Strip Tease

by Karen Erickson

  And maybe not, he thought uneasily.

  “That’s what I heard, though don’t quote me. They’re taking her back to headquarters so they can use one of our rooms. Go talk to one of the feds. Find out what’s going on.” Greg flicked his head in their direction.

  Turned out Greg was right. The moment Nate approached the group of federal agents, they asked if he wanted to sit in during the questioning. Of course, he said yes.

  He was doing it for Janelle.

  The uneasy feeling stayed with him the entire drive to the station, right until he walked into the tiny room and saw Ginger Pearson sitting huddled in a metal chair. She looked terrible, even worse than the last time he saw her, nothing like Janelle. How had he confused the two of them in the first place?

  “I want to make sure you’re aware you’re participating in this interview without a lawyer present. And you’ve already been read your rights. Is that correct?” One of the agents asked as precaution, and for the recorder that taped the entire conversation.

  A shaky sigh escaped her. “Yes, I understand. There’s nothing a lawyer could do for me anyway.”

  “Ginger.” Everyone looked at Nate when he said her name and he took a deep breath. He needed to say something, warn her before they started questioning her extensively. “It would be in your best interest to have a lawyer with you.”

  The agents glared at him, but he didn’t care. He had to protect her for Janelle’s sake.

  “I can’t afford one,” she admitted, her voice small, her gaze on her lap.

  “Janelle will help you.”

  She looked up at him, her gaze dry, her lips drawn thin. “I don’t know...”

  “I’ll call her,” Nate offered and one of the agents groaned out loud.

  “Don’t fuck this up,” another one muttered under his breath, shooting daggers at him with his eyes.

  “You shouldn’t be questioning her alone when she’s in this state,” Nate said, shaking his head. “She’s in shock. She just watched her boyfriend kill himself.”

  A sob escaped Ginger and she covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking.

  “Thanks a lot, Banks,” another one mumbled.

  But Nate didn’t give a damn. He went to Ginger and offered her an awkward hug, then pulled out his phone. He needed to protect Ginger for Janelle’s sake.

  More than anything, he needed Janelle to forgive him.

  Chapter Twelve

  Janelle sat huddled in bed, the covers wrapped around her chilled body. Trying to concentrate on the mindless TV show blaring at her, but she couldn’t focus.

  The memory of Billy holding the gun against her sister’s head made her tremble. When he shot himself in front of everyone? That particular image was burned in her brain for the rest of her life.

  Going to work had been a nightmare. She’d walked around most of the day like a zombie, unable to concentrate. Her far too perceptive boss noticed and asked if the upcoming fund raiser was worrying her. Jumping at the easy excuse, Janelle readily blamed it on the Fashion for Passion event and Marnie left her alone.

  Her friend Theresa though, had her all figured out.

  “I saw you on the news last night.” She’d stood by Janelle’s desk, a solemn expression on her face.

  “What?” Janelle’s jaw had dropped open and her cheeks had burned with embarrassment. She’d forgotten about the media vans swarming the parking lot. Of course, they’d made the news. The story was chock full of drama.

  God, maybe Marnie had seen the broadcast too. She didn’t want to know.

  “That drug dealer killing himself and your sister being arrested? You were held hostage by him in a restaurant? They mentioned your name, though I didn’t see a picture of you. Well, I did see a mug shot of your sister. Ginger? Was that really about you?”

  Janelle had watched her friend carefully, saw nothing but concern in her kind eyes. Maybe she wouldn’t judge her. Maybe she would offer acceptance instead of turning her away.

  “Yes. Ginger is my sister.” Janelle had whispered the words with a miserable sigh.

  Theresa had been full of sympathy, hugging her close and asking why she’d bothered coming to work. Janelle had blown it off, told Theresa she was fine and she needed to be there. Too much was going on and it was all her responsibility.

  She’d also begged Theresa not to breathe a word of it to anyone.

  Nate had called her last night, just before they started questioning Ginger, asking if she would help pay for a lawyer. She’d readily agreed, he’d thanked her and promptly hung up. He hadn’t let her talk to Ginger either, let her stew in her worry for the rest of the night.

  A representative from the DEA had called as well, demanding she come in to give a statement. She’d gone in before she started work, a quick and painless half hour of carefully constructed questions. She’d asked about Ginger, but they hadn’t offered much information beyond her still being held at the county jail.

  It had been enough information to crush her heart.

  Monday night, and still no word from Ginger. She was worried sick. Did she confess all so they could go forward with the charges against her? It was eating her up inside, driving her crazy. If she had her mom’s phone number, she would’ve called her but Janelle had no idea where she was.

  So she spent the evening desperate and alone. Oh, Theresa had offered her to come over after work but Janelle refused. She didn’t want to dump her major problems on someone else. It was difficult enough, revealing the basic details to her friend, let alone all the scary crazy stuff Janelle really needed to get off her chest.

  How she wished she could talk to Nate. He would understand, would hold her and let her cry. She rarely cried but she’d let the tears fall constantly the last twenty-four hours.

  She was still too unsure where their relationship stood though. And his recent behavior was pointing directly to her suspicions. Now he had her sister where he wanted her, he wasn’t calling. He wasn’t coming around.

  As if he might be through with her.

  A light knock sounded on her door and Janelle sat up with a gasp. Pushing out of bed, she padded toward the front door, peering through the peephole to see who stood on her doorstep.

  Ginger. She couldn’t believe it.

  Throwing open the door, Janelle dragged her inside, pulling her sister into her arms. They stood in front of the open door, holding each other in silence. Wetness touched her shoulder and Janelle knew her sister was crying.

  Which made her cry a little, too.

  Finally gathering her wits, Janelle released Ginger, slamming the door shut and locking it tightly. “Why didn’t you call me? When did they release you?”

  “About an hour ago. One of the detectives gave me money for a taxi and told me to come straight here.” Ginger set her purse on the arm of the couch. “I’m exhausted.”

  “I can’t believe they kept you in jail the entire time.” Janelle was horrified.

  “No, it was nothing like that. They started in on me when they brought me in, but that detective, the one who gave me the taxi money, he took care of me. Nate. Once I got the lawyer, they questioned me all night long.” Ginger shook her head. “They let me take a break so I could sleep on a small couch in a conference room for a while. But then they woke me up and made me start all over again. They sure are persistent.”

  Janelle grew wistful. It touched her that Nate had been involved in her sister’s questioning, protecting Ginger, watching out for her. She reached for her sister, rubbing her shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Ginger released a shuddering breath. “Not really. I’ve done enough talking to last a lifetime. I’d love to crawl into bed and sleep for the next twenty four hours.” She paused, her gaze meeting Janelle’s. “Thanks for helping me. For the lawyer. For everything.”

  “Of course.” Janelle offered a shaky smile.

  “Nate bailed me out. They set my bail and he paid for it.” She shook her head. “I can’t
believe he did that.”

  Janelle’s mouth dropped open. She couldn’t believe it either.

  “He’s nice. He said he knows you. Are you friends or something?”

  “More like ‘or something’,” Janelle mumbled, her mind a tumble of confused thoughts, all of them involving Nate. “Come on.”

  They went to Janelle’s bedroom and she pulled out a pair of short pajamas from her dresser, handing them to Ginger. “Take a shower, change into these and then let’s crash. You can sleep with me tonight.”

  “Like old times?” Ginger took the clothes from her.

  “Like old times,” Janelle agreed with a nod. They’d shared many a bed in their youth, usually due to the fact their mother couldn’t afford to provide each of them their own.

  It had made them crazy then, but it had also drawn them closer. Something Janelle didn’t regret now.

  Ginger started for the bathroom but then stopped and turned. “I’m going to end up in jail, Janelle. And I want you to know I’m okay with it. I need to face facts that the stuff I did for Billy, it was wrong.”

  Janelle swallowed hard. Her sister sounded so...grown up. “Are you scared?”

  “Out of my mind.” Ginger laughed, sounding a little crazed. “But I gotta own up to what I did. I really was running the girls,” she admitted.

  “You’re kidding.” Janelle was surprised…but then again, she wasn’t.

  Ginger nodded. “I’m not kidding. I did it. I did it to make Billy happy, for the money, for the drugs. Trust me. I’m not proud of any of this.”

  “Are you high right now?” Janelle asked quietly.

  “No!” Ginger shook her head. “I’m not feeling so good, though. Nate said they would put me in rehab immediately, it would help reduce the time I’d have to serve.”

  “Are you going to do it?” Hope lit within Janelle’s chest. Maybe this would be the thing to help Ginger clean up for good.

  “Yeah. I want to.” A ghost of a smile curved Ginger’s lips. “I need to get on with my life. Make something of myself. Ending up in jail won’t help, but maybe once I get out, I can finally straighten up.”

  “You can do it.” Janelle enveloped her in a hug. “I know you can.”

  “Thanks for believing in me,” Ginger whispered and Janelle squeezed her harder before finally releasing her.

  “Go take a shower,” Janelle urged and Ginger headed toward the bathroom.

  Janelle went back into the kitchen and put a pot of water on to boil. She wanted to make some tea to soothe their frayed nerves and help them sleep.

  The phone rang in the middle of her tea preparations and Janelle froze. The caller couldn’t be anyone else. Both excitement and dread bubbled in her stomach.

  After wishing him to call, she didn’t know if she was ready.

  “Janelle, are you okay?” Nate asked the moment she answered.

  “I’m fine.” She didn’t mean to sound short, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t know how to act around him anymore.

  “Did Ginger make it to your place all right?”

  “She did. Thank you for paying for the taxi and sending her to me.” She paused. “Thank you for bailing her out, too.”

  “No problem. They set it low. It was the least I could do.” He cleared his throat. “I had a car tail her. I wanted to show I trusted her but to be honest, I didn’t completely. Don’t tell her though.”

  “I won’t. I understand why you did it.”

  “Did she tell you what happened?”

  “Kind of. I didn’t push. We’ll talk more later.” Janelle clutched the phone tighter, watching the steam rise around the tea kettle as the water heated up.

  His voice lowered. “I didn’t tell her about us, Janelle. I wanted to leave that up to you.”

  “Thank you.” Had he been hiding it on purpose, or was he being sincere? She didn’t know what to believe.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner. It’s been—crazy here.” He sounded tired.

  “That’s okay. I understand.” She did. Sort of.

  “I know your sister is with you tonight.” He paused and she heard him sigh. “Can I come over tomorrow, after you get off work?”

  She hesitated. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea, Nate. Ginger’s going to stay with me for the next few days now that she’s out on bail. And I’m not sure if she’d be comfortable here with you.”

  Another ragged sigh. “Yeah. No, I get it. How about you come over to my place then?”

  “I—I don’t think so. Not this week. I can’t leave her alone.” She couldn’t trust Ginger alone. She might leave again.

  And she needed this distance from Nate. Needed to get her head on straight, figure out what she was going to do next.

  “Of course, you’re right. I understand.” He paused and she swallowed past the sob that had risen to her throat. This was it, their time together was over. He was going to end it. “Will you call me in the next couple of days?”

  His request surprised her. “Um, okay.” Should she?

  This so-called relationship was a lost cause. Now that Nate had everything he wanted, he didn’t need her anymore.

  And it hurt. A lot.

  “Janelle.” His voice was a harsh whisper and she closed her eyes, fighting off the tears. “I miss you.”

  “I miss you, too. I’ll talk to you later.” She hung up with the press of a button, tossing the phone onto the countertop as if it burned her.

  Warm tears coursed down her cheeks and silent sobs wracked her body. Covering her face with her hands, she cried. Cried for her sister, cried for herself and she cried for Nate.

  More than anything, she cried for Nate.

  * * * *

  “She won’t fucking see me.” Nate sipped from his third beer, already feeling the buzz. He wasn’t a big drinker and he hadn’t gone to a bar in forever.

  When Greg made the suggestion, it was as if his partner read Nate’s mind. It was exactly what he needed to drown his pansy ass sorrows.

  A week had gone by since he’d seen Janelle. How he hated every minute that had ticked by without her close. His heart ached for her, as well as his body. He didn’t understand how she could turn him away so easily, forget that he even existed.

  Ginger was living with her and he got that, really he did. At least, he was trying to understand. Janelle was helping Ginger and that couldn’t be easy. She’d gone to rehab within a few days of getting bailed out of jail, as per the judge’s instructions. Once Ginger finished, she’d report to the courts. Hopefully, her jail sentence would be short.

  So now Janelle was alone. No Ginger to take care of, no figuring out the court system and making arrangements. Her life was back to normal.

  And still she didn’t call. No texts. No email, for the love of God—not a damn thing.

  He refused to go to her. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew when he’d been rebuffed and this time around, he’d been kicked straight in the nuts.

  Falling in love sucked.

  “Who won’t see you?” Greg finally asked, turning his attention to Nate. He’d been too busy making eyes at some hot chick across the bar.

  Nate wanted to growl at his inane question. “Janelle, you dumbass. I think she dumped me.”

  “You think? Wait, you don’t know?” Greg peered at him with his all-knowing gaze and Nate looked away, uncomfortable.

  “No. I don’t know,” he muttered, taking another drink of beer.

  “Well, she hasn’t dumped you yet. Trust me you’ll know when you’re getting dumped. Maybe she needs space. This has been a pretty shitty week, you know,” Greg pointed out.

  “She’s putting distance between us on purpose. That’s how she is. She doesn’t allow anyone to get too close. She’s too afraid to get hurt.”

  “Hmm, sounds familiar.”

  Greg earned an elbow in the ribs for that remark.

  “Yeah well, every time I put my heart on the line, it gets stomped on. See why I’m the way I am?” Nate sh
ook his head, staring morosely at his almost empty beer.

  “What, a miserable jackass? Yeah, I see that, but you need to do something. You need to take action, man. Go to this chick’s house and tell her you’re done playing games. Tell her how you feel. Let her know you care for her and you want to be there for her. She’ll melt. They always melt for that shit.” Greg smiled, looking pleased with his speech.

  “With my luck, she’ll slam the door in my face and tell me to get lost.” God, he was wallowing in his own misery and actually enjoying it. It felt damn good to whine.

  Tomorrow he’d regret it. Tonight, he relished it.

  “Dude, you are so negative, it’s unbelievable. Go talk to her right now. You’re a little drunk so let the words flow. Let her know what she means to you,” Greg encouraged.

  Nate shook his head. “I’d make a complete ass of myself if I went over there.”

  “And then again, she might listen to you, you never know. Come on, I’ll drive you. You’re in no state to get your ass there.”

  “I can’t do it, bro. She’ll think I’m an idiot. Hell I am an idiot.” Nate thrust his thumb at his chest. “Class A idiot looking right at you.”

  “You’re repeating yourself.” Greg stood, waving his hand toward the exit. “Come on, let’s go. We need to go change your life for the better.”

  “Hell, I can’t believe I’m letting you talk me into this,” Nate muttered as he polished off his beer and then stood, staggering on his feet.

  “I don’t think you’ll regret it,” Greg said over his shoulder as they wound themselves through the crowded bar. “I think this is exactly what you need to do.”

  Nate tried to convince himself the entire car ride to Janelle’s. Considering his slightly inebriated state, it probably wasn’t smart. His head spun, his stomach turned with nerves and he wanted to tell Greg to forget it and take him home.

  Knowing Greg wouldn’t listen, he remained silent. What would he say to her? Blurt out he was in love with her or take a more subtle approach? What did she want to hear?