Jump The Line (Toein' The Line Book 1) (41 page)

Chapter 36

My body feels sweetly ravaged in places I had no idea it could, in places
I’
d no idea I had! 
I’
ve never made love like that, never felt like this. 
I’
m still aching in the tenderest spots.  When Aidan and I finally stopped, I wanted to keep feeling the way he made me feel, but he fell asleep. 

“
Exhausted, and happily so
,”
he said, giving me a final lick on both cheeks before conking out. 

I could
n’
t sleep, so I came outside to think.  Trying to absorb what last night means, I think about the way he touched my foot, my scars, pulled me to hi
m—
over and over. 
My feelings are running amuck, and I like it.
 

But should I feel safe?  Should I trust him?  Is this how love-at-first-sight works?  You meet a guy, have an instant, unexplainable physical attraction to him, let him fuck your brains out, and then yo
u’
re in love?

I do
n’
t know if
I’
m in lov
e—
for sur
e—
but
I’
m in trouble and feeling more emotionally vulnerable than
I’
ve ever been in my life.

Watching dawn slink into the sky like a scruffy coyote, I shake my confusing thoughts.  I
t’
s morning, time for a reality check.  Robi
n’
s been missing several days, so I need to try to make contact with my punkass brother today, no matter what.  If I ca
n’
t locate him,
I’
m going to call the cops and report him missing. 

“
Hey, hit me up
,”
his cell phone message says.

Hit me up?
  Boy, would I love to hit him.

My coffe
e’
s stale, left over from last night when Aidan made it, but I could drink sludge from the river bottom at the moment and then swear it tastes great.  Thinking of Aidan and the last few crazy hours, I watch the sun burst lazily through the fog and begin burning it off.  Going over each detail of last night, I wait, but my calls go straight to Robi
n’
s voice mail.

I call again.  Then I wait some more. 

Traffi
c’
s moving on the street in front of my apartment building.  In the distance, cars claw their way up and down Columbia Parkway.  A barg
e’
s bull horn blares far off on the Ohio River.  I should be smoking a cigarette, but I do
n’
t smoke, so
I’
m tempted instead to run back inside, awaken Aidan, demand a quickie.

I sigh.
If only I had time and no class
.  I ca
n’
t afford to blow off another crim quiz, plus Aidan told me before he fell asleep that he has an eight
o’
clock meeting this morning at NPD. 

When Robin finally answers, h
e’
s not cooperating, same as always. 

“
Tell me where you are right this minute, Robin Colby
,”
I hiss, glancing over my shoulder.  I keep expecting to see Aidan come walking out of my apartment in his undies, minus the cop hardware, except that black ankle holster he never takes off.

“
Just tell me where you are, please, Rob
.
”

“
I ca
n’
t, Laney
.
”

“
Bull crap, since when have you not been able to tell me wha
t’
s going on
?
”

“
I
t’
s not what you think
,”
Robin says
,“
and I ca
n’
t tell you.  Like I said
.
”

“
I
t’
s not what I
think
?  Yo
u’
re missing and wo
n’
t tell me where you are.  Yo
u’
re in violation of your parole and headed back to prison.  Dammit, Robbie, what am I supposed to freaki
n
’ think
?
”

“
Has Hellgirl called you
?”
he asks.

“
No,
I’
ve not spoken with your PO
.
”

“
Then there ya go.  Do
n’
t worry so damn much, Laney
.
”

I gulp morning air, trying to call back my happy mood.
 “
When I see you again, Robin Colby,
I’
m going to cut you from one end of your stinking little body and gut you like a fish. 
I’
m going t
o
—”

“
Listen to me
,”
he interrupts.
 “
I do
n’
t have long to talk, and thi
s’
s important.  I need a favor
.
”

“
Yeah, like
I’
m doing
you
any favors
.
”

Cell phone stuck to my ear, I storm around the side of my apartment building toward the front entry, too worried to acknowledge the chill creeping up my spine.  If Aidan catches me, h
e’
ll ask who
I’
m talking to.  If I do
n’
t tell him, h
e’
ll get suspicious.  Wrestling with guilt, I realize at some point
I’
m going to have to explain my fear to Aidan, tell him I think Robi
n’
s involved in Angi
e’
s murder. 

I ca
n’
t bring myself to lie to Aidan, not after last night. 

Damn, damn, damn.  Why did
n’
t I listen to Berta?
  No LEOs, sh
e’
d said.  I could
n’
t wait to break that rule, either, like all the rest.

When I turn the buildin
g’
s corner, I brake. 

“
Uh, what the
f—?
”

There it sits.  I mus
t’
ve missed seeing it when I came outside, lost in thoughts of Aidan.  The Coca-Cola truck rests by the curb like a big red and white mammoth that just wo
n’
t quit lumbering up to my doorstep. 

“
Dammit
.
”
 
I stomp around the parking lot.
 “
Stoke Farrel
,”
I hiss under my breath
,“
are you stalking me
?
”

How can he be here?  I sent him home last night before Aidan arrived.  I scour the street, but see no sign of Stoke.  Maybe he left the truck here last night, but if so then ho
w’
d he get home?  And why leave it parked here, when I specifically told him to get it the hell out?

“
I forgot my overnight bag in my bedroom
,”
Robin is saying, unaware
I’
m having a heart attack.  Tha
t’
s a brother for you. 

“
What
?”
I say.

“
I
said
, could you get it to Squeal for me, Laney
?
”

He sounds exasperated, but do I care?  Robi
n’
s apparently hanging out with Squeal, so does this mean h
e’
s using again?  Plus, I ca
n’
t help wondering if my brothe
r’
s involved in my best frien
d’
s murder.  How much uglier can this get? 

“
Why would I do you any favors, when you wo
n’
t tell me where you are
?
” 

“
Because
I’
m asking, Laney.  Please get my overnight bag to Squeal so he can bring it to me
.
”

“
I hate him
,”
I hiss, my heart sinking as I imagine the trouble Robi
n’
s in.
 “I’
m not going near him.”
             
I’
m deep into my sisterly rant, telling Robin how much I ca
n’
t stand his friend, and holding back telling Robin how much I hate him, too, when a cruiser pulls up in front of my apartment building.  I
t’
s a Cinci PD black and white. 

“I’
ve gotta go, Rob
.
” 

“
Why
?”
he asks, sounding concerned for a change. 

Maybe i
t’
s the choking noises
I’
m making, or maybe he just hears the tremor in my voice.
 “
Trust me, little brother,
I’
ve gotta go
.
”

Chapter 37

I stuff my cell phone in my hoodi
e’
s front pocket.  Walking as close as I dare, I peek around my buildin
g’
s corner.  From here, I watch another cruiser pull in, two cops getting out of each one and meeting in the middle of the street and talking.  I hold my breath, watching them circle the Coca-Cola truck.  After a few seconds, they get back in their cruisers.  One turns his sideways in the street, blocking rush-hour traffic tha
t’
s about to commence, and the other puts his cruiser in reverse and does the same thing a few yards down the street.  The section of my street with the Coke truck is now blocked off from traffic enterin
g—
or leaving.

“
Sweet hells
,”
I whisper.  Noting how my apartment buildin
g’
s now isolated from all others on the block, I watch another Crown Vic roll up, this one dark blue and nondescript but easily recognizable. 
Unmarked.
 

My gut sinks to my throbbing ankle.  My stree
t’
s now officially surrounded by LEOs. 

Wha
t’
s going on? 

A few seconds later, Aidan bounds out of my buildin
g’
s front door, fully dressed and talking on his cell phone.  I duck behind an evergreen hedge when I see him gaze around, searching for me. 

“
Alaina?  Alaina, where are you
?
” 

This feels like
déjà
vu, like when I was a little girl and the cops came to our house looking for one of m
y“
uncles
,”
or worse, when they came to arrest my mom.  It was terrifying.  But now i
t’
s ten times worse. 

I work the problem through.  There would
n’
t be this many LEOs here to arrest me for jacking that Coca-Cola truck, so the
y’
ve got to be here looking for Robin.

How am I going to explain all this to Aidan?  Headsmack.  Why did
n’
t I just be honest with him and tell him last night?

I step from my hiding spot and walk toward him, feeling lonely, crushed. 

“
Hey
,”
I say, and then stop, shocked into my bizarre and cold new reality.  What have I been thinking?  Was last night so great
I’
m willing to roll over on Robin?  Give up my brother?  Wha
t’
ve I been smoking?  Last night
was
a fairytale.  I can never take Aidan home to meet my family. 

Feeling sad, the seconds ticking by, I remember last night, so exciting, s
o—
good.  Now, because of my brother, or instead because
I’
m a Goshen Colby and ca
n’
t escape who I am and ca
n’
t run from my family, everything is ruined. 

What should I do?
 

“I’
m so sorry, Aidan
,”
I say, walking toward him.
 “
I can explain
.
”

Still on his cell phone, he shoots me a puzzled gaze.
 “
Explain what
?
” 

Another cruiser rolls up to the curb, this one from Newport.  I
t’
s starting to look like a cop convention on my front doorstep.  I gaze one last time into Aida
n’
s eyes. 
I so wanted last night to be real.  But it was
n’
t.
 

We do
n’
t say anything for a few seconds. 

Hold me.
  I beg with my eyes. 
Put your arms around me.  Make all this go away.

But h
e’
s busy, does
n’
t have time for me. 

“
Alaina, listen to me carefully
,”
he says, like
I’
m a child.

“
Sure
,”
I say, swallowing so I wo
n’
t cry.  Everything
I’
ve dreamed or hoped for is in jeopardy.  Whateve
r’
s wrong here this morning is going to strip away all the good I felt last night, all the good
I’
ll ever get to feel again in my life.  I just know it. 

“I’
m listening
,”
I say.

“
Do you know a good lawyer
?
”

“
What
?
”

“
Go inside your apartment and call.  I do
n’
t mean call one of your mo
m’
s crappy assed ambulance chasers.  I mean a Melvin-fucking-Belli mouthpiece
.
”

“
Do
n’
t give me orders
,”
I say, wondering who Melvin Belli is, and how Aidan knows about Bert
a’
s habit of hanging out with shyster lawyers.
 “
You do
n’
t own me, so do
n’
t put down my mom.  Who the hell are
you
?
”   

“
Keep your voice down
,”
he says, calm, but his wide shoulders tensing. 

More cops pull in nose first on my street and then more Crown Vics.  Two LEOs exit one of the blue Crown Vics.  The
y’
re wearing FBI windbreakers.  Feds.

What are they doing here?

“
Go
,”
Aidan says.
 “
Now
!
”

“
Not until you tell me wha
t’
s going on
?
”

“
Your brothe
r’
s going to need a criminal defense attorney
.
” 

“
My brother
?
”
 
So I was right.  This is about Robin.  I swallow, feeling a tightening deep in my tonsils, which Berta refused to have removed because it wa
s“
against her religion
.
”

Aidan pulls my hood up over my head and tucks my hair behind my ear.  I
t’
s a moment of unrivaled tenderness, one
I’
ll keep rememberin
g—
and regrettin
g—
forever.
 “I’
ll tell you later
,”
he says.
 “
Now go back inside and call a lawyer
.
”

“
Bu
t
—”

“
Shut up and do it, goddammit
.
”

I stand frozen.  Several cops are heading straight toward us, but I ca
n’
t move, ca
n’
t breathe.  This is the moment
I’
ve feared since Robin first called me on Monday.

Tears fill my eyes.  H
e’
s in trouble.  My baby brothe
r’
s in troubl
e—
again.  When we were talking on our cell phones just now, had
n’
t he begged me to find his overnight bag and give it to Squeal?  Why? 

“
Why does Robin need a criminal defense lawyer
?
” 

“
H
e’
s a murder suspect
.
”

“
A . . . murder suspec
t—?
”
 
My breath catches in my throat.  Why do I feel so surprised?

All the anger
I’
ve been saving since I was a little girl bubbles to the surface.  I can hear Berta doling out advice. 
Sleep with anyone you want.  Just do
n’
t bring home no damn LEO.
 

Now that i
t’
s too late, I finally understand why she kept warning me.  I finally get why she hates cops.  My chest tightens.
 “
Who has he murdered
?
”

“
Angie Miller
,”
Aidan says
,“
for starters
.
”

I feel like someon
e’
s pouring ice water down the back of my neck.  Images of Angi
e’s—
and Meer
a’s—
savaged shoulders sear my brain.
 “
Why do you suspect Robin
?
” 

“
A snitch called info in to NPD
,”
Aidan says.
 “
A witness saw your brother hanging around the alley behind Oma
r’
s the night Angie Mille
r’
s body was dumped
.
”

“
That ca
n’
t be . . . true.  It just ca
n’
t be
.
”

My instinct to defend Robin kicks in.  As the implication of Robi
n’s—
and of my predicamen
t—
settles, my slow burn heats up.  What did Aidan tell me last night before we coupled like two wild pigs? 
I’
m not here because of your brother. 
But this morning ther
e’
s cops thicker than molasses on my front doorstep, and Aida
n’
s ordering me to call a lawyer for Robin. 

“
You knew and you lied to me
,”
I say, anger boiling and churning inside me.
 “
You bastard, you
used
me to get information about my brother
.
”

“
No, Alaina, I came to warn you about Megalo Don
,”
Aidan says, stepping forward to greet the oncoming cops.
 “
But yo
u’
re right.  I am a bastard, or so
I’
m told.  So get inside and call a lawyer, or
I’
m going to arrest you
.
”

“
You would
n’
t
.
”

“
Would
n’
t I
?”
he says, using the same harsh tone
I’
ve heard him use with Officer Barbie.
 “
Do it now, or
I’
ll cuff you and haul your ass in.  This is for your own good
,”
he adds.

How can this stranger be the same guy I shared my body with for hours? 

“
I hate you
,”
I say, jerking open my apartment buildin
g’
s front door.  Too dazed, I just stand here, daring Aidan to arrest me, so I can keep at least a little of what pride I have left.  But
I’
m helpless.  I know it.  Detective Aidan Hawks is the law, a LEO.  He holds the power over my brothe
r’
s future.  And mine.
 “
Why have you done this
?”
I say, finally trusting myself to speak.

“
Why, why, why
,”
I yell.
 “
You did
n’
t have to bribe me by sleeping with me, Aidan.  I was going to tell you about Robin and Angie
.
”

He turns away to go join his fellow LEOs.

“
You cold bastard. 
I’
ll never forgive you.  Never
.
”

He stops.

For a second I feel good. 
I’
ve hurt him. 

But then he keeps walking away from me.
 “
Yo
u’
ll find a way
,”
he says.
 “
Trust me
.
”