All This Time

by Marie Wathen

  “Well, I guess I should go face the music.” He winks at me, like music is now our little inside joke, before turning away. “I’ll see you at the wedding.”

  “Yeah,” Decks nods, “See you there.”

  “Good night, Angel.” Blues enters the restaurant not waiting around for my reply.

  Escorting me to his car that’s waiting at the curb with a valet, Decks strokes his thumb between our enclosed hands. It’s a sweet gesture, completely out of character for this player. I shake off the foolishly wound up feelings Blues gave me and settle into the passenger seat of his Escalade and think about my new situation. Russ being out of the group freaking sucks. I really hoped he could get us on the inside, but it looks as through Decks has other plans, plans that eliminate Russ from the X’kapz infinitely.

  “Are you alright?” Decks asks glancing over quickly as we pull onto the highway.

  “Great,” I smile thoughtfully. “Thank you for dinner and for being such a gentleman. It’s rare that a woman like me is treated with such care.”

  He chews on the inside of his cheek nervously before responding. “Angel, I’m sorry. I just don’t think I can do this whole friends thing with you. I know I agreed to give you all the time and space you need to get over Rad and that I asked you to move in with me, but…” He pauses, chewing on his damn cheek again.

  Did I screw this up already? What is making him say this now? Could he sense things between me and Blues?

  Taking a ragged breath, he starts, “I need to ask you something and I expect you to be completely honest with me.” He glances at me with total seriousness drawn on his face, dissolving the sweet look he had throughout dinner and even after putting his bitchy sister in her place. Now he wants the truth. I freeze. My heart rate spikes and I swallow hard. Has he made me? Shit, I was so distracted by Blues that I didn’t even think that this could be where Decks is going with his nervousness. I nod slowly, stupefied and troubled by what he could possibly ask me that has him acting so weird.

  “Will you be my date for my cousin’s wedding Thanksgiving weekend?”

  “What?” I release a loud breath and chuckle, “Wow, um…You realize that I thought you were going to tell me that you didn’t want me living with you, right?”

  “What?” He jerks around, fully facing me and taking his eyes off the road for far too long. Surprise and sheer confusion is written all over his face when he demands, “Hell no, that is the total opposite of what I want!”

  “Okay, then I would love to be your date,” I answer, smiling at him because I’m happy I lived another day without screwing up this job.

  “Thank you,” he says, pulling into Natalie’s driveway. “After you tell Nat and Wise about moving, will you call me?”

  I nod, “Sure.”

  “Will I need to bring a rental truck and some guys to help move your things?”

  “No, it should all fit in the back of your truck.” I gesture toward the back cargo area.

  Decks hands me his cell and I quickly add my number to his contacts list. Using my tech skills, I scan through the names, making a mental note to run a tracer on his line soon, all while he stares out the front window happily. My heart stills in my chest when I see one name in particular that I did not expect to find under his friends list. With trembling hands I pass the phone over to him and he grabs for me while taking it back.

  “Hey,” he says in a soft voice clearly aware of my trembling. “Are you alright?”

  “Yes,” my voice comes out shaky, but I smile, needing to make him a true believer once again.

  “I swear to you that you won’t regret this Angel,” he insists implying that my nervousness is about moving in with him and I boldly use it as my excuse.

  “Okay,” I whisper and then offer him a gigantic lie in response, “I trust you.”’

  He slides out of his truck and rushes around to open my door continuing his gentlemanly tactics. Leading me up to the front door, he stops just as I expect him to, only inches away from my personal bubble. He cups the side of my face, staring down at me with an eerie puzzlement possessing his facial muscles. A heated desire swirls wildly in his dark chocolate eyes and I swallow hard, knowing that he is about to really lay one on me.

  Inching down closer, his lips hover over mine as he whispers against them, “I will only kiss you again when you want it.”

  He steps away, dropping his hands and then flashes one of the sweetest smiles I’ve ever seen him bestow to anyone. Okay, this game is getting interesting. Charming took a backseat to what Decks is hauling now. He’s a reasonably intelligent man, but little does he know, I will never want him kissing me again. Ever.

  “Good night, Angel.” I chuckle as he bounds off the steps toward his truck beaming, like a teenager who discovered a miraculous defense for blasted pimples.

  “I’ll see you later.”

  I watch until his head lights disappear into the night. Releasing a heavy breath, I scrub both hands over my face. Tonight was interesting in more ways than one, but that last bit of information is rather troubling. Why in the hell does Decks have Mad Hatter’s phone number stored in his cell and how bad is this going to come back to bite me in the ass?

  Pushing open the door, I find Natalie sitting in the living room alone, watching the latest episode of Sons of Anarchy. “Hey Angel, I want to hear every detail about your date, but you have got to give me five minutes.” Natalie says, staring at the TV while holding up her hand, emphasizing her plea. “Jax is about to grace me with his tight, little, naked tushie. That priceless commodity deserves a moment of silence out of respect.”

  I shake my head and chuckle once knowing that she lives in the exact world she guilelessly swoons over and doesn’t even realize it. Plus, from what I can tell she has a better piece of ass sleeping upstairs in her own bed right this minute. The girl is seriously delusional.

  “I’m going up. Come get me when you’re done.” I tell her, climbing the stairs.

  Before I get inside my room, Wise comes out of the hall bathroom. “Hey Angel, did you have a nice time with Decks?”

  “Yep,” I nod, “he was a total gentleman.”

  “Ain’t that some shit,” laughing softly, Wise scratches his head and mumbles, “Decks, a gentleman, never thought I’d see the day.” He smiles genuinely and it even shows through in his eyes. He’s really happy for his friend. Too bad, I will never live up to his or Decks’ expectation in the girlfriend department. “You really are something kiddo.”

  “Nah, I think it’s been lying dormant for years. He just needs a little push and he could be one heck of a catch for some lucky lady.” There, maybe that will aid in him understanding my intentions.

  He pierces me with a strange look and asks, “But not you, right?”

  Before I confirm his guess, I analyze Wise for just a second, seeing something strange move through his eyes. He reaches over, places a hand on the side of my face and strokes my cheek affectionately. A weird shiver runs down my spine, but I hold still, uncertain as to why he feels the need to touch me out of the blue. He has never behaved this way and I’m getting a little creeped out by it.

  “Be careful,” Wise whispers, dropping his hand and stepping into his bedroom.

  Standing in the hallway, my mouth hangs open for a solid minute. Tonight has completely thrown me for a loop. This shit is getting weirder by the minute. I think I will pass on sharing with Natalie tonight. After that affectionate display from her husband, I’m not sure I can face her. Shaking my head to force away the crazies threatening to take up rent in my now vacant cranium, I rush into my room, change quickly and then slip under the covers. Maybe I can hide away from them.

  A feminine knock on the door comes about ten minutes later, but I remain silent and even hold my breath. Natalie leaves after saying goodnight through the closed door, and I couldn’t be happier about escaping that awkwardness.

  Chapter Eighteen

  November

  Wednesday morning befo
re Thanksgiving, I hop a flight from Atlanta going to South Bend, Indiana and then pick up a flight retracing my path somewhat, ending with my real destination, Key West. I take one of Granddad’s speedboats he boards on the island just for such occasions crossing the gulf to Willow so I can pick up my car parked in the private parking garage on one of the public docks. I can’t be sure if I’m being trailed or not so all the James Bond backtracking is completely necessary in order to keep my family safe. I take the long way around the island before pulling up to the Walker mansion an hour later.

  “Who’s that sneaking into my house?” a heavy southern accent rumbles through the foyer as I shut the door behind me. Peering up the stairs, I spot Granddad, Mac Walker, trotting down looking better than he has in a long time.

  “Hey ya’ Granddad,” I giggle my greeting when he lifts me off the ground wrapping me in one of his famous bear hugs. “Okay, you can put me down now. I’m getting too old for this type of welcoming, you know.”

  “Never,” he demands patting me on top of my head after dropping back on solid ground. “You’ll always be my little sugar dumpling, and as long as I’m able, I’ll be picking you up anytime I want.”

  Taking my bag off my shoulder, Granddad leads me through the house toward my room. There is a commotion coming from the den and I quirk an eyebrow up at Granddad when he glances back at me to see if I heard it too.

  “Your brothers are going at it again. If you ask me, I say we send them out back and let them fight it out.” He chuckles, pushing open the bedroom door and dropping my bag at the foot of the bed.

  “You know that wouldn’t be fair to Morgan. Marcus has his black belt now,” I remind him, tossing my purse onto the bed. “Let’s go stop it before someone gets hurt.”

  Granddad laughs. “You always try to make things better. After all of these years, those two may not be fixable, Sammie.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ll never give up on them.” I shrug, entering behind him into the family room, which now has a noise level equivalent to a live rock concert.

  “You’re making a foolish mistake,” Morgan shouts at Marcus from across the room. “I don’t know why you have to be so damn condescending. Marcus, when you are offered something this fucking incredible, you take it. It’s smart business. Don’t throw this opportunity back into Granddad’s face.” Ooh, low blow, even for Morgan.

  “Just shut the hell up already,” Marcus growls angrily from across the room. “I don’t have to explain myself to you, Morgan.”

  “He’s right about that and besides we’ve already discussed Marcus’ plans with Walker Corporation,” Granddad shuts down Morgan’s little attack, but my baby brother doesn’t look happy about it. He glowers at Granddad as he heads straight over to his lazy boy, sits down with a low grunt and then reclines back instantly. “You’re the one to handle the next generation Morgan. Let your brother be.”

  “Fine,” Morgan snaps relenting on his fight for Granddad’s sake, but I can see that this argument is far from over.

  “Happy birthday idiots!” I shout out my favorite nicknames for my baby brothers. I walk over to Marcus and hug him before turning toward his twin.

  “Oh, the other family traitor decides to grace us with her presence. How freaking fortunate are we?” Morgan snarls, still sullen with Marcus impending defection from WC.

  “Morgan, I’ll not tell you again to let it go,” Granddad snaps. “Your Gran will be home any minute and I’ll not have her upset with your continuous disagreements. Understood?”

  “Yes sir,” Morgan responds like a pouty three-year-old, dropping onto the sofa, crossing his arms tightly over his chest, clearly still very pissed off and sulking. It’s been a year since I’ve seen my brothers and from what I can tell their relationship has taken a severe nose dive into bitter sibling rivalry, at least on Morgan’s part.

  “Thanks Sam,” Marcus says sincerely in response to my greeting. Polar opposite of his identical twin, he looks relaxed leaning back casually on his seat at the bay window overlooking the ocean.

  I arch an eyebrow up and mouth to him, “What’s his problem?” but he only gives a slight shoulder shrug in return. Whatever is going on with Morgan, I hope it gets sorted soon. He resembles a loose cannon poised at the heart of battle, ready to explode and willing to take as many casualties with him when he goes.

  “I smell biscuits,” I moan cheerfully, rubbing my growling tummy. “Did Gran cook before she left this morning?”

  “There’s a whole mess of grub waiting for you Hon. Go fix a plate and then come pile up on the sofa with us for the first game of the long weekend.”

  I giggle and eagerly take off toward the fabulous scents wafting from the kitchen. Pulling open the bread warmer, I take out two huge biscuits, pile on the apple-butter, and top it off with a hefty serving of my favorite food group, mmm bacon! The amazing aroma assaults my nose so I grab extra pieces before pulling out a platter of fruit from the refrigerator.

  “Can we talk?” Marcus asks, sidling into a barstool at the island, pinning me with sad puppy dog eyes.

  “You know it,” I mumble around my first huge bite of biscuit and then moan contently.

  “He’s really getting on my fucking nerves, Sam. I’m not sure what’s happened, but about three months ago he became that little shit you just encountered.”

  I bob my head, chewing down my second big bite before washing it down with a sip of coffee. “He seems angry or jealous. He has never been that way before. Do you know if something happened recently?”

  Marcus’ eyes shift away from me and I see some strong emotions rolling through them, making the light green turn a hunter shade. Obviously something is going on with Morgan or Marcus has had something else happen that he doesn’t want me to know about. God, I hope it’s not girl problems again.

  “I’m not sure if it’s who he’s hanging out with, but he has been going to the Goth club in town every time we come home now. Maybe their hardcore attitudes are rubbing off on him. I don’t know. Whatever it is, I have become a target for his hatefulness. You know, I don’t really give a damn what he says to me or about me, but his attacks aren’t just reserved for me anymore. I overheard him on a conference call last week with a new intern and the vulgarity he released on that poor girl was embarrassing,” Marcus says, sighing and plucking a piece of bacon off my plate.

  “Hey, get your own,” I snarl and the little shit laughs while devouring the stolen deliciousness. I pull my plate away from his extra long reach. Dang, this kid has really grown since the last time I saw him and I’m missing so much. Where the heck did that come from? “Have you spoken with dad about him?”

  “Uh, no,” Marcus shakes his head angrily, “Dad doesn’t give two shits about my opinion on anything. Besides, you know Barret would encourage Morgan to throw his weight around over all who are beneath him.” Marcus quips, mocking a haughty tone and air quoting the catchphrase we gave our father years ago.

  “This is true.” I pause, wondering if Morgan has been dabbling in drugs. Then again, he doesn’t act high or stoned so I’m probably just directing my line of work on his selfish behavior. Whatever his problem is I hope that it doesn’t involve illegal narcotics. Whether or not Morgan is my little brother, I will not tolerate him being a drug user. After this case is behind me and when I find some free time, I need to dig into this situation a little further. “Is he doing anything else that’s unusual or off for Morgan?”

  “The only other thing that has become extreme is the number of women he has been screwing.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask halfheartedly, giving him a cringe and hoping he understands that I really don’t want details of my brother’s sex life.

  “He goes through women like he’s on a mission,” Marcus smirks devilishly, “I know we’re fucking irresistible as hell, but Sam I’m not exaggerating when I say that he brings home a different woman every damn night.”

  “Damn, I would agree, that is excessive.” Chewing on my last piece
of bacon Marcus didn’t steal, I sort through my memory bank for any drugs that could make his demeanor change so rapidly and yet doesn’t have the other usual side effects. I draw a blank on anything that can cause this total transformation.

  “So, changing the subject,” Marcus segues, leaning his back against the chair. “I have my law enforcement exam lined up for next summer. I put Kole on notice that I probably won’t be returning back to the gym. I’m hoping the state puts me on the southern regions, but I picked central Alabama as my second choice. Who knows, we might be able to see each other more often, if they send me there.”

  My stomach flips with thinking about Marcus possibly coming to visit me in Georgia. I need to tell him a little bit about what’s going on to keep him safe. All I need is for him to show up and blow my cover. For the next hour I explain what I can about the “Busting Kennedy’s” case and he listens with rapt admiration. Marcus will make a great cop someday. I just hope dad doesn’t disown him for his choices like he did me.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Oh honey, are you sure you can’t stay a little longer?” Gran asks, stacking our dinner plates beside the sink for me to wash.

  “I want to, you know that, but I have plans for the weekend that sort of involves work,” I remind her again. I really wish that I didn’t have to leave either. Going back to my life in Canton and being Decks date for a family wedding isn’t exactly something that tops the list of my favorite things to do on a holiday weekend, but I am excited about finally getting aligned with a member deep inside the X’kapz tight nit core group. Hopefully I will catch a break and obtain enough concrete evidence that I can turn over to my captain and blow their nefarious dealings to kingdom come, ending a reign of national terrorism brought on by drug dealers and gun runners throughout the southeast.