Razor

by Heather Slade

  “You talk too much. Have you always been this way? Jesus, just shut up.”

  Gunner walked away, laughing, and Razor watched as he switched the place cards. Something in his gut told him that was going to come back to bite him in the ass.

  —:—

  “Hey, Daddy,” Ava said, walking up to her father and his latest wife.

  “You and your sister look so beautiful,” he said, tears in his eyes.

  Her father had always been emotional, even more so than her mother, and especially with his two girls.

  Sending Aine and her to boarding school was something she knew he regretted, but what option had there been? He traveled at least seventy-five percent of the time, while their mother spent a proportionately equal amount of time drunk off her ass.

  “Can you sit with us for a minute?”

  “Sure,” she said when her father pulled out the chair next to him for her instead of his wife, who looked like she’d just eaten a lemon.

  “I’ll just be here a minute,” Ava said, turning to the woman who couldn’t be as old as she and Aine were, and who didn’t even acknowledge that she’d been spoken too.

  “When are you coming home?” her father asked.

  “Aine and I were talking about staying in California for another week or two. We really haven’t spent much time here.”

  Her father nodded his head and moved his finger back and forth over his upper and lower lips like he did when he was deep in thought.

  “What about you? Are you heading home tomorrow?” she asked.

  “Tonight, actually,” he answered, kissing her forehead. “We’re taking the red-eye.”

  Her father motioned to the head table, where it looked like the other bridesmaids and groomsmen were taking their seats.

  “You should run along now,” he said.

  “Right.” Ava leaned down and kissed his cheek.

  “Save me a dance,” her father said as she walked away.

  Ava was one of the last to arrive at the table, other than Quinn and Mercer, thankfully, but was confused as to where she was supposed to sit. The only empty seat, other than the bride’s and groom’s, was between Mercer’s two brothers. She’d checked the table earlier, and Tabon’s place card had been next to hers. Instead, he was sitting on the opposite side, between Penelope and Tara. Evidently, he’d switched his seat.

  With a smile plastered on her face to mask her hurt, Ava struck up a conversation with Mercer’s two bell-pepper brothers and tried to forget Tabon Sharp existed.

  After twenty minutes of painfully awkward small talk, Ava decided they weren’t even in the pepper family; they were more like cauliflower or broccoli, both of which she detested equally.

  —:—

  Penelope leaned over and motioned for him to get closer. “You’re a dick,” she whispered.

  “Not the first time somebody’s called me that.”

  “Her ex used to pull shit like this, and even he wouldn’t have humiliated her at a wedding.”

  “Humiliated her? What the—”

  “You know what? Just shut up.”

  Razor didn’t bother looking in Tara’s direction to see if she was judging him equally harshly. Fortunately, Gunner was keeping her busy, talking about God knew what. He was grateful, though, especially knowing how much his friend detested small talk.

  Without leaning forward in an overly obvious way, Razor couldn’t see Ava, but what the hell was the big deal? Did it really matter where anyone sat?

  Shortly after they’d finished eating, the bride and groom made the rounds of tables, thanking their guests, and Razor stood to go talk to Ava.

  He sat back down when he saw her engaged in conversation with both of Mercer’s brothers. She was talking in an animated way and smiling, seemingly enjoying herself.

  “I thought you were switching with me, not Hudson,” Razor said when Tara and Penelope stood and walked in Ava’s direction.

  “Changed my mind. I wanted a better vantage point. Plus, I’m thinkin’ of havin’ a little party of my own with those two.”

  “Who two?”

  “The bridesmaids.”

  Razor rolled his eyes. It was hard to know whether Gunner was serious or not. If he was, Razor hoped the women were smart enough to shut him down.

  “She looked pretty upset that you switched seats. I think you hurt her feelings,” said Gunner.

  “Me? You’re the one that moved the place cards.”

  “Yeah, but you wanted me to.”

  Had he? Shit, even he wasn’t sure.

  “Want another drink?” Razor asked. He sure as hell needed one, and wasn’t interested in another person telling him he’d hurt Ava’s feelings, particularly his own best friend.

  “I’m good,” Gunner answered.

  “Looks like you’re stuck with me,” Penelope said a little while later when they watched Mercer’s youngest brother escort Ava to the dance floor, while his older brother danced with her twin.

  “Should I cut in?” Razor asked.

  Penelope laughed. “Tara already dislikes you. Ava’s pissed, which means Aine is too. I’m the only one of the tribe—other than Quinn—who’s still speaking to you. I wouldn’t advise alienating me too.”

  “Tara dislikes me?”

  “That was all you got out of what I said? How about, ‘how can I make it up to Ava?’”

  “Let’s dance,” he said, grasping her hand so they could join the rest of the wedding party.

  Dancing was something Razor knew how to do. Foxtrot, waltz, two-stepping, line-dancing, even tango—it didn’t matter what type of music played, he was in his element.

  He held Penelope in his arms, all the while, trying his hardest not to watch Mercer’s little brother put the moves on Ava.

  They looked comfortable. Smiling, chatting, and dammit if that didn’t make him miserable.

  “I heard that,” said Penelope.

  “What?”

  “You just growled.”

  Razor laughed out loud. “Did I really?”

  She nodded. “A girl knows when you aren’t paying the slightest bit of attention to her. She also knows when you are, even if you’re dancing with someone else.”

  “Sorry.” Razor focused his attention on the woman in his arms instead of the woman who wasn’t, at least until he saw Ava and Hudson leave the dance floor and his arm around her waist as he led her into the gardens.

  4

  Ava took a quick peek over her shoulder and saw Tabon’s gaze follow them as Hudson led her away.

  “It’s really beautiful here,” she heard him say.

  “It is. Did you know this is where Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh were married?”

  “Who?”

  “You know, Laurence…never mind.” There was no sense in repeating the names; it was obvious Hudson had no idea who she was talking about.

  “You sail, right?” he asked, walking up the steps to a gazebo with a view of the Pacific Ocean.

  She nodded. “Raced an F3 when I was in college.”

  “Cool.”

  “And you?”

  “Yeah. Raced all my life.”

  Good Lord, this was painful. Mercer’s brother was sweet, but neither brother was an engaging conversationalist. She turned to suggest they go back to the reception, when he pounced.

  Before she realized what was happening, he had his arm around her waist, holding her far too tightly, and his tongue was fighting its way into her mouth.

  “Hudson, no,” she said, trying to get away from him, but he wouldn’t relent. She put her hands on his chest and pushed as hard as he could, but he was rock solid.

  “You heard the lady say no, asshole.”

  “Hey, Raze, no harm,” Hudson said, backing away from her with his hands in the air.

  Ava watched as Tabon got in Hudson’s face and let him know what happens to men who don’t listen when a woman says she isn’t interested.

  “I’m not going to spoil your brother’s d
ay with this, but if I find out you’ve ever disrespected a woman—any woman—again, you’ll deal with the full force of K19.”

  Disrespected. That word resonated with Ava, and not in a good way. Hudson had forced himself on her, but Tabon had disrespected her too when he switched his seat. She walked down the steps, murmuring her thanks, but not at all interested in either of the apologies they were trying to offer.

  “Hey, Mom…I mean…Peggy,” she said, joining her mother and sister. “Where’s Paul?”

  “He went to get me another drink.”

  Great, just what her mother didn’t need. It was only one in the afternoon, and she already looked half in the bag.

  “Quinn and Mercer should be cutting the cake soon,” Ava said, not that she expected it to make any difference. Once her mother had one drink, she wouldn’t stop until she passed out. It was a train wreck she and Aine had witnessed too often when they were growing up.

  “Aine mentioned you were thinking of staying in California a few more days.”

  “We are.”

  “Oh,” her mother said, looking at her twin, “I thought it was just Ava.”

  “Both of us were talking about it.” She looked at her sister with scrunched eyes.

  “Aine, I had planned to invite you to join Paul and me at the shore.”

  “I never said it was just Ava. I always planned to stay too.”

  “Sorry. I must’ve misunderstood.”

  Their mother looked miffed, but Ava didn’t care. Neither of them had ever wanted to spend much time with her, not since they were little girls. If they had ever been important to her, she would have dealt with her alcoholism.

  —:—

  “What’s happenin’?” asked Gunner, handing Razor a beer.

  “Eighty-eight’s little brother had his hands all over Ava, so I set him straight.”

  “What did Ava say when you interrupted her romantic tryst?”

  “The first thing she said was no, and that wasn’t to me; it was to that little shit, Hudson. She didn’t say anything at all to me, because, evidently, we aren’t speaking.”

  “I was thinking about heading home tomorrow, but maybe I’ll stick around for a few days. This will be entertaining.”

  “Please go home,” Razor said, walking away.

  The woman he saw Ava and her sister talking to reminded him of that character, the one that was half human, half octopus, in the mermaid cartoon movie his nieces liked so much. The only difference was, the character looked like she weighed three hundred pounds, and this woman couldn’t tip the scales at much more than one hundred, and half her weight had to come from her chest.

  Her hair, which stood up on end like his did, was pure white. Her eyes were coated with bright blue and purple eye shadow; she wore flaming-red lipstick, and the dress she was wearing looked to be at least a size too small.

  He might’ve laughed, until he saw the mortified look on Ava’s face when he approached. Instead, he took an entirely different tack.

  “Who is this beautiful woman?” he asked, taking a seat next to Ava.

  “This is my mother, Peggy,” she answered. “Mom, this is Tabon.”

  “Most people call me Razor,” he said, smiling at Ava. “I like it when she calls me Tabon, though.”

  The woman held her hand out to him, palm down, as though she expected him to kiss the powdery-white back of it. Instead, he shook it and put his arm across the back of Ava’s chair.

  From the corner of his eye, someone else caught his attention. Razor looked over at a man and woman who had turned around and were walking the opposite way. There was something about the man that got Razor’s hackles up. He glanced over at Gunner, who appeared as affected as he was.

  In their line of business, trusting your instincts was everything. When his radar reacted that strongly, it wasn’t something he could ignore.

  “That was my dad,” Ava said. “And his latest wife.”

  Razor’s mind raced with the intel K19 had on Ava and her twin sister. Surname: McNamara. Father’s name: Conor. Recently married for the fourth time to Kelly. Maiden name: Fitz-something. Conor was in the import-export business, worth a cool hundred-mil at least. The new wife was barely out of high school.

  Ava’s mother had also remarried, to Paul Whitely. Fitting name, given the pallor of her skin.

  Nothing had ever turned up on either of the parents, certainly not at the level of his reaction.

  “Tabon? Is everything okay?” Ava asked.

  “Yeah, yeah. Everything’s fine. Just thought I saw a ghost for a minute.”

  “You look like it.”

  He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Be right back.”

  He and Gunner were both walking in the direction they saw the man and woman go.

  “Did you get a good look at that guy?” Razor asked.

  “Nah, I was hoping you did.”

  “Just caught the back of him, but damn, I got icicles.”

  “Me too. I’ll circle around and check him out.”

  “He’s Ava’s father, Conor McNamara,” Razor told him.

  “The hell he is,” he heard Gunner say as he walked away.

  While his teammate went to give the man another look, Razor went in search of Doc, whom he found seated with Merrigan.

  “There he is,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “Kade tells me you’ve been romancing one of the bridesmaids.”

  “You know not to believe everything you hear, Fatale.”

  He’d meant it as a joke, but he saw her eyes flicker for just a moment. Evidently, something in his words struck a nerve. It wasn’t the use of her code name, everyone referred to her as Fatale on a regular basis.

  Within a couple of seconds, though, she was back to her radiant self. Doc ran his hand lovingly over his wife’s protruding stomach.

  “Got a minute?” Razor asked right about the same time Gunner returned and joined them.

  “Tell you what, boys, I need to find the loo, so I’ll leave you to chat.” Merrigan kissed Doc’s cheek. “You can fill me in later,” she said as she walked away.

  Both he and Gunner told Doc about their reaction to seeing the twins’ father. While Razor couldn’t place him, and neither could Gunner, they both knew there was something sinister about the man.

  “He almost reminds me of somebody, but I can’t figure out who,” said Gunner.

  Razor felt the same way, but he was certain he’d never seen him before.

  One thing everyone knew about Razor Sharp was that he never, ever forgot a face. If he’d seen someone even for a split second and they’d been identified, he could pull that memory up twenty years later, and be able to report who the person was, where he’d initially seen them, and give a brief but concise background report. It was his superpower.

  Gunner nudged him. “Better get back to your girlfriend.”

  “Ava? I don’t know where she is,” Razor said, distracted by the man seated at a table across the lawn.

  Gunner motioned with his head. “She’s where you left her. Maybe you should rethink your career as a spy, dude.”

  —:—

  Ava had been watching Tabon long before his eyes found hers.

  He, Gunner, and Quinn’s dad had been talking about her father, and she wanted to know why, particularly when she saw the looks on their faces.

  “Had you and Dad ever met Quinn’s parents?” she asked her mother.

  “When would we have?”

  “I don’t know, maybe when they first brought her to school.”

  “Good Lord, Ava, that was years ago. I have no idea.”

  “Think, Mom. Do you remember anything about when Quinn arrived.”

  “I don’t. Why do you ask?”

  “I thought maybe Daddy knew Quinn’s father.”

  “I don’t think so. Not that he ever told me anything.”

  Ava recognized her mother’s tone. What she really meant was that her father never told her about all the other women he slept
with while they were still married.

  “Oh, look, Razor is coming back. That is one fine-looking man, Ava.” Her mothered fanned her face.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked, rejoining them at the table.

  Her mother pushed her shoulder and whispered, “Go with him.”

  Ava stood and walked away, hoping Tabon would get the hint that she didn’t feel like talking to him right now. First, she needed a glass of Champagne, or maybe two.

  “Hold up,” she heard him say, but she kept walking.

  There were several things that had bothered her so far today, not just that she sensed he and his friends were talking about her dad.

  Sure, she had a crazy, mad crush on him, but when he’d switched their seats at the head table, he’d hurt her feelings. Why did he want to talk to her now?

  Plus, as her mother said, she and Aine were planning to spend more time in California, particularly since Quinn and Mercer were planning to live here.

  If she became his wedding hookup, wouldn’t it be horribly awkward running into each other when he was with his friend and she was with hers?

  Ava had to admit she’d come on pretty strong the day she talked to him at the bar on Fire Island. She’d all but offered herself to him. At the time, her bravado had been fueled by a combination of alcohol and a broken heart.

  She wasn’t sure she actually would’ve delivered if he’d taken her up on it. That wasn’t ever the kind of girl she was. In fact, she hadn’t had sex with anyone before or after Dash.

  “Avarie, stop.”

  She did. Right in her tracks. She didn’t know why. There was just something about his voice. She didn’t move until he was by her side.

  “Come with me,” he said, pulling her along with him through an archway in the hedge that led to another grassy area. She tried to free her arm from his, but he wouldn’t let go.

  “What are you doing?” She gasped when he spun her into him and captured her body against his with his arm around her waist.

  “Shh,” he said, moving her beyond the bushes, to where no one could see them.