by C. L. Stone
He smirked and karate chopped me in the corner of my neck and shoulder, causing me to cringe. "Shut up."
I grunted, running my fingers through my hair to get it out of my eyes. “Can’t we just get this over with so I can say no and go home?”
“Almost there,” Marc said.
Marc pulled into a parking lot of a tall, dull brick building on the southern edge of the Charleston peninsula, really close to the river and the bay. I’d been by the place a few times, but never really took a good look at it. It appeared to be an office tower, so it wasn’t interesting to me before. “What’s this? Is this where you work?”
“This is home,” he said. “Welcome to the Sergeant Jasper.”
“It’s an apartment building?” I asked. It appeared so plain from the highway. Weren’t apartments a little nicer looking? Like with gardens and fountains? Or at least a brick front office with a sign out front that told people what it was?
“Go Detective Kaylie,” Raven said. He opened the door, unfolding himself to step out. I followed. He grabbed the gold box that was on the floor. “What’s this?”
Before I could answer, he had the box open and picked out a piece of truffle. He sniffed it, and took a bite. “Not bad,” he said, licking his lips.
“Hey,” I said. “Save me one.”
“Kto ne uspel - tot opozdal,” he said.
“Huh?”
“You snooze, you lose,” Marc said. “Give her the box, Raven.”
“Don’t worry. I’m just carrying it for her. It’s not my type. I prefer a steak.” He smirked as he passed by me. “Or a nice bite of a good-looking bird.”
I waited until he had turned around before I gulped.
I let the guys walk ahead of me. I could smell the ocean breeze from where we were. Part of the bridge that crossed the Ashley River and headed to John’s Island stuck out in the horizon. I guessed that people on the upper floors could possibly see more of the bay and a good portion of the water. I sensed the water was just beyond where I could see.
I’d have given up my left eyeball to live in such a place. This close to the islands and downtown? With a view of the water? Sign me up.
I followed the guys to the lobby, where a security guard was perched at a desk. She glanced up, nodded quickly, smiled at the two boys, and shared the same smile with me. I pretended to be dazzled by a painting on the wall and avoided eye contact. Felt bad about it after. It was an instinctual reaction to anyone wearing a security uniform.
At the elevator, Raven smacked the buttons and the boys loaded in. I stepped in beside them. Raven held open the door as a couple of guys I didn’t recognize hurried down the hallway and got in.
“What floor?” Marc asked.
“Eleven,” one of the guys said. Marc punched the button, but the guy kept his head turned, looking at me. “Haven’t seen you before. You new?”
I felt an arm sliding around my shoulders. Marc leaned in on me, tilting his head toward mine. His hand squeezed my arm, tucking me into his body. “She’s just visiting.”
Disappointment crept across the guy’s face, but he nodded and turned to stare at the doors.
What a jerk! He didn’t give me a chance to talk myself. As if I needed help letting a guy down. I elbowed Marc in the gut. Marc made a noise that sounded like a smothered groan and eased his arm from around me, but still hung on loosely around my shoulders.
We got off on floor seven. When the elevator doors closed behind us, I pulled away from Marc and got some distance between us. “What was that for?” I asked.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” he said, starting down the hallway. “I just didn’t want you distracted.”
“I can tell a guy no. Or not. Maybe I wanted his phone number.”
“You wouldn’t have asked.”
“How do you know?”
“He’s not your type.”
“How would you know my type?”
Raven pressed his palm against his forehead. “God. You guys sound like you’re already married. This is going to be a disaster.”
“Shut up,” Marc and I said in unison. I glared at him. And he had the audacity to stare right back, smiling like he was enjoying this!
Marc paused in front of Apartment 737. The door was unlocked and he and Raven walked in.
There was a small living area, with a hallway on the left and right The dining nook had several desks around the wall and a couple of computers on top of each. There was a tiny kitchen, with a dingy electric stove, and a worn fridge. For the rest of the apartment, the walls were a hideous off-white and the floors were wall-to-wall with an old beige carpet that was maybe white once. There was a large brown faux leather couch that took up most of the living room, facing a large flat-screen television.
The space also had a heavy smell of coffee and sweetness. I could have mistaken the place for a coffee shop, it was that strong. It made it difficult to ignore, and my stomach wanted to growl.
The only window was high up, the sill above my chest. And took up all of the upper level of the apartment wall on that side. There were vertical blinds that were closed, but there was bright sunlight seeping in between the slats.
I wedged myself between Raven and Marc to cross to the living room. I wanted to snoop. Their fault. They let me in.
“Yeah, sure,” Raven said. He planted the gold box on top of the kitchen counter. “Make yourself at home.”
There was an old wall style heating unit, much like the ones at the hotel. I planted a boot on the top of it, using my palms on the wall to balance myself as I climbed up. It might have been rude, but they were the ones kidnapping me; I felt I could at least poke around where I wanted.
I felt the chill of the wall against my thighs as I leaned against it and inched my way up until I was high enough that I could see out the window and look down.
“Hey,” Raven called.
“Let her look,” Marc said.
“She’s going to break that thing. Or break her head.”
I tried pulling the slats out of the way, but they were the sort that were tied down on both the top and bottom. I glanced around, and found a control pulley that adjusted it. I jumped down off of the heater, grabbed the rope and yanked as hard as I could.
The slats opened up, sliding all the way over. I climbed again, pulling myself up on my elbows on the window ledge to look out.
The view was incredible. At my hotel room, the best I got was the parking lot and an abandoned building that was busted up. This apartment had a view of the water. The edge of John’s Island and homes built up next to the river stood out in the distance. The water lapped and swayed with the current.
Jealousy swept through me. I wanted this.
Raven materialized next to me. He scanned the view and then stretched to look down. “The bridge kind of ruins the view.”
“Have you seen it at night? It looks kind of cool,” Marc said. He came over, standing underneath where I was. “Scoot over, Bambi.”
“Nu uh.”
“I want to see.” He grabbed hold of my arm, using it to help pull himself up onto the heater with us.
We stood together, looking out across the water. “You mean you guys live here and haven’t looked out the window?” I asked.
“If I wanted to go see the fucking water,” Raven said, “I’d go outside. It’s right there.”
“The view’s not bad though,” Marc said. “Too bad the window is so high.”
“What about other apartment buildings?” I asked. It shouldn’t have been important to me right then, but now that I was here, and could see this, I really wanted to daydream about one day managing to afford a place like this. I’d lived in a lot of cruddy places. Once I got rid of Jack, and I didn’t have to worry about Wil, I wanted something close to the water. A girl could dream, right? “Do they have a better view? Or at least lower windows?”
“This is the only one on the peninsula,” Marc said. “At least the only apartment tower. The other apartments a
re closer to the college. Or the downtown carriage houses.”
“Do you guys go to the college?”
They both laughed.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Long story,” Raven said. He dropped down and then snagged me around the waist, dragging me down to the floor until I was standing. “Get off that thing before you break your ass.”
“Ugh.” I slapped him hard on the arm, right on one of his rose tattoos. “Stop telling me what to do.”
Raven opened his palm and smacked me right back on the arm, no hesitation. This was different than Marc’s, who did it lightly enough. Raven’s strike was just as hard as I did it to him.
I gasped at him and raised my arms up defensively. “Did you just hit a girl?”
“Don’t give me that double standard bullshit.” He raised his hands, making fists and hovering them in front of his own face in a blocking motion, mimicking me. “I let you get away with that first one, but if you’re going to keep hitting me, I’ll get you right back.”
“Bambi, Raven, cut it out.” Marc bent his knees, and climbed down off of the heater.
“Stop calling me Bambi.”
“You should have picked a better name,” Marc said. The corner of his mouth lifted, lighting up his blue and green eyes. “I think it’s adorable. You totally look like a little baby deer.”
“Bambi is a boy deer,” I said.
Raven laughed. He lunged at Marc, catching him around the neck, and swooped in, pecking him on the cheek. “‘Cause he’s got a thing for dick.”
My heart did a flip. A tattooed hunk just kissed tough Marc on the cheek. That was actually kind of hot.
Marc wrestled himself away from Raven. “Don’t make me sic Bambi on you.”
The front door to the apartment opened. My tall target walked in, followed by the nerdling Corey, and the cool looking one. Now that Corey and his doppelganger were next to each other, they were clearly related. Brothers, if not twins.
My target took one look at me, and went straight for the couch, landing his butt into the corner. He sat back, folding his arms over his chest, waiting. He wore a gray shirt that almost matched his eyes, and his jeans were dark.
Corey’s cerulean eyes lit up as he came in. His T-shirt was black, with Mario Bros written in orange blocks. He did a small wave at me and then addressed Marc. “Where’s bossman?”
“His door’s closed. Guess he’ll come out when he’s ready.”
There was shuffling as the space became crowded with all the new bodies. I circled the coffee table and then got turned around as Raven tried to get past me to get to the kitchen. I backed up and Raven walked away, but another pair of hands clasped me by the waist.
I sucked in a breath. “Sorry,” I said, trying to sidestep since I didn’t know where to stand.
“Watch where you’re going,” said the cool-looking brother. He kept his hands on my hips, guiding me sideways until I was out of the way. He locked his sad blue eyes on me. “You’re going to get run over.”
“You either need a bigger apartment or to get rid of this coffee table. It’s too big for the room.”
“I like the table.” He released my hips and headed to the kitchen. He redirected his attention to the group. “We downgraded mall security,” he said. “All wallets were accounted for. Found them at the food court.”
My insides vibrated. This was awkward enough, but he was just rattling this off as if I wasn’t standing here and didn’t have anything to do with it. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why am I here?”
“Right,” Marc said. “Have a seat, Bambi.”
I wanted to stand, but my target made to scoot over for me, even though he was already in the corner. I felt obligated to sit, and did so next to him. Corey sat on the other side of me, until his brother came over, and nudged him in the leg. Corey slid down and his brother plopped down next to me.
I stuffed my arms under my breasts, glaring at Marc. Because of how close the guys next to me were, our thighs were touching. The tall one leaned over to give some more space. The cool doppelganger kept his close. I didn’t want to look like a dork with my legs crossed. I ended up settling for leaning forward with my elbows in my lap. Somehow this made for less direct contact.
“Bambi, this is Corey, Brandon,” he pointed to the twins. “And this is Kevin.” He motioned to the tall one. “Guys, this is Kayli.”
“I thought you called her Bambi?” Brandon asked.
“Yeah,” Corey said. “She told me her name was Bambi. Is that her preferred name? Is it Kayli or Bambi?”
“It’s not Bambi,” I said, tilting my head back and glaring at the ceiling. Couldn’t blame them too much. I did lie in the first place. “It’s Kayli.”
“Are you sure?” Brandon asked. “I don’t know. Maybe. You don’t look like a Bambi. Aren’t Bambi girls usually blond with a lot of pink? Like Candy or Bunny?”
Raven smirked. “Yeah, that sounds like her.”
I made a face, sticking my tongue out at Raven.
“Don’t sport it unless you plan to use it.” Raven stuck his tongue out, his eyes narrowing with intention. The ring on his lip protruded out.
“Enough,” Marc said, slicing his hand through the air as if to cut off the conversation. Marc sat on the coffee table facing the rest of us and Raven joined him. “There’s a house party tonight,” Marc said. He pointed toward the open window. “One of the downtown homes.”
I cocked my head. “You brought me here to tell me about a party?”
Marc held a hand out, palm facing me in a stopping motion. “Hang on. The guy we’re looking for will be there. He’s been leaving his home every night lately, coming back a little after dawn. He goes to an office downtown sometimes, but most of the time he’s prowling around in some of the rougher parts of town.”
“So?”
“We want to know what he’s up to.”
I raised my eyebrows, and glanced at Raven, who seemed more interested in tracing one of the tribal tattoos on his arm. I slid a glance at Corey, who had perked up and was listening. His brother had his arms crossed like mine, attentive. Kevin was in the same position. No one was objecting? “Why?” I asked. “Why do you care what he’s doing?”
Marc shrugged, the blue collared shirt he wore bulked up, revealing the broadness of his shoulders. “We’re curious.”
I did another sweep, glancing around the room. “This is a job? To satisfy your curiosity?”
Marc continued. “We need to slip into his office, find out what he’s doing and get out of there before anyone notices. There’s some suspicion that it might be chemical. The areas he’s been traveling at night are known to be local drug-ridden territories. We need to find out why this guy is so interested.”
“Why?” The guys all turned and looked at me but I couldn't stop my questions. “Why do you care? It’s his business. Are you going to steal his drug business? You want to find out so you can take over?”
“We just want to know what he’s up to, and make sure he’s not using his wealth to develop new drugs. We think he might be creating some,” Marc said. “He can do whatever he wants as long as he isn’t doing things like that.”
“But you don’t know for sure if he’s doing anything.”
Marc shrugged. “Do we wait for him to start working with local gang members and causing drug wars or do we check him out now and stop him ahead of time? I vote now before we have a mob-type gang war taking over the town.”
“But again, you don’t really know. You want to go figure out what he’s doing just to make sure he isn’t doing anything illegal?”
Marc nodded. He planted his elbows on his knees, tilting in. The way he leaned in, looking up at my face, with his one blue eye and one green eye lit up and the twitching smile playing on his lips made him look like an adorable puppy. “Please?”
“You want me to find out?” I asked. I jerked my head back, shaking it. “You’re crazy. What am I supposed to do? Just wal
k in there and say, ‘Hey! Heard you’ve got a secret drug in your basement. Can we go and check it out?’”
Raven laughed deeply. “Could give it a shot.”
Kevin rolled his eyes. “If she doesn’t want to do it, let her get out of here. We don’t really need her.”
“She’s our best shot right now,” Marc said. “Did you see her? Even you didn’t expect it. I might have missed it if I blinked.”
“Why don’t we get Luke?” Kevin asked. “What happened to that plan?”
“Luke’s busy,” Raven said. “Something about a new girl their team’s been helping out.”
“Yeah, that should tell you something. We’re not really supposed to work with a girl,” Kevin said.
I shot him a glare, and he met my eyes. If he wanted to tell me to go away, he could have told me himself instead of through the guys. I had to agree with him, though. At least someone outside of myself thought this was a crazy idea.
Brandon sat forward, looking at his buddy. “Let her decide for herself. It’s just one job.”
Kevin grunted. “I’m just saying, we should find another guy. This isn’t going to be worth it.”
“Don’t worry,” Marc said. “We’re all together on this. You won’t spend a lot of time with her. Mindy isn’t going to know.”
“I don’t like keeping secrets from her. We do that enough,” Kevin said.
I pressed a fingertip to my brow, sliding it back and forth to smooth it. They’d already lost me. Kevin had a girlfriend? I got that. But did he have to be mean about not letting me work for them? And they worked for someone, he just admitted it. If they weren’t supposed to work with girls, it meant someone established the rule. Who established the rules around here? The pieces were in front of me, I just needed more time to process. “Let me understand this right. Somehow my pinching wallets is going to help you guys figure out what this guy’s new nighttime habit is?”
“We need his security card,” Marc said. “He carries it in his wallet. You’re going to snag it, let us take it to his office and use it. We’ll bring it back, you drop it back into his pocket and no one knows the difference.”