Six
It was chilly in Las Vegas but the cool fall weather didn’t deter the millions of tourists who prowled the casino strip. Ben avoided Las Vegas Boulevard, taking a less-crowded route from the airport to an address on the west side of town. A couple of times as he drove along, his glance strayed to Claire.
Ben knew women and there’d been no mistaking the sexual interest in those big green eyes when she had caught him half-naked in his bedroom. He hadn’t missed the way her breath quickened, the pulse that throbbed at the base of her throat. It was good to know the growing attraction he felt for her was returned.
But Sam was the priority for both of them, and even if the time were right, he wasn’t sure the lady would invite him into her bed. Claire was uptight and reserved. She wasn’t the type to have sex with a man she barely knew.
On his side, Ben didn’t want the problems that came with sexual intimacy. He wasn’t good at the morning-after niceties. As far as he was concerned, by morning both parties had gotten what they wanted and it was over.
He was pretty sure that wasn’t the way Claire approached a physical relationship. She’d want more, and he wasn’t the kind of guy who could give it to her.
Still, just thinking about stripping off those conservative clothes and discovering the woman beneath sent his blood pumping south, and inside his jeans he started getting hard. Shifting against his growing arousal, he turned on the radio and concentrated on following the directions to the address he had punched into the GPS.
It turned out to be an apartment in a low-rent section of Vegas. Two stories, white with black trim, a couple of scrawny trees in front. A light shone on a play area with swings and a sandbox that sat inside a chain-link fence next to the building.
“Maybe I should wait in the car,” Claire said as he turned off the engine, which surprised him since she had always insisted on going everywhere he did. One look at her face and he knew what she was thinking.
“The horny redhead at the construction site wasn’t my type and the last thing I want is to be alone with a stripper.” She’d been uptight since their encounter in the hall that morning. It was nice to see her smile.
“Okay.”
They got out of the car and made their way up to the porch. Ben knocked on the door and a minute later it swung open. Sadie Summers was a brassy blonde with a couple of kids. He could see them playing on the floor in her living room. He hadn’t expected that.
“I’m Ben Slocum and this is Claire Chastain. I know it’s getting late. We’re sorry to bother you, Ms. Summers, but we’re looking for a man named Troy Bennett. We’re hoping you can help us find him.”
He’d told Claire to let him take the lead, decide how much information to feed her. If Sadie Summers was still in contact with Bennett, and Bennett had Sam, he didn’t want her to give the guy a heads-up and a chance to run.
Sadie propped a hand on her hip. “I have no idea where that rat bastard is. I haven’t seen him in months. Troy left me holding the bag on the rent. He was supposed to pay five hundred toward the bills, but at the end of the month, he just took off. I haven’t seen him since.”
Ben glanced over at Claire. “Mind if we come in? I’ll pay you the five hundred he owes if you’ll help us find him.”
Sadie’s blond eyebrows went up. “Sounds like my kinda deal.” She had a curvy figure, but she was dressed in sweats and a T-shirt. Ben supposed she showed off her body enough at the strip club.
Sadie opened the door and stepped back so they could walk in. “You kids go to your room and play. Mama’s got company.”
The kids—a dark-haired, mixed-heritage boy about five, and a little blonde girl about six—scrambled off down the hall.
“You want some iced tea or something?”
He started to say no.
“I’d love some,” Claire said, nudging him in the ribs.
Sadie smiled. “I’ve got some made. Kitchen’s right this way.”
Claire threw him a look as she walked past, letting Sadie lead her into the kitchen. Nice move, he thought. Being friendly and forming a connection wasn’t a bad idea. Maybe Claire would be an asset after all.
By the time Sadie returned to the living room, she was smoking a cigarette and laughing. Claire handed Ben a glass of iced tea, took a drink of her own, and all of them sat down in the living room.
Ben leaned forward in an overstuffed brown chair while the women sat on the couch. “What can you tell us about Bennett?” he asked.
Sadie blew out a lungful of smoke. “Not a lot. He was kind of the strong, silent type. We met at the club. Troy was good-looking in a rough sort of way. He worked for Vector Crane as one of the operators.”
“You know where he came from?” Claire asked. “Where he was born?”
“The South someplace. Every once in a while his drawl would slip out. I know he lived in Alabama for a while, but I don’t think he was born there. He had a couple of brothers in Louisiana. I don’t know where.”
Louisiana. If Troy was going home the way Tracy Ferber had believed, he might be headed to Louisiana.
“How’d he get along with the kids?” Ben asked, watching Sadie closely.
She took a deep drag, blew out a stream of smoke. “Okay, when he was sober. He was mean when he got drunk. I think it bothered him that Billy was a mixed-blood kid, but mostly he ignored them.”
“How about you? He treat you okay?”
Sadie shrugged her shoulders. “Troy knocked me around a couple of times when he’d been drinking. Once in a while he popped off how men were superior to women. He never hit the kids, but I think they were glad when he left.”
Ben exchanged a glance with Claire. He could read the worry on her face. He was just beginning to understand how much she cared about his son. It touched him unexpectedly. Having a child made him see life in a way he hadn’t since the day he’d found Laura in bed with another man.
He listened as Claire asked about Sadie’s kids, then Claire told her about Sam and that he was missing. Ben didn’t know his son, but Claire did. Hearing her say what a good kid he was, how smart and loyal, gave him a picture of the child he had fathered.
He fought down a wave of fury at the man who had taken him.
Ben focused his attention on the blonde woman across from him. “Is there anyone else in Vegas we could talk to, Sadie? Someone who might know where Troy could have gone?”
She took a drink of her tea. “There was a guy he worked with, but he’s not here anymore. Eddie Jeffries. I heard Eddie quit his job about the same time Troy did. I think they went down to L.A. together.”
The trail led back to L.A. Maybe they’d get lucky this time.
Ben stood up from his chair. Pulling his silver money clip out of his pocket, he peeled off five hundred-dollar bills. “You’ve been a big help, Sadie.” He handed her the money. “Thanks.”
“I hope you find the prick.”
Ben gave her one of his business cards. “If you think of anything that might help, give me a call.”
Sadie walked them to the door. “There is one thing.”
Ben stopped and turned. “What’s that?”
“I don’t think Bennett was really Troy’s last name.”
Ben nodded. “Yeah, well, that’s pretty much what I figured.” From what Sol had said, Troy Bennett had been born full grown, just another alias to be discarded.
Claire leaned over and hugged the buxom blonde. “Thank you, Sadie. We’re both so worried. We really appreciate your help.” It was clear Claire felt a deep sense of responsibility for Sam’s disappearance. The pain she suffered was almost palpable.
And yet he couldn’t help thinking that some of it was deserved. If she had come to him when Laura had first given her his name, or even after Laura got sick, none of this would have happened.
Sadie looked at Ben. “Troy’s bad about holding grudges. Once you’ve pissed him off, he can’t seem to let it go. But I don’t think he’d hurt your boy. At least not when he’s sober.”
Ben’s jaw hardened. Troy Bennett had better not hurt his son. If he did, he wouldn’t have to worry about going to prison.
He would be dead.
* * *
Claire was exhausted by the time the plane landed back in Santa Monica and they started the drive to her apartment. It was late but the trip had been worth it.
“Let’s get something to eat,” Ben said, spotting a row of fast-food restaurants up ahead. “McDonald’s all right?”
“At this point anything is good.” She rarely ate fast food, but she was starving. They ordered from the drive-through, then sat in the parking lot to eat so the food wouldn’t get cold.
“I’m mostly a steak-and-potatoes guy,” Ben said as he unwrapped his burger. “I cook for myself at home. Mostly steaks or chops on the grill and salad. It’s not gourmet, but it’s healthier than this stuff.” He took a big bite, talked around it. “On the other hand, sometimes you just can’t beat a Big Mac.”
Claire smiled. She had ordered a chicken sandwich. She wished it didn’t taste so good. “You’re from Pittsburgh. How did you get to Houston?”
“SEAL buddy. Houston was his hometown. He talked me into giving it a try, then a couple years later, moved away.”
“I know you don’t have a wife or family.”
“I’m not the family type—or at least I wasn’t. What about you? You born in L.A.?”
“I’m from upstate New York. White Plains. I did social work there for a couple of years after I graduated from college, but my family still lives there. I wanted to be a little more independent, get out on my own.”
“Brothers and sisters?”
“No, just me. My parents and I are still pretty close. I talk to my mom every week, but right now they’re out of the country.” She smiled. “Mediterranean cruise. It’s a lifelong dream.”
“Sounds nice.”
“They’re crazy about each other.”
He glanced away, and she wondered if it bothered him to talk about family, since he didn’t have one.
“So you like L.A?” he asked.
She shrugged. “It’s okay. I don’t think I want to live here forever.” She took another bite of her sandwich, enjoying the taste of real mayonnaise, a treat she rarely allowed herself. She was reaching for her Diet Coke when Ben’s iPhone started ringing.
He dug it out of his pocket and pressed it against his ear. “Slocum.” He nodded as if the guy on the other end could see, turned toward Claire. “O-positive,” he said, looking relieved.
Claire felt a shot of that same relief. The lab was calling. It wasn’t Sam’s blood.
“How long till you get the DNA?” A moment passed and Ben nodded. “I appreciate the extra effort. Call me if you get a match.” Ben hung up and stuck the phone back into the pocket of his jeans. “One of the guys at the lab was a friend of Brodie’s. He worked late, since a child was involved and he owed Brodie a favor. Be a couple more days for the DNA. They’ll run it through the system, see what turns up.”
“But the blood wasn’t Sam’s.”
“No.”
“If Troy’s never been arrested, he won’t be in the system.”
“You’re right. There’s a chance they won’t find him. We need to talk to this guy Jeffries, see if he can give us any new information.”
They continued on to her apartment, Claire finishing her sandwich along the way. It was after midnight and she was bone-tired when they walked in the door. Ben didn’t seem to notice. The man had boundless energy. Or maybe it was just concern for his son.
Taking his laptop out of his black canvas duffel, he went to work setting the computer up on the kitchen table. As she watched him, Claire unfastened the gold clip at the nape of her neck and shook her head, letting her hair fall free. She dragged a hand through the heavy dark strands.
“I’m going to take a shower,” she said. “Let me know if you find something.”
Ben looked up and those sexy blue eyes ran over her, took in her loosened hair, the shape of her breasts. “I don’t suppose you want company?”
Heat slid through her, desire hot and sharp. She could tell by the way he was looking at her that he wasn’t entirely kidding.
“We’re working together, Ben. That’s all.”
“Yeah, I know.” His gaze swung away from her. He finished plugging in his laptop, sat down and started typing on the keyboard.
Claire forced her legs to move toward the bedroom. She hadn’t had sex since she and Michael had ended their relationship. Michael Sullivan was a well-known investigative journalist and was gone so much it was a stretch to call it more than a three-year affair.
When Michael had taken a five-month assignment in South America, Claire made the decision to end things between them.
“This isn’t working, Michael,” she had said. “I care for you very much, but I want more than you can give me. We both know the time just isn’t right.”
“I just need to get my career a little more established. Give me a few more months. I love you, Claire.”
But she’d heard the words too many times. “Love isn’t always enough, Michael.”
He had left the next day. He’d been in touch off and on, but the calls came more and more rarely. Still, he always said he loved her and that sooner or later, they would find a way to make it work.
Claire was more realistic. Michael was a great friend, but their relationship had never been one of grand passion. At least not for her.
She had never looked at Michael the way she’d looked at Ben Slocum that morning. And Michael had never looked at her the way Ben had looked at her just now.
She had wondered if Ben found her attractive. Now she knew for sure. But she was smart enough to recognize lust when she felt it. It wasn’t a feeling she’d experienced often, and definitely not something she planned to act on.
Still, as she stripped off her clothes and slipped beneath the hot wet spray, her breasts felt sensitive. Faint arousal throbbed between her legs. Claire thought of Ben and wondered what it would be like to make love with a virile, hot-blooded male like him.
It wasn’t going to happen. Sam came first.
The boy’s sweet, smiling face popped into her head and her heart pinched. She should have pressed harder for custody, should have found a way to keep him with her. She should have told him how much he meant to her. She had failed him so badly.
Dear God, she prayed, keep him safe till I can bring him home.