Perfectly Toxic

by Kristine Mason

  Roderick leaned over him, then dropped cool liquid into Liam’s eyes. “Was this mercenary successful?”

  “How could he be successful if he isn’t real?” Liam asked, laying on the sarcasm. He didn’t care what the man did to him. At this point, he saw no reason to live. His life was a figment of his imagination. He made up his friends, his job. The only things that were real were his sister and this place. Kiera would be sad once he was gone, but death would be easier than living like this. Tortured by Madeline and Roderick, by his own sick mind.

  Roderick swapped the bottle and eyedropper for another syringe. “How often do you see your imaginary friends?”

  “How often do you watch Madeline hold another man’s dick?”

  Roderick’s face reddened.

  Knowing he’d hit a nerve, Liam pushed further. What did he have to lose? “I heard you two fight. Did you hit her? Did it feel good? I’m going to assume it didn’t, since you were crying like a little girl.”

  Roderick pressed the needle into Liam’s vein. “I can’t wait to kill you.”

  Liam grinned. “Better do it soon.”

  “Why is that?” he asked, setting the syringe aside, then picking up the roll of duct tape.

  He focused on Madeline’s recorded voice, listened to her talk about death, about murder. Liam met the man’s eyes and smiled. “Because there’s nothing scarier than a man with nothing to lose.”

  Chapter 13

  Cash and Mel’s House, Tallahassee, Florida

  Sunday, 8:22 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time

  “HOW ARE THINGS in the Glades?” Mel asked when Lola returned to the patio table after spending the past ten minutes on the phone with her fiancé, Ryan.

  “Fine,” Lola responded, and nodded toward the backyard where Cash had a fire going. “What are they playing?”

  She watched Cash toss a small beanbag. “Cornhole. It’s like horseshoes, but not really.”

  “Well, that explains it.”

  Mel grinned. “You have a propped board about thirty feet away from another propped board. The goal is to toss a beanbag into the center of the hole in the board.”

  Vlad let out a triumphant yell.

  “Cash must’ve missed the hole,” Mel added, and watched Harrison stoke the fire. “I hope Vlad and Harrison get over their issues.”

  “Me, too. I don’t like seeing them at each other the way they’ve been.”

  “I’m sure you’re worried about how it’ll affect ATL,” Mel said, edging toward a subject she knew she needed to address.

  “Since when do you hold anything back?” Lola asked with a grin. “Say what’s on your mind.”

  “Did you tell Ryan about me and Cash?”

  “No. Shane did.”

  Damn it. She knew Shane would go behind her back. Even when they’d been kids, he’d been a snitch.

  “Did you expect anything less?” Lola asked. “Shane’s upset, Ryan is, too.”

  Guilt balled in her stomach. “I explained my reasons. Did Shane tell Barney, too?”

  “No, they’re leaving that to you.”

  That was a conversation she dreaded. She loved Barney, and how he’d treated her like a daughter. She should have trusted her gut and told him the truth about her and Cash the moment she’d moved back to Everglades City. But she’d been so disappointed in herself, she hadn’t wanted to disappoint him, too.

  She’d been angry, mostly at Cash for going back into the repo business, but also because she’d allowed herself to be blindsided. After the accident, she’d busied herself taking care of Cash and the garage. She’d fallen into a comfortable pattern and hadn’t paid attention to the signs. Cash growing restless, taking long rides on the Harley when he knew she wouldn’t be around. Picking small fights with her, going out with Jude and the boys from the garage when he should’ve been taking it easy. Yeah, she should have known, she should have been prepared. Because she hadn’t been, the only thing she could think to do had been to hightail it back to the Glades.

  She’d been in a dark place then, where hope hadn’t existed, and bitterness and resentment had become her new best friends. She’d spent that time living in Daddy’s swamp, gigging, fishing, practicing knife throwing and assessing her life. When she’d left Daddy’s, she’d walked out with her head high. She hadn’t looked at the six years she’d been with Cash as a waste. He’d helped bring her around and to realize it was okay to depend on someone, that she didn’t have to go it alone. And she hadn’t and wouldn’t be alone in the Everglades. Not with Daddy, and her extended family—no matter that they weren’t blood. Without knowing what she’d been fighting internally, they’d kept her from going insane. Yeah, she owed Barney a beer, an apology and a big bear hug. Ryan, too.

  “How’d you end up in Tallahassee anyway?” Lola asked, pulling her from the past.

  Lola was a woman who could be trusted. Mel had been around her long enough to know this, and was confident anything she said to Lola would remain between them. If she were a different woman, she’d open up and tell her everything on her mind—her worries and her hopes for and about the future. That she was torn about leaving the Glades, Daddy, her friends…ATL.

  “It’s a long story,” she said.

  “In other words, you don’t want to tell me.” Disappointment flickered in Lola’s eyes before she masked it with a smile. She raised a hand. “No worries, I expected as much, but thought I’d give it a try.”

  “Give what a try?”

  “Being your friend.”

  Dang. Lola definitely knew how to work the guilt. Mel stared at the woman. She could use a friend and supposed Lola could, too. Since she’d known the woman, other than the ATL crew, Lola had socialized with no one.

  “I love my daddy,” she began, deciding she had nothing to lose at this point. “But the man checked out mentally more times than not, leaving me responsible for me, Bobby, the house.” She shrugged. “I had the Monahans, but both Shane and Ryan had gone into the service. You have no idea how mad I was that they volunteered for positions that’d had me so worried, there’d been nights I couldn’t sleep.”

  She picked up the beer she’d been nursing. “With them gone, I also realized I had a whole lot of nothing going on in the Glades. Working on cars with Daddy had been okay, but it wasn’t Bobby’s thing. And I wanted better for him. So I started looking for work, heard about a job in Tallahassee that paid well, and figured with the money I had saved, I’d take the job, rent an apartment for me and Bobby, and enroll him at the community college.” Although Bobby had showed no interest in going to college, she’d hoped that once he was away from the Glades, away from the lazy, pot-smoking boys he’d hung with, Bobby might have a shot at doing something good with his life. Find a nice job, a pretty wife, have a kid or two. “So we got settled in, things went fine for a few months, then I was let go from my job when the company was sold off and the offices closed.”

  “Ouch,” Lola said. “What’d you do?”

  “I picked up a serving job at a restaurant. But I wasn’t able to make enough money to take care of me and Bobby, and pay for the community college.” That had been about the time she’d met Deuce and had started stealing cars—a little something Lola did not need to know about. The money had been great, but the risk, the worry that she’d get caught and go to prison had kept her in a constant state of fear. She’d had more anxiety attacks than she could count, until the day she’d met Cash. Aside from being the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on, he’d had his life together. He had a business, goals, a nice condo and the sweetest dog. He’d also treated her right—with respect, with consideration. He’d treated her like a lady.

  “Then I met Cash, and started working for him a few days later. The pay was good, not as good as the job I’d lost, so I kept the waitressing gig for a while. Six months later, he asked me to move in with him, and even offered up the guest room for Bobby.” She stared out into the yard and watched him. She smiled. “I was so crazy in love with
him, I jumped at the offer. Bobby wasn’t as cool with the idea, and I couldn’t understand why.” Her smile faded. “Then I found out he’d quit school and was spending his days hanging out with losers with no ambition. He would work for Cash on occasion, crash for a few months at one buddy’s place, then move on to another.” She sipped the beer and shrugged. “Once in a while he’d spend a week or two with me and Cash, but then he’d be gone again.” Leaving her guilty and thinking the way he’d turned out had been her fault.

  “Ryan mentioned that Bobby always seemed kind of lost. You do know that none of what’s happened to him is your fault?”

  “I know,” she lied. Cash had been right all along. She was an enabler and had allowed Bobby to take advantage of her love and her money. Knowing Bobby the way she did, she doubted he even realized how he’d been treating her. He’d spent his childhood with her bailing him out of trouble and taking care of him, why would he think any different as an adult? “Sorry, I know I’m talking your ear off and it’s nothing exciting.”

  “Do I look bored?” Lola asked. “Keep going. So, you started working for Cash, then you two moved in together.”

  She grinned. “They were good times. I took on more duties at the garage, made more money, and quit the restaurant. Me and Cash bought this house a year later.” Almost all of the down payment had been his money, and he’d insisted that she keep hers in the bank. But they were partners, and she’d been proud to be able to contribute even a few thousand dollars to their home. Those really had been good times. She missed them, but wouldn’t go back now. She’d learned all she could about herself during those years, then learned more about herself when she’d left him. Funny, she hadn’t realized there was still much more to learn.

  These past two days had her reassessing the future. While scooping ice cream in the Everglades, she would daydream about the day that Cash would come to his senses and quit the repo business so she could finally go home to him. Now those daydreams were becoming a reality. She still loved Cash and still wanted to come home. But she was scared. She worried that she’d eventually have to run back to the Glades, once again embarrassed that she couldn’t make her marriage work.

  You can’t change the stripes of a tiger.

  Lola cleared her throat. “You know, the key to a good conversation is to talk out loud.”

  Mel chuckled when she realized she’d gone in her head. “I’m used to dealing with problems on my own. Anyway, about the ice cream shop…I’ll keep working until you find someone to replace me.”

  “Back to business?” Lola reach for her beer. “I’m sure Harrison can fill in until we find someone. There’s no need for you to hold up your move for that.”

  “Yeah, but what if he needs to go on assignment?”

  “Vlad can fill in, or I’ll do it.”

  “We all know Vlad doesn’t do well with customers. Plus, if you’re in the ice cream shop, who’s going to cover the souvenir store and handle booking tours?”

  Lola leaned forward. “Who’s going to hide the bodies?” she asked, her tone quiet, thoughtful. “You haven’t asked about who’s going to take over your position with ATL.”

  Mel looked away. “Getting rid of those bodies and chopping the car and boat were the only major things I’ve done for ATL. Otherwise, I’m just a warm body. I’m sure you’ll eventually find someone to replace me.”

  “Wow.” Lola sank back in the patio chair. “It must be exhausting being you.”

  She looked away and watched as Vlad tossed a beanbag and missed the hole. “I don’t know if I want to talk anymore.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. You have no problem adding to the conversation when we’re brainstorming a case, or getting along with customers at the boat shop, or enjoying a burger and a beer if we’re all hanging out at Polina’s Paradise. Try to get a little personal, and you shut down. Like now. We were doing just fine, then you just stopped talking.”

  Lola was describing Cash, not her. At least the old Cash. “Then I guess now you know better than to ask personal questions,” Mel said, still not meeting Lola’s gaze.

  “I’m going to ask one anyway: how could you drop everything you have in Everglades City?”

  “Finish the question.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Talking about saying what’s on your mind,” Mel said with a sigh, and finally looked at her boss. “Why don’t I finish the question for you? How could I drop everything I have in Everglades City for a man?”

  “I got the gist of it from the little you told me. You met him, fell crazy in love, bought a house. From there, it’s none of my business.”

  “You’re right, it’s not.” She watched as Cash tilted his head back and took a drink from his beer. He picked up a beanbag, then grinning and saying something to Vlad, tossed it. Bull’s eye. “How long have you and Ryan been together?” she asked, her focus still on Cash. She’d wanted to be back with him for so long, she was waiting for the fantasy to burst and return her to the swamp.

  “You know it’s only been ten months.”

  “I do.” She faced Lola. “So, if Ian shut down ATL and told you he’d like you in Chicago working for his CORE team, what would you do?”

  “My home is with Ryan.”

  “After only ten months? I suppose working together to hunt and kill a man would definitely bring a couple close. I’ve known Cash for over eight years, but we never killed anyone. Maybe that’s what’s been missing from our relationship.”

  Lola smiled. “I see what you’re doing.”

  “Good, then you get that me and Cash have history. It’s hard for me to walk away from that.”

  “My concern for you is that history will repeat itself.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning nothing will change, you’ll be unhappy again and forced to leave. And that worries me.”

  This was why she’d never been too bent out of shape about not having any female friends. They wanted to dive right into all the dark and heavy emotional stuff. “Well, until you’re in the situation, I think you should save your advice and worry. You say your home is with Ryan, but after only ten months, I’m not sure I buy it. You love running ATL.”

  “It’s a job. Yes, I love doing it, but I don’t see myself chasing bad guys forever. Ryan and I want to expand the airboat business, partner up with Shane more than we have. We want a family.”

  She hadn’t thought about Lola’s wants outside of successfully closing a case. “I want a family, too. With Cash.”

  “A man you’ve been separated from during two out of the three years you’ve been married.” Lola held up a hand. “I’m playing devil’s advocate. I want you to be happy. I also want you to know we’re here for you if you need us.”

  “Devil’s advocate or not, you have me and Cash doomed before we get anything started again.”

  “I’m sorry, I really don’t mean to—”

  “Cash is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Every tear I cried over him was worth the good times, and what he’s given me. And I’m not talking clothes or jewelry. He wanted to give me those things, that’s for sure. He always wanted to buy me something nice. So I told him, ‘Baby, I’m fine hittin’ the discount racks and wearin’ fake jewelry’. I wanted us to have a home. A nice yard for our dog. A place we could raise a family. He gave me more than that.” She looked across the yard again, and stared at her husband. “Cash is strong. He can be mean when he wants to, and he doesn’t back down from a fight. He will work his butt off and do whatever it takes to make sure there’s money to pay the bills. He has a big heart, and a temper to match. He gave me hope when I was desperate, and the kind of love I’d never had before. He survived war, survived a beating that should have him wheeling around in a chair alongside Dolly.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “There had to be a reason he’d survived all that, don’t you think?”

  Lola rested her hand over hers. “Harrison told me why you left him. You’re stronger than I would hav
e been.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short. I’ve seen you in action.” She rested her hand over Lola’s sandwiching it in place. “Look, I have to believe he’ll keep his promise and stay out of the repo business. From the moment I met Cash, I knew he was the man for me.”

  “Listening to you describe Cash, you could have been describing yourself. Knowing Cash is—was—in the repo business, it doesn’t surprise me why you’d joined ATL. You like excitement.”

  “I do, but that’s not the reason.”

  “Why’d you join?”

  “This is going to sound really bad, but I did it for the money. Ian gave me ten grand to hide the bodies, another five for chopping the car and boat—which I made another fifteen grand on when I sold the parts. I needed the money. No offense, but being the ice cream lady isn’t the most lucrative job.”

  “Didn’t Cash send you money?”

  “I got a check twice a month for my percentage of the business, but I gave some to Bobby to keep him from being homeless.” She rolled her eyes. “Lotta good that did. Some of the money went toward helping Daddy fix up his house. I was tired of him having to deal with the leaky roof. I split the rest between my savings account and this family I adopted.”

  “You adopted a family. Of what? Raccoons?”

  Mel chuckled. She gave Lola’s hand a pat before leaning back in her chair. “No, a human family of five. About seven years ago, I got this idea in me that I needed to take up running. So I took Dolly to the park, ran for about fifteen minutes before deciding that if I was gonna run, someone had better be chasing me,” she said with a grin. “Now I stick to Pilates. Anyway, I stopped at a picnic bench to catch my breath. A couple of minutes went by and I heard this little boy yelling to his mommy that Dolly was just like his daddy. The boy came running over. Meanwhile, the mom looked like a dang zombie. Too skinny, dark circles under eyes, tired smile. She was pushing a double stroller, one side with a toddler in it, the other with a tiny baby.” She glanced to where Dolly lay on her bed in the corner of the patio. “While the boy, his name is Dustin, was loving Dolly, I got to talking to the mom, Diana. She explained that her husband came home two months ago from Iraq. He’d been walking along a roadside in Baghdad looking for IEDs, unfortunately one found him and he lost both of his legs. Just like Dolly.”