by M. Stratton
“Stormy, stop. Do you think I’d allow just anyone to protect you? That I wouldn’t make sure your best interests were taken care of?”
“No.”
“Calm down. It’ll be okay.”
“But I worry; that’s what I do best.”
“I personally picked the people who will be working in your store. These are the best. You trust me, right?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. And we’ll be there in another fifteen minutes. Don’t worry.”
“Fine.” Stormy had to hold herself back when they finally parked. Waiting for Bender to get out and open the door was torture. As soon as she could, she was through the door and quickly walking through to make sure everything was okay.
She walked slower back to the front of the shop, happy to be surrounded by books once again. She stopped short when she saw two people she’d never seen before standing with Bender. They looked normal, like someone who’d be working in a bookstore, not like people who were more used to whipping guns out and beating down the bad guys.
“Hey, Stormy, I want you to meet Crissy and Steven. They’ll be working here. They are actually huge book lovers who have worked in a bookstore before. Go ahead, test them.”
Deciding to ignore his dig at her, she turned to her new employees and held out her hand. “Thank you so much for helping me out.”
“Oh, honey, no problem. We jumped at the chance to work here. Brings back memories, we met in a bookstore when we were both in college. Love your place; I’m itching to get my hands on some of the books.”
Stormy relaxed as she spent some time going over her procedures with the two of them. Bender was right and she hated to admit it. They were perfect and she wouldn’t have to be alone in the store. In fact, when he had to leave, she didn’t give it another thought.
When the bell dinged over the door about lunchtime and she heard the deep throaty laugh, she went running to leap into the arms of the only other person she’d ever met who not only loved books as much as she did, but could give her a run for her money on knowledge of them. “Ahhh, Stretch, it’s good to see you.”
Evie Maldono gave her a squeeze. “Hey, quarter-pint, I’ve missed you. What’ve you been up to? I can see it’s not getting taller.”
“Isn’t six feet tall enough? Do you have to wear heels on top of it?” Stormy asked with her feet on the ground looking way up at her friend.
“Well, when you’ve got a husband who’s tall, you can wear them.” Evie waved behind her. “Anthony, come meet Stormy Ryan, a girl after my own heart and fellow lover of all things books.”
Stormy gulped when Anthony Maldono came into sight behind his wife. She’d seen pictures of him online and in the news, but actually to be in his presence was a bit intimidating. Being framed by a psychopath for murder and crimes he didn’t commit didn’t seem to have taken a toll on him. Of course, that may have something to do with the fact the psychopath was dead, brutally murdered, by some unknown assailant, and he was now married to Evie. A woman who’d do anything and everything for the people she loved. Stormy suspected Evie had a big part to play in bringing Anthony back from whatever ledge he had happened to be on.
Anthony held out his hand and she placed hers in it. He brought it up to his lips and held her eyes. “Pleasure is all mine.” He kissed the back of her hand and continued to hold it as a growl from the door was heard.
Bender couldn’t stop the growl at seeing some man kiss the back of Stormy’s hand. His team was about to hear it. First day on the job and already they’re letting men kiss her hand. He watched as she pulled her hand away and looked at him in confusion before starting in his direction. When the man stopped her by holding her back, he would have come unglued if she hadn’t spoken in her calm, soothing voice.
“Bender, I’d like you to meet my friend Evie and her husband, Anthony. Remember I was telling you they were coming into town to purchase some old books?”
Thankfully, he was quick on his feet. “Nice to meet you.” He nodded in their direction. “If you’ll excuse us, I need a moment with Stormy.” When Anthony didn’t let go of her arm, he continued. “Alone.”
“Evie, why don’t you take a look behind the counter on the shelf? I think you’ll enjoy seeing what I’ve got back there.” She patted Anthony’s hand, left him, and walked toward Bender, her hips swaying, and eyes flashing in anger.
Once she reached him, she walked past him and to the back of store into the least popular section. She whirled on him. Hissing quietly, she said, “Don’t you ever treat me like some piece of meat you own in front of anyone again.”
Damn if she hadn’t guessed exactly why he was pissed at seeing some jerk kiss her hand; he was jealous. “Stormy—”
“Don’t you ‘Stormy’ me. I will not be treated that way. Just because we’ve been spending a lot of time together and just so happen to have spent a night or two wrapped in each other’s arms doesn’t give you the right to treat me like property.”
“Listen, lady, you don’t know me; you don’t know how I grew up. I know women aren’t property. You want to know how I know?” He backed her into a corner towering over her. “Because my dad treated women, all women like property. He loved to knock them around, that’s how he treated his property. I saw how he treated my mom, and I swore I’d never treat a woman like a piece of property. So get off your high horse and shut up while I kiss every last argument out of your head.”
He’d been keeping a lid on his anger for what seemed like years and he unleashed it all on Stormy now. Capturing her lips, he poured it all into her and she took it, her hands roaming across his body, fingers digging into his muscles pulling him closer to her.
“Stormy?” Evie called. “Stormy, are you okay?”
He pulled away from her and looked into her soft, unfocused eyes.
“Yeah, ummm, yeah, I’m good. I’ll be there in a second, Evie.”
“About a second is all you’ve got before I hunt you down and start questioning just how in the hell you came across this book. You’ve been searching for one of these for years.” Evie came around the corner. “Oh, my. Well, hello. I’ll just be back over here. I would say finish up, but this is a public place.” She turned and walked back toward the front.
“She’s . . . interesting,” Bender said.
“She calls it like it is. I really should go talk with them. They are only in town for a few hours.”
“Yeah, I’ll just be back here.”
“What? You don’t want to come up there and get to know them?”
“Nah, I’m good. You go, spend time with your friend.”
He watched as Stormy walked away from him and called himself every name in the book. Not sure what got into him, he ran his hands through his hair. When he looked back up, there was Anthony blocking his way. “Shit.”
“Want to have this conversation outside?”
“Oh, yeah. But let’s go out back. I wouldn’t want the women to worry.”
“You do actually have some manners. That’s good to know; maybe you won’t be as hard-headed as I thought.”
“My head is harder than you think.”
They walked out into the back alley, Bender scanning to make sure no one was lurking in the shadows. When he’d gotten back from taking care of business, he’d let Crissy and Steven go to lunch, knowing he’d be there to watch over Stormy. Now he was thankful they hadn’t been there to see his juvenile outburst. Wouldn’t be good as their boss, but now he had to listen to it from some uppity stranger. “Can we get this over with? I don’t like leaving her alone.”
“I can understand why.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? And aren’t you married?”
“Do you always jump to the wrong conclusion?” He didn’t wait for Bender to reply. “This neighborhood isn’t the best, and since Stormy is one of Evie’s closest friends, and you”—he eyed Bender up and down—“look a little ‘rough’ around the edges yourself, I want to know what you a
re doing to keep her safe.”
“Everything I can do.”
“Is that enough? I have security I can allow you to use.”
Bender laughed at him. “Security? Let me guess, some fancy boys playing at keeping rich guys safe and dressing up in suits. Well, that doesn’t fly around here. These streets are a far cry from uptown. Besides, I have my own team watching things.”
“Is it enough?”
“I’m enough. There’s no one better.”
“So you say. Do you know who I am?”
“I could care less, rich boy. I’ve been around enough of you growing up. You don’t want to get your hands dirty, but you’ll pay someone else to do the dirty work, and that includes keeping your ‘things’ safe.”
“Yes, I use my money to keep what I love safe, and for me, that’s my family and friends. Evie is my wife. Stormy is her friend. That’s all the reason I need to offer what I can to help. If I know my wife, she’s going to be hounding me to do what I can and being a gentleman, I thought I should speak to you before coming in and taking over. Which I can do.”
“Listen here. You don’t know who I am. You don’t know the resources I hold. I may not look like much compared to you, but my bank account might just surprise you. I’m paid very well for doing what I do, and what I do is clean up neighborhoods. Get the scum out of here and make it safe for people like Stormy. People who are trying to make a difference, trying to make things better. She’s the last hope of light in this place and I will not see her go down. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her and her dream alive. So you can just stay out of my way. I don’t want to see any of your men around here. They’ll stick out like a sore thumb and only piss me off when I have to waste my time cleaning up after their fuckups.”
They stood staring at each other, neither one of them wanting to back down. Finally, Anthony smiled and held out his hand. “Anthony Maldono, nice to meet you.”
Bender waited a few beats before he took his outstretched hand. “Bender,” he replied and thought for a moment. “I remember reading about you. Maybe you aren’t as pampered as I thought.”
“Maybe you aren’t as much of an asshole as I thought.”
Bender smiled. “Nah, I’m a bigger asshole.”
As soon as Mick opened the door, he could smell paint. Wondering what Nutter was up to, he walked through the rooms until he found the source of the smell. There was the canvas portrait Nutter’d made of Stormy stretched out, and it was framed by blue bones. Blue human bones. He cocked his head to the side. He had to admit, the red, white and blue did make a nice patriotic statement, but there was something missing. Taking a step back and squinting his eyes, he still couldn’t put his finger on it.
Hearing splashing coming from the tub upstairs, he decided to see what else Nutter was doing. He could hear soft singing the closer he got to the bathroom. Without knocking, he opened the door and there was Nutter, on his knees in the tub, straddling a woman he was holding under the water and choking.
In a high-pitched voice, he sing-songed, “Oh, my Nutter, I just love taking baths with you. You put the fun in bath time . . .” The woman kicked and tried to claw her way out, large air bubbles came out of her mouth.
He moved closer so he could watch the light go out of her eyes and the water calm. Losing himself, he stared deeply into her dead eyes, searching for the answers when the water began to turn red with her blood. Thicker and thicker until her face was obscured. Knowing Nutter as he did, Mick knew he was cutting her, forcing the blood out of her body.
“Well, that should do it.” Nutter said and stood from the tub, the bloody water dripping off him.
“Do what?” Mick wondered aloud.
“I didn’t have enough bones to finish the frame. It needed a few more. I hated mixing hers with someone else’s, especially some cheap whore, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Yes, you’re right. That’s what it was missing.”
“Oh! You saw my masterpiece?” He sped up drying himself off and pulled on a black silk robe. “I’m especially proud of this one.”
“You should be; it’s really one of a kind.”
“Come on, I want to show you the space I made for it.”
They both made their way down the hall toward Nutter’s bedroom. Once inside, Mick looked around and tried to figure out exactly what Nutter had changed. “I don’t see it.” Everything seemed the same as last time. Nutter had every inch of space covered with blood portraits he’d done over the years. Surrounded by blood and beauty, he told Mick he loved to be encircled by them.
“That’s because you’re looking in the wrong place.”
Mick looked at Nutter who was grinning and pointing a finger up, toward the ceiling.
“Oh, yes, above the bed. How perfect. The last thing you’ll see when you go to sleep and the first thing in the morning.”
“Yes, perfect. I can’t wait to get her up there and see how the lighting affects her.”
“Let me change and I’ll help you.”
“Great. Oh, and dinner’s going to be a bit late. I really want to get this done.”
“No worries, what are we having?”
“I just picked up some fresh steak.”
Nutter laughed as he left the room.
Stormy spent a wonderful afternoon with Evie and her new husband. She was amazed Evie found someone so perfect for her, and not someone she would have picked for her friend. He definitely grounded Evie and held her back when she’d fly off the handle to protect those she loved. Then, when she actually had thought things through and had a good idea, he was behind her all the way, encouraging her. She couldn’t help it. Her eyes traveled to where Bender sat in the corner of her bookstore, reading, yet keeping an eye on her. Stormy wondered what their future held, and if it was something she should be thinking about.
Bender had been in and out all afternoon. She wasn’t sure exactly what he’d been doing, but at least he and Anthony seemed to be on good terms, which helped, considering the tension earlier. She brought her fingers up to her lips remembering his kiss, and wishing for more.
The kids had been happy to see her, and she had to admit she had also missed them. She’d sent Crissy out to get some cookies for them. She knew she should have picked something healthier, but it felt like a celebration, all of them together. It was hard telling them she wasn’t sure of her schedule for the next few weeks, but Crissy and Steven would be there to help them. As always, they looked at strangers warily, but they were both so warm and knowledgeable about books, the kids warmed up to them.
Where they were headed, she had no idea. Now she had to make a decision, to go with the flow, or to over-analyze and think things through. She rolled things around in her mind until she thought she might go crazy.
“Let’s go,” Bender said from right in front of her.
She jumped a little and knew she had to pay closer attention. She shouldn’t let her guard down even with him here. You never knew what would happen. Hadn’t she read thousands of suspense books? It was always when you were the most comfortable, the bad guy always struck.
“Where to?”
“I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”
“Who?”
“Technically, you’ve already met him, more than once. I think it’s time you know more about what we are dealing with. I need you to understand how important what we are doing is, and why you have to listen.”
“I have been listening to you.” She folded her arms across her chest.
“No, Stormy, I need you to really listen. Never to doubt what I say, and automatically do what I ask. It’s more than just life and death.”
“Sure, just let me shut down my system here.”
The steps needed to go from the car to the shop and back again were becoming habit between the two of them. Working together, they were becoming a unit. She could go through the steps blindfolded, knowing he’d be there, always looking out for her. Sitting in the front seat, she watched the bui
ldings go by; round and round they drove, always making sure no one was following them.
They had just passed the old gas station for the second time when out of nowhere a black SUV came racing out of the alley and slammed into her side of the vehicle. With the roar of metal tearing and tires sliding on the pavement, she was thrown one way and then back, hitting her head hard on the window.
Holding her head, she slowly looked over at Bender who was slumped over the steering wheel, blood from his head wound flowing over the deflated airbag. Reaching out to him, she tried to shake him, but didn’t have much strength and he fell against the door.
She heard a door slam and looked out the shattered window. Someone was coming toward her. Everything was getting fuzzy, but she thought it was Mick and Nutter. She tried to keep her eyes open, but they grew heavy and closed just as her door was wrenched open.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. Stop already.” Bender glared at Stormy. “You were knocked out too.”
“Yes, but I wasn’t out as long as you were.”
“You should still be resting.”
“You need more. You heard what the doctor said.”
“I was there, wasn’t I?”
“Are you always such a grump when you are hurt or sick?”
“No, I’m just a Suzy fucking ray of sunshine all the time.”
“Well, Suzy, it’s time for your meds.”
“Oh, now you’re a comedian? You might want to stick with running a bookstore.”
Wordlessly, she handed him the pills and a glass of water. He hated taking pills, but his head was killing him. “It’s just Tylenol, right?”
“I heard what the doctor said, and I know you aren’t going to take anything stronger; so yes, it’s just Tylenol.”
Bender had to scowl at her again; she must have hit her head harder than she let on, made her sassier. Downing the pills, he leaned back and stretched out in the bed, his body ached from the impact. One moment they were driving, the next the other SUV came out of nowhere. He’d hit his head so hard it had knocked him out, but the few seconds before he went under were some of the worst he’d ever had. There was nothing he could do; she was helpless while he was taking a nap on the steering wheel.