by Calinda B
“Yeah. I couldn’t think of a better place to put her crib. The guest bedroom is at the other end of the hallway and I didn’t want her to be scared. It’ll do until we get her back with her mama.”
Zoé’s heart surged. “You’re amazing, Jace. You have such a tender heart for being a bad ass bad boy.”
“Shhh,” he said, putting his fingers to his lips. “Don’t tell.” He sat on the end of the bed and patted the space next to him.
Zoé sauntered over and sat.
“Ever since I met you, I’ve lain in this bed every night, wondering what it would be like to wake up next to you.”
“Ever since we met?”
“Ever since. Instead, I got to wake up to a screaming toddler, or a babbling baby or a bouncy little girl. I didn’t know how I’d ever get you here.”
“It didn’t take you long at all, Savage. You have a tendency to take what you want, I think.”
“I know a good woman when I see one.” He placed his arm around her shoulder and guided her to lie back on the bed. “I’ve got more rooms and shit to show you, baby. But I need food first.”
“The kind you get from being inside me?” she asked.
“Exactly. You’ve become a food group.”
“Let’s go, stud. I’m a little hungry myself.”
Chapter 32
“How’d the meeting with the lawyers go?” Zoé asked Jace when she met him outside Chica Ríos after her shift had ended.
He leaned toward her and gave her a kiss before answering. “Fucked,” he said. “And it’s only the beginning. Climb on and let’s get a bite to eat before we head home.”
She took the helmet he handed her, climbed behind him and they whizzed to a café on First and Pine. A huge clothing shop across the street displayed headless models wearing the latest and the greatest in fashion. Smartly dressed business people, gawking tourists, drunks, homeless, and shoppers occupied space on the sidewalk, in a “slice of the universe” kind of snapshot. Inside, they sat at a table near the front window overlooking the busy street. Since it was still too early for most diners, the place was pretty empty.
“What’ll you have, baby?” Jace asked Zoé.
“I’ll have a tuna melt and lemonade. You?”
“Burger and fries,” he said to the waitress. “Hold the pickles. Coffee.” He handed her their menus, leaned forward and took Zoé’s hands. “I’d fuck you here and now if I didn’t think I’d get arrested. Burying inside you is the only thing that keeps me sane.”
“That bad, huh?” Zoé smiled warmly at him. She slipped off her shoe and planted her foot between his legs.
He reached under the table and placed his hand over her foot, pressing her next to his hard-on. “You know you could make me come like this,” he said, his eyes hooded. “Right here. In my jeans. In this tiny café in front of God and everyone.”
“Mmm,” she purred, eyeing him seductively. “I’m glad you’re not growing domesticated with our new living situation.”
“Hell, no. It means I can dip into the well whenever I like.”
“When Marni’s not demanding attention.”
“Right,” he said, with a sigh. He stroked her foot, massaging it with his fingertips.
“Or, when I’m not cooking for you or you for me or you’re not barbequing or any one of a number of domestic tasks we’ve employed recently. I didn’t know bad boys knew how to cook.”
“People have to eat, baby. Doesn’t mean they’re immune to seduction. Want to head to the bathroom so I can show you what I mean?”
She blushed, pushing her foot into his crotch.
The waitress appeared, placed their drinks at the table, eyed them with suspicion and left.
“She’s jealous,” Jace said.
“Tell me about the meeting,” Zoé said.
“Right. That.” He ground his teeth together. “Neil and I were both present. They explained that it was a civil case but that O’Reilly was thinking of making it a felony. Shit. How fucked would that be? No-one would ever hire me again. Then I was asked if I’d hit Billy on such and such date, shoved him on such and such date and so on. I tried to explain but I nearly lost my temper. Neil kept shushing me. Then they asked me if I’d ever been in the bedroom of the yacht with Lila. I told them I was detailing it and she was helping me, and she found Billy’s suitcase, but, baby, it didn’t look good. It was fucked up. They said Billy’s lawyers are definitely going to twist the facts.”
“Oh, dear, it doesn’t sound good. That’s what lawyers do.”
“Yeah, I know it was only a fact finding expedition but they let me know what kind of jackasses Billy’s lawyers are. I can’t imagine they’ll play any nicer when we appear in the courtroom. Shit.” He massaged each of her toes, drawing comfort from the touch.
Zoé winced. “Well, I’ve got news for you,” she said, sweeping her foot back and forth between his legs.
“Not kidding, baby. Your foot is making me crazy.”
“Good.”
“What’s your news?”
“Those skank hoes of Billy’s came into the bar for lunch. They were talking about some plans Billy’s made when they didn’t know I was listening.”
“What did they say?” Jace sat up in his chair, leaning forward.
“They kept saying the word ‘her’ a lot and she needs her fix and Billy’s going to make sure she gets it.”
Jace’s blood began to boil in his veins. “They’re talking about my sister, I know it.” He pushed away from the table and got to his feet.
“Where are you going? Sit down.” Zoé looked in the direction of the kitchen, seeming fearful that someone would see him.
“No, baby, we have to head back. I have to find the sheriff, go back and find Debbi, find someone and get the goddamned truth out of them.”
“No, Jace. We have to eat a meal, calm down and then we can head back to Port Townsend. I’m hungry. Don’t go all Captain America on me. Sit.”
Jace looked at her, thinking she might be right. “Captain America?”
“Brute force,” she said wearily.
He sat, dragging his hands through his hair. “I feel so goddamned helpless, baby, ever since this shit began.”
“I understand.” She placed her hand on top of his, stroking lightly. “I know what it’s like to feel helpless, watching someone you know, someone talented and amazing do stupid things.”
Jace watched her beautiful face become painted with torment, as if some screwed up artist was having his way with her. “You really loved your brother.”
“Yes.” She looked at him as if she were miles away.
“No other siblings?”
“No. He was it. He was older by a couple years. He played football, soccer, baseball, you name it, but he wasn’t like the other jocks. He was a free spirit, like you. He’d take me into the great outdoors you love so much. He taught me how to run a river in a raft, how to sail down a rushing stream in an inner tube and navigate through the rocks without getting bashed. He taught me how to fly fish, catch and release them. Sometimes we’d keep the fish and cook them over an open fire. He was wild, he was free. He was meant for better things, Jace. He wasn’t meant to end up in a morgue.”
She gave him a moist-eyed look that made him want to give her everything, lay the world at her feet so she’d never have to experience pain or loss again. “Don’t cry, baby. I know it hurts.” Locked in their own private universe, they barely registered when the food arrived.
“How do people become junkies? I mean, what would make someone want to put that shit in their veins or in their systems in the first place?” Her face grew even darker, as if the same artist smeared every color from his palette on her face. “I mean, we came from a loving family. My mom and dad weren’t saints or anything, but they’re good, decent people who made sure we were well cared for. Denis and I both thought we’d grow up, get married, do our thing, live out our existence and make the world a better place.”
“Wh
at did he want to do?” Jace asked, gently caressing her foot.
She gave him a sweet smile that made his breath catch. “He wanted to run fly fishing expeditions. He and my dad were going to put together an adventure organization. Dad would run river rafting tours, like he does now. Denis would take people up to Alaska or Chile to fly fish. They were really excited about it.”
“Both those places are incredible. Have you been?”
“I’ve been to Alaska. Not Chile.”
“We’ll have to go. I’ll take you to Coyhaique someday. It’s blow-your-mind-beautiful. Like you.”
She nodded thoughtfully, regarding him in a way that made him feel insane, like she reached her hand inside his ribcage, separated tissues in his heart and stirred his capacity to feel.
“How did your sister get started…you know, using drugs?”
“Stupidity,” he answered automatically. His foot began to twitch under the table. “Let’s eat. It’s getting cold.” He picked up his burger, took a bite and chewed, not tasting a thing.
Zoé picked at her tuna melt. “What’s going on, Jace?” She removed her foot from between his legs leaving a pool of longing behind.
“I don’t like dwelling on the past, baby, you know that.”
“I know, but when we talk about stuff…when we share stuff, I feel closer to you.”
Not this time, you won’t. “Don’t press, baby.” He uncapped a creamer and poured it into his coffee, stirring it with a spoon. He brought the cup to his lips and took a swallow, avoiding Zoé’s gaze.
She continued to eat, chewing methodically, sipping her lemonade, staring at him.
He wolfed down his burger, and signaled for the check.
“You’re not going to get away with not telling me whatever you don’t want to tell me, Jace,” Zoé said quietly, putting down her half eaten sandwich. “How did your sister start using?”
His heart began to race in his chest. “Don’t, baby.”
“I’m not going home with you unless you tell me.”
“You live there.”
“I still have my house until the end of the month.”
“Don’t be stupid. Your Jeep’s in Port Townsend.”
“I’ve got cab fare.”
“Baby…”
“Tell me.”
The words lanced him. He took a deep breath and turned to face her. “She stole the shit from me. I worked for Mark Miller for a while.”
Chapter 33
So this is what it’s come to, Zoé thought, staring across the table at Jace, as she floated into a disassociated world. He seemed like a stranger, some random man occupying the same space as her. I’m in trouble, big-time. I’m in love with the guy who packaged the shit that killed my brother. Maybe he cut the powder with the substance that put my brother over the edge. Maybe he sifted it into the tiny baggie. She watched him the way you’d regard a movie or a painting you disliked and you were trying to find something, anything, you could like. He seemed to be talking. His lips were moving and an anguished look seeped across his face. Numbly, she placed her fork next to her plate and said, “Let’s go.”
He stood, placed his napkin on the table, tossed a few bills on the small, black tray at the edge of the table and walked to the door. He opened it and held it for her to exit. When they reached the Deus, she placidly took the helmet, climbed behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders, barely making contact.
He turned the bike on and zipped away.
When they reached the ferry, she heard a desperate “Baby,” discharged in her direction like a missile. She stared at the guy who launched the attack, her body cold and dead inside.
Arms grabbed her by the shoulders but they didn’t reach her - how could they? She was far, far away. They rode the rest of the way home in silence.
Once they pulled up to the house - his house, it was never hers - she urged her unwilling legs to propel her inside.
“I’m going to go get Marni. Do you want to come with me, I said for the millionth time?”
“What?” She looked up from her stupor.
“I said, I’m going to Aunt Molly’s and get Marni. Will you come with me?”
She blinked. Who is this guy? “No,” she said and wandered into the house. Dimly, she became aware of him talking on the phone to someone - something about how he needed more time, something’s come up, and would you mind, and can he come later. She curled into a ball on the sofa.
Strong arms picked her up and carried her upstairs. She clung to him like a small child. He sat on the edge of the huge claw foot tub, holding her in one powerful arm while the other twisted on the faucet, testing the water until it felt right. He unbuttoned and unzipped, peeling off her work clothes, dropping them on the floor. She allowed all of this, placidly, as if she were a toy made of sand held together by burlap and string.
He stood up and lowered her into the porcelain enclosure like she weighed nothing at all. She watched the water seep higher and higher until it came up to the tops of her breasts. The stranger removed his clothes and got in the water with her. He turned her around and guided her back until she rested next to him, pressed against solid muscles. He grabbed the bar of lemon-rose soap she’d bought, gently washing her entire body. Next, he squirted shampoo into her hair, lathering it into sudsy foam, reached for the water wand and rinsed it from her hair. As he did this, the excruciating lump in her throat began to dissolve, as if he shot the water into her neck, training the stream on the solid block of unyielding feeling.
One tear slipped free from her eye, then another. Before she knew it, she shuddered and sobbed, still held by the stranger. As the torrent of tears washed through her, recognition dawned and she yelled, “I don’t want to love you, Jace! I don’t want to love you! What have you done to me? What did you do to my brother?”
He held her, listened to her sobs, listened to her protests, yet said nothing.
Finally, she spun around in the tub and faced him. “Why aren’t you yelling at me? Why aren’t you demanding that I do or say something? Why don’t you make this go away? Bring my brother back, Jace. You said you’d protect me and keep me safe. Bring him back.” She howled with grief and rage, bunching her hands into fists and beating them against his chest. That’s when she noticed the immense pain, making his face crack into fissures of wretched torment.
“I never wanted to hurt you, Zoé. I can explain.”
“You’ve always got a good explanation, Jace. That’s the problem. I believe you when you tell me your truth. And then I’m confronted with another thing to deal with - and another - and another. You’re nothing but trouble. I gave up my life for you! I moved here, far away from my school and my life, the same way I gave it up for the brother you killed!”
“Baby, I…” His phone blared from the corner of the room where he’d tossed his clothes.
“Aren’t you going to answer it? Maybe it’s a new surprise for me to deal with.”
“No, baby, I’d rather…”
“Answer the fucking phone.”
He huffed out a sigh and reached for his shirt. His eyebrows raised when he checked the caller ID. “Hey, Aunt Molly. I’m still dealing with the situation. I’ll be in my way in…” He lurched from the water, splashing Zoé’s face. Lunging for the towel, he yelled into the phone. “What? When. How did it happen? I’ll be there in ten. I know you live twenty minutes away. I’ll be there in ten.” He scrambled into his clothes, with a speed she’d never witnessed.
“What’s the matter, Jace? What’s happening?”
“I’ll explain later, baby. Wait here. We’ll sort this out, I promise.”
“Tell me what’s going on.” She got to her feet and reached for a towel.
Jace thundered from the room.
She wrapped the towel around her and raced onto the catwalk. “Jace. Fucking tell me where you’re going. You don’t tell me, I’m leaving.”
He turned his face to hers, an incomprehensible anguish flooding his handsome
features. “It’s Marni. She’s been kidnapped.”
Chapter 34
So it’s come to this. I’ve fallen in love with two beautiful female angels and I can’t keep either of them safe or free from trouble. Panic, fear, heartbreak, more panic, more fear…Jace’s brain looped in a whirling cycle as he sped down the road on the Grievous Angel. He got to his aunt’s house in eight minutes and sprinted inside. “What happened? Tell me quickly.”
Her face the color of ashes, Aunt Molly appeared on the verge of hysteria. “I…I don’t know, I…I had the weed whacker on but I kept a close eye on her. One minute she was in the yard helping me in the garden, the next minute she was gone and a car was skidding out of the driveway. You know the driveway isn’t visible from the back of the garden - only the front.”
“What did the car look like?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t get a look at it.”
“Where’s Uncle Adam?”
“He went to the lumber yard to pick up two by fours. He’ll be back soon, I imagine.” She made a fist and stuck her knuckles in her mouth, biting down hard, no doubt holding back a torrent of tears.
Jace noticed the whites of her eyes, giving her the appearance of a terrified cartoon. “Sit, auntie.” He gripped her by the shoulders and got close to her face. “Take a couple deep breaths and tell me everything that happened. Start with earlier in the day - did you do or see anything unusual - anything at all?”
Aunt Molly took a long, shuddering breath. “Marni and I - we had to get groceries. We ran into Billy while we were there. He asked who Marni belonged to and I told him she was Jayna’s. His eyes got real weird when I told him. Kind of insane. He said she was beautiful and he touched her face. She pushed him away. Marni didn’t like to be touched by him.”
“He’s the father, Aunt Molly.”
“Billy O’Reilly is the father? Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Aunt Molly’s face twisted into shocked horror.
“Jayna didn’t want anyone to know. My twin and I have made it a practice to keep out the people who matter,” Jace said sarcastically, pissed at himself. “Billy left her when he found out she was pregnant.”