All Through the Night (Liar's Web) (5 page)

He continued his perusal of the second floor, checking the guest bedroom, the den, and the bathroom in quick succession. Although his gun was primed for any intruders, he was now certain the house was empty. He went outside, walked up to the passenger side window of his squad car, and signaled Darcel to roll down the window. She sat in the passenger seat, wide-eyed and trembling.

The urge to take her in his arms flooded through him like a tidal wave. He jammed his hands in his front pockets for fear if he didn't he would reach for her, comfort her. It was such a crazy notion it shook him a little. The mere fact he was even considering it made him doubt his sanity.

“
It's clear,” he announced to a visibly relieved Darcel. He trailed behind her as she exited the car and made her way toward her house, pausing along the way to gather up the mail and to check on some giant-sized, black-and-yellow flowers in her garden. Her expression was guarded as she flipped through her mail and ripped in half a few pieces of junk mail. Once inside the house, her entire body language changed—her shoulders relaxed, her features were less pinched, and her eyes looked less frantic.

He heard the screech of tires from outside and moved quickly toward the window to do a quick surveillance. He watched as an older couple emerged from a sleek Lincoln Continental town car and rapidly crisscrossed the front lawn to take the quickest route possible to the front door. “Do you know these people?” he asked as Darcel moved toward the window.

For a brief moment panic flickered across her face, and then he watched her shoulders sag with relief as she said, “It's okay. It's my parents.”

Most casual observers wouldn't have any reason to believe Darcel was related to the two people who had arrived at her front door. Both of them were large, with her mother towering over six feet, while her father's height rivaled his own. Her mother had a light, cafe au lait complexion, while her father's skin was the color of pecans. They also carried more than a few pounds of extra padding on their frames. It was hard for him to imagine that an itty-bitty thing like Darcel had come from these two solid individuals.

Trueblood stood to the side as the Dawkins rushed into the house, their arms wide open and extended toward their daughter. “Baby, my baby,” her mother cried as she flew to Darcel's side and crushed her against her massive chest. “I've never been so scared in my life.

Her father swooped in behind her mother and pulled her into his big arms. “Jason called from the hospital, sweetie. He got us up to speed on the last twenty-four hours. Why in the world didn't you call us?”

“
Daddy, it all happened so quickly. I haven't even been able to process this myself.”

Earl Dawkins reached out and shook his hand with a massive grip that belied his years. “Thanks, Sheriff, for watching over our girl.”

Shirley Dawkins gazed at him through tear-filled eyes and after a few attempts at speaking, she managed to whisper, “We owe you a debt of gratitude for helping Darcel.”

“
It's my job, Mrs. Dawkins,” he said matter-of-factly. He felt a little guilty having all this praise heaped on him when it was Darcel who had managed to save herself. She'd hauled ass in her car to get away from Ronnie's killer. She'd fought off the madman in her hospital room and had the bruises to prove it. “Your daughter did a mighty fine job of saving herself,” he said in a low voice.

A look of surprise flickered in Darcel's eyes, and he watched as the corners of her mouth pulled upward into the hint of a smile. It was kind of nice to see her smile. Since that morning she'd resembled a frightened cat--skittish and wide-eyed. And she hadn't cracked a single smile. Until now.

He moved discreetly to the living room as Darcel explained to her parents she'd be living at his house under police protection until further notice. Mrs. Dawkins began making sorrowful noises, and he watched from across the room as her husband placed his arm around her to comfort her. Darcel reached out and pulled her mother close in a tight embrace. His gut tightened as he witnessed a mother's love for her child on full display. The tenderness. The worry. The unspoken love between mother and child. It hit him at random moments such as this one when the raw pain of loss slice through him.
I miss her.

The whir of tires from outside drew his attention, and he watched as a midnight-blue Jaguar came to a rest next to the Dawkins' car. A handsome, cocoa-complexioned man in his late twenties stepped from the car, looking as if he didn't have a care in the world. It was a face he was very familiar with as the town sheriff. He'd arrested him on several occasions and broken up many a bar fight between women fighting over his sorry ass.

Without a word to anyone, Trueblood stormed out of the house, his long strides quickly carrying him over to the Jaguar where Lenny stood admiring himself in the side-view mirror like a proud peacock.

A look of shock registered on Lenny's face two seconds before Trueblood slammed him up against his ride then pulled both of his arms behind his back so he could handcuff him.

“
Hold up! You can't arrest me. I didn't do nuthin’!” Lenny whined.

“
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law—”

“
Let him go!” He heard the enraged screams before he saw her barreling toward him down the driveway, followed by her parents.

Darcel jumped on his back without warning, her fists pummeling him for all she was worth. “Let go of him, Trueblood!”

“
What the—” Trueblood whirled around and tossed her off his back gently as if she were a gnat. He continued to read Lenny his rights and cuff him.

Darcel flopped onto the grass and barely let out a groan before she was back on her feet again and swinging at him. He gritted his teeth as one of her blows hit him squarely in the back. Although she was a tiny bit of nothing, she could sure pack a mean punch. Was she crazy? Didn't she realize he could haul her butt down to jail simply for swinging at him?

By this time he'd managed to reach into his squad car and radio for backup.

“
Darcel, what in the world are you doing?” her mother shrieked. “You're assaulting an officer.”

“
He's taking Lenny to jail. I can't let him do that,” she shouted.

“
Sheriff, what's going on?” her father asked as he grabbed Darcel firmly by the wrist and pulled her to his side.

“
What your daughter is neglecting to tell you is that this…punk,” he spit the words out in a fury, “sent Darcel out last night at one o'clock in the morning to do his dirty work. He sent her to Hangman's Wharf to pay off his gambling debt. Alone.”

A look of horror flashed on their faces, and Mrs. Dawkins cried out, “Lenny! You wouldn't…how could you?”

Trueblood leaned in so his face was pressed up against Lenny's face, eyeball-to-eyeball.

“
You almost got your sister killed. She saw a man get shot and killed last night. If that's not bad enough, she was shot at, chased, and attacked at the hospital by this scumbag.”

Tears filled Lenny's eyes, and his lips trembled as he looked toward Darcel. “I'm sorry, sis. I should never have let you handle my business.”

Trueblood's lip curled up, and he sneered at Lenny. “Business? Is that what you're calling it these days?”

“
You can't make me feel any worse than I already do,” Lenny cried as tears rolled down his cheeks. “I wish it was me, not her.”

Trueblood had seen a lot of manipulators in his years on the force, but Lenny Dawkins took the cake. Even now, he was working the sympathy angle, trying to get his family to take pity on him. He saw himself as the victim in all this, Trueblood realized, not Darcel. He shook his head with disgust, wishing he could knock some sense into Lenny before he managed to get someone killed.

The sound of a police siren shattered the moment, and all eyes turned toward the squad car barreling down the street. Trueblood swore softly as Ella careened into the driveway, slamming on the brakes mere inches away from where they stood. He clenched his jaw and reminded himself to have a long sit-down with his deputy about her atrocious driving skills. It was a minor miracle she hadn't killed or maimed someone yet, including herself.

He watched as Ella and Bodine jumped from the squad car, each of them making a beeline for Lenny. Bodine scowled as Ella beat him to the punch and grabbed Lenny by the cuffs. Not that she knew it, but Ella wasn't getting any action from Bodine anytime soon. There was nothing a man hated, particularly one with a badge, more than a woman who had bigger balls than he did.

When Darcel moved toward Lenny, her father grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. “You can't fight all his battles, baby. He's up to his neck in this, and he's got to face the music about his dealings with Ronnie.”

Tears flowed down Darcel's face as she watched Lenny carted away in Ella and Bodine's squad car. Her parents agreed to follow behind in their own vehicle and bail him out of jail. As he watched Darcel fall apart, Trueblood fought the urge to reach out and console her with a soft touch on her cheek or by placing his arm around her shoulder. He almost had to physically restrain himself from reaching out to her. Who was he kidding anyway? He'd just arrested her brother. He knew at this moment she probably hated him even more intensely than she ever had before.

* * * *

The first few minutes of the car ride to Trueblood's house were filled with a thick tension. The low hum of the radio was the only source of sound as Fantasia belted out her bluesy ballad
Summertime
.
 
Neither one of them had spoken a single word to the other since the deputies had taken Lenny into custody. Darcel knew her body language spoke volumes. Her body was turned away from Trueblood, and she hadn't spared him a single glance. She didn't think she could bear to look at him right now. He was so smug, so damn sure of himself.

“
I wish you hadn't done that,” she finally spit out.

“
What?” Trueblood snorted. “Tell the truth? Give screwup big bro a dose of reality? Let him know what a chicken shit thing he did?”

Darcel felt her lips trembling, and she wrapped her arms around her midsection. “My parents don't need to worry about me.”

“
Why not? Isn't that what parents do? Worry about their kids?” He turned toward her, his eyes full of intensity.

Darcel squirmed in her seat, feeling uncomfortable under his hot gaze. “They have enough on their plates as it is.”

“
I've seen people like Lenny do their damage up close and personal. It ain't pretty. Do you want him to continue being selfish and destructive, endangering the lives of people he claims to love?”

“
I just don't want to make them choose.”
Because they might not choose me.

The thought ripped through her like a tidal wave, bringing with it all the insecurities she'd never managed to shed. As an adopted child, she'd always had this desire to please her parents and never cause problems. Although her parents had given her all the love in the world, a small part of her remained convinced their hearts held more love for their biological child. She was the conditional child, the one who'd been born from another woman's womb, a child who didn't share the same bloodline as the rest of the family. She was the child someone else hadn't wanted.

She could feel his gaze boring into her, and she shifted her body slightly so he couldn't see her emotions running wild. Trueblood was making her uncomfortable. He was looking at her as if he could see straight through her, right into her soul. She didn't want him to see her fears, her vulnerabilities, her doubts.

She was so used to wearing the mask. Little Miss Perfect. Miss Everything's All Right. For so long she'd been playing the role of the happy go lucky businesswoman, when in reality she was crumbling on the inside. No, everything wasn't all right, she wanted to scream. She was falling apart at the seams.

“
Why? Cause you think they might choose Lenny?”

She squeezed her eyes shut to block the sudden onset of tears. How did he know? Was she that obvious? That blatantly insecure?

“
I'm not their biological child. Lenny is,” she said in a soft voice laced with tears.

“
So what?”

“
So what?” she answered defensively. “Loving him probably comes more naturally. My mom carried him in her womb. I didn't come to them until I was five years old. I'm someone else's child.”

“
That's a bunch of crap, and you know it!” he said explosively.

She reared back in her seat and shot him a look to kill the devil. “Excuse me! How dare you minimize my feelings. Unless you've walked in my shoes, you don't know a damn thing about my situation.”

He wrenched the steering wheel and abruptly pulled the car over to the side of the road, narrowly avoiding a major pothole in the process. He placed the car in park and turned toward her, his eyes full of disbelief. “How dare I? Really? Cause from where I'm standing, you seem to have two of the best parents on this planet. I saw the way they rushed to your side, Darcel. I saw the love in their eyes. I heard it in their voices when they thanked me. Love is love. The love I just witnessed didn't seem to have any conditions on it.