Home Is Where the Heart Is (13 page)

Kyra stopped dead in her tracks, quickly glancing behind them before entering the bedroom to see if Dylan was near enough to overhear. Sure enough, he was staring straight at her with a huge smile on his face as big as all of Texas, with a hungry look in his eyes that sent a chill through her. Embarrassment wrapped its arms around her so tight she could scarcely breathe. Damn the things he could do to her with a simple look. She was totally screwed and falling hard. Hard and fast.

Paula was a woman of many words and she rarely kept her opinion to herself. It was one of the things Kyra truly found delightful about her… but right now, she was so upset that Paula had said anything like that in hearing distance of Dylan. If he should ask questions about what she said, how should she respond? Shaking off the newest dilemma in her life, she turned to her friend.

“Here’s our room. I’ll move some of my things out of the way so you can get settled.” They entered the bedroom and Kyra quickly closed the door. “God Paula, why did you have to say
that
so he could hear you?”

Paula shook her head, a knowing smile on her face. “Kyra, that man has been giving you the eye since we stepped into the living room. It’s written all over his face. Can’t you see it? He wants you just as bad as you want him!”

“No… he doesn’t. What if he just wants to have a fling while I’m in town? He’s so far out of my league. A girl like me would never be good enough. What happened between us is temporary. I may want more, but my life is in Houston now. You know that. It would never work out.”

“Kyra, you have to tell him how you feel. If he feels the same way, you’ll know. If not, then you come back to Houston and start dating. You’ve waited long enough! Enjoy your time with him and see where it goes. No regrets, honey. Mr. Dreamy in there might surprise you.” She gave Kyra a hug. “Now… what’s for dinner? I’m starving”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Just up the road from Dylan’s house, Harley turned her car onto an old dirt road that was almost completely overgrown. She had been watching Dylan and Kyra for days now, trying to decide how or what she should do. The more she watched them together, the more the anger grew within her. It was like a starving beast waiting to be fed.

A snarled smile crept over her lips as she envisioned Kyra being devoured like prey, with Dylan crawling back to her on his hands and knees. She had set up a tent in the woods just on the edge of his property, allowing her a clear view of the house. She had even ventured up to the house a few times, peeking into the windows. Seeing Dylan’s body wrapped so tightly around Kyra on the couch had tipped the scales of her sanity. Every light touch and soft kiss they shared drove her to distraction. After parking the car, she gathered her things, realizing she had forgotten her flashlight. “Damn it to hell!” she grumbled in frustration.

She leaned across the seat to open her glove compartment and retrieve a small flashlight she had kept for emergencies, hoping the batteries were still good. The compartment popped open and Harley quick pulled her hand away. “Holy crap! What the… where did THAT come from?”

A gun lay before her, sitting on top of insurance papers, car title, and the flashlight she had been looking for. She had never owned a gun, and had no clue how it got in her car.

She sat staring at it, thoughts beginning to race through her mind like rush hour traffic. Finding the gun only added fuel to a flaming fire. Now she had the means to carry out a plan. She didn’t know whose gun it was or how it got in her car, but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She picked up the gun, almost caressing it like a newborn child, her head snapping up, eyes glazing over as she looked through the trees in the direction of Dylan’s house.

The dome light of her car shimmered on the barrel, causing her pulse to speed up. She felt strong holding it, feeling as though she could have anything she wanted, or better yet, do anything she wanted. After running her fingers down the barrel, she grasped the handle of the gun, enjoying the feel of its power in her grasp. She put the answer to her prayers back where she found it. Her hand lay still over the clasp of the glove compartment as she battled between acting now and acting later. A few minutes later, decision made, she slipped from her car and headed to the tent in the woods.

“How can I use my new toy to my advantage?” Harley mumbled as she walked. Her thoughts were wild and venomous. Images of shooting Kyra flipped maniacally through her mind’s eye, tempting her to do despicable things; things she’d never come back from. All of them leaving Kyra in a puddle of blood… just like her parents. Dylan would be heart-broken. Fortunately for him, Harley would be right there, ready to comfort him in his time of need.

By the time she made it to the tent, the sun was beginning to set. She noticed another car in the driveway and instantly wondered who it belonged to. Dylan stepped out onto the porch seconds later, with Kyra and another woman joining him. Harley hadn’t seen this new woman before, but it wouldn’t be long before everyone in town knew who she was. Finding out more about her would be easy enough.

With binoculars in hand, she watched them eat dinner on the patio and talk amongst themselves for hours. She wanted to hear what they were saying but slipping from her hiding spot wouldn’t be smart. She’d have to wait. The time would come to enact her revenge and remove Kyra from the picture.

Dylan disappeared inside, leaving the women alone. Harley had just considered moving from her hiding place to get the gun she found when he stepped back out onto the patio with a bottle of wine in his hand. Her thoughts turned darker than ever before as he poured each of the women a glass before pouring one if his own. She remembered him doing that for her and desperately wanted to go back to that time. If only she could have another chance, a much-needed do over. She would make sure everything was perfect.

No cheating.

No more mistakes.

No more false smiles.

No more late night at the bar.

She’d give him everything.

He’d love her as much as she loved him before everything went to shit. Regrets? So many fucking regrets.

As she sat in the bushes, she felt a drop of rain land on her arm and decided to give up her watch for the night. She could think about her next move from the comfort of her home. An idea would come to her; she just knew it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Across town, Ty was pulling the cruiser into the parking lot of Skells Bar, looking for his partner. McAllen’s car was in its usual spot. No surprise there. “Some things never change,” Ty muttered to himself.

There wasn’t much a cop dreaded doing, but bringing in another cop – especially your own partner – was at the top of the list. He slowly made his way to the door, wondering with each step how he should approach McAllen. His partner had been a cop for years. He hoped and prayed that McAllen didn’t try to pull a fast one on him.

Another thing a cop dreaded most was having to pull out his gun... on his partner… in a bar filled with innocent bystanders and off-duty cops. The mere thought of pulling his gun on his own partner sent panic radiating through him, tensing every muscle in his body. When he stepped into the bar he saw McAllen right away. He was sitting at the bar. Alone. Ty sat down on the stool next to him, deciding it was best to handle this situation with kid gloves.

“Are we celebrating something or what?” Ty asked. No response. From the looks of it, McAllen hadn’t pried himself off the stool long enough to shower or change clothes in quite some time. He smelt as bad as he looked. A bottle of Patron sat next to a lone shot glass. There wasn’t much tequila left in the bottle.

McAllen reached for the bottle of Patron and poured another shot. “I’d ask why you’re here, but I’m pretty sure I already know.” He downed his shot.

“Did you do it? If you say you didn’t then…” Ty stopped short when McAllen turned to face him. His partner didn’t need to answer him. The answer was clear by the look on his face, the look in his eyes. He had done it. He had stabbed that poor woman and left her for dead.

McAllen saw the realization, the acceptance of the truth on Ty’s face. He nodded. “Guess you better take me in then. Just let me finish this bottle before we go. Can you do that?”

“Sure man. We can do that.” Ty was confused. He had worried McAllen would try to deny it, or worse, pull his gun and not go down without a fight. This quiet surrender was odd. “Why didn’t you just turn yourself in?” he asked. “You had a chance to run but you didn’t. Why just sit here and wait?”

“I’ve been mixed up in some bad shit for a while now. No way out,” McAllen said. “I didn’t mean to… harm her… to kill her. Wasn’t supposed to happen like that. I snapped, man, and my anger got the better of me. It’s not an excuse. There’s never an excuse good enough for that. I did it, and I deserve what’s coming. I was a good cop once, Ty. Don’t let them get you like they got me.” He drained the last of the tequila from the bottle.

“No need for the cuffs?” Ty asked.

McAllen shook his head. “I won’t be fighting you on this. Just take me in. I’m a dead man walking anyway.”

The two men walked out of the bar, neither saying a word. Ty opened the back door of the cruiser and watched his partner climb into the back as a criminal. The sight of this broken cop was enough to shatter a man like glass. They rode in complete silence all the way to the precinct. There was nothing left to say. They weren’t partners anymore. That time was behind them.

McAllen had crossed the line when he entered the Michaels house that day. Nobody could turn back the hands of time or change what happened. Now it was time to face the music.

Ty parked the cruiser in the drop-off bay behind the station where they unloaded criminals for processing. He opened the back door, waited for McAllen to get out, and put the cuffs on his wrists. “You’re only here for questioning, but I have no choice but to cuff you.”

“I know the drill. Let’s get this over with.”

When they walked into the processing area, every cop in the place stood frozen in place. This was something that had never happened in Sizzle. Ty knew he had to call Dylan as soon as he got a chance to tell him the news. He’d be happy to know the man responsible was behind bars.

Ty escorted his former partner into an interrogation room, chained the man to the table in the middle of the room, and left him alone. As he walked across the main room, a few officers giving him a look of disdain that he didn’t understand. Shouldn’t they be happy that a murderer was caught? That a crooked cop was off the street? He ignored the looks and headed for the chief’s office to give an update. “Chief Fox, McAllen is in interrogation. Do you want to question him or should I?”

“You take the lead on this one, James,” Chief Fox said. “You were his partner so he might be more willing to talk with you. Keep me in the loop, though. Since McAllen’s a fellow officer, we’ll want to stay on top of this. The media will have a party with this one so let’s see that everything is by the book.”

“Yes, sir! I think I’ll let him sit for a little while and sober up. He was at Skells, killing a bottle of Patron when I picked him up. He’s hammered.”

While McAllen was sobering up a little, Ty slipped out to the parking lot and gave Dylan a call. “Dylan. It’s Ty. I have some good news for you. I picked up McAllen at Skells. He’s in an interrogation room right now, sobering up a bit, but he confessed to killing Mrs. Michaels.”

“That’s damn good news,” Dylan said. “Kyra will be glad to hear that he’s behind bars. Keep me in the loop, okay?”

“I’ll call after the interrogation is complete. He’s not fighting anything. He confessed to the stabbing before we even left the bar. I think there’s more to it, though. Hopefully, he’ll spill.”

“Good luck,” Dylan said. “I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes tonight.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Once Dylan ended the call, he headed to the patio to share the news with Kyra and Paula. If they were lucky, the case would be wrapped up soon. He didn’t know what Kyra’s plans were, and he didn’t dare ask at this point. He only hoped that she wouldn’t leave for Houston right away. When he stepped out onto the patio, the girls were laughing and having a great time. He hated to end such a perfect night by bringing up the death of her mother, but she would want to know. “Ty called.”

Kyra sat up straight, the smile that graced her face falling away instantly. “What did he say?”

“He picked up McAllen. They’re interrogating him as we speak. He promised to keep me informed.

“That’s great. What happens now?” Kyra asked hesitantly.

“They’ll question him. Find out what happened and why. Ty said McAllen isn’t fighting it. He’s already confessed to… he confessed about your mom.” He placed his hand on Kyra’s shoulder.

“This is crazy,” Paula said, shocked by the information Dylan shared. “I can’t believe a cop did that.”

“There’s a good many dirty cops on the force in Sizzle. Jake and I couldn’t stand it anymore so we bowed out and started the detective agency,” Dylan said as he refilled his wine glass. “There are still some damn good cops in the department. Ty’s a great example of that. Now we wait to see what he learns from McAllen.” He didn’t mention how much pull the dirty cops had on the outcome of the case. He wondered if Ty could handle it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Ty hadn’t been with the Sizzle police department for very long so a lot of the officers didn’t trust him just yet. That didn’t bother him. They shouldn’t trust him. He had been placed within the department as an undercover agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation about six months ago, after receiving reports from confidential informants that the department was on the take and several city officials were involved.

When the case broke open, the town would get an overhaul that just might put it back on track. The fact that two upstanding members of the community had lost their lives weighed heavily on Ty, along with the fact that at least one of those murders had been committed by the man he’d been working with.