by Nana Malone
“Did you throw up on him? Because I tell you, speaking from experience, it’s not as bad as you might think.” Ricca nodded enthusiastically.
Micha had to giggle when she recalled Ricca getting piss drunk to go and confront Beckett about why he’d kissed her the first time. Then promptly going vomitus interruptus. “No, I didn’t get sick, I asked him to make love to me, shit, begged him to. And he wouldn’t.”
Ricca and Jaya exchanged glances. But neither of them spoke. Ricca’s brows furrowed like she was trying to work out a complex puzzle. And Jaya, well she was no better, immediately picking up her glass and taking the world’s longest drink. What the hell? Why were they both acting like she was crazy? Her brows snapped down. “What is it, you two? Spit it out.”
Ricca immediately looked at her nails and jabbed Jaya in the ribs with her elbow.
“Ouch,” Jaya muttered. She cleared her throat. “Apparently I’ve been nominated to tell you that you’re beautiful.” She hesitated “And God knows, you’re smart. And not to mention lethal, but, erm, you’re the dumbest smart chick we know.”
Ricca shook her head. “Oh, no you don’t, Jaya. I would not have said she was dumb.”
“Chicken shit,” Jaya muttered back.
“Wait, I’m the dumb one? He turned down perfectly good—shit, hot sex. I’m incredible, and he turned that down. Why would he do that? He’s been sniffing around me for years. I finally say yeah, and he’s all ‘no thanks.’”
Jaya rolled her eyes. “If you can’t see he was doing you a favor, then you have problems.”
“My idea of doing me a favor is called fucking me on demand.”
“Yeah, and some guys would have, but difference is, Caleb really cares about you. He’s been hot for you for years, but there was no way he was going to take advantage.”
Micha tossed up her hands. “I was asking him to.”
Ricca reached across the coffee table and patted her hand. “Yeah, but you were also having a freak out at the moment. He was more concerned with your wellbeing, than getting a little pokey pokey.” She smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically. “Though from what I’ve seen of his abs, I can understand why you’d be in a hurry to get to the good stuff.”
Jaya barked out a laugh, and Micha’s jaw dropped. Sexual innuendo was Micha’s mainstay, but Ricca did it with panache.
“Fuck, what am I going to do, you guys?”
Jaya shrugged. “About Caleb? That all depends on you. You’re the toughest, strongest woman I know. He’s a great match for you. I still don’t know why you won’t go out with him. You obviously want to, and that poor man is crazy about you.”
Micha sniffed but didn’t answer. “I’m not interested in a relationship.”
“So you keep saying,” Ricca said.
“I don’t even have time to deal with Caleb right now. Shit’s hitting the fan at work. You know how I told you guys that the magazine has been absorbed by WST Entertainment? Well, they want some on-air personalities. Sort of a smarter E! Network or something.”
“So you’d be a producer?” Ricca asked.
“Interviewer. I still get to primarily stay on the magazine, but they want me to do interviews with the big name stars and stuff.”
“That’s incredible!” Ricca squealed. “We know someone famous. You really do belong in front of the camera, Micha.”
“Yeah, well, you haven’t heard who my first interview is with.”
“Who?” Jaya asked.
“Simon Jax.”
In perfect cartoon parody, both their jaws dropped at once, making it look like they’d rehearsed the scene.
“You’re shitting me!” Jaya said.
“How come you get all the sexy ones?” Ricca asked. “Did you see that last movie where he was a spy and totally sparred with the female assassin? Every time I see that, Beckett gets some.”
Micha chuckled. “You sure that’s not just you unable to get enough of your man?”
A faint blush colored Ricca’s cheeks, making her normally cinnamon skin glow. “There’s that, but My, Simon Jax. There is something about that fine piece of—”
“Ricca—” Micha blubbered.
Jaya howled. “I’m with Ricca.”
Micha rolled her eyes. “Maybe I should mention that Simon Jax is my ex-boyfriend. He’s pretty much the reason I no longer do relationships.” The reason she no longer gave anyone the power to wound her.
“Holy hell. Ricca and I don’t have a pair of shoes for that kind of fuckeduptitude.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think so.”
Ricca stared at Micha. “When did you date him? And why have you never mentioned him?”
“It was when I was in New York. We had a seriously messy situation. I was in love, and I thought I wanted to marry him.” She sipped her margarita. “Turns out my judgment was compromised.”
“So someone made you anti-love?” Jaya chewed her bottom lip.
“I’m not anti-love. Love is great. But not for me.”
Jaya shook her head. “You know that’s ridiculous, right? If you dated with a little purpose and stopped going after guys that there’s no hope of a future with, maybe things would be different.”
“Let me guess, Caleb is future material?” Micha’s brows rose.
“Well…” Jaya shrugged.
Micha scrubbed her face with her hands. “Thinking about Caleb is not helping me right now. I’m sexually frustrated. Not to mention, someone sent me flowers the other day, and I have no idea who.” She kept the dead rat to herself. She didn’t need them going all amateur sleuth on her. She’d already asked her building security to double check all packages that came for her before sending them up. She wasn’t an idiot.
As part of her employment package, she’d made it pretty clear that no one was ever to have access to her personnel information. So no one could call and talk their way into her home address or phone number. She’d been careful, now it looked like careful wouldn’t cut it. One more incident, and she was off to the cops. It was entirely possible that she had another random crazy in her life. Stranger things had happened.
“Caleb?” Jaya asked hopefully.
Micha shook her head. “He says no.”
“Maybe you have a secret admirer.”
In her world secret admirer amounted to crazy stalker. “Doubtful. These days, I barely have time for admirers of any kind, secret or otherwise.” She cleared her throat. “About Simon, there’s more.”
“How much more?” Ricca asked.
It was now or never. “When Simon and I were together, he was married.” The mere recollection of how she’d found out was enough to make her hands tremble.
Neither one of her friends spoke.
She sucked in a breath and continued. “I didn’t know at the time until she confronted me at my office one day.”
Jaya whispered, “Oh shit.”
“It’s a whole convoluted story. She and Simon met while working on-stage at this grotty little theater. No one even knew they were married. Turns out she was more than a little unhinged, and she tried to kill me.”
Micha looked up from her lap to find her friends staring at her agog. Jaya’s mouth moved as if she was trying to talk, but no words came out. Ricca’s hands trembled.
Not sure what else to say, Micha forged on. “I don’t talk about it. It was a shitty time in my life, and I don’t like to go there.”
“Is this what has you so off?” Ricca whispered. “You’re worried about her coming after you again?”
Micha exhaled. It was too much to hope that they wouldn’t bring it up. “No. She’s locked up. The flowers have me a little nervous, but not too worried. It’s something else that has me off center.”
They both pursed their lips and crossed their arms.
She sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ve been looking for my birth mother.” Once the words were out of her mouth, Micha felt like she’d released a weight.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Jaya asked
.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I wanted to deal with it myself. I know you guys would have been supportive, but it felt like something I needed to deal with myself.”
Ricca met her gaze. “I know, but we’re family. Your pain is our pain. Maybe we could have helped.”
“There’s nothing you guys could do. I’ve been trying for years, but the records are sealed, and she’s the only one who can unseal them. She keeps turning me down.”
“Shit. I’m sorry, babe. Are you going to keep trying?” Jaya asked.
“You know, every time I get a notice that she says no, I think I’m done, but like an idiot, I petition again. I only want to know her. Know where I’m from.” Not live in fear that she was going to die all alone with no one out there loving her.
“Alec has a lot of resources. I can have him look into it.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it. But no. I’m still raw from this jellyfish rejection. It’ll take me a little before I wade back into the water.”
“If you change your mind…”
Micha nodded her thanks. “Enough with my depressing shit. How about I say, I’m sorry I’ve been such a bitch, and we go get frozen yogurt? It’s my cheat day from marathon training so I want to do it right. Who’s down for Golden Spoon?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Jaya said. “But I need to head back after that.”
Ricca yawned. “Yeah, me too.”
A pang of pain sliced at Micha’s heart. There used to be a time when getting the two of them out of her place had been a battle. Many a night they’d crash at hers, confident she would wake them when she woke up for her five am runs. And she had. Not any more though. Now they were both totally loved up, so not in any rush to spend the night.
Hell, who could blame them? She’d seen their dudes. She’d rush home too. And she was happy for them. They deserved true love. They’d both been kicked around enough. Still, she felt the pang of jealousy with a pinch of ‘what about me?’ She quickly squelched that thought. It was an easy pathway to doing some things she’d regret.
After a quick frozen yogurt run at Golden Spoon, the three of them walked back to Jaya’s car. On the way, they passed the entrance to Micha’s garage, and Micha froze. Her normally cheery, cherry red mini cooper had been covered in spray paint and graffiti. “What the fuck?” No. No no no. Not the car. She loved this car. She’d driven an old beater for years, saving up to buy this thing, and now someone had defiled it. Her eyes pricked with unshed tears, which she quickly blinked away.
“Oh, shit,” said Ricca.
Jaya was already on the phone with the police, rattling off Micha’s license plate number and the address. When she hung up, she came over and rubbed Micha’s back. “You’ll have to go in and file a report in the morning, but I convinced them to come to you at your office tomorrow. Okay?”
Micha nodded. Someone was doing their best to scare the shit out of her, and it was starting to work.
***
With a crick in his neck, Caleb pulled his BMW into his parking spot. After being relieved by one of his guys for the night shift on a Swedish heiress, he could have used a drink, but he’d declined when Alec had called asking for one. He’d rather get home and pass out.
Hell, who knew following a spoiled heiress around could be so exhausting? If he never saw another woman’s clothing store again it would be far too soon. Normally, he didn’t have to do details or body guard service. He had enough men to manage it, but three of his guys were pulled for ambassador duty in Los Angeles, and he had another on a plane playing babysitter to a spoiled preteen on his spring break. Now why the hell hadn’t he taken spring break duty over shopping?
With leaden feet, he trudged to the elevator, dreaming of grabbing a beer and maybe catching a glimpse of Micha before she went to bed. Jesus, he had to get a life. It’s not like he didn’t have shit to do or think about. He wanted to check on Carlotta at the safe house, and he still had a mountain of paperwork to do. Not to mention, Adele had tapped him for security upgrades on the new wing of the hotel.
He still hadn’t had any word from Sabine, but if Caleb knew her well, she wouldn’t stay quiet for long. She’d either call or show up with some kind of bombshell planned for him. He knew her. It was simply how she operated. It was sneaky and devious and why he’d left the intelligence world. He’d posted a man on Carlotta too, which meant he didn’t have enough guys to have one follow Sabine, though he’d wanted to. His team of twenty was too thin to support all the work he had going. He’d have to start hiring. Lucky for him, San Diego wasn’t short on ex-military. But he was picky and only wanted the best.
On the way to the elevator, he did a cursory check for Micha’s car and cursed. He wheeled around, drawing his gun, and stalked over to her car. His heart thundered. Sweat popped on his brow. His training kicked in, and he surveyed the damage. Mostly paint, a couples of scratches, nothing major. And no Micha. So that meant she’d been able to drive it here at least. Relief flooded him. He wasn’t sure what to anticipate, but he half expected to see her slumped in the driver’s seat.
He frowned as he examined the interior. No damage. The exterior looked like street graffiti, but it worried him. She’d also received the anonymous flowers last week. Could this be from the same person that sent her flowers? She hadn’t seemed alarmed about them, but maybe she was getting some unwanted attention.
Or maybe she parked in the wrong part of town. But that didn’t seem likely. The car was covered in graffiti. The form of the vandalism made it look like street thugs having some fun, but the sheer amount of it looked personal. Like whoever did it wanted to make sure to really mar the car’s paint job. It looked like overkill. Like there was a lot of hatred and emotion behind the act.
Satisfied Micha wasn’t in the car and that there was no perp, Caleb holstered his gun and jogged to the stairs. He took them two at a time until he hit the fourth floor. Wasting no time, he ran to her unit and knocked.
From inside, there was rustling, and he said a quick silent prayer that he’d find her unhurt. “Micha? Open the door. It’s Caleb.”
“I hear you, keep your pants on, would you?”
Funny, she’d sung a different tune Sunday night. “Open the door, Micha.”
When she swung the door open, her hair hung in wet hanks down her back, and she was dressed in sweats. “Are you all right?”
She nodded but didn’t quite meet his gaze. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was in the shower.”
“I saw your car.”
“Yeah, me too. It was fine when I parked it, but came back from grabbing fro-yo and someone had left me a present.”
So the damage had been done in their garage? He’d have to talk to the building manager and get a look at the security tapes. “Any idea who did this?”
She sighed, and her shoulders slumped. “Caleb, I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine. I’m dealing with it. Already called the cops, and they’ll get my statement in the morning at the office. I don’t need your help.”
“You mean you didn’t file a report tonight? Why the hell not?” He made no attempt to keep his voice below a bellow.
“No, and I can’t deal with it right now. I’m exhausted. I’ll do it in the morning.”
“Micha, you realize this means someone targeted your car specifically. None of the other cars around yours were vandalized. We can’t wait to deal with this.”
She wrapped her arms around herself and rolled her lips inward. “Caleb, I’m a very short fuse right now. I can’t deal with you pushing. All I want to do is climb into bed and sleep for a month. Just once, can we do things my way?”
He studied her again. Her eyes were rimmed red, and she looked like she’d been up for days. What wasn’t she telling him? “Micha, I’m here to help. I want to make sure you’re doing okay.”
“And like I said, I don’t need your help. I’m fine on my own.”
Chapter 11
Micha’s alarm clock screeched. Aiming for he
r bedside table, she reached to turn it off, but couldn’t find it. Popping her head out from beneath the covers, she cursed. Every morning without fail, she forgot she’d moved it over to the dresser so she wouldn’t be tempted to snooze her way out of a run. “Of all the idiotic things.” Tossing off the cover, she sat up and immediately regretted the decision.
To say it felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to her head was an understatement. She’d taken a sleeping pill last night after the car fiasco. But that had done nothing for the migraine she felt coming on.
As she went about with her morning routine, running socks, shorts, industrial strength sports bra, she tried to remember what in the world had made her sign up for a marathon. Because you love to run. Now get your ass in gear. She slipped on her shoes and headed down to the gym on the first floor.
She knew better than to attempt a run outside. Even she wasn’t that reckless. Though Caleb no doubt thought she was. He’d been so pissed last night. He was probably angrier after she’d slammed the door in his face. She winced at the memory. Maybe that was overkill. But in her defense, she’d been nursing the mother of all migraines, and he’d been in the mood for a lecture. And, well, it wasn’t really his business. But between the car, the flowers, and the rat, she had trouble. Now she had to figure out what to do about it. The cops would dig everything up about her past if she went to them, and it would become common knowledge. But better her past be known than she meet her maker, even if it was in a pair of killer heels.
Today was not a good day for running. Every mile, every step, every breath was a chore. Her legs wouldn’t cooperate. With every leaden stomp, her muscles threatened to cramp. Oh hell, who was she kidding? She felt like ass.
She hit the stop button and jumped off while the treadmill was still moving. She’d only gone six miles. Nowhere near the eleven she needed for this training day. She’d have to make it up later today.
