Against the Night (12 page)

He grunted. “That’s right, Dorothy—you ain’t in Michigan anymore.”

Amy laughed. “The thing is, since I came here, I’ve been finding out a lot about myself, things I didn’t know.”

“Such as?”

“Such as…I like it when men look at me the way you’re looking at me now. I’ve never had that before.”

His eyebrows went up. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I’m afraid not. I was always so conservative. The clothes I wore, the way I wore my hair. The guys I dated saw me as a schoolteacher, first and last. I never really explored my sexuality.”

“What else?” he softly urged.

“The thing is, when I’m onstage, I feel womanly. Powerful. Until I came to L.A., I never thought that much about sex. I never would have believed exotic dancing could make me feel so sensual, so—”

She gasped as Johnnie backed her up against the wall and took her mouth in a hot, demanding kiss. For an instant, she forgot to breathe. She could feel his erection pressing into her, thick and hot with need. The music throbbed and so did he. Amy wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back as hotly as he was kissing her.

Dear God, the way his lips moved over hers, taking what he wanted, letting her know that he could give her exactly what she needed. Her body tingled and her skin felt tight. His tongue slid into her mouth while his big hands moved down to cup her bottom and draw her more firmly against him.

Desire curled in her stomach. She was hot and wet. If he hadn’t stopped right then, she would have melted into a puddle at his feet.

“Easy,” he whispered when he felt her trembling. Leaning down, he kissed the side of her neck, nipped an earlobe. “We’re leaving,” he said. “Now.”

As he started tugging her to the door, it dawned on her they had been carrying on in a room full of people.

He led her a couple more steps before she pulled away. “Wait! Wait a minute, we can’t just leave!”

He was breathing hard, staring at her with those hot brown eyes. “Why not?”

“We…we have to talk to Kenny. We have to find Rachael.”

Muscle bunched in a jaw roughened by the shadow of a beard. He ran a hand over his face and took a deep breath. “I need a drink.”

“You’re working.”

“That’s why I need a drink.” He led her up to the bar and ordered a cosmo for her, Jack on the rocks for himself. When the bartender delivered their drinks, he lifted the glass and downed the whiskey in a single gulp.

“Jesus, I want you,” he said.

Amy trembled, her heart still thundering. Her mind remained foggy as she relived that incredible kiss. She forced the words past her tingling lips. “Rachael has to…has to come first.”

With a thud, Johnnie set his empty shot glass down on the bar. The bartender cast him a glance, silently asking if he wanted another. Johnnie just shook his head.

“You’re right,” he said. “We’ll finish this later.”

Later?
She inwardly groaned. Later she had to go back to work. She had purposely not told him because she was afraid he wouldn’t let her come along. Johnnie was going to kill her.

She remembered the way the muscles tightened on his chest, his heavy erection pressing against her, thought how much she wanted him to make love to her.
Maybe I’ll just kill myself.

Taking her hand, he led her around the edge of the dance floor toward the man in the booth. Walking up beside him, Johnnie pulled out his wallet and slid out a business card.

It read simply John Riggs. Private Investigation. The only other information was his cell phone number. Johnnie handed it over. Kenny Reason read the card, started another song, set the lighting to match the beat of the music, took off his headphones and stood up. The music was too loud for them to be able to hear so he led them a little ways away where they could talk over the noise.

“What can I do for you?” the DJ asked.

“We’re looking for a girl named Rachael Brewer. You might know her as Silky Summers.”

“I know Silk. She and her friend used to come in here together.”

“You take her out?”

“A couple of times. It was no big deal, just coffee after closing.”

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“I don’t know. Been quite a while, well over a month.”

“Silk went missing six weeks ago. You know about that?”

“I heard.”

“You wouldn’t know anything that might help us find her?”

“The police asked me about her, but no, I can’t think of anything. We were just friends, you know? She wanted to get into show business. Her girlfriend worked fairly often, bit parts and commercials, nothing permanent. Sometimes some of the movie crowd comes into the club. I know a few people. I tried to help Silk but nothing ever came of it. I saw her dancing in here a couple of times after the last time we went for coffee, but I don’t know who she was with.”

The song was coming to a close, the hip hop dancers revved up and ready for the next tune. “Listen, I gotta go. I hope you find Silk. I liked her.”

Amy felt a tug at her heart. Everyone liked Rachael. She thought of Bee, who had made her feelings clear. And of course there were a couple of girls back in high school who were jealous of Rachael’s good looks. And Mick Swenson, the boy she jilted when she was a senior. Well, almost everyone.

One of Johnnie’s big hands wrapped around her arm and he started for the door. “Come on, baby, time to go home.”

She looked up at him. There was no mistaking which home he was talking about and what he meant to do when they got there.

She moistened her lips. “I can’t go home with you, Johnnie. One of the girls called in sick and I have to work the second half of her shift.”

He stopped and turned, his gaze dark and turbulent. “Let’s get something straight. I told you from the start, I didn’t expect any kind of payment, okay? If this thing between us isn’t what I think it is—”

“No! That isn’t it. I swear it!” To prove she wasn’t just using him or being a tease, she went up on her toes and pressed her mouth against his. Neither of them moved. In an instant, the kiss turned hot then went to searing. Her tongue was in his mouth and his was in hers and she thought she was going to have an orgasm right there in the back of the nightclub.

Johnnie broke the kiss. “Jesus!” Breathing hard, he raked a hand through his hair. “If you had any idea how much I want you—” He took her hand, pressed it against the fly of his jeans. Amy’s eyes widened. He was as hard as granite. “Honey, I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

Grabbing her wrist, he tugged her toward the door, led her outside and down the stairs. At the curb, they waited until the valet brought up his car. The young man helped her inside while Johnnie tipped him, rounded the car, climbed in and slammed his door. He didn’t say a word as the car roared through traffic, punching in and out with a skill she couldn’t help but admire.

He was in a foul mood and she didn’t blame him. Not only had they gotten no new information, he was going home alone.

Or maybe he wasn’t. Her stomach tightened. A virile man like Johnnie Riggs didn’t go long without a woman. She wondered if he would find someone else. She didn’t want that, but as much as she wanted him to make love to her, she was afraid of what would happen once he did.

She knew the kind of guy he was, knew he wasn’t a reliable, one-woman sort of man. While she was definitely a reliable, one-man sort of woman.

She rode in silence the rest of the way back to the club and Johnnie walked her to the back door. The beat of the music throbbed inside and his features darkened. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but in the end just shook his head.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Amy nodded. Tomorrow she was going to see the woman who took care of Bee’s little boy—assuming Babs would let her borrow the car. Rachael had been to see little Jimmy a number of times. Maybe the sitter had information they could use.

Her gaze swung to the brawny man crossing the parking lot. Just the way he moved turned her on, the confident strides, the way the muscles in his legs lengthened and tightened as he strode toward his car. She was wildly attracted to him. She had never desired a man the way she did John Riggs. Never even known she was capable of feeling such burning lust for a man.

She was going to have sex with him—wild, passionate, uninhibited sex as she had never experienced before.

She just had to figure out when.

Eleven

At ten o’clock the following morning, Amy pulled Babs’s rusty, dented blue heap of a Chevy up in front of the Culver City address Bee had given to Babs. Being a practical sort, before she’d left the apartment, she had phoned Alliance Insurance back in Grand Rapids and asked if she was covered driving someone else’s uninsured car. They had assured her she was. At least if she wrecked it, she’d be able to get it fixed.

She reread the tarnished brass numbers on the front of the house and turned off the motor, hoping it would start again. This morning, the engine hadn’t wanted to turn over, but she had used a metal brush on the battery cables to remove the corrosion as her dad had taught her, cranked the engine and it had fired right up. So far it seemed to be running all right. Thank God it was American-made instead of some foreign job, which would be totally Greek to her.

Unfastening her seat belt, she reached for the door handle just as her cell started ringing. She dug it out of her purse, checked the caller ID and recognized her mother’s number.

Amy pressed the phone against her ear. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hi, honey. I just wanted to check on you. When you didn’t phone yesterday I got worried.”

They talked every few days. Though her mom knew she was in L.A. looking for Rachael, she had no idea Amy had taken Rachael’s exotic dancing job.

“Everything’s fine, Mom. I’ve got someone helping me now, a private investigator. We’ve already got a few leads.”

“I didn’t think you could afford to hire someone.”

“We’ve…ummm…kind of gotten to be friends.” That was a big fat lie. The heat burning between them had nothing to do with friendship. “Anyway, he’s working for free.” Kind of. He’d said he was running a tab, which could mean any number of things. One possibility made her stomach flutter.

“So you haven’t heard any news?” her mother always asked, though the answer was always the same.

“No, Mom, not yet. Listen, I’ve got to run. I’m talking to a woman who takes care of a little boy Rachael used to visit. Maybe she’ll have some news.”

“Your sister always loved children. Just like you. Call me if you find out anything.”

“You know I will.”

“I wish you’d just come home and let the police handle this. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you, too.”

“I’m being careful, Mom. I promise.”

“I love you, honey.”

“Love you, too, Mom.”

Amy hung up and leaned her head back against the headrest. Talking to her mother was always draining. She didn’t want to lie but she couldn’t possibly tell her the truth. And neither was she ready to give up and go home.

With a sigh, she reached for the door handle, then jumped and shrieked as the door jerked open and she nearly fell out of the car.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Johnnie stared down at her, his features dark and grim.

“I could ask the same question of you.”

His scowl deepened. “I’m doing the job you aren’t paying me to do.”

“I just want to talk to her, okay? I phoned earlier. Mrs. Zimmer said I could come over.”

“Fine. Let’s go.” He caught her arm and started hauling her out of the car. Amy grabbed her purse and the bag she’d brought along and started walking in front of him toward the pale yellow, single-story, wood-frame house. She crossed the porch and knocked on the door, and a few minutes later, a tall, thin woman with iron-gray hair pulled it open.

“Mrs. Zimmer?”

“That’s right.” The lady smiled. “You must be Angel.”

She hadn’t told the sitter she was Rachael’s sister. She was still playing a part and the fewer people who knew the truth the better. She glanced at Johnnie and saw a dark look of warning. She was Angel until all of this was over.

“That’s right, and this is John Riggs, another friend of Rachael’s.”

He flicked Amy a sideways glance and pasted on a smile that fortunately looked sincere. “Thank you for seeing us, Mrs. Zimmer.”

“Please come in.” The woman stepped back out of the way and they walked into the living room. It had olive-green shag carpet, and a brown-and-olive-plaid, overstuffed sofa and chair, old but serviceable.

“I’m sorry about your friend,” Mrs. Zimmer said. “I liked Rachael very much and Jimmy adored her. I hope you find her and everything turns out all right.”

“That’s what we’re all hoping,” Amy said.

“Would either of you like a cup of tea?” the older woman asked, giving Johnnie a quick once-over. The olive drab T-shirt he wore had U.S. Army Rangers stamped on the front. It nearly matched the carpet. Though he had shaved, a faint shadow already darkened his jaw.

Amy smiled. “It’s nice of you to ask, but no thank you.”

The woman turned to Johnnie, who looked like the ex-soldier he was, until he smiled at her sweetly and shook his head. “We’re fine.”

A noise came from the hallway. An instant later, the sound of a little boy zooming his miniature Tonka truck into the living room drew their attention. He raced it right up to Mrs. Zimmer’s sturdy brown leather shoes.

“Jimmy, these are friends of Rachael’s,” the woman said, stepping a little away. “Mr. Riggs and Ms. Fontaine.”

Jimmy’s features turned solemn. He had his mother’s red hair and pale, lightly freckled skin. At not quite four years old he was tall for his age. He slowly came to his feet. “Is Rachael coming back?”

Amy knelt in front of him, putting herself at eye level. “I don’t know, sweetheart. Maybe she will.”

“Why did she go away? I really miss her.”

“I miss her, too,” Amy said, a lump forming in her throat. “I think maybe Rachael had to leave on some really important business. Otherwise she would still be coming to see you.”

“She didn’t even say goodbye.”