Love, Money, and Lies

by Olivia Saxton

  “Hey, peaches,” he greeted with a big smile. That was his pet name for her.

  She grinned. “Will you ever stop calling me that?”

  “Not in this lifetime. Married or divorced, you’re still my peaches,” he said with a smile.

  She giggled. Even after being in prison for seven years, he was still a charmer. However, he had lost his soft, boyish looks

  Frank was five-foot-eight with light brown hair, thin lips, and a sharp nose. He didn’t have much muscle on him until after he was sent to prison. Now, his arms had hard rippling curves. Margo was sure he had a washboard stomach now, but she had never gotten to see. “So what’s new? Are you still seeing that guy you told me about two months ago?”

  “I am, but . . .” She trailed off. It wouldn’t be long until she had to drop out of sight. She got choked up thinking about it, much less talking about it.

  “But what?”

  Margo leaned in close. “Remember I told you about that upcoming job. The big one?”

  “Of course.” Frank knew what she had been doing for five years to survive. He had been distressed because she had gotten into the life, but he had accepted it eventually. When they talked about her job, they had to use code language. The security cameras didn’t have sound, and the guards stood far enough away, but you never knew who was really listening in the visitors’ room. Other prisoners received their visitors in the room as well.

  “Well, you know I’ll have to go away right afterwards. I’m going to have to leave Bruce behind,” she stated and with sadness.

  “Well, peaches, you knew that. With that being said, why did you get involved with a guy who . . . couldn’t be down with your way of life?”

  “He was so persistent and . . .”

  “Handsome,” he completed for her.

  She scoffed with amusement. “Yes.”

  “From what you told me, he had a reputation with the ladies. That’s why you didn’t want to date him at first.”

  “I know, but it seems like I’m the only woman in his life now.”

  “And that’s bad?”

  “At first, it wasn’t, but now. . . I think he might be hurt when I . . . leave.”

  “Perhaps,” he mused. “I talk to a lot of the fellas in here. Some of them were ladies’ men too until the love bug hit them. They gave it all to their heart’s desire, and when it didn’t work out, they went crazy. Some of them are in here because of it.”

  “Are you trying to freak me out?”

  “No. Just sayin’.”

  “Well, I don’t think he’s in love with me. He’s never said it.”

  “Just because a man doesn’t say it doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel it. You’re a big girl, you know that.”

  She shrugged.

  “Do you want him to be in love with you?”

  “No. It’s best for him that he isn’t.”

  “Are you in love with him?”

  She had wondered that for the past two weeks. When Bruce wasn’t around, she would think about him, almost obsessively. His smile, strength, jokes, and wit always drew her in. She had worried for his health when he was stressed out while working overtime. And his love and loyalty to his family and friends was endearing. “I . . . might be.”

  “Oh, you crush my beating heart,” Frank joked.

  “You know I love you,” she quickly interjected.

  “Yeah, but not like you used to. It’s more like an old dear friend love now, and you know it. You’ve known it for the past three years.”

  She nodded her agreement.

  “Well, looks like you have a choice to make. Drop the job, go . . . the regular way, or continue with your plans.”

  “I can’t back out now. We’re so close. Plus, I can’t let everyone down. They’re like family to me.”

  “There’s no honor among thieves, my dear. That’s how I ended up here.”

  “These guys are different.”

  “Well, you guys have been together longer than any team I’ve ever seen or heard of in here, that’s for sure. So, you’re going through with it.”

  “I have to. But, don’t worry. I’ve already made arrangements for you – with the help of a friend of mine.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, I’ll leave money on your books like you asked today. When you’re finished serving your time, they’ll be money waiting. Enough where you can start a whole new life.”

  He smiled. “And you wonder why I’ll always call you my peaches.”

  She grinned.

  ****

  Their mouths had dropped open when Margo had pulled into the Tokoma Correctional Institution. Margo had put on a large yellow hat that matched her dress and walked into the facility.

  Bruce had called Alec downstairs while Margo was putting on her makeup. He had asked him to tag along while tailing Margo. Alec was more than happy to help, and he even offered to drive Lana’s car since Margo was too familiar with Bruce’s Ford.

  Bruce had thought she might have been lying about going to Daytona Beach to meet a client. He was surprised when they were an hour into their drive. When they had arrived in Daytona, he had regretted tailing her because it looked like she was telling the truth — until they arrived at the prison. Alec had said that she could have been called to do an IT job for the prison. But Bruce pointed out that she had left her laptop in her car, and she had left the house with it.

  Now, he was waiting in the passenger seat while Alec was in the prison trying to figure out what was going on. Bruce had wanted to go himself, but Alec said it wasn’t a smart move. He could explain away why he was there if Margo saw him. Bruce would have had a harder time making an excuse. However, Alec had been in there for twenty minutes. Bruce mused with the idea of going in to find out what was going on when he saw someone jogging between the parked cars. His best friend and partner came into view, and he was holding a file folder.

  Alec opened the driver’s side door and hopped in. “That was easier than I thought it would be.”

  “What?”

  “I told the guards I was with the FBI and showed them my badge. I said the bureau wanted to make sure that a wanted fugitive on a classified case wasn’t in contact with their prisoners. The warden gave me cart blanche quicker than a hooker comes out of her clothes.”

  “Well, what did you find out?”

  “First, I started with their visitors’ log. I saw Margo’s name. She signed in to visit a prisoner, as you suspected.”

  “Okay. And?”

  “I asked about the prisoner and Margo. The warden didn’t know much off the top of his head, but the guard that did the Saturday shift did.”

  “What did he say, Alec?” Bruce asked desperately.

  “The guard had been working here for eleven years . . . and Margo had come there for at least seven of them.”

  “What!” he said with disbelief. “Who in the hell does she know that’s in prison?”

  “Okay, Bruce, I’m going to need you to brace yourself. This might come as a bit of shock.”

  “Just tell me, man,” he urged with desperation.

  “She comes to visit her ex-husband, Frank St. John.”

  Bruce was stunned speechless. He had assumed that St. John was her maiden name.

  Alec opened the folder he had in his hand. “They let me have a copy of part of his file. Of course, they blotted out his Social Security number, and they left out his medical and psychiatric information, but we can find that out at the office, if we have to.”

  Bruce was still processing what Alec had just told him. Margo had been visiting her ex-husband who had been in prison for seven years. Why hadn’t she just told him? Was it because she was still in love with him?

  “Bruce, are you still with me?”

  “Yeah,” he mumbled.

  “I know this is a shock, but considering how . . . well, how into Margo you are, you need to know this. Francis ‘Frank’ St. John was sentenced to ten years for money laundering and embezzlement. He h
ad a partner who had been found out, and he turned on him to get a lighter sentence. Margo has been visiting him every two months since he’s been here. She puts money on his books when he gets down to twenty dollars. I don’t know the amount, but the guard said it was always a big amount to last a good six months until the next time.”

  “She’s in there with him now, isn’t she?” he asked breathlessly.

  “Yeah. Saw the security footage myself. They’re just talking, Bruce. Visitors and prisoners have to keep their hands on the table at all times during the visits.”

  Bruce still didn’t like it. They were divorced. Why was she still in contact with him? Why was she making sure that he had everything he needed in prison? “What else?”

  Alec handed him the folder. “The guard said Frank is popular and . . . the first two years they . . . were still married. At that time, they had conjugal visits.”

  His eyes bulged as heat rose in his throat. He could feel his face turning red.

  “It was only the first two years,” Alec soothed.

  “Yeah, and she still sees the thieving bastard!” Bruce opened the car door and got out.

  “No!”

  Bruce started striding to the facility. Next thing he knew, Alec was in his path.

  “Are you nuts? What are you going to do? Go in there loaded for bear and confront them during their visit?”

  “Hell yeah!”

  “Bruce, don’t you want to see where she leads after this? Don’t you want to read the file first for yourself? Take a few deep breaths. I know this is disturbing, but you can’t–”

  “Bullshit! If this was Lana, you would have demanded to see every piece of information they had and busted in on the little visit,” he snarled.

  “What if there is more to the story, Bruce? What if you could be putting her in danger somehow? Have you considered that she has to see him for a bigger reason? What if there was more than one partner? There’s more to this. I can feel it. What if going in there like a bull in a China cabinet would put her in a precarious or even a dangerous position?”

  Bruce thought over what his friend said. “Like how? What kind of danger could she be in?”

  “I don’t know, but what I do know is that you are going to make matters worse if you go in there like a jealous fool when it could be just nothing. How would Margo feel if you did that? Some couples are still friends after a divorce. It’s rare, but it happens. Come on, Bruce, get back in the car before she comes out. They only allow one hour for in person visitation.”

  Bruce sucked in a breath. “All right. All right.”

  ****

  They had followed Margo back to Tampa. She had gone to the old sewing factory again, stayed for an hour, and then went back to Sunset Boulevard. Bruce wanted to go to the bureau to do some research. Alec had insisted on going with him.

  Bruce looked up Frank St. John in the bureau’s system. Everything Alec had found out was true and then some. They looked up the court transcript for Frank’s trial. Margo had testified that Frank was a good man, but a young man who just made a mistake. Bruce figured the judge had considered her testimony when he sentenced Frank. That’s why he was in a minimum- to medium-level prison.

  However, Bruce didn’t stop there. He had run a quick background check on Margo, birth name Margo Elizabeth Green. It seemed like everything she had told him about her past was true. Her parents moved to San Francisco when she was three. Then her mother had moved them to LA when she was seven. Her mother was a drug addict who died years ago at a hospital in LA. Margo had gotten married to a guy named Barry Leamen a month and year after she had graduated college. The marriage had only lasted two years. A few years later, she had married Frank St. John. Frank was from Florida. They had lived in Miami until he was busted. He was a financial advisor with Marks & Blaine Financial Firm. Margo had no priors or convictions. She did get a speeding ticket in Miami nine years ago.

  “Nothing seems out of place. Everything she told you is true,” Alec reasoned.

  “Yeah, but she didn’t tell me everything either,” Bruce countered. “Why didn’t she just say that she still visited her second ex-husband?”

  “Maybe she was afraid that you would go off the ledge,” Alec retorted curtly.

  “Har-har. If this was Lana, you would be concerned too. Why did she go to that factory after she came back from Daytona Beach, huh?”

  “Maybe she forgot something.”

  “You don’t believe that,” Bruce stated.

  Alec looked down then back up at him “You’re right. I don’t. I was just trying to calm your concerns, but I am a little worried that she hid the fact that she still visits her ex in prison after all these years.”

  “I’m going to ask her about it.”

  “Not yet. Just hold off. Maybe she’s afraid to tell you. You two have only been dating a few months. Maybe she’s waiting to see what will develop in your relationship.”

  The discussion Bruce and Margo had after the second time they had slept together entered Bruce’s mind. She had agreed to date him for a while to see where it led. “You might be right. Perhaps she is waiting for some sort of declaration from me or a sign of commitment.”

  Alec nodded.

  Chapter 24

  It was two days before Christmas, and Bobbi and Margo were talking at the sewing factory. Margo had decided to tell Bobbi that she was seeing Bruce. Bobbi was taken aback at first. Margo knew the girlfriend code; you don’t fool around with your friend’s ex.

  Instead of being beyond angry, Bobbi had laughed her head off, which had thrown Margo off. Once Bobbi had caught her breath, she explained her reaction. “I’m glad, because once you disappear without a trace, he’s going to feel like a used fool. Good,” she stated proudly.

  Margo forced a small grin on her face. She didn’t want to hurt Bruce. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Yet, at the same time, she didn’t want to hurt Bobbi. That’s why she had told Bobbi about her and Bruce.

  “Hey, ladies,” Anthony greeted as he walked into Bobbi’s room. “What’s so funny?”

  Bobbi grinned as she told Anthony what was going on.

  After three hours at the factory, Margo went home. She prepared roast beef, mashed potatoes, and carrots. For dessert, she had baked a chocolate cake. Bruce loved down-home cooking, as he called it. This was their last night together before he flew out to Texas to spend the Christmas holiday with his parents and siblings.

  He had complimented her on the food, but other than that, dead silence. For the past week, Bruce had been acting strangely – almost distant. Other than a couple of kisses hello and goodbye, he had barely touched her. It was starting to disturb her. When she had asked him about it three days earlier, he had said he had a lot on his mind.

  “You’re awfully quiet tonight,” she commented as she washed dishes.

  Bruce was enjoying gin on the rocks at the kitchen island. “I’m sorry. I . . . I have a lot on my mind.”

  “You said that several days ago. Maybe you should tell me about it. It might make you feel better,” she said as she placed a glass she had just washed in the dishwasher to dry.

  He was quiet for a moment. “Margo, if something was wrong or if you were in some sort of trouble, would you tell me?”

  She was taken off guard by the question. She grabbed the dish towel and dried her hands as she turned around. “Yes,” she answered with slight hesitancy.

  He looked concerned, worried, and another emotion she couldn’t quite place. “I . . . I know that you visit your ex-husband who’s in prison.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “What?” she whispered. “How . . .?”

  “I . . . I followed you on that Saturday you went to Daytona Beach.”

  Margo’s body stiffened. “How dare you?” she said through gritted teeth.

  “Me? You’re the one who lied to me. I knew something was wrong. I knew you were hiding something from me. That’s why I followed you,” he said defensively. “I might not be
as smart as you, but I have instincts, and they have never failed me. That’s why I’m good at my job.”

  She scoffed with indignation. “Who do you think you are? We may be dating, but I have a right to my privacy!”

  Bruce slowly stood. “So, there’s more to it,” he stated slowly. “If nothing was going on, you would have told me outright. And you wouldn’t be so upset that I found out.”

  Margo pressed her lips together as she rounded the island. She stalked into the living room.

  “Are you still in love with him?” he asked as he followed her.

  Her emotions raged at the question. She whirled around to look at him. “I love him, but I’m in love with you. Frank is no threat to you!” Realizing what she had just admitted, she clasped her hand over her mouth. She couldn’t believe that she blurted out her feelings to him.

  He took a step toward her. “What did you say?”

  Margo looked down at the floor as she slowly removed her hand from her mouth. “I . . . I didn’t mean to . . . say it.” Her eyes began to water.

  “Okay,” he began slowly. “But is that how you truly feel?”

  She thought about taking it back. Yet she had lied to him enough. This one thing she wanted and had to be honest about. Bruce deserved that at least.

  He took another step toward her. “Margo, answer me?”

  A tear ran down her cheek. She knew loving a man like Bruce Styles was asking for heartache, but she couldn’t help it. It was a wonder he was still with her. He wasn’t a one-woman man. She looked up at him. “Yes,” she whispered.

  Bruce’s arm shot out and pulled her to him. Their bodies were pressed together. “I love you too,” he said hoarsely and then he claimed her with a kiss.

  The kiss quickly intensified. Bruce tore his mouth away from hers. He grabbed her white blouse and ripped it open, sending buttons flying all over the room. She grabbed the bottom of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head. They kissed again, lapping at each other’s lips like mad as they moved to the sofa.

  When they stopped at the couch, Bruce raised her skirt over her hips as he kissed her. He took a hold of her panties as he broke the kiss and pulled them down to her ankles. She stepped out of them as they were both breathing hot and heavy. Bruce tossed the underwear aside and then snaked his arm around her waist to lay her down on the couch. His body hovered above her, and their lips came together again. His tongue forced her lips open, swirling and tickling her softness. Margo turned her head to suck air into her lungs. Bruce attacked her neck, nuzzling and nipping as he groaned. She reached down and grabbed the waistband of his jeans. He lifted his body slightly and braced himself on his hands, giving her better access. Margo unbuttoned and unzipped his pants with speed. She shoved his jeans and Hanes down past his hips. She grabbed his rod as she widened her legs. Bruce let her guide the way to where they were desperate to be joined. Once his tip was at the entry point, he shoved in with the force of a freight train, making Margo cry out. They moved and moaned together as they stared into each other’s eyes.