Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six (38 page)

Cade’s senses were on overload, what with all the blinking lights, ratcheting gears, pings, and chucks and tinny electronic music and alarms. Who would have imagined how awesome Pam Wales, former arcade pinball champ, was at playing the old game tables? She’d shot up the gallery, spinned the score dials until they started over at zero again, and click-clicked like machine gun fire as the machine tallied up free games. All on a single token.

All the while the bumpers popped the silver ball back and forth while she twisted and turned at the two buttons controlling the flippers, nudging the machine just right to save the ball without tilting, then shooting the ball back up the alley for more points.

Meanwhile, all Cade had to do was stand at the sidelines with his arms around Andie, feeling her incredibly lush body pressed against his while she held the baby inside a front carrier. He breathed her in, from her sweet, fruity perfume with a hint of coconut to the sultry sexy, musky undertone. And while her mother was engrossed, yelling at the Funhouse guy and stuffing his mouth full of silvery balls, Cade brushed his fingers around the outline of the baby nestled on Andie’s chest, listening to her gasps when he accidentally touched her breasts and stroked her belly. All while her mother was wrestling a pinball machine. Too unreal.

“Think she’ll notice if we sneak out of here?” Andie tilted her head up and wiggled her behind at the same time, rocking against his erection.

“We still have the baby.”

“True, but look at the guys gawking at my mom.”

Indeed, she’d attracted a crowd of men. Some were placing bets on how long she could continue with a single ball. The owner of the arcade, a thin, leggy woman with thick glasses was daring them to challenge Pinball Pam, her new nickname, and inviting her to a pinball competition and to join the league.

“It’s safe to say she won’t miss us, and neither will your girlfriend.” Cade glanced at Sylvia who was parked around another machine surrounded by a group of guys. “Your coworkers didn’t show?”

“Nope, they went barhopping instead, but since we have the baby …”

“Yeah, Bret the chaperone.”

“The best. Shall we take a walk and talk?” Andie nuzzled her face against his shoulder. “Maybe it’ll help me regain my memory.”

“Sure.” He took her hand, and he led her outside into the warm heat of the summer evening. The arcade was located in the basement of a laundromat along the Los Angeles River. Because of the persistent drought, the riverbed was dry, and rows and rows of graffiti artwork decorated the concrete walls.

They stepped across the tracks of the urban light rail system and followed the concrete river.

“Why is it so wide when there’s no water?” Andie asked. “Back home, the streams are always full, and we have the most gorgeous waterfalls.”

How he wished he could be with Andie back in her beloved woodland, but with football season about to start, his options for getting away were limited. He wouldn’t have free time until after the Super Bowl, if the Flash were fortunate enough to survive the playoffs again.

“We get flash floods here, rarely,” he explained. “But when it rains, there’s nowhere for the water to go, hence the deep channel they carved for the concrete river.”

“The artwork is really fancy,” she commented on the stylized graffiti, all different colors and full of motifs and curving letters with sharp edges.

“Yeah, well, it’s called tagging.” He pointed to a lighted road sign above the tracks. “See the coils of razor wire?”

“Oh, wow, and the spikes, like pigeon spikes only larger.”

“Without that, all the freeway signs would be tagged, obscuring the street names and directions.”

“They’d climb that high? Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Machismo. That’s how it is in LA, especially where my mother grew up, East Side Wilmas. You gotta be tough, girls too.”

“I’d like to meet your mother. I mean, I’m sure I’ve already met her,” Andie mumbled as an afterthought. “Where’s Wilmas?”

“Down south near the LA Harbor.” Cade’s voice was gruff as he recalled his mother’s high school yearbook, the one where she’d been clearly popular and full of hopes and dreams.

“LA is so vast, like a concrete jungle.” Andie swept her hand along the river and stared at the spindly palm trees towering above.

How long was she going to chat about the locale? Was she avoiding her memories, or maybe this felt like a first date to her?

Cade swung their joined hands and pulled her along the riverbank. “I loved your hometown when I visited last spring. I can see myself settling down in a place so lush and green, with seasons, snow in the winter and bright, colorful fall leaves, hot, steamy summers, and springtime with rain and blooming flowers.”

“I wish I could remember your visit. We must have met there.”

“Yeah, we did. In the university library where you worked.” He searched her eyes for any sign of recognition. “I don’t want to create memories for you and tell you what we did, but I’m dying for you to remember the fun we had.”

“So am I, Cade.” She squeezed his hand. “I wish I knew why I have feelings for you when all I can remember is getting excited about Declan going to Vegas and getting the role of Romeo. I know stuff has happened, and he’s obviously in my past. We’re supposedly still married, and I can’t find the divorce papers Mom said she sent to me.”

“I’ve seen them. You had them in an envelope that was returned to sender. What if they were lost in the crash?”

“Then I’ll have to start the process over again and take him to court. He’s not cooperating, just coming over to insult me. You know, he lied when I first woke up. He told me it was right after our wedding, and he made me think all I forgot was the wedding, then Mom straightened it out later and told me it’s been two years since Declan left for Hollywood.”

“Do you remember what he did to you?” Cade didn’t want to hurt her or destroy her happy feelings, but he couldn’t let Declan reclaim Andie, especially since she seemed so vulnerable, her memories dodging and tacking every which direction.

“No, my mind tells me it must have been something to do with actresses and models, but I can’t feel the anger or hurt. It’s like I’m stuck at a time when I still thought the world of him, like I should be excited I’m playing Michal now and he’s David, and we’re supposed to rehearse together.”

Cade’s heart thundered to his throat and he froze, his muscles tense. “You’re playing Michal? What happened to that concubine role? I thought you were going to quit Silver Studios and go home.”

“Oh, no, not at all. Sylvia says I’ve been promoted to costar. They couldn’t find the right Michal actress and they want me. Can you believe it? It’s my dream come true. I always wanted to be Michal, Princess of Israel.”

What could he tell her? That this entire movie project was a boondoggle used to manipulate him into accepting Bret as his son? That she wasn’t an actress and had zero chance of ever seeing herself on the silver screen? That there was no way the public would accept a red haired Michal when the last movie about Moses had been panned by critics for having European appearing actors and actresses?

She was obviously elated, and that explained why she was feeling giddy and excited about her prospects.

He flashed a smile and kissed her. “I’m proud of you. You’ll make a great princess of Israel.”

Which was true, but tomorrow, he was going to have words with Ronaldo. This damn King David game had gone too far.

“Oh, Cade.” Andie cuddled up to him, as far as she could with a sleeping baby lump on her chest. “I knew you’d believe in me. I can’t wait for the premiere, and I hope to fly my father out. He’ll be so proud of me. All my theories about Michal have come true. They’re even casting a guy to play Ittai, the Philistine lover she had.”

“Philistine lover?”

“Yes, my father and I were part of the excavation team at Gath, Goliath’s home town. What an experience. The Philistines were much more sophisticated than you’d think. They hailed from Greece, most likely Crete, and knew about working iron. They ate pigs and dogs, anathema to the Hebrews …”

Cade tuned out Andie’s catalogue of Philistine finds as his heart dropped and his palms moistened with nervous sweat. Convincing Andie to let go of Declan’s memories just got harder.

The snake would put his fingers and lips all over her while playing the role of David. Meanwhile, Ronaldo had stabbed his back by giving Andie the coveted position as Princess Michal.

How could any woman say no to that?

A rustling sound behind him, combined with footsteps and heavy breathing, alerted him to the flick of a switch blade.

“
Oralé, amigo.
” A gang of four guys materialized around them on the riverbank. “The girl or the cash?”

Cade shoved Andie behind him. “How about my foot?”

The knives flashed. Andie screamed and covered Bret as two of the guys yanked her arms.

Cade’s roundhouse kick connected with the lead guy’s head, sending him rolling down the slope of the concrete riverbed.

The second guy slashed at him with his knife. Cade ducked and slammed his fist into the man’s solar plexus with a satisfying crunch.

Then he surged after the two weasels who tried to get away with Andie and his baby. They dropped her and scrambled over a low brick wall. Cade jumped it easily, gaining on them. The light rail tracks rattled with the whine of an approaching train.

“Cade, no!” Andie screamed from behind. “Let them go.”

What did she take him as, a wuss? He barreled ahead as the first guy jumped the track. The second guy followed, then stopped in the middle of the track with the horn blaring at him and the light expanding closer and closer. The man’s eyes were wide as he tugged at his foot.

Shit alive. The
vato
was stuck with a train only yards away from him, its brakes shrieking desperately.

Cade slammed into the gangster with a flying tackle. His last thought. “I’m sorry, Andie. But I’m a shithead who loves you.”

“No, Cade, no!” Andie collapsed at the side of the train tracks unable to spot Cade’s body as section after section of the train sped past her.

“
Ay, wey, ese
.” One of the gang members breathed hard as he fell to the ground, staring at the train.

The other guy scrambled up the river bank, holding his head. “It got Paco?
Dios mio
, Paco!”

The men’s screams were joined by Bret’s wails as the train clattered past them, leaving the tracks full of blood? Empty?

Andie and the two gangsters darted their eyes on the tracks. Screams pierced her ears, and one of the guys picked up a foot still encased in a sneaker. He stood there waving it and hollering.

While the riverbank was lit, the area beyond the tracks was dark and shadowy. Andie hopped over the track with Bret. “Cade? Cade, where are you?”

“Over here,” his voice called from the dark side.

“Oh, thank God. You’re alive.” She stumbled toward his voice.

Two figures were huddled above a man writhing on the ground, screaming in pain with blood gushing from his leg. One of the gangsters had removed his shirt and was tying it like a tourniquet around the stump.

Andie screamed and shuddered, swallowing to fight the nausea. She could see the white gleam of the man’s bone in the moonlight.

A pair of arms held her tight and Cade rubbed her back. “I’m okay. We have to call an ambulance. I wasn’t fast enough. I shoved him off the track.”

“You could have gotten yourself killed. Oh, my, Cade. You could have died.” Andie buried her face into his chest.

“Call 911, let me get the baby.” Cade fumbled in his pocket and found his phone.

“It’s okay, I called,” one of the gang members said. “You guys go. We don’t want no trouble. Thank you for saving Paco.”

“Yeah, man, no trouble, you go.” The guy who tied up the severed leg said.

The third guy was on the ground covered with blood, trying to reconnect his brother’s leg, totally hysterical.

“
Oralé, vato
.” Cade flashed them a sign, whatever it was, and pulled Andie across the track on the way back to the pinball arcade.

“We’re just going to leave? Aren’t we going to give our statements to the police?”

“Not in LA. I don’t want to deal with court dates, not with my schedule and neither of us were hurt. You okay?”

She nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. “I thought you died. You were so fucking brave and so fucking stupid.”

Everything hit her then, and she pounded his chest and Bret cried, agitated by her thudding heart and the fear screaming through her veins.

“You’re so stupid. So stupid, but you have a huge heart, and you love the unlovable. Look at me, Bret, your mother, and that gangster. Oh, Cade. What would I do if you’d died?”

“I’m right here with you, and I’ll never leave you, even in death, I’ll be in your heart.”

“No, Cade. You’re not dying on me. Don’t ever do anything that stupid again.”

Of course he would. It was how Cade was wired. A hero, sacrificing himself. He couldn’t let the man who’d tried to rob them die on those tracks. He’d give his life for a stranger.

God forbid, he’d have to give it for her. She’d never forgive herself. Never allow Cade to leave his baby fatherless.

“Hey, babe, I’m still here. Stupid and all.” He kissed the top of her head. “Let’s go find out if your mother burned out the pinball machine.”

Tears gushed into her eyes. “I almost lost you today. Bret too, and all you care about is the pinball machine?”

Of course, he was defusing the tension, letting her down from the adrenaline rush, calming and protecting her, but she felt the pain in her chest, relished it, and hugged it tight.

It meant … It meant she loved him. It had to be true.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, blew it out and shuddered. What a brave, but stupid man she’d fallen for. And the funny thing? No one besides her would ever know what he did tonight. Of course the robbers would, but they’d never tell.

Suddenly, a surge of pride flooded her, and she placed her palm on Cade’s chest, over his precious, beating heart.

“You know what? No one but me will ever know what a hero you were tonight. This is one memory I’ll always treasure. I love you, Cade. Everything else will take care of itself.”

He hesitated a beat, blinking, as if he couldn’t comprehend what she’d just said. “Say that again?”

“I love you, and everything else will take care of itself.” She gestured to her head. “Everything.”

“It definitely will. I’m in heaven now.” His smile was bright and white in the dim light, a contrast to the dark pools of his eyes. “Till death won’t we part.”

“Never apart.” She vowed and latched her lips to his, as a chill skittered down her spine.

# # #

“Where have you two been?” Sylvia’s eyes were as wide as disks when they walked up to entrance of the laundromat above the pinball arcade. “We called and neither of you answered.”

Andie’s mother pointed at them. “Cade, you’re covered with blood. What happened?”

“We took a walk.” Cade shrugged, steering Andie back toward the parking area. “Listen, I hate to cut the night short, but I have to be at the stadium tomorrow morning at seven-thirty.”

So he was rude, but now that all the adrenaline that had flooded his system had subsided, he felt every ache and pain. Besides, being covered with blood and having the memory of the train rushing past them with the man howling in his ear was enough to shorten his life ten years.

“Hold it.” A man elbowed his way between Andie and Cade. “You endangered my wife, taking her out walking in this dangerous, gang-infested neighborhood.”

“I handled it, didn’t I?” Cade hated the way Declan acted all proprietary toward Andie. “Come on, Andie, let’s go.”

Declan corralled her beside him, acting like a bantam fighting cock about to get his neck wrung. “Not if you’re covered with blood.”

“It’s not my blood.” Cade squared off against the smaller man.

“Andie’s coming home with me,” Declan said. He started untying the baby carrier from her back.

“No, Dec. I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me what happened to the divorce papers.” She held onto Bret, but her mother intervened.

“Come, let me hold the baby,” Pam said. “You’ve been on your feet too long, and you must be tired.”

She disentangled a sleepy Bret, who was starting to stir, from Andie’s chest and took him into her arms.

Andie shoved her hands on her hips and resumed glaring at Declan. “I don’t know what I ever saw in you. All I care about now is the divorce papers.”

“Why? Because you found someone richer? Someone to pay all your bills and bribe Mr. Silver into letting you have the part?”

“What? I thought …” Andie’s face flushed. What if it was Cade who’d gotten her the role? Hadn’t he said Mr. Silver was his friend, or had Sylvia mentioned it? After all, she had no acting experience, and this move to a starring role as Michal was even more surprising. But no, Declan was only distracting her. She stuck to her guns. “The divorce papers, mister.”

A smart-aleck grin crept over Declan’s face. “You mean you don’t know what you did with them?”

“I had them with me in the car. They say the police gave everything to you. My purse, my cell phone and anything else I had.”

“You left everything at my place, except for the divorce papers.” Declan spread his hands, face up. “If you come home with me, I’ll give you your phone and purse.”

“No, you bring it to us,” Andie said. “I don’t really know you anymore, so I’m not going to your house.”

“You sure, babe? Because right before your accident, you ripped up the papers. You told me how glad you were to find out we were still married. We went to my place to celebrate your promotion to the concubine role and had a bit of a rehearsal, what I’d call an undress-rehearsal. You were thrilled. You called it kismet and fate, and then you hopped into bed with me, screaming my name when you came all over my f—”

Pow. Cade’s fist connected square on Declan’s jaw, and the dickhead went down like the rag doll girly man he was.