Make It Right (11 page)

“Nope.” Amelia wrapped her legs around his waist. “I'm a big fan of doing.” Everything else in the world slipped away as his mouth covered hers. They were still kissing when Danny lowered her down on to the bed.

He went immediately for her pants. Amelia was glad that she'd chosen leggings over jeans, because not only were they easier to get off, she wasn't wearing underwear beneath them. Danny noticed immediately and something flared in his eyes. “You've been walking around commando all day?”

“I didn't want panty lines,” Amelia explained as she went to sit so she could remove her shirt. To her surprise Danny stopped her, pushed her back down onto the bed. She stayed down, her eyes on him. When he shifted his body so he was kneeling next to the bed, she knew what was going to happen next. Every muscle in her body clenched in anticipation when he pulled her closer to the edge and spread her legs as wide as they could go.

Before she could say anything, his mouth was on her. He wasn't gentle. He hadn't forgotten what she liked. Amelia grabbed handfuls of his hair, held tight as he nipped down lightly on the tender bud of nerves at her core. The sharp jolt was all that it took to make her implode.

Her body danced beneath him. Danny released one of her legs but was relentless in the way he moved his mouth against hers. Amelia didn't know it was possible to feel the climb starting in her again so soon, but when he slid his fingers inside her it was impossible not to. Words spilled from her lips, random babbling that she couldn't control. There was nothing she could control; her body was also acting with a mind of its own. Amelia was free to just ride the sensations rushing through her. Danny curled his fingers inside of her, hit just the right spot, and Amelia felt a wave of embarrassment through the pleasure as she felt her body flood against him.

She whimpered when he pulled away from her but before she could protest he was turning her over, guiding her up to her knees. Amelia arched her back the way that she knew he liked. His grunt of approval sent a tremor through her body.

He entered her in one deep stroke, his hands found her hips and held her still. “You feel so good, Baby. So hot and wet and tight. Fuck.” He inhaled a sharp breath when Amelia contracted her muscles around him. “Is that how you want to play?”

Amelia cried out as he slid out of her only to slam back in. His movements were hard and fast, almost frantic, and the only thing she could do was arch her back higher and take it. There were going to be bruises on her hips after this, and she'd wear them like a badge of pride.

Deep in her stomach she felt heat spark, her heart beat faster. Amelia wasn't sure that she could
survive another orgasm. She tried to tell Danny that but the only sounds she seemed capable of making were moans suitable to a porn star.

The moans turned into cries of pleasure the moment Danny released her hips and wrapped her hair around his hand. He pulled, hard enough to make her shout out. Amelia dropped her head forward, shut her eyes when her vision swam. If it was possible to actually die from pleasure, she was sure that this was how it would feel.

“That's it, just like that.” Danny ran his free hand over the curve of her ass.

Amelia felt everything inside of her go hot and liquid with the anticipation of what was going to come next. She didn't have to wait for long. His hand came down on her ass hard enough to make her skin tingle. “Danny! Please.” He knew her well enough to know that it wasn't a plea for him to stop. It was a plea for him to keep going, to give her more, and he did. Three sharp slaps to the same exact spot had Amelia breathing so heavy she thought that she might pass out.

His hand pressed down on her shoulder. Amelia dropped down so that her chest was against the bed, and he grabbed her hands and held them loosely behind her back. She was as open to him as she could be, the sounds of their connecting bodies filled the air.

“Oh! Oh!” Amelia was glad that she was already face down because there was no way her arms would have held her. The orgasm that rushed over her was the equivalent of a tsunami that wouldn't end.

“Fuck.” Danny came with a roar and dropped forward so that his whole weight was resting on her. “Give me five minutes and we're going to do that again.”

“Good luck with that. I don't think I can stay awake if I tried.” Amelia yawned and let her eyes drift shut. She kept them shut. “I'm going to have to owe you one.”

“At least one. More like two.” He shifted his weight off of her, settled down on the bed next to her. “Go to sleep, Baby. I love you.”

<#<#<#

Amelia knew that she was in a strange bed. It took a moment for her to remember the details, but she never felt anything but warm and comfortable. Danny's arms were around her. His face was pressed against the back of her neck and she could feel his breath against her skin. She closed her eyes because she didn't want the moment to end. She didn't want to wake up. If she had her way, she'd keep them there where they could avoid everything forever. It wasn't a real option, but at least for a while she could pretend.

She was just about to drift back to sleep when there was an insistent knock on the door. “We got heat.” Rock called out.

Danny was off the bed before Amelia could even get her eyes open. She managed to cover herself. “What kind of heat?” He demanded.

“Open up and give me your guns, anything else you don't want found. They've got a warrant.” Rock shouted through the door. “We don't got a lot of time.”

“Fuck.” Danny sprang into action. He took his gun and Amelia's from her purse. He opened the door enough to shove them through to Rock. “Get out of here. Leave the cut. You're just a regular guy taking a ride, got it?”

“Got it.” Rock was already heading towards the other rooms.

“Get dressed.” Danny ordered as he shut the door firmly. He grabbed his clothes and began to get dressed himself. “I've got to head down, see if there's anything that I can do. You meet me down there when you're done. Harris has to be behind this. There's no one else who would fucking dare.”

Amelia agreed and figured that the woman was going to take another run at her. “She's going to pull the same shit she pulled at the memorial, she's going to try and sour me on Nightshade.” An idea crossed her mind. “Maybe I should let her think she has.”

“I like the way you think.” Danny smiled at her. “But not now. Not before we know what's going on. We need to have a better idea of what her game is. Just stay strong and keep your mouth shut. Let her do the talking. She'll slip up and say too much, it's human nature. Just let her trip herself up. Trust me. It's going to be fine.”

Amelia sighed. “And saying that is the biggest jinx in the world.”

“Don't start with that shit. There's no jinx. You should hurry, we don't know how much time we have before they get here.” He left and Amelia dressed. Several times she hissed sharply as her body reminded her just how sore and tender she was after the night before. Just the thought of it made warmth rush through her body. It was hard to get back on track, wash her face and run a brush through her hair. She pulled it back into a ponytail and decided it was as good as she was going to get.

It seemed everyone was up and doing something. The smell of food came from the kitchen. If Amelia didn't know that the police were on their way, she'd have never expected it from the scene in front of her, which was likely the point. She was still deciding if she should go into the kitchen or wait for Danny where she was when the front door burst open. Chaos descended as officers entered with guns drawn and wearing body armor. They were expecting a fight, maybe even looking for one.

“On the ground, hands on the back of your head. Now! All of you.” The voice was female and even as Amelia lowered herself to the ground she saw Detective Harris stroll through the front door. “I want this place torn apart. Make sure you do a thorough search on everyone here as well.”

Amelia remained face down on the floor, not sure how much time had passed. One of the hang-around guys, she thought his name was John or Don, got pulled up from the ground when the officer searching him found a knife and a bag of pills. She was searched while still on the floor, still face down on the floor, and it took every ounce of her restraint not to act on the anger pulsing through her body as she was groped and grabbed without care.

“Get her up.” Harris ordered. “Hello, Ms. Mason.”

Amelia was yanked to her feet, her wrists twisted roughly behind her back. “That's Mrs. Benson to you, Detective. Is all this really necessary? I don't know what you think that you're going to find here. This is just a bar.” And Harris was just a bitch; she was enjoying this. It was written all over her smug, smiling face.

“Just a bar my ass.” Detective Harris replied. “I'm glad that you're here. I need to ask you a couple of questions about your sister's life insurance policy. I've been trying to get ahold of you, but you haven't returned my calls.”

Amelia felt her stomach sink and twist. On the other side of the room, she could see Missy with her head up off the floor. “I have nothing to say to you.”

“Oh, you can stay quiet. I can talk enough for both of us. Always been a bad habit of mine, running my mouth. I like talking, though, it helps me work things out. Like when I couldn't figure out why your sister Fiona would have a life insurance policy worth two million dollars and not have you of the beneficiary.” Harris grinned widely.

Even over the noise of the search, people gasped. More heads came up from the floor with all eyes trained on them. Amelia had known Detective Harris was going to be a problem. She had just underestimated how much of a problem she was going to be. Suddenly it was clear that Fiona's darkest and deepest secret was about to be made very much public. Danny had told her to stand strong, so that's what she did. She stared back at the woman and said nothing. What could she say? No matter how she spun the words in her mind, there was no way to sugarcoat the truth.

“No idea on why she'd have the policy to pay out to Matthew Davenport and not you?”
Detective Harris smiled widely. Immediately Amelia looked over to Missy, who didn't gasp. Instead she just kept watching. She may as well have been listening to a weather forecast rather than the information about Royal. Was it shock or had she already known what Harris was going to say?“Did you hear me, Ms. Mason?”

“It's Mrs. Benson, and yeah, I heard you. I also figure you've got some kind of idea about it and that you're just dying to share.” Her voice remained calm but she felt a tremor going through her whole body. “So why don't you just say what you came here to say?”

“It took me a while to figure it out, but once the pieces started to fall, I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen it sooner. Your sister was involved with Matthew Davenport, or as he's better known around these parts, Royal.” There was another collective gasp. The gossip mill would have material until the end of time.

Once again, Missy didn't react, but this time it was noticed by everyone, because all eyes were on her. It was only with all eyes on her that Missy finally reacted. She got to her feet, tried to lunge for Harris and Amelia. She didn't get far before she was grabbed by an officer.

“Get her out of here.” Harris barked. “Put her in my car. Report, people! What do we have so far?”

Amelia was pleased when none of the people searching the main floor of the bar had anything to tell her. She crossed her arms around her chest and smirked at Harris. “Looks like you're wasting your time here.” She smiled but it soon faded as a voice shouted from the basement.

“They've got something downstairs, Detective.” A young officer called out from near the stairs. “They're coming up with it now.”

“That was priceless timing. Looks like I'm not wasting my time.” Harris clapped her hands together.

“We've got a gun.” The officer who spoke looked familiar to Amelia. She wanted to say that they'd gone to high school together, but she wasn't sure. “It's the same caliber that killed Earl Han. Traces of GSR suggest that it's been fired recently.”

“Get it to the lab, now. I want those reports back yesterday.” Harris was all but doing a happy dance right there in the middle of the bar. “Cut everyone up here loose. Bring everyone downstairs in for questioning.”

Amelia knew that Rock wouldn't have left any gun behind when he did the sweep. He'd always been a thorough sort of person. If there was a gun downstairs, he hadn't known it was there. None of them had. Someone had planted it. She doubted that the police had done it. Harris was like a dog with a bone, but she didn't seem the type to do that. No, Harris was the type to turn them on each other, let them tear each other apart and then swoop in to pick the carcasses like the vulture she was.

Chapter Nine

Danny had been sitting in the interrogation room for awhile; he couldn't be sure just how long but long enough to start getting more bored than he was angry. He'd been in this room before, he'd likely be in it again. It was just a risk of the life that he led, and he was fine with that. He wasn't fine with the fact that he was stuck here with his thumb up his ass when all hell was probably breaking loose. The fact that Amelia was dealing with it alone didn't sit well with him. Danny had yet to feel any less like shit that he'd made her say good bye to her family on her own. Now she was dealing with Missy.

Finally the door to the room opened and Detective Harris strolled in. “Mr. Benson, thanks for your patience.” She had two cups of coffee in her hand and set one down in front of him. “Really sorry to keep you waiting but you know how it is.”

“I didn't have much of a choice, did I?” Danny was thirsty but he ignored the coffee.

“So, we're not even going to pretend to be polite? Fantastic, because I'd much rather get down to it. I'm prepared to make a one time offer to you, right here and now. You tell me what you know about the gun and it'll stay just between us.” She sat down across from him, took a long sip of her coffee and opened the folder she'd had under her arm.

“I don't know shit about that gun. Never seen it before.” Danny couldn't be sure that he had seen the gun before, so it wasn't exactly a lie. Not that lying to this bitch would faze him in the least. “Is that it? Because unless I'm under arrest, I think I've spent enough time here.”

“Have you ever heard of a man named Lawrence “Larry” James?” She asked as she selected a picture from the file and laid it down on the table in front of him.

“You know I have.” Danny recognized both the name and the mugshot.  Larry Jane had been a hang-around years ago, a fixture around the bar. He'd been in his fifties, gone flabby with age, with a penchant for beer and betting on anything and everything. Larry had also been the star witness at Danny's trial. “What's he got to do with this?”

“The lab was able to raise the serial number on the gun that we found today. Ran it through the data base and came up with a match. The gun recovered today belonged to Larry Jane.” Harris leaned forward. “That's interesting, isn't it? Especially when Jane disappeared. Do you want to know what I think?”

“Not particularly but I've got a feeling that you're going to tell me anyway.” Danny said. His mind was going in a thousand different directions, none of them good. Larry Jane was as dead as dead could be.

“Smart man, well not so smart but you get what I mean. I think that Nightshade killed Larry Jane in retaliation for the information he gave up on them. Information that sent you to prison for years. And you lost everything because of it, even your wife. Though it seems that you've gotten her back now because of the tragedy with her family.”

“You don't know a thing about my wife or about me,” Danny replied.

“I know she wouldn't be here if Fiona and Taylor hadn't gone missing.” Detective Harris leaned in. “Maybe you knew that nothing short of a disaster would bring her home. Maybe you didn't plan on killing them. Maybe something went wrong.”

“Lady, you're nuts if you think that's how it went down.” Danny didn't think she was nuts. He thought that she was driven and determined to make a name for herself.

“If not you, then who? Who stabbed a woman and a kid to death? It was a personal killing, Danny. All the evidence points to it.” Harris tapped her nails on the table.

“What evidence?” He questioned. They didn't know all that much about what the police thought happened to Fiona and Taylor. Harris hadn't exactly been forthcoming. It was a deliberate action on her 
part, Danny knew that for sure now.

“What do you know about the gun?” Harris countered. She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest and waited for his answer.

“I don't know anything about the gun.” Danny replied. Even if he did, he wouldn't trade the information to Harris for any reason.

Harris sighed. “If you don't know anything about the gun, I don't know anything about the evidence.”

“Looks like we've got nothing left to say to each other. Unless you're planning on arresting me, I'm done here.”

“You're free to go, Mr. Benson. As cliched as it sounds, don't leave town.” Harris finished the last of her coffee, set the empty cup down on the table. “Give my best to Amelia.”

“Go to hell.” Danny replied. He rose to his feet, left Harris sitting at the table and headed for the door. He wasn't the first to be released; Ace and Buster were already sitting outside waiting. They'd wait until they were all released, leave together in a show of unity. It was just their way.

<#<#<#

Danny couldn't remember a meeting more tense than the one that they were currently in. Not much had been said at the police station when they'd all been released or when they'd arrived back at the bar. The place was empty, which wasn't exactly surprising because of what happened earlier, but Danny had expected to find Amelia upstairs, waiting for him. But she wasn't. And now they'd been sitting in the basement, in silence for the past five minutes.

“There is someone out there intent on tearing Nightshade to pieces.” Royal spoke finally. “Someone who is able to leave behind a trail of bread crumbs for Detective Harris to follow. And there's even a chance that that person is in this room right now. The idea that someone who wears our cut is putting a knife in our back is troubling, to say the least.”

“Maybe the cops planted the gun,” Train suggested. “Doesn't explain my knife, but it could explain the gun. This bitch is desperate.”

“No, she's really not,” Ace corrected. “She didn't plant it. She wouldn't. She's got the cleanest record that I've ever seen. No disciplinary action. Minimal complaints, mostly filed by men who were probably pissed at being taken down by Barbie. I'll tell you something else, she's risen through the ranks rapidly, which is impressive in DC. And Detroit contacted her.”

“That's in the file?” Buster leaned back in his chair.

“No. It's in her email. Don't ask how I did it, it'll just hurt your mind.” Ace chuckled as Buster flipped up his middle finger. “But in all seriousness, this is one bad bitch.”

“Maybe we should just take care of her.” Train suggested. “Make it seem random. Problem solved. What?” He demanded when everyone looked his way.

“Could you think of a stupider idea?” Buster demanded. “She dies, even if it seems random, we're going to have some other fucker up our asses.”

“What's your idea?” Train looked as if he were about to come out of his chair. It wouldn't be the first time that men came to blows in the basement, and it wouldn't be the last. “What? What was that? Oh wait, you didn't say shit because you don't have a better idea. None of you do.”

“Killing her is just going to bring more heat down on us. It's stupid. Nightshade hasn't survived by being stupid.” Buster slammed his hand down on the table.

“ENOUGH!” Royal roared the words and rose to his feet. “Buster is right, killing her brings too much heat to us. And we've got too much at stake for the two of you to be comparing dick sizes. I don't want to believe that anyone in this room could be doing this because we all know what the penalty is for such a betrayal.”

“If it's one of us, I'll eat my gun.” Buster tapped his fingers against the table. “Could be one of the hang-arounds or one of the pass-arounds. Knife got taken out of the attic. Random gun planted here. We don't exactly have state of the art security.”

“The gun wasn't random. It was registered to Larry Jane.” Danny interjected. He was met with surprised stares. “Harris told me during our little talk. I'm guessing she didn't share with everyone?”

“No, she didn't.” Royal cleared his throat. “It's impossible that the gun was here when they came. That gun was with the things that I had Rock take out of here. I handed it over to him myself. It's been inside there since the night he disappeared.”

“You mean the night that we killed him.” Buster let out a bitter laugh. “When was the last time that we actually locked that safe?” He questioned.

“It's been too long.” Royal replied. “We let our guard down, let whoever is doing this in, and now it's time that we find them and fix the fucking problem. From now on, the safe is locked and all club business is discussed in this room and only this room. Everyone agree?” They all did. “I've got two more things to bring up and then we can get out of here. First, the prospects. Without Earl, we need more bodies.”

“Rock is solid, no pun intended.” Danny spoke up. “He's really stepped up, and it's time for a vote on him anyway.”

“Edge is ready, too. He should be up and around in the next day or so.” Ace added. “I know how I'd vote on both.”

“Anyone against bringing it to a vote right here and now?” Royal questioned. Danny wasn't against the idea, but he still had a reservation about Edge. He still remembered the man having those pills in his boot when the delivery had gone wrong. Since then the prospect hadn't stepped a toe out of the line, so Danny stayed silent.

With no objection, the vote for both men was brought to the table. Both passed unanimously. “And the next order of business, I got an email from Mark Miller. They want a meeting tomorrow, they've got another job for us. Now, if we turn them down because of our current situation it will be the end of our relations
hip and by that, I mean that I'm pretty sure Mark will have us all killed. Someone flipped his psycho switch.”

“We continue like normal,” Buster told them. “But more careful than normal. The cops are going to be up our asses, and Royal's right, Mark is out of his mind and drunk on power so the last thing we need is to lead the cops right to him.”

“Going to need to distract the cops. We're going to need to split up.” Train's eyes were narrowed; he was already thinking and planning.

“Splitting up is a risk. Look what happened the last time,” Danny pointed out.

“You and Edge pulled it out of the fire. If it comes down to it, you'll do the same thing again. There's not much of a choice for us. This is do or die time.”

<#<#<#

It was dark outside by the time Danny walked in the front door. He'd spoken to Amelia several times. She'd assured him that she was fine and she wouldn't leave the house. He knew that she was far from fine but he hadn't pushed. Instead he'd remained at the bar, had a few drinks to celebrate Rock and Edge earning their full patch.

“Amelia?” He called out as he let the door shut behind him. The house was quiet and mostly dark. “Amelia?” Danny hung his cut before he reached under the table near the door for the gun he had hidden there. He found her in the living room, on the couch and in the dark. “Hey. Didn't you hear
me?”

“Danny?”

“Who else would it be?” Danny flipped on the light, watched her shield her eyes. “What are you sleeping on the couch for?”

“I must have dozed off. I was waiting for you.” She sat up, ran her hand over her hair. “How was the party?”

“It wasn't a party, it was a few drinks. Those guys deserve an actual party after all this is said and done.” And they would have one, provided of course they survived the shit that was coming. Danny moved to sit down on the couch next to her. “Have you spoken to Jackie?”

“No. I spoke to her mother a few hours ago. She's still being observed, and she doesn't feel like talking. I think that I'll try to go and see her tomorrow.” Amelia rubbed her hands over her eyes. “It's the only thing that I can think to do.”

“That's a good idea.” Danny replied.

“I'm not sure it is, actually, but I'm going to do it anyway.” She sighed. “I've got no clue what to say to her because nothing that I say can make it better. And I'm sure that she's already sick of hearing that people are sorry.”

“You tell her that you're there for her. That we're there for her and so is Nightshade. Her and the kids are never going to want for anything. Ever. We'll take care of them.”

“When you told me about Earl, for a minute I was just glad that it wasn't you.” She blurted out the words. “As of right now, you're all that I've got left in the world. Without you I'm alone. I don't want to be alone again.”

The sudden admission and change in the conversation surprised him. It normally took some warming up for Amelia to get serious, for her to talk like this. “You're never going to be alone. I'm not going anywhere.”

“You can't know that for sure.” She shifted to lean against him. “When they took you out of the bar and you were cuffed, all I could remember was the last time that they took you.”

Danny put his arm around her as she began to cry. “Shh.” He pressed his lips to her hair. “I'm not going anywhere.”

“Oh, so you're suddenly psychic now?” She questioned. “Don't make promises that you can't keep. You want to be here. You don't want to go anywhere, but we both know what we want isn't always the same as what happens. With everything going on, it's even more obvious that we've got no control over anything.” She pushed away from him, got to her feet. “If something happens to you, I'm alone again. I can't. I just can't.”

“Amelia. Come sit back down. Talk to me.” Danny watched as she got increasingly agitated, walking a tight line from one end of the living room to the other. She was rubbing her hands over her arms over and over. It was when he heard her mumbling something to herself that something clicked in his mind. “Amelia, did you take something? Are you high?”