Darke Heat (17 page)

Well, isn’t this interesting.

Dane wondered if Colt recognized the two visitors: George Spencer and their Aunt Libby. They looked to be arguing and then seemed to come to some agreement and started searching for something. They went out to the shed and rummaged through, then made their way over to the kennel. They passed right by Colt without seeing him, but he could hear them.

“Libby, you better find it soon. These guys are breathing down my neck and I’m not taking the fall for any of you. “

“Shut up, George. I know Slater left it here somewhere.”

“I’ve been all over this property, Libby. Hell, I’ve searched every square inch. It’s not here, but if it is found, I’m rolling over on all of you. That German bastard will kill us all and then boot scoot out of the country, leaving us to all take the rap.”

“George, quit being a pain in the ass. The drugs are here. The shipment schedule is here. And soon we will be in the Caribbean.”

“Really, Libby? Or are you planning to double cross me? I’m thinking I’m close to getting caught with Willy’s operation and then having the dragon’s moving into the area. Things are getting too hot. We haven’t been able to find the list the Slaters had of their Detroit contacts,” George said.

“Should have never trusted the Slaters once they joined up with the Blades for the drug trades. It was a natural progression from the moonshine business. Now that the dragons are in town, they are killing people to take the lucrative operation away,” Libby replied while going through the shelving, pulling things down, and looking through them with the pen light.

“Old man Slater was going to cut me out, and work with the Blades without going through me,” he complained

“Who do you think they had kill Levi Hershey, the Dragon’s leader?” Libby asked.

“I’m thinking it’s Willy Schmidt, or one of his scumbags. Willy should have stuck with his dog fighting business and his stills and left the drug running to us, but it may be that Willy is looking to set himself up as a drug lord. I’d be better off cutting my losses and getting away from the Dragons, the Blades,
and
Willy. The man Willy’s working for out of Chicago is not someone I want to mess with. He’s a real bad ass. In fact, I’m done looking for this crap. I’ve got plenty of money saved up from doing this. I’m going to retire early and get the hell out of here.” He brushed his hands on his pants, and walked back to his car.

Colt wondered, only for a second, who the German was, but he was pretty sure he knew, and it wasn’t good. He needed to call in some major back up. They had to let these two go for now. There was a much bigger problem. He signaled for Dane and Blake to join him, and they made their way to the rendezvous point.

“Blake, what you just witnessed was George Spencer and our Aunt Libby. That woman is evil. She’s involved with what’s been going on around here, and so is George, but we need to get them on something besides trespassing,” Dane explained.

“It’s worse than that. They mentioned the German. My last case had to do with a German, and this man is an arms dealer for terrorists. I’ll need to call it in. It’s no longer a drug bust or dog fighting ring. This could be a terrorist deal as well,” Colt added.

Both Blake and Dane nodded in agreement. Jurisdiction just shifted again.

Paige couldn’t stand another minute of her own company. She couldn’t turn on the television without hearing about the explosion that flattened Bryce’s house. She needed to talk to someone or go crazy. And she didn’t dare talk to Bryce about what she was feeling. She might say something that would reveal how she felt about him.

The hospital room door whooshed open and Paige glanced up as Emma rushed in carrying a huge bouquet of carnations.

“Hi, Paige. How are you feeling? I heard about the fire last night and got someone to cover for me so I could come and see you.”

Emma was talking so fast, she was out of breath, but it was so good to see her. She loved tenderhearted Emma. She was such a gentle soul.

“Emma, thank you for coming. I was going out of mind. I feel okay, but they wanted to keep me overnight.”

Emma placed the bouquet of carnations on the windowsill.

“Thank you for the flowers. They’re my favorite.”

“I remember,” she said with a smile. “So how is Bryce?”

“He sustained more serious injuries that required surgery and stitches, so he’ll be a little slower recovering, but he’s good. Emma, I want you to know Dane is home. He and Colt arrived today. I thought I’d tell you so you could prepare yourself ahead of time, in case you run into him.”

“Oh, thanks for letting me know. I’d like to think I’ve gotten over that schoolgirl crush. It’s been six years since I’ve seen him, so we’ll see.”

“I still remember us talking all night when I’d sleep over, about whom we’d marry and how you would be my sister. I still hold out hope, but I know we’ve all gone in different directions.”

“Yeah, but how is it between you and Bryce?” Emma asked.

Paige saw through her friend’s ploy to change the subject, but didn’t say anything. She understood what it was like to have an unrequited love. It sucked, and you really didn’t want to elaborate on it.

“He seems different. We seem to be dancing around a lot of issues. He wants to know more about the past, but I know there is nothing but pain in dredging it up, and trying to analyze it. We were all kids, trying to do the best we could. We made mistakes, and that has to be the end of it. Sometimes I want so badly to tell him the truth, but to what profit…to make myself look good at the expense of his peace of mind?

“I know, Paige. I’m with you. I don’t have any clearer answers than I did before,” she said with a self-depreciating smile.

“I, for one, am ready to get out of here,” Paige proclaimed into the silence.

“When are they letting you go?”

“Later this afternoon, I hope. Do you think you could give me a ride to my house? That way my brothers don’t have to make another trip back out here. I’ll let Bryce know he can stay with us as soon as they release him. Yes, I know. I’m a glutton for punishment, but they blew up the house he was living in.”

“How will your house be any safer? They could blow it up as well.”

“True, but they weren’t thinking about my brothers being home. They went back to the house this morning. I’m thinking it’s tighter than the Whitehouse on lock down by now, and probably booby-trapped to boot.”

“Oh, I forgot how much training they must have received in the military. I bet they’re really good at protecting their turf. It’s not been the same around here. There are people doing bad things for money and drugs, and it has something to do with Willy Schmidt and some crime boss he’s working for. I don’t know all the details, but he’s been running around with a lot of money and he’s getting bolder about harassing people. None of the police seem to take the threats seriously.”

“I think Bryce will. He seems mighty put out by all the violence, and you know my brothers are going to be staying here for a while,” she said, watching to see what reaction Emma would have. And she wasn’t disappointed. She looked both hopeful and resigned at the same time. Paige knew exactly how she felt. This time, however, Paige was going to help her brother and her friend find a happy ending. “Can you pick me up at three today, Emma?”

“Sure, Paige. Do you need anything until then?”

“Nope, I’m good.”

“I’ll be back,” Emma said as she left the room and headed down the hall.

By three o’clock, Paige was climbing the walls. She had things to do and dogs to take care of. By the time Emma showed up, she was more than ready to leave.

“The nurse left the wheelchair here. I’m not allowed to walk out. Do you believe it? Can you wheel me down to Bryce’s room, so I can tell him he can stay at my place once they release him?”

“Sure, it’s on the way to the elevator.”

Emma parked the wheelchair beside Bryce’s door and Paige knocked.

“Come in,” was the gruff reply.

“Hi, Bryce,” Emma said.

“Hello, Emma,” he said in a more mellow tone.

“Hi, Bryce. Seeing as how your house blew up, I was wondering if you’d like to stay at my house, with my brothers and me, once they release you?” Paige said in a nervous rush.

Bryce sat propped up in the bed, staring at her, and noticed the high color as if she was nervous or embarrassed.
Interesting.
She was jittery about him being in the same house as her. Hmm. It would suit him just fine. He could keep up the investigation, help protect Paige, and pursue the other things that he’d been thinking about lately that had him finding it hard to sleep at night. Yep, staying with her was the perfect solution.

“Thanks, Paige. I think that would be good,” he said with a slow smile.

“Okay, well, once you know when you’ll be leaving, call the house and one of us will be out to pick you up.”

“Will do.”

Emma said goodbye and gave him a peck on the cheek, then turned Paige’s wheelchair around and left. Bryce sat there with a very satisfied grin on his face. He was looking forward to sparring with Paige on her home turf. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was trying to ignore their attraction. But the nights they’d spent together were still between them. He wanted another chance to make love to her, whether he was her ‘type’ or not.

Emma pulled her truck up to the house and got out to assist Paige. Before she could get to her, the door to the house swung open and Emma looked up and started. She knew he was going to be here. She thought she’d prepared herself, but really, short of having a lobotomy, nothing would prepare her for the impact of Dane Conner on her system. She stood there drinking in the sight of the man. He was walking toward Paige, shirtless, and just a pair of jeans hanging low on his hips. Her heart galloped off. She was once again devastated to realize that the only man for her was so out of her league, she was like a bug. It hurt so deep, she cringed at her own weakness.
Get a backbone, Emma,
she scolded herself. She straightened her shoulders and walked over to him and Paige. She wasn’t a child anymore. Just because she couldn’t have the man she wanted, didn’t mean she wasn’t without her own self-worth. She plastered a smile on her face and approached with what she hoped was a serene expression. Dane looked up when he saw her come around the back of the truck and stared at her.

“Hi, Dane, I’m glad you and Colt are back,” she said, without any tremor in her voice.

“Emma?” He said her name as a question.

“Yeah, I gave Paige a ride home. I checked up on her when I heard what happened and she asked if I could give her a lift.”

“Thanks.” He still looked at her with an intensity that was making her nervous.

“Emma, why don’t you come in so I can show you what I’ve done with the place,” Paige said.

“Can I take a rain check, Paige? I need to get back to the store.”

“Sure, Emma, you’re welcome anytime.” Paige’s smile was soft and understanding. Emma needed to get going while she was still holding herself together.

She passed Dane as she walked back around the truck. Paige walked up the steps to the house and went in. Dane was still watching Emma as she got into the truck. The start of the motor seemed to remind him of something and he walked over to the window before she could put it in gear.

“Emma, how are you?” he asked.

“I’m good. How are you?” she inquired. Though her insides were in knots, she was working hard to act as if this was nothing special. It was the first conversation they’d had since the night he’d left to go into the military.

“I see you haven’t married. Why is that?” he asked in a casual tone.

“Who says I haven’t?” she responded with a snap.

“I would’ve heard if you had.” He looked at her with heat in his eyes.

It was years too late to rekindle a fire that had burned out a long time ago. If he wanted to start something up again, then it would be on her terms. She wasn’t going to be the one left with broken dreams and promises this time around. Maybe she’d just needed to see him to finally realize she was worthy of being loved by someone who would appreciate her.

“It was nice seeing you again. I’m glad you’re here for Paige.”

“Emma, I’m here for more than just Paige,” he said with a dark look.

“I’ve got to go.” She didn’t really know what to make of his remark, but for sure she wasn’t going to read anything into it. No more believing in rainbows for her. She’d gotten burned badly the last time. This time it would be irreparable. She reversed the truck and headed down the drive without looking back.

The inside of the house was coming along nicely. Even with all the activity, she could see that her brothers were working with Bill and his crew to finish the repairs. The dogs had been moved back from Shelby’s place and Jamie was on hand taking care of them, for which Paige would be ever thankful. She noticed some of the new security features her brothers had installed. Motion lights, sensors, alarms, and shiny new locks on all the doors and windows.