Mayhem & Mistletoe

by Amanda M. Lee

  That did it. Jake jerked his head in my direction, his eyes wide. This time he was on his feet right away, scurrying toward the door that led to the outer hallway.

  I left the sharks on as I moved toward the external door. It only took him a few seconds to yank it open. He looked furious.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed, grabbing me by the arm and jerking me inside. He took a moment to study the area to make sure nobody was hanging around before letting the heavy door fall shut. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “I’m trying to get an audience with the most important man in the world,” I countered, forcing a sweet smile.

  “Oh, don’t do that.” He wrinkled his nose. “When you try to act sweet and demure you remind me of that doll in those horror movies.”

  “Annabel?”

  “Chucky.”

  Okay, that made me laugh. “You know I can’t always control myself. If you want me to shut up, you’ll have to play the game my way.”

  He kept a firm grip on my arm as he led me into his office, not releasing me until we were both inside and he could slam the door. “Not everything in the world happens on your timetable, Avery,” he snapped. “Not everybody comes to heel when you snap your fingers.”

  For a moment, a split-second really, something else flashed in his eyes. Then he smoothed his face until his expression became neutral. “What is it you think you know?”

  “I know that one of the dead guys, Beau Burton, was living in a halfway house in Detroit. The locals — it’s picturesque, by the way — suggest he was involved in manufacturing and delivering a new drug called Hypno.”

  Jake’s scowl was pronounced. “You just couldn’t leave it alone, could you?” He dragged a hand through his hair, leaving it even messier, and threw himself in his chair. His eyes were on the ceiling rather than me. “Sometimes I ask myself what I ever did to deserve you.”

  “You were a very good boy.”

  His smiled. “Yeah, I’m pretty certain that’s not the case. Only the Devil would put you on the payroll.”

  “Oh, don’t be a gloomy Gus.” I sat across from him. “You love me and you know it.”

  That was probably the wrong thing to say, because his eyes flashed again.

  “I didn’t mean it that way,” I offered lamely, feeling the need to fill the charged silence. “I didn’t mean ....”

  “I know.” His voice was soft. “I know you’re uncomfortable with all of this, but I don’t want that. Before Eliot said what he did, we were in a good place. All of us were in a good place.”

  “He put us in a bad place. You should totally tell him that. Maybe he’ll back off if you say something to him.”

  Jake chuckled. “I’m not going to fight your battles for you ... at least not this one. You guys belong together.”

  It wasn’t the first time he’d said it, but this time I truly believed he meant it. This wasn’t what I’d come to talk about, but it seemed time to get it off my chest. “I’m not sure how I thought things would go when we were kids, but I never expected us to end up here.” To my surprise, I found my cheeks were wet. I’d started crying without realizing it.

  Jake looked pained. “Oh, please don’t do that. I can’t take it.”

  I hid my face behind the sharks. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

  “Your life is changing.”

  “I don’t want it to change. I like it the way things are.”

  “They’ll only get better.” His chair rattled as he stood. “When Eliot first mentioned that he was going to propose, I was irrationally angry.”

  I couldn’t contain my surprise as I peeked through the mittens. “You were?”

  He nodded, amusement replacing the momentary sadness. “Believe it or not, I still love you. It’s not the same way I did when we were kids. Back then, I thought we would end up somewhere else entirely.

  “It’s okay, though,” he continued, hunkering down so he was at an even level with me. “There are a lot of different types of love. We just love each other differently now. It’s something we both have to come to terms with.”

  “I think it would be better for all of us if Eliot would just let this go and we could go back to the way things were.”

  He laughed, rich and warm, and some of the sadness that I’d been fighting suddenly dissipated. “And I think that Eliot gets you in a way I never could.”

  I lifted my eyes. “I thought we got along okay.”

  “We did. And I loved everything about you. I loved how wacky you were, and how you didn’t care what anyone thought, and how you enjoyed torturing everyone you came into contact with. You were an exotic alien in a world full of humdrum mortals.”

  “Do I get to pick what sort of alien?”

  He didn’t answer. “We both needed to find who we were at our core. We couldn’t do that together. We would’ve held each other back. When we found each other again as adults, I had hope — for about thirty seconds — that we could figure this out. We both know better now.

  “You can’t live this life and I’ll go crazy trying to spend more than a few hours a week in your world,” he continued. “We need people who complement us. I think I’ve found that in Lauren, and I know you’ve found it in Eliot.

  “It’s not just that he gets you. He embraces all that weird crap you do.” He gestured toward the mittens. “Like those things. He probably sits and listens to you do puppet shows, doesn’t he?”

  I nodded, rueful. “Sometimes I wear nothing but the mittens and do a little dance to the Jaws theme.”

  He barked out a laugh. “That sounds ... really weird.” He leaned closer. “I need you to be happy. That’s what I want most for you. He gives you peace of mind, and that’s not something I ever thought you would have.”

  My throat tightened again. “I just ... don’t want to lose what I have.”

  “What do you think you’re going to lose?”

  “I don’t know. What if he wants me to bake him cookies?”

  “Then you can use that handy-dandy app on your phone to order some. Trust me, he doesn’t expect you to cook. He doesn’t strike me as the sort of guy who gets turned on by projectile vomiting.”

  “What if he wants me to change my last name? I like my last name.”

  “He won’t care.”

  “What if ... you stop coming around?”

  His eyes turned glassy. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to my forehead, causing me to jolt. “I’ll always love you. Nothing will ever force me out of your life. I promise. But the best thing for you is Eliot. You have got to get your head around this.”

  His words were like a salve in a weird way. They calmed me, even as I forced myself to remember why I was there in the first place. “If I calm down, will you tell me about Hypno?”

  “No.” He was completely officious when he pulled back, the moment already behind us. We both needed the cleansing of the conversation, but now he was all business. “I can’t tell you anything because I’m not sure what we’re dealing with.”

  “What about the other Santas? Were they drug dealers?”

  “I don’t know. As I told you before, we haven’t identified all of them.”

  That sounded unlikely to me. “If they were all moving in and out of that halfway house, then they had records. Why can’t you check fingerprints?”

  He hesitated and then held out his hands. “I’m not able to discuss our investigative methods with you at this time.”

  It was a brush-off, plain and simple. “Do you want me to do another puppet show?”

  “All I can say is that this case could lead to something big. Massive.”

  Ugh. It would’ve been better if he’d left me locked outside in the cold. “You know I’m not going to give up on this.”

  “I know.” He smiled, and for the first time in days there was true light behind it. “You’re a pain in the ass. There’s no way you’ll let it go.”
>
  “I’m going to chase it hard.”

  “I expect nothing less.”

  “I’m going to make your life a living hell.”

  “I expect that, too.”

  I held his gaze for a moment before standing. “You’ll be sorry you ever met me by the time I’m finished.”

  “I’ll never be sorry I met you. There’s only one Avery Shaw ... and she’ll be part of my life forever.”

  “That won’t always be a comfortable fit.”

  He held out his hands. “Sometimes life is pain. I can’t help you today. Whatever you have planned, you’re on your own.”

  18 Eighteen

  I headed back to Eliot’s shop. Mario, still behind the counter, perked up when I walked through the door ... until he realized who was entering the shop.

  “I thought you were a hot blonde. I’m so disappointed.”

  Eliot glanced up from the receipts he was studying at the opposite counter and snickered when he saw Mario was talking to me.

  “Keep it up,” I warned my cousin. “I know people with access to naked baby photos of you. I’ll post them all over the internet.”

  He didn’t look worried. “Go ahead. I was a cute baby. I’ll be swimming in dates if you do that.”

  “Yes, but how will you keep those dates happy without tiaras to gift them with?” Eliot drawled.

  Mario rolled his eyes. “Dude, you need to let that go. I had no idea you had some nefarious plan to milk some poor teenager out of her allowance. I just thought you were keeping that thing for naughty games with my cousin, and it was freaking me out.”

  Now it was my turn to make a face. “There are no tiaras when we play naughty games,” I shot back.

  “Knowing you, there are probably Star Wars Underoos.” When I didn’t correct him, Mario’s jaw dropped. “Oh, you’re sick. I’m telling your mother. She’ll ground you for life.”

  “Go ahead. I’m not afraid of my mother.” That was mostly true. Okay, that was a total lie, but the last thing my cousin needed was additional power over me. “I’m not here to talk to you. I’m here to talk to Eliot. He’s not gross and annoying like you.”

  “Oh, baby, you say the sweetest things,” Eliot teased as he leaned in to give me a kiss. Before it landed on my lips, he pulled back. “Have you been crying?”

  I wasn’t expecting the question. “I ... no. Why would I be crying?”

  “Maybe Harrison Ford died,” Mario suggested.

  I extended a warning finger in his direction. “Don’t ever say that! You’ll jinx him.”

  “Ugh. You’re such a spoilsport.”

  Eliot’s expression was serious as he looked me over. “Let’s go in my office. You and Mario can’t be trusted to act professional in a business setting.”

  He might’ve framed it as a dig against me, but I knew what he was really doing. He wanted to know why I’d been crying — I had no one to blame but myself for not waiting to visit — and he wasn’t the type to let it go.

  “I would love to join you in your office,” I replied, all faux sweetness. “Perhaps we can play ‘A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away’ while we’re in there.”

  Mario’s forehead wrinkled. “What’s that?”

  Eliot smirked. “It’s your cousin trying to flirt.”

  Mario shook his head. “I’m sure she’s terrible at it. Is that a real game?”

  “It is in our house.” Eliot slipped his arm around my shoulders and dragged me into his office, not saying another word until the door was shut and Mario was locked out of our conversation. His fingers immediately went to my cheeks. “Why have you been crying? Did someone hurt you?”

  I should’ve realized he would immediately jump to that assumption. “Nobody hurt me. I am altercation-free today — so far. Well, mostly. There was almost an incident with my shark mittens. They were arguing and someone threw chum in the water.” I was going for levity, but it didn’t land.

  “Tell me why you were crying,” he pushed. “You never cry.”

  “That’s not true. I cried at the most recent Star Wars movie because it was so bad. Who thought the terror that was Attack of the Clones would look good against something?”

  Rather than give in to my Star Wars humor, he folded his arms across his chest. “Avery.”

  I bit back a sigh. I knew we would have to talk about this eventually. I just didn’t think it would have to be today. “I went to Jake to demand answers,” I volunteered. “He didn’t like my puppet show. I put on the performance outside his window until he let me inside.”

  “And, what? Are you saying Jake was mean to you?”

  “I don’t cry because people are mean to me,” I scoffed. “That’s insulting ... and girlie ... and not me at all.”

  “Then why were you crying?”

  “Would you believe me if I said I have PMS?”

  “Not for another week and a half you don’t.”

  I was aghast. “You keep track?”

  “You’re moody on a regular day. I need to know when to wear a cup.”

  That was both sweet and creepy. “I went there to demand answers about a new street drug that Beau was supposedly selling. I went back to the halfway house without telling you, by the way. I talked to two prostitutes and some weird dude who mistook me for a professional. Let’s focus on that.”

  His eyes flashed with anger. “You went back there without me?”

  “Yes. I’ve been a bad girl. Would you like to lock me in a cell and pretend to blow up Alderaan later?”

  The joke didn’t garner even a hint of a smile. “I thought we agreed you weren’t going back without me.”

  “I don’t remember agreeing to that. It was discussed. You voiced your concern. Lexie said the guys in that house were known for selling drugs, and I wanted to talk to some of the locals. I knew you couldn’t get away from work and would insist I wait. I wasn’t keen on putting you in the line of fire again. So it was in both our best interests that I go alone.”

  “Very smooth, but I don’t buy it.” It seemed he was working hard to contain his temper. “I asked you one thing.”

  “And, per usual, I said I would do my best.”

  “You said you weren’t planning to go down there.”

  “I wasn’t ... until Lexie mentioned the drugs.” I chewed my bottom lip, debating, and then went for it. “You say that you love who I am, but you always get angry when I embrace who I am and do things on my own. That’s not fair.”

  “I don’t particularly think it’s fair either, but that’s who I am.”

  I was taken aback. “Wait ... you think you’re being unfair to me? That’s a first. Most people think I won the lottery when I stumbled across you.”

  “You did. Just because I don’t want to change you doesn’t mean I don’t live in fear that something horrible will happen to you.”

  “I was careful. I left my purse in the car and everything. I put cash in my inside pocket to bribe the weasels.”

  “Oh, well, that makes me feel so much better.”

  “Do you want to hear the story or not?”

  “Lay it on me.”

  I did just that, leaving nothing out. When I got to the part about Rick mistaking me for a prostitute, he managed a full-fledged laugh. When I was finished, though, all traces of mirth were gone.

  “I’ve heard of Hypno,” he said, leaning against his desk. “It’s more prevalent in Wayne County than it is out here, but you know how that goes.”

  I nodded. “It always takes longer for the new street drugs to filter to the suburbs.”

  “I’m sure it’s here, but it’s not being widely circulated.”

  “Maybe Beau and his crew left the halfway house because they wanted to take over the suburbs, get a foothold before anyone else. Maybe they stepped on somebody’s toes and that’s why they ended up dead.”

  “That doesn’t explain the Santa suits.”

  “I’m still working on that.”

  “It’s an inter
esting idea,” Eliot said, “but you have no proof. All you have is a lot of hearsay.”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “I would appreciate it if you were extremely careful when you’re working on it in that neighborhood.”

  “I will do my absolute best. I’m too pretty to die.”

  He managed a grin. “You are.” He slipped his arm around my waist and tugged me to him. Sensing the storm had passed, I let him give me a hug. “Now tell me why you were crying.”

  Crap. I realized too late that he’d lulled me into a false sense of safety. I couldn’t even be angry with him. He’d outsmarted me. “Eliot, it’s not a big deal.”

  “Then tell me.” He kept me pressed tight.

  “Jake wouldn’t tell me what I needed to know.”

  “That’s normal. I’ve never known you to cry over being stonewalled.”

  “We talked about other things, too.”

  He stilled. “Okay.” He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, the same spot Jake had kissed less than an hour before, and released me. “What’s up next? Where are you going to start digging this time?”

  “That’s it?”

  “Yes.”

  “You don’t want to know what we talked about?”

  “No.”

  “But ... I don’t understand.”

  He grinned as he ordered my hair. “You and Jake needed to talk. It’s none of my business what you talked about. Besides, I can kind of guess how it went. You both needed to get it out. Now you’re past it.”

  He looked so smug I kind of wanted to smack him. “How do you know we’re past it?”

  “Because you seem lighter. You’re actually ahead of schedule. I didn’t think you would get to this point for at least another two weeks.”

  “You have me on a schedule?”

  “I just have ideas about how you’re going to react to certain things based on how you’ve reacted in the past. The fact that you’re adjusting to this so quickly tells me you’re growing as a person.”

  There had to be an insult buried in there.

  As if reading my mind, he offered up a mischievous grin and soft kiss. “Congratulations, Avery Shaw, you’re becoming an adult.”