Rachel's Rebellion (Moss Bayou) (16 page)

Mike Furst answered his buzzing cell phone as Richard Jenkins
moved back to the conversation that paused for a quick dinner. They’d gotten a
lot from Ty Devlin. Useful, helpful information. They’d also been surprised by
some things they’d discovered about Ty Devlin himself.

“So, Tyler.” Richard Jenkins was ready to begin again.

“Everybody calls me Ty,” he said to the SAC.

Jenkins nodded. “Ty, explain how you went into business with
CajunLand Adventures.”

“As I said earlier, it wasn’t really business,” Ty began. “I
just needed to get enough stuff to help her.”

“First with the meth and then with heroin?” Jenkins was calm
and patient with his questions.

“No. I never dealt meth. At that time, I had only used it a
few times. Ended up in the emergency department. After that, I walked away from
the stuff. Unfortunately, Laurel couldn’t walk away from heroin.”

“How did you know where to get the stuff?” Wyatt asked.

“Anthony Till. He was a small time user and dealer. At first,
I just got what I needed from him, but my family started paying close attention
to me after my hospital stay and I couldn’t do that anymore. So, I figured I
would get a little product, sell a little and skim a little. If Laurel was
going to really beat the dope, she would need small amounts to help with dope
sickness.”

“How long did you keep Laurel Cross hidden?” Furst, who had
finished his call, returned to the conversation.

“I went to Florida where she had been sent. She wanted
nothing to do with the rehab there. She swore she could do it if I helped her.”
Ty let a single tear fall. “I said I would. So, about a month or so ago, she
left the rehab, told her family she was going to New York, and we checked into
a hotel.”

“The hotel where she died?” Gabe asked him.

“No, we changed hotels every couple of days. I was out of
time with Denny. I had spent about three weeks receiving product, trying to
take care of Laurel, and never sold anything.”

“Denny Dennis wants the money,” Gabe said, more to Furst and
Jenkins. “His hiding out in hotel rooms only made Denny more determined to get
to him.”

“Seems the big boss doesn’t want anyone to think he’s soft,”
Wyatt added.

Jenkins stood silent a moment before he spoke again. “Ty, do
you know who really call the shots for CajunLand?”

Ty shook his head. “I only have a couple of ideas because of
something Anthony Till told me once.”

“What did he tell you?” Mike Furst stood at attention,
waiting.

“Anthony said that one time, he had gone to Bank Shots to
pick up an order. That was what they were called. Orders. Anyway, he said he
had been a little early and when he walked through the back door he could hear
loud voices coming from Denny’s office. Denny was arguing with a man and a
woman.” Ty took a sip of the Coke sitting on the table, returned the can to its
position and continued. “They were arguing about something T-Bob Chaisson had
screwed up, I think. Anthony said he hid and just listened. That’s when he told
me he saw Russ Patterson walk into Denny’s office. And then he saw his sister,
Tamra walk in.”

“That confirms what we know.” Wyatt drummed his fingers on
the table.

“Yes, it does. But, Anthony Till is dead. What Ty is saying
is hearsay. We need more.” Jenkins huffed out a heavy breath.

“There’s more,” Ty said.

Every eye refocused on Ty Devlin. Mike Furst nodded,
encouraging Ty to continue.

“I think Anthony called him Mr. P. He would be the big man in
charge. But he also said that Mr. P’s wife seemed to be doing most of the
yelling that day.”

“Mrs. P? That’s not a person on our radar.” Gabe looked to Ty
and urged him on.

“I think Anthony was mistaken. Or high.” Ty shook his head.
“He said the man and woman doing the loud arguing with Denny that day were
Silas and Aurora Prescott.”

Silas Prescott was on their radar thanks to grainy
surveillance photographs. His wife was not. Gabe looked around the room. Wyatt
shrugged. Mike Furst played with his handle bar mustache and Richard Jenkins
roughly shoved his hands into his pants pockets.

“I’ve known the Prescotts all of my life,” Ty spoke again.
“It seems farfetched. Mr. and Mrs. Prescott couldn’t be involved. They were
heartbroken about Laurel.”

“Heartbroken?” Furst asked.

“Mrs. Prescott and Laurel’s mother are sisters,” Ty told him.
“Laurel was her niece.”

Wyatt reached for the laptop sitting on the nearest bed, Mike
Furst dialed a number on his cell phone and Richard Jenkins paced the short
distance between the motel room door and the bathroom vanity located at the
back of the room. For his part, he just looked at Ty Devlin. No one had
expected Aurora Prescott’s name to be part of this or any conversations related
to the task force investigation. Hell, they still had no concrete evidence
against Silas Prescott.

“Let’s get down to business people,” Mike Furst barked as he
ended his call. “Looks like we’ll be at this a while.”

Gabe’s heart sank.

He desperately wanted Deke and Wylie to go back to Moss
Bayou. He needed to be with Rachel. He needed to make sure she was okay with
him after that scene in the café. He had to tell her it was all just part of
the job. He still wanted her. He still needed to be with her.  He still….

Loved her
.

Rachel woke
with a start. It was Friday morning and she was still alone. She had worked her
shift at the hospital and returned home a little before one. She’d been exhausted,
but sleep – real sleep – hadn’t been hers. Instead she tossed and turned in
between periods of light napping until now. Sometime between six when she last
glanced at the glowing red numbers on her alarm clock and now, she’d managed to
fall into a deep sleep. She dreamed vividly and now as the alarm clock glowed a
bright red nine-twelve, she was awake and no longer in Gabriel’s loving arms.
He’d invaded her dreams and loved her wholly. Completely. In the light of day,
the bed held only her and the memory of a beautiful dream.

Thursday was
over now. In her opinion, it had been a horrible day. She had heard nothing
from Gabriel other than Lily’s text from Wyatt that simply said:
soon, tell
Rachel
. Ty was still missing. And thanks to Mavis Cavett and Velma Toups,
the town was now looking at her as if she personally were holding Ty hostage.
Mavis Cavett had witnessed Deke and Wylie walk into Tellie’s and take Ty away.
She was quick to tell everyone that Deke was the man she had seen the night of
Jesse and Paige’s wedding. The man Rachel had been kissing.

She had to
pee so she forced herself to leave the bed. Sleep was over and obviously not
going to return. She padded into the bathroom to take care of business, quickly
brushed her teeth, and then headed for the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. The
coffee pot greeted her. Almost full. His body filled her vision and charged her
senses. Gabriel leaned against the counter top, long legs stretched out and
crossed at the ankles. He held a cup of coffee.

“Morning
Beauty.”

She went
straight for him and barely gave him enough time to set down his coffee mug.

“I missed
you,” she whispered as she welcomed his arms around her.

He pulled
her in close. “God. I missed you.” He cupped her face with his hands and placed
his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. The sweet kiss branded her heart and her
soul. Forever.

When she
finally looked into his eyes, it was the eyes of Deke Johnson that looked back
at her. She knew. She accepted it.

“You can’t
stay.”

“No. I can’t
stay,” he answered. “I just wanted to see you, even if it was only for a
moment. I jimmied the back door and found you asleep. We have to get a better
lock on that door.”

“You
should’ve wakened me.”

“You looked
tired. I know you were on duty last night.” He shrugged. “Just watching you
sleep for a moment gave me something to hold on to. I was going to leave you a
note by the coffee pot.”

“Gabriel? I
know I shouldn’t, but I just have to be sure. Ty?”

He nodded
and she let out a large breath filled with the relief she so desperately
needed. She didn’t press him further.

“I’m glad
you woke when you did,” he whispered with a smile. “I can do this before I
leave.”

He bent down
and claimed her with his mouth. She felt him marking her as his with each swirl
and each glide of his tongue. She responded with a hunger that wove through her
body unlike anything she’d known before. Before him. She moved into his strong
body and delivered an invitation to take the kiss even deeper. She heard the sexy
moan escape from deep within him and felt his hardness press into her as he
positioned himself between her legs.

Suddenly,
the kiss broke.

Gasping for
air, she looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t,”
he mumbled. “I have to go. If I keep kissing you like that…”

“Okay.” It
wasn’t at all what she wanted to say.

“Rachel…” He
bent his head and took another quick, hard kiss and finished it with a nibble
of her bottom lip. Her toes curled.

“Just come
back as quick as you can. I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Just one
more kiss,” he said as he claimed her mouth again.

She kissed
him with everything she felt. Everything she wanted to tell him. Everything …
in case ….

“I have to
go.” He gave her a smile and turned away.

“Gabriel?”

He stopped
at the door but didn’t look at her right away. When he finally turned, he wore
a smile.

“I want to
tell you…”

“Tell me
what?”

The words
formed on her lips and she quickly pulled them back. Not like this. Not with
Deke Johnson in the room. Instead she said, “Be careful.”

His smile broadened.
“You make me careful, Beauty.”

She watched
him open the door and enter the world outside the confines of what they shared.
With a huff of sadness, she turned to the coffee pot. She felt sadness blanket
her as she poured a cup. Just as she felt the first sting of tears there was a
knock at the front door. Setting down the coffee she made her way to the front
door.

“I figured
you were awake,” Lily said as she walked in. “I saw him leave.”

“Yes, he’s
gone.”

“Good.
You’ve got maybe five minutes before hell breaks loose. Go change.”

Rachel
looked down at the shorts and cami she had worn to bed. “Why?”

“Everyone is
heading this way. Luke is leading the charge.” Lily pushed her toward the
hallway. “Nik called me. She wanted me to warn you.”

Rachel ran
to the bedroom as Lily called out she was stealing a cup of coffee. Quickly
changing, she ran a hand through her hair as she hustled back toward the
kitchen. The pounding on the door stopped her in her tracks. Just what she
didn’t want at the moment.

“Rachel!”
Luke’s bellow came through the door loud and clear.

Without any
other choice she let the loud mouth in. “Good morning to you, too.”

“What the
fuck is going on? You hooked up with that drug dealer?”

“Luke
Devlin, when did my life become your concern?”

“Don’t give
me any shit.” He waved an arm as he moved passed her. “It’s all over town that
you were with one of the men who took Ty.”

The front
door opened. She turned away from Luke to watch as Nik, Tanner, Brody, and Hope
walked in. Rachel looked at Lily who shrugged.

“Rachel?”
Hope looked her over. “Is it true? We’ve been hearing things for the past
couple of days. Mavis Cavett is telling a shocking story.”

“Tell me
where my brother is,” Luke demanded.

“Luke, go
soak in some ice water,” Nik scolded. “You are not helping matters.”

Hope moved
in closer and placed a hand on her arm. “We love you Rachel. Just tell us and
we can help you from there.”

“Rachel,”
Tanner smiled slightly. “Are you and Deke Johnson an item?”

“I’m not
talking about this,” she finally spoke.

“Just tell
me where is Ty and I’ll be done. You can do whoever you want.”

“Luke!” Lily
hissed out.

“I agree
with Lily,” Hope snapped at Luke. “You might be worried about Ty but that gives
you no right to treat Rachel that way.”

“I should call
Heather,” Lily said. “She can come and calm him down.”

Luke’s
attention swung to Lily. “We’re done. She wanted to go off and play with Ty,
remember?”

“Luke, you
know that isn’t how it was,” Brody barked out. “My sister was being a friend.”

“Whatever.”
Luke stomped to the door. “I want to know where my brother is. Brody, maybe you
could ask your sister.”