In Seconds

running up the walk to find his sheriff injured. She was angry at Myles for taking such a risk, too. He could’ve been killed—exactly what she’d feared from the start.

“Ink and Lloyd would’ve been gone if I’d waited.”

“They’re still gone,” she pointed out.

He didn’t seem to like that answer, but he took the time to cover a yawn before responding. “You really know how to kick a guy when he’s down.”

She refused to smile, wasn’t willing to make light of this. She didn’t want him returning to his house until they’d found Ink and Lloyd and any other Crew members who might be in the area. “Someone needs to kick you. With your cruiser in the driveway, I’m sure they realize you live next door.”

“So? They have no reason to come after me. I’m the guy they want to avoid.”

“They’ll come if they suspect I’m with you. Unless you want to get into another shoot-out, you should stay here.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “And where will you stay?”

“I’ll get a motel room for the next couple of nights.” She couldn’t face going back home, not after Myles’s close call.

“Good idea. We’ll both stay at the Blue Ridge. Get the doctor.”

She rattled the paper cup with his pills inside it. “Will you take the Vicodin if I do?”

“I’m a tough guy. I don’t need any painkillers.” He was teasing, but she got the impression he honestly meant to refuse—until he tried to move. Then he winced and fell back with a groan. “Shit, yeah. Give me those.”

She laughed as she offered him a glass of water to swallow his meds. Then she went to find the doctor, but he called her back.

“Vivian?”

She turned to see him put the empty cup on his rolling cart.

“Were you really not wearing any pants when you knelt over me earlier?”

The memory of his fingers slipping beneath the elastic of her panties sent a tornado of warmth and excitement twisting through her. She checked the hallway to make sure their conversation couldn’t be overheard. “I was covered. I mean, as well as I would be in a swimsuit. It was just that once I heard the gunshots and knew you weren’t in the house, I didn’t dare take the time to find my jeans, let alone put them on.” As soon as the deputy had arrived to assist him, she’d dashed into the house to grab a pair of sweats, so it wasn’t as if anyone else had seen her in her underwear.

“I remember.” A dreamy smile curved his lips. “Your panties—they’re thin and lacy, right?”

She rolled her eyes. “If I didn’t know it was too soon, I’d think the Vicodin had kicked in and sent you for a loop.”

His smile stretched wider. “Some things transcend pain.”

“Apparently so.” She folded her arms in an attempt to control the delicious shiver his expression evoked. “Wait a second. It was only a few hours ago that you put me on notice.”

“For what?”

“You told me you didn’t want to get involved with me.”

He sobered. “That was before.”

“Before what?”

“Before I realized it was already too late.”

Horse is in the back bedroom with Gully. As alone as he’ll get. Do it now. I just unlocked the back door on my way to the bathroom.

This was it. The text Virgil had been waiting for. It had taken most of the night for Mona to do what she’d promised, but the situation wasn’t looking a whole lot better despite that. He had no idea who Gully was or how he might change what was about to happen. And although the sun was coming up and the crowd on the street had dispersed, there were still plenty of cars and trucks parked along the curb, suggesting a full house. A lot of the guys who frequented Horse’s illegal club simply crashed out on whatever they could find. With a girl in one of the back bedrooms. On a couch. Some even fell asleep on the floor, too high or drunk to realize they were lying in their own vomit.

So Horse wasn’t nearly as alone as Virgil would’ve liked. To top it off, Virgil was so groggy he felt as if he was underwater. He’d been up for twenty-four hours, been on high alert too long to be as sharp as he needed to be. This wasn’t the condition in which he wanted to decide whether Mona’s text was an invitation to be tortured and shot in the head—or the help he’d requested.

But he didn’t have to decide, did he? He’d already made the decision to trust her when he’d first contacted her.

After bringing the photo of his wife and children to his lips for a quick goodbye kiss, he took out the lighter he’d picked up at the last gas station and burned it, along with all the other photos and business cards he hadn’t even known were in his wallet. He burned the car rental agreement and anything else that could possibly help The Crew find his family, too. In case he didn’t survive the next few hours, he didn’t want to leave anything that could be traced behind. He hoped The Crew’s revenge would be complete at his death, if things went in that direction, but with them, there was no way to tell. They were the most bloodthirsty group of men he’d ever known. Their unflinching willingness to perform the most brutal acts had served him well in prison, had put him on top right along with them.

But it’d created a hell all its own once he was exonerated.

Slapping his face to revive himself, he took a deep breath, slipped the gun into his waistband under the front of his shirt and got out. One shot. That was all it would take—if he could get in without being stopped, maintain an element of surprise and manage to get Horse in his sights without the others standing in the way. Ironically, he’d never used a gun until after prison. But running a bodyguard service gave him good reason to visit the shooting range. Maybe it was the only thing in his favor, but he was one hell of a marksman.

Of course, there was another problem. Even if he hit his target and killed Horse, as he hoped, the blast would bring everyone else in the house down on him. Other than making a run for it, he hadn’t figured out how he’d get back to his car. He could only hope the answer would be apparent when the time came, because there was no telling what he might encounter once he got inside.

As he walked around the trunk of his rental car, his cell phone buzzed with another text message.

Mona again.

Are you coming?

He didn’t bother answering. If she was baiting a trap, he didn’t want her to know any more than she already did. He was, however, tempted to call Rex, to tell him to look out for Peyton and Laurel if anything happened to him. He would have, except he didn’t need to; he knew Rex would do just that. At least, he would if he could. So instead of placing that call, he dropped the phone on the asphalt and smashed it to pieces.

There went his ability to communicate. It was down to sheer nerve, his gun and whether or not Mona was being truthful.

26

Myles had fallen asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, but Vivian moved around the motel room, taking a shower, brushing her teeth—two, then three, times—and bolting, unbolting and rebolting the door. When they’d arrived, she’d called the LAPD, told them as much as she knew about the people she believed had killed her mother. They didn’t seem too impressed with her knowledge, or even particularly willing to believe what she had to say, but the detective she’d spoken to wrote it all down and promised to look into it. She figured she’d check back with him in a few days. When she knew what was going on here, she’d be able to push the issue a bit harder.

Myles had sent a deputy by the name of Campbell to get him an overnight bag. Campbell had shown up with