Designing Woman (The Sloan Brothers Book 2)

by Willow, Jo

  “Melody Elizabeth, I’m too busy to dick around with your shenanigans today. The next call concerning you that I get, had better be either yourself or someone else telling me that you’re back at Pierce’s where you belong.”

  Did he call me Melody Elizabeth? Not even my own father had called me that since I was seven and tie-dyed his best dress shirt. I laughed at the memory and Deke’s call.

  Delete.

  “Mel’? Anton. I’ve got two brothers breathing down my fucking neck over you and I don’t appreciate it. Get your ass back over to Pierce’s or I’ll physically take you there myself. Leave it to you to jerk me...”

  Delete. I did NOT need a rant from dick-for-brains today. I was still working on my residual feelings for him. Hearing him berate me for something that had nothing to do with him was not in my plans. He could blow me.

  “Mel’, it’s Dor’. I know you value your privacy and I for one can understand that. I’ve got Anton at my house. Remember? I’m the last one to tell you that you were wrong to go back home. I am worried about your safety though. Would you consider asking Sean to stay with you for awhile? Think about it.”

  Now see, THAT’S how you approach me on this. My sister understood me. She understood my need for “alone time”, because she had none and would have none for the foreseeable future once the baby came. To top it off, she had to deal with Anton. I did not envy her position. I could see all three Sloans calling her, trying to persuade her to intervene. The thing was, I didn’t need an intervention. The alarm was set, the locks were changed, and unless he could climb buildings, I was safe. I wasn’t going anywhere, I was even having my groceries delivered. I was perfectly happy at home alone. Delete.

  One more message left and I assumed it was from Ayla. Teddy Bear probably called her back and asked her to take one more shot at me.

  “Ms. Lincoln... it’s... Tony. Forgive my bad manners a couple of months ago, and please forgive my intrusion into your privacy now. I’d like to talk to you if you have a moment. A phone conversation is fine, I understand why you might not want to talk to me in person. Call me back at this number if you would please. Thank-you.” Click.

  That one would not be deleted. I sat back and took a deep breath, then looked out at the snow covered roof. This was a doozy of a dilemma. Think about it from my viewpoint. If I called a Sloan, Austin, or Chase, the whole freakin’ lot of them would be on my doorstep within the hour. Probably sooner. They’d demand I go back into hiding and the whole freak-out thing would start all over. Am I wrong? No I am not.

  On the other hand, if I called him back and made nice-nice, maybe he’d spill something that we could use. He sounded polite, friendly even. I knew he was after intel on Ayla, I’m not a moron, but just because he wanted it, it didn’t mean he’d get it. I was curious how he got my number though. I was unlisted and unpublished. My work number was different and rang the office. That had been forwarded to Pierce’s, which reminded me. I needed to change that back.

  Here were the facts as I saw them. We still didn’t know where he was and wouldn’t know, whether I called him or not. If I told everyone else about the call, they’d tap my phone, after they came running over here to listen and pass judgement. I didn’t want my phone tapped. What if I wanted to have phone sex or something? Not that I ever did, but that wasn’t the point. I also didn’t want any more company for awhile. Both of those were for the same reason. I wanted some privacy and space to breathe.

  Playing devil’s advocate, yes, they probably did need to know about this. Tony allegedly firebombed the Monkey and he needed to be found and at least questioned. I liked Austin and it was costing him a mint in downtime, getting the bar up and running again. But what if Tony had an alibi for New Year’s Eve? It wouldn’t be hard to set one up, everyone went out that night. Any number of people could’ve seen him anywhere.

  I sat forward, clutching my phone, the rattan loveseat creaked beneath my body from the cold.

  What if I could get him to slip up and admit he’d done it? All I had to do was win his trust. I could do that. People liked to talk to me. I had fucking brilliant people skills, ask anyone. I could get him to confess to the fire and slip up and tell me his location. Maybe not in one phone call, but if we became phone buds, who knows? I could save this entire situation and keep my privacy at the same time.

  Sounded good to me. I studied the number on the message, committed it to memory, and programmed it into my “Contact” list. Under the name, I typed, “Stallone”, and giggled. I was a fucking genius.

  I worked hard to control my breathing and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I’d seen this man at his worst. He was one scary dude when he was provoked. I was a master provoker. I didn’t even have to try.

  It rang twice and someone answered without saying hello. If I were him, I’d do the same thing. You can’t be too careful when you’re a firebombing stalker waiting for a call from the woman that kicked your ass.

  “Tony it’s me, Melody Lincoln.”

  I heard him release a breath and I knew how he felt.

  “Ms. Lincoln. Thanks for calling me back.”

  “Please. Call me Mel’. We’ve already had a cage match, I’m pretty sure that etiquette says we should be on a first name basis now.”

  He gave a low chortle and I figured that was a score. I gave him one more.

  “I’m finally in a walking cast by the way.”

  “You broke your foot? I don’t feel so bad now. You broke my nose.”

  “You’re a boxer. I’d be surprised if that was a first for you.”

  “Fair assessment Melody. Where are you calling from?”

  “Someplace private. There’s no one around at the moment, I can talk freely. How did you get my number?”

  “It was easier than you might guess, but it’s safe with me. I’m talking on a disposable phone and I have several. If you plan on tracing the call...”

  “I’m not. That’s Chase’s thing, not mine. I’m more curious as to why you’re calling in the first place.”

  “There are two reasons actually. First, as I said earlier, I owe you an apology. Showing up at your home, no matter how good my intentions were, was the wrong thing to do. I’m sorry and I’m sorry I frightened you enough to make you feel the need to attack me. I can assure you, I’m usually not that aggressive with strange women.”

  “I like how you phrased that.”

  He ignored the barb.

  “Second, I was watching television and I saw the coverage of the fire at the bar. I wanted to make sure everyone was alright. Of course I’m especially worried about Ayla.”

  Blink. Blink. One of two things was happening here. He either did it and was fishing for info, hoping that he hurt a key player, or he didn’t do it and was worried for the same reasons I was worried on the night of the incident. I’m sure he didn’t give a flip about my sister or the Sloans, but I could see where he’d be worried about the woman he was stalking. I decided to keep it honest. It seemed like the way to go for now.

  “You realize that everyone thinks you did it, right? Austin doesn’t have any enemies to speak of, and it’s understood that you’re holding a grudge for him taking her away and keeping her safe. It would also stand to reason that you’d try to take out Pierce and the rest of the Sloans, since he’s her boyfriend and they’re his brothers. Any of this ringing any bells?”

  He paused and I could hear him breathing deeply and rapidly. If he was getting pissed, I had to defuse this now.

  “Tony, don’t be pissed at me for telling you the truth. That’s how it looks to the family and Ayla. The one time you made contact, you ended up with a broken nose and I ended up with a broken foot and a threat from you. You can’t blame them for thinking you need a shorter leash bud’. I mean, come on.”

  “I understand. It’s a false assumption, but I understand why they’d think it was me I guess. Every time one of you trips while stepping off a curb, I’ll get the blame for that as well. I know i
t, but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept. I didn’t set the fire Melody. No matter what they believe or think they know, I did not set that fire. I was at home in Boston with my family. That’s easy enough to check on, my folks throw a New Year’s Eve party every year and the whole damn family attends. I wasn’t even near the city. They’d better start looking for the real culprit in case Austin has an enemy he doesn’t realize he’s got, or someone could get seriously hurt, if they haven’t already...”

  “No one got seriously hurt, relax. The only injuries were from flying glass and those folks were released from the hospital shortly after it happened.”

  “Flying glass? The report said it was a fire. They didn’t say anything about flying glass.”

  “Whoever did it, threw a flaming bottle of something through the front window. It exploded on contact.”

  “Holy shit! How much damage was done?”

  “Enough. Austin’s been working on the place and it should reopen soon. They had a good sprinkler system and the fire department arrived pretty quick. He was lucky.”

  “I’ll say. That’s awful. They don’t have the kind of money it takes to rebuild more than once. I hope they catch the guy quickly.”

  Stumped. That was the only word I could come up with to describe where my head was at. I believed him. I was thoroughly convinced he had nothing to do with it. I still didn’t trust him, but I believed he didn’t start the fire. So who did?

  “Melody? Are you still there?”

  “Yeah Ton’, I’m here. Are we done?”

  “Only if you wanna be.”

  “Explain.”

  “No one but you has had the balls to talk to me face to face. You’re one tough bitch and I like that about you. Most women are intimidated by me, but not you. I respect that. You don’t owe me a thing, but I’d like to ask a favor.”

  “You can ask. I can always say no.”

  “Yes you can. After we hang up, I’m throwing this phone away. I’ll text you the number of another phone you can use to reach me. I’d like to stay in touch with you if that’s alright. It’ll be our way of keeping the lines of communication open.”

  “Will you be calling me?”

  “If you’ll allow it, and I’ll always use the number I texted you so that you’ll know it’s me.”

  “You need to know something. You can call and text all you want, but Ayla’s with Pierce now and I like him. I like them as a couple. I’m not going to help you try and win her back.”

  “I like your honesty Melody, I hope we can eventually be friends. I think we got off on the wrong foot and under a misunderstanding to boot. I don’t want her back. I want to talk to her about why she left. I thought she and I had an understanding. Had I known that things were happening that she wasn’t one hundred percent behind, I’d have stopped them. Mel’, she never used her safeword. Not once. She was a willing participant in everything we did up until the wedding. Then she disappeared without an explanation. That’s all I want.”

  “You broke into their apartment and wrote ‘Mine’ in bright red lipstick on the bathroom mirror Tony.”

  “The hell I did. I’ve never broken in anywhere in my life. I’ve never had to. I admit I’ve been watching her, but that’s because I’m hoping for an opportunity to talk to her.”

  “You didn’t break into the apartment?”

  “No ma’am.”

  “When you came here, you told me that she was yours.”

  “Sorry about that, it was a slip of the tongue. I was still pissed about her and Sloan and I saw you as a member of that family. I took it out on you and I’m sorry.”

  “And now?”

  “Now I’m not certain that you belong to anybody other than yourself. You, Melody Lincoln, might be Switzerland in this whole mess. Of course I could be wrong, I was wrong about Ayla and I thought I knew her better than anyone.”

  This was surreal. Talking to him on the phone, I almost liked the guy. He still beat the shit out of my best friend and whether he thought they were playing a rough game by mutual consent or not, I didn’t agree with that shit. He was too rough with her. We were never gonna be besties or go out on a date together, but having a conversation or two didn’t seem like a bad idea. At least until I determined whether not not he was blowing smoke up my skirt.

  “I don’t see any harm in talking to you Mr. Marconi. If you want to call me, that’ll be fine. I’ll keep the lines of communication open for now. But if I find out you’ve lied or ever lie to me, that’s it. I’m outa here.”

  “That sounds fair. Thanks for giving me a chance Melody. I’m not a bad guy once you get to know me. I swear it.”

  “You would swear it. What else are you gonna say?”

  “There’s that honesty again. Keep an open mind. That’s all I ask.”

  “I’ll keep an open phone line. How’s that?”

  “Agreed. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye for now.”

  “Bye.”

  I sat back and felt drained. Adrenaline takes a lot out of you. He was surprisingly easy to talk to when he wasn’t hulking over you like a three hundred pound gargoyle. He was pleasant and forthright.

  I rolled my eyes and stood, making my way back inside. Look at me, liking the guy. I couldn’t go there. Not even if I wanted to. He was a dangerous man, everybody knew that.

  I believed him though. At least about the bar, that alibi could be easily checked out. The jury was still out about the apartment, but that wasn’t what I worried about most. If he didn’t try to burn down the bar, then who the hell did? And there was a bigger question that went right along with that one. Why?

  I ordered enough Chinese to feed a small army because I was expecting one. The guys left work around five-thirty, six if they were busy. I timed dinner for seven. As if on cue, the doorbell rang and they followed the delivery guy in. I had a stack of plates on the table, along with a couple of six packs of Corona and three bottles of wine. If they were going to yell, they could at least do it on a full stomach with a drink in their hands.

  Everyone came except for Chase and Austin. I silently gave a prayer of thanks, because there was something about Chase being a detective that made me cave. I had nothing to confess before, but now things were different and I wanted to keep my secret for awhile longer. At least until I had a handle on the situation.

  Anton shot me daggers as he walked in and I smiled sweetly, making him run his hands through his hair in frustration.

  “You’ve got explaining to do crazy woman.”

  I closed the door before mumbling, “I don’t explain myself to anyone Sloan. Get over yourself.”

  He slapped me on the ass and I squealed, making him chuckle.

  “That had better not become a habit Anton. I’ve broken bones over less.”

  When we got to the dining room, everyone stood staring at me.

  “Well don’t just stand there, I ordered enough food for everyone. Dig in.”

  Disgruntled murmurs came as Dor’ handed out plates and Ayla began opening containers. Once plates were filled and beverages were poured, everyone meandered into the living room.

  The food was excellent and that kept them busy for a few minutes, but I knew what was coming so I headed it off at the pass.

  I stood up and handed Ayla a key. Then I gave one to Dor’. They looked at them as if they were waiting for them to explode and I rolled my eyes.

  “I had my locks changed today. Sean has one too. I’m assuming that since Ayla and Dor’ have one, that also grants access to Deke and Pierce. I’m tightening security, just like you asked me to do. I placed a grocery order and had it delivered. I have no reason to leave this place unless I’m with one of you for a specific reason.”

  Pierce smiled and bit into an egg roll. I knew he’d get it, just like I knew that Deacon and Anton wouldn’t. Deacon looked suspicious. Anton looked offended.

  “Where’s mine?”

  I looked at him with raised eyebrows.

  “I wasn’t aware you
needed one. You made your position perfectly clear over Christmas. I’m honoring your decision.”

  While I let him mull that one over, I turned to Deke.

  “Look, I know you worry about all of us but you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine. Security knows about Tony and they’ve been told to buzz me before allowing anyone access to the penthouse elevator. The locks have been changed and a deadbolt was added besides. In case you didn’t notice, I disarmed the alarm system when I opened the door to let you in. I appreciate the concern, but I’m not leaving again. If you want, I’ll buy a gun.”

  Anton raked his hand down over his face.

  “For god’s sake woman. With your smart mouth and short fuse, a gun is the last thing you need.”

  I flicked a water chestnut at him and it hit him in the face.

  “That key is getting farther and farther out of your grasp numb nuts. I’d shut up if I were you.”

  Deacon had turned to Dor’ and they were discussing something in low tones. I was watching them and didn’t notice that Anton had stood up and was walking towards me. He took my plate and placed it on the coffee table. Then he took my arm and lifted me to my feet.

  “Eep!”

  It was the best I could do. I was surprised.

  He started dragging me towards the entryway so that we’d have a bit of privacy.

  “I’ve had just about enough of your bullshit Mel’.”

  He turned to the rest of the group who’d stopped eating, their forks suspended in midair.

  “We’ll be back in a sec’, carry on.”

  He half dragged, half carried me and I was too shocked to put up much of a fight. He hadn’t touched me since before Christmas and I wasn’t sure if I should bite him or climb him.

  When we got to the front door, he pushed my back against the wall next to the little table with the bowl of keys in it. The one that contained the one extra door key.

  I looked up at him defiantly and he growled. I growled right back. I poked him in the chest because it seemed like the thing to do.