Mayhem & Mistletoe

by Amanda M. Lee

  “I don’t have any information for you,” he said.

  “Was it a serial killer?” I pressed harder. “I mean ... it seems weird that there would be some freaky guy out there with a fetish for Santas, but I’ve heard of weirder. Some people like clowns, for example. Other people like dolls. I think the world would be happier if both were eradicated, but it’s not really up to me.”

  “I’m with you on the clowns,” Jake agreed. “They’re unnatural.”

  “You’re okay with the dolls?”

  He shot me a look. “Do you have to go to a weird place tonight? I’m not in the mood. It’s been a long day.”

  I recognized what he wasn’t saying. Once word got out about the body dump, it would turn into a long week, maybe even a long month. This was his last moment of quiet before the media firestorm.

  Well, boo-hoo for him. “Just give me something,” I wheedled. “I’ve had a trying day. There’s a new intern at the newspaper. You know how I feel about change.”

  Jake remained impassive. “Let’s talk about something else.”

  “Let’s not.”

  He pretended I hadn’t spoken. “Tell me how things are at The Monitor now that Ludington is back on the job.”

  “He’s back on the job?” I straightened. “I heard he was just participating in some teleconferences and a few video chats. He’s not even technically in office until the first of the year.”

  Jake’s eyes lit with amusement. “You’re slacking. That’s not like you. Have you decided to go easy on him after the shooting?”

  “Don’t be an idiot.” I was not a soft-hearted fool. Yes, Tad almost dying had filled me with an emotion I couldn’t quite identify — I was leaning toward guilt but didn’t want to admit it — but that didn’t mean I had any intention of letting up. “We both know he’ll try to sneak some ridiculous legislation past that board the first week he returns because he thinks it will be his best shot to snow them.”

  “We definitely agree on that.” Jake sipped again, speculative. “I’ve heard talk regarding his plans … if you’re interested.”

  It was a distraction I really shouldn’t have gone for, but I couldn’t stop myself. “What?”

  “Here we go.” Eliot smirked as he got comfortable next to me, his hand moving to my neck to rub at the tension there. He seemed perplexed at how tight I was. “You’re stressed, baby. Maybe you should start seeing a therapist or something.”

  I shot him a dirty look. “I’m not lying on some couch and spilling my guts.” Did he just meet me? “Who do you think you’re dealing with?”

  His eyebrows hiked but he didn’t react out of anger. “I meant a massage therapist.”

  “Oh.” Mollified, I could feel my cheeks burning. “I’m only dealing with a massage therapist who’s young, male and hot. Still want me to go?”

  “If it means you’ll chill out, yes. I’m not particularly worried about you cheating on me. That’s not who you are.”

  He was right on that one. Besides, he was more than I could handle ... especially during the past few weeks. Adding another man to the mix, even if he had magic fingers, seemed an insurmountable hurdle. “What were we talking about again?”

  “Ludington’s new plan,” Lauren offered helpfully. She’d been mostly silent since I sat, but she was used to my rhythm and knew enough to let Jake and I bounce insults and questions off each other for a full ten minutes before interjecting herself into the conversation. “I’m curious about what he has planned myself.”

  “Right.” I pinned Jake with an expectant look. “What’s Tad up to?”

  Jake offered me a sly smile. “Okay, but you can’t tell anyone you heard it from me. He’s going to be gunning to make trouble for anybody he believes is standing in his way on this stuff and I don’t want to deal with him unless absolutely necessary.”

  I mimed crossing my heart.

  “He wants to start a crime task force.”

  I waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, I wrinkled my nose. “He’s made suggestions like that before.”

  “Ah, yes, but now he’s a crime victim,” Jake noted. “He almost died. He’s going to use that to his advantage.”

  “What sort of crime task force?” Eliot asked, his hand still working at the base of my neck. His ministrations felt so good I had to stop myself from purring.

  “Well, I’ve heard different things.” Jake hesitated and then barreled forward. “He knows better than to try to limit gun sales or anything. I believe he’s going to try to wedge an elite law enforcement team into the mix, one that answers directly to him.”

  I pursed my lips, considering. “That sounds just like him. He kind of tried that before.”

  “It fell apart, though, and that team had no real power. The thing is, he hates me almost as much as he hates you, Avery. He’s probably feeling pretty bitter about what happened. You know what that means.”

  I knew better than most what it meant. “He’s going to try to make life difficult for us.”

  “He is,” Jake agreed. “I don’t think he’ll have much luck with me. Even if he manages to push this crime task force through, my duties are spelled out. He can’t create an entity out of thin air and diminish my power, no matter how hard he tries.”

  His words hit home. “Which means he’ll be especially focused on me.”

  “I think so.” Jake’s eyes flashed with sympathy. “I’ve heard a few things. I don’t want you getting worked up, but I think you should be prepared. Rumor is, he blames you for what happened to him.”

  I could see that. “Because Fawn only went to work for him after Eliot fired her.”

  Jake nodded. “Apparently Ludington believes you’re the reason Eliot ousted Fawn.”

  “I am the reason.”

  Eliot immediately started shaking his head. “Don’t put this on her. She’s dealing with enough stuff right now. I fired Fawn because she refused to do her job. Avery isn’t to blame for that.”

  “Besides,” Lauren added, “Ludington only hired her to annoy Avery and Eliot. He has to take responsibility for that.”

  “He never takes responsibility for anything,” Jake countered. “He doesn’t get that Avery went out on a limb to protect him a few weeks ago. All he sees is her trying to protect herself. And now, with what happened at the train tracks and Beau Burton’s name being dragged into the mix, I’m afraid he’s going to use the media firestorm to go after Avery.”

  He was serious, but he’d let something slip without realizing it. “Who is Beau Burton?”

  “What?” Jake jerked his eyes to me, seemingly surprised.

  “Beau Burton,” I repeated, refusing to allow him to distract me. “Who is he?”

  “I have no idea.” Jake had a great poker face and he was utilizing it now. “Where did you hear that name?”

  My eyes went wide. “You just said it.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “You did so.” I looked to Eliot for confirmation. “You heard it, right?”

  Rather than agree with me, Eliot chuckled. “Oh, this is going to be fun. I can already see where this is going.”

  I furiously jabbed a finger at Jake. “I’m totally going to figure out who that is and nail you on it tomorrow. You’d better be ready.”

  Jake took a page from my book and deflected. “Why did Eliot say you’re dealing with enough as it is? You’re not still in trouble at work, are you? Maybe I could sit down with MacDonald and talk to him. We have a relatively good relationship, and since Ludington is his former son-in-law, he might give a little.”

  “I’m fine at work,” I snapped. “You can’t distract me.”

  “If you’re fine at work, why is Eliot worried about you?”

  I felt caught. I could see the dangerous road this conversation was likely to go down and I wasn’t keen to allow it. “Eliot isn’t worried about me. I’m fine.”

  Jake rolled his eyes until they landed on Eliot. “Is something happening?”

 
I expected Eliot to brush off the question. Instead, he nodded. “I told Avery I was gearing up to propose to her. She has spent the last few weeks freaking out. I’m hoping she’s almost done so I can move forward with my plans. We’re feeling each other out right now.”

  My mouth dropped open. “You ... I can’t believe you ....”

  Lauren happily clapped her hands. “Oh, that’s so exciting. Only ... I don’t understand. Why would you tell her you’re going to propose before doing it? Isn’t it supposed to be a surprise?”

  Jake didn’t say anything, but I could feel his eyes on me. I could also feel his stupefied disbelief. I was too cowardly to meet his gaze.

  “Avery is afraid of conforming,” Eliot replied, his hand never ceasing its movement on the back of my neck. “She thinks getting married will somehow make her less of ... herself. It won’t, of course, but she’s squirrelly sometimes.”

  I found my voice. “I’m not squirrelly. I just think that marriage is ....” I couldn’t find the appropriate words.

  Eliot grinned. “She’s ten times better than she was. I think she’ll be ready for the big event in a couple of weeks.” He held up his hand, fingers crossed, and grinned. “She’s a work in progress, but she’s coming along nicely.”

  “Don’t talk about me as if I’m not here,” I hissed. “And I don’t think you should be telling people about this.”

  “Why is that?” Eliot used his most reasonable tone. “Are you afraid people will think you’re a loon for not jumping on me and begging for an immediate engagement?”

  “No, I ....” Whatever I was going to say died on my lips when Jake finally made a sound.

  He shifted on his seat, cleared his throat, and made a face that briefly made me wonder if he was going to be able to keep down the dinner he hadn’t even eaten yet. “You’re proposing?”

  Eliot kept his smile in place, but he stiffened slightly. “Yeah.” His voice was quiet. He understood better than most that this might be difficult for Jake to hear, and even though he loved me, he didn’t want to hurt Jake. Their relationship had gone through some tense times, but they were good friends now. They relied on one another and pretty much ignored the fact that Jake and I could’ve ended up together had things gone differently. “It’s going to happen soon. Maybe I should’ve told you sooner.” He looked apologetic.

  Jake waved his hand, a smile appearing even though he was paler than usual. “No. It’s none of my business.” He shot a reassuring smile at Lauren, who almost looked sympathetic. “I’m just surprised. I assumed you guys would just live together forever. I mean ... marriage.” He went for levity because it was all he could muster. “I can’t imagine Avery in a white dress.”

  Eliot chuckled, probably because it was expected of him, and squeezed my shoulders. “Those sorts of logistics are down the line. Right now I’m just trying to ease her into the idea. Believe it or not, she tends to freak out over stuff like this.”

  “Yeah.” Slowly, Jake’s gaze drifted to me. I wanted to crawl into a hole and avoid the unavoidable emotion I found reflected back at me. “This should be interesting.”

  That right there was the understatement of the year.

  5 Five

  Eliot had beaten me home and was already on the couch with the kitten when I walked into the living room. He had the television on, surfing through Netflix. I took a moment to study him.

  He was ridiculously good looking, brown hair touching his shoulders. He had one of those smiles that made me go warm all over — which was something I could barely admit to myself, let alone anyone else — and he was built like a Hollywood hero.

  I loved him. He’d somehow made it past all my defenses and encouraged me not only to trust him, but to rely on him.

  I was still terrified of all he was trying to offer me. And, when frightened, I turn mean.

  “What do you want to watch?”

  The question jolted me back to reality. “Huh?”

  He slid his eyes to me and grinned. “Television.” He inclined his head. “I thought we could eat the cake and watch something. I’m up for whatever you want to watch.”

  “What if I want to watch the Kardashians?”

  “Then I’ll watch it with you.”

  Because I knew he meant what he said, all I could do was sigh. “I think we should talk.” Even I was surprised when the words escaped my mouth. I wasn’t the type of person who wanted to discuss feelings when I could hide behind a movie or sitcom. My frazzled nerves were too much to ignore, though, and I wanted to feel better.

  He dropped the remote control on the table and shifted to make room next to him on the couch. “Let’s talk.”

  I shrugged out of my coat and dumped it in one of the chairs at the edge of the living room. Under normal circumstances, Eliot would admonish me to hang it up before joining him, but he kept his mouth shut this time. He waited until I was settled at his left to speak.

  “You’re angry because I told Jake I’m going to propose, aren’t you?”

  The question wasn’t surprising. “No. Why would you think that?”

  “I saw the look on your face when I told him. You have to know I wasn’t trying to be cruel ... to either of you. I’m trying to give him time to adjust.”

  “He doesn’t need to adjust.” Even as I said it, I knew I wasn’t being truthful. Jake was probably home right now obsessing about this most recent development. “We haven’t been together for a very long time.”

  “I know that.” His fingers danced over my shoulder, not stopping until he reached my hair, where he proceeded to slip a strand behind my ear to better study my profile. “He still loves you.”

  “He’s with Lauren. They seem really happy together. That’s what I want for him. To be happy, I mean. He doesn’t love me. There’s no reason to be jealous.”

  Rather than deny the emotion, he snickered. “There was a time I would’ve been upset about what went down tonight.”

  “Nothing went down.”

  “Oh, baby, something went down.” He moved his hand down my arm and linked his fingers with mine. It was a simple and yet breathtakingly intimate gesture. “When we first got together, I was convinced you were using me as a distraction because you couldn’t face your feelings for him.”

  I leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, exasperated. “Eliot.”

  “I’m not finished.” His smile was fleeting, but genuine. “I told myself that we weren’t going to last more than a few weeks. I found you amusing enough that I wanted to enjoy those few weeks. After that, when we didn’t fall apart, I told myself it would only be a few months.

  “At a certain point, I realized I was in love with you,” he continued. “I don’t even know how it happened. That’s when I started studying your relationship with Jake for signs of what was to come.”

  “We’ve been over this,” I argued. Sometimes it felt as if we’d been over it so many times that it had become the broken record of my life. “Jake is my friend. Nothing more. You don’t have anything to worry about. If that’s why you’re planning to do the thing you’re going to do ....”

  He waited, and when I didn’t continue, he barked out a laugh. “You’re so funny.” He leaned in and gave me a light kiss. “I’m not going to propose because of Jake. I’m over it. I understand your relationship with him now, probably better than the both of you do.”

  Getting huffy probably wasn’t the way to deal with this, but I couldn’t stop myself. “Oh, yeah? Are you a Jedi master now or something?”

  “I know all and see all.”

  “If you say so.” I wanted to redirect the conversation, but apparently, he had no intention of allowing that.

  “He was your first love and you can’t let him go,” Eliot offered. “It’s not a bad thing,” he added when I opened my mouth to argue. “It’s not that you’re in love with him. You might’ve flirted with that idea at the very beginning of our relationship, but your world shifted just like mine did.

  “He�
�s one of your best friends, and you’re always going to have a connection to him. That’s okay, Avery. I don’t want to keep you two apart. I know that he’s not a threat. Actually, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that the only thing that’s a threat to us is your mouth.”

  My eyebrows hopped. “Excuse me? My mouth has gotten us out of more trouble than your muscles.”

  “You keep telling yourself that.”

  “It’s true.”

  His smile widened. “I love you. I know you love me. This life we’ve built together will only get better. I didn’t tell Jake I was going to propose to upset him, though I think it did.”

  Obviously I wasn’t the only one who had seen the horrified look on Jake’s face. “I think he was surprised more than anything.”

  “Yeah, and I kind of wish I’d told him when it was just the two of us. I’m not sure having you there helped. I know having Lauren there didn’t help. But I wanted him to know so he has time to adjust.”

  “Adjust to what?” My frustration bubbled up. “He doesn’t love me, no matter what you think.”

  “He does. You’re his first love. What you and I have is amazing, it’s beyond all I ever hoped for. He still loved you first, and that might gall a little bit, but it’s understandable. You guys built a bond that was based on more than romantic interest. You were friends first. That’s not going away.”

  I lifted my free hand and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I don’t like this, Eliot.”

  “Hurting Jake? I don’t like it either. He’ll get over it eventually. He’s a good man, and he’s going to continue to be a great friend.”

  “Not that.”

  “Then what?”

  “This.” I gestured between the two of us. “We’re on edge. We’re leery around one another. It used to be that I would come home and climb on top of you while you watched SportsCenter. I could nap right here.” I lightly thumped his chest. “On Saturdays you would fall asleep with your head in my lap while I played video games. We don’t do that at all anymore.”