“Maybe she’s secretly in love with me and jealous that Mercy took me away from her,” Mia suggested with a giggle.
“It’s not funny,” I told Mia. “Suri is probably playing some game to keep herself from getting caught.”
“You’re probably right,” Mercy said with a sigh. “She is very believable.”
“Yes,” I agreed with a dry laugh. “Suri is an excellent liar. If she comes up here again, call security. I’ve got the paperwork to file the restraining order, but I’ve heard it will take longer than I expected. In the meantime, I need to keep documenting everything with Suri.”
“It would be so much nicer if there was nothing to document,” Mercy stated.
“So true,” Mia agreed. “I’m tired of running into Suri.”
“What were you working on in here?” I asked.
“Nothing really,” Mercy replied. “We were just talking when Suri burst in here. I was thinking about going out to grab coffee, but I think I’ll stay in here a little longer. I don’t want to run into Suri again today.”
“Same here,” Mia agreed. “I can’t believe she works in the same building as us.”
“She might not work here,” I told them. “Security will check on her story.”
“Let’s hope she’s lying,” Mercy muttered.
“So, were you talking about me?” I asked. “Please, tell me you aren’t in here trying to meddle in my affairs, Mia.”
Mia laughed. “Of course, I’m trying to meddle in your affairs. It’s what I do.”
“And it’s never worked out well for me,” I reminded her before turning my attention to Mercy. “She nearly got me killed one time.”
“You did?” Mercy asked Mia with wide eyes. “What happened?”
Mia waved off my accusation. “He’s exaggerating. I didn’t nearly get him killed.”
“Then what would you call nearly having an entire gang of bikers come after me?” I asked.
“I didn’t know she had a boyfriend,” Mia insisted before turning her attention to Mercy. “We were both in our mid-twenties, and we stopped at this bar in Atlanta. It was in the early days of us working for the company, and we had some minor project down that way. There was this waitress who kept flirting with Spencer.”
“She wasn’t flirting,” I reminded her. “The waitress was being nice. I told you several times that evening that she was being nice.”
“After a few drinks, Spencer started to believe me about her flirting,” Mia explained.
“But she wasn’t flirting,” Mercy concluded.
“Spencer’s accent isn’t nearly as charming when he’s a little tipsy,” Mia added with a giggle. “The waitress was still trying to be nice, and I’d finally picked up on the fact that she wasn’t flirting with him.”
“Did you stop him?” Mercy asked.
“No,” Mia admitted with the same evil laugh she’d had that night. “I was angry at Spencer for something, and I figured it would be funny to watch him get shot down.”
“That’s kind of harsh,” Mercy remarked.
“I ruined her date two nights earlier by pretending to catch her cheating on me,” I admitted. “It was a childish joke that seemed funny at the time.”
“It wasn’t,” Mia reminded me.
“Yes, I know that now,” I agreed.
“What happened with the waitress,” Mercy pushed.
“Nothing happened with the waitress,” I replied. “It was what happened with her boyfriend and the rest of his biker gang.”
“I don’t think they were a biker gang,” Mia argued.
“I remember a biker gang,” I insisted. “Granted, I was sloshed by then, so they may not have been as scary as I remember.”
“They were scary,” Mia assured me. “We got out of there, so no harm was done.”
“That was one of many times Mia’s interference in my love life has come close to ending in disaster,” I told Mercy.
“Many times?” Mia asked with a laugh. “You are exaggerating. There have been two times, and you’ve done the same to me.”
“You two sound like me with my siblings,” Mercy remarked.
“Mia is like a sister,” I agreed. “A very annoying sister.”
“One who wants to see you happy,” Mia replied with a smile. “I’m also here talking to Mercy for purely selfish reasons.”
“Is Suri right?” I asked. “Are you trying to steal my girl?”
Mia stood and smacked my chest as she passed me. “Dork! Don’t act like you don’t think I could steal her from you. I’m hot.”
“She is,” Mercy agreed. “And she has no crazy exes.”
“Because Mia never sticks around long enough to let them get that attached,” I stated. That part of Mia’s nature worried me. I loved her, but she seemed unwilling to let anyone get close enough to fall in love.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Mia replied as she looked over her shoulder from the door. “You are not turning this into one of your Mia interventions. I’m happy with my life the way it is.”
“You could be happier,” I argued.
“I’ll tell you what, Spence,” she began with her arms crossed in front of her chest. “You work things out with Mercy, and I’ll let you try fixing me.”
“Deal,” I agreed with a confident smirk.
Mercy stood and walked over to smack my belly after Mia left.
“What was that for?” I asked.
“Did you just make a deal with Mia that allows you to interfere in her love life?” she asked.
“I guess, I did,” I admitted. “Why? What’s wrong?”
Mercy rolled her eyes. “It sounded like a line from a bad romantic comedy. I’m going to grab some coffee from the break room and finish up my project. What time will you be ready to leave?”
“In about an hour,” I replied.
“I’ll meet you in an hour,” she agreed. “Let’s hope Suri isn’t waiting by your car when we get to the garage.”
Chapter 33
Mercy
There was no more drama that day. Spencer dropped me at home, but he kept his hands to himself. I wasn’t sure if he was giving me time to decide what our next move would be or if he was worried Suri was spying on us.
I still wasn’t sure what to think about Suri. She’d sounded convincing, but a good liar could be very believable. She might not believe I was with Mia, and that could be part of her plan to throw me off. Still, if she wanted to scare me off Spencer, it seemed like she would put more effort into making sure I knew the vandalism had to do with my relationship with Spencer. She hadn’t once suggested it could be another jealous ex from his past.
When my phone buzzed, I looked down and saw Bentley was calling. “Hey, Bennie.”
“Mom told me about what happened at your condo.” It seemed Bentley didn’t want to start with small talk and pleasantries. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“I found out late at night,” I replied. “It was after Lex’s show.”
“How was the show?” she asked. “I hate that I missed it.”
“It was great,” I replied. “Lex seemed happy up on stage. I’m pushing him to take the bassist spot with Deluded Serenity.”
“Same here,” Bentley told me. “That was Friday night. It’s now Monday evening. You’ve had plenty of time to call me.”
“I didn’t want to talk about it at first,” I replied honestly. “Especially after Mom grilled me on all the details while we were painting on Saturday.”
“I hate to say it, but I think you’re right about keeping your distance from Spencer until he gets this situation with Suri sorted out,” Bentley stated. “I know it’s unfair to him to some extent since he didn’t ask his ex to act this crazy. Unfair or not, you don’t need to deal with this.”
I blew out a frustrated breath. “I suck at staying away from Spencer. Aside from us working together temporarily, I like him, and it’s a lot harder to avoid him when he lives so close. I only have so much willpower.”
“She is crazy,” I agreed thoughtfully.
“What’s on your mind, Mercy?”
“I’m not sure she vandalized my porch, and now I’m worried that there might be some unknown person who hates me,” I admitted. “Do you think I'm paranoid?”
“Maybe,” she replied. “Tell me why you think it might not be Suri.”
I went over my last two interactions with Suri, admitting that I didn’t know her well enough to read her. “What do you think?”
“It’s possible Suri isn’t guilty,” Bentley agreed, much to my disappointment.
I’d hoped to have her tell me I was wrong to question Suri’s guilt. “This is even worse than having Suri be the only possible culprit.”
“Culprit?” Bentley asked. “Have you been watching old cop shows with Mom again?”
“No, but the memories never fade,” I replied. “The problem with this theory is that I can’t think of anyone else who has a vendetta against me. I’ve barely left my condo in months. How many enemies could I have possibly made in the last couple of weeks?”
“I don’t know,” Bentley replied. “You tell me. Who have you pissed off, Mercy?”
“The new manager at The Frisky Beaver seemed irritated with me, but I wouldn’t say he was pissed off.”
“Did you tell him he was doing a bad job?” Bentley asked.
“Not directly,” I replied. “I also don’t think that’s enough to incite this type of anger from anyone. He didn’t leave his office more than twice the entire time I was at the club, and other than our first unpleasant interaction, he didn’t talk to me. To be honest, I think it was just me who was annoyed with him.”
“You never know if he just hides his anger well,” Bentley stated. “Would he be able to find out your address?”
“I own my condo. If anyone wanted to put effort into it, they could find me. My information may still be on some paperwork at the club. My partner did most of the work with the sale of the club.” There was no need to mention why I hadn’t been more actively involved. The sale had gone through shortly after I’d been shot.
“She’s so lazy, I wouldn’t be surprised if she left a lot undone,” Bentley grumbled.
“It’s not that she’s lazy,” I argued. “She wanted out for over a year before we sold the place. I kept putting it off while I tried to decide if I wanted to buy her half or find a new partner.”
“That’s no excuse for half-assing everything,” Bentley argued. “I offered to go in and help her, but she turned me down.”
“That’s because she felt guilty after my shooting,” I explained. “She didn’t think she could have done anything about me getting shot, but she felt like she should have helped out more. She even thought that if she’d worked more hours at the club, I’d have been happily married and pregnant like her. Somehow, she thought that would have prevented me from getting shot.”
“That’s crazy logic,” Bentley said with a laugh.
“The only kind she ever has,” I admitted. “You may not like her, but she’s sweet, and she did the best she could with the sale. I’ve always been the one with the head for business.”
“I’m looking for someone to be angry with,” she explained. “You’re out and doing things. I spent months trying to convince you that it would be safe to leave the house, and then this happens. It makes me so angry.”
“Me too,” I assured her. “Don’t worry about this sending me back into hiding. First, whoever is angry with me—likely Suri—knows where I live. Hiding in my condo isn’t the best option. I may need to hide with you and Gage.”
“You’re always welcome here,” Bentley assured me.
“I was kidding,” I told her. “I’m done hiding. This last week has been the best I’ve had since the shooting.”
“That says a lot considering all you’ve dealt with,” Bentley remarked.
“After I got home from painting with Mom, I planned to sweep up the dirt and ceramic shards on my porch,” I explained. “I didn’t think my plants would make it. When I got home, I found that Spencer had already handled everything. He repotted my plants.”
“That was sweet,” Bentley replied.
“He also made sure the cleanup was taken care of,” I added. “He feels responsible, so guilt plays into this some.”
“But taking care of your plants sounds like it’s about more than guilt. He didn’t dump them in the trash and buy new plants. Instead, he spent a lot of time taking care of yours. How are they doing?”
“One might not make it,” I replied. “They’re all tough, so we’ll see. Being cared for by a workaholic hasn’t been easy for my plants. They often got neglected.”
Bentley giggled. “It always amazes me how you talk about your plants like they’re your children.”
“I know it’s strange,” I admitted. “When I used to work crazy hours, I sometimes felt lonely at home. I couldn’t get a pet with my work schedule, so I would go out and talk to my plants.”
“Why don’t you get a pet now?” Bentley asked.
“I’m not sure where I’ll end up with my next career choice yet,” I replied.
“I guess you also have Spencer now,” Bentley teased. “You can always pet him.”
I let out a short bark of laughter. “That’s a terrible line, Bennie.”
“I couldn’t help myself,” she admitted. “I cannot believe you’d date someone you work with.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because there’s probably a rule about it, and you’re too uptight to break the rules,” she pointed out.
“I’m not uptight,” I argued before admitting, “I may be a little uptight at times.”
“I think it’s silly to wait to say you’re dating Spencer until after your contract at work is up,” she stated. “Go for it and live a little. Make sure you tell me all the juicy details.”
I giggled at her request. “I expect this sort of request from Laney since she always wants to know about everyone’s sex life. She’d not only tell me I needed to start dating Spencer now, but she might even come up with some kinky things for us to try.”
“Might come up with some kinky things for you to try?” Bentley asked. “I’m sure Laney already has a list of things she’d like you to try with Spencer so she can use you as a test subject in her research.”
“How is it that Laney needs research material?” I asked. “Her husband designed an app to use with a vibrator. Her mother-in-law owns a company that designs sex toys. You’d think she’d have all the research she needs for the next fifty books.”
“You know Laney,” she replied. “I’ll bet she wants to ask you what it sounds like when Spencer talks dirty with that accent.”
“You’re probably right,” I agreed. “I’m surprised she hasn’t called to ask me about Spencer. Do you think Laney’s okay?”
“She’s fine,” Bentley assured me. “I talked to her last night, and she has a few deadlines coming up. Consider this a reprieve.”
“Do you think I should stay away from Spencer?” I asked. “Would it be smart if I start commuting in on my own and keep my distance until after this contract and the drama with Suri is over?”
“I don’t know, Mercy,” she replied honestly. “On the one hand, it would help you avoid some unnecessary stress. If you aren’t around Spencer, then maybe Suri will decide you aren’t a threat. In that time, the police might even find the evidence they need to arrest her.”
“I wouldn’t hold my breath,” I told her. “They didn’t seem to think this is a high-priority investigation, and they indicated that they won’t do more than interview Suri. I’m looking into getting security cameras installed at their suggestion, so I may catch her on camera if she does it again.”
“I can get you the name for the company Gage used for our place,” Bentley offered.
“That would be great,” I replied.
“Actual
ly, I have a better idea,” she began. “I’ll get the cameras installed. Before you argue, remember that I might have more pull thanks to my connection to Reckless Release.”
“I won’t argue with that offer,” I replied. “Send me the information, and I’ll confirm that it’s okay with my HOA first.”
“Sounds good,” she agreed.
“Thanks, Bennie,” I told her. “I appreciate your help.”
“What are sisters for?” she asked me. “I love you, Mercy.”
“Love you, too,” I replied.
After ending the call, I smiled. There were benefits to having a famous brother-in-law.
Chapter 34
Spencer
I deserved a reward for being on my best behavior the night before. There had been several times when I’d wanted to head over to see Mercy, but I hadn’t. It was going to be difficult keeping myself in check with all the time I was spending around her, but I planned to let her make the next move—unless she didn’t make the next move before her contract was up. Once she no longer worked with me, I had every intention of taking things to the next level between us.
Just as I was about to head out the door to pick Mercy up for work, my doorbell rang.
“That had better not be Suri,” I grumbled on my way to the door. Since I’d blocked her number and stopped opening any of her emails, she hadn’t tried contacting me at home.
When I opened the door and saw Mercy on the other side, my mood brightened.
“Good morning,” I greeted her. “I was about to head over to your place.”
“I wanted to have a quick word with you in private before we leave today,” she explained with a smile. “Can we go inside for a minute?”
“Sure,” I replied as I stepped back and gestured for her to enter. “This sounds rather ominous.”
Once the door was closed, she moved closer and placed her hands on my chest. I watched with fascination as she put one hand on the back of my head to pull me down until our lips touched. Without hesitation, I took full control of the kiss, my hands going to her hips and pulling her closer. She responded with a whimper of desire as she surrendered her mouth to me, letting me explore and savor her.
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