Up in Smoke (Crossing the Line, #2)(76)

There was that word again. Trust. It got easier every time.

They drove for fifteen minutes, leaving the city proper and entering the suburbs. Manicured lawns and long driveways, so foreign to her, threatened to snag her attention, but she focused on the street names and the turns they were taking. Stark finally pulled into a gated driveway, hitting a button on his sun visor to open a wrought iron gate. He winked at her and Sera, looking super pleased with himself, and continued toward the house where he parked beside a marble fountain. When Stark climbed out and went around back on his way to the passenger side, Erin snatched the gate remote off the visor and stuffed it into her pocket, keeping an eye on the rearview to make sure Stark didn’t see.

When Erin was in prison, she’d always imagined the correctional officers sharing a big house like Stark’s when they were off the clock. They would play paintball and munch on giant turkey legs in front of the television. Common sense had told her they probably lived in one-bedroom apartments devoid of reading material or color, but it had made her feel better somehow. Making them characters in a cheesy reality show instead of the *s who watched her use the toilet or treated her like cattle.

Erin turned in a circle in the foyer, which had two carpeted staircases ascending to the second floor on either side. “Wow.” She placed a hand over her heart as she spotted the gaudy chandelier. “This place is amazing.”

“Designed it myself.” Douche. “It’s the one thing my wife didn’t take in the divorce.”

Erin made the pouty face she knew he wanted to see. “Some people are so greedy.”

Sera nodded. “It would have been a shame to lose something you worked so hard on.”

If she could have high-fived Sera at the moment for her subtle insertion of the phrase “hard on,” she would have. Instead, she reached up and gathered her hair on top of her head, letting her belly button peek out as she perused the art on the wall. Sera did the same across the room, although Erin knew she was looking for much more. Stark stood between them with his hands in his pockets, checking each of them out in turn.

Erin turned back in time to see Sera smiling over her shoulder. It was an innocent smile, but there was a hint of daring. Nice. “Is there a bathroom I could use?”

“Sure, just down the hallway—”

“Ooh, can I see the kitchen?” Erin asked, cutting him off as Sera slipped from the room. Great. They were on the same page. Now all she had to do was keep Stark distracted while Sera did her thing. Only problem was, Sera wore the wire. She didn’t have squat. Wait. Except for the cell phone in her pocket. Guess the electronic handcuffs Connor had foisted on her would come in handy after all. As Stark led her toward the back of the house and through a giant archway, she pulled out the cell and dialed Connor’s number before quickly stowing it away once more.

The kitchen looked like Architectural Digest had thrown up in it, and Erin was willing to guess the expensive-looking, stainless steel appliances were never used. It looked too clean, like it hadn’t been lived in. She would take her and Connor’s tiny eat-in kitchen over this place any day of the week. Not bothering to hide her smile over the spark of pleasure the phrase “her and Connor’s kitchen,” she pretended to be absorbed in Stark’s explanation of how much everything cost and how hard each piece had been to come by.

When he turned his back on her, gesturing to the crown molding decorating the ceiling, Erin slid open a few drawers. If her hunch proved correct…bingo. Beneath a stack of take-out menus, the butt of a Glock peeked out. A nice one, too. It would make too much noise to check if it was loaded, but she shoved it into her jeans’ waistband at the small of her back anyway. Stark circled back on her, obviously finished with his explanation of the finer things in life. She knew his expression from experience. It said enough with the small talk bullshit.

Backing away from him under the guise of wanting to look out into the backyard, she slowly dragged her fingers along the cool granite countertops. A pool…a garden. The high gate extended around the entire perimeter of the property. No way out but through the front. Good to know. Now stall. All she had to do was stall for a while. Easier said than done when dealing with a presumptuous dickhead who assumed he was moments away from a threesome. “It must get lonely in this big house with no one to share it with.”

He grinned cockily. “I get by.”

“Oh, I bet you do.”

“How long have you and Trish been together?”

“A long time.” She sent him a sly grin. “Since college.”

“Jesus.” He cocked a hip on the counter. “And do you do this kind of thing often?”

She smirked. “What kind of thing?”

After a long pause, they both gave a slow laugh. Stark began his prowl toward her again. Reassured by the piece at her back, she started to skirt around the kitchen island with a teasing look on her face. Just as she passed the kitchen entrance, Sera entered.

She wasn’t alone.

With her arm extended in a shooter’s pose, Sera backed into the kitchen with her gun pointed at none other than Tucker May. Who also had a gun pointed at Sera.

“Are you out of your mind?” May shouted. “Bringing people here with no warning? I’m a f*cking fugitive, Max.”

To her left, Stark cursed vilely and threw open the drawer. In the blink of an eye, Erin removed the gun from her waistband and pointed it at Stark. “Looking for this?”