He turned his head toward his daddy and gurgled. Who could resist? Cade unbuckled him and brought him to his shoulder. “You’ve been a good boy today? I bet you have.”
Bret said, “Ooog-laa.”
Too cute. Cade kissed his nose, then headed to the kitchen where Pam was cooking.
“Thanks for watching Bret,” he said. “How was your day?”
Andie was either upstairs or out, not that he had any business keeping tabs on her, but his insides were hollow, so it was likely she was not in the house, since it felt empty without her.
“Not too bad,” Pam said. “Little guy’s a charm. Eats well, sleeps well, and the dogs love him.”
“Anything exciting happen?” He glanced around, looking for Andie’s purse or shoes.
“Declan dropped by to insult my daughter, so I slapped him.” Pam chuckled. “Left him a big, red beauty mark.”
“Seriously? What did he say?” Cade figured he’d better watch what he said around Pam. Who knew she could pack a punch?
“Nothing I want to repeat.” She stirred a pot of beef stew. “Andie’s out shopping with a friend, and oh, there’s a package for Barbara Prescott. I left it in the hallway.”
“Barbara’s my mom.” Cade scratched the back of his neck. “She, uh, well, I don’t know if Andie told you anything.”
“Andie’s lost her memory, so if there’s something you need to say, spit it out.” Pam gave him a no-nonsense look, the kind teachers leveled on misbehaving boys.
“She was living here until she OD’d. I have her in a rehab right now.” He didn’t figure it was necessary to mention exactly how recent the overdose was.
“I didn’t know, but am glad she’s getting the help she needs,” Pam replied and turned to the refrigerator.
“Thanks for picking up the package,” Cade said.
A niggling feeling jogged his gut as he spied it. Oh, it wasn’t messy or ragged or tied together with dirty string or anything. In fact, it was a pre-paid priority postage box, neatly taped with a PO box return address.
Cade set Bret back on the swing and buckled the safety straps. “Gotta check something out. Be right back.”
Rummaging through his tool cabinet, he found a box cutter and took the package outside to the yard. Gollie and Red tried to follow him, but he nudged them back into the house and shut the French doors.
He sliced the tape on the box in three sharp strokes and opened it. Tiny waxed bags stamped ‘HEA’ in red letters were packed inside. Heroin. He broke one of the bags. White powder—the more and deadly variety.
He closed the box and called the police. Someone was definitely out to get his mother, and he could almost bet this powder was stronger and more toxic than the stuff she used to shoot.
* * *
“Holy Swiss cheese,” Andie said as she and Sylvia pulled up to Cade’s house. “There are police over there. I hope nothing happened to the baby.”
She tore out of the car as soon as Sylvia applied the hand brake and ran for the front door.
Two officers exited, holding boxes wrapped in plastic bags. They stepped aside to let her pass.
“What happened?” Andie burst through the entry.
“Drugs. Someone mailed drugs to my mother,” Cade said. “She overdosed and almost died.”
“Your mother? You mean Barb?” A flash of recognition widened her eyes. “I remember her. She was going to do a baby shower. Is she okay?”
“She’s okay right now. I have her in rehab.” He held his arms out and she wrapped herself into his embrace. “You look beautiful. Did you go shopping?”
“Like her peachy lace crop top and laddered jeans?” Sylvia chimed in.
“I love everything about her.” Cade kissed Andie lightly on the lips. “Nice headband. You look so flowery.”
“I do, don’t I? Do you like my perfume?” She tipped her wrist at Cade’s nose. “It’s the one with the ladybug top.”
“You’re driving me nuts, of course I do. You make me want you so much.” He slanted his face and tipped her chin as his lips melded with hers.
His kiss was like liquid gold, wet, warm, lush and strong. Andie had never had a hot guy like Cade desiring her. She’d always hidden in the library and hung out with bookish types. But one taste of Cade, and there was no going back. He slipped his tongue between her lips, and she was swooning, threading her fingers behind his neck and smooshing her lips against his, inhaling his sexy male scent and rubbing her breasts against his chest like a wild cat in heat.
“Uh, like your mother’s over there?” Sylvia nudged Andie. “Maybe you two need to go out or something.”
Andie hummed into Cade’s lips, and he gave her two more pecks, one on the upper lip and another on her lower lip before letting her go.
“Actually, let’s go out after dinner,” Andie said. “Sylvia’s taking me to an old-fashioned pinball arcade with a bunch of coworkers.”
“Yeah, it’ll be fun.” Sylvia flapped her hands. “They have a collection of all the pinball machines from the nineteen seventies and eighties. Mechanical ones with gears and counters.”
“Sounds awesome,” Cade said. “But you guys go ahead. I gotta take my turn with Bret since your mother’s been watching him all day.”
“Bring the baby along,” Sylvia said, tugging his arm.
“Maybe my mom would like to come too,” Andie chimed in. “She used to be a pinball whiz like the guy in the Who.”
“Oh, dear, I’m nowhere that good,” Pam said, wearing an apron and holding a spatula. “I made dinner, so let’s eat. Then you’re right. Let’s all go out. I thought I saw a baby carrier among Bret’s stuff.”
“I want to carry him.” Andie raised her hand, bouncing like an overeager student knowing the answer for the very first time. “This is going to be fun.”
She wasn’t sure why everything felt new and exciting, but ever since she woke from the coma, the days were brighter, the sounds were louder, and the scents and fragrances tickled her and made her want to laugh and hug someone.
Since Cade was the biggest, most huggable bear of a man, and he seemed to like her, she grabbed him around the waist and walked backwards while he steered them to the kitchen.
“I don’t even know why I’m so happy,” she said. “Is this what losing my memory does? It makes me have to trust my instincts.”
“Maybe I should lose mine, too.” He kissed her lightly. “Because all my instincts tell me we’re really good together.”
“I bet we are.” She smiled against his lips right before dipping her tongue around his. Her mind might not remember, but holy cannelloni, her body was on fire, and she knew she was in the right place and the right time. Wrapped around Cade Prescott.
Chapter Thirteen
Cade’s senses were on overload, what with all the blinking lights, ratcheting gears, pings, and chucks and tinny electronic music and alarms. Who would have thought how awesome Pam Wales, former arcade pinball champ, was at playing the old game tables? She’d shot up the gallery, spinned the score dials until they started over at zero again, and click-clicked like machine gun fire as the machine tallied up free games. All on a single quarter.
All the while the bumpers popped the silver ball back and forth while she twisted and turned at the two buttons controlling the flippers, nudging the machine just right to save the ball without tilting, then shooting the ball back up the alley for more points.
Meanwhile, all Cade had to do was stand at the sidelines with his arms around Andie, feeling her incredibly lush body pressed against his while she held the baby inside a front carrier. He breathed her in, from her sweet, fruity perfume with a hint of coconut to the sultry sexy, musky undertone. And while her mother was engrossed, yelling at the Funhouse guy and stuffing his mouth full of silvery balls, Cade brushed his fingers around the outline of the baby nestled on Andie’s chest, listening to her gasps when he accidentally touched her breasts and stroked her belly. All while her mother was wrestling a pinball mach
ine. Too unreal.
“Think she’ll notice if we sneak out of here?” Andie tilted her head up and wiggled her behind at the same time, rocking against his erection.
“We still have the baby.”
“True, but look at the guys gawking at my mom.”
Indeed, she’d attracted a crowd of men. Some were placing bets on how long she could continue with a single ball. The owner of the arcade, a thin, leggy woman with thick glasses was daring them to challenge Pinball Pam, her new nickname, and inviting her to a pinball competition and to join the league.
“It’s safe to say she won’t miss us, and neither will your girlfriend.” Cade glanced at Sylvia who was parked around another machine surrounded by a group of guys. “Your coworkers didn’t show?”
“Nope, they went barhopping instead, but since we have the baby …”
“Yeah, Bret the chaperone.”
“The best. Shall we take a walk and talk?” Andie nuzzled her face against his shoulder. “Maybe it’ll help me regain my memory.”
“Sure.” He took her hand, and he led her outside into the warm heat of the summer evening. The arcade was located in the basement of a laundromat along the Los Angeles River. Because of the persistent drought, the riverbed was dry, and rows and rows of graffiti artwork decorated the concrete walls.
They stepped across the tracks of the urban light rail system and followed the concrete river.
“Why is it so wide when there’s no water?” Andie asked. “Back home, the streams are always full, and we have the most gorgeous waterfalls.”
How he wished he could be with Andie back in her beloved woodland, but with football season about to start, his options for getting away were limited. He wouldn’t have free time until after the Super Bowl, if the Flash were fortunate enough to survive the playoffs again.
“We get flash floods here, rarely,” he explained. “But when it rains, there’s nowhere for the water to go, hence the deep channel they carved for the concrete river.”
“The artwork is really fancy,” she commented on the stylized graffiti, all different colors and full of motifs and curving letters with sharp edges.
“Yeah, well, it’s called tagging.” He pointed to a lighted road sign above the tracks. “See the coils of razor wire?”
“Oh, wow, and the spikes, like pigeon spikes only larger.”
“Without that, all the freeway signs would be tagged, obscuring the street names and directions.”
“They’d climb that high? Isn’t it dangerous?”
“Machismo. That’s how it is in LA, especially where my mother grew up, East Side Wilmas. You gotta be tough, girls too.”
“I’d like to meet your mother. I mean, I’m sure I’ve already met her,” Andie mumbled as an afterthought. “Where’s Wilmas?”
“Down south near the LA Harbor.” Cade’s voice was gruff as he recalled his mother’s high school yearbook, the one where she’d been clearly popular and full of hopes and dreams.
“LA is so vast, like a concrete jungle.” Andie swept her hand along the river and stared at the spindly palm trees towering above.
How long was she going to chat about the locale? Was she avoiding her memories, or maybe this felt like a first date to her?
Cade swung their joined hands and pulled her along the riverbank. “I loved your hometown when I visited last spring. I can see myself settling down in a place so lush and green, with seasons, snow in the winter and bright, colorful fall leaves, hot, steamy summers, and springtime with rain and blooming flowers.”
“I wish I could remember your visit. We must have met there.”
“Yeah, we did. In the university library where you worked.” He searched her eyes for any sign of recognition. “I don’t want to create memories for you and tell you what we did, but I’m dying for you to remember the fun we had.”
“So am I, Cade.” She squeezed his hand. “I wish I knew why I have feelings for you when all I can remember is getting excited about Declan going to Vegas and getting the role of Romeo. I know stuff has happened, and he’s obviously in my past. We’re supposedly still married, and I can’t find the divorce papers Mom said she sent to me.”
“I’ve seen them. You had them in an envelope that was returned to sender. What if they were lost in the crash?”
“Then I’ll have to start the process over again and take him to court. He’s not cooperating, just coming over to insult me. You know, he lied when I first woke up. He told me it was right after our wedding, and he made me think all I forgot was the wedding, then Mom straightened it out later and told me it’s been two years since Declan left for Hollywood.”
“Do you remember what he did to you?” Cade didn’t want to hurt her or destroy her happy feelings, but he couldn’t let Declan reclaim Andie, especially since she seemed so vulnerable, her memories dodging and tacking every which direction.
“No, my mind tells me it must have been something to do with actresses and models, but I can’t feel the anger or hurt. It’s like I’m stuck at a time when I still thought the world of him, like I should be excited I’m playing Michal now and he’s David, and we’re supposed to rehearse together.”
Cade’s heart thundered to his throat and he froze, his muscles tense. “You’re playing Michal? What happened to that concubine role? I thought you were going to quit Silver Studios and go home.”
“Oh, no, not at all. Sylvia says I’ve been promoted to costar. They couldn’t find the right Michal actress and they want me. Can you believe it? It’s my dream come true. I always wanted to be Michal, Princess of Israel.”
What could he tell her? That this entire movie project was a boondoggle used to manipulate him into accepting Bret as his son? That she wasn’t an actress and had zero chance of ever seeing herself on the silver screen? That there was no way the public would accept a red haired Michal when the last movie about Moses had been panned by critics for having European appearing actors and actresses?
She was obviously elated, and that explained why she was feeling giddy and excited about her prospects.
He flashed a smile and kissed her. “I’m proud of you. You’ll make a great princess of Israel.”
Which was true, but tomorrow, he was going to have words with Ronaldo. This damn King David game had gone too far.
“Oh, Cade.” Andie cuddled up to him, as far as she could with a sleeping baby lump on her chest. “I knew you’d believe in me. I can’t wait for the premiere, and I hope to fly my father out. He’ll be so proud of me. All my theories about Michal have come true. They’re even casting a guy to play Ittai, the Philistine lover she had.”
“Philistine lover?”
“Yes, my father and I were part of the excavation team at Gath, Goliath’s home town. What an experience. The Philistines were much more sophisticated than you’d think. They hailed from Greece, most likely Crete, and knew about working iron. They ate pigs and dogs, anathema to the Hebrews …”
Cade tuned out Andie’s catalogue of Philistine finds as his heart dropped and his palms moistened with nervous sweat. Convincing Andie to let go of Declan’s memories just got harder.
The snake would put his fingers and lips all over her while playing the role of David. Meanwhile, Ronaldo had stabbed his back by giving Andie the coveted position as Princess Michal.
How could any woman say no to that?
A rustling sound behind him, combined with footsteps and heavy breathing, alerted him to the flick of a switch blade.
“Odale, amigo.” A gang of four guys materialized around them on the riverbank. “The girl or the cash?”
Cade shoved Andie behind him. “How about my foot?”
The knives flashed. Andie screamed and covered Bret as two of the guys yanked her arms.
Cade’s roundhouse kick connected with the lead guy’s head, sending him rolling down the slope of the concrete riverbed.
The second guy slashed at him with his knife. Cade ducked and slammed his fist into the man’s solar
plexus with a satisfying crunch.
Then he surged after the two weasels who tried to get away with Andie and his baby. They dropped her and scrambled over a low brick wall. Cade jumped it easily, gaining on them. The light rail tracks rattled with the whine of an approaching train.
“Cade, no!” Andie screamed from behind. “Let them go.”
What did she take him as, a wuss? He barreled ahead as the first guy jumped the track. The second guy followed, then stopped in the middle of the track with the horn blaring at him and the light expanding closer and closer. The man’s eyes were wide as he tugged at his foot.
Shit alive. The vato was stuck with a train only yards away from him, its brakes shrieking desperately.
Cade slammed into the gangster with a flying tackle. His last thought. “I’m sorry, Andie. But I’m a shithead who loves you.”
Chapter Fourteen
“No, Cade, no!” Andie collapsed at the side of the train tracks unable to spot Cade’s body as section after section of the train sped past her.
“Ay, wey, ese.” One of the gang members breathed hard as he fell to the ground, staring at the train.
The other guy scrambled up the river bank, holding his head. “It got Paco? Dios mio, Paco!”
The men’s screams were joined by Bret’s wails as the train clattered past them, leaving the tracks full of blood? Empty?
Andie and the two gangsters darted their eyes on the tracks. Screams pierced her ears, and one of the guys picked up a foot still encased in a sneaker. He stood there waving it and hollering.
While the riverbank was lit, the area beyond the tracks was dark and shadowy. Andie hopped over the track with Bret. “Cade? Cade, where are you?”
“Over here,” his voice called from the dark side.
Intercepted by Love: Part Four: A Football Romance (Playing the Field Book 4) Page 7
