Page 40 of Trusting Laurence
He felt Tahlia’s hands in his hair, holding on as if to anchor herself. It comforted him to know he was, perhaps, not the only one caught up in something so much bigger than themselves.
When they eventually broke the kiss, she touched a soft hand to his face. “Will you stay with me tonight? I’m not ready for you to leave.”
Closing his eyes against the clench of his heart, he pulled closer still. “There’s nothing I’d like more.”
He watched as Tahlia stretched, appreciated the picture she made – her striking red hair spread out over the pillow beneath her, her naked body loose and relaxed. She made a contented humming sound as she stretched, which brought a smile to his face. With a kiss on her forehead, he rolled away and out of the bed.
“I’ll be right back, sweetheart,” he said as he headed for the bathroom.
By the time he came back, she’d made herself comfortable on her side of the bed. With sleepy eyes, she watched him cross the room. She pulled the bedding back and patted the spot beside her.
Laurence climbed in and gathered her close. Tahlia relaxed into him. She rested her head on his shoulder and her hand right over his heart. He felt her lips lightly brush the underside of his jaw and couldn’t hold back a deep sigh. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this happy.
“Night, Laurence. Sleep well.”
With a squeeze of his arm, he hugged her closer for a second. “Good night, Lia. Sleep well, sweetheart.”
Just as he was drifting off, he thought her heard her murmur, “I love you”, but couldn’t be sure. Whether he’d heard correctly or not, his own heart felt whole for the first time since he’d walked away from her those years ago. As if the missing piece of him had been restored to its rightful place.
Larry stoodin a corner of the room and watched Finn stare Hector down. They’d left the lowlife to sweat in the tank overnight. When Hector had come into the interrogation room, he’d looked somewhat worse for wear.
The dark circles under his eyes and the hollow look in them told a story of a sleepless night in a cell with one of the scariest men Larry had ever laid eyes on. Not easily intimidated, even he had eyed the hulking mountain of a man who’d been Hector’s cell mate cautiously.
Despite that, their overnight guest still seemed reluctant to share his knowledge. Larry was convinced he was a vital piece of this fucked-up puzzle. So, he stood back and left Finn to work his magic. The man had quite a reputation in the interrogation room. It didn’t hurt that he was tall and built like a linebacker.
At six-foot-four, he towered over the much skinnier Hector, and he wasn’t above using that to his advantage. Add to that the silent stare that he’d seen many a man back down from, and he hoped it was enough to make the man crack.
He studied the twenty-something man as Finn stared him down, noticing the sweat that began to bead on Hector's forehead and smiled to himself. Yeah, he was definitely starting to feel the heat.
Without warning, Finn slapped a hand on the table at which the two of them sat, launching himself out of his chair to lean over the smaller man.
“I’m getting really sick of dicking around with you, dude. You don’t want to share what you know, you can go back to the cells. You can go bunk down with Bubba another night.”
Larry watched as the man paled. “Whatcha mean I gotta stay here another night, man? You can’t hold me. I ain’t done nothing wrong.”
“You’re impeding a federal investigation, Hector. That’s a criminal offense. You know that. I’ve got every right to hold you for seventy-two hours.”
He hadn’t thought it possible, but Hector went even paler. He looked past Finn, directly at Larry. “Why you gotta do me like this, man? What’d I ever do to you? I don’t know nothing,” he whined, on the brink of tears.
Yeah, definitely coming apart at the seams. Time to finish this.
Larry straightened from where he’d been leaning against the wall. “Come on, Hector. All three of us know that’s a lie. You’re involved in this. You know it, we know it. It would be in your best interests to come clean. The sooner you do, the sooner you can get back to all your other nefarious activities. Otherwise, as Agent Finn mentioned, it’s back to sharing with Bubba tonight. He seems to have taken quite a shine to you.”
As if watching an overextended rubber band snapping, he watched as Hector finally caved. He looked Larry directly in the eyes. “If I tell you what I know, if I know anything, you gotta protect me. These hypothetical people are crazy, dangerous people, man. The kinda people you don’t wanna fuck with. They know I talked to you, they’ll kill me and won’t even think nothing of it.”
Larry wanted to dance with elation. Slowly, after all the manhours they had invested in this case, the pieces were coming together. Agonizingly slowly, but at least they were coming.
“Here’s the deal, Hector. You tell me what you know. All of it – you leave nothing out. If I so much as suspect you’re holding out on me, I’ll take the deal back. In return, I’ll get you into witness protection – new name, new identity, fresh start.”
He watched as a range of expressions crossed the man’s face while he considered what Larry had just offered him. Just as he thought Hector would chicken out, he saw the fight go out of him.
“I want everything in writing before I say a word. Just being here put a bull’s-eye on my back, man. I need to get gone so’s they won’t find me ever again. If they do, I’m a dead man guaranteed. I ain’t playing around witcha when I say they’re crazy and dangerous people.”
“Fair enough. I’ll arrange for you to go into a cell on your own while I get this organized. Hang tight, Hector.”
Larry indicated with a tilt of his head for Finn to follow him from the room. In the hallway, he instructed the Marine standing there to guard the door while they were gone. Once out of earshot, he spoke.
“Let’s take a walk.”
