Hot and Handy: A Small Town Romantic Suspense (Shameless Southern Nights Book 3)

by J. H. Croix

  Chapter Thirteen

  Evan

  “Yo, boss man,” Phoenix called out when I got to the garage, lifting one hand high above his head to wave at me. “How do you know Monday is a man?”

  “It comes too quickly,” I called back, chuckling at my friend.

  He pretended to deflate and clutched his chest in mock hurt. “You’ve known me too long.”

  A couple of other guys in the garage started laughing too. One of them asked Phoenix if he was too quick on the trigger, but he shrugged them off and jogged over to me.

  When we reached my office, I saw the humor leave his eyes. He was somber when he followed me in and closed the door behind us. I cocked my head at him. “What? You can’t be upset with them joking about premature ejaculation when you’re the one who made the joke.”

  He scoffed, a hint of a smile on his lips before he shook his head. “They’re all fuckers. I don’t care about them. I don’t plan on proving it, but I bet could outlast all of them. And you too.”

  He smirked and then grew serious. “But that’s not why I’m here.”

  “Did something happen?” I asked him. Phoenix had the shop’s emergency phone with him over the weekend, meaning if there was anything urgent either for the shop or from the towing guys, the call would’ve gone through to him.

  He started shaking his head and then nodded instead. “Nothing happened, but do you remember that dude who stopped by last week?”

  The man Sonny said the state investigator was looking for. “Sure. I asked you to tell me if you ever saw him around again.” I felt the blood drain from my cheeks. “You saw him around again, didn’t you?”

  Phoenix nodded. “He stopped by early this morning looking for you again. I told him you weren’t in yet.”

  Fuck. It was too much of a coincidence that he happened to stop by first thing on the Monday morning after Emery and Sadie spent their first weekend with me. My jaw clenched, and sparks of anger and worry ran up and down my spine.

  As I was about to ask Phoenix if he’d said anything else, there was a knock at the door and one of the junior guys stuck his head in. “Phoenix, there’s a customer here asking for you. He said he only has a minute, and he needs to speak to you.”

  “I’ll be right there,” Phoenix told him. He looked apologetically at me. “Sorry to cut this short, but I told this guy he could stop in on his way to work this morning. He needs me to check something out if it’s the customer I’m thinking of who called yesterday.”

  I waved him out. “Sure, sure. Of course. Thanks, Phoenix. I’ll catch you later.”

  Phoenix rushed out to deal with the customer. I tossed my wallet, keys, and phone down on my desk and then sank into my chair. I’d come in here to start a pot of coffee and completely forgotten about it.

  Fuck. Hearing the guy stopped by again was not good news. It hadn’t been long since he’d come by the first time. Nothing had happened with my dad or with his case in the meantime. Or not that I knew. The only change had been between me and Sadie.

  Maybe I was being paranoid, but given that he’d already let on to knowing about her and us the last time he was here, I needed to talk to my brother. Paranoia be damned.

  “How was the weekend playing house?” Sonny asked instead of greeting me when he answered my call.

  “It was fine, but I’ll tell you about it some other time.” My tone was brisk, worry sharpening the edges of my voice. If my paranoia was warranted and the guy was here because he knew something about Sadie and me, I needed to get her to safety. “Has your investigator looking into the new guy on the scene found out who he is yet?”

  “No,” Sonny said cautiously. “Why? Did you see him again?”

  “No,” I replied. “But Phoenix did. Apparently, he was at the shop earlier asking for me.”

  “Fuck,” Sonny muttered. “I told them we should have someone watch your shop. It would’ve been the perfect opportunity to follow him.”

  “I don’t give a shit about following him,” I snapped at Sonny. “I need to know who he is, and then I need him out of my life.”

  “I get it, Ev,” Sonny told me, clearly trying to calm me down. “Trust me, I really do. They’re doing everything in their power to find out who he is, where he fits in, and what he’s after. We know he’s after money, but we don’t know whose. Could be his own or Ken’s. Until we know, it’s difficult to guess what his motives are.”

  “It’s also difficult to know how far he’d be willing to go,” I pointed out. Sighing, I realized there was only one person who would be able to help me, though I sincerely doubted he’d be in the mood to give me any information since he never was. “I’m going to go see Dad. The sooner we find out who he is and what he wants, the better. Maybe if Dad can give us a name, the investigator can start doing his damned job and tracking the guy down.”

  Sonny knew better than to argue with me. “Sure, Ev. If Dad gives you name, it will make their jobs a hell of a lot easier. I’ve tried talking to him again, but he refuses to give me shit.”

  “You’re a cop,” I told him, already standing up to shove my wallet into my pocket and grabbing my keys. I wasn’t going to waste any time. I checked my watch. If I hurried, I could make the prison morning visiting hours. “He knows you’re investigating. I’m going there as his son, not someone looking into his case. I’m being threatened by the asshole and so is the woman I love. I swear to God, if he doesn’t give me anything this time…”

  Sonny remained quiet. Having gone through many similar threats to Niki during the course of their relationship, he knew how I was feeling. The difference was that Niki had agreed to move in with him early on so he could keep her safe, and of course, there hadn’t been a child involved.

  In Jeremy’s case, there had been a child involved, but no one was threatening Marie or Austin except for Marie’s ex, who was also Austin’s dad. The guys who had come after Jeremy threatened him. He got them arrested after they killed Marie’s ex but before the threats against her turned serious.

  Dad had helped Jeremy when he was trying to protect Marie, and to an extent, he’d helped Sonny too. I only hoped he was feeling generous again today. If he wasn’t, I was taking Sadie and Emery somewhere far away from here for as long as it took.

  My father could forget about my help. Sadie had sold the weekend at my place to Emery as a vacation. I was sure we could sell her on an extended vacation if it turned out we needed to. I was still hopeful Sadie would speak to Emery and agree. In fact, I was almost sure that given time, she would. But until then, I wasn’t above dragging them across the damned country if it were necessary.

  Sonny released a deep breath. “Good luck, bro. Let me know what dear old Dad says.”

  “Thanks,” I told him, my shoes snapping against the concrete floors as I crossed the workshop briskly. “I’ll speak to you later.”

  As always, it was a fucking mission to get into the prison. When I finally made it through all the security checks, my blood was still boiling. Dad came sauntering through the door on his side of the partition, his step faltering when he saw me.

  “Evan,” he said when he settled into the chair across from the partition and lifted the phone.

  Given that my father wasn’t a violent offender, I didn’t know why we had to talk through these phones with bulletproof glass between us. Seemed like overkill to me. Plus, I would very much have liked to have our conversations with a little more privacy than stuck in this row of people with only thin partitions between us.

  Sure I wasn’t the first person to have that thought, I grinned and decided to bear it. “Dad. I’ve got a problem I need your help with.”

  My dad usually wasn’t one for pleasantries or platitudes. I saw him relax when I got right down to business. “What’s the problem? Are your brothers okay?”

  “They’re fine,” I said curtly. If he wanted to know about them, he could call them for a change. This wasn’t a fucking family reunion. I wasn’t even here to talk about m
e. “There’s a man who keeps stopping by my garage. He knows things about me and about the woman I love that make me very uncomfortable.”

  My dad stiffened, an edge creeping into his pale blue eyes. When he lifted a hand to brush his gray hair back, I noticed how thin he was. How pale. The veins on the back of his hand looked like they were a scrape away from bursting.

  As haggard as he looked, he was still a big man. His shoulders were broad and his arms sinewy but muscled at the same time. His facial expression hadn’t changed a bit. It was ice-cold when he leaned forward, his mouth pressed into a thin line. “What man?”

  “I don’t know his name. That’s why I’m here,” I admitted. “He’s dark, though. Everything about him except his skin. That’s pale as yours. Black eyes, black hair. The only time I saw him, he was wearing black.”

  “Ah,” my dad said, but he didn’t give me anything more.

  I lifted a brow. “Ah? As in you know who this guy is?”

  “I do,” he said, continuing vaguely. “We used to work together from time to time.”

  Grinding my teeth together, I bit out, “A name, Dad. It’s great for you that you worked with such upstanding people, but I need a name. He’s a threat to Sadie and her daughter. Who is he?”

  My father sighed. For a second, he shifted in a way that made me think he was about to get up and walk away, but then he turned back to me. “His name is Stan Rickman. He works with Ken.”

  After that, he did get up and walk away. I stayed seated for another minute or two, slightly mollified my father had given us something to go on. Well, what do you know?

  With renewed purpose, I strode out of the prison. As soon as I was in my truck and leaving the prison in my rearview mirror, I called Sonny to give him the update.

  “Works with Ken, huh? That’s interesting since he told you Ken was the least of our worries now,” Sonny remarked. I agreed, but I didn’t know shit about how the criminal mind operated. I hadn’t even expected my own father to give me anything. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll pass his name along. Let’s hope we find something.”

  “Sure,” I said, already moving along to the next phone call in my mind. I had to call Sadie—call her and be direct with her. I’d been honest, truthful, and blunt, but there was one more thing she had to know before she made her final decision.

  Sonny distracted me, though. “Evan?”

  “Yeah?”

  He paused and then I could practically hear him grinning. “I’m glad the old man gave you this. I’m sending you in from now on when I need information from him.”

  “Fuck off,” I chuckled, but I wasn’t joking. I wanted to get away from this investigation, not deeper into it. “I’ve got to call Sadie. Goodbye, dreamer.”

  “You’ll see. You’re going to end up doing it.” He laughed. “Bye, messenger boy.”

  I shook my head after I hung up and then refocused my thoughts. Sadie. Right. I glanced at the black numbers on my dashboard. It was perfect timing. I should still catch her at home.

  When she answered, I decided the best way to be direct was to shift the focus of our conversation. “Every time we’ve talked about this, I told you at some stage, I wanted you and Emery to move in because it was safer.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Well, it’s true, but it’s also been a safety net for me. Something to fall back on. I’m ready to take my swing without the net now.” My breath staggered as I drew it in, my palms suddenly sweaty. Fuck. Why did all this relationship stuff have to be so deep and difficult? “Asking you to move in with me means so much more to me than keeping you safe. I asked you because I love you, Sadie. There are a hundred other ways I can keep you safe, none of which involve you moving in with me. I’d have made the arrangements to help, but I would’ve kept my distance. I love you. Please move in with me?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sadie

  “Every time we’ve talked about this, I told you at some stage I wanted you and Emery to move in because it was safer,” Evan was saying. My mind spun. I meant to talk to him about it tonight in person, but he was beating me to the punch.

  The other thing I meant to talk to him about did concern our safety. Ken and another man, a dark-haired, menacing thug had stopped by the diner earlier. I had a run-in with them. Nothing overtly threatening was said, but the very fact they were there had freaked me out.

  I didn’t want to tell Evan about it over the phone, but guilt swamped me anyway. It felt like I would be lying to him if I said too much without mentioning it. “Uh-huh.”

  “Well, it’s true, but it’s also been a safety net for me. Something to fall back on. I’m ready to take my swing without the net now.” He drew in a deep, ragged breath. Safety net? What was he talking about?

  And what did he mean he was ready to take a swing without the net now? I felt like I was missing something. My day went haywire when I saw my former boss with his darker half appearing in my normal life outside of my cleaning job at the firm, and from the sound of things, something unknown had happened in Evan’s day too.

  He continued, fighting for control over the emotion in his voice. “Asking you to move in with me means so much more to me than keeping you safe. I asked you because I love you, Sadie. There are a hundred other ways I can keep you safe, none of which involve you moving in with me. I’d have made the arrangements to help, but I would’ve kept my distance. I love you, please move in with me?”

  For a man I never thought I would hear those words from, Evan was remarkably comfortable with saying “I love you.” Every time he did, my heart melted a little more, cementing the Evan-sized shape that now resided in the center of it right next to Emery.

  I’d spoken to Emery about it that morning and explained that we’d be staying with Evan. Curious but excited, she’d started packing almost immediately. I told her it wasn’t necessary, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Teddy bears were stuffed in a big black bag, and she grabbed her favorite book of fairy tales, her pajamas, and her blanket, declaring herself ready to move.

  Laughing, I told her it wasn’t quite that simple and promised to help her pack properly later. Once I’d spoken to Evan, of course.

  Having already decided I wanted to move in with him, I wasn’t expecting him to try to persuade me again. I figured I would see him tonight and tell him.

  Lori had arrived to watch Emery for the day as Emery finished her “packing.” She’d come into the house, saw the black plastic bag lying by the front door, and asked, “What’s going on? Did you forget to take the trash out or something?”

  Emery shot her a mortally offended look, dropping her jaw. “It’s not trash. It’s my toys.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Lori teased. “Are you finally donating some of them?”

  She shook her head indignantly. “No, I’m taking them to Evan’s.”

  Lori had looked from Emery to me, tilting her head with the unspoken question. I nodded and jerked my head toward the kitchen. When we walked away, Emery dashed to the living room muttering something about not forgetting her puzzles.

  Once we were in private, Lori dropped onto one of the kitchen stools and said, “Okay, sister. Spill. Why is Emery packing toys to take to Evan’s?”

  “We’re moving in with him,” I’d told her, running my hands through my hair as her eyes widened. “I know. I know I said I’d think about it, and I have.”

  “You want to be with him.” It wasn’t a question, but I’d nodded anyway. Her lips had spread into a huge smile. “It’s been obvious to me for so long. I’m glad you’ve decided to go for it.”

  “There were a lot of things to consider.” Which was why it had taken me so long to finally come to a decision. I remembered talking to Lori about it a couple of weeks ago. “I was worried about his family because of his father.”

  Lori had nodded, a faraway look in her eyes before she focused on me again. “I remember. What changed your mind?”

  It had been impossible to remember all the li
ttle things that played a role. There were so many things Evan did and said that made me realize he wasn’t his father. Neither were his brothers. People, me included apparently, tended to assume there must be a bad gene or something when there was a criminal in a family.

  It wasn’t true, though, at least not in the Lovetts’ case. Hell, two of his brothers worked in law enforcement. It was stupid of me to have thought what I briefly did.

  Human nature was probably to blame, but I was ashamed of it in hindsight. Their father was responsible for his own actions. He and his brothers were involved in the investigation of what was going on behind the scenes, but they were working with the authorities, and two of them were the authorities.

  Lifting my shoulder in a half shrug, I had finally answered Lori’s question. “He’s shown very clearly that he cares for me and Emery. He puts our needs first. He’s a good guy. A great one. I was wrong to judge him based on his father.”

  Lori had told me it was a natural fear and to stop feeling guilty about it. When she shooed me away and told me to get to work, that she would make sure the whole house wasn’t packed into a couple of black plastic bags by the time I got home, I’d felt a little better.

  Hearing Evan say he wouldn’t have asked me to move in if he didn’t love me, despite his fears about our safety and overprotectiveness, I knew I’d made the right choice and decided to let him know right away instead of waiting for tonight. “Okay. We’ll move in with you. I was going to say yes anyway, but I wasn’t expecting to hear from you before I did.”

  Evan paused for a second, joy ringing clear as a bell when he spoke again. “You will? Really?”

  I couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corners of my lips. Luckily, my shift was done, and I was alone in my car heading home. I didn’t need to get giddy with joy in the middle of a work shift.