“I think she has a tracker on you,” Aidan said. “There can be no other explanation. Oh, look. She noticed us.”
“Hello, Aidan,” Angelina said, stopping at the edge of our table and letting her gaze bounce between us. “You look well.”
“Angelina,” Aidan muttered, rolling his eyes.
“And, Aisling, you look … there are no words.” Angelina dissolved into giddy giggles. “Did you finally wise up, Detective Taylor, and realize the only way to shut her up is to slap her around?”
Griffin scowled. He knew Angelina and I liked to get digs in at one another, but he would never hurt me. The idea that someone would think he would gutted him. “She had an accident. If I find the person who caused that accident, I’m going to beat them. I would never beat her.”
“You look awful,” John said, shaking his head. “You poor thing. Were you in a car accident?”
Aidan made a face. “And you are?”
“Oh, this is John Anderson,” Angelina said, her syrup-sweet turn making me cringe. “He’s a client. He’s very wealthy.”
Griffin recognized the name immediately. “You’re the guy who sent flowers to my girlfriend.”
Angelina balked, shifting from one foot to the other as she regarded John with dangerous eyes. “I’m sure you’re mistaken, Detective Taylor,” she said. “John would never send flowers to Aisling.”
“Oh, he sent her flowers,” Griffin countered. “I saw them. I read the card.”
“I did indeed send her flowers,” John confirmed, causing Angelina’s cheeks to burn bright red. This conversation was almost worth her misery. Almost, but not quite. I was miserable, too. “I had no idea she was involved with someone. She didn’t mention it when we met.”
“Did you give her a chance to mention it?” Griffin pressed.
“We had quite the interlude,” John answered. “I’m sure I would remember if she seemed taken.”
“Quite the interlude?” I challenged. “I called you stupid, asked Angelina to get in front of my car so I could run her over, made a few comments about pimps and showed you my big stack of porn. How is that an interlude?”
“It’s okay,” Griffin said, squeezing my good shoulder. “Don’t get worked up. I don’t blame you. We’ve already been over this.”
“Well, I haven’t,” Angelina said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why would you send her flowers, John?”
John shrugged. “I thought she was pretty … and feisty. That was before I saw the bruise on her face, but I’m sure she’ll heal.”
“I am, too,” Griffin said. “With me by her side.”
“And me,” Aidan added. “We’re taking care of her.”
“What about Jerry the Fairy?” Angelina asked. “I’d think he’d take care of his precious best friend when she looks like this. Or, wait, are you too ugly for even him today?”
I only had one good arm, but I only needed one to toss the water from my glass in Angelina’s face. Griffin’s eyes widened, and Aidan burst into raucous laughter.
Angelina sputtered as the water ran down her face and over her white blouse, causing it to cling to her skin in just the right spots so everyone in the restaurant could see her bra. “I’m going to kill you!” She reached for me, but Griffin plucked her arm out of the air and squeezed it. “Ow!”
“Don’t even think about touching her,” Griffin warned. “She’s in a lot of pain already. The bruise on her face isn’t her only injury. If you touch her, I’ll arrest you.”
“She threw water on me,” Angelina sputtered. “I want her arrested.”
“I didn’t see a thing,” Griffin lied.
“I thought you were a witch. Why aren’t you melting?” I offered sweetly. “I was only trying to keep the community safe. One less slutbag in the world, the better.”
“Knock it off, Aisling,” Griffin ordered, shaking his head. “I can’t fight a woman.”
“I can,” Aidan said. “If you move to touch my sister, I’ll smack you silly. If you say anything about Jerry again, I’ll let Aisling throw all of our water glasses at you and then smack you silly.”
“Ha, ha,” I grinned, earning a murderous glare from Angelina.
“You have a wonderful personality, Aisling,” John said, winking. “This is why I sent you the flowers. You just don’t care what anyone thinks about you. I like that.”
“Yeah?” Griffin challenged. “Well, I love that, and she’s my girlfriend. Don’t send her flowers. I don’t like it.”
“I didn’t realize she was taken,” John sad, holding up his hands. “I am properly chastised, detective.”
There was something smarmy about his demeanor. He was … fake. That was the best word I could come up with to describe him.
“John, why don’t we take that table in the corner,” Angelina said, pointing.
“Sure,” John said. “I’ll tell the waitress to get us some drinks while you … clean up … in the bathroom.”
“That would be great,” Angelina said, smiling brightly until he was out of earshot. When she turned back in my direction, she meant business. “You stay away from my man, Aisling. I’m not joking around.”
I blew a raspberry and rolled my eyes. “I’m not interested in ‘your man,’” I said. “I have this man, and he’s all I want.”
Griffin grinned but otherwise remained silent.
“It’s not my fault you can’t land your whale, Angelina,” I added. “I’m not interested in him, though. If you plan to blame me for this situation, you might want to look in the mirror – well, not now, because you look like a drowned skank, but later – and ask yourself why you can’t bag your man. I’m not a part of this.”
“I’m warning you,” Angelina seethed. “If you ruin this for me, it will be the last thing you do.”
“I think the syphilis is getting to your brain, Angelina,” I shot back. “I have my man. You should worry about yours and leave us alone.”
Angelina made a disgusted sound as she turned toward the bathroom and flounced away. I enjoyed the sight – and the win. “That was fun,” I said.
“Well, the day is looking up, isn’t it?” Griffin said, smiling. “Now all we have to do is get Jerry to forgive us and hope your father doesn’t kill me when he finds out we’re moving in together. That should be easy, right?”
“Oh, it’s a good thing you’re handsome, because you’re not very bright,” I said, patting his cheek. “This is going to suck no matter what.”
“I was afraid of that,” Griffin muttered.
13
Thirteen
“What are we doing in here?” I asked shortly before seven, glaring at the sleigh bed in my Grimlock Manor bedroom as Griffin and Cillian sat on the floor with their backs propped against it. “I know none of us want to see Dad’s reaction when he gets a look at my face, but delaying the inevitable won’t make things better.”
Griffin prodded me upstairs upon our arrival to reapply my makeup before Dad had a chance to see me. When I came out of the bathroom, I found him and Cillian sitting on the floor as my computer genius brother tapped away on his laptop.
“I asked Cillian to run a search,” Griffin said. “It won’t take long. Sit on the bed and rest your shoulder.”
I made an exaggerated face. “Are you new? You know I’m not going to do that when you guys are clearly up to something. Spill!”
Griffin sighed. “Why can’t you just let this go and sit there and look pretty for five minutes?”
If he was trying to irritate me, he was doing a good job. “I can’t look pretty because I resemble a zombie kill gone wrong.”
“It’s not that bad,” Griffin chuckled, his expression softening. “You’re still beautiful. Come here and sit on my lap.”
“Ugh,” Cillian muttered when I did as instructed and Griffin carefully situated me so I wouldn’t hurt my shoulder. “You two are grosser than gross.”
“Is that your scientific explanation?”
“Grossity,
gross, gross,” Cillian said, although the corners of his mouth tipped into a smile. “You’re kind of cute, too. Don’t ever tell Dad I said that, though. If he asks, I’m sticking to the gross story.”
“Duly noted,” Griffin said. “Do you have anything yet?”
“Give me a second,” Cillian said. “John Anderson is a really common name. I might have to leave the search running so we’re not late for dinner.”
I knit my eyebrows and shifted my gaze to Griffin. “John Anderson? You’re running Angelina’s boyfriend? Why?”
“Because he’s not Angelina’s boyfriend, and I don’t like the way he looks at you,” Griffin answered. “He’s a … tool.”
“Of course he’s a tool,” I argued. “Angelina only likes tools … no offense, Cillian … but why is he a concern for us?”
“Are you calling me a tool?” Cillian was irritated. “I’ll have you know I’m a perfect gentleman. Just ask Maya.”
“Don’t mention my sister,” Griffin growled.
“Dude, you have my sister snuggled on your lap and you’re practically petting her right next to me,” Cillian pointed out. “If I want to mention your sister, I think I’ve earned it.”
“Fine. Don’t be filthy, though.”
“Your hand is on my sister’s thigh,” Cillian prodded.
“You people are crazy,” Griffin groused, although I couldn’t help but notice he moved his hand to my waist. “Didn’t you say this John Anderson was a stockbroker?”
“He said he was a stockbroker in the Renaissance Center,” I answered. “He acted like I should be impressed by it. He said the name of his firm – and Anderson was the second name – but I can’t remember the first.”
“That should help,” Cillian said, tapping away.
“I still don’t understand why you’re doing this, Griffin,” I said. “I understand you’re jealous, but you don’t have to be. I don’t care about this guy. He’s just a douche with a thick wallet. I like you.”
“Very cute,” Griffin said, tapping my chin. “I’m not jealous, though. I’m not the type of guy who gets jealous.”
“I heard you freaked out because this guy sent Aisling flowers, and then you two admitted you loved one another and got all … groin-y … for hours after that,” Cillian interjected.
“Who told you?” I asked, irritated.
“This family is full of nonstop gossip,” Cillian replied. “Who do you think told me?”
“Aidan,” I grumbled. “I’ll break house rule sixty-five if he’s not careful.”
“What’s house rule sixty-five?” Griffin asked.
“No kicking anyone in the genitals,” Cillian and I answered in unison.
“I definitely need to see this rule book,” Griffin said. “You need to look for a copy before we go downstairs.”
“You’re as obsessed with the rule book as you are with John Anderson,” I said. “Tell me why you want Cillian to dig up information on him.”
“I already told you.”
“Yes, but lots of people look at me in lots of different ways and you don’t run searches on all of them,” I said.
“He’s interested in you,” Griffin said. “Fine, I might be a little jealous.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing and Cillian snickered as he navigated to another search window.
“It makes me nervous when anyone shows interest in you out of nowhere,” Griffin said.
“You showed interest in me out of nowhere.”
“No, I met you in an alley and you acted suspicious,” Griffin countered. “Then I ran into you a few more times and seriously wondered whether you could be a murderer. Then I fell into those stupid purple eyes of yours and was a goner. We interacted for more than five minutes before I became obsessed with you.”
“Oh, so sweet,” I said, pinching Griffin’s cheek.
Griffin turned his mouth to kiss my palm and fixed me with an earnest expression. “When people show interest in you out of nowhere it’s usually because they have an agenda,” he said. “I need to make sure you’re not in danger.”
Okay, that really was sweet. “Just for the sake of argument, why would John Anderson go through Angelina to get to me? That’s what you think he’s doing, right?”
“Everyone in this area knows that you and Angelina fight like cats in a bath,” Cillian said. “Maybe this guy thought Angelina would give him dirt on you.”
“And maybe it was an accident that you crossed paths at the porn guy’s house,” Griffin added. “It couldn’t have been completely random. I need to be sure, though.”
“Okay,” I said. “I still think you’re overreacting. I won’t stop you from worrying about me, though. I like it.”
“Good,” Griffin said, rubbing his nose against my good cheek. “You might be worrying about me in ten minutes, though, so give me a kiss.”
I pushed my lips out and did as he wanted, earning a disgusted groan from Cillian. “Why will you be worrying about Griffin, Ais? And stop making out with my sister in front of me, dude!”
“We’re moving in together,” Griffin replied. I figured he needed a dry run before telling Dad. Cillian is the calmest of my brothers, so he’s a good test for the bomb before my Dad hears the news.
“Oh, how is Jerry taking it?” Cillian didn’t seem concerned at all about us living together. Is it wrong that I was a teensy bit disappointed?
“Jerry is taking it poorly,” I replied once I regrouped.
“I should think so,” Cillian said. “You’re dumping half a townhouse on him.”
“No, I’m not,” I argued. “Griffin bought the townhouse right next door with Aidan. Now Aidan and I are going to sign our deeds over to each other. I’ll still be right next door. And Aidan is going to move in with Jerry.”
Cillian lifted his eyebrows as he considered the scenario over. “That’s very … Three’s Company.”
“That’s what I said!”
“You people watch too much old television,” Griffin muttered.
“I actually think this is a great idea,” Cillian said after a moment. “This works out perfectly. Griffin and you get privacy from Aidan and Jerry. That townhouse is too small for four of you to live in, and that’s what you’ve essentially been doing the past four months.
“When you need Jerry, Ais, you can walk next door,” he continued. “Jerry will still be able to feed everyone, which is what makes him happy. No one will trip over one another or have to wait in line for the bathroom. It’s really ingenious.”
“Really?” Griffin blew out a relieved sigh. “Do you think your father will feel the same way?”
Cillian shook his head. “He’s going to kill you.”
“Of course he is.”
GRIFFIN nudged me into the sitting room ten minutes later, Cillian’s search still running on the laptop on the floor of my bedroom. Dad’s face turned from pleasant to pained the second he saw my face.
“What in the hell happened to you?”
Barbara, who sat on the couch chatting with Braden, jolted as he leapt from his chair and stalked in my direction. I shrank, trying to hide behind Griffin, but I knew that wouldn’t work for long.
“Aisling! What happened to you?” Dad asked, reaching out to touch my face and pulling his finger back before touching me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.”
“She’s sore,” Griffin interjected. “Her shoulder is worse than her face.”
“I love you, too,” I muttered.
Griffin shot me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong.”
“My foot is going to come out of your behind wrong if you don’t tell me what happened,” Dad bellowed. “When did this occur? You didn’t have a job today.”
“It happened yesterday.”
Dad narrowed his eyes and shot an accusatory look in Aidan’s direction. “Is that why you brought her scepter in? You said she had plans with Griffin and you were doing her a favor.”
“I was doing her a favor,” Aidan said. “She was afraid you’d have a heart attack if we told you what happened, so we put it off.”
“Like they always do,” Redmond grumbled, his face murderous. “Who hit you? I’ll rip his or her head off and squeeze it until the eyeballs pop.”
“We’re going to eat in five minutes,” I chided. “Don’t ruin my appetite.”
“Aisling, you’d better tell me what happened right now before I begin hitting things,” Dad snapped. “I’ll start with your brother, because I obviously can’t hit you.”
“Which one?” I asked. “Can I pick which one? If so, I pick Braden.”
Braden scowled. “Thanks. I’m just sitting here behaving myself and you’re being a … B-I-T-C-H.”
“For whom are you spelling?” Dad asked, flustered.
“I don’t want to swear in front of Barbara,” Braden answered. “She’s a lady.”
“I need a drink,” I muttered.
“You’re taking those pain meds again tonight to knock you out, so you can’t drink,” Griffin said. “You can have iced tea if you’re good.”
“You’re not my boss.” I made a face. “One brandy won’t kill me.”
“I might,” Dad said. “What happened?”
“Well, I was leaving the senior center – all of my jobs went smoothly, by the way, you would be proud – and the reaper who was with Mom the night she came to the house attacked me from behind and tried to steal my scepter,” I said. “I didn’t know who it was right away, so I fought back. I kicked him in the balls and knee, and while I was … explaining … how good it felt to kick him … .”
“She means gloating,” Redmond said, shaking his head. “How many times have I told you not to gloat until your opponent is either dead or unconscious?”
I ignored him. “While I was explaining my position on things, a wraith came up behind me and put its hands on me before I could stop it,” I explained. “It was too late, and I couldn’t get away.”
Grim Reunion (Aisling Grimlock Book 4) Page 11
