All the Way (27 page)

Adriano had had enough of the short, stocky, big-mouthed assistant district attorney. “Back off! Don't say another word to her.”

Lisa looked around at the officers. “I said arrest them.”

“Just a minute.” A man dressed in a dark suit and long coat interrupted Lisa's tirade. “Stand down, Lisa.” He pulled her aside and said something that didn't leave her happy. She huffed back to her car and took off with screeching tires.

Payton leaned into Adriano. “I really messed up, but I had to see you.”

He kissed the top of her head. “We'll talk later.” The way he said “later” let her know he was not happy with what she'd done.

The well-dressed man walked into their circle. “District Attorney Palmer.”

Jake, Ethan, and then Adriano shook his hand.

“I hear you are heroes. Ms. Vaughn, we need to get you back to the safe house. We were able to stop the van, but the man Ethan and Adriano scuffled with fled the scene before we could apprehend him.”

“Carter,” she offered.

“Excuse me?” Palmer's eyebrow quirked as if he'd hit the jackpot.

“Carter is the man who grabbed me.” She tilted her head up to Adriano. “I thought he was my friend.”

The DA scratched his head in confusion. “Ms. Vaughn, we need to spend a lot of time together. I'd like to know how a woman like you got mixed up with some of the biggest criminals in Mecklenburg County.”

“Not tonight,” Adriano interjected. “Payton has had enough tonight. I'm taking her back to the hotel. You can ask her all the questions you want—in the morning. Tonight, she's staying with me.”

District Attorney Palmer read the unwavering resolve on Adriano's face. He had to pick his fights, and this one he wouldn't win. Not without strong-arming his key witness, and Lisa Hail had already proven that could be disastrous.

“Doesn't look like we've done a good job protecting her, does it? Take her back to your hotel, but I want you to ride in a squad car, and the police will remain posted outside your door. I'll see you in my office first thing tomorrow morning.”

Chapter 29

Adriano and Jake shared a moment of companionable silence in which they recalled the adventures of the past, experiences that were responsible for the close friendship they shared today. The two had been partners at the
Chicago City
newspaper for years. Adriano missed the weekly dinners at Jake's house while he was on the run with Payton. They would fondly remember their escapades undertaken in the name of “getting the story.” Hanging out with Jake's family reminded him of the love found in his childhood home. Sitting together now, talking and sharing a beer, offered him a measure of comfort when he was confused about his future with Payton.

“You're staying?” Jake asked, tipping the beer bottle to his lips.

“Until the trial's over.”

Jake laughed. “How'd you get Mr. Conners to float the bill?”

Adriano shrugged. “He wants the story.”

Jake nodded. “Hurry up and get back. We owe a bunch of people favors over this one.”

Adriano smiled, remembering the day Payton jumped into the SUV. “It's been wild.”

“One of our best stories yet.”

Adriano sipped from his beer, absently watching the bottle as he swirled the brew.

“What about Payton?” Jake asked, treading carefully.

Adriano's gaze instantly went to the closed door. Only feet away she was sleeping in the bed they would share. “She's not as tough as she tries to be.”

“She's got a lot of heart. She did kick Grazicky's ass.”

“Yeah.” He didn't want to think about what might have happened.

“Patrick is going to come after you if you break her heart.”

“It's the last thing I want to do.”

“What's the plan?” Jake asked, watching him over the rim of his bottle.

“You know how I handle long-distance relationships.” He had women all over the world happy to have a little piece of him whenever he visited. “Payton would never go for it.”

Jake laughed. “No, I can't see her jumping on board for that arrangement.” After a few minutes, Jake asked, “What's Plan B?”

Adriano ran a hand across his face. “What can I offer her? Am I supposed to move to Charlotte and try to make a life here? Doing what?”

“You can be a reporter anywhere. Granted, it won't have the big-city appeal, but you might be able to make a living.”

“And then what? Take my just-getting-by salary and try to take care of Payton?”

Jake nodded, understanding Adriano had too much pride to offer Payton so little.

“I couldn't ask Payton to give up everything and move to Chicago,” Adriano said, trying to convince himself. “Wouldn't I have to marry her first?”

“I don't know. Why don't you ask Payton?”

“Can you even imagine me married? With kids?” Adriano laughed, downing his beer. When he looked at Jake, he wasn't laughing.

“With Payton. Yeah, I could see it, A. The question is: Why can't you?” He finished his beer and sat the bottle on the table. “I have to pack.”

They held each other in a brotherly hug.

“You're in a bad spot,” Jake said. “All I know is when I met my wife, I knew no matter what I had to go through, I needed her with me. You should ask yourself if you can live with your pride and honor without Payton, because if you don't get it together, you'll lose her.”

Adriano sat in the chair, wrestling with his conflicting feelings for a long time before he went to the phone and dialed his parents. Everyone had heard about the Grazicky case, and Adriano could feel the pride of his parents when he told them about his role in it. Payton should have the opportunity to come to one of his family's wild get-togethers. She'd like his sister, and his mother would adore her. After assuring his mother he was safe, he spoke with his father.

“Your mother misses you. When are you coming home?” his father asked.

“After the trial.”

“The woman you were hiding, she's a real looker.”

“You'd love Payton. She's smart, and sensitive, and a hellcat.”

“Sounds like you got to know her pretty well.”

He didn't want to become too emotional. “I did.”

“Will we get to meet her?”

“I don't know.”

His father made a reflective sound over the phone. “What's on your mind, Son?”

Adriano rubbed his eyes. “Tired. It's been a lot.”

“Don't sound like you're tired. Something else going on? Something to do with the girl?”

Adriano could never keep anything from his father. “We became close over the past few weeks.”

“How close?”

“I love her.”

His father went silent for a long moment. “You don't want to leave her.”

“No. I don't.”

“Then you shouldn't.”

He wished it were so simple. He knew everything Payton had gone through in the past few months, and it made his heart rip when he considered how her life had been destroyed. He knew the Grazickys had done more disgusting, sexually deviated things to her than Payton had admitted. She'd experienced more horrors in her life than she should have. He watched Payton fighting to stay strong, and he knew it would be his duty not to make her life harder by proposing unrealistic relationships on her life.

“I have to go, Dad. Tell Mom I love her.”

“I will, Son. You take care of yourself. You'll do the right thing, and we'll support you. No matter what you decide.”

 

 

Shutting the door on Jake, Ethan, Patrick, and the police officers, Payton stepped into a hot bath. When she finished, Adriano awaited her on the queen-sized hotel bed wearing only a pair of white cotton boxers. The material left little to Payton's imagination, but it certainly whet her appetite. He had bathed away most of the evidence of his hellacious fight with Carter. She wanted to jump on the bed and straddle him, but she treaded cautiously because she knew he held words of chastisement for her.

She stood at the foot of the bed, looking as innocent as she had the day she'd jumped into his Land Cruiser. Adriano sat up, plopping a pillow behind his bare back. He scanned the borrowed white undershirt she used as a nightgown. His eyes lingered at her breasts, and she knew by the way he licked his lips he wanted her as badly as she wanted him.

He scratched at the black bandana covering his long mane. “Payton Vaughn, tonight you did the stupidest thing you could've ever done. You were almost killed.”

“I had to see you.”

“Why don't you ever listen to me? I told you to stay put. Sometimes I
do
know what's best. Have I steered you wrong yet?”

She hung her head. “No.”

“If you ever do anything like that again . . .”

The room fell silent. The reality of what might have happened was too much for either of them to acknowledge.

She lifted her head and met Adriano's lustful eyes. She kneeled on the foot of the bed and removed her shirt. “I couldn't let Hail keep me away from you.”

He reached for her. “Come here.”

She crawled to him on hands and knees. She straddled his middle and tried desperately to kiss away all of their troubles.

“You could have been killed.” His voice was husky, troubled. “Seeing me wasn't worth the risk.” He rained kisses on her cheeks.

“You don't know how much you mean to me. One night away from you was too much.”

“What did Grazicky and his crazy wife do to you? If he touched you, tell me—”

She answered between his kisses, bracing his face between her hands. “No one other than you will ever make love to me.”

Her hands went inside his boxers, taking the full weight of his manhood in her palm. She massaged him to life, pulling his shorts down over the high haunches of his behind.

He lifted her and tossed her to the bed, covering her before she hit the crisp white sheets.

“I'm on top.” He nibbled her earlobe. “That's your problem—don't know your place.”

“I know my place. My place is with you.”

His body went still, his hands unmoving on her breasts.

She understood the weight of her words, knew how they caused him to war with himself. He would need to do the honorable thing, but his heart wanted what it wanted.

She pushed him with a simple declaration. “I love you.”

He cupped her breast with tender care. He teased one nipple to full bloom with the pad of his thumb. His lips went to the other.

“Do you love me?” she asked, relentless.

“Of course I do.”

“What are we going to—”

He pressed his lips to hers, stopping her from asking the loaded question. He nibbled at her mouth until she opened for him, and then he slipped his tongue inside. He tried to fill her with reassurances all would be okay, but she didn't have the answer she wanted. He tried to convince himself they would regain some form of normalcy in their lives.

“Angel, I know this is hard.” He remained firm, despite his true emotions.

“It sounds like you've made up your mind.”

“It's the only answer.”

“Then make love to me like this is the last time we'll ever be together.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “Because it is.”

His face went slack, his eyes hazed with confusion.

She'd put it all out there. She loved him too much to be away from him. Risking her life tonight had proved it. Damn his righteousness. She wanted him to act with his heart. They could battle through the rest. They'd survived being chased by killers. They could work out the logistics of their relationship.

There was nothing in Charlotte for her after he left.

Patrick and her family were in St. Louis. Her brother had offered to take her back with him. He'd help her find a job, and she could stay with his family until she was on her feet again. She'd given him a vague answer, holding out hope Adriano would ask her to come to Chicago with him.

Without warning, a great sob accompanied by huge tears poured from Payton.

“It rips my heart to shreds when you cry.” Adriano brushed the raindrops away and tenderly kissed every inch of her face. Handling her like she was made of glass, he sampled every part of her body, making her writhe in spite of her tears. “I'm sorry, angel,” he whispered.

“I love you,” Payton said as she bucked her hips, meeting his stroke.

“I love you too.”

They fell into a rhythm that tugged at Adriano's heart. He moved inside her lush walls, willing the vanilla cream to spill. Her continued declaration of love pulled at his willpower. He tried to kiss her into quiet submission, but as soon as he pulled his lips away, the mantra began again.

“I love you. I love you. I love you,” Payton screamed as her body convulsed beneath him. She wrapped her legs around his behind and sung soulfully in his ear. “I love you, Adriano.”

His muscles became taut. She bucked beneath him. He plunged into a slippery heaven. “I love you too, angel.”

Chapter 30

Payton wouldn't tell Adriano what Grazicky and his sick wife had done to her in the bedroom of the pink pastel house. He'd seen the perverted toys, observed her ripped clothing, and soothed lotion over the marks on her legs. The more he pressured her, the more she withdrew. She wouldn't allow him inside the courtroom when she testified about it, but he was there for everything else, sitting in the front row, offering his support. If Grazicky weren't dead, Adriano would have twisted his head off.

“Be strong, angel,” Adriano mouthed from his seat in the crowded courtroom.

Payton took a deep breath.

Lisa Hail's suit said business and screamed “I'm all woman.” Prosecuting the case, she looked softer, more feminine than she had months ago when she had burst into their suite. No one could have guessed at the flaring temper she unleashed when things didn't go her way. In the courtroom she spoke coolly, putting Payton at ease.

Payton testified to the court about memos, messages, and phone calls involving Grazicky's illegal activities, providing a foundation for Cecily's motive in murdering her husband. Lisa asked questions to help Payton describe the murder she'd witnessed.

Cecily sobbed loudly, garnering a reaction from the gallery. The courtroom erupted in gasps. The judge pounded his gavel. The courtroom became excited by all the nervous energy. Reporters ran for the lobby to call in the exclusive. Cameras had been banned from the courtroom, but they were set up outside on the courthouse stairs, capturing every moment.

“Your Honor,” Lisa shouted over the chaos, “a recess, please.”

The gavel sounded. “One-hour recess.”

The bailiffs cleared the room of Cecily and the jury before allowing Payton to step down from the witness stand.

Adriano pulled her into his arms. “It's almost over, angel. You were great up there.” His own testimony had gone much quicker, having only discovered Grazicky's body.

Adriano, Payton, and Lisa adjourned to a private office.

“This is going well, Ms. Vaughn,” Lisa said, clutching the handle of her briefcase.

“It's almost over,” Adriano told Payton again, resting his arm on her shoulders.

“Now comes the hard part.”

Adriano knew what she meant. His business would be concluded soon, and he would have to go back to Chicago.

“Do you want to go over what to expect again?” Lisa asked, assessing Payton's demeanor. She didn't want her star witness to fall apart under pressure.

“No. We've been over it again and again. I'm ready.”

Lisa glanced at Adriano.

He answered her silent question. “She's ready if she says she's ready.”

“The marshals will bring you lunch.” Lisa turned to leave, but stopped suddenly. “You're doing a good thing here,” she said before leaving them alone.

Adriano pulled two chairs together and had her sit facing him. “I'm proud of you. Stay strong. This will be over soon, and you won't ever have to say the name Grazicky again.”

She'd insisted before taking the stand that Adriano not be present for the portion of her testimony about what the Grazickys had done to her. After some argument, he'd agreed, waiting anxiously outside.

A few hours later, Lisa announced, “Mrs. Grazicky's lawyer has asked for a meet.”

“What does that mean?” Payton asked.

“She probably wants to make a deal.”

“Will you?”

“If she'll tell me what I want to know about her father and her husband's businesses.”

“After everything this has put Payton through,” Adriano asked, “it ends this quickly?”

Lisa's face twisted. “Does it have to be harder? The good guys won.”

“It's over?” Payton asked in shock, not able to process the information.

“The attorneys will iron out the details and give the offer to the judge for final approval, but yes, it's over.” Lisa turned to Payton, not a little relieved to be finished with the entire mess. “You're excused, Ms. Vaughn.”

From all reports, Cecily was now isolated in the mental ward at a federal holding station, waiting to be transferred to jail, under suicide watch. She was despondent over her father's death.

The police had not apprehended Carter, but Hail assured them the threat was waning. Carter was a paid assassin, and there was no one to pay his salary.

Kellie, Hiram, Marvin, and Dan were all caught and made deals with the D.A. so that they could avoid some of the worst charges against them. However, they were all sentenced to long stretches in prison for kidnapping and assault.

Franco Cimino's body had been found by a vagrant in a Dumpster two counties away. The body had been stripped of identification, but the medical examiner had been reluctant to release the body because of the expensive shoes it was wearing. He figured no homeless man could afford a one-thousand-dollar pair of loafers. He'd eventually been forced to release the body, but he'd kept what he needed to make a matching identification of the dental records. The body had been exhumed, and the man was confirmed to be Franco Cimino.

Not many people mourned Franco's passing. Once the news hit, people oppressed by his cruelty began to surface, turned brave by what Payton had done. Cecily's family's wealth had been built on international crimes, going back thirty years. When Cecily married, her father had allowed her to step in and run portions of the criminal organization. She'd branched off in so many different directions that retracing her steps was the government's greatest headache. Her father had taught her well, and they were having trouble tying any illegal activities directly to her. The kidnapping charges would stick, but the government wanted more—drug trafficking, white slavery, embezzlement—so they kept digging.

Grazicky wasn't as clever as Franco, and in his haste to put together an escape plan, he'd left behind a thread of evidence Hail was currently unraveling. Connections were being made between the Grazicky and Cimino families. Skye Charlotte was closed permanently, and Skye Miami would never complete construction. Hungry up-and-coming drug lords were scrambling to claim Grazicky's territories. It would be a while before they could rebuild, and hopefully Hail's new task force would be able to stop them.

District Attorney Palmer was flashing his smile on every news station. Lisa Hail stood in the background, brooding. Ethan's television exclusive had given him the fame he sought, and he was making plans to relocate to Chicago. Mr. Conners was reluctant about having another hothead on his staff, but he was considering it. Especially when Adriano informed Mr. Conners about not wanting to take any big assignments for a while. Mr. Conners was okay with it; after all, Adriano had a multipiece story and book to write about taking down the Grazicky empire.

Adriano handled his anxiety about the trial by churning out page after page of the memoir exposing Sherman Grazicky as told by Payton Vaughn. She wouldn't let him include anything about the sick bedroom games in the book.

“Why do you want to write about all those gruesome details?” she'd ask when he questioned her about it. “If I were going to write a story about what happened, I'd make it a romance and I'd call it
All The Way.
”

He planned on the romance being his next project.

The publishing industry buzzed about the exposé, and the book was expected to debut at number one on the
New York Times
bestseller list. Adriano donated half of the advance payment for the book to a drug-rehab center in Chicago. Half of Payton's royalties were donated to the same center. Mr. Conners ran weekly teasers about the book, increasing the newspaper's circulation by 25 percent. Major movie producers were already swarming, trying to get their hands on an advance copy. The publishing company let the frenzy mount—the advance copies would be mailed at midnight thirty days before the book's release.

Soon Adriano would have to return to Chicago and get on with his life. He held Payton too tightly around the waist, but she didn't complain, and he didn't let go. He couldn't imagine not sharing his bed with her. How was he supposed to go back to Chicago and pretend she hadn't stolen his heart? He'd wrestled with the question for days, always coming to the conclusion that a good man would never ask a woman to uproot for an uncertain future with him.

Abruptly, she pulled away and jumped out of bed.

“Where are you going?” He propped himself on his elbow and drank up her naked body.

She swung around. “I can't believe you're doing this to me.”

“Doing what?”

“You say you love me. Why are you giving up on us? I don't understand. If you truly love me, how can you walk away so easily?”

The sheet fell to his narrow waist. “Lower your voice.”

“No! I want you to explain it to me.”

“Lower your voice. We don't need the police or your brother hearing every word we say.”

She glanced toward the door, having forgotten the police were stationed outside. At this point she didn't care who heard her frustration. “I don't care!” she shouted. She was fighting for their future. A future Adriano seemed too eager to throw away.

“I don't care who hears. Explain why you're breaking us apart . . . or go share a bed with Ethan or Jake.”

“Hold up. I said lower your voice. If you want to discuss this with me, do it without the yelling.” He paused for emphasis. “And you never put me out.”

She hunted at the foot of the bed until she found the discarded undershirt. She pulled it over her head with angry tugs.

“Angel—”

“Don't call me that anymore.”

“Okay, Ms. Vaughn. You want to talk about this now?”

“Yes!” She folded her arms over her chest, fixing her eyes on him. “Before, you said you'd rather let me go than place me in danger. Sherman's dead. Cecily's in jail.”

“Think rationally. You live in Charlotte, and I live in Chicago.”

“Are you making
excuses?
”

“Wouldn't it be selfish to ask you to have a long-distance relationship with me?”

“Hell, yes!”

He looked as if she'd slapped him.

“Hell, yes, it's selfish.”

“Stop cursing at me. I respect you; you respect me.”

She tried unsuccessfully to restrain her anger.

“Don't think for one minute I want to lose you, because I don't.”

“It's not enough, Adriano. The words aren't enough.”

“I don't know what you want.”

She could see his resolve wavering. “Prove you love me as much as you say.”

“I am.” He raised his voice out of frustration. “By sacrificing what we have to make sure you're happy.”

“We just found each other.” She sat at the foot of the bed. “How could you think I'd be happy without you?”

His eyes moved away, unable to meet her intensity.

“Why won't you fight for us? For me?”

“Payton, please stop it. I'm trying to do the right thing here. Walking away from you will kill me.”

“Then why are you going?” She watched him for a long time as a myriad of emotions played across his face.

He didn't answer.

She stood to leave.

He didn't try to stop her.

“I've made my best—and last—attempt to convince you this decision is wrong,” she said, her voice reflecting defeat. She had done everything but beg him to reconsider. Tonight would be their last night together. In the morning she'd meet with the FBI and the district attorney's office, give them her final deposition, and it would all be over. She held her head up. No more tears. No matter how much her chest hurt, or the lump in her throat burned, she would not cry over Adriano Norwood.

“I'm going to share the room with my brother.”

“Wait,” he said, stopping her before she turned around.

“There's nothing else to talk about, Adriano.”

“The first time we made love—I had to convince you what we were feeling was real. At the bus station, I begged you to tell me if you cared about me.”

“Where is this going?”

“I've never been in love before, but I'm trying to get it right. I don't want to disrupt your life, but, angel, I don't think I can live without you.”

Her heart swelled with hope, but she reacted cautiously. She'd heard his declarations of love before. “What are you saying?”

“You are my heart,” he said, his voice roughened with emotion.

She watched him, unable to move, unable to speak.

“I might know a way to prove how much I love you. It's radical. Are you ready to hear it?”

She nodded as he moved to the edge of the bed. “I know you're the one for me. If we took time to date like normal people—you know, going out to dinner, meeting each other's families—it would only be a matter of time.”

“A matter of time for what?”

“A matter of time before I asked you to marry me.”

She trembled excitedly.

“How would you feel about moving to Chicago with me?”

“Chicago?” she repeated, unable to believe he'd finally asked her.

He took her hands in his, pulling her to stand between his legs. “I've been thinking this through for days. Jake and I have connections. We could help you find work. You'll stay at my place until you find an apartment—if I can stand letting you move. Chicago is much closer to St. Louis than Charlotte—you'd be nearer to your family.”

“You don't need a list to convince me.”