Her heart skipped and her eyes bugged out. “Died? How?”
“It appears to be a heart attack, but we’ll be certain soon enough,” Graves said. “Strange thing is now all of the men involved in the diamond heist are now dead.”
Sitting back in the chair, Megan thought about what he said and it hit her like a ton of brick when she finally realized what they were getting at. She shook her head. “No. No way did Drew have anything to do with their deaths.”
“How are you so sure about that, Ms. McAlister?”
“Because I know he would never do something like that. He’s a good man, damn it!” She pounded her fist on the table. Now she knew why Drew was so angry when he was talking to these two morons.
“Why, then, did we not find a gun on the man he shot?”
Megan jumped like someone slapped her. “What?”
“No one else except Detective Calloway saw a gun before he fired.” Graves sat back with a smug expression which she desperately wanted to smack off his face. “And no one has seen a gun since.”
“But…” Her head reeled, and her heart sank at the possibility. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Our point exactly.”
After a few more questions, she walked out of the office like a zombie. Megan made it to Lillie’s van and slid inside. Her stomach ached and her head pounded like someone had used it for batting practice.
“What happened? You’re as white as a ghost.” Lillie started the van but continued to eye her.
“Can you just take me home and I’ll explain everything once we get there?” Megan couldn’t look in her direction. She couldn’t think. It was taking all of her concentration just to remember to breathe in and out.
“Sure,” Lillie murmured, then headed toward Megan’s house.
Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion, like the world around her kept going while she was forced to stand still and watch. Was Drew really capable of committing murder? Three times? Everything in her said hell no, but the evidence told another story. Three deaths, all with him involved in one way or another. And it was his sister that got kidnapped.
It all felt a little too coincidental.
When they pulled into the driveway, Megan slowly pulled herself out of the van and walked up the steps like a zombie on Prozac. The shattered glass had been removed and a piece of wood was nailed up where the window once was. Just when she didn’t think her heart could sink any further, she remembered Drew picking her up and carrying her over the glass. In a different world, a better world, that would have been him carrying her over the threshold, but no. The man she had to fall in love with could very well be a killer.
“I’m going to make us some tea,” Lillie said, rubbing Megan’s upper arm before her heels clanked across the hardwood floor into the kitchen.
Megan walked aimlessly in the living room. Her body ached like it had aged thirty years in one day, and her heart felt blistered, her soul scarred as reality set in. She dropped to the couch, letting all her limbs go limp where they landed, and stared at the ceiling.
Was it all a lie? Did Drew plan on keeping her mind occupied with sex to keep her from seeing the truth of what was really going on? Was he planning on using her powers to help him in the end? She balled into a fetal position and brushed tears from her eyes.
How could she be so stupid?
Just as her breathing had returned to normal, there was a knock on the door. Too exhausted to look through the wall to see who it was, she found out the old fashioned way and forced her creaking bones to move and open the door. A deputy, probably no older than twenty, stood on the other side.
“Megan McAlister?” he asked, his thumbs tucked into the top of his gun belt.
“What now?” Her shoulders slumped even lower and she looked to the sky for divine intervention.
He scratched behind his ear. “Uh, Ma’am, we found your car.”
“Really?” she asked, thankful for any sort of good news.
“Yes, there was some damage, but it’s minimal.” Megan could see he was new to the force because he was having a hard time looking her in the eye. That or he had heard she was sleeping with Drew and he was embarrassed for her. “The car is at What the Wreck and you can pick it up whenever you have some time.”
“Okay, thank you so much.” He turned to leave, but she stopped him. “Do you know if it’s drivable?”
“I believe so, but Johnny at the shop could tell you more. He’ll be open all weekend.” He hurried off the porch, jumped in his cruiser, and drove away.
“Who was that?” Lillie asked as Megan closed the door and slothed her way back to the couch.
“They found my car and I can pick it up anytime.” Lillie handed her a cup of green tea. “Thanks.”
“Listen, just because this all looks funny doesn’t mean it’s that way,” Lillie said, sitting next to her. Megan imagined, in her state of mind, Lillie was hearing everything that happened like a bullhorn. She couldn’t stop going over and over what the agents told her no matter how hard she tried. “Do you trust him?”
That was a loaded question. Megan thought she did, but after the evidence, how could she? It was possible that the entire time he was keeping an eye on her so she wouldn’t discover the truth. “I just don’t know.”
“He knows about us and trust me, before we told him I made sure of where his thoughts were.” She took a sip of her tea and patted Megan’s leg. “The only bad thoughts I picked up on were toward the men who’d kidnapped his sister.”
“That’s just it.” Megan shook her head, the words stuck in her throat. “What if he was so angry he killed them?” Hot tears fell down her cheeks and hit the top of her shirt. She wasn’t one to cry often and especially not in front of anyone, but she felt more pain than she had ever endured before. Could the man to whom she gave her body, along with her heart, be the man the FBI thought he was?
“Oh, Sweetie, don’t cry. Things will come to light. You’ll see.” Lillie pulled her into a consoling hug. “Why don’t you come stay with me until you get your car back?”
Megan leaned out, grabbed a tissue from the coffee table, and dabbed her swollen eyes. “You know, I think I will. I don’t know if I could stand the silence out here right now.”
“Great. Come on.” Lillie patted her leg and pulled her from the couch. “Let’s pack and then we’ll stop by the grocery store so I can make homemade hummus.”
Megan groaned her disappointment.
“Okay, we’ll get a ton of ice cream for you and we’ll watch funny movies.” Lillie looked around the room. “I’m going to load up your TV in the van since I don’t have one yet.”
For the first time in hours, Megan laughed.
Twenty minutes later, Lillie was shopping in the grocery store while Megan waited in the van. She didn’t have the energy to go in and pretend her life was fine and dandy. No, she wanted to sit in the van and wallow in her grief like any normal female would. She snorted.
Where did she come off thinking she was normal?
The driver’s side door opened and Lillie climbed in, tossing bags behind her. “Man, Megan, you are really in a funk. I could hear your self-pity as soon as I got outside.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on being in it for long. I just have to figure out how to get over it.” Megan kept her eyes facing the passenger window while she did her best to put up a mental block to keep Lillie out of her head. She did need to get over it all. She didn’t like sitting around like a sixteen-year-old girl, pining away. Never thinking she would be in that situation, she didn’t know how to handle it.
“How about we go have a stiff drink?” Lillie suggested.
“How about we don’t?”
“Come on. You need to get out and understand that one heartbreak isn’t the end of the world, trust me.” She started the van and headed for her apartment. “If it was, then my life would have ended years ago.”
“And how does getting sloshed help any?” Mega
n asked. Lillie was starting to sound a lot like Brandy and that worried her more than a little.
“It just does.” She shrugged. “Getting around other people, dancing, laughing. Just make it through today and don’t worry about tomorrow until you get there. Then one day, you’ll wake up and he won’t be the first thing on your mind.”
It was evident Lillie was speaking from experience so Megan asked, “How many times have you had your heart broken?”
She threw her head back and chuckled. “More than you could imagine.”
“I’m being serious.”
Lillie pulled into her parking spot behind the apartment and let out a deep breath. Neither one of them moved. Megan watched expectantly as Lillie kept her eyes straight ahead. “Honestly?”
“Yes, honestly.”
Pulling the keys out of the ignition, Lillie ran her thumb over an orange dreamcatcher attached to the key ring. “Twice. Once was teenage puppy love that got out of hand. The other was a full grown love affair.” She let out another deep breath and her shoulders sagged.
“What happened?” Megan turned her upper body in the seat. “I mean… if you want to tell me.”
“He just turned out to be nothing I thought he was,” Lillie turned to her, “but I didn’t let him know he got me down and you shouldn’t, either. There’s a face you show the world and another for when you’re in the shower and no one can see you. That and yoga. Lots and lots of yoga.”
Megan wondered if Lillie needed a stiff drink more than she did. “Can I wear something of yours?”
Smiling bright, Lillie said, “Yes!”
Inside the apartment, Lillie threw the ice cream, bag and all, into the freezer. Megan stood in the middle of the living room, shocked by the transformation. The room was minimal, but what she did have decorated looked fantastic. The floors had a mixture of colorful rugs and the walls held treasures of Lillie’s travels. A love seat was her only piece of furniture. It was pale yellow and from the wear on the arms, she’d most likely found it at a yard sale, but the multicolored, crocheted throw blanket on the back made it fit in the room perfectly. “How did you get all of this done so fast? I’ve been living in my place for three years and still haven’t gotten it the way I want.”
Lillie looked at her surroundings then shrugged. “I don’t know? Most of it is just what I had in my van. The rest was from thrift stores and yard sales.”
“But it looks great.” Megan waved her hands to the room to make her point.
“Really? I like your place. Reminds me of growing up.”
Megan rolled her eyes and groaned. “You do realize that you told me you grew up with an old lady, right?”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” She tugged on her arm. “Come on, let’s get ready.”
****
“Is this really the only place in town?” Lillie asked as they walked to the front doors of Roosters.
“Cock-a-doodle doo!”
Megan held the door handle, but Lillie’s hand went above it and held it closed. “That was just so not funny. Good effort, but please don’t ever say that again.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Uh, yes, it was.”
Megan pulled on the handle to no avail. She bent her head and glowered at Lillie’s raised eyebrows. “Okay, I won’t ever say that again.”
Lillie dropped her hand and dramatically waved Megan inside. Since the last time she walked through the doors of this establishment had changed her life, she was a bit nervous of what could happen this go around. The bar was more crowded than it was last time. It was Saturday night and from the unfamiliar faces, many of the patrons were out of towners left over from the festival. “Let’s get a drink,” Megan said, leading the way.
As if she sounded a horn, heads turned toward her. Megan stopped mid-step and caught herself with Lillie’s help. The crowd began clapping and cheering; some people even came up to pat her on the back. Not knowing what the hell to do, she gave them all a double thumbs up.
“Holy shit. You’re like a local celebrity now,” Lillie said, pushing against the gathering crowd to make way to the bar. “By the time we leave tonight, I bet you get proposed to at least ten times.”
Megan had to find the humor in that. By the time they made it to the bar, her mood had lifted and seeing Trevor behind the bar made her smile. He held up two shot glasses. “On the house.”
On her tip-toes Megan leaned over the bar and kissed him on the check before inspecting the shots. “Thank you. What’s in it?”
“A Screaming Orgasm,” he said in that sultry voice of his that she found so attractive. “I figured it was fitting after seeing you covered with whipped cream today.”
“Holy hell, how do I get you to talk to me like that?” Lillie asked, eying Trevor like a peasant would look at her king. Megan completely understood her in-awe-ness; having Trevor just say the words “screaming orgasm” was almost enough to make a girl have one.
Megan laughed. “Lillie, this is Trevor. Trevor, this is my friend, Lillie.”
Lillie held out her hand like royalty, proving she could be queen. Trevor played and kissed the top of her hand then handed her the extra shot glass.
“What’s in this?” Megan, asked not able to see the contents from the mound of whipped cream on top.
“Amaretto, Irish cream, vodka, and whipped cream.” Ignoring the other customers vying for his attention, Trevor placed his elbows on the counter, gave a devilish grin, and lifted an eyebrow. “You’re supposed to drink it with your hands behind your back.”
Megan cleared her suddenly parched throat. Not able to meet his eyes, she stared at the shot glass. “I don’t know about that.”
Trevor chuckled. “Bottom’s up,” he said, pouring himself a shot of whiskey and downing it in one swift motion.
“Promises, promises,” Lillie murmured and clanked her shot glass with Megan’s.
Feeling brave, Megan pulled the glass to her lips and threw her head back, letting the hot liquid slide down her throat. She expected the burn she had seen in so many movies, but there wasn’t one. “Man, that was really good. Kind of buttery. Can I have another?”
“You can have anything you want, Sweetheart,” Trevor answered, slapping another shot glass on the counter and making the two women’s drinks. The other bartenders ran around handing out drinks, taking money, and glaring in their direction while Trevor stood there, taking his time.
“After the Screaming Orgasm, how about a Sex on the Beach?” Megan asked.
“The ocean’s quite a ways off, but I’ll see what I can do,” he said with a wink.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Come on, leave her alone. She’s just having fun,” Megan vaguely heard Lillie tell Trevor. Megan laughed. Lillie sounded like she was deep inside a tunnel, far, far away. She clapped her hands together and swayed her hips to the beat of Sweet Home Alabama blaring from the jukebox.
Feeling a tap on her leg again, Megan looked down at Trevor behind the bar. “It’s time to get down, Sweetheart.”
She gazed out to the crowd of smiling faces cheering for her. “Do any of y’all want me to get down?”
Her answer was a roared “No!” So she bent her upper body down far enough to put a finger under Trevor’s stubbled chin. “I’m not ready to get down.”
“Sweetheart, you’re drunk and you’re going to fall and hurt yourself.”
“I’m not gonna fall,” she said, standing up a little too quick, almost losing her balance. “You need to get this bar leveled.”
Closing her eyes, Megan let the music fill her and take over, forcing her body to move with the beat. It had been the best night ever. How could it not be when she felt no pain and no remorse? The only thing she had felt all night was freedom. Well, except for Trevor’s hovering. He tapped her leg again.
With trepidation, she leaned over. “Yes?”
“Please come down,” he begged. He looked so adorable begging that she had to give him a k
iss. When she locked her lips with his it took him by surprise and he jerked back, causing her to slip and fall off the bar. Luckily, Trevor, being the gallant gentleman that he was, caught her in his arms. That alone deserved another kiss. Maybe it deserved even more?
“Megan, you’re drunk. You do not want to kiss me,” he said, his words pained.
“I believe I do,” she argued with a smile and sealed his lips with hers.
“Get your hands off her,” a low voice growled behind her. Megan’s body went stiff and she had to admit that she had enough alcohol to cause her mind to run a tad slower than normal, but she didn’t have to turn around to know whose voice that was. Trevor didn’t have a chance to put her down because she jumped to her feet and swung around. A mixture of heartbreak and fury swirled through her body, causing her head to spin. “What are you doing here?”
“Me? What the hell are you doing here?” Drew’s eyes were hard and his jaw set. He looked so good in his faded jeans and dark-blue t-shirt, she could eat him up, but she had to remember he was a devil under that angel face. “I came for you. I heard you were here making a fool of yourself.” He grabbed her arm and started toward the door, but she yanked free.
“What are you doing? Am I under arrest or something?” Megan placed her hands firmly on her hips and stared him down which would have been a lot easier if he would stand still instead of swaying back and forth. Why wasn’t Lillie helping? She looked around and found her leaned against the bar, watching the action between Drew and her.
“Hold up,” Trevor said, moving between Drew and Megan with his hands up. “Let’s just calm down a minute.”
“I suggest you turn around and get behind the bar before I throw your ass back there for taking advantage of her when she’s drunk.” Veins popped up on Drew’s neck as he stared at Trevor.
“Whoa, bro, you have it all wrong. It’s not like that at all.” Trevor shook his head but didn’t back down. His voice went lower, but Megan still heard him. “She’s only had a few drinks. I had no clue she couldn’t handle it.”
“Looked like you didn’t have a problem handling her when I walked in.” Drew’s chest puffed out.
Super Chick Page 24
