by Nana Malone
She sniffed, wiping away a tear with a knuckle before giving me a tremulous smile, her eyes a little misty. “Yeah, I’m fine. And it’s Liv or Livy. I figure if you can join me on this, then you might as well call me that. I had to spread my Mom’s ashes. It was one of her requests.”
Jesus. I’d stepped in it, but I couldn’t help but ask, “Isn’t it a little odd doing something that important with a stranger? What about the woman with the black hair? Wendy?”
She laughed, and the sound hit me right in the dick. Christ, she needed to warn someone before she did that. “Telly. She would have come, but I guess it’s sometimes easier to do things with strangers.”
“Less judgmental?”
“Something like that.” She shrugged. “Well, you can judge, but I don’t have to listen to you. And your opinion isn’t weighted that much.”
“That’s good to know.”
She chuckled then. “Sorry. I just didn’t want to do it alone.”
“I make a good stand-in.”
“Yeah, you do.”
“Right. Anything else you need me to stand-in for?”
“Now that you mentioned—”
We both glanced around then realized that, somehow, we’d lost the rest of the tour. We’d kept walking across the Thames, and they must have ducked in somewhere. “Ah, it looks like they’re probably back there.”
She frowned. “Yeah, let’s go.”
“I have to say, this wasn’t terrible. It’s pretty informative. And kind of fun.”
We turned around at the sidewalk, and two men approached. One was a big guy, taller than me. Broader too. The other was shorter, average height, but also broad-shouldered.
“You can always count on Jack the Ripper for a barrel of—” She froze. “Shit. Not again.”
I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
When she planted her feet and her hands balled into fists, her body went rigid. “Olivia, what’s wrong?”
The two men were several feet closer now, and one of them had a knife. I could handle them, but would Olivia be a liability? I needed to keep her safe. On my own, I’d have taken them on. But with her there, I needed to play it safe, play it cool.
I turned my head at them. “Mates, I guarantee you don’t want to do this.”
The large one pulled out a gun, and I frowned.
“Come with us, beautiful.” His voice was all cockney.
My brows snapped down. “She’s not going anywhere with you. What the fuck do you want?”
They both angled their heads toward the alleyway to our right. With a gun and knife in play, we didn’t really have much choice. I raised my hands, but Olivia stayed frozen. “No. No way is this happening twice in a week. I’m not letting this happen again.”
I finally had to grab her by the upper shoulders and move her along. I said, “Look, you can have my wallet. Anything you want in there.” Why did she have a death wish?
I started to take off my watch and he laughed at me. “We’re not here for you, Ritchie Rich. We’re here for her.”
I frowned. “Her? Why?”
“She knows why.”
The one with the gun loomed over her, and she backed up against the alley wall. I stepped between them. “That’s enough. I’ve already said I’ll give you what you want, but she’s not going anywhere with you. Back off.”
The short, stocky git smirked. “And we’ve told you, we want her.”
Okay, so we weren’t doing this the easy way then. I shoved her behind me and squared my shoulders. “In that case, you can fuck right off.”
“Don’t want you, rich boy.”
“I’m the one you’ve got.”
Livy did a completely unexpected thing. A screech tore from her throat, and she lunged herself at the short one, going straight for his eyes, pressing her thumbs in his sockets and screaming, “You will not ruin this for me.” And then she proceeded kicking at his shins.
I had milliseconds to assess what was going on in front of me before I sprang into action on his friend with the gun.
Remembering all my anti-kidnap self-defense training, I reached for the gun as if I meant to grab it from him. But instead, I put one hand on his thumb, the other on his wrist. Bend back, crunch. Bend forward, crunch. Turn toward him, more crunching, and ease the gun off the finger.
The metal clattered to the pavement, and I kicked it into the dark shadows. He howled, cradling his hand. While he was doing that, I delivered a jab to his nose and his head snapped back. Body hits were going to be useless against the guy. So, like my tiny honey-badger, I went for his face. More jabs, more crunching. I grabbed his ears and pulled down, and then delivered a knee straight to his face. More crunching. That put him down easy enough.
Meanwhile, Olivia wasn’t letting up. She was doing damage to the bastard’s shin. The idiot’s head was thrown back. She used both her hands and went to grab his throat, inadvertently hitting his trachea. He immediately doubled over, coughing. She lunged for him again, but I was quicker. Two quick taps to his face with my fist and he was down, groaning.
I took her hand and dragged her running behind me. “Come on.” Through the alley and back out again, I didn’t stop pulling her until we were just outside the pub and I caught sight of Jack and the others inside.
I dragged her into the shadows before running my hands over her, checking her for injuries. I told myself I was being methodical, simply making sure she was okay. Her eyes went wide as my fingertips traced over her head, temples, and cheekbones. Then the smooth lines of her neck and clavicle. For the rest, I had to keep it perfunctory, or I’d notice how full her breasts were, remember the feel of her ass in my palms. Worse, I’d inhale deep and she would hold me captive.
So it was a good thing I knew how to make it quick and professional. Is that why your dick is hard? I released her and stepped back. I told myself it was the smart thing to do so I could identify if she needed to go to the doctor.
“We’re going to go in there. You’re going to go to the restroom and clean up. When you come back out, we are leaving the tour and then you’re going to tell me what the fuck is going on. Do you understand?” She glanced up at me and her eyes were glassy. Not all there. Clearly out of it and wavering on her feet a little. “Do you understand?”
She nodded slowly, her lips trembling. “Why would anybody want me? I’m nobody. Up until a couple of days ago, I was a perfectly boring admin.”
“I don’t have any idea, but we’re going to find out.”
Livy
My hands were still shaking.
I’d never been violent a day in my life.
Okay, if we were counting that time when Elena Fitzgerald pulled on one of my Afro puffs and told me my hair was a Brillo pad before I punched her in the nose, there had been one time. But since then, after my mother had given me a very stern talking to, I had never hit anybody again. It probably showed.
The others hadn’t really noticed we’d been missing at all. They’d all started having a pint, so when Ben casually sidled up to them, they just handed him a beer.
I’d excused myself to the bathroom to try to pull myself together, because what the actual fuck? My first inclination was to call Telly, but I didn’t want her to worry. She’d go into full smother mode. It never even occurred to me to tell Dex, which probably said more than I wanted.
Who were they? Why did they want me? I was nobody. I already hadn’t slept much since Saturday. Now there was no way I was ever closing my eyes. I couldn’t even have one night to say goodbye to my mother. I took a deep breath and then another.
I splashed one more round of cold water on my face before leaving the dark, dank loo and returning to the bar. I found an empty high table to the side and went about pretending everything was just peachy. I finally thought I had my breathing under control, and then Ben leaned over. “Everyone’s getting ready to go. You and I, we’re going to stay and have a little chat.”
“But I wan
ted to finish the tour.” I glowered at him mutinously.
“They only have one more stop left anyway, and it’s not important. I think you and I can stay here. You did what you needed to do for your mom, didn’t you?”
He was right. I had done what I needed to do. Before she died, she’d made me promise to spread her ashes doing the things that she loved. I’d made arrangements to do this tour since it was her favorite. She also loved riding a helicopter over the Thames and Kew Gardens where she and Dad had their first date, so I had the idea to spread her ashes along every one of her favorite routes. And then, of course, Paris. Paris had been her favorite city. It would take me a while, but I figured if I could do the first few with someone, I wouldn’t feel nearly so alone.
You were supposed to do them with Dexter.
I swallowed that down. I didn’t really have time to deal with my Dexter bullshit at the moment. Not when someone had tried to kill us on the street.
Everyone said goodbye. Some phone numbers were exchanged among people who wanted to hang out and do crime types of things together, which was really an odd hobby when I thought about it. But these were my mother’s people. So, if I ever wanted to remember her, or needed to feel the essence of her, talking to them would be good for me.
Once everyone was gone, Ben turned to me. “Now would be a damn good time to start talking.”
“There is no need to swear at me.”
“Coming from the same woman who just shouted ‘not fucking today’ at a would-be attacker?”
I flushed. “Well, it was appropriate at the time.”
“Hell yeah, it was appropriate. I’m not mad about it. I’m just saying now is a hell of a time to become a pussy.”
“I’m just feeling a little high-strung at the moment.”
He sighed. “Okay, breathe. Just relax. But we do need to talk about what’s going on. Like who you really are.”
I frowned at him. “What? Who I am? This all has to do with you. I never knew a single moment of adventure, or craziness, or hell, even whimsy until you turned up.”
“Says the woman who drags me on a Jack the Ripper tour.”
“For my mother!”
His gaze narrowed at me as his eyes searched mine. “You see, that’s the thing. You seem believable, but are you?”
“Why am I still here?”
I managed to stand up, but then one of his big palms totally encapsulated my hand. “Stay put. First of all, I don’t know who they were. And we’re still far too close to that alley for me to let you out of my sight. I will see that you get home in one piece.”
“Thank you very much, but I don’t need your help.” I tugged my hand free.
“Were you going to tell me that you were mugged?”
I sputtered, “Why is that even relevant?”
“Well, in and of itself, it wouldn’t have been relevant, but considering armed men wanted something from you today, I’d say it’s probably related.”
My voice shook. “It probably is related… to you and that flash drive. I’m not exciting. Up until a couple of days ago, I was an executive assistant for Kennedy. I have a perfectly normal, boring boyfriend. A night out for me involves one glass of wine. If I’m really feeling crazy, maybe two. Hell, I haven’t even had that many sexual partners. Really. There was the guy before Dex, and then there was Dex. Other than that, I’m as boring as they come. I pay my taxes on time. I meditate because I’m told it’s good for me. I work out for the same reason. I have one really good best friend and a boyfriend who mostly doesn’t even know I exist.”
His brows lifted. “We’re going to talk about that boyfriend but later. Right now, walk me through it. When your purse was stolen, did they say anything? Did they do anything?”
“No. I was walking home from the tube the night of the fundraiser. I had taken the tube from King’s Cross then home like I normally would.”
“You took the tube in that dress?”
“Well, I had my shawl on by then, thank you. And yes, in that dress. I didn’t really want to take an Uber. Dexter would have been on me about the cost, saying I was wasting money and I hadn’t waited for him.”
“A real charmer that one. Why were you even alone?”
“Well, he didn’t want to leave just yet. And to be honest, I couldn’t find him.”
His brows lifted. “You couldn’t find your date?”
“He was probably chatting or something, and honestly, I was quite a bit fried from what we’d already experienced, you know, in the closet and what not?”
The corner of his lips tipped up at that. Asshole.
“I just wanted to get out of there.”
He frowned. “So much so that you didn’t find the person you came with?”
I bit my lower lip, and then he frowned. “What am I missing?”
My top row of teeth worked on my bottom lip. “I have social anxiety. Sometimes I really can’t do crowds. Sometimes, I manage okay. I might go to a concert and never even feel a twinge of adrenaline. But at other times, there could be five people and I’m sweating buckets. I was pretty pumped tonight. I was able to do a tour and had no sweats or anything. And I felt pretty comfortable talking to everyone. Anyway, Dexter was upset with me at the fundraiser. He said that I was making too much of everything and that I was faking it in some way, I guess.”
“Why are you with this bloke?”
“I have my reasons.” Not really.
“You have to admit, this looks bad. I run into you when I’m in the midst of liberating critical information that I need. The next thing I know, you’re at the right place at the right time, and I had no option but to slip you the drive, otherwise, I’d have been found out.”
“That wasn’t my fault. I was coming to yell at you for breaking my pin. Last thing I wanted to do was help you.”
“Or you were trying to steal the drive from me, which makes me wonder who the hell you are and what you want with it? How would that information benefit you at all? Unless you mean to blackmail everyone.”
My eyes went wide. “I would never blackmail anyone. How dare you even suggest—”
He shook his head. “You see how I’m here with you right now on a Jack the Ripper tour? Isn’t that blackmail?”
My jaw unhinged. “That is not blackmail. We had an arrangement.”
“Blackmail.”
“No, you’re twisting what happened.”
“Am I?”
“Oh my God, yes. You came in and offered me a bribe to not ask any questions.”
It was his turn to sputter. “You weren’t handing over what I needed.”
“And now you’re shouting.”
He quickly lowered his voice. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you. And for the record, you joined me in that closet. I was minding my own business.”
He sighed. “Oh my God, you are the most infuriating woman on this planet. I swear to God, if you would just once do what you were asked or told...”
“Why?”
He frowned. “What do you mean, why?”
“Well, I mean, why? Why should I do what I’m asked or told? What, because I’m a woman? Because I work for you? Because you know better and I know nothing?”
He opened his mouth to speak but then shut it promptly. “You know that’s not what I mean.”
“Isn’t it though, Mr. Arrogant? Why should I just do what you tell me?”
“Jesus Christ. Because I’m concerned about your safety.”
“Well, you weren’t concerned about my safety when you handed me whatever the fuck was on that drive.”
“I didn’t hand it to you. I needed it tucked away for safekeeping.”
“And you slipped it to me. How is that safekeeping? Because I am not safe.”
“I don’t know if the two events are related, but I don’t see any possible way that they couldn’t be. I’m sorry about that, but who the fuck would have seen you? That slip was clean. No one s
hould have noticed. And even if they did, why would they be after you, not me?”
I should tell him the truth. Tell him how I had made a copy, but I didn’t.
“Okay, let’s get you the hell out of here, and then we’ll figure out what to do in the morning.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, for starters, you’re going to need security.”
“I do not need security. That is ridiculous.”
He stood, sliding off his stool with a feline grace. “Are you going to tell me that you don’t need anyone and that you’re perfectly safe all on your own, notwithstanding the mugging on Saturday and the attempted mugging tonight? Because how did anyone know that you were doing the Jack the Ripper tour?”
I opened my mouth to answer him, but I couldn’t, because that was a very good question.
“Hell.”
“Yes, my sentiments exactly. So, for the time being, let me get you home where it’s safe and then we can figure this out later.”
“Jesus, what is on that drive?”
“I promise you, it’s nothing that would be of any interest to anyone else.”
There was a level of sincerity in his gaze, but still, there was a shadow, as if he was holding something back from me.
Before I knew what was happening, I was ushered outside, and there was a black car at the curb. He held the door open for me and gestured that I should slide inside.
I frowned. “Is this your Uber?”
He laughed. “I don’t take Uber. This is my private car.” He slid in the seat next to me then leaned forward. “Evening Jason. Can you please take us to...?” His voice trailed, and he slid his gaze at me expectantly.
I told them my address and then sat back. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“Well, it seems that I did.”
When we reached the flat, he stepped out first, held the door open for me, and then walked me to the front door. “When you get inside, lock the door behind you. Set the alarm if you have one.”
I frowned. “Am I really in danger?”
“That remains to be seen. But it’s certainly a lot more helpful if you’re not walking around the streets by yourself. You know, basic safety.”