Golden Trail

Chapter Eleven Dark and Wild

It was ten to six when Layne turned onto his street and saw Rocky’s Mercedes parked, not in the drive, but at the curb behind a white Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais circa 1987, Dev’s ride.

She was early.

Layne was late.

He was late because he’d made the mistake of calling his client who was dedicated to the belief her husband was stepping out on her in an attempt to convince her that her husband was not stepping out on her. This should have been a ten minute conversation. It ended up being a forty-five minute conversation during which she’d fired him and informed him that she was hiring someone who would do the job properly. Layne wasn’t broken up about this, mainly because she was coming the next day to pay in cash.

He was also late because he stopped at the liquor store. He meant to buy a bottle of red wine for Rocky but ended up purchasing three and, because she hadn’t been of age when they were together and he had no fucking clue what she drank (outside red wine and fancy-ass beer, the latter of which he wasn’t spending money on on principle), he bought bottles of vodka, rum, gin, tequila as well as margarita mix and two-liters of diet cola and tonic water.

When Layne pulled into his drive, the garage door was up and the Charger was parked inside. Rocky and Dev undoubtedly parked in the street because Layne was coming in and Jasper had to go out to pick up Keira.

He pulled in, jumped down and Blondie jumped down behind him. Layne opened the backdoor of the SUV and hefted out the three carrier bags. He led the dog into the house and this took effort because Blondie was crowding him in her excitement to get to her boys, so much that they walked into the kitchen together.

Blondie shot forward but Layne stopped dead.

The vacuum was going and this was because Jasper was pushing it around the rug in the living room. Tripp was also in the living room, a dust rag in one hand, a can of furniture polish in the other and he was working on the wood of the TV unit. Rocky was still wearing her work getup, her back to him, standing at an island that was cleared of mail, magazines, papers, used coffee mugs, pop cans, beer bottles and other detritus. It now appeared to be covered in vegetables and at the end was an enormous bouquet of flowers. All the other counters had also been cleared as well as wiped down. Devin was sitting on a stool opposite Raquel, his fingers curled around a bottle of beer. When Layne walked in, both Devin and Rocky were laughing.

“Hey Dad!” Tripp shouted, Jasper’s head swung to him, Devin’s eyes went to him and Rocky turned toward him, a knife in her hand. Blondie barked and attacked Jasper and the vacuum.

“Have I entered a new dimension?” Layne asked the room to which Jasper grinned as he gave Blondie a head rub.

“Rocky says girls don’t like dirty houses,” he shouted over the vacuum then Blondie lost interest in Jas and attacked Tripp and Jasper grabbed the handle of the vacuum again and started pushing it under the coffee table.

There you go. Rocky was behind this activity.

“She’d know,” Layne muttered, his eyes swinging to Rocky and catching her dimple before she turned back to her vegetables.

He walked to the island beside her and dumped his bags next to the vegetables. She had a bowl in front of her already filled with salad leaves, sliced cucumbers, diced tomatoes, strips of yellow bell pepper and she was working on a carrot.

“Hey Dev,” Layne greeted.

“Boy,” Dev greeted back, his eyes slid to Rocky, back to Layne and he smiled slowly.

Layne had no idea how long Rocky was there but however long it was, she’d earned Dev’s approval. This didn’t surprise Layne. Her Dad was a cop so was her brother and she knew every uniform and plainclothesman in the county – Rocky was Dev’s kind of people. Rocky was also a female of the beautiful variety who wore tight skirts, high heels and soft sweaters – that was Dev’s kind of people too.

Layne moved into Rocky’s back, put a hand to the counter in front of her and discovered one good thing about her wearing her hair up. It left her neck totally exposed. With this opportunity afforded him, he placed a hand on her sweater at her waist, slid it forward to her belly and touched his lips to the skin behind her ear.

He absorbed the minor tremor that slid through her body before it went stiff and he whispered in her ear, “Hey baby.”

She kept cutting as she whispered back, “Hey Layne.”

“You’re early,” he noted and she nodded, her body still stiff, likely because his was pressed the length of her back, from hips to shoulders and he not only hadn’t moved either hand, he also had begun to slide his thumb back and forth across the soft material of her sweater.

“I thought I’d help Jasper impress Keira with his concern over her nutrition,” she replied and tossed some of the carrots into the bowl. “Though, not too concerned. I also bought an apple pie and vanilla bean ice cream for dessert.”

She hadn’t changed because, after work, she’d gone to the store and she’d gone to the store to do something for his boy.

Layne grinned and lifted his face from her neck but didn’t move away when he asked, “Flowers?”

“Those’re from me. You don’t have dinner with the ladies without buyin’ ‘em flowers,” Dev put in and Layne smiled at him.

“Fair warning, sweetcheeks, Dev’s a ladies’ man,” Layne told Rocky.

“He’s already impressed that on me,” Rocky returned and Layne chuckled.

Then he put his lips back to her ear and invited softly, “You need to get outta those shoes, baby.”

“I would,” she replied, “if I wasn’t scared of what my feet would encounter after doing it.”

Layne lifted his head again, still smiling, and called to Tripp, “Finish polishing, Pal, then get that thing that sweeps the floors.”

At his words, Rocky twisted her neck and tilted her head back to look up at him. “It’s called a broom, Layne.”

He smiled down at her. “I told you this was a testosterone zone, sweetcheeks. ‘Bout the only thing in the house that has a connection to work that doesn’t have a plug or use batteries is that polish Tripp’s wielding. We got a thing that sweeps the floors.”

Rocky kept staring up at him after he’d finished speaking, the vacuum had gone off and Layne forced his eyes from hers when he heard Jasper announce, “I’m on that, Dad. Tripp’s gonna clean the downstairs bathroom after he finishes with the furniture.”

Layne looked to Tripp. He had no idea how his youngest bought that chore but him accepting it gave new meaning to his adoration of Rocky.

“I think I got a gasmask and industrial gloves in the garage, Pal. And after you do that, I’ll give you five dollars.”

Tripp sauntered into the kitchen, Blondie at his heels, muttering, “I think it’s worth more like fifty.”

Tripp was not wrong.

Both his boys, and the dog, hit the utility room and Layne turned his attention back to the island. He took his hand from Rocky’s stomach, nabbed a slice of the carrot she was cutting and tossed it into his mouth.

He was chewing when he asked Dev, “How was your day?”

Devin looked in his eyes and pointedly didn’t look at Rocky. “Good.”

“How good?” Layne pressed.

“Real good.”

Layne swallowed, grinned and tagged another carrot he threw in his mouth before he asked Dev, “Oxygen gettin’ thin?”

“I already hear someone chokin’,” Dev replied.

Layne grabbed another slice of carrot and Rocky said, “As fascinating as you and Devin talking in code is, Layne, you take another carrot, you’ll find your hand stuck to the counter with my knife.”

Devin chuckled and Layne tossed the carrot into his mouth before he put that hand back to her belly, her body, which had relaxed, went stiff again and his mouth went back to her ear. “Baby, I’ve had four cups of coffee and a breaded tenderloin sandwich today. Aren’t you concerned for my nutrition?”

Her head turned, his came up and she looked him in the eyes. “I’m thinking you’re healthy enough.”

He dipped his face close to hers and whispered, “You have no idea, but, you want, later I can show you.”

The fire died out of her eyes, the intensity went into them, she stared up at him, totally off-balance and he knew this because she swallowed.

He fought the urge to kiss her as the boys, with dog, re-entered the room carrying new weapons to attack their filthy house and Layne decided to give Raquel a break, moved away from her and toward the bags.

“Tripp, do a good job but do it fast. We gotta have a conversation before Keira gets here,” he announced as he emptied the bottles from the bags and he felt all eyes turn to him.

“Jesus, boy, you havin’ a teenager over for dinner or you hostin’ a rave?” Devin asked as the bottles were unveiled.

“Rocky likes red wine,” Layne replied and he felt Rocky’s body, already on alert, jerk to solid beside him.

“Yeah, I’m seein’ that and then some,” Dev muttered.

“What do we have to talk about, Dad?” Tripp called Layne’s attention to him.

“Finish in the bathroom, Pal then we’ll talk.”

Tripp and Jasper both eyed him then Tripp disappeared and Jasper plugged in the thing that electronically sucked shit up from tile and wood floors.

While his boys did this, Dev caught Rocky’s attention and they started chatting as Layne put away the bottles of booze and opened one of the reds. He poured her a glass, got himself a beer and then walked back to her to set her glass beside her workspace on the island, workspace she was clearing now that the gargantuan salad was done.

When her eyes went to the glass then lifted to him, he muttered, “Sorry, sweetcheeks, we don’t have any fancy glasses in the house.”

“That’s okay, they drink it like that in Italy,” she replied, reaching out to grab the small glass, she turned to Dev. “I’ve never been to Italy, of course, but that’s the way they drink it in movies set in Italy and I always thought that was cool.” She lifted her glass and reached toward Dev, finishing, “Welcome to the ‘burg, Devin.”

He clinked his bottle of beer against her glass, sucked back a pull and, after swallowing, said, “Dev, darlin’. Pretty girls get to call me Dev.”

She smiled at him. “Dev, then.”

“You got time tomorrow, you can give me a tour of the ‘burg,” Dev invited as if he already hadn’t scouted out the lay of the land.

“I’d love that but I’ve got to work,” Rocky replied. “But I’ll tell you that it’ll be worth your while to get up early, go to Hilligoss Bakery and get yourself a donut. I’ve never been to Italy, or anywhere else really, but I’d put down money on any donut from Hilligoss going up against anything in the world and winning.”

“I haven’t been to Italy either but I’ve been around and Roc isn’t lyin’,” Layne added.

“Your treat tomorrow then, boy,” Dev told him.

“Done in the bathroom!” Trip shouted, rounding the corner and running toward the utility room at the same time juggling an armload of bathroom cleaning stuff.

Layne looked to Jas to see he was also done and winding the cord up. He turned to the back counter, saw Rocky’s purse sitting by the coffeemaker, walked to it and dug through it until he found her keys.

Then he turned to Jasper as he heard Rocky start to say, “What are you –?”

“Jas,” he called over her, Jasper’s head came up and Layne tossed his son the keys which Jasper nabbed one-handed. “You pull the Charger out then pull Rocky’s Merc in the garage.”

“Layne –” Rocky began.

Layne talked over her. “Get Dev’s keys too, pull the Calais into the drive behind the Merc.”

“But –” Rocky tried again.

“You get Keira, you park behind the Suburban. Drop the door after you pull in the Merc,” Layne finished.

“Right Dad,” Jasper said, carried the sweeper to the utility room and disappeared as Tripp reappeared.

“Layne, you can’t –” Rocky started and Layne looked at her.

“HOA isn’t big on cars parked on the street overnight.”

“Over –” she began again, this time in a whisper.

“HOA?” Dev cut in, sounding disgusted. “Tanner Layne, the boy I proudly watched dodge bullets to enter a house filled with hostiles in order to grab a hostage, a rescue during which he took two boys out with only a half-filled clip in his gun, and he ran out without a nick on him carrying that hostage, is livin’ in a place with a home owners association?”

Layne heard Rocky suck in breath at the same time he heard Tripp shout, “You did that Dad?”

“Damn straight he did it, boy,” Devin growled at Tripp then his eyes cut to Layne. “A dog, an HOA and domestication, three things I did not think I’d ever see attached to you.”

“Things change, Dev,” Layne replied, acutely aware that, for some reason, Rocky was staring at him and she was not doing it the same way Tripp was.

“That sounds cool!” Tripp yelled. “Devin, who were the hostiles, where was this, when…?”

Layne looked to Rocky while Tripp fired out his questions and the minute he did, her eyes dropped, she turned so he had her profile and her hand lifted so she could take a sip of wine. But she couldn’t hide the fact that her face had paled or her hand was trembling.

“It wasn’t as dangerous as Dev makes it sound,” Layne lied to Tripp in an effort to reassure a visibly shaken Rocky.

It was. It was extremely dangerous and it was a hotshot, bullshit maneuver he pulled. He could have been killed and it could have got the hostage killed. The problem was, the hostage was an eight year old, dark-headed boy whose picture reminded him of Jasper. He’d been kidnapped and held hostage for three weeks and Dev had been hired to manage an extraction the Feds had botched – which meant two parts of the boy had been delivered to his parents, a finger and a toe – and Dev had taken Layne along as backup. It was a part miracle that Layne hadn’t been filled with bullets, part excellent cover from Devin. What Dev wasn’t sharing was that he didn’t watch proudly as Layne did this. What he did was lay into Layne approximately two seconds after Dev took down the last “hostile” and they secured the boy.

“We should wait until Jas gets back so he can hear the story too,” Tripp suggested and Layne tore his eyes from Rocky, who, at this point, had turned her back to him and he looked at his son while walking to Rocky, fitting his front again against her back and leaning both of their bodies into his palm at the edge of the counter.

“Jasper’s gotta cook and you gotta grab a pop and take a load off after all your cleaning activity. Rocky and me got somethin’ important to talk to you about,” Layne said.

Tripp’s eyes grew both bright and wary as they looked between Layne and Rocky and he asked, “Really?”

“Really,” Layne answered. “Get your pop, Pal.”

Tripp nodded, he got his pop and sat his ass down as Devin appeared to sip his beer casually but Layne knew he’d been alerted by Layne’s serious tone. Through this, Rocky stood noticeably silent in front of him.

Jasper walked in and Layne stayed close to Rocky even as he turned to Jas.

“You can do the Calais before you go to pick up Keira, Bud, I want you to hear this and you need to get your pasta bake show on the road. You wait to cook that shit until after she gets here, she’ll miss her curfew, Cal will lose his mind and I’ll have to make sure my gun is loaded.”

Jasper grinned and walked into the room asking, “Hear what?” then he put Rocky’s keys on the counter by her hand.

When he did, Rocky quietly said, “Thanks Jasper,” and Jasper turned his grin to her.

Layne kept her body pinned in just as his son had pinned in her car as he said to Jas, “Just listen, yeah?” and then he turned to Tripp and started to lay it out.

“Got a head’s up from a friend on the Force and a little while later Rocky shared her concerns about stuff she’s hearin’ at school. She’s got a bad vibe and I’ve got a bad vibe and, Tripp, I need you to help us to do something about it.”

Tripp’s eyes were glued to him and he didn’t hesitate in nodding.

“What’s the bad vibe?” Jasper asked from behind them.

“It’s about the Youth Group at the Christian Church,” Layne answered which he saw made Tripp nod even more enthusiastically.

“Oh yeah, I can see that,” Tripp said and Layne felt Rocky’s body stiffen against him as his did the same.

“Me too,” Jasper added.

“What can you see?” Layne asked.

“Cult city,” Jasper noted. “It’s freakin’ creepy.”

“Totally creepy,” Tripp agreed. “Like that pied piper story, except he skipped the mice and went straight to the kids.”

Rocky forced him back by turning at the same time twisting her neck and looking up at him.

Layne looked down at her to see she looked even paler and that concern he saw earlier that day was flooding her eyes.

He took his palm from the counter and forced her back to his front with his arms around her, one at her chest, one at her ribs and he gave her a reassuring squeeze then left his arms where they were.

Then he looked at Tripp. “We need you to go in.”

Tripp’s brows knitted and his head tipped to the side. “Go in?”

“Undercover, Pal, I need you to work this case for Rocky and me.”

Tripp’s brows slowly separated, his face went blank then he smiled huge and bounced once on his stool. “Oh yeah!” he shouted. “I can do that.”

“Tripp,” Layne said low, “You gotta be cool about this. This is not a gung ho mission. This requires finesse, Pal.”

Tripp nodded and his voice was quieter when he repeated, “I can do that.”

Jasper came to the island stating, “I can too and Keira would be all over it.”

Layne looked at Jasper. “I’d be open to you doin’ it, Bud, but Keira, absolutely not.”

“Why not?” Jasper returned. “She’s up for anything and she’s a girl, that guy at the Youth Group, he likes girls.”

At this, Rocky’s hand came up, her fingers curling around Layne’s forearm so tight they almost hurt.

“No to Keira, Jas,” Layne replied.

“She’s a nut but she’s smart,” Jasper returned, defending his girl.

Layne gave him the honesty. “You wanna keep her safe you keep her far away from this guy. Do you get what I’m sayin’ to you?”

Jasper stared at him, the blood running from his face, a muscle ticked in his cheek and he nodded.

Layne looked to Tripp. “Do you get it, Tripp?”

“He’s a bad guy,” Tripp whispered, the excitement now out of his eyes and those eyes were wide.

“I don’t know but I’ve learned to listen to my gut and, on this, my gut is tellin’ me whatever is happening there is not good. And I don’t know what he’s doin’ but my gut tells me he likes doin’ it, he’s got a sweet gig goin’ and he’s not gonna want anyone to make him stop, not anyone, not a cop and not a high school kid. That means you gotta go in there and be smart. You feel somethin’s not right for you, you get the fuck out. You feel safe, you listen, you watch and you got two missions to start with. One, you get close to the girl Rocky tells you to get close to, you make friends with her and you do it in a way that, when this is done, you’re still friends with her. You get her to talk to you and you do that smart too. You wanna know about Youth Group, you wanna get involved, you wanna be a part of it all, you wanna be her friend but you find out everything you can about what they do and where they’re doin’ it, what you see, what they’ll let you get involved in but, mostly, what they won’t. The other part is you get me something he’s touched. A can of pop, a pen, I don’t give a fuck what it is. You do your best not to touch it too much and I’ll give you a bag to put it in. I want to pull his prints off it and run them. We gotta know who this guy is and who we’re goin’ up against. He’s in the system, this goes quick. He’s not, we gotta find another way. You think you can you do that?”

Tripp nodded.

“Good,” Layne told him and then he gave Rocky another squeeze, dipped his head and said close to her ear, “Who’d you pick for Tripp, baby?”

She nodded too and Layne lifted his head as she said, “You have three choices, Tripp. Giselle Speakmon, Sabrina Tilley or Darcy Cassini.”

“Giselle Speakmon,” Jasper said immediately.

“Why?” Devin entered the conversation on a bark that made Jasper, Tripp and Rocky jump.

“’Cause she’s hot,” Jasper replied.

“She’s out,” Devin shot back. “Next.”

“She’s hot and she’s shy. Freakin’ shy, like, it’s painful. She’s a freshman too, like Tripp,” Jasper continued, his eyes steady on Devin. “Sabrina is nice and she’s okay lookin’, at a push, but she’s a junior and Tripp would be outta her league if she wasn’t just okay lookin’ and, like I said, that’s at a push, so, actually, she’s outta his league. Darcy’s nice too but she’s a sophomore and she’s big as a boat. It’d look funny, he got friendly with either of them. He wouldn’t have any reason to do that. This guy’s a predator like you think he is then he’ll cotton onto Tripp’s game, he gets close to one of those chicks. Everyone knows who Tripp is and everyone knows what Dad does.” Jasper’s eyes went to his old man. “No one would question Tripp gettin’ friendly with Giselle. She’s hot and girls like Tripp, think he’s cute. Tripp would have to work it ‘cause she’s so shy but, if anyone could get Giselle talkin’, it’d be Tripp and Tripp could play it like he’s there just to get Giselle to talk to him. That’s the way I’d play it. And he’ll be cool. He’ll work it, no one will know why he’s there and he’ll get what you need.”

In that moment, there was a lot happening at that island for Tanner Layne, so much it was too much for Layne to process. The first part of it being the fact that he’d gone beyond vastly underestimating Jasper. The second part was that Devin was staring at his oldest son with blatant respect, something Devin very rarely did. The third part of it being the fact that Raquel Merrick was standing, unresisting, in his arms with her fingers curled tight, holding onto him. The last part of it was Tripp looking at his brother with unashamed love shining from his eyes and Layne had seen a lot of things in his life, the woman he held in his arms being the most beautiful, or she was until Layne saw Tripp look at his brother like that.

“Then it’s Giselle,” Layne declared, heard his voice was gruff and he knew Rocky heard it too because her fingers gave his arm a squeeze. Layne cleared his throat and went on. “Youth Group meets tomorrow night, Tripp, seven thirty. You start then.”

Tripp nodded at Layne again.

“I’ll take him and go with him the first night,” Jasper offered.

“That works but no Keira,” Layne replied.

“No Keira,” Jasper agreed.

“How do you know he likes girls?” Rocky put in and Jasper looked at her when she continued. “Have you seen this man?”

“Yeah, he’s everywhere, at the games, at Reggie’s after games, at the Senior Follies last year around about the time he first got to town. He’s a good-lookin’ guy and there’s always a bunch of girls around him. He acts all holy and sometimes even carries a Bible but I think that’s so parents won’t freak. There’s boys in that Youth Group but there’s only about ten of them. They go to be around the girls but they stay because they say this guy is the shit. They say he’s funny as all get out, makes religion cool.”

“You got friends who go there?” Layne asked.

“Not friends but I know some of the kids,” Jasper answered.

“Then that’s your job, you get them talkin’ in school. Learn what you can and let me know,” Layne ordered and Jasper nodded.

“Does Keira know this guy?” Rocky suddenly asked and Layne’s arms tightened around her.

“Don’t know but I reckon,” Jasper answered. “Everyone does.”

“Do you think you could get Keira to point him out to me at Friday’s game?”

“It’s away, he won’t be there,” Jasper answered.

“Any game then, without her knowing why she’s pointing him out,” Rocky pushed.

“Roc, what the fuck?” Layne asked.

She let him go, turned in his arms and looked up at him. “I want to talk to him.”

“Why?”

“And I want to get his picture and give it to Merry.”

“That I can see, and that I’ll do, sweetcheeks, but you aren’t talkin’ to this guy.”

“I want to feel him out,” she returned.

“Rocky –”

“I work around kids every day and around adults who work around kids. I’ll know just by seeing him around the kids if he’s right or not,” she explained.

“You can use your gut for a lotta things, baby, but, far’s I know, havin’ a bad feelin’ about someone isn’t cause for police to instigate a full blown investigation, even if one of ‘em is your brother. They gotta justify their use of limited resources, Rocky, and if Drew could pull that off, he’d be doin’ this job himself,” Layne told her.

Her face changed, the fire ignited in her eyes, Layne braced when he saw it and she didn’t disappoint. “Okay, then I want to walk up to him, friendly-like, and, just as friendly-like, give him the indication that I’m not liking what I’m hearing at school, I’m paying attention and I’m watching and, oh, by the way, my boyfriend happens to be the town’s badass private investigator. I’ll do it just enough to make him be careful and maybe cool off what he’s doing so Tripp can do his work and in the meantime no one will get hurt, or, more hurt but not enough to make him run.”

Yes, Rocky was a nut.

“Did you catch the part I said to Tripp about not wanting anyone to make him stop?” Layne asked.

“Yes, Layne, I caught that part but I still want to make him stop, at least until we catch him,” she shot back.

“Sweetcheeks, you’re not getting involved.”

“I’m already involved.”

“Okay, then you’re not getting more involved.”

“Layne –”

“We’re not gonna discuss this.”

“Layne!”

Layne lifted his hands to rest on her jaws and he tipped her head back further as his face got into hers. “Jasper was right when he used the word ‘predator’. Anytime kids are involved, it’s about predators. And predators are dangerous. Best case scenario, this is about drugs. Worst case scenario, baby, you do not wanna know. Either way, you are not gettin’ near this guy, no lip, no discussion.”

“These are my kids,” Rocky snapped, pulling her jaw from his hands and stepping back.

“I get that,” Layne replied, putting his hands on her neck and pulling her right back.

“Someone has to keep them safe.”

“That’d be Tripp, but like I said today, Rocky, it’s gonna take time. Give him time.”

“And until then?”

“Until then, you keep your eyes and ears open, Jas does the same, Tripp does the same, you trust me and we fuckin’ hope.”

“That isn’t good enough, Layne.”

“It sucks, baby, and I know that but that’s all you got.” Layne watched her eyes flash and he pulled her even closer, put his thumbs under her jaws to tilt her head back and put his forehead to hers. “I know this is frustrating and it’s killin’, you, baby, but stick with me on this and do not make it worse by puttin’ yourself out there for this guy.”

She stared into his eyes a beat until hers closed. Then she pulled in breath through her nose and let it out the same way.

Then she opened her eyes and whispered, “All right.”

“I like her,” Devin declared and Layne and Rocky’s heads turned his way. “Bet even with those fancy-ass duds, she don’t live in no development with an HOA.”

Layne turned to Devin, positioning Rocky in front of him at the counter and pinning her in again as he replied, “She lives in a luxury apartment complex.”

“Okay then, I bet she don’t care what her luxury apartment complex rules tell her what she can and can’t do with her car,” Devin returned.

“You’re right, I don’t care, but with the rent I’m paying, Devin, I should be able to park my car right next to the swimming pool if I’ve a mind to do it,” Rocky put in.

“You got a swimmin’ pool?” Devin asked.

“Yes,” Rocky answered.

“Any lovelies who sunbathe there?” Devin went on.

“I just moved in a couple of weeks ago, Dev, it’s October in Indiana so I haven’t scoped it out yet and won’t get that chance until next summer,” Rocky told him.

“Well, I’ll be back next summer, I’ll help you scope it out,” Devin offered and Layne heard Rocky’s soft giggle.

His eyes went to his sons and both of them were looking at Rocky and smiling.

Then he looked at his watch and back to Jasper. “Too late to get started on pasta bake, Bud, it’s Keira time.”

Jasper’s body jolted, he looked to the clock over the microwave and hissed, “Fuck!” Then he held his hand out and wiggled his fingers. “Devin, keys.”

“Don’t care about no HOA,” Dev grunted.

“You care about it or you go back to my office and sleep on my couch,” Layne stated and Devin gave him a stubborn look.

“Devin! Keys!” Jasper fairly shouted, desperate not to be late for Keira.

“Just go, Jasper, I’ll move Devin’s car and start the pasta,” Rocky said, slipping out from in front of Layne and heading to the stove.

“Thanks, Rocky, you’re the shit,” Jasper muttered then bolted to and out the door.

“You’re not movin’ my car either, girlie,” Devin declared. “No woman drives the Calais, don’t care how pretty she is.”

Rocky turned her head and aimed the dimple at him, saying, “We’ll see.” Then she moved a pot to the faucet and started to fill it with water.

Layne reclaimed his forgotten beer and took a slug, his eyes on Devin.

When he dropped his beer to the counter he muttered, “My money’s on Roc.”

Devin grunted.

Ten minutes later, the pasta was on, the hamburger was browning and the Calais was in the drive in the spot behind Rocky’s Mercedes.

Layne found this hilariously funny for two reasons. One, Devin wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t let women drive his car and he’d let Rocky drive his car, it was just the turn into the drive, but he’d let her do it. And two, Rocky had pinned her own vehicle in for the night.

Layne sat at a chair at his outside table, a burning smoke between two fingers, the other three wrapped around a beer, his eyes on the dark, small wood behind his house.

That wood was one of the reasons he picked this place, his front faced houses, he had to drive through a sea of them to get home, but he walked out on his back patio and saw nature. It wasn’t a lot of it but it was something.

Devin sat across from him with a stoagie between his lips.

“I know who she is, boy,” Devin said quietly around his cigar.

“I know you know,” Layne replied quietly back, lifted his beer and took a pull.

They’d spent a lot of time together and they didn’t talk a lot but both of them had talked and Devin knew all about Raquel.

Devin fell silent for a long while. Then he pulled his cigar out of his mouth, blew out smoke and whispered, “Look at that.”

Layne looked at Devin to see Devin looking over his shoulder into the house so Layne twisted and looked into the house too.

The kids and Rocky were playing a game, girls against boys. Keira was up on her feet, jumping up and down, her long, dark hair flying everywhere, her hands straight up in the air. Jasper was sitting back in an armchair, his arms crossed on his chest, pretending to scowl but his eyes were glued to Keira and far more than a scowl could be read from his expression and none of it was bad. Layne couldn’t see Tripp because he was sitting on the floor. Rocky was on the couch, her head was to the back of it, her hands were up in front of her clapping and he could hear her laughter mingled with Keira’s shouts of triumph.

Blondie, being a female but mostly being a canine, was jumping around Keira and sharing in what appeared to be a feminine victory by barking repeatedly.

Keira bent and he lost sight of everything but her behind as she gave Blondie a rubdown.

Layne turned back to the night.

“You lose hold of that again, boy, any ‘a that, I’ll hunt you down and shoot you. Understood?” Dev declared.

“So that shit you handed me about the HOA is just that? Shit?”

“Fuck, Tanner, when I was your age, I’d join the fuckin’ HOA patrol if it meant I could come home to that,” Devin answered.

Layne didn’t reply, he fell silent, took the last drag of his cigarette, stubbed it out in the ashtray on the table and sipped his beer while Devin enjoyed his stoagie.

Eventually, he said, “I need you to go to bed early, soon as Keira leaves.”

“Why?” Devin asked.

“’Cause you’re sleepin’ on the couch, I wanna talk to Rocky and if you’re on the couch the only place to do it is upstairs.”

And Layne wasn’t talking about the weight room.

“Gotcha,” Devin said instantly, knowing Layne wasn’t talking about the weight room.

Layne kept speaking. “I know I briefed you yesterday but I’ll repeat that we need more than the tail Astley’s been chasin’ to make him come to heel. I told you Rocky was in a luxury apartment complex but I didn’t tell you I talked her into signin’ the lease and I did it at a time when I thought she was far from hurtin’. With him cuttin’ her off, she’s gonna be hurtin’. I’m not in the position with her yet that I think she’ll take help from me. Her brother doesn’t have it, neither does her Dad. Short-term, maybe. Long-term, negative. That means time is against us, Dev. I don’t want her worried more than she already is. We need somethin’ on this guy that’ll make him take the pressure off Rocky fast and then we need something that’ll make him go away almost as fast. The dirtier, the uglier, the better.”

“If this is time sensitive, I can make him dirty,” Devin offered quietly.

“I’ll let you know if it comes to that but humiliation only comes on the heels of bein’ outed for shit you did yourself. I don’t only want him cowed, I want him brought low. You make shit up, with this guy, we’ll be treated to righteous indignation and that doesn’t help us and might even hurt.”

“And if there isn’t anything to find?”

“There’s somethin’ to find, this guy is an asshole. You just need to find it.”

“You said he’s investigating you,” Devin noted.

“Got nothin’ I’ve done I’m not proud of outside of walkin’ away from those boys and everyone knows about that.”

“Nope, you’re right, Tanner, you haven’t but the shit you’ve done could be made to look dirty. This guy isn’t afraid of not playin’ fair, you gotta be ready for that to happen,” Dev returned.

“Not worried about that either, Dev, people in this town, includin’ my boys and Roc, know me and what kind of man I am and, not includin’ my boys but definitely Roc, know him and what kind of man he is.”

“Yep, boy,” Devin said softly, “that girl knows what kind of man you are.”

His tone made Layne turn his head to look at Devin. “What’s that mean?”

Devin kept peering into the night, puffing on his stoagie.

“Dev,” Layne prompted.

Devin didn’t turn his head when he replied, “You don’t wanna know.”

“You’re wrong,” Layne returned, he wanted to know and this was communicated further to Devin because Layne’s voice was rumbling.

Devin looked at him. “Okay, then, you’re not ready to know.”

Layne straightened from his slouch in the chair. “Not in the mood for a mystery, Dev.”

They stared at each other across the table then Devin asked, “You want her back?”

Instead of answering outright, Layne said, “You spent the evening with her.”

“You want her back,” Devin stated.

“Dev –”

Devin straightened, pulled the cigar out of his mouth and leaned toward Layne. “Tanner, that girl knows exactly what kind of man you are,” he repeated and finished, “and you scare the snot out of her.”

Layne felt the muscles in his neck get tight and he said, low and curt, “I’d never hurt her, old man.”

“That ain’t what scares her,” Devin shot back.

“Come again?”

“How’d this start?” Devin suddenly asked.

“How’d what start?” Layne asked back.

“You and her, why’s she back in your life?”

“She had some stupid ass scheme…” Layne started then stopped, it hit him, it hit him so hard it suddenly all became clear, he turned away from Devin and looked out into the night.

“Boy,” Dev prompted.

“She came to the hospital when I got shot,” Layne answered quietly.

“Right,” Dev whispered.

Layne closed his eyes and muttered, “Fuck.”

“Right,” Dev whispered again.

Layne opened his eyes and whispered into the night, “Jesus.”

“You’re as domesticated as I suspect you’re gonna get, dog, kids, house in a small town, office over a coffee shop. That don’t mean you don’t got dark and wild in you, boy. You got dark and wild in you, ain’t no gettin’ it out. Trust me, I know. A woman can see dark and wild. She can be attracted to it. She can want it. She can even fall in love with it. That don’t mean she can live with it.”

Layne stayed silent.

Dev sat back in his chair, put his stoagie to his lips and puffed.

Then he took it out and spoke. “Far’s I can see, you got a lotta shit you gotta deal with. Her soon-to-be ex, whatever’s happenin’ at that church but the biggest mission you got on your plate is to convince her that comin’ home to dark and wild is a good thing but, more, convincin’ her to be home and take a chance on the fact that that dark and wild may mean one day you won’t be comin’ home.”

“Nothin’s gonna happen to me, Dev.”

“I know that, you know that, your girl, she don’t know that. So she’s gotta think it’s worth the risk.”

“Her father was a cop,” Layne pointed out. “Anyone knows the score, it’s Rocky.”

“A cop who got shot,” Devin said and Layne turned his head to look at his friend.

“What?”

Devin turned his head too. “A cop who got shot. I remember her story, boy.”

“So she knows the score.”

“And, I’ll repeat, Tanner, that don’t mean she can live with it.”

“She’s close with her Dad, she’s close with her brother, she’s fine.”

“Wild dreams,” Devin replied.

Now the old man was just irritating him and he let it show when he said, “Dev, that doesn’t make sense.”

“You told me she shared your wild dreams. You went huntin’ for yours. She ever leave this town?”

Layne stared at him then answered, “No.”

“Somethin’ means the world to you, you think one day you’ll lose it, you got two choices. You cut yourself off from it so, when you lose it, that don’t destroy you or you hold it so close, it can’t ever go away but, if it does, you got as many precious memories as you can bag. Thinkin’ about your girl, do either of those sound familiar?”

Layne suddenly found he was struggling to get enough oxygen in his lungs.

“Well, Tanner? Do they?”

“You know they do, Dev.”

“So what you gonna do?”

Layne reached for his smokes and looked to the night.

“Two cigarettes, that’s tellin’,” Devin muttered.

“Shut up, Dev,” Layne muttered back.

Devin shut up. Then he stubbed his stoagie out in the ashtray and got up. He moved around the table and stood behind Layne’s chair as Layne fired up a cigarette.

On Layne’s exhale, Devin said, “I’ll leave you to your smoke.”

“Obliged,” Layne murmured.

Devin moved to the door and Layne knew there’d be a parting shot even before he heard Dev hesitate in sliding it open.

“Grab hold, Tanner,” he whispered into the night then Layne heard the door open.

“Fuck,” Layne whispered one second after he heard it close.