Dangerous in Charge

by Sidney Bristol

  “What are you burning?” She squinted at the kindling in the bottom of the pit.

  “Dad’s clothes. The bedding. Anything flammable, really. It’s either singed or smells so bad we can’t donate it.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “You want a drink? I think we’re down to the cheap beer one of the guys brought.” Kyle nodded at a cooler sitting nearby.

  “Thanks, but I need to drive home soon.”

  “You sure I can’t talk you into staying? These goons aren’t much company.” Kyle nodded at the two men entering the garage again.

  Of all the nights he’d ask.

  Her roommates wouldn’t forgive her if she abandoned them, especially for a man.

  “Rain check? I’m off this weekend.” She leaned her elbow on the arm rest and curled a foot under her. She’d never been able to figure out if Kyle was simply being friendly, or if there might be something else in the way he looked at her.

  “I don’t have any plans.” The way he looked at her changed. She didn’t have words to describe it, but her body reacted.

  Bethany’s throat tightened and her mouth went dry. Her stomach did a nauseating summersault and her knees were too weak to stand anytime soon.

  That was not a polite, friendly stare. Right then he had more of a Big Bad Wolf thing going on, and she liked it.

  WEDNESDAY. GRAMERCY House, Seattle, Washington.

  Jay Diaz sat on the floor, eyes closed. He’d carved out a nice little spot for himself in the hallway coat closet over the last year. The women never even knew he was there. They never knew he was listening.

  He cupped his hands over his ears, straining to hear the voices of Faith and Megan in the kitchen. Someone had moved the microphone or put something in front of it and he could no longer hear them as easily as he used to, which was frustrating. He couldn’t have the perfect plan if he didn’t know what they were going to do.

  The front door opened.

  Bethany.

  She was late.

  “Hey, sorry.” Bethany was breathless and her voice was...different.

  “Where have you been?” Megan demanded.

  “I had one last house call to make, and it ran long. The patient passed away, and I had paperwork to go over with the family.” Bethany’s voice grew softer as she walked across the house, then louder. The couch springs gave her position away. Twelve o'clock. Sitting.

  “Which patient was this?” Faith’s voice was crystal clear now.

  “Mr. Martin.”

  “That old man that wouldn’t die? How long did he last?” Megan asked. She was a lot like her parents. Waspish and short. Demanding like her father.

  “He held on longer than expected.” Bethany’s tone remained sweet, just like her.

  “Over a year at least. How’s his family holding up?” Faith again. She wasn’t Jay’s favorite. She fucked around too much when the other’s weren’t home. If Megan or Bethany knew they’d have a House Meeting over it.

  “He only has a son.” Bethany’s voice got weird again. Jay didn’t know how to describe it.

  “A son?” Faith gasped. “Is this son incredibly hot and in need of a shoulder to cry on?”

  “Shut up, Faith.” Bethany sighed.

  “I’m hungry,” Megan announced.

  “Did you order pizza already?” Bethany asked.

  “Yup. Almost ate without you, too. Come on, and tell me all about cranky Mr. Martin’s hot, bereaved son.”

  “Stop it, Faith. That’s not funny.”

  “I never said it was.”

  The girl’s voices faded as they entered the kitchen. Jay grit his teeth, annoyed he couldn’t listen to every word. He needed to know them inside an out or this wouldn’t be perfect. After three years, everything had to go according to plan starting tomorrow night.

  He couldn’t wait.

  2.

  FRIDAY. KYLE MARTIN’S home, Seattle, Washington.

  Kyle scrubbed his hands and arms. The chemicals it took to remove the tar from the walls had his skin crawling. He couldn’t identify anything that should irritate him to this degree, and yet it was. He even used a clean sponge to go over everything from the elbows down without luck.

  Maybe it wasn’t a chemical thing. It could be him. He’d always hated the smell of cigarettes and since Dad passed, it was like Kyle couldn’t get away from the smell. It was everywhere and in everything. His hair. His clothes. Even his boot leather.

  He turned the faucet off and stood there, hands and arms dripping on the hardwood floor.

  The silence of the house weighed on him, pressing him down until he wanted to sit on ground to try to get away from it. Living alone had never bothered him. It was the way of things for him most of the time. During the last few years it’d been a relief to have a quiet place to retreat to on his rare days or weeks off.

  Right now he didn’t want to be alone or off work, no matter what his boss said. Zain thought he knew best, that Kyle needed a break, but he didn’t.

  He glanced at his phone.

  It was Friday.

  Bethany had said she was off work this weekend.

  That statement had been on repeat in his mind. Without his neat rules keeping him in check, he was struggling with the urge to call her. Text her. Pursue her.

  Did he call her? Was she being serious when she offered that tidbit, or was it what he wanted to hear?

  He didn’t know. It was all twisted up in his head.

  It was barely past noon. Too early to call about the weekend. She’d be with patients and he didn’t want to disturb her.

  What could he do to distract himself?

  Kyle leaned on the counter and stared out through the window at the garage apartment. He was just about done. The tar and smell were almost gone. Once he’d knocked out the garage project, he could finish the basement. Once that was done, he’d be out of this house and this chapter would be over.

  He was ready for that.

  Maybe he could spend the weekend putting up the drywall in the basement while it rained if Bethany didn’t get back to him.

  The peal of the doorbell started him out of his thoughts.

  He flinched and stared at the door.

  Did he dare answer it?

  He’d had two churches come by to offer their condolences. He couldn’t grin and bear another one’s well meaning visit.

  The doorbell rang again, then again.

  “Kyle?” a woman called out.

  “Bethany?” He frowned and strode through the house.

  What the hell was she doing there?

  There was something in her voice that made him dread this unexpected visit.

  He opened the front door and words dried up. He registered the baby blue scrubs and midnight hair done up in a bun as her every day attire, but that wasn’t what made his stomach drop.

  She wasn’t smiling. She always smiled.

  He had to force himself to not reach for a weapon he wasn’t wearing to defend from a threat that wasn’t present.

  Her wide, worried eyes and the deep lines on her brow and bracketing her mouth scratched out the possibility of this being a work call. Whatever had sent Bethany to his doorstep wasn’t related to Dad. Kyle had seen that look—the fear tinged gaze, the tightly clasped hands, the too pale skin—on enough clients to know it at a glance. And it didn’t belong on Bethany. It wasn’t who she was. It wasn’t right. He had to protect her.

  “Beth, what’s wrong?” Kyle stepped out onto the porch and stared down the road but saw nothing unusual.

  “I...um, I’m sorry.” She sucked down a deep breath.

  “Hey. It’s okay.” He closed the distance between them. He’d worked on keeping the line between himself and the spirited nurse firmly in place, but she wasn’t working for him anymore. That pull he felt whenever she was around, he didn’t have to ignore it.

  “Your dad just died. I shouldn’t have come here.” She squeezed her eyes shut.

  “It’s okay.” He grasped
her tightly clasped hands and held them between his own. They were cold to the touch, and she practically shivered despite the balmy weather they were having. “What’s wrong?”

  “You...help people, don’t you?”

  Shit.

  It was that kind of problem.

  “Kind of. Come inside?” He wiggled his fingers between hers until she held his hand. His previous rules for staying the hell away from her would have never allowed this kind of contact, but his decisions were no longer about Dad. This was about Bethany and whatever terror had sent her running for help. “Come inside and tell me what’s going on.”

  Kyle led Bethany into the house. Whatever had her worried, it had to be bad. Bethany was one of those people who didn’t let anything ruffle her feathers. She kept going with her smile firmly in place. Even Dad did what she said.

  “Wow.” She blinked at the inside of the house. “This is a little different.”

  “You’ve never been in here before?” He glanced around the light, airy space. Of course not. That was one of the rules. If they talked, they did it in Dad’s apartment or in the driveway.

  “No. It’s nice.”

  Compared to his father’s tar stained walls this place would seem pretty different. He’d gone for the contemporary white and gray route since he’d always intended the place to be a flip after Dad died.

  Kyle could still remember the day Bethany walked into their lives. Dad had run off another nurse the day before with his crass language. Kyle was forced to take some time off to deal with the whole mess. He’s been pretty positive the home hospice company was going to tell him they couldn’t assist them when Bethany walked in. She’d put a hand on her hip and smiled at Dad, then proceeded to tell him how things were going to go. She’d surprised both Dad and Kyle.

  She took command of a situation with a smile and that little tilt of her head. She was confident and firm about her directives, and even Dad’s worst couldn’t scare her away. Kyle didn’t know how to thank her for the months of care she’d given them. It was over and above what most patients in Dad’s condition got in terms of time, and she’d been with them every step of the way. Right up until the end.

  “You didn’t come to get a look at my kitchen. What’s wrong?” He pulled out a seat at the dining table situated to one side of the glass, sliding doors.

  “One of my roommates is missing.” She leaned forward as though willing him to believe her.

  “For how long?” Not a danger to Bethany, then. He was a little relieved that it wasn’t Bethany in danger.

  “Since last night. I made a report this morning. The cops said it hasn’t been long enough, but...this isn’t like her. I don’t know what to do. I’ve gone to the hospital, I’ve checked her room, and she’s gone. I just—your dad, he said you save people. I was hoping you’d have an idea for where I could start looking. This is a bad time. I’m sorry. It was a terrible idea.”

  Kyle grasped her hands before she could push to her feet. He knew her type. Bethany would power ahead, doing it all on her own, never asking for help. If she’d come here, that was all he needed to know that the situation was bad.

  “Sit.” He put just enough force in his voice that it wasn’t a request.

  Bethany dropped back down into her chair, fat tears brimming in her eyes. As if he didn’t have reason enough to believe her, the tears sealed the deal.

  Kyle didn’t believe in love at first sight. It boiled down to attraction and chemistry. That was why he’d created the rules. He couldn’t act on baser feelings though he damn well wanted to. Granted, after a year and change he was starting to rethink his stance on instant love. Since Bethany walked into his life, he sure as hell hadn’t taken an interest in another woman. He could tell himself all he liked that until Dad passed, there was no point in getting involved with anyone, that Dad had to come first, but the truth was, Kyle had been waiting for this moment. And now it was here and Bethany needed his help.

  “Start at the beginning.” He stroked her hand with his fingers.

  She gulped down air and blinked, the first tears shaking loose.

  Fuck.

  Kyle scrambled to grab the box of tissues his boss’ wife had left in the middle of the table and rip the box open.

  “Sorry. I haven’t slept much and I’ve been running around all day. This isn’t like her, and I don’t know what to do.” Bethany took a tissue and daubed her eyes.

  “It’s okay. Your roommate, what’s her name?”

  There went another rule. No personal questions. Bethany had offered up enough details without him asking for more.

  “I live with two girls. Faith and Megan. Megan’s the one missing.”

  “That’s a crowded place. When’s the last time you saw Megan?” Kyle pulled out his phone with his free hand and opened a note app. Sometimes the answers were obvious. For Bethany’s sake, he hoped this time it was.

  “Last night. I got home, and she was leaving to go to a movie. She works Emergency Department, mostly weekend shifts. She likes to go see whatever movie is opening so she has something to talk about with the patients.” Bethany swiped at her eyes, drying the tears.

  “Was she going with anyone? Boyfriend? Friend? Coworkers?”

  “No boyfriend. If Faith or I don’t go with her, she goes alone.”

  “You sure she didn’t change her mind? Go out with friends? Was she the bar type? Go home with someone?”

  “Megan’s not exactly friendly. She doesn’t leave people with the best impression. I’ve never known her to go to a bar or anything. That’s just not like her. When she’s not working, she’s antisocial.”

  “Okay. Did you check at work? Was she called in?”

  “No. That’s where I went first when I realized she never came home.”

  “You checked with your other roommate? Faith?”

  “Faith was called in to work a little after Megan left. She hasn’t heard from her either.”

  Kyle could see the cause for concern.

  A single woman, out late was a much easier target

  “Her phone is off, too.” Bethany pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “Because we all bike a lot and I go to people’s homes, we have location sharing turned on. Just in case, you know?”

  “Smart. Does it show you her last location?”

  “No. It only shows where she is now. I can’t make it go back and show me where she was.”

  Damn.

  “What about family? Have they heard from her?”

  “Megan never talks about them. I gather they had a falling out. I can’t imagine that she’d be with them.”

  “No, but they might know something or it could be unrelated. How about we swing by, pay them a visit, just to make sure?” He could find out Megan’s whole life story with one call if he had to.

  “Oh, no. I couldn’t ask you to do that.” Bethany sat back and blinked.

  “Bethany? You’d be doing me a favor by letting me help you. What I need most right now is something to do.” He squeezed her hand a little tighter, holding onto her. He hadn’t planned on seeing her so soon after Dad’s death, but he had wanted to see her again. If only to find out if this ache in his chest was one-sided, or if she felt it, too.

  “Are you sure?” The lines on her brow deepened.

  “Yup.” Kyle couldn’t take anymore of this mandatory bereavement, anyway. He needed something worthwhile to do and he couldn’t think of anyone else he’d rather spend time with. “Can you find out where Megan’s family lives while I lock everything up outside?”

  “Sure. Yeah.”

  The apartment wasn’t going anywhere. He could save that for a project at a later date. Bethany needed help now, and Kyle needed to get away from this place.

  BETHANY ROSSI SAT IN the passenger side of her Mini Cooper, dread and shame wrapped around her so tightly she could barely breathe.

  This was all her fault.

  She should have gone with Megan last night. She rarely asked Bethany or Fa
ith to go, but that wasn’t the point. Bethany had known Megan was going out by herself and had chosen to stay home. Bethany was tired of Megan’s attitude, so she’d stopped making an effort. It was exhausting being the only person trying in a friendship. It didn’t change the fact that she’d failed to be there for Megan.

  “Has Megan mentioned a problem patient? Anyone at work who might have given her an issue?” Kyle asked. He’d always been brooding an intense, but he seemed even bigger than normal behind the wheel of her compact car.

  “No. She’s a good nurse, but she doesn’t have the best bedside manner.” Bethany swallowed and forced herself to look straight ahead.

  She’d come to the Martin home several times a week for over a year, and Kyle still had the same effect as he had that first morning. Her stomach got all knotted up whenever he was around, her mouth dried up and she’d forget the promise she’d made herself to put off dating. At least Kyle wasn’t a big talker. That was her one, saving grace. If he’d chatted more, God only knew what Bethany might say. If she started talking, she might forget the rules about getting involved with families she worked for.

  But she didn’t work for Kyle Martin anymore...

  She swallowed and glanced at him, keeping it brief. There was something about him that overrode her good sense where he was concerned. On paper, Kyle was everything she should avoid. Lord knew she was more intimidated by Kyle’s silent presence than she had been the verbal abuse from his ailing father. It was the way Kyle cared for his dad that always won her over.

  Bethany knew Mr. Martin’s type. She’d almost gotten married to a man like him. She’d walked in Kyle’s shoes, but unlike him, she’d left. She’d given up everything to get out of that relationship. Even her parents still loved her ex more than her, which was why she’d cut off all ties to them. Kyle didn’t get that choice. She could feel his invisible scars, knew there was history there, and despite the untold pain Kyle had experienced at the hands of a man like Mr. Martin, he’d chosen to care for the man until the end.