Fire We Make (Jackson and Liane Book 1) (4 page)

Seven

“You only got lucky with that game,” Enzo greeted his best friend as they met for lunch. He quickly pulled out a large sum of money and handed it to him. “Pure fucking luck.”

Felipe Rodriguez scooped up the money and sat down at the table. “Don’t be mad at the playa. Be mad at the game.”

“Whatever, bro.” Enzo laughed. “Those refs were paid off.”

“Paid off, incompetent…it really doesn’t matter.” Felipe shrugged. “My team won, your team lost. Deal with it.”

“Anyway,” Enzo shrugged. “What’s new with you?”

“Same old, same old. Investigating people never gets old and tired.” The waiter came by to take their orders and quickly left. “I’m currently following a husband on direction from the wife.”

“Cheating on her?”

“Money-wise, yes. Not sure about the sex part. I’m sure I’ll get to that in a bit, though.” Felipe mentioned. “But other than scamming you out of a thousand bucks and boasting of my team’s victory to your face, there’s something else I need to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” Enzo knew Felipe long enough that he didn’t make empty promises. If there was bad news, it meant Enzo needed to address it as soon as possible. “What’s up?”

“Well, it’s regarding Angie. Her bastard ex-boyfriend, Billy Ross, is coming back into play. I caught wind from a contact over at TMZ that he was shopping a story there. My contact owes me a favor so they’re not going to run the story but it doesn’t mean the guy hasn’t shopped the story to other sites. It’s only a matter of time before someone takes him on the offer.”

“What in the hell can he possibly talk about?” Enzo asked. “It’s proven that he was a bastard boyfriend who degraded Angela and treated her shit. What can he possibly say?”

“No one knew about the pregnancy before,” Felipe pressed. “He can take that story and run with it. He’ll get a lot of sympathy if he does.”

Enzo had to bite back an eye roll. It shouldn’t have surprised him that when his wife was on top of her game, she became a target to old “friends” and past loves, capitalizing on that success. “How much will it take to pay him off?”

“He’s asking for three million.” Felipe raised his brows and Enzo had the same response. “Yeah, he won’t get nearly that much from the blogs but he says that’s his only and final offer.”

“Schedule a meeting with him. We’re going to talk man-to-man.” Enzo directed. “And we’ll still see if he wants his three million after the fact.”

“Not a problem. I’ll get on it right away.” Felipe briefly hesitated before speaking again. “There’s something else you should know.”

“Oh?” Enzo was curious. “Such as?”

“One of my cop friends in Vegas is watching our lovely friend, Jackson. He has a visitor this weekend.” Felipe took a sip of water. “It’s Liane.”

“Liane?” Enzo questioned. The news of Liane’s visit to Jackson made Enzo choke on a breath. “What do you mean Liane went to see him?”

“He saw them at the airport. He went to pick her up and they took off somewhere; I guess back to one of his brothels. I don’t know if she’s on assignment or what but from what the way they were acting, the visit was definitely a personal one. That’s what my friend says and he’s not known to lie or exaggerate. He gave me a description of the girl and it matched Liane. “ Felipe shrugged. “ Again, I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know if she’s playing a part and investigating him or there’s something more to her visit. All I know that she’s currently visiting Jackson right now.”

“All right,” Enzo replied. He was part-worried and part annoyed. He didn’t have to wonder why Liane would lie to him but he was very irritated that she did. “Keep me posted.”

“And if it turns out it’s more than just an assignment?” Felipe inquired.

Enzo let out a soft breath. Jackson caused more than enough headaches to last Enzo and Angela several lifetimes. It was only just recently that she was finally over the damage he’d created. Now came news that his best friend was cavorting with the monster that nearly destroyed his wife. “I’ll deal with Liane when that time comes.”

Eight

The sunlight gently kissed Liane’s face as she awakened from her slumber. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled. It was already a great morning.

She and Jackson spent the night making love in a variety of positions, with each time being hotter than the last. When they were in between sessions, they talked about light topics and kept the heavy issues to a bare minimum. They finally fell asleep around five o’clock and Liane looked over at a clock to double-check the time.

It was noon.

It had been a long time since she’d slept in that late, for she was an early riser and always wanted to hit the gym before the rush came in. She allowed herself to let loose and be free during her visit to Jackson. Even cops needed to have some fun now and again.

“Good Morning, Princess.” Jackson’s baritone greeted her before he did. He carried a rose and a small cup of coffee, presenting them both to Liane with a kiss, before he sat next to her on the bed. “I hope you slept well.”

“When I did sleep.” She smiled and took a sip of coffee. “How did you sleep?”

“The same,” he shrugged, “not that I’m complaining. I wouldn’t mind you keeping me up all night for as long as I live.”

Liane caught Jackson’s thinly veiled request and politely ignored it. “What are we doing today?”

Jackson noticed the change of subject and didn’t pursue the
why
of it. “I was thinking about taking you out shopping and then we can go to the lake.”

“The lake? Vegas has a lake?”

“You need to get out more and explore the world. Where have you been?”

Liane was ashamed to admit she hadn’t been to too many places. Did multiple Tijuana trips when she was a partying college student count? “I mostly stay in L.A.”

“I think we need to change that. You’re going to pick a place you’ve always wanted to visit and we’ll go there next year.”

Liane really didn’t like the way Jackson spoke. Next year implied he would still be a part of her life and they would somehow be entangled with one another. A part of her wouldn’t mind going on vacation with Jackson and that’s what bothered her the most. She didn’t like the idea of having some kind of future with him. It was filled with hope and promise; two things Liane knew Jackson couldn’t guarantee with her. “We’ll see.”

****

Everything seemed to new to her like a child.

Her eyes lit up as they entered the helicopter and flew over Nevada. He shared little facts about what he knew and what he loved. She asked him how he knew so much and he simply smiled at her.

“I read a lot,” was his only reply.

They eventually landed on a golf course and were whisked away to a private gondola cruise with pre-laid lunch and wine waiting for them. Over lunch, they talked about a variety of topics. She learned his love for blues music and how he’d found solace in the songs after his childhood nanny had died. He learned about her penchant for a fine wine and considered herself a bit of a wine connoisseur.

They passionately discussed football and he didn’t understand her love for the god-awful Raiders. Likewise, she couldn’t understand how he could root for a team like the 49ers and admonished him for doing so.

A phone call interrupted Jackson’s time with his woman and he had to excuse himself to take it. Normally he would ignore all phone calls but since it was from Glen, Jackson knew there would be no other reason for his friend to call him. “Oh man, this shit better be good.”

“Someone followed your friend.” Glen spoke into the phone. “I witnessed him taking pictures of you two at the airport. He’s local PD but I don’t know if he was doing it for our other friend in California.”

Jackson slightly turned to Liane and waved at her. “Really, now?”

“I don’t know if she knows that she was followed I had one of the girls check her luggage when you two were out…”

“And?”

“She’s clean, J. Clean as a pastor’s sheets.”

A slow, simmering rage crawled through Jackson’s body.

Enzo.

The man got what he wanted when he left Angela alone and moved out the state but Jackson felt he was out to destroy him. It was the only reason why Liane would be followed and be unbeknownst to such things. “All right.”

“What do you want me to do next?”

Jackson turned to Liane. The slight breeze blew her ebony hair, almost as if she had a wind machine on her. The sun kissed her tanned face and shined on her pouty lips. She looked like a goddess to him. “Nothing.”

“Nothing? Are you sure?”

“I need to figure out a game plan first. I don’t know what my game plan is. I’m sure she doesn’t know she was followed.”

“Her career might be in trouble, Jackson. I don’t know how much you care about ol’ girl but…”

“I will figure out a game plan first.” Jackson repeated with more bass in his voice. “For now, we will do nothing. That’s an order.”

“Okay,” Glen shrugged, “let me know what you decide.” He then hung up.

Jackson walked back to Liane and kissed her. “Is everything okay?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Jackson smiled. Everything is perfect.”

Hand-in-hand they walked around Lake Las Vegas, just the two of them. When the temperature dropped, Jackson took off his jacket and put it over Liane’s shoulders. They climbed to a small hill and watched the sunset, with Jackson sitting behind Liane and holding her.

“This is perfect, J.” She slowly blinked as a warm smile grew on her face. The weather was perfect, she had an amazing time, and she could silently admit she was with the love of her life.

“I’m glad,” he softly replied. He contemplated telling Liane about what he’d learned but decided against it. There was no need to tell her anything at this point, when he was unsure what he wanted to do with the information. He did know, however, he was going have to make a special trip to Los Angeles in the very near future to make sure Liane’s career wasn’t in jeopardy.

“You seem tense, J.” Liane turned towards him. “Is everything okay? Who was that on the phone?”

“It’s nothing, baby girl.” He kissed her temple. “It’s nothing, really.”

“You know you can tell me anything. It can’t be any worse than your awful Raiders.”

“My Raiders beat your 49ers, by the way.” Jackson chuckled.

“I’m serious, J.” Liane pressed. “Is there a problem?”

“The problem is you’re asking too many questions and not enjoying yourself like a proper lady.” He deflected the questioning again. “When I say there’s nothing to worry about, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Liane nudged Jackson on the hill and climbed on top of him. “If you say so.”

Jackson unbuttoned Liane’s sweater top and revealed her breasts there were barely held together by a red lacy bra. He felt his cock stir within his jeans. “I know so.”

Liane stood up and shimmied out of her jeans and damp underwear while Jackson pulled his cock out his jeans and sheathed it with a condom. She climbed back on top of Jackson and sank down on him; gasping at quickly he filled her. Her wet sex tightly clasped around his thick cock, hugging it. She leaned over him as he guided her on his shaft, their tongues toying with each other.

Her heart seared through her body as she quickened her tempo, soft moans escaping her mouth as she called out his name. Damn her heart. Damn her mind. Jackson put something on her that no man had ever done before and she couldn’t grasp what it was. All she knew was that she couldn’t get enough of it.

She finally climaxed and her body stilled as her sex pulsated around Jackson’s cock. She collapsed against him and moaned his name on his neck. Jackson gave a few more thrusts before he met Liane’s climax with one of his own. In that position, they stayed for a while. They didn’t care if anyone saw them nor were they in a hurry to cover and clean up. They wanted to enjoy each other and their moment.

“I love you, J.” She whispered.

“I love you, too, baby girl.”

****

Liane didn’t want to choose between her career she wanted and the man she needed but it was a lost fight. She was never going to have it all, at least not on the terms she wanted. Ideally, Jackson would give up everything and become straight-laced. Ideally, she would move to Vegas and make her way up the force while she was with him.

Ideally.
Both scenarios – something Jackson and Liane knew – would not work. One of them was going to be miserable while the other one flourished.

Liane let out another sigh. She had to give up either her career or Jackson and she was afraid she going to make the wrong choice.

****

Jackson stared up at the darkened sky. Liane had one more day in Vegas before she was set to go home. After she left, it was going to be a guessing game on when he could see her again. A weekend a month just wouldn’t do. He wanted her everyday. All of the time.

Now it became tricky.

He knew the cop in question was watching him; that wasn’t a doubt. He was considered Public Enemy Number One because he beat several charges and only became richer and more popular as a result, seemingly laughing at law enforcement and the justice system. Jackson didn’t care. What he did only involved sex; he considered himself no different from the many white-collar criminals who bankrupted families on a regular basis. No one went after them.

Now the cop saw Liane with Jackson and he knew it was only a matter of time before Liane’s bosses found out why she went to Vegas. Cops entertain prostitutes all of the time and people ignore that fact. Liane associating with a known pimp – though Jackson loathed that term and definitely didn’t consider himself one – was detrimental to her career.

How much did she love him? Was he worth giving everything up?

Jackson let out a sigh and focused on the moment with his woman. He was going to worry about her decision later. He wanted to enjoy her for the rest of the weekend and somehow, convince his heart that it was best to let go. It was best for her, it was best for him, and it was best for everyone involved.

He was going to pay a visit to his dear friend, Enzo.