Tommy was shaken. So shaken he wondered why they didn’t just call the police, hand over the box, and let them take it from there so they could all walk away and get on with their regularly scheduled lives. But when he mentioned it to Layla, she instantly dismissed the idea.
“Not happening.” Her tone was nonnegotiable. “Pretty sure this transcends the LAPD. They found their suspect, case closed. Anything you or I do to intervene is only going to be met with suspicion. Besides, Aster can’t really go back to her life. Which is why we need to help her.”
While Tommy couldn’t exactly dispute what she’d said, that didn’t mean he wasn’t tempted to try.
“Still . . . ,” he muttered, leaving the thought to dangle unfinished, since he had no idea what could possibly follow that would bear enough impact to change Layla’s mind. They drove the rest of the way in silence before he pulled into a church parking lot, where Aster and Ryan were supposedly waiting. “Do we know what this is about? Seems like a pretty strange meet spot.” He peered through the side and rearview mirrors and watched as Aster and Ryan cautiously crawled from the shadows and looked all around, before darting for the car.
“It’s about Madison.” Layla sighed. “Everything’s about Madison.” She shifted toward the backseat, watching as Aster and Ryan climbed in. “Where to?” she asked.
Aster glanced between them as though trying to determine what they were doing together. “My place,” she said. Then, narrowing her gaze on Tommy, she added, “Though I didn’t expect to see you. What’s with the change of heart?”
Tommy glanced over his shoulder and put the car in reverse. It was a good question, and one he certainly deserved after blowing her off after she was released from lockup. Thing was, his heart hadn’t changed at all, no matter how hard he’d tried. His attempts to keep his distance and try to convince himself he could be interested in a girl like Tiki were futile at best. It was Layla he’d wanted since the first day they’d met, and after the intimacy they’d just shared, there was no more denying it. For better or worse, he was all in. Which meant he would do whatever it took to try and protect her. Though that didn’t mean he was ready to pour his heart out to a car full of people.
“I became part of this the night I took Madison to the Vesper,” he said. “So, like it or not, I’m in.” He pulled onto the street and focused on driving as Aster and Ryan breathlessly filled them in. The two of them continued to talk over each other until Tommy noticed a car with flashing lights zooming up from behind them, and he moved to the side of the road.
He lowered his window and watched through the side-view mirror as a guy wearing sneakers, dad jeans, and a blue button-down shirt rolled at the cuffs made a slow but purposeful approach.
“Tommy Phillips.” Detective Larsen leaned through the driver’s-side window and flashed a squinty-eyed grin as though reuniting with a long-lost classmate he had fond memories of bullying. “Been a while.” He curled his meat-slab fingers around the door-trim panel.
Tommy shrugged, tempted to say something about how it hadn’t been nearly long enough, but wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.
Larsen angled his head farther inside and craned his stump of a neck toward the backseat. “Looks like the gang’s all here.” His beady green gaze moved among them, lingering on Aster for a moment before returning to Tommy. “So, where you all headed at”—he checked his watch—“one fifteen a.m.? Seems a little late, no?”
Tommy could ask Larsen the same thing. Was he even on duty—or had he been trailing them the whole time, looking for a reason to stop them? Not that Tommy had given him one. Larsen was out to harass, and there was nothing Tommy could do but stay cool and answer his questions in the least incriminating way possible.
Knowing that whatever he said could and most certainly would be twisted in a way Larsen wouldn’t hesitate to use against him, Tommy cleared his throat and said, “Just taking everyone home.”
“Looks like you’ve got quite a few stops to make.” His red scrub-brush head bobbed at each of them. “Or you all planning a slumber party?”
Tommy clamped his lips shut. If Larsen wanted him to bite, he’d be sorely disappointed.
“How about you all hop out of the car for a minute?”
Tommy hesitated. Larsen was clearly up to no good.
“Sorry if that sounded like a question, because it wasn’t. Everyone out,” Larsen barked.
Reluctantly, Tommy propped the door open and slipped out of the car. A second later, Layla, Aster, and Ryan followed.
Larsen instructed them to line up alongside the car; then he stood before them, legs planted wide, arms crossed menacingly over his bulky chest. He wore the kind of shifty expression that left no doubt their full compliance was in their best interest.
“Now, let’s start over.” He studied each of them. “Where are you coming from?”
“Ira Redman’s launch party,” Aster said, as Tommy stifled a groan. It was the worst thing she could’ve said.
Larsen’s interest was obvious as he moved to stand before her, brow lowered in scrutiny. But to Aster’s credit, she didn’t so much as flinch. “Guess you figure you have reason to party now that you’re out on bail?”
Tommy snuck a sideways glance at Aster, relieved to see that while she clearly wasn’t about to fold, she was keeping her cool enough not to get confrontational either. It was the best he could hope for, seeing as how she’d decided to take the lead on this one. Though he secretly wished she would’ve just kept her mouth shut and taken the Fifth.
“I’m employed by Ira,” she said. “We all are—except for Ryan, of course.”
Good. Bravo. Well done. Now kindly keep quiet and stop feeding the beast!
“Y’all been drinking?”
Tommy decided it was time to step in. “’Course not. We’re underage.” His gaze met Larsen’s, watching as he threw his head back and roared with laughter as though Tommy had said something hilarious.
“You got anyone to verify your whereabouts?” Larsen said, once he finally quieted down. He paced before them, slowly, leisurely, letting them know who was calling the shots in case that wasn’t already clear.
“I performed there,” Tommy said. “Plenty of people saw me.”
“That right?” Larsen stopped before him and faked like he was impressed. “You’re really moving up in the world, aren’t you? What with your star billing at Ira Redman’s launch party, and your fancy new ride.” He nodded admiringly at the black BMW, though the way his lip curled when he spoke Ira’s name left no doubt he wasn’t a fan.
On the surface at least, Tommy resisted the urge to fidget and forced himself to meet Larsen’s penetrating stare with an impassive gaze as though he had nothing to fear, though inside was a whole other story. His heart was slamming, his gut was wrenching, and rivulets of sweat raced down his chest.
“Reason I pulled you over is because there’s been a disturbance reported at an office park about a mile from here. Any of you know about that?”
Tommy shook his head and fought like hell to leave it at that.
“Seems there’s been a break-in at one of the offices.”
Tommy lifted his shoulders, shifted his weight from foot to foot. The Santa Ana winds were kicking up again, the hot gusts mostly stirring up dirt while providing little relief from the heat. Tommy focused on the stream of cars going past, ducking his head each time one slowed to get a better look at the lineup of unfortunate slobs unlucky enough to get pulled over on a Saturday night. A moment later, he heard what sounded like a bomb going off, and he swung around just in time to see a plume of smoke shooting high into the sky.
Larsen opened his mouth, about to say something more, when his radio crackled with an urgent call and he lifted a finger and moved back toward his car.
“You didn’t have anything to do with that, did you?” Tommy whispered under his breath, as he nodded toward the smoldering sky just behind them.
“Of course not!” Aster snapped, rolling her eyes for good measure.
A few moments later when Larsen returned, he looked at each of them and said, “Go home. All of you.” They nodded and started to climb inside the car, when he added, “And Aster—”
Tommy watched as Aster turned toward him, their eyes meeting for what seemed like an eternity, but was really only a handful of seconds.
“See you in court,” Larsen spat. Dipping his head, he turned on his heel and made for his car, as Tommy crawled back behind the wheel, started the engine, and eased onto the street.