by Tina Donahue
“Toni?” Belle’s voice transformed from all-business to caressing, caring. “You okay, hon?”
“Fine.” With the back of her hand, she swiped moisture from her eyes, then draped her arm over the top of the phone, leaning into it, her back to the sun. Behind her, cars rumbled down the street. A horn honked. People strode past, talking on their cell phones. Children whined, trying to get their parents’ attention.
Bringing the receiver’s mouthpiece even closer so Belle could hear her clearly, Toni said, “Sorry I haven’t called in a couple of days. You and Lucky doing all right? Is he taking his medication like he should?”
“If he wants me to keep talking to him, he does.” She chuckled, interrupting it to cough. “Don’t you worry, he’s being a good boy and I’m just fine. We’re both gonna be kicking for a long time to come.”
Toni swallowed, refusing to imagine the day she’d lose either of them and be alone again. “How’s business? Any sales? Repairs?”
“It’s been slow, but steady. We’re new. Takes time to catch on. Now don’t you worry.”
She couldn’t help it. They’d been there when she’d needed someone to care about her and now she needed to do the same for them. “I’ll be able to wire you guys some decent money in another week.”
“No.” Belle’s sweet voice turned firm. “We already told you, you don’t have to send us anything.”
“I want to.”
“Aw, hon.” Belle blew out a sigh. “We don’t want your money. We just want you to be happy. Lucky and me love you, always have, always will.”
A tear rolled down Toni’s cheek. Another fell from her chin. She lowered her head. “I love you guys too, that’s why I want to do this.”
“No. Take care of yourself, don’t worry about us.”
Toni forced down a swallow and cleared the huskiness from her voice. “I have to—I’m going to.” She spoke quickly before Belle interrupted. “You won’t have to work so hard if I help out. You should be enjoying life now, not worrying about bills. And I got this really great gig for a month. The pay is great.”
Belle didn’t comment. On the other end of the phone, Toni heard a buzzing sound, indicating the front door of the shop had opened. A woman’s voice, subdued from distance, asked where the convenience store had gone.
“Moved two blocks over,” Belle answered. “Down Troop Street to the left.” Back on the phone, she asked, “Where are you performing?”
Toni hedged. “It’s a small outfit, fairly new, but the people are really nice. There’s Angel and Robbie, guys my age. And there’s Em and Hector. They’re in their thirties and couldn’t be sweeter, especially Em. She always wants to feed me.” Unable to stop herself, Toni went on and on, embellishing, lying, evading.
“Sounds good,” Belle said.
“It is. It’s more than I expected before the start of the circuit. It’s—I’ve met a guy,” Toni said, interrupting herself.
On the other end of the call, she heard squeaking noises that sounded like Belle had left her chair.
With motherly interest in her voice, Belle asked, “You’ve met a man?”
Another tear rolled down Toni’s cheek. “Zach.”
“He’s performing with you?”
Eyes squeezed tight, Toni picked at the corner of the phone’s metal veneer with her thumbnail. “I really like him, Belle.”
“I know. I can hear it in your voice.” Her rasp softened, her tone growing protective. “How does he feel about you?”
Sorrow and reality threatened, choking off Toni’s words, but not her thoughts.
Nearly a week had passed. Three more to go and she’d be on her way. Without pause, burying regret. She’d promised herself nothing more than the means to make some needed cash and to have a good time in the bargain.
What she now wanted was so much more. And so very impossible.
On the other end of the call, Evan Clancy—a deputy with the sheriff’s department and one of Zach’s friends—took his sweet time answering the question.
Impatient, Zach transferred the phone’s receiver from his right ear to his left. “Come on, Evan. It’s not classified information. It’s public record, right?”
“Most of the public wouldn’t want to know her home address. So why do you?”
Zach lied, “I’m just trying to verify what she put down on her employment app. She gave me a general delivery address in Texas. What do you have?”
Tapping noises, the kind fingers make when striking a computer keyboard, filled the silence. At last, Evan said, “Same one. Must be her address. I understand in her line of work she moves around a lot.”
“Do you have anything else on her?”
“Why? She going to be handling money there? I wouldn’t advise it.”
Zach frowned. “Why the fuck not? Why in the shit would you say something like that?”
“Hey, don’t get pissed at me,” Evan shot back. “I’m not the one who got arrested.”
“For performing without a permit and not having insurance, not grand theft. Toni’s no thief,” he said, parroting her earlier words to him.
“Toni?” Evan’s tone grew curious.
“Help me out here,” Zach said, his voice raw with desperation.
After a brief pause, Evan spoke in a near-whisper as though he didn’t want to be overheard. “Hey man, do you have something going on with this girl? Do you know what you’re getting into?”
Ignoring the concern in Evan’s voice, Zach asked, “Are you going to give me the information or not? Don’t jerk me around.”
Evan muttered something beneath his breath. On a sigh, he said, “We ran her prints, like we do with anyone who gets arrested. She’s clean. She doesn’t have a record, except for what she did here, all right? Of course, that doesn’t address what she hasn’t been caught for, which wouldn’t be in the—”
Zach interrupted, “Where’s she from?”
“What? Texas,” he answered before Zach could repeat the question. “I already told you that. It’s where she got her driver’s license, which she’ll get back when she gets insurance, and she also registered her bike in that state.”
“No, I mean, where was she born? What’s her real last name before she changed it to Starr?”
“She changed it to Starr? When? Why?”
Rubbing his temple, Zach asked, “Do you know any private investigators? I want the best. Someone I can trust.”
“Why? What in the hell has she done?” He spoke in the same near-whisper he’d used earlier, “What in the fuck are you planning to do with this girl?”
Zach closed his eyes. He needed to do everything he could in the short time they had. She’d gotten that deep beneath his skin, crawling into his soul and heart. He couldn’t let her leave here with nothing and nowhere to go to. He had to be certain she was safe with some place soft to land. It was the least he could do for all she’d given him.
“Nothing,” he answered. “She’s alone, Evan. She’s only twenty-seven and she doesn’t have a fucking soul in the world to help her. I want to find out why. So are you going to give me a name of an investigator or not?”
“Hey, Zach.”
At Angel’s voice, Zach glanced at the door leading into the bays. His heart pounded at the possibility of the younger man having heard part of his conversation. “How long have you been there?”
Angel’s shaggy brows rose. “Just came through the door now.”
Zach’s heart didn’t care, it kept slamming against his chest. Pushing the frown from his face, he asked, “What do you need?”
“Got a customer here wants to talk to you.” Continuing, Angel spoke in an even softer voice than usual. “Nothing bad. He likes the work. Just needs to ask you about another job he maybe wants us to take on. He’s having a smoke outside.”
“Tell him I’ll be right there.”
With a nod, Angel left.
Back on the phone to Evan, Zach said, “Give me a name. Now. Please.”
Reaching the last street that ended at the garage, Toni glanced up and saw Zach. He stood just outside the shop’s front door next to an older guy with a huge belly and florid skin. The man flicked his ashes on the concrete, then lifted his cigarette to his thick lips, drawing deeply on it. Smoke poured from his mouth as he nodded at Zach’s comments.
Toni’s steps slowed. New tears threatened, seeming to come from nowhere.
This morning she’d been eager to get through the day and welcome the night with Zach at her side. Now the passing minutes and hours seemed to be sucking away all of her energy, telling her what she didn’t want to face, not yet, not now.
With another day speeding by, she had even less time with Zach.
Her stomach rolled at the thought of the following month and all the others without him, the mixture of truth and lies she’d told Belle. She’d admitted finally that Zach owned a garage in Indulgence, where she’d been working to get a steady flow of cash for the start of the circuit. With the last of the truth, her lies again took over. The worst of which was her claim that Zach felt deeply about her, even hinting at what might be their future.
One she dismissed for Belle’s benefit. Toni didn’t want her or Lucky thinking she was ungrateful for them bringing her into their act. And so, she contradicted her earlier admission as to how much she liked Zach. She lied and told Belle that despite her feelings, she didn’t want to settle down in one place. She enjoyed being on the road, free to do as she pleased. She craved the life Lucky and Belle had introduced her to, one Zach could never understand.
Belle had listened without comment until Toni’s lies ran out. As she’d slumped against the phone, her body drained, Belle said, “Do whatever makes you happy, hon. If it’s staying there with him, give it a chance.” After a moment’s hesitation, she added, “Not every man’s like Joe.”
Toni blinked rapidly, trying to clear her eyes. Being happy and taking a chance on something that didn’t exist wasn’t on the agenda three weeks from now. Her future, the one she’d grown accustomed to, was what she had to accept.
As she continued to approach, Toni watched Zach favoring his good leg, an unconscious action on his part. It endeared him to her for reasons she didn’t want to admit or address. He listened to the older guy, nodded in apparent agreement, then smiled.
It tore Toni’s heart a little more and reached a part of her soul she hadn’t known existed. Every part of her ached for him. He was the type of man she’d dreamt of as a young girl before Joe had damaged her life. The kind of man she’d longed for as a grown woman.
Virile, commanding…cherishing, generous, kind. Not to mention handsome as sin, sensuous beyond belief.
How easily she could fall in love with him if he allowed himself to do the same with her, which he would not. Toni figured he simply appreciated the novelty she presented as a motorcycle performance artist and enjoyed the physical comfort she could provide during their time together.
To him, it would be the sum total of their connection.
As she drew closer, Zach glanced over. Toni’s eyes snagged on his, her steps faltering briefly. With a faint nod and a thudding pulse, she acknowledged him and moved past.
She’d just reached the bay doors when Zach called out, “Hey, where’s my Danish?”
Shit. She’d forgotten it. Digging into her pocket, she extracted the bills and change, then returned to give him the cash. “Hector didn’t make any today. Sorry.”
Before Zach could ask anything more, she went into the garage and looked at the huge clock hanging on the wall. The seconds and minutes ticked by.
Chapter Ten
With the chain-smoking customer gone, Zach returned to his office and called the investigator Evan had recommended. Zach kept his voice low, telling the woman what he’d found out so far—including verifying that the Social Security number was under the name Toni Starr—insisting no one at her agency contact Belle or Lucky for more information, especially to find out Toni’s real last name.
The woman cleared her throat in what seemed an effort to hide her impatience. “You’re making my job harder, Mr. Brody. They obviously know her real name and past. It would be a simple matter to gain their trust and in a roundabout way ask them what—”
“No.” An image filled his mind of Toni pulling their picture from her bra, her face softening with affection. “I don’t want Toni to know I’m doing this and I don’t want the Starrs worrying about her. Find another way.”
“It’ll take time.”
“You have two-and-a-half weeks.” He kept his eyes on the door leading to the bays, alert to anyone, especially Toni, intruding. “At the most, three.”
“Then it’ll cost you extra for the—”
He interrupted again, “You have my credit card information and my approval for the charges, all right?” Not giving her a chance to respond, he said, “I expect a report every morning in my email account. I need to know what you’re finding out and how you’re doing it.”
After a brief pause, she spoke in a subdued, businesslike voice, “If that’s what you want, Mr. Brody.”
What he wanted was assurance Toni would be all right after she left here, not to mention being free of his sudden possessiveness. It continued to flare, eating away his reserve as he next called the Last Chance Diner and asked Em if they had any blueberry Danish, his favorite.
“Hector’s been making them all day, just like always,” she answered, the inflection in her voice telling him he was an idiot for asking.
So Toni had lied just as he’d suspected. Why? He recalled her wanting change when he’d given her the twenty. Had she made a call at a pay phone? Probably. To Belle and Lucky or to someone else? A guy?
Zach’s gut cramped. Inhaling sharply at the pain, disturbed by it, he recalled the way she’d given herself to him these last days—so effortlessly, hungrily, repeatedly. If she had called a man, he couldn’t be a current lover, or at least one she cared deeply about.
He certainly wasn’t a guy who worried about her. That kind of a man would have helped her when she’d needed cash to stay out of jail and to spring her bike…unless she hadn’t told him. Just as she surely hadn’t told Lucky and Belle. Only why would she do such a thing? Because the man, lover, boyfriend was as broke as her?
Zach’s frown deepened. Was that the kind of bum she’d known prior to coming here? Had she loved any of them? Would she hook up with someone like that again once she took off, going god knows where, doing god knows what?
“Want me to throw a couple in a sack and run them down to you?” Em asked, breaking into Zach’s silence and hounding thoughts.
With jealousy eating at him, he declined, “I’ll swing by in a few.” Grabbing his keys, he called Angel into the office. “I have a few things I need to do,” he told the younger man. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours at most. Take care of things.”
Angel nodded.
Zach left the garage on an errand involving Toni, one he’d thought of during his many calls about her. A matter he’d share tonight as she lay naked beside him in bed.
Her conversation with Belle, the feelings she’d revealed about Zach, dominated Toni’s thoughts for the rest of the day. Already she was far too attracted to him, which was deeply dumb because all of this would soon end.
Despite that reality, the hours began to drag. Repeatedly, she’d glanced at the time, having to force herself to concentrate on her work, to laugh at Robbie’s lame jokes or offer comments at Angel’s gentle teasing.
On the drive to Zach’s house, Toni sagged against her door, worn out. Her tangled emotions stole all the casual shop talk she’d intended to share so she could make him laugh, dazzling him with her personality.
What had Meg’s been like? Sweet? Sultry?
Sadness gripped Toni at what he’d lost. Common sense warned her it was the kind of woman she’d never be. She glanced at her hands. Her nails were clipped short, no polish. Her only concessions to femininity were her manicured toena
ils and toe ring. Glancing at it, she pulled her gaze up, noticing the nasty bruise just above her left knee from running into one of the shop’s cabinets. And then there was the scar near her elbow. And the tattoo on her ass.
No, she wasn’t like Meg at all.
She tried to shrug it off, telling herself she was okay as she was, but could not. Envy riddled her over a woman she didn’t know, over a future she might have had, one stolen from her because of her father’s death, then Joe.
His heartless smile and cold eyes filled her mind as they had in nightmares past. His honeyed voice returned to haunt her.
With great effort, she forced them away.
Eyes lifting, powerless to resist, Toni looked at Zach. A man who represented everything she’d lost and wouldn’t have, except for a few weeks. An ache tore through her. So quick, it caught her by surprise. So deep, it stole her breath.
He glanced over, his expression neutral. Toni hoped hers matched it.
With his gaze skimming her, he asked, “You okay?”
“What was she like?” The words spilled from Toni, independent of her brain and good sense. “Meg?” she added, her voice softening, as it would be when discussing something sacred.
A red flush crept up Zach’s neck. Pulling his gaze from her, he fiddled with the radio, turning the volume down, then up. The announcer’s voice boomed with the sudden change. Zach adjusted it again, this time at a reasonable level. A commercial for cattle feed came on. “You want to know about my life?” At a four-way stop, he turned his head to her, his eyes wary, his tone an accusation. “You haven’t told me anything about yours.”
Curling her fingers into fists, Toni tried to keep discomfort from her voice and the past from intruding or wounding. “I’m the best damn mechanic there is.”
Quick frustration and finally sadness registered in Zach’s expression. With his attention back on the road, he pulled away from the stop sign, driving a block in silence, broken only by the radio’s noise and his heavy exhale of air.