Vegas, Baby (4 page)

CHAPTER 4

ANSWERING the phone had been a bad idea, especially with Rio in the next room. Stupid move. Really stupid. Eddie gave himself a swift mental kick. He’d have to be more careful in the future. No more meds.

Disconnecting the call, he drew a breath and willed away the
caught
sensation before turning to Rio.

“Sorry.” She shook her head, probably trying to feign nonchalance, and tucked her fingertips inside the waistband of her slacks.

“It’s alright,” he said. So long as she hadn’t heard too much.

She leaned against the doorjamb, leaving lots of risk-free space between them. No need to be so guarded. Eddie had a feeling she could hold her own.

A chill sliced through him and confusion fogged his brain. His legs felt like toothpicks trying to hold up a brick. Everything went black and he stumbled forward.

Seemingly from out of nowhere she caught him. He worried his frame would overpower hers and they’d both end up on the floor. She may be a kickass cop, on more levels than one, but when was a mountain ever stopped by a molehill? He was bigger than her. It was the law of physics, plain and simple.

The molehill moved the mountain toward the couch, proving him wrong. But, just as the law of physics promised, she succumbed to the pressure and they fell together onto the sofa.

Eddie’s hands trembled. What the hell...? He’d been so fixated on not hurting her that a gashing pain had snuck up on him and was now sawing his head apart with a dull hacksaw.

Pills. He needed pills. But he didn’t want them. Drugs meant losing control. Telling his secrets.

No. He could fight this. He could win. He just had to be stronger than the pain.

Her fingers invaded his mouth. She shoved in something that tasted a lot like chalk—damn it, the drugs.

“No, I don’t want it.” He protested, twisting his head back and forth, but she was too pushy. He coughed and she barricaded his mouth with the palm of her hand.

“Swallow it.” Her stern voice reminded him of Mrs. Larche, his second-grade teacher. She was scary. There was nothing scary about Rio, even though all their coworkers thought differently.

Okay. Okay. He’d swallow it. “Water,” he said, barely above a whisper.

“I’ll get you some water. But just lie down, okay? Don’t try to get up.”

“Somebody named Billy called.” Eddie propped his feet on the coffee table.

His mother’s chastising voice entered his head.
Eddie, get your feet off the table
. He’d heard that plenty of times as a kid.

A quick glimpse at Rio, in the kitchen pouring him a glass of water, she was oblivious of his violation. He slipped his feet off the table, unnoticed.

“Billy called? What’d he say?”

“Just that he’d call you back later.” Eddie studied Rio’s demeanor through his hazed cognizance. He pushed the confusion to the back of his mind, giving his curiosity more room to advance.

She didn’t say anything, just moved toward him with grace. Nothing about her gave away Billy’s identity. Hopefully he wasn’t a boyfriend. That would put a damper on Eddie’s plans.

“He must be a pretty open-minded guy.” He hit her with an open-ended question smothered in enough evasiveness that she might not recognize the masquerade.

“Open-minded?” She tilted her head and set the glass on the table. “Yeah, I guess.” She shrugged and sat, leaving a noticeable space between them.

“Well, I mean, you know, I answered your phone and all...”

She started laughing, one of those cackling wails born more out of absurdity than humor.

Eddie didn’t know what to make of it, but at least he’d diverted her from the phone call she’d walked in on. “I’m glad I could amuse you.” Somehow, insecurity had snuck into his tone. He didn’t like it but it was useful. It made his diffidence appear genuine.

“Aside from the fact that Billy is my cousin—” Rio shook her head. “He’s getting married soon.”

Not that marriage was an ironclad remedy against infidelity, but Eddie didn’t see Rio Laraquette as the type to settle for the role of mistress. “Billy,” Eddie said, and leaned back, relaxing. “He’s your cousin?” It was time to turn the conversation on its side. “By blood?” He let the inquiry hold all the innuendo and insinuation she was bound to imagine.

“Yeah.” She turned toward him, and, as if her legs had drawn too close, she scooted back, keeping her distance. “My biological mother and Billy’s father are—were siblings.”

“At least you can trust family,” he said with such conviction she’d never know he was feigning hypocrisy.

She snorted and showered him with brief hostility. “Well, trust and family don’t mix well where I come from.”

Mine either
. Eddie stopped the words from spilling past his thoughts. He was feeling better now, and he wasn’t about to let this turn into a wasted opportunity. “Your trust is better saved for coworkers?” He’d learn, one way or another, where her alliances lay.

She cut her eyes toward him, her face skewing into a scowl.

“What’s the matter?” he asked. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Well...” She sunk back against the couch. “I have trust issues.”

“Trust issues?” he asked, leaning toward her.

“Thanks to dear ole’ Mom,” she said, her voice edged with irritation.

Eddie’s eyebrows lifted and he left them there until they’d crinkled into a frown. “You and your mother don’t get along?”

“That’s putting it mildly.” If that wasn’t so sad, it might be funny.

“How about your dad?”

Rio’s mood turned bittersweet. “Daddy...” Oh, where to begin. “Daddy means well.” Too bad he wasn’t very good at it. He had no trouble showering Rio with money and gifts, when all she really wanted was love.

“He doesn't like that you’re a cop?”

“He’s not crazy about the idea,” she said, “but he’s not completely against it, either.”

“A little protective, huh?”

“Yes, I suppose so.” Unwanted emotions lingering over from her childhood began to stir and she paused, giving them a mental smack-down. “Seems lately that he’s been trying to make up for my childhood, so he tries to make everything perfect in my life.” Everything materialistic, anyway.

“Can he do that?”

Which one? Reconcile her childhood or compensate accordingly now? She didn’t care to talk about either, but then this look of understanding moved across his eyes. His compelling gaze persuaded Rio to share some of her secrets.

“Well, it’s kind of hard to make up for not one but two dysfunctional mothers.”

“Two?” his inquiry nipped at her.

Well, that’s just great
. Why had Rio gone and opened that door? “Yep.” She raised two fingers, one at a time. “Count ‘em. Two.”

His dark eyes showed his curiosity. When he shook his head, she felt a sense of regret. He was going to ask questions. Questions she’d rather not answer.

“Maybe it’s the meds, but...help me to understand how you came by
two
mothers?”

“Well,” she said, using her fingers as visual aids, “wife number one, bio mommy, split when I was a baby.” Rio had no idea why she was telling this to a virtual stranger, yet she continued on. “Wife number two, the only mother I’ve ever known, couldn’t stand me.” She attempted a laugh, but all she got was a nervous cackle. “That, in a nutshell, is why I have issues. Both my mothers left me without so much as a hi, bye, kiss my ass or nothing.”

“Well, it’s their loss.” He closed his eyes and massaged his forehead.

She leaned toward him and touched his knee. “You doing okay?”

He opened his eyes and swathed her in a tender, ardent gaze. “You?”

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” she said, sinking back into her chair. “I learned to adapt a long time ago.”

“Me, too,” he said softly. “You know...” His words fell into a long, exhaustive sigh. “I’m just so tired. Maybe it’s the meds but I think I need to lie down.”

Rio sprang to her feet and pulled him up by the ankles, coaxing him to lie on the couch.

She grabbed an afghan off the back of a nearby chair and stalled long enough to let her gaze travel over and enjoy the look of his tall, athletic physique before she covered him. His presence gave her comfort.

A sudden chill swept over her arms. She crossed them and strolled toward the wall of windows overlooking the Strip. Millions of lights twinkled against the twilight as the city awakened, right along with her carnal desires. Desires she’d thought she’d locked up tight—until Eddie LaCall came to town.

* * *

Sunlight, bright and evasive, pried Eddie from his slumber. Instantly, he knew he was on Rio’s couch. Vague recollections of passing out last night pierced his ego.

Eddie opened his eyes. Rio was curled up in the recliner, sleeping. Man, that girl was striking with her wild red hair and long, lean legs that could easily wrap around him twice.

He shook those thoughts out of his head but they refused to leave.

Come on, LaCall...get a grip
. Considering these affluent surroundings and the expensive car she was sporting around town, this girl had claimed her spot at the top of his list. Better to wrap this up quickly and get the hell out of Dodge.

His cell rang, interrupting his mental preparation. Neither unhappy nor pleased with the distraction, he reached for the phone lying on the coffee table and flipped it open with a one-handed maneuver. “LaCall.”

“It’s Gabe Dalton.” The anxious voice of his new boss poured across the wire. “Where are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m at Rio’s,” Eddie said. She began to stir.

“Good,” Gabe’s voice barely broke through Eddie’s fixation on Rio. She sat up, eyes still closed, drew a deep breath and slowly opened her lids to look at him. “I don’t know how to break this to you,” Gabe’s tone grew tense and that cracked Eddie’s concentration.

“Break what to me?” Eddie asked, unable to cage his anxiety.

“I got a call from the fire department,” he said. “There was a fire at your house last night.”

“How bad?” Eddie’s heart rate kicked up a notch.

“You’d better get over there.” Sympathy poured out in Gabe’s voice.

The poise Rio had displayed seconds before drained from her face. It was replaced with timid curiosity. “What...?” She beseeched him to share the details of his conversation.

Eddie disconnected the call and slid the phone into the front pocket of his Levi’s. “There was a fire at my house last night.” He paused, as if that’d change the news. It didn’t. The thought that he could own nothing but the clothes on his back left him with a hollow feeling. “Would you take me there? I’d like to see if I can salvage anything.”

CHAPTER 5

EDDIE approached the house through the front yard—a sea of beach pebbles the color of coral, a staple of western landscaping. The house’s front windows were still intact on the torched shell and covered in soot. A heavy scorched stench brought reality home.

His temporary haven, the house he’d rented for his stay in Vegas, had been reduced to ash and burnt rubble, right along with everything Eddie owned. They’d said that not even his truck in the garage was salvageable.

He moved through the crippled entryway that used to have a door, reminding himself not to forget that Rio was behind him. Part ego and part detective told him to keep calm. Neutral. Never let your guard down. Let it down and you lose your edge.

Just inside the doorway, he braced himself and surveyed what used to be the living room. He focused on the charred ruins of the entertainment center. Skeletons of burned picture frames still stood on the scorched top, their photographs seared beyond recognition.

Images of his most cherished memories...gone, forever. His mother’s face, young and flawless, back before the tragedy that tore their family apart. Gone. His father showing off his ‘67 Chevelle, his most prized possession. Gone. And Eddie’s sister, Olivia—he could hardly remember her now. Gone.

A fireman emerged in the wreckage from the area that used to be a back hallway. Eddie commanded his unsteady emotions to step aside, and then beckoned the guy over. “Any idea what happened?”

“Educated guess.” The fireman shrugged, both arms dangling at his sides. “I’d say faulty wiring.”

Faulty wiring. The words whipped across Eddie’s mind with a biting chill. Some inept contractor’s blunder was responsible for the loss of practically all his belongings.

Eddie turned and locked eyes with Rio. Hers held a dedicated sense of compassion. Damn. He’d forgotten she was there, and it was too late to hide what she’d already seen. His loss. He let go of the question that had been pounding the sides of his skull. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

“Well, for starters...” She reached for his hand and gave him a gentle tug. “We’re getting out of here.”

He tagged along behind her, mainly because he didn’t want to see any more of the proof inside. Besides, his eyes hurt. They stung from the noxious smoke and bitter smell of charred wood.

She stopped in the middle of the yard that was overflowing with hoses, shovels, axes, and fire extinguishers. Tears had begun to seep from the outer corners of her eyes and she fanned her face.

He knew the gesture well. Sure, they could blame it on the fire, but no one understood better than Eddie about not wanting to appear weak. And tears, no matter where they came from, had a way of revealing a person’s weaknesses.

“What can I do for you?” she asked. Her offer sparked surprise in Eddie. Nobody but his mother had ever cared about what he needed.

Eddie sucked in his surprise and searched his brain for an answer to her question. What could she do? What couldn’t she do was an easier answer.

One last sweeping scan over the house’s carcass and Eddie accepted that it was time to step back and regroup. He looked at Rio. “Could you give me a ride?”

“Sure.” She began a slow procession of steps that led her toward her car. “Where do you want to go?”

“Maybe the federal building for starters,” he said, following along beside her. “I need to sit down and figure out what I’m going to do.” He paused long enough to slide into the passenger’s side of the car. “Where I’ll go from here.”

“Alright,” she said, fishing her cell out of her cleavage.

He gave up his interest in the phone’s hiding place in favor of who she was calling. “Anybody I know?” he asked, feeling upbeat, considering.

“Do you know PF Chang’s?” She threw him a humorous smile and hit the speed dial.

No. But he quickly deduced it as a restaurant when she started ordering things like General Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, Fried Rice, Egg Rolls and Crab Rangoons, all to be delivered to the Federal Complex.

By the time they arrived, so had the food.

* * *

Rio popped the last bite of Crab Rangoon into her mouth and savored the flavor, hoping it’d last until she got her hands on some more.

“Man...” She banged on the computer keyboard, taking out her frustrations. “I cannot believe there isn’t a single available hotel room in the entire city.”

Eyes of nearby colleagues landed on Rio. She gave them a sweeping smile and willed them to go back to minding their own damn business.

As heads turned away, one by one, Rio went back to her own affairs.

“Looks like being homeless in the midst of a major poker tournament isn’t such a great idea.” Eddie leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on Rio’s desk.

“There isn’t much you can do right now,” she said, eyeing his feet.

“I don’t even have a truck to sleep in.” A glint of humor finally returned to his smile.

“That’s why you have to come stay at my place.” She cut a stern eye at him. “At least until you can make other arrangements.”

“As enticing as that sounds,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t think of imposing on you.”

“Well, I guess you can sleep at your desk.” She surveyed the office’s expanse with a wide scan. “But I wouldn’t let Gabe catch you doing that.” Rio gave Eddie a wink before he had the chance to douse her with a comeback.

His mouth twitched with amusement and his eyes raked boldly over her. She let her mind caress his good looks with a quick fleeting glimpse and then chastised herself for getting carried away.
No, no, no
. Remember...
lose your head, lose your heart
.

“You have a point,” he said, dropping his feet to the floor. “It’s probably not a good idea to piss the boss off when I’m so new to the job, huh?” He leaned toward her, resting his forearm on one knee and winked.

“You’re going to have to impose on someone.” She judged him guardedly. “Might as well be me.”

“And you don’t think that’s moving us to the next level a little too quickly?” he asked, half-serious.

“Look, LaCall.” Her mood soured as she pushed her chair against the wall and away from him. “I never said I was going to sleep with you. I have two bedrooms and you’re welcome to one of them for as long as you like.”

She tried to stare him down but her efforts were fruitless. He still had her wanting to laugh and that was overrunning her with a self-conscious ache. She fought it and glanced away, looking for any kind of distraction, finding none.

“Yeah,” he quipped, rolling his chair toward her, “you keep telling yourself that.”

“In your dreams, LaCall
,”
she insisted.
“
In your dreams.” Her heart hammered desire up to her face, scalding her cheeks.

If she was lucky, Eddie LaCall would back away.

Any second now.

Gabe entered Rio’s peripheral vision with a slow swagger, one arm swinging at his side and his other hand stuffed inside the pocket of his slacks. Her gaze traveled up to his smiling face. Rarely did the man smile, but his daughter was an incentive for such a happy disposition.

Digger must be here. Damn. With the fire at Eddie’s house, she’d forgotten about their lunch date.

“Michelle’s on her way up,” Gabe said to Rio.

She thanked him with a pleasant smile and dug her purse out from her bottom left-hand drawer.

Digger appeared around the corner on the arm of Chris Bradley. “It’s always a pleasure when the lovely Michelle drops in for a visit,” he said, delivering her to Rio’s desk side.

“Dig...” Rio addressed her friend by her preferred nickname. “I’m almost ready to go.” She pushed her chair back and stood, glancing down at Eddie. “When I get back we’ll talk strategy on the new case,” she said vaguely, on purpose. Anything more would be fodder for Digger’s imagination.

Every time Digger showed up, Chris was like a puppy dog following her around, flirting with her. But Rio supposed his motivation had more to do with Digger being Gabe’s daughter than Bradley being that attracted to her. Not that Digger was homely or anything. She was average height, slender, dark hair and blue eyes. Pretty girl who’d had her share of nefarious affairs.

She was definitely getting laid much more often than Rio.

“You ladies want some company?” Chris asked with such a straight face that Rio couldn’t tell if he was serious or not.

She cut him a glare that was supposed to ward him off. It didn’t. He twitched his eyebrows a couple of times and waited for an invite.

Digger giggled.

“Sure, you can come along.” Rio slung her purse over her shoulder. “We’re planning to take in a little eye candy though while we dine,” she added, moving past Chris and prying Digger from his grasp.

“Hooters?” Chris asked with a little too much enthusiasm.

“Not exactly.” She gave him a once-over that ended with a ho-hum sigh, as if he didn’t measure up. When her gaze met his, she grinned. “Chippendales.”

A chorus of repugnant objections harmonized around Rio. That’ll teach them. She laughed inside. “You ready?” she asked Digger.

“Yeah,” Digger said, pulling away from Chris. “Think it’d be okay if we lunch downstairs?” she asked as they walked toward the double doors. “I have a client at two.”

Rio glanced at her watch. 12:30. “Sure. Okay.” She didn’t mind eating downstairs.

“Bye, Daddy.” Digger waved at Gabe as Rio pushed through the exit and out into the hallway. “Isn’t Chris Bradley a little hottie?” she whispered at Rio.

“Please, Dig, tell me you’re not going there?” Rio shuddered at the thought of her friend getting mixed up with her coworker.

“Are you kidding me?” Digger’s voice jumped an octave. “Me and Bradley?” She slipped inside the elevator with Rio. “I mean, he’s cute and all,” she said with an inconsequential shrug, “but he’d never be able to handle me.”

Rio snorted and hit the ‘one’ button. They rode the elevator down two floors and, after a slight wait in the cafeteria line, they claimed a table in the back corner near a window.

Rio didn’t pay much attention to the bright sunny day outside. She was more concerned about what Digger might have to say.

“So tell me about this mole, Dig.” Rio lifted the top bun off her burger, diligently salted the beef patty and then the fries. She reassembled the burger, adding the lettuce and tomato sitting on the side, and took a big bite.

“All I can tell you is that someone you’re acquainted with is not what they seem,” Digger said, pouring sugar into her tea.

“Someone of my acquaintance?” Rio picked up a French fry and held it in the air next to her mouth. “That’s awfully vague,” she added and then took a bite. She loved French fries, and the cafeteria’s, surprisingly, were some of her favorites.

“Sorry, but I cannot be more specific.” Digger’s apology was hollow, she was never
sorry
for the messages, or lack thereof, that she delivered. “I have no idea who it is. But, in your shoes, I wouldn’t trust anybody.” Her tone was somber. She really meant that.

“Is the mole and whoever’s watching me the same person?”

“It’s possible, but I doubt it.” She paused, as if listening to someone speak. Someone Rio couldn’t hear. “I think they’re unrelated.”

“You still think I’m in danger?”

“Yes. I see danger all around you.” She paused and pointed her fry at Rio. “I also see one very sexy houseguest in your immediate future.”

Okay, it was that kind of crap that drove Rio nuts. Chills swept over her, raising the hairs on her arms. How could she know that? Rio and Eddie had only discussed it moments before Digger arrived.

Digger stopped. Her hands froze at the sides of her plate. “Your car.”

My car
? Rio’s pulse accelerated.

“And a knife,” she said, staring off into space. “A big knife.”

What the hell...? “Is somebody going to try to stab me in my car?” The hysteria hammering the blood through Rio’s veins escaped in her anguished tone.

Finally, Digger’s gaze fell upon Rio. “I don’t think you should go anywhere alone right now.”

That wouldn’t have bothered Rio half as much if it hadn’t been for the look on Digger’s face.

Sheer fright.