Jaci Burton (15 page)

was drugged.

“Thank you,” she managed.

He swept his hand along her hair. “For what?”

“I don’t know. I just like being with you. You do something to

me, Rick. I can’t explain it.”

His hand stil ed and she studied the expression on his face.

She’d almost cal it shock or surprise, but she certainly hadn’t

said anything shockworthy.

“You hungry?”

She nodded. “Starving.”

He pushed off the arms of the chair and stood. “Me, too.

Let’s go get some breakfast.”

Rick ate his breakfast, inhaled a few more cups of coffee, and

pondered what Ava had said earlier.

She’d surprised him, and women general y didn’t. That

alone made her unique.

He’d felt bad for teasing her, because he could tel he’d hurt

her feelings.

She was way more innocent than he’d original y thought,

which only made this assignment more confusing.

What was a woman who had a total of four sex partners

—and he figured he was probably included in those four

—doing with a gang like the Hel raisers? It made no sense.

She wasn’t worldly or streetwise. She was sheltered. She’d

said so herself. After being al but monitored 24/7 by her

parents, she’d gone off to col ege and . . . studied. She hadn’t

partied her ass off and fucked one guy after another. She’d

gone to col ege and gotten an education. And then a master’s

degree after that.

She had no history of drugs or violence or hanging out with

gangs.

So what the fuck was she doing here with this gang?

He supposed he could just ask her. But what if for some

reason she was embedded in the Hel raisers for a reason?

Hel , for al he knew she’d been paired up with him to test him,

since he’d asked Bo to get back in the gang.

Her whole innocent act could be just that—an act. She could

be lying to him about everything—including the four guys she’d

fucked.

Which meant he was going to have to keep doing what he

was doing. He’d have to stay close to her to figure out her

angle, without revealing his own.

Dammit, he hated being in the dark.

“You’re quiet over there.”

He lifted his head to look over at her. God, she was

beautiful. He real y couldn’t get over her. Today she wore a

burgundy turtleneck sweater that clung to those gorgeous

breasts of hers, tight jeans that molded to her ful hips and

thighs and outlined her sweet ass just perfectly. He’d enjoyed

walking behind her as they were led to the table. She’d left her

hair loose, and it hung like a waterfal of raven silk over her

breasts.

He could stare at her al day and not say a damn word. But

that wasn’t what he was supposed to do, so instead, he

grinned. “Sorry. I real y was hungry.”

“I can see that. I was afraid you were going to lick your

plate.”

He looked down at his empty plate, then over at her partial y

finished one. “I thought about grabbing that last piece of

bacon.”

She picked it up and offered it to him. “Be my guest.”

He took it from her. “Thanks.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know where you put it al .

There isn’t an ounce of fat on you. Do you work out or run or

something?”

“I work out when I can.”

“I thought you rode a lot.”

“I do. But you can’t ride twenty-four hours a day. And

wherever I go I make sure there’s a gym where I can go a few

rounds in the ring.”

“You box?”

He nodded and pushed his plate to the edge of the table.

“It’s great exercise.”

“I’l bet.”

“What about you? What do you do for fun?”

“Yoga.”

“That figures. You look like the spiritual guru, get-into-the-

head kind of person.”

She laughed. “It’s not at al like that. Wel , it can be. But it’s a

great muscle workout, too. And it relaxes me.”

“If you say so.”

“You should try it with me sometime.”

“Can we do it naked?”

She looked at him, then burst out laughing. “Only you would

suggest that.”

“That’s why you like me.”

She quirked her lips. “Probably.”

“Hey, you two snuck out of our room last night and missed

al the partying.”

Ava looked up to find Lacey leaning over her shoulder. “You

and Bo were kind of busy.”

Lacey fel into the chair next to her and grinned. “Yeah, we

were. We just got up. Oh my God, what a fun night.” She

grabbed Ava’s hand. “You should have stayed. We could have

had a . . . sixsome.” Then she laughed so loud that the

customers in the restaurant began to look their way.

Ava shifted and leaned over the table, whispering.

“Probably not something you want broadcast to the entire

place.”

Lacey waved her hand and sniffed. “Oh, who cares. Bunch

of prudes, anyway. So, did you and Rick get it on?”

Who was this person?

“I don’t think Ava’s interested in giving you the details of her

sex life,” Rick said, saving Ava from having to tel her best

friend that she was being too intrusive.

“Why not? Oh, I know, because Ava rarely even has a sex

life.” Lacey snorted.

Ava’s face flamed, and she fought hard to retain her

concern for her friend. “Lace, have you eaten yet?”

Lacey’s gaze flitted around the room, as if she’d just now

discovered she was in a restaurant. “Oh. No. I’m not even

hungry.” She laughed again. “What time is it?”

“Ten.”

“That early? What the hel am I doing up? I thought it was

like . . . afternoon or something. I think I’l go back to bed.” She

pushed back from her chair and stood, then walked away

without saying good-bye.

Ava watched her go, concerned more than ever about

Lacey’s increasingly bizarre behavior.

“She always that disjointed?” Rick asked.

“No.”

Rick leaned back and leveled his gaze at her.

“What?”

“You’re worried about her.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Why?”

“Because who you just saw is not the Lacey I’ve always

known.”

“Yeah. Who is she?”

Ava watched Lacey disappear, then blew out a breath of

frustration.

“I wish I knew, Rick. I real y wish I knew.”

Because the way things looked now, it was much worse

than Ava had original y thought. She had thought it was just

love that had changed Lacey from studious to flighty.

Now she feared it was more than that.

And a lot worse.

R
ick studied the concern on Ava’s face, and wondered if her

friend Lacey was the primary reason for Ava being with the

Hel raisers.

Not to irritate her father, not because she was involved in

drug distribution.

But because she was concerned about her friend.

He’d have to walk a fine line here, but he intended to find

out. And he hoped that Ava was in the mood to talk.

“Let’s head on out of here.” He pushed his chair back and

stood. Ava fol owed.

“So tel me, what’s different about her?” he asked as they

headed toward the elevator.

She stepped inside, waited while Rick pushed the button

and the doors swooshed closed, then turned to him,

seemingly eager to unload her concerns on someone. He was

glad to be that person.

“She’s frenetic. Al over the place. Lacey used to be calm,

organized. And shy. Oh so shy. Does she seem shy to you

now?”

Rick laughed. “Uh, no. Not from what I saw in their room last

night.”

“Exactly. Everything about her changed after she . . .”

“After she what?”

She hesitated. “I don’t want to make you mad.”

He cocked his head to the side. “How could you make me

mad?”

“It’s about Bo.”

“You can be blunt with me about whatever you want, Ava,

including Bo. Say what’s on your mind.”

“Everything changed after she met your cousin.”

The doors opened and they started down the hal way

toward their rooms. “And you think it has something to do with

Lacey hooking up with Bo.”

“Yes. As soon as she started dating Bo, her entire life

changed.”

She handed her key to Rick and he opened her door. Ava

slid into the chair near the window and Rick took the chair on

the other side of the smal table. Sunlight streamed into the

room, highlighting her hair and face. She didn’t turn away like

she had something to hide, instead leaned into the light like

she was soaking up the warmth.

“Tel me how her life changed.”

“She quit school. We were in the master’s program

together, and she dropped out with only one year to go.”

“Was she struggling?”

Ava let out a short laugh. “Not at al . Lacey was an ace

student with plans far into the future for both her academics

and her career as a psychologist. But after she met Bo and

started riding with the Hel raisers, everything changed.”

Rick shrugged. “People grow up, Ava. Sometimes that

happens. What they thought they wanted when they were

younger is sometimes altered when they get a little age and

experience in them.”

“I realize that. But not Lacey. She knew what she wanted to

do, what she wanted to be. She was focused, had short- and

long-term goals. She knew on Monday what she was going to

do on Friday.”

“A little anal?”

Ava managed a slight smile. “A little. But I’ve known her al

my life. I know how she thinks, how she acts. The woman you

saw downstairs isn’t anything like her.”

“And you think that has something to do with her

relationship with Bo?”

Ava worried her lip, hesitating.

“You can talk to me without worrying I’m going to go running

to Bo. I don’t tel him anything.”

She nodded. “I think joining the Hel raisers had everything to

do with her change in personality, but I don’t think it’s just Bo.”

He didn’t want to ask leading questions, so he just let the

silence drift between them and gave her time to think it out.

“Her eyes were so glassy. And we knew they were smoking

pot last night.”

“Yes.”

She waved her hand in the air. “But that wears off. And it

wouldn’t account for her frenetic behavior. She’s been sniffling

a lot. Her nose is irritated.”

He knew where she was going, but he wanted her to say it.

“I think she’s taking drugs.”

“Real y.”

“Yeah.” She looked down at her hands for a while, played

with the cuticle on one of her fingernails, then swept her gaze

back up to Rick. “She never even liked to take acetaminophen

for a headache, Rick. So how could she make such a drastic

change?”

Now he knew he’d have to say something. “Drugs alter

people’s perception of things.”

“Do they? I don’t know. I’ve never known anyone who took

them.”

“I’ve known plenty of people who have. It changes them.”

She wrapped her arms around herself and stared out the

window. “I don’t know what to do for her.” She looked at him. “I

mean, I do, from a professional standpoint. But she’s my

friend.”

He nodded. “It’s different when it’s someone you’re close to.

You lose your objectivity.”

“So what do I do?”

“You can’t make her stop taking drugs if that’s what she’s

doing. Al you can do is talk to her, see if she’l open up to you,

then try to make her see the reality of it.”

“I know al that. But I want her to stop. Right now. Selfishly, I

want her to be the old Lacey—the one I grew up with, the one

I’ve been friends with since we were kids.”

“That person is gone, Ava. That’s the first thing you’re going

to have to accept. Time and experience changes a person.

You’l have to learn to live with Lacey as she is now, and move

forward.”

He saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes and wished he

could wipe them away. But if Lacey was on drugs, then what

he’d told Ava was the truth. Only Lacey could help herself. Ava

could only be there to support her. Deep down, Ava knew that.

It might take her a while to come to grips with it, though.

She sighed. “How did you get to be so wise? You’re almost

like a counselor yourself.”

He laughed. “Me? Hardly. I’ve just been on the streets a long

time. Seen a lot. Know when to get involved and know when to

back away. Sometimes you can lend a hand, and sometimes

just an ear. You learn to recognize the difference.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

She went over to him and sat on his lap. “For being wil ing

to listen. We don’t know each other al that wel . And I don’t

have many—any—friends. Except Lacey. We used to confide