John took a seat next to him on top of the green slatted wood of the table.

"So you arrested Lee Stefano yesterday?"

John nodded. "My guys found him Sat.u.r.day morning at his place. Same place that was tagged in the photos," he said. It was almost as if the thief wanted to be taken in. Or more likely, that he wanted his "Sinner Stripes," as they were called. Stefano's son wanted to be able to say he served time, like his dad. Now that John had him in custody, he was hoping Lee would talk. Would tell him more about T.J. and Kenny. Tell him where to find them. John Winston wanted nothing more than to see those two men behind bars for the rest of their lives, and Stefano's son might very well be the linchpin to making that happen. Lee's mother was the one who'd tipped off the cops in the first place about the role T.J. and Kenny had played in the murder of Thomas Paige two decades ago.

That was their first accessory to murder.

Didn't seem to have been their last.

John's blood boiled over the evidence he'd ama.s.sed linking those two men to other crimes, and more unsolved murders. By all accounts, T.J. Nelson had embraced his job as the broker of Stefano's. .h.i.ts, working with other gunmen over the years that followed, taking his role as the planner and plotter to a new level. He was the man pulling the strings on hits for the Sinners, and Kenny was his right-hand guy. John was determined to find them, especially since he'd learned that T.J. had had words with Thomas Paige several weeks before the man was killed. John was talking to other witnesses later today who knew more about that encounter, and he fiercely hoped he'd be able to link all the details together and track down the Nelson cousins.

They were tough to nab. Harder to find. They'd earned some kind of protection from their brothers in the gang. Some of that protection had come in the form of Lee Stefano trying to keep Marcus quiet by intimidating the social worker he'd been confiding in. John wasn't one hundred percent sure why those men wanted Marcus's mouth zipped, but he had a few good leads. Marcus was untouchable; they'd never hurt him. But they needed him to keep their secrets quiet, so they'd tried to shut him down.

John, however, needed Marcus to talk. He believed that Marcus knew more than he'd told him when they met a week ago.

"Is Lee going to leave Elle alone now?" Marcus asked.

Maybe the threat to someone he cared about would push him into talking finally. "Yes, we've got him. And I think we can get him to give up some info on Kenny and T.J."

"What about my stepmom, though? Will they leave her alone?"

John arched an eyebrow. This was news to him. "Someone sending her hara.s.sing messages, too?"

Marcus nodded, his young eyes etched with worry. "I saw her a few days ago, at Baskin Robbins with my little sisters. I overheard her talking on the phone. I think she's worried that those guys are going after her."

"To make sure your dad stays quiet about all that he knows about the murder of Thomas Paige?" John asked, hoping Marcus would finally give him an answer.

Ever since John had uncovered the details of Dora Prince's drug trade-that the woman was a dealer, Stefano was her supplier, and she sold to the Nelson cousins and many, many others-he was sure that her ex-lover had intel about the business she'd been in. Luke claimed he met Dora at Narcotics Anonymous, but John wasn't convinced that's how the affair began. Nor did he buy that Luke's hands were clean. Because as John saw it, Dora Prince planned the murder of her husband to get his life insurance money so she could run away with her kids and her lover.

Luke had to know something about the murder. Especially given the leads John was chasing down about him.

And if someone was trying to shake down Marcus's stepmom now, well, that only bolstered John's belief that Luke was keeping quiet.

Just like his son was.

But the son was here. Marcus was trying. He just needed to feel safe.

"I can protect you," John said calmly. "I can protect her. That's what I do."

Marcus hung his head, exhaled, then lifted his face and met John's eyes. He started talking, and holy h.e.l.l-of-a-secret, this was the mother lode. This was the golden goose of information.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE.

"Are you sure? Absolutely sure?" Colin asked as he loaded his climbing gear into the trunk of his car, his phone pressed to his ear.

"One hundred percent."

"You know for certain this is what she wants now? That she's ready?" he asked, as Rex tossed his carabiners and ropes in next. He'd joined Colin today, to make his first climb.

"Yes. Trust me."

"I do. But this is a big deal. I want to know this is definitely what she wants."

"Aren't you the guy who takes risks all the time?"

"At work, yes. At play, yes. Right now, though? I want to know this is a sure thing if you're asking me to show up for her," he said as he locked the trunk.

"You make her happy. I want her to be happy. It's that simple."

"See you later then," he said, then ended the call.

Rex shoved his shoulder. "h.e.l.lo? You said yes, didn't you? You better have."

Colin narrowed his eyes. "Did you know he was calling me?"

"No, but I heard your end of the conversation. It didn't take any of my new math skills to figure it out." Rex walked around to the pa.s.senger side, grabbed the door handle, and yanked it open.

Colin got into the driver's side and turned on the engine. He was quiet, contemplating the phone call that had come out of the blue.

"You gonna go see her now?" Rex asked, picking up the thread.

Colin glanced at the time on the dashboard. "She'll only be there for a little longer."

Rex held his arms out grandly. "Then you better step on it, man. Because you need to make a big-a.s.s entrance."

Colin scoffed. "I don't think so."

Rex nodded. "Oh, trust me on this. You might know math and outdoor s.h.i.t, but I know women. They love all that grandiose stuff."

"Do they now?" Colin asked with a wry smile as they headed back to town.

"Absolutely. What does she like? What are her favorite things?"

Things he couldn't give her right now.

Tattoos. Neck kisses. Multiple o.r.g.a.s.ms.

Wait. He could definitely give her those. h.e.l.l, he could give her enough of those to keep her toes curled all night long.

"Mob movies. Roller-skating. Laughing. Time with her family. Giving back," he said, detailing what he knew of the woman he loved.

Rex counted off on his fingers. "Take her to a Hollywood movie set. Buy her a roller rink. Tell her a dirty joke," he began, and Colin cracked up as Rex continued working through his list.

But then, he had an idea.

She longed to be the one sending Janine racing around the curve. She craved the rush of the wheels, the speed of the chase, the vibrations of the music in her bones. Instead, she cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted her encouragement from the half-wall at the edge of the rink.

"C'mon!"

"Block her!"

"Go, Cool Hand Bette!"

She screamed and cheered the loudest from the sidelines, rooting on the Fishnet Brigade. The league championship was in their grasp. Just a few more points. Just a few more minutes.

"Bet you twenty bucks they win, even without their best player."

That voice. It sent goose b.u.mps over her skin. It lit up her chest. All her lady parts tingled.

She turned around. Her heart skipped, and her skin sizzled. She was fighting a losing battle if she even tried to pretend she wasn't ready to fling herself at him, or climb him like a tree. Especially with him here at the roller rink, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, his tanned, inked arms on display, his dark eyes sparkling like he had a secret.

"I bet they win, too," she said, and her heart beat fiercely against her ribs.

"You know," he said, taking his time with the words as he inched closer, "if they do, we should celebrate."

Celebrate.

Heat raced through her body. Sparks roared through her. A celebration with Colin Sloan was code for the most mind-blowing s.e.x of her life. But it was also code for so much more. It was how they'd spent their night together at the Venetian, and that evening had sent them hurtling down this twisting, turning path to l.u.s.t, longing, and love.

Wait.

She pressed her foot on the figurative brakes. She couldn't leap back into his arms just because he showed up. They'd agreed to take a break. She'd retreated because of her son. He was her top priority and would be until he left her home. But she didn't have to shelter him, either. She couldn't shield him from all the dangers of the world by shutting out love. She could, however, teach him about taking a chance. Taking the right chance, with the right person. Seizing the opportunity.

She'd cooled things off with Colin because of her need to protect her kid. The threat had never been about Colin though. It had been because of her work, because of what she did, because she was involved. That wasn't going to change. The one thing she could adjust was her approach.

Including her approach to Alex. She needed to tell him she was going to take this chance.

She held up her finger. "I just need to find-"

A hand touched on her arm-her son's hand. "I thought you were playing pool with your buddies," she said, gesturing to the pool table at the rink.

"I was, but I wanted to let you know I called Colin and asked him to come down."

"You did?"

He nodded, and he looked proud of himself. "I'm sorry I freaked out the other day."

"It's okay to freak out sometimes. I was freaked out, too," she said, fighting to stay calm, even though every cell inside her buzzed with elation. Her son, her sweet, wonderful son, had made this reunion happen.

"But I don't want you to worry and think I'm gonna turn into a basket case," Alex said. "I'll probably freak out again over something else. But I'm also stronger than I was before. Because I have an awesome mom, and I want her to be happy."

Her son clasped her in a hug, and there was no point in fighting back the tears. She let them flow. She let them fall. She let herself feel everything.

"You're t.i.tanium," he said, just to her, and another surge of tears streaked down her cheeks. "And I'm glad you met someone you like."

"And I'm glad you realized you're strong inside. That you can handle things. That's what I was telling you at laser tag. You've come far, and I'm proud of you."

He broke the hug and tipped his head to his group of friends. "So, um, I'll stay at Aunt Camille's tonight, and you guys can..." He pointed from Colin to his mom, and she got his drift. She was glad he couldn't say it. She wanted him to be fourteen. To embrace all that it meant to be young. "Whatever. You know what I mean."

"I do," she said, a wild grin on her face.

He walked off to join his friends, and she returned her focus to the man who stood in front of her at the Skyway roller rink. The music blasted from the DJ booth, the crowds cheered, and the soundtrack of arcade games and pool, of sodas fizzing, and of skates whipping around the oval, surrounded them.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi. I went to prison yesterday."

She arched an eyebrow, not computing at first. Then it hit her. "You did?"

He nodded. "Yes. This woman told me she thought it would be a good idea."

"Did she?" she asked, playing along now. "Sounds like a smart lady."

He nodded as he grasped her hips in his hands, curling his fingers into her. "She's amazing. And she always knows exactly what I need. She pushes me in ways I need to be pushed, and she lets me give to her in ways I want to give."

"How do you like to give?" she asked as his fingers traveled up her waist, his touch setting her on fire.

He inched closer, molding his body to hers. "I like to give her pleasure. I like to give her love. I want to give her reason to trust that I'm the kind of man she can lean on."

She laced her hands in his hair. "Oh, Colin. I know that. You are the best man I've ever known," she said, and her heart was full nearly to bursting with a piercing, rich kind of joy. But somewhere in the back of her mind, her worries still lived and they needed to be voiced. They were different, though, than what she first thought they'd be.

"I missed you like crazy. It was only a few days, but I don't care. The way I feel about you isn't rational; it isn't logical. But it's so real. And it's so true," she said, dropping her hands to his chest and gripping the fabric of his shirt. "And I need you to know that I'm going to do everything I can to balance it all. You, and Alex, and being a mom, and work. And not get scared."

She stopped talking as his lips quirked up, and he simply smiled, just as if he was madly in love with her. "It's okay," he said. "You don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to be fearless all the time. Just be with me."

"I want to be with you. I want to be fearlessly in love with you." She tugged him to her, not caring that her team was circling the rink behind her, barely thinking about the crowds around them, only feeling this immeasurable closeness with this man. "And I am."

He groaned and brought his lips to her neck. Instantly, a flurry of delicious tingles flared over her skin. "I can't resist kissing you. Pretty soon I'm not going to be able to resist f.u.c.king you," he whispered.

It was her turn to moan. To murmur. To let him know she wanted his resistance broken down...but not quite yet.

She pressed her hand to his chest. "We should have the place to ourselves in about an hour, if you'd like."

"If I'd like?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. "If I'd like what? Tell me, Elle. What are you asking?"

She shot him a s.e.xy grin. "To celebrate. Celebrate with me."

He dipped his hand into the pocket of his shorts. "If you wear these, I will."