by Diane Bator
He shrugged. “That depended on a lot of things, particularly, if Angel wanted something from her.”
Leo felt sick to his stomach. “Were you here the night Gage and Brady became a sideshow in front of Jakova?”
“Angel told you about that?” Marty’s eyebrows rose then he snorted. “Of course she did. Gage had promised Jakova he wouldn’t party with his models anymore then in he strolls with Brady who’s stoned out of his head and can’t keep his hands off Gage’s zipper. Jakova lost her mind and tried to gouge Brady’s eyes out, then punched Gage in the mouth.”
Marty got up and opened a file cabinet in the lower half of the bookshelves. He handed Leo a sheet of yellow paper. “I called the cops who kicked the lot of them out. Jakova, Gage, Brady, as well as the guys they came in with. I’ll make you a copy of the police report.”
Leo examined the police report then turned to the photograph of Marty and Brady that hung on the wall. Next to it hung another one of Marty with Christina and Brady. All three toasted the camera with champagne flutes.
“Nice guy that I am, I threw them a wedding reception here at the bar. I was ready to kill Brady for what he did.” Marty stood next to him. “Not so much because he’d dumped me, but mostly because he duped Christina. She deserves far better than what he dishes out.”
Leo was starting to agree. “Have you seen Brady at all since he went to jail?”
“Nope, and I don’t plan to either. As far as I’m concerned, Brady Ryan will get what he deserves in the end.” He clapped a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “I wish you luck, Leo Blue, you’ll need it.” He hesitated. “If you see her again, tell her to stay away from this place. I love her so much I never want to see her again, if you know what I mean.”
“I do, and I’ll tell her.” Leo shook Marty’s hand. “Thanks for your help.”
“I’m just sorry I can’t help you any more than that.” Marty grasped Leo’s hand in both of his. “Take care of her, Leo. She needs a hero whether she agrees or not.”
At the bottom of the stairs, Leo ran into Jakova who pressed against him to slip a piece of paper into his hand. Her lips brushed his ear. “I get off at midnight. Call me.”
He nodded, then pushed through the crowd, amazed by the number of women in the bar, not all of them waitresses or dancers.
Angel grabbed his hand before he reached the door and handed him a folded napkin. “Give this to Rose when you see her and tell her to call me. I’m really glad she got out of here. She deserves a lot better.”
Leo pulled her aside, positive Angel said Christina already had her number. “You know, it’s not too late for you either.”
“I know. Next semester, I make a clean start.” Angel smiled. “My uncle owns two Starbucks in Buffalo. The money’s not as good, but I’ll be able to sleep at night.”
“No more strip clubs?” He raised one eyebrow. A small part of him doubted her, but he forced a smile. “I’ll tell her to call you.”
“Thanks.” Angel kissed his cheek then mingled with the crowd.
Leo wandered outside and savored the cold, fresh air, unable to fathom how women like Angel and Christina got sucked into working in such an environment to begin with. Brady must have made a great argument to lure Christina into the darkness and convince her things were so bad she needed to strip for money.
He sat in his car and pulled out his cell phone. “Clancy. Sorry, I know it’s late, but I need Christina’s phone number.”
“You woke me up in the middle of the night for that?” Clancy groaned. “I already gave it to you. Why do you need her number now?”
Leo started his car and held a hand over the heat vent. “I have a few questions for her and I don’t have my list handy.”
Clancy snorted. “I’d say go pound on her door and ask her, but she’s probably in bed. Where are you anyway?”
“Newville.” Leo blew on his fingers and rubbed his hands together as the car warmed.
“What on earth are you doing there?” Clancy hesitated, then rattled off a phone number. “Please tell me you found who and what she’s hiding.”
“Yeah.” Leo laughed. Sort of. “I’ll give you a full report when I get back.”
“No hints?”
“Nothing you could sleep with. I gotta go. Keep an eye on her, will you?” He hung up without explanation, then dialed Christina’s number.
When she answered, her voice was deep and gravelly. So sexy with sleep, he shuddered. “Clancy, if this is you again, you’re a dead man. I’ve got to get up for work in a few hours.”
“Hey, babe.”
Silence for a half dozen heartbeats. “Leo? What do you want?”
He wanted to ask if she was crazy. Why she went to work for Marty and what her attraction was to Brady Ryan, but the words stuck in his throat. “I missed you.”
“You’re across the street.” She groaned. “If you look out your window, you can see me giving you the finger. I’ll even turn on the light if that helps.”
“Sorry, I can’t see you from here.” Leo grinned. “I’m in Newville.”
There was a tense silence before she asked, “Why?”
“Detective business. I’ll be back soon.” He pictured her lying in bed, hair spread around her face like a halo. She’d probably seen and done too many things to be an angel, which made her a lot like Leo in too many ways. “I’m having cookie withdrawals.”
“And you miss me.”
“Of course, I do. You smell like sugar cookies and gingerbread.” Warm, homey and delicious.
Christina laughed. “Is that why you like me? I smell like food?”
The image of her in khakis and a faded tank top flashed into his mind again, so real he could almost touch her. “Not totally. I seem to recall a few other things I like about you.”
“I’d ask you what you like the most, but I need to get some sleep tonight.” She chuckled.
“Same here.” If Leo lay in bed and dwelled on what he liked about her most, there was no way he’d get to sleep before dawn. He needed to go to his apartment and take a long hot shower to scrub off the desperation of the nightclub. “Get some sleep, baby girl. I’ll see you soon.”
“Oh, Brady called earlier. He says you shouldn’t be so nosy.” She paused. “When did you see him and what is it you’re being so nosy about?”
“I’ll tell you when I see you.” It would be hard enough to face her when he got back to Packham.
Chapter 12
A parrot with a small Santa hat, a pink flamingo, a penguin, and a white wicker duck perched inside a basket on the counter near the cash register. Christina picked up the flamingo and laughed at the small wreath someone had glued around its neck, exactly the kind of thing Clancy would do. “On the fourth day of Christmas, someone gave to me four plastic birds. Cute. Tacky, but cute.”
The rest of the day was a blur of flour, shortening, and distracted customers. Clancy popped in for his customary lunch, but his words got lost in the murmur of the crowd gathered in front of the counter. He motioned toward the back room and disappeared.
By the time the crowd thinned and Christina wandered into the back room, Clancy leaned over a pot on the stove and inhaled a long, lingering breath. “This smells amazing.”
“Vegetarian chili.” The scent of chili mingled with the aroma of fresh bread and cookies. She’d ignored the smells all morning while the ingredients simmered, but now her stomach growled. Even though there were so many other things she needed to do, the food smelled divine.
He raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t know you ate vegetarians.”
She groaned. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know.”
“Like about Brady? You could have told me you were married, you know. I would’ve made an effort to be happy for you. Do you have kids too?” Clancy paused and bowed his head over the chili pot again. “It sure smells good.”
“No kids.” Christina returned to the batch of cookies she’d cut before the onslaught of customers. The odds of
her ever having a family bordered between not a chance and never. She shrugged. “Have a taste. If it doesn’t kill you within ten minutes, it’s probably safe to eat.”
“Gee, thanks.” He scowled, then grabbed a small bowl from the cupboard and slapped in a healthy spoonful of chili. He slid onto a stool, grabbing a spoon and a warm bun. “Has Leo tried your chili yet?”
Snowflake cookie cutter gripped firmly in hand, she hovered over the rolled cookie dough. “I haven’t seen him all day.”
“Really?” Clancy ate a large mouthful of chili. His forehead crinkled and his eyebrows met. “That’s weird. I thought maybe you and he had a thing going on.”
“I’m married.”
He snorted. “How convenient. Don’t you and Brady have one of those open marriages? No strings attached. Isn’t that why he was with Gage?”
Wasn’t that why she’d been with Gage? The question hung unspoken as Christina slammed the cutter into the dough. “Don’t you have anything better to do than harass me?”
“Besides eat your chili? Nope.” He glanced up from shoveling chili into his mouth. “Oh, yeah. I forgot. Leo’s in Newville.”
Prying into her life, last she heard. Christina frowned. Until now she’d managed to convince herself their late night conversation was all a dream. She pounded out three more cookies before her brother clutched his bowl close.
Clancy averted his gaze. “Gotta go. I’ll bring the bowl back later.”
“Make sure you at least wash it first.” When the door closed, she started on the cookies, torn between being glad Leo was gone and wondering if he was okay. Not that his condition mattered, they weren’t lovers or anything. A burst of heat shot through her and she stared at the dough. If Leo meant nothing to her, why couldn’t she think about him without having hot flashes?
At five minutes after five, Christina threw her apron on the back counter and collapsed onto a stool. “That’s it. I need help or I quit.”
Clancy strolled through the back door as if on cue and dropped his dirty bowl in the sink. “It’s a good thing tomorrow’s Sunday then.”
She sighed and rolled her head from side to side. “Don’t you have something better to do? I thought you had a waiting list.”
“I do.” He surveyed the mess throughout the bakery. “My last customer had the flu so I’m off early.”
“Good, then you can help me clean up this mess.”
“The bakery or your life?” Clancy ducked when she threw her apron at his head. “I’m kidding. I’ll help, but only if you join me for dinner.”
She raised one eyebrow. “What’s the occasion?”
He snorted, placing his hands on both hips. “You act like I never ask you to go anywhere with me. I’m offended by your insinuation.”
“Fine. Dinner.” Christina rolled her eyes and moved her dirty bowls into the sink to start cleaning the countertop. “First, I have to clean up. I don’t want any critters deciding this place is perfect for a new home.”
“What do you want me to do?” He dropped his jacket on a stool.
She froze, certain she was daydreaming. Had her brother had actually offered his services? “You’ve never helped me before.”
Clancy shrugged. “You’ve never asked before.”
He was right. She’d never asked anyone for help, least of all Clancy. She hesitated to do so now. “Okay. You can start with taking apart the mixer. Please.”
Despite his cell phone buzzing no less than three times, Clancy was meticulous and cleaned the mixer until the beaters sparkled. In the meantime, Christina gave everything a fast, basic cleaning. She planned to do a more thorough job the next day since she normally didn’t have anything better to do on Sundays anyway.
Finally, Clancy leaned against the counter. “Can we call it a night? I need chicken wings and beer.”
“Can I shower first?” She glanced around, glad the kitchen no longer looked like a tornado had struck.
“Nope, I’m hungry.” Clancy locked the back door and tossed her the sweater she’d hung on the thick hook hours ago. “Let’s go.”
Halfway to the front door, she paused. “Oh, I guess I better unplug the tree.”
“Where’d that thing come from, anyway?” He followed her across the room and leaned over to study the ornaments. His voice softened. “This reminds me of Mom, actually. She would’ve loved all the decorations.”
Christina narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure you didn’t do this?”
“Me? Nah.” He moved one of the birds to a higher branch. “What makes you think I’d do something this cool? It was all I could do to help decorate the store with those green things. I never even put up a tree at the house.”
“You didn’t?” She hadn’t noticed. The memories in the bakery were already more than she could handle some days. “Why not?”
Clancy’s gaze remained on the tree as he frowned. “Dad’s not home. You haven’t been there since Mom died. What’s the point?”
“Good point.” Christina unplugged the tree lights and took her brother’s arm. “Let’s go eat and mope into our drinks together.”
Chapter 13
Leo was late. Clancy had texted hours ago to ask if they could meet at The Tipsy Duck to talk about everything Leo had found about Christina. He had no idea how he’d tell Clancy his sister was a stripper married to a gay model. Christina’s life was nothing anyone from a small town would ever expect. He should have just gone straight to the bloody airport and mailed Clancy a sketchy report on his way to the plane.
Served him right for being a standup guy.
The street was quiet by the time he pulled into the apartment building parking lot. He raced up the stairs to his apartment and threw his duffle bag on the floor. Nothing had changed. The place was still quiet and lonely with all the dust right where he’d left it, only now he saw himself through new eyes. His new residence reminded him of Brady and Christina’s apartment, bare and devoid of personality.
Leo sauntered down the front stairs and onto the sidewalk. A few people window shopped and made their way to local restaurants. None paid him any attention, but he didn’t care. He had other things on his mind than impressing anyone.
Although the pub was crowded, he spotted Clancy alone at a table for four and wove through the tables with a gut feeling something was wrong. Clancy glanced around as though searching for someone. He drummed his fingers on the table and tapped his foot, but did neither motion in a steady rhythm.
Leo sauntered over to Clancy’s table and grinned. “Hey. You order me a beer?”
Clancy raised his eyebrows. “Not yet. You don’t drink.”
“After the past couple of days, I thought I might start.” He sat across the table, before he noticed the glass of cola. “Who else is here? I thought this was just between the two of us.”
“When I didn’t hear from you all day, I invited Chrissie for dinner.” Clancy glanced toward the washrooms. “She won’t last long, she’s a cheap drunk. We can talk when she leaves.”
Leo ordered a beer and sat back. “You really think you can wait that long? Your little sister has led an interesting life, Bro.”
Clancy sat back and frowned. “Is that good or bad?”
The waitress slid a large order of chicken wings and a platter of nachos between them.
“I’ll get rid of her so we can talk.” Clancy reached for a nacho. “But if you think she’ll leave before dinner, you’ve got another thing coming. That girl’s got a monster appetite some days. This is our second order of nachos.”
“Wow. Chicken wings, more nachos, and a turkey. Quite the banquet tonight.” Christina met Leo’s gaze as she slid into the seat beside Clancy. She reached for the cola. “I thought you’d left the country.”
“No, you hoped I’d left the country.” Leo grinned. “There is a difference. I had to come back, I needed more sugar cookies. I’m starting to have withdrawals.”
“The bakery’s closed.” A smug smile warmed her face. “You’ll
have to wait till Monday.”
Clancy ignored them both and grabbed a chicken wing. “Hope you both like hot wings.”
“Not really.” Christina sipped her drink then reached for a nacho. “How’d you know we were here? Did Clancy invite you?”
“As a matter of fact, he did,” Leo said. “He and I have business to discuss.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I already know about your tattoo.”
Clancy’s face reddened. How long did he plan to keep the fact Leo was investigating her a secret? They made small talk around the food until Clancy headed to the bar for another round of drinks. Not even their waitress could keep up with his thirst tonight.
Christina bowed her head, even more sullen than before.
Leo reached for her hand. “What’s bothering you?”
“Nothing.” She shook him off. “Why?”
“You just seem off.” Actually, both she and Clancy did. Leo peeled the label off his beer bottle. “I thought maybe you were mad I left town without telling you.”
Her gaze darted around the room then skipped over Leo entirely like she didn’t want him to be part of the pub’s scenery. “Why’d you go to Newville?”
He smiled. “I have an office and an apartment there. Once in a while I put in an appearance to make sure everything’s okay.”
Her face flushed. “Oh.”
Leo kept on the lookout for Clancy. “Have you gone back to see any of your friends since your mom’s funeral?”
“No.” Christina’s face hardened. “I don’t have any reason to go back.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What about Brady or Angel?”
“Brady’s an idiot.” She finished the last of her drink. “He got himself into prison, he can damn well get himself out. Angel...we were never really friends.”
Clancy set fresh drinks on the table front of them. “So, what are we talking about? Global warming? Peace on earth? Elves?”
“Elves?” Christina frowned.
“What’s wrong with elves?” Clancy shrugged. “Isn’t that how you got your Christmas tree?”
