Long Ride (Riding with Honor) (2 page)

Glancing over she saw he was looking in the passenger side mirror. 
What was he looking at?

“Not to worry, I think you lost them with your reckless exit ra
mp stunt,” he said, glancing over at her.  “But
I
will be doing the driving for the rest of the trip since I have no desire to die.  Not to mention playing bump and grind with another car on the highway is not acceptable, especially with you in the car.”

Just when she had settled on being angry at him he did this sort of thing.  Dropping yet another bombshell
, indicating they were being followed.  Having lived alone for so long it was hard to switch gears that fast.  Had he said all those things just to get her to pull off the highway?  If so, why hadn’t he just told her they were being followed?

He got out of the car
, made his way around the front and over to her side to open the door.  He was an imposing man and if not for his breathtaking eyes and sexy grin he’d be downright scary.

“Slide on over or get out and go around… we need to go…
now,
” he said.

Stunned
, she maneuvered herself ungracefully over the console and into the passenger seat.  She watched as he slid behind the wheel.   After buckling up he exited the gas station and drove out of town rather than getting back on the highway.  He was
serious
… someone
had
been following them and he was even now looking for an alternate route.  The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she couldn’t breathe.

“Breathe
, darlin’… you’re safe with me,” he said, glancing at her quickly and then reaching over he linked his fingers with hers.

He hated the look of fear that was now painted across her pretty face.  He hadn’t wanted to tell her at all but she needed to be aware.  If she was going to fall apart he’d rather it be now than when he was face to face with the man responsible for
putting
that look on her face.  He held her trembling hand in his own and she allowed it.  She
must
be truly afraid…either that or hell
had
finally frozen over.

After several minutes of silence she said
, “Was it…?”

“Not sure but whoever it was had a nice ride and an even better tint job on the windows
,” he said, glancing in the rearview mirror again.

“Are you sure… I mean… that someone was following us?”
she asked.

“Yea, the driver exited the highway right behind us when we stopped for gas and to trade off driving
,” he said.  “Then he parked down the street and waited for us to get back on the highway before filling his own tank and then driving like a bat out of hell to catch back up to us.”

“How long had the car been following us?”
she asked quietly.

“Not sure, only noticed it after crossing into Virginia
,” he said and then looked over at her and grinned. “That’s the
only
reason I finally obeyed your demands to drive.  Then when the car pulled that stunt and caught back up to us way too quickly, I was sure of it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me when you first knew?”
she asked after a few more minutes of silence.

“Because your anger excites me, where your fear does not
,” he said grinning. 
God teasing her was fun!

A look passed her hazel eyes for a moment and rather than the piercing disapproval she normally blessed him with, a softened glow reflected there.  This new look of hers
warmed his insides just as much as her stern, disapproving ones did. 

His body reminded him that at fifty he was still a very virile man and appreciated a pretty, well-built woman.  Her body was made for loving… not a bunch of bones with skin stretched across.  She had curves meant to turn a man’s head.

“Can’t you be serious for a minute?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “Or better yet, act your age?” 

She was back with him again
, having returned from her thoughts and fears.

“I am serious
,” he said, giving her a serious look.  “When you’re mad at me and all that fiery passion you keep a tight rein on gets unleashed, it excites me and makes me want to keep doing whatever it is that has you all hot and bothered.  When you’re scared it just makes me want to hurt something… badly.”

He didn’t miss the smile that she tried to hide behind her hand.  She was beautiful with blond, shoulder length hair and hazel eyes that sometimes looked orange or light brown and sometimes green, depending on her mood.  He noticed that compared to the last time he’d seen her at the custody hearing for Tommy’s daughter Melody, she looked tired…
really
tired.

“So why aren’t
you
married?” she asked after several minutes of comfortable silence.

“Too good looking with
way
too much charisma… that’s a lot for any woman to handle,” he smiled.

She actually laughed out loud and God help him, it made it all worth it… even rounding the corner of the exit ramp on two wheels.  If she could relax around him… trust him, just a little bit, he’d be happy with that. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate her sanctimonious behavior, especially when it was directed at him.  That stern and bossy attitude she gave him did nothing more than turn him on but it was just as nice when she loosened up a little bit.

“Do you have any idea where you’re going?”
she asked looking out the window.

“I think we can hit up I-85 if we keep heading this direction
,” he said.

“So what happens now?”
she asked looking at him.

“You come and stay with me for a little while.  My place is not near as nice as your beach house, but until he is caught I don’t want you anywhere he can track you down.  Keeping you under wraps in the least likely place
for him to look is the goal, until Greg gets him in custody,” he replied.

“I want to file for a protection order when we get there, just to make sure
,” she said.

“You can order
me
to protect you… ma’am,” he said with a smile and a wink.

Trying desperately to ignore his comment and
those eyes
she asked, “So you live near Edna Jackson?”

“Not too far.  Tommy and Dana live the farthest.  They have a bigger place on account of the kids
,” he said.

“How did you meet them all?” s
he asked.  Maybe if she kept him talking, he would stop with the inappropriate comments that made her think of sex.

“Well
, I guess Greg told you I was in the Navy, right?” he asked.

“He mentioned it.  How long were you in the service?”
she asked. 
So it was true.

“Went in when I was about Chuck’s age and came out just a few months shy of my
thirty second birthday.  Saved almost everything I made while in the service and bought a house with it and I’ve been there ever since,” he explained.

“So they were
like neighbors of yours then?” she prompted.  This felt more like a courtroom interrogation rather than a casual conversation.

“Well Edna’s husband Robert…
Bobby Senior
… owned the shop before Lilly and Bobby.  After a month of being home after getting out of the service, I was bored and he was hiring.  My training in the Navy was such that I was pretty good with anything mechanical and making special parts… working with my hands,” he paused for effect and then winked at her.

“He hired me on and after making sure I wouldn’t cheat his customers, he put me in charge and retired.  Worst thing he ever done… retiring… he died two years later.  Anyways, Bobby and Tommy have been best buddies since grade school but were in their teens when I got hired on and took over.  They
were a rowdy bunch of hooligans,” he laughed.

“I would never have guessed
,” she said with sarcasm and a smile.

“Well when Bobby Senior got sick and Edna’s head was turned caring for him, Bobby Junior and Tommy took to sneaking out and running the town.  One night they got caught an
d Edna sent them to work for me,” he said laughing some more.

“It was pretty rough going for the first few months until they happened upon an old motorcycle frame and drug it into the shop.  Every spare minute and every spare penny they made working at the shop went into that bike.  Once they got it running they took turns riding it until they figured out that they had basically built it from the ground up and could do it again… so they
both
could have one.  I guess the rest is history as they say,” he finished.

“So I’m guessing Bobby’s
grandfather left the shop to him and you just stayed on as the manager?” she asked.

“Something like that… at least until Chuck came on board.  I took a pay and position cut so the boy could have a job.  Now that things have picked up the way they have, I got my full pay back.  I’m not rich but I do just fine
,” he answered. 
Looks and a heart… Richard Long was a whole new kind of dangerous.

“Why on earth would you do such a nice thing for Chuck when he broke into your shed?”
she began.  “Edna told me,” she finished upon seeing his surprised look.

“Because I think I might have known his mother
,” he replied.

“Reall
y?  From the repair shop or…?” she asked.

“Actually
, I dated her for a time during my stint in the Navy,” he replied. “Her name was Amber Reynolds.”

“Wait just a minute…”
she said hesitantly.

“When I would get leave I’d come down and stay with her and
I sent her money sometimes.  I thought when I got out we’d maybe get married, settle down, white picket fence and shit… you know.  So a couple of years in I started taking it for granted that she would be there ready and waiting for me to show up on leave,” he said, his eyes taking on a far off look.

“
I spent the whole Christmas holiday with her when I was twenty seven and then got leave a couple of months later and decided to surprise her with a diamond ring.  When I got to her apartment she wasn’t home so I headed up to a local bar to have a drink and wait for a bit before trying again.  After I’d been at the bar for too long and had one too many shots, here she came hanging on her
other
boyfriend,” he finished.

“She broke your heart… I’m sorry
,” she said softly.

“Yes she did… and
I
broke
her
boyfriend.  His jaw, a couple of ribs, his nose and busted out the majority of his teeth,” he said, looking in the rearview mirror and then back to the road. “That brief moment of stupidity… cost me more than just her.  Uncle Sam decided I could best pay my debt to society for that lapse in judgment by using the training they gave me for
special
assignments.”

So he was a violent man too.
  It would seem that most men were.  This was the most time she’d spent with a man, other than Greg, since before walking out on Brian.  Dickie always appeared so laid back and
charming
. 

Those kinds of thoughts were what had gotten her mixed up with Brian in the first place.  How long would it be before Dickie’s anger got the better of him, just like with Brian?  In the few months she’d known him, she’d never seen him angry but obviously he was capable of it.

“Oh…” She said.

“I had just successfully completed training for the SEAL
program before the holidays hit and finally been assigned to a team.  We were to deploy in two weeks on a team extraction mission.  I had hopes of a quickie wedding and a honeymoon before shipping out,” he said, shaking his head at his error.

“So… is Chuck’s father possibly the man you beat up back then?”
she asked.

“I would guess so… the timing would have been about right
,” he replied, looking at her.

“Look
, I’m not telling you this old news, sob story for sympathy.  It’s just I heard a couple of years after that, when I was on leave, that she’d died nearly a year to the day from our split.  I should have felt something or looked into what happened to her, but I was young and still angry so I didn’t… and if she
was
Chuck’s mother then I want to know first.  Then I would want to know
why
the man didn’t keep Chuck… his own
son,
” he finished vehemently.

“Why?” s
he asked. “What does it matter why he didn’t keep Chuck?”

“Because you don’t fucking take something that belongs to someone else, use it, and damn the consequences
,” he said angrily.

“And if she was Chuck’s mother…?”
she asked.

“Then
I
want to be the one to tell him,” he said with finality.

“What if she wasn’t his mother?  Reynolds is a p
retty common surname and it
could
just be a coincidence,” she said.

“He looks like her.  I thought that the first time I saw him and that’s why I just couldn’t turn him in
to the police.  I figured it was maybe paying penance or something if I helped him,” he said.

“
Then as you know, since it happened to you too… he kind of grew on me.  I don’t think it took as long for him to grow on me as it did you.  So a week later I had a little talk with Edna about him.  That woman is an angel sent from the big man himself with a heart big enough to keep a man’s secrets and help him right a wrong.  So she took him in and he’s been hanging around ever since,” he finished with a fond smile.

Silent tears were sliding from her eyes at his admission. 
Who did that
for a teenaged punk in this day and age, especially one who looked like Chuck?  How could he be so violent and yet so compassionate?  Was that even possible?

“Oh come on now
, darlin,’ don’t leak on me now.  You’re our smart, tough, and hot as hell attorney.  Chuck wouldn’t want you shedding tears over him,” he said, rubbing his thumb along the inside of her wrist from where he still held her hand. 

His fingers linked with hers
were strangely comforting but the rough skin of his thumb created an intense friction each place that it touched on her arm.  After all these years of being alone, refusing to date, being celibate, and burying herself in her work, he’d broken her ‘no touching’ rule with a simple gesture. 
Holding hands.

Looking down at where their hands were joined she whispered
, “The tears aren’t for Chuck.”

“Don’t shed them for me either… no, not a man like me… you save those drops for someone worthy
,” he said with a smile as she pulled a tissue from her purse and swiped at her face.

“Having done something like that for Chuck… I think that
is
worthy,” she said after wiping the tears from her cheeks.

“I’m not a good man Becca… don’t think for a minute that I am.  The man I am now is only a cover for the machine the United States
government created,” he said, looking in her eyes until she turned away from him.

“In war it’s usua
lly kill or be killed, right?” she asked.  “What makes you think you’re so much worse than any other soldier who’s fought for their life or for their loved ones… or their country?”

“I didn’t fight any
wars
, I was sent in for specific… targets… and the people who stood in my way were just casualties of the mission,” he said, looking out the window.  It was the first time she could sense his discomfort.  He was normally so easy going he would answer any question asked and sometimes with a response that left her breathless and tingly.

This must have been what Greg meant when he’d said
, “Richard Long is a military killing
legend.
  I couldn’t do better hiring someone to protect you than if I’d hired the secret service.”

Looking over at the man, she just couldn’t fathom that
this
man could kill someone…
had
killed someone.  He sat casually back in his seat driving with one hand and holding her hand with his other one. 
Impossible
… or was it?

“I expect what we discuss to stay between us… client and attorney privilege or whatever
,” he said. “The guys don’t have any idea about that period in my life and I’d like it to stay that way.  Chuck got a little bit of a show when those punks broke in at the Johnson house, but I’m hoping he either forgets or isn’t too curious.”

“You killed the men at the Johnson’s house didn’t you?”
she asked quietly

He looked at her as though judging whether to trust her or not and said
, “I didn’t pull the trigger if that’s what you mean.  You can look over the police reports and all the results of the investigation if you don’t believe me,” he offered.

The man may not have shot the gun but when she’d asked Chuck about what happened he mentioned that Dickie’s ‘mad Rambo skills’ had saved them all that day.  It hadn’t made much sense at the time but after spending the past two hours talking nonstop with the man… it suddenly did. 

He was bigger and more capable than Brian had ever been of hurting someone if he got angry…
or drunk.
  Looking again at their locked fingers, it just didn’t seem as likely somehow.

“Fine… you can have it your way then
,” she finally replied.

“Is that an invitation
, darlin?  If so, then I’d like you to tie me up, order me around, and then have your wicked little way with me.  Use this old man for your pleasure… ma’am.  I won’t mind.” He smiled his most devastating smile yet and she
felt
it in places long dead.

His words brought images of him with his hands tied to her headboard while she…
Oh my God!
  What was she thinking?  Fantasizing about him was not good…
not good at all.
  He may be her age but he didn’t look a day over forty and with looks like he had, his age didn’t seem to matter to women.

What would it be like to be with a man like him?  Would an intimate encounter with him be dreadfully dull and bothersome as it had been in her early twenties?  Or would it be painful as it had been with Brian?  She had no desire to be with another man and she wasn’t gay
, so what was it about him that made her wonder? 

His grin was sexy as sin, and his face made girls young enough to be his daughter take notice
.  If a handsome face wasn’t enough, a body that had young and old alike looking twice made her wonder why he constantly flirted with her.  Truthfully it was the idea that even if he was kidding about letting her have her way with him… there had to be
some
seriousness to it or he wouldn’t repeat it every chance he got.

“I would expect whatever military training you received would aid you greatly in escaping… should I tie you up… so why would I bother?”
she asked. 
Damn it… no flirting!

“I’d tie
myself
up if that’s what it took to get that sweet mouth of yours anywhere near me,” he said, looking over at her.  Then as she watched he lifted the hand that he still held on to and kissed the back of it.  The kiss wasn’t a simple or gentlemanly kiss, but a searing open mouthed kiss that she could swear included a small lick of her heated skin.

It felt like his mouth branded her skin with lava and the
excited sensation flowed all the way up her arm.  The sensation was so pleasant a gasp escaped her lips followed by a shiver that went from the small of her back up to settle in her neck.  If that small of a gesture brought on such a strong physical reaction to him… what would his mouth on other places feel like?

“Your shivers of pleasure taste amazing
,” he whispered against the back of her hand before moving their hands back down against the seat.

They stopped for dinner a few hours later where he consulted a map to get a better idea of how to continue on while still keeping them off of the highway.  While he ate and studied the map she pulled out her laptop and emailed the private investigator her firm used for some of their cases.

She gave him information about the case she was working on and all the information she had managed to get from Dickie regarding Amber Reynolds.  Perhaps if he could investigate Chuck’s potential mother while she investigated Chuck, they would meet in the middle somewhere.

She remotely connected to her work computer and was able to draft a letter on Chuck’s behalf to the Florida Department of Children and Families.  The letter asked for any and all medical records, dental records, counseling or mental health records, and educational records including a high school transcript from prior to his time in the Juvenile Justice system. 

The letter requested access to any personal belongings that pertained to Chuck including photographs, news articles, cards, and letters for all years he was within the foster care system.  She requested his original birth certificate and social security card or relevant information needed to obtain a certified copy of each.  She demanded all records regarding discipline of Chuck either within the educational system or the foster care system prior to his incarceration as a juvenile.

Knowing the miles of red tape involved to get him anything of significance that could be used to track down any living family, she gave them
thirty days to provide the requested records before a civil suit would be filed on Chuck’s behalf for willful neglect with regards to his education, medical, dental and mental health. 

For good measure she noted that the civil suit would ask for an absurd amount of monetary damages for the mental distress caused by the state not providing a reasonable and customary environment for him during the time he was a ward of the state.

Satisfied that she had come up with enough items to keep someone at the DCF office scrambling and digging around for his records, she powered down her laptop.  She wasn’t used to long car rides and the idea of another four hours or more on the road didn’t sound pleasant.

“Why don’t you change into something a little more comfortable for the rest of the trip, maybe stretch out in
the backseat and take a nap?” he asked suggestively.  First she heard his words and then she felt them like a caress on her bare skin. 
Good God
… he needed to stop that.

Deciding he was unlikely to trade off driving with her again, it would be safe enough to take a sleep aid.  She hated taking the pills because most of the time they helped her fall asleep but she still found herself awake at odd hours of the night.  Sometimes she was able to go back to sleep, other times she just got up out of frustration.