Breaking Into the Business (27 page)

Pam
arrived right on schedule. She texted me when she was pulling into the alley,
and I sent Greg to go and open the garage for her. She pulled her nice, dark
green SUV into the spot next to mine. I stood behind Greg as she stopped her
car and got out.

“Where
are you?” she asked.

“Hold
on,” I said.

Greg
pushed the button again and the garage closed.

“What’s
going on?” Pam asked.

“We’re
going to do a little trick to make sure that you aren’t followed,” I said.

We
walked back inside and unfortunately, Pam followed. When we stepped into the
living room and saw that the others had joined us, I groaned. My sister would
definitely have something to say.

I
turned to look at her, but all she did was gape openly at the good-looking men
assembled around my living room. Disapproval poised on the tip of her tongue,
but she stood there speechless, looking around at the eye candy that was now my
secret business.

Jake
and Mallory joined us, lugging their bags down the stairs. When Ben saw Mallory
dragging hers, he ran halfway up the steps to take the bag from her and help
her down with it. He might be a gigolo, I thought, but he was such a polite
boy.

“Okay,”
Mike said. “Here’s the plan.”

“And
who are you?” Pam asked.

“This
is my friend Mike,” I said before he could answer. “Please show some respect.”

“I’m
just curious, that’s all.”

“Guys,
this is my sister, Pam.”

They
all waved casually except for Ray, who was staring at her as if she was
tonight’s dinner.

“So
here’s the plan,” Mike continued. “Jake and Mallory are going to get in Pam’s
car and duck down in the seat. At the same time, Lana and Greg will be in the
other car. I want Ben and Derrick to get in the back seat. The two of you will
be posing as Jake and Mallory.”

“Um,”
Derrick said. “We don’t look anything like them.”

“That’s
not a problem,” Mike said. “We are just looking for the effect. Whoever might
follow Lana will just see two smaller shapes and will assume that it’s the
children. If Lana drives fast enough, they will never get close enough to tell.
If they do figure it out, then Pam will be long gone, and he won’t have any
idea that she took the kids.”

“So
who am I?” Derrick asked.

“What
do you mean?” Mike asked.

“Am
I Jake or Mallory?”

“Since
you’re the shorter one, you’re Mallory.”

“How
can I play the part of a girl?”

“You
have long hair,” Ray laughed. “We can just curl it a little for you.”

“That’s
not funny,” Derrick said.

Mike
chuckled. “Lana has a wig from one of her Halloween crates and you’re going
wear it.”

“Seriously?”
he asked.

“Yes,”
Mike said. “It has to be that way.”

“Whatever,”
Derrick said, slumping his shoulders in defeat.

“When
do we leave?” I asked.

“As
soon as you get the wig and everyone loads up. The sooner the kids are out of
here, the better.”

I
told Ray where the Halloween boxes were in the guest room closet so that I
could have a moment with my children before they left.

I
led the two of them back through the living room and into the garage. We
stopped just in front of the cars, and Greg took their bags from them so that
he could load them in the trunk.

“You
really won’t tell us what’s going on?” Jake asked.

“I’d
rather not bother you two with it,” I said. “I promise that I will take care of
it so that it will be safe for you again.”

“What
about you?” he asked.

“I’m
going to be fine,” I said. “You’ve seen the guys. They are going to protect me
if anything happens.”

“It’s
not ever going to be the same, is it?” Mallory asked.

I
had misjudged her all this time. My daughter had always been the flighty little
debutante, taking much of her personality from her father. I loved her still,
but I never figured that she would gain the quick wit and intellect that ran on
my side. However, as I listened to her ask that question, I knew there was more
between those ears than she let on.

“No,
it probably won’t,” I confessed. “But it was like that when your dad left, and
we still managed. The three of us are family and we’ll pull through anything
together.”

“Will
you call us a lot?” Jake asked.

“Of
course. I still have my cell phone, so if you need to call me, feel free.”

Greg
walked over and stood near us, waiting on us to finish so that we could get
started.

It
surprised me when Jake turned around and looked at the man. “Please take care
of our mom.”

Greg
walked up and placed an arm on my son’s shoulder. “I will always take care of
your mother. She’s a good lady and deserves good things in life.”

Pam
entered the garage and I could hear her guttural protest. Damn, my sister made
some ugly sounds.

I
had one last chance to hug my children goodbye. I knew that I would see them
again, but a nagging doubt lurked in the back of my mind.

What
if this were the last time I ever saw them?

Chapter Twenty-Four

The plan
went off without a hitch. I never saw another vehicle following us. I stayed
behind my sister until we got out of the neighborhood and drove the main street
to the highway. I stayed behind her on the highway for a few exits, until I was
confident that nobody was following us.

The
guys in the backseat played their parts very well and kept their heads down on
the off chance that my stalker may get close. I guessed that Derrick’s real
reason for ducking down was more out of embarrassment at wearing a wig than
anything else.

We
got back to the house to find Ray patrolling the perimeter of the house. I
looked at Mike questioningly when I saw him standing at the front window and
peaking between the blinds.

“Sorry,
I don’t think it’s a good idea to go outside anymore,” he said. “Since I’ve got
that job tonight with your neighbor, she might see me and recognize me and then
your cover is blown.”

“Good
point,” I said.

“So
what are we going to do tonight?” Greg asked. “The kids are gone.”

“I
can run to get some beer,” Ben offered.

“Pool
party?” Derrick asked, taking the wig off.

“My
friends Pearl and Betsy are coming,” I informed them. “I think we should just
stay inside and keep our focus.”

“Are
Pearl and Betsy cute?” Ben asked.

“Pearl’s
my cousin,” Ray said as he walked through the door.

“Do
they look alike?” Derrick asked.

“Yes,”
Greg said.

“Hey,”
I said, slapping him on the shoulder. “She’s my friend.”

“What
a minute,” Ray said. “Why is Pearl looking like me a bad thing?”

“It’s
not a bad thing,” I said.

I
wanted to change the subject. My mind searched for something else to talk
about, but then the doorbell saved me.

Ray
turned and looked through the peephole. Without saying anything to anyone else,
he opened the door and admitted Betsy and Pearl.

“What
are you doing here so early?” I asked.

“Girl,
you know we were going to get here quick,” Pearl said. “I would have been here
earlier if you hadn’t made me wait until the kids left.”

“Come
in,” I said, ushering them into the living room.

“So,
should I go get some beer?” Ben asked.

Before
I could answer, the work cell phone, still sitting on the kitchen table, rang.
I wanted to forbid him from getting alcohol, but I had to get the call before
it rang too many times.

I
ran over and pushed the talk button. While I was busy trying to book the client
for an appointment three days away, I heard the others talk quickly and I even
noticed them handing stuff to Ben.

When
I finally finished the call, I looked back up and my worst suspicions were
confirmed. Everyone had given Ben money and a whole list of beverages to
purchase. Betsy appeared to be the ringleader, and she had given the college
student a list of everything she needed for her perfect martinis.

I
could protest and make an issue of it, but I decided that it was best to roll
with the punches. It wouldn’t hurt for everyone, including myself, to cut back
a little and have some fun.

Ben
returned and all of the guys, except for Mike who was standing guard, went out
and helped him carry the load of alcohol inside. The sheer volume of bags and
cases was a little staggering. I counted ten cases of beer, but I thought a few
went by me that I missed. Ray set down a large box and started pulling out
different bottles of liquor and setting them on the countertop.

“This
might be overkill, huh?” I said quietly.

“My
dear,” Betsy said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “The only overkill here is
the stick that’s lodged in your ass.”

“We
have a serious crisis going on,” I told her.

“Your
stranger doesn’t seem to be showing himself, so we should make the best of it.”

“When’s
the deadline?” Pearl asked.

“Today.”

“What
time?” she asked.

“You
know, I hadn’t really thought about that.”

“Maybe
he’ll call,” Greg said.

“In
the meantime, I’m going to fix a martini,” Betsy said.

“How
can you be so blasé about this?” I asked her through clenched teeth, hoping that
nobody else could hear.

“What
makes you think I’m being so blasé, honey?”

“All
you think about is drinking.”

Betsy
set the bottle of liquor down and walked over to me. Her eyes watched mine for
a moment, and then she pursed her lips. She reached over to the counter and
held the front flap of her purse. Inside I could see the handle of a gun.

“Oh,”
I said.

“Yeah,”
she said. “I’m only concerned about alcohol because I’m trying not to think
about the fact that I will put a bullet in your stalker’s head if he shows his
face.”

“Don’t
talk like that.”

“I’m
serious. I wish that asshole would ring your doorbell.”

“Did
you get the stuff for burgers?” Derrick asked Ben.

“Sure
did,” he nodded. “I put the hamburger meat in the refrigerator. The buns and
the other stuff are in that bag over there.”

The
guys, Betsy, and Pearl went about preparing beverages and dinner for the night.
I couldn’t take part because my work cell rang again.

Right
after I booked the appointment for Derrick, the phone rang again. I wanted to complain,
but the sensible part of me said that this was all a good thing.

When
I hung up the phone, I set it back on the kitchen table near my laptop which
was displaying the schedule.

“You
need some help with that?” Pearl asked.

“I
sure do,” I said.

“Let
me know. You know I hate my job. I will quit that hellhole in a minute and come
to work for you.”

“Really?”

“Hell
yeah. I would walk into that asshole Victor’s office and take a crap on his
desk. You just have to match my salary and pay me benefits.”

“I
guess I could get insurance benefits from an insurance carrier that has plans
for small businesses.”

Pearl
burst out laughing. “Just make sure that you come up with a better business
description. She looked at the guys gathered outside on the back patio. You
might also want to get extra coverage for STDs.”

I
chuckled, but tried to get rid of the image from my mind.

My
personal cell phone rang. Without looking at the caller ID, I answered the
phone.

“Hello,
Lana.”

I
nearly dropped the phone, but somehow I managed to keep a hold of it, despite
the fact that I was shaking uncontrollably.

“Do
you have my money?”

I
couldn’t answer him. The response I wanted to use was to tell him to go to
hell, but some unseen something was stuck in my throat.

“I
asked you a question.”

“Why
are you doing this to me?”

“I
don’t have time to go over this with you. I want my money.”

“That’s
a lot of money.”

“Are
you saying that you don’t have it?”

I
shook my head, unable to speak the words out loud.

Pearl
knew exactly who was on the phone. She came in close and reached an arm around
my back to hold me in a show of support. I didn’t know if she could hear what
he was saying, but I needed her help.