“You remember Eva?” Layne asked.

Silence for a beat then, with disbelief, “Better?”

“Oh yeah,” Layne answered.

“Fuck, boy,” Dev muttered then disconnected without a good-bye.

Layne threw his cell on the seat next to him. He’d just sealed the deal on his latest case and he’d been right, it hadn’t taken long, less time than he expected. He just had to pull together the file, hand it over, send the invoice and get paid and he was glad to be rid of it. It was sucking all his time. Billable hours but, with all the stuff raining down on him and Rocky, he needed to be shot of it and was pleased as f**k he was.

The entrance to his development was coming up on his right but he didn’t indicate. He’d called Jasper earlier to tell him to set up pasta bake for Keira on Tuesday but they were on their own that night and he’d see them in the morning. He also shared he was spending the night over at Rocky’s because her security was shit. Jasper didn’t ask questions but, after informing him of this fact, Jasper’s voice took on a “you the man” tone.

Layne looked at the clock on his dash. It was after midnight and he reckoned Rocky wouldn’t be real fired up to answer her door to him at that hour.

Or, possibly, any hour.

But he couldn’t give a f**k. He’d sleep on her couch tonight. Tomorrow and for as long as it took, he’d work on getting in her bed.

Or Rocky in his.

And eventually both.

He was just passed the entrance to his development and about to flip his indicator light on to take the left into Rocky’s complex when he saw a Mercedes of her make, model and color pull out in front of him and when his eyes swept the plates, he saw it was hers.

“What the f**k?” he whispered, moved his fingers from the indicator, kept a distance and followed.

His eyes went back to the dash. Twelve oh nine. Where the f**k was she going at twelve oh nine?

He followed her into town, she turned left on Green, he trailed her and drove passed her when she turned into the Christian Church parking lot.

“Fuck me,” he muttered, now knowing what she was doing out at twelve oh nine. He swung the next left, continuing to mutter, “Rocky, baby, I find you lookin’ for trouble, I’m gonna turn you over my knee.”

Layne rounded the church and blacked out his headlights as he took the alley and entered the church parking lot from the back. He saw her Merc parked in the far corner under a tree. At least she’d parked smart, with the tree shrouding her car from light and her vehicle being black, you had to be looking to see it.

He scanned the lot and the church and saw no Rocky.

He parked by her car, unbuckled his seatbelt, leaned to his glove compartment and pulled out a Maglite and a pair of black leather gloves. Then he got out of his car, pulling on his gloves and walking through the parking lot like he, personally, owned the church and he found the side door slightly ajar. She hadn’t left it that way on purpose. The latch hadn’t caught when she slipped through.

He opened the door just enough to steal through and stood still, no alarm, no beeps warning him to enter the code. He turned and saw the white of the security box by the door, the panel looking in the dark like it was hanging down. He flipped on his Maglite, shone it on the box, saw the panel was hanging down but didn’t see any wires protruding. He traced the door with his Maglite and found the sensors on the door, their wires intact. He leaned into the security box and saw the lighted display saying “unarmed”.

How did she disable the alarm?

He moved cautiously through the vestibule outside the sanctuary and remembered coming to this church with his mother. He hadn’t been there in years. He also remembered Rocky came to this church with Merry, Cecilia and Dave. And lastly, he remembered, when Cecilia died, Dave quit bringing the kids.

He kept the Maglite pointed down but forward and made his way through the vestibule, saw it and stopped, flipping off the Maglite.

There was a windowed room but the window was internal, no windows to the outside. Layne tried to remember and he thought it was an office, the windows facing into the vestibule. From it, a dim light shone.

He moved there, around the corner to the opened door and saw Rocky sitting on a desk chair, a file in her lap, her head bowed over it, deep in concentration, her gloved hands moving the papers, a small Maglite between her lips.

He felt at the wall and switched on the light.

She let out a small scream and pushed back, rolling the chair across the small room and slamming against a filing cabinet, her head snapping back, the Maglite falling out of her mouth and clattering to the floor as she stared at him with lips parted, eyes huge.

“Hey sweetcheeks,” he greeted.

“What are you…” she swallowed, looked out the window into the vestibule then back at him. “What are you doing here!” she hissed.

“Funny, that’s what I was gonna ask you.”

She flipped the file shut and stood. “Layne, turn out the light!”

“No windows to the outside, no one knows we’re in here, no one can see the light and I need it so I can see you when I throw you over my shoulder and,” he leaned forward and barked, “haul your ass outta here!”

She jumped toward him and lifted a hand. “Keep your voice down!” she whispered.

“Baby, no one knows we’re here!”

“Okay, so keep your voice down because you’re freaking me out!”

He leaned back and crossed his arms on his chest. “I know what wouldn’t freak you out, Roc, bein’ at home in your bed where you’re supposed to f**kin’ be.”

“Layne –”

“How’d you disable the alarm?” he asked.

“Disable the alarm?” she asked back, looking confused and, f**k him, he was pissed but he had to admit she looked cute.

“Yeah, Rocky, it’s a church but every place has shit to steal. This place has a security system. How’d you bypass it?”

“I punched in the code,” she told him.

He stared at her.

Then he repeated, “You punched in the code.”

“Well…” she said, “yeah.”

“How’d you get the code?”

“Layne –”

“Are you not gettin’ that I don’t let shit go?” he asked. “How’d you get the code?”

“Well…” she trailed off and looked into the vestibule.

“Raquel,” he warned.

Her eyes shot to him. “Okay, well, do you know Sharon Reynolds?”