by Honor James
“Could work,” Michael said hesitantly. “But that still means we’d likely get some high falutin’ asshole whose third cousin was a pencil pusher on some military base.”
“Okay, okay, I see your point,” Cutter said. He frowned as he tried to work it out in his head. “So it needs fine tuning, but it’s a start.” And they definitely needed a starting point. “Put it to the little woman after you guys get back from the honeymoon, and see what the little genius can come up with. I’ll help the general with his trouble while you guys are off doing whatever it is you’re doing, and we’ll talk when you get back. Not like we can really get up and running until we have a business plan laid out. Which also means we need to set up our standards, practices, and how we walk and toe that line of the law.”
“There, finished,” the tailor said. The man sounded infinitely relieved. “Please take them off with care, Mr. Burnett. We do not want to do this again, now do we?”
Lifting his head, Cutter grinned as Michael undid the pants and let them fall straight down his legs. “No, we do not,” he said as he stepped free of the material.
“Hurry up, we need to get you home to the bride-to-be so she can have her way with you before the dinner,” Cutter called when Michael stalked off the platform. He got a single finger salute in answer. “Save that for the little woman.”
“She’ll do to you like she did to Yoshi if she hears you call her that,” Michael said.
“She loves me, man. Besides, I was paying attention to her dirty pool tactics with Yoshi. No way in hell would I let her do that to me. Besides, I like my nose where it is.” Gigi had cracked her head back against Yoshi’s nose a number of months prior.
It had all started on an island at Gigi’s cousin’s wedding. Someone had attempted to grab her there, to hold her for ransom over a military contract that Gigi’s father had final say over as the new secretary of defense. That attempt had failed when Gigi had gotten free, and Michael had then protected her. After her return to the States, and Michael’s return to active duty, things had escalated.
But true to Gigi form, she’d somehow gotten out of each situation through lots of luck, and a little skill. The escalation had continued to the point that the general had used some of his contacts to get Michael back stateside during his last days of service to personally watch over Gigi. Not exactly a hardship for either of them.
After receiving a video with a threat, Michael had decided that he and Gigi needed to get out of town. That’s when they’d headed for a cabin that Michael’s father owned out on a large tract of land by a lake. The general had once again asserted some of his influence and pulled in the rest of the team to act as backup. One thing led to another, and they’d had the final showdown with the bad guys.
Unfortunately, the cabin was destroyed. Exploded in the night, actually. Which was when Gigi had broken Yoshi’s nose. Poor guy had been following orders to contain her when she’d cracked her head into his schnoz just so she could get to Michael who, to her credit, she’d believed was in the midst of the firestorm. Yoshi was still extremely steamed about it. Not that anyone blamed him; no man wanted to admit a woman kicked his ass, especially a dainty little thing like Gigi Fletcher.
Getting to his feet, Cutter arranged with the shop to pick up Michael’s suit the following morning. Michael would be in dress uniform for the service, but for some of the photos, and the reception, he’d agreed to be in a regular suit. Clapping the man on the back, Cutter urged him out of the shop. “You ready for this?”
Michael smiled and nodded. “Been waiting for this all of my life, I think.”
He was a lucky, lucky man to have found the one. At least Cutter knew that Gigi wasn’t the sort to cut and run for any reason. Or cheat. Cutter hated cheaters. Been there, done that, and wouldn’t ever deal with another one again.
Chapter Two
Piper lifted the glass to her lips and took another sip. She shifted slightly in the chair and added to the conversation being held around her. She laughed at something that was said but didn’t feel it, the laughter, that was. All she could feel was fear. Intense, debilitating, and something that shook her to her very core. All around her the men and women were dancing and having fun, everyone but Piper.
She moved to the bar and lifted her glass. “Another ginger ale, please.” She turned her back to the bartender as he moved from person to person and watched the people in the area. She snorted. She bet that Gigi hated this party. It was very clear that this was all on her mother.
Taking the drink when the barback told her it was ready, she thanked him and took a sip. Seeing Gigi’s mother, Piper snorted and turned. “Holy shit.” The woman had a kid on her arm, was kissing and making out with him. The boy was maybe twenty. Jesus, the woman was getting them younger and younger.
She slid from her barstool and then moved to the corner, hiding in effect so that Gigi’s mother couldn’t see her. She watched people and noted where Gigi and her massive fiancé were.
She saw the general moving and talking to the man and Gigi and then a couple of men near them. She took another sip of her ginger ale and nearly choked when they all turned their gazes her way. Not good. Crapballs. The laser focus on their faces, the intensity. Oh, boy, she was in so much trouble.
“Uncle Fletch.” She got off of her stool and hugged Gigi. “Gigi. I thought we talked about this whole wedding thing. Remember there were supposed to be horse-drawn carriages and birds holding your train and stuff?”
Gigi laughed. “We were five and watching Cinderella. I think that we have both grown up.”
“Yeah, look at you and your believing in love again.” Piper smiled and looked to Michael. “You be good to her. If not, you will never see me coming.”
Gigi gave Piper another hug and pulled back. “He’s taught me to love. That’s huge. He wouldn’t hurt me, and you know it. Now come on. Daddy said that you needed a chat?”
Glaring at General Fletcher, Piper linked her arm with Gigi’s and nodded. “Yeah, I do. Where are we off to?” she asked the men in general.
“There’s a conference room that’s currently empty on the second floor,” the general said. “I’ve arranged for us to use the space for the next little while. They’re even putting some nonalcoholic drinks up there for us to partake of. So, up the escalators by the check-in desk, and then to the left.”
She was thankful that the general remembered that she didn’t drink. With Gigi at her side and the men loosely around them, they took the escalators up to the second floor. Once they were settled into the room, she frowned and watched as the men set up little tripods. “What are those?” she questioned.
“Sound dampeners,” the general said. “It’ll ensure that no one can overhear our discussion.” He moved to close and lock the doors. He then went around the room checking the other doors and pulling all the blinds on the windows.
“Okay.” She didn’t think that anyone would want to overhear what she had to say, right? Once the general nodded to her to begin, she started. She began to tell her story just as she had told the general. She watched as he passed out the notes that had been sent to her along with the images of the dead flowers and other gifts that had been left for her. Finally there was the image of the blade over her heart, her father’s Silver Star, and the hair that had been cut from her head. “So, that’s it,” she whispered and leaned back. She felt bereft. She felt as if her soul had been laid open from the discussion.
All the information had gone around the room, but now it was sitting in front of only one of the guys. The others were all leaning back in their chairs, watching, and waiting. He was a big guy, dirty blond hair and dark blue eyes that were focused on the letters and picture laid on the table.
“Well?” the general finally prompted.
The big guy looked up to the man and shrugged. “It’s not going to be easy. The guy seems careful, even with his overblown fixation. The date, though, speaks of a plan. Which means he’s watching her, cataloguing her mo
vements, and has this narrowed down to a specific point. To pick a date like that means either he knows exactly where she’s going to be, or has a way to get her where he wants her.”
“If he’s watching her, then throwing anyone new into the mix may spook him,” Michael said. “Which could lead to one of two things: he accelerates his plan, or he takes out the new addition to ensure success to the plan.”
“Yeah, but if he does that then the cops will get involved,” someone else said. “Damn glad it’s you taking this one, Cutter. I think I prefer targets I can see coming.”
Piper looked at the man who Gigi’s fiancé called Cutter. “So I take it that you will be my new barback or bouncer or something?” She didn’t really need help, but from what the general had told her, she would need to ensure that there was an opening so that it didn’t look too suspicious to bring him in. Thankfully one of the guys that worked for her was due an assload of vacation, and he was more than ready to take it since he had gotten engaged and found out he was going to be a dad soon as well.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. Blue eyes met hers for a moment before he went back to the items in front of him. He kept moving them around, shifting their positions, and then making small adjustments while he frowned. “Basically, whatever you need done I’ll be in that spot for however long it takes to find this guy. I’ll also be sitting on your home, with Yoshi, of course,” he said. He indicated another of the men who definitely had a bit of an Asian ancestry in his blood. “He’ll be our eyes when I’m sleeping, otherwise I’ll be on your six at all times. He’ll remain hidden unless needed, so the only person new in your life this guy may spot will be me.”
“Which means we need a cover story for Cutter,” the general said. “It has to be simple, and as realistic as possible. It will be up to you and him to figure that out,” he told Piper.
Piper looked at Blue Eyes and shrugged. “Well, I don’t know. How are you for boyfriend material?” She was teasing, but there was just something about his laughing blue eyes that had her saying whatever came to mind at the moment it came to mind, and there it was, she was asking the guy to be her boyfriend.
“That would work well,” Michael said. “You two will need to talk, get some background built up, but that shouldn’t be too hard. Plus he’s just out of the Marine Corps so that could be why he hasn’t been around until just recently. Which keeps a continuity to the back story.”
“He’s right,” General Fletcher said. “It will also explain the sudden appearance in your life, and why he’s at your house, Piper.”
“Only if the lady’s comfortable with it,” Cutter said. He was now watching her closely, not blinking as they stared at each other.
“I personally think that would be good, since this guy is getting into my home as well. Don’t worry, I don’t snore.” She assured him. “And I do have a spare room, too.” Although that would be a little ways from her bed, but she could live with that.
One of the men said something too soft for her to hear, but the others all snickered. Cutter shot a deadly glare up the table, likely at the culprit. “Don’t make me come over there and mess up your pretty frock, Jacobs.”
“And with the natives getting restless, we’ll leave you two to hash out some of the details,” the general declared. “Come along, children, let’s get back to the party and see what chaos the ex-wife has managed to create during our leave.”
Piper heard them all groan and grinned. “I think that you and I are getting the better end of the deal,” she told Blue Eyes. “I’m Piper, and you are Cutter? Right?” She wanted this to be an easy transition, wanted to be as little of a burden as possible.
He waited until they’d cleared the room before he nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Aeron Cutter, but everyone just calls me Cutter so feel free to do the same. Now I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable in any way with all of this, so if you’re not completely on board with the boyfriend thing, we can come up with something else that’s still plausible for why I’m hanging out at your place.”
“I’m good with it. The only other solution would be some long-lost cousin, and since you and I don’t really look a lot alike that wouldn’t fly. Are you okay with it, though, is the question.” She turned the table on him, time for him to either put up or shut up.
He stared a moment longer before his lips began to curl. And that’s when she was nailed by a full-on attack from his dimples. “Oh, yes, ma’am, more than okay with it. I should warn you, though, I’m a cuddler.”
Piper laughed. “That’s okay. I am, too.” She loved to be cuddled. It was something she hadn’t had in far too long. “It’s been a number of years since I’ve been cuddled, though, so if I smack you in the middle of the night don’t hold it against me.” Gigi might have been against love but Piper was the exact opposite. She was a firm believer in love. She loved love and wanted it. She craved it.
“I swear I won’t,” he said. With a wink, he turned serious again. “You’ve likely had these questions thrown at you a dozen different ways, but I have to ask. Any idea who this could be? Any clue when this started precisely, and maybe why?” he asked her. “I know you likely don’t know the answers to them, but think about it a second, and do your best.”
“I have done nothing but think of it since I got the star and photo. I called Uncle Fletcher because Daddy always told me that if I ever got into trouble I could always turn to him. So, I did just that.” She began to rub her temples and leaned back in her seat. Eyes closed, she shook her head. “I’ve not made any enemies. Even the people tossed from my bar come back the next day, apologetic. I serve everyone from bikers to politicians and everyone in between. There are no boundaries in the bar. Everyone is the same.” She looked to him and shrugged. “I just don’t know.”
“Okay, that’s okay. Walk me through the first note you got. Where were you, what time was it, the day, the weather, anything you noticed as soon as you had it in hand and had read it. Your first impressions, too. Nothing is too small, Piper.”
“It was tucked in the door of my office. I keep it locked,” she told him. “I was leaving for the day and opened the door and it fluttered down. I remember thinking that I smelled lilacs, but the booze was more than that scent so it was fleeting,” she said with a shrug. “Nothing about the first one screamed of anything other than just someone being a butthead.”
“So it was put there after you went into your office. How long were you in there?” he asked. Leaning forward, he had his elbows propped on the table and was making notes on a pad of paper she hadn’t noticed until he’d pulled it from under the stack of letters.
“I was doing payroll, so I was in there for at least three hours, maybe a little longer, but no less than that. I know it was at least three, though, because I was starving when I walked out. I like to eat,” she told him and motioned to her fuller body. “If I don’t eat every couple hours I get very hungry.”
“Good to know. Ensure boss has snacks on hand,” he muttered. He actually looked to be writing that down, too. “So three hours is plenty of time for someone to slip it there and get away without any notice. Now, did anyone come to your office during that time? Who all would know exactly what you were in there doing, and how long it usually takes? Was the bar closed, just opened, or was it later in the day during regular hours?” he asked, looking to her.
“Everyone who works for me knows that. They all know that I do it during that time because they all have to have their hours in to me beforehand, or they don’t get paid. The bar is typically open during that time as well. I don’t like to be there much without it open. I really don’t. It’s a massive bar and kind of creepy, truth be told.”
“Okay, which means anyone could have walked in off the street. I’m going to have to see this place,” he told her. “Preferably while it’s closed so we have it to ourselves. I’ll also want to pull in some of the team and have them help me wire it for video and our own sound. It’ll help me feel better about you wandering around w
hen I can’t keep an eye on you. Plus I’ll do some digging and see about getting the building plans as far back as possible, see if there’s anything that jumps out and screams at me in particular. Who knows, especially in this town, what might be lurking under the floorboards, right?”
She nodded and then spoke. “Good point. With everyone in this town and the things that have happened in life here.” She shrugged. “Okay. Well I’m closed on Sundays and Wednesdays. I know, odd days off, but a couple of my staff are actually pretty religious and like to be able to go to church. I need to have days closed, so therefore those are the days. It came down to a vote by the staff, and they all were good with it.”
“Odd, but then again most things are odd in this town.” He leaned back suddenly in his seat, tapping the pen he held onto the pad of paper. “You look wrung out. Why don’t we cut this short and pick it up tomorrow morning, if that works for you? We can have some coffee and go through the rest of this one at a time. Who knows, something might actually shake loose. On Sunday you can show me the bar, so I can get a feel for the place, and try and figure out what we can stick in to keep you all safe.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She stood and looked at the man, “Thank you. For doing this. For helping me. The cops refuse to help. I’ve contacted a couple of agencies, and they all tell me that I’m basically getting jacked around by an ex-lover or ex-employee. While the ex-boyfriend is off having his giggles, I don’t have any ex-employees. The people with me have been there from the start, so yeah.” She held her hand out. “Thank you.”
He stood, unfolding his frame until he was fully upright. “You’re a nervous babbler. Good to know,” he said. He collected everything, slid it into the folder the general had left, and came around the table to her. “Look, don’t worry. Cops have laws they have to abide by. The shitty thing is, by the time they can intervene it’s usually too late for the victim. I’m working off the reservation, in a manner of speaking, but that makes it easier for me because I can play it all a little loose and see what shakes free.” He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and after a minute handed it to her. “Throw your number in there if you would. I’ll shoot you a quick text so you have my number, and then we’ll get back to the party. When it’s done I’ll head over to your house with you and crash on your couch for tonight. Or that spare room, depends on which one’s closer to your room. Tomorrow we’ll start to figure this out, yeah?”
