Authors: Regina Cole
Mia frowned at the closed office door. She hadn’t really
been eavesdropping. She’d just finished drying her hair and getting dressed,
and she’d come to find Garrett to ask if she could borrow the computer again.
She’d wanted to see if Jules’ offer had come with her final paycheck. He was
still on the phone with Trent, and she’d been about to turn around and leave
him to his conversation when her name sailed through the door.
“Mia won’t be a problem. I’ll leave her here.” A pause came
then, as if Garrett was waiting for Trent’s reply. “No, you’re wrong. I can
convince her. She won’t get in the way. I’ll meet you at the strip mall at
four. Yeah. Just behind the empty storefront.”
Garrett fell quiet again then cleared his throat. Mia’s
frown deepened as her insides swirled with nerves. He was going to do something
dangerous, and he didn’t want her to know about it. How very like him. But what
could she do? He’d never agree to call the cops and let them handle it. He knew
firsthand how dangerous these guys were. How could she let him walk into such a
risky situation?
She reached for the door but stopped with her hand on the
knob.
“I can’t say, T. I’m really thinking I’ve got feelings for
this girl. She’s different, you know? Special.”
Her heart leapt straight into her throat and stayed there.
Her knuckles went white on the doorknob, but she didn’t dare move.
“We’ve got to keep her far away from this. I can’t risk…”
Garrett trailed off, and when his voice returned, it was strained. “I can’t
lose her.”
Her hand fell away and she took a tiny step back, and then
another. She had to breathe, but she was afraid a choked sob would escape if she
let go now. Garrett’s pain was so real, and it was right there in his voice.
And he really cared about her.
Her.
Mia.
She turned and walked away, hoping like hell he couldn’t
hear her footfalls. She needed time to think.
The back porch was on the cool side, but she sank onto one
end of the swing anyway. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she stared out into
the woods.
“What do I do?” she whispered aloud as tears tracked down
her cheeks. Her heart fluttered and pumped raggedly, like a bird with an
injured wing trying to fly.
She’d been alone since
Abuela
died. Friends and guys
had come and gone, but nobody had really cared about her like this.
Not like Garrett did.
She sniffed and buried her face in her folded arms.
How could she let him go waltzing into danger now? How could
she lose the one person who thought she was special? He was so strong and so
noble and so wounded. She wanted to run straight into the office and take that
pain away from him.
He was beautiful, and she’d never known another man like him.
And she likely never would.
“Hey.”
She lifted her head, rubbing at her damp cheeks. “Hey.”
The swing creaked as he sat down beside her. “Sorry about
that. Call took longer than I expected.” He wrapped his arm around her
shoulders and pulled her in close. “You smell good.”
She pressed a kiss to his mouth. “It’s your soap.”
“But you make it smell better.” He tilted her chin up, his
brows lowering. “Are you okay?”
“Of course. Totally fine.” She pasted a bright smile on her
face. This wasn’t going to work, but she’d try it anyway. “Hey, do you mind
taking me shopping this afternoon? I really need a couple of things.”
He ran a finger lazily up her arm. “Yeah?”
“I mean, I don’t know if you mind how long I stay here…”
Garrett cleared his throat. “Well, I have to admit I like
having you.” He laced his fingers through hers.
“I like it too.” She glanced away, biting her lip. “We
haven’t really talked about it though. I mean, I can’t stay here forever.”
Silence fell between them, but Mia was glad when he didn’t
let go of her hand. She looked straight ahead into the woods, afraid to see the
expression on his face. After a minute or two, Garrett squeezed her fingers
lightly.
“It’s a big house, you know. It usually feels pretty empty,
but with you here it’s not.”
“You know, I’ve never asked before. I guess it’s kind of
rude, but…you got fired from the force. How do you have enough money for this
house? And all those nice cars?” Mia glanced at his face, relieved that his
blank expression didn’t show anger at her question.
“It’s a combination of things, really. Part of it is an
inheritance from my father. He started a steelworks company, and he sold it at
the right time. Since I was the only child and my mom was long gone, I got
everything when he passed.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Mia said simply. She knew what it
felt like, after all.
“Of course, it’s not all from him. The rest came after I
quit the force. I got a few lucrative contracts, private detective work and
stuff. Some of the bonuses were on the large side. They don’t really amount to
much, comparatively, but I do take pride in earning my own way.” Garrett
shrugged. “I guess I’m just lucky.”
“I am too,” Mia said, resting against Garrett’s shoulder.
“Maybe not in the same ways, but I’m really lucky.”
He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I can take you
shopping, but we should go now. I’ve got to meet Trent this afternoon and go
over some things, so I’ll need to have you back here before then.”
“No need to make two trips for me.” Mia looked up at him.
“You can just run me by on your way. Save gas.”
He shook his head. “It’s going to be a while. Come on. Let’s
go now.”
“Actually, it’s okay. I can go tomorrow. You go do your
meeting.” She wrapped her arms over her middle to keep her churning insides
still. “Drive safe though, okay?”
He pressed a searing kiss to her lips and left her alone on
the porch. A shudder went through her as the cool air replaced the heat from
his body.
She trusted him. As painful as it was, as much as she wanted
to chase after him and beg him to step back, she knew that was impossible.
He left only an hour later. She stood at the front window
watching the Escalade roll down the drive.
“Damn it,” she said to cover the anxiety riding her like a
trained monkey. “Damn it, damn it, damn it.”
It didn’t help. She paced the length of the kitchen, her
bare feet making slapping sounds with each step. Flipping on the TV didn’t help
either. Garrett had been watching some cop movie, and it was currently
featuring a shootout scene. She killed the power and tossed the remote onto the
couch.
“This is going to be the longest afternoon of my life.”
She stared at the ceiling. It was getting close to four.
Were he and Trent already at the strip mall? Was the drug dealer? Her brain was
immersed so deeply in nightmarish scenarios that when her cell phone rang, she
jumped.
An unfamiliar number flashed on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Is this Mia?” The deep, masculine voice was just a little
familiar, but she couldn’t place it.
“This is Mia, who’s this?”
“I’m Quentin, a friend of Garrett’s. We met a little while
ago.”
“Oh my god, what’s happened?” Mia’s stomach went straight
through the floor. “Did they get in trouble?”
“Not yet.” Quentin’s tone was grave. “Things are going wrong
though. We need your help.”
“Anything,” Mia declared, her hand curled into a tight fist.
“If it helps Garrett, I’ll do anything.”
“Trent and Garrett are on their way to do a buy right now.
Reg and I are a couple hours away, following up on another lead, so we can’t
help them. My contact just called. The man they were supposed to meet isn’t
coming. He got picked up by the cops earlier today. Another of Ford’s guys is
going to be there. And this one has seen Garrett before. There’s a good chance
he knows Garrett was a cop.”
“
Ohmygod
,” Mia said as she clapped a hand over her
mouth.
“Their cell phones are off, which means they’re already at
the site. You need to get there and warn them.
Now
.”
“Where do I go?” Mia was proud of the way her voice didn’t
tremble, when inside she was both terrified and furious. Quentin rattled off
the address and she memorized it instantly.
“Keep your phone nearby. I’m going to keep calling. If I can
contact them before you arrive, I’ll call you off and
you get out of there
.
Okay?”
“Fine.” Mia ran for the bedroom as Quentin hung up. Jamming
her feet into her shoes took just a second, and grabbing her purse one more.
With a whispered apology to Garrett, she snagged a set of keys from the hook by
the door and bolted into the garage. She couldn’t drive a motorcycle, so that
left just one option.
The cherry-red Camaro purred like a jungle cat.
“I’m coming,” she said as she waited for the garage door to
trundle open. “Please just let me get there in time.”
The drive didn’t take long, but it felt like forever. The
transmission groaned at the abuse she was giving it, but damn it, it’d been
years since she’d touched a manual. She concentrated on slowing her breathing
as she pulled into the strip mall.
The place was pretty quiet. Only the head shop at the end
looked as though it enjoyed any business. The rest of the stores, a little
florist, a card shop and a Chinese takeout, all looked as if they’d given up on
ever turning a profit.
The empty storefront was at the other end. She killed the
engine in front of the florist and pocketed the keys. Quickening her step, Mia
marched down the front and around the side. Doing her best to be completely
silent, she stopped just before rounding the corner to the back of the strip
mall. Her heart sank as she listened. She was too late—they were already talking
to the dealer.
“…can do it, but I don’t know how fast it’s going to be.”
That voice.
Mia wrinkled her forehead as she tried to
place it. She’d heard it somewhere recently, but where?
“It’s kind of a rush deal, man.” Garrett’s voice was
completely casual. “And we can pay double.”
“You look kind of familiar,” the voice said. “Hellfire, I
really think I know you.”
Hellfire!
And with that word, it came thundering back
to Mia. Big Red. The guy who had gotten a Prince Albert at the convention!
“Oh!” She covered her surprised gasp with a hand, but it was too late.
“What was that?” Big Red’s voice came closer. “You hiding
someone over here? You trying to set me up?”
“Shit,” Mia hissed, jumping from foot to foot. God, there
was no hope for it. She’d just have to go out there and pretend she knew what
she was doing. Well, at least she was acquainted with everyone in the
conversation. She’d just have to play it cool and try to keep herself and the
guys out of trouble.
As she rounded the corner, all three men turned and looked
at her.
“Hey there, Goliath! How’s that PA healing up?”
She grinned at them, hoping like hell she hadn’t just made
things a lot worse.
Garrett wasn’t sure what stunned him more—the fact that
Redmond was here instead of Chavez, or that Mia had suddenly appeared out of
nowhere, and apparently knew Redmond too.
Things had suddenly descended from hopeful to
Twilight
Zone
.
Redmond’s cheeks took on a ruddy hue, almost clashing with
his orangey-red beard. “My uh, PA. It’s fine.”
Mia nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. “Keeping up
with that aftercare? Not picking at the crusties, are you?”
Garrett shot Trent a glare when the moron had the nerve to
snort. Didn’t he know what kind of danger they were in? It had been bad before
Mia showed up, but now things were even dodgier.
He stepped forward, schooling his features into a dark
expression. “Sorry about this, she was supposed to keep out of the way.” He grabbed
Mia’s arm and pulled her tight to his side.
Trent kicked a piece of loose gravel from the patched
blacktop beneath their feet. “We need to get a move on, man. I’ve got buyers
waiting.”
Giving up Mia’s presence as a lost cause, Garrett decided to
forge ahead with his plan. “Listen, Red, we need a large amount of product, and
we’re willing to pay. And we need it soon. If we can set up a supply with you,
then we can keep these large customers on the hook. We’ll make money, you’ll
make money—it’s a win-win.”
Redmond stood up straighter and crossed his arms over his
chest. Garrett wasn’t intimidated. Red was probably packing, but so were he and
Trent. The only thing that bothered him was Mia. She was unarmed, unprotected
and probably completely confused at this point. He just prayed that she had
enough sense to keep her mouth shut and not give Red any more reason to doubt
them.
Red lowered his brows slightly as he looked at Garrett. “I
don’t know, man. I’m getting a weird vibe off you. You call us from out of
nowhere—”
“Dwight gave me the number,” Garrett countered.
“Dwight or not, I think you might be up to something.”
Redmond crossed the space that separated them in only two steps. “Your girl
here, she’s got a mouth on her.”
With a movement so fast it was nearly a blur, Redmond
grabbed Mia’s arm and yanked her forward. Her startled yell was squelched by
his hand over her mouth.
“Let her go, Red.” Garrett pulled his piece from the holster
beneath his arm, but Red had already done the same, training the pistol’s
barrel at Mia’s head. Out of the corner of Garrett’s eye, he noted Trent’s gun
was also at the ready.
A standoff—and Mia was hostage.
Of-fucking-course.
“I don’t trust you, boys,” Redmond said, dragging Mia back a
step. She struggled, but the man had arms like a professional wrestler. “I
think you’re up to something. I think this little piece,” he grunted as Mia’s
elbow connected with his belly, but didn’t let go, “is a mole. I don’t know if
you’re cops or just jumped-up little pissants with hopes of getting a piece of
the pie, but either way, it’s not going to work.”