Laced In Lies

  Ramos shook his head, a little upset with me that I got into these situations. “What if I hadn’t made it in time? Or if you couldn’t get to your phone to send me a message?”

  “Oh, I had a backup plan. I figured once Big Kahuna had me in his office, I’d stun him with my flashlight and escape out the window or something.”

  He snorted. “A guy that big probably wouldn’t go down with one stun.”

  “Well, yeah, I guess. But I have pepper spray, too. So between the two of them, I’d be fine.”

  He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, thinking how boring his life would be without me in it. But… sometimes I drove him nuts. “So this guy… the husband… what’s his name?”

  “Oh… it’s Kyle Young, and the kid’s name is Keola.”

  “You think he’s working undercover for the cops?”

  “I’m not sure. He didn’t really think about that. But why else would he be trying to infiltrate the gang?”

  “I have no idea,” he said. “But… it’s probably certain that you blew his cover, so you might want to have a chat with him and convince him that it’s not a good idea to go back there.”

  “Uh… I don’t think I blew his cover… but I did pick up that Big Kahuna doesn’t trust him.”

  “So? Don’t you think you should warn him?” I shrugged and his brows drew together. “Don’t you like him or something?”

  “Not really. He was thinking some pretty awful things about me… well… mostly women in general. Probably because I let it slip that I was working for his wife. Anyway… it doesn’t make me want to help him much.”

  “Oh, I get that. Well… your call.” He wasn’t about to tell me what to do. Still, he’d hate for me to have Kyle’s death weighing on my conscience.

  My eyes widened. “You think they’d kill him?”

  “They might,” he said, shrugging. “It depends.”

  “Well, I guess for his wife’s sake, I’d better warn him.”

  “Good.” He was thinking that was the Shelby he knew and loved.

  “What? You love me?”

  He growled and shook his head. “Shelby… you know what I mean.” It irked him that I’d heard that, and he didn’t want me thinking that I could tease him and not face the consequences.

  I smirked, then picked up just how he’d like to teach me that lesson. My eyes widened and my breath caught. Then my face heated up, and it seemed like the temperature rose at least fifty degrees. “You… stop that!”

  He chuckled at my discomfort, but at the same time, he wanted to remind me that I shouldn’t get too comfortable around him. He could only take so much, and I had to know that he didn’t have much of a conscience, so I couldn’t expect him to be all noble and everything. After all, he was used to getting what he wanted, and I needed to remember that.

  I took a breath to tell him that I knew better, but he raised an eyebrow in challenge, and I shut my mouth. Whoa. He seemed a little testy. Was something wrong? “Are you okay?”

  My insight surprised him. Before he shuttered his mind, I picked up that something from his past had reared its ugly head. He didn’t need me worrying about him. “I’m fine. But we should get back. You need to warn your friend, and I’ve got work to do.”

  “O-kay. But… now you’ve got me worried.”

  “It’s nothing… seriously.”

  “Fine. But if you need my help…”

  “I won’t.”

  That kind of hurt my feelings, so I shrugged and let out a sigh.

  “Shelby… look… I’m fine. If I need your help, I’ll ask for it. Okay?”

  Our gazes met. His dark eyes hardened with resolve. He wasn’t going to involve me in this… end of story. Still, a twinge of guilt that he’d hurt my feelings ran through his heart, but he pushed it aside. There were just some things in his life that he didn’t want me to know.

  “Okay… sure. But you know I’m here for you if you need me, right?”

  His face relaxed into a smile. “Yes. I know.”

  “Good.” I smiled back at him, and the tension left his shoulders.

  “Uh… before we go,” he said, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. “Jackie was talking about a barbeque tonight with you and your family. What’s that all about?”

  “Yeah.” I sighed. “It’s called a disaster.” I quickly explained how my whole family had accidentally met Uncle Joey, Jackie, and Miguel at Miguel’s last school performance a week ago. “I had to introduce them to my kids, and explain that we were related. I even told them that Uncle Joey was my real uncle, which meant Miguel was my cousin. That’s when he invited us over for a family barbeque. How could I refuse? But I’m afraid that someday my kids are going to find out the truth. Not just about Uncle Joey, but that I can read minds. If that happens, I don’t know if they’ll ever trust me again. It would be horrible!”

  “Hmm… well hopefully that won’t happen. If it’s any consolation, Jackie seemed pretty excited about your little get-together. She even left work early to get things set up.”

  “She did?” Hearing that sent a trickle of unease down my spine, and I hoped her expectations weren’t set too high, because I didn’t want to disappoint her.

  “Hey… don’t worry about it. You should look at it this way; at least you’re not on Manetto’s bad side. That would be a whole lot worse.” He was also thinking that he and Uncle Joey had recently taken care of the Russians, so I needed to remember that I owed him.

  “Yeah. There is that.” I wanted to add that if Uncle Joey wasn’t in my life, it wouldn’t have been a problem in the first place, but that might sound inconsiderate.

  He could tell I wasn’t too happy about the whole thing, but there wasn’t much anyone could do to change it. “Life is nuts, isn’t it?” he asked, sending me a commiserating smile. “That bank robbery at the grocery store changed everything for you.”

  His thoughts turned to the moment the bank robber had pressed the gun to my head. He’d had to kill the bank robber to save my life. It was a close call, and he would have disappeared after that if Kate hadn’t told Manetto about me. That was the day Manetto found out about my secret.

  “It sure did,” I agreed. “It’s crazy how things that happen to you seem to take on a life of their own, and once the wheels start turning, you can never go back.”

  “Would you want to? Go back?”

  I gazed into his dark eyes and knew the answer immediately. “No.” I smiled and shook my head. “I guess not.”

  He smiled. “Good.”

  “What about you? What would you change?”

  His smile faded a little as he thought about his life on the run and what had happened between him and his brother. After all that, he felt lucky that he wasn’t rotting in prison somewhere. In his line of work, it could still happen; but all things considered, he had a great life with never a dull moment… especially with me sending him “help” texts.

  I huffed out a breath and shook my head, but I couldn’t stop the smile that widened my lips.

  “Sure I have regrets,” he said. “But who doesn’t? Could my life have been different? Hell yeah. But there’s always something on the horizon, so I’m good where I’m at.” Then he thought, mostly.

  An unbidden image of the text message he’d received popped into his head, but he quickly pushed it away, hoping I hadn’t picked up on it. And if I had, he hoped I’d leave it alone, since it wasn’t something he was going to talk about.

  “We should go,” he said, catching me with my mouth open to talk about it.

  I snapped my jaw shut and sighed. “Are you sure I can’t help?”

  “Yes… I’m sure. Come on.” He stood and waited for me to join him.

  “Okay….” I sighed, hating that he wouldn’t confide in me, but knowing there wasn’t much I could do about it.

  The ride back to my car went by in record time, and disappointment that it was over crashed in grumpy waves through my chest. After an extra-tight squeeze, mostly
because it was hard to let go of him, I got off the bike and hurried to my car. A blush crept up my face since I’d also inhaled his scent one more time and, of course, he’d picked up on it.

  His lips twisted, and I caught his gloating satisfaction that he was so irresistible. That choked a laugh out of me, and I shook my head before closing the car door. He waited while I started the engine, then followed me for a few blocks before turning back toward the city and Thrasher Development.

  Watching him go brought another big sigh out of me. The temptation to ditch all of my responsibilities and ride off with him into the sunset sliced through my heart. Being with him would be fun for a while, but then my conscience would get the best of me, and I’d start to hate myself… then probably hate him.

  Because deep inside, I knew I couldn’t live with myself if I let my husband and kids down, and throwing that all away would kill me… so I swore I’d never think about it again… not for real anyway. But if it popped up in my dreams sometime, I wouldn’t complain.

  Chapter 2

  I arrived home a little after five. Josh was outside shooting hoops with his friends, and I found Savannah in her room. She was already primping in front of her mirror and gave a guilty start that I’d caught her posing.

  I blinked to catch her thoughts about our little get-together tonight. She’d barely turned thirteen on Friday, and here she was dreaming about Miguel. Even worse, she thought that tonight might be the start of something more.

  Sure, he was a little old for her, but she’d just gotten her braces off and didn’t look quite so young now. At least he’d talked to her after the play, which was better than most boys his age, even if he thought they were cousins. Although… the way I’d explained it to her, they really weren’t. Maybe he didn’t know, and she should tell him?

  Yikes! Was she serious? That would ruin everything. I swallowed my response that she’d better keep her mouth shut and decided to talk to her like a normal mother would. “Uh, don’t forget about our dinner with Uncle Joey tonight.”

  “Oh yeah, that’s right,” she said, acting like she’d forgotten all about it. “I’d better get ready.”

  “Yeah… hey, I might have to leave for a few minutes, but I’ll be back in plenty of time for dinner. Okay?”

  “Sure.”

  I closed her door and hurried downstairs before I told her what I really thought, knowing I’d have to be extra vigilant tonight so I could run interference if she tried to spill the beans.

  With all of that going on, it took me a minute to remember what I was supposed to be doing. Oh yeah, my friend. I pushed her number on my phone and waited for her to pick up.

  “Hi Shannon, it’s Shelby. Hey… I know what’s going on with Kyle, but I need to come and talk to you both. Is he there?”

  “Uh… yes, he just got home a few minutes ago.”

  “Good. Make sure he stays there, and don’t tell him I’m coming, or he might leave.”

  “Really? That was fast… uh… is it bad?” she asked. “I mean… can you give me a hint?”

  “It’s best if I tell you both at the same time. But don’t worry, he’s not cheating on you.”

  “Oh… that’s a relief. Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

  As I left, I reminded Josh about our dinner and told him I’d be back in half an hour. I picked up that he looked forward to going, mostly because he was curious about “Uncle Joey,” and he hoped to find out exactly what was going on with that whole deal. It was enough to send my stomach into a queasy knot, but I managed to smile before getting into my car.

  Shannon didn’t live far, but at least the drive gave me a few minutes to calm down and figure out how to explain things to her and her husband without the information starting a fight between them.

  After I rang the doorbell, she let me in, wearing a worried frown and thinking that Kyle was being a real grouch. She also worried that his finding out that she’d hired me to spy on him wasn’t going to help his grouchy mood. But it was his fault… if he’d just tell her what was going on, she wouldn’t have to resort to such drastic measures.

  Since he’d basically told me to keep my mouth shut, a twinge of unease rushed down my spine. I didn’t want to get in the middle of a family spat, but I wasn’t about to leave Shannon in the dark, even if Kyle didn’t like it. Still, why had I ever told my friends about my agency? At this point, wanting to impress them seemed pretty stupid. And now I had to worry about Kyle’s treachery, and maybe even his life.

  Just then, Kyle came into the living room and stopped dead in his tracks to see me standing there. His eyes widened, and his breath caught. He couldn’t believe I had the guts to come to his house after what had happened.

  Was I going to tell Shannon? He turned to her and didn’t like what he found in her narrowed gaze. She was downright furious. With them staring angrily at each other, I decided it was up to me to break the ice.

  “Kyle, I know you’re not too happy that I’m here, so let me get to the point. Shannon knows you’re hiding something from her, so she hired me to find out what it was. That’s why I followed you to that bar today. So… what are you doing with the Polynesian gangs? Are you working for the cops?”

  Shannon drew a surprised breath, and pinned him with a confused stare. “What is she talking about?”

  His shoulders drooped, and he glanced at Shannon with guilt, knowing he had to tell her something, even if it wasn’t the whole truth.

  “It’s time to come clean, Kyle,” I said. “No half-truths. She needs to know what you’ve gotten yourself into. All of it.”

  He let out a frustrated growl and glared back at me. “Fine. You probably made them suspicious of me anyway.” He turned to Shannon. “It’s Lahni’s son, Keola. He’s gotten involved with the gang, and I swore I’d never let another member of my family go through that again. I thought if I helped him, he’d change his mind and leave before something bad happened.”

  Shannon knew he’d been involved with the gang before she met him. A couple of his best friends were still in jail because of it, and their arrests had forced him to take a long, hard look at his life. He’d been successful at making some positive changes and even had a college degree to help troubled kids. But he’d promised her that he’d never go back, and his disloyalty stung.

  “How long has this been going on?” she asked.

  “Just a few weeks.”

  “Look…” she began, shaking her head. “I know he’s family, but… do you know the risk you’re taking? If you cross them and they find out… they could kill you. You told me that yourself.”

  “They’d never kill me. Besides, I’m not getting in that deep. I know my limits… but Keola is family. I promised my sister I’d do something.” He turned to me. “I was making some real progress with the kid… but I just need some more time with him. He doesn’t trust me yet.”

  “He certainly liked the way you told me off,” I said.

  Kyle cringed. “I’m sorry about that. But I had to look tough so he’d listen to me.”

  He was telling the truth, but it wasn’t the whole truth. A part of Kyle still had the mind-set of the gang, and he wouldn’t hesitate to use it to protect his family. Getting back in with them brought it out, and he was walking a thin line.

  “What was the bargain you made with Keola?” I asked.

  He sucked in a breath. “I never said… how did you know about that? No one… I haven’t told a soul.”

  “She has premonitions,” Shannon explained. “That’s why I hired her. She’s really good. Now answer her question.”

  Kyle sighed, then ran his fingers through his hair. “I just told him that I wouldn’t tell his mom about meeting him at the bar, since he’s not allowed to be there.”

  “So… he thinks you’ve gone back to the gang for real?” Shannon asked.

  “Yes. I thought if I was part of it too, I could look out for him.”

  Shannon shook her head in frustration. How could he do this now? She’d
just found out this morning that she was pregnant. They’d been trying to have a baby for six long years, and now this? It sucked. This was the worst timing ever.

  Oh crap! Kyle needed to know. But since I wasn’t supposed to know, how could I tell her to tell him? She was thinking about giving him an ultimatum without telling him she was pregnant, like it was the ultimate test or something. So it was either her or the gang, and I knew that wouldn’t go over very well. Not with his nephew in trouble. He’d never go for it, and she wasn’t thinking clearly.

  Before she opened her mouth, I spoke up. “Kyle… Shannon has something really important to tell you.” They both glanced at me like I was nuts, but I ignored it and forged on.

  “Shannon, you need to tell him what you found out this morning, and then you can both decide what to do. I’ve found that it’s best to give people all the facts before issuing ultimatums… they respond much better, and you don’t have all that angst to deal with.”

  Her jaw dropped. “What? How did… you… oh my gosh! You know?”

  I nodded. “Yes… uh… my premonitions, remember? Look, I’m going to go now, but… you should tell him.” I turned to Kyle. “Um… I’d like to help you out with Keola. I picked up that he’s into something with his friends that he doesn’t want you, or Big Kahuna, to know about. It could be dangerous, but I might be able to find out what it is if I can talk to him again.”

  His brows rose with bewilderment, so I quickly continued. “Uh… you know… using my premonitions. It will help me figure out what’s going on. So, if you can set it up someplace safe, I’ll meet with both of you, and get to the bottom of it. Sound good?”

  He glanced at Shannon, wondering if she believed I could help. Was I for real? And what the hell did she need to tell him?

  Shannon nodded her agreement, her eyes wide with wonder. “You should trust her. I have no doubt that she can help you figure out what’s going on with Keola.”