by Karen Renee
To my utter surprise, Natasha said, “I agree and I don’t agree all at the same time, but let’s put him to the Leon test. I’d say come by tonight, but we got plans tonight. How 'bout tomorrow?”
“You’re on. By the way, did I mention that he told me I’m going to Bike Week?”
I know that if Natasha had been sitting in front of me her eyebrows would have shot up at this statement. “He told you that you were going to Bike Week? Is that what you said?”
I stifled a giggle. “Yes. That’s what I said. In fact, I have to check with my boss to see if I can get the time off for next week. Which I figure is a snowball’s chance in hell with spring break being next week.”
Natasha let a belly laugh rip, and then said, “Oooh! If I can swing this with my mama, I’m comin’ with you to Bike Week.”
“Say do what?”
“You heard me, girlie! Leon’s got his appointment set up for Thursday. He’s gonna be outta commission for at least a week, and he’s got all his March Madness BS at the ready. If I’m not mistaken, I’d say he’s got online wagers going in Vegas, but I’m not certain that shit is entirely legal. My mother has so much sympathy for the man that she’s volunteered to take both our boys during spring break. Like I can do anything for him with this situation of his. All that said, my ass is comin to Bike Week with you. So, make it happen, chica. I haven’t been this excited about a spring break since our junior year of college. In the meantime, tell lover boy to be at our place at six-thirty sharp, or else.”
My grin was threatening to split my entire face in half as I said good bye to my best friend. Me and her let loose at Bike Week. Daytona wasn’t going to know what hit it.
* * * * *
I was leaving the office at quarter to six and gave Cal a call to let him know I was on my way. He and I spoke just before lunch. Blood had been delayed and wouldn’t be installing my system until after lunch. Cal said he was going to be there for the install, so I asked him to take my two suitcases back to my place. He understood my desire get back to my own house. Not that Cal’s place wasn’t cool as hell, and not that Jackie hadn’t done a bang-up job of packing me with three possible work outfits, but there was something about sleeping in my own bed. I unlocked the door with the key fob and started up the Mustang. The purr of the engine was delicious. I pulled my cell from my purse and hit Cal’s number in my recent call history.
Cal’s voice sounded as though he was smiling when he said, “Sweet cheeks, what’s shakin’?”
“Not much. I’m on my way. Are you at my place still? I was hoping to get my car back too.”
“I’m at the compound. I want to walk you through your security system‒we finished up about an hour ago. So I’ll get on my bike and meet you at your house. As for your car, you need to keep drivin’ my Mustang.”
I took a deep breath to keep calm. “Can you help me understand why I’m not gonna get my car back tonight?”
“You had two Leathernecks follow your car Saturday afternoon. Clearly, they know your vehicle. I’m not so sure they don't know you’re driving my car, but it sure as hell makes the rest of us feel better knowing they can’t get a read on your car right off the bat. Speaking of that, park the car in the garage, so they can't just drive by your place and see what you're drivin’.”
My head tilted sideways reflexively. There was no room to put any car in my garage. Greg had filled half of the garage with various tools and what space was left had weight-lifting equipment strewn about in organized chaos. Other than adding Landon’s toys from the living room, I'd left it all untouched; I always parked in the driveway. Cal telling me to park in the garage meant he or Blood had moved the toys and other items. This did not make me happy, because I felt like that should have been my decision.
In an attempt to quash my anger, I decided to play dumb, so I said, “There’s no room for me to park your car in my garage.”
“There is now.”
“Uh, what?”
“There is now. We moved the toys and the weight-lifting equipment to a storage unit. The tools and other shit, we organized and moved some of it to the shed you’ve got out back.”
“A storage unit? I’m not paying money to store items that were already being stored for free!”
Cal stifled a growl. “Mallory, get your head out of your ass. You want to argue about moving shit you aren’t even using, when your safety and well-being is on the line? Really? What would you prefer, leaving that stuff as you had it or being gang-raped by no less than five different men in every way you possibly can be raped and maybe even a few ways you hadn’t thought of yet? What’ll it be?”
He was right, and under normal circumstances, I’d concede the point, but I wasn’t about to give in right now. Instead I asked, “Why didn’t you ask me about this? I ought to have a say about which storage facility you use or hell, if you even use one at all. You could have saved me the hassle and just moved the stuff into the guest room and Landon’s room.”
Cal sighed. “Mallory, the club runs a storage facility off Cheswick Oaks. It’s less than a mile from your house. It took us all of ninety minutes to get it done, and God willing, it will take us even less time to get your shit back to you. You ain’t gonna have to pay since you’re my woman. Now, can we wrap this up and I’ll see you at your place?”
I took a deep breath and said, “Sure. Later.”
I did not know how it happened, but I managed to get to my place before Cal did. Maybe it was the combination of the excellent traffic conditions, the ultra responsive pick-up in the sports car, and the Motley Crüe Dr. Feelgood CD I cranked loud. I pulled his Mustang into the garage. A garage that was almost completely empty. It was a really strange feeling to pull into the vacant space. I felt my anger rising up again, but I knew Cal was right. I needed to put my safety first, and there was no way having a friendly conversation was the reason the Leathernecks wanted to snatch me off the street.
I was going to go into the house but I realized that I didn’t know what my pass code was for disarming the alarm. I had turned the car off, and I grabbed my phone with the intention of calling Cal. Apparently, while jamming out to some metal, I missed a call on my phone. This was not a problem in my Camry since it had the hands-free technology that interrupted music to indicate the phone was ringing. I did not recognize the phone number, but whoever had called left a voice mail.
I pressed the button to listen to the voice mail and a man’s gravelly voice said, “I’m trying to reach Mallory Pierce. This is Detective Steve Davidson. I have Officer Smith’s report on your home invasion. I’d like to ask you a few follow-up questions.”
He left his number for me, and I immediately called him back since I had nothing better to do at the moment anyway.
The phone rang twice before the gravelly voice said, “Davidson.”
“Hi, Detective Davidson, this is Mallory Pierce. I’m returning your call.”
“Yes, Mrs. Pierce. Officer Smith’s report says that your mother-in-law, Gwendolyn Pierce, knew about the cash kept in your home. It also says that you did not think she had any reason to need cash.”
I sighed. “At the time, I didn’t think she had any money issues. However, I’ve learned in the past week that she has a significant amount credit card debt.”
Detective Davidson gave a skeptical-sounding “Um-hmm,” and followed this sentiment with, “How significant are we talking?”
“Five figures worth.”
The detective whistled, and then said, “The report says that you only had three hundred dollars on hand. That wouldn’t even put a dent in that kind of debt.”
I rubbed a hand down my face. “Yes, which is why I can’t believe she’d have anything to do with the break-in, but shortly after the crime, I received an insurance settlement check for the deaths of my husband and son.”
“Was she interested in this settlement money?”
“Very much so, and I gave her all but about six grand of it. She insisted I keep some
of it since my home had been burglarized and I was facing getting a new door, security system and all that.”
“Is your mother-in-law out of debt now?”
I grimaced. “Well, I don’t know, since I didn’t ask to see the credit card statements, but she called me Saturday afternoon asking for more. Apparently she took some of it to the Best Bet poker room in Regency, trying to make more money. She also apparently lost that money.”
Detective Davidson took a deep breath and said, “It is your money, Mrs. Pierce, but I would advise you to not give her any more financial assistance. There are programs available to help people with consumer credit issues.”
“Yes, sir. I wasn’t planning on providing her with any more money. If I’d known she would go to the poker room, I never would have given her the check.”
Before we rang off, the detective told me he might be in touch again and to call if I came across anything that might assist the investigation. I had just hit the disconnect button on the phone when I heard the growl of a motorcycle and the garage door went up. I opened the car door and exited the Mustang.
Cal moved the bike slowly into the garage. He was wearing his cut and a long-sleeved grey t-shirt with a huge Harley-Davidson logo across the chest. He had on sunglasses and his half-helmet, and I was stunned at how hot he looked in the helmet. I really liked his dirty-blond hair, but watching him move on the bike with the helmet on his head made my heart beat a little faster. The whole package on the bike made him look like a rebel without a cause. Or maybe I was his cause.
He stowed the helmet in his hard-sided saddle bag, turned to me and asked, “Why you sittin’ out here in the garage?”
My eyebrows scrunched together slightly. “Well, hello to you, too. Uh, I don’t know my alarm code, thanks. Didn’t want to send a false alarm to the powers-that-be out there, ya know?”
Cal grinned at me. “Gotcha. Hadn’t thought about that. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was makin’ sure there wasn’t anyone trying to keep an eye on your place. Lots of cul-de-sacs around your neighborhood that make good hiding spots.”
Why had I not thought of that? Well, until Saturday, I had no idea anyone would want to grab me off the street, so maybe I could forgive myself for the oversight. Cal opened the door to the kitchen from the garage, and he guided me through how to disarm the alarm. We spent the next forty-five minutes adding an app to my smartphone and setting up the ability to look into my house remotely, unlock or lock my doors, and even listen to myself talk to someone who may or may not be in my house. Technology could be cool, but in this case it was too scary to be cool. Talk about big brother!
It was nearly seven o’clock when we finished up. Cal put his hands around my waist and pulled me to him. He looked into my eyes and said, “Hate to tell you this, but I got club shit to do tonight. I was hoping to take you to dinner on the back of my bike, but that isn’t happening.”
I shrugged slightly. “That’s okay. Do you have club stuff to do every night? Because Natasha has invited us to dinner at her place tomorrow night. Six-thirty sharp.”
Cal gave me a small smile. “Don’t have club ‘stuff’ as you put it every night, but it isn’t predictable, either. However, I’ll make sure Volt understands I got plans tomorrow evening. That good for you?”
I nodded, and then said, “Thanks for taking care of the security system for me.”
He lowered his head and kissed me. I thought it would be a quick good-bye kiss, but it quickly escalated into a minor make-out session. I had just hitched my knee up to Cal’s hip when he finally pulled his lips away from me.
His forehead was resting against mine, and his beautiful hazel eyes were fiercely looking into mine. “Christ, Mallory. I got a late night ahead of me, so I was going to leave you to sleep here alone tonight, but fuck. You’re such a damn firecracker. I’m sleeping here tonight. Be late, so don’t wait up, but don’t be startled when I get here either.”
I lowered my leg, and took a deep breath. Then I said, “Don’t you need a key?”
Cal shook his head. “Your front door has a numeric key pad now. I programmed in my own code. I’ll come in quiet, and disarm the alarm. But, we’re taking up where this left off, no matter what time it is. Got me?”
I nodded. I got him, and I couldn’t wait to get him later.
Chapter 21
Shortly after a Tuesday morning department meeting, the receptionist called my desk.
“Mallory Pierce.”
Her delicate voice said, “Mallory, I have a woman here to see you. She says it’s important and her name is Gwendolyn Pierce.”
Fantastic. My morning had been going really well, right up to now. Cal had rolled in just after two in the morning, and as promised he woke me up to start up where we left off in the living room. When my alarm went off at a quarter after six, I turned it off and was going to sneak out of my bed. Cal’s arm shot out and pulled me on top of him for his version of “good morning.” When I got to work, I found my boss had approved my vacation request for next week. So, Gwen showing up at my office, strike that, inside my office, put a damper on my good mood.
As I made my way to the reception area, I tried to scout some of the smaller conference rooms. Two appeared to be open, at the moment, anyway. I remembered the last visit Gwen paid me in the company parking lot. I hoped she wasn’t sitting in the lobby wearing a housedress. That would be extremely awkward. I worried for naught, when I entered the lobby I saw she was wearing a pair of brown dress pants with a modest beige scoop-neck sweater. Her hair was not haphazard as it had been a few weeks ago, either.
I pasted a smile on my face for her, and said, “Gwen. So good to see you. Come on back, and we’ll talk in a conference room.”
I led Gwen to one of the small rooms that held an oversized desk and a phone. I shut the door behind her and leaned myself up against it. I crossed my arms over my chest as Gwen took a seat at the table.
Gwen realized I wasn’t moving to sit down and she settled her gaze on me. “Mallory. I don’t know where you’ve been, or who this new person is in your life, but I desperately need your help.”
I let a breath out through my nose. “No, you don’t. If you genuinely have credit card debt issues, there are places you can turn to for help. Consolidation, consumer credit counseling –”
Her eyes narrowed at me, “You think Gregory would ever speak to me this way?”
I widened my eyes at her. “Yeah, I do. In fact, he would have demanded the credit card statements before ever providing you with the check if Landon and I had been killed instead. I have a JSO detective telling me the same thing Cal told me. I should never have given you that money, and you’re not getting anything else from me. You will not suck me dry. I lost my husband and my son. It’s taken the last eighteen months for me to start to rejoin the living in any real shape or form. Hell, you should have been urging me to get back into the world just like my mother and Natasha, but you seem to be determined to keep me in the past. You got what money I received. Please do not come back to my place of work.”
I opened the door to the conference room and gestured for her to go out. She stood up and said in a low voice, “I thought you loved me as I love you, Mallory. Like the daughter I never had. I see that is not the case.”
Guilt. Greg used to tell me she could lay on a guilt-trip like nobody else. Seemed I was getting my dose of the guilt-trip treatment. As she stepped into the hall I said, “No, Gwen. That’s where you’re wrong. When you get yourself together, you’ll see this for the tough love that it happens to be. I wish nothing but the best for you, but if you need anything in the future, I’ll have to buy it for you, not provide you with cash.”
I returned to my desk, anxious to get back to work. The earlier department meeting had taken up over an hour of my morning, and Gwen’s visit took almost another half-hour from me. I tried to concentrate in order to make up for lost time, but by the time it was 11:30, I was feeling completely unproductive. I knew I needed a break. I
had brought a frozen dinner with me for lunch, but I needed to get out of the office. I wanted to vent to somebody, but I couldn’t call Natasha since she was in the middle of her school day. I wasn’t about to call Cal, because God knew he was as biased as one could be on the whole thing. I didn’t really want to tell any of my other friends about my financial faux pas of providing my mother-in-law with the bulk of my insurance settlement money. Then I realized Jackie knew about the money issues. She might be just the sounding board I needed.
Twenty minutes later, Jackie called my cell to let me know she was outside the office. I wasn’t sure if it was her idea, Volt’s, or Cal’s, but she was insistent that I not go to lunch driving Cal’s car. She had suggested Copeland’s New Orleans restaurant, and I immediately agreed. In an effort to beat the lunch rush, we sat at the bar to eat, and I unloaded about my mother-in-law visiting the office.
Jackie had a forkful of red beans and rice half way to her mouth when she asked, “Is she out of her mind?”
“I think she might be.”
I twirled my fork around some angel hair pasta before spearing a bite of crab cake to bring it to my mouth. The garlicky Alfredo sauce with the crab cake was heaven in my mouth.
Jackie swallowed a sip of diet soda and asked, “She really laid that guilt trip on you? Wow.”
“Yeah. Thanks for coming for lunch. I needed to offload this crap to somebody. I couldn’t even concentrate after I got back to my desk. God! I’m gonna be out all of next week. I need to try to get a jump on my workload. This is not the bullshit I need on my plate today. Sorry to bellyache.”
Jackie threw her hand out and let it bend at the wrist. “Forget about it, girlie. I haven’t decided what I’m doing with my time yet, now that I’m Volt’s old lady. We aren’t married yet, and I don’t know what kind of timeline he has for starting a family or if he even wants to do that. I should finish my degree at JU, but bikers can be more than a little demanding of your time. If you know what I mean.”
