Love On The Ropes (Ringside Romance) (29 page)

The brothers chuckled.

“I’d better go save your sister,”
Jason said, stepping off the deck.

“Good deal. Lord knows she’s
needed saving for some time now.”

Jason walked up to Sandy and took
her hand, then glanced at Decker. “I’ve got to talk to Sandy for a minute.”

“But she lights up my life.”

“I know. Mine too. Come on, babe.”
J pulled her toward him. Damn, he didn’t mean for the endearment to slip out.

“Bye, everybody!” he called,
waving.

The boys of BAM and her family
chimed a collective “Bye,” and J’s chest ached. To be a part of a group like
this, a group that accepted you, warts and all…

It wasn’t meant to be. Not for
Jason McBain.

Sandy hugged her mom and brothers,
then interlaced her fingers in his. He glanced into her sweet green eyes.

“What happened?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” He walked
toward her car.

“All of a sudden you went away,
like your head was someplace else.”

Tell her the truth! If she
loves you she’ll understand why you need to pursue her brother as a suspect.

If he told her the truth and she’d
not only leave Jason, but also blow his cover and this case.

“I got an emergency call from
work. I’ve got to go in.”

“Rats. I’m sorry you have to
leave.”

So was he. Sorry for lying to her,
sorry for enjoying his time with her family so very much.

Sorry for falling in love with
her. Damn, he couldn’t deny it anymore.

“Where’s the office?” she asked.

“Near Detroit.”

“How will you get there?”

“I’ll rent a car.”

“You can take mine.”

“No, I want you to take yours to a
doctor tomorrow. Get your wrist checked out.”

She stopped halfway down the
driveway. “Wait a second. Stay here,” she said.

She jogged to the backyard. J glanced
up at the stars, so bright and hopeful. And he wished for his Glock to shoot
every one of them out of the sky.

This was the best way, he told
himself, to leave her now before it got worse.
Leave her before she leaves
you.

He’d solidify his case, nail Curt
and move on to the next assignment. Maybe he’d get his own team and earn the
respect he deserved.

The sound of the karaoke machine
echoed from the backyard. They were having a great time back there. Well, Curt should
enjoy his night out, J thought. Who knew when he’d get another one if
convicted?

How the hell would he explain the
man’s absence to Curt’s little boy? Suddenly J hated his job.

“Here!” Sandy called, coming
toward him. “Keys to our family’s spare car. It’s a compact flatbed truck that
Curt uses to haul stuff for shop class sometimes.” She dropped car keys into
his hand.

“I can’t take it,” J said.

“Sure you can.”

“But what if someone needs it?”

“They won’t.”

“But—”

“Stop.” She placed her fingers to
his lips. “This is what family does for each other.”

Guilt tangled his insides, guilt
for so many things.

“Will you be okay to drive home?”
he asked.

“Sure. Do I get a kiss before you
go?”

He leaned forward and kissed her,
her mouth opening to him and her warmth touching the darkest part of his soul.
He broke the kiss but held her close. This would be the last time.

The thought tore him apart.

“Hey,” she said, leaning back and
looking into his eyes. “You’ll be back within the week, right?”

“Should be.”

“Good, because way you were
holding me, it felt like you were going off to war.” She gave him another
squeeze. “Call me when you get to Detroit so I know you made it okay.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He got into the truck and started
it up.

“Wait, what about your things at
my place?”

“Hold on to them for me.” He
smiled, shifted the car into gear and pulled out of the driveway.

She waved and shot him that tender
smile that always warmed his heart. He’d remember her this way, all smiles and
light…and loving him.

He honked the horn and drove off.
He drove for a good ten minutes, not sure where he should go. Lost. That’s how
he felt.

He pulled into a convenience store
and called Agent Totem.

“Hey, I need a favor,” he said.
“Do a background check on Curt Ryan, wrestling coach at Abe Lincoln High
School.”

“You got something?”

“Possibly. He has connections with
BAM, and Meek said drugs were distributed at Abe Lincoln. I want to rule him
out.”

God, please let me rule him
out.

“I’m on it,” Totem said.

“Thanks.” He ended the call and
stared straight ahead at the sign in the store window. A twelve pack of beer was
on sale for $7.99. He remembered the afternoon with Curt and Decker, drinking
beer, yelling at the television, laughing at stupid guy jokes.

This was the part of the job he
hated: having to pretend, to develop relationships and betray people he cared
about. Which is why most of the time he prevented himself from caring at all.

Then Sandy walked into his life.

His cell phone rang. Hopeful, he
looked at the caller ID thinking it might be her. Did she miss him already?
Instead, a blocked number appeared.

“McBain,” he answered.

“This time we’re doing it my way,”
Meek said. “We need movement on this case. If Curt Ryan is a suspect, we need
to bring him in for questioning.”

“But—”

“That’s an order. Tomorrow.
There’s a field office in Rolling Meadows. Pick him up and we’ll meet you there
at ten a.m.”

The line went dead.

Jason didn’t know where to go,
what to do. Tomorrow he’d bring Curt in for questioning and lose the woman he
loved.

He dialed Sandy’s number. Her
answering machine picked up. He figured it would.

“This is Sandy. Leave a message
and I’ll call you back. Thanks.”

BEEP.

He struggled with what to say.
Hell.

“Hey, sweetheart, it’s Jason.
Listen, I wanted to tell you what a great time I had at the barbecue. I felt
like a part of your family … haven’t felt that in a long time.” He fingered a
crack in the steering wheel. “Anyway, I’m not sure what’s happening this week,
but I wanted you to know,” he hesitated, “I’ve enjoyed our time together. I’ll
miss you, babe. Bye.”

He ended the call and tossed the
phone on the seat beside him. Damn, why didn’t he tell her he loved her?

Because it served no purpose, not
when she’ll have to dump him tomorrow. Why make it harder on her by using the
“L” word? This way she’ll recover easier and won’t question herself.

Like he will question himself for
the rest of his life.

* * *

Sandy pulled into her mom’s
driveway the next morning, bringing donuts and coffee. She wanted to tell her
mother the truth: she’d fallen in love with a federal agent, a fragile soul who
cherished her and made her feel whole and at peace. She didn’t want to lie
anymore, especially to herself.

She rang the bell and Mama opened
the door. “What are you doing here?” she said with pleasant surprise.

“I was in the neighborhood.”

Her mother gave her a hug, and
Sandy held on for a second longer than usual. She was about to drop big news
about her relationship with Jason, and her decision to change careers—news that
would probably inspire Mom to plan another family party.

“Come in, Sweetie,” she said.

Sandy followed her into the
kitchen and sat at the counter.

“So?” Mom said. “You didn’t really
happen to just be in the neighborhood. What’s up?” She leaned against the
counter and smiled.

“I think he’s the one,” Sandy
blurted.

“He, you mean…”

“Jason.”

“Oh, honey, that’s wonderful!” Her
mother motioned her to the kitchen table and they sat down. “Tell me
everything.”

“First, you should know that his
job is not what I said it was.”

“He’s a wrestler?” Mama choked.

“No—well, yes. He’s pretending to
be a wrestler. It’s a long story, but when things are settled he won’t be
wrestling anymore. He has another career. But I can’t tell you what it is, not
yet. Trust me, Mama. He’s a good man.”

A man I can trust with all my
heart.
She hoped he felt the same way. Her tummy did a flip at the memory
of his message last night:

I’ve enjoyed our time together.
I’ll miss you, babe.

It almost sounded like a good-bye
message, but she knew that couldn’t be.

“You deserve a good man,” Mama
said. “I don’t like all this secrecy, but I’ll go along with it for a little
while.”

“Thanks. And there’s other news.”
Sandy smiled.

“What could be better than true
love?”

“I’m going to pursue another
career.”

“Hallelujah and praise the Lord!”
Mama clapped her hands. “What brought this on?”

“I realized I’ve been with BAM for
the wrong reasons. You know, wanting to please certain people.”

“Your father.”

She nodded affirmation. “Sorry.”

Her mother sighed. “Don’t be. It’s
understandable. You’ve only felt accepted by him when you worked at BAM. I’ve always
known that.”

“How did you get so wise?” She
squeezed her mother’s hand.

“Old age has its advantages.” She
winked.

“Now, give me details about your
new boyfriend.” Her green eyes lit like Christmas lights.

“God damn it!” Duke shouted,
wheeling into the kitchen clutching a smart phone in his hand. His cheeks were
red and his eyes burned like hot coals. “Curt’s been arrested.”

“For what?” Sandy said. Crap, had
her big brother been caught drinking and driving? No, he’d always set a good
example for his high school kids. He wouldn’t dare do that.

“A federal agent took him into
custody this morning.”

A federal agent? Oh, God.

“No, that’s not right,” Sandy
blurted out.

“Damn straight isn’t,” Duke
growled. “What the hell do they want with him, anyway?”

“Steroids,” Sandy said.

“What?” Duke stared at her. “You
know about this?”

“I heard something,” she said.
“Steroid trafficking to high school kids. Someone in BAM,” she mumbled.

“Bullshit. It’s not Curt.” Duke
slapped his fist against the wall.

“Of course not, honey.” Mama
patted his arm. “We’ll get an attorney and work this out.”

Sandy’s heart felt like it was
being squeezed between two impossibly strong hands: Jason’s.

That’s why he left the message
last night that he’d miss her. Sure he would. He knew she’d want nothing to do with
him once she found out he used her up to the very end, up to arresting her
brother.

“We’ve got to get a hold of a
lawyer,” Duke said. “Dad’s gonna freak.”

Sandy felt like she was in a
dream: floating, drifting and not quite hearing her mom and brother as they
continued the discussion.

She was numb.

“Sandy?” her mom eyed her with
concern.

“I’ll put a call into the BAM
attorney.” She stood. “I have to go.”

“Wait, honey,” Mama said.

“I’ll talk to you later.” She
kissed her mother on the cheek and raced out of the house to her car.

Used. Manipulated. Taken for one
helluva ride.

Chump.

She got in her SUV and drove off,
not heading home, not heading anywhere in particular.

Curt. Arrested. But he was
innocent. She knew this to be true.

And she knew another truth: Jason had
betrayed her.

Not because he’d arrested a
suspect who happened to be her brother, but because he hadn’t shared his plans.
She understood he had a job to do; that he had to nail the bastard that was
peddling steroids, but why didn’t he tell her Curt was a suspect? Why wasn’t he
honest with her?

Because he didn’t trust her—which
meant none of it was real.

She called Lou the attorney and
asked him to follow up with Curt’s legal situation. She hung up and her cell
rang.

“Hello?” she said.

“You hear about Curt?” Pops asked.
“What the hell’s going on?”

She didn’t answer, figuring it was
a rhetorical question.

“I want you to contact Lou at BAM,
then call Police Chief Norridge. He’s got connections. Then call FOX News, WGN
and what’s her name over at CBS.”

He rambled for another minute.
Sandy pulled up behind a truck with a sticker on it: What are you waiting for?
With a phone number for exercise equipment.

The question stuck in her brain:
What
was she waiting for?

“No,” she said.

“And then call the high school
association and then ... what?”

“I’m not calling Fox or WGN, or
anyone else. I’ve already called the BAM attorney. Curt is a grown man and he’s
innocent. It will all be fine.”

“But you need to fix this, you
need to—”

“No, Dad, I really don’t. It’s
time that people fix their own problems, okay? I’ve gotta go.” She clicked the
End button.

She suddenly realized that she’d
been trying desperately to keep everyone’s lives in order so they’d love her.
She did things for people to earn their love, whereas in truth they should love
her for who she was. Otherwise, they were all using her for their own reasons:
Cody, Jason, even Pops. If they needed something, she’d give it. If she didn’t
give it she feared they’d withhold love.

But she didn’t need their love.
Not if she loved herself. She deserved to be loved by others, sure, but that
was different.

No more saving the world! She’d
help those who asked for it, those who helped themselves, but she wouldn’t jump
into the middle of every mess she stumbled upon.

And she wasn’t meant to be with
Jason. Not in any real sense of the word. For him it wasn’t about trust and
honesty, it was about nailing the bad guy.

Who was not her brother.