Jace nodded and sent off a quick email to Wes’ team that had had a nice four day break, and told them to resume coverage, minus Wes.
Wes took another sip of his scotch then looked from Andy to Jace.
“Hey did you get me Jo’s number?” He asked wearily. He’d thought about Jo the entire plane ride home and he wanted to speak to her as soon as possible.
The guys looked at each other and then back to Wes.
“No Jill deleted it.” Jace said.
“What?” Why the hell would she do that?” Wes slammed his drink down on the table and washed his hands over his face.
“Well, she said that Jo wouldn’t be performing at the bar anymore.”
“Did she say why?” Wes was confused. He started to get the feeling something was wrong. "Andy were you able to talk to her?"
"No I went there on Wednesday and she wasn't home. I didn't think I should leave a note."
"Shit." Wes mumbled.
“Wes.” Andy said taking the initiative but looking at Jace for support. “Why do you want Jo’s number?”
Wes looked at his two best friends like they’d lost their mind. “You know why I need it. I need to explain about not calling her. It's been almost a week since I've even talked to her.” Wes didn’t like how they were looking at him.
“What’s up guys, I’m too fucking tired for games, spill it?”
Jace stood up went to his desk and came back with his iPad. He put it in Wes’ hands and pressed a link.
Wes watched in horror as a TMZ news story enthusiastically told viewers that Ginger Lola had a new boyfriend, her bodyguard. Wes paled as he watched the sickening lie unfold on the screen. Wes realized that Ginger and Carrie must have planned the cruel farce. Jace and Andy quietly sat back watching their friend as he viewed the entire footage. Wes was starting to swear under his breath. He knew that this was what the girls had been laughing at while on the plane. Wes was furious and luckily Andy grabbed the iPad out of his hand before he could throw it across the room.
“Holy Shit! This has been on television?” Wes began to pace.
Andy nodded.
“It’s been on every channel and it’s made the tabloids.” Jace told him.
“Oh my God. I’m gonna kill her!” Wes said aggressively.
“Who?” Andy asked seriously.
“This is all Ginger, she…” Wes stopped speaking suddenly. “Jo. Jo has probably seen this too.” His voice portrayed the anguish he was feeling.
“Uh, so this video and what they’re saying is all a lie?” Andy asked still trying to get a grasp on what Wes was telling them.
“It’s all crap.” Wes nodded. “I have to go to Jo’s, now.” He said heading out the door.
“Who’s driving me?”
Andy stood and fished his keys out of his desk.
On the drive over to Jo's, Wes told the guys exactly what had been happening with Miss Ginger-Not-So-Sweet Lola.
The king cab truck pulled up in front of Jo’s and the first thing Wes noticed was that her car wasn’t in her spot. He told the guys he’d be right back as he hopped out. Maybe something had happened to her car again and she was home. He prayed that she was. He sure had a lot to explain.
He knocked on her door and when he realized she wasn’t home he started walking back towards the truck. Nick’s Mercedes pulled into its space and Nick got out and stormed towards Wes. Jace and Andy jumped out of the truck, they knew what was about to happen.
Nick pushed Wes in the chest hard.
“You stupid son of a bitch! How could you?” Nick was infuriated.
Wes didn’t even get a chance to answer him as Nick nailed him in the face with a powerful punch. Wes staggered backwards and then put his hands up to defend himself further from more blows. Wes was trained in hand to hand and if he let loose on Nick he’d hurt him, badly. Wes was fending off Nick's hard punches and when Andy saw that Wes wasn’t going to defend himself he jumped in grabbing Nick by the arms.
“Let me go. I’ll sue your ass.” Nick spat vehemently.
“Listen asshole, calm down.” Jace said calmly from the side. They had been in more fights than most normal men so their emotions were easily set aside.
Nick shook Andy’s hands off of him and continued to stare daggers at Wes.
“You fucking piece of shit! Why are you here? You want to hurt her some more.”
Wes was unnerved by the viciousness Nick was directing at him. He had thought Nick probably liked Jo, but Wes was thinking this was a bit over the top.
“It’s a lie Nick. It never happened.” Wes said tersely. Knowing this was about the video.
“It sure looked like something happened.” Nick said trying to compose himself.
“It’s a media tease and I got played.” Wes said uncomfortably.
“What the gorgeous movie star just happened to kiss you while you two were cozily tucked away at some fancy spa?”
“Nick, I know it looks bad but I am not with Ginger, as a matter of fact I fucking hate her!” Wes shot back at him starting to lose his composure.
Nick was still plenty mad and stood shaking out his fist that had connected with Wes’ face.
“Where’s Jo, Nick?” Wes asked quietly.
“I don’t know.” He answered honestly. “She should be here.” Then Nick saw the paper taped to his door.
Nick walked to the door and Wes saw the note taped to it so he followed. Andy and Jace trailed silently behind them. Nick took the note down and read it out loud.
Nick, I'm going away for a bit to unwind. Thank you again for picking me up at the hospital. You're a good friend. Don't worry I'll be okay. Love, Jo
“Hospital?” Wes asked loudly looking back to Andy and Jace. This was not good.
“Yeah asshole, Jo got hurt last night.”
Wes was shaking and Jace placed a hand on his shoulder to help calm him.
“What happened?” Wes asked anxiously.
“Maybe if you had paid more attention to her than your little movie star whore you would know. Maybe then she wouldn’t have had to spend the night in the hospital, alone. No. I actually wish you’d been here this morning because then you could have seen her face when she saw you and Ginger Lola together.” Nick was becoming unglued again and his little speech had hit Wes hard.
Andy tried to diffuse the situation.
“Nick we get it, your upset. Wes already told you that shit with Lola was news fodder. If he could have been here he would have.”
Wes had both hands in his hair and then he quickly took a few steps to the nearby bushes and puked.
Jace and Andy knew right then that their friend was into Jo a whole lot more than they thought.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” was all Wes could say wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.
Andy turned to Nick. “Do you know where she would go?”
Nick sneered at him. “No and I wouldn’t tell you if I did. You hurt her enough.”
“Man, don’t you think she deserves to know the truth?” Andy said sincerely.
“How do I know it’s the truth? How do you?” Nick threw back at him.
Andy shrugged his shoulders. “He’s my best friend. I think I would know when he’s lying.”
“Nick if you hear from her…” Wes said slowly walking towards him.
“Forget it ass wipe. You fucked up, leave her alone.”
Nick opened his door, stepped in and slammed it shut.
Wes stood on the sidewalk looking at his two best friends.
“She’s got to be hating me. I’m so screwed.”
Andy put a big hand on Wes’ shoulder and steered him to the truck. “Wes it looks bad, it does, but we’ll find her.”
Wes nodded and a look of distress crossed his face. “And then what?”
Jace put his hand on Wes’ other shoulder. “Then you go get her back man.”
The ride back to the office was quiet. Wes was in the back and Andy kept checking on him in his rear view. Andy
had known Wes since they first started boot camp. From the first day the three of them had had each others backs. When their tests had revealed that they each had an aptitude for certain talents they had been sent on for special training.
The three of them continued to excel, each showing talents in different fields. Wes was a natural leader. He had a keen eye for seeing opportunities as well as risks before they even presented themselves. He was great with computers and even though Andy out weighed him by a good fifty pounds Wes could hold his own with him.
Seeing his friend looking so distraught made Andy remember one time in Afghanistan when Wes had been tasked with ferreting out a supply camp. Wes figured out where would be the best place for the Taliban to hoard their supplies and he along with four of his best men snuck in and destroyed it. That was a good op. He had been in a few bad ones too.
Another time Wes had been called in to negotiate with a group of villagers who were holding two civilian men hostage, one British and one American. Wes lost the two men and had witnessed their brutal execution. After that they had lost him, not physically, but emotionally he had distanced himself from everyone, including himself and Jace. During that dark time Wes drank heavily, worked out harder, and went through women like water.
It took almost a year before they even saw Wes smile again. They were back home by then and Wes had called the two of them asking them to meet him to discuss a business venture. That night, the night they formed T.U.F., was the night they had broken through to him. It still affected Andy. They had told Wes they were interested, but they were concerned, mainly about his mental status. Wes was shocked; he didn’t even know he’d been different. So much pain came out that night and it was the first and only time they had seen Wes become emotional.
After that Wes began to return to normal, and by normal that meant, super smart, fearless leader, great friend Wes.
They moved into a small apartment together and Wes continued to pull himself back to the land of the living. He still drank, but now in moderation, he still worked out, but now with a purpose, and, he still had his share of woman, but only when he needed a date for a function. The entire time Andy had known Wes he had never been in a relationship. He’d rarely ever seen Wes with the same woman more than a couple times. So seeing his friend this torn up over a woman, Andy had no doubt his friend cared about Jo at an entirely new level. Andy almost smiled with the irony of it; that even Wes, the man who was a logistics genius, was thrown off kilter because of a woman.
Wes was in the back seat and met Andy’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “I didn’t protect her. She was in the hospital and I didn’t even know. Maybe I should leave her alone, like Nick said.” Wes said quietly.
Jace turned around to look at him. “Wes, you were on a job. If you had known you would have been there for her.”
Wes hung his head. “I should have been there for her. I should have never let Ginger strong arm me into going. I screwed up and she got hurt.”
“Wes we’ll find her.” Andy said confidently.
“Yeah, but should we?”
Andy looked at Jace and Jace sighed heavily. “Wes right now you’re tired, you’ve had two major shocks. We’re going back to the office and track down Jo. You’re going to lie down and as soon as we find her you’re going to go explain to her what happened.”
Wes shook his head still in disbelief concerning everything that had been thrown at him in the last couple of hours. He then looked up at his friends. His eyes were blood shot, he looked disheveled, but a steely tone entered his voice.
“Alright, but first I’m calling our lawyer. Ginger is going to retract that statement and video.”
Jace slapped the back of the seat happily and Andy smiled. “Now that’s the Wes we know. Fight for her man, if you really like her, fight for her.”
Wes got a tiny smile on his face. That was exactly what he was going to do. He was going to tear Ginger, Carrie and who ever else was a part of the bogus charade apart, and then he was going after his Jo.
Chapter 17
Wes
When they got back to their offices Wes went into his office and Jace grabbed his laptop and went into Andy's office.
“He really likes her.” Jace said quietly while typing away.
“Yeah, I got that.”
“I was thinking…”
“Yeah, me too and if things go south with her, he still might.”
Jace nodded, and then shouted, “Got her!”
Andy looked up. “Me too!”
“Okay.” Jace said typing furiously. “Let’s see what the hell is in Union Dale, Pennsylvania.”
A few minutes later Andy said. “Bingo!”
Jace looked up and Andy smiled. “Her family has a cabin on Lowe Lake. She’s got to be there!”
Wes walked into Andy’s office and saw his friends smiling.
“We think we know where she is Wes.”
“Where?”
“Her parent’s own a cabin on Lowe Lake in Pennsylvania.” Jace said
Andy continued. “I got a hit for gas, groceries, and earlier a take out charge at The Candlelight Inn, which according to Google maps is about a half mile from their property.”
Wes looked thoughtful. “How far away is it?” He asked.
“Two hours.” Andy and Jace said at the same time and then they chuckled.
“Did you call Frank?” Frank was T.U.F.’s lawyer and had become a good friend.
“Yeah, he’s on it. He thinks we should pull the security detail from Ginger. He says she broke a clause in the contract. If we want them to know how serious we are about this, we need to send a message.”
“What do you think?” Andy asked seriously. This was where Wes was a mastermind. He could analyze data and spit out comprehensible information better than any computer program.
“I’m not sure to be honest. If we pull the detail and something happens to her T.U.F.’s will take a hit.”
“What ever you think Wes, you know we’re with you.” Jace said.
“I’m thinking just the threat of pulling security might work, but just in case, what I think we should do is pull the team back, so that it appears as if she is not being guarded, but covertly keep our guys on her.”
“That’s smart. Want me to email them?”
“Yeah, I’m going to call Leena now.”
Wes returned to his office and Jace emailed the security team assigned to guard Ginger and gave them their updated assignment. Andy called down the street for take out. He knew as soon as Wes finished with Leena that he’d hit the road and Andy wanted to send him off with some food. The man looked like he’d dropped ten pounds.
Wes sat down at his desk to call Leena. He thought back to how she had been looking at him when they'd gotten off the jet and he had delivered Ginger to her. Now the strange looks she'd been giving him made sense.
“Leena, this is Wes.”
“Wes? What’s happening? Ginger just texted me that her security detail just left.”
“Yeah, we’re done Leena. Ginger broke our contract posting that video and lying about our relationship. T.U.F.’s won’t associate with someone that exposes our employees to scrutiny. I’m just damn glad it was me and not one of my guys.”
“Wes, I had no idea. I thought the video was true. I was actually happy that you two were finally together. She’s been talking about you since she first met you.”
“It was a lie Leena, a nasty, pitiful attempt to promote herself. I had no idea about it until I got home. My lawyer will be calling you in the morning. We’re suing everyone involved and it won’t be pretty. I know Ginger will say she wasn't involved, but she was and T.U.F.'s can't work with a liability like that.” Wes hung up satisfied that he’d just scared the shit out of Leena. He almost felt sorry for her. Ginger was so manipulative Leena probably didn’t know half the crap she pulled.
Wes stood up and crossed into his private bathroom. He showered and changed into jeans and a tee shirt. Now he was goi
ng to see if Jo would talk to him, but more importantly he just needed to make sure she was all right. He was still a mess knowing that she’d spent last night in the hospital.
When he entered Andy’s office Jace threw him a bag of ice and a small towel. “For your face man.” Wes thanked him he was going to have a shiner from Nick’s blast to his face.
Andy nodded at a bag on the desk. “Food for the road.” Wes smiled his guys knew him so well.
Next Andy threw him his keys to the truck. “Where you’re going you’ll need my truck. Her cabin is on a dirt road.”
“Thanks. My keys are in my desk you can take the Porsche.”
Andy smiled. “Really? Your baby? Jace maybe he got hit harder than we thought?” He teased.
Wes chuckled. “Jace can you get me a new phone?”
“I’ll have it tomorrow. I’ll program in all your work numbers.”
“Thanks. If I had a phone I’d keep you posted.” Wes smiled at his two best friends and left.
The entire drive to Union Dale Wes kept thinking about Jo and wondering how she had been injured. He still didn’t know any details. He was slightly comforted by the fact that she’d been released from the hospital after one night. Wes kept mentally rehearsing what he’d say to her when he found her. He was sure if he could just get her to listen to him she would understand.
He was also debating how to even approach her. Should he just walk up to the door and knock? What if her parents were there? What if someone else was there? Wes’ gut tightened imagining her with male company. Even though he reasoned that if she’d met someone in the last five days he’s been gone, he couldn’t see Jo going away with them. Plus wouldn’t she have called that person from the hospital? No, she couldn't have found another man yet. He prayed.
The ride was an easy one and Wes was glad he’d taken Andy’s truck since the last twenty minutes had been a series of back roads and half of them were dirt. The GPS was signaling for Wes to turn right and Wes noted a small bar on the corner called The Candlelight Inn. There was nothing around the place, no homes or other businesses, yet its small lot was packed.
One Tough Love Page 12
