Pleasance’s body throbbed and weeped, delight spiking relentlessly through her system and bringing goose bumps to her heated flesh.
Alfric fell forward, catching himself with his hands on either side of her body. He was panting and his eyes were dazed with spent lust. He lowered himself enough to pull first one, and then the other of Pleasance’s nipples into his mouth, and then he captured her lips with his own.
Pleasance shuddered as another wave of pleasure swamped her and sucked Alfric’s yummy bottom lip into hers.
He chuckled as her teeth nibbled there.
After a moment, Alfric pulled himself from her body and climbed onto the bed, pulling her up with him. Tucking the blanket around their bodies, he draped himself over Pleasance and let exhaustion take him down into velvet black abyss.
Pleasance tried to stay awake to enjoy the aftermath of their lovemaking, but her body was just too tired and she soon drifted off to sleep with him.
Chapter Fourteen
Pleasance luxuriated in the feel of hot water on her aching body. She closed her eyes and laid her head back on the shower wall, allowing the steamy heat of the water to warm the tightness out of her muscles.
She smiled as she thought of Alfric and the night they’d spent together. She hadn’t enjoyed herself that much with a man for a very long time. Not that she’d had that much experience…but the men she’d met in her life had pretty much been children in large bodies.
Alfric was just the opposite…he looked at her sometimes with eyes that were as old as time…but there was something very sexy about maturity and competence.
Pleasance’s body clenched and warmed under the thought.
Yup, very sexy.
When she walked into the kitchen a while later her dark hair was still damp and she was fully clothed. She found Alfric standing at the stove, stirring something in a skillet. Clancy was snarfing up something from a large bowl on the floor.
Alfric turned as she approached and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Mornin’ sunshine. Sleep well?”
She nodded. “You?”
“Like the dead.” He settled the spoon into a spoon rest on top of the stove and waggled his eyebrows at her. “But I’m fully awake now.”
Pleasance giggled. “Feed me first, I’m starving.”
Alfric grinned, “Food first, mind blowing passion later, got it.”
Pleasance poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at Brick’s green, marble table. She looked around, appreciating the understated classiness of the place. The counters were made of the same green marble and the appliances were all stainless. The floor was dark green and white tile of varying sizes and the cabinets were maple. It looked like nobody lived there most of the time. But it had been created with comfort and elegance in mind nonetheless. “Beautiful place.”
Alfric placed an overflowing plate in front of her and sat down at the table. “Uncle Brick paid some snooty woman to fix it up when he bought it.” Alfric wrinkled his nose and took a bite of eggs. “I think they were dating. He brought her out to the house once and she would barely sit down. She kept looking at the furniture as if there were bugs on it.” He shook his head. “My mom didn’t like her much.”
Pleasance had a full mouth and was chewing happily. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d had any real food and the eggs and bacon tasted soooooo good. She swallowed and took a sip of her juice. “I can imagine. I loved your parents’ house. It felt like a home.”
Alfric grinned at her. “It does doesn’t it? Lord knows we’ve beat it into submission over the years.”
Pleasance laughed. “Eight boys…I can imagine.
“If those walls could talk…” He grinned at her, suddenly wondering if she wanted children. Whoa boy! Alfric picked up his juice glass and drained it, studiously avoiding her eyes. He was getting way ahead of himself.
Pleasance rinsed their dishes and was washing the pan when Alfric’s cell phone rang. He answered it without taking his eyes from the delicious sight of Pleasance with her backside…er back turned. “Yeah.”
“Are you guys okay?”
Something in Clovis’ voice warned him all was not well in Honeybun land.
“We’re fine. What’s up?”
“Raia’s thugs made a play for Mom and Dad last night.”
Alfric lunged to his feet, knocking the chair he’d been sitting on to the floor. “Are they all right?’
Incredibly, Clovis laughed. “They’re fine. They got the drop on Dad when he went to investigate a noise in the living room. I guess they weren’t too worried about the little woman. Turns out they should have been.”
Alfric frowned, grabbing Pleasance’s hand. “What happened?”
“You remember that old shotgun Dad kept under the bed.”
Alfric grinned. “Yeah.”
A snort came through the line. “Well, turns out it still shoots. One of Raia’s men will have some trouble sitting down for a while.”
Alfric took a full breath for the first time since his phone had rung. He laughed, shaking his head and putting an arm around Pleasance’s shoulders. She looked worried so he smiled at her. “Mom always was an ace shot.”
“The dude’s just lucky she didn’t grab her .38 Special. He’d probably be singing soprano right now instead of just farting through a hundred holes in his ass.”
“Did the guy admit he works for Raia?”
“Not yet. But Brita’s working on him. I keep telling her she ought to just ‘lose’ him for about an hour and we’d get the info out of him ourselves.”
Alfric laughed, “I don’t suppose she’d go for that.”
“Nah, you know Brita.”
“Yes, I do. Did she send men to Raia’s to pick him up?”
“Yup. I haven’t heard back yet though.”
Alfric promised Clovis they were on their way home and hung up.
“Are your parents okay?”
He nodded, the smile fading as he realized how close they’d come to disaster. “For now, yes. But I don’t like that Raia went after them.”
Pleasance frowned. “Can Brita pick him up?”
They gathered up Clancy and entered the elevator.
“Not unless she can find some connection between him and the guy my mom shot. Raia’s too smart to let that happen. The guy’s probably just some independent they hired blind. I’m sure even he doesn’t know who he was working for.”
Pleasance smiled at the doorman and he greeted them.
Outside, Alfric grabbed her hand and they started down the street.
Pleasance fell silent, thoughtful. A few blocks from Brick’s building was a place where they could rent a car. Barely twenty minutes later they were on the road with Clancy’s giant head hanging out the back window, tongue swinging wetly in the wind.
They were headed back to Indy and directly into Raia’s line of sight. Pleasance tried not to think about that fact as the sporty little car Alfric had rented ate up the miles to Indianapolis.
Crime scene tape still hung from the front door of the Honeybun family home. It snapped in a growing wind as Alfric and Pleasance followed the sidewalk and climbed the stairs to the porch where Brita and Clovis waited for them.
Brita smiled at Pleasance and reached to clasp her hand. “Are you okay?”
Pleasance smiled back, nodding. “I’ve had some sleep, a shower, and a great breakfast. I feel much better than I did yesterday. Thanks.”
Brita nodded, turning to Alfric. “Your parents are going to stay with your grandparents in Florida for a while. They left this morning.”
Alfric nodded, frowning. “Did you pick Raia up?”
She shook her head. “He’s disappeared.”
Alf frowned. “We need to trap this creep. I don’t like it at all that Mom and Dad have been dragged into this and put in danger.”
Clovis nodded. “The guy’s crossed a definite line. That’s why we’ve called a family meeting.”
Alfric glanced at the front d
oor. “Now?”
Clovis nodded. “Everybody’s inside.” His lips curved in a smile. “Angie’s trying to feed them.”
Alfric’s eyes lit with humor. “This, I’ve gotta see!”
Brita chuckled. “You guys are bad.”
Chaos reigned in the kitchen. Something was burning on the stove and smoke filled the room. The window over the sink had been shoved open and the door to the backyard was pulled wide. A soft breeze carried the smoke through the house, but it wasn’t doing much to disperse it to the outside of the house.
Clancy plodded into the room, took one look at the chaotic state, and turned right back around. He found a couch in the living room and climbed onto it, crossing his enormous feet and resting his giant head on the soft cushions with a sigh.
Several male voices rumbled through the kitchen and a lighter voice, slightly shrill, warbled in the midst. Large, male bodies churned and drifted in the space around the stove and pots clanked and steamed as they were settled under running water to douse their burning contents.
At the center of the chaos, a small, pale hand suddenly shot upward, blood streaming down one small finger. “Stop!” a voice shrieked in dolphin-like tones. “I’ve got this! I…don’t…need…any…more…help!”
A brief, stunned silence met this outburst and finally a deep, male voice said, “Everyone drop your hands to your sides and step away from the crazy woman.”
Giggling emerged from the center of the melee and the Honeybun brothers backed slowly and theatrically away, uncovering a disheveled, pink-faced Angie at the center. She was holding a paper towel to a profusely bleeding finger and Alastair was hovering over her worriedly.
Alfric stepped forward. “Is Godric here?”
An extremely deep voice met this question. “Present and accounted for.”
In his usual, inimitable way Alfric took control. He walked over and took Angie’s hand, pulling the heavily stained paper towel away to examine the wound. “Stitches, young lady.” He turned to his brother, the doctor. “Godric will take care of this. And we’ll take care of the food.”
Angie opened her mouth to argue but Alfric lifted an eyebrow at her and she slammed her mouth shut. She allowed Godric to lead her away, toward the long, wooden farmhouse table that served as Honeybun central during meals and family meetings.
Alistair patted his brother on the shoulder in thanks and turned to the scorched contents of the sink.
A half-hour later, they were all eating cold meat sandwiches and chips at the long table. Angie’s finger was stitched up and heavily bandaged. Sitting beside her, Pleasance was doing her best to raise the spirits of her new friend, with only limited success.
Alfric shoved the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth and took a sip of water. He set the glass down and looked around. As if a gavel had been pounded on the long, pitted farm table all eyes turned to him. He cleared his throat, looking around at every face. “This thing has jumped to a new level.”
Several heads nodded.
“It’s one thing for this slime to go after me…and Pleasance…” He glanced at her and she frowned, “…but when he goes after the heart of the Honeybun family, he’s crossed a definite line. And, as far as I’m concerned he needs to pay for that transgression.”
Murmurs of agreement sounded around the table.
Alfric went on, “The question is…how can we root this guy out quickly and efficiently to minimize collateral damage.”
Silence reigned at the table. Everyone was lost in his or her own thoughts.
Pleasance lifted her head and cleared her throat. “I may have a way.”
The force of the combined Honeybun notice made Pleasance blink. But Alfric smiled at her and she took a deep breath and went on. “He always dresses all in white. It’s a…thing…he has. And he wears a lot of white suits. As you can imagine it’s not easy to find white suits…” She grinned and the room rumbled with laughter.
Somebody said, “A walking white flag…perfect.”
They all laughed, enjoying the reference to the French and their historical tendency to surrender at the slightest provocation.
“So anyway,” Pleasance continued. “He gets his suits made at a small tailor’s shop in Indianapolis.”
“How often does he visit this shop?”
“He’s kind of a priss. He’ll only wear a suit a couple of times before he gets rid of it. So he actually goes a couple of times a month.”
Alfric nodded. “We’ll find out when his next appointment is, maybe we’ll get lucky. That would be a good place to grab him.”
Jee Yong’s Tailor shop sat on a quiet corner of a tree-lined street on the outskirts of Indianapolis. The small, white house was elderly but well kept and appeared to have been tended to within an inch of its life on the outside.
Every flower, every tree, every blade of grass had been starched and trimmed with military precision. Weeds bent wistfully toward the perfect grass from the unkempt edges of the neighbor’s yard, yearning to set root on Yong’s mercilessly perfect lawn.
Alfric and Pleasance parked on the street and walked toward the door at the side of the house, where a small, neatly lettered sign said, “Enter.”
“Are you in place?” Alfric asked his watch. After a spurt of muffled static, Edric’s voice came through the line. “We’re in the alley behind the shop. Clovis has the alley on the north side and Percy’s moving into the neighbor’s yard to the south.
Barking ensued and Edric chuckled. “It sounds like Percy’s encountered some furry interference. I’d better go make sure he hasn’t been eaten.”
Alfric rolled his eyes at Pleasance and wrapped an arm around her waist. “You ready?”
She nodded, biting her lip. They were really only there to get the lay of the land and try to figure out the best way to grab Raia when he came for his next fitting. But Pleasance couldn’t help feeling as if something wasn’t right. The quirky Frenchman had her well and truly spooked.
Alfric pulled the screen door open and let Pleasance enter first, his eyes flitting over the quiet neighborhood for signs of Raia’s men. When he turned back to the house, Pleasance stood just inside the door, waiting. He allowed the storm door to slide quietly closed and took a moment to examine the tailor’s small workroom. Although filled to bursting with piles of fabric and ordered shelves covered in a rainbow hue of thread colors, everything was tidily arranged in the limited space. A counter had been built in a squared off arc to create a workspace for the tailor and an assortment of impressive looking machines gave off a burnished glow from the counter built along the far wall. A well worn, black chair on wheels was tucked under the counter in front of the sewing equipment.
A door stood directly opposite them, apparently leading to the backyard, and a hallway led off to the right, most likely into Yong’s living quarters. Immediately to their right, a mirrored door led to a small bath and dressing room.
A clothing rack stood along the open wall to the right of the workspace. Alfric could see two white suits, in different stages of completion, hanging on the rack.
The sound of footsteps approached from the direction of the living portion of the house and a small, black haired man entered, a wide, toothy grin on his small face. “Hewwo, hewwo, wewcome!”
Alfric smiled at the Korean tailor. “Mr. Yong, how nice to finally meet you!”
The man took Alfric’s outstretched hand, his smile wavering with surprise. “Do we not meet before?”
Alfric shook his head. “I heard of your shop from a business associate of mine. He informed me that you are a true genius with a white suit.”
Yong beamed, his small, round face nearly glowing with pride. “I like the white a suit, yes?”
Unsure how to respond, Alfric nodded. “Yes, very much.”
Pleasance stepped away from him and reached toward one of the suits on the rack. “This is lovely fabric, darling. Maybe you should have Mr. Yong make you a suit out of this fabric.”
Al
fric joined her at the rack and reached toward the sleeve she was fondling. “I like that, yes.” He smiled at Pleasance and she grinned back.
The little tailor rushed over and pushed several pieces of work forward on the rack to better expose the suit they were fondling. “This white suit nice, yes? I make for you?”
Alfric frowned as if thinking. “I’m not sure. Sweetheart, do you really think white is my color? I’m thinking, with my red hair I might just look like a vanilla ice cream cone with a cherry on top.”
Pleasance bit her lip. “Nonsense, darling…” she managed after a few seconds of suspicious choking sounds. “…you’d be incredibly handsome in a suit like this.”
Mr. Yong’s smile never wavered. He had a suspiciously blank look on his wide face that told Alfric he didn’t understand most of what they said. He lifted one sleeve of the suit on the rack. “This is a very nice suit, it looks as if it’s very nearly finished.”
Jee Yong nodded enthusiastically, “Yes. Mr. La pick up tomollow. Good suit.”
“Tomorrow? Is that true? Amazing.”
Mr. Yong nodded, smiling. He seemed totally oblivious to the strangeness of Alfric’s comment. “You want suit?”
Alfric lifted the sleeve again. “This suit?”
Mr. Yong shook his head, laughing. “No, this suit belong Mr. La. We make you suit like, eh?”
Alfric frowned.
Pleasance placed a hand on his forearm, “Yes, Mr. Yong, my husband needs a suit like this one. Exactly like this one. Please?”
Alfric’s eyes widened in horror, realizing she was adlibbing him into one of those gawd-awful white suits.
Pleasance just grinned at him, patting him on the arm like a child.
Chapter Fifteen
Alf and Pleasance were on their way to the hospital when Brita called. Alf dug his cell out of this pocket and punched the connect button. “Hey, what’s up?”
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