Summer Days (Fool's Gold #7)

“A bribe?”


“A mutually beneficial business deal. You should respect that.”

“I’ll call your office and set up an appointment.” He waited. “Aren’t you going to ask me about Heidi?”

“No. You’re not ready. When you are, I won’t have to ask.”

He chuckled. “You like being cryptic.”

“At my age, I need to find my simple pleasures wherever I can.”

* * *

RAFE LOADED UP HIS CAR. He should have left town days ago, but until a few minutes ago, he hadn’t known where to go. Now that he had an address, he was ready. Dante had already sent over the paperwork releasing Rafe from title on the ranch.

He got into his Mercedes, but before he could start the engine, a very large fire truck pulled in behind him, effectively blocking him from backing out. A tall woman climbed down and slowly walked toward his car.

Rafe recognized Heidi’s friend Charlie and knew immediately she’d come to remind him of his promise. That he wouldn’t hurt her friend.

He got out of his car and prepared for her to take him on.

Charlie was only a couple of inches shorter than him. She was large boned. There was plenty of muscle and lots of attitude. He had no idea how to win a fight when she had all the advantages. After all, it didn’t matter if she took a punch. No way he could ever lay a hand on a girl.

“Leaving?” she asked, the truck’s engine still rumbling.

He nodded.

“You haven’t said goodbye.”

“Heidi doesn’t want to see me.”

“About the only time she’s shown any sense where you’re concerned,” Charlie told him, then crossed her arms over her chest. “Why isn’t she good enough for you? What do you need that she doesn’t have?”

“Nothing,” he said honestly. “Nothing at all.”

“Don’t make me hurt you, jerkwad,” Charlie growled.

“I’m not playing. I’m telling you the truth. This isn’t about Heidi—it’s about me. There’s something I have to do, and then I’ll come back.”

Charlie’s lip curled. “And I should believe you, why?”

“You shouldn’t. Take Heidi’s side. If I’m wrong, then hunt me down and do your worst.”

“That’s a very interesting invitation. Why should I wait?”

“Because I might be telling the truth.”

She muttered something under her breath. “Why couldn’t all women be lesbians? Life would be a whole lot easier. At least, mine would.”

“Less fun for us guys that way.”

“You’re not my main concern.”

He stepped toward her, put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Trust me.”

“You’re trying to piss me off, aren’t you?” she asked, pulling away.

For a second Rafe would have sworn Charlie flinched when he kissed her, but then he told himself he was imagining the reaction.

She glared at him, then returned to the fire truck. After moving it back far enough for him to get out, she waited, as if prepared to follow him, to make sure he made good on his word.

Rafe was fine with that. He no longer had anything to hide.

CHAPTER TWENTY

WHEN PEOPLE THOUGHT about Los Angeles, they generally pictured theme parks, the beach or Beverly Hills. There were a lot of other parts to the sprawling city, many of them comfortably middle class. Some neighborhoods were remembered more for what they had been, years ago. Slowly, they lost their way, declining year by year, until the buildings were more than a little ragged around the edges.

Rafe pulled up in front of the two-story apartment building and studied the parched lawn, the leaning palm trees by the sidewalk. A couple of windows had aluminum foil as a stand-in for curtains, and there was a car up on blocks in the carport. He looked at the address on his cell phone, then back at the building and knew he’d found the right place.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this, he thought grimly. He should have done a better job of protecting those he was responsible for. He wondered if Evangeline would agree.

He got out of his car, then locked it. The Mercedes stood out on the quiet street, a flashy and unwelcome reminder of his wealth. He crossed the lawn, climbed the steps to the second floor and knocked on the door of apartment 220.

A busty blonde opened the door and smiled up at him.

“Hi. You must be lost, because we don’t get guys like you in the neighborhood. Not that I’m complaining.”

She wore tiny shorts and a cropped T-shirt, makeup for five and her toenails were covered with orange polish that glittered.

“I’m here to see Evangeline.”

The blonde gave him an exaggerated pout. “Can I get you to take me out instead? I’m much more fun.”

“No, thanks.”

The blonde motioned for him to step inside, then turned toward a closed bedroom door.

“Evie, there’s some guy here to see you. If you don’t want him, can I have him?” She gave Rafe a sassy eyebrow wiggle as she posed the question.