“I had cold feet.” Liza breaks the silence. My mother looks at her. The look in her eyes says she isn’t buying. Liza needs to come up with a better excuse. Liza looks to me, shrugs and looks away. “The pressure just got to be too much.”
“It’s because of me,” I say.
“Of course it is,” my mother concurs.
“We’re having problems with our expansion plans overseas. The sale fell through on the building we were trying to purchase and I have to go over there as soon as possible and look for a new building. I could be gone for two weeks or longer. I have no idea, but for the sake of the wedding we wanted to move it forward to ensure that I was here for it.” I feel Liza tense again and sense her eyes staring hard at me. Since she left, I haven’t had the chance to let her know what is going on at the office. This is the first time she’s hearing about it. It’s the truth, but I have no idea now if she believes it, or if she thinks I’m just helping build the lie.
My mother looks at me, shakes her head, picks up the pan of cookies, and takes them to the oven. She slides the cookies in and slams the door closed. She walks to me, and I want nothing more than to disappear at the moment. She raises a hand and smacks the back of my head. I flinch and rub the sore spot. “You are such an idiot.”
She moves to Liza and holds her arms out. Liza falls into them and squeezes.
I know how much is in that embrace.
“You poor girl,” my mother says. “No wonder you’re upset. He’s going to leave you right after the wedding for who knows how long. I’d be upset, too.” She releases Liza and pats her on the cheek before turning her gaze to me. “I thought I raised you better than that. How can you get married and then leave your new wife at home all alone?”
“I’m…uh…” I’m not sure what to say. I’m surprised she’s actually buying this, but not surprised she’s turning it all on me. That’s fine. I can take it. Whatever we need to do to make sure she believes us. Past her shoulder, I see Liza looking at me. Her eyes are glossy and she looks…sad? Angry? Hurt? Something is definitely wrong.
“It’s not ideal,” I say, “but Uncle Lawrence isn’t giving me much of a choice.”
I swear I can see the heat radiating off her. My mother is a proper woman and won’t let anyone see her otherwise. Not even Liza. But I can tell she just wants tear me a new one.
“You let me talk to that uncle of yours,” she says. “You will not be going anywhere. Don’t you worry about that. With that being said, there’s no need to rush to the altar now, is there?”
Well, shit. She isn’t going to let this happen so easily after all. I should have known. I look over to Liza, raise an eyebrow, and silently ask her for some help. We can’t keep our original wedding date but we can’t tell her the truth. We can’t tell her the wedding is a scam, a trap, and nothing more. At least for the moment.
“Ellen.” I can sense the hesitation in Liza’s voice. “I understand your concern that we couldn’t possibly plan and pull off a wedding in two weeks.”
My mother furrows her brow.
“But I’ve already contacted several vendors to inform them of the change. It’ll be a hassle and, quite frankly, embarrassing if I call them again to change it back. So with your blessing, I’d like to marry your son. The sooner the better.”
My mother studies her for a moment, and I wish I could make the both of us disappear. I can see my mother’s scrutiny making Liza uncomfortable, even more than she already is, but there is nothing we can do about it. It has to happen, one way or another, with or without my mother on board. There has to be a wedding.
A timer beeps and my mother breaks her stare-down with Liza. She shifts her glance to me momentarily before going to pull the cookies out of the oven. She tosses the sheet of cookies on top of a cooling rack and a loud clanking sound vibrates through the kitchen.
“Fine.” She turns around, places her hands on her hips, and glares at both of us. “But I’m not happy about this.” She crosses the distance and stops just on the other side of the bar. “And you two still need to talk before you go through with this. Children aren’t an afterthought…if you aren’t on the same page about the prospect of having them, you might as well call the whole thing off.” She throws her hands up. “For good.”
“Reid…” Marco walks in looking like he’s spent the last couple of days rummaging through garbage. From the foul smell wafting off him, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s exactly where he’s been me. “I’ve found him. I’ve found Rhe— ”
“What is that smell?” I cut him off as quickly as possible. He hasn’t noticed my mother in the kitchen.
“Found who?” My mother chimes in. We all turn our attention to her who is studying us with a watchful eye. “Please don’t stop on my account.”
“Ellen!” Marco says with false charm. “I didn’t know we were expecting you…here. Tonight.”
“Why wouldn’t I be here?” she says, grinning. “Apparently, my son is getting married in two weeks. A better question would be what are you doing here?” Her nose wrinkles. “Like that?”
She walks around the bar and toward him. Marco is a big man who can kill without a moment’s hesitation, but this little lady makes him cower like a scared puppy. I watch in silent amusement as he takes a few steps back. His eyes plead with me, but he’s on his own here. I’m already on my mother’s bad side and I’m not going to do anything to dig myself into a deeper hole.
“I’m…I’m…” He shrugs and shrinks a little. “I’m here for the wedding. Just like you are.”
“That’s a load of crap if I ever heard one.” She raises her hand and swats his arm. “I know you’re only around when there is trouble brewing in my son’s life. So tell me what’s going on, or so help me God I’ll beat you to the floor and make you tell me. Don’t think for a second I’m afraid of all this macho muscle garbage you have going on.”
Marco looks over at me again, and I hold back the laughter threatening to escape. This man has seen enough terror to last him a lifetime. He’s been in countless battles—in the military and in his own personal life. He’s built like a monster truck. He has no fears. He can handle anything.
My mother has just crushed him with nothing but her attitude.
“Yes, ma’am,” he says quietly.
“And don’t think I don’t know that you’re laughing back there, Reid Emerson Harder,” she calls out without turning around. “You’re in as much trouble as he is.”
Marco steps closer to me, putting distance between himself and my mother.
“Now,” she says, and she holds up a lethal-looking spatula. “Which of you children wants to tell me what‘s really going on here?”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG NIGHT. It didn’t occur to me to let Marco know that my mother was coming. It only adds more stress.
Marco sits at the kitchen table with my mother standing in the middle of us all, staring everyone down. At the same time.
“Whoever wants to start is free to speak,” my mother says. “Marco?” She looks at him, but he says nothing. “Or you, Reid? My son?” I keep silent, too. Her gaze rests on Liza. “Then you, dear?”
Liza leans over. I can feel her breath on my neck. I want nothing more than to hold her in my arms all night, surrounded by her scent. “Maybe we should tell her the truth?” she whispers.
“No,” I say quietly back.
“What was that?” My mother raises an eyebrow and takes a step toward us.
Liza grabs my hand and squeezes it tight. My heart skips a beat and I absorb the warmth I feel from her hand in mine.
“Care to share with the rest of us?”
“No, actually…I don’t. It was between me and my fiancée.” Liza kicks me and pulls her hand out of mine. She doesn’t like that word being used in reference to her anymore.
My mother smiles and nods. “Nobody’s going to tell me what’s going on, then? None of you are going to share your little secret with me?”
We remain silent. “Fine, then. I’ll just find out some other way.”
We all know it’s a trap, but we take the opportunity to run.
“Thanks for understand, Mom,” I say. I grab Liza’s hand, which meets with resistance, but I don’t let go. I stand up and bring her with me. I stop and place a kiss on my mother’s forehead, then drag an unwilling Liza behind me. When we get into the hallway she pulls her hand out of mine and quickens her pace in front of me. I hear heavy footsteps behind me. I slow down to wait for Marco.
“Thanks for the warning man,” he grumbles.
“Sorry…everything happened kind of quickly,” I say and pick up my pace to match his. “Did you say you found Rhett?”
Marco glances over his shoulder and keeps walking. “Not here.” I follow him down the hall and to his bedroom. Once inside he closes the door behind him and walks across the room to his computers. He shrugs out of the black jacket he’s wearing.
“You smell like you’ve been digging through a dumpster,” I tell him.
“That’s because I have been digging through a dumpster.” He peels his shirt off and throws it into the trash bin “Give me five minutes. I need to wash this grime off me.”
I examine the board. He’s added more markings on the map. There’s a location circled multiple times. The warehouse district.
My phone rings.
An unknown number appears across the screen. I consider ignoring it and it sending it to voicemail. But I’ve shirked so much stuff at work this week. If this has to do with the new office, I owe it to my uncle to pick up and talk to whoever it is. “Hello?”
“Little brother!” Rhett’s voice vibrates through the earpiece. “I’m so glad you answered.”
“Rhett…” I say, loudly enough for Marco to hear. “What the hell do you want?”
Marco dashes out of the bathroom, grabs the phone and puts it on speaker
“You don’t sound happy to hear from me…that sucks.” He laughs. “So it turns out that worthless piece of shit who works for you has figured out where I’ve been lying low.”
I make eyes at Marco.
Marco hurries to the computers, carrying my phone, and I follow.
“He’s only about a week behind the curve. You’re always one step behind, little brother, even with your friend on the case.”
Marco hands me the phone again and motions for me to stretch it out as long as I can. “Cut to the chase, Rhett. Why are you calling?”
“I see our dear sweet mother has come to visit. I was really hoping that we could leave her out of this mess but now I’m not so sure.”
“Don’t you dare drag her into this!” I yell. “I swear to God, if you touch her I’ll––”
“I’m in control here, you little fuck. I make the decisions on who is involved and who is going to get hurt.” He hears me breathing. “You, Mom…Lily. Liza.”
“No, you son of a bitch…leave them alone.”
“Leave them alone?” I hear a door open, and loud music booms in the background. “They’re the reason I’m here at all.” He shouts over the noise.
I cover the speaker part of the phone again and look at Marco. “Where is he?”
“He could be anywhere. A bar or a club…”
I say nothing as I try to figure out where he is. It comes to me out of nowhere and I know where he is. It all makes sense. My brother is arrogant and he’ll go to the last place I would ever expect him to go which is why he would show his face there. “Gravity,” I mouth to Marco. “He’s at Gravity.”
“Tell your boy, Marcus—or is it Marky? Whatever his name is. Let him know I say hello and I hope he had fun dumpster diving.”
Marco shrugs and waves. “Keep him on!” he mouths. “Just a second longer.”
“I hate to cut this short…just wanted to call and say hey—touch base with my little brother, since it’s been a while…” He pauses. “Make sure you two have gotten the packages I’ve sent.”
I don’t know how, but I’m going to find him myself.
“And now, there’s alcohol that to be drunk and ladies to be attended to. I’ll put it all on your tab. Later.”
“Wait, Rhett!” I holler. “Rhett!”
The line goes dead.
I let out a frustrated groan and hurl my phone across the room. I slam my right hand into the board. It topples backwards and a shooting pain tears through my hand and up my arm to my elbow.
“What the hell?” Marco says.
I spin around. I just want to hit something else.
“We need to stop him now.” I shake my hand, but the pain only throbs in rhythm to my movements. “We know where he is, we need to go get him.”
“No,” Marco says plainly. “That’s what he wants. He’s up to something. For whatever reason, he wants you to go to the club. We can’t just go rushing in there blind, especially when you’re angry. That’s when mistakes happen.”
I know he’s right. Every time I’ve screwed up, it’s been because I wasn’t using my head. “We can’t just sit here.” Marco tosses me a loaner phone from the desk drawer. “We have to let the FBI know he’s made contact.”
I drop into the chair next to me. Marco is right. Goddamn it, he is always right. I start to dial Agent Johnson’s number and a shearing pain shoots through my wrist again and I cry out. I grab my hand and squeeze it tightly, holding my breath through the pain.
“What I don’t get is why he is out in the open.” I say as I stare down at the phone. “He knows the FBI are after him and being at a club isn’t a smart idea.”
“This is your brother we’re talking about. He thinks he is invincible. Knowing him, he has his tracks covered and no one knows he is there.”
My phone chirps. A new message. I look at it lying on the floor across the room. Marco hands it to me, and I read the message. It’s a picture of a young girl with blonde hair wearing a short black skirt and short top. She’s leaning over a table I recognize from the club, talking to a group of men. I recognize them…they’re on the board I knocked over. They’re my brother’s associates. My body tenses and I look back at the photo. Below the picture, my brother has attached a caption, and I shiver when I read it.
I hope she’s as good as she looks. We’re going to have fun with her tonight.
“Fuck!” I yell out loud to myself.
“What is it?” Marco asks. He walks over to me and stares down at the photos I’m looking at. “What is it?”
I hand him the phone without saying anything and wait for him to put it all together. I hear him take a sharp breath and curse quietly. “Think it’s a good idea to call the agents now?” I suggest.
“I’m calling the guys. We’re going to pay him a visit.” He voice is thick with anger and disgust.
“I’m coming with you,” I tell him.
“You’re staying here.”
“Like hell,” I say.
He glares at me. “Someone needs to stay with your mother and Liza. This may be a ploy to get you away from them.”
“Leave one of your buddies here. I’m coming with you. This is my brother. This is my mess to clean up.”
“We’ll make sure she’s safe but you need to stay here. It’s too dangerous for you at the club. It’s bound to be packed; you tagging along will make my job harder. Besides, if you come with, you’ll be distracted worrying over your mother and Liza.”
Once again, he’s right. “Fine.”
Marco pulls out his phone and starts pushing buttons. He says nothing as he heads into his closet. He returns with a bulletproof vest strapped to his chest. He opens the drawer on the bottom of the desk and pulls out a Colt 45. He checks the magazine and slides it into the holster strapped to his shoulder. He zips a black jacket over the vest. As if he didn’t look intimidating enough already.
Marco’s phone beeps. He reads the message on the screen and shakes his head. “Forward that picture to my phone, please.” I do it.
He opens another drawer, pulls out a combat k
nife and slides it into his boot. He slips another one into the back of his jeans. His phone chirps. “My guys are ready to go. I’ll let you know when something happens.” He turns and leaves the room without saying anything else.
I realize I can do nothing now but wait for his call.
Liza is already in bed, sleeping peacefully. I’m not surprised. In fact, I would’ve been more surprised if she had waited up for me. Going to sleep is her way of avoiding me. She doesn’t realize it works to my advantage.
I strip down to just my boxer-briefs, and I climb into bed with her. I gently pull her into my arms and take a deep breath. The scent of her lavender bath soap fills the air and I let it surround me.
She doesn’t resist.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I COULDN’T FALL ASLEEP even if I wanted to. I’m a ball of nerves as I lay in bed next to Liza. My heart is pounding in my chest, and a thousand scenarios are playing through my head right now. There are so many questions that I don’t have answers to, only assumptions. Marco and his men may be too late, if they even find Rhett at all. A young woman’s life is at stake. I have no idea what my brother is planning to do with her. I can only imagine, and it isn’t pretty.
I pull myself away from the comfort of Liza in my arms and climb out of bed. I stand near the edge of the bed and gaze at her sleeping. She stirs, reaching her hand out, like she’s searching for me, and lets out a soft sigh. She grabs one of the pillows and cradles it between her legs and arms. She clutches the pillow as if it is her lifeline. That if she lets go, she is going to be swallowed up into nothingness.
The moonlight filters in through the window and creates a soft glow around her body. I’m mesmerized by the sight in front of me. I try to cherish this moment I have with her. Her features are soft and content. She looks so peaceful.
Her phone beeps on the nightstand next to her. I glance at the clock and wonder who’d be texting her this late at night. Actually, it wouldn’t be hard to guess that it’s Eli. But why now? I know it isn’t right looking at her messages but I can’t help myself. I round the bed and pick up her phone. I look down at her sleeping and hesitate a moment before opening the message.
If I Say No (Say Something #2) Page 12
