Sweet Seduction Serenade (16 page)

I couldn't handle it. It was too much to let them see me cry. So I sprang up from my chair and ran out the front door, Breedlove slung over my shoulder, tears streaming down my face.

I heard Dad saying softly to Cary, "Leave her be, mate," before the door swung shut at my back, and then all I heard was my feet pounding in my cowgirl boots along the cracked pavement of Eden Terrace on a late Saturday morning.

I found myself in the reserve I used to go to after school with my battered and beaten old guitar. I wasn't sure how I got there, but as soon as I recognised the clearing by the spindly old trees in the far corner, I suddenly realised how foolish I'd been. If Levi had any sense he'd keep an eye on this place, to see if old times made me come back. By now he'd know Dad's flat was being watched, but the Reserve? ASI didn't know about that.

So many memories, most of them good. Me, my guitar and any Country song I could think of to sing. But some of them weren't. Levi egging his brothers on to beat the crap out of me. Dirt thrown in my face. My backpack cut off my shoulders and chucked unceremoniously in the creek down the back. Text books sodden, the inevitable fallout at school, having ruined my homework and not been able to finish that night's task.

And their taunting laughter as they stomped away, a few of my broken guitar strings in their chubby hands. They never broke my guitar. I don't know why they didn't cross that line until the other day. But they made sure I suffered. Physically. Emotionally. Psychologically.

I hated those Russell boys and I hated my father for doing nothing to stop his sister's sons from picking on me and making my growing years a living hell.

But it occurred to me, as I stood in the middle of the Reserve looking at those spindly trees, that maybe he did. Why else would they stop short of breaking my guitar? And why else did my mother always seem to have a spare - although used - guitar string lying around the house when I got home? Maybe between the two of them, in their own trailer-trash parenting ways, they did the best for me they could.

I suddenly found myself sitting cross-legged in the grass in the middle of the Reserve, having had all breath escape me and all strength in my limbs disappear. My mind a numb jangled mess of memories that weren't what I had thought they used to be. Had I misjudged my parents? Had my slant on the experiences I'd had, been skewed because of my own twisted view on life? Or was it just that Levi and his brothers had messed with my head to such a degree, I could no longer see what was good in my life and distinguish it from what was not?

Levi Russell had a lot to answer for, I realised.

And maybe, so did I a bit too.

"You shouldn't run off like that, cowgirl," a guy's voice I didn't recognise said from over my shoulder.

I rolled away from him and came to my feet in a jiffy. The responding oh-my-god-gorgeous smile I got from him let me know he thought my reactions were pretty good. But I knew he wasn't impressed that I hadn't heard him walk up behind me, because I wasn't in the slightest bit impressed with myself at all.

I didn't know his name, but he had been at Sweet Seduction and had even been the object of my song that time Adam was not there. His Tiki tribal tattoo on his right arm looked magnificent in the afternoon sun. So did the chocolate colour of his skin.

"Detectives Stone and Pierce would like you at the station for that statement. You want me to give you a lift?"

"Um, OK?" I said on a question, kind of stunned by his presence right then.

"I'm your shadow," he explained, clearly reading my facial expressions correctly.

"Shadow?" I asked, frowning down at the ground.

"Yeah, didn't think Nick would leave you unprotected, did you?"

"Ah," I said raising my eyes to his, "no. Couldn't imagine Mr Armed-To-The-Eyeballs-And-General-Pain-In-My-Cowgirl-Ass would do that."

He burst out laughing. "Eric's gonna love that one. Might have to put it up on the wall."

"The wall?" I asked, falling into step beside him.

"Yeah, got a wall in the control room where nick-names get pinned. Or any of the hilarious stuff we see on camera gets immortalised. Kinda an honour to have your pic up there. You're on it, of course."

"I'm what?" I asked stunned.

"Yeah, first night you practised, wearin' that cute-as short cowgirl dress. Boys went crazy over that one. Nick's torn it down three times. It's gone back up every single one." He chuckled as though this was all quite funny and totally sane.

I didn't remember anyone taking a photo of me that night, I wondered if I'd had my eyes closed and looked like a dork.

"Um, when was it taken? What song I mean?"

"
Thunder Rolls
of course." I closed my eyes cringing.

"I don't suppose my eyes were closed when it was taken?" I said softly, dreading the answer.

"Nah, not closed," he said, white toothed smile broadening.

"Um, OK. What's so funny then?"

"Nah, no worries, you looked good. Kinda sweet actually," he tried to reassure me and I felt myself let out a slow breath and start to relax. "It's the fact that we all know you were lookin' at Nick when you sang it, that's so funny."

What?

"Cowgirl," he said placatingly when I groaned out loud. "We're just jealous, that's all."

Yeah, I was so sure that was the case. I applauded Nick's efforts to pull the bloody thing down. Long may he continue to protect my virtue from his over testosteroned men.

"Who took the picture?" I asked in a semi-defeated voice. Might as well know who to glare at next time I'm singing that blasted song.

"Oh, no one took it. It was pulled from the security footage in the store."

I frowned at the cracked pavement we were now walking on.

"Sweet Seduction has security cameras?"

"Hell yes!" he said. "No way Dominic would let Gen not have adequate protection. Fair warnin', cowgirl, the Anscombe brothers take protection of what they consider theirs to heart."

"What does that actually mean, ASI-super-silent-shadow-man?"

"Ben. Name's Ben Tamati," he said, then opened the gate to my father's flat for me to precede him inside. "It means, once they set their sights on somethin', they take it, claim it and possess it completely. And
that
means they do
not
let anyone else come close to harmin' their women. At all."

"You seem to know them well," I said, thinking he'd obviously seen this play out with Nick before. Where Nick was my one and only ice-blue eyed perfect cowboy, maybe I was just one of many "angels" to him.

"Well, I know them yeah, and havin' just seen Dominic fall for the love of his life, I see the signs right now in Nick too. But don't let
him
know I said that, my life would be a livin' hell if he knew I'd ratted his lovesick arse out to ya."

I paused on the threshold to my father's flat, my hand on the door handle, my eyes on the ground before me.

And smiled.

Dad and Cary were playing a game of cards. Both sets of eyes came up as I entered the room with Ben, my shadow, at my back. Cary's ran over my face quickly, but then got sidetracked with all that is Ben over my shoulder. Dad's gaze lasted a split second, before his attention returned to the cards in his hand and he reached out and pulled a new one from the upside down pack between the two men.

"Your turn, mate," he instructed Cary, effectively dismissing my reappearance in the flat.

For some reason it didn't cut to the quick like it had done in the past.

"This is Ben," I said, indicating the towering hulk of a man behind me. "He's taking me to the cop shop to make my statement."

"Cool," Cary answered, rearranging his cards. "I'll stay with your Dad while you're gone."

I hesitated, then placed the Breedlove in its case, which was lying on the floor where I had left it earlier. Cary had come all the way from Tennessee to see me, he didn't want to stick around and look after my sick Dad, I was sure. But then, who else could I get to sit with Dad? I couldn't phone Aunty Jessie, the least amount of time I had conversing with Levi's mother the better. Dad had said she'd promised to be there by four, he'd even phoned her that morning to ensure it - which was well beyond normal Ray Rowe behaviour - but asking her to come hours earlier would not go down well.

I wasn't certain how much she knew Bailey and his brothers were in trouble, and although I'd like to think they had all crossed a line she would have drawn in the sand, I couldn't be sure. Aunty Jessie loved her boys and she hated me. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where her allegiance would lie.

I shook my head and frowned down at the Breedlove case as I closed it and then did something I had never done before. I accepted an offer of help from a friend, allowing him that much further under my skin.

"OK. Thanks, Cary," I said as I picked up the case to take it back to my room for safe keeping.

I heard Cary murmur, either to himself or my Dad, I'm not sure, "Atta girl."

The trip to Central Police Station, where Detectives Pierce and Stone were waiting for me, took twenty minutes. Traffic on the weekend in Auckland can be atrocious, even though Eden Terrace is less than three kilometres away from Cook Street, where the big old multi-storey building is located. Ben found a carpark around the corner on Vincent Street and escorted me into the reception area, his hand on my elbow to gently guide me - and I was thinking to send a signal to anyone else that I was in his care.

I'd never enjoyed being in a cop shop and decided pretty much straight away that this would be the final time. It had a decidedly rank smell and was noisy and over crowded, the latter making Ben actually twitch. Thankfully we didn't have to wait out on the plastic seats with the scary looking locals, but were ushered immediately through to the inner sanctum of the building by a uniformed officer who seemed to recognise Ben. No words were spoken, just a chin lift and then Ben directing me to follow the cop with a gentle squeeze on my elbow.

We walked into a large room filled with desks and mainly plain clothed cops. Walking out of what could only be an interview room of some description over on the far side of the open space was Detective Pierce, in deep conversation with... Nick. Seeing Nick was a surprise... and it wasn't. I knew he'd have to make a statement too, but it just hadn't occurred to me that he'd be making it right at this second, when I happened to walk into the room. Then, shaking my head I chastised myself. Of course he would know when I would be arriving. I hadn't seen Ben make a call or press any buttons in his car to send a signal, but I was guessing his car had GPS and the ASI control room had advised Nick we were on our way.

Nick being Nick, made sure he was here to greet us, thereby bypassing my edict to stay away from me until tonight, under the pretence of this being "work" or some such ridiculous thing. Well, I could be professional too. And just because he'd found a way to be near me when Derek was obeying the rules, didn't mean he'd gain any footing. I could be stubborn as well as professional, I was sure.

"Detective Pierce," I said reaching out and shaking his hand when we made it to within a few feet of the men.

"Ms Rowe, thank you for coming."

I smiled at him and then dimmed the wattage a little, but kept a
professional
smile on my face, when I looked at Nick.

"Nick."

"Eva," he shot back, the edges of his lips darn well twitching. Which brought my attention to the bruise along his bottom jaw and the scrape on his right cheek.

I wanted to reach out and soothe them, to make sure they weren't causing too much pain. I think I may have stared at them for longer than necessary, before I tipped my head down and frowned at the floor. Darn him for reminding me why I was pissed off.

"Any troubles?" I heard Nick ask, and I was guessing it was to Ben, as he was the one to answer.

"Nah, no sign of trouble, even though Eva decided to take a walk on her own."

At that my head shot up and I gave Ben the best ice cowgirl princess glare I could. He ignored me, leaning back against the wall of the large room without a care in the world.

"Did she now?" Nick drawled. I could tell his eyes were on me, but I kept my head resolutely averted.

"Well," Pierce said, an obvious note of humour in his voice, "best we get on with this statement, then you can all get on with your day. I understand its an important one this evening."

My head came up and met his friendly eyes, then got blinded by the most amazing smile, making his Garth Brooks lookalike goatee beard seem as sexy as all get-out. I couldn't help offering a smile back in return.

"I'll be waiting out here for you, Eva," Ben offered and a glance over my shoulder showed me he was already walking towards some chairs lined up against the wall a little way away, his back to us.

I turned to follow Pierce, who had opened the door to the room and taken a step inside, when a firm arm wrapped around my waist, hand splayed flat against my stomach, as I got pressed back into Nick’s chest. His hot breath washed over my ear as he whispered, "Go off walking on your own again, angel, and I'll be forced to spank your arse." His hand slid slowly down my side, over my hip to finally cupped the curve of my rear. Then he gave it a little squeeze, to emphasise exactly what part of my anatomy he was referring to.