Fast Money: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

by Colleen Helme

  “That’s not true,” I said. “He may have loved Carlotta once, but I think he’s over it. There’s only one person he loves now, and that’s you.”

  She gasped and glanced at me. “How can you be so sure?”

  “Easy. He puts up with her because of the boy, but he’s already got plans to get her out of the picture. Just hang in there.” I patted her shoulder. “I should go.”

  “Don’t tell him I’m here,” she said.

  “I won’t.” I walked toward the door. “Hey, how’s Ramos? Is he doing any better?”

  “Yeah, lots. He was here earlier, but Joe sent him on an errand.”

  “Good. Well, see you.” I slipped out the door and hurried out of the office to the elevator. It took me down to the main level, and soon I was out the revolving door to the street. My heart felt lighter; it was good that I’d talked to Jackie. I didn’t like the fact that she’d hired Mercer, but like she said, he’d saved my life, so I couldn’t be too upset about that.

  It was crazy that she thought she had to threaten me to get me to do what she wanted, but it was probably because of Uncle Joey’s influence. If she had asked me for the money and explained why she wanted it, I probably would have given it to her. That was the insane part.

  It was a good day for a walk: not too hot and the sun was shining. I was about halfway to the courthouse when I realized someone behind was keeping pace with me. It was the middle of the day, so I wasn’t too worried, but they seemed awfully close. Almost like they were about to step on my heels. I glanced back and caught a glimpse of a man in jeans and a baseball cap. He was looking down, so I couldn’t see his face.

  Irritated, I decided to move off the sidewalk so he could go around me. I let down my shields so I could hear what he was thinking, but his focus to move quickly overshadowed other thoughts. I stepped off the path and he hurried by, knocking against my shoulder. What a jerk.

  I waited until he was further down the street before continuing my walk, and soon lost sight of him in the crowd. Something about him seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Just then, another person pushed by. This one had ugly legs and huge hair. Could that be the same guy dressed like a woman from the courthouse? I’d forgotten all about him. He passed by so fast that I couldn’t catch his thoughts, and other than thinking it was strange, I brushed it aside. I had bigger things to worry about. Like what to tell Chris.

  Shame washed over me. How could I even think of not telling him? Of course I’d tell him everything. How could I not? He was my husband. Keeping a secret like this would be bad for both of us. I needed to talk about this and get his advice, plus he needed to be able to trust me.

  I paused in front of the courthouse. Maybe I could just wait out here. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about what I’d hear inside. I glanced around the building and noticed a garden area off to the side. There were some pretty bushes behind a bench, and with the trees and shrubbery in that area, it was somewhat secluded.

  Relieved I didn’t have to enter the building, I sat down and pulled out my phone to let Chris know where I was. As I found his number, someone sat down on the bench, sliding into me, and grabbing the phone from my fingers. “Hey…”

  His arm came around me and something hard pressed into my ribs. “I could kill you right now,” Mercer said. A baseball cap covered his face, and I recognized his voice. “But I’d rather not.” My breath caught. He was the one who’d nearly run me down.

  “What’s going on?” I said, bewildered. “Uncle Joey paid you off. You don’t have to kill me anymore.”

  “Yes I do. I was always going to kill you.” He was close enough to whisper in my ear. I realized that anyone passing by would only think we were sharing an intimate moment and nothing was wrong.

  “I wanted to wait a little longer,” he continued, “but I have to leave town. Your Uncle Joey doesn’t like it when people double-cross him, and since I took more of his money than we agreed on, I’m afraid I can’t stick around. Unfortunately, that means I had to hurry this along.”

  “You don’t want to do this,” I said breathlessly, my voice shaking with fear. “If you do, you’re a dead man. Uncle Joey will never let you live. Your life will be over. You’ll never get another job, let alone live to spend the money you’ve already got.”

  He stilled, considering what I said. I’d always called Manetto my uncle, and if it were true, that could be bad. But if he was my uncle, what was I doing working for the police? It didn’t make sense, and from what he’d gathered from Manetto, he didn’t see the connection. Mercer wanted to kill me so bad it hurt. I had humiliated him. He couldn’t allow that to go unpunished. But I was right. Manetto had a lot of influence. He just had to decide if killing me was worth the risk.

  I knew when he made his decision. I crunched my eyes together and hoped it wouldn’t hurt too much. A whine, followed by a wet splatter across my face, startled me. Mercer’s arm around me slackened, and his head fell onto my shoulder.

  I cringed but found I couldn’t move. Was that blood? A shadow fell over me, and I glanced up to find Ramos at my side. He took my phone from Mercer’s hand and pulled me to my feet, sliding his arm around my waist. “Just walk away,” he said. “Put your arm around me and keep walking.”

  I focused on his voice and did as he said, amazed I could move at all. Mostly, Ramos was dragging me, but once I figured that out, I started moving my feet a little.

  “That’s right,” he said. “You’re doing great.” He took a cloth from his pocket and wiped at my cheek and nose. It came away red. “That’s better,” he said, and tucked the cloth back in his pocket. My legs wobbled, and I started to shake. “Keep it together, Shelby. We’re almost to the car. You can do this.”

  He turned us off the main walkway and down a sidewalk that entered the parking garage. There were a lot of steps going down, and my knees started to buckle. Ramos held me to his side and took most of my weight. We made it to the bottom, and he stopped to catch his breath. That was when I remembered he’d been shot. It probably still pained him wherever it was, and he’d had to basically carry me down the steps. It made me feel even worse. I leaned over and took big breaths, concentrating on fighting down the bile rising in my throat. I won, but just barely.

  Ramos recovered before I did. “This way.” Once again he put his arm around me for support, but this time my legs were working and he didn’t have to take so much of my weight. We reached his black sports car, and he helped me inside. I still felt a little lightheaded, so I put my head between my knees. By the time he got in and put on his seat belt, I felt well enough to sit up.

  I slipped on my seatbelt while Ramos backed out of the parking spot. He drove up the ramp and deftly pulled into traffic. The sound of sirens raised the hair on my arms and sent a shiver down my spine. Ramos eased the car over to the side of the road. In a moment, two police cars coming from the opposite direction raced by. As soon as they were gone, Ramos pulled back onto the street.

  “You’re safe now,” Ramos said, noticing how tightly my hands were clenched. He was thinking it was a close call, and he was glad he’d been trailing Mercer.

  “So, you were watching Mercer?’ I asked, finally managing to speak. “Did you know he was going to try and kill me?”

  “I had an idea he might,” he answered. “After you told me he killed the Mexicans, I figured someone within our organization had hired him. It didn’t take long to find out it was Jackie. Mr. Manetto didn’t think Mercer would try anything until after he was paid, and I agreed. I knew he would make his move today, and when I overheard you telling Chris you’d meet him at the courthouse I hurried over.”

  “You heard me?”

  “Yeah, I was in the apartment. I went out the back way.”

  “Oh, now it makes sense.” That’s why the door was ajar and maybe why Jackie looked guilty. They’d been eavesdropping on my conversation.

  “I never thought Mercer would try to kill you in plain sight though,” Ramos cont
inued.

  “Yeah, that was a shocker. I never thought it would happen that way either.” I glanced at him. “How did you know he was going to pull the trigger?”

  “The set of his shoulders.” He glanced at me, thinking it was really that I had crunched my eyes together. “It’s easy to spot if you know what to look for. Luckily, he was so focused on you that he didn’t notice me.” He was thinking it was a close call. If he’d been any later, I’d be dead too. He was relieved he’d made it in time. That was cutting it too close for his taste.

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “You got him just in the nick of time. He was going to kill me. I’m still in shock that I’m alive. I don’t ever want anything like that to happen ever again. I think I’ve aged ten years. My hair will probably go gray overnight. I can’t believe what happened. You killed him. And we just walked away. How gutsy is that?”

  I couldn’t stop talking. It was like the plug got pulled, and my mouth wouldn’t stop running. “And it worked! We got away. They’ll never know it was us, or what happened. And since he’s a killer, everyone will be glad he’s dead. I’ll bet they won’t even look hard for who killed him. It wouldn’t do them much good anyway since there’s no evidence or anything to tie him to you.” Ramos was thinking I was losing it, and something I’d said earlier had him baffled. It was almost like I’d read his mind.

  “Oh my…goodness,” I said, realizing he was right. “I’m so sorry. I’m babbling like a crazy person.” I swallowed and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly to get a hold of myself. Tears gathered in my eyes, but I fought them back. Talking had kept them away, but now…now it was hard not to cry.

  Ramos could tell I was about to cry, and it made him nervous. He hated it when a woman cried. Especially when it didn’t make any sense. Mercer was dead. I was alive. What was there to cry about? He glanced at me and was just about to tell me it was okay if I kept talking, but the look I was giving him made him confused. It was almost like I’d heard his thoughts, and I didn’t approve.

  I snapped my mouth shut and glanced out the window. “It looks like you’re taking me home,” I said, hoping to distract him. “I should probably call Chris and tell him that you gave me a ride.” I reached into my purse for my cell, and realized it wasn’t there.

  “I’ve got it.”

  “That’s right,” I said, remembering he’d taken it from Mercer’s lifeless fingers.

  “What’s right?” He asked, glancing at me.

  His lips hadn’t moved and his mouth was shut tight, and it hit me that he hadn’t been speaking out loud. My pulse raced, but there was still a chance I could cover it. “You took it from Mercer. That was fast thinking on your part. Can I have it back now?”

  “Sure.” He handed it over. He was wondering if it had worked. Had I just read his mind? If I had, it all made sense. Everything about me fell into place. Why Mr. Manetto had kept me around. Why I’d been at all his meetings. Why I was still on the payroll, and why he’d sent the five million dollars to me. What he couldn’t figure out was how I could do it. But he guessed that really didn’t matter in the long run.

  A tiny smile curved his lips. I was tempted to say something sarcastic, but that would give me away for sure. He may think he had it figured out, but I was not going to talk about it. Ever.

  I pushed send to call Chris, and when he answered, it was hard not to cry again. “Hi honey,” I said.

  “Shelby! Are you all right?”

  “Yeah I’m fine. Sorry I didn’t call…something came up and I didn’t have to come to the courthouse for a ride after all. In fact, I’m on my way home right now.”

  “You’ll never believe it,” he said. “They found Mercer. Dead. Someone shot him in the head.”

  I swallowed and licked my lips. “Really? What happened?”

  “No one knows. They found him sitting on a bench outside the courthouse.”

  “And he’d been shot?” I asked, hoping I sounded normal for someone who’d just heard that the man threatening to kill her was dead. Probably not.

  “Yes.” Chris was quiet, and it made me worry that he was putting things together.

  “Wow,” I said. “That’s crazy. I wonder who killed him.”

  “Hmm…me too,” he said. Oh-oh, this was not good. “How are you getting home?” he asked.

  “Um…Ramos said he could take me. I was really happy about that too, since I didn’t want to walk all the way to the courthouse. So it worked out great.” I was repeating myself, and it made me sound suspicious. Probably something Chris would easily pick up on.

  “So you never came to the courthouse?” he asked.

  “Nope,” I said.

  “Hmm…I wonder what Mercer was doing there.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  “So…is Ramos with you right now?” Chris asked.

  “Uh-huh. We’ll have to talk about it when you get home, okay?”

  “Um…what you’re really saying is you can’t talk about it now, right?” he asked.

  “That sounds about right,” I answered. “I’ll see you soon then. Love you!” I ended the call. I winced just a little, but figured Chris would understand when I explained the whole story.

  Ramos was thinking that if I really could read minds, it would suck to be Chris. I sniffed in response, but managed to keep my mouth shut. He glanced at me and chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” he said. If I wasn’t going to say anything, he wouldn’t either.

  We pulled up in front of my house, and relief came over me like a soft blanket. I was alive and I was home. I turned to face Ramos. “Thanks,” I said. I knew it was inadequate, but it was all he wanted to hear.

  “No problem,” he said. “Are you going to tell him?”

  He meant Chris. “I don’t know…but probably.”

  He nodded, thinking that was a chance he’d have to take. But since he’d just saved my life, he didn’t think Chris would mind enough to do anything about it.

  I opened the car door and got out. Before shutting it, I leaned in. “He’ll be fine with it,” I said, and shut the door. I hurried up the sidewalk and unlocked my door. Safe inside, I glanced out the window. He was still sitting there. I gave a quick wave, and with a nod, he drove off.

  Chapter 13

  Ramos thought he knew about me, but it didn’t make me panic like I thought it would. Probably because I didn’t think he’d tell anyone. Especially since the only person I had to worry about already knew.

  I did what I always did after nearly getting killed. I began filling up the bathtub with hot water and “stress relief soothing eucalyptus and mint” bath salts. I glanced in the mirror and found spatters of blood on my hair, face and neck. Grabbing a paper towel, I washed it off, then noticed the blood all over my shirt. Now I knew why Uncle Joey preferred black. The blood didn’t show up as easily. Yuck. I pulled off the shirt and threw it in the garbage. Even if I got the blood out, I could never wear it again. At this rate I would have to get a whole new wardrobe.

  Once I finally got into the tub, the tears began to flow. It seemed like I’d just done this. When was it ever going to stop? I really needed a vacation. It would be wonderful to get away from all this. I took a deep breath. The aroma from my bath soothed me and calmed my mind.

  It was over. Mercer was dead. He was no longer a threat to me, and everyone else who wanted to kill me or take the money was dead and gone as well. I was finally safe. I let out a sigh and settled back, finally relaxing into the scented water. Uncle Joey knew, but I could work with that. Now all I had to decide was how to tell Chris.

  A half hour later, I decided it was time to get out of the tub. I wracked my brain to remember what day it was, and if I needed to do anything. Like picking up Savannah from dance, or taking Josh to a soccer game.

  My mind drew a blank. So much had happened in the last few days, I couldn’t even remember what was going on in my real life. I remembered I’d already picked up Savannah f
rom dance because that was the day the Mexicans had tried to kill me. Was that just two days ago?

  That meant today was Friday. I smiled, pleased with myself that I’d figured it out. Even better, it also meant I could order pizza for dinner. I got dressed and placed the order, asking for it to be delivered at six, which wasn’t for another three hours. I found my bag of popcorn still in the microwave and threw it in the garbage. I needed warm popcorn and put in a fresh bag to pop. Time to watch a show.

  Josh came home and promptly guzzled the milk straight from the carton. He was slurping the last of it and came in to find me in front of the TV. What was going on? He remembered the same thing happening the other day. Was something wrong with me? Stuff like this just didn’t happen.

  I said hello, and Savannah walked in, taking in my slouch and noticing the episode of Castle I was watching. “Mom!” she said forcefully, appalled and confused. “What are you doing?” This was weird. How could I act like a kid? That wasn’t cool. I was supposed to be the example. I was the adult. Then her thoughts turned into worry. Was I having a mid-life crisis? Did that mean I was going to divorce her dad and get a tattoo?

  I turned off the TV and managed to keep a straight face. “Hi guys. How was school?”

  Savannah relaxed. That was more like it. After hearing about school, even the parts they didn’t exactly tell me, things were back to normal. I pushed the near-death incident to the back of my mind, determined not to dwell on what might have happened. Ramos was right about that part. Mercer was dead, I wasn’t…so what was there to cry about?