Wild Card paced a few times, inhaled a deep breath, and confessed in rapid speech. “I never filed the divorce papers. We’re still married.”
I was speechless. I didn’t know what I expected him to say, but him confessing that they were still married wasn’t anywhere in the ballpark.
“Say something,” Wild Card ordered.
“She’s going to kill you.” I looked up at him and started giggling.
“Damn it!” he said, punching the air. “I know. I know. She’s going to be pissed.”
“But…”
Wild Card looked over at me with a hopeful expression. “Please tell me there’s a happy ending that follows that ‘but’.”
I raised my hands to my sides in an I-don’t-know gesture. “Kelsey’s a control freak. How could she not know she’s still married? She would’ve checked on the filing. For tax purposes, if for no other reason.”
Wild Card shrugged. “I have no idea why she didn’t check. But my lawyer confirmed we’re still legally bound to each other until death do us part.”
“So, let’s back up. Kelsey told me you gave her the papers and she signed them. Where did they go?”
Wild Card paced a few more times.
“Did you throw them away?”
He looked away while answering. “When I gave her the papers, the look on her face…” He shook his head. “Something broke. I saw it. I wanted so badly to fix it, but at the same time, I knew she was leaving. I knew the longer we stayed together, the harder it would be when she left. I didn’t know why she was leaving, just that she was getting ready.”
“I can see that.” I walked over and placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. “She needed to find Nicholas.”
“I know that now. But back then—I don’t know—I guess I thought I wasn’t good enough for her.”
Kelsey could seem very detached at times. Reading her thoughts, let alone her feelings, was challenging, even for me. “So? Then what happened? You asked her to sign the divorce papers?”
“Then she disappeared. She packed her bags and left. The divorce papers taunted me from the dining room table for over a week. Every day I’d see them sitting there and it made me so angry with myself...” His pained expression was focused on the floor. “Then one day, I got the bright idea that if I burned them, she’d have to come back to sign a new set. It was stupid, but I thought—”
“You thought you’d have a second chance,” I said, answering for him.
Wild Card kept his head bowed. “But when I went searching for her, I couldn’t find her. And by the time I did, we had other shit to deal with, and well, then I forgot.”
“Forgot?” I asked, smirking at him. “Or you pretended to forget?”
“Will it matter?” he asked me. “Or is she going to hate me no matter what?”
“Kelsey will know you didn’t forget,” I answered, laughing. “And when you explain the situation to her, I want a front row seat. It’s going to be a brilliant fireworks display when Kelsey lights into you.”
He chuckled, throwing himself in a chair. “I’m doomed.”
“Look on the bright side.” I paused until he glanced up at me. “Grady’s going to be royally pissed when he finds out Kelsey’s still your wife.”
Wild Card smiled. “That jealous bastard is going to lose his shit.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
KELSEY
Monday, 11:30 p.m.
“Go away, Grady,” I said without turning around. I had been unpacking my clothes, hanging them in the closet, when I’d heard him near the bedroom door. He’d been watching me for several minutes.
“I miss you.”
“You shouldn’t even be here.” I zipped the suitcase closed, moving it to the corner of the room. “This trip is family business.”
“Which involves Aces. I have every right to accompany my men.”
“Does Donovan know you’re here?”
“He agreed I should be here. I’m good at protecting people, and you might need me.”
“How exactly are you protecting anyone when you’re spending all your energy stalking me?” I slid past him to escape through the doorway and down the hallway. I fought the urge to run, walking down each step at a normal pace.
“Kelsey, when are you going to admit you miss me too?” Grady called after me loud enough for people throughout the house to appear from various locations.
“HOW DARE YOU!!” I yelled, turning to face him. “You left on a mission, and two days later you were practically renewing your vows with your bitch ex-wife!”
“How many times do I have to explain?” He walked over and cupped my face with his hand. “I was protecting the family. I was protecting you.”
I focused on his face as I whispered back, “You did the same thing to her.”
“What?”
“You cupped her face. You held her face in your hand and looked at her—” I knocked his hand away “—the exact same way you’re looking at me now.”
Grady frowned. “I love YOU!”
I stepped back to add distance between us. “But you love her, too.”
My fears were confirmed when he flinched.
I turned and walked away. “Leave me be, Grady.” I walked through the main seating room, out onto the veranda, and down the side stairs. I followed the path past the pool deck and around to the railing that overlooked the ocean below.
The waves beat against each other in the evening breeze, crashing onto the beach before retreating. Despite the warm air and mild breeze, those waves seemed angry—as if they were trying to fight against the sandy beach. Or maybe, I was simply projecting. Seeing what I felt manifest around me.
I gripped the railing tighter, trying to reel in my own rage.
Chapter Twenty-Four
CHARLIE
Monday, 11:59 p.m.
“Surprise! I brought you a present,” I said to Baker as we entered his office from the private stairway.
“Whatever it is, I don’t want it,” Baker said from behind his desk, not looking up as he read through a legal document of some kind. “The last present you gave me was purple socks with Christmas trees on them.”
“Cashmere socks. They were expensive. You like things that are expensive.”
Baker grunted.
Wild Card tossed Evie’s bags into a chair before wandering toward the security monitors.
“Evie’s your present. She’s going to keep you company for a few days and stay in your hidden suite. She promised to stay above the second floor, but she was going stir crazy in the condo.”
Baker raised an eyebrow. He glanced at Evie who was nervously standing near the stairway door. He subtly inclined his head at her before turning a stern expression on me. “And where do you expect me to sleep?”
“Do you really want me to answer that?” I asked, walking past him to the other side of the room.
He sighed loudly before saying a simple, “No.”
I opened the wall panel that led into his private suite. Evie and Beast followed me inside. A small sitting room with a couch and TV took up this side of the room. On the far side was a king size bed and private bathroom.
“You good?” I asked her.
“Is he mad?” she whispered.
“No. He’s pretty easy to read when he’s mad. He yells and his face puckers up like he bit a lemon.”
She grinned. “Then I’m good.”
“Splendid. I have more to do tonight, so I’m going to change my outfit and then split.”
“Where to next?” Wild Card asked me.
I held a finger up for him to wait a moment. “Is Garth working tonight?” I asked Baker.
“Yes,” he said as he signed a form.
“Can you send him upstairs?”
“Yes.”
I curled my finger for Wild Card to follow. Beast padded along after us.
Unlocking my office, I dug around in the closet for some street clothes and changed in the little bathroom. I didn�
�t have to do much to my face except remove some of the foundation. The bruises were a green-purple blend that worked in my favor. I let my hair down and used hairspray to tangle the mass in globs.
From the mirror, I saw Garth open the door and look at me.
Wild Card looked over at Garth, took a step back and looked further upward. He took another step back, unkinking his neck.
Garth ignored him, watching me. “Always a beauty, Kid,” he joked.
“Why thank you, Garth,” I said, winking at him. “Can you grab the keys to the Mustang and take Wild Card—” I pointed to Wild Card “—to the car. I’ll want the convertible for tomorrow. We can leave his rental in the city ramp.”
Garth looked down his nose at Wild Card but spoke to me. “You want your truck for tonight? I can bring it over on my way back.”
“Yes, please. You’re the best.”
Garth pulled both sets of keys from the peg board. “Anything for you, doll.”
“We’re separating?” Wild Card asked me. “I don’t think Kelsey will like that.”
“I need to work the street and ask a few questions. Beast will be with me. But you and all your muscles,” I gestured toward his body, “will scare everyone away.”
“You’re forgetting you’re the target on a kill contract. Let someone else dress like a homeless person and ask questions.”
“Someone else wouldn’t know where to go or who to talk to.” I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. I’ll have Beast, and I’ll make sure I’m not followed.”
“You heard her,” Garth said, running out of patience. “Let’s go, pretty boy.”
Wild Card’s head swiveled back to Garth, but he was already gone. Wild Card looked at me. “Pretty boy?” he asked in a low tone.
I smirked at him in the mirror. “Garth calls it like he sees it. That’s what I love about him. Well… that and the fact he helps me juggle my cars. Speaking of which…” I turned and faced Wild Card, pointing my finger at him. “If you get even so much as a microscopic nick on my Mustang, I’ll be serving your head on a platter.”
“What kind of Mustang are we talking here?”
I turned back to my makeup bag to add junkie tracks on my arm. “A GT coupe convertible refitted with an inline six engine rocking 470 horsepower under its beautiful metallic-silver hood. Don’t make me regret letting you drive her.”
~*~*~
I drove my beater short-bed truck from block to block for forty minutes until I found the new camp location. I could’ve made a few phone calls and saved myself the time, but since I didn’t know who the bad guys were, driving in circles was safer.
The homeless camps were always shifting, moving to new locations. I wasn’t a fan of relocation days, where the police were ordered to force the homeless to pack up and move on, but I also understood why the higher ups in charge of the city didn’t want the camps to become too large or too permanent in any one location. And orders were orders.
I parked the pickup along the curb a half a block away from the camp. After getting out, I patted my leg for Beast to follow. He stayed close to my side as we walked toward the alley, where thirty or more of this city’s homeless were gathering for the night.
Entering with the same hopeless shuffle as those around me, I kept my head tipped downward as I swept my eyes back and forth, both looking for Pauly’s friends and keeping my eyes peeled for danger. In the far back, next to a dumpster, Lydia was huddled with her back to the wall.
“Lydia, it’s Kid. Pauly’s friend,” I whispered, squatting a few feet away. “Can we talk?”
“Pauly’s not here,” she mumbled to me, pulling her jacket tighter around her with one hand and gripping something else, probably a knife, under her arm with the other.
I moved closer, leaning against the filth-layered stucco wall. Beast moved with me, but turned to watch everyone else. I tossed a brown bag toward Lydia. She flinched, watching the bag.
“What is it?”
“Sandwiches,” I whispered to her so no one else heard.
“For Pauly?” she asked.
“No. They’re for you.”
“Something happened to Pauly, didn’t it? That’s why you’re here slumming it with us. I remember you. You live in that building Pauly goes to all the time. You’re the cop.”
“I’ve got bad news, Lydia. Pauly was killed. I’m trying to find out why.”
She took the brown bag and stuffed it under her blanket. She was quiet as she watched the others.
“Will you help me, Lydia?”
“He was too good for us, you know. If he could’ve kicked the habit, he could’ve had a real life. He was smart. Smart enough to make it.”
“I think he died protecting someone. But there’s a piece that doesn’t make sense.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “What’s that?”
“Morphine.” I watched her expression, and as expected, she twitched when I mentioned it. “Pauly overdosed on morphine.”
“I don’t know nothin’.”
“He was your friend. Help me.”
“Everybody’s always asking for help,” she muttered. “Nobody’s ever offering it back.”
“I’ll rent you an apartment.”
She looked over her shoulder at me, eyes squinted in distrust.
“You said it yourself, you know who I am. I’ll rent you an apartment. I’ll pay six months in advance and you can live there for free.” I leaned forward, and gently touched her arm. “You’ll have a chance. A chance to start over.”
She jerked her arm away. “What do I need an apartment for? Got no furniture.”
“What do you want then?”
She thought for a few minutes before answering. “A favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“My daughter. She lives with a man who beats on her real bad. She’s scared of him. You help her, and I’ll help you.”
“What’s her name?”
“Cassie. Cassie Rickers.” She leaned forward to look around the dumpster to ensure no one was listening. “She lives in the yellow house over on Pearl Street. You get her out, and I’ll tell you what I know.”
“What if she won’t leave?”
“You make her leave!” Lydia shouted. Her own volume spooked her as it drew unwanted attention to us. She looked around as multiple faces swiveled our direction. She looked back at me, speaking in a hushed tone. “You get her that apartment you offered me—and you make him stay away from her. I know you. I know the things you’ve done. You make her leave.”
I dipped my head in agreement. “Meet me mid-morning tomorrow by the precinct.” I started walking back toward the street.
“You make her leave,” Lydia muttered behind me.
Chapter Twenty-Five
KELSEY
Tuesday, 2:35 a.m.
I stared at my phone, shaking my head. On one hand, I was glad Charlie had called so I knew she was safe. On the other, I couldn’t believe what she’d just asked me to do.
I walked outside and joined the guys who were still up and sitting around the pool. “I need volunteers.”
Wild Card, Jackson, Grady, Trigger, Bridget, Bones, and Uncle Hank stood, ready for anything.
“I haven’t said the what for yet.”
“It’s two-thirty in the morning,” Trigger said. “Only the really fun shit happens at two-thirty in the morning.”
Everyone laughed.
“Charlie made a deal with a homeless woman. If she gets the woman’s daughter away from her abusive husband, then the homeless woman will share what she knows about Pauly’s death.”
“I’m out,” Uncle Hank said, sitting on a chaise. “I’ve got two more years until retirement.”
“Address?” Wild Card asked.
I handed him my phone. Charlie had texted me the address. Bones and Jackson looked over Wild Card’s shoulder.
“I know how to get there,” Jackson said, leading them out.
Wild Card handed my phone back. “Leave you
r phone turned on in case we need to be bailed out.”
Grady shook his head.
“You don’t approve?”
“I’m not in the mood to play games,” Grady said. “If the homeless woman knows something, Charlie should’ve gotten it out of her.”
“Charlie’s a homicide detective,” Uncle Hank said. “She relies on street relationships to help her solve cases. She’d lose half her resources if she forced the issue.”
“So what? Her reputation on the street is worth risking my guys being arrested?”
Uncle Hank stood and calmly turned to face Grady, stepping a little too close. “I didn’t see anyone’s arm being twisted. Did you?”
“Enough,” I said, raising my hand between them. “I’m going to bed. Tyler’s on watch. Grady, you just volunteered to replace him and cover security until dawn.”
Grady walked away without speaking.
“I hope that means he’s covering third shift,” I said to myself.
“He’ll cover the security shift,” Uncle Hank said as he steered me toward the house. “He’s just flexing his muscles, trying to gain some control around here. He’s used to being Alpha, and with him being in the doghouse, he’s ranked somewhere near Zeta. It pisses him off.”
“Not my fault. Not my problem.”
“Isn’t it, though?” Uncle Hank asked, raising an eyebrow.
I stepped into the kitchen and turned to face him. “You think I’m being too hard on him? That I should forgive and forget? Take him back?”
“Don’t get carried away, doll,” Uncle Hank said, chuckling. “Whether you take him back or not is up to you. But you ignoring the problem and stringing him along with the silent treatment isn’t helping everyone else figure out the pecking order.”
“I love him, but I’m mad. Super mad.”
“I see that. But what I don’t get is why you’re more angry than hurt?” He started for the elevator and spoke over his shoulder. “Makes me wonder if you’re angry at yourself for something. That’s usually when you can’t let it go.”
I was too tired to figure out his riddle, so I grabbed a clean cup and filled it with coffee.
Hunt and Prey (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 8) Page 15
