His hands left me and my eyes flew open. He was getting a condom from his wallet. He grinned at me. “I thought it was wishful thinking when I put it in there tonight. I’m glad I wished.”
I was glad, too. It had been so long since I’d had sex with anyone, I wasn’t even sure I remembered how the damn things were supposed to go on. Luckily, he took care of that, then pulled me over on top of him.
If I’d thought he’d set me on fire before, I had no idea what he was capable of. He slid me onto him, filling me in one smooth thrust. Then with his hands on my hips he set a slow and steady rhythm that had me gasping. Once we’d found our groove, his hands were free to roam, though. From my breasts to my spread thighs, over my belly and down to the very center of me.
Our rhythm picked up, faster and more urgent. He whispered words of encouragement. “Yes, like that, beautiful girl. Yes, Melina. Come for me, baby. I’m right behind you. Come for me.”
For once in my life, I opted to be obedient.
TED SLEPT SPRAWLED ON HIS BACK. I TEND TO HUDDLE MORE, curling in on myself as if I was protecting vital organs. I suppose I actually might be. Things show up at night to talk to me. There’s a reason supernatural beings are so often referred to as things that go bump in the night. That is when they tend to show up. Some bump more than others. It’s a matter of personal preference on their parts pretty much. Protecting parts I don’t want to get bumped is pretty much all on me.
So he sprawled and I curled up with my head resting on his chest. He still smelled like cookies, except now he smelled like cookies with sex frosting. I let my hands glide over his chest, appreciating its definition as if by Braille. He stirred, pulled me closer and kissed the top of my head. I felt something unspool deep inside me.
I ran my hands down to his belly and let my fingers dance down the trail of hair below his belly button. He nudged me, but he wasn’t using his hands. He kissed me on top of the head again and then asked, “Do you have to be anywhere this morning?”
“Not for hours,” I said.
“Good.” He rolled me onto my back and made me forget all about baked goods. No man has ever done that before.
“YOU HAVE NOTHING TO EAT IN THIS REFRIGERATOR EXCEPT tofu and apples.” Ted didn’t sound particularly happy.
“Norah says that an apple provides the same amount of help in waking you up as coffee.” I scooped coffee into the filter anyway.
He straightened up and stared at me. “I don’t even care if that’s true or not. I still want the coffee.”
“Me, too.” I felt the smile spread across my face. It was the oddest sensation. I don’t think I could have even stopped it if I’d wanted to. The totally weird thing was, I didn’t want to. I wanted to smile. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt that way either.
I sliced up an apple and handed him half the sections. “Do you want peanut butter on yours?”
“No, thanks.”
I peeked under the bandages on my arm to check my bite wound. It was practically healed and was more than a little itchy. I wanted to take the dressing off, but I didn’t want Ted to see how much better it looked. That would require explanations I wasn’t ready to give.
I did think I was ready for one explanation, though. “So does this trust thing run both ways? If I trust you with something, will you trust me and not ask questions?”
He pulled me into the circle of his arms. It felt so good to rest my head against his chest. It felt so safe. I wished it wasn’t just an illusion. No place was safe now. Whoever Henry Zhang really was, whatever he really wanted, he knew who I was and no place would be safe for me anymore. Unless and until Henry Zhang was no longer in the picture. If he was here to take over Sacramento’s drug trade, perhaps the easiest way to get rid of him would be to disrupt his supply of drugs.
Ted kissed the top of my head yet again. “Of course it does.”
I pushed away from him, and never taking my gaze off his face, I pulled the list of the grow house addresses out of the back pocket of my jeans and handed it to him.
He unfolded the paper, looked it over and then looked back at me, head cocked to one side, eyes slightly narrowed. “What are these, Melina?”
“Addresses,” I said. I am nothing if not helpful.
He snorted. “I can see that. What are they the addresses of?”
I blew out a breath. How much should I tell him? How much could I tell him? This was uncharted territory. I wasn’t telling him about the
kiang shi
or anything else from the world that most people didn’t see. The grow houses were the work of humans, and if a cop didn’t represent human authority, I didn’t know what did. “They’re the addresses of seven houses that smell funny and have very advanced security systems.”
His eyes went wide. “How did you . . . ?”
I pressed my fingers against his lips and shook my head. “Don’t even ask.”
He took my hand in his, kissed the palm and moved it away from his mouth. “I have to ask.”
“No.” I shook my head. “No, you don’t. You have to trust me. Or don’t. Drive by them yourself. I figure you’ll have to do some investigating on your own to get the search warrants and stuff.”
Concern furrowed his brow. “How are you connected to these houses, Melina? Tell me so I can make sure to protect you.”
There it was. That protection thing again. Sure, it was great when it meant that he was the one who remembered to put on a condom, but it was going to get in the way of this relationship damned fast.
I’m not saying I didn’t like it. Quite honestly, I ate it up with a spoon. The idea that someone somewhere was watching my back was decidedly appealing. It was also a total pipe dream.
I tried to reassure him. “I’m not connected in any way that the police will see. I promise you, my name will not come up.”
“Try me.” He was so sincere, I was half-tempted to go ahead and spill the whole thing. I couldn’t, though. Really, how could I? Where would I start? With my mother’s battle against mold and mildew on pool tile? Or fast forward to the here and now and try to explain about Chinese vampires and massacres at mines?
At best, he’d think I was pulling his leg and be pissed off. At worst, he’d think I was crazy. There was nowhere on the spectrum in between that I wanted to exist either.
“Please, I don’t have anyone else to turn to and I can’t explain. I’m trusting you with information. You’re going to have to trust me back and not ask how I got it.”
He cupped my chin and ran his thumb along my jawline. It felt so nice. I wanted to grab him by the front of his shirt and drag him down the hallway to my bedroom and have him spoon around me and stay that way for the rest of the day and into the night. I didn’t, though. I looked up at him.
He heaved a sigh. “Okay. If you change your mind . . .”
“I know,” I said. “I’ll call.”
He walked out the door, leaving me with a feeling of unease. It was true. I had nowhere else to turn. Aldo wouldn’t do anything about it and neither would Chuck. Alex wasn’t going to help, nor would Paul. Let’s face it. George Zhang didn’t want my help. He’d made that clear enough. Mae said to chart my own course, to make the decision I thought was best. This was it. Hand it off to someone who at least wanted to do something about it. Nobody else did. I hoped I wasn’t sending Ted into something unprepared. I hadn’t sensed anything paranormal at the grow houses, though.
Plus, he was a cop. He was prepared. He’d have backup. What was that like anyway?
TED CALLED A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER. “MELINA, WHAT ARE you involved with?”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“We’re getting the search warrants ready now. This is big, Melina. Huge, even. These houses are the source of the BC Bud that’s been turning up around here. How did you know about them?”
“Let’s just say I stumbled across them, okay?”
“Not okay. If you’re mixed up with these people, you’re going to need protection. Mark my words, by the time they finish with this thing, its roots are going to go all the way back to Hong Kong.”
The whole point was that I wasn’t going to need protection. With the grow houses shut down, Henry Zhang and his buddies wouldn’t have any more reason to hang around Sacramento. Abracadabra voila! My problem would be solved. “It’s going to be fine now, Ted. I’m sure of it.”
“HOW’S THE ARM?” PAUL ASKED AS I SLID UP TO THE BAR.
I didn’t bother to ask him how he knew. “Better.” I flexed it. It was feeling better, almost as good as new. “How’s Meredith?”
He blushed. “Irritating.” He handed me a Diet Coke.
“I didn’t even order yet.”
“You shouldn’t drink while you’ve got a wound like that. It interferes with the healing process. Did Alex put you on antibiotics?”
I shook my head.
Paul rolled his eyes. “I’ll talk to him. Who knows where those things’ mouths have been?”
Who knew indeed? I really didn’t want to. “How have things been over at the temple?”
“Quiet.”
“Good. I could use some quiet.”
Paul poured himself a beer and knocked his glass against mine. “Amen, little sister. Amen.”
I finished my soda, left a tip on the bar and waved good-bye to Paul. I sauntered over to the temple, not bothering with sneaking in the back way. I figured the least I could do was let George Zhang know that the trouble was over. I figured it would be best to do it before nightfall so he could do what needed to be done to keep the
kiang shi
from rising.
I walked right up to the front door and knocked. I had to wait a while and knock a few more times, but I knew he was in there. I could hear movement coming from inside. One of the big double doors finally creaked open a fraction.
“Hey, George, what’s up?”
His eyes widened and he grabbed me by the arm, hustling me inside the temple. “Not again! Why won’t you leave me alone?”
I grabbed my arm back and rubbed it. The wound looked healed, but it was still tender. “A girl could develop a complex being greeted like that, George. You’re awfully hard on my self-esteem.”
“I am less concerned about your self-esteem than I am in trying to help you stay alive,” he hissed at me, eyes darting around the temple as if someone might be hiding in its spare interior.
“That’s almost sweet, George. I guess I’ll forgive you for the less than enthusiastic greeting. I only wanted to stop by to tell you that it’s over. It’s going to be okay now.”
His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean that it’s over? How is it over?”
“You should be able to turn on the ten o’clock news and have Edie Lambert tell you about how the grow houses in Elk Grove were busted today. Without the BC Bud, there’s no reason for your brother and his friends to stay here in Sacramento and make trouble.”
George covered his eyes with his hand and shook his head. “Unbelievable. Could you be more naïve? More stupid?”
That was completely unfair. I’d figured out what was going on and stopped it. Granted, I’d had some help along the way, but I’d called the shots. I’d done exactly what Mae had told me to do. I’d made a decision and followed it through. “Hey! Watch it with the name-calling, dome head.”
“Can you ever be serious?”
“Of course. I’m serious as a heart attack. It’s going to be okay. It may take the police a little while, but they’ll trace those grow houses back to your brother eventually. It’s over. He may as well clear out. If he doesn’t understand it, you can explain it to him.” I was sure once I’d connected the dots for George, he’d have an attitude adjustment.
“My brother does not care for explanations from others. You haven’t shut down his operation, but you have probably made him angry. You’re in serious danger, Ms. Markowitz. Please stop meddling in this before you get hurt.”
I shoved up my sleeve so he could see my bandaged arm. “They already tried to hurt me and they’ve already failed. I can take them. I know how.”
He shook his head slowly. “You don’t understand how the Triad works. If they can’t get you, they’ll get someone close to you. If they can’t get that person, they’ll get someone else. Someone is going to get hurt, and it will be way worse than a bite on the arm.”
18
GEORGE HAD WAY HARSHED MY VICTORY BUZZ, AND I DIDN’T appreciate it one bit. It had been a tough few days, and I thought he’d be happy to hear that I’d managed to resolve what was happening even without his help. Some people simply didn’t know when they had a good thing going.
I wanted to tell someone what I’d done, someone who’d appreciate it. I doubted Alex would give me a pat on the back. Nor would Paul. I couldn’t really tell Ted much of anything that I hadn’t already told him.
There was one person who would understand. One person who might even give me a pat on the back for charting my own course. That was Mae.
I sighed. I hated how things were between us. I decided to drive by the studio. It was late, but she might still be there.
My cell phone rang as I drove toward the dojo. It was Ted.
“Hey,” he said. “Where are you?”
“I dropped in on some friends and now I’m on my way home.” I would be on my way home soon. Just as soon as I’d done a longing stalkerish drive-by of River City Karate.
“I thought you were supposed to be resting.”
“It didn’t bother you that I didn’t rest that much last night,” I teased.
