by Lucy Quinn
Evie said to him, “You’re going to do the distraction this time.”
“I am,” Luke confirmed.
Dora was glad. She’d had enough of being alligator bait to last a lifetime. “And while you do that, Evie and I find a way to get Billy out of his tank and into your car.”
“Good thing I packed a snack for him,” Evie said, patting the straps of the baby backpack she was wearing. “He’s bound to be starving after all this time in captivity.” The pack was made to hold a baby, the part Sunshine was utilizing, but it also had a pocket for other items a parent might need. “Sunshine’s guarding them for safekeeping.”
The little dog let out a shocked sounding yelp, and Dora took a good look at the pup, noticing brown stains around her furry white snout that looked suspiciously like peanut butter.
The dog curled her upper lip at Dora in silence, warning her not to tell Evie how well the peanut butter bar had actually been guarded. Dora shrugged. She understood that emergency snacks were for a variety of stressful situations, like say, returning to the place where you were almost a doggy truffle for a gator. Besides, it was gone now, and not much could be done about it.
“Then,” Dora began, “we get Billy home and swear him to secrecy about us. Since Evie returned the truck and clocked him out as usual—"
Evie cut in, “And we delivered all his mail.”
“He returns to work as usual on Monday,” Dora finished. They had discussed this previously, but Dora was still uneasy about this portion of their plan. “Jeez, I sure hope he’s going to be agreeable to this. What if he wants to go to the police anyway?”
“He delivers Brian’s mail, too,” Evie said. “Relax, Dora. Billy’s not going to trust the police any more than we do considering he knows the one who kidnapped him.”
She sighed, knowing Evie was likely right, but it didn’t make her queasy stomach feel much better.
Luke said, “Okay. We’re good. Now, I need you both to watch my back while I pick the lock.”
Dora’s jaw dropped. She’d figured they were going to crawl through a window or something. “You’re going to pick the lock?” she asked.
Luke smiled. “Way too many James Bond movies as a kid. Did you know my favorite cocktail is a martini?”
“Shaken, not stirred,” Evie said with a grin, and then she sighed. “It’s soooo sexy when a man orders that.”
Dora elbowed her friend when a twinge of jealousy stabbed at her heart. “How should we alert you if we see something?” she asked Luke.
“Clear your throat, like this,” Evie said, and then she proceeded to make a noise that sounded like she was about to hack up one hell of a loogie.
“Ewww, Evie,” Dora said.
“What? It’s allergy season and I’ve been a little too busy to remember to take my medicine. You know how bad my phlegm gets.”
“Now that’s sexy,” Luke said. “Bet that gets you a lot of dates.”
“I do just fine, thank you very much, Chef Luke, ye who has access to way too many neighbors’ apartments.”
“Right?” Dora asked, happy her friend had the same suspicions.
“Apparently, I do just find too,” Luke snapped back, catching his error in judgment too late. He looked at Dora. “I mean—” He stammered, and then he shook his head. “I’m not dating any of them. Never have. I’m just the one everyone asks to water their plants and take in mail. I’m a sucker that way.”
Dora’s heart softened because she loved that he was so trustworthy. “No. You’re a nice guy, Luke.”
“Great,” Evie said. “I’m disgusting, Luke’s a nice guy, and Dora’s got a mad crush on him. Now that that’s settled, let’s break into an alligator park and save a mailman. Okay?”
“Fine,” Dora said, cheeks burning from embarrassment. “How about a heron call?” She let out a raspy sound similar to one someone might make to mimic a pterodactyl.
“Wow. That’s scary good,” Luke said.
“Sounds like your loogie got stuck,” Evie mumbled.
Dora ignored her friend and smiled at Luke. “You had James Bond. I had Animal Planet.”
“Well, all right, ladies.” Luke nodded at them and walked quietly over to the service entrance door.
Luke managed to get the door open almost as fast as if he’d had the key, and Dora exchanged a wide-eyed glance with Evie. Evie asked, “Who needs James Bond? We’ve got Luke.”
As she stepped softly through the door, Dora marveled at his skill too. Luke sure was something, and she was really glad he’d offered to help them. She had a feeling Billy would be too.
The inside of the alligator park was creepy at night. The lighting was dim, and along with the chirping of crickets and peeping of frogs, the alligators let out rumbly groans that made tiny hairs stand up on the back of Dora’s neck. She shuddered as she recalled she was almost a meal for them earlier. She really hoped rescuing Billy was going to be a quick job.
“How much further?” Evie asked in a loud whisper.
“Almost there.” Luke pressed his back up against a wall and shuffled to the side, apparently in an effort to hide from a security camera. Evie, whom Dora had insisted go next so she could keep an eye on her, followed him, and then Dora did the same. They turned a corner, and Luke paused by a door to check the handle. It was locked, but that wasn’t much of a problem for Luke, and he let them into the room a few moments later.
“Billy!” Evie hissed.
The man had likely been asleep, because he lifted his head and his back straightened up as if she’d woken him.
“Billy! It’s me!” Evie said in her whisper, which was pointless since it was just as loud as a speaking voice.
“Evie? Is that you?” Billy asked.
Evie lurched forward, but Luke grabbed her shirt to restrain her just in time. “Hang on a minute there, sister,” he said. “You might want to consider his guard first.” Luke pointed to a large, dark object that appeared to be a rock at first, but Dora quickly realized it was an alligator. A really big one. “Meet Cecelia,” Luke said. “Fourteen feet of pure gator. And from my research, I learned she’s never been one to miss out on the opportunity for a good meal.”
“Billy,” Evie said, “We’re here to rescue you. Just hold tight.”
“H—how?” Dora asked as she eyed Cecelia, who had opened one eye to see what was going on. Luke hadn’t drawn her to size. At all. Or mentioned the part where there wasn’t a partition or any sort of divider to keep the alligator from attacking them.
Dora looked at Luke and whispered, “Don’t you think it might have been a good idea to tell us about Cecelia, Mr. Bond?”
20
“I’ve always had a little trouble with scale when it comes to sketching,” Luke said.
“Ya think?” Evie asked. Luke had made the alligator that was guarding Billy seem like something he could easily handle. Evie had to admit that Luke had been pretty competent so far. Waiting all night to rescue her and Dora from the dry cleaners was admirable. Figuring out how to get inside the alligator park and bypassing the cameras was darn clever, too. But she wasn’t so sure the James Bond wannabe could safely distract a fourteen-foot gator. “Someone’s been spending a little too much time inhaling whipped cream in the walk-in cooler at work.”
“For Pete’s sake, you two,” Luke said. Then he glared at Evie. “Wait a minute, that was you?” He shook his head as he let out a sigh. “And to think, I blamed the dishwasher for doing the whipits to get high. I knew there was more to the story about the bartender having a run on orange wedges.”
“Hey!” Evie said. She may have partaken in a little nitrous oxide fun with the dishwasher during her two-week stint as a waitress at Luke’s restaurant, but now was not the time to admit it. “Don’t we have a man to save here?”
“Yeah,” piped in Billy. “I’d really like to get back in time for the football game. I’ve got money ridin’ on the Dolphins.”
Dora shook her head and kicked off her shoes.
Evie knew her friend was also skeptical about Luke’s gator-taming abilities, but she knew Dora would do anything to try to rescue Billy anyway.
“How do we want to do this?” Dora asked.
“Give me a minute to deal with Cecelia,” Luke said. “I’ll hold up my thumb when you’re good to go.”
“Like you’re hitchhiking?” Dora asked.
Luke frowned. “No. Like a thumbs-up.” He demonstrated by lifting his thumb and extending it straight up. “Like, this. You know? The universal everything’s-okay sign.”
“Is that what that means?” Evie asked in a joking tone as she recalled what Dora had thought it meant the first time someone used it on her. “I thought that was more of a Hey, babe, wanna get with me later? kind of sign. Right, Dor?”
“Funny,” Dora said. She pointed her thumbs up and her index fingers out to mimic guns and clicked twice. “That’s the do-me-later sign.”
Evie tried to hide her snicker. Try as she might, there were just some things Dora was never going to get.
“What? You—I—” Luke shook his head, completely dumbfounded.
Evie laughed. “You don’t want to know what she thought the middle finger was for.”
“Hey! I was a new driver. How was I supposed to know the guy wasn’t trying to tell me to get in the middle lane?”
Luke let out a snort of laughter. Evie joined him, and even Billy grinned at Dora’s expense.
Dora, however, was not so entertained. She crossed her arms and glared at Evie. “You sure you really want to start this?”
Evie found a way to stop laughing and held up a hand. She knew Dora had some darn good dirt on her too, and she did not want to go there. “No. I’m sorry.”
Luke managed to stop laughing too, and as he wiped his eyes, he said, “Dora, you’re are so damn cute sometimes.”
“Great. Another person in my life who likes to laugh at my expense.”
Luke reached out to put a hand on one of Dora’s crossed arms. “No, babe. I mean it. I like this side of you. It’s adorable and refreshing.”
Dora’s expression softened, and she dipped her head to give him a sideways glance. “Oh. Okay, then.”
Billy cleared his throat loudly. “Any chance I can make the second half?”
“Right.” Luke straightened up and took a deep breath before he began to walk slowly over to Cecelia. The alligator was clearly not laughing when she opened her wide jaw to reveal her bone-crushing teeth. The gator let out low growl that chilled Evie to the bone.
It didn’t do much to affect Luke, though. He stopped a few feet from the gator and began to sing softly, starting off with a long croon of her name. The lyrics went on to say she was breaking Luke’s heart.
Evie’s jaw dropped in surprise, and it wasn’t because Luke knew the words to the classic tune. She turned to look at Dora to find she’d had the same reaction. “He’s singing to her?”
Dora continued to stare, mesmerized. “Uh-huh.”
Evie understood why. Luke had the voice of an angel. Well, not quite as good as Trace’s but, damn, not too shabby. And with the cement walls in the room they were in, the acoustics were doing him a huge favor. Luke sloshed slowly into the water to get closer to Cecelia as he sang.
Not only was Dora awestruck and Evie impressed, but Cecelia had closed her mouth, and she slithered closer to Luke to rub against him like she was a cat looking for affection. Even Sunshine was leaning her head on Evie’s shoulder, watching as if she was transfixed by Luke’s song. They were all so mesmerized nobody seemed to notice when Luke lifted up his thumb.
“Pssst!” Billy said. “A little help here?”
Evie snapped out of her trance. “Coming. Coming.” She grabbed her friend’s arm. “Dor! C’mon.”
“Right.” Dora shook her head and rushed over with Evie to help Billy out of his tank. The two women found it wasn’t difficult. Apparently, Brian and Jock had felt that Cecelia was enough of a deterrent that they didn’t need to tie Billy up too tight. Plus, Dora had a box cutter in her back pocket that helped make quick work of removing the duct tape holding Billy to his stool.
By the time they got Billy out of the tank and on solid ground again, Cecelia had rolled onto her back in the knee-deep water, and Luke was rubbing her stomach as he continued to sing. He’d moved her back into the shadows, and his voice was so soft Evie guessed Cecelia must be asleep.
“Unbelievable,” Billy said.
“It really is,” Evie agreed. “I’ve never—” She let out a gasp, and Sunshine yelped as something hard was jammed into Evie’s side.
“Ladies,” Brian said. Evie noticed he had an arm around Dora’s neck and a gun in her side. “How nice of you to drop by.”
“Crap,” Dora mumbled.
“Aw, man,” Billy whined. “Hey, do either of you guys know who’s winning the Dolphins game?”
“Twenty-one to nine. Dol—”
“Jock!” Brian shouted. He waved his gun toward Billy. “Back in your tank or the girl joins you.”
“If you’re going to put one of them in there with me, can it be Evie?” Billy winked at Evie and darted his eyes toward where Cecelia was resting sans Luke.
Evie frowned, pretending she was insulted, and snuck a glance over at the gator to see Luke wasn’t anywhere in sight. She figured Billy was buying them some time.
Billy shrugged as he looked at her, playing his part to the hilt. At least she hoped so, because he said, “I mean, if I get to choose. ‘Cause Evie’s kind of hot. She answers the door in short-shorts and those little tank tops some girls wear. You know?” He glanced at Dora. “I’m sure you’re hot too, but you wear way more clothes. No offense.”
“None taken,” Dora said. And Evie believed Dora meant it and was on board with their ruse.
“Kind of hot?” Evie asked in an exasperated voice. She let it rise in volume. “I’m only kind of hot?”
“I don’t know,” Jock said from behind Evie. “Dora’s got a little something, something going on, too.”
Dora opened her mouth in shock, and Evie didn’t think she was acting. “I—I’m—”
“Hot, Dora,” Evie said. “Jock thinks you’re hot. See?”
“For crying out loud!” Brian yelled. “Will you people shut up?”
“Jeez,” Evie said. “You could have asked nic—”
Brian’s tone got nastier. “Zip it!”
Jock whispered to Evie. “Too much caffeine makes him cranky.”
“That,” Brian snapped, “and women who think they’re too smart for their own good.” He looked at Billy. “Get in the damn tank.”
“Okay, but who—”
“Alone!”
Billy jumped, and so did Evie, Dora, Jock and Brian. But not because Brian yelled. Cecelia let out a low growl, and when Evie turned to look at the gator, she saw the reptile was on the move. Sunshine yelped, and Brian and Jock both shoved their hostages in front of themselves to offer up bait for the gator.
“Coward,” Evie said just before she yelled to Dora, “The old one-two!” Dora might have been horrible with hand signals but bark out an order and she’d hop to it. Evie was taking a chance, but a good one, because she knew that Brian needed her and Dora alive to locate the flash drive. The old one-two was a self-defense move they’d learned in a class together. And she knew Dora practiced it regularly.
Evie lifted her foot and stomped on Jock’s arch as hard as she could. He grunted in pain and loosened his grip enough that she was able to twist around and knee him hard. Right where it counted. Jock doubled over in pain as Evie grabbed his weapon to train it on him. She heard Brian’s cries and glanced over at Dora.
Brian was rolling on the ground, groaning as Dora scrambled after the gun that he’d dropped. She looked at Evie with wide eyes. “Whoa. It worked.”
“Of course it did,” Evie said, feeling her lips split into a self-satisfied smile as she pressed her heel on one of Jock’s wrists just to make him groan. Serves him right, she thought as
she increased the pressure, knowing it was wrong to enjoy torturing him so much, but she didn’t exactly care. These bastards had tried to kill Billy. “We’re badass. Remember that.”
Cecelia slithered closer to the men with Luke by her side. He was dripping wet from head to toe, making Evie think he’d hidden under Cecelia until the time was right.
“Not that badass,” Brian growled, rolling up onto his feet and lunging for Dora.
“Dora, look out!” Evie cried, rushing Brian to save her friend. But she was too far away. Instead, Sunshine shot forward and sank her teeth into Brian’s ankle, distracting him just enough that Dora was able to grab his arm, twist it behind his back, and yank up hard, bringing him to his knees.
“What is your problem, Brian?” Dora said with an angry sneer. “Here I thought you were my friend, and instead you tied me and Evie up in the dry cleaners, and now you’re involved in a plan to murder Billy? What happened to you?”
“Get off me, Dora, or when I bring you in, your charges are going to include assaulting a police officer,” he said.
Dora snorted. “You’re not bringing anyone in, Brian. Look at you and your sidekick. Neither one of you have control of this situation.”
Evie let out a giggle and felt pride swell in her chest. Watching her friend go all kickass on the cop was insane, but Evie approved. He was a jerk of huge proportions. “Come here, Sunshine,” Evie said. “Good girl. You helped Auntie Dora restrain Brian over there.”
Sunshine let out a happy bark and ran over to Evie, plopping down right at her feet.
“She really is something,” Jock agreed.
Evie glanced down at him where he lay. He was staring at Cecilia, and Evie knew he was behaving because the gator was within striking distance. If she hadn’t seen Luke controlling the gator with her own two eyes, she might’ve been concerned with her own proximity to the beast. But Luke definitely had her under control. She grinned down at Jock. “Right?”
Brian struggled against Dora’s hold. “Let go of me, or I’m going to make this really difficult for you, Dora.”
