Chapter 13

"Many individuals have, like uncut diamonds, shining qualities beneath a rough exterior."

–Decimus Junius Juvenalis

Jameson

By the next morning, news of what had happened to Rayne was everywhere in town. Since I had to be at work at the gym at six, I'd heard it shortly after I arrived and unlocked the doors.

My first inclination was to turn everyone out, lock up, and head to the hospital to see how she was doing.

Then Felix showed up. Felix hardly ever came to the gym. Since he wasn't carrying a gym bag, I knew he wasn't there to lift weights.

"What's up?" I asked when we stepped into the empty waiting area.

"Heard your side piece got in some trouble last night." Felix chuckled as he ran his eyes over my face. Was he wanting to gauge my reaction?

"Yeah, I heard," I said, trying to sound unfazed. The truth was, I could think of little else. I desperately wished I could text Rayne even if I couldn't go see her.

"Ben tells me last night went smooth," he added.

I shrugged. "I just took a ride," I said, acting bored.

"Yeah, well, we appreciate you stepping in. It won't happen again now that Declan is out. He promised me that he is going to fall in line."

I frowned slightly. "Okay."

Felix narrowed his eyes. "Until things cool off, I think we gained everything we can from your lady friend. I hope you got your fill of her."

My eyebrows shot up. "Not really," I said slowly. "I was hoping for last night."

Felix laughed and slapped me on my back. "Do what you want. From here on out, the cop is yours to toy with."

Before I could ask him what that meant, he turned and walked out.

Shit. Declan was out of jail already. Was he the one who shot up Rayne's house? If the timing matched up then there was no doubt in my mind Declan was the shooter. Which just pissed me off.

Deciding I was in the right place to get rid of that anger, I lifted weights until I couldn't feel my body.

Once I clocked out for the day, I headed straight home to shoot Rayne a text from my private phone.

"Are you okay?"

When no response came, I tossed the phone back on the desk and paced the small safe room. Shit. Shit.

After an hour, I decided to head to the hospital, not caring if anyone saw me.

After all, I'd just admitted to Felix I wasn't done with Rayne. Maybe they'd see it as a sign that I just wanted to keep that relationship going.

When I stepped outside my place, a silver-haired man walked up to me. I instantly recognized Randy Cordova, the chief of police.

"We need to talk," he told me. "Not here." He motioned towards the coffee shop. "Don't worry, I made sure no one was around." He started walking.

I fell in step with him and asked, "Is she okay?"

He nodded. "Tell me that you had nothing to do with last night."

I almost winced. "No, I was somewhere else," I said quickly.

The man nodded as we stepped inside.

"How bad is it?" I asked. "I was just heading over…"

"Don't. She's home with us now. Resting," Randy said as we took a seat at a table in the back.

I frequented the place since I lived upstairs, and so did Randy. The waitress walked over and poured us each a cup of coffee.

"Anything else for either of you?" she asked.

"No, thanks, Katie," Randy said and then waited until we were alone again. "Declan was released half an hour before."

"Shit." I ran my hand through my hair. "I knew it. That son of a…" I started to get up, only to stop when Randy laid a hand on my arm.

"Don't. I've known who you were and what you were doing from the moment you stepped foot in my town. Now, I've let you be. Done what I had to clear my town of… well, people like Declan. I hadn't expected you to take so damned long nor did I for one minute believe you'd drag my daughter into the mess."

I nodded slowly, understanding.

"Do what you have to. Shut them down. Then, get the hell out of Gemsville, and by god, don't look back," he warned. "I'll be damned if I let anything happen to Rayne. I hated the day she decided to become a cop like me. Hated the day I pinned the badge on her. Proud as hell but hated it. Knowing what could happen to us always getting in the line of fire. But let's face facts—as bad as we have it, you have it a hundred times worse. Your entire life becomes a lie. The things you have to do…" He shook his head. "You're made of stronger stuff than most. So I'll say this once. If you have any feelings for my daughter, you'll step away now before something goes down. Before you break something in her by leaving. We both know that Felix and his gang aren't the brains, they're the brawn, and they'll gladly burn the whole damn town down before they give up who it is they work for."

I nodded again. "If it was Declan, then last night had nothing to do with me," I pointed out.

"Don't give me that crap," Randy said, almost spilling his coffee. "If you'd done your damn job faster, Declan wouldn't be a problem." He stood up. "Do your goddamned job. Before someone gets hurt."

"Sir," I stopped him from leaving. "Tell Rayne I'm sorry."

He nodded and then walked out, leaving me to brood in my lukewarm coffee. After feeling sorry for myself for a few more minutes, I headed back upstairs and did what Randy suggested. I got to work.

Felix was hosting another one of his big parties that following weekend, which meant everyone would be in attendance. Including Declan.

One thing Felix never discouraged was fighting at one of his parties. If any of the members had a problem with the other, the party was a safe place to air your grievances.

Until then, I had a few people I needed to look into. First and foremost was Henry Taylor.

The deceased mayor's husband was getting a middle-of-the-night visit from the Reapers for a reason. All the money we'd moved had disappeared into the Taylor's massive mansion.

Since I was revved up, I geared up and snuck out of my place shortly after dark. I made my way in the shadows as I headed down the street to where I had a car stashed in a garage. Then I drove the side streets out of town and headed to the Taylor's massive place. I needed a look around.

I'd scoped out a place to park the car in the brush and hiked almost two miles to the old plantation. I was surprised at the lack of security.

Lying in the tall grass a few yards from the home, I scanned every inch of the place through my night vision scope.

I didn't spot any cameras anywhere on the home or surrounding trees, not even a doorbell with a camera on it.

There were also no guard dogs. Which meant I could get as close as I wanted to the place without being recorded or seen.

There were no cars out front and, as I'd driven out of town, I'd spotted Henry Taylor's pink Cadillac parked behind the BBB. So I knew the man was… occupied.

I let myself in the back door, and it took me less than ten minutes to find the hidden safe in the main bedroom's closet. There were two other safes in the house. None of them held the money, which meant either he hid it somewhere else or the money had been handed off.

I was betting on the first option since it was obvious the man had enough money now that his wife was out of the picture. I'd done a few hours of research on the Taylor family.

Sharon Taylor had married Henry Taylor when she'd become pregnant with their twin boys. The marriage appeared to be happy for the first decade or so. After that, there were profiles on online dating apps for the pair of them.

The house was filled with stuffy items, furniture from past centuries mixed with newer items. There was no real style to anything, and it had an almost chaotic atmosphere.

After letting myself out, I hiked back to my car. Since it was on the way, I drove by the Cordova's place, which sat not too far off the road. All the lights were off, so I kept going back into town.

I returned the car to its garage and changed into my normal street clothes. Then I made my way towards the bar, knowing the gang would be there.

When I walked in, to my shock, Evelyn was sitting on Declan's lap, laughing, her casted arm held tight up against her body. There were bruises all over her face and legs.

I wanted to ask what in the hell was going on, but instead, I acted like I was brooding and went to sit down in my usual spot. Izzy was there and within minutes she was all over me.

"I heard you've been slumming it with Rayne." She chuckled. "That bitch has always gone after men out of her league."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I tried to joke. What I wanted to do was walk away, but Randy was right. I was here to do a job. I should have used Izzy to get as much information as possible long ago.

Wrapping my hand around her waist, I pulled her closer. "How's that going?" I asked, motioning towards Declan and Evelyn.

She sighed and leaned against me, and I could tell and smell that she was seriously wasted.

"I think they've both learned their lesson." She sighed as she brushed her fingers through my hair. "Have you?"

I tilted my head slightly. "Me?" I asked.

She smiled. "Reapers don't fuck cops."

Everything in my body tensed as a light bulb went off over my foggy head.

Shit. How fucking far off had I been?

Yeah, of course, it had been Izzy who had shot up Rayne's place.

She would have been jealous the second she'd found out I was with Rayne.

"Yeah," I said, trying very hard not to clench my back teeth. "That was you?

She laughed and shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about." I could see the truth in her eyes.

She straddled my leg and started grinding it slowly. "How about we head to my place? I know just how to scratch that itch you have."

Thankfully, just then, Ben walked over and grabbed Izzy's arm.

"Give us a minute," he told her and yanked her off my leg.

Izzy frowned at Ben, then pouted as she walked back towards Nadia and a few other Reapers playing pool.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I might need you for another job tomorrow night," Ben said, sitting down beside me. "Felix wants Declan to tag along but I still think he has to cool off. He almost blew the last run I took him on."

"Sure," I said, trying hard not to sound excited. "Same time tomorrow?" I asked.

Ben shrugged. "What time do you get off work?"

I thought about it for a second. "I have the day off."

Ben nodded. "Then we'll leave around eight tomorrow night."

I nodded. "Gear?" I asked.

Ben ran his eyes over me. "What you're wearing is fine. We'll take the bikes for part of the journey." I nodded and he stood up. "Can you swim?"

I laughed and then nodded. "Sure." I pretended to doggy paddle, causing Ben to chuckle and slap my shoulder hard.

Since I'd accomplished more than I'd imagined, I decided not to take my chances with Izzy again. I downed my beer in one gulp and headed towards the back door.

Unfortunately, Izzy beat me to it.

"Ready?" she asked, taking my hand in hers.

"I'm heading home. Alone," I added. "I'm not in the mood tonight." I pulled my hand free.

She pushed her hand against my chest until I backed up against the door.

"We're having serious thoughts about your loyalty," she hissed.

"We?" I chuckled.

Her eyes narrowed. "I am," she corrected. "I'm through playing games with you."

"I don't play games," I warned and removed her hand from my chest. "Nor do I fuck someone I don't want to."

I turned to walk out and then was blindsided when a half-full beer bottle crashed into the side of my head. I was stunned for a moment before I recovered to duck the next one as blood oozed from my head just above my left ear.

"Crazy bitch," Ben hissed as he yanked Izzy back a few feet and wrapped his arms around her to stop her from throwing anything more. "Go on, get out of here. I've got her," Ben told me.

Seeing the blood on my hand, I straightened and nodded.

Shit, I thought as I headed towards my place, thankful that it was only a couple blocks away.

By the time I climbed my stairs, everything was blurry.

"What in the hell happened to you?" Rayne asked from my doorway. It was dark enough that I couldn't see her face. Hell, if I hadn't climbed my stairs, I wouldn't have known she was there.

Without answering, I quickly unlocked my door and pulled her inside. Making sure to keep my lights off, I held onto her for a full minute before talking.

"Why are you here?" I asked. I tried to remember why she shouldn't be there, but my head hurt too much.

She reached up and touched my head. "You're bleeding."

"Yeah." I took her hand and cupped it. "I'm okay."

"No, you're not." She glanced around. When she reached for the light switch, I stopped her.

"Wait," I said, taking her hand and pulling her into my bathroom. Then I switched on the light and we both gasped when we finally got a look at one another.

There was a large bandage over her forehead and smaller cuts and bruises over her face and hands.

Cupping her face in my blood-soaked hands, I leaned in and kissed her gently. "It was Izzy," I said and felt her tense. "She pretty much bragged about it to me just now. Right before she threw two beer bottles at my head for turning her down tonight."

When I moved my hand, I realized I'd smeared her face with blood. Taking a towel, I started to wipe it clean, but she took the towel from me and held it to my head. I winced with pain.

"I think there's still some glass in here. Sit down." She motioned to the side of my tub. I sat. Well, more like fell.

"Do you have a first aid kit?" she asked, walking over to the sink.

"Under," I said, holding the towel to my head. "What are you doing here?" I asked as she bent to get the kit.

"I came to talk to you." She set the kit on the counter and then dug through it. "Randy said he had a chat with you earlier."

"Yeah," I sighed, remembering suddenly that I was supposed to steer clear of Rayne. She turned towards me and we locked eyes. "I can't do it." I shook my head.

"What?" she asked, moving closer to me.

"Stay away from you," I said, running my eyes over her. How could I stay away? Why would I?

"Then don't," she said as a slow smile spread on those luscious lips of hers. God, I wanted to kiss her. Needed to.

In a daze, I pulled her lips to mine, tasting her, feeling her, and then I poured everything I felt into that one kiss. My hopes and dreams for us, for my future, for our future. What I had come to feel for her in the short time I'd known her. What I wanted from her was so obvious it was a wonder it didn't burst from me. Could this work? Could we get through this unscathed?

Whatever happened, I was going to make damned sure we did.