Sean chuckled. “You just found out he’s undercover.”
Ruby turned an incensed gaze to him. “It’s not funny.”
Sean held his hand up. “I’m not laughing because of that. It’s just...it’s obvious the two of you were meant for each other.”
Ruby’s mouth dropped open, and she looked at Damon.
“What?” Ruby said, clearly shocked.
“Don’t mind him,” January said. “He means no harm. We both went through turbulent waters like you two are. And I have to agree, it is obvious you both have feelings for each other.”
“January...” Ruby protested, sounding as though she might as well say, I thought you were my friend.
“Mmm, this chicken is sooo good.” She ate a bite and then sat up straight, dropping her fork and uttering, “Oh.” She put her hand on her belly.
Sean put his fork down, too, and met her eyes.
“The twins must like fried chicken, too.” January laughed softly, and the exchange between her and Sean was palpable.
Damon was almost uncomfortable. He wanted that with a woman. That love. He looked over at Ruby, whose mouth had dropped open slightly as she stared at the marvelous spectacle.
Sean put his hand on January’s stomach, and they shared the movements of their children. The world had obviously dropped away as they basked in ultimate and soul-consuming love.
Without thinking on it too much, Damon moved his hand to cover Ruby’s. She had to know how significant this moment was.
He turned to her. She closed her mouth and met his gaze, clearly flustered but awed at the same time.
His feelings for her were too strong for his comfort, but he’d be a fool not to consider what a future with her would look like.
“Sean and I had our hurdles to jump, too. My advice is to take it a day at a time,” January said.
Jarred from the exchange with Ruby, Damon turned to the couple.
Sean put his hand on January’s on the table.
Damon was sure he’d looked at Ruby that way. She had looked at him that way, too. If only he could be certain that his heart was safe with her and that she felt the same about him.
January looked at Maya and then Ruby and both signed and said, “We have an announcement to make.”
That changed the mood. What did they want to tell them?
“January’s baby shower is coming up,” Sean said and January kept signing for Maya.
Ruby sucked in a breath and stood from the table. She went around the table and hugged January.
“Oh, congratulations!” Ruby exclaimed. “I know what it meant to you to have Maya live with you and to have the adoption thwarted by my return. I’m so happy that you’re having twins!”
“I’ll always have a soft spot for Maya.” January looked at the girl fondly, signing that she would have twins.
Maya smiled big. She had crumbs on her mouth from the chicken she held in both hands.
“We’re also eloping.” January beamed.
Eloping? Damon couldn’t believe it. He looked at Ruby and wondered if he ever had the opportunity to get her pregnant if she’d have a pair, too. Twins most certainly ran in this branch of the Coltons!
Ruby met his eyes and seemed to be wondering the same. Damon couldn’t tell if it frightened her or if the idea tantalized her.
* * *
Ruby finished cleaning up after breakfast while Damon sat on the sofa with Maya. They had a Tinker Bell movie going, and Damon seemed genuinely into it. Maya sat close to him, snuggling. Damon had his arm across the back of the sofa and every once in a while looked down at what Maya was drawing in her art book. The two of them together tugged at her heartstrings. Kid had never been like that with their daughter. Maya had been more like a possession. He had been prouder of planting a seed than he had been of Maya as a little human being.
Damon moved his arm from the sofa and signed, Wow, that is really good.
Maya put her drawing book down and signed, I love drawing.
Are you going to grow up to be an artist?
Maya shrugged. I don’t know.
Can I see what you’ve drawn so far? Then to Ruby he asked, “How long has she been drawing?”
“Ever since she could handle a crayon. That book is about a year old. She’s had that through her therapy sessions. It’s almost full now, though.”
Maya gave him the book, and Damon started from the beginning.
Ruby walked over. It had been a while since she’d seen Maya’s drawings. The first few were those an innocent girl would draw. Stick figures. Flowers. The sky, sun, dogs and a family. The family drawings sort of broke Ruby’s heart. They were so idyllic. Nothing like what it had been with Kid, and then after when he had prevented Ruby from seeing her own daughter.
Then the drawings grew darker. Maya had created them after she had been found in a warehouse where three of Kid’s gangers had been shot and killed. One of the men was helping to bring Kid down, and it was assumed the three were killed before they could talk.
Some of Maya’s drawings were of what appeared to be a warehouse. Others were of her home but were all in dark shades, with evil-looking faces in a window or peeking up over a bed, all drawn like a five-year-old’s rendition, cartoonish and sometimes difficult to decipher. Her therapist had used them in some of her sessions.
Maya became engrossed in the movie while Damon turned pages. He came to one that had the recurring theme of a warehouse, this one with stickmen holding Ls as if depicting a gun. One had red lines shooting out of it. Ruby had been enormously disturbed that her daughter had drawn images of men shooting guns.
“She drew these just after I got her back,” Ruby said. “It was when she was going through therapy. She never mentioned anything to the therapist.”
“What do you mean? These look like guns,” Damon said.
“They are, but Maya never elaborated on them. I don’t think she wanted to talk about what she saw that night the three men were killed.”
The next drawing was another warehouse, dark and foreboding from the mind of a troubled little girl, trouble her father had caused by merely being Kid Mercer. This one depicted more stickmen but had a table with what appeared to be a mound of guns. Maya had drawn what Ruby and the therapist had surmised was a puddle of blood under the table.
“I don’t like looking at these,” Ruby said. “I tried to take the book away from her, but she wouldn’t let me. She keeps saying she isn’t finished yet.” Her drawings had gotten much better since she had drawn these, and Maya didn’t go back to look at them. She only enjoyed drawing new pictures. Ruby thought it was remarkable that her daughter didn’t like waste. She had to draw on every page before getting a new book.
The next few pictures were of mounds of Ls, some big, some small. In one, there was more than one table.
“These piles of guns seem important,” Damon said. “It’s almost as if the shooting she saw in the warehouse triggered other memories of guns.”
Ruby leaned closer. Maya had drawn several piles of guns. In the next picture, the piles were accompanied by squares, possibly representing boxes.
Damon looked up at her. “Do you think Maya could have seen piles of guns and boxes of ammo?”
Ruby contemplated him. She did not want Maya involved in his investigation in any way. But if she had seen the guns and ammo...
“I suppose so.”
Damon glanced at Maya, who was still into her movie, then back at Ruby. “Look, I would never put Maya in any situation that would be dangerous or traumatize her in any way, but if she did see something, maybe she can tell us where.”
Ruby considered that, appreciating that he had addressed the possible impacts on Maya. She wasn’t sure what seeing these places again would do to her.
“Santiago will never know it was her who led us to it,” Dam
on said.
That was certainly a plus. If a man like Santiago discovered Maya had drawn pictures of a stockpile of guns, there was no telling what he would do to get the little girl to reveal the location. As far as he was concerned, Damon and Ruby were searching for the weapons. He would never know.
After weighing the consequences, Ruby nodded. “All right. Let’s ask her about these pictures.”
Damon touched Maya’s shoulder. She reluctantly turned from the television and looked at him.
He pointed to the piles of guns and then waited for her eyes to lift. Do you remember drawing these? he signed.
Maya looked down at the picture again, then at her mother, seeming suddenly withdrawn and uncertain.
It’s all right, Maya. You can tell him.
Maya turned to Damon and nodded.
Damon signed, Is it a real place?
Maya nodded. And lowered her head. Clearly she didn’t like thinking about this.
Ruby touched her chin. “It’s okay, Maya. You’re safe. Damon is just...” She signed curious.
Are all the places you drew real? Damon signed. You’ve been to them?
Maya nodded.
Did you see these guns? Damon asked.
Again, she nodded. Damon looked sharply at Ruby.
It’s what Daddy always had. And his friends, Maya signed.
Ruby pointed to one of the piles. Where did you see them? Maya didn’t seem as reluctant now, so Damon thought she was all right with talking about it.
Maya stared at it a while and then looked up at her mother. I don’t remember.
Okay. That’s okay. Thank you. You can watch your movie now.
Maya seemed glad to do just that, and soon she was absorbed in Tinker Bell’s latest adventure.
Damon stood, and Ruby went into the dining area with him, where he faced her. “This could be our ticket out of this mess.”
Ruby became agitated, her eyes worrying. “I hope you don’t mean Maya could be our ticket out of this mess.”
“No, of course not. But if she can recognize one of those buildings she drew, maybe we could find something.”
“But I thought those men were shot and killed in a warehouse. If the guns were there, wouldn’t Sean have found them?”
“Not if it’s a different warehouse.”
Maya had drawn different kinds of buildings. One looked like a warehouse and had been a recurring image. Others were just small rooms. Some even had childlike pictures hanging on the walls.
“The changing scenes tell me she was confused when she drew them, like she didn’t know much about the place where she saw the guns,” Ruby said.
“All right,” he said. “We’ll take this slowly. I don’t want to rush her into bad memories, but maybe we could take her to some places that might resemble her drawings, places Kid would have gone,” Damon said.
“All right. Let’s start by researching the places Kid went, and then maybe tomorrow we can drive around.”
“Okay.” Damon kissed her forehead. “I promise to put Maya first no matter what.” He looked over at the cute little girl with her single braid and honey-brown eyes.
Touched by the honesty she heard in his tone, Ruby took in his determined face and fell in love with him a little bit. Then an instant later, the notion of falling in love with him—or any man—frightened her.
Damon brought his laptop to the table, and Ruby sat next to him. He also had a notebook and pen, which he handed to her.
“Make a list of all the places you know of where Mercer went or might have gone,” he said.
“Well, here. The Foxhole.” She wrote that down.
“Santiago would have checked here already. The warehouse where Mercer’s men were murdered is out, too.”
“Okay.” Ruby thought for a moment. “His nightclub.”
“Santiago probably checked there, too,” Damon said.
“He had meeting space there, his own private quarters. Maybe there was some kind of secret entrance in the basement or something,” she said. “There’s also a large shipping dock there, with storage areas.”
“We can go there, just you and me. We don’t need Maya to see that place again. We can drop her off at January and Sean’s, whenever they’re available.”
Ruby smiled into his eyes. “You would make a really good dad.”
The words tumbled out before she thought better of it. He looked into her eyes, and she felt him warming with the words.
“You’re already a great mom,” he murmured, this time angling his head and kissing her mouth.
Although brief and chaste, it packed an electrical punch Ruby had not yet felt with him. She should be jumping off the chair and telling him to never do that again. Instead, she stayed in the heavenly sensation only he could produce.
“Uh...um...” Ruby stammered.
Damon wore a seductive grin and his eyes heated, obviously enjoying her awkward moment. He must know what she felt.
“K-Kid also had a storage unit he never let me or anyone see,” she said.
That statement cleared Damon’s face of passion.
Ruby wrote storage unit on the paper. “And then, of course, there’s his home.” She tapped the pen gently against her chin. “His closest drug dealer was killed by a rival gang. Maybe he stashed them at his house. His name is Michael Wallace, and he had a wife. She might still live there.”
“All right. Then, I’d have to find a way inside.”
“We can go visit her. She knows of me. I could distract her while you look around.”
“She wouldn’t know there was a bunch of guns stored in her house?” Damon asked. “Maybe not if he hid them somewhere.”
“I’ve never been to their house,” Ruby said.
“We’ll find it.”
“He also had mistresses,” Ruby said. “One of them might know where he put them, or have some ideas.”
“Wouldn’t Santiago already have spoken with them?” Damon asked.
“Maybe. And if he and his men searched, they didn’t find any guns.”
“Let’s assume Santiago has already spoken with everyone close to Kid. No one knows where the guns are, so we can also assume that wherever they are, Kid is the only one who knew.”
For the first time since finding out Kid’s true character, Ruby felt confident she’d be able to put him behind her once and for all. She would be rid of him. For real. She wouldn’t have to keep looking over her shoulder or always have it in the back of her mind that he—while he still lived—or one of his men would come after her. Kid and his men needed no good reason to take someone out. Even the slightest perception of disloyalty was enough to justify a kill.
And Damon would be the one to help her do that. She met his eyes, turning her head where they sat close at the table. She felt herself softening to him, knowing it could well be a big mistake. But would it be? What if he was right for her? What if he wasn’t?
She could not be wrong again.
* * *
Damon stepped into Kid’s nightclub, aptly named the Nightcrawler. Kid hadn’t broadcast his ownership of the club much. That had to be due to his use of it as a cover and a way to launder money. Decorated in bright colors beneath dim lighting, it smelled like stale alcohol. Tall tables filled most of the space, with a dance floor and stage centered toward the back. There was one long bar on the left and a smaller one on the right. There were few people here, as it was early.
“We aren’t open yet.” A dark-haired man appeared from a door beside the stage. “Frank didn’t lock the door back up when he came in.”
Frank must be an employee. Damon took out his badge. “I’m from the DEA. I was wondering if you’d mind if we took a look around.”
The man stopped before them. “What for?”
“Are you the manager?”
&n
bsp; “Nick Hansen. I’m the new owner.”
“Oh, good. I’m investigating Kid Mercer’s criminal activities. I need to have a look around.”
“I was told police already did that months ago.”
“I know. I just want to look again. It would really help our case against the gang members.”
“Sure. No problem. I can show you around.”
“We’ll be fine. Just appreciate you letting us take a look.” Damon gave a nod of appreciation, and he and Ruby walked farther into the club.
“The offices are up those stairs.” Ruby pointed to an L-shaped staircase.
Damon could see she didn’t like being here again. She led him into an anteroom where two sets of double doors were. One led to Kid’s old office.
“It used to be a lot gaudier,” Ruby said.
The space was large and had three desks and neon beer signs. A sofa was to the side.
“He had velvet sofas, and there were swords on the walls,” Ruby said, scoffing. “He thought he was so important.”
“This must be difficult for you,” Damon said.
Ruby walked around looking at the room. “It feels different now. Cleaner. Not evil.”
Seeing her at peace, Damon started searching for secret doorways. There was a bookshelf vacant of books but no hidden door.
He searched the rest of the office and then the conference rooms, now empty save one.
“I’ll take you to the basement.” Ruby led him to a doorway he already knew had stairs going down. He had planned on going there next. Kid must have had his own private passageway to the basement from here, probably to the club level as well.
It was a dark, narrow stairway, lit only by low-wattage bulbs spaced far apart. Damon wondered if Kid had gotten a rise out of that, especially when he’d led targeted enemies this way.
They passed a keypad-locked door that must provide entry to the club and descended farther. At another keypad entry, Damon checked the handle. The door opened.
He shared a look with Ruby. Apparently the new owner had nothing to hide the way Kid had.
Damon found himself in a well-lit storage area. This was where the club kept their supplies. There were crates and boxes everywhere. He imagined how it might have been when Kid ran the place. Not much different when it came to operations. What he looked for were hidden doors or safes or floor passages. He overturned rugs and moved items on shelves. There was nothing.
Colton 911: Temptation Undercover Page 12
