Redemption (Fateful Justice Book 2)

by Sara Vinduska

  He felt anger at himself rise up from the pit of his stomach. He knew he wouldn’t be at a hundred percent today. The effects of the previous nights binge would slow him down and cloud his mind. He needed to stay sharp. The situation was too dangerous for him to be walking around with his head in a fog.

  He chugged two cups of coffee as he got ready. Then he made the mistake of looking in the mirror. He’d really scare people now, whether they’d heard about what he’d done or not.

  An hour later, he was walking with Lash towards the set. “What’s up?” he heard Lash ask, but didn’t turn his head.

  “I can’t do this fucking job with a hangover.”

  “Shit, man, I think I’m still drunk.”

  That made Hoyt crack a smile and Lash went on, “It’s called stress relief, which we all could use right now.”

  Hoyt continued walking in silence.

  Lash stopped and lowered his sunglasses, exposing his bloodshot eyes. “I think we both know our limits, John, and we may have stretched them last night. Believe me, I sure as hell don’t make it a habit to drink like that anymore, you know that. But once in a while it happens, and hungover or not, there’s no one else I’d trust to have my back more than you.”

  “You’re such a sweet talker,” Hoyt said with a smirk.

  “And you’re a sonofabitch,” Lash mumbled, putting his sunglasses back on.

  Sinnamon just laughed and shook her head as soon as they entered the makeup room. “Good thing I got the extra large bottle of Visine,” she said as Lash sat down in the chair in front of her.

  Hoyt sat down in the other chair and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

  “I can cover up those cuts and bruises if you want,” she said to him.

  “No thanks. I like looking like I just got the shit beat out of me,” Hoyt said, eyes still closed.

  “Adds to his mystique,” Lash said with a wink as she started to powder his face.

  “How much did you two drink last night? It’s practically oozing out of your pores.”

  Hoyt grunted and shifted in the chair. Lash laughed. “I just wanted to give you a challenge today. You have it too easy with me as your leading man.”

  “So modest, too,” she replied, rolling her eyes.

  32

  Lash stretched lazily in the king sized bed. He kept his eyes closed, feeling the smooth cool sheets against his skin, the sunlight on his face. He smiled and reached across the bed, his fingertips finding soft, warm skin.

  “Mmm,” Lauren moaned and rolled towards him. “Good morning.”

  “Morning,” he answered, eyes still closed.

  “We should get out of bed.”

  Lash reached out to stop her from sitting up. He finally opened his eyes, blinked a few times, and looked over at her. “I have good news. They’re doing second-unit photography today, so I don’t have to go in. Which means we can spend the whole day together.”

  “Lash, I can’t just drop the case for a day.”

  “Sure you can. Call Ward, tell him you’re not feeling well, and then we can spend the day in bed. We’ll order room service, we won’t even have to go outside. After everything that’s happened, we deserve one day off.”

  Lauren tried to remember the last time she’d taken a day off to do nothing but laze around. She couldn’t think of a single time that had happened. She looked at Lash lying naked next to her then looked around the penthouse suite. “Well, your room is a little nicer than mine.”

  “So that’s a yes.”

  Lauren just smiled.

  “I guess I’m left with no other options but to tickle you without mercy until you give in.”

  “Wait, wait,” she scooted away from him. “All right, that’s a yes.”

  “Good,” he said, reaching for the phone, “Now, what do you want for breakfast?”

  The food arrived in less than a half hour.

  “Must be nice being a celebrity. People really do jump when you say jump,” Lauren remarked.

  Lash grinned. “Sometimes it’s pretty nice.”

  “Just sometimes?”

  His face sobered. “People can be too accommodating. It can be hard not being treated like a regular person. When you’re famous, people fall all over themselves to get you what you want, even if it’s not the best thing for you.

  “When I had my drug problem, it was too easy. All I had to do was ask and there they were, those magic little pills that made it all go away.”

  “I didn’t think of it that way.”

  Lash shrugged and grinned again. “I don’t blame them; I was the one with the problem. Now, no more negative thoughts. For the rest of the day, we’re going to only talk about and do pleasant things.”

  “Agreed,” Lauren said, picking up her fork. “And I’m going to start with breakfast.” She looked up a few minutes later to find Lash staring at her. “What?”

  He nodded at the fork she was holding halfway to her mouth. “I was just observing how you have to get just the right combination on your fork before you take a bite.”

  Lauren looked at the mixture of hash browns, scrambled eggs, and ketchup. “It’s better this way.”

  “Do you always mix your food like that?”

  “No, just this,” she said, putting the forkful in her mouth.

  “I think it’s cute.”

  “I’m glad it amuses you. Can I finish eating now?”

  Lash ate the last bite of his pancakes. “Yes, but hurry up, I have a full morning planned for us.”

  “Oh you do, do you?”

  “Yep. First we’re going back to bed, then I thought we’d take a swim in my giant bathtub.”

  They lay in bed again, the night sky dark outside the window except for the city lights. Lauren sighed contentedly, but sadly. “I feel guilty. I didn’t get anything accomplished today.”

  “Oh, I think we accomplished plenty,” Lash answered sleepily.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, but it was a nice break wasn’t it?”

  “The perfect day,” she agreed, hoping there would be more just like it in her future.

  “Mmm hmm,” Lash agreed, closing his eyes.

  Lauren ran a hand gently over his shoulder and along the muscles of his arm, then down his chest and ribcage, to his hipbone and back up again. “You know, I thought you’d be bigger,” she said.

  Lash opened one eye and gave her a wicked grin.

  “That’s not what I meant,” she said with a laugh.

  “I know,” Lash said, both eyes open now. “I had to lose almost fifteen pounds in a month to get the role.”

  “Really? Guys have to do that, too?”

  “Sometimes. Luckily John Hoyt was a Navy SEAL and took great pleasure in whipping my ass into shape. And they’ve been running us ragged since I got here, so it hasn’t been hard to keep the weight off.”

  “Well, I promise to cook you a good meal when this is over.” The words were out of her mouth before she could consider whether or not they were too forward or the fact that she couldn’t cook.

  Lash just grinned and pulled her close. Somehow he couldn’t picture Lauren in the kitchen cooking, but it would be a nice sight to watch, especially if she was wearing nothing but an apron.

  33

  Lauren met with Ward and Guy the next morning, feeling on top of her game. She felt relaxed and the guilt she'd felt the night before was gone. She hadn't realized how burned out she was getting. The day of relaxation had done her a world of good. She felt optimistic about finding answers to the case.

  Ward gave her a measuring look. “You look happy,” he said. “Must be feeling better.”

  “Finally got a good night’s sleep,” she answered, not quite meeting his eyes.

  He narrowed his eyes, gave her a once over and then nodded.

  He’d take her at her word. She’d never lied to him, not directly anyway. And they had more important things to go over at the moment. He’d have a long chat with her late
r. Find out what was going on in her life.

  He focused his attention on Guy. “The security guy that came at Hoyt was a dead end. He’s a jerk, no doubt about it, but he’s clean. Has alibis for all the major incidents, no prior record, blah, blah, blah. Dead end.”

  “I guess it was too much to hope for that it would lead somewhere. Regardless, he’s off the set.”

  Lauren crossed his name off her list. “So we keep digging.”

  “We also ID’d the guy we photographed Millosky meeting with. It was a bookie he owed money to.”

  Lauren sighed. One more dead end.

  The early morning hours were typically one of the best times for Lash to work. He tried once again to go over his lines for that day, but his mind kept returning to thoughts of Lauren.

  Despite the blissful day and night they’d just spent together, he couldn’t forget what she did for a living. She got people to open up to her and tell her all their dark, dirty secrets. He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of being involved with someone who could do that to him with so little effort. And yet, Lauren had opened up to him too and he had a feeling that she was more comfortable talking about others than herself.

  Then there was the problem of her brother. Lash had never been Ward Calhoun’s favorite person. And a pissed off FBI agent with a gun was not who he wanted on his bad side.

  Then again, when had he actually listened to reason and done the wise thing? He’d be lying to himself if he thought he was going to leave her alone. They’d just have to be discreet for now. They could deal with the rest later.

  Lash liked to think the discretion thing was going pretty well. No one, especially Ward, seemed to have a clue. That was one more reason why he liked a small security detail. And he did have to admit, the sneaking around was a huge turn on.

  He and Lauren were in the middle of a heavy make out session on his hotel room couch when his cell phone rang.

  He groaned and checked the number, then answered.

  “I’m fine, mom,” Lash said with a smile.

  “Why didn’t you tell us about your accident?” His mom’s voice, though concern tightened her accent, flooded him with warmth.

  “Because there’s nothing to tell.”

  “You were in the hospital.” There was just the slightest waiver in her voice now.

  “For a few hours, as a precaution.” He couldn’t stand the thought of his parents worrying about him. Not again. He’d caused them enough grief over the years. “You’ve been talking to Andy,” he said softly.

  “At least he tells us what’s going on.” Anger now, had replaced the concern in her voice.

  “I didn’t want to worry you.”

  “We worry more not knowing.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “Hold on a sec,” he said, getting up off the couch to answer the knock on his door, then, “here, there’s someone I want you to talk to.” He ignored Lauren’s confused look and handed the phone to her. “My mom,” he mouthed.

  Lauren shot him a sideways look as she took the phone. “Hi Mrs. Brogan . . . yes, he is a pain in the ass . . . no, I’m not an actress. I’m here with my brother, Agent Calhoun . . . yes, that one. . . I will, I promise . . . goodbye.” She hung up the phone, grabbed a bottle of sparkling water out of the mini-fridge, and sat down at the table as Lash brought over the food from room service.

  Lash stood looking at her. “You going to tell me what she said?”

  “Nope.” She took a long drink of water.

  “I’ll tickle you mercilessly until you tell me.”

  “She just told me to be careful and to keep an eye on you.”

  He sat down across from her. “That means you’ll have to spend a lot of time with me. You may have to spend the nights with me, too.”

  “I’ll suffer through it,” she answered with a grin.

  34

  Two nights later, Lash walked out of his hotel room with the black plastic ice bucket in hand. The guard stationed outside his door nodded at him and Lash continued down the hall. As soon as he’d rounded the corner, he dropped the bucket, took two quick steps, and pushed open the door to the stairwell. Less than a minute later, he was out the side door of the hotel. He took a quick look around him, saw no one, and started down the sidewalk.

  It was two a.m. on a Tuesday night and the street was nearly deserted. Lash relaxed and felt like he could breathe again. Sure he was alone in his hotel room, but sometimes he felt like he couldn’t think there. Couldn’t breathe. It was too stifling, he needed to be in an open space. No one would recognize him alone on the street at this hour. He could just be.

  He didn’t like what was going on on the set. He didn’t particularly like what was going on in his personal life, either. Oh, he liked spending time with Lauren, he just didn’t know if he liked thinking about where the situation could lead. He’d let her talk to his mom, for God’s sake. What the hell had he been thinking? It wasn’t fair to her . . .

  Things were moving too fast. But he didn’t know if he could slow them down. Or if he wanted to. Things felt so natural with Lauren, it was easy to just go with the flow. But when he was alone, all the doubts and fears started to pull him under.

  He quickened his pace, feeling an uncomfortable sensation along the back of his neck. Someone was following him. He took a quick right step into the next alley he came to. He turned back towards the street, waiting to see who was following him.

  He didn’t get the chance. Before he heard a thing, a foot snaked out behind him, sweeping his feet out from under him. He fell facedown onto the dirty ground. Then a knee came down hard on his back and he felt the steel blade of a knife pressed against the side of his neck.

  Christ, not again, he thought. Anger mixed with the fear he felt. Why the hell did people keep trying to kill him?

  The pressure on his back eased suddenly and his attacker sat back on his heels. Lash waited a beat, then slowly turned his head around. He instantly recognized the dark form in the shadows behind him. “What in the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he asked, sitting up.

  “Teaching you a lesson,” John Hoyt answered, getting to his feet and brushing himself off.

  Lash stood and took a step towards him. He clenched his fists at his sides, shook his head, and started to pace back and forth across the narrow alley. He was too pissed off to speak. After a minute, he turned back to Hoyt. “You had no right.”

  “The hell I didn’t. The situation here is too goddamn dangerous for you to go wandering off on your own.”

  Lash narrowed his eyes, fighting for control. He wanted to deck Hoyt, but as tough as he liked to think he was, he knew he was no match for John Hoyt. He started to walk away.

  Hoyt’s hand reached out and caught his arm, stopping him. “Look, Lash, I understand that there are times when you need to be by yourself, but you’ve got to come to me first. Let me do my job, that’s all I’m asking.”

  Lash sighed and turned back around, but this time there was no anger on his face. “I don’t know about you, but I could sure as hell use a drink right now.”

  They started walking back towards the hotel. Lash looked at Hoyt and laughed. “Jesus, man, you scared the shit out of me.”

  Hoyt smiled back. “That’s what you pay me for.”

  The hotel bar was nearly empty when they entered. The bartender glanced at their dirty clothes, then reached behind him for a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

  Officer Rorbach looked at the caller ID and frowned. He considered not answering, but knew that wouldn’t go over well.

  “Yeah,” he said, dreading what the voice on the other end of the line would say.

  Adam Bishop described what he wanted Rorbach to do.

  “Why?” he asked, thinking of the chaos he was about to cause.

  Adam laughed. “Because I can.”

  Lash woke from a dead sleep to the sound of the fire alarm going off. And pounding on his door. “What fucking shit is this now?” he mumbled as he made his
way through his dark suite.

  As soon as he opened the door, Hoyt grabbed his arm and pulled him down the hall towards the stairs.

  “Fire?” Lash asked. He didn’t smell smoke, but they were on the penthouse floor. As they descended the stairs, they were joined by people in various states of dress, security guards and hotel employees. He could hear doors being pounded on. Phones were ringing, people were shouting and shoving each other as they headed for the stairs and elevators.

  “Bomb threat,” Hoyt ground out as he propelled Lash down the stairs.

  It was a security nightmare. Everyone poured out of the building and onto the street in a mad rush: civilians, actors, crew members, hotel workers, and probably whoever was responsible along with them. John shouted frantically into his walkie-talkie, but refused to leave Lash’s side, keeping a hand on his shoulder at all times. He stationed Rafe inside the building just in case the bad guy was still inside watching the fruits of his labor.

  Lash scanned the crowd for Lauren, saw her standing next to Ward in a small group of people and let out a breath.

  Rafe came out twenty minutes later and shook his head. “Everyone’s cleared out.”

  Hoyt nodded. “Figures. Worth a shot though.”

  “Yeah, looks like a false alarm. We’ll probably never trace who actually made the call,” Rafe said.

  Hoyt grunted. “Just another way to make us run around chasing our tails.”

  They were now surrounded by cars and ambulances with flashing lights. The flash of news crews soon joined the chaos.

  “Fuckers,” Lash muttered.

  “Could be worse. At least you’re dressed,” Hoyt said with a laugh, looking down at Lash’s pajama pants.

  35

  Rafe sensed someone watching him. His eyes scanned the set, finding nothing out of place. But the feeling wouldn’t leave. At least Lash wasn’t on set. He turned to find Ward.