“Fuck.”
“Exactly,” he agreed. “My money is on the villainess. She’s somehow dropped a pin on you. I don’t know how, and maybe we’ll never know, but the threat level is real. And she’s making a move by bringing Mom into the picture. I’m willing to place a bet that there’s money on the table. Money for access. Got the picture?”
“Reed,” she growled in a voice full of anguish. “You have to figure out how to get around the NIGHTWIND defenses.” She clutched her hands over her chest. “I have a bad feeling. Things are in motion, aren’t they?”
He nodded.
“I don’t want this to end in a court-martial, so please don’t do anything to jeopardize your position, but isn’t there a way to do a reverse search?”
“I’m just waiting until Cy and Joanne bury her mom and have a moment to grieve. After the first of the year, I promise we’ll go ham.”
“Ham?”
“Yeah.” He sniggered. Hard as a motherfucker. H-a-m.”
She looked at Ari.
“She’s asleep.” Summer giggled. “Little minx. She hates tummy time but knows crying won’t work.”
“Looks like she found a creative work-around.”
They stared at the snoozing angel. She reached for Reed’s hand and held on tight.
“I swear on all that’s holy, Reed. He’s a good man. Please reserve judgment, okay?”
“I’d do anything for you, twerp. And anything for Arianne. That’s why I’m telling you all of this. Nothing important is ever simple. There’s more going on than we’re aware of. You keep the faith, sis, and I’ll do the rest.”
23
“Can we talk?” Arnie asked King from the doorway of the man’s office where he stopped out of politeness and waited to be invited in.
King put aside an iPad and looked Arnie up and down. The guy’s piercing gaze had the power to make a man’s balls shrivel. Ferocity was a Maddison family trait. One shared by King’s older sister, Dr. Antoinette Maddison. Like her brother, Toni did not suffer fools and gleefully ate idiots for breakfast.
“Well, I don’t know,” King told him in a deceptively friendly tone. “It depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether you’re wearing the socks my daughter ran all around the city looking for. Fucker,” King drawled. “Do you know how hard it was to find seasonal socks in your size? We ended up at Giants R Us.”
A belly laugh seized Arnie as a hilarious visual sprang front and center in his head. He wasn’t the only one Nicole had charmed. She also had her new daddy wrapped around her little finger. The idea of King Maddison stomping around New York City with a preschool princess in search of seasonally decorated large-sized men’s socks was priceless.
He casually stuck one foot out, tugged on his slacks to pull up the leg, and with a grin, he displayed a pair of snowman-themed socks. For good measure, he stuck his tongue out like a snotty kid, and said, “So there,”
King laughed, flipped him off, and invited him in. “Sit down and tell me why you’re here. I thought you were Connecticut bound.”
“I am,” Arnie replied. “Been coming and going since before Christmas. Quality time.” He laughed with air quotes. “Hanging with Dad, Stan, and Darnell Senior. The driving back and forth is killing me, but it’s been worth it.”
“And the rest of your dubiously illustrious clan?”
“Started arriving on Monday. The first session isn’t until Thursday night, so I’m holding out until then. That’s kind of what I wanted to talk with you about. I, um, need to take some personal time. More than just for the Connecticut trip.”
King studied him with such intensity Arnie felt sweat gather around his neck.
“How much more time?”
He answered honestly. “I don’t know.”
“Is this what I think it is?”
Arnie said nothing, but he did feel heat bloom on his face and knew he was blushing.
“You aren’t alone on the planet. Every single one of us is aware you’ve been going through something.”
He cringed. “Am I that obvious?”
“Arnie, Jesus Christ, man. You fucking declined an invitation from the White House. The goddamn White House. Believe me, dude, if Izzy could’ve figured out how to impersonate you, she would have gone in your place.”
“I hate politics.” He said it as though his opinion mattered.
“Everyone hates politics, but that doesn’t mean you turn down a front row seat to history. Someday, don’t you wanna tell your kids you ate dinner there?”
Rather than state the obvious, that he didn’t have kids, he didn’t say anything.
King chuckled. “I bet they have killer swag, but now we’ll never know what’s in the White House goody bag because you were in the fetal position sucking your thumb instead of kicking ass and taking names. That sort of shit does not go unnoticed.”
Arnie frowned. “Have you always been a dick with words, and I just didn’t notice?”
“Whatever, you big crybaby. Look, if you need time to fix what you fucked up, have at it. And while I’m feeling magnanimous, let me add this. You do know that all of NIGHTWIND’s considerable resources are at your disposal, right?”
He raised his eyes and looked directly at his boss. “What I do, what we do, requires a line in the dirt. This isn’t business. It’s personal. Bringing the full weight of NIGHTWIND into the mix is a huge leap over the line. This thing is messy enough without adding stalking and electronic invasion of privacy along for the ride.”
King nodded once. “What’s your play? Do you need a strategic sounding board? I don’t think that’d be crossing the line.”
“Maybe not,” Arnie agreed, “but I have to do this myself. Someone else can’t find the answer. It has to be me. Am I making sense?”
“Sure,” King murmured. “You’re talking about destiny. I get it.”
“There is one thing you can do for me.”
“Name it.”
“Don’t freak out when the DoD eventually figures out NIGHTWIND went snooping in their backyard.”
Expecting a stern lecture, Arnie ended up grinning when King snickered loudly. “And did NIGHTWIND find what NIGHTWIND went snooping for?”
“No,” he grumped. “Security cock block.”
Still chuckling, King smirked. “How rude.”
“I know, right?”
Arnie stood and ran his hands down his thighs. He straightened and sighed. “I want the record to show that the new year started messing with me right out of the gate. I don’t know why, but I’ve got more than the usual mixed feelings about the annual family get-together. Shit is about to go down. Senior is making decisions some of the others are not going to like. I predict drama on steroids. And because that’s not enough, well, you get the picture.”
Rising, King came around the desk and thumped Arnie on the back. “Look at it this way, man. You’ve claimed the heart of at least one princess. According to Nic, you are, and I quote, the coolest, and I’m pretty sure being the coolest means you can handle the universe throwing firecrackers at your feet.”
Arnie smirked. “I have no idea what that means, but thanks, man.”
The next morning, he pulled out his suitcases and began to pack. When he left the city and headed to Connecticut, it was only the beginning of what could be a long journey. Heaven only knew when he’d be back.
“Summer, I simply cannot thank you enough. We’ve done all we can to cover Frannie’s shifts, but it’s not enough.”
Papa Leo’s Sicilian Eatery attracted a decent crowd every night. The mom and pop restaurant had fantastic Yelp reviews and served great food. They also treated their employees well. When Bud suggested she give the restaurant a call, Summer never imagined it would be so easy to land a sweet substitute position of two shifts a week for a month.
“I’m happy to help,” she assured Selene Canton, restaurant manager and waitress wrangler. “Thank you for understanding about the paycheck issue
.”
Selene huffed and offered a partial smirk. “Pfft. You’d be surprised how many restaurant workers prefer to remain off the books. In this situation, it’s temporary, you don’t need training, and my scheduling ass is in a sling, so if cash under the table solves our dilemma, so be it.”
She liked the harried woman and approved of the women’s soccer team wall calendar in her cramped office. Anyone who supported girls in professional sports was okay in her book.
Eager to make a friend, Summer smiled. “Since I’ve already got the job and don’t have to sell myself, would now be the time to admit how much I love Italian food?”
“When I started working here, I didn’t know what gnocchi was much less cannoli.” Selene grinned. “An uncle and my eldest brother both have food trucks. Tacos and tamales. It was quite the learning curve for me coming from a different culinary background.”
“Food trucks? Can we be best friends?”
Selene laughed. “Brick and mortar restaurants for start-ups are too pricey nowadays. I see a real future for trucks with creative chefs.”
“Me too! I’m a big fan of the truck foodie craze.”
“We’re going to get along fine.”
Summer left the interview on a high. She would have taken the temp gig regardless of the numbers, but once Selene presented her with a spreadsheet showing the average earnings for Frannie’s shift, the decision was easy. One weeknight dinner shift and Sunday brunch would give her pocket cash and help stop the hemorrhaging in her finances.
Using the hands-free Bluetooth connector in her car, she got Lynda on the phone while leapfrogging through traffic.
“I got the job! Woot, woot!”
“That’s great, Summer. What a relief, huh?”
“You don’t even know. Hey listen, I’m on my way home and thought I’d stop at Gelson’s Market. Do you need anything? What’s Ari doing?”
Lynda laughed. “The baby is fine. She’s in her seat enjoying the sunflower mobile you found on Etsy. As for Gelson’s, we could use a couple of avocados. Nothing too green, though. Bud has no patience and won’t wait for them to ripen.”
Putting on the turn signal, she slipped into the left turn lane and waited for the arrow behind three other cars. In a playful voice, she cooed, “I’m getting ice cream, and since I’ll be in the freezer section, I’d be happy to get you a pint of Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond. I’ll even store it in my freezer so you have easy access without inviting trouble.”
“I like the way you think.” Lynda chuckled. “Häagen-Dazs it is!”
“Great! I’m pulling into the parking lot now. The store doesn’t look crowded, so hopefully, this’ll be quick. My boobs are complaining, so believe me, Imma hurry.”
Knowing the layout of the market like the back of her hand, Summer wheeled one of the smaller carts up and down the aisles to quickly gather the supplies she needed. Distracted by the urgency of nursing boobs, she eyed the lines at each checkout and headed for the one with the least number of customers.
Operating in her own little bubble, she almost picked the snacks and candy display clean when a sale tag justified the ridiculous amount of chocolate and munchies she tossed into the cart.
“I’ll trade you a giant Kit Kat for that jumbo bag of Twizzlers.”
The overly sycophantic tone and understated shade came from the mouth of none other than her neighbor Todd.
She mentally recoiled and shuddered. Maybe he’d leave her alone if she was dismissive.
“Hello, Todd,” she said in a frosty voice. “Sorry. No swapsies. The licorice is for a friend.”
His eyes momentarily flashed with hostility. Taken aback, she went into safety mode and visualized a circle of white protective light surrounding her physical being.
All signs pointed to caution. The subtle threat wasn’t her imagination. People were crazy these days, and as a woman, Summer knew to be super cautious about how she dealt with some people. Todd fell into the yellow alert category. He was smarmy and his cringeworthy manner felt natural. Acting like a douche was his normal setting. His barefaced hostility gave her cause for concern.
As an awkward silence worked on her composure, she inched forward until a sliver of room on the conveyor belt gave her a chance to unload her cart and appear busy. The whole time she stacked and organized her purchases for the cashier, she could feel Todd’s angry glare.
Why’s it gotta be this way? Toxic men were exhausting. The last thing she needed was a creepy neighbor with her in his sights.
The customer in front of her was almost through checking out when Todd bumped her cart. The attention-getting ploy couldn’t be ignored, so she rather reluctantly looked in his direction.
“Where’s the kid?” he asked in a less than friendly tone.
Turning to face him, Summer downshifted her facial expression into neutral, figuratively gunned the engine once or twice for good measure, and replied in a droll voice.
“At home, waiting for lunch.” Her eyes dropped to his cart. It took all her might not to openly sneer when she saw two twelve-packs of beer and a stack of Hot Pockets freezer boxes.
Challenging him was likely a mistake, but she did it anyway, knowing full well a couple of dozen beers was probably his nightly normal. “Having a party?”
Bracing herself for his expected defensive comeback, she belatedly realized the corner she was in.
“Party for two. Wanna come over and hang out? There’s room on the sofa.”
Mentally shuddering and wondering if he had a lockdown room for his victims, Summer squared her shoulders and pulled herself upright. This was one time when she needed every millimeter of her height to matter.
“We both know that’s never going to happen.” She said the words quietly but with notable precision and just the hint of a threat. This wasn’t a game, and she wasn’t a fool.
Aware of her purchases moving on the conveyor belt, she stood her ground nonetheless until she was sure her expression, words, and tone had the desired effect. When Todd shuffled his feet and looked away, she stood down.
Pussy.
Even though she pretended to ignore him while she checked out, Summer was actually monitoring Todd’s every move. After swiftly bagging and paying for her haul, she didn’t give him the satisfaction of a closing remark and ignored his presence on the planet by whirling away and pushing her little cart from the store.
The second she cleared the automatic doors, Summer all but ran, tossed the groceries into the back seat of her car, and got the hell out of there as fast as she could. Worried about a driveway confrontation, she hurried to beat Todd home. She just knew the guy was going to be a problem.
Unusually jacked up and unable to reel himself in, Arnie employed judicious surrender rather than chance ending up wrapped around a telephone pole. Recognizing his unfitness for operating a vehicle, he called a car service to haul his unwilling carcass from the city out to Connecticut for the annual Wanamaker week from hell.
Putting himself in the unfortunate position of being without a car was the price he paid to stay alive. The past twenty-four hours left him deeply unsettled in an extrasensory way. Something was in the air, but try as he might, none of the powerful means he had in his intuitive tool kit helped clarify the situation.
Mildly desperate, he called Dr. Ortoma. Hadley rocked Arnie’s world when he answered, saying, “I was wondering when you’d surface, Darnell.”
Their hour-long chat was one of the most serious conversations he’d ever had. Hadley was aware of the strange energy around Arnie and somehow also knew of his unsuccessful attempts to see what lurked in the shadows.
“What you face is not an audition,” said the man he trusted to steer him in the right direction. “This is a test of your worldview. It’s not unusual for clairsentient individuals. We’ve spoken about this before. Do you remember?”
Of course Arnie remembered. His training included psychological counseling and guidance. Someone in his position needed to
know what his triggers were. It took a considerable amount of digging to get there, but in the end, everything circled back to one thing. Losing his mother during their initial bonding time ripped his heart open. To go from all-encompassing love to soul-killing emptiness left a hole inside him. A Grand Canyon-sized hole. This experience determined his worldview. He had known great love only to lose it. The loss broke him and left an unfillable emptiness.
His entire life, until now, had been about this emptiness. It was easy to cram it full of jokes and questionable behavior. For a time, he lived on the edge and filled it with danger. He also filled it with detached, unemotional sex.
Not anymore. Not since he was blinded by a ray of sunshine.
As soon as Hadley said the words, Arnie knew. No, this wasn’t an audition. The test he faced was quite simply the most important moment of his existence. If he failed, the hole inside him would forever remain unfilled. But if he persevered and didn’t lose sight of what was important, he’d end up the luckiest son of a bitch to ever live. Summer filled the emptiness. She was the breath of life he’d yearned for from the moment his mother’s heart stopped. Summer healed his wounds—all of them—and she was everything.
Now he understood why he was blocked at every psychic turn. This wasn’t something he could see into or through. The only way to move forward was to be present in real time and let the situation play out.
“Fate, destiny, whatever you call it,” Hadley reminded him. “We all face it whether we realize it at the time or not. If this woman is the one, and you take up the challenge, remember who you are, Darnell. It’s really that simple. Remember who you are.”
Well, who he was at the moment was a disgruntled Wanamaker with a trunk full of suitcases and travel bags, speeding along in the back of a luxury limousine. It was too fucking early in the day to start drinking, but that didn’t stop him. Not when the limo service provided a convenient pitcher of Bloody Marys along with a brunch platter consisting of mini bagels with lox and cream cheese, a blueberry Danish, and some cut fruit.
Finding Summer (Nightwind Book 3) Page 44