of condemnation against Amber.
“Then we better get you over there,” Larry said simply. “Is Jennifer okay?”
“She sounded upset, but I think she’s hanging in.” Gratitude rose in her chest for his matter-of-fact reaction to the problem.
Crystal’s heart went out to her little niece. And though she wasn’t admitting it out loud, she was furious with her sister. She was a mother, not just a party girl.
“Zane is back or he never left,” she told Larry, watching the headlights bounce along the dark, rural road.
“So I gathered.” His tone was grim.
“I’m guessing they’re drunk,” she admitted.
Larry nodded in the dim light from the dashboard.
“The important thing is Jennifer and David,” she said out loud, more to herself than anyone else. She wanted to rail at Amber, but that would be unproductive at the moment.
Larry gave another nod.
“You’re mad, aren’t you?” she asked him.
He turned his head to look at her. “I wish there was somebody for me to be mad at. I don’t know Amber, and I’ve never met Zane. None of this is your fault, and it damn sure isn’t the children’s.”
“I ruined your evening.”
His arm went around her shoulders. “Amber ruined yours.”
“At least we’d already eaten the burgers,” Nash offered.
Crystal couldn’t help a small smile. “There is that.”
“I take it your sister has a loser boyfriend.”
“Ex-husband,” Crystal said. “The father of her two children.”
Nash nodded, fighting the potholes as he sped along the road to the airstrip.
“Thank you for driving us,” said Crystal.
The big man shrugged. “I wish I could do more.” He glanced over her head to Larry, some kind of silent message passing between the two men. “Anything else you need?”
“We’re good,” Larry responded.
“What’s Zane’s last name?” Nash asked.
The question surprised Crystal. “Crandell,” she answered after a moment.
Nash nodded thoughtfully but didn’t explain further as they came around a bend in the road. “Looks like Hank’s got the lights on.”
Larry gave Crystal a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll have you back home very soon.”
LARRY WASN’T IMPRESSED WITH Amber’s apartment. It wasn’t so much that the furniture was worn, the carpet patchy, or that smells of fish and beer wafted in from the hallway. What worried him were the unwashed dishes and the fast-food cartons littering the dining room table top.
He handed a fifty to the teenage girl who left to drive herself home.
“Amber is usually neater than this,” said Crystal, gathering up the burger wrappers and cardboard cups.
“You don’t have to apologize for your sister.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”
But Larry could tell by the expression on Crystal’s face that she knew exactly what was wrong. Ex-husband Zane was wrong.
“Leave the mess,” Larry told her. Amber needed to take the responsibility for herself.
Crystal crossed the galley kitchen and kicked open the door beneath the sink, depositing the trash. “I can’t leave the mess. The kids need to eat breakfast here.”
“We’ll take them back to your place.”
“Without asking Amber?”
Larry reluctantly conceded she had a point. He wasn’t sure what the law would say about removing the children without their mother’s permission. On the other hand, Amber had basically abandoned them, and Crystal was family.
“She’s not usually like this,” Crystal stressed, disappointment and frustration showing on her face. “They don’t have a lot of money. But then neither do I.”
He moved into the kitchen, taking her by the shoulders. “This isn’t about money. It’s about responsibility. You can’t feed your kids fast food then take off partying half the night. Do you honestly think Amber will get up to make them breakfast?”
Something banged against the outer door. A key scraped the lock, while a woman’s high voice giggled on the other side.
Larry turned, putting himself between Crystal and the doorway.
It yawned open.
A tall, blond, willowy woman’s eyes went wide beneath her heavy mascara. “Who are-”
“It’s me, Amber.” Crystal stepped out to where her sister could see her. “Where’ve you been?”
Amber’s expression turned defiant. She sauntered the rest of the way into the apartment, dropping a jeweled purse on the tattered table beside the door. A man appeared behind her, and Larry held his gaze for a long second.
He was thin and long limbed. His hair could have used a cut, and he sported a straggly goatee on pale, sallow skin. His eyes had the glaze of liquor and recreational drugs.
Neither of them spoke.
“Well?” Larry prompted. “Crystal’s wondering where you’ve been.”
“Out,” said Amber, plopping down on the couch. “The Flambe Bar, the Harold Club. Oh, and the Buzz Bomb. That was a blast.” She turned to Zane. “Wasn’t it, baby?”
The man gave a slow, slick smile. “A blast.”
Crystal elbowed her way past Larry. His instinct was to stop her, but he didn’t want to overstep his bounds.
“You told Lisa you’d be home by ten.”
Amber’s fuzzy eyes narrowed in puzzlement, then they opened wider in comprehension. “Oh. You mean the babysitter?”
“Jennifer called me,” said Crystal.
Amber waved a dismissive hand. “We were only a little bit late.”
Zane moved forward. “Yeah. What’s the big deal?”
Larry stepped forward, too, positioning himself behind Crystal. He placed his hands on her shoulders and stared at Zane. “Time for you to say good night.”
Zane opened his mouth, but then apparently thought better of it. He leaned down to give Amber a slack kiss. “Later, babe.”
She whirled her head around to look at him. “Will you call tomorrow?”
Larry felt Crystal tense beneath his hands.
“Yeah. Sure. Got some business to take care of in the morning.” Zane shot Larry a smug look that said he was a freewheeling, high roller of an entrepreneur.
Larry took in his sad manicure and bargain basement shoes, and remained completely unimpressed.
Zane made a gun out of his thumb and forefinger, aiming it in Larry’s direction before pulling the trigger. Larry supposed it was meant to intimidate, but Zane was the one walking away, so it came off as desperate and pathetic.
The door shut behind Zane, and Crystal immediately confronted her sister.
“You can’t
“Do what? Have a little fun? Party with my husband? I got a frickin’ babysitter, didn’t I?”
“You were almost three hours late coming home.”
Amber sighed, and tipped her head back on the couch. “The band was awesome.” Then she started humming a song.
“You want me to take the kids home with me?” asked Crystal.
Amber’s head snapped up. “No. I don’t want you to take
