Her eyes glistened. “I know, but I’m scared.” She pressed her fingers against her lips.
“Case.” Rags grasped her and held her tight against him as her body trembled. Her shuddering sobs pierced his heart, but he held her through it, steady and unyielding, until her breathing evened out.
“Sorry for losing it,” she murmured against his chest. “Now and earlier at the diner.”
“Don’t be. You’ve got a lot inside you. Seeing me tonight just brought it all out.” He paused. “I should’ve told you I was meeting up with her.”
“No. You shouldn’t feel like you have to report every single thing you do.” She exhaled. “The shield around your heart has been made stronger over the years. I’m afraid it’ll stay that way after the ‘everything’s great’ stage has worn off.”
“Yeah. It was made of steel until a sexy, smartassed woman with wild dark hair, beautiful eyes, and a luscious body came into my life.” His finger tapped the tip of her nose. “Your excitement, your smile, your brains, have blown me away, baby. You took a fuckin’ blowtorch and annihilated the armor.” He laughed. “And I never even saw it coming. You just slipped into my life.”
She laughed, then kissed him soft at first then with fervor.
“Fuck, baby,” he rasped.
She pulled back, her face earnest, her eyes bright. “I know you’re not like JT. I’m tired of all the barriers I’ve put up.” She grasped a strand of his hair and lightly pulled it. “And talk about a blowtorch, you’ve melted the ice around my heart with your steadfastness, your sexiness, your affection and attention only for me.”
“It’ll always be only for you.” Rags took a deep breath. “Case… I love you.”
She stilled for a second, then smiled. “I love you too. I was so obsessed withnotfalling for you, I didn’t pay attention to how Ididfall in love with you. And I’m willing to take the risk.”
“That’s all I needed to hear.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Rags rode downthe street, swerving to avoid a pothole. Tank, Puck, and Chas followed behind. The setting sun’s rays bounced off artificial flowers taped to a metal light pole. Beside them, a few helium balloons drooped, withered by the elements. A poster board with a printed photo of a smiling young man marked the makeshift memorial. It reminded him of the empty bottles of Jack and cans of Coors left at the graves of fallen brothers whose lives had been cut short.
He turned the corner and spotted the two-story building where Julie was supposed to meet the man for the payoff. He motioned to the others, and they slowed.
“Is this it?” Chas asked, riding up beside him.
“Yeah. I remember when this area was where all the city transplants put down roots. Look at it now—it’s a dump.”
Chas nodded. “Once the shit element moves in, the whole place goes to hell. Those fuckin’ slumlords don’t give a damn about anything but making a buck.”
The area in West Pinewood Springs had once been filled with pristine townhomes and two-story contemporary homes, a contrast to the Victorians, Craftsman bungalows, and Queen Anne-style homes in the older part of town. When things went downhill and properties fell into disrepair, slumlords and shady investors bought them up, looking to flip them for quick cash. The buildings that didn’t sell soon became a place for the displaced, the addicts, and the lonely.
They stopped in front of a building with peeling green paint, plywood covering the first-floor windows. It looked abandoned, but Rags could feel a dozen eyes watching them.
“I’ll stay out here and watch the bikes,” Puck said, his hand resting on the Glock at his hip.
The three men nodded and walked up the broken sidewalk toward the entrance.
“Want some weed? It’s the best around,” a man said, opening his palm.
Rags glanced at the small ziplock baggies. “How much?”
The older man took a step back, glancing over his shoulder. “One hundred.”
“You’re selling this shit for a hundred bucks?” Tank said, stepping forward.
“Eighty. It’s good stuff.” The man looked over his shoulder again.
“Where’d you get it?” Chas asked.
“From someone. It’s good stuff. I’ll sell it to you for seventy. Can’t go lower than that.”
Rags nodded and pressed the bills into the guy’s hand. The man snatched the money, handed over the baggies, and hurried down the sidewalk.