A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones

20

Do you love your job? No.

But does it afford you the ability to go on lavish

vacations and buy anything you want? Also no.

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Sun and Levi didn’t wait for backup. The minute the bright yellow orb crested the horizon, they headed out. They’d parked in a valley at the base of the Sangre de Cristos. It was going to be a long hike up to the mine.

They grabbed water and power bars from her emergency stash along with various supplies and a first-aid kit. Sun insisted on wearing the backpack, since she hadn’t been hit by a truck as recently as he had, but he practically ripped it out of her hands and slid it over his shoulders despite her protests.

Men. Especially men who picked fights with Toyota Tundras.

“Thank you,” Sun said, as they walked an overgrown trail.

“For?”

“I’m not sure I would’ve realized Elliot meant to write Sawry, as in the Sawry Silver Mine, without your prompting.”

“You figured it out before I did, and without knowing how much Eli loves that mine.”

“He loves the mine?”

“Seabright mentioned it a couple years ago.”

“Either way, thank you.”

He looked down at her, the trail wide enough at that point for them to walk side by side through the brush, and the appreciation she saw in his eyes went straight to her head. And other parts of her body. Like a margarita might. Or a hit of acid. Not that she’d ever done acid. Much.

She turned back to the trail. There was a time they could’ve gotten a vehicle up to the mine. It would’ve been rough, but it could’ve happened. Disuse and overgrowth put a stop to that, and while the mine had been boarded up for decades, kids still managed to find a way in. It rarely ended well.

Quincy and the gang were bringing ATVs, but the overgrowth would slow even those down, and Sun didn’t want to wait.

“I don’t care how much Elliot loves that mine, it’s dangerous. And now he has a seven-year-old with him.”

“He knows it like the back of his hand. He trains in there with Seabright.”

“But Adam doesn’t. And he’s only seven. The pit has a way of sneaking up on you.”

The pit was a massive hole deep in the mine and impossible to see until you were falling into it. It dropped thirty feet and led to another level. More than one kid had fallen into it over the years, despite it being boarded up. When a middle-school boy died after falling in a few years back, Sun’s parents started a petition and tried to have it filled in with cement, but the city council dismissed it, arguing it would be impossible to get a cement truck up to the mine.

Difficult, yes. But not impossible. And worth the added cost, in Sun’s opinion. She could hardly blame kids for their curiosity. She’d been one.

“By the way,” Levi said after they’d been walking about forty minutes.

She liked walking with him. And driving with him. And watching him drive. “Yes?”

“We were followed.”

She almost tripped but managed to keep her feet on solid ground. Staring straight ahead, she said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wasn’t positive.”

“But you are now?”

He nodded.

“It has to be the Delmar family,” she said. “There have been men stationed in town for a few days now. I’m certain they work for them. But they’re still after Elliot? After all this time? They have to know Matthew Kent doesn’t have the money.”

He stayed silent for a long time, then said, “Revenge?”

A shiver raced up her spine. “Not on my watch. How do you know they’re still following us?”

“They’re keeping a watch with binoculars. Or a scope. The lens is reflecting in the trees off to the left.”

“I’m thirsty,” Sun said, turning toward him. She motioned for him to turn around.

He grinned down at her, his powerful frame like a mountain towering over her. When he didn’t move, she rolled her eyes dramatically and walked around him, playing her part and taking the opportunity he’d provided to scan the distant tree line. A single lens flare reflected the sun then disappeared.

She fished a bottle of water out of the backpack and used the cover to depress the push-to-talk button on her mic clip.

“Zee, you there?”

“I’m here, boss.”

“Your mom called. Your house is on fire. You need to go home immediately.”

“Ten-four, boss. Thanks.”

She reached down and turned the knob to change the channel from their standard to their tactical channel.

Zee came on almost immediately. “How many?”

“We don’t know.”

“We’re coming up on your six,” Quincy said.

“They left town early this morning,” Rojas said, turning off his ATV. “Something got their attention.”

“What time was this?” Sun asked.

“My guy at the front desk said they took off about three.”

She glanced at Levi. “Right after Elliot took Adam?”

“That can’t be a coincidence,” he said.

“Sorry about this, guys. Hope you wore comfortable shoes.” They would have to abandon the ATVs for the time being, but at least they’d almost caught up to her and Levi.

“Thank God I changed out of my heels,” Quincy said.

She laughed softly and offered Levi the water bottle. “Signal when you have them in your sights. We’ll distract them.”

Zee came back. “You got it, boss.”

Levi took a few shallow sips before eyeing her with a mixture of humor and interest. “I don’t have any explosives on me.”

After a pitying assessment, she tsked and said, “I thought all you Ravinder boys carried dynamite everywhere you went. How ever are we going to distract them now?”

The breathtaking grin he flashed her implied he had a few ideas.

She had to kickstart her heart to get it beating again. The things he could do to her with a single glance bordered on obscene. She looked around and sat on a fallen log, making the time-out sign with her hands. To an observer, it would look like she simply needed a break. Which she did. She hadn’t slept in what felt like days.

He sat beside her and leaned against the tree behind them. Placing the backpack on the ground at their feet, he ferreted out a couple of power bars.

She took one and said nonchalantly, “I can’t even imagine what my hair looks like at this point in my life.”

“Hair has never been your strong suit,” he said, a teasing sparkle in his eyes.

“Oh yeah? Well, brains have never been yours.”

He chuckled and took a huge bite while she tried to come up with a legitimate distraction. Just something to keep their quarry’s eyes trained on them.

“How about a fight?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Could work.”

“Or,” she said, excited, “I could slip and break my leg!”

“That might be hard to pull off.”

“True.” She took another bite.

Several minutes later, the radio clicked three times.

“That was fast.”

“You thirsty?” Levi asked her.

She’d bent to stuff her wrapper into the backpack. When she straightened, she felt a firm hand wrap around the back of her skull. She looked up at him. He pulled her closer and lifted the bottle to her lips. The hard plastic of the rim pressed against them. Cool water filled her mouth.

She tried to swallow but a memory consumed her. Her breath caught and she coughed, but only slightly.

He lowered the bottle and licked his own lips as he studied hers. The image of her rescuer fifteen years ago, hood and shadows concealing his face, flashed in her mind. He held her the same way. An arm draped behind her back, supporting her. A large hand around her neck. The bottle at her lips, cool and wet against her hot mouth. A warmth spread throughout her body.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice whisper soft.

“There are only two things that will keep their attention focused on us while your team overtakes them. Either we fight or fuck.”

She swallowed hard. “You’re assuming they don’t have a sniper rifle pointed at our heads as we speak.”

“They clearly want the kid. Why would they blow their lead?”

“Fine. We fight.”

His gaze traveled over her face. “Chickenshit.”

She thought about arguing with him, but he did have a point. Desire glistened in his eyes as he looked down at her. He was either an incredible actor, or he was not wasting the opportunity, either.

“We should start fighting now,” she said, her voice breathier than she’d planned.

“I’ll follow your lead.”

After another moment of considering his alternate plan, imagining her lips brushing across his, she stood to face him instead and railed, “What do you mean my hair has never been my strong suit? What’s wrong with my hair?” She made a point to throw in some angry movements without exaggerating them too much. She had to sell it, not turn it into vaudeville.

He eased back. Took her in. Then did indeed follow her lead. Yet, unlike her, he stayed true to his character by offering no reaction whatsoever other than the barest hint of a smirk. He gestured toward the subject of their argument, a.k.a. the weakest point of her entire being apparently, and said, “It’s just so blond.”

She gaped at him. “It’s too blond?”

“And nondescript.”

“Excuse me?”

“And anemic.”

He’d really thought about this. “Can hair even be anemic?”

“Apparently.”

The humorous slant to his lips caused a momentary glitch in Sun’s synaptic firings. She mentally rebooted, and asked, “Just what do you suggest I do about it?”

He lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. You never wear it down so it’s hard to say.”

She executed her best soap-opera spin and whirled away from him. It was a wonder Hollywood hadn’t come knocking. “For your information, I’m a law enforcement officer. French braids are generally safer than ponytails or even buns, so I braid it.” She spun back to him. “And you’re one to talk. What exactly do you call that disaster?” She gestured toward his head of thick, dark auburn hair, the same hair she’d give her left kidney just to run her fingers through, and guessed, “The sasquatch?”

“Are you saying I need a trim?”

She stopped short in front of him and leaned in until they were nose-to-nose. “I’m saying you need a trim.”

This was the most ridiculous argument she’d ever had. She should’ve come up with something better to argue about than hair, but a part of her did wonder if he really felt that way. Clearly, she needed to deep condition more often. Maybe give it a light tease.

He set the bottle aside and pinned her with a knowing look. “No,” he said, his voice as deep and smooth as ever. “I do not really feel that way about your hair.”

Holy crap. He could read her mind.

“Also no,” he said.

She straightened. “No what?”

He stood to tower over her. “I cannot read your mind.” He really could. When he lifted her chin and bent closer, their mouths almost touching, Sun was ninety-percent certain she ovulated. “Though I’d give anything for that ability.”

A breathy laugh escaped her. “You’d rue the day. Trust me.”

“Not likely.” His gaze dropped to her mouth just as Quincy came over the radio.

“You two done?”

Sun pivoted away from Levi like she’d been caught in the act itself.

“Because we secured the men following you like five minutes ago.”

She cleared her throat and pressed the talk button on her mic. “How many?”

“Two,” Rojas said. “They supposedly don’t know where the other guy is.”

Quincy came back on, “We called in the staties to check out their hotel in case he stayed behind. They’re coming out here, too. Hope that’s okay.”

“It’s more than okay. Not sure what we can hold any of them on, but it’s worth a shot to try to find out their end game. Did Zee have to shoot anyone?”

“Not today, boss,” she said almost sadly. It was a joke. Sun saw firsthand what it did to her the last time she had to take down a perpetrator.

“You guys okay to get them back to the trailhead?”

“Ten-four on that,” Quincy said.

“They’re hog-tied, boss,” Zee said. “I can stay on you. Watch your six, just in case.”

Levi grabbed the backpack and Sun ripped it out of his hands. “Nah, stay on them, then hustle up with the ATVs when the state police get here.”

“Ten-four.”

With the stalkers out of the way, they could continue their journey to the boys and, hopefully, get some answers.

“I want a do-over,” Levi said. After stuffing their water bottles into the backpack, he stole it once more and secured it on his shoulders. “I felt my performance lacked authenticity.”

Unfortunately, Sun responded before giving it much thought. “I doubt your performances are ever found lacking, Mr. Ravinder.” When her words sank in, she froze for a solid minute, then started forward, suddenly eager to be on her way.

Auri turned to the tapping on her window a microsecond after her grandmother left her room with her lunch tray. Finding dead bodies got her all kinds of special treatment. She’d give it five stars. Highly recommended.

She hobbled over and opened the window. “Cruz, what are you doing here?”

“Checking on you. I got your texts.”

“Sorry. I just had to tell you about last night. Why aren’t you in school?”

“Why aren’t you in school?” he asked, his mouth pressed together on one side, forming a lopsided grin that made him so handsome, it hurt her heart.

“Either way, you will not believe what happened.”

“You found a dead body,” he said.

She frowned. “How did you know?”

“It’s all over school.”

“Of course it is. Come in.” She stepped aside so he could scale the tower wall and enter her fortress of solitude. Also, mixing up fandoms was a specialty of hers.

“I can’t, Auri. I have to respect your grandfather’s wishes.” He paused, his serious expression almost comical, then added, “And you. As a friend and as a woman, I have to respect you.”

She offered him a look of bemusement before catching on. She rolled her eyes. “My grandpa is standing right behind me, isn’t he?”

Cruz nodded.

“Can he hear me?”

He nodded again.

“That’s what I meant, Cruz. Go to the front door and let my grandparents know you’re here to see me. They won’t mind.” She turned to her grandfather who’d totally invaded her space bubble. “Right, Grandpa?”

His lashes narrowed on them. “I’m going to pretend I fell for that.”

“Thanks, Grandpa!”

Cruz went around and was shown in the old-fashioned way, which was way easier on the shins. They lay on her bed, Auri under the covers and Cruz on top, and talked for the next hour nonstop.

“I’m going to confess everything,” she said to him, “to Mrs. Fairborn. I’m going to tell her why we broke into her house, how it was all my idea, and how I was going to turn her in for being a maniacal serial killer.” She hoped Cruz would understand. “I can’t send her to prison, Cruz. She’s too old.”

“I don’t think they would send her to a regular prison. Maybe they have one for the elderly that has a bingo palace.”

“I’m not sure I want to take that chance. I do want to get that necklace, though. And I …I kind of need your help.”

“I’m in.”

“But I haven’t—”

“I’m in.”

“It’ll be dangerous.”

“I’m still in.”

“And we’ll have to wait until dark. We’ll have a very narrow window. Basically, after my grandparents go to bed and before my mom gets home. She’s working a big case.”

“Still with ya.”

“And Mrs. Fairborn could catch us and kill us. Clearly, she knows what she’s doing.”

“I’m still in, beautiful.”

His compliment caused a rush of warmth a microsecond before reality sank in yet again. How could she risk Cruz’s freedom? How could she be so selfish? And why would he agree to another one of her harebrained schemes without question? “Cruz, you’re not listening.”

The more she thought about it, the more panic took hold. But this was her best option. She would be appeasing the Press family while completely botching the investigation and keeping Mrs. Fairborn safe.

Still, she’d be putting Cruz at the center of it all. She’d opened the can of worms they were now swimming in. It was up to her to close it. She wouldn’t need his lockpicking skills if she walked right up to Mrs. Fairborn’s door and knocked. Once inside, she could excuse herself to go to the bathroom and grab the necklace.

“I’m pretty sure I am.”

“You are?”

“Listening.”

She fell back against her pillows. “Never mind. I can’t get you into trouble again.”

“Auri,” he said, leaning over to brush his thumb across her bottom lip, “I’m in.”

Relief washed over her. She really was selfish. “Thank you.” She looked at the clock on her nightstand. “You know, sixth hour is starting soon. You’re going to miss class.”

“It’s okay.”

“You’re in enough hot water with your dad, right? Did he make it home last night?”

“No, not yet. He had an emergency.”

Auri had to wonder what kind of emergency a mechanic would have out of town, but her thoughts were interrupted when Sybil texted asking how she was doing.

“You answer,” Cruz said. “I’m going to get you something to drink. You need to stay hydrated.”

She smiled as he left and texted Sybil back. I’m fine. Cruz is here.

Oh, good. I was worried.

Why?

He hasn’t been here all day. Thought maybe his dad killed him after all. LOL

Cruz said he heard at school about what happened last night.

IDK. Wasn’t in any of his classes. It’s all over FB tho. Maybe he saw it there.

That was strange. She texted back a quick Maybe then let her suspicions run wild. If Cruz hadn’t gone to class, where did he go? And why did he lie to her about it?