Ben reached over and took her hand. "Whatever it is, it's okay, just tell me."
She turned toward him and put her other hand over his. "Gus couldn't or didn't want to resist the groupies. When Gus came back, he had an STD, which he gave to me. A couple of penicillin shots took care of it. It could have been worse. Could have been something that would stay with me for life." She was crying as she finished. "I didn't mean for it to be a secret, I just don't like remembering it."
Ben reached over and pulled her into the best hug he could manage across the console. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his fingertips. "It's okay. It's in the past. It's not your fault. God that man was stupid. How could any man who had you waiting at home for him even think about another woman?"
And, before either of them knew what was happening, he kissed her. She'd welcomed the kiss parting her lips and he had quickly deepened it moving his tongue into her mouth. Then she did it, she moaned as she moved her tongue into his mouth. He moved one hand into her hair holding her head with one hand the other behind her back pulling her as close as he could. She had her hands at his neck twirling the fingers of one hand around his hair while the other stroked the back of his neck. Who knows how long they may have kept it up, but they heard someone passing by yell "Hey get a room why don't you?" Ben wasn't ready to let her go. She was his best friend, and this wasn't a kiss you could pretend didn't happen. He reluctantly pulled out of the deep kiss, brushing his lips gently over hers again. "God, I have wanted to do that all day." He said as he brought his hand out of her hair to her cheek and then touched her lips with his thumb.
Lane moved her hands from around his neck and took his hand. She badly wanted to say the hell with whomever it was and just kiss him again and so she leaned across the console and gently brushed her lips against his. Then she moaned again before she moved her lips next to his ear. She licked his ear lobe and purred, "So that explains your mood all morning." She leaned back and twisted in her seat so she could fasten her seat belt.
Ben sat staring at her. Waiting to wake up. Good God, had she just purred in his ear? He swore he had the biggest erection he'd ever had in his life and did she just purr in his ear? She reached over, straightened the collar of his shirt, and then tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, fasten your seatbelt. We've got to get on the road." Sure, they needed to get on the road, the sooner they got on the road, the sooner they could stop again, the sooner they stopped again, the sooner he could kiss her again. He could work with this.
"There's just one thing I need before we can move. I think I might need just one more, small kiss before I can make the SUV move."
Lane laughed. "Umm hum, I wasn't born yesterday. One small kiss leads to one bigger kiss which leads to another and the next thing I know we've spent half an hour at the rest stop."
Ben groaned.
She turned toward him. "You promise just one small kiss and then we'll be on our way?"
He nodded as he leaned toward her and brushed his lips lightly over hers. He fastened his seat belt and put the SUV in reverse. "Okay, on the road."
Lane hit play on the stereo; they were streaming Ben's Frank Sinatra station on Pandora. She was greeted with Frank Sinatra singing, "I Could Write a Book.”
Chapter 7
Seek and you shall find
Tanner had given Ben an address in an older industrial area near Twelfth and Grand, which Ben had programmed into his GPS so he had no trouble finding Tanner. He parked the Navigator and Tanner quickly opened the back door.
“So I talked to a contact on the Saint Louis force.” He said as he took a seat behind Lane. “They suspect that drug traffickers are using abandoned warehouses in the area to store meth and other drugs as they make their way to the streets.”
Ben and Lane were both silent as Tanner continued. “I’ve been here all night, staking out the three block radius you gave Ben.” He said looking toward Lane, then turning toward Ben, he continued, “It’s been a quiet night. I found the kid’s truck.” He said, and then directed Ben to drive a few blocks away where a Chevy Silverado with Nebraska plates sat in an alley.
“It’s locked up tight.” Tanner said, “You want me to slim-jim it?”
Lane looked from Ben to Tanner. “Slim-jim? Like those sausage things?”
The men both laughed. “No, a slim-jim is a device that car thieves, law enforcement, and tow truck drivers use to open a locked car door.” Ben explained.
“Before you do that, I have an app on my phone that allows remote access to a locked vehicle. If Maggie has Jeff’s keys, she can download it, and we can get into the car by less – mmm – shall we say shady means?”
Lane called Maggie to see if she had Jeff's keyless entry fob. And, after getting an affirmative answer, she explained that if Maggie clicked the unlock button into her cell phone that Lane could point her cell phone at Jeff's truck and voila, magically the doors would open. It took a couple of tries, but soon Tanner and Ben were heading toward the truck while Lane stayed in the Navigator and talked on the phone to Maggie.
"There's some good news." Tanner said as he and Ben searched the vehicle. "First, there's no blood anyplace in sight, and secondly, Jeff's cell phone isn't in the vehicle. Hopefully that means it's with him."
Ben looked back to his SUV where Lane sat. "Yeah, let's hope that's what it means. Before we go back, tell me, you've been here all night, if we have to do a building by building search, where should we start?"
Tanner ran his hand over the back of his neck. "I think he’s inside this building and it’s got a for sale sign on the front. Maybe you could get the real estate broker to meet you and your investor. You and Lane could grab lunch meet the real estate broker back here in an hour or two. In the meantime, I’ll keep tabs on the place."
Ben nodded and walked back to talk to Lane. She put her phone on speaker so Maggie could hear as Ben related the plan. Then Ben called the broker and arranged to meet him at the building in two hours. They dropped Tanner back at his vehicle which was parked across the street and down the block from the warehouse.
When Ben and Lane returned to the warehouse, Ben unlocked the console and removed a 9mm handgun. Lane just looked at him as he inserted a clip and put the gun in a holster he had clipped on his belt at the small of his back, and then reached in the back seat for his sport coat.
Who is this guy and when did he start carrying a gun? Lane wondered.
"We don't know what to expect in there, Red. Better be safe."
Unable to speak, as though she was suddenly mute, Lane just looked at him. Yeah, Ben with a loaded gun, safe.
Ben opened his door, walked around, and opened Lane’s door. They walked to the building and met a muscular man who was about five feet seven inches tall, and had dark hair combed back from his face.
Ben reached out his hand. "Joe Parillo? Ben Bellini with Luciano and Bellini." The men shook hands and Ben motioned to Lane. "This is my client Mrs. Parker." Lane shook the man's hand. He had a firm grip and something about him gave her the creeps.