Almost as if that was some sort of signal for them, the police came in the place with riot gear and guns out. Meadow told her not to look in his direction but to talk to Pierce. She did, telling him how scared she was and that she’d never do that again.
“I know you won’t, honey. I’m just glad you did come around to letting us know. Do you want to know what was in the box?” She nodded, then shook her head no. Then told him she did want to know. “Condoms. Used ones and new. Pictures of himself very naked, as you put it. As well as a note to you not to tell anyone or he’d have you expelled from school.”
Going home later with Lucy and Ian, she felt so much better. It was like a giant ball of stress had been put on her, and she’d had no way of getting rid of it. When she was home, she went to Cybill’s room and laid down. She needed time before she’d want to go into her room.
When she woke up, Cybill and her friend Becky were quietly reading on their readers. Sitting up, she told them she was sorry for being in their room. Cybill told her that Lucy had told them everything and that it was fine. She then asked what she was going to do about her room.
“I’m not sure. I mean, it’s just the way I like it. And I didn’t open the box in there. What would you do?” Cybill said she’d make it more frilly and put some bright colors in the room. “Okay, what do you think I should do? Keeping in mind that I’m not you.”
“I’d leave it. Like you said, it’s the way you want it, and he’s never been there.” Cybill looked at her. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Jilly. I’m glad you finally told someone, but I’m really sorry that someone soured things for you for a while.”
“I’ll be all right.” She thought about being expelled. “I don’t think he can do that. At least that was what I was told. I’m going to take a break for a couple of weeks, then get back to it. He did sour things for me a little.”
After going down to the living room, she was happy to see things were going along as normal. They were going to a party later, she was told, to welcome the newest McCray baby. She was looking forward to that. Mel had helped her order the baby a gift online, and it had been wrapped and ready to go for a couple of weeks now. Feeling better all the time, she was glad she’d gone to Pierce first. He’d paved the way so that Lucy didn’t freak out on her. And she did sometimes.
Chapter 2
Joey hated to wait on things to progress. She wasn’t so much impatient as she was ready to do battle. When the call had come to her the other day about her sister-in-law, she wanted to drop everything and go rescue Becky. But that would only cause the little girl more trouble than she could help her out with.
“Have you figured it out yet?” Looking at her mom, she just shook her head. “Is this room the only one you have debugged daily? I’d do it more often, but this is a good start. I’m so sick of Margie that I want to hunt her down and shake her hard. Or snap her neck.”
“My goodness, Mother. Such violence nowadays.” The two of them laughed. “I think the part I hate most about this is that I’ve had to shut all my blinds in here. I haven’t any idea if she has someone reading lips or not, but I’m going to try my best to keep her in the dark for as long as I can. Did I tell you she called me last night? Why on earth she can’t call to bitch at me at a decent time is beyond me. But it was four in the morning.”
“I did as you asked me to do and called Harvey at home. He’s terrified of losing his job. But he did tell me he’d call you every time Margie came to him for information. He’s also started putting all his files on a thumb drive and taking it home with him every night. That was an excellent idea you had.” Nodding, she told her mom that Harvey had been investigated now, and she trusted him. “I don’t know that I’d trust anyone anymore. To think that we have spies working right here with us.”
“I have something to tell you. I’ve been waiting for the right time, so just don’t freak out.” Mom told her it wasn’t in her nature to freak out. “This might take you over the edge. The people that have Becky have this magic around them. A great deal of it from what I’m to understand. One of them, I don’t remember her name, can be out on a walk with Becky right beside her, and Peter wouldn’t see either of them. They’re that good and taking care that no one can see her.”
“Okay, that is a little freaky. How is this going to help you get there?” She said she had to wait on this man to come here to ferret out who her spy was. “That’s necessary to have done before you leave?”
“Meadow, that’s her name. She told me that leaving the spy here would only open myself up for all kinds of shit to go on here. Like having orders sabotaged, computers cloned, and other things that would kill our business. You know as well as I do that we’re only just making a name for ourselves. If it was to be hurt now, it’d be years, if ever, before we get it back to where we are now.” Mom nodded and asked when the man was coming. “Today sometime. He’s going to be working with me in the design room. That is the most centralized place he can see people. His name is Pierce, brother or something to Meadow.”
“So he’s some kind of profiler then? Do you know either of their last names? Anything at all about where they’re coming from?” Joey told her mom she supposed that would be as good a name as any. “Then what happens after he finds them? Do you just fire them? This seems a bit more dangerous than I would have thought. Don’t you think?”
“It’s less dangerous than me running to wherever she is and getting myself and Becky killed. Margie is calling in all kinds of favors to figure out where she is. Meadow has her finger on a great many things that she knows Margie is doing. Like the bugs in my office. Yesterday I thought they were all gone, and suddenly this woman appears in front of me. She shows me where one is that was missed.” Mom didn’t say anything but did lean back in the seat she was in. “My house is bugged too, did I tell you? I’m not staying there right now, so if you need me, I’m here. Your home is going to be taken care of today if you don’t mind.”
“Why?” Joey asked her mom what she meant. “Why would he go to all this trouble for one little girl? I can understand wanting her back—I really do—but she’s not bothering him right now. And we know his wife is dead. He might not know it yet, but I’m betting he’s figuring on that. Why is all this cloak and dagger stuff going on for a small child that never meant a thing to him?”
It took Joey a moment to answer her mom. She trusted her with her life. But it seemed to her lately that she was asking all kinds of questions. It worried her on so many levels that she really couldn’t trust anyone but herself and Pierce, as Meadow had told her. Instead of fobbing her off, she decided to tell her the truth. For now.
“She has his book.” Mom didn’t understand, so she explained. “Where he’s planted bodies, I guess. Who owes him favors. Who he can count on to get laws passed that he wants in his favor.”
Mom did look freaked out then. “I thought that was just a myth, that bad guys did that sort of thing.” She told her mom what Meadow had told her. “So they need to break the code. And this woman, she thinks she can get into his house and find it? Christ, that’s scary, Joey. Your sister wants this man in her life? Is she insane?”
“Yes. I’d say so. She was never like you and I. Since the first time she found out about men, sex, and money, she’s been after the next biggest thing.” The door to her office was locked all the time now, so when it was rattled, like someone was coming in, she waited. “I’m betting it’s Margie. You wait and see what she has to say to me about all this shit I have going on.”
Getting up, she moved the blind to see that it was indeed her sister. After Joey asked her what she wanted, not opening the door, Margie banged her fist on the door. Opening it up, Joey moved back before she was able to hit her. That seemed to piss Margie off even more.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Joey went to sit with her mom, finishing up her lunch that she didn’t really want. “You�
�re having too much fun out of what I have going on around here, Joey. You’re not playing fairly with what I need from you.”
“And what do you think I have that you want?” She asked her where Becky was. “With her mother, I would guess. I have no idea. If I did, do you think I’d be here and not with her? Go home, Margie. I told you when I spoke to you the other day that I was going to get your spies out of here. This is just one more layer of precaution I’m taking.”
“Not that it matters much. I’ll soon know what you know.” She looked at Mom. “Still not dead yet, are you Mother dear? You should have let me marry Peter when I was younger. None of this would be necessary if you had.”
“You were only sixteen, Margie. I wasn’t going to let a child marry anyone. No matter how rich he was.” Margie huffed at her. “As it was, he married his wife when he should have been looking for women his own age. The poor woman was raped until she got pregnant with his child.”
“He wouldn’t have had to rape me.” Mom just turned away from Margie. “I want you to take down these ridiculous blinds and stop having the room gone over. It’s not like you’re telling any kind of state secrets, Joey. Just go along the way you were, and you won’t have to get hurt.”
“I would ask you if you just threatened me, but I know you’d just smirk at me. I’m doing this because, while I’m not telling state secrets, the very thought of you knowing what I’m doing in my own place of business is pissing me off.” Margie picked up Joey’s salad and threw it against the wall. “Very mature. If you think that is going to bring out some sort of temper in me, think again. You’ve been a bully all my life. I’m over you.”
“Will you be over me if this place were to suddenly burn to the ground? Would you come back to me, crawling on your hands and knees, begging me to leave you alone? Even if you did do that, I’d never let you have a moment’s peace. I want to know where Becky is. She’s stolen something from her dad, and he wants it back.” She asked her what it was. “None of your business.”
“Oh, so you can know all my business, but I’m not allowed to know yours.” Margie said that was right. “Tough shit, Margie. I’m not now, nor will I be in the future, afraid of you. In fact, I’d say you should be watching your own back from now on. As soon as I get the spies caught, I’m going to have you arrested. You being here, with me having a court-ordered restraining order against you, is enough to get you put in jail. Go home before I make good on calling the police.”
Margie picked up Mom’s salad and looked like she was going to throw it as well. But Mom took it back from her and set it on the table. Eating it with gusto, she smiled at Margie. She did wonder where her mom got her gutsy ways sometimes.
After she left, Joey sat with her head laying on the table. Just as she was sitting up to tell her mom she’d had enough, a man knocked on the open door and smiled at her. Christ, he was the best looking man she’d seen in about—well, all her life. He said his name was Pierce.
While she knew the man’s last name, she didn’t mention it. Joey also knew to call him Sander. It was supposed to be his middle name or something. The notes she’d taken while talking to Meadow were in her hotel room where she’d left them. Things, she knew, were going wrong here on so many levels she wasn’t sure which end was up anymore.
“Hello.” He nodded at her mom but didn’t take his eyes off her. “You’re supposed to be someone that can profile the people that work here? Must be a boring job. Watching people all day to see if they make any mistakes and give themselves away.”
“On the contrary, it’s very much fun for me. I can tell a great deal about a person when they think they’re hiding something. Like you, for instance.” Joey tensed up, knowing he was going to tell her that her mom was part of the spy ring. “You’ve been hurt recently. Mostly in your ribs, so your daughter here wouldn’t notice. I’m sure she has, but it’s not occurred to her that you’d keep something like that from her. Also, your car has been hit in the last twenty-four hours. That I know because there was a police report done on it. I’m not that good.”
“Mom? Is he telling the truth?” Mom nodded, then burst into tears. Pierce simply moved to the door and closed it on his way out. “Why didn’t you tell me? Was it Margie? One of Peter’s goons?”
“I was coming out of my house when I felt something hit me. I figured out later it was some kind of drug that was in a dart. The little thing is still in the house but in a safe. When I woke up, I was hurting so badly I couldn’t breathe. Then I got this call from some man telling me that if I didn’t cooperate, I’d not be out the next time. I’d feel it all.” She asked her mom what they wanted. “The same thing. Information. I don’t want you to tell me anything more, Joey. I’m afraid of what they’ll do to me if I don’t tell them whatever it is you tell me. I’m an old woman who can’t handle too much in the way of pain anymore.”
“You’re going on vacation.” Mom told her she’d be all right. “Perhaps, but I’m not going to take any chances with you. Before you leave here today, everything will be set up for you. Don’t tell anyone. I’ll stop your mail and figure out your plants and such. You don’t even pack, Mom. It’s a spree for you. All right?”
“Yes. All right.”
Mom was still crying when she asked Pierce to come back into her office. He had been sitting at one of the empty desks just looking on the computer. But she had a feeling that not only could he tell her what was going on with each person there, but that he might well have a good idea who the spies were. He came into her office and sat down by her mom.
“She has to get out of here.” Pierce told her it had been arranged by one of his sisters. “Just like that? You’re going to get my mom out of here even though you don’t know if she’s one of the spies?”
“Your mom might well have been convinced to spy on you had we not come here today. She’s been hurt and threatened with something that very few know about her.” He looked at her mom intensely. “You have to tell her what you know, Lauren. If it comes out that you knew this, there isn’t any saving you when this shit hits the fan.”
Mom nodded and Joey sat back down. Not because she wanted to be near her mom, but because her knees simply would not hold her any longer. This was too much. It was overwhelming her that all this was happening. Asking her mom what was going on, she knew this was going to be just about as bad as it could be.
“About five years ago I had an affair. It wasn’t like it was an affair, I suppose. I’ve been a widow longer than I was a wife. But it was fun. A fling, I guess you could say. However, I hadn’t any idea Peter was having things recorded between us. Not only was he recording it, but other things were done that I wasn’t aware of.” That didn’t sound so bad, but her mother looked at her in the eye. “He has a video of us. I don’t have any idea how it happened—as I said, it was just a fling—but he and I are in bed with several other people. Men and women. It’s horrid, Joey. Just terrible. I paid this other man off with most of my money, then borrowed the rest from you. I thought I had the only copy. It seems now that it’s starting to come out again. I just don’t know what to do about it.”
“When you asked to get your house in order.” She nodded. “This man, this person, he’s blackmailing you now, I take it.”
“Not Blake, but someone who says they have a copy of it. I’m sure Peter is behind it all. If I don’t tell his man everything we discuss, he’ll put the video out there, and it will ruin all this for you too.” Joey shook her head. “Yes, it will, Joey. As you said earlier, we’re just starting to make a name for ourselves, and this will ruin it all.”
“We only just found out about it yesterday. I wasn’t supposed to start until after you and I sat down to talk.” Pierce told her how sorry he was as he continued. “My sisters-in-law are finding out who has the original. They don’t think Blake has it. From what we’ve found out, he’s being blackmailed too. Demi thinks he is as unaware of how the vi
deo came about as your mom is.”
“Blake Daniels.” He nodded. “So, my mom had an affair with this man who is as single as she is, and someone either doctors it up to make it look sordid, or they did something to make my mom and Blake unaware of what was happening. Can your family figure that out?”
“Meadow, whom you’ve spoken to, said it’s not doctored, but she also knows it isn’t your mom or Blake. They’re body doubles. That’s all we’ve been able to figure out so far.” She told Pierce that was more than she had at the moment. “Yes. There is more, but it’s nothing like this. We’ll get it figured out, and once they do, there will be a reckoning they’ll feel for a very long time.”
“I don’t understand why your family would go to all this trouble for me. And my mom, of course. What gives here?” Pierce took his time answering, so much so that she cut him off when he opened his mouth. “This has more to do than with just Becky coming to your home. Doesn’t it?”
“It does, but now isn’t the time to discuss this. The people are here for your mom, and we need to get her out of town. There won’t be any contact between the two of you for a while. But she’ll be watched as if it’s you watching her.” Joey told Pierce she didn’t know why she should trust them. “Because you need help, and we’re the only people at this point that can help you. I’m not saying they won’t get their jail time, but with the magic and powers we hold, no one is going to come out of this on the upper end of the food chain unless we say they can. That would include your mom.”
“And she’ll be safe? Nothing will happen to her?” He said the way they had it fixed, nothing would happen unless her mom decided to do things her own way. Joey looked at her mom. “You’ll do what they tell you. Do you hear me, Mom? I don’t want you hurt or killed. If they tell you to jump off a ship, then you ask them how far out. Okay? I can’t lose you.”
Pierce: McCray Bruin Bear Shifter Romance Page 3
