by Renee Burke
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Fortunate they didn’t feel that way when a tree fell through your house, huh?”
Her breath caught in her chest and before she could respond, Mark moved closer, tucking his warm hands in her hair. She felt her heart thunder in her chest. From fear of the killer or closeness to Mark, she wasn’t sure.
“This will be the first time I can talk to my closest friends about my son. Sure you don’t want to be there?”
She frowned and swallowed down her the sharp retort that sprang to her lips. He had a right to be upset with her. It felt an awful lot like a threat though. What would he do? Organize a military attack on her house? They were about two days too late.
“These guys are important to me. Whether you want to be with me or not, you owe me. Eddie can stay here.”
It was true that she wanted to get to know the people that her son would be spending time around. “Are you sure he’ll be okay?”
“With Dad and Blane? Of course.”
“But what about your dad’s dinner.”
“You’re off the hook. Blane is stopping by to watch the game and bringing barbecue. Dad already agreed that Eddie could make popcorn.”
She nodded. “All right.” Time to pay the piper. She was going to meet the gang. Hopefully she wouldn’t endure too much torture for her secrets.
The lighting was low in the restaurant. For some reason, that made Gretchen feel better. Mark ushered her in with a hand on her lower back. She wanted to take comfort in the move but he wasn’t purely an ally right now. He pulled out a chair for her at the table where Derek waited. He gave her a stern nod as she slid into her seat. The words school girl flitted through a mind again, and she shook off the thought.
“Good evening.”
The waitress took their drink order, and Mark ordered a round of whisky to start. Gretchen opted for a glass of wine to follow. She really needed to take the edge off. She still felt like the lamb led to the slaughter. She sighed when the drinks arrived and downed her drink. Coughing and sputtering followed. Mark patted her on the back. “Easy there.”
“Hey there, Gretchen.” Jack arrived and sat beside Gretchen. He motioned for the waitress. “Can I have a beer, sweetheart?” He glanced around the restaurant. “Looks like all of Shreveport came out for dinner and drinks.”
He was dressed to the nines. She looked around at the table. She sat with three men who were all dark and dangerous and dressed to impress. She sighed. Too bad they were about to chew her up and spit her out.
“So what’s the news?” Derek leaned closer and dragged his gaze back and forth between Gretchen and Mark.
Her head snapped in Mark’s direction. He was going to tell them now? Oh, she really was going to be eaten alive.
“Seems Gretchen’s been keeping a secret.” He glanced at her with cold eyes. “For five years.”
Suddenly she wished she had exchanged the cardigan over her sundress for body armor. She took a another giant drink of her wine and tried to ignore the warm feeling surging through her veins.
Jack patted her hand as she lowered it to the table. His hand dwarfed hers. “So what’s the big news that has her slamming the wine?”
Mark smiled at the quip. “It seems Gretchen is a mother.”
Silence.
Derek frowned. “Mother…“ Derek drew out the word and waited for more.
Mark nodded.
“Mother?” Jack questioned.
Mark nodded. “Mother. Mother. What’s wrong with you guys? Didn’t you have a mother?”
If she weren’t so nervous and slightly sweaty, Gretchen would have laughed. “I have a son. I was pregnant when Mark went into the military, and he didn’t know it.” She glanced at Mark’s stunned expression. “I’m sure he would have called a halt to all the wars, dropped out of the military, and come home since he’s such an upstanding guy, but I didn’t tell him. My fault. I’m the bitch with a secret.” Her hand shot up in the air as she called out loudly. “More wine, please.”
The crowd at a neighboring table laughed.
Jack bit his lip and seemed to be holding back a laugh.
Derek coughed through one.
Mark leaned back in his seat and shook his head. “Damn, Gretchen.”
“Best to get it over with quickly. Like ripping off a bandaid.” She knocked back another slug of wine. The waitress put another glass full on the table as she finished it.
“So you have a son.” Derek nodded and tipped his beer bottle toward Mark. “Congratulations.”
“Here, here.” Jack tapped his bottle to the others. “To a long and happy relationship.”
Mark dragged his gaze back to Gretchen. “Like ripping a band aid off? What kind of band aids are you using that last five years?”
She huffed out a breath and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling before taking another drink. Suddenly the air was stifling. She slid her cardigan off and draped it over the side of her chair. All three sets of eyes dropped to her cleavage, put on display by the tight fabric of her white sundress. Motherhood had done wonderful things to her cleavage.
Mark cleared his throat and dragged her chair closer to his. He kept his hand on her back. She gave him a frown and reached for her dwindling wine glass again.
“Well, go ahead. Let me have it. I know you have something to say.” She leaned back in her chair and waited.
Jack nodded. Derek smirked. Mark seemed to be trying to figure out how to get her cardigan back on her.
“I for one am happy for you. It’s a little late in the game, but I’d happily take a five year old over no child at all.”
“Four. He’s four.” Gretchen lifted one of the potato skins from the appetizer plate that the waitress placed on the table.
“Four year old then.” He cleared his throat. “My wife died when she was pregnant with our first child. Tough to get over.”
Gretchen’s attention wavered from the bacon bit she was trying to trap and flew to Derek’s gaze. “I’m so sorry to hear that.” She really was sorry.
Her eyes drifted to Jack’s. “What about you? Surely you have something to add?”
He nodded. “Hell of a thing to do, keeping a secret like that.”
“Yep. He’s plenty pissed. Said so himself. He’s trying to be easy going about it because you two are here.” She gestured toward Mark with her hand. “But he thinks I’m the lowest kind of woman.” She chugged more wine. “Insensitive, bratty, irresponsible. What kind of woman has a baby without telling the father? One who’s broken hearted over the Dad losing interest. That’s who.” She dug into another potato skin.
Jack tucked his lips inside his teeth and narrowed his eyes at Mark. “Seems you’ve got yourself a cheap date here, Mark.”
“Huh. Who knew? I don’t think I’ve ever seen her drink before. I have a feeling she hasn’t imbibed much during the time I was gone.” He massaged the back of her neck as he spoke.
Gretchen hiccupped, giggled, and sighed before taking another drink of wine.
A set of tan hands with ruby red nails slid around Mark’s face to cover his eyes.
“Guess who?” The woman with the painted mouth leaned in beside him and whispered.
Gretchen narrowed her eyes at the move. Mark slid his hands to the woman’s wrists and Gretchen watched in horror as she kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear.
“An offer like that only comes from one woman.”
The woman shot a smile at Derek and Jack. “Sweet talker.”
“Christina Wilcox. It’s been a long time!” Mark stood and turned toward her.
“Too long, Magic Mark.” She flung her arms around him and gave him a kiss that seemed all too friendly to Gretchen.
She watched as Derek dragged up a chair and put Christina on the other side of Mark. She felt the jealousy gnawing at her insides as the woman cooed and smiled at the men surrounding the table.
“We didn’t know there was anything magical about Mark, Christina.” Jack gave her
a charming smile that made Gretchen feel an eye roll coming on. “We’ve always known him as a Saint.”
She laughed. “Oh, he’s no Saint. Just why don’t you tell me where in the world you got the idea he was a Saint, and then let me tell you all a little story about Mark from just after we graduated. He was quite the ladies’ man.”
Mark smiled as Jack began regaling Christina with the tale of their days in the military together. “Once upon a time in a quiet little place called Fallujah…”
“That’s in Iraq?” Christina’s eyes were wide as she asked.
Gretchen considered knocking the other woman out of chair, but she wanted to know where the nickname came from so she kept quiet.
Derek coughed, and Mark knocked back his drink as Jack smiled and nodded. “Yes ma’am.”
“Okay.” Christina gestured with her fingers. “Go ahead. I’m with you now.”
Jack leaned in again. “We were on a rescue after a mission went bad and some of our men were trapped.”
“Oh.” Christina was glued. Gretchen didn’t feel as entertained as much as slightly sick thinking about the dangers these men had faced. Fortunately, the waitress brought her another glass of wine to ease her concern.
“Mark dropped in to lift a wounded warrior out on a stretcher. He got him in the chopper, and the guy was so glad to be out of there, he started asking questions a mile a minute. What were our names, were we married, where were we from, that kind of thing. Guess he was a big football fan because when he heard we were from Louisiana, he said he already figured us for saints but that just cinched it. We got a good laugh out of that one.”
Christina searched their faces before asking, “Why was that funny?”
Derek leaned closer. “Cause not one of us has ever been very saintly, Ms. Wilcox.”
And that’s how it started. Two hours of un-saintly stories and flirting, touching and teasing between Christina the guys.
Jack and Derek seemed to egg it on with prompts and questions, laughing every chance they got and all but ignoring Gretchen. There was only one thing for Gretchen to say. Her hand shot up in the air as the waitress passed by the table. “More wine, please.”
At the end of the night, Christina rejoined her sister and left. Jack gave Gretchen a little hug, and Derek gave her a nod before heading out. With all the wine, she couldn’t seem to keep her mouth shut as they exited the restaurant.
“Well that wasn’t very fun.”
He opened the door of the truck and tucked his hand under her bottom to lift her in. “No? It seemed alright to me.”
She sighed. “Well of course it did. You spent the evening with two girlfriends.”
He grunted as he started the truck.
“You always did have girls all over you. I hated it.” She drew out the hated it in such a way that made her wonder if she would be crying soon. But no, the feeling passed.
“Most of those girls were just my friends, Gretchen. You were always too insecure.”
“Well at least your friends don’t hate me. They weren’t mean to me at least.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Glad that helps you. But there’s something you need to remember. The only one that should matter to you right now is me. I’m the only angry one that you need to worry about.”
She leaned her head against the cool glass on the door and trailed her finger down the window. “Right.” Obviously he still was.
Chapter Eight
Mark leaned against the car as he watched Eddie run around the makeshift bases in the yard like a kid possessed. He had to admire the kid’s spunk.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the curtains shift at the kitchen window. Gretchen. Stubborn and scared. And doing a better job torturing herself than he would ever do. The hangover hadn’t helped. He probably hadn’t made her feel any better over the last few days. He couldn’t take the edge of his anger. Not yet.
“Throw the ball to me. I can catch it!” Eddie hopped up and down before he perched to catch a throw. Down and ready. Tongue tucked at the corner of his lips as he waited to make the catch. Mark lobbed the ball into his son’s glove.
The door cracked open and Gretchen stepped outside. He gave her a nod. It was the warmest welcome he could manage. He waited as Eddie flung the ball back in his direction. “When his energy wears down a little, I’ll take you in to get your car.”
She nodded. “Thanks. I need to run to work to get paperwork for the past few days anyway.”
One thing he could say was that Gretchen did a good job keeping all the balls in the air while raising Eddie. Over lunch he watched as she turned on the charm for her little boy, encouraging him to try new foods, eating up every word he had to say. It was clear she loved their son, and he felt relief to know.
But she seemed exhausted – maybe from walking on egg shells as they tried to figure out how to deal with parenting together. Or maybe it was the information about her car. He’d finally shared the details last night since she’d be getting it back today. She needed to be careful. The shadows around her eyes said she had lost sleep thinking about that last night.
He’d answered a call from Nora mid-morning asking when Gretchen would return to work. When would he stop holding her hostage. And something about him being an old dog that couldn’t learn new tricks.
He couldn’t completely discount her refusal to leave the house since she was afraid. On the other hand, he could protect her if she’d let him.
Could have for the past few years.
Not sharing the news about Eddie felt like a clear rejection. He couldn’t let that go. He was back for his son now, though.
Outside the mechanic’s garage, Mark installed Gretchen in her car after paying the bill and checking over the repairs. He leaned in the window and waited for her to start it up. Smooth and quiet.
He glanced back at Eddie waiting in his truck. There was ice cream on the agenda for the afternoon. They would also swing by Derek’s for the afternoon. His wife had been gone for four years, and even after all this time, he was increasingly grouchy. More so lately. Maybe there was something Mark could do. Derek had been on his way out of the military when Mark joined up. Their friendship had seen them through the death of Derek’s wife and son when the her condition had turned deadly.
“I’ll be home after working for a while this afternoon.”
“No plans after work?”
She shook her head. He could see it was a trial for her to leave Eddie with him and return to the office. But it was time to step out and get back to living. He had spoken to Jack about tapping into a camera across from the clinic and enabling a tracker on her car and phone to allow added security while they tried to catch a killer. Using her as bait wasn’t a viable option, but eventually she had to lead her life whether the culprit was caught or not. To do that, he had to make sure she was safe.
Mark watched as Gretchen pulled from the lot with a wave at Eddie. He climbed into the truck and pulled up the app on his phone where he could watch her move through the city and to the clinic.
Gretchen entered the last of the numbers into the spreadsheet. Jumping into work was the only way she made herself stay for the afternoon rather than grabbing the files and dashing home. Her instincts told her that she was still in danger. But with all the changes, she couldn’t be sure if it was from Mark or from the kidnapper.
Her heart and pride were shaky as she watched Mark and Eddie seal the deal on their relationship. Thick as thieves. As warm as felt watching the father and son together felt, she also had a sliver of fear ease in every time Mark narrowed his eyes to remind her of the betrayal. Would he try to take her son away?
The computer went dark with its screen saver. Something flickered in the reflection, and her eyes settled on the glimmer of a face. She startled at the image and jolted back.
“Oh, did I interrupt your wheels spinning?” The image on the screen formed into an image of Nora.
Gretchen glanced behind her, her breathing erratic. �
��I remembered something.”
Warm hands landed on her shoulders to spin the chair around. “Something about the kidnapping?”
She nodded. “Yes.” She swallowed down the taste of bile in her mouth. “A man.”
Nora’s eyes squinted until wrinkles lined her forehead. “Did you know him?”
She shook her head. “More of an outline. But there was something.” She glanced through the clear partition to the empty waiting area, her mind drifting to the familiar man from several days before. “He had a beard.”
Nora cleared her throat. “Well, that’s wonderful. This is progress.” She helped Gretchen stand and pulled her toward the patient rooms. “Real progress. Let me check your wounds since it’s been a couple of days, and we’ll go see Officer Landry. Maybe this will help their investigation.”
Gretchen didn’t object as Nora put her in a room and went to grab a few things she needed. She began unbuttoning her blouse and eased it off her shoulders as she waited. Did this mean that her memories were coming back? Would she remember everything that happened during the kidnapping? Her stomach gave a quick roll.
Nora returned and closed the door with more force than necessary. “Let me get a quick look here. She nudged Gretchen’s leg, turning her around to face the wall.
“I think I’m mostly better. Mark put the medicine on and changed the dressings yesterday. The stitches should be ready to come out soon.” She stiffened and waited for the now familiar irritation as the bandage was removed. Instead she felt a prick on the side of her neck. “Ouch!” She swatted at the spot.
“Easy now. It will just take a moment.”
She glanced at Nora who was hovering behind her.
“What was that?” She patted at her neck but felt nothing.
Nora capped a syringe and placed it in her jacket pocket. “Just something to make this go more smoothly.”
She felt her neck relax, and her shoulders begin to go limp. “I don’t understand.”
“I know. But you will.” Nora moved her around toward the door and quickly set her shirt back in place. “Let’s see if we can get you to the car.”