Lawless (13 page)

The whip of his words stung, reminding her she
was the outsider here, no matter how much she'd warmed to the small town.

He eyed his mother with the same severe
expression.  "You are sworn to secrecy as well.  If you talk, she could
die
. 
Do you understand?"

Nancy tossed a challenging glare at him.

"If neither of you say anything, we can
still pull this off.  It's less than three weeks.  Twenty days.  Do we have an
agreement?"

His mother's annoyed glare remained firmly in
place.  He returned the expression before shifting to Ariana.  "Well?"

"I promise."

The look in his eyes demanded compliance.  "I
will
hold you to it."

"Enough of your browbeating, Milo.  We
both agreed."  His mother stood.  "I hope you're planning to stay for
dinner."

"Nah, we gotta go."

"I haven't seen you in over two weeks, and
you're refusing dinner?"

Milo rolled his eyes.  "Ariana should stay
out of sight as much as possible."

"I think being inside my house is just as
much out of sight as your house is.  Come on, daughter."  She held a hand
out to Ariana.  "We can make some sweet tea while Milo works off his
frustrations that we women seem to cause him."  She turned to her son.  "I
can barely open that damn gate."

His gaze flickered between the two of them.  "Fine."
 The twinkle in his eye reappeared, and it warmed her like sunshine after a
week's worth of rain.  "But no conspiring while I'm gone."

Ariana grasped Nancy's hand and stood, grateful
the woman's overall pleasant attitude had returned.

Milo's mother fibbed about making tea.  She
already had a pitcher chilling in the fridge.  She piled two glasses with ice
and poured the refreshing liquid over the cubes, making them crackle and pop.  "It's
such a nice day.  Let's sit on the back porch."

Nancy's kitchen door led to a beautiful garden
haven.  The edges of the raised redwood patio segued into an old-fashioned
garden.  Pink and rose hollyhocks danced on the other side of the railing,
poking their heads in to say hello.  A gorgeous white rose crept up a trellis
nailed to the side of the house.

Off to the side, two teakwood rockers and a
small bistro table awaited them.  Nancy relaxed into one, and Ariana followed
suit.

Before either of them could start the
conversation, Milo came around the side of the house, carrying a large red
toolbox.  The muscles in his bicep strained from the weight of the container. 
He stopped at the stairs to the patio and set down the tools.  "I forgot
to mention, I checked on Karen.  She's out of the hospital and doing much
better."

"I know," his mom responded with a
playful, yet sassy reply.  "Who do you think drives her to therapy?"

"You, of course."  He flicked a
glance back and forth between the two of them, narrowing his eyes.  "My
gut still tells me it's a mistake to leave you alone."

"There's not much you can do about it now,
is there?"  His mom winked at Ariana, and the camaraderie between them lit
a dark place inside her.

"I hate to say it, but no, it doesn't
appear there is."  He grasped the bottom of his shirt and tugged it over his
head, tossing the piece of clothing to his mom.  His muscled chest gleamed
under the midday sun, and Ariana traced each curve of his glorious skin with
her eyes.

"For heaven's sake, put your shirt back
on, Milo."  His mother threw it back to him.  "This woman is not your
love interest as you pointed out, and you don't need to be strutting around
half-naked, making her uncomfortable."

Milo hung his shirt over the railing instead.  "This
is one of my good shirts.  I'm not about to get it dirty.  You asked me to fix
your gate, and I am.  You don't like seeing me half-naked?  Don't look." 
He picked up the toolbox again, his muscles flexing to accommodate the weight,
and he headed toward a little gate that separated the backyard from a chicken
pen.  The chickens clucked and scurried around as he approached.

"I'm sorry, dear.  He really was brought
up with better manners than that."

"It's fine."  It was more than fine. 
She tore her gaze from Milo to find his mom watching her with a discerning look. 
"I had a brother who always ran around with no shirt, so I'm used to
shirtless men."  Goodness.  That sounded bad.  She took a drink of sweet
tea, hoping to cool her heated blood before Nancy figured out she had daily fantasies
about her son.

"
Had
?"

She fought to get her brain on track.  "Well,
technically I still have my brother, but I doubt I'll ever see him again.  When
I turned against my father, I more-or-less kissed my whole family goodbye."

"I see."  His mom rocked in her
chair.  "That must be very difficult for you."

The sound of a power drill snagged Ariana's
attention, and she turned to find Milo crouched down by the small gate.  She
took another sip, watching him over the rim of her frosty glass.  A man who
could work with his hands was a very attractive thing.

He leaned and put something on the ground
before using the drill again.

"Ariana?"  His mother interrupted her
appreciation of the spectacular view.

She focused on her pretend mother-in-law,
praying her cheeks weren't as red as they were warm.  "I'm sorry.  What
did you say?"

The corners of her mouth twitched, and Ariana
was sure she'd been busted.  "I said it must be very difficult for you to leave
all your family behind."

"It's been very challenging.  I've had a
strained relationship with my father for years, and my mother died when I was
young."  Quite possibly at the hands of her father.  "So, I don't
miss them so much.  But my brother and my cousins, I do.  And I continually
worry about my best friend.  She knows I'm in protective custody, but there has
been so much speculation on the news about me.  I wish I could speak to her,
just for a second, to reassure her.  She's been the one truly positive person
in my life."

Kindness and understanding radiated from his
mother's blue eyes.  "But no contact, correct?"

She nodded.  "No contact whatsoever. 
Especially now that I'm in deep cover."

"Milo and I can appreciate your loss.  His
dad was killed a few years back.  It can be tough learning to live without
people you love."

"What happened to him, if you don't mind
me asking?"

"He was a deputy sheriff, just like Milo
is now, which has been a sore point of contention between us.  At the time,
Milo was stationed overseas in the Army.  It was an ordinary day, much like
today.  My husband pulled a car over for speeding.  They were drug dealers
traveling en route from Los Angeles who couldn't afford to get busted for the
third time.  They chose to shoot Milo's father instead.  In the end, they still
went to prison, and we suffered for nothing."

Ariana stopped rocking, sick with heartache for
them.  "I'm so sorry.  I can't imagine how horrible that had to be."

"For me, yes, but especially for Milo.  He
slapped on a coat of guilt faster than you can blink an eye.  He says he should
have been here.  Like that would have made a difference.  He's always had this
desire to protect people, you know.  I guess it bothered him that he wasn't able
to save his father from harm.  After that, he followed an army buddy, and they
joined the Marshals.  That was all good until that girl got killed."

"What girl?"

His mom finished her tea, the ice cubes
clinking when she straightened her glass.  "That's something Milo will
have to tell you.  I promised to stay quiet on the matter, and you know he's
already accused me of being a blabber mouth."

The drill whizzed again and then thumped.

Ariana glanced back to Milo.  He stood and
lifted the gate to the side before turning toward them.  He sauntered across
the lawn, his ripped jeans hugging his hips, his gaze trained on her.  She
watched with fascination.  He reminded her of a wildcat approaching its prey. 
If he took her right now, she wouldn't care.  Well, except his mother was
there.

He climbed the steps to the patio, looked down
at her and smiled.  "Enjoying your afternoon?"

"It's a little warm out here."  She
licked her bottom lip, trying to add moisture, but her tongue was just as dry.

"Really?  I thought it was perfect." 
He held her gaze for a second longer than a person would in a platonic
relationship, and she started to wonder if he referred to her instead of the
weather.  Then just as quick, he looked away.  "Where did you put the new
hinges, Mom?"

"They're on top of the fridge."

Milo left to retrieve the hardware, and the
conversation stalled until he returned.  He said nothing when he reappeared,
but headed straight back to the gate.

She withheld the hum of appreciation that
hovered on her lips as he crossed the yard.

"Honey?"

Not again.  She jerked her gaze back to his
mother, releasing an embarrassed laugh.  "I'm sorry.  I'm a little
distracted today."

"I can see why.  Milo's a handsome man."

Full-blown heat erupted on her face this time.  "No,
I mean—"

"It's okay, Ariana.  You're not the first
woman to trip over my son."   She heaved a deep sigh.  "I'm just
waiting for the day he falls for a good girl.  I'd like to have grandbabies
before I'm too old to enjoy them."

"He had a serious girlfriend at one point,
didn't he?"  The woman had redecorated his whole house.  "What
happened to her?"

"Dena?  She was a two-bit, white-trash…" 
She stopped.  "You get my drift.  She wanted Milo's money, but she couldn't
keep her legs together long enough to get it."

That had to be an interesting story.  She was sure
it must have been painful for Milo, but she couldn't bring herself to feel
sorry that they'd broken up.  "That's terrible."

"It was.  Everyone knew about her and kept
warning Milo, but he's a loyal sort of guy.  He didn't want to believe she'd
lied to him.  When he finally learned the truth, it broke his heart, and he's
done nothing but play with women since then."  She shook her head.  "Don't
get me wrong.  He doesn't hurt them the way Dena hurt him, but he does have a
way with the ladies."

Ariana wished he'd show more of that side to her. 
They'd had their one flirtatious evening along with one hell of a sexy kiss,
but then he'd shut down like an illegal firearms dealer busted by the feds, and
she hadn't been able to get anything out of him since.  And she wasn't going to
try, she reminded herself.

At least she understood Milo better now.  Danny's
brutal murder had closed off a vital part of her heart as well.  "I guess
sometimes things happen that cause a lot of damage.  Damage that deep takes time
to heal."

His mother widened her eyes.  "Sounds like
you have some experience with this as well."

She nodded.  "More than I would like."

"All done," Milo announced as he
approached the house, carrying the toolbox.  From the look on his face, it was
obvious he was enjoying the moment.  She didn't know if his happiness stemmed
from being at his childhood home, or the beautiful sunny day, but she liked
seeing him relaxed and unguarded.  And sure enough, there was a dark smudge
across his impressive abs.

"Looks like you're a dirty boy," Ariana
teased, wanting to reach out and wipe the mark from his stomach.

"Yeah?"  He set down the tool box and
stepped toward her.  "Want a hug?"

"No."  She laughed and shrank back in her
chair.

A wide grin split Nancy's face as she glanced
between her and Milo.  "Milo, why don't you get cleaned up and join us?"

The rest of the afternoon and evening rushed by in
a haze of laughter and great food.  Milo's mother was a wonderful woman, and
spending time with her magnified the hole left by her own mother.

"We have to get going, Mom."  Milo stood
and extended a hand to help Ariana out of her chair.

Nancy glanced toward the sky.  "Always in a
hurry."

"We've been here five hours."  Milo
leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.  "We'll come again soon if that's
all right with you and Ariana."

Warmth rushed through her.  "Are you
kidding?  I'd love it.  I haven't had a conversation with a woman in a long
time.  Thank you, Nancy, for welcoming me into your home."  Ariana leaned
in to hug her pretend mother-in-law.

"Let me stand up and hug you proper."  Nancy
rose and pulled Ariana in for a tight embrace.  "I like this girl,"
she said to Milo.  "You'd better bring her back before she has to leave."

The thought of leaving Aspen left a bittersweet
mark on Ariana's full heart.

"And don't you be saying anything if I show
up at your place.  After all, she's supposedly my new daughter-in-law.  It's
only natural I'd be visiting her."

*        *        *

The next day, Ariana waited until the dust from
Milo's truck had settled on the road before she hurried into the kitchen and
turned on the TV to the national news channel.  Milo had advised her to not
watch, but trying to contain her curiosity about what was happening in the
outside world was like trying to keep a bee away from its hive.

She filled the kitchen sink with sudsy water
and slipped in their bowls and mugs from breakfast.  She'd barely washed a cup
when the familiar image of her popped up on the screen.  Funny, but she couldn't
remember anyone taking that photo of her.

As usual, the reporter recounted the basics of
the case, the same information she'd heard before, including reports of her
death.  She would think most people would be tired of hearing this story by
now.

"In an effort to aid the investigation
into the disappearance of lead witness, Ariana Trasatti," the news anchor
continued, "a woman claiming to be her closest friend stepped forward and
offered to identify a body that was pulled from the Chicago River yesterday. 
The police declined MacKenzie Harmon's request to be of assistance, stating they
had sufficient evidence to identify the body, but they were holding off on the
official announcement.  Ms. Harmon, a college roommate of Ms. Trasatti's, spoke
to our own Kent Davis and had this to say."