by Nana Malone
Ariel nodded. "Okay, I'll take the Winters guy personally. I want you and Tamsin to pick a day to do a good tail work-up on Miranda again. If she sneezes, we should know about it."
I nodded. "I agree considering the fact that they parted so abruptly and no one seems to know why. The rumor was that they were already engaged. She's exactly the type of woman he would want. Socialite, wealthy in her own right. Active in charities and all those kind of rich people things."
Ariel nodded. "Yeah. If he's not giving you a reason, I'd like to know it. I hate when clients withhold things because that means we have to go digging. As if we have time for that."
"Yeah. I understand."
She nodded at Jameson. "J, dig for dirt on the father and the history of the company."
“On it.”
I checked my watch. "Okay, thanks. I better get back."
Ariel gave me a soft smile. “You’re sure you’re okay? His reputation precedes him. He's a dick. If Lucas doesn't even like him, the guy's a dick for real."
"He's a pain in the ass. Dick is the wrong word, at least to me right now." I wasn’t surprised to find out that was true. He was a pain yes, argumentative, stubborn. But he didn't have that cruel streak I'd heard about, at least not one I'd seen yet. "I’ve got this. I can handle him."
If only that was the truth.
Theo…
As first days went, it went well as could be expected. I still didn't like having someone in my shit, but maybe I could do this? I could do it; I could pull this off.
No, you probably can't.
Christ. I took a glance over at her and her nose was buried in her tablet. "Let me guess, Royal Elite is on the case?"
She lifted her head and blinked at me rapidly. "Sorry what?"
I shook my head. "Never mind."
"Sorry, I just—when I get into work, I get into work. I get absorbed.”
“It’s cute.” What the hell? I was telling her she was cute now?
Her eyes went wide. “Uh, says the workaholic.”
I grinned at her. "I know how to have fun."
Her laugh was light. "Oh, I’ve heard about your wild debauched ways. Funny thing is I haven’t seen anything even remotely resembling party behavior."
"Yeah well, everything changed when I became CEO. I needed to grow up."
She studied me closely, her dark eyes threatening to poke around my soul. “I keep looking for the party kid. I don't see it.”
“Well, I like to think people are capable of chan—" Something caught my attention in an alley as we drove by. "Stop the car."
Tim’s gaze met mine in the rearview mirror and pulled over and came to a screeching halt out of traffic.
Zia wasted no time. She palmed her gun. "What? What's the matter?"
I shook my head. "No, it's not life or death. At least not mine." But still, I was out of the car in seconds. Behind me I could hear Zia shouting, telling me to get back where I was and asking me what the hell was I doing. And yes, there were a lot of expletives and I was pretty sure she called me a dumbass idiot. But I was single-mindedly focused.
In the stupid loafers I was wearing, I slipped as I sprinted down the street and headed toward the alley we'd just passed. Yep, there was a kid getting his ass kicked. "Hey. What the hell do you think you’re doing?"
The kid on the ground was holding on tight to something. The other kid who was wailing on him was trying to grab it from him.
"Hey, I said stop it." As I ran toward them, the bigger kid glanced up at me. Dark beady eyes, sandy brown hair. His gaze swept over me quickly as if trying to make an assessment on whether or not I could be a threat.
With one final tug, he took whatever it was out of the other kid's hand and took off running.
Behind me I could hear Zia's feet on pavement. The clips of her heels as they hit pavement and splashed in water, but she was surprisingly quick in them.
And behind her was Tim.
The kid on the ground was breathing hard, and he slung an arm over his face, sobbing. "Hey kid, Are you okay?" I knelt down in the puddle, taking no notice at the dirt, grime, and oil, or whatever the hell that sticky substance was that was on the bottom of my shoe, was doing to Derrick's wardrobe. I didn't give a shit about that. "Talk to me. Are you hurt?"
The smaller kid pushed to a sitting position. "I'm fine.”
He didn't sound fine though. He sounded like he was crying. "Tell me if you’re hurt. We can get you medical attention."
"You think I can go to a doctor? My parents can't afford that."
I shook my head. "Don't you worry about that. If you’re hurt, we'll get you seen and your mom doesn't have to worry about it."
His gaze puckered up at me. He had soft brown eyes and tawny skin. His coloring reminded me of Penny, but his hair was bone straight, not the wild corkscrew curls of our queen. The kid looked more like he was of East Indian decent.
"Who are you?"
That was a good question. "Someone who's had his ass kicked before."
I extended a hand and he placed his scrawny one in mine. Zia caught up to us. "Jesus Christ. Are you out of you goddamn m—" Quickly, she shut her mouth when she saw I had someone with me. Then her voice went soft. "Oh, is everything okay?"
I shook my head. "No, my friend here," I paused and waited for him to inject his name.
"Peter," he mumbled.
"My friend Peter here just ran into an asshole. And I'm hoping Peter can describe him."
"He's a kid from school. Big, asshole. Name's Jackson Trist. Been giving me shit since I started here."
I nodded solemnly, as if I knew anything about the schools. "Where are you from?"
“I just moved here from Miami. Dad got a job on one of the boats. Schools are supposed to be great, but that doesn't stop assholes."
"Yeah. Assholes are going to do what they're going to do. Why wouldn't you let go of what he was trying to take? Was it worth getting your ass kicked?"
He didn't answer me. "Look, I'm fine. You don't have to do this nice guy thing."
"Trust me, I’m not a nice guy. Just ask her."
Zia offered hopefully. "Uh-huh, I guarantee he's not."
"Yep, thanks for that. I’ve just been there."
The kid narrowed his eyes at me as his gaze flickered from my quaffed hair to my stupidly expensive suit, and then to my shoes. All of which cost more than most yearly school fees on the island. "Yeah, right."
"Well, I may not look it now, but I know the feeling. Trust me. Peter you've got a shiner there. You should get some ice on it. You live around here? I could take you home."
He shrugged me off. "You don't have to do this. I don't need anything."
"Well, I was here. I saw something. I stopped it. But if you don't want my help, you don't want my help." I made the turn around hoping the reverse psychology was going to work on him. When I was a kid, it would have worked on me. As I turned, he stopped me. "Fine, I live around the corner."
"Great, then I hope your mother won't mind visitors."
He chuckled softly. "My mother. She works at the palace. She's a maid. She won't be home until late tonight. Dad will be home after seven when his boat docks."
I sighed. "Right." He led us through the alley and turned the corner. It led up to one of the row houses on the street. "This is me."
"Well, let's at least make sure you get inside and get some ice on that."
"Look, I don't know who you are. And thanks for helping me not get my ass kicked so bad that I didn't actually need a hospital visit, but you don't need to do this. I'm sure you have to be somewhere rich people go."
"I'm helping you get settled. She's coming too, so you know I'm not some kind of crazy."
Zia waved. "Well, he might be crazy. But I know how to handle him."
It was the first smile I'd seen out of the kid, and I completely understood. Zia Barnes had a way about her.
When the kid led us into the basement apartment of the row house, I noted that the entry
way, though small and dark, was clean, neat and had plants that were bright and cheerful. He led us in, and considering it was a basement unit, it still had a decent amount of light streaming in. "Uh, if you’re coming in, you gotta take off your shoes." I did as I was told as Zia appeared.
He led us into the kitchen and pulled a bag of peas out of the freezer. "See, ice. Happy?"
I glanced around. There were photos on the wall of him and his family. Smiling, happy pictures. It reminded me of me and my mom. They didn't have a lot, but they were making it work and they were happy.
"Okay, Peter. What's your last name?"
He shrugged. "Pento."
"Peter Pento. Okay. Uh, I'm Derrick. This is Zia."
He nodded at her and gave her a lop-sided grin. "’Sup."
She gave him a beaming smile, complete with dimples. "’Sup."
"Right, now that we've made acquaintances, why don't you tell me what that kid stole and where I can find him?"
Peter's eyes got wide. "No, no, no, no. Look, I appreciate what you did, making sure I got home okay. That was dope. But you don't need to do anything else."
I narrowly gazed at him. "Okay. Peter, what are you? Sixteen? Fifteen?"
He rolled his shoulders. "Fourteen. I’m tall for my age."
I nodded. "Well, that'll come in handy. But assholes like that kid today, they're gonna come back. They are going to keep doing those things unless you deal with them appropriately."
"You're not gonna, like, put a hit out on him, are you?"
I grinned. "Is that what you want?"
He shook his head violently. "He's a turd, but I don't want anyone to die."
I chuckled. "I'm not going to kill anyone. But I'm going to talk to his parents or the principal. He stole something from you. What was it?"
"My tablet. I saved for it myself from my job and stuff, and my parents chipped in on my birthday. I use it for school stuff, so I don't know what the hell I'm going to do."
I nodded and pulled out my phone and typed a quick message to Tim.
Derrick Arlington: Hey, can you go back to the car, grab my tablet, and bring it here?
Tim: Yep, be right there.
As we chatted with Peter for a minute, I could tell the kid was well adjusted and smart. There were lots of books in the tiny apartment. He was just a kid trying to do well in school. That bully was going to regret touching him.
There was a knock at the door, and I went to answer it. There was Tim with my tablet.
Quickly I made a few taps, secured everything to the cloud, wiped all the apps, and then hit reset.
Then, I turned to Peter. "Here you go. You'll need to find a charger for it. I have one at home, but maybe I can drop it off here for you, if you want. I took all my stuff off and did a factory reset, so it's basically brand new."
His eyes went wide. "What? I can't take this."
"Yes, you can. You were just saying you need it for school and you didn't know how you were going to replace it. I've just replaced it."
His mouth hung open, and then he blinked up at me. "What's the catch? What do I have to do for it? No one's this nice."
I shrugged. "I'm not this nice. I'm dead serious, and you have to kick ass at school. Think you can manage that?"
He touched the tablet in awe. "Why?"
I shrugged. "Because I see something of myself in you. Now, do you have a phone number or something? I'll check on you later."
Then I turned and left him there. I'd have Olivia check on him and then get me some information about that other kid. I wasn't going to do anything to him, but I was going to scare the bejesus out of him. He needed to learn a lesson quickly, otherwise, he was going to continue to be a bully and a thief.
I could hear Zia jogging in her heels to keep up with me. When we reached the car, she slid a glance at me. "That was unbelievable."
I shrugged. "It was nothing."
"You have a heart in there."
"You tell anyone, and I'll have to kill you."
She laughed then. “You forget, I can kick your ass."
"So you think."
Once we were buckled back in our seats, her gaze softened. "That was actually a really nice thing you did."
"What thing?" I shut down all emotional centers in my brain. I wasn't going to let her give me that look, the one that went all mushy and soft. I couldn't have her seeing me as mushy and soft. Because if she started looking at me like that, I was going to crack. So, I put up the cold shell and left it there.
Zia Barnes was dangerous. If I got all soft with her, it was going to get me exposed. And that was not something I could afford.
Nine
Zia…
"Correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't you be with your billionaire right now?" Tamsin asked.
With Derrick in a board meeting and Trace as my back up, I took the opportunity to help Tamsin set up the tail on Miranda Lincoln. "He's not going anywhere, and Trace has him covered. After this, I’m taking a little field trip."
"So, any new developments since last night?"
I shook my head. "No. No developments. I know you think I should bang him, but it's not going to happen. I prefer uncomplicated."
Tamsin leaned forward, snapping more pictures of Miranda Lincoln as she jogged into her apartment building. I lifted the sound mic, pointing it in the direction of Miranda’s apartment. "God, you know, I hate these things. They're never that accurate."
Tamsin shrugged. "Until we get a judge to actually sign off on listening devices, the only listening we can do is from the outside."
"Those pesky little laws."
She laughed. "Yeah, right? But seriously though, I know Ariel already asked and we gave you shit yesterday, but are you okay?"
I shrugged. Why did they keep asking? "I guess so. It's just a job."
She gave me a narrow-eyed gaze. "Uh-huh, if you say so."
My phone buzzed.
Ariel: Do you have time this afternoon. I need you to head to Republic Prison.
Zia: Sure. Why?
Ariel called then, and I answered on the first ring.
There was no preamble. “It was faster to call. I found something.”
Adrenaline spiked my blood. If she was calling me because she found something, that meant she had a mission for me. “What do you need?”
“It seems that Derrick Arlington was kidnapped when he was nine years old.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Yeah. There was a ransom request, but his father refused to pay it.”
“Jesus.” No wonder he hated his father.
“Yeah. My sentiments exactly. He found a way to escape and made it home. He was bruised and malnourished, but still alive. He’d been gone for ten days. At the time, he gave details to the police about what he could remember, but as far as I can tell, he never spoke about it to the public after his return.”
“Jesus, did they have any leads?”
“I’ll do you one better. They convicted a man named Alistair Cummings for the crime. He’s currently serving a twenty-year stint in Republic. I want you go and talk to him. See if the current kidnapping attempt has anything to do with the past.”
“Okay, I’m on it.”
“Be careful.”
When she hung up, I gave Tamsin the run down, and she was just as surprised as I was. “Holy hell.”
“Tell me about it. It certainly explains a lot.” I couldn’t help but feel for that lost little boy.
Tamsin shook her head at me. “Don’t go getting that soft look for him. He’s a grown man now. He doesn’t need you to take care of him.”
"I know. I’m just experiencing empathy.”
She shook her head. “I already told you that shit is bad for your health. Just as long as this empathy bullshit doesn’t catch you a case of feelings. I say sleep with him, but you need to kick it like Elsa and conceal, don't feel.”
I snorted a laugh. “Look, I've already told you. I won't mix business and pleasure again. Nev
er again. Besides, I certainly wouldn't date someone like Derrick."
"What, you have an objection to the rich?"
"No. Of course not. I mean, I'm pretty sure I would love an endless closet as much as the next girl. But being an accessory, being looked over, for someone's ambition, I don't want that. And I really, really, really don't want a playboy. At all. I want someone grounded, nice. Someone who helps me and my sister."
Tamsin shook her head. "Make sure you shoot me in the eyeball the moment I think having a nice normal life is fun."
I laughed. "That's a good point. We don't do this job for a nice normal life."
"We sure don't."
Miranda had entered her apartment, and the mic started picking up conversation. "Oh, you're still here?" she asked.
"Of course, I'm still here. Where else would I go? You cuffed me to the bed."
Tamsin and I jerked glances at each other and then stared back at the apartment. Holy shit. This was the motherload. We could hear everything. We’d parked at the northwest corner of the building, so we were mere feet from her bedroom and getting great sound.
"You know how to get the key," Miranda said.
"Yeah, to get the key, I had to break out of this."
"And you know you can."
"I'd rather not tear up my wrist, if you don't mind."
There was a low throaty laugh. Hers?
"Oh, I'm sorry. What's the magic word?"
"I don't feel like playing right now, Miranda."
"Well then, I guess you're staying."
There was a growl. "I'm not playing with you, Miranda. Uncuff me."
"Uncuff yourself, or say the magic word."
"God, you're such a pain in the ass."
"Um, if I'm recalling it correctly, I'm the one with the pain in the ass. It's as if you like me using our magic word."
"I'm not playing with you right now." The man’s voice was tense.
"What's the word?" She asked, teasing.
There was a sigh, then a man's voice said, "Baby, you know how much I love it when you call me Derrick."
