How to Save A Life

Chapter 17

They might have slept. The lamp glowing in the corner provided the only light, and Marli found Trey's broad wrist and turned it so she could see his watch. It was nearly two in the morning, but time had basically stood still since they'd entered that room.

He taken her so fast and hard her head had spun. Was still spinning. But she'd loved it, loved every rough, hard thrust of his body, his fingers digging into her soft flesh. She'd likely be bruised and sore tomorrow, but she couldn't care less. She loved that she could provoke such strong emotions in him, this man who was so tightly controlled and self-contained. It was in him. She didn't know exactly what "it" was, could only hope, but she knew he had some feelings for her.

She snuggled closer against him, his body radiating heat and energy. His hair-roughened legs were tangled up with hers, and she slid one leg up and down, rubbing him. He stirred against her, his thick penis twitching, and she ran her hands down his smooth back.

They moved together, slowly, languorously, rubbing against each other. She found his mouth, their heads on the pillows, and they kissed as if they were drunk, long, slow, open-mouthed kisses, in perfect unison. A yearning grew in her, a hunger for him, a deep, empty ache low in her belly, between her thighs.

With one leg over his hip, her pelvis moved rhythmically of its own accord, instinctively circling, pressing, lifting against his big thigh. Their mouths still joined, their bodies moved together in small, languid pulses that gradually became hungrier, hotter.

He rolled her over onto her back, pressed her down, kissed her deeply, full-mouthed, his tongue sliding in, filling her mouth. She was lost to it, drowning in sensation, her body dissolving, melting, liquid heat pooling lower in her belly and making her ache for more.

His hands were everywhere, on her breasts, tugging her tender nipples, stroking her belly, her thighs, tickling, making her shiver. Then he was turning her again, onto her stomach, gently.

"Trey..."

"Shhh. I didn't finish exploring you last night," he said softly. "I didn't finish finding all those little places that make you shiver, all those places you love to be touched." His hands were magical, and she moaned as they roamed over her back, dipping into the curve of her spine, then sliding over her buttocks, cupping and cuddling them, stroking between them, sliding down to the backs of her thighs.

Oooh. She let out a long sigh of delight, his hands caressing her thighs. She'd had no idea she was so sensitive there, that she could derive so much delicious pleasure from being petted there.

Her legs moved a bit on the bed.

"I knew I'd find more places," he murmured, and bent to kiss her there, on her thighs, her rounded cheeks. He nipped, making her gasp, then licked, his tongue warm and velvety. "You're so responsive...you love to be touched, don't you, sweetheart?"

She murmured her agreement. Oh, yes. She loved to be touched, just like that. His hands were big, a bit rough, finding every spot on her body that thrilled her. The intense aching need between her legs grew, pulsing and throbbing, begging to be filled, hunger spiking in her sharply. Excitement built and twisted within her, and she tried to turn over, but Trey's big, hard hand pressed on her lower spine, holding her down. A thrill jolted through her, making her almost desperate with need.

She whimpered, face pressed into the mattress, the sheet soft beneath her cheek. She put her index finger into her mouth and sucked.

She heard Trey's sharply indrawn breath when she did that, but she was a mindless, aching glow of need. She lifted her butt against his hands, parted her legs a little and his fingers slid into her from behind, into her wetness. He pushed inside her and it felt so, so good, but it wasn't enough.

"Fuck me, Trey," she whispered, eyes closed, butt lifting against his hand. "Please, fuck me."

With a ragged groan, he rolled away from her and off the bed, desperately searching out the condoms he'd packed. She waited, hips still moving involuntarily, seeking fulfillment.

When he came back, she expected him to take her from behind again. She'd loved it when he'd done that, but instead, to her surprise, he turned her over, easily lifting her pliant body. She looked up at him, his dark face intent and hungry.

"I want to see your face," he told her. "I want to watch you while I fuck you and make you come." He shuddered at his own words, then positioned himself between her thighs. He took his weight on his elbows, the muscles in his powerful shoulders bunched, he pushed into her, and, God, it felt good, so good, like he was completing her, filling her with what she was missing.

He filled her right to her very core, touching deep inside her, sliding in and out with a delicious friction that built and built. She focused on it, tightened her inner muscles around him, rubbed against him with every down stroke, seeking, reaching...With an intense, spiking pleasure, she shattered, riding wave after wave of heat and ecstasy.

She cried out, clutched his back, his tight muscles flexing and rippling as he kept stroking in and out of her, every stroke sending aftershocks through her sensitive womb, until he came himself in tight, pulsing jerks.

He kept his eyes on her, his jaw tight, head back, as he poured himself into her and the connection between them was like a palpable thing, their eyes locked in a moment of profound intimacy, their bodies fused.

They stayed like that for long heartbeats, breathing heavily, unable to take their eyes off each other.

When Trey finally moved off her and rolled to his back beside her, she turned to him and touched his face. "I love you, Trey," she whispered.

His eyes closed, his face taut, he laid there, chest rising and falling as he still labored for breath.

"You shouldn't do that," he finally said.

Her heart sank and a chill shivered over her.

"I'm sorry." She rolled away from him and perched on the edge of the bed. After a moment, when she started to shiver, she fumbled around in the tangled bed clothes and pulled them up under her chin, staring at the wall with blank eyes.

Trey got up and disposed of the condom, clicked off the lamp and got back into bed, not touching her, not saying a word.

In the morning, Trey's gaze was dark and shuttered as they got up and packed their belongings. He checked them out of the motel and they stopped at a nearby Denny's for breakfast.

The thought of eating made Marli want to vomit. Her stomach churned. She shouldn't have told Trey she loved him, but that's the way she was. She couldn't not tell him. It was too important.

But he was such a stupid idiot. He did have feelings for her; she knew he did. He couldn't have made love to her like he had last night if he didn't care about her. She'd seen the emotion in his eyes after they'd watched each other come--the heat, the tenderness, the connection. She'd felt it.

And now, although parts of him had always been closed off to her, he was totally aloof and cool. He snapped out orders to get in the car, put on her seatbelt, hand him his coffee. She seethed with irritation at his high-handed control, but also at his stubbornness and the ridiculous boundaries he'd set.

They were in El Paso by early afternoon and, once again, Trey seemed to know exactly where to go to find Sheldon Barnes's sons. He stopped in front of a small but neat house in northeast El Paso. The neighboring homes were all similar in size, some of them neatly kept, others more run down. Children played outside, and a lady sat on the front steps of one house watching them. It wasn't an affluent neighborhood, but seemed clean and safe.

Marli looked around as Trey prepared to get out.

"I know, I know," she said. "Just go."

He looked at her long and hard, his face inscrutable, then opened the door and slid out. The minute it closed, Marli pressed the button that locked all the doors with a clunk. Trey went up the front sidewalk.

There was absolutely nothing to be afraid of on this warm, sunny fall day in a friendly El Paso neighborhood, but once again her nerves were frayed. Trey was acting like such a jerk, she wondered how she ever fell in love with him. Her chest ached. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, looking nervously toward the house Trey had just entered. She wondered if any of the kids playing two yards over were Sheldon Barnes's sons.

No, those kids were too young, only about four or five years old.

She watched him knock on the front door and wait. And wait. Nobody was answering. He disappeared around the side of the house. It seemed like forever, but the clock on the dash had only measured a few minutes when he returned.

"She's not there."

He sat in the driver's seat, silent.

"Now what do we do?"

Trey drew in a breath and looked out the window. "Talk to the neighbors. Come on."

She followed him up to the house next door to Teresa's. Nobody home there either. They went on to the next one, where the children were playing, and the woman sat on the steps watching them. Her plump curves stretched a T-shirt and shorts.

"Hi," Trey said with a charming smile.

Marli pursed her lips. He could pour it on when he had to.

"We're looking for Teresa Fisher. We're old friends from out of town. Do you know where she is?"

The woman looked at him. "She's gone. She packed up and left last night."

Trey conveyed surprise. "Where'd she go? On a vacation?"

"Uh...maybe. She didn't tell me where she was going. I just saw her loading the kids and their stuff into the car last night."

Trey smiled. "What time was that?"

She studied him. "Just after the kids got home from school. About four, four-thirty."

"Darn. I guess we just missed her. Thanks, ma'am."

He took Marli's elbow and directed her back to the car.

He sat in the car for a moment before he started it. She looked at him, but said nothing.

Then he glanced at her. "He was here."

"How do you know that?"

"Just a gut feeling. Why else would she pack up and leave like that? Maybe Wanda Barnes warned her Sheldon was coming. Or maybe he showed up and scared the hell out of her."

"At least she's still alive."

"We hope." He looked grim. He rubbed his face.

Marli bit her lip. Now they seemed to be close, her uneasiness was growing. And the fact Trey was so distant and cold didn't help. All along, his big, comforting presence had made everything bearable. She wasn't sure if she could do all this without his reassuring support.

She took a breath. She had to get through this.

"So what do we do now?" she asked, trying to keep her voice cool and steady.

"Damned if I know." He pulled away from the curb and drove slowly down the narrow street, mindful of the kids playing.

"If he was here, we just missed him," he said thoughtfully. "He didn't get that much of a head start on us." After a moment, he said, "He must've shown up in the afternoon, while the kids were at school. I bet he'll be back. That's why she's afraid. He probably wants to see the kids."

He stopped at a stop sign, then made a right turn. "I need to think." He drove down a street lined with strip malls and fast food restaurants. "I'm trying to remember where her husband works. She told me. Damn. Usually I remember everything."

"It'll come to you."

"Yeah. Let's get some food." Trey pulled into the parking lot of a donut shop.

They stood in front of the counter, eying the pastries.

Marli sighed. "I'll have a coffee and a glazed donut."

The woman working there filled a cup, plucked a donut out of the case and slipped it into a paper bag. She looked at Trey.

"Uh, coffee and...pecans."

Marli blinked. He turned to her and flashed a grin. "Pecans. He works at a pecan factory."

It took her brain two seconds to realize he was talking about Teresa Fisher's husband. She laughed. "The cinnamon pecan roll reminded you?"

"Yeah." Still smiling, he ordered one of the sweet rolls, then pulled a few bills out of his pocket to pay.

"Let's eat in the car."

He booted up his laptop, perched on the console between them, while they ate their snacks and sipped coffee. Then his fingers flew on the keyboard as he searched various engines and finally found it. "The Texas Pecan Company." He made a disgusted noise. "I couldn't remember that?"

"You have the address?"

"Yup. And directions how to get there." He closed the computer. "Our next stop."

Marli expected a big manufacturing plant, but the pecan company operated out of a small brick building.

"This is good," Trey said as they walked to the entrance. "If it was a huge place, they'd have security and might not even know him."

He asked at the reception desk, and the woman working there paged Barry Fisher. A few moments later, a man appeared in the small lobby, wearing a beige uniform. "Hi," he said, eyes wary. "What can I do for you?"

Marli let Trey explain who they were and ask if there was somewhere private they could talk. Barry led them reluctantly into a small office.

"Yeah, he showed up yesterday," he confirmed, hands rubbing together. None of them elected to sit in the office chairs. His eyes darted between Trey and Marli. "He scared the shit outta Teresa."

"Did he see the kids?"

"No. They were in school. Teresa told him to come back after supper, but she got the hell out of there before he came back."

"Where'd she go?"

Barry looked at them. "I'm not telling you that."

Trey nodded. "Okay. Is she safe?"

Barry nodded.

"Any idea where Barnes is now? Where he stayed last night?"

"Nope. No idea. I hope to hell he left town."

Trey shot a glance at Marli. Damn. They knew he'd been there now, but this wasn't helping find him.

"Anything you think of, let me know, okay?" Trey handed the other man a card. "We just want Teresa to be safe."

Barry nodded, his mouth a thin, unhappy line, eyes shadowed. "Okay."

Back outside in the baking parking lot, Trey and Marli paused.

"What now?" she asked him.

He said nothing, just stared hard, one hand on the frame of the car door. "Let's head back to the Fishers' neighborhood. If Sheldon's anywhere in El Paso, that's where he'll be."

"I could use a bathroom."

"Oh, sure. I need gas again. Keep an eye out for somewhere."

As they neared the Fisher home, Marli pointed out the Happy Pumper station, and Trey turned in, pulling up to the self-serve gas pumps. "Go on in," he said curtly. "I'll fill up."

She went into the gas bar and convenience store. Racks of junk food, soda and magazines crowded the small space. A couple of customers were paying for gas, chips and cigarettes. The gas station attendant behind the counter looked barely old enough to be working there.

Marli spotted the sign for the bathroom and went down the short, narrow hall, carefully locking the door behind her. She turned up her nose as she looked around. Not the cleanest place, but she had to pee, so it would have to do. She carefully lined the seat of the toilet with toilet paper before perching on it.

She scrubbed her hands clean and then, thinking about maybe getting a coffee if it didn't look too bad, she walked out of the restroom. A man came down the hall toward her, and she glanced at him as she moved to her right to go around him. He looked familiar. Where did she know him from?

It was the bartender from Cactus Jack's. He'd been serving her Diet Cokes for the last few nights. What was he doing here in El Paso?

Their gazes met hers and recognition flashed in his eyes, too. Those eyes...

Oh. My. God.

Marli stared at him in shock and then she saw it--the tattoo on his arm. A lasso.