Layne went to the mouth of the hall and waited.

Ryker came out five minutes later, walked to Layne and stopped.

“Your call, brother, you want company, they’re here for the long haul. You don’t, I’ll get them gone,” Layne offered.

Ryker stared at him, said not a word, then turned and disappeared in the room he came out of. Two minutes later, he was back.

“Liss likes to hear people in her house. Alexis is asking about Seth. Your crew is in for the long haul.”

“Right.” Layne nodded. “I’ll call Reggie’s and order pizza.”

Layne turned to move into the living room but turned back when Ryker said, “Bro.”

“Yeah?”

“She was wakin’ up when we got to her.”

“Yeah man, I was there.”

“She was wakin’ up when we got to her,” Ryker repeated.

He had something to say so Layne waited for him to say it.

Ryker finally spoke. “She had less than an hour.”

“Ryker –” Layne began.

“You hadn’t called that location, bro…” He trailed off and stopped.

“Well, I did.”

Ryker held his gaze.

Then he whispered, “Yeah, you did.”

Then he turned around and disappeared back in the room.

Layne went to the living room, his eyes going to Rocky.

“Let the kids in. We need to order pizza,” he said into the room.

Rocky’s eyes locked with his.

Then she gave him the dimple.

* * * * *

Layne woke to his cell phone ringing and Rocky pinning him to the bed.

Instantly, her head came up.

He reached out to the phone, his eyes scanning his clock, it was three forty-two. He looked at the display, it said “Unknown Caller” and he flipped it open, putting it to his ear.

“Layne,” he answered.

“Heard word from your man, it’s safe to call you,” a woman replied, it took him a minute to place the voice and then he did.

He scooted up in the bed and Rocky scooted with him.

“Marissa,” he said on a squeeze of Rocky who gave him a squeeze back and pressed closer.

“She didn’t make it,” Marissa stated.

Marissa was right. Nicolette Towers was dead on arrival. Layne had no problem with this.

Jeremy Goulding had flipped and copped to Tara, Summer and Hannah, but there were no other girls from the ‘burg. However, he did know of operations in other small town churches in two locations. Towers held these parties often and the girls went for top dollar. Jeremy withheld this information because he knew he was screwed and he didn’t want to be more screwed. He thought, since the girls hadn’t talked for months, this knowledge would never make the light of day. Fortunately, he was wrong.

Towers had two stables and recruited her other girls from out of state. Some were runaways. Some were sold into her operation. Some were clocked in juvvie and picked up when they got out, their disappearance put down to running away, none of them missed. And none of them originally came from Indiana, thus flying under IMPD radar.

There were so many people involved, from pimps, to recruiters, to security, it would take the IMPD some serious time to dismantle the entire operation but it was already disintegrating. Some of the men they picked up were heavy hitters, wealthy power brokers, also not all local. And they were all blabbing like old women.

Rutledge had survived and was currently handcuffed to a hospital bed. Cal and Ryker had uncovered where he hid his payoff cash in his apartment and they left it for the ‘burg PD to find. It was highly unlikely he’d be offered bail. It was also highly unlikely he’d survive his prison term.

Ballistics matched on the three guns that shot Layne. Two put bullets in Rutledge, one was found beside the man Layne shot in the calf who then had Towers run over his legs. Since she did this driving on rims, one of his legs was cut clean off.

“No, she didn’t make it,” Layne confirmed and Roc gave him another squeeze.

“Heard from your man that you took her out.”

“That’s right.”

There was silence.

Then, “Is it bad that I’m smiling right now?”

Layne felt his lips twitch. “No.”

More silence then, “Glad you didn’t get dead.”

Before Layne could reply he had dead air.

He flipped his phone closed and tossed it to the nightstand. Then he slid down into the bed, taking Rocky with him.

“She okay?” Rocky asked.

“Reckon so, considering she told me she’s smiling.”

Rocky shoved her face in his chest and he wasn’t sure what this response meant until she lifted her head then shifted her body so it was on his, her face in his neck.

“Sweetcheeks,” he murmured, his hand sliding in her hair.

Her lips went to his ear. “Never gave a hero a blowjob.”

Layne started quietly laughing.

Her head moved and her mouth came to his.

“Or… maybe I have,” she whispered.

“Well, baby, what are you waiting for? I’m not gonna stop you,” he whispered back.

He felt her smile against his mouth.

Then she took her time, working her way down his body before she gave him a really, f**king great, four o’clock in the morning blowjob.

Epilogue

A Beautiful Life

She moved, her lips sliding up his neck, over his jaw, to his mouth.

His arm stole around her waist, his other hand went to her hip as her body moved on top of his.

“Thank you, baby,” she whispered.

“For what?” he whispered back.

The side of her nose brushed his.

“A beautiful life.”

* * * * *

Layne opened his eyes.

Rocky was pinning him to the bed.

He smiled at the ceiling.

Then he rolled into his woman.

* * * * *

Layne walked to the foot of the stairs.

“Sweetcheeks, get your ass down here!” he yelled.

“Coming!” she yelled back.

“Yeah, Roc, you said that ten minutes ago.” He was still yelling.

“Well, now I’m coming!” She was also still yelling. “You can put CeeCee in the car!”

That meant she actually was coming.

Layne turned to the playpen by the dining room table. Blondie was flat out on her side by the pen. Cecilia was in it, holding herself up, her baby fists around the bars, her big blue eyes staring up at her Dad, a little tuft of dark hair in a mini-ponytail with a little purple bow sticking straight up on top of her head.

Layne approached and Blondie’s head jerked up and twisted, the dog glared at him a second like she had no idea who he was then her tail started banging against the floor. Pretty much no one got near Cecilia unless they had Blondie’s approval.