Her head snapped up and she almost spilled her wine. “Already?”
Ha! Don’t mess with the bull if you don’t want the horns, little rabbit. I play to win and I hate losing, especially now that I knew what I wanted.
“Yup. I’ll call you tomorrow with the details once Jake gets the info.” I fake stretched and knew my shirt lifted to reveal a portion of my abdomen and happy trail. I heard a little whimper from her side of the couch but pretended not to notice. “Thanks for the beer,” I said as I headed for the door.
I heard her scramble off the couch and her glass nearly crash into the table in her haste to set it down. “Oh, okay. I’ll walk you out.” I felt her come up behind me at the same time I grabbed the door handle.
I turned momentarily and saw her tongue poke out to swipe over her bottom lip. Damn, this was not as easy as I’d hoped, but I stood my ground. “Later, Shortcake.” I stepped into the hall, pulling the door closed behind me just before I collapsed against it as quietly as possible. I looked down at my tented jeans and silently promised my dick that I would make it up to him.
“Atlantic City? Seriously?” I asked Jake.
“I shit you not.”
This just kept getting better and better.
It was Sunday mid-afternoon and I was in the trailer at my current work site when Jake’s call came in. I’d decided to come in on a Sunday to get things organized in anticipation of my unexpected time off. The guys had assured me they would cover for me, but I didn’t want to be a bigger pain in their asses than necessary. Getting as much organized as possible should ease the way and make things go smoothly in my absence. But I forgot all about the blueprints and work orders littered in front of me when I heard the words “Atlantic City.”
There was nothing intrinsically wrong with Atlantic City other than our father living there being the biggest cliché ever. But it was not lost on Jake or me that this was the place our old man had always talked about as being some kind of mecca we’d all visit one day when we had money and could make a big deal of it. I think he’d figured he could spend the vacation gambling while our mom took us to kid-friendly activities and venues. He would spend as little time with us as possible and call it the best family vacation ever.
So, I suppose we shouldn’t have been too surprised when Jake’s flirting with Lexie had brought this information to light. Jake had looked it up on the map and it was only an eight-hour drive—no problem for an overnight trip, but not really feasible for a round trip in one day.
Fiona and I would have to get a hotel.
“All right, man,” I said. “Text me the address and I’ll let Fiona know we’re leaving in the morning.”
“No problem. I sure as shit hope you guys find something. All my money is tied up and I can’t get it fast enough. In the meantime, I’ll keep wracking my brain and see if I can figure out a way to borrow a shitload of cash on short notice.”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that, but if it does, I’ve got some saved and available. Not enough, but some.”
“Well, I guess we’ll see,” Jake said. “By the way, I’m at Mom’s and she’s not around—hasn’t been all afternoon. Think we should be worried?”
“Nah, probably just got called in to cover for someone at work.”
“Okay. I’ll text the address. Later, little brother.”
I hung up and was about to hit connect to call Fiona but decided to text her instead. I still didn’t want to expose my hand too much.
Mark: Destination New Jersey—tomorrow morning.
Fiona: OK, what time?
Mark: 7:00 and pack a bag—I’ll pick you up.
Fiona: OK—I’ll bring the music.
Mark: No way, Shortcake. My ride, my tunes.
Fiona: Whatever.
She followed that up with a devil-face emoji. Hey, it was better than a middle finger. I set my phone down and got back to work, but I did it with a grin this time.
Chapter Sixteen
You Can’t Teach an Old Douchebag New Tricks
FIONA
I set my phone back down and looked across the table at Kelly, thankful that Mark had texted me instead of calling. I didn’t know if I’d be able to maintain a casual vibe if I had to actually speak with him, given what I’d just found out from his mom. It was all I could do to remember to throw a little sass in the text exchange so he wouldn’t be suspicious.
So, it turns out I’m not as sneaky as I thought. When I’d ventured out in the morning for my super-secret stake-out, I’d been all kinds of confident. But apparently, parking your bright blue Prius right by the building’s entrance goes against the very first rule of a super-secret stake-out. I also suspect turning the radio up and jamming out to Twenty One Pilots may conflict with rule number two.
I was just getting to the good part of “Stressed Out” when I heard someone yell my name and knock on the passenger side window.
Kelly.
Oops.
I turned the music down and put on my best sheepish smile as I lowered the window.
She folded both her arms on the door frame and peered at me. “I’m not even going to ask,” she said, shaking her head.
I thought about making up a story about why I was there, but even I’m not talented enough for that level of bullshit. Instead, I pointed at her and said, “I’ve got your six. You go do your thing and I’ll keep my eye out for bad dudes!” Turns out reading military-themed romance novels had taught me important lingo for this kind of operation.
She just shook her head again, in resignation I assumed, and said, “In that case, you may want to move your car and keep the music down if you don’t want to attract attention.” It seemed somebody had watched better movies than I had.
“Roger that!” I gave her a thumbs-up and put the car in reverse. She watched me park, and I waved before she turned and entered the building. I checked my phone for reminders, then for texts, and then I played a game of solitaire. This stake-out stuff was boring as shit. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten coffee!
After what seemed like forever, but was probably only about twenty minutes, I spotted Kelly practically sprinting out the front door of the building. She made a bee-line for my car and I quickly lowered the window again.
Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were a bit wild as she looked in at me. “Holy crap!” was all she said before standing back up and looking around the parking lot. “Let’s get out of here. Just pick a place and I’ll follow you,” she said before racing off to her car.
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I put the car in gear and headed straight for Starbucks, making it in record time. It was all I could do not to explode from anticipation while we got our drinks and finally sat down at a secluded corner table.
“Spill it, woman!” I demanded, and Kelly finally got down to business.
As it turned out, Jim being moved to rehab was no big secret and all she’d had to do was ask at the hospital to get the info. Then she’d headed on over to confront him and had immediately spotted me in my super-secret stake-out position by the fucking front door. Sheesh. I hurried her past that part and on to the dirt.
“So, once I’d signed in and finally found his room I was so nervous,” she said.
“Of course.” I nodded in understanding and sipped my iced coffee.
“But I gave myself a pep talk and then I just barged right in. He has a roommate and I think I may have scared him with the look on my face,” Kelly said with a little smile. “Anyway, I walked right up to the bed and just said, ‘Jim’ in a really snarky tone of voice.” Her face scrunched up in a perfectly appropriate snooty countenance. Awesome.
“What did he do? What did he say?” It seemed all my patience had been used up in the parking lot.
“I have no idea what I ever saw in that man—you wouldn’t believe it. He smiled at me. Smiled at me! And then he went on with ‘Kell, honey, you look great—I’m so glad you came—blah, blah, blah.’”
“He did not?!” My jaw d
ropped. What a douchebag. “I have got to call Laney and get her on speakerphone for this—do you mind?”
Kelly just waved me on, confident as can be, and I dialed Laney. She picked up immediately and we filled her in before Kelly continued. Laney must have been just as anxious as I was to hear the story because she didn’t even give me shit for not including her in the super-secret stake-out.
“So I told him to cut the crap,” Kelly said with a little smile. “Luckily, he didn’t remember a thing about seeing me in the hospital, he’d been so drugged up, so I was able to fudge a bit about the details. I told him I already knew why he was back in town and there was no way on earth I would help him out of the mess he’d made. I might have threatened more bodily harm as well.” She covered her mouth, obviously a bit surprised at her own boldness.
“Good for you,” Laney chimed in.
“Oh, it gets better,” Kelly continued and sat up straight in her chair. I loved seeing her on fire like this—it was such a change from the meek woman I’d met last week. “He totally tried to backtrack once he knew I wasn’t going to fall for his ‘oh honey, just help a guy out’ crap. He’s such an idiot. He told me he has a line on a ‘sure thing’ and that’s why he needed the cash he’d borrowed. The problem is the money for this sure thing needs to be in the investor’s hands by next week and he’s still a little short.” She grinned and raised her eyebrows.
I gasped and brought my hand to my mouth. “You didn’t?!”
I may have created a monster.
“I sure did!” Kelly said, leaning back in her chair.
“Did what?” Laney screeched over the phone’s speaker. “What?!”
Kelly spun her coffee cup on the table. “I told him I may have a little cash squirreled away and I might be interested in making an investment myself. But I made it clear I wasn’t going to just hand it over to him. I wanted to be fully involved and make sure he didn’t just run away with my cash. He tried to act all offended, but then I pointed out that he was the one who’d come to my town in the first place so I knew he didn’t have any other way to get more cash.”
“So wait, he still has the cash from the loan sharks?” Laney asked.
“Yup,” said Kelly.
“Oh my God,” Laney and I both said.
“Now to the best part,” Kelly continued, totally on a roll. “Being not just a giant idiot but also the world’s biggest jerk, he’s managed to alienate just about everybody he’s ever known. And now that he’s laid up and can’t get himself back home—which happens to be Atlantic City—to get the bulk of the cash, who do you think he’s sending?”
At that point, I couldn’t hold in my hilarity any longer. Laney and I proceeded to laugh our asses off.
“What a moron!” I heard Laney cry over the phone.
“Oh, that’s not all.” Kelly’s expression suddenly turned dark. “Since he’s safely tucked away in rehab for a while, his plan is to wait it out until he gets the payout from the sure thing. Then he’ll pay the loan shark back with more interest and be done with it. He said by then we’ll both be rich.”
She took a breath and continued, “It was very important to him, though, that I go get his money right away and have it in his hands before Saturday.” She looked at me meaningfully. “He has no idea I got a direct threat from these guys and I know that Saturday is the deadline.”
I sobered up completely then. “So he was just going to let your ass swing out there while he sat in a secure facility with the cash?”
“Yup,” Kelly replied quietly.
“I am going to kill that asshole!” Laney shouted from the phone.
“You’ll have to get in line after Mark and Jake find out about this,” I said.
“No!” Kelly cried. “Like I said, I don’t want them involved. I’m going to talk to my boss and hopefully get a few days off so I can drive up there and get the money. Jim told me where he stashed it so it won’t take long. And if I can’t get the time off, I’ll just have to deal with it and find another job—it won’t be the first time I’ve been unemployed. Better unemployed than dead, though, right?” She said.
It had been at this point in the conversation that Mark’s text had come in saying we were leaving for New Jersey in the morning. After our quick text exchange, I looked at Kelly.
“Um, I have something to tell you.”
She looked suspiciously at me as I continued.
“Mark and I are already planning a trip to Atlantic City in the morning.” I closed one eye and turned my head a bit, steeling myself for her reaction.
“What?!” she and Laney said in unison.
“Well,” I tried to defend myself, “Jake and Mark were planning on going up there and searching Jim’s place and I pointed out that it may be a good idea if one of them stayed in case the thugs came after you in the meantime. So, I volunteered to go with Mark.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Kelly interrupted. “How do they know the thugs are after me? And how do they know where Jim lives?”
At this point, I had to decide whether to rat myself out or to rat Mark and Jake out for keeping their exploits from their mom. Guilt hung her head at the mess I’d made, and I decided full disclosure was probably best. So, I told Kelly the whole thing about me confessing to Mark about the note—but not about her visit to Jim in rehab—and how he already knew she was in danger because he and Jake had overheard the guys at the hospital.
“Look, Kelly, we all just care about you and don’t want you to get hurt. Don’t be mad at us.” I put on my best innocent face.
She sighed. “I know, sweetie. I should have suspected something like this when you showed up at the rehab place earlier. And had I not just pulled off a little con of my own, I might be more upset.” She reached over and squeezed my hand. “Besides, I know Mark is impossible to stop once he gets an idea in his head. As long as everyone is careful and we can pull this off without anyone getting hurt, I guess I can deal with it.”
“Fiona…” I heard Laney say.
“Yeah?”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Don’t worry about me. We’ll lay low, pick up the money and come right back. I promise.” Then I turned back to Kelly. “One more thing—can you avoid Mark until we’re gone and not go all ‘mama bear’ on him? I’ll have to fess up about everything before we get to Atlantic City anyway, and that way he’ll have a day or so to calm himself and won’t come down on you so hard for going to see Jim on your own. Win-win.” I explained.
She seemed to consider that. “Actually, that sounds like a pretty good plan now that you mention it.” She gave me a little smile.
“Let’s do this thing!” I said and toasted her with my coffee.
The next morning, I was up bright and early, determined to make the most of the time with Mark before I had to go piss him right the hell off with my news. Hopefully he’d get over it quickly, though. In the long run, it did basically solve the problem so he had to be happy with that, right?
I checked my purse one more time before stepping into the elevator to go down and meet Mark. Despite his rejection of my mad deejay skills yesterday, I had three new playlists on my phone and I was determined to win him over with my superb taste in music. Also on my phone was the detailed description of the hiding place of the money, so I had to make sure I didn’t forget to bring it. Not that I could survive even an hour without my phone, much less an entire road trip.
I stepped out into the spring sunshine and drew my Prada sunglasses down over my eyes. I was dressed comfortably for the long car ride, but that didn’t mean I had to forego designer apparel. Instead of stilettos, I had opted for platform espadrilles and a three-quarter-sleeve silk romper with a gorgeous paisley print. I also carried a light sweater since I knew we were headed to colder weather. My overnight bag—okay, my suitcase—was stocked with a mix of spring and winter wear since I wasn’t sure what to expect.
As soon as I stepped on the sidewalk I spotted Mark exiti
ng his truck. I sucked in a breath. He was in comfortable attire as well, not that it made me comfortable at all—in fact, it made my heart rate pick up and my palms sweat. He hadn’t seen me yet so I took my time looking him over. He wore gray cargo pants, those same work boots, and a tight as hell t-shirt with a weathered denim button-down over it. The denim shirt was completely unbuttoned and the sleeves were rolled up to expose his corded forearms. I remembered those arms around me on Saturday and I tried to swallow but my throat was suddenly dry.
Just as my eyes reached his face he noticed me standing there. I thought he would look me over too, but his eyes just did a cursory sweep of me before homing in on my suitcase.
What? Where was flirty, affectionate Mark from Saturday? I wanted my head kiss at the very least. Thank God I was so used to being confused or this turn of events would have had me in a tailspin.
“Seriously?” he asked, hands on his hips.
“What?” My hands perched defensively on mine in response.
He tossed a hand out, gesturing to my suitcase. I considered for a moment that maybe he was as impressed as I was that Diane von Furstenberg had a designer luggage line, but then I remembered who I was dealing with.
“We’re going for one night, Shortcake.”
I huffed and lifted my chin. “Well, it’ll be cold up there and I wanted to be prepared.” So maybe I wouldn’t necessarily need two pairs of boots, but one pair had a sturdier heel on the off chance that we’d have to do some running from mobsters. It was New Jersey, after all.
And maybe, just maybe, I had packed some additional articles to make sure I looked extra cute. My head was still telling me that hooking up was a bad idea but I didn’t have much confidence in my grip on my control. Did I mention it had been a long time since I’d gotten laid? Based on the recent tirade from my lady parts I assumed people in Australia knew the status of my sex life. We were all getting desperate for some attention of the non-battery-operated variety.
“And besides,” I said to Mark, “you have this giant truck. What do you care?”
The Spark (Carolina Connections Book 2) Page 13