by Aycart, Elle
Red took the glass from Audrey’s hand. “You can’t let this be. You have to tell him.”
“So that he can keep me around out of pity? Or out of a twisted sense of obligation? I’m not going to use my baby like that.” He’d take responsibility, she was sure, but she didn’t want him by her side just because of the baby. She wasn’t going to force herself upon him. She still had some pride left.
“And when your baby bump starts to show? What then?”
Audrey shrugged. “Haven’t thought that far.” At the moment she was just enjoying her shitty present, where her lover didn’t think they had a future together.
“Wait here,” Red ordered and dashed to the inn’s main building.
Sure. Where would she go?
She figured she’d have to tell Connor about the baby at some point, especially when she started showing. He’d been doing a great job so far of avoiding her, though. Maybe her luck would last eight more months. Then again, other people would notice and probably go to him with the news. Unless someone discovered she was impersonating Audrey, then she’d end up in prison, of course. She could always count on being locked up to hide her from Connor. Behold her even shittier future. Yippee.
The way he was steering clear of her, though, she and Connor could live in the same building and not meet for ages. It had been almost a week since the crash and burn fiasco at Greta’s, and she’d seen him only once. She’d been helping set up chairs and supplies for the outdoor senior painting classes when a mighty pissed Connor had walked in carrying the OGs’ things. He hadn’t even thrown a glance her way.
“Forget it,” she’d heard him grumbling as he was trying to leave.
The OGs got in front of him. “Come on, you just have to sit and pose for us,” Greta had coaxed. “It wouldn’t even be a full nude. You can keep your boxers on.”
“The deal was for me to carry your stuff here, Grandma. That was it.”
“We need a model,” Rebecca had begged.
Audrey had frozen. Crap.
By then other attendees had arrived and were surrounding Connor, thanking him for his offer to model.
She knew Connor well enough to realize he was trapped. As nasty as he’d been with her, she knew he couldn’t behave in the same manner with his grandma and her friends. It wasn’t in him. But he couldn’t pose half-naked for them either. He would come clean to them about what had happened to him, but on his own time.
Forgetting she was pissed at him, she’d taken her cell and called the gym. Mike had been the only person she could think of who could help. And he also knew why Con couldn’t pose.
Then she’d charged to the rescue. Time to improvise. “Ladies, ladies,” she’d said, getting between Con and the grandmas. “As much as we would love to have him pose for us all but naked, I’m afraid the inn doesn’t have the proper permits for this. I don’t want to get shut down for indecent exposure. Plus such a fine specimen might give you palpitations and other medical conditions. We don’t have a resident doctor.”
When everyone gave her a duh-look, she’d had to unload the big guns. “Fine, fine. You got me. I’m not good at sharing. He’s mine, and I won’t let him pose naked.”
“You’re hers?” Greta had asked, a corner of her mouth lifting up. “You aren’t fighting anymore?
Connor had looked so pained. Trapped between a rock and a hard place.
“Who ordered a half-naked model?” Mike had yelled, out of breath, already pulling off his T-shirt as he approached, running.
Rebecca had frowned. “You said you would never pose for us again, remember? After the ambush at the community center?”
“Changed my mind. I’ll even agree to body oil,” he’d offered, getting everyone’s attention. “But no touching. I’m a married man.”
With Mike now in the spotlight, she’d turned around, stupidly hoping Connor would say something to her, but she’d only gotten to see his back as he walked way.
So yeah, he definitely wanted nothing to do with her.
At that moment, Red came back with a whole Death by Chocolate cake on a tray, taking Audrey out of her reverie. And thank God. Thinking about Con would do her no good. Red put the treat on the table in front of her and handed her a fork. “This is better than hoping for a placebo effect. Real sugar overload.”
Audrey pondered a second. Then she grabbed the fork and dug in. Fuck it. She was tired of having to pee all the time. And being pregnant was the best of excuses to stuff herself with food.
Red produced another fork and took a piece of the cake. “If the fight wasn’t about… you know what,” she said, gesturing to Audrey’s stomach, “then what was it about?”
Audrey couldn’t tell her. It wasn’t her story to tell. “Irreconcilable differences?” He thought he was a menace, and she begged to differ. That, of course, had been before he’d made a 180-degree turn on her and become an ass. “Phenomenal lay?” He was lucky she hadn’t decked him right there. He would have experienced firsthand how well she could defend herself.
Red had enough presence of mind not to ask any further questions. “Let’s eat. Carbs are the perfect comfort food. After we finish the cake, I’ll bring ice cream.”
Right.
They ate in silence. Red had orders to prepare for the supper shift, and so she went back to the kitchen. Audrey offered to help, but her chef turned her down. “Relax. I have everything under control.”
Yeah, better to stay out of the kitchen. Audrey didn’t need a class action suit accusing her of poisoning her clients.
After eating a bit more, she went to return the cake. And the pitcher. Placebo effect, her ass.
“Audrey, these two gentlemen say you have an appointment with them,” Shantel said when Audrey came back to the terrace.
The loan sharks, as Con called them, loomed on the pool deck.
“Right. Thank you, Shantel. I’ll take it from here. Gentlemen, please have a seat. Would you like something to drink while I go fetch what you came here for?” she asked.
They nodded as they sat down, so she turned to Shantel. “Please, serve them whatever they order. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Compared to the scorching heat of Texas, this was just a mild spring day, but apparently the day had the full force of summer for Massachusetts residents, because the men were sweating in their suits.
She walked to the cottage. The inn was doing very well, so in addition to the amount due, she’d been able to withdraw enough money from the bank to cover an extra payment. As she searched for the envelope, there was a knock on the door just before Greta walked in.
“Hello, my dear,” she said. Rebecca and Wilma were right on her heels. “Can we talk?”
Audrey smiled apologetically. “I’m a bit busy at the moment.”
If they heard her words, they decided to ignore them. “Honey,” Greta started, “we need to do something about Con. You need to do something.”
“I’d love to help, but at this point I can only come up with one solution. You might not like it—it involves beating the shit out of your stupidly stubborn grandson.”
The three grandmas waved that off. “Please, we’re totally okay with physical violence, especially when he so clearly deserves it,” Greta pointed out while the other two nodded. “Let’s all put our heads together and I’m sure we can come up with a viable plan. Including an acceptable level of violence.”
Audrey smiled again. “I’d love to. Later. As I said, I’m a bit busy. I have two gentlemen waiting for me at the pool.” A knock came on the door, which stood ajar. “That’s probably them,” she said, walking toward the entrance. Loan sharks by definition weren’t the patient kind.
But when she pulled the door wider, four huge men barged inside. Behind them came Andy. Audrey took several steps back, pulling the OGs with her. “What are you doing here?”
“Hello, Nicky,” he said.
“Again with the Nicky thing?” Rebecca asked, in what only the OGs could consider a whisper.
“He must be another of her bras,” Wilma stated.
Andy took a step forward, narrowing his eyes on her. “Or should I call you Audrey? Very clever to impersonate your dead friend. We all fell for it. Imagine my surprise when I came to Boston on business—you know, searching for new partners since you fucked up the old ones—and stopped at this inn to ask for directions to the country club. Fantastic vintage pictures on the bar lounge, especially the ones of the bike with the sidecar. I almost missed you. When I spotted you on the motorcycle, I had my doubts, but then your staff pointed you out on the terrace, and poof! All my doubts disappeared.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. With all that had been going on, she’d forgotten to Photoshop her face out of the picture.
“I remember you talking once or twice about your friend Audrey. You never told me she was your roommate. Heck, you never mentioned you had a roommate. I guess you decided to make the most of her demise, huh? She took the fall for your fuck-ups. Then you decided you might as well rip her off for all she was worth.”
“What is he talking about, Audrey?” Greta asked.
The OGs were right behind her, but she didn’t have the courage to turn around and face them. “You had her killed,” she said to Andy. “Audrey was innocent.”
At that moment two more men appeared at the door—the loan sharks.
“What’s going on, Ms. Fleming? Don’t tell us you’re trying to have us ambushed with some hired goons,” the one who always did the talking said.
Andy’s men turned to them. So did Andy. “Who the fuck are you?” he snarled.
The two men straightened their backs and widened their stances. “We have business with this lady.”
“Well, we have unfinished business with her too, and I’m pretty sure ours precedes yours. You’ll need to wait your turn.”
The loan sharks didn’t look pleased. “I don’t think so.”
Audrey wasn’t sure who started what, but suddenly they were all fighting.
“Go!” she hissed, pushing the OGs toward the door. “Out. Now.”
This was their chance to break free. The grandmas were at the entrance when Audrey felt a blow to the back of her head and everything went black.
* * *
“What the fuck do you mean, Audrey is missing?” Con asked as he arrived with Mike at the inn. They’d been together when he got the call.
“She’s missing,” Red repeated. “I came to the cottage and found these gentlemen unconscious on the floor.”
The hairs on the back of Con’s neck were prickling. He’d felt alarmed when they got the call, but on some level he’d believed it was all a ruse by the OGs to get him and Audrey together. The sight of two men, severely beaten, sitting on the couch in front of him put a damper on that theory. The OGs weren’t known for using stand-ins, and these guys didn’t look like actors. One was holding an ice pack against one eye. The other, short of breath, was undoing his tie. He probably had some broken ribs, because he winced in pain every time his chest rose and fell.
“Audrey did that?” Mike asked, looking impressed.
“No, she didn’t,” the one with the ice pack said with a grimace. “Those other guys did it. How many people does she owe money to? This is the first time we’ve had to fight over a client. We didn’t come ready for a full-frontal attack.”
“You’re the loan sharks?”
“Excuse me, short-term loan professionals,” the guy objected. “We came to collect in a peaceful, civilized fashion. They clocked her on the head with the butt of a gun and dragged her out of here unconscious.”
Con’s blood froze in his veins. “You’re telling us armed men took Audrey away?”
He nodded. “Her and the three grannies.”
Fuck. “What grannies?” Mike asked, already patting his pants. “Shit, I left my cell at the gym.”
Con turned to Red. “Were the OGs with her?”
Red looked even more panicked. “I don’t know. I never saw them.”
Mike grabbed Con’s cell and tapped the icon for Messenger. Then he showed a profile pic to the loan sharks. “Are these the grannies?”
The two men nodded. “The men were dragging Audrey away and the old ladies were trying to stop them, so in the end they grabbed the grannies too. Or maybe they clobbered the grannies and left them somewhere. We were busy trying not to get killed.”
At that moment Adrian walked in. “What’s going on?”
“I called him,” Red explained and then addressed the sheriff. “Audrey’s been kidnapped, and apparently the OGs too.”
Heart trip-hammering, Con took his cell and accessed his photos. He showed the loan sharks a picture. “Is this one of the men who took them?”
“Yes. He seemed to be the one in charge.”
Fuck. Andy had found her. Con turned to Adrian and Mike. “We need to talk.”
* * *
Pain flashed across Audrey’s head the second she opened her eyes. Ouch. Squinting, she looked around, not recognizing her surroundings.
“Girls, girls. She’s finally awake,” she heard, coming from near the bed where she was lying.
Audrey attempted to draw herself up, but the pounding in her head grew exponentially worse. “Why does my head hurt so badly?”
“Careful, darling. You’ve been unconscious for quite a while.”
Greta was in front of her. By her side were Rebecca and Wilma. All three were looking at her with concern.
Slowly, she sat up. “What happened? Why does my head hurt?”
“They hit you,” Greta answered.
“Who hit me?” She tried to remember, but it was all foggy. “Where are we?”
“We don’t know, dear. We hoped you could shed light on the matter. We were in the cottage when some men came in. Then two more came and started fighting over you.”
Oh shit. Everything came rushing back to her. Andy had found her. Then the loan sharks had arrived and all hell broke loose. She’d been trying to get the OGs to safety when she was clocked from behind. “Why didn’t you run away?”
“And leave you alone with those nasty men? I don’t think so,” Wilma answered. “We wanted to take you with us, but things didn’t work out the way we hoped. Good intentions, right? They had a van parked close to the cottage. No one saw them shoving us into it.”
God. Not only had she gotten the real Audrey killed, but now she was going to get the OGs killed as well. “Where are we?” She stood up and looked around frantically. The windows were barred. “What about that door?”
“Two foul-tempered men are outside guarding it. Us, I guess,” Greta corrected herself. “We didn’t get to see much when they moved us from the van to this house, but we seem to be in the middle of nowhere.”
She sagged on the bed again. Lowered her gaze. “I’m so sorry for this. For everything. I guess you know I’m not Audrey Fleming.”
“We kind of figured it out,” Greta said, sitting by her side.
“I still can’t believe it,” Rebecca said. “You resemble our Audrey so much, when she was young.”
Audrey snorted softly. “Yeah, that was exactly what brought Audrey and me together. I think it’s the birthmark. She was a very shy person, very withdrawn, but when she saw me, she came straight at me and showed me your picture. You probably won’t believe me, but I’ve known you for years.”
“You were her friend?” Wilma asked.
Audrey nodded. “Since college. We were roommates for many years. I got involved with Andy, the blond asshole you met at the cottage, and found out he was running a human trafficking ring in Texas. I called the cops on them, and the goons who got away came for me. They killed Audrey by mistake. I’m so sorry,” she said, breaking into tears. “It was all my fault. I had some money that belonged to them. I should never have taken it. Audrey is dead because of me.”
Greta patted her on the back. “Audrey is dead because those men killed her. That had nothing to do with you, dear. You didn’t kill her.”
&n
bsp; She wasn’t so sure. “If I hadn’t called the cops—”
“This Andy was trafficking human beings, you said? There’s a particularly nasty place in hell for that kind of monster. You did what you had to do. If Audrey were here, I’m sure she’d tell you the same.”
“What did you mean when you said you’ve known us for years?” Wilma asked. “Did you guys visit Alden? I think I’d remember something like meeting you, dear.”
The three grannies looked so hopeful, it killed her to tell them the truth. She shook her head. “Audrey had many phobias. She was scared of going out onto the street, of meeting new people, of being photographed. She was homeschooled, and she attended very few classes in college. Mostly she dealt with the outside world through her computer. When she was killed, she’d been working from home for a long time. As far as I know, aside from her friends in online gaming sites, she didn’t keep in contact with anyone. But she dreamed of going back to Alden and meeting the friends of her grandma. She felt like she could start over if she reopened the B&B.”
Silence. Audrey lifted her gaze and found the three grandmas were almost crying. Their normally blurry eyes were even blurrier with unshed tears.
Wilma cleared her throat. “Audrey’s granddaughter was such an introvert? Our Audrey was the opposite.”
“She had faith everything was going to change once she saved the money to reopen the B&B and moved to Alden. She followed you on social media and talked about you all the time. Pudding was your Number One fan. All the pictures you uploaded, she looked at for hours.”
Wilma frowned. “Pudding?”
“Her nickname,” Audrey reminisced with a smile. “She had a thing for pudding.”
“Weird ones?” Greta asked.
That took Audrey aback. “Yes. How did you—”
“Our Audrey was an expert on weird puddings,” Rebecca explained. “She compiled recipes.”
So that’s where Pudding had got those. “Audrey had those recipes. She was a great cook. She was going to man the kitchen at Audrey’s Inn, that was the name she had long chosen for the inn. I promised I would help her run it. After all those years following you online and seeing your pictures, I’d fallen in love with you and Alden too. When I found Audrey dead in our apartment and realized Andy’s men had killed her thinking she was me, I decided to let them believe so. I know I shouldn’t have done that, but I needed to disappear and I needed a new identity for that, so I took Audrey’s. I couldn’t save her, but I figured I could make her dream come true. Or so I tell myself when guilt and grief overwhelm me. I didn’t have enough funds myself, so I took her savings and used that money along with my own to buy the property. I’m sorry I deceived you all, but I couldn’t tell you the truth. I did break more than a law or two.”