by Aspen Drake
“Nothing. I swear. Not that I’d give it to you if I had it, but I don’t have anything.”
Eli throws his back against the couch cushions and screws his eyes shut. “Fuck. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”
“What do you need money for anyway?” I grab the remote from the cushion between us and mute the TV. I hate talking over it.
He shakes his head without opening his eyes. “I pissed off the wrong people.” He takes a deep breath then glances at me. “Powerful people.”
“Who?”
“The less you know, the better. I just need to find some cash.”
“How much?” I have less than a thousand dollars between my savings and checking account, but if it’ll get him off my couch any sooner, I might actually hand it over.
“Five hundred.” Eli’s voice is low as he says it.
“Damn, Eli. That’s practically my entire savings.”
“Thousand.” His eyes are locked on mine, and the vulnerability I see there makes me feel weird inside. I don’t like seeing my brother so…broken. He’s a dick, and I hate him most of the time, but he’s always strong and confident and in charge. This side of him is new, and I don’t like it at all. “Five hundred thousand.”
It takes a second for the number in my head to sync up with the number that just came out of his mouth. “Five hundred thousand dollars? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I wish I were…” He picks up the remote and turns the volume up a few notches. It’s still low, but the background noise actually helps clear my head.
“What did you do?”
The asshole actually smiles for a second as if remembering something nice before a frown covers his face. “There was this girl…”
“Oh god.” I hold out my hand to stop him. “I’m gonna need a drink for this. Want a glass of cheap Chardonnay?”
Eli shrugs his shoulders, but he doesn’t seem to care either way. “Whatever. Just hurry up so I can get this out. I don’t want to drag it on all night.”
I kick his shin as I walk around him. “Oh, excuse me for interrupting your riveting story of how you fucked yourself into a fucked-up situation.”
“Damn, girl.” He laughs at my outburst. “When did you start talking like a guy? You’re worse than me.”
“I only talk like a thug when I’m talking to thugs.” I pull an open bottle out of my fridge and empty it into two glasses. As soon as I get back to the living room, I hand one glass to my brother then cross my legs on the couch so I’m facing him. “Okay, tell me about the hooker you were with.”
“How do you know she was a hooker?”
I raise an eyebrow at him from over my glass as I take a drink. “You were in Vegas. Of course, she was a hooker.”
He shakes his head then takes a sip of his wine. He doesn’t look impressed by it, but that’s too damn bad. My house, my cheap wine. “Well, I didn’t know she was a hooker at the time. I thought she was just a hot chick with great taste.”
I almost spit out my wine when I realize he’s being serious. I mean, my brother isn’t bad to look at, I guess. He’s tall and works out, but he’s such an arrogant douche that it’s hard for me to imagine any woman being interested in him. Which is why I know the woman he’s talking about is a whore. “Okay, anyway, then what?”
He glares at me but continues his story. “So, we go back to her room, and it’s this giant suite in MGM Grand. It’s like a house.” He looks around my apartment and holds his arms out. “The foyer is as big as your entire place.”
“Okay, so she is a high-end hooker.” I nod my understanding. “Good for her.”
“Uh, she was.” Eli doesn’t usually beat around the bush like this, so the fact that he won’t just say whatever he needs to say has me worried. This must be worse than I thought.
“What do you mean?”
He downs the rest of his wine then places the empty glass on his bent knee. “Her pimp came in and killed her. He just shot her in the head when I was on the balcony the next morning.”
My jaw drops when I realize Eli isn’t joking. “Right in front of you?”
He nods. “They didn’t know I was there. I saw this big dude walk in and pull a gun on her while she was still asleep. I wasn’t even dressed. I just snuck back inside through the doors to the living room then got the hell out of there.”
“Did they see you?”
Eli doesn’t answer for a long moment, and when he does, he won’t make eye contact. “Not exactly.”
“Quit the games, Eli! Just spit it the fuck out. What happened?”
He rolls his eyes like I’m the one being dramatic here. “I was buck naked. I grabbed a bag off the coffee table and ran. They didn’t see me leave, but as soon as I was able to duck into a bathroom, I realized the bag wasn’t full of clothes. It was full of money.”
Oh, this just gets better and better. “Let me guess. Half a mill?”
He nods. “I know that sounds awesome and all, but I’m getting to the bad part.”
“Oh, you mean watching a sleeping woman get shot in the head wasn’t the bad part?” I take a gulp of my wine to finish it off then slide the glass onto the table. “Then, please, continue.”
“Well, you know how I was naked and all?”
I make a face, not wanting to visualize that. “I guess.”
“I left my wallet there.”
Okay, now it’s all starting to make sense. The reason Eli is on my doorstep is because he’s hiding from some pimp he lifted half a million dollars from. Why am I even surprised? “So, they know who you are and where you live?”
Eli gives me the same guilty smile I’ve seen on his face since we met when we were teenagers. We have the same dad but different moms, so we didn’t grow up together. He found out about me when he was seventeen, and I was thirteen. He came to my house one day to meet me after his dying father, the man I’d never met, admitted to having an affair with my mom. The man knew my mom got pregnant, but he didn’t want his wife to find out, so he cut ties, and Mom raised me by herself.
When Eli showed up on our doorstep, I was excited to have a brother, but the intense loss I felt at knowing the man whom I’d fantasized about meeting someday was dead overshadowed that happiness for a long time.
We’ve had a rocky relationship since then. Sometimes we get along. Sometimes I want to kill him. Tonight, he’s lucky to be alive.
“He probably thinks I’m still in Vegas. That’s where I was living at the time. So, I just need to come up with the money to pay him back, and then I can move on with my life.”
“Wait a sec.” I run through his story in my head. “Where is the money now? You couldn’t have spent it all…”
Again, that fucking guilty smile is back. “I was on the run, Em. It’s not cheap to buy a car with cash and live out of hotels for months.”
“Months!” I want to smack him for being so stupid. “You blew through that kind of money in a few months?”
“It doesn’t matter where the money went.” He holds up a hand to calm me, probably not realizing I’m going to bite it off if he doesn’t get it out of my face. “The point is, the money’s gone, and I need help replacing it.”
“Eli, you have to go to the police.” I stand up and point toward the door.
“Whoa… I can’t.” He leans back as if he thinks I’m going to physically drag him to the police station. I have to admit, it’s a tempting idea.
My eyes are bulging out of their sockets in frustration. “Eli, you witnessed a murder, you stole money that was probably already stolen, and then you spent it all like an idiot. We have to go to the police. Now!”
Eli stares at me like I’m the crazy one here. “Do you know what will happen to me if I go to the police?”
“Yeah,” I reply. “Your ass will live. Let’s go.”
“No way.” He plants his feet stiffly on the floor and seems to brace himself deeper into the sofa. “I’m not going to jail just because I happened to be in the wrong pl
ace at the wrong time.”
“You’re being overly dramatic, Eli. The police have experience dealing with this type of thing. They can handle it better than you have.”
“And you’re being overly optimistic.” He huffs out a breath, digging his thumbs into his temples before looking at me again. “Don’t you watch any movies? Once an investigation gets started, the psycho looking for me will know where I’m hiding. You don’t think sudden interest from the podunk Murfreesboro PD won’t throw up any red flags?”
Okay, that’s not a bad point. I cross my arms over my chest and just stare at him. “This is ridiculous.”
“Once word gets out that I’m here, he’ll send his goons for me. I won’t know who they are, but I assure you, they’ll know me.”
“There is such a thing as witness protection. You just have to stay hidden long enough to testify.”
He’s not convinced. “You may as well lay me in the dirt and put a daisy on my head.”
My eyes roll. “I think you’ve been watching too many movies.”
“Come on, Em. You know I’m right.” He probably is, or at least, he could be. Maybe the police wouldn’t be able to help him at this point.
“You know I hate you, right?” I heave out a heavy breath and slump down into the sofa.
“I know you do, sis.” He gives me a more genuine smile. “But you’re also the only person who loves me enough to help. So, what are we gonna do?”
Chapter 10
Sebastian
I can’t stop thinking about her. She’s just a girl I picked up at a bar, so I don’t know what makes her special to the point that I can’t get her out of my goddamn head. But I can’t. Every time my phone rings, I wonder if it’s her. Then I remember that I didn’t give her my number. Although, it’s not like she couldn’t find it if she wanted to. She knows my name. She knows where I work. She could certainly track me down if she tried. But maybe she’s not the kind of girl who has to track down a man. It wouldn’t surprise me. She’s gorgeous. Gorgeous women don’t need to go begging for dick. And in her line of work, she probably meets guys all the time.
I press the intercom button and ask Rena to come into my office.
“Yes, Sebastian. What can I do for you?” She has a pen and notepad in her hand, ready to write down my request.
“Can you order a chicken club from Bacon Bits? Use that service…Meals2Me.”
“Sure thing. It’ll be here in about half an hour.”
Half an hour. I can handle that. Now that I know Emma will be stopping by soon, I can finally focus on work. The early prototypes of my nightlight are ready, and I have to make some decisions about the materials. I need them to be lightweight enough that kids can carry them in their backpack or even in their pocket if they’re being transported from home to home. But the lights also need to be durable enough to withstand being carried around in a kid’s pocket or backpack.
It’s a fine line that I’m not sure we’ve quite mastered yet. I’ve got a few guys testing them with their kids, so I’m hoping that’s enough to help us get us into mass production within the next few months.
I’m almost caught up on emails when Rena pops her head in with my sandwich in her hand. “Here you go…”
I cut her off. “Is she still here?” I stand up and head toward Rena to catch Emma before she gets to the elevator.
“Who?”
“Emma, the delivery girl. Has she left already?”
“No, it wasn’t her. It was a man.” Rena is still holding my bag in front of her with a confused look on her face.
I sigh and take the bag. “Thank you, Rena.” I stand there for a second, contemplating my next move. It’s a little desperate, but I really want to talk to Emma. “Rena, could you please order another sandwich? If there’s any way to request the driver, please request Emma.”
Rena’s confusion immediately changes to understanding. “Oh, of course. I’ll see what I can do.”
I nod and head back to my desk. “And when she gets here, can you ask her to come into my office?”
Rena looks like she just won the lottery. “Of course, Sebastian. It will probably be another half-hour though.”
“Interrupt me if I’m on a call.”
I scarf down half my sandwich and get on a conference call, but I keep checking my messages to see if Rena’s trying to get through.
Twenty-five minutes later, Rena peeks her head into my office with a disappointed look on her face. “I’m sorry, Sebastian. I just got an alert that Emma isn’t going to be making the delivery. And your new sandwich will be here in five minutes.”
I blow out a breath but keep my eyes locked on my keyboard. “Order again. Whatever you want to take home. Place five orders from different restaurants if you need to. Just get her in here. I need to talk to her.”
“Of course. I’ll let you know when she’s here.”
I really hope Emma is working today. If not, Rena is gonna have a hell of a lot of food to take home tonight.
~**~
I’m just about to hang up on my call with Clark and his team when Rena pokes her head through my doorway and gives me a thumbs-up sign. That can only mean one thing. Emma must be on her way.
I dig a tin of mints out of my desk and pop one into my mouth as I wait for her to arrive. It’s not that I expect anything to happen, but it doesn’t hurt to have fresh breath.
The elevator opens and shuts several times before I hear Rena saying that I’d like the box delivered to my office. As lame as it sounds, I pick up a piece of paper and pretend to read it. I don’t want it to seem like I’ve been sitting around waiting for her to arrive, even though that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past few hours.
“Excuse me.” Emma’s cheeks are pink as she stands in my doorway. I hope it’s because she’s remembering our last encounter together.
I put the paper down and look up at her, feigning surprise to see her standing in front of me. “Emma, hello. Please, come in.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but your secretary said you wanted me to bring them in here.”
I wave her in, so she’s forced to come all the way to my desk. It takes me a minute to realize that the box she’s holding is full of cupcakes. I guess Rena had to get creative. That woman just might have earned herself a spot bonus. “Thank you. Have a seat.”
“Oh, thanks, but I need to get going.” Emma glances at her phone anxiously. “I’ve got like fifteen more deliveries I need to make before I call it quits today.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Fifteen? How many have you already done?”
She smiles proudly and puffs up her chest a little bit. “You’re lucky number thirty-five. This is the first time I’m going to hit fifty in a while.”
Damn. “That’s impressive. You must be exhausted.”
She gives me a small smile as she starts to back away toward the door. “Yeah, well. It pays the bills. I’ll see you later.”
She’s almost out the door before I circle around my desk and catch up with her. “Hey, I was wondering if you’d like to get dinner sometime.”
Emma freezes in place, and she doesn’t look like she believes me.
“What? Do you not eat?”
“I eat.” She shakes her head and puts on an indignant front. “I just… Well, I didn’t think…”
“You didn’t think what?” I take a step closer, forcing her to back up against my office wall. If she were an employee, I would be worried about a harassment suit. But she’s not, and I can tell by the way she’s breathing that she has no problem with my proximity.
“So, you want to go out on a date… With me?”
“Is that a hard concept for you to grasp?” Honestly, it’s more than a little shocking to me too, but I can’t stop thinking about this woman. And if it takes dinner and one more night of fucking to get her out of my system, then so be it.
She forces out a laugh. “Well, yeah. Kinda. I mean…”
“Is that a yes?”
&nbs
p; Her eyes are big as she shakes her head. “No, actually. That’s probably not a good idea.”
What? She can’t be serious. She’s actually refusing a dinner date with me? She talks and acts like she doesn’t know where her next meal is coming from. Why would she say no?
Emma presses one hand to my chest and pushes gently so she can sneak out from underneath me. “I’m dealing with some shit right now that’s kind of got me distracted. But thanks for the offer.”
She practically runs down the hallway to the elevator. If she was forced to stand there to wait for it, I might’ve chased after her. But of course, the doors open right as she arrives, and she steps inside, not even making eye contact with me as the doors close.
Goddammit. I still don’t have her fucking phone number. “Rena, double that last tip.”
That should piss her off. If she’s making fifty deliveries a day, it has to be because she needs the money. And giving her another big tip might be enough to get her to come back and yell at me for it. And when she does, I’ll be ready.
But just in case, I pull out my phone and call my buddy Tim.
He picks up on the second ring. “Sebastian James. Where’s the body, and how deep do you want the hole?”
I smile at the inside joke. Tim says I only call when I need a body hidden. But the reality is, I only call when I need a body found. In the past, I’ve asked him to run background checks on business associates or women sniffing around who seemed a little too interested in my wallet. But if I did need a body buried, Tim Harding would be there for me. No questions asked.
But since this isn’t about a dead body, there will be questions. A shit-ton of them.
“I need you to look into someone for me.”
“Sexy or slimy?” He doesn’t miss a beat. And he’s known me since freshman year of high school, so he knows how my mind works.
“Sexy. But elusive.” I flip a pen into the air and catch it as I stare out my office window. “I can’t get a good read on her. She’s either married, playing hard to get, or totally not interested.”