“Did you guys have fun?” I asked as we walked back to the parking lot.
“Marilyn said that Charlie’s dad is a shithead,” Sara said.
“Language, Sara,” Grady growled.
“It’s a direct quote,” Nicholas said. “It doesn’t count.”
“Nick’s right.” Nana smirked. “Doesn’t count if it’s a quote.”
Sara slid her small hand in mine. “And she said that your mom is a demon. Said she’s as smart as you, but pure evil.”
“A demon possession would explain a lot,” Nana said, walking beside us. “But no way is she smarter than Kelsey.”
“You kids don’t need to worry about my mother,” I told them.
Nicholas reached up and wrapped his hand through my other one. “Promise?”
“I swear it.”
“Are we heading to the police station?” Grady asked.
His silver truck was parked next to my SUV. On the other side was a red two-seater convertible that I knew had to be Nana’s.
“Yes,” I answered before turning to Nana. “It’s best if you leave town before Mother finds out you’re here.”
“Fine. But I’m not ready to go home yet. Are you going to put me up at your house for a few days? I want to spend some time with my grandson and get to know this bewitching sidekick of his.”
Sara tucked closer to my leg, but she was smiling up at Nana.
“We’ll find a room for you.” I leaned over and kissed Nana’s cheek.
“See you back at the bunker then.” Nana waved as she climbed into her convertible. She barely turned the ignition key before she floored the gas and squealed the tires out of the parking lot.
“She reminds me of Dallas,” Sara said, giggling before running over and climbing in the back of my SUV.
Nicholas raced in after her.
“She’s not as crazy as Dallas, is she?” Grady asked.
“Just help me keep her drinks watered down during her visit.”
Grady sighed before kissing my forehead and climbing into his truck.
~*~*~
Pulling into the police station, I smirked as I parked beside a familiar black SUV. Katie, Anne, Whiskey, and Tyler climbed out.
“Kids, stay in the car.”
“I want to go inside,” Sara whined.
I looked at the small gathering just outside the police station. “With any luck, none of us are going inside. Just stay here.” I climbed out and motioned to Tyler to stay with the SUV. He moved over to my vehicle and opened the back door to talk to the kids. Though he was only a prospect for the Devil’s Players, we’d all had a hand in his training. I had personally taught him how to shoot the pistol he was carrying concealed. He’d keep the kids safe.
“I won’t be long,” I said, waving off Katie and Anne from following. As I crossed the lot, Grady exited his truck and moved toward my SUV to lean against the front, arms crossed over his broad chest.
I turned my attention to the gathering in front of me. Just outside the building doors, my mother stood arguing with the sheriff and another man in a suit. I was guessing the man was from the prosecuting attorney’s office. As I got closer, I heard enough of the argument to confirm my theory. Ten feet away, my mother noticed me and walked a few paces away from the sheriff toward me. I closed the distance, not stopping until I stood firmly within her air space, mere inches from each other.
Her eyes flashed with hatred, as I was sure mine did too. We stood silent, glaring with such intensity that the temperature seemed to jump at least ten degrees around us. My mother was used to commanding her household with a flash of anger in her eyes, but I’d rather chew off my arm than cower to her ever again. Her reign over me had ended when I was a teenager, and it was time she learned I was in charge now. My muscles clenched, hopeful she would strike out against me. I stepped another inch forward, each of us close enough to feel the other’s breath.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, almost hesitantly, until the sheriff’s hand wrapped around my forearm.
The corner of her mouth tipped up in arrogance.
A slow grin spread across my face. I didn’t have to hear Grady cross the lot to know he was the one who twisted the sheriff’s hand off my arm and shoved him away from me. Grady was always there for me. Beside me. Protecting me.
My smile widened as my mother glanced nervously behind me. Anne, Katie, and Whiskey were not as stealthy in their approach. I knew they’d formed a wall of protection behind me.
“Sheriff? You need assistance?” I heard another officer ask as my mother took a step back.
“Release Charlie Harrison,” the sheriff called out.
I glanced over at the sheriff, a shrunken old man standing in the shadow of an enraged Grady. Whiskey walked over and placed a casual arm on Grady’s shoulder. To a stranger, it would appear that the gesture was jovial. To anyone who knew the men, Whiskey was reminding Grady to keep his shit together.
“Wasn’t bail denied?” the officer asked.
“It was,” the attorney said.
“Young man,” my mother snapped toward the officer. “Do as you were told and release Charlotte Harrison. The charges have been dropped.”
The attorney turned to argue, but my mother’s icy blue eyes speared him, chocking his words off.
My mother turned back to me, but kept her distance. “Take your cousin and get the hell out of my town.”
“Or—What?” I snapped, stepping toward her. Anne and Katie grabbed my arms, keeping me in place. We all knew I could break their hold if I wanted, but I didn’t. “I will not follow your orders, Mother!”
“You’re forgetting where you are,” my mother said, laughing coldly. “Either you leave on your own, or I’ll have you dragged out of town by your hair.”
Anne and Katie both stepped around me and squared off with my mother, continuing to advance as my mother retreated until her back was flat against the brick wall.
“She’s mine,” I said, approaching as they stepped away. I leaned in to whisper, “How dare you threaten me. I can snap your neck in one move. I can sneak into the house in the middle of the night, and you’d never open your eyes again. I can have you ruined. I can have you killed. I can do whatever the hell I want—so don’t give me a reason to come back to this shit-hole of a town.”
A spark of fear appeared in her eyes before they turned cold again. She held my glare, fighting to keep her composure, until I snorted and walked away.
Sensing Charlie walking up beside me, I stopped briefly to turn to face her. Her happy smile instantly fell as she saw the level of my anger. She stepped back, bumping into Grady.
“You best ride with me,” Grady said, placing an arm in front of her, protecting her from me.
“I’ll drive your SUV,” Anne said, taking my keys. “You need to decompress before you get behind the wheel.” Whiskey joined Anne in my SUV.
Knowing she was right, and also knowing I wasn’t in the best mental frame to be around the kids, I climbed into the passenger seat of Katie’s SUV.
Tyler slid into the backseat. “Well, that was interesting.”
“The kids okay?” Katie asked.
“They’re disappointed that nobody threw a punch,” Tyler answered.
“I’m not,” Katie said, pulling out of the parking lot. “I thought my mother was bad. But her drunk ass never made my toes curl like that hateful woman. I wouldn’t have gotten any closer if Anne wasn’t beside me.”
“Mama bear was mad,” Tyler chuckled. “And don’t fool yourself, Katie. That sheriff is lucky Grady got to him before you did. I saw you reaching for your knife.”
I glared over at Katie, and she smirked. “Instinct.”
“Why are you mad at Charlie?” Tyler asked me.
“Because she’s stirring up shit that’s best left buried,” I said as I glanced back at him.
My facial expression must have been intense, because Tyler cringed into the back seat.
Chapter Four
“You look like an enraged dragon ready to scorch the Earth,” Dallas said from a stool at our breakfast bar. She had helped herself to my liquor cabinet and had what appeared to be a Hurricane sitting in front of her. Most likely she’d used the top-shelf liquor to make it.
“Don’t be giving me the evil eye. I made a pitcher and left a glass out for you.” She pointed at the glass sitting next to the refrigerator.
I pulled the pitcher and filled the glass. “Where’s Nana?”
“The crazy old lady? I sent her over to Lisa’s house. I told her I wasn’t allowed to let strangers inside.”
“She’s my grandmother!”
Dallas shrugged, inspecting her manicure. “She scared the hell out of me. She’s four feet tall and as tenacious as a pit bull. I thought she was actually going to bite me when I wouldn’t let her inside.”
I shook my head and looked back toward the door where the kids stood grinning. They ran back out the door laughing, likely heading to Lisa’s. Tyler turned and followed them, ever the bodyguard.
Grady stepped through the garage door, and I looked over his shoulder for Charlie. “Figured you could use some time to either cool off or get drunk,” he answered my unasked question. “She’s at the store with Anne and Katie.” Grady wrapped one arm around me and used the other to steal my drink. Taking a sip, his face puckered, and he handed it back. “I’ll stick to beer.”
I took a long sip of my drink before turning back to Dallas. “What brings you by?”
She leaned over and lifted a tote bag onto the counter. She pulled a box from the bag—sapphire blue hair dye. “Just a few streaks.” She winked.
“What the hell.” I pulled the pitcher from the refrigerator and moved it and my glass to the dining room table. “I need new black tips and a cut, too.”
“That’s obvious,” Dallas said, emptying the rest of her supplies beside me. “Your hair is downright boring these days. If I crossed paths with you as a stranger on the street, I’d imagine you to be a housewife.”
Grady snorted, grabbed three beers and left the house through the garage door.
“What are you really doing here?” I asked Dallas.
“Tyler sent a text to Goat, who called me. Word is you’re in a particularly evil mood. Alex found a few new outfits for you. Lisa’s cooking enough food to feed the security firm, the store employees, and the bikers. And everyone promised to hide until I got you good and drunk.”
“And Nana?”
“She was the first to ask where to hide when we got word you were feeling extra bitchy. Lisa’s house seemed the safest place to stash her for the time being.” She nudged the back of my head, forcing my chin to my chest as she pinned most of my hair up with a clip. She pulled out the lower layer, snipped a good inch off the bottom, and began coating it with a jet-black dye.
“Hurry up. I can’t drink with my head this way.”
She leaned over, reached into her bag, and tossed a straw onto my lap. Dallas planned like a girl scout—an older, more devious girl scout in a push-up bra. I peeled the wrapper off before sucking half my glass down.
“Now we're talking,” Dallas said, lifting her own glass to take a drink.
“You can’t get drunk and do my hair.”
“Please. I dropped acid before doing your hair last time, and it turned out great.”
I laughed, because the last haircut was the best yet. Even Katie was jealous. I knew Dallas had been high, but I’d figured it was a mix of marijuana and alcohol.
“You know, you could make a lot of money styling hair as a career. You’re good at it.”
“I’m good at sex, too. Doesn’t mean I want some fat, hairy, lard-ass sticking it to me doggy style to make a buck.”
I choked on my drink, coughing as it went down the wrong pipe. Dallas beat on my back a few times and then yelled at me to hold still as she wrapped more of my hair in foil.
~*~*~
Dallas was finishing the foil wrap on the top highlights when Grady returned. “Is it safe to be inside yet?”
“Depends on who enters.”
“Should I send word that Charlie needs to find somewhere else to sleep tonight?” Grady asked as he sat next to me.
“Sounds tempting.” Despite Dallas’ protests, I raised my head to look at him. “Where did you run off to?”
“Headquarters. Bones took over working with the trainees today so I caught up on my paperwork.”
“Did Donovan tell you he wants me to write profiles on all the trainees?”
“No, but I support Donovan’s decisions. And I trust your profiles. It actually takes the pressure off.” He leaned back, relaxing into his chair. “I can’t get a read on a couple of the trainees. I know their skill level, but I can’t figure out what makes them tick.”
“I’ve barely made a dent in the files, but one stood out already. I texted Tech to run a deeper background.”
“Which I did,” Tech said as he entered through the front door. “Nice catch.” He dropped a folder next to me before going to the refrigerator.
I opened the file and scanned the information before sliding it toward Grady.
Grady glanced at the closed file before looking back at me. “Do I even want to know?”
“I noticed in Scott Bailey’s file that he was a high school dropout from East Garfield Park in Chicago. Then the file was blank for the next six years. Tech found gang affiliations.”
“Damn. I liked him.”
“Just because he was in a gang, don’t cross him off the list. He was sixteen and living in a crap neighborhood. Dig in. If he tells you his story, you might find that his history gives him the experience to do this job.”
“Or I might just hear more lies.”
“Tech can fact check anything he tells you.” I shrugged. “Or I can interview him. Get a personal read on him.”
Grady tapped his fingers on the file, thinking. “No. I’ll talk to him tomorrow. If he passes a sit down with me, then I’ll have you grill him next. You’re right. Sometimes shitty choices when we’re young build moral character later.”
“And sometimes you’re just left with a stinking pile of shit,” Dallas slurred from behind me.
Grady grinned and looked at me. “I’m afraid of what your hair looks like under all that foil. She’s loaded.”
“It’s time to find out. Luckily, I was timing the dye myself.”
I got up and went to my private bathroom. I started the shower before pulling the individual foils from my hair. Looking in the mirror, the sapphire blue streaks were brighter than I anticipated, but it looked cool with the maroon streaks and black tips. I stepped into the shower, rinsing my hair before I added a healthy dose of expensive conditioner. A half an hour later, still wrapped in my towel, I had just finished blow drying my hair when Grady entered.
“Damn.” His eyes sparkled with mischief as he looked back at me in the mirror. Stepping forward, he proceeded to show me with his hands and other body parts just how much he liked the new look.
~*~*~
Forty-five minutes later, I finished dressing and walked back into the dining room. The house was full as usual, but it was familiar, homey. The only face I wasn’t ready to see was Charlie’s, but she kept her distance, leaning on the wall next to the basement staircase. Likely, she was prepared to run down the stairs and out the door if needed.
Grady’s arm wrapped around my waist as he steered me toward the table. My usual chair was left vacant and waiting for me. As soon as I sat, Lisa started serving bowls of soup to everyone and placed one in front of me. I could feel Charlie’s eyes on me, but I shook it off as I grabbed my spoon, determined to ignore her. But my plan to ignore her was short lived as I watched my spoon, filled with soup, knocked out of my hand and into the credenza.
“What the fuck, Charlie?” I stood and glared at her, fists clenched. “You really want to do this? You really want to hash our shit out in front of everyone?”
Grady wrapped both his arms around me, pi
nning my arms to my side and pulling me back as Donovan and Bones moved between Charlie and me.
“You don’t get to call me Charlie!” she yelled. “Not you! I tried for years to get you to call me by my name and to quit calling me Kid. You don’t get to change the rules now just because you’re pissed. To you—I’m Kid. I’m still family!”
“Fine. Kid,” I snapped. “It’s a better fit, anyway.”
“Are you sure about that?” she snapped back, leaning as far forward toward me as Bones and Donovan would allow her. “Or are you so hell-bent on thinking the worst of me that you missed the fact that you were about to eat clam chowder?”
Her words doused my anger. I looked at the bowl and then back at Charlie. “You sure?”
“No.” She rubbed the back of her neck and paced a few steps away. “But it looks and smells like it.”
I looked at Lisa who stood frozen mid-way to the table with two full bowls in her hands. “Do we not like clam chowder?”
“I’m allergic,” I answered, grinning.
Lisa dropped both bowls, shattering them across the floor as she raised her hands to her cheeks in full-out Lisa freak mode. “EpiPen! We need an EpiPen! Someone call an ambulance!”
“Stop, babe.” Donovan chuckled, moving to stop her before she tore the house apart looking for an EpiPen. “Kelsey didn’t eat any of the chowder. Charlie stopped her.”
Big alligator tears poured out of Lisa as she clung to Donovan.
“What the hell?” I asked, looking over at Katie.
“This is nothing,” Katie said, rolling her eyes. “She’s been a basket case for a month now, but when Hattie left, she got worse.”
Donovan moved Lisa into the kitchen and was whispering in her ear as he rubbed her back.
Grady leaned closer to me so Lisa wouldn’t hear. “Donovan found her up at three a.m., sterilizing their kitchen floor. She said she didn’t want Abigail to get sick from anything they tracked inside.”
Day and Night Page 3
