Chapter 11

"Diamonds dancing on the water in the moonlight, and my mind's eye sees the night before."

–Unknown

Jameson

Trying to keep my mind busy until Rayne showed up wasn't hard. Everything I did was scrutinized by one or two members of the gang. It was as if they were blatantly watching over me.

"What's up?" I asked Felix. He had joined me at the gym almost an hour before Rayne was scheduled to be here.

"Just watching out for our investment." Felix had slapped me on the back.

"Investment?" I chuckled. "Dude, I'm getting laid." I wiggled my eyebrows.

"Yeah." Felix laughed, then lowered his voice. "She's currently visiting the city building. We need to know why."

"I'm sure she's…" I was going to say, working the case, but was afraid it would sound too cop-like. "She's doing her job," I finished with a shrug. "Don't the police work at the city building sometimes? You know, to go to hearings and shit?"

Felix laughed slightly. "Find out why." He slapped me on the shoulder and then, instead of working out, waved his hand, and the two Reapers that were currently in the building followed him outside.

It was almost as if they knew Rayne was about to make an appearance. If Felix had given him free rein to do what he wanted with her, why in the fuck were they watching them?

Shit. That meant no matter what, he still hadn't earned their trust.

After they left, I tried to go about my business, looking out the windows, eager for Rayne to get there.

When she finally did show up, I felt both relieved and anxious. Were they still watching us?

Since they knew that we'd spent the night together in the cabin, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her.

"For show?" she asked against my ear.

"Both for that and to settle my nerves. I'm pretty sure they know about last night," I said as I pretended to hug her.

"Oh, they do. I received a lovely photo of us on the porch of the cabin from this morning in my email."

"Shit." I pulled back, my entire body tense.

"Who do they think owns the cabin?" she asked.

"I told them it was a friend. Someone who owed me a favor."

"Now," she said in a normal voice, "how about you show me what equipment your gym has that can help work out the kinks."

"Sure," I agreed and took her hand to lead her back to the locker rooms where she could change into the workout clothes that she most likely had in the gym bag on her shoulder.

After she disappeared into the women's locker room, I signed her in at the register computer as my guest and then waited. I tried not to glance out the windows too much but from what I could tell, it appeared the Reapers had left us alone. It appeared that way, but I still felt like someone was watching.

When she came out, my heart pretty much stopped when I ran my eyes over the skin-tight dark gray yoga outfit she had on.

"Okay," I said, then had to clear my throat when my voice cracked. Rayne instantly smiled. "Let's start with a warmup," I said, taking her hand and walking to the mats.

I was under no assumption that Rayne didn't know how to work out. I'd run my hands all over that body and knew full well that she was toned everywhere.

Once we started lifting weights, she matched me stride for stride. Even though I had more weight, her form was perfect, assuring me she knew what she was doing.

"Think it's safe for us to talk here?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Probably not. But if we keep our voices low, we'll be okay."

"Have you figured out what they want from me yet?" she asked softly, between reps.

"They want to know what you were doing at the city building this morning," I answered as I glanced up towards the windows.

She was quiet for a moment. "They followed me out to the Bobbys' place, and I spotted them after I left the city office."

I nodded. "I'm almost one hundred percent sure that they're out there right now, watching."

"Oh, I know it. They're really bad at tailing." She chuckled and then sat up straight. "If you want to tell them, I was interviewing Jackson Pennington."

I frowned. "The investor and owner of this place?"

She nodded. "He owns most buildings in town. But the important part is that his office is directly across from the mayor's." She stood up as I moved over to add more weights to the bar. "And since Sharon's death, he's filled in as mayor."

"Dotting all the I's?" I asked.

"Twice." She rolled her shoulders. "Is that all they want?" she asked with her back to the windows.

"For now," I admitted and moved to sit on the bench.

"Just how far are they wanting to take this?" she whispered.

Instead of answering, I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her hips, letting her settle between my thighs. When I pressed my face into her chest and her hands moved up into my hair, I answered.

"They expect me to fully use you."

She sighed. "Then I suppose you'll just have to let me come over tonight."

I chuckled. "I suppose. You know where I live. Stop by anytime."

"I'll bring dinner." She glanced at her watch. "I'd better go, I've got a meeting in half an hour." She turned and glanced towards the windows, then added a little louder, "With the mayor's husband."

I held back a smile and nodded. "I'm glad I could make you sweat. I look forward to doing it again tonight."

The edges of her lips curved slightly before she turned and walked towards the locker rooms.

When she came out again, she was back in her standard detective uniform of dark pants and button-up shirt. She had a worried look on her face, but when I stepped up to her, it disappeared.

"Problems?" I asked softly.

She shook her head. "See you tonight." She reached up on her toes and brushed her lips across mine.

Less than half an hour after she'd left, Ben strolled through the doors.

"Got a minute?" he asked me.

I glanced at my watch and nodded. "I get off in ten."

He nodded. "Meet you outside." He turned and walked out.

Whatever it was, I could tell that it was serious. After showering and clocking out, I stepped out front.

"Declan's been arrested," he said as I stuffed my gym bag into my saddlebags.

"For?" I asked.

"Evelyn's in the hospital," Ben said with a frown.

"Shit," I said, wanting to ask if the woman was okay. Only, I knew Ben wasn't upset that the woman was hurt.

"I need you to come with me tonight on a run," he said quickly. "Declan was supposed to, but now I guess you're going to have to fill in for him since your woman's the one who put him behind bars."

"My…" I had to glance down to hide the smile. "Right," I said, controlling my voice. "When and where do you need me?"

"I'll swing by your place around eight," Ben said. "Be ready."

"Sure thing," I said and then watched Ben drive off on his newer Harley.

Shit, I'd been working on this gig for this long and all it took me to be added into the middle circle was for Rayne to arrest Declan?

I wanted to call or text her. Instead, I drove slowly through town, past the bar, where there were still two cop cars and four uniformed officers standing out front.

When I reached my apartment, I locked myself in my room and updated Jasmine about the plan for that night and tried to find out how Evelyn was doing.

Using my private phone, I shot a text message to Rayne.

"Heard you had a productive afternoon. I've got to call tonight off since I have work now that Declan's busy. Rain check for tomorrow?"

I waited for her response and almost fell asleep in the chair.

"Sounds good. See you then. Sorry I didn't tell you. I've been kinda busy."

"Understood. Night."

After shutting everything down, I set an alarm and crawled into bed for a few hours before Ben would arrive.

When the man finally knocked on my door, I'd dressed in black jeans, a shirt, and my leather jacket. I had both my guns on me—one in the holster where Ben and everyone else knew I wore it every day and the other one tucked in my motorcycle boot. I also had the knife I always kept in my other boot.

"Ready?" Ben asked after running his eyes over me quickly and approving of my attire.

"Yeah," I said, following him down the stairs.

"We're leaving the bikes tonight," he said as he walked towards his truck. I climbed in the passenger seat and sat back as we drove out of town.

I didn't know what I had expected, but almost an hour later, he pulled off the county road and onto a dirt lane choked with overgrowth.

"We walk from here," he said as he climbed out and pulled an empty bag out of the bed. There were a few bags and boxes in the back of his truck that I hadn't noticed before.

"Who?" I asked. Ben just chuckled.

"You'll see." He started walking.

What in the hell had I gotten myself into?

We walked for almost twenty minutes. The pathway got a hell of a lot narrower. I was thankful Ben had brought a high-powered Mag flashlight that lit up the way.

When we made it to a clearing, he shut off the light and we stood there like idiots in the middle of swamp land for almost ten minutes. I wanted to ask questions but felt like Ben would have just told me to shut up.

I vaguely worried about gators. Did they attack at night? Shit. After that thought, every sound I heard caused me to tense.

When my eyes finally adjusted to the dark, I realized just how many stars there were overhead. The trees blocked out a lot of them and the moon was nothing more than a sliver in the night sky.

I'd never really been one to enjoy hiking or camping. But even with the mosquitoes buzzing around me, no doubt sucking my blood wherever my skin was exposed, I thought it was a beautiful night.

Then I heard a noise.

"Who dat?" someone called out in a thick Cajun accent.

"His name is Jameson," Ben answered.

"Where da oder man?" the voice asked.

"Jail. You get me and Jameson tonight," Ben said firmly.

The quiet stretched on. "Follow me," the voice said, and Ben started moving without turning on the light. I followed him, the both of us tripping occasionally on vines or roots.

When I spotted a light coming from a hut, I realized Ben had been following a boy. The kid was no taller than my hips. Skinny too. I'd wager no older than six or so. He wore baggy clothes that had many holes in them and didn't have any shoes on.

"Who dat?" a deeper voice asked, almost causing me to jump.

"Jameson. Declan couldn't make it," Ben said, sounding slightly annoyed. "Are we good?"

The quiet stretched out for almost two full minutes, during which time I was barely breathing. I had no idea if they had weapons on me, how many there were, or even how in the hell to get out of the place.

Then I heard something land by Ben's feet. He bent over and picked it up, turning it over in his hand a few times. "Where's the rest?" Ben asked.

"Da boy will show you where da rest at," the man said, his Cajun accent so strong that he was hard to understand. "Where is our stuff at?"

Ben pulled out a small bag from his jacket pocket and tossed it to the shadow standing a few feet away.

Seconds later, a lighter flickered, and I held my breath. I'd never seen anyone as skinny as the old man standing before us. You could practically see every bone in his body. He was wearing a pair of old jeans and nothing else. His gray hair reached down to the waist of the jeans, and his eyes… there was something about those eyes. Like a wild animal that had seen one too many days in a cage.

How many times had I seen that look before on the men and women I'd locked up? Too many.

This man would, undoubtedly, kill.

The amount of drugs Ben had given the man wouldn't last someone this deep in addiction long. I guessed the Reapers had regular meetups. The only question was, what was the man giving them in return?

By the size and shape of the package he'd thrown to Ben, I doubted that it was drugs.

"Show dem, boy," the man said, waving his hand as he turned to go back into the dark hut.

"Follow me," the boy said, and we turned to walk through the darkness again. "Right dar," the boy said when we stopped by a small boat floating in the dark bayou waters.

"Thanks," Ben said and tossed a small package to the boy.

"Drugs?" I asked with a frown as the boy turned and disappeared back towards the hut.

Ben laughed. "Sugar. Candy. He likes hard candy. Chocolate melts and his pa finds it and whoops him. Hard candy he can hide." Ben shrugged. "I'm not a monster. The kid is only eight."

"Right," I said.

"Help me with these." Ben motioned to the similarly shaped packages that practically filled the small boat.

The first time I held one bundle, I knew exactly what was inside. Cash. Judging by how many bundles, I'd wager almost a hundred thousand dollars' worth.

The old man was a mule and a user. Bad combo for the kid.

"Now what?" I asked Ben when we were heading back to the truck.

"On to the next stop," Ben said with a sigh. He tossed the bags of money under his seat as I climbed in.

We drove back towards Gemsville, taking the main route this time. I realized we'd only been about half an hour away from town using the main road. Why had Ben taken the back road to get there?

My only guess was that he could explain away the money, but if he'd been caught with the drugs…

When he pulled into a long drive and turned off the truck, this time I knew exactly who he was meeting.

"You can stay in the truck for this one," Ben said, getting out and shutting the door behind him.

Shit, I thought. What in the hell was Ben doing meeting with Henry Taylor?