by Sarah Hegger
“I know.” Phi grimaced. “Vulgar little box that it is, but it’s what answers for the glory of the stage in this new world.”
“It’s strange that its vulgarity doesn’t stop you from spending hours watching your soaps,” Pippa said.
Phi looked at her with bemusement. “I must stay current, Agrippina.”
“God, that name.” Pippa rolled her eyes. “Anyway, here’s the name of my agent.” She handed Blythe a card. “If you want to go forward with this, then you need someone to negotiate good terms for you.”
Feeling floored, Blythe stared at the card. The letters danced in front of her and made no sense. She didn’t have the first idea of how much money to ask for. “Thank you.”
“Will you do it?” Bonnie leaned into her. “I really think you should do it.”
Pippa gave her a kind smile and squeezed her arm. “Look, I know this is all rather sudden, but I wanted you to know before Phi broadcast the news everywhere.”
“I’ll have you know I’m the very model of discretion,” Phi said, and then collapsed into her raunchy laugh. “No, I am not. Not even the tiniest bit.”
They left shortly after, and Blythe put the conversation in a tiny box in the back of her mind to be taken out later and pored over.
She got through her session with Bonnie, and then she shut herself in her office and let the excitement ooze out. Pippa had offered her a great opportunity. If it worked out, who knew where she would be a year from now.
She wanted to share the news, and there was only one person she could think of sharing it with. Before she could overthink it, she found an old business card of Eric’s and dialed his cell.
Sharing goods news was part of being friends, right?
“Sweet…sorry. Hey, Blythe.” His voice poured over her like warm honey. “How are you?”
“Is now a good time?”
He paused. “Now is always a good time for you.”
She didn’t know what to make of the hesitation, so she told him her news quickly.
Eric’s delight was unfettered and made the whole thing seem more real. “Call Pippa’s agent,” he said. “Make sure she gets you a good deal.”
“I will.”
“You’ll be fantastic, Blythe. I know you will.”
Tears prickled behind her lids. His faith in her was humbling. “You think?”
“I know.” He sounded so certain, and Blythe was glad she’d given in to the instinct to call him. “Look, sweet thing.” He sounded distracted now. “I’m delighted for you, I really am, but can I call you back later?”
Blythe needed to unblock his number for that to happen. “Sure.”
* * * *
Blythe’s call couldn’t have come at a worse time, but after interminable radio silence, she’d finally called, and it would have taken an act of God—and a hefty one—to stop him from taking her call.
The angry group of men facing him ran a close second to that.
“Interesting time to take a call,” Brett said from beside him. “I take it that was my sister?”
Eric wasn’t going to answer Brett’s questions about Blythe. He’d given the man a job, and so far, Brett had been doing it really well. He would not, however, betray Blythe’s determination to keep her new life as separate from Brett as she could.
He jerked his head at the tight knot of workers. “What’s the problem?”
Brett had called him to site because the workers had all downed tools.
“Our friends from the other day have been making trouble,” Brett said. “They’ve been issuing threats to anyone who turns up for work.”
“Shit!” This damn job had a curse on it. “Any sign they’re following through on those threats?”
“For sure.” Brett looked grim. “They beat up Angel last night. He spent the night in hospital, and it’ll be a while before he can get back to work.”
Angel’s wife had just had a new baby. Eric would make sure the family was cared for while Angel recovered. “And these guys are scared?”
“Yup.” Brett folded his arms. “These are the ones who showed up, and they want more money for doing it.”
Eric didn’t know an expletive bad enough for what he felt. “I can’t do that. It’s not in the budget.”
“Then I really hope you’re great with a hammer,” Brett said. “Because nobody is going to risk working on this site without you making it worth their while.”
He and Matt had to get to the bottom of this. Someone was pulling the strings here and making this job as difficult as possible. “Let me talk to my brother, see what he says.”
Brett grunted. “What do you want me to do about these guys?”
“We’ll pay them for the day, the normal rate and let them know our decision.” Eric turned away from the workers and approached his truck.
He needed to get his head out his ass and deal with this situation. He’d taken his eye off the ball, and someone was taking advantage of that. He also needed to speak to Matt about what was going on. Shielding him while he dealt with his new baby wasn’t working out.
“Eric.” Brett jogged his way. “Wait up.”
Eric opened his door and waited.
“I don’t think you’re coming to site right now is helping,” Brett said.
It might be true but it pissed him off. “This is my site.”
“Yeah.” Brett didn’t look even a bit impressed by that. “But you’re going to get your ass beat if you keep coming here like this. The situation is getting ugly, and I’m not enough protection for you.”
“I don’t need anyone’s protection.” Eric might not have spent his adult life in prison, but that didn’t make him some kind of bantam weight.
Eric stared at him. “Look. I’ve been hearing things. It’s not about you. It’s about what’s going to go down here is only going to get worse before it gets better.” Brett rubbed his nape and sighed. “I’m on parole, Eric. There’s a limit to what I can do without violating the terms of that parole.”
“What are you suggesting then?” Eric forced his temper back. “I can’t walk away from this job.”
“Let me handle this,” Brett said. “Let me talk to the principle players in this thing and sort out what’s what.”
Eric really didn’t know if he could trust Brett that far. So far, he’d been great but Brett was talking about a whole other level of trust here. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“And I get that.” Brett didn’t take offense. “And I understand why you would say that. You have no reason to trust me, but you might not have a choice.”
Motioning him to carry on, Eric tried to keep an open mind.
“Nobody is going to talk to you. You’re the suit in this situation. I’m like them. In the trenches with them, and they’ll be far more likely to talk to me.”
Brett made sense. “To what end?”
“So we can find out who is fucking with us like this,” Brett said. “With all due respect to them, these are working men. Men who need their paycheck to feed their families. What happened here the other day didn’t make sense.”
Eric had been having much the same thought.
“Ray Gallagher is a dickhead.” Brett mentioned the chief agitator from the other day. “But he also has three kids and a wife. He’s also not the sort to create hell because he can.” Brett gave a rueful chuckle. “And believe me when I tell you I know the sort. I’ve been locked up with them for the last few years.”
Eric didn’t hire the crews, Cooper did, but Cooper didn’t have a history of hiring troublemakers. “You’re thinking Ray and his buddies are getting money from somewhere?”
“That’s what I’m thinking.” Brett nodded. “Give me a chance to ask around and see if anything floats to the surface.”
He didn’t have to like it, or even full
y trust Brett, but Eric was out of options. “How long will you need?”
“I’ll know in a day or two if I’m going to find anything,” Brett said.
“Okay.” Eric held out his hand. “Do it.”
Brett nodded and grabbed Eric’s open door. “She okay?”
It took Eric a moment, and then he got it. “You know she doesn’t want anything to do with you, and that extends to me not telling you anything.”
“I hear she doesn’t want much to do with you either,” Brett said, his eyes going steely. “You make sure you do right by her.”
Eric found that almost too much to take, and he held Brett’s angry gaze. “It seems to me that if anyone needs to do right by Blythe, it’s you.”
“I’m trying,” Brett said.
Eric almost laughed. “Me too.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
A phone ringing at 2 am is rarely a good thing. Eric rolled over and snatched his cell from the bedside table. “Yup.”
“Eric.” Cooper sounded tense ,and Eric’s lingering sleep fog cleared. “We’ve got trouble.”
“Tell me.” He’d already figured as much.
“The Highgate site is on fire. Someone saw it from the road and called me.”
Eric leaped out of bed and grabbed the nearest pair of pants. “Did you call 911?”
“Right before I called you,” Cooper said. “They’re on their way, but you know how far away they are and we don’t have the hook up for that fire hydrant yet.”
“Fuck!” Eric grabbed his shoes and a shirt and ran. Ghost Falls moved slowly, and they’d put in the permitting months ago. “I’m on my way.”
“Eric, what good do you think—?”
“I’m on my way.” That was his money catching fire on the hillside above town. “Call Matt and let him know.”
From the car he called Nate.
“Eric.” Nate answered immediately, sounding alert. “The call already came through, but I’m about forty minutes away.”
“Get there when you can.” Because he had the feeling Nate’s services were going to be needed before this was done.
Breaking more than a few traffic laws, he gunned the Jag through town and up into the hills. He tried the number Brett had given him, but it rang and rang, and went to voicemail.
The smell of smoke reached him first, and then the orange smudge on the horizon as he approached the site. He climbed out of his car and could only stare for a moment.
The entire project was ablaze. All six new builds and the model home. The fire truck would arrive in time to make sure the blaze didn’t spread, but with bare open ground all around, that didn’t seem to be an immediate danger.
Eric walked closer to the roaring beast that had been the Highgate project. He felt numb inside, helpless to do anything but stare.
A dark form lurched into his path. “Eric?”
“Yes.”
“It’s him!”
More figures coalesced around him in the night broken up by macabre orange and black shadows.
Two of them grabbed his arms.
Eric kicked out and hit flesh. With a grunt, one of his arms was released.
He swung and hit the other guy restraining him.
The man in front connected a fist to his jaw.
Eric tasted blood and punched. In the fractured dark he couldn’t make out much but limbs swinging and solid parts, which he aimed for.
His fist hit something, and someone swore.
A heavy weight pounded his back and drove him to his knees. Rocks bit into his knees as he fell but the others were on him, fists and boots swinging. He took a blow to the ribs that winded him.
He kicked and connected.
A man grunted.
A punch to his kidneys had him collapsing. Then a blow to the back of his head that exploded his vision in starbursts of light.
There were too many of them. This was going to be bad, but he’d leave them something to remember him by.
Blows and kicks came from all sides. One explosion of pain gave way to another. His nose cartilage crunched, broken for sure.
A face hovered in front of his. Lips drawn back in a snarl.
Eric braced.
The guy disappeared and another set of legs joined the melee.
Suddenly, there was an opening in the bodies around him, and Eric crawled to his feet. His body screamed its objections, but he kept hitting, fighting free.
A large form stood side by side with him, handing out the punishment and clearing a space for Eric to stand.
“You okay?” Brett asked.
“Nope.” Eric spat blood. “But I sure am glad to see you.”
Brett swung his fist, bone crunched, and someone shrieked. “Told you not to come here.” He punctuated each word with a blow.
“Fuck that.” Eric kicked a knee, and then a shot to the groin. “That’s my money burning.”
“You’ve got fucking insurance.” Brett pounded on a man until he went to his knees. “Haven’t you?”
“I’ve got insurance.” Eric grabbed someone by the back of the head and brought his knee up. A satisfying crunch and groan followed.
His ribs screamed at him, and his legs shook. He didn’t have much more in him.
A siren wailed.
“Fuck this. Let’s blow.” Eric recognized Ray’s voice. Big surprise!
Then he and Brett were free. Three figures scurried away, dragging two more with them.
Eric jackknifed over and vomited.
Brett tapped his shoulder and handed him a bottle of water. “This will help. Only take a small sip.”
Not wanting to humiliate himself further, Eric did as he was told.
The firetruck slid to a stop in a cloud of dust, and firemen hopped off.
“Anyone inside?” A fireman appeared in front of them.
Brett shook his head. “Nah, but my buddy needs medical attention.”
“I’m good.” If Brett Barrows could tough it out so could he.
“For fuck’s sake.” Brett shook his head and spoke to the fireman. “He was jumped by five guys. He needs medical attention.”
Matt shouldered his way through. “Eric! Jesus.” He turned to Brett. “What happened?”
“I’m guessing the fire was set on purpose to get him up here,” Brett said. “I was over the far side of the site trying to clear some brush away so it wouldn’t spread.”
“And you just happened to be around.” A path cleared through the bodies to admit Nate. Flashing red and blue lights played over faces.
“I hired him to work security here.” Eric might cry if he didn’t sit down soon, and he didn’t put up too much resistance when an EMT slid his shoulder beneath his arm.
“Can you walk?” the EMT asked.
Eric nodded, not at all sure he could but determined not to wimp out in front of Brett.
Nate followed them to the ambulance. “Brett was here as security?”
“Sure.” He lowered his aching body onto the open back of the ambulance. “I would say he’s something of a security expert.”
Someone snorted a laugh, he thought it might be Brett.
“I’ll need a statement from you.” Nate evil-eyed Brett.
Brett nodded. “Just what I always wanted, more time in a police station.”
This time Nate cracked a smile. “We give you coffee on this side of the bars.”
“Bet you keep the donuts for yourself though,” Brett said.
If his ribs weren’t yelling at him, Eric might have laughed.
Matt hovered by his side. “Let’s get a doctor to check you out.”
“Nah, I’m—”
“You should go,” Brett said. “You were holding your own when I got here, but five guys can do a lot of damage.” His gri
n turned evil. “Most of which you won’t feel until later and tomorrow.”
“Swell!” Ego aside, seeing a doctor right now was not a bad idea.
Nate watched him stand with a grim expression. “Any idea who did this and why?”
“I recognized one voice, but not their faces.” Eric took a moment to catch his breath before attempting to climb into the ambulance. “I’ve been working on why for a while now.”
“Anything to do with you?” Nate swung his gaze to Brett.
“The trouble started before Brett got here.” Eric didn’t want Nate blaming Brett. “In fact, I might not be standing here if Brett hadn’t come along when he did.”
“Which is another thing.” Nate rested his fists on his hips. “What were you doing here in the middle of the night?”
Eric wondered the same, but he couldn’t let Brett take any more shit. “I told you, he worked security.”
“All night?” Nate frowned. “With no place to sit or get a cup of coffee.”
Brett took a deep breath. “I’ve been sleeping in the model home.”
“What?” Matt stared at him. “Why would you do that?”
“Couple of reasons.” Brett shrugged.
When Nate spoke, it was not a request. “Care to share them?”
“First off, the trouble has been growing on site,” Brett said. “I’ve been hearing rumors that made me guess they might try something. I wanted to be here to stop it.”
“And?”
“And I’m an ex-con.” Brett met Nate’s hard stare. “You’ve been sheriff for long enough to know how hard it is to get back on your feet. Especially in this town. You also know what my family is like.” Brett shook his head. “Sometimes I need to get out of that house and get my head right.”
Nobody argued with him about that, and Eric sank onto the ambulance stretcher bed with a whimper of relief.
An EMT bustled around him with an oxygen mask.
“I don’t need that.” Eric moved it away from him.
“Stop being a baby.” Matt climbed up beside him and took the mask. He placed it over Eric’s mouth. “Now let’s see if you’ve got something to cry about.”
Matt waited until they were moving before he asked his next question. “You gonna tell me what’s really going on?”