After installing the new fixture and trashing the old one, Levi made his way outside. The next item on his list was a stuck garage door. As soon as he stepped outside, the heat engulfed him. He felt smothered in his stiff uniform and glanced at the pool, wanting to throw himself in the cool water.
“Don’t even think about it,” Kyle said in his ear. “You’d probably get electrocuted you’ve got so much gear on.”
“Good to know you’re back. Next time, a little warning, dick.”
* * *
After blowing a few thousand dollars on summer dresses and handbags, Reese and Taylor stopped for a quick lunch at their favorite sidewalk café. Nothing like an $18 salad to round out an exhausting morning of shopping.
When they arrived back at Taylor’s house, Reese pulled right up to the garage. The maintenance man was bent over inside. He did not acknowledge their arrival. With one foot, he stepped on a long metal bar to hold it in place and used all his strength to bend it. Taylor adored the look of concentration on his face, so serious and hard. Her eyes swept over the muscles of his arms, straining and pulled tight beneath those tattoos.
“You’re drooling,” Reese said as she parked the car.
“Huh? Oh,” Taylor said, checking her reflection in the visor mirror before hopping out. She glanced in the backseat, spotting a mountain of bags just for her, and a plan formed. “Hey!” she shouted toward the garage. “Hey, New Guy!” His head turned toward her, eyebrows raised. “Could you help me with these?”
He stood and wiped his hands on his pants. “Me?” he asked, pointing to his chest.
When he stood in front of her, Taylor was overwhelmed by his rugged handsomeness. Cool hazel eyes looked down at her, framed by thick dark lashes. They were an icy mix of blue and gray with flecks of gold around the iris. His jaw was sharp and square, covered in a day’s growth. He was much taller than she first thought, his wide shoulders hit right at her nose. Taylor was breathless as she drank him in. Reese honked the horn and both of them jumped.
“Uh, I couldn’t possibly carry all these by myself. Could you help me get them inside?” she asked, brushing her bangs from her eyes.
“I don’t know. I’m really busy with—”
“I’m sure you could make time for me, right?”
He looked at the house and back to the car. Taylor stepped out of the way as he grabbed most of the bags.
“Where to?”
She smiled victoriously and retrieved the last three bags. “Later, Reese. Follow me, New Guy.”
Taylor moved smoothly and seductively, hoping he noticed the show as she led him upstairs into her room. She dropped her bags and threw herself onto her bed, kicking off her wedges.
“Where do you want them, Miss Hudson?” he asked, his voice wavering as he watched her stretch out on top of the white duvet.
“Next to the closet is fine, thanks,” Taylor said, pointing to the door beside her bathroom. “And don’t call me Miss Hudson.”
As he walked over and placed the bags on the floor, Taylor hopped up from her bed and followed him. She imagined running her hands over his shoulders and what his salty skin tasted like. She wanted to feel that prickling stubble against her cheek and those hard hands touching all her softest spots. He spun to find her blocking his exit from the room.
“What should I call you?” he asked. His voice was softer now, deeper. It resonated with the craving inside her.
“Taylor,” she answered, though it was barely a whisper.
He leaned closer, his head bent, lips near her ear. His warm breath ghosted over the skin of her neck and shoulder. The heat from his body penetrated her thin shirt. Taylor noticed her pulse surge at his proximity. She suddenly felt nervous and way out of her league.
“I’m Levi, not New Guy. And if you keep looking at me like that, it’s going to be a long, disappointing summer, sweetheart.”
In an instant, he was gone, and Taylor found herself clutching the wall and staring at the empty space where the manly scent of aftershave and physical labor lingered.
4. open mics and polyester blend
“To your first day on the job!” Kyle toasted. He ran a hand through his dark curly hair and clinked his beer bottle against Levi’s.
Crystal joined in and raised her own bottle. “To the job,” she and Levi replied.
They took long pulls from their drinks and leaned back in a corner booth of his favorite bar, Mavericks. The woman on stage sat at the edge of her chair, her long flowing skirt dusting the floor. She wore too many layers of clothes, scarves, and jewelry, but it seemed to work for her. The music she played floated around them. With one hand, Levi tapped out the notes on the thigh of his jeans. The soft and smooth lyrics and amateur guitar playing brought the energetic mood down.
“So this is where you spend all your time, huh?” Crystal asked Levi.
“Haven’t been in here in the last couple weeks. But yeah, it’s the only place I haven’t been kicked out of.”
“Yet,” Kyle chimed in.
“It’s a cool place. I dig it,” Crystal said. “Better than Cheney’s. That place was getting skimpy with their drinks. I gave them the best drinking years of my life, and they gave me cheap alcohol hangovers.”
“Let’s get down to business,” Kyle said. “So, we already have a complete layout for the first floor. Not bad for day one. We just need to get the second floor and then I’ll start marking the most likely locations for the safe.”
“Don’t forget the attic and basement spaces,” Levi said. “There are other buildings on the property, too.”
“Right. I’ll keep transferring the footage and measurements into the house schematics and rerouting the security camera feed while Levi keeps fucking around all day,” Crystal said before taking another sip of her beer.
“What? I’m the only one doing actual physical labor,” Levi defended.
“I don’t know about labor, but I know you’d like to get physical with Taylor Hudson. Am I right?” Crystal said, wiggling her eyebrows. Levi blew out a breath and kicked Crystal’s shin.
“I’m not getting physical with her. I’m stealing her father’s money.”
“Uh-huh,” Kyle said. “I bet you nail her before the week’s done.”
“Are you assholes questioning my ability to remain professional?”
“No, we’re questioning your ability to repeatedly turn down that hot eighteen-year-old piece of ass,” Kyle teased. “Don’t feel bad. I don’t think I would have the strength. She’s a legit ten on the hotness scale, man.”
“Yeah, well that’s because your last online girlfriend turned out to be a middle-aged mother of five from Wisconsin,” Crystal said.
“Fuck off. Let’s play pool.”
“I can’t,” Levi said. “I’m up next.” He nodded toward the stage. “I’m going to grab another beer. You guys need one?”
Both friends shook their heads. Levi slid onto a barstool and waited to get the attention of his favorite bartender.
“Wassup, Levi?” Gregory greeted. “Be there in a sec, man.”
Levi watched as the bartender filled a drink order, offered his best smile and a little bit of flirting for his tip. Gregory leaned over the bar, flexing his biceps for the girl. He was pretty new to the gig but had this down to an art.
“I’ll take another,” Levi ordered, holding up his empty bottle as Gregory approached. He nodded, grabbed a beer from the cooler, and popped the top off for Levi. “Thanks.”
“Haven’t seen you around in a while. Where you been?” Gregory asked, leaning on the counter behind him.
“Been busy with a new job.”
“Finally got a record deal? Signin’ contracts. Gonna make that paper?”
Levi laughed and sipped his beer. Though he loved music, he never imagined that kind of success.
“Nope. You’re looking at the new head of maintenance.”
Gregory raised one eyebrow and lowered his chin toward the floor. “Where at?”
<
br /> Levi shook his head. “Some rich family in Newport Beach.”
“Ohhhhhh,” Gregory said. “Well, glad you could come back here and slum it with these middle-class folks.”
“I like the haircut. Barely recognized you without the braids.”
“Yeah, well, that shit was childish. Figure if I want to catch a honey, they need to understand that I’m grown folk.”
Levi laughed and looked to the stage. “Well, I’m up.”
“Go do your thing, man,” Gregory said.
Levi grabbed his father’s guitar and stepped onto the stage. He took a seat on the stool and felt held in place by the white-hot spotlight. He strummed his guitar and adjusted the strings until each note was in tune. As always, he kept his eyes down, focused on his fingers and not the audience. The nervous energy that swelled in his chest dissipated as soon as the first words left his lips. Behind the mic, Levi could let go and give himself over to the music, the lyrics, and their rhythm. Here, in his element, he shined.
* * *
The alarm clock screamed at Levi to get up. He groaned and slapped the button to quiet it. After a shower and some black coffee, he grabbed his keys and left for the Hudson house. Just as he pulled into the driveway, his phone rang. He checked the screen and prepared himself.
“Boss,” he answered.
“How did the first day go?” The voice was no-nonsense and sharp. There was never any small talk or casual greetings. The Boss always kept it professional.
“Good. We got the first-floor layout done. I’ll try to finish the second floor today, after that, the basement, attic space, and outlying buildings on the property.”
“Excellent. And the Hudson girl?”
“She won’t be a problem,” Levi insisted. “I’ve got this under control.”
“I’m counting on it, Levi.”
The call ended and he couldn’t help but feel the threat in those parting words. The Boss had a lot of faith in this team, especially Levi. While he believed in his own abilities, it was hard not to let doubt creep in. So much of the job’s success depended on him, the pressure sometimes felt like clammy hands around his throat.
After he arrived at the house and checked in with Mandy, Levi spent the entire morning ignoring his job list and mapping out the second floor. There were two offices and four bedrooms total, with the two extra rooms looking as though they’d been uninhabited for a long time. Nevertheless, each one was decorated in the same expensive furniture as the rest of the house.
In Taylor’s room, he tried not to think about her splayed across that bed. He tried, but was not successful. Now that he could take a closer look at the space, he found it odd for an eighteen-year-old girl’s room. There was nothing personal about the space, no posters on the walls, only one photo on the dresser. It was a candid shot of a petite, middle-aged woman and a young Taylor in a dance costume. Her smile was different, genuinely innocent, but the same blue eyes stared back at him.
Taylor’s bed was massive, and instead of being pushed up against a wall, it stood directly in the middle of the room, a centerpiece of sorts. When he finished, Levi left with one more parting glance at that bed.
There was a room on the second floor with a keypad next to the door. Levi tried the handle and found it locked.
“I can’t get in,” he huffed. Levi heard clicking in his earpiece. “What are you doing?”
“Flipping through the video feeds. Ah, yep. There it is. Looks like it’s probably Henry’s personal office. Huge desk, filing cabinets, and bookshelves. We’ll have to figure it out later.”
For now, they ignored the room and moved on. Levi followed the narrow staircase to the attic. As soon as he opened the door, the smell of stale air and dust overtook him. He could tell that the same dedication and care that was shown to the rest of the house was not carried out here. He stepped into the space and closed the door behind him.
There were a couple of attic vents that let slivers of light in, enough for him to make his way around. Boxes were neatly stacked in the corners, each labeled with a family name—Henry II and Eleanor Hudson. Antique furniture littered the space, most of it draped in white cloths turning gray from the dust.
“Well, this place is creepy,” Kyle said.
“Yeah,” Levi agreed while lines of Poe’s The Raven raced through his head.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token …
“Let’s get what we need and get out. I doubt a safe big enough to hold fifteen million would be in the attic anyway.”
Levi stepped to the nearest wall and placed his laser measurer against it and watched the red beam appear across the room. He called out the number for Kyle to record and made his way around a large stack of boxes, repeating the process on that wall.
“Done here,” Levi announced. “I’m heading back downstairs.”
“Copy that.”
When he turned to go, Levi’s shoe caught on something and he fell on all fours.
“Damn.”
The movement kicked up a swirling mess of dust and he choked on it. After coughing a few times to clear his lungs, Levi looked back to see what he’d tripped on.
He pulled the cloth away and found a child’s wooden rocking horse. It was elaborately decorated with a lifelike mane and tail and glass eyes. There was even a saddle carved into the piece. It was painted pink with flowers along the edge and the name JULIA on the seat.
“Kyle, you still there?”
There was a long beat of silence before Kyle answered. “Yeah. What’s up?”
“In all our research on this family, do you remember the name Julia?”
“Julia … Julia … no, I don’t.”
“Huh.” Levi ran his fingers over the name before covering the rocking horse back up and getting to his feet. “I’m going to grab some lunch and get started on my work list.”
“Okay, I’ll check in with you later,” Kyle said before signing off.
Downstairs, Levi crossed the main room. From there he could see Taylor laid out next to the pool. The plate-glass window ran along the length of the room, making it feel like he was standing outside instead of in.
She lay facedown on a lounge chair, the strings to her top undone and hanging to the ground. Her long golden hair was pulled to the side, hiding her face. Levi’s eyes followed the curve of her back, over her round ass, and stopped at her toes.
“Do you often spend your time staring at teenage girls?”
Levi turned to find the woman from the photo in Taylor’s room staring through the glass next to him. Her face was kind and attractive, with her brown hair pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. The way she watched Taylor, Levi could tell she cared about the girl.
“Uh, no. I was just, uh…”
“I’m only kidding. She almost looks sweet and innocent when she’s asleep, doesn’t she?”
He turned and extended a hand to her. “Hi. I’m Levi, head of maintenance.”
She slid her hand into Levi’s and shook it. “Suzanne, head of Taylor.”
Levi laughed, leaned against the glass, and tucked his hands in his pants pockets. “I didn’t think anyone took responsibility for that,” he said.
“Yes, well, it has been my job for the past eighteen years. Some days it’s rewarding. Other days, I think I should have just gotten a Pomeranian. It’s always been an adventure, though. After this summer, she’ll be on her own.” Levi felt the sadness in Suzanne’s statement. “We’ll have to say a prayer for the residents of Massachusetts when she attends Harvard in the fall.”
“She’s a bit old for a nanny.”
“Henry tried to let me go when Taylor was twelve years old. She threw the biggest fit. So there was a compromise made. They changed my title to house manager. Ever since then, my salary has come out of Taylor’s trust fu
nd. She thinks I don’t know.”
“Wow,” Levi said, looking back at the girl sunbathing. “You must be important to her, then.”
Suzanne gave him a smile and nodded. “We’re important to each other.”
“I was going to grab some lunch. Have you seen Mandy around?”
“She’s in the kitchen. Been waiting to see you all day,” Suzanne teased. He sighed and leaned his head against the glass. “Don’t worry, Levi. Mandy is harmless. But that?” Suzanne said, gesturing toward Taylor. “That’s the one you need to worry about.”
Levi held up both hands, palms toward her. “Hey, I’m just here to do my job.”
Suzanne nodded but kept her eyes on Taylor. Levi left her standing at the window and made his way to the kitchen. Mandy stood over a pot, stirring.
“Hi, Levi.” Her enthusiasm was off-putting, but the smell of whatever she was cooking made him sit down. She spooned something onto a plate and slid it in front of him. “Here. I made you lunch. Eat,” she commanded.
After a few bites, he looked up to find her staring. “This is great. What is it?”
“Beef Stroganoff. It’s my mom’s recipe,” she answered proudly.
“Wow. I’ve only ever had the Hamburger Helper version.” Levi shoved another bite into his mouth. “This is much better.”
“Well, I would hope so.”
When the last bite was gone, he pushed the empty plate toward her and mumbled a thank-you before making a quick escape.
* * *
Taylor’s skin felt like it was on fire. She lifted her sunglasses, wiped the sweat from her face, and lowered them back over her eyes. Even in her tiny bikini, the heat was too much to bear. She retied the strings around her neck before standing and stretching her hands high above her head. The burn and pull in her muscles reminded her to have Suzanne set up yoga sessions again.
She stepped to the edge of the pool and eyed the aqua water. Its surface was slick and reflective, showing a squatty distorted version of her against the sky. Taylor dipped her toe in and kicked at the water, making that Taylor disappear. Diving in, she relished the instant cooling effect the water offered. She swam to the other side of the pool, holding her breath until her lungs burned.
Perfect Betrayal Page 4
