Kiss Midnight Goodbye (Midnight Blue Beach Book 3)

by Olivia Jaymes

  She’d had enough. She’d taken everything he’d dished out and then some. He wasn’t even bothering with being passive-aggressive. He was aggressive without the passive.

  Swerving to the shoulder of the road, she slammed on the brakes, causing him to reach out and grab the door handle while spewing out a word she wouldn’t want her mother to hear.

  “What the fuck are you doing?”

  Putting the vehicle in park, she turned to look at him, his features barely illuminated by the lights from the dash. “I’m stopping the car. Do you know why I’m doing that?”

  “Because you have a death wish?”

  “Was anyone following us?”

  A pause, but he still didn’t turn her way. “I don’t think so.”

  “Then stopping for a moment won’t hurt anything. So let me ask again. Why do you think I pulled over?”

  He was chuckling under his breath and anger surged through her veins. This wasn’t funny. The relationship between the two of them had gone off the rails and he was sitting over there laughing his ass off as if it wasn’t a bad thing.

  “Because I’m an asshole and you’re going to lecture me about proper behavior.”

  That was exactly what she’d been planning to do. She’d been all geared up and ready to yell at him for being a jerk and hateful and a few other things she didn’t have an adjective for. She only knew she missed the man that had been sitting by her bedside when she woke up.

  He’d taken a few steps forward and she’d scrambled back.

  Then she’d taken a step forward and he’d taken one back as well.

  If she enjoyed dancing this might have been fun. Now they were simply two hurt people who were afraid to take a chance and put themselves out there. She put the vehicle back into gear and pressed on the accelerator. She was tired of verbally fencing with him. Exhausted. If he wanted to talk to her, he knew what to do.

  “No lecture, Ellis. In fact, arguing with you is pointless. If you want to act like this, please be my guest.”

  They might be glad to be back in the States, but things were not harmonious. Something or someone was going to blow. And soon.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Peyton’s mother had spoken the truth. The house wasn’t all that fancy. In fact, it was a little rundown, needing a coat of paint and landscaping. But it was furnished, hooked up to water and electricity, and definitely private. She’d pulled the car into the garage, although anyone driving by would be able to see the lights on. They’d be sure to keep the drapes closed.

  Ellis headed straight for the kitchen with the small amount of groceries they’d been able to buy at an all-night convenience store along the way. Eventually they’d need to drive the twenty miles to the nearest grocery store but they had enough to have breakfast and lunch, plus a myriad of snack food.

  She ran her finger along the surface of an end table. “I thought it would be encrusted in dust but it’s not. It could use a cleaning but it’s actually not that bad.”

  Ellis opened the refrigerator. “The fridge and freezer are clean and empty but cold too. Your mother must have a caretaker of some sort keeping up the place. Maybe they come in once or month or so.”

  Someone had to be caring for the home. The lawn was mowed, although it lacked any embellishments to decorate it. The inside of the house was comfortable but it didn’t look as if it had been redecorated in over forty years. An overstuffed olive green sofa with two matching chairs sat in the living room along with a coffee table and two end tables. There was a nondescript painting on one wall and a television from another century on the other. It was console style, the kind she’d seen in old photos from the sixties and seventies when televisions were furniture. Green shag carpeting finished off the retro look.

  “Do you think it works?”

  Ellis had finished putting away the groceries and had joined her in the living room.

  She reached out and pushed the on/off button. “I seriously doubt it but there’s only one way to find out.”

  The television made a humming sound and then suddenly flared to life.

  Static and snow.

  Ellis was smiling for the first time that day. Make that two days. “The television is from when they made things to last but I’m guessing it doesn’t get Netflix. Maybe the rabbit ears work.”

  He fiddled with the antenna and the dials until a passable picture came through – an old movie on a local channel.

  “I feel like we’ve stepped back in time,” she said, her gaze taking in the room. “Like we should be eating fondue and green Jello.”

  Straightening, he grinned. “I swear this looks just like my childhood home right down to the harvest gold appliances in the kitchen. Man, this brings back memories.”

  They must be good ones from the way he was smiling. It was funny that she’d tried to get him to lighten up but all it had taken was a seventies themed decor and an old television set.

  “I’d like to hear about those memories some time.”

  His head jerked toward her as if surprised she was even standing there. He’d been lost in the past. “I doubt you’d find them all that interesting. I had a fairly boring childhood.”

  She shook her head. “Not from the way you’re smiling. There must have been something.”

  “Just silliness.” He shrugged but the smile was still there. “Kids doing stupid shit. Riding bikes all over the neighborhood and getting dirty. Eating bologna and mustard sandwiches on soft white bread. Watching ‘The A-Team’ with my family. Stuff like that.”

  Now she was smiling too and it felt wonderful not to have that wall of tension between them. “‘The A-Team’? What else did you watch?”

  “‘Magnum PI’ was my favorite but I watched other things. Why? What did you watch when you were a kid?”

  She was younger than Ellis. “‘The X-Files’. ‘Twin Peaks’.”

  “You liked those intellectual shows. It figures.”

  “Intellectual? They were just interesting.”

  He tapped the top of the television. “Compared to ‘The A-Team’, those shows were intellectual. I liked action, you liked to think.”

  “Ellis, I think you just summed up our entire relationship.”

  His gaze dropped to the ugly shag carpeting and he scraped his fingers through his short, dark hair. “Listen, I’m sorry I’ve been such an asshole. I’m just worried and stressed but I shouldn’t take it out on you.”

  She looked around the empty house. “There’s no else to take it out on so I guess I’m the lucky person. Seriously, I was mad earlier but I’m not now. I know that you have a lot weighing on your shoulders and it’s going to take its toll. We just need to be nicer to each other even when we don’t feel like it.”

  “You’re right. Lately it just feels like nothing is easy. Every fucking thing is a struggle. Even the day to day activities like going to the store or getting on a plane have become a huge production.”

  Because of her and her issues. She didn’t want him to go but she cared enough for him to want him to be happy. And safe. With her, he didn’t appear to be either of those things.

  “You don’t have to do this anymore.” She wanted to reach out to him but she didn’t dare. “You’ve gone above and beyond and no one would blame you if you decided to forget all about this and just go back to your regular life. I wouldn’t think any less of you if you did. You’ve earned some time off.”

  Chuckling, Ellis shook his head. “This I want to do. I want to bring down Evandria so badly I can taste it. I dream about it. I’m not going anywhere. We finish this together—even if at the end you and I are finished too.”

  “We haven’t even begun.”

  His expression was gentle, more like the man she’d known when she was in the hospital.

  “Yes, we have, whether you want to admit it or not. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The future is happening now while you’re not paying attention. This house might be one giant step back into the past, b
ut you can’t live there forever.”

  Turning, he walked back into the kitchen, leaving her standing there.

  Alone. Is that how she wanted to live her life?

  Peyton dumped half of the scrambled eggs on each plate before retrieving the toast from the toaster. For once she’d woken up first and had decided to fix breakfast while Ellis showered. In the bright light of day, the kitchen looked cheerier than it had last night. Maybe it was the addition of food or the heavenly smell of freshly brewed coffee. Or perhaps it was that she and Ellis had come to some sort of truce last night. She hated it when they were at odds with one another.

  That in and of itself should have been a huge clue. As she’d fallen asleep last night, she’d replayed his words over and over in her head.

  They’d already begun, but here she was stubbornly standing still as the world sped on by. She didn’t want anyone else besides Ellis and she didn’t want him to want anyone else either. He was right. They were already in a relationship, although undefined. It might be time to put a label on the darn thing.

  “Something smells good.”

  Him. After his shower he always smelled wonderful, but she had a feeling he was talking about the food. His dark hair was still wet and he’d pulled on a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a navy blue t-shirt that showed off his wide shoulders and flat stomach.

  “The coffee is ready and so is breakfast. I hope you’re hungry. I set a mug next to the coffeemaker for you.”

  He filled it and slid into a chair at the Formica table. “Thanks, I’m always hungry—you know that. Did you sleep well?”

  It had been late – or early in the morning – when they’d finally turned in for the night; Peyton in the master bedroom and Ellis right next door.

  “I did, but you probably knew that. How many times did you get up and check on me?”

  “Only twice. I was pretty tired myself, although I caught some z’s on the plane. For a house that hasn’t been lived in for a long time, that mattress was pretty comfortable. I’m kind of getting the feeling that your mother uses this place on occasion.”

  They’d forgotten to buy butter last night. Peyton mentally added it to her growing shopping list.

  “I can’t imagine when she would have. She and Dad already have a house in Midnight Blue Beach and others in every major city in the world. Why would she stay here?”

  He chuckled and took a healthy bite of his eggs. “I’m getting the feeling you think this place is a dump.”

  Actually it was kind of cute and cozy. With updated furnishings it wouldn’t be a bad place to live.

  “I don’t think that but my mother might. She thinks the world is filled with mansions, chateaus, villas, and five-star hotels. A ranch house in the middle of nowhere isn’t a place she’d visit for rest and relaxation. In fact, I’m not sure what her family used this house for. She grew up on an estate in Rhode Island.”

  “An investment? If they bought this place in 1970 or thereabouts they probably paid less than twenty-thousand for it, maybe much less. With the surrounding land it’s worth more now.”

  “Maybe,” she conceded. “It was weird when she said that my father didn’t know about this place. I wonder why she kept it a secret?”

  Ellis cleaned the last bite of eggs from his plate. “I would imagine living with your father isn’t easy. Maybe she comes here to hide out and just be by herself for a few days?”

  Peyton’s mother did travel extensively and sometimes without her husband. It was possible.

  But not probable.

  “That’s a theory but I’m still not seeing her staying here.”

  “There may be things about your mother that you don’t know.”

  Peyton had learned more than her share of secrets in the past month or so.

  “Somehow I don’t think that my mother pretending to be a 1970s housewife is one of them, but I’ve been wrong before. In fact, all this summer has taught me is that I don’t know anything about the people in my life.”

  Ellis pushed his plate away and took a sip of his coffee. “I have a theory about that. Maybe it’s not as important to know the people in our lives as it is to know ourselves. Kind of deep for this early in the morning.”

  Now he was just being a shit. “That’s groovy, man. Peace.”

  Laughing, he reached for her plate. “You look all wealthy and uptight and then you act like a comedienne. I said something moving and profound and you shit all over it. Are you going to finish those eggs?”

  She pushed the plate closer to him. “I am not but the toast is all mine. I can make more if you’re still hungry. As for being funny, you’re the only person in the world that I could make that remark to. Everybody else wouldn’t get it or would be insulted. But you…you laugh.”

  He ate the last two bites of her eggs in quick succession. “What does that tell you about me?”

  Her heart lurched against her ribs and she took a deep breath of courage. “That you’re my best friend and that you’re special.”

  He grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “You bet your sweet ass I am.”

  “I’ve missed you,” she said softly. “Welcome back.”

  “Was I missing? Should we put my picture on a milk carton?”

  He knew exactly what she was talking about.

  “You were, but you’re here now and that’s all that matters.”

  There was a moment as she gazed into his blue eyes that the world was safe, warm, and all was right. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. His phone buzzed in the background and he had to answer it, breaking that little bit of happiness they’d found this morning.

  “Hey Chase, what’s going on?”

  It wasn’t good. With each passing minute, Ellis’s expression grew darker and more dangerous until she thought he was going to jump out of that chair and grab the first plane back to his friends. She grabbed onto his arm to try to calm him but the laughter he’d so easily displayed was long gone, leaving an angry and agitated man in its place.

  “Get the hell out of there,” he said, his teeth gritted together. “I’m guessing no place is safe.”

  Ellis hopped to his feet and began to pace the small kitchen. “I get what you’re saying. The dogs scared them off and they’re a great burglar alarm, but clearly they know where you are and they’re either trying to scare you or trying to grab the women. Neither is a great option, to be truthful. I know you think you’re safest there but now that they know the dogs are guarding you they’ll just figure something else out. They’ll ambush you outside the grocery store or even in the driveway. I can’t tell you what to do but I think a change in venue is in order. Hell, take the dogs with you. You can always come here. I don’t think anyone knows where we are.”

  Clearly, it wasn’t safe at Chase and Josh’s anymore. Peyton refilled their coffee as it looked like they’d need the caffeine to deal with whatever had gone down in Williamsburg. If Ellis was inviting them down here, it had to be bad.

  There was a little more discussion before Ellis hung up, muttering under his breath. He tossed the phone on the table and dragged his fingers through his hair again.

  “They had some visitors about four in the morning. The dogs ran them off but Chase and Josh could see footprints around both houses. Lots of rain in the last twenty-four hours made the earth soft enough they were able to make four distinct sets of footprints but there may have been more. Considering Evandria was trying to get you, it’s not surprising they were going for Bailey and Willow but I am shocked that they had the brass balls to stroll right up to the house.”

  Peyton had been feeling almost comfortable in the safe house, but that had been shot to hell. Ellis was right. Nowhere was safe. They’d shaken up Evandria and now the organization – or some part of it – was hitting back.

  “Are they okay?”

  “Shaken up but fine. Now they’re trying to decide whether to leave or stay. There are good arguments on both sides but the desperation of Evandria is beginning to ma
ke me think they’re not playing it as cool as they have in the past. This trying to grab you off the streets of London is amateur hour. And now this? These actions aren’t worthy of a world class secret society. This is thug level behavior.”

  “So Archer Caldwell was the brains behind Evandria? I find that hard to believe.”

  “Hardly,” Ellis scoffed. “What I’m saying is that I don’t think Evandria itself is behind this. I think there might be a few individuals who feel threatened and they’ve gone out on their own. Whether they’re part of the rogue faction I don’t know, but it doesn’t feel like the smart, slick Evandria we’ve all come to know and love.”

  She handed him his coffee cup. “So what now?”

  “We go to the store and stock up on food so we can hole up here for days if we need to. In fact, we should get extra in case the others have to move in with us. Then we sit tight and let things die down a little bit. Let them think we’ve given up.” He smiled but it was more evil than happy. “But we never give up. It’s when they’re this nervous that we know we’re doing something right.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “It was Colonel Mustard in the library with the pistol,” Ellis announced, a smug smile on his face. They were sitting on the floor of the living room, a board game between them on the coffee table, while the television played softly in the background.

  Pursing her lips, she handed him the little folder. “So check to see if you’re right. But just because you’re a detective in real life doesn’t mean you’re one in a game. The skills are not transferable.”

  After coming home from the grocery store where they’d loaded up as if expecting a blizzard, they’d quickly become bored. There was no Wi-Fi at the house so they had to use their phones to read email or look anything up. Peyton had gone digging through the tall cabinet in the living room and found board games that looked as old as the house. She hadn’t been able to convince Ellis to play Mystery Date but he’d been all over Clue the minute he saw it.

  Hiding the cards behind his large hand, a smile bloomed on his face. “I’m right. I won.”