Hot Rocks

my bag and be gone.”
    “You can’t just go,” she protested as she hurried after him. “Max says Crew is dangerous.”
    “Max is the insurance narc?”
    “Yes.” She glanced nervously toward the steps. “No, he’s not a narc.”
    “Whatever, he’s not wrong about Crew. Man doesn’t think I know who he is,” Jack muttered. “What he did. Figured I’d swallow his fake names and fairy story whole. Been in the game since I could talk, haven’t I?” Jack slung a duffel over his shoulder. “I should never have gotten tangled with him, but well, twenty-eight million, give or take, makes for strange bedfellows. Now I’ve gotten Willy killed over it.”
    “You didn’t. It’s not your fault.”
    “I took the job knowing who Crew was though he called himself Martin Lyle. Knowing he was dangerous and planning a double cross all along, I took the job. Willy came with me. But I’ll fix it. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head, then moved to the front door.
    “Wait. Just wait and talk to Max.”
    “I don’t think so.” He let out a snort at the idea. “And do us both a favor, princess.” Now he tapped a finger to her lips. “I was never here.”
    She could hear him whistling “Bye Bye Blackbird” as he set off at a jog. He’d always moved well for a big man. Before she knew it, he’d rounded the curve of her lane and was gone.
    As if he’d never been there.
    She closed the door, rested her forehead against it. Everything ached: her head, her body, her heart. There’d been tears in his eyes still when he trotted away. Tears for Willy. He’d grieve, she knew. He’d blame himself. And in that state, he might do something stupid.
    No, not stupid, she corrected and wandered into the kitchen to pace aimlessly. Reckless, foolish, but not stupid.
    She couldn’t have stopped him. Even if she’d begged, pleaded, even if she’d turned on the tears herself. He’d have carried the weight of them when he walked away, but he’d have walked.
    Yes, he’d always moved well for a big man.
    She heard Max coming toward the kitchen and hurriedly reached into the cupboard for mugs.
    “Right on time,” she said brightly. “Coffee’s just up.”
    “Morning coffee’s got to be one of life’s best smells.”
    She turned then, stared at him as his words echoed her father’s in her mind. His hair was still damp from the shower. Her shower. He’d smell like her soap. He’d slept in her bed. He’d been inside her.
    She’d given him all that. But after a ten-minute visit from her father, she was holding back trust, and truth.
    “My father was here.” She blurted it out before she could question herself.
    He set down the mug he’d just picked up. “What?”
    “He just left. Minutes ago. And I realized I wasn’t going to tell you, wasn’t going to say anything. I was going to cover for him. It’s conditioning, I guess. Or partly. I love him. I’m sorry.”
    “Jack O’Hara was here? He’s been in the house, and you didn’t tell me?”
    “I’m telling you. I don’t expect you to understand what a step this is for me, but I’m telling you.” She tried to pour coffee, but her hands were shaking. “Don’t hurt him, Max. I couldn’t stand it if you hurt him.”
    “Let’s just back up a square here. Your father was here, in this house, and you cooked me dinner, went to bed with me. I’m upstairs making love to you and he’s hiding out—”
    “No! No! I didn’t know he was here until this morning. I don’t know when he got here, let himself in. He slept on the couch. I let Henry out, and when I walked into the kitchen again, there he was.”
    “Then what the hell are you apologizing to me for?”
    “I wasn’t going to tell you.”
    “For what, three minutes? Jesus Christ, Laine. You put that kind of honesty bar up for us, I’m going to keep rapping my head on it. Give me a break.”
    “I’m very confused.”
    “He’s been your father for twenty-eight years. I’ve been the guy in love with you for about two days. I think I can cut you some slack. Okay?”
    She let out a shuddering breath. “Okay.”
    “That’s the end of the slack. What did he say, what did he want, where did he go?”
    “He didn’t know about Willy.” Her lips trembled before she managed to press them together. “He cried.”
    “Sit down, Laine, I’ll get the coffee. Sit down and take a minute.”
    She did what he asked as everything that had been