The Bootlegger's Daughter (Daughters Of The Roaring Twenties Book 1)

by Lauri Robinson

  Her dress was soon pushed up to her shoulders, as was her cami top, exposing her breasts to the warm night air and the wonderful caress of his hands. Norma Rose would never have believed her body could respond so to a man’s touch, or how something could consume her so fully that there was no room for thoughts, but it was happening, and she was relishing the experience.

  Ty kissed her breasts, making her gasp with pleasure. She ran her fingers through his hair, holding him against her as he suckled, sending phenomenal ripples throughout her system. Feverish heat swelled inside her, and focused particularly in one spot, a deep ache burned.

  She’d always imagined sex was a male-dominated activity, but swiftly concluded that was not the case. At least not for her. She made sure of that, too, as she and Ty shed their clothes. There had been tugging and pulling and giggles from her, which he’d responded to with kisses, but once they were both naked, and lying side by side again, a completely new wave of excitement filled her. He was telling her again how beautiful she was, and this time she basked in his statements, feeling beautiful. How could she not when he looked at her like that? The flickering flame of the candle reflected in his eyes, and she’d never seen anything so spectacular.

  Other parts of him were quite spectacular, too. His thick arms, his manly, sculpted chest and stomach, rather impressive thighs and a notably eye-catching part of him between his hips. Nibbling on her bottom lip, she tried not to stare, but found that impossible.

  Ty let out a low chuckle.

  Heat rushed to her cheeks, knowing he’d caught her staring, but still she laughed.

  “Aw, Norma Rose,” he whispered, kissing her lips gently. “I do love you.”

  If hearts could open and pour out love like a pitcher of milk, hers did at that moment. Her throat locked tight, too, and tears stung her eyes. Despite the way she felt, how she’d come to understand her love for him, she hadn’t been completely prepared for his declaration.

  “Let me show you,” Ty whispered, once again kissing and caressing her lips, her neck, her breasts, her stomach.

  When he parted her legs touching the very spot that burned uncontrollably, Norma Rose gasped and then sank into the mattress, overtaken with satisfaction, for that very spot had cried out for his attention above the rest.

  The heat of his mouth between her legs nearly jolted her off the bed, but the unfathomable pleasure had nothing but her hips moving, arching into him. The commotion of that kiss sent her over some invisible edge. All her awareness was coming from inside her now. She gave in to it, a great unknown that was far more powerful than anything she’d ever experienced.

  Ty continued to kiss her, leading her on a fascinating journey that escalated faster than she could comprehend. Her breathing was fast and labored, her body tingling from head to toe, and still a profound drawing need inside her, intense and commanding, kept climbing and climbing.

  Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, an inner explosion let loose, shocking her and shaking her entire being with an amazing, wild force.

  Ty squeezed her bottom and continued to kiss her as the intensity dissipated, leaving her body with a mesmerizing slowness. Planting his hands in the mattress on both sides of her, Ty kissed his way back up to her lips.

  “What was that?” she whispered.

  “Me loving you,” he answered.

  “I liked it.”

  “I did, too.”

  Sitting back, he picked something off the bed. Norma Rose had seen rubbers before, and wondered where it had come from, but not for long. The way he rolled it over himself caught her attention and that primal force inside her, which she’d thought had disappeared, was back.

  Excited all over again, she whispered, “I have a feeling I’m going to like this, too.”

  “I hope so,” Ty said.

  Her body tensed unexpectedly as he guided himself toward her.

  “Relax, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Just relax.”

  She nodded, though held her breath as he found entrance.

  “Breathe, Norma Rose,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Just breathe.”

  Forcing the air out of her lungs, she was in the middle of another inhale when he entered her completely. She couldn’t say the snap that happened was painful, just surprising enough that she jerked slightly.

  “It’s over,” Ty whispered.

  “Over?” she questioned, having expected and wanting more.

  “Just that,” he said. “Now the fun begins.”

  Once again, he was right, and this time, the journey was more brilliant, more breathtaking and vibrant because he was with her the entire way. Every thrust brought them closer and his hard, muscled body gliding over hers was profoundly spectacular.

  Now knowing what to expect, Norma Rose participated fully, enjoying every moment. When the intensity built brighter and hotter than before, she welcomed it, and the earth-shattering gratification that soon followed was grander than any gold-encrusted trophy.

  Ty collapsed onto her briefly and she welcomed that, too, his hot, heavy body, fully connected to hers, as fully spent as she. After a moment, he rolled off her and pulled her close to his side, kissing her temple.

  She ran her hand down his chest, over his ribs and stomach. There were a million things they could talk about, but Norma Rose didn’t say a word. Not this time. At this moment, life was too perfect. She closed her eyes, holding that thought.

  * * *

  Ty had fought demons, many of them, over the past few years, and right now they were attempting to draw him into a battle. He’d missed her so much, wanted to be with her so badly, he hadn’t fully assessed the situation. There were so many dangers to this plan, so many things he needed to tell her. But even knowing all that, right now, he just wanted to bask in her presence, in the love she’d opened up inside him.

  Later, after her breathing turned low and even, Ty knew what he had to do. Loving someone meant protecting them, even if they didn’t like it. Although he didn’t want to, he slid off the bed and covered her with the blankets that had ended up balled up at the foot of the bed. Then he gathered his clothes, dressed and left the house, stopping briefly at the outhouse to dispose of the rubber. After checking on Norma Rose one more time, he made his way through the woods to the car hidden there.

  He climbed in the front seat and leaned back, exhaling. Satisfaction still pumped through his blood, and despite everything, for the first time in his life he couldn’t hide the smile on his face. Or the love in his heart. He was in love with Norma Rose. Fully and rather madly. His only hope now was that he could live with it. That she could live with who he was.

  His light dozing was interrupted by the sound of a car, and he jerked to full awareness as the engine turned off. Whoever it was parked on the road and Ty left the Duesenberg, cautiously making his way through the woods in that direction.

  Recognizing Bronco, Ty gave a low whistle to indicate his location, before he asked, “What’s happened?”

  Bronco approached, shaking his head. “You aren’t going to like this, Ty. Roger has Ted Williams in his office.”

  “Blast. I should have known.” Ty’s gut knotted. “He’s going to get someone killed.”

  “Norma Rose isn’t going to like this, either,” Bronco said.

  “No, she’s not,” Ty agreed. This was a wrench he didn’t need. It could ruin everything. “She’s sleeping in the cabin. I’ll go get her and meet you back at the resort.”

  “Need any help?”

  Ty huffed out a chuckle. Bronco knew the Nightingale sisters, probably better than their father did. “No,” Ty said. “She knows her father.”

  “All right,” Bronco said warily. “I don’t envy you.”

  They parted ways with Bronco heading back to the road and Ty toward the cabin. It had been hours since Williams had dropped off Norma Rose, and the man’s absence was sure to be missed. Ty cursed again. Roger was playing with more fire than he realized. Bodine, or his henchm
en, wouldn’t react well to two botched kidnappings.

  Although he hated to, Ty woke Norma Rose by gently shaking her shoulder. He’d lit the candle and her sleep-filled eyes were more gorgeous than ever. “Change of plan,” he whispered, when she closed her lids after giving him a gentle smile. “Your father has Ted Williams in his office.”

  The blanket fell to her waist as she sat up. “What? I thought you convinced him—”

  “I thought I did, too,” Ty said, sitting down on the bed. “You know your father. He has to be in charge.”

  She looked at him and smiled. “And so do you.”

  Ty couldn’t deny that. He took one of her hands and kissed the back of it. A few minutes wouldn’t hurt, and he wanted her to know what was driving him. “When I returned from the war, I took a job with the New York police, mainly because they were hiring and I needed money to pay for law school. My folks ran a bakery, a small one, but they did all right, kept a few families fed.” He shook his head, realizing how much that sounded like something she’d say. “New York is different to here. It’s full of gangs, always has been. Some of the worst Old West outlaws got their start in New York. Ray Bodine had a cartel of thugs, thieves among other things. He started making businesses pay for his protection, claiming it would keep them from getting robbed. Another big-timer was trying to take over the neighborhood, with the same tactics, but Bodine wasn’t about to let that happen, and to prove his point, he killed an entire city block of small business owners, including my parents.”

  Compassion shimmered in her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

  Ty shook his head, but squeezed her hand. “I vowed to stop him, but knew I couldn’t do that with the police force. It’s as corrupt as half the gangs, just like most places. So I left the force and law school to become a private eye. I started unearthing gang leaders and then would call in the police to take them down. By the time Prohibition was in full force, I’d made a name for myself, but no one knew who I was. The one captain I worked with did, though, and he shared my name with the feds, who hired me to continue doing what I was doing. Incognito. A few years ago, I had a bead on Bodine, but he eluded us. To throw everyone off track, he faked his death and went underground, where his cartel grew bigger than ever.”

  “And now he’s after my father’s trade,” she said.

  “Other mobs have tried, but no one’s infiltrated Minnesota Thirteen, and that makes Bodine want it even more,” he said.

  “What’s going to happen now?” she asked.

  Ty shrugged. “I don’t know. We need to get back to the resort so I can figure that out.”

  “I’ll get dressed,” she said.

  He felt as if more than Bodine was slipping away. She was, too, and that stung worse. He leaned forward and kissed her. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with us, either.”

  She leaned her forehead against his. “I don’t, either. A bootlegger’s daughter and a federal agent don’t go hand in hand.”

  Having no reply to that, he briefly kissed her lips.

  Sighing as their lips parted, she said, “I’d better get dressed.”

  Ty stood and gathered her clothes, handing each piece to her and watching as she put them on, wishing he’d taken more time to watch her remove them. Someday he would, when this was all over.

  She’d just sat down to pull on her stockings when the sound of a car engine’s filtered through the open windows. She heard it, too. “Bronco?”

  Ty blew out the candle. Having no idea, but wanting to ease her fears, he said, “His car doesn’t sound like that.” He handed over her shoes and took her stockings, shoving them and her garters in his pockets. “We gotta go.”

  They’d barely made it out the back door when headlights lit up the yard. Ty pressed a finger to his lips and gestured for her to stay put. He peeked around the corner of the house. Anyone in the car would surely see them dashing for the woods.

  “This has to be the place,” a man said. “It’s just as the girl described.”

  “Let’s get this Nightingale dame and get out of here before that snoopy police chief shows up,” a second one said.

  “That idiot,” the first one said, “thinking we’d let him run the show after he’d already botched things.”

  “He’ll end up just like his little girlfriend,” the other one said, laughing.

  The voices grew closer and the front door banged open. Ty peered around the corner again. If it was just him, he’d make a run for it, but couldn’t chance someone else being in the car and seeing Norma Rose. He tucked her closer to his side and pulled her down to a crouch as the beam of a flashlight shone through the window.

  “There’s no one here,” one of them said.

  “Probably hiding,” the other answered. “Girlie, oh, girlie, come out, come out, wherever you are.”

  Norma Rose shivered and Ty gestured toward an old shed behind the house. She followed him through the dark, around the back of the shed. “I have to find a weapon,” he whispered.

  “Don’t you have a gun?”

  “I left it in my truck,” he answered, kicking at the ground for anything of substance.

  She let out a hiss before saying, “Here, it’s a yard rake. I found a shovel, too.”

  He took the rake. “Give me the shovel, too.”

  She’d moved a few steps away. “No, I’ll need it.”

  “No, you won’t.”

  “Stop arguing,” she insisted. “They just came out the back door.”

  A shovel wasn’t much, but she would need something. With the rake in one hand, he said, “Stay here.”

  “No,” she said, “You stay here.”

  Before Ty had a chance to react, or figure out what she was doing, Norma Rose shot around the building. “Yoo-hoo!” she shouted. “Over here.” She turned around and while running past him, hissed, “Trip them with the rake.”

  Ty cursed, but kneeled down and stuck out the rake handle. The ground rumbled with footfalls, but he still caught a glimpse of Norma Rose rounding the far corner of the shed. The first thug went down, wrenching the hold Ty had on the rake.

  The second one shouted, “Get up!” as he kept running, not noticing what had tripped his companion.

  Ty leaped on the first one, yanking the man’s hands behind his back. All he had were Norma Rose’s stockings, so he used one to tie the man’s hands while kneeling on the back of his head, keeping the thug’s shouts muffled by the tall grass. Ty shoved the rake handle between the man’s arms and back, so he couldn’t roll over, and then found the man’s holster and pulled out the gun.

  He’d just jumped to his feet when a resounding thud and scream shattered the air. He ran around the building, heart thumping, and fueled with raw, burning fear. The other corner of the shed was bathed in the headlights of the car, and Ty raced forward to where Norma Rose stood over a prone body.

  “I hope I didn’t kill him,” she said. “I didn’t mean to hit him that hard.”

  Ty took the shovel from her hand and pulled her into his arms. “Don’t ever do that again,” he growled.

  “Did you expect me to hide in the bushes?” Without waiting for his answer, she kissed his cheek. “Please check to make sure I didn’t kill him. You got the other one, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” Ty answered, unsure what else to say. There wasn’t much. He kneeled down to check the other man and found a pulse. “You knocked him out cold.”

  “Good.” She let out a loud sigh. “Now what?”

  “Now we hope there’s no one else in that car.”

  She spun toward the headlights. “I never thought of that.”

  “Obviously,” he answered, tying this man’s hands with her other stocking. If anyone was in the car, they’d have surely shown themselves before now, which did offer a pittance of relief.

  “They would have already climbed out, wouldn’t they?”

  “Let’s hope so.” Ty stood. “This one will be fine for a minute. I have to get the other one.” />
  * * *

  Norma Rose started to tremble, but she held herself upright until Ty walked away, then she slumped against the wall and pressed a hand to her chest, where her heart was attempting to beat its way out. Too much had happened too quickly—being taken by Ted and Janet, Ty coming to her rescue, Ty taking her to bed, the thugs—she couldn’t think this fast, let alone live it.

  But she had lived it and survived. Thrived, during Ty’s lovemaking. She pushed off the wall and glanced around the corner, toward the car. Ty was ushering a man around the long vehicle, and she watched as he unhitched the trunk and forced the man inside.

  “The trunk?” she asked, when he started walked toward her.

  “Yes, I don’t know how long your stockings will hold up.”

  “My stockings?”

  “That’s what I tied their hands with.” He then hoisted the man she’d hit with the shovel off the ground by the shoulders and started dragging him toward the car. “I’ll need you to open the trunk this time.”

  “What are we going to do with them?” she asked.

  “Take them to the resort,” he answered. “You’ll have to drive Bronco’s car. I have it hidden in the woods.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Norma Rose was at the window in her office, watching the front lot. The same place she’d stood five long days ago when Ty had driven away. Her love for him had grown desperate. She knew where he’d gone this time—after Bodine—and rather than wallow in self-pity, she was praying to the heavens for his safe return. He was still an agent, she a bootlegger’s daughter, and she had no idea where that might lead them, but she would never give up on him. On them.

  None of the cars rolling into the parking lot were the Duesenberg Ty had driven away in that night, with the two thugs who’d been responsible for Janet Smith’s death in the trunk. The sleek automobiles parking out front were early arrivals for Palooka George’s party coming up in two days’ time. Norma Rose wasn’t worried about the party or the guests’ accommodations. Her sisters had everything under control. Thank goodness, because to her, the party seemed frivolous.