Hot, Sexy & Bad

by Angelo, Judy, et al.

  “I like what I’m hearing, Devin. I think we can make this deal happen. If I can get everyone on board, you should be hearing from me on Christmas Eve. I hope you have someone here watching your six. You backed the sheriff into a corner and he’s gonna react like a mad dog. I know I’ll be watching over my shoulder.” The mayor stands and pats the gun strapped to his hip.

  “I’ll be fine. I’m not the same kid he messed with years ago. I’ll show him what true power looks like.”

  Chapter Six

  Later that afternoon, I sit in the hotel lobby, if you can even call it that, and try to tune out the Christmas music playing over the speakers behind me. I haven’t worked the protection of Rebecca into my plan. She isn’t supposed to be in Clover. But now, I need to make sure none of this blows back on her.

  My phone rings and I look at the screen, disappointed to see it’s Luke rather than the mayor’s office. “What is it, Luke?” I ask, skipping the formalities.

  “Hello to you, too,” Luke replies sarcastically. “I’m just checking in. I told everyone you had the plague and were too sick to even video-conference. They’ve agreed that we’ll meet next week, after Christmas. You’ll be back by then, right?”

  “Yes,” I huff. “I’m confident the deal I’m working down here will go through and I can get things hammered out by then. I want to be here to get the security team in place. That needs to go off without a hitch. The rest I can do remotely.”

  “I looked at this deal you’re working. It’s a dud. You know that, right? You’re going to lose money; it’ll never turn a profit. The contractors will make out well, but your end of this doesn’t look very good. I can see why you’re trying to get it in under the wire. The new owners wouldn’t even entertain something like this.”

  “Not every deal is about money. Trust me, I’ll benefit from this more than any acquisition or merger I’ve done in the past. The wheels are in motion.”

  “I’m guessing you’re making some waves down there. I hope you don’t mind, but I sent a friend to keep an eye on you.”

  I look around the room, and a man I didn’t notice before tips the front of his baseball hat, greeting me, as our eyes connect. “Ah, yes, I see. And who is this?”

  “He’s an ex-Marine sniper and he lends his expertise to those who need it, for a fee of course. He’ll stay out of the way; he’s just watching your back.”

  “There is no such thing as an ex-Marine, once a Marine always a Marine.” I think back for a moment to how close I came to enlisting, how different my life would have been. “You know I’m no lightweight myself. I can hold my own—I even know my way around a sidearm.”

  “Just be nice to the kid, he’s worth keeping around.”

  I grunt an acknowledgement and disconnect with Luke as I wave the kid over, willing to humor them both.

  “I’m Click.” He pulls his baseball hat off and tucks it under his arm, extending his hand to me. His jaw is wide and he has a prominent scar across his cheek. I would know he’s a Marine even if Luke hadn’t told me. His hair is a high and tight brush cut, so short you can barely tell if it is brown or black. The chain around his neck is clearly holding dog tags, tucked below his plain green T-shirt. He doesn’t get any points for originality, or style, in my book. When he releases my hand I watch him stand as rigid as a board, and I sarcastically quip, “At ease, Marine.”

  “This is at ease,” he replies, looking at me skeptically.

  As I look him over I realize this is who I would be if things had gone differently. I would have enlisted, served, married Rebecca, and started my life. I’d be in jeans and a T-shirt rather than this suit.

  “I’m guessing Luke told you what my job is here? Keeping you from getting killed, or, maybe more importantly, keeping you from killing anyone.” He sits down across from me and waits for a response.

  “What kind of name is Click?”

  “That’s what my platoon called me. It was the only noise you heard right before I fired my weapon; otherwise you didn’t know I was there.”

  “And what do you plan to do here?”

  “I plan to blend into the scenery and have your back when you need it. You won’t hear anything but a click, if that’s how you want it.”

  Clever. If nothing else this Click character seems to have good judgment. “I don’t want you watching me, I want you protecting Rebecca. She’s my . . . an old friend, I guess. I think the sheriff could target her to get to me. I can take care of myself.”

  “I have my orders, and I can’t deviate from them. I’m getting paid to watch out for you.”

  “I’ll pay you double.”

  “Luke warned me you might say that. He assumed the offer would be paying me double to leave you alone, not to watch someone else, but I’m guessing the direction he gave me applies. He said he’d outbid anything you propose; so don’t waste your breath. Not that I mind you driving up my price.” Click’s back is straight in his chair, and he looks like he’s made of wood. “Now, I have some buddies you can contract for her. They can be here by morning.”

  “She doesn’t have until morning. The mayor plans to act fast, which means they will too. So if you’re here to follow me, then I’ll follow her.” I stand and pull my keys from my pocket. “Get one of your guys here for tomorrow. I have a private security company coming to town by the end of the week if the deal is voted in. You’ll be off the hook by then.”

  “Yes sir,” Click shoots to a standing position and steps out in front of me to clear the parking lot before I can step out.

  “All clear, Marine?” I ask mockingly.

  “If it wasn’t I’d have tackled you by now and would’ve had at least ten rounds off.” He straightens his back another notch. “It’s all clear.”

  Chapter Seven

  I watch Rebecca’s lips turn down as she starts to argue with me. “Devin, I thought I made myself clear. If you plan to go through with this landfill nonsense, I don’t want you around.” She’s behind the bar at the Boot Hopper now and I wonder how many hours she puts in each week at her two jobs. All to have her money stolen by a dirt bag.

  “Things are a little more complicated now. I fully expected the sheriff to try to threaten or hurt me when I started this, but I didn’t factor you in. I thought you were off in the mountains somewhere, painting and being happy.” I can’t help but travel down this path, even though I see it cuts at her. “Anyway, I have a man hired by one of my associates to protect me, but he refuses to leave me in order to protect you. So I’m contracting someone for you and he’ll be here tomorrow. Until then, I’m staying with you.”

  “I can take care of myself, Devin. I’ve been doing it for years.”

  “So tonight when you get back to your place and there’s a man with a gun there, you’re telling me you have a plan?”

  “Well, they’ll have a hard time finding me since I was evicted today. Collin took my rent money and my landlord won’t cover me anymore.”

  “I’ll get you a room at the Winston. You and Adeline will be safe for the night. Once this deal goes through, the sheriff won’t have any power here, and I’ll have someone assigned to protect you full-time if needed.”

  “Power isn’t in a badge, Devin. I’m sure you’ll head back to New York and I’ll be on my own again anyway. I’m not staying at that hotel tonight. I’ll figure something out on my own. I’m not depending on you; I don’t depend on anyone.” She walks away from me to serve another customer, and comes back a minute later with a beer for me.

  “You need to drop this pigheadedness and take the help I’m offering. I don’t see why this isn’t good enough for you. You don’t want my money—which can get you the hell out of this place—you don’t want my protection. What do you want?”

  “Devin,” she says, shaking her head sorrowfully, “how thick can you be? Do you think it’s easy for me to come to terms with the fact that I’ve been sitting here like an idiot holding a candle for you, wondering if I’ll ever see you again, onl
y to find out you’re a completely different person now? It’s sad and disappointing, and having you around just reminds me of that.”

  The shock of her statement seems to clear the air out of the room for a moment. “Are you really saying you still have feelings for me? After all these years, you what, still love me?” I ask, not knowing if I’m more afraid she’ll say yes, or that she’ll say no.

  “I loved the man you were. Not this person.” She gestures at my suit and slicked back hair. “You have money and power now, and I’m happy for you. You’re here for vengeance—to destroy—and I would rather live this terrible existence and have love in my heart than the blackness you have. If I take your money, your protection, what does that make me?”

  I want to take her in my arms and kiss her, show her my heart may be damaged but it’s salvageable. But my brain, the one that helped me survive and build an empire, won’t back down. “Your idealism is idiotic,” I lash at her.

  “That’s great, Devin. Real nice. Listen, you’re a paying customer and I can’t have you tossed out of here. But tonight when I get in my car, I don’t want you following me. I don’t need your help.” She spins around and goes back to work as I mentally kick myself for being a jackass.

  Chapter Eight

  I sink into the desk chair in my solitary hotel room. Just like Rebecca said, she got in her car after her shift and drove off. I went back to the hotel and hardly slept a wink, worried about Rebecca and Adeline. I won’t be able to live with myself if they are hurt because of me.

  The sun is up now and my mind, the one I worked so hard to form and control, is faltering. Every time I try to clear it out, all I see is her face. I think about the fact that for nine years she put pen to paper a few times a month, just to stay connected to me. And I poured my energy into becoming a man who can crush my enemies, rather than staying the man she already loved. I’m starting to feel like a fool.

  There’s a light knock on my door and I hop up, praying it’s Rebecca. I swing it open and deflate like a balloon at the sight of Click standing straight-backed and stone-faced at my door.

  “Shit, Click, I thought you are supposed to fade into the shadows and stay out of my way.”

  “I’m sorry, sir,”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “Sorry,” Click nods his apology. “I’m here to confess something, sir—I’m sorry, Mr. Sutton.” He’s stuttering slightly and I huff my annoyance.

  “Call me Devin. And I’m not your mom or your priest. You don’t have to come in here and declare all your sins.” I’m still disappointed it isn’t Rebecca at my door, but I welcome the distraction. I wave Click in and offer him the chair in the corner of the room while I sit on the edge of the bed.

  “I deployed four times,” Click says, hanging his head slightly. “In all my years of service I never disobeyed an order, nor did I stick my nose where it didn’t belong. It’s just . . . Rebecca . . . she reminds me of one of my sisters. Her daughter is the same age as my niece and—”

  At the sound of her name I go from being mildly attentive to fully interested. “What about Rebecca?”

  “My orders are to watch your back and keep you safe. I understand leaving my post last night and following her goes against what I’m paid to do and as a result I offer you my resignation, as soon as someone arrives to relieve me. I’ll send my payment back to Mr. Miller as well.”

  “You followed her last night? What happened?” I probe, relieved she wasn’t alone.

  “I parked somewhere out of her line of sight and kept an eye on her through the night.”

  “Where did she go?”

  “She pulled into the driveway of an address I confirmed to be her father’s house, but she never got out of the car. She stayed there all night.” Click clears his throat nervously. “She seemed to be doing quite a bit of . . . crying.”

  I sit silently, feeling Click’s words like a punch to my stomach.

  “I completely understand what a dereliction of duty this is. There is no excuse and, more so, I have no business coming back and reporting this to you. I just know if it were me, I’d want to know.”

  “Did she eventually go inside?”

  “Yes, when the sun came up, a man—I’m assuming her father—came out on the porch. They exchanged some words.” Click’s head droops even lower and I can read the conflict raging in him.

  “What kind of words?” I ask, assuming the worst.

  “She didn’t do much talking, but he did. Right there in front of the little girl. He was raging on about how much trouble she is, how much he wished she’d just . . .” Click hesitates on the words, “die, like her mother had.”

  I shoot up and forcefully pound my fist into the wall. “That son of a bitch.”

  “I nearly took her out of there myself.” Click’s voice is steady again, the tone of a Marine. He stands and moves toward the door. “Like I said, I’ll stay on until someone else can come and relieve me.”

  “Why is she taking so much shit from people?”

  “I’m guessing she’s out of options. Maybe she doesn’t have any fight left in her? I’m sorry, again, and I’ll let myself out.”

  “No,” I insist, pointing toward the chair Click abandoned. “Do you know why I never respected my father?” I ask, clearly bewildering the poor kid. “Because in a moment like last night, he’d have followed orders. He would have stood outside the door of a fully grown man who was carrying a weapon and would have ignored the woman and child who had no way to protect themselves. He’d have done it because those were his instructions. I don’t respect that. I respect men who do the right things, the hard things, in the face of what everyone is insisting they should do.” I extend my hand to Click, who shakes it firmly. “You’re not fired, Click, you’re promoted. Now I have a more unconventional job for you. I need to find a cabin in the mountains that’s available for tonight. I know it’s Christmas Eve and that may be tough, but if we start making phone calls we should get a place.”

  “What about the mayor? You haven’t heard about the status of your deal yet, have you?”

  “I haven’t. I’m guessing he came up against some opposition or something, or hit a snag. I’m thinking maybe it’s a bust. So I’m going to take care of something else in the meantime. Once I have everything lined up for tonight you can give me some space. I’ll be going to get Rebecca, and I don’t need an audience for that. Once I pick her up, we’re leaving town. Understand?” Click nods that he does, like a good Marine, happy for new orders. “You say you have a niece Adeline’s age? What do you know about kids?”

  Chapter Nine

  The rest of my morning is full of errands. I think Click begrudges the unique orders I give him, but he is right, he knows a lot about kids.

  As I drive down the old familiar roads that lead to the house Rebecca grew up in, I consider scrapping this entire idea. Do I really want to try again to save someone who thinks I’m scum? Am I scum? Trying to save Rebecca the first time cost me nine years in prison. Am I really going to let it cost me my revenge? But all it takes is me picturing her swallowing her pride and taking crap from her father to remind me why I’m coming for her.

  I see her red shit-box car in the driveway, and I know she’s here. I pull in and commit myself to this ridiculous plan.

  As I walk up the creaky steps, I see the front door is propped open and I hear voices inside. I put my hand up to knock but then, as I hear Rebecca speaking, I pause. I can still bail on this. I don’t have to walk through this door. I tune out my own head and instead listen to the conversation taking place inside.

  “You made your point, Daddy. I ruined my life and yours. All that time I spent here raising your boys, getting them out of this hellhole town, all the meals I made for you, all the cooking and cleaning I did, what a traitorous little disappointment I am. But I have Adeline to think of, and we have nowhere to go. So stop this nonsense. I don’t want Adeline hearing you.”

  “It’s Christmas Eve, why don�
�t you give me a present: leave her here and be on your way. You’re just gonna wreck the girl anyhow. You and her idiot father.” The man’s voice is so gravely and mad that I almost can’t believe this is a father speaking to his daughter.

  “I’m not going to leave her, Daddy. She’s my daughter. I’ll never leave her, and especially not with you.”

  “Then just finish hauling your garbage in and fix me something to eat. Don’t try to make me care about you, it ain’t never gonna happen.”

  “Whatever.” Rebecca’s low voice shoots through my heart like an arrow. I can’t take it anymore, the world just shitting all over her. This girl was, at one point in my life, the only thing that kept me going—the person who cared for me in my darkest hour. She deserves better than this. Where does everyone get off pushing her around like some disobedient dog?

  I step inside the house and pass Adeline who is curled up on the couch. I wave to her playfully, trying not to scare the life out of the poor thing. I march into the kitchen where the voices are coming from.

  “Devin?” Rebecca stutters, covering her heart with her hands. “What are you—?” I cut off her words with a kiss, the kiss I was thinking about every minute since the last one. My hand caresses her cheek and trails down her jaw. I’m not pawing at her, or dominating her, just gently touching my lips to hers. I can kiss her all day, but I pull away reluctantly, turning my attention to the old man sitting at the kitchen table.

  “You are a miserly old son of a bitch, and you are never going to speak to her like that again.”

  “Boy,” he shouts, but as I step toward him, he quiets.

  “I’m no boy, and she’s no piece of garbage.” I put one arm over her shoulder and lead her out of the room. The shock on her face hasn’t lessened as the seconds tick by. I lean down to lift Adeline from the couch and I walk them both out of the house.