by N Kuhn
“I told you Beau, I get it. I won’t say nothing. Why is everyone always so worried about me keeping secrets? It’s almost as bad as the time Carey didn’t want me to let anyone know she was doing the deed with Nathaniel from over there on Mr. Carlton’s ranch, because she kept sneaking onto his land.” Instantly, the woman clasped a hand over her mouth. “Damn, double damn. I guess it’s part of being a hairdresser. But I swear, Beau. I won’t tell anyone.” Mara watched the interaction between the two, wondering when she had missed this conversation. Beau took her hand, pulling her to the door.
“Good night Sally.”
The couple walked out, ambling slowly down the block towards the diner. Mavis Meals was the only small dining place in town. There were a few chains and bigger restaurants that had opened up on the outskirts of town, more towards Dallas, but Mavis Meals was a staple. That’s where the locals all ate. Beau held the door open for Mara and they were surrounded by sounds of chatter, dishes clanging, and laughter. As Mara slowly stepped in, all sound stopped. She twitched slightly, realizing that everyone was staring at her. Fear stiffened her spine. Beau slid up behind her, placing his hand on her lower back, steering her towards an empty booth. Along the way, he waved at people he knew, smiled at old friends. Mara moved into the seat, Beau sitting next to her, instead of across. Slowly, the noise picked back up, townfolks losing their interest in her quickly. A woman in a blue waitress uniform stepped up to the table. Her red hair was piled on top of her head, curls cascading down. Mara felt a twinge of jealousy at the way the woman batted her eyes at Beau.
“Betty Mae, this is Mara. She just bought Ms. Mariner’s house. It’s going to be a bed and breakfast.” Betty Mae looked at Mara questioningly.
“Oh,” she said slowly. “That’s nice. So y’all are neighbors?” Mara felt bad, seeing the hope in her eyes that Beau and her were just out for a friendly dinner. Beau eased the tension by taking Mara’s hand in his. He smiled at Betty Mae.
“Sure are,” he looked at Mara, his eyes sparkling with humor. It was as if he could read her mind. “Betty Mae, we’ll take two of today’s specials and two glasses of sweet tea.” Their waitress didn’t even respond, she just turned on her toes and stalked away.
“She doesn’t seem happy that Fort Mavis’s sexy bachelor isn’t eating alone tonight,” he said to Mara jokingly. She just grinned.
Throughout their meal, people stopped by, hoping for an introduction or some gossip. Beau held her hand the whole time, trying to make her feel more comfortable. George, who owned the grocery store, stopped by to say hello, as did the Hardware store owner who offered help with fixing up a sign for her at a discount if she would place his ads with her morning newspapers. The library and post office employees she met told her to drop off pamphlets when she had them, and they would send them out to neighboring libraries and post offices. Mara couldn’t believe how nice everyone was. As they finished their meal, Jennie came rushing in, shoving herself into the other side of their booth.
“Jennie, we were just leaving,” Beau said, narrowing his eyes at her.
“I’m sorry, I just, Mara, I think I’d love to take you up on your offer. How about I move in tomorrow, and Beau here can help me? I don’t have furniture, so I don’t have to bring much other than my clothes and personal items. I never was one for much belongings. I’ll box it all up tonight. Can you be moved into Beau’s house by tomorrow morning?” Jennie stared at Mara, and Beau looked at her with suspicion. She was acting odd for such a cool and collected woman. Mara grew excited next to him.
“Oh Jennie, that’s wonderful, thank you. Yes, I don’t have much either, since I just moved. Beau, do you hear that? I have my first employee.” She shook his arm, bubbling with happiness. Beau didn’t want to ruin it, but he gave Jennie a look that said they needed to talk, and soon. Mara all but shoved him out of the booth as she stood to hug Jennie. The women embraced and Jennie frowned over Mara’s shoulder. Beau handed her the bill and money.
“Mara hon, could you please run this over to pay and I’ll work out with Jennie what time she needs me to help her.” Mara was oblivious and stepped away, no longer nervous about being the new person in town. People stopped staring at her and she finally had a small feeling of belonging.
“What is going on Jennie? She can’t see it, but I can tell something spooked you.” He moved closer to her so that he could lower his voice. He glanced over his shoulder, smiling at Mara who stared at him.
“I was just at the grocery store and there was this guy in front of me. Cheap suit, greasy slicked back hair, and too much cologne. So, I’m putting my food on the conveyor belt and he’s buying beer, and he asks if anyone knows where to find you. You know we protect our own. He says he wanted to hire you, so I hand him a business card of yours, that one you gave me back when we met? He then pulls out a picture and asks Jimmy, George’s teenage son, who works the register, if he’s seen this woman. When Jimmy says no, he turns to me. He’s looking for Mara.” Beau cursed under his breath. As he tried to warn Jennie, Mara returned and she just shook her head at him. Mara wrapped her hands around his arm, grinning ear to ear. He didn’t have it in him to ruin that happiness. She had already been through so much, run so much, he couldn’t do it to her anymore.
“Let’s head home then sweetheart. You can pack up your things and I’ll do some arranging at my house.” Jennie waved as she exited ahead of them, calling over her shoulder.
“See you two tomorrow.”
“Things are coming together so well. My new guests show up in the morning. After I get them checked in, we can get my things over to your house and then you can help Jennie move in. Oh, and I have to wash the sheets, you know, new bedding for her. Maybe these two guys will bring me more business by spreading the good word around after staying at my place!” Beau immediately remembered the men that Mara said were checking in and the odd feeling he got when she told him their names.
“What were your guests’ names?” He asked her.
“Mr. Thomas and Mr. Jones.” That’s what it was, they sounded fake. Two Mr’s, with the most common last names out there.
“How about while you finish packing up and getting Jennie’s room ready, I check them in, and you can make a grand entrance at dinner? Considering everything that’s going on, maybe you checking in two men alone isn’t so safe yet?” She looked at him pensively. He could tell it bothered her that he was stepping in on her business, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow, Ciminielli was too close to finding her.
“Sure, I guess. I do have a lot to get done in the morning, thank you,” she acquiesced as he helped her up into the truck. He still couldn’t get over the way her darker hair made her look. Against the pale skin of her neck, it made such a contrast that his cock ached and longed to feel the warmth of her body again. As she pulled herself into the passenger seat, he leaned in, capturing her bottom lip between his teeth, nibbling lightly. He crushed his mouth against hers, his tongue pressing into her. Pulling back, he loved the red swollen look on her mouth.
“You’ve been a good boy today, I think I promised you something.” Her voice was raspy with lust as he smiled, quickly shutting the truck door and running around to the other side. Worry could wait until tomorrow. Tonight, he was going to show Mara again, how he could worship her body.
Chapter 8
Mara rolled over, her body sore from two nights in a row of love making with Beau. She stretched lazily and rolled over to realize that Beau was no longer laying next to her. The door creaked open and she saw him trying to quietly enter with boxes in hand.
“Hey, good morning cowboy,” she said, her husky sleep filled voice startled him. L
“Hello there sweetheart. I found these in the shed, so I figured you just used them to unpack and could use them to repack.” She smiled at him, sitting up. The blanket fell, exposing her naked body. Beau groaned. As much as he wanted to join her back in bed, he knew that her guests would be here soon.
“So, h
ow about you get dressed and pack. I will handle checking in your guests and then come back here to help you carry them out the back?” He wanted to check these guys out before he even allowed her near them.
“Sure, want me to cook breakfast?” She moved towards the dresser, piling her now shorter hair, on top of her head in one of those messy buns. It was still long enough to get the locks off her neck, exposing the soft skin. His lips tingled, thinking of kissing that area. Shaking his head, he moved towards the door again.
“I already have coffee ready and I made you some fruit. I’ll cook you an amazing lunch after we get to my place.” He ran to the kitchen, bringing her breakfast back to her.
“It’s like you’re in a hurry to lock me up in here,” she said with humor filling her voice. When he handed her the coffee, he took in the short shorts and tiny tank top she had on. Mara wiggled her ass a little when she noticed he was staring.
“Maybe you can help me shower after too,” she suggested. He reached over, pulling her face to him and kissed her softly.
“Definitely,” he whispered. Bear began to bark and Beau walked out of the room.
The two men who entered were definitely not Mr. Thomas and Mr. Jones.
“Mr. Belmont, I was unaware you had a second job,” Paulie Ciminelli said to Beau. His heart raced and he prayed that Mara stayed in her room. As he indicated the office Mara had set up on her first day here, the men followed.
“Yea, my girlfriend owns this place, so I help her out when I can.”
“Oh, do we get to meet this lovely lady?” Paulie asked. The tone of his voice creeped Beau out.
“Ah, she needed some sleep. I let her stay in bed.” Beau slid in behind the desk as Paulie took the chair across from him. The other man looked like the one Jennie had described last night. He was greasy and quite the stereo type Italian.
“This is Jimmy. He’s going to stay with me.”
“What made you decide to come stay way out here, instead of in Dallas? You would think you’d prefer the excitement of the city. A small town like this is boring.”
“We figure if we’re closer to you, we’ll get news faster. Yea?” Paulie crossed his leg, placing his ankle on the other knee. His fingers tapped his leg. Beau pulled up the reservation on the computer in front of him, marking them as checked in.
“My PO Box is in Dallas, how did you find me here?”
“We took a cue from you and hired ourselves a hacker. Only ours seems to work faster. We found you in a few hours and we think that they can get into those FBI files quicker too. Maybe you should cancel your guy and we’ll give you what you find? You can then earn your money we already paid you and check out any addresses we find.”
“Sure, sounds good. I’ll keep going on my end too. I need your credit card to check you in,” he reached his hand out. Paulie snapped his fingers, Jimmy jumping to and handing a credit card over.
“Alright, you have rooms at the end of the hall. Go up the stairs, all the way down. Do you have luggage?” Beau led the men to the stairs.
“Yea, Jimmy will handle it.” He could see the man grumble as Paulie treated him like a lackey. Beau was anxious to get back to his gun in Mara’s room and get her out of here.
“Well, dinner is at six. Jennie will be here to serve it. I hope you enjoy Fort Mavis while you’re in town.” Beau turned to walk away but Paulie grabbed his arm. If it had been any other man, he would have knocked them out for touching him. But any ruckus would draw Mara’s attention and he couldn’t afford for her to come out here and be discovered when he was weaponless.
“I look forward to meeting your girlfriend too,” Paulie’s leer turned Beau’s stomach, but he forced himself to smile.
“Absolutely. See you fellows later.” He turned down the hall to Mara’s room. Opening the door, he found her bent over, putting the rest of her clothes into a suitcase.
“Hey there, everything go smooth? I’m almost done here.” Beau didn’t respond as he strode to the side table and grabbed the gun. He slid it into the waistband of his jeans and turned to Mara. Her eyes had widened as her hands began to tremble.
“We need to go, now. Forget the boxes. Go.” He calmly opened the door to her patio, calling out for Bear who was pacing the garden. The dog lazily bounded after them as he put his arm around Mara’s shoulders casually. He tugged at his shirt, making sure the gun was hidden. Knowing that the men were in the rooms on this side of the house, he wanted to make sure that they didn’t draw any suspicion in case the men were looking.
As they crossed the yard and entered Beau’s house, he quickly dug his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Agent Parker. His phone went right to voicemail. Beau left a quick message, asking for a return call. Mara stood, ghostly white, leaning against his counter. Her whole body shook on the walk over, but now she looked like a statue. Bear sat at her feet, looking at her as if worried. Beau dialed Agent Parker’s office, also getting voicemail.
“Damn it, where is he?” His loud outburst pulled Mara from her trance. Beau looked at her just as tears spilled over. “Hey, hey,” he said softly as he moved to wrap her in his arms.
“I’m just so tired of it. I am done with being scared. I don’t want to live a life of fear.” She sounded more frustrated than scared.
“It’s going to be ok. We’re working something out.” Beau pushed Mara onto a stool, pulling another one up next to her. He opened his laptop, checking the email. He had a response from Agent Parker to his email from the night before.
Contacted Joey’s brother, who is in charge if both Joey and Paulie are gone. He’s power hungry and gave us someone else to testify. He said the girl would be off the hook if we can manage to get both men in prison so he could take over. She will be safe once we get those two, and find her ex, Jimmy. Meet with you tomorrow to discuss.
Damn it, Paulie’s lackey was Mara’s ex. The one who beat her to hell.
“So, when are you going to tell me who it is? How did they find me?”
“It’s Paulie and Jimmy.” He paused to allow that to sink it. Her fingers squeezed tight into a fist. Her face reddened with anger. “They came looking for me, not you. They don’t know you’re here. I just said it was my girlfriends place. Paulie is who I met with in Dallas. He had a hacker find my real address and with you having a B and B next door, it was convenient for them to come stay here and keep pressure on me to find you. They also have a hacker trying to get into the FBI files, which means that if they get in, that they will know it’s you who owns that place.”
“I should have picked a job that was less public. I just, I thought I was finally free, finally able to really live a life.” He could barely hear her as she mumbled.
Beau slid closer to her, stroking her face. He cupped her chin so she was looking at him.
“You are free and soon, you’ll be freer than free and you won’t have to testify. Agent Parker and I fixed that. Once we get these guys behind bars, you’re safe.” His phone rang and he jumped to answer it.
“Parker, what the hell, we ne-“
“Mr. Belmont, have you not heard from Parker either?” The man on the other end of the line was a new voice. He had no clue who it was.
“Who is this?” Anger seeped into his voice.
“Agent Michaels.”
“Agent Michaels?” Beau repeated so Mara could hear. She nodded, indicating it was ok. “No, I’ve been trying to reach him. Paulie Ciminelli and Jimmy just checked into Mara’s B and B. I kept her out of sight, but they are right next door. They hacked records to find me and stay close to keep pressure on me to find her. It won’t be long before they figure out who she is and that she’s here.”
“I know, our IT guys have been battling this hacker for the last hour. They are close to getting in. No one has heard from Agent Parker since he left last night. His communications show that you were the last email he sent out and now he’s gone. He hasn’t been home, his girlfriend said that he never showed for their dinner reservation and has
n’t been able to reach him.”
“I haven’t heard either. Now what?”
“Now, we feed them info about her and try to get daddy here. I’m working on that. You just sit still. Keep Mara safe and out of sight. We have a tactical team heading that way soon. They will be ready to go as soon as we have word Paulie is there.”
“So, what? We just hide in my house? They will get suspicious if we aren’t there for dinner or lunch, or if the house stays empty like it is now.” Beau knew that the two men would be searching the house. They probably were already getting concerned about the fact that Beau and Mara left and no one else was there.
“You go back, leave Mara at your place. Do not let them out of your sight. I’ll call when I can.” Agent Michaels hung up and Beau looked at Mara.
“He was the first Agent I dealt with, when I was in the hospital.” Beau just nodded, staring at her. He leaned over and kissed her.
“I need you to stay here. There’s a gun in the drawer there,” he pointed next to the fridge. “There’s one in the coffee table in the living room and end table in the bedroom upstairs. Ok? I need you to stay here. Lock the doors, keep Bear by your side and don’t’ open the door for anyone.”
“You can’t leave me,” she pleaded.
“I have to. Jennie will be there soon and if we’re both gone, those guys will know something is up.” Reality hit Mara. She panted, trying to catch her breath. No, she told herself. I will not panic. I can do this.
“Ok, we can handle it. Go.” Mara moved towards his living room. Knowing she was going to be alone in his house, she figured that she would do some snooping and get to know more about the man that she was willing to not only trust with her battered heart, but with her life. Beau watched her and his dog head into the other room and he let himself back out. On his walk back across the yard, he shaded his eyes against the sun. In the upstairs room, he could see the curtain flutter as someone moved away from the window. Yea, just like they thought. Someone was snooping and someone was looking out.