Luscious

by Lexi Blake

  “Macon, you don’t have to,” Ally said.

  He felt his eyes harden. She was still playing games with him. “Oh, I think I do. I don’t want you to have wasted your time.”

  She shook her head, tears streaming. “Please, Macon.”

  “Let him get it out, Ally.” Adam was quiet, as though he knew how close to the edge Macon was. “He needs to tell this story. You haven’t told it to anyone, right?”

  “Not even Kai.”

  “Then don’t,” Ally said through her tears.

  He turned to her. “You came here for this story. You fucked me to get this story. Oh, sweetheart, you’re going to get the truth.”

  “Macon, maybe we should call Kai. We could go to his place and talk about this as a family.” Adam seemed awfully reasonable now.

  “She’s not my family.” And she never would be. “I’m going to give her the information she needs and then we can be done.”

  “I don’t want that,” Ally said, pleading.

  “I don’t want to have been lied to for weeks. I guess we can’t always get what we want. You want to know what happened to your brother? Shit happened. It happened to all of us. We were deep in the desert when we realized we had a low tire. Rowe and I got out and patched it. The driver liked to play pranks. Asshole kid. He pulled away when we tried to get back in. It was a joke. I believe I threatened to kill the little fucker if he did it again. Which he did. That was when he hit an IED. Blew the fuck out of us. I got caught under a heavy piece of the vehicle. I was pinned down. A couple of us were. That’s when they showed up. Taliban. They started to pick us off. The stupid piece that took my leg provided cover for me. Same for Rowe. He was pinned down next to me, but it was both his legs. At some point they decided to come and do some up-close fighting. There were only three of them. Two of them were kids. I killed a kid. Couldn’t have been more than fourteen. I shot him in the back before he could take out Kellison. Didn’t matter. The other kid got him. Rowe and I took out the other two despite the fact that we couldn’t walk, couldn’t move. We could still shoot.”

  “Macon,” Ally began.

  Adam held up a hand. “Don’t. He needs to do this.”

  He ignored them both. He wanted to get it all over with. He wanted to walk away. His first instinct was to leave, but he was going to fight that. His brother hadn’t done anything wrong. He could at least still have his brother in his life. But no Ally.

  “It got quiet after that. Really quiet. Rowe and I were the only ones left alive. We did what we were trained to do. We took stock of what we had. Neither one of us could move. I managed to get a tourniquet around my leg, but I couldn’t move the Humvee. We had a couple of energy bars and one bottle of water between us. We rationed it, but there wasn’t much left after a day and a half. We knew there was more. I could even see a bottle of it, but I couldn’t get to it. At one point I tried to use my knife. I tried to saw my own damn leg off so I could get to it, but I kept passing out.”

  Ally was weeping freely now, but he was strangely numb. He didn’t even want to hold her. It was all bullshit. She was crying for her brother. He thought about all the times he’d left her alone in his house. Had she searched his computer, his phone, his paperwork? She wouldn’t have found anything. She hadn’t found anything or she likely would have hit the road by now.

  “On the second day we realized we had no idea if anyone at all was coming. Our mission had been secretive.” His stomach rolled as he thought about some of the things he wasn’t saying. He didn’t mention that the vultures had shown up. They’d been smaller than American vultures, but no less hungry. He’d tried to get them off his teammates, but he’d been useless. He’d sat back and waited to die. “If the Agency was involved, we could have been written off. We had no idea. We were dumb and utterly at the mercy of the elements. Helpless. I’d never thought of myself that way before. I was completely helpless and I started to believe that dehydration would get us before anyone would think to look for us. If they looked for us.”

  He’d wondered if anyone would even care that he was gone. Elise would take his insurance and buy a better husband. He didn’t have kids. He’d cut off ties with the one brother who might have given a shit.

  “He talked about you.” If he was going to tell the truth, he was going to tell all of it. “He loved you. He said you saved him when he was a dumb kid getting the shit kicked out of him in high school. He never once mentioned you weren’t his blood. You were his sister and he loved you.”

  “I loved him, too.”

  That was obvious. “We knew the water wouldn’t keep us alive for long. I like to think that he thought he was in worse shape, that he thought he was doing the right thing.”

  Her hand covered her mouth as she choked down a sob. She’d obviously figured out the secret he’d kept, but he had to say it.

  “During the second night, Private First Class Rowe put his service pistol to his head and he pulled the trigger.” He could still hear that sound. He’d come to, his own gun in hand, thinking it was all over. Another group of Taliban had found them. He’d been surprised at how little it scared him. He was ready to fight because it was what he did, but he wasn’t sure he really cared. There was nothing in his life worth fighting for.

  And then he’d realized what had happened.

  “I ran out of water the next day. The chopper came for me that night. I don’t know if we could have survived or not, but I think he made a triage choice. I think he decided I had a better shot without him.”

  “Or the pain got to be too much for him,” Adam said.

  Macon shook his head. “We were numb by then. At least I was. He’d said something about making the right choices at the right times. We were talking about religion. It’s funny what you talk about when you’re two men dying in a desert. That was what religion meant to him. The right choices. I sometimes think I should have done it. I should have pulled that trigger and given him the shot at living. He had more to live for.”

  He was numb now, as oddly unfeeling as he’d been back then. Somehow Ally’s tears couldn’t seem to reach him. It was like discovering her lies had pulled the soft part of him out and left him gutted, hollow and only animated by the survival instinct.

  Had he recently stood in the middle of Top and toasted his engagement to Ronnie’s sister? How long would she have played it out? She certainly couldn’t have meant to go through with the wedding. Did she want revenge? If she did, she’d gotten a good one because he was broken and wasn’t sure he would be fixed again. He’d thought Elise’s betrayal had hurt? It was nothing like this. He couldn’t even muster real anger.

  “Why didn’t you tell the Army?” Ally’s back was against the wall as though she needed it or she’d fall. “None of that was in the report. That was why Mom was so upset. She knew something was off with that report. She went a little crazy after Ronnie died. She was sick and so lost. She grabbed on to that report. If she’d known…”

  “She wouldn’t have received death benefits,” Adam finished for her. “Private First Class Rowe received the regular hundred thousand for dying in the line of duty, but he’d maxed out his SGLI.”

  “We all do,” Macon said. This conversation was coming to a close and it couldn’t be soon enough for him. “It doesn’t pay in the case of suicide—not for as short a time as he’d been in. I often wonder if he knew that. He’d only had that policy for eighteen months. He sacrificed himself, but they would have seen it as suicide. When the extraction unit came for me, they covered it up. They knew why he’d done it. It was easy to see. No one wanted his family to suffer. You deserved the money and we weren’t going to allow some paper pusher to make that decision. Not that it helped. How did you end up living in your car? You should have had half a million.”

  She covered her mouth again and sobbed. The sound made his spine straighten. He wasn’t going to hold her. No matter how much his instinct told him to. His instincts sucked or he would have figured out her game before n
ow.

  Adam had softened. He moved to her side and Macon was a little grateful that someone could be there for her. “Your mother was in an assisted living facility, wasn’t she?”

  She nodded. “Medicare wouldn’t pay because she suddenly had too much money. I didn’t know what else to do. She needed the care.”

  Macon laughed, the sound bitter as hell even to his own ears. “The facility ate through it until Medicare took over. What a fucking joke. He died for his country and his mother got eaten alive by it. Nice. Well, that explains why you’re broke.”

  He couldn’t kick her out. Not if the money was really gone. He owed it to Ronnie. They hadn’t been the best of friends, but they’d worked together and they’d shared something very few people ever did.

  It struck him again that Ronnie had been the one who should have survived. The half a million would have thrilled Elise, and his father would have been infinitely prouder of him if he’d died in combat. Another Miles hero to put on the family wall. If he’d been the one to die, Allyson wouldn’t be weeping like she was never going to stop.

  “Adam, could I have a moment alone with her?”

  His brother frowned. “I don’t think that’s such a great idea. Macon, I got mad. I thought she was sending that PI after you to hurt you, but I think I misjudged her. I didn’t handle this well. I really think we should all go home and cool off and talk about this.”

  Ally shook her head. “The first week I had a little money, I rehired the PI who had worked for my mom. He was supposed to ask a few questions. I haven’t paid him anything since. I didn’t intend to ever again.”

  “I need a moment alone with Allyson,” he said in his firmest voice.

  “Don’t do anything you’re going to regret,” his brother said as he stepped back into the restaurant.

  And left him alone with the only woman he’d ever really loved. Hell, he hadn’t even understood what the word meant until she’d showed up. Too bad it had been one sided. “I think you should stay in the guesthouse until you have enough money for a decent apartment.”

  The desolation in her eyes damn near killed him. “But you won’t be there, will you?”

  “No. My brother has a guest room. I’ll stay there. I’ll head home with him and be out of your way in an hour or so.” They wouldn’t have to see much of each other. Even at work. She was in the front of the house and he was in the back. He could come in early and get most of what he needed to done. He could leave at close or right before.

  Or he could go home. He could accept his place. He wouldn’t accept Elise. Nothing could make him do that, but he could go home. Once his father understood no reporter was coming for him to trash the family name, he would likely take him back and the money would open up again. He could shuffle his way numbly through life. He would have to work for his father, of course. It wouldn’t matter.

  “Macon, please listen to me,” she said.

  He held out a hand. “I’m not angry. I understand why you did it. I should have spoken to you. It was hard to do it, but I owed it to you and your mother. I failed. I wish you well, Allyson.”

  He started to go.

  “Please talk to me. Please don’t leave me,” she pleaded.

  If he stayed he would beg her and he didn’t have anything but his pride left. Without another look back, he slipped through the door.

  He’d done his duty. He’d given her what she’d come for and now it was time to move on.

  And forget her.

  * * * *

  Allyson walked into the restaurant well aware that she looked like hell. Her face was red and puffy. She didn’t cry pretty. There wasn’t anything she could do about it. She’d sat out there for thirty minutes after Macon had walked away from her. She’d cried and Deena had come out to hug her. She’d asked what had happened, but Ally had simply cried. After a while, she’d asked Deena if she could be alone. She’d been able to see how reluctant her friend was, but she’d done it.

  She was going to miss Deena and Serena and all the friends she’d made at Top. She’d made more genuine friends here in the few months she’d been in Dallas than in the years before. It had been a good place to be.

  She wondered if they all hated her now.

  It would be easier to slink away, but she was done with easy. She owed Chef Taggart an explanation. He’d given her a job when he shouldn’t have. She would give him the courtesy of quitting to his face. Of course, he might make it easy on her. He might fire her the minute she walked back in the door.

  The dinner was going on as planned, though she thought the dining room was a lot quieter than it usually was. She could smell ribs and roasted potatoes, but she couldn’t eat a thing. Macon’s Napoleons looked perfect. Not that she would be invited to join, but she would miss it.

  The room went silent as she walked in. It occurred to her that she was interrupting a family dinner. That’s what these people had become. Chef Taggart sat at one end and his brother at the other. They were partners in Top. Big Tag was the silent partner who often said he’d only put money into the business for the free pies, but it was easy to see that the Taggart brothers depended on each other.

  Her brother was dead and the only man she’d ever loved hated her now. She was back on the street again. Story of her life.

  Every eye was looking her way. She noticed Serena and Jake weren’t among them. The Miles family had closed ranks.

  “Ally.” Deena stood up. Tiffany and Jenni stood up with her. All of her server coworkers, it seemed, were ready to talk to her at least.

  Ally shook her head and Deena nodded. They all sat back down.

  Ian Taggart’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her. His wife had joined him, but it looked like the twins had been put down for a nap. “You broke the pie maker.”

  Charlotte Taggart slapped at her husband’s muscular arm. “Ian. Tact, please.”

  “Baby, I don’t have any of that,” he admitted. “She broke the dude who makes the pies. She’s gotta fix him.”

  She didn’t even want to get into an argument with Ian Taggart. He kind of scared her. She didn’t think he would be impressed with her little hammer. She turned to the man she’d come to talk to. “Chef Taggart, I’m so sorry to interrupt. Could I please have a word with you?”

  He stood up, dropping his napkin, but his wife reached for his hand. He leaned over and she whispered something in his ear. Grace Taggart handed over their toddler girl. She’d been sitting in her mother’s lap, but she seemed content to go with her father.

  “I’ll handle this,” Grace said. She stood up, smoothing out her skirt and nodding Ally’s way. “Let’s talk in the office.”

  She was surprised but followed behind the gorgeous redhead. Did she not want Ally alone with her husband? What exactly had Macon said when he left? She shouldn’t be surprised that he’d talked bad about her, but she was. Somehow, even though she knew she’d hurt him, she hadn’t expected him to lash out. She’d come to know such gentleness from the big bear of a man, but she supposed that was only for the women who were worthy.

  Grace closed the door behind her and the world got eerily quiet.

  It was best to get it over with so she could get her things and leave. She wasn’t going to take him up on his offer to stay in the guesthouse. No way. She would pick a road and drive all night, and sometime tomorrow she would be somewhere else. Hell, maybe she’d be someone else. “Mrs. Taggart, I’m afraid I need this to be my last day. I’m sorry I can’t give you two weeks’ notice.”

  “Unacceptable.” Grace sat down in her husband’s chair. The very one she’d so recently made love to Macon in. “You did a good job cleaning this place. It smells like citrus. You’ll have to tell me what you use. I can never get the sex smell out of Ian’s office. Sean thinks it’s funny to play on Ian’s desk when Ian’s out of town. I’ve told Charlotte I’ll give her the keys to the castle, but the twins don’t like to sleep much so she hasn’t had a chance for revenge yet.”

  Grace
gestured to one of the two seats in front of the desk, but Ally stayed on her feet. “I’m sorry about using the office. We really did clean it and well, it certainly won’t ever happen again.”

  “It won’t with that attitude.” Grace frowned. “Please have a seat, Allyson. Or do you prefer Sarah? I was sorry to hear about your mother and your brother. This must be a very difficult time for you.”

  She thought she’d gotten over the shock of having people know her secret. “Macon told you everything.”

  “No, Macon didn’t say a word. He walked out without speaking to anyone. I’ve known that your name was Sarah Allyson Jones of Ashwick, Georgia, since Ian did a background check on you a few weeks into your employment. We made the connection between you and Macon a long time ago.”

  Now she took the seat, her knees too weak to stand. “Why didn’t you tell him?”

  Grace considered her for a moment. “I argued that we should. Sean and Ian wanted to watch you. They wanted to see what you would do. That’s why they didn’t tell Adam. He would have blown your cover. He did, in the end, of course. Sean thought that if we’d told Macon in the beginning, he simply would have left. It’s not hard to figure out that man was hiding some kind of secret. I thought you were investigating him.”

  “I was,” she admitted.

  “You did a horrible job, hon.” Grace pointed to the bookshelf. It was filled with cookbooks. “There’s a nice security camera hidden up there. Don’t worry, it’s only turned on after hours. It’s aimed at the safe where he keeps the cash. It was definitely turned off this afternoon. Sean did have it on one night a few months back. He wanted to know why you were really here.”

  She searched her memory. “I don’t remember anything that would have been interesting on camera.”

  “That’s my point. Sean’s trap didn’t work on you,” Grace explained. “It was turned on a night when Sean asked you to stay late. He then took a very long phone call out in the alley. He left his door wide open and the personal files of every employee were sitting right on his desk. He had to ask you to grab him a notepad off his desk to get you to go inside.”