by Jenny Penn
“Then prove it.” Jason studied her for a moment before daring her outright to do the one thing Maryanne knew would be her downfall. “Come back to work.”
It would be a mistake, a dangerous one, but Maryanne had never been able to back down from a challenge. She suspected Jason, that bastard, knew it.
“Fine.” She caved with ill grace. “But you keep your hands, lips, and every other part of your body to yourself.”
The tips of Jason’s lips quivered at that as a sparkle entered his brilliant gaze, and Maryanne could tell she’d just amused him.
“Sure…you going to make the same promise?”
* * * *
Jason whistled his way back into the bonds office, feeling better than he had in a long time. Maryanne cared, cared about him. It was clear as day now to Jason, just as was the fact that the woman wasn’t as tough as she liked to pretend. In fact, she was scared. Scared and running, but that was okay. Jason knew how to take out skittish prey, and Maryanne would go down.
“Well?” Big Bob stepped up to the door of his office wearing a scowl and holding his arms across his chest in a authoritative look that Jason knew all too well.
He didn’t answer his dad’s unspoken question. Jason just walked right up at to him and pulled out his wallet. A quick stop at the bank before he’d come back to work had the leather bulging with cash. He counted out the bills until he had a pile worth a thousand bucks, but when he tried to hand it over to his dad, Big Bob didn’t budge.
“I tell you what, son. You can keep your money if I’m getting to keep Maryanne on the payroll.”
“You are,” Jason assured him, not arguing with the rest of what his dad had said. Neither did he tempt the older man by leaving the cash out. Stuffing his money back into his wallet, he offered Big Bob a smile. “Maryanne isn’t going anywhere.”
“Good.” Big Bob nodded and finally began to relax as a sparkle grew in his eyes. “And you two are…”
“Just co-workers.” For now.
“Uh-huh.”
“Her conditions.”
Big Bob snorted at that. “Sure thing, son. However you want to play it, that’s your business.”
“It sure is.” Jason nodded. He’d take care of his business soon enough.
Right then, though, he was feeling a need for a workout. Offering his dad a pat on the shoulder, Jason sauntered past Big Bob and headed for the gym in back. That was where he found Collin, who was still wearing a frown. Jason could guess why. Collin wanted Maryanne, but that wasn’t going to happen. It was time to make that clear to his cousin.
“Hey, man.” Jason nodded at Collin as his cousin settled down the weights he’d been lifting and slowly sat up. “You’re not supposed to do that without a spotter, you know?”
“I could say the same of you and Maryanne,” Collin muttered as he wiped down his face. “Or am I supposed to guess from that stupid grin you’re wearing that you patched things up with the lovely Maryanne?”
There was enough bite in that question to wipe the smile from Jason’s face, but he could feel it lingering in his heart, even as he answered Collin with a measured tone. “She’s coming back to work.”
“Mmm.” Collin cracked his neck and studied Jason for a moment. “And is she coming back to you?”
“Eventually.” Jason would make sure of it. Last night was not the beginning and end of him and Maryanne.
“Eventually?” Collin snorted, appearing to perk up. “That means she’s fair game, right?”
Absolutely not. Maryanne was Jason’s, and he didn’t plan on sharing. Not this time. “Sorry, man, she’s already marked as mine.”
“So you say.”
“So I say.” Jason nodded, but Collin didn’t back down.
“So I guess we’ve got to wait and see what she says, huh?”
Chapter Seven
Maryanne didn’t know what the hell was going on. That wasn’t completely true. From the way Collin and Jason sniped at each other and threw themselves at her over the next two weeks, she’d come to the realization that she was somehow trapped in a competition between the two. What she couldn’t figure out was why either man thought they were going to win.
Being made into a prize didn’t appeal to her, a fact Maryanne tried to make clear at every turn. Neither man listened. Instead, they worked all the harder to impress her, bringing her coffee and lunches and flowers and strutting around shirtless and making all kinds of subtle and not-so-subtle come-ons to her at every turn. It was about enough to drive a sane woman crazy, and Maryanne had never thought of herself as particularly sane to begin with.
As much as she tried to hold them back, Maryanne could feel her defenses crumbling. Something had to be done, but what? All sorts of ideas came to Maryanne, but there was one that she couldn’t help but come back to. Jason needed to learn that he wasn’t the master of her. Collin needed to learn that, when she wanted dick, she took it. He didn’t have to work so hard at trying to give it away.
Those were stupid thoughts. She shouldn’t have slept with Jason in the first place. That was what had messed everything up. Of course, by that reasoning, things were already messed up. So what did she have to lose? Nothing if she didn’t care. Everything if she did.
That was the question. Did Maryanne care? If so, about which man? Collin? Or Jason? She couldn’t make up her mind, not until Big Bob made it up for her. It was a Thursday afternoon when he called her into his office and asked her to sit down. He’d even asked her to close the door, and that made Maryanne nervous.
The sick feeling in her stomach didn’t die down as he explained all about how they’d just picked up a new client whose daughter’s ex-boyfriend had started to stalk her. The situation needed to be handled. Maryanne eagerly volunteered to handle it.
“I’m afraid that won’t work.” Big Bob shook his head. “We can’t run these people’s bill up waiting on this jackass to make a move.”
Maryanne blinked, uncertain of what that meant. “So what are you going to do?”
“Set it up to make it look like she got a new man and taunt the bastard into making a move.” Big Bob shrugged, as if that weren’t the most insane thing she’d ever heard.
“That’s dangerous…to both the man and the client.”
“Yep, but it’s quick and once he actually makes a move, we can have him put away. The benefits far outweigh the risks in this case.” Big Bob paused, shooting her a pointed look. “So who do you want to play Romeo? Jason or Collin?”
Maryanne blinked, stunned speechless by the same question that had been haunting her these past few weeks. Jason or Collin? God, the truth was she wanted both. Not just wanted, she cared about both. The very idea of either one romancing another woman left a sour feeling in her stomach. Worse, the idea of either of them getting hurt left a pain in her heart.
“Neither.”
“Excuse me?” Big Bob blinked, appearing honestly shocked by that answer. “Did you say neither?”
“Yes, I did.” Maryanne straightened up in her seat and made her decision. “Let Tex do it.”
“Huh.” Big Bob eyed her for a moment before finally snorting and shaking his head. “Boy, I’m an idiot.”
“Excuse me?” Now it was Maryanne’s turn to frown in confusion.
“Nothing. It’s just…nothing.” Big Bob smiled, looking suddenly, suspiciously pleased. “Fine then. I’ll put Tex on the job. That leaves you and your crew hunting down a lowlife by the name of Henry Howard.”
“Henry Howard?” Maryanne reached for the file Big Bob lifted off his desk and extended toward her. “What’s his deal?”
“Child abuse,” Big Bob answered simply. “He was due in court yesterday, but nobody has seen nor heard from him, or they’re not admitting it if they have.”
There was something in Big Bob’s tone that caught Maryanne’s attention, and she glanced up from the mug shot stapled to the top of the folder to pin the older man with a hard look.
“You think somebo
dy is lying?”
“The mama, Lindsay Cornish, she’s been defending him since day one.” Big Bob sighed and shook his head sadly. “I think she’s on the abused list to and would do just about anything for ol’ Henry. You know some people get blinded by love…others are just blind.”
Maryanne snorted at that, not at all certain what he meant but knowing she didn’t care to find out. Over the past few weeks of working with the old man, she’d come to learn that Big Bob was a deep son-of-a-bitch. Those were waters normally best left undisturbed. Besides, she had a lowlife to go track down.
“I’ll get Collin and Jason, and we’ll get on it.” Maryanne tapped the file on Big Bob’s desk as she rose out of her seat.
“Good. I’m sure the three of you will find him in no time.” Big Bob offered up that vote of confidence before following it up with a command. “And do me a favor. Send Tex back here.”
Maryanne nodded as headed out the door and toward the break room, where she could hear the shouts of the other men. It didn’t shock her the slightest to find Collin and Jason engaged in a arm-wrestling match anymore than it didn’t surprise her to find the rest of their cousins gathered around shouting encouragements and waving dollar bills at each other.
None of the men paid her any mind as Maryanne came to a stop in the doorway. She watched Collin and Jason battle it out, their arms bulging with the strain as their cheeks flushed and the sweat began to bead along the edges of their foreheads. They could go at this for an hour, and she didn’t have an hour to waste. That was okay. Maryanne knew how to put a stop to this silliness.
Crossing the room to Jason’s side, she couldn’t help but be a little miffed that he didn’t even glance her way in recognition. The man was fighting over her. The least he could do was show her a little attention. Attention was what she wanted, and it is exactly what Maryanne got as she bent down to whisper in his ear.
The room quieted down for a second as every man in it tried to hear what she had to say, but Maryanne knew they didn’t even catch a single word. Otherwise, they would have all started hooting and hollering. That was what Jason did as he all but sprang out of his seat, releasing Collin’s hand and forgetting all about the competition as he gaped at her.
“Really?” Jason’s eyes rounded with an excitement that was almost comical. “You…you…you can do that?”
“I can.” Maryanne was indeed that flexible but not that gullible. “But I’m not going to. We have a case.”
She slapped the file against Jason’s chest as his eager smile started to curl into a frown. He glanced down at it, his hands instinctively coming up to take the manila folder, even as the rest of the men started to snicker. They might not have heard what Maryanne had whispered, but they could understand that she’d played Jason. That was enough to earn a round of chuckles as Collin lifted out of his seat.
“Who we hunting?” he asked her before shooting Jason a pointed look. “And I’m declaring that a victory.”
“And I’m demanding a re-do.”
“You want to go? Let’s go now, punk.”
“Sorry.” Maryanne interfered before the two cousins could get sidetracked once again. “But the pissing competition will have to wait until later. Henry comes first, and Tex? Big Bob wants to see you.”
* * * *
“He’s not here.” Lindsay Cornish held the door open a bare inch as she peered out at Maryanne over the taut line of the chain assuring that she couldn’t shove the door wider.
Maryanne didn’t need to. She could see enough to know the truth. Lindsay had a massive black eye and a busted lip that spoke for itself. So did her skittish nature. The woman took her hits. That was her business. Maryanne’s was assuring she didn’t raise her daughter to do the same…at least, she wished she could.
“Are you sure, ma’am?” Maryanne pressed, certain she knew what was hiding behind that door.
“I’m sure.”
The woman was lying, and she wasn’t very good at it. Maryanne and Jason had already talked to most of Lindsay’s neighbors. They knew that ol’ Henry had been seen around as recently as yesterday. Odds were he didn’t have the money or a place to go other than here. While it would have been easy enough to kick the door in and break the chain, fishing the bastard out that way would put Lindsay and her daughter in more danger than they already were.
“All right.” Maryanne nodded and backed away. “You’ll give us a call if he comes by, right?”
“Of course,” Lindsay lied once again, not even bothering to ask for a business card before she slammed the door.
That was a blatant oversight that spoke for itself. So did Jason, who didn’t even hesitate to point out the obvious.
“You know he’s in there, right?” Jason asked, falling in step beside Maryanne as they walked back down the drive toward the car waiting at the end of it.
“Yep.” Maryanne nodded. “And I know he’s going to have to come out at some point.”
Jason snorted at that, and she knew what he was thinking. It would be quicker to go in and get him, but that wasn’t going to happen. They’d wait the bastard out…or figure out a way to lure Lindsay and her daughter out of the way.
“I’ve got an idea.” Maryanne could only hope it would work.
* * * *
Maryanne smiled as she watched Lindsay rush a sweetly round-faced little girl out the door and down to the beat-up old Chevy sitting at the side of the road. Sometimes things just went right. When they went right for her, they tended to go real wrong for whatever bastard she was hunting. Ol’ Henry was about to find that out the hard way.
Maryanne waited till the car had pulled off down the street before picking up the walkie-talkie sitting in her lap to radio to Jason, who was covering the back of the house. “We’re all clear.”
A static-filled reply echoed out of the small receiver. “Going in.”
Not without her they weren’t. Maryanne didn’t even care if she’d promised Jason and Collin she’d stay at the car and act as lookout. She was backup, whether they thought they needed her or not. Most importantly, she wanted to help bring this bastard down, but she was too late.
The hollow report of gunfire echoed out of the house, making Maryanne’s heart seize, though, thankfully, her feet kept moving. She was right there as Henry came barreling out the door. He crashed right into her, his gun going off as they tumbled down the stairs. Searing hot pain burst through Maryanne’s head a second before the world went black around her.
Reality came and went in bright flashes of color and noise as she faded in and out of consciousness. Nothing made sense in those moments, but slowly, things quieted down until she finally managed to open her eyes and keep them open. By then it was night. The moonlight softly drifted through the windows of a hospital room and across the bed Maryanne found herself nearly tied to with all the tubes and wires coming off her.
She didn’t wonder why she was there. She ached enough to know the answer wasn’t good. Her head pounded. Her arm throbbed. Maryanne just felt miserable in general. The best thing for pain was to sleep through it, but before her eyes drifted closed once again, she couldn’t help but notice that both Jason and Collin were passed out in chairs flanking either side of her bed.
That revelation had her passing back out with a smile on her face, despite the condition the rest of her body was in.
* * * *
Collin woke up with a crick in his neck and ache in his lower back, but neither of those things bothered him half as much as the sight of Maryanne lying in bed looking paler than a ghost and more fragile than porcelain. She had a bandage wrapped around her head where she’d cracked her skull open on the cement and another wrapped around her arm where she’d been grazed by Henry’s bullet.
That bastard had shot her, but damn near dying? That was on Maryanne herself. She shouldn’t have been there. She should have been safely tucked in the car. As usual, though, Maryanne had felt some obsessive need to throw herself right into the middle of th
e path of trouble.
Collin sighed and closed his eyes, trying to force the memory of her lying there bleeding on the walkway from his mind, but it wouldn’t go. His heart wouldn’t let it. It clung to that moment, forcing him to relive the panic and fear he’d experienced in those seconds over and over again until he felt ready to smash something he was so damn strung out.
If that wasn’t telling about how much he cared, Collin didn’t know what else would prove the point. The same could be said of Jason. Collin cracked his eyes back open and gazed across Maryanne’s bed to where his cousin slept in the other hospital chair that had come with her room.
He looked ragged and worn out. Collin had a feeling that was just how Jason would go to an early grave if he took Maryanne on alone. The woman was trouble. The kind of trouble that would need two men to keep contained. Besides, God only knew what kind of hellions she’d breed.
That thought brought a wayward smile to his lips as Collin imagined a wild-eyed, spit-and-fire little girl that looked just like Maryanne. She’d be a danger to the world and as beautiful as her mother. If Maryanne didn’t kill Jason with worry, their daughter would. That child was going to need two daddies to make sure she made it through childhood in one piece.
“You’re smiling like an idiot,” Jason grumped sleepily, drawing Collin back to the moment and the realization that his cousin’s eyes had opened. “And I don’t know what the hell for.”
“I was just thinking.” Collin sighed and glanced over at Maryanne. “We almost lost her today.”
“You don’t think I know that?” Jason’s tone sharpened as he stretched and arched his back. “I was there, remember?”
Collin snorted at that. “Remember us telling her to wait in the car?”
“Do you want me to tell you I was there again?” Jason asked, impatience sounding in his words, but Collin didn’t pay his annoyance any mind.