Veda continued repeating his message, word for word, her voice rising with each one. “You want me to stay the fuck away from you, Gage? Well you got it. Get out of my room.”
“Veda, I’m so sorry—”
“Get the fuck out.”
This time, her demand was loud enough to crack the plaster walls. Loud enough to elicit a few employees that were passing by in the hallway to stop everything they were doing and peek into the room, checking if everything was okay. The sight of Veda and Gage inside was enough to excite the nosey nurse peeking in, who widened her eyes at someone else in the hallway in a manner that said: “It’s about to go down.”
Gage faltered as he watched Veda, eyes begging, downturned lips too shattered to speak. He tried to step closer, but Jake moved forward when he did, causing Gage to pause and give him a look. All Jake did was shake his head softly, and Gage looked away with a chuckle, running his wobbly fingers over his jaw.
“Get out!” Veda cried.
This time, Gage heeded her words, even as everything in his eyes screamed that he had more fight left. A flash of disbelief zoomed across his orbs before he turned away from the bed with a breathy heave, shoulders slack as he made his way sluggishly to the door. Once there, he paused again, slamming his hand down on the doorsill, squeezing it so hard he nearly bent the frame as he looked over his shoulder.
He and Veda met eyes once more, and whatever he saw in them caused moisture to fill his own. A small gasp left his lips before he shoved away from the doorframe and disappeared around the corner.
The moment he was gone, every chest in the room swelled high as Veda, Jake, and even Hope took their first real breath in minutes.
9
Veda had been discharged from the hospital but not from her wild mind. Her heart pounded harder than she’d ever known it was capable. She climbed out of Linc’s pickup truck, which he’d just parked in the garage of his apartment building, running her clammy palms over her jeans and sweater. Grabbing her oversized duffle bag from the floor of the car, she let it hang from her forearms, so heavy she was forced to hold it with both. She bopped the passenger side door closed with her backside, every inch of her body humming, fluttery, and achy.
Living with Linc. She hadn’t the first clue what to expect. Did he snore? He struck her as a snorer. Probably a loud one too. The kind of snoring that could crack glass. Was he a neat freak or a total slob? She couldn’t decide which would be worse. Was he one of those men who left wet towels all over the bathroom floor? Would he expect her to clean them up—or worse, would he expect her to cook—in exchange for letting her stay with him?
Would he expect even more?
Would he judge her when he inevitably learned her weird habits as well? Habits that had become so deeply ingrained in her, she didn’t even realize she had them anymore? Would he find those habits completely unbearable and kick her out on her ass to take her chances with her kidnapper—a man who was still at large? How would he handle the massive leopard print bonnet she wore to bed every night? Or the sight of her with a head full of flexi rod rollers? She could still remember the first time Gage had seen those rollers. He’d laughed for nearly an hour. He’d nicknamed her Medusa. How would poor Linc survive the sight of the Veda Vandyke he’d yet to meet? The one who woke up with a make-up free face, eye boogers, acne scars, and lip crust?
For the first time, she found herself thankful that Liam O’Dair was still behind bars, at the very least, until the end of the month. She couldn’t worry about pulling off another attack when she was living under the roof of the detective who was after her. Her thirst for retribution would definitely have to go unquenched until this roommate situation ran its course.
She frowned softly, wondering if it was a huge mistake to stay with Linc. He’d already come alarmingly close to catching her red-handed. On more occasions than she could count. Would living with him make his crackdown that much easier? Was she signing her own death warrant? She knew the answer, but couldn’t let herself accept it. What she could accept, however, was the one fact that remained. The fact that had never failed to overshadow all the rest—for ten long years—since the night he’d saved her life.
He made her feel safe. And considering the turn her life had taken damn near overnight, Veda needed to feel safe right now. So she licked and nibbled her parched lips, telling herself to man up as she made her way down the long body of his truck.
On the other side, Linc matched her stride, catching her gaze over the bed. His eyes shrunk in the way they only did when he was fighting a smile. It was a battle he quickly lost, and they shared a grin across the truck, both breaking the stare the moment the corners of their lips began to curl upward. He dropped his head, making his sloppy bun point upward as he scratched the back of his neck with a soft laugh.
They met at the foot of the truck, facing each other, the bright lights of the parking garage making both of their eyes gleam as they searched the other’s.
Veda crossed and uncrossed her ankles, over and over, craning her neck to take in all six foot five inches of him, always amazed that his muscular frame was nearly as wide as it was tall. Every fiber of her being wanted to speak her thoughts out loud. To ask what he expected from her. Was this just a friendly gesture? From a man who, since the moment she’d returned home, had been working overtime to make her feel like she was the bane of his existence? Or, in his heart of hearts, would he be expecting more?
Much more?
But Veda couldn’t say what she really wanted to say. She couldn’t say anything at all because every time she was able to complete a thought, the events of the last few days came blasting back to her. The push. The baby. The fact that Gage and his family were on the list of prime suspects. The fact that the men she’d set out to exact revenge upon might very well have turned the tables on her. That the person who’d turned those tables still walked free.
She swallowed thickly.
Linc watched the lump move down her throat, then lifted his eyes up just a pinch so he was drinking in her lips. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around the handle of her duffle bag.
Veda couldn’t help a smile when he took the heavy bag from her, lifting it easily with one hand when she’d been struggling to hold it with two.
“You good?” he asked, letting the bag fall to his side.
“I’d be a lot better if everyone stopped asking me that,” Veda said. “I’m fine.”
He took another moment, just watching her. Then he nodded towards the elevators at the opposite end of the garage and turned, beginning to make his way toward them.
“Hey, Linc?”
He slowed and met her eyes over his shoulder, lifting his eyebrows.
She zeroed in on the scar that sliced his left eyebrow in half—the scar she’d put on his face ten years earlier—speaking more to it than to him. “Why are you doing this for me?”
He tightened his fingers around the strap of her duffle bag, eyes leaving hers as he scratched his shadowed jaw. A long moment passed before his gaze reclaimed hers. “Why do you think?”
She shrugged one shoulder.
The breathy chuckle that left his lips entered her body, warming it up like hot cocoa.
He nodded toward the elevators again, and even though she was mildly annoyed at his penchant for only answering questions he felt like answering, when he began making his way toward them, Veda followed.
——
“Aye, Linc! What’s going on, my brotha’?”
Linc nodded his head up in greeting moments after the elevator doors opened into the main lobby of his building, revealing an African-American security guard who’s pearly white teeth greeted them from behind a square security podium.
“What’s good, Jerome?” Linc asked, holding the elevator doors open while motioning for Veda to step out.
She did, smiling at the man she now knew as Jerome.
A plethora of screens flanked the wall behind Jerome, showcasing surveillance footage tha
t encompassed the entire building, including the parking garage, the mailroom, and the laundry room. There was so much footage from so many angles, Veda found herself squinting in awe, wondering if they’d also gone ahead and installed cameras in the community bathrooms.
She drew in a quick breath when Linc laid his hand on the small of her back, warm and heavy. He gave her a soft push. She hadn’t realized she’d stopped walking halfway out of the elevator.
“This must be the famous Veda,” Jerome said as Linc guided Veda to the security booth.
Veda snuck a peek at Linc and caught him giving Jerome a look of warning.
“Famous, huh?” Veda asked. “Knowing Linc, you must mean infamous.”
“Nah.” Jerome gave her a sideways smile. “He speaks the world of you.”
Veda got another look at Linc and nearly laughed when she saw that his look of warning had morphed into one that screamed ‘stop talking—now.’
“Not sure I believe that,” Veda said, unable to ignore Linc’s hand, still resting on her back.
“She’s staying with me until further notice, Jerome,” Linc said, sliding a piece of paper across the podium countertop. “This is a list of people I’ve cleared to see her, but no one else, no exceptions. If anyone who isn’t on this list even attempts entrance into my apartment, call me immediately. I don’t care if it’s the mail man, the pizza guy, or even the police.”
“You got it.” Jerome took the note and held it up in the air.
Linc clapped his hand on the podium. “Thanks, man.” He turned to meet Veda’s eyes, softening his voice. “You good?”
Veda’s blood boiled. “I’m fine. God…” She gave Jerome a look. “A girl gets kidnapped and all of a sudden she’s made of fine China around here.” She motioned to Linc. “Two days ago this guy could hardly stand me.”
Jerome smirked. “Somehow I find that very hard to belie—”
“Thanks, Jerome,” Linc interjected, guiding Veda toward another set of elevators at the opposite end of the room. “Have a good night.”
Jerome bid them goodbye, not taking his eyes off them until they’d stepped into the elevators and the doors had slid closed behind them.
Veda watched Linc jam his finger into the button for the nineteenth floor, her eyes searching his profile. He kept his gaze forward, shaking his head softly when he appeared to realize she was staring at him.
“You like me,” Veda accused.
He cut his eyes at her.
“Jerome told on you, my man. All this time you’ve been pretending you didn’t want to be my friend, all while ‘speaking the world of me’ to your security guard. Why do you work so hard to fight it? We’re friends, Linc. Good friends. Say it.”
His gaze, searing the corners of his eyes, fell to her lips. The corner of his own mouth lifted. “I’m just doing my job, Vandyke.”
“I see. So you open up your home to all your victims, then? Will we be making room for Zena Jones too?”
He looked away, running his hand over the wisps of hair that had come loose from his bun, pushing them away from his face.
As the elevator climbed the floors, Veda continued, venturing into the topic she knew he was sensitive about. “Heard the same guy who stuffed me in the trunk had Zena Jones in the backseat of his car.”
His jaw seemed to roll at the vision of her ‘stuffed in the trunk’, and his voice fell to a growl. “That’s right.”
“Was he pimping her out?”
Linc shot her a look. He hesitated. “Yes.”
Veda’s heart zoomed to a stop as it occurred to her that whoever had been driving that car had surely had the same plans for her. “You think he works for the Blackwaters? Is that why you’re treating Gage and his parents like suspects?”
He squinted at her.
Silence.
Veda decided to let him avoid the answer. For now. “I knew Zena was alive all along. That night in my apartment… you said she was gone forever.”
“She should’ve been. Your stroke of bad luck was her miracle. If I hadn’t gone looking for you the other night, I would’ve never found her.”
“You’ve gotta look into Madame Nikki. She’s behind this. Remember that time I stole your badge?”
“How could I forget?”
“I used it as cover to drop by Madame Nikki’s office. While I was there, I got the feeling a john on her client list was the last person to see Zena Jones alive before she disappeared. Octo. Remember?”
A hint of irritation laced his voice. “I remember, Veda.”
Veda was glad he remembered because she remembered too. She remembered suspecting her number two, Eugene Masterson, whose jersey number in high school had been ‘8’, was Octo. Octo, the last person to see Zena alive. Eugene, of course, had thrown enough money at the problem to make all the suspicions against him go away before they spiraled.
But Veda hadn’t forgotten. “Octo was Zena’s john the night before she went missing, but Nikki doesn’t call them “johns.” When she sells her girls for the night, she claims they’re ‘innocent meetings’—”
“ ‘Between consenting adults,’ ” Linc finished with a gravely annoyance in his voice. “Trust me, I’m well aware of Madame Nikki and her games. Been after her for years, but she’s sharp. Patient. Doesn’t cut corners, which makes it hard to nail her down.” He snuck a look at Veda. “But we’ll get her… eventually.”
“If it’s true that Zena was trafficked…” Veda paused. “Maybe you should ask her if she knows your wife.”
Linc sighed heavily, his eyes going glassy as if they were in the midst of rolling. A moment later, he massaged the inside of his eyes with two fingers.
Veda was unmoved by his visible annoyance. “Maybe show her a picture of Lisa. She might recognize her.”
He looked up from his hand, holding it out before him. “You think I haven’t thought of that, Veda?”
The fresh clip in his voice—the one that always emerged whenever she brought up his wife—was nothing new, so Veda pressed on. “Well?”
His tone grew sharp. “Showed her a picture and, yeah, she recognized Lisa. I could see it in her eyes. But she’s terrified to talk.”
Veda reached out and covered his arm, wrapping her fingers as far around his massive bicep as she could, feeling it’s warmth. It’s strength.
“The look on her face…” He paused with his pained eyes forward, darting softly. “Made me wonder if I even want to find Lisa.” He chuckled with a soft shake of his head. “Zena said… she said… Said, even if I did find her, I wouldn’t even recognize her anymore.”
Veda frowned, understanding what he was saying but at the same time unable to wrap her head completely around it. “So we just stop looking?”
He made a face, pressing his fingers into his chest. “I will never stop looking for Lisa. Me. Only me. Never you.”
“You’re still telling yourself that lie? Linc, regardless of your delusions to the contrary, I’m a part of this now. There’s nothing you can do to change it.”
His eyes rose to the gash on her temple, and the fresh stiches keeping it closed. “You need to focus on resting and recovering so you can get back to work once I find the bastard who did this to you.”
“Once you find him?” Her voice grew playful. “Well, with all due respect, I won’t hold my breath since you still haven’t nailed The Chopper…”
He broke their gaze, fighting a smile. “Okay. You got jokes.”
“We should just get all my stuff moved in over here. I should just go ahead and quit my job. Looks like I’m gonna be here for a while.”
Linc nodded, eyes forward, grumbling, “She got jokes…”
Veda tightened her hold on his bicep, squeezing, the playful smile on her face suddenly vanishing as reality came swooping once more. “There’s something… big going on on this island. With the rich.” She swallowed. “With the Blackwaters. Isn’t there?”
Linc took a moment of silence before his eyebrows jumped.
Veda held her breath, hearing the words that he wouldn’t say out loud, but were clear as day in his eyes.
10
Veda lingered in the quiet nineteenth-floor hallway as Linc unlocked the bright red door to his apartment. He opened it and stepped inside, leaning against it to keep it open while moving his eyes to her.
But she didn’t return his gaze—too busy drinking in the open floor plan of his apartment. Floor-to-ceiling windows had greeted her from across the room the moment he’d opened the door. They were tall and immaculately clean, reaching to the very top of his vaulted ceilings, making the living area of his one bedroom apartment appear massive. Thousands of chubby stars winked in from the black sky, appearing to nearly shatter the glass with their luminance, blasting all the way across the apartment and into the hallway, tickling Veda’s need to approach so she could get a better look at the view she could already tell was going to be spectacular.
A smirk touched Linc’s lips, and his deep voice stole her attention. “You’re allowed to come in.”
Veda looked at him, rolled her eyes and then stepped past him, entering his apartment with a goofy look on her face. “Oh, am I? So honored to be invited into the apartment you insisted I stay in.”
A sound that she couldn’t pinpoint as annoyed or amused filled his chest and left his smirking lips, and Veda took only a moment to drink in the rare sight of his smile—unable to deny the fact that he’d been doing a lot more of it that night than he ever had before. She wasn’t sure she’d ever grow tired of the sight.
“You don’t need an invite. Just walk the hell in.” His deep, buttery sound floated in behind her as she moved inside, followed by the door closing and the click of the deadbolt. His heavy stomps re-traced her steps, moving in closer every second.
Striding on a slow foot, Veda took in the kitchen that immediately greeted her on the right. The sunken lights in the ceiling had been left on, sending sharp gleams of white blazing across the glossy black cabinetry. The black granite countertops glowed under the strong lighting too, perfectly offset by the stainless steel appliances. Above the large rectangular island, various pots and pans hung from a rack overhead. Most of them showed signs of wear and tear, giving the otherwise sterile kitchen a more lived-in feel.
Pulse (Revenge Book 5) Page 8