Heat

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  Mallory’s face heated up as she wondered just what Chrissie had seen. “This isn’t any of your business,” she said. “Your brother and I weren’t meant to be.”

  “He still loves you,” she cried. “You’re breaking his heart. I saw him yesterday. He’s a mess. He hasn’t showered in days. You’re killing him.”

  “I appreciate that you care for your brother.” Mallory tried to remain calm, though all she wanted to do was shake Chrissie by the hair. “But his condition has nothing to do with me. He needs help. You should try and convince him to see a doctor.”

  “He was fine before you started sleeping around.”

  Mallory ground her teeth. “He hasn’t been fine in a long time. He’s a cokehead and he tried to get me addicted to X.”

  “What?” Max said. He was with Colleen and Nefertiti. They had just left the conference room and as luck would have it, heard the last of their conversation.

  “Liar!”

  “Shit,” Mallory said, and held Max’s eyes. “That was the real reason I was hiding. I could have handled him hitting me. It didn’t happen that often and I thought he’d eventually snap out of it and stop.”

  “Don’t say these things about my brother,” Chrissie snarled.

  “But when he forced me to swallow a tablet that was laced with a hallucinogen, I ran away. He’s lucky he didn’t kill us both with that shit he bought. If he’s been buying from that same dealer, he might be in real trouble. Maybe you should call the police.” Mallory directed the last sentence toward Chrissie.

  “My brother doesn’t take drugs and he never hit you. You’re a slut and you’re going to pay for making up those lies about him.” Chrissie shook her finger in Mallory’s face.

  “Get out of my establishment,” Colleen said. “You’ve got twenty minutes to pack or I’ll have security throw you out.”

  “I’m going,” Chrissie said. “I wouldn’t stay here if you paid me.”

  “You don’t have to believe me,” Mallory said. “But if you’re worried about your brother, get him to a doctor.”

  “You did this to him,” she sobbed. “It’s all your fault.”

  “That’s enough,” Max said, advancing on Chrissie.

  “It’s not even close to enough, you bastard,” she said.

  Colleen tugged Max back. “Let me handle it.”

  “Chrissie,” Mallory said helplessly. She wanted to help. After all, Chrissie would have been her sister-in-law. She liked the girl, but Chrissie had always seen David as a father figure. There was no way she would see that her idol had feet of clay.

  “Go to hell,” Chrissie bit out and ran away.

  Nefertiti spoke into her headset. Through the roaring in her ears, Mallory heard her mobilizing security.

  “It’s okay,” Mallory said through numbed lips.

  “The hell it is,” Max said.

  “I should go and talk to her.”

  “No, you don’t have to take her abuse.” Max put his arm around Mallory and guided her into Colleen’s office.

  “I was doing so well,” Mallory said, sinking into the couch. “I should have known it would all get blown to hell.”

  Colleen poured two glasses of blue label and handed her a generous glass. “Don’t let that flighty little bitch get to you.”

  Max sat down next to her on the couch.

  Resting her hand against her eyes, Mallory sighed. “I put off talking to David for too long. I just hoped he would go away.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me the extent of what he did?” Max asked.

  “I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to admit that I was that weak or scared. That I let down my guard and allowed him to do that to me.”

  “He should be in jail for that,” Max said.

  “I know. But I didn’t report him and I’m not going to. If he does it again, that’s another case entirely.”

  “He’s not going to get a chance,” Max said, clenching his fists.

  “I should go and talk with him and put an end to this once and for all.”

  “I’m going with you,” he said.

  “We’ll all go,” Colleen added.

  Mallory held up her hands. “Wait, that’s not necessary. I don’t need the freaking Rose Parade to talk to my ex. I’ll take Max with me and finish this.”

  In the end, Mallory stayed in her scrubs to get the nasty confrontation out of the way. She was jittering her knee the entire ride to her apartment.

  “Thanks for driving. I’m a mess.”

  “We need to be on the same page here,” Max said. “If he’s strung out, we leave and call the police.”

  Mallory hesitated and then nodded, pressing her lips together.

  “He doesn’t touch you. He doesn’t threaten you. And if I don’t like his tone, I’m going to knock his head off.”

  “He’s a lawyer. Don’t give him a reason to sue you.”

  “I don’t give a rat’s ass about that.”

  “I don’t know what we’re going to walk into,” Mallory said. “But if it’s violent, we’ll follow the letter of the law.”

  Max looked in his rearview mirror. “Well, we’re going to have plenty of witnesses.”

  Mallory craned her head around. “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve spotted Nefertiti and Istvahn in a car behind us. I wouldn’t be surprised if Colleen was with them.”

  “Great.” Mallory rubbed her throbbing temples.

  “I think we’ve got backup.”

  She shook her head. “They didn’t have to do this.”

  “You matter, Mallory. We would’ve been here the night he forced the X on you, if you had called.”

  “You didn’t even know me then.”

  “You were Colleen’s sister. That would’ve been good enough for me. Hell, after what I saw my mother go through, you could have been anyone’s sister and I would have come for you.”

  Mallory laid a hand on his arm. “How are you doing? I’m sure this is the last thing you planned on doing tonight.”

  “My plans for this evening haven’t been cancelled. They’ve been delayed. You are getting tied up in my dungeon tonight, Mallory.”

  She shivered. “The ropes scare me a bit. I don’t like being held immobile. David held me too tight to get away when he shoved that pill down my throat.”

  “We’ll work around it,” he said.

  “Can I tie you up first?” she joked.

  “It’s not a skill an amateur can do. You could get hurt if the ropes were tied too tight or in the wrong place. But we can figure something out.”

  She cleared her throat. She didn’t want to go there yet. Thinking about Max’s very talented hands and tongue would relax her too much. She wanted to be on edge when she talked to David.

  “Have you made arrangements for the funeral?”

  “It’s at the end of the week. Jessie and Ken will be there. I wanted them to stay for a few days, but they can’t swing it. We’ll have enough time for brunch together and then they’re going back home. I’d like you to be there with us.”

  “Of course,” Mallory said.

  They both fell silent, lost in their own thoughts, and sooner than Mallory liked they pulled up in front of her apartment. Or what used to be her apartment. Her stomach twisted and acid flared up the back of her throat. It was a familiar feeling, but she hadn’t felt the dread in almost three months. She blinked up at the apartment. This wasn’t home anymore. The thought clicked for her and helped her get out of the truck.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a Mercedes with tinted windows pull slowly around the block. Her backup. Slipping her hand inside Max’s, she smiled up at him.

  “I can do this,” she said, squeezing tight.

  She was surprised when her key didn’t fit in the lock.

  “Heh,” Mallory gave a half laugh. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

  Max laid the side of his fist to the door for three loud knocks.

  There was a shuffling inside and the
door opened. “What do you want?” David asked. “Who the hell is he?”

  Mallory covered her mouth to stifle the gasp of surprise. Chrissie had said he was in a bad way, but she hadn’t expected this. His face was hollowed out, his eyes dull, and his skin was marred with sores over his unshaved jaw.

  “David,” she whispered when she found her voice. “You need to come with me.”

  “Go to hell,” he said, leaning against the doorjamb to hold himself up. “This your new boyfriend? Does he know what a ball-busting bitch you are?”

  “Step down, or we’re going to have a problem,” Max said.

  Mallory placed a hand on his chest. “Stop,” she said.

  “See?” David said, with a sardonic smirk. “What do you want, bitch?”

  “You don’t get another warning,” Max said.

  “Chrissie said you were in rough shape.”

  David nodded. “I could use a few bucks.”

  “I can get you into a drug treatment program,” Mallory said.

  He looked up at her. “They have free drugs there, right? Sure, I’ll go. Come in while I pack my things.”

  Mallory and Max looked at each other. “We’ll wait out here,” Max said.

  “Don’t trust me?” He flashed a grin that resembled a jack-o’-lantern and pushed his wrinkled suit jacket back to show his .38 pistol in a holster.

  Mallory backed up into Max, who steadied her.

  “You didn’t come here to save me, like my own personal guardian angel. What did you come here for?”

  She swallowed. “Closure, I guess.”

  “What? Like after the first month when I thought you were coming back? After your sister’s goons collected your shit in the dead of night? Too much of a coward to come yourself.”

  “I didn’t know what kind of reception I would get.”

  “I tried,” David said. “I focused on our relationship, but all you wanted to do was work.”

  “Oh bullshit,” Max broke in.

  “Don’t,” Mallory whispered. If he provoked David and he pulled the gun, they were as good as sitting ducks standing on the porch.

  Max’s harsh words startled David out of his rant and he sneered up at him. “What do you know about it?”

  “My father was just like you. Only alcohol was his drug instead of meth.”

  David flinched. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Your face tells a different story.”

  “Max, that’s not necessary,” Mallory said.

  “The hell it’s not. You want to throw fists, tough guy? Let’s go. Or do you only hit someone who would never hit back?”

  “This is between Mallory and me.”

  “There is no you and me,” Mallory said. “That’s what I came here for. Your sister is under the impression that you’re pining away for me.”

  David snorted. “That’ll be the day. I’m glad you’re gone.”

  Mallory breathed in at the vicious retort. “So this is it, then?”

  “Take a walk,” he said, closing the door.

  “David, wait.”

  His sunken eye was the only thing visible in the crack he left open. She tried to see him as he was before all this went down.

  “Please, think about getting help. It’s not too late to get off the drugs. You have to see it’s out of control.”

  “Don’t come here again.” David closed the door.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Max didn’t think the day could get any shittier. He was at the grave of his father, dry-eyed. His sister was texting while the priest was talking generically about a man he’d never met. Ken’s jaw was clenched so tight, Max was afraid he’d grind his teeth to powder.

  Mallory rested her cheek on his arm, trying to be supportive, but he could tell she was lost in her own thoughts. She had wanted to be alone last night and once she was safely at Couture, he gave her the space she needed.

  Anya checked on her for him, but he still tossed and turned all night worrying about Mallory. He wished she had let him in. Maybe he had been a little heavy-handed with that asshole last night. Max let out an aggravated sigh. He could have been projecting his own feelings for his father on the crankhead, but it didn’t mean he didn’t deserve it.

  The priest finished up. Jessie turned and headed for her rental car. “We’re going to Dante’s, right?”

  “Yeah,” Max said.

  “I’ll have the drinks waiting.”

  It was ten in the morning. “Good,” Max said.

  He stayed behind and accepted hugs from his dad’s nurses. Colleen and his friends from Couture paid their respects as well, but by the time they’d all left, Max’s head felt like it was going to explode. Ken stood like a statue, glaring at the casket. He had long since shredded the red carnation they gave him. Jessie had tucked the flower in her jacket buttonhole and tossed the stem on the casket.

  “Ken.” Max tugged on his brother’s arm, after thanking the priest for the nice sermon. “It’s time to go.”

  “Yes, yes it is.”

  Ken turned on his heel and went to his own rental car. The wind cut through Max. He looked down at his mother’s grave. Mallory slipped her hand into his and gripped his fingers.

  “You okay?”

  “Peachy,” he bit out. And then he closed his eyes. “I’m sorry—ignore me. My family is not fit company right now. You should go to work. I’m good.”

  “I’d like to stay, if it’s all right.”

  He nodded. “Come on, let’s at least try and have a nice meal. No guarantees, though.”

  “I don’t need any guarantees.”

  “How are you today?” He felt stiff and polite. This was the first time they’d had to speak alone all morning. Max helped her into his truck and then got in.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I guess I’m good. It’s weird not being afraid of David. Seeing him like that.” She shook her head. “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”

  “You’re not thinking you could have prevented him from switching to meth, do you?”

  “Of course it crossed my mind.”

  He let out another explosive sigh.

  “But I don’t think I could have made a difference. He never listened to me.”

  “Some people you can’t save, Mallory.”

  “Sometimes you can’t help but try.”

  He took a shuddering breath and nodded. Yeah, ain’t that the truth.

  Dante’s was just opening when they all got there. They didn’t mind waiting for their food as long as the bar was fast. Max hadn’t planned on getting drunk, but the first whiskey and soda went down like a much needed blessing, and he was halfway through his second before he realized he hadn’t eaten anything that day.

  The only thing on the table was a basket of bread and he turned his nose up at that. No one seemed to notice he wasn’t partaking in slathering butter on the hot rolls.

  “So,” Jessie said. “How did you meet our brother?”

  Mallory blushed scarlet. “He works for my sister. I’ve been staying at Couture for a while and I took his self-defense class.”

  “Is he any good?”

  Mallory refused to look at him. “I wouldn’t want to face off with him in a dark alley.”

  “Did you know he once jumped off the roof of our garage because he wanted to do a Power Ranger move?”

  “All right, Jessie, that’s enough,” Max said, smiling despite himself.

  “Yeah, but did he get the bad guy?” Mallory laughed.

  “He got a broken arm and about twenty stitches.” Ken gave his brother a good-natured shove.

  “Your mother must have been so worried about you,” Mallory said.

  Jessie rattled the ice in her empty glass. “She was more worried about what the old man would do. We had to tell him that Max was staying at a friend’s house.”

  “Yeah,” Ken said. “And I had to check the mailbox every day to hide the insurance bills.”

  “At leas
t we had insurance,” Max said.

  “Still cost us twenty-five hundred out of pocket for the treatment.”

  “How did you keep that from your dad?” Mallory asked.

  “Ken and I started doing extra jobs around the neighborhood. I donated my babysitting money and Ken did yard work. It took a while, but we paid it off and the old man never found out.”

  “What would he have done if he found out?”

  His brother and sister shuddered; even after all these years their faces turned a little gray at the idea.

  “Nothing good,” Jessie said simply.

  “And he never would have let us forget it,” Ken added.

  “He probably would have broken my other arm,” Max said.

  “I’m sorry,” Mallory said. She looked so haunted, he wanted to whisk her into his arms and tell her that she didn’t have to worry about anyone hurting her ever again.

  “At least you know why none of us are mourning the old man too hard.” Jessie accepted a refill of her drink.

  They placed their orders when the waiter came back and the topic turned to Mallory’s family.

  “So Colleen Granger is your sister?” Jessie asked, twirling her spaghetti around a spoon with her fork.

  “She took back her maiden name after Alfie died. It’s Colleen Bryant now,” Mallory said. “Yeah, she’s something.”

  “What’s it like to have all that money?” Ken asked.

  Max inwardly groaned. He shot Mallory an apologetic look, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  “It’s not my money.” She was scooping out the mussels from her zuppa di pesce. “But she does things like drink Johnnie Walker Blue like it’s water. And donates a great deal to charities. She’s got a soft spot for children’s causes. One of these days, I’m going to talk to her about a women’s shelter.”

  “Why?” Jessie asked.

  “I don’t know how much Max told you about me?”

  Max shook his head. “I didn’t tell them about David.”

  “Who’s David?” Ken gestured with a bread stick.

  Max listened to Mallory tell them an abbreviated version of the past few months. She kept the part about the X tab to herself. It was her story to tell, but Max thought it really showed David’s personality.