Burning Hearts

by Marci Bolden

  “Really?”

  “I saw you, Courtney.”

  “You don’t know what you saw.” The icy chill in Courtney’s tone sent a shiver down Eva’s spine, encouraging her to intervene.

  Rounding the row of lockers that blocked the view from the door, she didn’t make her presence known as she assessed the situation. Courtney stood, hands on her hips, leaning toward the slightly shorter Melly. Melly’s posture was just as threatening, with her finger pointed in Courtney’s face and a fist clenched at her side.

  “Stay away from Ryan.”

  “Tell him to stay away from me.”

  “I thought you were my friend,” Melly said.

  Courtney tilted her head and pouted. “Aw, that’s adorable, Mel.”

  “You’re crazy.”

  Courtney took a step closer, glaring down at Melly. “What did you say?”

  “Ladies?” Eva asked, concerned a fistfight was about to break out.

  Melly looked at Eva immediately, but Courtney continued her death glare for a good five seconds before backing down.

  “This doesn’t concern you,” Courtney said. Every little bit of the sweet façade she’d displayed previously was gone. Anger showed plainly in her set jaw and narrowed eyes.

  “Maybe it does.” Eva didn’t take her eyes off Courtney, keeping alert in case she displayed any further signs of aggression. “Sounds like you threw yourself at Ryan just like you did Joshua.”

  Melly let out a bitter laugh. “You fucking whore. Is there anyone in this building you haven’t tried to sleep with?” Turning her attention to Eva, she smirked. “She even tried to screw me. She got me drunk and suggested we try on some of her clothes. Before I could get out of one outfit and into another, she had her hand on my crotch and her tongue in my mouth.” Glaring at Courtney, she shook her head. “She blamed it on the liquor, but I think she’s just a slut.”

  “Or maybe I was just verifying you’re a vanilla bitch. Ryan’s imagination must be extraordinary to be able to get off with your boring ass.”

  “Okay.” Eva waved her hand, indicating for Melly to come close. “Come on. Let’s go before this gets any uglier than it already has.”

  A wicked sneer played across Courtney’s face as Melly joined Eva. “Oh, it’s just getting started.”

  “Yes,” Eva stated firmly. “It certainly is.”

  The locker room door had barely closed behind them before tears spilled down Melly’s cheeks. “I hate her.”

  “I know. But trust that she’ll get what’s coming to her.”

  Dragging the back of her hand under her eyes, she released a shaky breath. “Watch out for her. She’ll screw anyone. I actually caught her fucking Tiffany Tremant in the hot tub.”

  Melly’s statement was met with a dramatic gasp. Eva glanced over her shoulder at Brenda Price, who had, at some point, walked into the open area outside the gym where men went to the right to change and women to the left.

  Brenda’s jaw slacked and her face paled under the clear overhead lights. “Who? Who’s sleeping with Tiffany?”

  The locker room door squeaked as it opened and Courtney walked through.

  Oh no.

  Melly’s sense of vengeance was palpable as she pointed. “That skank right there.”

  Eva practically dove in front of Courtney to stop Brenda from attacking. She put a hand up to both women, but her attempt was futile. Brenda seemed to embrace her inner feral cat and lunged, claws out, looking as if she were ready to rip Courtney’s face off. The sounds tearing from her throat were not normal. Nor was the way she swung her arms at everything but nothing in particular. Eva did her best not to get hit, but a nail dragged down her cheek.

  The pain set off her protective reflexes. Wrapping her arm around Brenda’s, she twisted until Brenda cried out dramatically and bent forward. Eva was practiced enough in the move to know she wasn’t really hurting her. A little pinch in the shoulder that would ease the moment she released her.

  “Calm down,” she ordered.

  “Let go of me, you lunatic.”

  “Brenda,” Eva said in an even tone. “Take a few deep breaths and calm down.”

  She did as she was told, and Eva eased her hold. Standing up, she glared as she rubbed her shoulder joint. “I should have you arrested.”

  Eva wiped her cheek and then held her fingers up to show the streak of blood. “I was defending myself.”

  Looking beyond Eva, Brenda glared as her lip trembled. “Is it true?” she asked Courtney. “Are you with Tiffany?”

  Courtney smirked but didn’t answer. She stared Brenda down as she sashayed by, letting her cockiness be the only response given. Even without the words, Brenda got the message loud and clear.

  “Tiff wouldn’t do that to me. She wouldn’t,” Brenda insisted.

  Eva guided her back into the locker room and eased her onto a bench. Melly joined them, looking shocked into silence as Brenda lowered her face and sobbed quietly.

  “She promised to wait until I could leave Neal. She said she loved me.”

  Eva caught Melly’s gaze. “Would you go let Josh know I’ll be a few minutes?”

  She opened her mouth as if to argue but snapped her lips shut and left.

  Once alone, Eva leaned against the door to stop anyone else from entering. “Maybe she thought that at some point in time, but her actions indicate that she and Shane have made other plans.”

  Darting her teary eyes up, she creased her brow. “What does Shane have to do with this?”

  Eva debated how much to share. “Tiffany took me shopping one day. She didn’t particularly care what clothing I liked; she picked out what she liked. Then she took me to her salon and had my hair dyed and cut in a style she chose.”

  “No,” she whispered.

  “Do you know why?”

  Brenda closed her eyes and swallowed so hard the gulping sound bounced around the locker room.

  “You told me once to be careful because I was ‘their’ type. Did you mean Shane and Tiffany?”

  Giving her head a hard shake, she looked at Eva. “No.”

  “Who did you mean?”

  “What does it matter?”

  “It matters. If Tiffany Tremant was grooming me to be her and her husband’s sex toy, I’d like to know.”

  Brenda wiped her face. “When I said that, I meant Shane and Neal. I…I had an affair. With Tiffany. Obviously.” Exhaling, she dried her hands on her workout shorts. “Shane and Tiffany… They were open to…”

  “Swinging,” Eva offered. She didn’t particularly care for Brenda, but seeing her uncomfortable didn’t exactly make her happy. The woman deserved a little of her dignity spared.

  She blushed but didn’t deny the suggestion. “Neal was furious. I don’t know why. He’d been sleeping around, too. He just wouldn’t admit it.”

  Well, that was news. “With whom?”

  She scoffed. “Everyone. You think every bitch in this building looks like a stripper by coincidence?” She pressed her lips together. “No offense.”

  “None taken.”

  “Neal got all bent out of shape when I cheated, but he cheated, too. And as far as I can tell, he still is.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Brenda gestured toward Eva. “You’re fucking him, aren’t you?”

  “No,” she stated without hesitation.

  “Don’t lie,” she said under her breath. “I see how you watch him.”

  Eva couldn’t deny watching him. She’d been suspicious of him from the day he’d hired her. “Mrs. Price. Brenda. I have never slept with your husband. I am one hundred percent devoted to my boyfriend.”

  “Is he devoted to you?”

  “Yes. Courtney tried to turn his head, and he made it clear to her, and to me, he isn’t interested.”

  She sniffed, her shoulders sagging as if she’d just given up hope of ever getting out of sharing her darkest secrets. “Has Neal ever come on to you?”

  “No.”
/>   “Has Shane?”

  “He likes to stare at me from afar, but he’s never directly tried to approach me.”

  “Give him time. The only reason I was willing to swing with the Tremants was so I could be with Tiffany. Shane is sleazy, but if I had to let him touch me so I could be with her, I was willing to do that. But Neal refused and said if he found out I was with them, he’d divorce me. I didn’t care. But Tiffany and I needed time to put money away so we could leave together. At first we’d meet once a week at a hotel and spend a few hours. We’d talk about the future. Then she started making excuses why she couldn’t meet with me. Then she just stopped responding to me altogether. Now she won’t even look at me when we run into each other. Now I find out…” She sobbed. “She’s been sleeping with Courtney.”

  “When did you start to suspect Neal was cheating on you?”

  “A long time ago, but after he found out about me and Tiffany, he stopped being so careful.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He says he’s playing golf or going for a jog. A jog? He’s twenty pounds overweight. He hasn’t jogged in years. I’m not stupid. I sneaked into his office and looked at his key fob records. He wasn’t even leaving the property. I know what he’s doing, I just don’t know who he is doing it with.” She clenched her jaw. “Once I get proof, I can divorce him and his evidence of me sleeping with Tiffany will be null and void. Tit for tat, right?”

  Eva was glad she and Holly had insisted that he draw up a fake contract. They had suspected the voyeur was an insider and wanted to be damn sure the truth behind Eva living in the condo wasn’t exposed. Good damn thing. She let Brenda’s reasoning fall by the wayside; she was more interested in something else. “Exactly how did you plan to get proof?”

  She straightened, shifted. “I have someone watching him.”

  “How are they watching him?”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t ask. I just told her I’d pay for evidence.”

  Eva stood upright. “Her?”

  Brenda snapped her lips shut and shoved herself to her feet. “I need to go.”

  Lifting her hand, Eva indicated for her to stop. “Her who?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It matters more than you realize. Who is getting evidence for you? Mrs. Price.”

  Lifting her chin, looking down her nose at Eva, Brenda stated, “I don’t have to tell you that. I don’t have to tell you anything. And if I find out you’re spreading gossip about me, Tiffany, or Courtney, I’ll make your life at Jupiter Heights so miserable you’ll have no choice but to move. Don’t think I won’t.”

  Eva didn’t give a shit about her life at Jupiter Heights, but she could understand how that threat might intimidate some of the other women in the building. This location was prime market and not easy to come by. The prestige of living in this area was far more important to some young professionals than it should be. Image was everything for those climbing corporate ladders, and living in a top-of-the-market condominium created a very impressive image. Eva, however, could not care less.

  She blocked the door before Brenda could leave. “By what means is she getting evidence?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why is she helping you?”

  She scoffed. “Because she has just as much to gain by my leaving Neal as I do.”

  Seriously? Yet another forbidden romance? Did these people ever keep their clothes on?

  “Who is she?” Eva pressed.

  “Get out of my way.”

  Eva didn’t budge. “Your little spy is in a lot of trouble, Brenda. She’s been hiding cameras all over this building.”

  “Placing cameras isn’t illegal.”

  “Breaking and entering is.”

  Brenda paled again. She even swayed a little on her feet.

  “My boyfriend found a hidden camera in our kitchen just a day or so after he was assaulted and had his keys stolen. Do you know how many charges your friend faces if I call the police?” She held up one finger. “Assault and battery.” A second finger. “Petty theft.” A third finger. “Breaking and entering.” A fourth finger. “Invasion of privacy. Now, you can tell me who she is and let me deal with her, or I can call the police and let them handle it.”

  Brenda started for the door again. This time Eva let her go. She’d planted the seed of panic; now all she had to do was give it some time to grow. The moment Brenda confronted whomever she was working with about the crimes she’d committed, she was bound to try to retrieve any remaining cameras she’d hidden in the building.

  And Eva would catch her with her own hidden cameras.

  Sometimes karma coming back around felt too damn good.

  Joshua didn’t use the word hate lightly, but he hated Shane Tremant. The meathead kept smirking at him the way jocks used to in high school before shoving him into a locker. He wasn’t as much of a victim these days. Josh met Shane’s gaze in the mirror for what was probably the twentieth time since he’d entered the gym. Instead of looking away, pretending he hadn’t read Shane’s aggressive body language, Josh returned his stare. And Shane’s smirk grew.

  As unsettling as Shane’s behavior was, Josh was more worried about how long it was taking Eva to join him. Since he’d been attacked in the men’s locker room, she’d opted to put their keys and her phone—his still was missing—in the women’s locker room. She hadn’t joined him yet. He reminded himself that she could handle any situation that arose, but he was fighting the urge to check on her. And the more Shane acted like he was up to something, the more concerned Josh grew about what was keeping Eva.

  He put down the hand weights he’d been lifting, deciding enough time had passed that he could check on her without it being viewed as him not being confident in her abilities. He was almost to the door when the thing he was dreading presented itself.

  “Where’s your girl?” Shane asked.

  Josh stopped in his tracks and turned slowly. “Excuse me?”

  The man licked his lips and grabbed his crotch as uncouth men tended to do. “Eva. She coming to work out?”

  A rage sparked in Josh that he’d never felt before. In all his years, all the horrible things he’d seen in the morgue and at crime scenes, he’d never felt anger like what started boiling low in his gut. “Don’t say her name.”

  Shane’s smile widened. “Whose name? Eva’s?” Mischief danced in his eyes as he licked his lips again. “My wife really likes her. Says her tits are some of the perkiest she’s ever seen.”

  Josh knew bullies. He’d dealt with them most of his youth. He’d learned long ago that walking away was the best way to deal with situations like this, but this bastard had crossed a line Josh wasn’t willing to walk away from. Sexualizing Eva was not okay.

  “I think they might be the second perkiest I’ve ever seen, but I’ll let you know for sure once I get a better look.”

  Crossing the small gym, Josh got as close to Shane as he could without having to crane his neck back to look up at him. The man was at least six inches taller, and his muscle mass probably made three of Josh. He didn’t care. He wasn’t concerning himself with the ass-beating he’d take. He would defend Eva to the death if he had to.

  Shane actually laughed and then stood straighter as veins in his neck started to bulge. “Might want to just stand down, peewee. A woman like that needs a real man. One who can show her a real good time.”

  The image that flashed through Josh’s mind—Shane pushing himself on Eva—flipped a switch. Logic gone, Josh balled his fists and charged the much larger man. And it was high school all over again. He was in a headlock, throwing fists that landed on meaty flesh but had no real impact, as Shane laughed.

  Grabbing a fist of Josh’s hair, Shane shoved him down as he kicked his feet out from under him. Josh landed facedown on the padded gym floor. The old Josh told him to stay down, but there was no way this pig was going to get away with sexually harassing Eva like that. Pushing himself up in a fluid motion like Eva ha
d taught him, Josh tightened his fists in a defensive posture.

  “Real men don’t talk about women like that,” he said to Shane’s back.

  Shane turned and smiled. “Well, look at you, peewee. You got a little fire in you.” His smile faded as he used his right fist to punch his left palm three times. “I can fix that.”

  “Bring it on,” Josh said with a confidence he definitely didn’t feel.

  “I can take you down in one punch.”

  “Try it.”

  Shane rotated his neck to the right, and the sound of popping joints filled the room, even over the deep bass pumping out of the hidden speakers. “First,” he said, “I’m going to take care of you.” He rotated his neck to the left with the same effect. “Then I’m going to take care of that poor girl who’s been stuck with a weasel like you.”

  “Eva knows what you’re all about. You make her sick.”

  Shane’s eyes hardened. His amusement was gone. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “She’s this close to getting all the evidence she needs to expose you.” The words were out before Josh realized their repercussions. Shit. He was shaken. And he’d done it to himself. He stuttered, betraying his false bravado.

  That little moment of weakness was all Shane needed to go for the figurative kill. He stopped showing off his superior physicality and grabbed Josh again. Fisting his shirt, he lifted until Josh had to get on his tiptoes. “Tell me what you meant before I break you in half, you little twig.”

  In that moment, Josh decided if he was getting his ass kicked, he would at least get a few jabs in. “I know that you have to manipulate women, lie to them, break them down so they’ll join your little harem. And you call yourself a real man. You’re no better than a pimp on the street.”

  That was probably not the best decision. Shane slammed his fist into Josh’s ribs. The air left Josh’s lungs as he grunted.

  “Who have you been talking to?” Shaking Josh, he forced him to look eye to eye again. “Who have you been talking to?”

  Shane pulled his fist back, this time aiming for Josh’s face.

  “Boys?” Eva called. “Is there a problem?”