“Oh, dear Lord, why me?”
“Rose,” Kevin called.
I unlocked and opened the window. “What are you doing?”
He pushed a button on the CD player. A TurkeyJerk song blared. “Hang on. That’s the wrong song.” He fiddled with the buttons some more.
I grabbed a brand new used sweatshirt and pulled it on as I hustled out of my apartment and down the stairs, wiping my hands on the seat of my pants. By the time I made it outside, Kevin had another song going. Once again, he raised the CD player over his head.
“This is just like the movies and this song represents how I feel about you.” Bret Michaels sang about roses and thorns. I rolled my eyes so hard it actually hurt.
“Turn it off,” I yelled over the music.
“Huh?”
Kevin was much taller than me, but nevertheless, after a little scuffling, I pried the player out of his hands and pushed the power button. “What is wrong with you?” I asked.
“I’m crazy in love with you. I got a new tattoo to prove it.” He lifted up his t-shirt. He’d gotten a rose inked over his left pec. Blood dripped from the thorn.
“Kevin.” I took a deep, deep breath, and tried really hard to be patient. “I don’t love you. We only went out for three short weeks. For the last time, leave me alone. If you contact me again, I’m going to call the police.” Even though I didn’t think the police would do anything, it was a good threat.
He looked at me with sad blue eyes. “But we’re destined to be together, you and me.”
I rubbed a hand over my face as I moaned. “Did you break into my apartment and trash my stuff?”
He gasped. “God no.” Either Kevin was a great liar — which I doubted — or he was genuinely shocked. Or maybe I was a crappy judge of facial expressions. Seemed like I believed everyone’s shock.
He reached out to touch me. “I would never do anything to hurt you. Did you call the police?”
“Yeah.”
“You need a bodyguard.” He stepped closer. “I will guard your body twenty-four seven. You can count on me.”
I stepped back and almost tripped. “No, I don’t want you guarding me. I want you out of my life. I don’t know how to make that any clearer.”
“Hey.” A voice called. Dane walked around the corner from the parking lot, his gaze flitting between Kevin and me. “What’s he doing here, Rose?”
I shoved Kevin’s CD player at him. “He was just leaving.”
“I will always love you,” he whispered. “Always.”
I hated to be derisive of Kevin’s feelings, but we only had a handful of dates. We had nothing in common. We were sparkless, sizzle-free, flat. His attachment to me was odd and a little disturbing.
“If you love me, then you’ll respect my wishes and leave me alone.”
“Is it because of him?” He gestured at Dane with his chin. “You can’t want this guy. He’s a suit. You’ll never be happy with him. I can make you happy if you’ll let me.”
Dane’s face was a tight mask. “She wants you to leave her alone. Now get the hell out of here. If you bother her again, we’re going to file an injunction. Understand?”
Kevin gave Dane a nasty look. “Whatever you need, Rose. I’ll always be there for you.” With his CD player in one hand, he flipped Dane off with the other and left.
Dane thrust his hands in the pockets of his trousers. “Tell me again why you dated him.”
“He had on tight pants and I had too many margaritas.”
He shook his head. “I’ve been trying to call you for the last two hours.”
“I haven’t had a chance to charge my phone.”
“I thought you were going to go stay with your parents, or Jacqueline. They haven’t seen or heard from you and they had no idea your apartment had been vandalized.”
“Excuse me?” I stood there, glaring at him with my jaw on my chest. “You called them?”
“Let’s go inside and discuss this.” He put his hand under my elbow to lead me away.
I jerked my arm out of his grasp. “You had no right to call my family or tell them my business. Why did you do that?”
He bent toward me, his brows knit, his lips thinned into a straight line. “I had every right. I’m concerned about you. Why didn’t you tell them about the break in?”
“Because I didn’t want to worry them,” I said. “And it wasn’t your place to say anything. You didn’t want to help me when I needed it. Too afraid of people like the Chief of Police and your boss. You can’t get involved when it’s convenient and blow me off when it’s not.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing? Because none of this has been convenient. I care about you and I’m worried about your safety.” He continued to glare at me. “You said you’d let the police look for Axton. Was that a lie?”
I scoffed. “Of course it was. And if you knew me at all, you’d have known that. You just heard what you wanted to hear.”
Dane turned away, watched a few cars drive by, their headlights whizzing past in the dark. He inhaled before glancing back at me. “I think you’re being self-destructive. You’re diving into danger head first and you don’t even care. This Sullivan character could hurt you.”
“Then I better get to Axton before that can happen.”
“I can’t do this anymore. You’re on your own.” He held up his hands.
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
He turned around and left.
I stood there next to my shabby little apartment building and felt more alone than ever.
Chapter 24
I trudged back inside and made myself a pallet on the floor using one of my new blankets and pillow. I tucked my stun gun under said pillow, pulled another blanket over me, and leaving the light on, instantly fell asleep.
A loud knock at the door woke me. The blankets tangled around my legs as I scrambled up. I was groggy and shaky, but still I grabbed the stun gun, my finger on the trigger.
The knock sounded again. “Who is it?” I yelled.
“Open the door, Rose.”
Sullivan.
I pulled on the catering pants and the sweatshirt I’d worn earlier, and with stun gun in hand I unhooked the chain, unlocked the door, and opened it. Sullivan leaned one shoulder against the doorjamb. He slowly appraised me from head to toe, casting a glance at the weapon pointed at his face.
“Are you going to use that on me?”
“I’m definitely thinking about it. If you threaten me or my family one more time, you can count on it.”
He thrust his hand into his pocket. “You called me, remember? Something about your panties? I found it intriguing.”
I glared. “Why didn’t you just break down the door again?”
“Because we’re friends now and breaking in would be rude.” He gave me a charming smile.
I wasn’t charmed.
“You going to invite me inside?”
“Oh yes, by all means.” I stood back, opened the door wider, my right hand tightening around the stun gun. Sullivan walked in and I shut the door behind him, never taking my eyes off him, never turning my back on him.
He glanced around the apartment. “Redecorating?” He looked at the futon shell with a frown and then pointed to the corner where I stood. “Where’s your table?”
“You and your evil minions wrecked it, remember? You know, along with my underwear, my food, my clothes, etc.”
His gold eyes darkened. “You think I did this?”
I actually laughed. “Oh, you are priceless. ‘You think I did this?’” I imitated his deep voice.
“You think I destroyed your things?”
“Oh God, no.” I waved him off with my hand. “You would never.”
He looked me dead in the eye. “I did not do this.”
“Well, not you personally. I wouldn’t expect Thomas Malcolm Sullivan to get his hands dirty. But Henry, on the other hand…”
He narrowed his eyes. “How do you know my
name?”
“Well, Rumpelstiltskin, I could tell you…but then I’d have to stun the hell out of you.” I pushed the trigger. A blue current of electricity sizzled, filling the air with the metallic scent of ozone. “Oh, wait, I might enjoy that.”
“You’re welcome to try.” The way he said it was mildly pleasant, but the way his nostrils flared slightly, his jaw clenched and unclenched, told me he was getting pissed.
“I may take you up on that.”
He studied me and I could almost see the wheels turn. “You got my number from Packard Graystone. You called my cell and blocked your ID the other day.”
“And you broke into my apartment and trashed all my possessions. This game of state the obvious is so not fun.”
“I. Did not. Do. This.” He spoke slowly as he advanced toward me.
“So you ordered Henry to do it. It’s still on you.”
“Not true.”
Seemed we were at a stalemate. I wasn’t going to get into an argument of ‘did not’ ‘did too.’ “Why should I believe you?”
Standing in front of me, his chest touching mine, he gave me a wolfish smile and flashed his teeth, completely unconcerned I could zap the crap out of him. “Because if I did it, Rose, I would take credit for it.”
I blinked. Of course he would. He would rub my nose in it and tell me it was another warning, and something worse would happen if I didn’t shape up. Oh my God, I actually believed him.
“What about Henry? He’s capable of this.”
“Henry wouldn’t take a piss unless I told him to.”
“Nice imagery.”
“Who else have you ticked off besides me?”
This could take all night. “I have an ex who’s not happy with me.”
Sullivan walked around the room until he realized there was no place to sit. “Yes, Kevin Wilkins. Your taste in men is terrible.”
“It is beyond creepy that you know so much about my ex-boyfriend.” I tossed the stun gun onto my pallet. It seemed stupid to keep clutching it. I wasn’t going to use it on Sullivan and he knew it. “And what do you know about my taste in men?”
“You’ve been dating Dane Harker.” He made it sound like an accusation.
“That’s none of your business. My life is none of your business.”
“Right now, everything you do is my business. You’re a wild card. Unpredictable. Anyway, Dane Harker is another mistake.” He flicked his hand like he was shooing a fly.
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
He walked toward me, stopping just six inches away. “Dane Harker follows the rules. He likes things nice and neat. He plays golf on Saturdays, has Chinese takeout every Wednesday. Orders the same thing every time, by the way.”
“He’s nice.”
“He’s boring.”
“Well, Kevin’s not boring. Kevin’s not predictable.”
“Kevin is a moron. He legally changed his name to Spaz.”
Yeah, okay, there was that. Kevin was a moron. But if Sullivan thought I was going to agree with him, he was cuckoo in the cabeza. Wait. Why was I arguing about my love life with this crime boss, in the middle of the night no less?
“Why are you here? To apologize for wrecking my apartment?”
His lips thinned. “I told you. I didn’t do it.”
I lifted my palms up, my fingertips brushing his chest. “Let’s pretend that’s true.” I echoed his words from the first night he broke into my apartment. “You still have Axton.”
“Yes, and I’m keeping him.” Clasping my hands in his, he looked around the room. “You can’t stay here. If whoever did this comes back—”
“I can take care of myself, thank you.” I tried to pull my hands out of his grasp, but he tightened his hold on me. A little shiver zinged through me. Sullivan was the bad guy. Not the guy I should be zinging for.
“Yes, you’ve done an amazing job so far,” he said, as his thumbs made little circles on my palms.
I glared at him, trying again to pull away. This time he let me go. I clenched my fists against the tingles.
“You don’t even have a bed to sleep in, Rose.” He nodded his head toward my pallet.
I raised a brow. “And that’s your concern, why?”
His face, so full of emotion a moment before, became expressionless. “You’re right. It’s not.”
He slammed the door when he left.
Ma looked me over. “Rose, you don’t look too good.”
What else was new? I had dark purple splotches under my eyes and no amount of cheap makeup could hide them. “I can’t seem to get enough sleep.”
Roxy walked out of the kitchen and tied an apron around her waist. She wore a short pink and white dress that looked like a flouncy birthday cake. “I swear, Rose, you look worse every day.”
I glared at her and bared my teeth. I may have growled.
“Jeez, just saying.”
“Sullivan came by last night. He says he didn’t trash my apartment.”
Ma slapped her hands on the counter. “What is wrong with that man? He’s got a lot of gall, I’ll tell you that for free.”
“Or maybe he has the hots for Rose,” Roxy said. “So, do we believe him?”
I nodded and refilled my coffee cup. “Yep. I do. But I also believed Dane and Kevin when they denied it. I’m too tired to think about it anymore. All I want is to rescue Axton and get a good night’s sleep.”
“Come and stay with me, Rose,” Ma said. “You can have the spare bedroom.”
Someone vandalized my car and my apartment. No way I’d put her in that kind of danger. “Thanks Ma, but my futon mattress is coming today. I’m hoping I can get to bed early tonight, with no uninvited guests.”
We got to work and the morning passed quickly. Until ten-thirty when my mother walked in the diner.
She was awash in beige. Beige coat, beige slacks, beige sweater. Her hair was perfect, her brown leather handbag expensive, and her shoes probably cost more than I made in a month.
“Hello, Rosalyn.” She looked around the diner, her lips puckered in contempt. “Is there somewhere we can speak privately?”
Ma came out from behind the counter. “You must be Rose’s mother. I can see the resemblance.”
Barbara tilted her lips into a fake smile. “Yes.”
“Mom, this is Ma. Ma this is my mother, Barbara Strickland.”
Ma wiped her hand on a dish towel and extended it to my mother. “Nice to meet you, Barbara.”
My mother had that half handshake, where she just gave you her fingertips as if she were Queen Elizabeth greeting the little people. “It’s nice to meet you. Ma.”
Roxy finished refilling a cup of coffee at the table in the far corner. She walked up to us. “Hello,” she said, chomping her gum.
Barbara quickly scanned Roxy’s blue hair and pink confection of a dress. “Rosalyn, somewhere private?”
“You can use my office,” Ma said.
Ma’s office consisted of a small desk covered in fake wood and a rolling chair with yellow foam spilling out of its ripped seat. Metal shelves filled with cleaning supplies, toilet paper, and liquid soap in gallon bottles lined the walls.
“Make yourself at home,” Ma said, closing the door behind her.
“With every advantage we gave you, this is where you ended up.”
I was so tired and the stress of the past several days started catching up with me. My nerves were jumpy and jittery from too much coffee and the last thing I needed was my mother dispensing lectures.
“Why are you here, Mom?”
Her disgusted gaze turned from the shelves to me. Too bad the expression on her face never changed. I guess I ranked up there with the single ply.
“I have heard from several sources that you were seen in front of the police station making a spectacle of yourself.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Well?”
“Well, what?”
She took a de
ep breath through her nose. Good, she was having a hard time with the whole patience thing, too.
“What exactly were you doing with Dane Harker?”
I gave her my wide-eyed, confused look. “Making a spectacle of myself?”
“You know,” she said through thinned lips, “we have put up with your nonsense for a long time. We’ve had to defend you to all of our friends. You work in a diner. As a waitress.” She practically hissed the last word. “You befriend people like Axton Graystone and that blue-haired freak out there.” She pointed toward the dining area. “And now I hear that you were getting ‘physical’,” she used air quotes, “with Dane Harker.
“Well I’m tired of having to tell people you’re ‘trying to find yourself’.” She did the air quote thing again. “It’s high time you grow up and act like a responsible adult. Really. Groping the man in the middle of the street. It’s humiliating.”
“I wasn’t groping him, Mother. He hugged me. It wasn’t a big deal.”
She threw back her head. “Nothing is a big deal to you. Drop of out of college, waste your life in this dump, bring that boy with the big holes in his ears to your cousin’s wedding, never caring about how mortified your father and I would be. You still haven’t apologized to Tatum Hopkins. She was distraught. But no, nothing’s ever a big deal for Rosalyn.”
For years I’d been trying desperately to keep the peace with my mother for Jacks’ sake. I wanted to see Scotty, and I didn’t want to put Jacks in the middle of it, so I sucked up whatever my mother had dished out, telling myself that between the two of us, I was the bigger, better person. But today, I’d had enough. Jacks was going to have to make her own decisions, because I had made mine.
“Sorry I’m such an embarrassment. But I am a responsible adult, Mom. I pay my own way because you cut me off five years ago. I was barely nineteen and you threw me out like a sack of trash.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be dramatic.”
“What would you call it? All I wanted to do was go to a different college. Why was that such a terrible thing?”
Diners, Dives & Dead Ends Page 17
