Death Before Decaf

by Caroline Fardig

  Pete’s eyes grew dark, and he stood up and began pacing the room. “That Seth guy is not much better than Johnny.”

  “Right.” I thought about not telling Pete about Seth/Ryder, but I couldn’t hold it in. I always told Pete everything. “Here’s the thing about Seth. He’s not really Seth the Professor. He’s Ryder the Private Eye, posing as Seth the Professor.”

  “Huh? You lost me, Jules.”

  I told him all about my neighbor and the real Seth Davis, plus about me blowing the fake Seth Davis’s cover. I left out the part about the kissing.

  Pete snorted. “His real name is Ryder? Seriously? That is so lame. What’s his last name? Hard? Rough? Likeapony?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. Pete was definitely a product of living with Gertie. “Seriously, though, he told me I couldn’t tell anyone about who he really is. He said it could ruin his investigation. You can’t let on that you know.”

  “I’ll try. But let it be known that I told you he was shady. Didn’t I?” Pleased with himself, Pete sat down and put his feet up on the desk.

  “Yes, you’re very smart,” I said dryly.

  “Damn straight. So what now?”

  “I guess he’s still going to come in here and pretend to be Seth, and we have to play along. We can’t tell the staff, or Gertie, either.”

  “Yeah, she’d probably have a hissy fit and tell the guy off.”

  “Probably.”

  “And what about you? I assume you’re done with him now that you know he lied to you.”

  “Of course,” I answered automatically. Truth be told, it didn’t bother me that Ryder had kept his identity a secret. I understood that it was part of his private eye thing, and why should he have been expected to blow his cover for a girl he just met? My fears about him were put to rest, and now that I knew what had felt “off” about him, I could move on. Continuing to see him every day in Java Jive wouldn’t be awkward for me, especially considering how easy he was on the eyes. The fact that he was a private eye only made him sexier.

  Pete breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. Now all I have to worry about is this credit card fiasco. And Johnny Brewer, I guess. Even if Seth—excuse me, Ryder—threatened him, that doesn’t mean he won’t try to come after you again. What do you think Brewer wants with you, anyway?”

  “I don’t know. Do you think he might have killed Dave and assumes I’m on to him? I mean, he had to have followed me from here, right? There’s no way he could have randomly stumbled upon me at Vandy.”

  “I wouldn’t think so, but how would he have known to find you here? Last night was the first time you met, right?”

  I racked my brain, but couldn’t come up with anything. “As far as I know. Well, let’s say he did just happen to see me this afternoon and decide to accost me. I was wearing this Java Jive shirt, so if he noticed it, now he knows for sure there’s a connection between Dave and me.”

  “Jules,” Pete said uneasily, taking his feet off the desk and leaning toward me in his chair. “Maybe it’s time we called the police. This is getting a little too scary for my liking.”

  “And what are we going to tell them exactly?”

  “That you were attacked in broad daylight by some crazy hick!”

  I thought about it for a moment. “Unless we lie and say that it was a random attack, we’re going to have to fess up to the fact that we decided to do a little sleuthing on our own. During which we tricked Dave’s widow into talking about his enemies, tracked one of them down, broke into his motel room, tossed the place, beat him up, and then ran. That won’t make us look guilty or anything.”

  He nodded slowly. “You have a point. I’d hate to be arrested for assault. I’m too pretty to go to prison.”

  “You’d definitely be some guy’s bitch before your first day was over.”

  “Seriously, though, Jules. Maybe you shouldn’t be alone tonight.” He smiled hopefully. “You could stay at my place.”

  Holy hell. I had been spent years yearning to hear those words. But now things were complicated. Plus, if Johnny Brewer was going to try to kill me in my sleep, Pete couldn’t stop him, and I surely didn’t want him to hurt Pete, too. “Thank you, but I’m fine. Really. And now I need to do some actual work, or the owner will think I’m not worth keeping around.”

  He held my gaze. “You’ll always be worth keeping around, Jules.”

  —

  Pete and I decided that it would be safer for me to work in the kitchen tonight, just in case Johnny came looking for me at Java Jive. That meant Shane had to work out front, which he grumbled about. It was a lot easier to hide and not do much work in the kitchen, because after the dinner rush, there weren’t a lot of food orders. Shane probably preferred it that way. Pete spent the evening in the office, paying bills and doing the payroll. He also questioned all of our staff members about the credit card, but came up with nothing, just like I had. I spent my time cleaning and getting the kitchen ready for the next day. Logan worked alongside me, but didn’t have anything to say. Then again, neither did I. I was pretty worn out from the events of the past few days.

  A few minutes before closing time, Jamie popped her head into the pass-through window and said, “Juliet, there’s some guy out here asking for you.”

  I froze. Surely Johnny didn’t have the balls to come after me in public, in front of a room full of people. “Um, who is it?”

  “That teacher from Vandy who’s here all the time. You know, the older guy? He’s cute, though.”

  Ryder. I breathed a sigh of relief. He was dangerous, but not in the way that Johnny was dangerous. And how dare Jamie call him an “older guy”? “Thanks. I’ll be right out.”

  I didn’t want to be attracted to Ryder, because he was all wrong for me. Plus, he could be a real jackass. So I put on my nonchalant face when I went out to the front of the house to meet him.

  “You wanted to see me, Professor?”

  He was sprawled out on the couch, grinning up at me. “Not really. I’m only here to drive you home.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “Right, right. Is that why I had to step in and rescue that sweet little ass of yours this afternoon?”

  Growling, I stalked back to the kitchen. I could hear him laughing as I went.

  I didn’t want to be the damsel in distress who needed a big, strong man to protect her. Yet, at the same time, I had a stronger desire not to be kidnapped—or worse—by Johnny. No offense to Pete, but Ryder was a much better option when it came to my personal security. That punch Pete landed was a lucky fluke. He was no fighter. Ryder, on the other hand, seemed like the type who could kill someone with his bare hands.

  Brianna was waiting for me when I returned to the kitchen. She had the same worried expression on her face that she had yesterday.

  “Is something wrong, Brianna?”

  She nodded her head, tears forming in her eyes. I went over to her and gave her a hug. Logan was standing by the walk-in refrigerator, looking uncomfortable.

  I said, “Why don’t we go in the office and talk?”

  She nodded and followed me to the office. Pete was still at the desk, up to his eyeballs in bills and paperwork. Brianna was one of the only employees (okay, the only employee) who would open up to me, and I was afraid she wouldn’t speak as freely if Pete were there.

  Noticing Brianna’s red face, Pete asked, “Hey, are you okay?”

  She looked embarrassed, so I joked, “This is a girls-only meeting.”

  Pete took the hint and scurried out of the office. I was sure he wasn’t interested in any more girl drama today.

  We sat down, and I asked gently, “Was today not any better?”

  She wiped a tear and looked away. “It’s not that. I don’t want to be a narc, but something has been going on that you need to know about.”

  That didn’t sound good. Although if this was about the credit card, I’d be happy to hear all about it. “Go on. Anything you say to me is confidential. I�
�ll deal with the matter and leave your name out of it.”

  Sighing, she said, “For a few weeks now, I’ve been seeing Jamie take cash from customers and put it in her pocket instead of into the cash register. She’s my friend, and I don’t want to get her in trouble, but I also don’t want her to steal from Pete. He’s such a nice guy.”

  Not what I’d expected, but it was cool of Brianna to stand up and tell the truth. “Wow. Thank you for telling me. I’ll take care of it, and she will never know it was you who came to me.”

  Brianna breathed a sigh of relief. “Whew. It feels good to get that off my chest.”

  “One more thing, Brianna. Have you ever seen Jamie pocket a credit card or copy a card number, or anything like that?”

  “No, I’ve only seen her take the cash.”

  “Good. That will be easier to deal with. Did you see it happen today?”

  “Yes. This afternoon, when you were gone.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Brianna.”

  Brianna left the office, and Pete came in a few minutes later.

  “What was that all about?” he asked.

  “Ugh. We’ve got a problem. Brianna said Jamie is taking cash and pocketing it instead of putting it in the till.”

  “Damn it. We’re doing badly enough as it is without someone stealing from us! I’ve never fired anyone before, have you?”

  “Yeah, I have. But we do need to check out Brianna’s story before we fly off the handle. Have you done the end-of-day report yet?”

  He smiled. “I was in the middle of it when you kicked me out of my office.” Nudging me out of the way, he hit a few buttons on the computer and brought up the report. “It all looks fine to me. There’s no cash missing.”

  Looking over his shoulder, I ran down the list of transactions for today, and I didn’t see any discrepancies, either. “Brianna said that Jamie did it today while I was gone, but this shows nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “Could she have been simply taking the money and not ringing her orders in?”

  “I guess, but it would only be possible to do it on drinks and pastries that she sold, not kitchen orders, because they have to be rung in to generate an order ticket for the guys in the back. That seems like a lot of risk for not much reward.”

  Pete shook his head. “Well, do you think Brianna’s telling the truth?”

  I shrugged. “She seemed truthful to me, but who knows? She’s been a little weird since Dave was killed.”

  “Well, Miss Manager, this is your problem. This kind of thing is what I pay you the big bucks for,” he said, grinning at me.

  “I’ll just let Redheaded She-Devil out of her cage. She’ll have the problem solved in no time flat.”

  “Remind me not to be here when that happens. Are you ready to go home? You know you really are welcome to stay with me.”

  Too tempting. “I know. But I’ll be fine at my place.”

  “I’ll drive you.”

  Cringing, I murmured, “Um…I have a ride already…”

  “With who?”

  I hesitated.

  His face fell. “Aw, not him. Not Ryder Likeapony.”

  “He’s here, and he offered.”

  “I don’t want him in your apartment.”

  Biting my lip to keep from laughing, I asked, “Are you trying to protect my virtue? Because you know that’s long gone.”

  Pete grimaced. “I don’t like that guy. What does he have that I don’t?” It was so darling that Pete was jealous of Ryder.

  Taking his injured hand gently in mine, I replied, “A right hook. And probably several concealed weapons.”

  “He’s got me there,” he conceded.

  “Good night, Pete.”

  “Good night, Jules.”

  After stashing my apron in the kitchen, I headed out to find Ryder. He was still lounging lazily on the couch.

  “About time, woman. What took you so long?”

  Annoyed, I replied, “If it’s such a burden, why did you offer to take me home?”

  He stood up and put his arm around me. “I can’t resist a damsel in distress.” So that was what he thought of me. Great.

  I shrugged his arm off and walked ahead of him out the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Pete glaring at us from his place over by the counter. I really could do with a lot less drama in my life.

  Once we got into Ryder’s car, he asked, “So do you want to go anywhere before I take you home? We could get a drink. At The Dirty Duck, maybe?”

  I hadn’t told him about being at The Dirty Duck. How could he know? “Why there?”

  He smirked. “I hear you like to dress up and hit on guys there.”

  My mouth dropped open. “How do you know anything about that?”

  “I know stuff.”

  “But how—”

  Cutting me off, he said, “By the way, you don’t have to flirt with the bartender to get information from him. A twenty works just as well.”

  I grunted. I flirted with him and gave him a twenty! “Seriously, how did you know I was at The Dirty Duck?”

  Ryder chuckled. “You don’t need to know all of my secrets.”

  “I don’t know any of your secrets! I don’t even know your last name!”

  “I kind of like it that way. It makes me feel mysterious.”

  I rolled my eyes and didn’t respond.

  He asked, “Do you remember when I told you to watch your back with that sleazy reporter I roughed up for you?”

  “Yes,” I replied, irritated.

  “Did you read what he wrote in the paper about you?”

  “No, but I heard.”

  “I just wanted to make sure that you were aware. And to say I told you so.”

  “Dick.”

  He chuckled to himself.

  When we pulled up to my apartment building, Ryder turned his car off and said, “I’ll just go in and check your place to make sure it’s safe.”

  “The hell you will. Hey, wait a minute. I didn’t give you directions to my apartment. How do you know where I live?” This was getting creepier by the minute.

  “I’ve told you before—I know stuff.”

  I sighed. “Never mind. I guess I have to see you tomorrow?”

  “Don’t sound so excited. And you’re welcome.”

  Giving him a fake smile, I got out of the car and slammed the door. I hurried up the stairs and entered the sanctuary of my apartment, such as it was. At least I was alone.

  Chapter 15

  An incessant pounding on my door roused me from my sleep. I grumbled the entire way to the door, hoping that Trevor wasn’t drunk again and pining for Christina. Although, at this hour, he was probably the best-case scenario for a visitor. I looked through the peephole and saw Ryder standing there instead. I groaned. No good could come of this.

  Opening the door, I asked warily, “What do you want?”

  “Oh, nothing much. I could use a bandage.” He looked down at his shoulder, which was bleeding, and winced. “And a drink.”

  Gasping, I grabbed him and pulled him into my apartment, locking the door tightly behind us. “What happened?”

  Ryder put his hand on his shoulder and grimaced. “You should see the other guy.”

  “What the hell did you do this time?”

  “Hey, I’ll have you know that I was saving your life, again.”

  I froze, my heart sinking. “Was it Johnny—the guy from this afternoon?”

  “Yes. I caught him lurking around outside.”

  “What? He knows where I live?” I squeaked, rushing over to the window to peek out. This was not good.

  “It would seem so. After I dropped you off, I had a few things to do, and I thought I’d drive back past here on my way home. I happened to notice his beat-up truck parked on the street. I figured he was up to no good, so I took care of it. Don’t worry, Juliet. I don’t think he’ll be bothering you anymore.” He looked down at his shoulder again. “Could you get me a towel or something before I b
leed all over your floor?”

  Struggling to get hold of my emotions, I took a deep breath. “Yeah, sorry. Come and sit down.”

  He looked around. “Where? Why don’t you have any furniture?”

  “I…It’s a long story. Follow me.”

  I led Ryder back to my bedroom, which was probably very stupid on my part, but there was literally nowhere else to sit. He sat down on my futon, and I rushed to get a towel and some first-aid supplies. I didn’t have a lot left after helping Pete, but what I had would have to do.

  “Let me see it,” I said, gingerly removing his now bloody hand from his shoulder. There was a lot of blood on his shirt. This wasn’t just a scratch. “You know what? Let’s do this in my bathroom so you don’t ruin my sheets.”

  I ushered him into my bathroom and had him sit on the edge of my tub so I could get a good look at the damage. His shirt was going to have to come off for me to be able to clean the wound. Getting to find out what was under his tight little T-shirt could be very dangerous. Gertie would be so jealous if she knew what I was doing right now.

  I asked, “Can you get your shirt off, or do you need help?”

  “I’ll get it,” he said, grunting when he had to move his injured shoulder.

  I wasn’t prepared to look upon the gloriousness that was Ryder’s bare chest, and that gash right above his pecs did nothing but make him look hotter. The badass tribal tattoos on his ridiculously cut shoulders ratcheted up the sexiness factor as well. I tried to keep my eyes on the wound, but they kept wandering.

  As gently as I could, I cleaned off the area around the cut. Once I could see it properly, I realized that a simple bandage wasn’t going to work. “You need stitches,” I said matter-of-factly.

  He looked at his shoulder. “No, I don’t. I’ve had worse. Just bandage me up.”

  “Don’t be one of those stupid macho guys who won’t go to the doctor. This cut is deep.”

  “I’m not being macho. Seth Davis can’t walk into the ER over at Vanderbilt and get treatment. I don’t have any ID or insurance cards for that name.”