the same clothes home, but I decided to add an extra shirt. Then I threw in my black jeans to go with the shirt. After that, I didn’t want to leave my black, leather motorcycle jacket at home, so
I stuffed that in as well.

  Then I remembered that I didn’t have to pass through security to get on a private jet. I could take as much luggage as I wanted. So I switched out my small overnight bag for my carryon bag with rollers, throwing in my hair dryer and some lotion, as well as shampoo and conditioner.

  Since there was still plenty of room, I threw in my black boots and zipped it up, leaving just enough space for a few souvenirs. It seemed like a lot of stuff for just one night. But hey, it was one night in New York.

  I had just enough time for a bowl of cereal before the limo arrived. As I walked out to the car, I noticed my neighbor looking out her window. I waved as the curtain fell into place, grateful I couldn’t hear her suspicious thoughts about me getting picked up by limos at all times of the day, although I could certainly imagine them.

  Miguel slipped out and held the door open for me with a smile. “Hey Shelby. Glad you could come.”

  “Holy cow! Look at you!” He’d gotten his hair cut, and it totally reminded me of Aladdin in the movie. “It looks really good.”

  He shrugged. “My agent thought it would be a good idea.” He had to admit that he really liked the shorter cut. It gave him a boost of confidence, and that was always a good thing.

  Ricky was our driver, and he came to my side to take my luggage and put it in the trunk. Miguel waited while I slipped inside the limo, and then he followed inside. I kind of expected to see Uncle Joey, but it was just me and Miguel. No Ramos either.

  “My dad couldn’t come see us off because of a meeting, so it’s just you and me.” Miguel worried that Uncle Joey had coerced me into going with him. He certainly could have done this by himself, although he didn’t mind having my company. “I hope you’re okay with coming.”

  “Of course. I’m excited to be here. Are you ready for your audition?”

  “I guess.” He sighed. “I’m a little nervous though.”

  “Don’t worry. You’ll be great.”

  “Thanks.”

  We spoke about New York City, and Miguel confessed that he’d never been there before. Since I’d only driven through once when I was a kid, I didn’t have much to add except that it was a big place. All I remembered were the buildings that went on for miles and miles with no end in sight.