by Dale Mayer
“Well, maybe we need to check into her life a little more too,” Galen said, his phone out again.
“Look at the three of you,” Joy said, laughing. “You’re all sitting here on your phones.”
“If we were anybody else,” Kai said, “I’d give them heck for phones at the table. But in this instance—”
“Exactly,” Joy said. “I still can’t see how any of this blackmail operation has to do with my apartment being trashed.”
“Well,” Johan said, “I can’t either, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t. Something has somebody pissed off at you.”
She sank back as she thought about it and nodded. “It just sucks though. It seems like we have all these puzzle pieces, and none of them fit together.”
“They will,” Johan said with quiet confidence. “They definitely will.”
*
The guys came up with all kinds of information, but Phyllis was still a bit of a blank slate. She owned a small Pontiac that was seven years old. She didn’t appear to have any property in her name, nor did she exhibit any outward signs of wealth. The blackmail idea, although it was a good thought, just didn’t seem to be panning out in her case.
Johan, on the other hand, was searching for the addresses on the two people ID’d among the four being blackmailed. “You know that we’ll need to contact them?”
“You mean, the cops will,” Tyson said.
“Right, we’re back in the USA, buddy,” Galen said, chuckling, knowing it would drive Johan crazy.
“It sure cramps our style,” Johan said good-naturedly.
“Well, the cops already have the information, according to Levi at least,” Galen said. “So they’ll be following up on the blackmail.”
“That should be interesting,” Johan said. “I guess we can wait for the cops and then move in for the jugular.”
“You really think that the blackmailed board members had something to do with Barlow’s murder?” Joy asked from across the table.
Johan had tried to sit beside her, but somehow it worked out that she was wedged between Galen and Kai. He reached over and gently nudged her foot. She smiled at him.
“I’m okay, you know?”
“You’re holding up really well,” he said. “We’re almost done with breakfast, so let’s get you to the mall and get you some clothes.”
“I’m up for that,” she said, as she looked at the others. “But Kai and I can do that, so you guys can go off and do your investigation.”
“We could,” Johan said, “but we’re not too sure what we’re up to yet. Finish your breakfast, and then we’ll see.” He watched as she looked down at her plate, still half full of scrambled eggs and potatoes. They’d ordered and been served fairly quickly, but now it looked like her appetite had waned. “You need your strength,” he said gently.
She wrinkled up her nose at him. “I hear you,” she said, but he just smiled.
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied. “Just eat what you can. You can get more later.”
She nodded, took a few more bites, and then put down her fork. “I’m done,” she said. “At least for now.”
They nodded, and very quickly the group stood and walked out, as Johan paid the bill.
She stopped outside and turned to look up at him. “I do have money, you know? My bank account isn’t empty. I don’t want you paying for my meals and my hotel room.”
“We’ll talk about it later,” he said, nudging her toward the two vehicles.
“Where are we going?” she asked, not wanting to move any closer.
“You and Kai and I are going to the mall,” he said.
She frowned. “I hardly think you want to come and watch me buy lingerie,” she snapped.
He gave her a heated smile and whispered, “You’re wrong there,” he said. “I would absolutely love to do that.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I just want to keep an eye on you,” he said.
Considering what had been done to her apartment, she didn’t argue but headed to Kai’s car, where they both got in.
“So to the mall?” Kai asked.
Joy nodded. “If that’s the best place, then yes.”
Johan sat in the back seat and kept up a running commentary on the phone with the guys as they discussed options and information. When they pulled into the mall parking lot, he took a close look around, told the guys where they were parking and that he was heading inside with Kai and Joy.
When he got out of the vehicle, Kai looked at him and asked, “I presume you’ll keep the guys in the loop?”
He nodded.
“Good. In that case then, we’ll ignore you.” And, with that, Joy linked arms with Kai, and they headed inside.
Johan grinned at her spirit. If that’s what she needed to do to feel better about this crappy situation, then more power to her. He trailed behind them, keeping an eye on basically everyone. It seemed ridiculous to be in such a public place, but, so far, the mall had just opened and wasn’t too busy, but he knew it would grow steadier as the day wore on. He kept abreast of them as they went from store to store, picking up a few pieces here and there.
The two women were obviously best of friends, as they teased and joked and brought up memories from both sides of their friendship. He smiled and watched as they interacted and enjoyed each other.
He looked up and caught a man staring at the two women, but, when he caught Johan’s gaze, the stranger immediately dropped his glance to his phone. Senses alert, Johan turned to look around to see if the guy was alone or if he had a partner with him. Sure enough, on the far side down the mall was a partner. At least Johan thought so. The young man in question walked away in the opposite direction. Johan frowned at that, and, when he turned back, the first man was gone too. He quickly noted the two and sent messages to Tyson and Galen.
Tyson responded. Don’t forget you are there with two gorgeous women.
Johan started to laugh. Kai turned and looked at him, then frowned. “What’s so funny?”
“I’m seeing boogeymen where there aren’t any,” he said with a smile. “I forgot that I have two beautiful women with me, and lots of men would be staring.”
“As if,” Joy said. But she looked happy at his comment.
The trouble was, he meant it. Now that he’d singled out two men who had been looking at Joy, Johan could see dozens more, and he started to get even more protective.
At one point he walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder because a good half-dozen guys in a group stared at her. She looked at him, instantly worried. “What’s the matter?”
He nudged his head to the side, and she saw the group of guys there. She smiled; they all smiled back. “They were just being friendly.”
“Maybe,” he said brusquely, “but I don’t like it.”
At that, Kai laughed and laughed. “Too funny,” she said. “You’re trying to protect her, but the rest of the world is liking what they see.”
He growled at her. “They can like it as long as it’s from a distance. I don’t want anybody getting too close.”
“Like you’re too close?” Joy challenged him.
He glanced down at her and said, “Do you want me to leave? Do you want me to join Tyson and Galen?”
If there was a hard note in his tone, she ignored it. She reached up, patted his cheek gently. “It’s really very sweet of you.”
He wanted to growl again. “It’s not sweet,” he muttered.
“You’re jealous,” she said, “and I find that very interesting. But I kind of like it. As long as it doesn’t get out of hand.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not jealous.”
“Of course not,” she said, but she shot him a knowing look. Then she reached out and kissed him very gently on the corner of his mouth. “There. That should tell them all that I’m with you,” she said.
He hated it, but he did feel better. He sighed and looped his arm with hers.
“I hear you,” she said. “I can’t say I’ve felt it very much myself.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt it before,” he grumbled. “And I don’t like it.”
“Well, you’re only jealous,” Kai said, “because you’re insecure about the relationship.” And, with that, she headed off after a beautiful dress in a window.
He stopped in the middle of the mall and tugged Joy into his arms. “You know what? She’s right. I wouldn’t be feeling this way if I thought you were happy to be with me.”
She raised an eyebrow, her lips kicking up in the corners. “I thought we covered this ground.”
“Apparently not well enough,” he announced.
She kissed him gently and then kissed him again. “I’m happy to be with you,” she said. “I haven’t a clue what we’ve got going on here, but I’m happy to see where it goes.”
And, with that, he had to be satisfied, but not until he got one more thing. He tugged her into his arms, so that she was locked against him, and lowered his head, kissing her thoroughly. When he finally raised his head and stared down at her completely soft and unfocused gaze, he smiled and whispered, “Now I’m happy. But satisfied? Never. Not until I have you in bed all to myself, and we can tear at the sheets like we want to.”
She took a long shuddering breath, still in his arms. She seemed to get a hold of herself, stepped back, and whispered, “That time will come. But it isn’t right now and certainly never in public.” And, with that, she turned on her heels and headed to Kai, who stared at the two of them with a big smile on her face.
He grinned at Kai and shrugged. “Hey, I gotta lay a claim before all the other men in this place do.”
“Smart of you,” Kai said with a nod. “She’s a sweetheart, and there have always been guys around her. But listen to me, Johan. If you ever do anything to hurt her, you will not walk away from it easily.”
He just raised an eyebrow at that.
She walked up, poked him in the chest, and said, “Because I will want to know the reason why. And, if it isn’t a damn good one, it’s me who you’ll have to deal with. God help you then.”
Chapter 15
Joy laughed out loud at the look on Johan’s face after Kai had warned him. She had been such a good friend for a long time and had seen Joy through a multitude of relationships and had always been protective. As Johan and Kai walked back toward Joy, she put a smile on her face and looked from one to the other.
“Listen,” Joy said. “Don’t look now, but I think that guy has been following us.”
“When did you see him first?” Johan asked, immediately all business.
“Just before you kissed me,” she said.
“That’s not very long ago,” Kai said.
“Maybe so,” she said, “but I bet, if we duck into this store, he’ll follow us.”
“He’d be foolish if he did,” Johan said, “but you two go in. I’ll go on to the next one and we’ll see what he does.”
She slipped into the clothing store with Kai. Joy disappeared into the back, and Kai found a spot where she could still watch the front of the store. And, sure enough, the man walked up to the store but didn’t come in. He frowned, looked around, and then made himself at home on a bench seat.
“So, he’ll just wait for us to come out?” Joy asked.
Kai nodded. “Pretty standard procedure.”
With that, and feeling bolder and a bit empowered since she’d spotted him, Joy walked out, and, deliberately ignoring him, headed toward the store that Johan had gone into. And as soon as she went inside, she watched the stranger get up and walk to that store, where he stood idly staring at the window. She looked at Johan, whose face had turned grim.
“Let’s check out another store,” she said. Grabbing his hand, the two of them walked out of the store right past the stranger and past several more stores before ducking inside another. She’d lost track of Kai somewhere along the way. The stranger followed at a bit of a distance. She turned to look at Johan. “So what do we do about it?”
“For the moment, we wait,” he said.
“It still won’t happen fast enough,” she said, staring at the stranger, who even now was quite obviously waiting outside the store for them.
She dropped Johan’s hand, and, before he could react, she headed outside and stepped right up to the man and asked him, “What do you want with me?”
“Who said I wanted anything to do with you?” he said in an insolent tone.
“You’ve been following me for the last half hour,” she said. “For all I know, you’re the asshole who broke into my apartment and completely destroyed everything.”
“Why would anybody do that?” he asked. “Unless, of course, you were a bad girl.”
A slow smile covered her face. “You don’t know anything about me,” she said, “and you certainly don’t know what I have or have not done.”
“If you’re the snitch from the company, I know exactly what you are.” With that, he leaned forward and whispered, “You’re dead.” And he turned and strode off.
*
“Damn it,” Johan roared. “You shouldn’t poke a bear like that,” he snapped, but then he was gone, chasing down the mall after the stranger. He called back to Kai who yelled at him.
“I’ve got her.”
And that was one thing he did know. Friend or not, Kai may not have been as good as he was at protecting Joy, but she was the next best thing. Besides, he didn’t want to lose the one lead they’d had on this whole damn case. The fact that this guy mentioned the company and threatened Joy was huge, and that meant he was part of it. Therefore, Johan needed to get his hands on him. Plus, business aside, he wanted a chance to have “a little talk” with him.
By now the mall was jam-packed with people who were not at all cooperative about getting out of this way. He could see the stranger disappearing up ahead into a side exit. Erupting around the corner as fast as Johan could, the doors had already closed, and he saw no sign of the threatening stranger. Johan bolted outside, but, of course, a group of at least twenty people were coming and going from the mall, and still Johan saw no sign of the stranger. Johan swore up and down as he turned in a slow circle, searching for any movement that would reveal where the stranger was.
Moments later his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and grinned. “Gotcha.” He hit Dial on the phone, and, when Tyson answered, he said, “You seriously got him?”
“Yep, as long as it’s the same one. I’m sending a picture now.”
Seconds later a photo arrived, and it was him. Johan sent a text to Tyson. Where are you?
Back of the parking lot on the northwest corner.
I’ll go grab Kai and Joy. We’ll come out and meet you.
Where are you guys parked?
Johan hated to realize that he had no damn idea, as he was completely turned around in the mall. But he was already on his way back to the women. The two of them stood in the middle of the mall aisle, talking to each other, when he finally caught sight of them. Kai looked at him, and he grinned ferociously at her.
She laughed. “Seriously, you got him?”
“Tyson did,” he said, and she clapped her hands.
“Perfect.” She looked over at Joy. “Come on. It’s time to go.”
Joy looked down at her bags, nodded, and said, “I’m probably okay for a day or two now.”
He led the two of them back to the corner where he had turned, then out the exit. He called Tyson and said, “We’re standing at the exit he ran from, so where are we heading?”
“Go straight ahead a good hundred yards,” Tyson said. “We can see you.”
With that, Johan and the two women headed in the guys’ direction on foot, weaving their way through the parked vehicles as they came up to the far side. A few seconds later Johan heard a whistle. Turning, he saw where the men were standing. After a minor course correction, they joined the others minutes later.
Kai walked up and gave Tyson a big hug. “I’m so glad you were here to catch him.” She peered into the car to see the guy staring at her, fury evident on his face. She just smiled at him. “Don’t like it when the foot is on the other shoe, huh?”
He looked a little confused by that.
Tyson chuckled. “I think you mean, shoe on the other foot, hon.”
“Whatever,” she said, then turned back to Joy. “We have to collect our car,” she said. “So I want you to stay here with the guys, and we’ll meet you back—” She turned and looked at the others. “Where are we going?”
“Well, the cops want to see this guy, so maybe the police station,” Tyson said.
She wrinkled up her face at that. “We can’t keep him then, can we?”
“No, we can’t. But maybe he’ll have a little talk with us first.”
The guy in the back seat swore and said, “No fucking way.”
Joy looked down at him. “Why do you want me dead?”
He just glared at her.
She shrugged. “He won’t talk anyway. But I’ve seen him at the company. I think he works in shipping.”
“I wonder if he knows two people are already dead over this,” Galen said.
Joy shrugged again.
“We’ll meet again in a few minutes.” Kai gave Joy a quick hug.
Joy looked at Galen and Johan and asked, “Where should I sit?”
“I’m driving,” Galen said. “You sit in the front with me. We’ll leave Johan with your new friend in the back.”
She nodded. “I wouldn’t be at all upset if he got beaten up a little bit on the way,” she said, with half a smirk. She hopped into the front seat and twisted around to see the guy staring at her. The men had secured their prisoner’s wrists, so he couldn’t do too much. “He really should tell me what’s going on,” she said, “unless he had something to do with Barlow’s death. In that case, well, he can just go to jail and rot for all I care,” she said, turning around but keeping an eye on him.
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