by V. K. Powell
“More, and you’ll understand when we get to that point in our partnership.”
What Carl didn’t say concerned her as much as what he did. Why had she ever thought he had a kind streak? All that mattered to him was his business and money. “How long will you be in town?” She needed to get off the subject of Loane before she gave herself away. And she needed to know if Carl’s offer had a timeline. While she didn’t intend to accept it, maybe she could make him believe she had and gain his confidence.
“Until tomorrow. I’ll be at the club tonight, to check things out. When I leave, I hope we’ll have reached an understanding.”
Abby forced her most charming smile. “I’m sure we’ll come up with something.” We certainly would. The sooner she told Loane about this development, the better.
He stood and started toward the door. “I’m off to my meetings. See you later.”
Never would be good, Abby thought as he exited. She sat down and covered her face with her hands. This case had tested her endurance, integrity, loyalty, and now her discipline. Every choice she’d made chipped away at what she needed and wanted. If she didn’t resolve it soon, she might lose herself completely.
“You okay, boss?”
She looked up into Kinsey’s inquisitive green eyes. “I’ll be fine if you tell me Carl doesn’t know about the diagnostic you ran.”
“M, you cut me deep.” Kinsey turned her palms to the ceiling and shrugged. “Do I look like the kind of girl who’d leave a trace?”
Abby’s sigh of relief bounced off the walls of the small office. “I guess you’re wondering why I’m hiding things from my boss.”
“I have a pretty good idea.”
“You do?”
“You think something hinky’s going on. And if I read you right, you don’t want to get caught up in anything illegal. Based on what I found yesterday, I’d say you’re right, and I’ll help any way I can.”
She appreciated Kinsey’s discretion and offer of help, but still didn’t understand her motivation. They’d only met a couple of days ago and didn’t know anything about each other. In this instance, she had to follow her gut. Besides, she’d kept their secret from Carl, and that was good enough. “Thank you.”
*
Loane stepped out onto the penthouse balcony overlooking Center City Park and watched a thunderstorm move toward the city. Bursts of light like huge flashbulbs changed to jagged spears that stabbed the earth as the storm grew closer. She inhaled the fresh scent of rain and turned her face into the chilly wind. She’d stayed in the heated South partly because of the distinctive seasons and ever-changing weather. As fall approached, she appreciated it even more. It reminded her of life—never the same, never dull, always challenging.
Challenging, like her relationship with Abby. She’d spent the remainder of the afternoon and early evening thinking about their last encounter and anticipating their next. She’d imagined the warmth and intimacy of their reunion so many times, it was hard to accept the cool, disconnected reality. Abby’s hug had stirred her, threatening to revitalize the closed-off corners of her heart and make her believe again. Her body hummed with anticipation while her mind resisted.
Abby had finally answered all her questions and she made sense, more or less. A law-enforcement officer often compromised personal goals for the sake of her career. Abby’s reasoning was sound, and Loane understood it from a professional standpoint, but the previously untouched part of Loane’s heart still couldn’t accept what had happened.
Fortunately, Abby hadn’t pushed for immediate answers. She seemed willing to let Loane think about their situation and reach her own conclusions. So far she’d come to one: she still cared about Abby but wasn’t sure they had a future. For the present, she had to solve one mystery at a time, and the gunrunner case seemed much easier than dealing with emotions. She dialed Vi’s number.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Vi, it’s Loane. You busy?”
“Not at the mo. ’Sup?”
“Can you meet me somewhere downtown? We need to talk.”
“The park? There’re some dark corners we can skulk around in. I got a rep to protect.”
“Five minutes?”
“Yep.”
Typical Vi, short, not so sweet, and to the point. Loane closed her cell and started downstairs. She had to envy Vi a little. Her life seemed so simple. Maybe it was her youth, the fact that she didn’t have any real responsibilities or seem to care about much of anything. Loane couldn’t remember a time when her life had been that uncomplicated.
She’d struggled as a gangly teenager when her hormones led her in the opposite direction from her peers. Fighting to come out in a family with a homophobic mother challenged her very nature. The test eventually destroyed their family, and she’d always blamed herself. She’d gone into law enforcement to prove she could overcome any challenges, but she’d already lost the most important ones. As she approached Vi in the park, she breathed a little easier. At least Abby was alive.
“Dude. Better not rain on my ass,” Vi said as another strip of lightning zigzagged the sky.
“I need to know where you got the information about the storage unit.”
“No hello, kiss my ass, go to hell, or nothing?”
“I don’t have time to be nice.” She sat beside Vi on a crescent-shaped wooden bench close to a small stand of trees that provided cover from most of the passersby. “I’ve given you a lot of leeway. Now I need answers, real answers. It’s important.”
Vi’s green eyes lost some of their customary sparkle. The persistently upturned corners of her mouth straightened and she suddenly looked years older. She rose and paced in front of the bench as she spoke softly. “The unit belonged to a friend of mine who went missing.” Even her voice and the words she used struck Loane as more mature.
“Went missing?”
“She worked at the Sky Bar for six months. One night she didn’t show up for her shift.”
“What happened?”
“Nobody knows or wants to say.”
The look she gave Loane almost broke her heart. She knew exactly what that was like and wouldn’t wish that hopeless feeling on anyone. “What did the manager of the bar tell you about your friend?”
“That she quit and left town. End of story.”
“Did you file a police report?”
“I tried. I’m not next of kin, and her family doesn’t care what happens to her.”
“But you should’ve been able to file eventually.”
Vi shook her head in frustration. “After a month of badgering. By that time, she was long gone. You’re a cop. You know how much attention a homeless person gets.”
Loane wished she could erase the pained expression on Vi’s face, but she couldn’t dispute what she’d said. It was true, and that fact made her ashamed. She touched Vi’s arm and urged her back to the bench. “I’m sorry. That’s wrong.”
“I just want to find her.”
Loane now understood Vi’s eagerness to help on the Torre case. She’d lost someone too and that was a powerful motivator. It could also be a reason for vengeance. “Is that all you want, to find her?”
“Well…if the Torres go down in the process, that’s a bonus. Nothing crazy.”
“We can’t connect them to anything illegal yet, so it might not be so easy to find your friend. How does she…?”
“June, June Lennon.”
“How does June figure into this storage unit?”
“She rented it when she got kicked out of her apartment, before we met. When she vanished, Torre’s thugs somehow found out about it and moved in.”
“That was pretty smart for a couple of thick heads like Ray and Tiny. No way to trace the unit back to the club or them.”
“Yeah, but they didn’t count on me.” Vi’s smile held a mixture of confidence and determination.
“You told me they took the boxes there. How do you know?”
Vi dipped her head and scuffed
her Vans against the concrete walk. Voices from passersby fluctuated around them as Loane waited. Vi seemed to be struggling with how or whether to answer. After several more seconds, she found the courage and looked up at Loane. “I sort of wired it.”
“You what?”
“Do I have to spell it out, dude? Electronic surveillance. I thought June might come back to the unit at some point.”
“How do you know about that stuff?” Vi’s look didn’t exactly yell computer guru, so Loane was a bit confused about how a homeless street urchin became so tech-savvy.
“I was bored in school, so I rigged cameras in the teachers’ lounge or principal’s office for entertainment. It was sort of a hobby at first. Then I hacked the system and changed a few grades to help my peeps. I was good at it. And voilà, a star is born.”
“Is the camera at the storage unit still active?”
“Well, duh, of course.”
“You know that’s illegal, right?”
“I kind of piggybacked on the CCTV system that the cops already had in the area for crime surveillance.”
“Have you tapped into anything else I should know about?”
“Probably nothing you should know about, but I’m pretty wired. It’s how I get most of the info I pass along.”
Loane weighed her current situation against the possibility of finally putting an end to this life-sapping case. She wasn’t technically a cop. Why not? If she could keep tabs on the guns without turning them over, she’d cover all her bases. “Can I access it?”
“No problem.”
She stared at Vi, seeing her for the first time as not just a street kid but also as an adult who’d lived and lost and now wanted to make a difference. “You’re full of surprises. You don’t even sound like the same person. Who are you, your real name?”
“Why is that so important? Isn’t it enough that I’m trying to help?”
“Call me suspicious, but I like to know who I’m dealing with. Don’t you have any family?” Sadness enveloped Vi’s face and Loane wished she’d found a more tactful approach.
“Not that you’d notice. Parents divorced. Dad skipped. Mother preoccupied with her career and no time for kid. End of family saga.”
It was a story Loane had heard too many times, but this one made her want to get personally involved. Vi wouldn’t accept her help, at least not directly. She was as proud as Loane and possibly as stubborn. In this instance maybe her identity wasn’t necessarily as important as why she wanted to help. Vi had assisted her when she didn’t have to, stuck her neck out when most wouldn’t, and never asked for compensation. Maybe allowing Vi to be a part of this case would help. “Is this going to come back and bite me on the ass?”
Vi grinned. “Maybe, but you can handle it. Besides, you already know what’s in those boxes, and you didn’t exactly follow the rules to take a look, did you?”
“How do you know that?”
“I told you, surveillance. So, what’s in the boxes?”
Loane thought about her interactions with Vi since they’d met and decided to trust her completely. She’d shared her motivation and proved that she could keep quiet and obtain useful information. Her technical skills had already come in handy and might save her and Abby hours of legwork. “Guns.”
Vi’s eyes grew wide as she stared at her. “Freaking guns? June’s a goner.”
Chapter Sixteen
Abby didn’t like the idea of meeting Loane at the club for an update, but she couldn’t sneak away with Carl lurking around. Since he already knew too much about Loane, it was best to keep her close. She stood near the lounge and watched patrons stream in like ants to a sugar cube. She didn’t understand the attraction of looking at the near-naked bodies of strangers. It was too much like sale day at the produce market—things that were too cheap probably weren’t very good.
The club walls vibrated with music so loud that normal conversation was impossible, but no one seemed to mind. The more the customers drank, the less they cared about what was being said and the more they focused on what their bodies wanted. Communication became a series of testing touches followed by responses leading to more intimate touching and finally a commitment between willing parties. Abby watched in amazement and tried to remember when she’d been so free with her body and affections.
She spotted Loane as soon as she entered the front door. Her platinum hair shone in the black light like a beacon. Several heads turned in her direction and Erin, one of the dancers, started toward her. Abby wanted to pounce and stake her claim like some wild animal. But if she appeared too familiar, she’d attract unwanted attention. To make this plan work, she had to take it slow, at least initially.
Erin followed Loane to the bar and rubbed seductively against her while she ordered her drink. Then Abby recognized her—this was the dancer Loane had rescued from the irate customer the first night she’d seen her in the club. A gnawing feeling settled in her gut, and she freely admitted it had everything to do with Erin’s proximity to Loane.
“Bees to honey, I tell you.” Carl had approached while Abby was preoccupied. “It amazes me that behaviors like this take place in such a conservative city. Guess it proves the old consumerist theory. Give people what they want and they’ll gladly pay.” His words dripped with sarcasm and a certain amount of perverted joy. “If you’re going to distract our cop, you better move fast. Our girls have nice assets—no disrespect intended.”
“Then why not have one of them seduce her?”
“Because I don’t care about their loyalty.”
“I’ll take my chances. Besides, she might have more sophisticated taste.”
“I hope for your sake she does.”
As Carl walked away, she thought how easy it would be to end this charade. She could tell Hector Barrio she was finished and reclaim her life. No more acting, no more secrets, and no more putting up with scum. She and Loane could be together. But that wouldn’t solve her problems, namely finding Simon, Sylvia, and Alma’s killer, ending an illegal weapons ring, and proving herself.
She walked toward the bar where Erin had Loane pinned between the serving counter and wall. If Carl thought she should make a move, she’d be happy to peel Erin off Loane and get this show started. She would’ve preferred to give Loane some advance warning but didn’t have time.
“Erin.” She nodded to the dancer, then let her gaze slide up and down Loane’s body in a languid display of interest. “Introduce me to your friend.” She stepped closer and gave Loane a wink she hoped would be interpreted as play along. Loane inclined her head enough to confirm she understood.
Erin wasn’t so easily deterred. “This is Loane. She’s one of my return customers. Right?” She looked to Loane for confirmation and was obviously disappointed when Loane extended her hand to Abby.
“Loane Landry, nice to meet you…” She played the part beautifully, pretending they’d never met, looking back and forth between the two women for help.
“This,” Erin nodded toward Abby, “is my boss, manager of the club. Guess I’ll see you another time.” She hesitated as if Loane might change her mind and, when she didn’t, turned and headed for another mark.
“If she’d stood here one more minute, I might’ve clawed her eyes out,” Abby said. “I don’t like anyone’s hands on you but mine.”
Loane moved closer and whispered, “I love it when you talk dirty. And thanks for the heads up.”
“Sorry, didn’t have time to explain. Can you handle a little public foreplay for show or am I asking too much?” Loane tensed beside her and Abby feared she’d crossed a line. “You can say no.” Using Loane wasn’t her idea of a good plan, but she needed to prove herself to Carl while still being honest with her.
“I assume there’s a good reason, which you’ll tell me later?”
“Yes, but you don’t have to go along with it. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
Loane nodded and braced her elbows on the bar behind her, exposing a tempting
swath of skin where her shirt collar gaped open. “I guess we better make it look good.”
Now that she had Loane’s consent, Abby wasn’t sure what to do. She didn’t know how to touch Loane and pretend it meant nothing. Public displays of affection weren’t her idea of a good time, especially not with the woman she loved. Their moments of intimacy were private and not to be shared or exploited.
“Is something wrong?” Loane asked.
“I can’t pretend you’re a stranger. I’m afraid when I touch you everybody will know that.” If Carl Torre was watching, he’d realize they’d been lovers and their lives would be in danger.
“I thought your degree was in acting, so act. We’ve just met. I think you’re hot. Convince me I should go home with you.”
Loane’s suggestion of a role-play was exactly what Abby needed. “You’re on, Landry. I’ll make you yell uncle.”
“Bring it.”
The challenge in Loane’s eyes heated Abby’s blood like a siren call. She stepped closer until Loane’s left leg tucked perfectly between hers. The chemistry between them grew like a living entity. She let her breath ooze out across Loane’s neck and felt her twitch. “You look so good.” Lightly, with the tip of her tongue, she traced the delicate ridges of her outer ear and slipped inside. “Taste good.”
Loane still stood with her back against the bar, her legs firmly planted. She gazed into the distance as if trying to focus on anything except what Abby was doing to her. She wouldn’t look at her and refused to touch her. Abby could almost hear her reciting those damn history facts in her head.
She lightly touched Loane’s knee and smoothed her hand slowly up her thigh, redirecting at the last second to avoid contact with her crotch. Loane quivered slightly but made no sound. Abby had dreamed of stroking her again like this, but never under these circumstances. Her body couldn’t tell the difference. She ached in places that hadn’t been touched in months. She wanted to believe Loane wanted and needed her as much, but she seemed unmoved.
Placing her hand at the open collar of Loane’s shirt, Abby slid her fingers between each button, touching skin all the way down to her waistband. Each time they connected, Loane sucked in a breath. Abby rolled her shoulders from side to side, working her breasts against Loane’s arm until her nipples tightened. Loane licked her lips and Abby smiled. She was finally getting to her.
