Priest (A Standalone Bad Boy Romance Love Story) (60 page)

“Hey, Mom.”

“Hi, Jessie. How was work?”

“It was okay. Did you find something for
lunch?”

“I did. I ate what looked to be your
leftovers from last night. Good chicken, amazing peanut sauce. You didn’t make
all that just for yourself, did you?”

My mother, the detective. I chose not to
answer her and instead I asked, “Do you have enough room for your things in the
dresser and closet in there?”

“Yes, baby. You don’t have to worry about
me, I’ll be fine. Oh, I put your laundry in the dryer. Fancy dinner and she
washed her sheets.”

“Mom, don’t start.”

She put her bottom lip out and said, “I
don’t know why you won’t talk to me.”

“About what, Mom? There’s nothing to talk
about.”

“I’m a woman too. I know the signs of a
man being around. Why not just tell me about him. Why are you hiding him?”

“I’m not hiding anyone, Mom. Let it go,
okay?” I went into the kitchen, then, to look for something to eat myself. My
mother followed me and I could feel her eyes boring into the back of my head. I
finally just snapped. “Knock it off! I’m twenty-three years old! All of a
sudden you want to be a mother and I’m supposed to just know how to have that
relationship with you? I have no experience with that.”

“What do you mean? Why are you yelling at
me?”

With a heavy sigh I said, “I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t have yelled at you…but you need to let it go.”

“Wow! You won’t even consider calling
Justin yet you’re sleeping with a man you have to hide.”

“Oh, that’s it! I’m not like you, okay!
Not at all! And in case you were wondering, that was no accident. I practiced
my whole life to make sure it didn’t happen. You were the last thing I ever
wanted to be. You’ve always been addicted to men. You think your looks entitle
you to things and you don’t have to work for them…and you’re a drug addict! So
no, I have no experience with having a good mother…the kind you want to talk to
about things. You were a horrible mother and sometimes I don’t know why I don’t
just hate you for it!”

I was so passionately ranting that I
didn’t even realize that my mother had tears streaming down her face. It wasn’t
that it meant much. She was a drama queen and an addict; she could turn them
off and on at the drop of a hat.

She didn’t say a word. Instead she turned
and walked out. I followed her, suddenly feeling terrible for saying such
horrible things to her…even if they were true. “Mom,” I called after her. She
ignored me and went into the bathroom. Just as I stepped up behind her the door
closed in my face and I heard it lock.

“Oh geez, Mom…really? This is really not
very mature of you. If you’re angry with me just come out and tell me so.”
There was no sound coming out of the bathroom. I reached out and tried the
handle but I had been right, it was locked. “Come on, Mom. You’re being
ridiculous. I’m sorry that I hurt your feelings, okay?”

“Hmph!”

I rolled my eyes. She couldn’t see me.
“Mother, this is ridiculous. You’re acting like a child!”

“I guess I have a history of it,” she
said. “Maybe that’s what makes me such a horrible mother! I haven’t taken a
single pill in months and since you never come around, you would have no idea
how hard that is for me! I just lost the only person in the world other than
you that I thought cared about me and now you tell me what a bad mother I’ve
been…”

God, she was a master at the guilt thing.
I felt a pang beginning in my chest and I knew she had won. It was the reason I
usually didn’t say anything at all. She always ended up winning. “Mom.” My tone
was less hostile now, apologetic, I hoped. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m just
having a bad day. I didn’t mean it.”

“Words hurt more than a slap in the face,”
she said.

“I know, I’m truly sorry. Please come out
here and talk to me.” Before she could answer me, my phone rang. “Shoot! Mom,
I’m going to get that because I’m waiting for a call…about work,” I lied. “I’ll
be right back.” I went in the living room and picked up my phone. It was Paul.
“Hey! Are you okay? Is Marie okay?”

“Can you meet me by the lake where we swam
that day?”

“Yeah…sure. Is everything okay? What
happened?”

“I’ll be at the lake in fifteen minutes.
Meet me there, okay? I’ll explain it all to you then. And Jessie…”

“Yeah?”

“Please make very sure that you’re not
followed, okay? Mitch has been driving a brown four-door car…but he could be in
anything. If it looks like anyone is following you, don’t come.”

“Okay, but…” Before I could say anything
else, the line went dead. I was beginning to feel like I was trapped in a spy
novel.

I heard the bathroom door crack open just
then. I went over and looked my mother in the face and tried to remember all of
the good things about my life…there were a lot. “I’m truly sorry, Mom. I love
you. Thank you, for everything you have done for me. Thanks for being my mom.”

She started crying again and hugged me. “I
love you too.”

“Good,” I told her with a smile. “I have
to go meet a client, but I’ll be back in a bit and we’ll figure out dinner,
okay?”

“Okay,” she said with a smile.

********

I walked outside and surveyed the parking
area and the street along my apartment complex. I didn’t see any brown cars.
Remembering what Paul said, I looked again as I walked to my car at each and
every other one, trying to make sure they were all empty. There was one with a
lady and a baby inside and one with a teenage boy on his phone. Neither of them
looked like Mitch, or a cop. I still felt paranoid as I got into my car and
drove toward the lake. I even slowed as I passed the gym to see if anyone
behind me might think I was turning in there. The other cars seemed annoyed
with me, but otherwise not interested. I found a spot to park near the entrance
to the lake and hiked along the little path the rest of the way there. Paul
wasn’t there yet.

I stood facing the lake with all sorts of
scenarios playing out in my head. I was afraid for him and his sister and his
nephew…and maybe even me just a little bit. When I heard Paul walking up behind
me I startled and turned around so quickly that I almost fell into the lake.
“Hi,” I said. His face looked drawn with worry.

“Hi. Thanks for coming.”

“Of course. I’ve been so worried.”

He reached out and softly brushed a piece
of hair off my face and tucked it behind my ear. It was a simple gesture, but
so intimate that it made me shiver a little. “I’m sorry we’ve worried you.”

“Don’t be sorry. I wouldn’t be worried if
I didn’t… If you weren’t my friend.” I was about to say, “Care about you,” but
that had so many connotations that I didn’t think we were ready for yet.

“Mitch found out where Marie was staying.”

“Oh my God! How? Is she okay?”

“We’re not sure. I think he found out
where Victor was going to school and maybe followed them home from there.
Sensei was there, thank goodness and he threatened to call Mitch’s supervisor
if he didn’t leave. He left, but he’ll be back.”

“What is she going to do?”

“I have to take them away again. They’re
going to have to start over again.” His fists were balled up next to his sides
and I knew how angry that made him without hearing him speak the words. It
suddenly dawned on me that he had said, “I have to take them away.”

“You’re going too?” He looked sad, but
determined.

He nodded and said, “I have to. They need
me. I have to get them to some place safe and get them settled. Marie has a
really hard time getting a job…her history is so sketchy with jobs from one
town to the next and leaving them with no notice…she can’t get government aid
because Mitch just uses it to track her.”

“What about the police, Paul? Can’t they
help you?”

“I don’t trust them. Mitch has told them
all that Marie stole Victor for no reason. He has the old evidence against her
that he kept…and he keeps telling me that he can have me arrested in a
heartbeat and make the charges stick.”

“The charges? What can he make stick?” I
was confused.

“He says he’ll frame me. He’ll do
something and make it look like it was me, set me up.”

“Oh my God. What a horrible man.” I knew
that was stating the obvious, but I was just appalled. Poor Paul…this was no
way to live his life…. “Oh shit! What about your fights?”

“They’ll have to stay on hold for
now…until we get rid of Mitch somehow.”

“Oh, Paul,” I put my hand on the side of
his face. I felt so bad for him and so helpless. I didn’t want him to go for me
as well. I was just getting used to him. He put his hand over mine and then
slid it across his lips and kissed it. Then he leaned in and kissed me on my
lips and said, “I’m sorry, Jessie.”

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” I said.
My heart was breaking for him. It had to be so hard to keep starting over.
“Please be safe.”

“I will. You too,” he said. I stood by the
lake and watched him leave. When he got back to the little lot he got into a
small yellow sports car. It must be his Sensei’s or someone else who was
helping them. I stood there until he drove away. I felt bad for him and for
Marie and for Victor…but I felt bad for myself as well.

PULSE
#3

CHAPTER
ONE

Today would make a week since Paul took
off to parts unknown to “protect” his sister and his nephew. Today would also
make a week since I’d heard from him at all. He hadn’t sent me any clue as to
whether or not he was okay. No texts, no phone calls. No reason to believe he
was even thinking about me at all. Life went on though…and on. I trudged
through the days, fending off more of my mother’s annoying questions while I
had my oatmeal in the morning and as I suffered through dinner with her every
night. She wondered why I wouldn’t just tell her who I was seeing. What was the
big secret? I left the apartment for work every morning just wishing for a few
moments of peace. Why in God’s name it suddenly meant so much to her whether or
not I had a man in my life and who that man was, was beyond me. She was
refraining from bringing up the dealer ex-boyfriend at least since the day that
I yelled at her. I guess I should be thankful for small favors. Why she was
still talking to him was another thing I couldn’t fully comprehend.

This morning was no different than any
other for the past week. I left the house with my head pounding and started to
get into my car. It was such a nice day and I was so wound up that I decided to
walk to work. I had a new client coming in today, but not until nine, so I had
time. Maybe it would clear my head and once I got to work I’d be able to
concentrate and not let all the crap running through my head take over. My new
client’s name was Justin Dover….how ironic was that? Sometimes I wondered if
the cosmos conspired against me for their own personal amusement.

As I took off walking I realized that this
was exactly what I needed. With each stride my mind became clearer, more
determined to stop letting people move in and set up camp there. First it was
Paul and then Mitch and Paul’s sister and now my mother. If I really thought
about it, I had no problems that were my own. I have a good job a great place
to live and if people would seriously just leave me the hell alone…I’d be doing
great. As I walked I tried visualizing myself putting distance between them and
the heavy emotional chain around my neck that they had all become. The sunlight
was warm and inviting and made it easier for me to imagine the promise of a new
day. I promised myself that I would attack this one day without giving
consideration to a mother who could honestly care less about me, an
ex-boyfriend whose name I would love to never hear again and a guy who I was
beginning to think of as my boyfriend who hasn’t found the time to so much as
call me in a week. I wish that I could entomb everything I felt for him behind
a steel wall and throw away the key. It was unlikely that I’d ever see him
again…or hear from him. It was fun for the week or two it lasted…

Shit! There I go again. I started pounding
my feet on the pavement in a rhythm. This was the path to my future. No looking
back. I’m in command of it all…my mind, my body and my soul. I walked a little
faster watching the city change with practically every step. My neighborhood is
strictly working class…not poor but definitely nothing like the affluence I was
seeing now, two blocks over. This neighborhood was an eclectic mixture of old
money houses and upscale markets with smooth glass exteriors and fancy names
that most people can’t even pronounce. They’re the kinds of places where the
atmosphere smells like perfume and sounds like smooth jazz. The staff is
well-groomed and they don’t wear spandex like we do.

Two blocks later I begin passing the
pawn-shops that have been operating since the things they now hock as antiques
were new and where the liquor stores and mom and pop supermarkets elbow each
other for space. As I passed the bowling alley that’s been closed for almost a
decade now I realized that if a person were to only look at the lost souls who
camped in the weedy lot out in back of it the would have no idea what the
weather was like in our city. One man sat next to his tent wearing nothing but
a pair of well-used boxer shorts and another sat about five feet away next to a
cardboard hut wearing a camouflage army jacket, wool beanie and gloves. There were
others, but this was the part of the walk when I reminded myself to speed up.