New Year's Bang (4 page)

“Troy,” she said, her voice going tight. “We
can’t.”

“But we are.”

“Troy,
stop!”

He went rigid inside her. God, she was serious.

“Let me in, damn it!” Piper hollered.

Troy scoured Lita’s face, but already, she wouldn’t
look at him.

“Please,” she whispered, shifting uncomfortably.

She was uncomfortable? He bit the side of his cheek
as he pulled his raging cock out of her.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, sliding off the
counter.

Her feet touched the floor, but the way she reached
back for balance told him she wasn’t too steady. Still, she began
reaching for her clothes.

Stiffly, Troy pulled his T-shirt back over his head
and zipped up his jeans. The tightness was nearly unbearable.
“Lita,” he said, his frustration clear.

“I’m sorry.”

Was that all she was going to say?

Apparently.

She flinched away when he tried to help her with her
bra and he retreated to the far wall to stand next to the hand
dryers. He couldn’t believe what was happening.

Piper finally found somebody with a key. When the
vice principal finally unlocked the door, he and Lita were fully
clothed, but facing each other stiffly from opposite sides of the
room. Even so, Piper knew what had happened.

And she did what snotty, stuck-up bitches always did
to embarrass their not-quite-so-wealthy “best” friends.

She laughed.

Even worse, Lita didn’t stop her.

* * * * *

She hadn’t said anything, Troy remembered as he came
back into the present. She hadn’t said anything to him for the rest
of their senior year, as a matter of fact.

Suddenly, he felt the bite of the snow and the twenty
degree wind chill.

He looked at Lita sitting so sexily on the hood of
her car. Oh, he’d seen her in the hallways and in classes; she just
wouldn’t talk to him. She’d barely even look at him. She’d chosen
sides and it had been a bitter pill for him to swallow.

He hadn’t measured up.

Swearing under his breath, he pushed himself away
from her.

Only her legs gripped him tighter.

“Let me go,” he said. “I’m on duty.”

“I was stupid,” she said hurriedly. Snowflakes clung
to her eyelashes as she looked up at him. “I was an incredibly
stupid, easily manipulated eighteen-year-old with snotty, stuck-up
friends.”

He couldn’t argue with that.

“But go out with me now.”

His head snapped back. “What?”

Her eyes brightened and she gripped the lapels of his
jacket. “Be my date for New Year’s Eve.”

He looked at her incomprehensibly.

“Lita, this was a mistake,” he said bluntly. “I got
over you a long time ago.”

“Well, I didn’t get over you. Go out with me,
Troy.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Please.”

“I’ve got to work.”

“So do I. I get off at midnight. Come by my house
when after your shift.”

“Lita,” he growled. “This is not a good idea.”

“I don’t care how late it is.”

“No.”

“But…”

“I said no.”

Lita couldn’t stand still. She was broadcasting live
from KIWU’s New Year’s Eve Ball and time was winding down. She
danced to the beat of the music as she cued up Auld Lang Syne. The
ballroom of the Envoy Hotel was packed with revelers. A big digital
clock on the stage showed the countdown and confetti was ready to
fall when the clock hit zero.

She looked at the ceiling skeptically. She’d better
not get any of that crap in her hair. She was dressed to the nines
tonight, but not for this.

She had
plans
.

The song on the air slowed to an end and she adjusted
her headset.

“That was Regeneration with Can’t Stop the Bee-Bop –
and isn’t that just the truth?” She grinned at Crank as he came up
on the stage and got ready to take over for her. “Get ready,
everyone. There are only a few minutes left until the New Year.
It’s time to get your party hats on and your noise makers in hand.
A quick spray or two of breath freshener wouldn’t hurt,
either.”

“Why do you look at me when you say that?” Crank
said, coming onto the airwaves with her.

She laughed. “Dream on, Crankster. I’m not kissing
you
.”

Her tattooed friend looked at her sharply and
devilishness filled his eyes. “But from the sounds of things, you
will be kissing
someone
tonight. What’s up, Lita? Hot
date?”

She bit her lip when she realized she’d admitted more
on the air than she’d wanted. “It’s more of a… New Year’s
resolution.”

Whistles went up from across the room.

“Care to give us a few more details?” Crank asked,
enjoying her discomfort.

She let her voice go to its smokiest best. “Use your
imagination.”

Everyone laughed, but then the countdown had begun.
Turning, Lita faced the clock. She ticked off the numbers aloud
and, with each second, the crowd’s excitement grew. It was
contagious. By the time the digital numbers hit 00:00, adrenaline
was coursing through her system.

“Happy New Year!” she cried as the celebration
began.

She punched the play button for the traditional song,
took off her headset, and gave Crank a kiss on the cheek.

She was out of here!

Grabbing her purse from under the table, she skipped
down the stairs off the stage. People parted as she made a beeline
for the door and a few even wished her luck.

She was going to need it.

“New year. Fresh start,” she said more confidently
than she felt.

Troy was going to pull her over again tonight. She
was going to make sure of it.

Then they’d both see just how resolved she was.

She slipped inside the ladies room and was happy to
find it empty. Anxiously, she looked in the mirror. Her cheeks were
flushed. She’d finally found that “special excitement” within
herself, but it had nothing to do with the holidays.

It had everything to do with one stubborn, hurt
cop.

As excited as she was, though, her nerves were worse.
Her hand shook as she pulled a few confetti stragglers out of her
hair.

“He kissed you,” she reminded herself out loud.

She’d thought of little else over the past few days –
especially at night when he was following her home.

Steadying her hand, she reapplied her lipstick. Then
she looked at her dress one last time. It was a snow white, Grecian
style that clung to her curves and left one shoulder completely
bare. If it didn’t get him going, nothing would.

Before she could lose her nerve, she left the
restroom and headed to the coat check. She was tying the belt of
her wrap when she stepped outside.

“Oh great.”

She’d been inside for the past five hours and hadn’t
realized they were in the middle of a full-blown blizzard. Snow was
coming down fast at nearly a forty-five degree angle.

“Brrr!” Ducking her head, she hurried to her car.
Once inside, she quickly turned on the engine. As she was waiting
for it to warm, she leaned over to the glove box. Reaching inside,
she pulled out her owner’s manual.

“Now down to business,” she murmured as she flipped
through the pages. “Just how does one go about loosening the bulb
in one’s tail light?”

* * * * *

The New Year arrived with a vengeance that had tree
limbs breaking, power lines snapping and traffic skidding. The
windshield wipers on Troy’s cruiser couldn’t keep up and the
windshield was fogged over on the inside. He used his scraper to
try to get rid of the frozen condensation. His car had gotten cold
as he’d worked that last accident.

He shook his head as he thought of the couple they’d
had to put in the back of that ambulance. They’d been going way too
fast for the road conditions and they’d paid for the mistake.

They’d also made him miss Lita.

“Shit,” he said for the thousandth time. His already
agitated nerves jumped and he glanced at his watch. It was way past
the time that he normally met up with her. Not that he was
considering that date she’d offered… He just wanted to make sure
she’d made it home safely. She’d been driving like his grandmother
for the past few nights, but with this weather anything could
happen.

“And it is Lita,” he said to himself.

He tossed the scraper onto the passenger seat and
brushed the ice shavings from the dashboard. Feeling heat finally
come out of the vent, he turned the defroster on high.

Snowplows had already made a pass down Hyde Avenue
and he took the major artery. It hadn’t been salted yet, though,
and it was slick. Still, it was better than the side street he took
to get to her house.

Troy shook his head. Not that he was considering her
offer… Right.

Lita Lopez had taught him a thing or two about women
– and neither of them had been good. Yet here he was, several
girlfriends and one wife later. Seven years had passed, but he was
listening to her radio program… following her home every night…
making sure she was safe…

He had no idea what he’d do once he got to her
house.

Unfortunately, he never got a chance to find out.

Her place was dark when he got there. Too dark.

He felt a warning tingle at the back of his neck.

There weren’t any tracks leading to her garage. None.
Snow was whipping around like a banshee, but it couldn’t have had
time to fill in the heavy depressions left by a car. Not yet. Not
if she’d worked her normal shift.

He rubbed his chin, trying to get himself to think
straight. His brain was moving too quickly to bad outcomes, but
there were other possibilities. Maybe she’d stayed at the ball for
fun. Maybe she’d just taken a room at the hotel once she’d seen
that the weather was bad.

And maybe he should start looking for her.

“Shit!”

Something was wrong. He could feel it.

Snow flew from under his tires as he stomped on the
gas. He tried to take it easier as he started backtracking along
her normal route, but it was difficult. His mood worsened as he
considered all the things that could have happened.

Turning onto Main Street, he headed back to the spot
where he’d pulled her over the other night. The other night when
she’d been safe and secure in his arms…

He never made it that far.

He was inching his way past the high school when he
stomped on the brakes. “Oh God.”

A blue coupe had gone over the curb and smashed into
a tree.

Troy pulled over to the side of the road and tore off
his seat belt. Wind and snow pummeled him as he opened the door and
hurried over to the scene to investigate. He pulled his bomber
jacket up higher around his neck and switched on his flashlight.
Tension grabbed him as he hurried up to Lita’s car.

He held his breath as he looked inside. The airbags
had deployed, but the vehicle was empty.

He knew better than to relax. He trudged through the
shin-high snow drift, praying to God he wouldn’t find her lying in
a heap.

She was nowhere to be found.

“Lita!” he yelled. The wind took the words away the
moment they left his lips.

He shone his light on her front fender and was
relieved to see that she hadn’t hit the tree that hard. He swung
the light back along the trail she’d followed.

Black ice.

His rampant mind finally started to put the pieces
together. She must have hit a slick spot and lost control. Momentum
had thrown her over the curb and the tree had finally stopped
her.

“So where the hell are you?” He flashed his light
over the area, trying hard not to lose it.

How long ago had this happened? He hadn’t heard any
calls from the dispatcher on this. Had someone already
responded?

“Lita!” he yelled, turning around.

He suddenly remembered where he was. Lincoln High
opened as a storm shelter when things got this bad. Hunching his
shoulders against the wind, he shuffled across the street. The tips
of his ears were numb when he finally made it inside the
building.

He found a familiar face stacking blankets in the
hallway outside the gymnasium. “Mrs. Howe, have you seen Lita? Lita
Lopez?”

The school secretary looked up at him, tiredness
circling her eyes.

“Oh, Troy. Are you working out there in this
storm?”

He’d gone off duty almost half-an-hour ago.

“I found her car across the street. She had an
accident.”

Mrs. Howe put down her last blanket and her arms hung
tiredly at her sides. “She took the last cot in the school nurse’s
room, the poor dear. She’s was a little shaken up.”

“Was she hurt?”

The woman’s eyes softened. “She’s fine, hon. Not a
bump nor bruise on the pretty little thing.”

Troy wouldn’t believe it until he saw it with his own
eyes. Anxiously, he looked into the gym. It was dark, save for
battery operated lanterns that had been spread around the edges of
the cavernous room. The nurse’s office was at the other end,
though, too far away to see.

“I’m sorry I don’t have a cot left for you.”

“I’ll manage,” he said. He started to go for Lita,
but took note of Mrs. Howe again. She looked asleep on her feet. He
caught her hand when she reached for a stack of pillows. “Why don’t
you lie down? Everybody who’s coming for the night is already
here.”

The older woman glanced at the clock on the wall and
seemed surprised at how late it was. When she turned back, there
was a weak smile on her face. “Okay.”

Troy pushed the door to the gym open and saw her
empty cot right up front. He pulled back the covers and patted a
hand on the mattress. She looked relieved when she finally sat and
took a load off her feet. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder.
“Thanks,” he whispered.

Even with what she’d told him, though, his worry
returned as he moved to the side of the gym. The place was filled
with people who’d been caught by surprise in the New Year’s Eve
storm – only Lita had gotten a bigger shock than most. He watched
the nurse’s office as he circled around the maze of cots. His pulse
went up a notch when he finally spotted her through the window.