by Calinda B
“Hell, no. It means I can dip into the well whenever I like.”
“When Marni’s not demanding attention.”
“Right,” he said, with a sigh. He stroked her foot, massaging it with his fingertips.
“Or, when I’m not cooking for you or you for me or you’re not barbequing or any one of several domestic tasks we’ve employed recently. I didn’t know bad boys knew how to cook.”
“People have to eat, baby. Doesn’t mean they’re immune to seduction. Want to head to the bathroom so I can show you what I mean?”
She blushed, pushing her foot into his crotch.
The waitress appeared, placed their drinks at the table, eyed them with suspicion, and left.
“She’s jealous,” Jace said.
“Tell me about the meeting,” Zoé said.
“Right. That.” He ground his teeth together. “Neil and I were both present. They explained that it was a civil case but that O’Reilly was thinking of making it a felony. Shit. How fucked would that be? No one would ever hire me again. Then I was asked if I’d hit Billy on such and such date, shoved him on such and such date, and so on. I tried to explain but I nearly lost my temper. Neil kept shushing me. Then they asked me if I’d ever been in the bedroom of the yacht with Lila. I told them I was detailing it and she was helping me, and she found Billy’s suitcase, but, baby, it didn’t look good. It was fucked up. They said Billy’s lawyers are definitely going to twist the facts.”
“Oh, dear, it doesn’t sound good. That’s what lawyers do.”
“Yeah, I know it was only a fact-finding expedition but they let me know what kind of jackasses Billy’s lawyers are. I can’t imagine they’ll play any nicer when we appear in the courtroom. Shit.” He massaged each of her toes, drawing comfort from the touch.
Zoé winced.
“Well, I’ve got news for you,” she said, sweeping her foot back and forth between his legs.
“Not kidding, baby. Your foot is making me crazy.”
“Good.”
“What’s your news?”
“Those skank hoes of Billy’s came into the bar for lunch. They were talking about some plans Billy’s made when they didn’t know I was listening.”
“What did they say?” Jace sat up in his chair, leaning forward.
“They kept saying the word ‘her’ a lot and she needs her fix and Billy’s going to make sure she gets it.”
Jace’s blood began to boil in his veins. “They’re talking about my sister, I know it.”
He pushed away from the table and got to his feet.
“Where are you going? Sit down.” Zoé looked in the direction of the kitchen, seeming fearful that someone would see him.
“No, baby, we have to head back. I have to find the sheriff, go back, and find Debbi, find someone, and get the goddamned truth out of them.”
“No, Jace. We should eat a meal, calm down, and then we can head back to Port Townsend. I’m hungry. Don’t go all Captain America on me. Sit.”
Jace looked at her, thinking she might be right. “Captain America?”
“Brute force,” she said wearily.
He sat, dragging his hands through his hair. “I feel so goddamned helpless, baby, ever since this shit began.”
“I understand.” She placed her hand on top of his, stroking. “I know what it’s like to feel helpless, watching someone you know, someone talented and amazing, do stupid things.”
Jace watched her beautiful face become painted with torment, as if some screwed up artist was having his way with her. “You really loved your brother.”
“Yes.” She looked at him as if she were miles away.
“No other siblings?”
“No. He was it. He was older by a couple of years. He played football, soccer, baseball, you name it, but he wasn’t like the other jocks. He was a free spirit, like you. He’d take me into the great outdoors you love so much. He taught me how to run a river in a raft, how to sail down a rushing stream in an inner tube and navigate through the rocks without getting bashed. He taught me how to fly fish, catch and release them. Sometimes we’d keep the fish and cook them over an open fire. He was wild, he was free. He was meant for better things, Jace. He wasn’t meant to end up in a morgue.”
She gave him a moist-eyed look that made him want to give her everything, lay the world at her feet so she’d never have to experience pain or loss again. “Don’t cry, baby. I know it hurts.”
Locked in their own private universe, they barely registered when the food arrived.
“How do people become junkies? I mean, what would make someone want to put that shit in their veins or in their systems in the first place? I can’t say I enjoyed my experience the other night. It felt good for a little bit but then I wanted it gone. I don’t want a repeat experience.” Her face grew even darker, as if the same artist smeared every color from his palette on her face. “We came from a loving middle-class family. My mom and dad weren’t saints or anything, but they’re good, decent people who made sure we were well cared for. Denis and I both thought we’d grow up, get married, do our thing, live out our existence, and make the world a better place.”
“What did he want to do?” Jace asked, caressing her foot.
She gave him a sweet smile that made his breath catch. “He wanted to run fly fishing expeditions. He and my dad were going to put together an adventure organization. Dad would run river rafting tours, like he does now. Denis would take people up to Alaska or Chile to fly fish. They were really excited about it.”
“Both those places are incredible. Have you been?”
“I’ve been to Alaska. Not Chile.”
“We’ll have to go. I’ll take you to Coyhaique someday. It’s blow-your-mind-beautiful. Like you.”
She nodded thoughtfully, regarding him in a way that made him feel insane, like she reached her hand inside his ribcage, separated tissues in his heart, and stirred his capacity to feel.
“How did your sister get started…you know, using drugs?”
“Stupidity,” he answered automatically. His foot began to twitch under the table. “Let’s eat. It’s getting cold.”
He picked up his burger, took a bite and chewed, not tasting a thing.
Zoé picked at her tuna melt. “What’s going on, Jace?”
She removed her foot from between his legs, leaving a pool of longing behind.
“I don’t like dwelling on the past, baby, you know that.”
“I know, but when we talk about stuff…when we share stuff, I feel closer to you.”
Not this time, you won’t.
“Don’t press.” He uncapped a creamer and poured it into his coffee, stirring it with a spoon. He brought the cup to his lips and took a swallow, avoiding her gaze.
She continued to eat, chewing methodically, sipping her lemonade, staring at him.
He wolfed down his burger, and then signaled for the check.
“You’re not going to get away with not telling me whatever you don’t want to tell me, Jace,” Zoé said quietly, putting down her half-eaten sandwich. “How did your sister start using?”
His heart began to race in his chest. “Don’t, baby.”
“I’m not going home with you unless you tell me.”
“You live there.”
“I still have my house until the end of the month.”
“Don’t be stupid. Your Jeep’s in Port Townsend.”
“I’ve got cab fare.”
“Baby…”
“Tell me.”
The words lanced him. He took a deep breath and turned to face her. “She stole the shit from me. I worked for Mark Miller for a while.”
Chapter 33
Zoé
This is what it’s come to, Zoé thought, staring across the table at Jace, as she floated into a disassociated world. He seemed like a stranger, some random man occupying the same space as her. I’m in trouble, big-time. I’m in love with the guy who packaged the shit that killed my brother. Maybe
he cut the powder with the substance that put my brother over the edge. Maybe he sifted it into the tiny baggie.
She watched him the way she would regard a movie or a painting she disliked but was trying to find something, anything, she could like. He seemed to be talking. His lips were moving and an anguished look seeped across his face.
Numbly, she placed her fork next to her plate and said, “Let’s go.”
He stood, dropped his napkin on the table, tossed a few bills on the small, black tray, and walked to the door. He opened it and held it for her to exit. When they reached the Deus, she placidly took the helmet, climbed behind him, and placed her hands on his shoulders, barely making contact.
He turned the bike on, and they zipped away.
When they reached the ferry, she heard a desperate “Baby,” discharged in her direction like a missile. She stared at the guy who launched the attack, her body cold and dead inside.
Arms grabbed her by the shoulders but they didn’t reach her —how could they? She was far, far away. They rode the rest of the way home in silence.
Once they pulled up to the house —his house; it was never hers —she urged her unwilling legs to propel her inside.
“I’m going to go get Marni. Do you want to come with me, I said for the millionth time?”
“What?” She looked up from her stupor.
“I said, I’m going to Aunt Molly’s and get Marni. Will you come with me?”
She blinked. Who is this guy?
“No,” she said and wandered into the house.
Dimly, she became aware of him talking on the phone to someone —something about how he needed more time, something’s come up, and would you mind, and can he come later. She curled into a ball on the sofa.
Strong arms picked her up and carried her upstairs. She clung to him like a small child. He sat on the edge of the huge claw foot tub, holding her in one powerful arm while the other twisted on the faucet, testing the water until it felt right. He unbuttoned and unzipped, peeling off her work clothes and dropping them on the floor. She allowed all of this, placidly, as if she were a toy made of sand held together by burlap and string.
He stood up and lowered her into the porcelain enclosure like she weighed nothing at all. She watched the water seep higher and higher until it came up to the tops of her breasts. The stranger removed his clothes and got in the water with her. He turned her around and guided her back until she rested next to him, pressed against solid muscles.
He grabbed the bar of lemon-rose soap she’d bought, gently washing her entire body. Next, he squirted shampoo into her hair, lathering it into sudsy foam, reached for the water wand and rinsed it from her hair. As he did this, the excruciating lump in her throat began to dissolve, as if he shot the water into her neck, training the stream on the solid block of unyielding feeling.
One tear slipped free from her eye, then another. Before she knew it, she shuddered and sobbed, still held by the stranger.
As the torrent of tears washed through her, recognition dawned and she yelled, “I don’t want to love you, Jace! I don’t want to love you! What have you done to me? What did you do to my brother?”
He held her as she sobbed and protested, yet said nothing.
Finally, she spun around in the tub and faced him. “Why aren’t you yelling at me? Why aren’t you demanding that I do or say something? Why don’t you make this go away? Bring my brother back, Jace. You said you’d protect me and keep me safe. Bring him back.”
She howled with grief and rage, bunching her hands into fists and beating them against his chest. That’s when she noticed the immense pain, making his face crack into fissures of wretched torment.
“I never wanted to hurt you, Zoé. I can explain.”
“You’ve always got a good explanation, Jace. That’s the problem. I believe you when you tell me your truth. And then I’m confronted with another thing to deal with —and another —and another. You’re nothing but trouble. I gave up my life for you! I moved here, far away from my school and my life, the same way I gave it up for the brother you killed!”
“Baby, I…” His phone blared from the floor.
“Aren’t you going to answer it? Maybe it’s a new surprise for me to deal with.”
“No, Zoé, I’d rather…”
“Answer the fucking phone.”
He huffed out a sigh and reached for his shirt. His eyebrows raised when he checked the caller ID, then he answered.
“Hey, Aunt Molly. I’m still dealing with the situation. I’ll be on my way in…” He lurched from the water, splashing Zoé’s face. Lunging for the towel, he yelled into the phone. “What? When. How did it happen? I’ll be there in ten. I know you live twenty minutes away. I’ll be there in ten.”
He scrambled into his clothes, with a speed she’d never witnessed.
“What’s the matter, Jace? What’s happening?”
“I’ll explain later, baby. Wait here. We’ll sort this out, I promise.”
“Tell me what’s going on.” She got to her feet and reached for a towel.
He thundered from the room.
She wrapped the towel around her and raced onto the catwalk. “Jace. Fucking tell me where you’re going. You don’t tell me, I’m leaving.”
He turned his face to hers, an incomprehensible anguish flooding his handsome features. “It’s Marni. She’s been kidnapped.”
Chapter 34
Jace
It’s come to this. I’ve fallen in love with two beautiful female angels and I can’t keep either of them safe or free from trouble.
Panic, fear, heartbreak, more panic, more fear…Jace’s brain looped in a whirling cycle as he sped down the road on the Grievous Angel. He got to his aunt’s house in eight minutes and sprinted inside.
“What happened? Tell me quickly.”
Her face the color of ashes, Aunt Molly chin trembled. “I…I don’t know, I…I had the weed whacker on but I kept a close eye on her. One minute she was in the yard helping me in the garden, the next minute she was gone and a car was skidding out of the driveway. You know the driveway isn’t visible from the back of the garden —only the front.”
“What did the car look like?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t get a look at it.”
“Where’s Uncle Adam?”
“He went to the lumber yard to pick up two by fours. He’ll be back soon, I imagine.” She made a fist and stuck her knuckles in her mouth, biting down hard, no doubt holding back a torrent of tears. The whites of her eyes were wide, giving her the appearance of a terrified cartoon.
“Sit, auntie.” He gripped her by the shoulders and got close to her face. “Take a couple deep breaths and tell me everything that happened. Start with earlier in the day —did you do or see anything unusual —anything at all?”
Aunt Molly took a long, shuddering breath. “Marni and I —we had to get groceries. We ran into Billy while we were there. He asked who Marni belonged to and I told him she was Jayna’s. His eyes got weird when I told him. Kind of insane. He said she was beautiful and he touched her face. She pushed him away. Marni didn’t like to be touched by him.”
“He’s the father, Aunt Molly.”
“Billy O’Reilly is the father? Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Aunt Molly’s face twisted into shocked horror.
“Jayna didn’t want anyone to know. My twin and I have made it a practice to keep out the people who matter,” Jace said sarcastically, pissed at himself. “Billy left her when he found out she was pregnant.”
“I didn’t even know they dated.” Disbelief colored Aunt Molly’s face.
“How could you? Jayna’s been known to disappear. Think, auntie…are you certain you didn’t see the car —color, size, shape —anything?”
She thought for a moment, her brow furrowed in concentration. “I think it was gray. Something sporty.”
“That’s Billy’s car. Okay. I want you to do something. Call my boss, Neil. Tell him what happened and that Billy
has Marni. Tell him to meet me at the boatyard. Call the sheriff and Coast Guard. Tell them, too. If I hear anything specific, I’ll call you. When Uncle Adam returns, you two stay put and wait for me to contact you. I’ll get her back safe, auntie, I swear it.”
“Don’t do anything reckless, Jace, please.”
“That’s like asking me not to breathe, Aunt Molly.”
“I know it is but this time think of Marni. You’re her rock.”
Jace almost laughed. “I’m hardly anyone you can count on for anything but trouble. Ask Zoé.”
His aunt frowned.
“Never mind. I think it’s over before it began. Anyway, I’m heading out. Everything will be fine, auntie, I promise.”
After giving his aunt a hug, he sprinted to the Deus, fired it up, and sped away.
As he passed the Schooner Café, on impulse he powered the bike onto the sidewalk, to the shrieks of onlookers, and navigated to the building where the boats were built. As he approached the tall glass walls, the same guy who’d dropped a tool during his prior visit looked up and froze, like he’d been submerged in a subzero water.
“That’s right, asshole, it’s me,” Jace muttered, whipping off his helmet. He got off the bike and stormed toward the building. He threw open the door so hard, the glass wobbled and cracked in a jagged streak. “Tell me what you know.” Jace cornered the guy. “What kind of signal did you give Debbi the other day, huh? What do you know?”
Jace towered over the short, balding guy.
The man’s blue eyes blinked rapid fire as he looked at Jace.
Jace grabbed the front of his coveralls and pulled him close. “You have three seconds to start talking.”
“I don’t know anything,” the pasty-faced guy blubbered.
“Three…”
“Ask Debbi. She’s the one who knows.”
“Two…”
“I swear, I don’t know anything!”
“One.” Jace cocked back his fist, ready to drive it through the guy’s jaw.
“Okay, okay, okay! Billy’s got a secret party hideaway on Lopez Island. He’s got your sister there. She’s been whining for her daughter so bad, Billy told her he’d get her if she’d shut up.”