Vote Then Read: Volume III

by Aleatha Romig

  “Mom, it looks like something out of a storybook,” David exclaimed.

  Parking in front, he alighted from the SUV and walked around the front to assist her down, before helping David. “Let’s go in and I’ll show you around.”

  Stepping through the front door, that Sylvie noticed Mace had to duck ever so slightly to get through, they moved into an open room, with living room furniture on one side and an open kitchen and dining area on the other. The furniture appeared old, but clean and comfortable. An overstuffed, dark green sofa and two chairs, along with a coffee table and a few lamps, all facing the stone fireplace, filled the living room. Almost as an afterthought was a small, flat screen TV, placed on a wooden table in the corner.

  The L-shaped kitchen opened to the space, without a counter to divide it. The table, old, wooden, and scarred, was surrounded by four mismatched chairs.

  “Let me show you the rest of the place,” Mace invited.

  She and David trailed after him, toward the back where there was a large bathroom that included a stackable washer and dryer. A large storage closet was across from that room and she spied the back door leading to the yard toward the cliffs. Opening another door, he showed them a bedroom, furnished with a double bed, dresser, and a small closet. Another door led to the attached full bathroom. Walking to the window, she looked out, seeing a view of the rocky shore and water beyond.

  Continuing to follow him, she climbed the stairs, noting again that he had to duck, causing a grin to slip across her face. Once upstairs, she observed two small bedrooms, each containing a twin sized bed and dresser. The ceilings sloped toward the side in each room, but both rooms had a view of the ocean. Another full bathroom stood in between the two bedrooms.

  Mace turned toward Sylvie, wondering what she thought of her new accommodations. “It’s not much, but it’s clean and, most importantly, it’s safe—”

  She whirled around, placing her hands on his biceps, and said, “It’s lovely. Honest, it’s perfect.”

  He smiled, his hands moving naturally to her waist. They stood for a moment, their eyes staring into each other’s depths, until a noise behind had them both jumping apart.

  “Mom! This is great!”

  Sylvie smiled indulgently at David and the three of them moved back downstairs where Tate and another man had unloaded their belongings, placing them in the living room. She thanked them both, after being introduced to Rank. The two men headed out and she turned back toward Mace.

  David was busy unpacking his iPad, and Mace moved her to the side so they could speak privately.

  “This place is safe, off the grid. I’m close by and can be here in a moment’s notice.” He handed her a phone, and said, “This is what’s known as a burner phone. You’ll use it for now and then we’ll get rid of it. But, unless you’re calling for me, I don’t want you to use it. I’ve got to head out…I’ve got my men looking into who came to the school today.”

  At that reminder, the smile dropped from her face, the reality rushing back at her that this was no vacation, but a hideaway. Nodding silently, she waited for more instruction.

  “I’ll stop by this evening, to make sure you’ve got everything you need.”

  “We’re good, Mace. I want to thank you for everything you’re doing for us—”

  He stepped closer, lifting his hand to cup her face. “No thanks are needed. I want you safe…I want David safe. Don’t worry, we’re going to get these guys and you can have your life back.”

  Filled with peace since stepping into the house, she was struck with the idea that she might not want her old life, with her old job, and with threats from Ed, to come back. But if I don’t have my old life, what will I have?

  Interrupting those thoughts, Mace bent and kissed her lips gently before walking out of the room, leaving her staring in his wake.

  15

  Stepping out of the elevator and into the main room of the compound, Mace stalked straight to Josh. “What have you got?”

  “Looking at the traffic cams, it’s taking a bit of time. It’s been a long time since I’ve been around an elementary school, but the number of cars coming and going to the school is incredible. Not knowing if the man parked and went there directly, or had been sitting there for a while, I’m combing through the ones since that morning.”

  “Anything show up?”

  Nodding, he replied, “Finally, got a lock on a car registered to Thomas Perdue. With a little bit of searching, I determined that he has no children and would have no reason to be at that school. With a bit more digging, I see that he, at one time, worked for the Crossover Building Company.”

  “Good work,” he said, starting to walk away.

  “There’s more,” Clay added, gaining his attention. “Searching into the background of Thomas Perdue, we’ve also seen his name as an employee of the National Supreme Endeavor Group.”

  “Finally!” he exuded. “A connection between the two. Good work. Get it to Martinez.”

  The group moved to the table in the middle of the room and began comparing notes.

  Cobb began, “I talked to Detective Martinez this morning and he said that he interviewed Doug Smiteson, the owner of the Crossover Building Company. This is the company that’s constructing the high-rise where the assault took place.”

  “Anything from him?”

  Cobb shook his head, “No. The man appeared shocked and distressed that something had happened in the building. When he was shown a picture of the man in the construction vest and hardhat from Ms. Gardner’s phone, he claimed that was not one of his construction workers.”

  He thought for a second, before looking up, “How large is his building company?”

  With a few strokes on the keyboard, Cobb said, “It has building projects all over the state. Permanent employees are listed at a little over three hundred. Then contract employees make up almost another thousand.”

  “How the hell could the owner claim to know what all those people look like?” Josh asked. “No way would he know all those people, especially not at first glance at a picture. Sounds like he was just going to deny whatever he saw.”

  “How are we with the list of registered members of the NSEG?” he asked.

  “Frustrating as hell,” Bray breathed out. “We can get our hands on the list of donors easily, but because they don’t charge a membership fee, per se, we can’t find a list of who might belong.”

  Walker added, “And they don’t have formal meetings anywhere either. What I’m starting to work on is their email list.”

  Mace glanced sharply his way, and asked, “Wouldn’t an email list be easy to dig into?”

  Nodding, Walker agreed. “Yeah, but this is no fly-by-night group. Looking into their history, they’ve been around for a long time. And they’ve got money. Serious money. Don’t worry, boss, we’ll hack into their list, but I’ve got to tell you that they’ve spent a small fortune in covering up who their members are.”

  “Probably protecting some wealthy and politically connected members,” Drew surmised.

  “Hmph,” Tate groused. “Supremists know it’s not politically correct to be associated with a group, but don’t have any trouble feeding their money into the organization.”

  Bringing them back to the task, he ordered, “Once you get in there, see if you can dig up any recent ties between Thomas Perdue and Doug Smiteson, and anything at all between the Crossover Building Company and the NSEG.”

  From across the cavernous room, Babs yelled, “Detective Martinez wants to know if you’d like to accompany him when he goes to talk to Richard Atkins?” Seeing his head tilt, she explained, “He’s the head of the NSEG.”

  “Tell him abso-fucking-lutely,” he replied. “It’ll give me a chance to eyeball the inside of their building.” Grinning, he added, “Who knows, gentlemen? We might just need to make a little nighttime visit.”

  “Hello?”

  Sylvie looked up at a knock on the front door before it was unlocked a
nd opened, an older woman sticking her head in. Eyes wide, she stared, unsure if anyone was supposed to drop by, even if they did have a key. The woman had thick, grey hair, cut in a short bob and blue eyes that immediately fastened onto her.

  “Um…hello?”

  David came careening into the room, but halted as she threw her arm out to stop him. Stepping partially in front of him, she maintained her protective stance.

  The older woman’s gaze dropped to David before lifting back to her, a smile curving her lips. “Well, hello there. Sorry if I frightened you. I’m a friend of Mace’s. My name is Marge. Marge Tiddle.”

  A grey-haired man with bushy eyebrows stepped in behind Marge and she introduced him as well. “This is my husband, Horace. We help run the lighthouse up the coast.”

  “I saw it!” David announced, excitement in his voice.

  “Shh,” she hushed, looking back at the two strangers. Just then her phone rang and she looked down at the screen, seeing Mace’s number. Still staring at the two interlopers, she brought the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

  “Hey,” Mace replied. “I wanted to let you know that my…uh…associates, Marge and Horace Tiddle, are coming by to meet you and David.”

  Her breath left her body in a whoosh and her heartbeat steadied. “They’re here.”

  Hearing her nervousness, he said, “Oh, Sylvie, I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier. I’m on my way out of town, but I’m glad they’re there. You can trust them to take care of you.”

  “Thank you. You’ve done so much…but…thank you.”

  “I’ll talk to you later. I’ll come by and see you when I can.”

  She disconnected, then turned a tremulous smile toward the couple still standing in the doorway. Before she had a chance to speak, Marge stepped forward, her hand out in greeting.

  Marge grinned and said, “I take it that’s Mace? Just like him to wait too late to let you know we’re coming. Horace and I wanted to come by and check on you and David, make sure you felt welcome, and to see what you might need.”

  The older woman’s handshake was firm, yet warm. Smiling back at her, she said, “Thank you. That’s nice of you to check on us.”

  David peeked out from behind her hips, smiling up at the two visitors. “Hi! I’m David.”

  “Well, how do you do, young man?” Horace asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

  Marge laughed, and said, “Now that you know it’s okay for us to be here, we can get to know each other.”

  Still in certain of what to say, she simply nodded. Looking around, she waved her hand toward the living room, and said, “Would you like to sit?”

  “I’ll go get the food,” Horace said, turning toward the doorway again. Looking over his shoulder at David, he said, “Would you like to help me, son?”

  David turned his face up toward her and she gave a quick nod. Ruffling his hair, she watched as he darted after Horace and the two walked outside. Unable to help herself, she followed to the doorway, watching as they moved to an old truck. Horace was lifting some grocery bags from the back, handing them to David, who was chatting the whole time.

  Marge moved silently next to her, placing her hand on her shoulder. “They’ll be fine,” she assured. “Horace is good with kids, and he knows what David has been through.”

  At that pronouncement, she jerked her head to the side and stared at Marge. “You know?”

  “We don’t just take care of the lighthouse. We take care of Mace and the ones who work for him.”

  Sucking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, she said, “This is all so much for me to take in. I feel as though my life has turned completely upside down in the last week.”

  “I brought some muffins. Let me put the kettle on and we can have a nice cup of tea.” Marge walked into the kitchen and, looking over her shoulder, said, “I always think everything’s better with a nice cup of tea. Of course, a little whiskey in the tea never hurt, either.” Almost as an afterthought, she threw out, “And, if I lack tea, then a straight shot of whiskey always does the trick.”

  A chuckle slipped from Sylvie’s lips and she moved into the kitchen with Marge. Soon the three adults had cups of tea and David had a glass of fresh milk that the Tiddles had brought. She was amazed at how much food they had provided. The refrigerator, freezer, and pantry were now well-stocked.

  It made her wonder how long Mace expected her and David to stay in the safe house, but she did not want to ask in front of David.

  After finishing his tea and seeing that David had finished his milk, Horace asked, “How would you like to step outside with me, David? We can take a look at the water, the rocks, and I can make sure you know where it’s safe to play and where it’s not.”

  Once more, David looked at her and she smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Tiddle. I would appreciate it if you can make sure he’s safe.”

  With a wink, Horace stood, and said, “That’s what we're here for, Ms. Gardner.”

  Watching as Marge bustled about the kitchen, she said, “I can’t thank you enough for what you and your husband have done. When Mace hurried us out of my house, I didn’t even think about where we were going or what I might need to bring. I certainly never thought about food.”

  Marge walked over and patted her hand, saying, “Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll make sure you have what you need. And, if you think of anything else, just let us know. The closest town is not too far and we run in for supplies all the time.”

  She and Marge settled in the living room with a second cup of tea and, for the first time in days, she felt herself relax.

  “Do you know Mace well?” she asked, dropping her eyes to her tea, hoping her question sounded casual and did not reveal the pounding of her heart.

  “I’ve known Mace for years,” Marge admitted. Smiling, she said, “I used to work for a government agency and met him when he was still with the Special Forces. We developed a bond…he was the son I never had and I was the mother he lost. Horace was in the Navy and we both retired from our positions, but found civilian life to be rather mundane.”

  Marge’s smile widened, memories moving across her face. Leaning forward, Sylvie found herself wanting to glean every bit of information about Mace as she could gather. “So, when did you start working for him?”

  “I’ll let him fill you in on his business as he sees fit, but let’s just say that as soon as we found out he was developing his own security company, Horace and I wanted to be nearby. Not that we do any of the security, but just to assist any way we can. Horace helps take care of the physical location and I think of myself as the honorary mom to the employees.”

  She cocked her head to the side, wondering about the strange career change, blushing as it appeared Marge had noticed her surprise.

  Chuckling, Marge said, “You’re curious about my post-retirement career…I suppose it does seem extreme. I had my time being in the thick of things in the field. Now? I prefer to take care of the younger ones who are at the stage in their careers where the action can take precedence over everything else.”

  “Wow,” she breathed, her heart warmed to the giving woman next to her. Before she had a chance to ask more, there was a knock at the door and, just as with Marge and Horace, it was opened before she could reach it. Jumping up, she stared at the beautiful woman walking in. With her athletic build and short, pixie hair, she was striking.

  “Hey, I’m Babs. You must be Sylvie.”

  “Hi,” she greeted, unsure about the newest visitor, who smiled as she moved past her and walked into the living room.

  “Hey, Marge. I heard you and Horace were over here so I wanted to come meet Sylvie as well.” Turning toward her, Babs said, “I’m the administrative manager for Mace’s business.” Leaning forward, she whispered loudly, “Quite frankly, sometimes there’s too much testosterone for any sane female to take. When that happens, I go find Marge to get my estrogen level back on course!”

  A giggle slipped from her lips at Bab’s desc
ription and she immediately determined that she wanted to get to know the irrepressible woman.

  “We were just having some tea…will you join us?”

  Babs plopped down in one of the chairs and said, “Don’t mind if I do.”

  Marge, peering at Babs, grinned. “Are you sure you didn’t just come to check out the woman that has Mace tied up in knots?”

  Her eyes widened at Marge’s question, then popped even wider at Bab’s response.

  “Hell, yeah. I’ve been waiting for a couple of years for the big man to finally fall for someone.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you’re mistaken,” she objected. “He’s just being nice, that’s all.”

  Babs and Marge smiled, their faces showing indulgence.

  “Well, that would be disappointing,” Babs quipped. Softening her voice, she explained, “Mace is a true rescuer…I think it’s in his DNA. But, if ever a man needed to have someone special to share his life with…it’s him.”

  “Oh,” she breathed, unable to think of anything else to say. “I don’t know…well, I’m not sure that we’re…I guess…”

  Marge leaned forward, patting her arm, saving her from trying to form a response. “Right now, you focus on letting Mace do his job and keep you and David safe. You can figure out what the two of you are later.”

  Grateful for the understanding, she nodded, sipping her tea as Babs and Marge entertained her with tales of working in their field of testosterone.

  As the afternoon wore on, she realized it had been a long time since she had felt so relaxed and had laughed so much.

  16

  Mace looked at the man in the driver’s seat as they pulled up outside the brick and glass modern building of the NSEG. Roberto had worked with him and LSI before. Short, stocky, with dark hair cut in a military hairstyle, he exuded quiet control, but was a force to be reckoned with.

  Roberto glanced out the window and said, “Not too shabby a place for their non-profit.”

  His eyes followed Roberto’s line of sight and he nodded. “You got that right. And in there, you’re in charge, I’m just along for the ride.”