The Past Came Hunting (20 page)

Chapter Twenty-four

“Chico
, wake up.”

Through a haze and someone’s shaking, fifteen years of prison life slammed into Drake’s dreams. He grabbed his assailant and flung the bastard away from him and onto his back.

An instant later, as his eyes adjusted, he remembered where he was and saw that lying on the mattress beneath him was Maria. Ramirez’s younger sister stared up at him, startled and surprised. Drake, however, studied her as if she were a cross between an amoeba and a succulent meal. Then, remembering she paid the mortgage on the place and he was hiding out in her basement, he reluctantly rolled off of her. His mouth dryer than a piece of cotton, his head screaming from too many shots of tequila, he asked, “What are you doing down here?”

Her eyes flashed with something that looked like anger. Slowly, she lifted herself up on her elbows in the cold, unfinished basement. Behind her brother’s back they’d been giving each other come-do-me-looks for days. If she was afraid of him, she sure as hell didn’t show it. “I came to say goodbye.”

It was then that Drake saw the uniform, a blue skirt, white blouse and an emblem with a pair of wings on her left breast.

He zoned in on that breast and his mouth watered. “Goodbye?”

“Yes, I’m leaving in a couple of hours. I fly International and my hub’s in Dallas. I need to be back in Texas this afternoon.”

“But you have a house here?”

“I like it here. It’s home.” Her dark eyes met his in a challenge.

He liked the way the bitch stood up to him. Her job gave her independence. It also explained why she was always gone.

“You’ve been staring at me,” she said, making no effort to rise from his makeshift bed.

“You’ve been staring back,” he replied.

“Touché,
chico
.”

Narrowing his gaze, he asked, “Why do you call me
chico
?”

“You called me a chick the other day. If I’m a
chica
then you’re a
chico
.”

Her perfume was driving him crazy. Her long dark hair was pulled up in some exotic style. She looked like an Egyptian queen, with black eyes, bronze satin skin and lips so soft they would take nothing to devour.

That didn’t mean he was willing to wreck a good deal or risk Ramirez’s blade in the process. So even though she’d approached him, he held back. “Where’s your brother?”

She arched a brow. “You drank him under the table, remember? Denny’s passed out.”

Something like electricity jolted through Drake, a conduit transmitting her “I’m-available” signals. He reached for the first button of her blouse. “Is that right?” He’d been dreaming of taking her for days. It had almost been too easy.

When she simply held his gaze, he moved to the next button then the next, freeing her shirt and exposing the next-to-nothing bra underneath.

Close to exploding, he bent to explore the satin tops of her breasts. She arched against him as his hand drifted to the hem of her skirt and he tugged upward.

Shit. The hooker he’d taken a few weeks ago hadn’t prepared him near enough for this woman. He was about to come. His fingers slid into her heat and in between gasps she said, “If Denny finds you doing this, he’ll cut out your liver.”

Drake lifted his mouth from her breast and saw the taunt on her lips, the laughter in her eyes. A siren. His kind of woman. He made sure it hurt her as his fingers went deeper. “You gonna tell him?”

A hiss escaped her lips as she shifted. She panted, then set her jaw. “That depends on what kind of lover you make. Is that the best you can do? I’m not into timid men.”

In that case. He treated her breasts to his brutal attention then buried his mouth against hers.

Running her hands through his hair and digging her long claws into his neck, she returned his kiss. Finally, as much as he liked the rough foreplay, he was ready for action. “Take off your clothes.”

For the first time she paused, seeming to consider what she was doing.

“Take off your clothes or I’ll rip them off you.” Drake grabbed her skirt, bunched the fabric and prepared to shred. This wasn’t like fifteen years before when he’d picked up a hysterical Melanie Daniels and he’d been a sap weighed down by a conscience. Not so today. Women didn’t tell him no, not that he’d ever had to ask. Brother or not, Maria had come on to him, and he’d wanted inside her.

The exercise down memory lane turned out to be moot. Maria rose from the mattress and looked him up and down. Then performing a rapid strip tease, she stood before him naked, revealing a flat stomach, small hips and round perfect tits.

Drake shucked off his shorts. He was rock hard and waiting as her gaze raked over his sculpted body. Her eyes widened and she gave him a smile of approval. “Very nice,
chico
.”

He reached for her, and she fell into his arms. With one quick thrust he entered her. Beginning a series of slow rhythmic motions, he said, “You gonna tell your brother?”

She closed her eyes, leaned her head back and gave a throaty laugh. “And miss this? God, no,
chico.
Not in this lifetime.”

Chapter Twenty-five

Dressed for work, her eyes swollen from last night’s crying jag, Mel removed the address book from the nightstand, turned the page to the “W’s”, and traced her finger to the name Walford.

She’d stayed in the shower way too long, allowing the hot spray to soothe the stress from her body, when actually her goal had been to avoid her son. Terrified she’d dissolve into tears again if she saw him, she’d contributed to her utility bill.

She would love to call in sick today. For the most part she wasn’t lying. She
was
sick. Heartsick. She hadn’t felt this grief-stricken since her mother died.

Missing work was out of the question, however. With nonstop orders, a December wedding on the books and several holiday parties to fill, she couldn’t desert the man who’d showed such faith in her. She squeezed her eyes closed. Had her promotion to shop manager occurred only last night? What had happened in the hours afterward felt like a lifetime ago.

She steeled herself for the confrontation at hand and punched in the ten-digit number. Why would Peter and Janice do this to her? And why hadn’t Joe phoned with information on his lawyer? She’d legally adopted Luke, and he was at an age where she thought he had a say. These people couldn’t take him away from her, could they?

She wanted to be reasonable and not alienate them if possible. They were Luke’s family, but it had been she who’d insisted they spend quality time with their grandson. Surely, they recognized that.

The connection went through and a small, childish voice answered on the Kansas City, Missouri end. “Hello?”

Mel caught her breath. Was this Abby’s brother’s little girl? She’d grown up so fast. “Is this the Walford residence?”

“Uh-huh.”

The child couldn’t be more than three or four and Mel smiled. “Is your grandma home?”

“Uh-uh.”

Her breath came out in a whoosh. “May I speak with your grandpa then?”

“Grandpaaaa!”

Avoiding a high-pitched squeal loud enough to burst her eardrum, Mel held the phone away from her ear. Well, that answered that question.

A full minute passed before she heard someone shuffling toward the phone. “Who is it, Tracy girl?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, you know better than to talk to strangers. Hello?”

“Peter?” Mel clutched the chenille bedspread beneath her. “Hi. It’s Melanie Norris.”

Silence followed, then, “Melanie? Good gracious, where are you? Is Luke okay?”

She swallowed hard. “He’s fine. I’m so sorry I worried you. We moved to Colorado Springs.” In the shower, she’d been rehearsing what she would say and the words spewed forth. “With Carl’s passing we needed a change. I needed a job. Luke wanted to play ball at a bigger school. . .”
I moved to
hide from Drake Maxwell.

The older man on the opposite end chuckled. “Well, thank goodness. When we learned you sold your house and left no forwarding address, we were a mite concerned. Wait till I tell Janice. Higher strung woman I’ve never known. Colorado Springs, huh? That’s just great. How’s my grandson?”

Mel pictured the white-haired soybean farmer with skin the consistency of leather. He certainly didn’t sound like someone intent on suing her.

“He’s fantastic. He loves it here,” Mel said, placing emphasis on the word
love
. “He’s made new friends and he’s on the varsity basketball team.”

“Varsity? You’re kidding me. He’s barely out of junior high.”

Biting back a caustic remark, Mel said, “He’s a sophomore in high school.”

“He is? Well, I’ll be darned, where does the time go? Now that we know where you are, we’ll get out there real soon.”

Now that we know where you are.
She caught the censure in his words. Nevertheless, the Walfords had made empty promises before. When Luke was small, she and Carl had taken him several times to Kansas City. Naturally, the grandparents had made a big deal over Luke when he got there, but as far as reciprocating, it didn’t happen much.

Now they wanted custody?

“Peter?” Mel began. “I’m confused. Last night I was served some papers.”

“What kind of papers?”

“A summons. Hold on, let me grab it.”

On the way to her dresser, she noted a wadded-up piece of paper on the floor next to her tiny trashcan. Making the decision to pick it up later, she withdrew the summons, returned to sit on the bed and read him the caption.

“I don’t understand.” The tremors in the old man’s voice became more pronounced. “Who would do this to you?”

Mel nearly dropped the phone. “
You,
Peter. The summons came from you and Janice. It states you’re suing me for custody.”

Apparently Peter
did
lose his grip on the phone then. It clattered loudly as it hit the floor. She waited, picturing him struggling to pick it up. “Melanie,” he said breathlessly. “I don’t know a thing about any of this. You better start at the beginning.”

As Mel relayed the events of yesterday, including the private eye who’d been following her, Peter’s sighs and “oh, no’s” became audible.

“Why would you hire a detective?” she asked. “Have I ever given you reason to think I would harm Luke?”

Peter became strangely quiet. “I suppose Jan got the idea from me. You see, years ago I hired a P.I. to investigate you.”

Mel’s throat burned from shock and humiliation, and it hurt to swallow. “All these years you’ve known about me?”

“I’m afraid so. You were raising my daughter’s child, taking her place.”

“Exactly
what
do you know?”

“I know about your time in prison. More importantly, I know about the events that led you there.” Peter’s voice grew shakier. “I know that after your mother’s death, your father’s remarriage upset you.”

Upset her? Is that what the detective had told him? Mel couldn’t find the words to speak. Eric Daniels had always been a selfish bastard, but it became readily apparent in the final months of her mother’s fight for her life when her father left them alone for days on end.

On Mel’s seventeenth birthday, she’d confronted him. “She’s terminal, Melanie. Get over it. We’re not the ones who are dying. She’s accepted her fate; it’s time you did, too. Go ahead if you want, but I’m not gonna crawl in the casket beside her.”

Furious, Mel had drawn her hand back. He’d stayed her by grabbing her wrist. “Don’t do it, kid. I’ll land you on your ass.”

Hours after her funeral, he’d introduced Mel to a woman young enough to be her sister, and announced she would become Mel’s stepmother. The next day Mel hit the streets.

“We were talking about Luke.” She set her back teeth, banishing the horrible memory. “Why are you seeking custody?”

“I’m not,” Peter replied. “I happen to think my grandson’s in excellent hands. As for Janice, there’s something about my wife you don’t know.”

Moments later, Mel wiped away fresh tears, but they were no longer ones of despair. She was late for work, but it didn’t matter. Her relief mixed with trepidation, she hung up the phone. How many of these bullets was she supposed to dodge before she could just live her life?

Joe replayed Melanie’s message
three times, finally concluding he’d heard it right. “Cancel lawyer, late for work, explain later. Thanks!” Her voice tinged with excitement had unsurprisingly made him feel a thousand times better. Picturing her smiling rather than despondent, he couldn’t wait to find out what had led to the change. But even if no crises occurred in the meantime, his day was committed to meetings and interviewing new recruits.

God. What had transpired in the last two hours? Melanie Norris had more turbulence in her life than the space shuttle. Joe touched the bandage on his forehead and winced. If he planned to go along for the ride, the least he could do was invest in a shoulder harness. He dialed his lawyer and cancelled Mel’s consultation.

Now to work on the boys. Luke continued in his sullen mood this morning when Joe drove him to school. Odd, because he’d appeared over his anger last night when Joe and Mel left the house.

Teenagers. He wouldn’t trade places with them for the world. He was still worried about Maxwell, and the Cañon City Police had an unsolved murder on their hands, but so far there was no sighting of the infamous ex-con. Maybe they were worried for nothing, and maybe, just maybe, life would slow to a saner pace.

His phone rang and his secretary reminded him he was late for a meeting at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center. Joe grabbed his jacket. A saner pace. What had he been drinking?