Cheri closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder. “You know you’re more of a brother to me than Frankie ever thought about being. I can’t stand the thought of her hurting you.”
“I’m a big boy. Tough just like your sheriff. I think I can handle a little ole’ female like her.” Lamont took her shoulders in his hands and held her at arm’s length. “You women, always needin’ taking care of.”
Cheri slapped his arm and wiped at her eyes. “I seem to recall having to take care of you on more than one occasion.”
“And you got to hold on to every little incident in the past to lord it over me.”
“If I didn’t watch your back, who would?”
Lamont’s teasing expression turned serious. “No one. You’re my sister, in here.” He pointed to his chest. “Where it counts. Blood don’t mean shit in this world.”
A fresh flow of tears rose. “Okay, you have to stop or you’re going to ruin my eyeliner. Bo’s coming to pick me up tonight, and I refuse to let him see me looking like a wet rag again.”
“The man doesn’t have a prayer.” Lamont gave her a wink. “Now, how about supper?”
“I’m starving.”
“Go grab us a couple of beers and meet me out back. I’ll eat with you and we can talk.”
“Absolutely. But I’m almost out of vodka, let me grab another bottle to put behind the bar.” Cheri moved in the direction of the vodka, which was on the shelf next to the dishwasher.
Lamont jumped in front of her. “Why don’t you let me get that?”
She pushed him to the side. “Don’t be silly. I’ve got it.”
He dodged her steps, literally blocking her path. “I told you I’d always be there for you, didn’t I?”
“I thought you meant figuratively.” Why was he back to acting so weird?
“And literally.” He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, giving her a nudge toward the door.
Ginger breezed through the kitchen doors, face pale and dressed in an outfit that made Cheri’s clothes look like a nun’s habit. “Lamont, why haven’t you answered your phone? I’ve been trying to call you all night.”
“Huh?” Lamont asked.
Ginger narrowed her gaze on Cheri. “Has she been in here lying to you again?”
“Calm down. We were just going to take a break for supper. Besides, I thought you were hanging out with your girlfriends until I got off work.”
“And you’re pregnant anyway, right? What are you doing in a bar?” Cheri asked.
Ginger stuck her finger in Cheri’s face. “This ain’t none of your business. Get out of here so I can talk to my man.”
“You stick your finger in my face again, and I’ll forget you got a baby in your stomach.” Cheri grabbed Ginger’s finger and shoved it away from her.
“You hear her? She’s threatening me. Ain’t you gonna do nothing about it Lamont?”
Lamont got between them, holding his hands up. “Will you two stop. Ginger, Cheri’s my family. She’s not going anywhere.”
Cheri crossed her arms and grinned with triumph.
Lamont turned and faced her. “And you need to play nice. Whether you like it or not, she’s fixing to become part of our family.”
Cheri’s triumph turned to dust.
Ginger practically hummed with satisfaction. “Lamont…” Ginger slinked around to his back, slithering a hand over his shoulder and down his chest. “Get rid of her so I can talk to you.”
Cheri bit her tongue so hard to keep her mouth shut she tasted blood. She would accept Ginger as part of her family the day hell froze over.
“Doesn’t your best friend work at health services?” Cheri asked.
“Yeah, so?”
“Do you still have the sonogram?” She wanted to see the name and date printed across the bottom.
“Why would I carry it around?”
“You seemed awful proud of it earlier. I didn’t get a good look at the date on it. I’d like to know when the baby will be born.”
Ginger stayed plastered to Lamont’s back, her face paling. “It’s too early to tell a date. And if you don’t watch out, that’ll be the last picture you see of Lamont’s baby.”
“So, you got it at home then?” Cheri sensed Ginger wavering.
“What are you getting at Cheri?” Lamont asked softly.
Cheri could virtually see Ginger sinking her nails deeper and deeper into Lamont. Couldn’t he tell she was dangerous for him? “Did you see the actual pregnancy test? She could’ve had her friend print out some random sonogram and show it to you. She probably got desperate when she figured out you’re going to break up with her.”
“Liar!” Ginger shouted, but the dark circles under her eyes deepened. No amount of anger could cover up the fear oozing out of her pores.
Sensing the finish line within her grasp, Cheri pressed on. “You already know she has no problem lying. I mean, look how much she’s cheated on her husband.”
“Chère, you’re going too far.”
If she hadn’t been so worked up, she might’ve noticed the warning in her cousin’s voice, but she was on a roll. “I know she’s lying Lamont; you have to listen. When have I ever steered you wrong?”
“Enough!” Lamont shouted.
Cheri and Ginger both jumped. She’d never heard her cousin raise his voice, not even when he threatened to come back and kill her father if he ever laid hands on Cheri again.
Lamont fisted his hands at his sides. His chest heaved with enough force to drive a truck. Ginger started crying big, fat, fake crocodile tears that Cheri wanted to slap off her stupid face. But she’d never seen Lamont this angry, and she’d never seen Lamont angry with her. “Please Lamont—”
“No.” He sliced a hand through the air. “I told you to accept it. I’m not choosing her over you. I’m choosing both of you.”
Ginger said, “She wants to get rid of me and your baby.”
“Shut up, bitch.”
“See! You see it, don’t you? She’s so desperate for attention she can barely stand it.” Ginger pointed an accusing finger over Lamont’s shoulder.
“Cheri, you need to step out of this kitchen,” Lamont said.
“What?”
Ginger sobbed, putting on a good show.
“You need to cool off. I can’t risk upsetting her or anything harming my baby.”
Cheri took a step back, pain splitting her chest apart. “Can’t you see how fake she is?”
“I said that’s enough, chère. I’m not telling you again. Back off.”
“Please.” She drew out her words, praying Lamont would hear the desperation in her voice. She could sense something, something bad. And she’d always had good instincts.
“You can move in with me. You’re gonna end up doing it soon anyway, maybe it would be better if you gave her some space so she can think about whether she wants us in her life or not.” Ginger’s tears dried up almost immediately and the crafty gleam appeared in her eyes.
The silence stretched out. Cheri held her breath.
“I think that might be for the best,” Lamont said quietly, his expression closing down.
Her heart stopped and the distance stretched like a giant canyon between them, leaving her searching desperately for a rope to hold their connection.
Ginger practically purred with glee. “You’re going to be such a good father.”
Cheri watched Lamont’s resolve strengthen as Ginger played him like a freaking professional. She’d made a mistake though. She thought Cheri would give in and give up.
But Cheri would never give up on her family.
She squared her shoulders, staring at Lamont, and said, “I will always be here for you, whether you want me to be or not.”
She marched past them and out the kitchen door, barely holding her heart together. The bar had quieted down, and a low country ballad played over the speakers. A few regulars dotted the bar.
She was about to step away from the kitchen whe
n she heard Ginger’s voice. “Stan is on his way here. He heard about us.”
Cheri moved to the right, so they wouldn’t see her through the small window in the door.
“I thought you told him you were leaving him,” Lamont said.
“I tried to, but he got so angry, I – I was scared.”
“So, you lied to me? How the hell am I supposed to be engaged to you if you’re not even trying to get a divorce?”
“Please honey,” Cheri heard a sob hitch in Ginger’s voice, “I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t think he would be angry, he’s never cared before.”
Lamont’s voice rose, “You ain’t never got pregnant by another man before either. Or are you even pregnant?”
Ginger sobs grew thicker and louder. “I can’t believe you said that to me. You know how much I love you. I would never lie to you.”
Oh, yes you would. Ginger would lie to anybody about anything as long as she got what she wanted.
“Maybe Cheri was right.”
Cheri held her breath. Ginger’s sobs got even louder.
“Feel my belly, feel your baby growing inside. Lamont, you know I’m scared of him. I told you how violent he gets. I just couldn’t face him. Please, you have to believe me.”
Cheri rolled her eyes. Stan Burnell had never cared about his wife enough to beat her. Surely Lamont realized that. She was so obvious.
“Hush now, you know I’m gonna take care of you. You need to calm down. Don’t want you hurting the baby.”
Ginger’s sobs got muffled, like Lamont had taken her into his arms and she’d pressed her face against his chest. No way Lamont could fall for that, not if he had an ounce of common sense. But Cheri had to know. She quickly peeked over the window and nearly groaned in frustration. Lamont had Ginger in his arms, rubbing circles over her back.
Jesus Christ. He’d fallen for her line of shit, hook line and sinker.
Cheri hadn’t given the woman enough credit. She’d have to work harder to prove Ginger lied about her pregnancy. And she knew exactly where to start – at the health clinic. The secretary came to The Wharf every Wednesday after work for a couple of glasses of wine. She’d convince her to pull Ginger’s chart and see if she really was pregnant.
“Let’s leave town. We can move, start over. Maybe go somewhere like California and get a house on the beach.”
Cheri leaned in listening for Lamont’s answer.
“And I’m not running from anybody. I’ll talk to your husband. Let him know how it’s going to be.”
Stan’s 300 pounds could easily crush Lamont.
“No! You can’t. He’ll kill you.” Ginger’s voice rose.
“Ginger, you knew this was going to happen. Listen, I’ll take care of you, trust me.”
“I can’t let you do that! Let’s just disappear.”
“Even if we wanted to, I can’t afford to. Where would we go? What would we do? Stan’s got all your money, and I’m just barely paying the bills,” Lamont said.
“What about the money?”
“That money doesn’t belong to us.”
“It could.” There was a long pause. Cheri pressed her ear against the door, not caring if anyone saw her at this point. Ginger continued, “We could disappear with that kind of money. Start over with that kind of money. We could live on the beach. Haven’t you always wanted to do that?”
“I can’t give him no life if I’m dead. You don’t cross men like Dupree and live.”
“You do if he can’t find you. That kind of money gives you access to anything you want, including IDs. We could be totally different people.”
“No, Dupree always finds anyone who double-crosses him.”
“Stan will never let us stay together. If he doesn’t kill you, he will kill me.”
“I won’t let him.” Cheri could hear the growl in Lamont’s voice. Her entire body was so tight she was ready to snap in two. He couldn’t really be considering this. Dupree would rip him apart.
“So, you’re going to watch your back and my back every day for the rest of our life? You’re going to watch our baby every second of every day knowing Stan wants to kill him?”
No. No. No.
“I don’t really think your husband – “
“You don’t know him like I do! When he said he would kill you, he meant it. He will kill us both. Please think about it. The money is right there. All we have to do is put it in my purse and leave. We don’t have to tell anybody. We can walk out into the parking lot and disappear.”
“What if Dupree finds us?”
“We could hire a personal guard and build a fortress. We could go to another freaking country!”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Lamont’s voice wavered.
Cheri sucked in a breath.
Please don’t listen to that crazy bitch.
“Think about the kind of life we could give our baby. This is our chance to get out of here and make a real life for our family.”
“Ginger—”
“Stan will be here in the morning. You need to decide right now. Do you want to change your life and do right by the baby? Do you want him to have to look over his shoulder the rest of his life?”
There was a long pause.
Please say no. Please say no.
Dupree made Stan Burnell look like a kitten. Anybody who double-crossed Jason Dupree ended up dead.
“Cheri? You okay?” Lainey tapped her on the shoulder and Cheri jumped nearly a foot.
“You scared the shit out of me.” Cheri slapped a hand on her chest, trying to listen with half the ear for Lamont’s answer.
“Sorry, I just saw you standing here for so long I wasn’t sure if you needed something. Killer dress by the way.”
Cheri glanced distractedly down at her outfit, having forgotten completely about her plans for Bo. She chanced another glance through the window, but Lamont’s back was to her. She couldn’t read his expression or hear him talking.
“Uh, are you sure you’re okay?”
Lamont turned enough for Cheri to see his profile, and to see the determined expression on his handsome face. Determined about what? He shifted on his right foot and Ginger’s smiling face came into view. The floor seemed to tilt under her feet. He’d made his decision. He’d made the wrong decision. He was going to do it. He was going to steal Dupree’s money and run off with that crazy, lying bitch.
And she was going to lose the only family she ever had.
“Earth to Cheri.” Lainey’s voice broke into her thoughts.
“No.” She would die before she let Ginger destroy her family.
“No, you’re not okay?”
Cheri shook her head trying to clear her thoughts enough to form a sensible answer and get Lainey back behind the bar so she could think. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine. I was just trying to hear what lies Ginger was telling Lamont. I swear, it’s all good.” Cheri held up a hand.
She would do what it took to save Lamont from his own dumb decisions. Even if it meant going to Jason Dupree herself.
Wait… That was it. Lamont couldn’t betray Dupree if he didn’t have the money. And Ginger couldn’t steal her cousin and leave town without the money. Everything could be solved by getting rid of the damn money.
All she had to do was meet up with a murdering drug dealer and hand it over. And she knew exactly who to contact to set up a meeting with Dupree.
“Lainey, can you tell Lamont C.W. wants him and Ginger out back on the porch?”
“Why?” Lainey asked.
Cheri pulled her phone from her back pocket, suppressing her first instinct to call Bo. No matter how much she wanted to tell him everything she’d just learned, she couldn’t take the risk. What if he arrested Lamont? She’d never be able to look at Bo the same again knowing he was the reason her cousin went to prison.
She’d lose Lamont and Bo.
“Just do it, okay? I can’t tell you why, not yet. I just need you to trust me.”
Lainey lean
ed away, and stammered out an, “Okay. If it’s that important.”
She opened the door and called out, “Lamont! C.W.’s demanding you and Ginger get out back right now.”
Cheri slipped around the corner right before Lamont stepped through the door.
“What’s he want?”
She could practically hear Lainey shrug. “Who knows what C.W. wants?”
Ginger said, “You think he heard about the baby?”
“Shit. Come on, Ginger, let’s get this over with.” Lamont and Ginger crossed to the back door.
“What baby?” Lainey’s eyes widened.
Cheri stopped halfway inside the kitchen door. “I swear to God I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, but I have to leave – now – and I need you to cover for me. If anyone asks tell them I went to Bo’s.”
“Bo?!” Lainey looked like she’d witnessed the dead rise from the grave.
“Dammit, I’ll explain later. Please, just do what I said.”
“Fine, but you better tell me everything tomorrow.”
Cheri didn’t wait around to nod, she rushed into the kitchen and yanked the vodka box from the shelf, ripping open the lid in the same breath. Where there should have been eight bottles, there were only seven. In the corner pocket was a crumpled brown paper sack.
Fingers trembling, she peeled it open. A thick stack of cash lay bound by a rubber band. Cheri pulled the money out, not daring to breathe. The heavy weight surprised her. But she’d never even come close to holding a million bucks.
The kind of money anyone would kill over.
Jason Dupree would do worse.
Throat clenching, Cheri stumbled to her feet, blindly searching for something to stick in the bag so Lamont wouldn’t notice right away. Her gaze landed on the neatly stacked receipts through her open office door in the back of the kitchen.
She was so going to hell for this.
22
Jason Dupree wasn’t anything like she expected. He did not have a gold chain around his neck, or gold teeth and earrings. He wore a pressed blue and pale yellow button up shirt tucked into fitted blue jeans, with a pair of very expensive looking Cayman boots. He had caramel-colored skin and light brown eyes. If she hadn’t known better, she would’ve thought him just average middle-class good-looking guy.
Relentless River: Men of Mercy, Book 10 Page 14