Reyes’s Raina

by Dale Mayer

  He thought about it and then nodded. “Maybe they’re at Reana’s brownstone.”

  Ice’s eyes lit with understanding. “Follow me,” she said, “and we’ll contact the law on our way.”

  “I’ll bring Raina,” he said. “I don’t know what shape Jenny is in.”

  Ice, almost ready to walk out the front door, turned back to look at him. “Do you think Jenny killed Reana?”

  He wasn’t surprised at the question. He’d had to consider it himself. Reyes answered honestly, “I have no idea. But she’s certainly capable of it—everyone is. Particularly when it comes to love and passion.”

  On that note, Ice pivoted and walked out. Reyes turned to see Raina racing toward him. He held out his hand. She grabbed it, and he tucked her close and walked to the Jeep, explaining as they went.

  “We’re taking a hell of a chance that they’re there,” she noted. “We were just there ourselves.”

  “Sure,” Reyes said. “But it’s the one place we know to look for her. For all we know, they could have gone down to the beach. Maybe they were having lunch somewhere.”

  “Do you think Jenny killed Reana?” Her words echoed Ice’s.

  “No clue,” he said, his tone hard. “For all I know, Jamie and Jenny were both in love with the same woman.”

  At that, Raina shut up in shocked silence.

  Chapter 17

  Raina hadn’t considered that Jamie might also be in love with Reana. But, given Reana’s history, it was quite possible. Raina would hope not. But it was anybody’s guess. They were about fifteen minutes away with the traffic heavy. Ice drove ahead of them.

  Raina glanced at Reyes. “Who’s calling the detective?”

  “I let Ice do it. She has more pull than I do.” He gave Raina a crooked grin. “I was told to stay away.”

  “Sure, but you know how quickly the detectives will mobilize.”

  “You mean, how quickly they won’t mobilize,” he said. “They’re sending in a black-and-white to Jaime’s residence, his place of business and to the brownstone. But they won’t get there fast enough. So we’ll check it out. And, if we need to, we can always call them in for backup.”

  She shook her head. “I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that we should be calling for backup now,” she said.

  “In this case, we have something much better.”

  She glanced at him. “What?”

  “Not what,” he said. “Who. You haven’t seen anyone in action until you’ve seen Ice move.”

  Just then his phone rang. He propped it up on the dash and hit Speaker, “Ice, what’s up?”

  “Both vehicles are here,” she said. “I’ve called Detective Burgess. You come around to the back and approach quietly. Make sure Raina stays in the vehicle.”

  Raina protested.

  “Unless you’re armed and ready for physical combat,” Ice said, her voice hard, “you stay in the vehicle, and you stay hidden. Do you hear me?”

  Raina winced. “Yes, ma’am.” There was a bite to her tone.

  At that, Ice chuckled. “Good. Glad to hear it.” She hung up.

  Raina stared at Reyes. “She’s really a commander, isn’t she?”

  “You have no idea,” he said. He followed Ice’s instructions, pulling into the back alley, up against the fence. He took his keys, pocketed them, grabbed his cell phone and said, “Don’t move.” Then he reached across and pulled a handgun from the glove box.

  She stared at it.

  He just gave her a bland look. “Yes, I have a license.” And then, just like that, he was gone.

  She’d been ordered to stay. But it was pretty damn hard when she wouldn’t know what was going on. She also didn’t want to get caught in a vehicle by anybody running away.

  On that thought, she hopped out and walked about ten to twenty feet, trying to peer through knotholes in the fence. All she could see was the neighbor’s yard. Every one of these places had long narrow backyards, like little perfect rectangles. She went farther, looking for a knothole that would reveal her sister’s backyard. There was one about two feet up from the ground. She bent, trying to see. It was hard though. She saw Reyes racing toward the back door, sliding along the fence. If she hadn’t been looking for him, she didn’t think she’d have seen him. And then suddenly he was at the kitchen door, peering in through the window of the door. Whatever he saw had him pulling out his handgun. All of a sudden he kicked down the door and entered.

  *

  “Stop,” he roared as he faced Jamie over his sister’s body on the floor. “Put that weapon down.”

  And, sure enough, Jamie held the gun against his own sister. And that’s when another truth came home. Their features were so similar, as in not just siblings but maybe twins?

  And then Reyes knew for sure. “You loved her too, didn’t you?”

  Jamie wasn’t willing to give an inch. His sister sobbed as she lay on the floor. “I love my sister,” he said sarcastically. “Of course I do.”

  “But you loved Reana too, didn’t you?” Reyes didn’t know where Ice was, but he sure as hell hoped she was coming through the front door right now because he’d entered without backup. Rule number one was to let the rest of your team know your actions. But, once he’d seen Jamie put the gun against Jenny’s head, Reyes had to act.

  “Yes,” Jamie said defiantly. His hand was steady, his trigger finger shifting ever-so-slightly.

  “Don’t do it,” Reyes said. “You might have loved the same woman, but that’s no reason to hurt your sister.”

  “If it hadn’t been for her, Reana would be with me.”

  “And, if it hadn’t been for you,” Jenny said with spirit, looking up at her brother, “she’d be with me today.”

  Jamie sneered. “All she needed was a good man. That’s the way things should be. It’s the natural order of things.”

  Reyes shook his head. “You just don’t get it, do you? It had nothing to do with sex. It had everything to do with love. And she loved your sister. She didn’t love you.”

  Jamie’s temper rose, and the look in his eyes turned glacial.

  Slowly, ever-so-slowly, Reyes started to pull the trigger on his gun. “You do not want to fire that gun,” he said. “Because I’ll take you out, and I won’t miss.”

  Jamie laughed. “I don’t give a shit. Reana is gone. I killed her. I didn’t want to. But the stupid bitch laughed at me. She told me how much she loved my sister and how much she hated me. She used me,” he cried out passionately. “You know what that’s like?”

  Inside Reyes winced because he did know exactly what that was like.

  “I would have driven her to my sister’s place, so she’d be the one to find Reana’s body, then couldn’t take the chance after a cop drove past, looking at me. I dumped Reana in her vehicle behind a coffee shop and hoofed it back to my car.”

  Reyes was also delighted that Jamie hadn’t followed through on that plan. Such a discovery would only have added to Jenny’s pain. “I do know what it is like to be one of Reana’s rejects,” he said. “I was her fiancé a couple years ago.”

  Jamie narrowed his gaze at him. “You?” he asked, his tone incredulous.

  Reyes deliberately didn’t let him get his goat. “Yeah, me,” he said in a conversational tone.

  “No way.” Jamie seemed to consider it, then shook his head. “Even if you were, she didn’t care. It’s her sister she kept trying to call while I toyed with her. I let her think she’d get a call through, then stopped it. Would hit Redial in front of Reana’s face, then shut it off. She knew I was serious. And I was—fucking serious.” His voice rose with anger as he contemplated his sister. “She didn’t call you. So you see? Reana didn’t love you. She loved me.”

  Behind Jamie, Reyes saw Ice motioning on the floor at Jenny. Finally Jenny saw her. She turned her head and frowned. Reyes wasn’t sure exactly what instructions Ice was trying to give to Jenny. Reyes didn’t dare take his gaze off the man holding the gun.

&n
bsp; “I’m sorry you killed her,” Reyes said. “Reana was finally coming into herself. Finally understanding who and what she wanted.”

  “She was a fucking lesbo,” Jamie said. “Just look at my sister. You know what it’s like growing up with a twin, knowing exactly what each other is thinking and doing? And then to see that her sexual orientation was so twisted?”

  “Why did you care?” Reyes said. “Reana and Jenny were happy together. Nothing else mattered.”

  “Sure it matters,” Jamie said. “It matters to me.” And he smiled and tightened his trigger finger, his gaze strong and never leaving Reyes’s.

  Reyes’s response was immediate. He took one shot, and he didn’t miss.

  As Jamie fell to the floor, Jenny burst out crying. Ice was suddenly at her side. Ice and Reyes exchanged hard looks, whereas Jenny was a balled-up mess, sobbing as she crawled to her brother. She turned to look up at Reyes. “Did you have to kill him?”

  “Yes,” Ice said firmly. “If not him, it would have been you killed by your own brother.”

  Jenny nodded and collapsed into Ice’s arms. Reyes noted Raina looking in the kitchen window. He walked over to the kitchen door, opened it and snapped at her, “You were supposed to stay in the vehicle.”

  She shrugged and stepped into his arms. “I saw you busting in the door, and I knew things would get ugly.”

  “What would you do about it?” he asked in outrage.

  She leaned back and looked at him. “I don’t know what I would have done, but I would have done something. So, if you’re done yelling at me, I suggest you get something to cover up this piece of shit on the floor and call an ambulance for Jenny. She’ll need some help.”

  The two of them glared at each other for a moment, until Reyes just chuckled, held her tight and then kissed her hard and passionately.

  When the hot and heavy kiss ended, she sagged against him, while he pulled out his phone and called the detective.

  As soon as the detective answered, Reyes said, “Send an ambulance. Reana’s killer is dead, and his twin sister has been beaten.”

  “Did you kill him?” The detective’s voice rose.

  “Absolutely,” Reyes said. “It was either that or let him kill his sister. He was doing exactly the same thing he’d done to Reana. He’d beaten Jenny up first and was standing there, holding a gun to her head.”

  “Don’t you move,” the detective said. “I’ll be there in twenty.”

  “No hurry now,” Reyes said. “The danger is over. Now there’s just a hell of a lot of healing that needs to take place.”

  Chapter 18

  It was late in the afternoon when Ice led Reyes and Raina into her father’s house. Raina stopped and stared. “This is stunning. And to think Reyes spent the night at my place on a small couch last night,” she joked.

  Reyes wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissed her hard and said, “Well, tonight you can stay here with me.”

  “I’m so exhausted,” she said. “I’m almost ready for bed now.”

  In front of her stood a man with silver hair in a distinguished suit, smiling at them. “Hopefully you can make it through another hour or two. We’re just getting dinner ready. And we’re about to open a bottle of wine. Time to relax, eat and then you can rest, my dear.”

  She smiled, stepped forward and tried to shake his hand. But he wouldn’t have anything to do with it.

  He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so sorry for the horrible couple days you’ve had.”

  Tears coming to her eyes, she stepped back and smiled at him. “Isn’t that the truth? I hope to never again experience such a terrible time.”

  They were led into a massive kitchen, where another man puttered around. She was introduced to him and then a glass of red wine was put in her hand, and she was led outside beside a pool and what appeared to be huge palm trees. She wandered the garden, trying to let the stress drop off her. Reyes, as always, was there, walking quietly at her side.

  “Are you still okay to stay for a few days?” she murmured.

  “I am,” he said. “We’ll take care of the final duties to your mother and sister, and we might have to help Jenny with Jamie.”

  Raina winced at that. But she understood Jenny would have a hard time burying her twin too. “Hopefully she has family still.”

  “We’ll check,” he said. They walked to the end of the garden out of earshot from the others. He stopped and turned her to face him. “And then I want you to think about something else.”

  She looked up at him. “What?”

  “I want you to consider returning to Texas with me.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

  “I’m very serious,” he said. “Nothing is left for you here. It’s a clean start—in Texas, with me. I don’t know what you want to do with your life, but I know Ice could certainly use some help with all the transplanting.”

  That startled a laugh out of her. “Wow. I hadn’t expected that.” And she hadn’t, but she’d certainly hoped maybe something like that could happen down the road. “Isn’t it too fast?” she asked with a bit of worry.

  “No,” he said, “it isn’t. We’ve had this coming for a long time.”

  She smiled and kissed him gently on the lips. “You have to ask Ice’s permission.”

  He chuckled. “I already have.”

  Raina smiled at Ice.

  Ice lifted her glass of wine, as if in cheers.

  And Raina realized Ice really did approve. “Are you sure?” she fiercely asked Reyes. “Because, when you say, yes, you can’t take it back.”

  He chuckled. “I have no intention of taking anything back,” he whispered. He tilted her chin and kissed her gently. “That’s a kiss of promise. We’ll handle everything here as much as we can. I can’t stay away too long, but we have several full days to get through here. Then I want you to take that leap of faith and come live with me in Texas. Together we’ll grow and learn and build a future for just us. Leave all this pain behind so we can both live in the sunshine.”

  She smiled up at him mistily. “I haven’t heard a better proposition ever in my life.”

  He chuckled. “Let’s just hope that’s the only one you ever hear.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her gently into his arms. “It’ll be good,” he whispered. “You’ll see.”

  She tilted her head back and whispered, “I already know. It won’t be just good. It’ll be great.”

  Epilogue

  Dezi Arnett couldn’t wait for Ice to show up. She’d flown into the Houston airport about an hour ago. They’d sent several trucks to help offload the plain. One truck had already arrived at the compound, driven by Anders, while Harrison followed in the company vehicle. Everybody on hand at the compound helped to unload the first truck, knowing a second was due any moment at the compound with even more plants. Driving this final load would be Reyes, accompanied by Ice, Vince, and Reyes’s new girlfriend, Raina. Dezi had been teasing Reyes by text ever since finding out the news.

  When the second truck finally pulled into the gate, Dezi stopped and stared as the people exited. Raina’s auburn hair was in long waves, reaching her midback. She was slim, a hint of freckles across her peaches-and-cream skin. She never looked at anyone but Reyes. Dezi stopped and stared, shaking his head.

  Stone walked up and nudged him. “You’re next,” he said with a fat grin.

  Dezi shook his head. “If you could find me another one of those, hell yes,” he said fervently. “But I never seem to find them myself.” There was real sorrow in his voice. “Reyes said it wouldn’t happen for him, but …”

  “Yeah. You see? He went with Ice. That’s a guarantee it’ll happen. So the next time Ice is looking for a volunteer to go on a mission, you might want to be the one who steps up to the plate.”

  Dezi tossed Stone a look. “Yeah, but she travels all over the world. You don’t find girls like this everywhere.”

  Stone’s grin flashed. “No, but Ice knows ho
w to find the diamonds in the world. She may have had to go to California for Reyes to find his, but you can bet one’s out there for you too.”

  Dezi shook his head. “Hell no. All I ever see is a lot of uncut gems or really high rollers who need fancy settings to keep them happy.”

  At that, Stone laughed. “That’s pretty funny,” he said. “But ye of little faith don’t understand the magic that’s Levi and Ice.”

  “Oh, I see the magic,” Dezi said. “I see it all the time. With every frickin’ one of you.”

  “Sure,” Stone said, “and you’re the next one to find it.”

  Just then Dezi watched as Vince got out of the vehicle behind Reyes and Raina. The three were laughing. “I see Ice decided to hire Vince too?”

  “Absolutely,” Stone said. “We’re always shorthanded. You know that.”

  “Yeah. You see though,” Dezi said with a fat grin, “Vince is single.”

  Stone turned to look at the new arrival with an assessing gaze. “Ice will hook him up in no time too.”

  “He’ll be next,” Dezi said. “Not me. I don’t have that kind of luck.”

  Stone laughed. “You don’t understand,” he said. “Luck has nothing to do with it. It’s all about Ice. Don’t you worry, Dezi. She’ll find a diamond just for you.”

  But Dezi wasn’t convinced. Still, he looked at Reyes and Raina coming toward him. Dezi wondered if that kind of love was possible for him.

  This concludes Book 17 of Heroes for Hire: Reyes’s Raina.

  Read about Dezi’s Diamond: Heroes for Hire, Book 18

  Heroes for Hire: Dezi’s Diamond (Book #18)

  When opposites attract… anything can happen…

  Dezi was a plain-and-simple type of guy. He loved working for Levi’s company and had enjoyed the jobs he’d been given so far. When a businesswoman contacted Ice over, well, ice, … things got interesting.