that no matter what his choices, no matter what he’d done in his life, his father had always believed in him.
He didn’t know what the hell to do with that.
Before he could figure it out, something outside the small, barred window overlooking the alley caught his eye. Caleb ambled over, looking out just in time to watch two dirtbags exchange a fat wad of cash for several large pill bottles. He’d been right. This was the main drop spot. But why here?
“Do you have storage in the back?” he asked over his shoulder.
Tobias took his time selecting another cookie before he met Caleb’s eyes. “Nope. But the pretty little gal does.”
Son of a bitch. Pain, fury and disappointment all pounded through Caleb. Son of a freaking bitch.
How could it be Pandora? He felt like scum just thinking of her and drugs in the same thought. But this? They were using her storage unit, her store. Did she have a clue? Whether she did or not, this was going to be a major problem for her.
Caleb dropped his head against the window and closed his eyes, fury and despair ripping through him.
He’d reluctantly come home to clear his father’s dubious name. But he didn’t want to do it at the expense of the woman he loved.
11
CALEB CLICKED OPEN the file of mug shots Hunter had emailed. Impressed, despite himself, he had to admit the FBI had better toys than he’d had access to with the DEA. Within an hour of calling Hunter with a report of what he’d seen, a laptop had been delivered to his hotel, access codes had been texted to his cell phone and he’d had the files of eight guys who fit the description of both dudes he’d seen selling behind Pandora’s store.
Throw in Russ, whose identity didn’t match the info on his job application, and Caleb figured he’d nailed down the drug ring’s middle-management team.
What he didn’t have yet was the person calling the shots.
He took a drink of coffee, letting the flavor mingle with the rest of the bitterness he’d been tasting since he realized that the woman he was crazy for might be a criminal.
He’d been so sure she was clean. Just as he’d been sure Tobias was clean. He’d only dug into her computer files so he could tell Hunter that he’d done a thorough job.
Then he’d read the files Hunter had emailed detailing the illegal activities of her drug-dispensing ex and her part in his little prescription ring. And the note Hunter had attached warning Caleb not to do anything stupid.
What a pal.
Caleb considered pounding his head on the wall a few times, but figured he couldn’t afford the possible loss of more brain cells.
Instead, he was going to ID the two guys, round them up and scare the crap out of them. Sooner or later, someone would spill a name. Or the boss would come looking for them.
Just as he started scrolling through the faces, there was a knock on his door.
He considered ignoring it. He wanted to ID this guy while the face was still fresh in his head. Then, he wanted to hit something-anything-hard, until it broke into a million pieces and left his knuckles bloody and raw.
But whoever was at the door might have another package from Hunter. And Caleb was definitely curious to see what other toys his old friend had to offer.
As a precaution, he closed the file, shut down the program and turned off the laptop. It was a secure machine, requiring two passwords, his own and the one Hunter had provided, to start it or pull it out of the hibernation it’d enter if left idle for more than thirty seconds. But still, it paid to be cautious.
He strode over and pulled the door open.
Well, well.
Not a toy from Hunter, but a toy all the same.
“Pandora,” he greeted with a stiff smile.
For a brief second, he missed the old days when he’d opened the door to gun-toting, drugged-out, murdering dealers looking to take him out.
At least he knew what to do with them.
“Hey,” she greeted with a shaky smile. Eyes narrowing, Caleb saw the strain on her face. Her makeup was all smudged and drippy, as if she’d been crying.
Yeah, a strung-out dude pointing a loaded.45 at his face would definitely be easier.
But not as important, he admitted to himself, heaving a heavy sigh.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Do you mind if I come in?”
He stepped aside anyway.
And tortured himself by breathing deep as she walked past, inhaling her spicy fragrance and wishing he could bury his face in the curve of her neck and see if she tasted as good as she smelled.
Stupid.
Totally freaking stupid.
Because he knew damn well she tasted delicious.
“Are you okay?” he asked after a few seconds of indulging himself by staring at her as she wandered the room. She shouldn’t be here. But he couldn’t kick her out. Whatever her part in this, even if it wasn’t purely innocent, he wanted-needed-this time with her.
“I’m…” She stopped by the window, giving him a pained look over her shoulder. “I had a blowup with my mother. Now I guess I’m confused.”
“Parents have that effect,” he observed. Finally giving in to the fact that running down the hall to avoid confronting her would be blatantly chickenshit, Caleb shut the door. He didn’t cross the room, though. Instead, he leaned his hip against the dresser and watched.
“I know you’re probably busy. You’re not expecting me. But, well, I thought about going by Kathy’s, but her family is in town and it’ll be really crowded and loud there. And I just wanted to see if, you know, maybe…”
She trailed off, offering a wincing sort of shrug as she wandered the room nervously.
What was he going to do? Kick her out? Grill her when she was already upset? Yes, he knew that both were perfectly solid methods to deal with a potential drug-dealing mastermind. But, dammit, this was Pandora. And she was upset.
So he’d stay and comfort her. After all, he could be a chickenshit here in his room, too.
“What happened?”
“Confrontations and ugly words and painful truths,” she confessed, trailing her fingers over the glossy knotty pine of one of the four posts of the large, quilt-covered bed.
“Sounds like a family reunion to me.” Although he and his father had skipped over that part of reunioning. Instead, the old man had watched with laser-sharp eyes as Caleb had stepped to the side of the window so as not to be seen while the drug deal went down. Tobias hadn’t said a word, though. He’d just arched one brow and given a jaunty salute when it was over and Caleb had said he had to go.
All that cordial silence had creeped him out.
“Not my family,” Pandora said with a stiff smile. “Usually my mother is dramatic, I’m quiet and we both pretend everything is peachy keen.”
She needed to talk. He could see it on her face, hear it in her tone. The previous night she’d needed sex, a little laughter and a chance to forget about everything else.
Caleb sighed, feeling the weight of the world pressing down on him all of a sudden. The sex was probably off- limits while she was a suspect, and the laughter was beyond him.
Dammit, that left talking.
He sucked at talking.
As Pandora poked a finger between the balcony curtains, closed against the night, he sighed again.
Fine.
