Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (101 page)

She
read the note, written by Morgan Holland.

Dear
Gael, I realize that I may be out of line, but I had to do this for
you. In front of you, as you can see, is Gavin. I bought him this
morning. He's yours.

I
may not know much about life, but I do know when I see a heart that
is hurting. I know that you need to heal, and to care for someone
else. Gavin is here for you, and you're now here for him. Take care
of one another.

With
love, Morgan

Gael
read the note several times before wiping the tears from her cheeks.
Gavin brought her back to reality after a quick nuzzle to her leg.
“Gavin,” she whispered into the wind, “I'll bet yer
hungry.”

*****

“Cade,
don't hang up! Please!” Morgan had a good idea that Julianne
wouldn't be in Ohio, and she was right. Cade picked up the phone, but
he knew she wasn't calling to shoot the shit.

“You
only call when you want something, and that usually involves me
getting in trouble because you wan...”

“Please.”
He could only picture Morgan on the other end of the phone and he
placed his forehead in the palm of his hand.

“Don't
do the lip thing. I know you're doing it. It won't work.” He
sighed loudly into the speaker. “Fuck. What do you want?”

“I
need the address of...”

“Nope.
No. Never. Not gonna happen. Goodbye.”

“You
don't even know what I was asking!” Morgan put the kickstand
down on the scooter, knowing she probably looked silly, trying to
balance it between her feet. It was bright red, and it caught her
attention as soon as she had landed in Peru. Right outside the
airport had been a little shop, renting the scooters and Morgan
hadn't been able to resist. After riding around for three days,
sightseeing and sleeping and eating more than any human needed, she
was ready for more...and that included a little sneak peek of Julius.

“Look,
Sugar Tits, I cannot keep giving you guys' addresses. You know I'm
not allowed.”

“Okay,
let's not get technical here. What was that? One time? You're going
to hold it against me? And on my behalf, I had a very good reason!”
Morgan climbed off the scooter and reached into her purse and
produced a pen and paper. She knew Cade would give it to her.

“Don't
make me regret this...” Cade warned, and Morgan told him the
name she needed the address for. When Cade gave it to her, Morgan
thanked him and the two hung up quickly when Julianne rang through on
Cade's side.

“Okay,
where do you live, Julius?” She was bored, and figured there
was no harm in seeing his home first. After typing in his address to
her phone, Morgan had the exact directions. “Cool, only six
miles away.” Morgan hopped back on her scooter, and in almost
exactly eleven minutes, she pulled up in front of the address Cade
had given to her. “Holy shit.”

Chapter
Seven

It
was a mansion, one that easily made Gio's look like a playhouse.
“Holy shit,” Morgan repeated again. “Maybe I need
to consider adding a class four.” Every blade of grass was the
exact same length, every bush perfectly trimmed, the driveway,
perfectly edged. Morgan sighed at the beauty, but part of her was
sighing because she was not ready for an uptight client with twenty
butlers. “Angel, I swear, if this guy is a douche canoe, you
are
so
paying.....for......” One of the eight garage
doors slowly opened, and Morgan was not prepared for what she saw.

“Julius?”
she whispered to herself, before realizing she was sitting on a
scooter at the end of the driveway the car would soon be backing
onto. “Shit!” Morgan looked around quickly for a spot to
hide, and walk-ran her scooter behind a small utility box on the
other side of the street. There was no way she'd let him see her
before their week, and she definitely couldn't let him know she was
stalking him. “What the hell are you doing?” she spoke
quietly to herself once again, when she saw him pulling out of the
garage.

Morgan
wasn't sure the type of car it was, but she was sure that it had
meant to be in the scrap yard years ago.

The
areas that weren't covered in rust, or faded beyond recognition,
appeared to be a dark green. None of the tires matched, the front
windshield was severely cracked, and smoke billowed from the back
like a cranky volcano. It coughed and sputtered several times as
Julius drove past her hiding place, and left a plume of smoke behind
that nearly gagged her.

Covering
her face and eyes with her hands, then fanning the foul smelling air,
she turned and watched him drive away slowly. Morgan's brows were
still clenched as she wondered again what her client was doing in
that car. “Well, looks like I'm in for a little adventure
today.” She smiled as she started the scooter and pushed away
from the grass. Following her client should be easy enough, she
thought, because all she had to do was follow the slick liquid that
the loud faded green beast was leaving in its wake.

Less
than ten minutes later, with Morgan close on his trail, Julius turned
left towards a much different setting than the mansion sat in. The
street was filled with potholes and discarded food containers, the
small houses were surrounded by barren ground, and people huddled
close to the corners of every intersection while staring at the
pretty girl on the shiny scooter.

It
was a bit intimidating, but Morgan kept her focus on the green car as
they maneuvered through traffic, and deeper into the city.

Julius
was three cars ahead of her, which was perfect for tailing him, but
she almost missed his quick turn down a narrow alley. “Shit!”
She leaned hard to the right as she jerked the scooter. Time seemed
to stand still as she felt herself fall, and all she could do was
squeeze her eyes shut and wait for the impact.

Her
knee hit first, then her elbow. The scooter fell between her legs,
with her hands still attached to the grips, and she slid only a few
inches across the gravel. Her eyes opened wide when she finally
stopped, and she took in the damage.

“Shit!
Shit! Shit!” Her jeans were ripped and blood was already
starting to soak in around the frayed edges. Her right sandal was
ripped nearly in two, and her elbow was already stiff and beginning
to bruise. “Okay,” she took a deep breath and scooted
out from underneath the bike, “it's not so bad.” She
pushed the hair from her face and looked down the alley that she had
almost made her turn, and smiled again. Several blocks from the
intersection was the back end of the Julius' car.

Morgan
carefully lifted the scooter from the ground and sighed with relief
that there was no damage. “At least to the scooter,” she
said, looking down at her own knee again. After another glance
around, she quickly mounted the beast and started toward the green
car. It was nearly five minutes before Julius made another turn.

She
watched as he moved left on the road, and turn on another small
street. Morgan followed behind, slowing down as she made the turn. It
was a short road, but no real estate had been left unused. Filled
with tiny homes on either side of the stretch, the houses were so
close to one another, that Morgan could imagine the occupants being
able to reach out their windows and grab a cup of sugar from the
neighbor next to them.

The
road dead-ended with the smallest home of them all. It looked like a
play house, something a person would set up in their back yard for
their children to make mud pies in. There was a short gravel driveway
and a tiny deck, that resembled something of a porch. Just like the
car, in places that weren't weathered away, the home was deep blue in
color and in desperate need of a new roof.

Morgan
slowed the scooter down to a near-stop and pulled into a vacant
driveway a few homes away, and watched as Julius drove the beat up
car next to the tiny house. She bit down on the corner of her lip as
he climbed out of the car. “What are you doing?” she
asked again. The address Cade had given her took her to the mansion,
the thought that Julius lived in the tiny cottage house never crossed
her mind.

Julius
walked around to the passenger side and opened the door, then pulled
out a small brown bag from the floor of the car, then shut the door
again. Morgan's brows came together as she watched him walk toward
the front door. Maybe, she thought, he was just delivering something,
until she saw him pull a ring of keys from his jeans and unlock the
door.

He
walked inside, and minutes passed like hours as Morgan waited for him
to come back out. Surely, someone would be picking him up. Surely,
he'd be going back to his mansion. Surely, it was all a
misunderstanding.

But,
ten minutes passed, he never came outside.

The
reality hit Morgan. She didn't know what was going on, but something
was off. If Julius lived in the tiny house, there was someone else in
that mansion who worked as the puppeteer for Julius. “There's
no way you made an account.” Morgan assumed that when her
week came around to be with her client, she would be taken to the
address Cade had given her, not the one she was looking at. “So,
who lives in the big house?” She didn't know what to do first;
call Julianne, confront Julius, go back to the mansion...

“Maybe
he doesn't live here...” Morgan looked around, as if something
would give her a sign. She didn't want to make a fool of herself and
jump to conclusions, but she did know something was off, and it
needed to be resolved, one way or another. “Shit.” Her
knee was throbbing mad, and her elbow had turned many shades of deep
purple.
Okay, I'll take care of this...then we'll figure out who
you are.

Morgan
was pushing herself backwards to get back on the street when a voice
made her jump. The scooter wobbled underneath her seat, and she shook
her head at almost dropping it again. The owner of the intrusive
voice was standing not two feet from her when she looked up.

“Oh
my God!” Her hand went to her heart to help keep it secure
within her chest. “You scared the shit out of me!” The
boy, Morgan guessed at around twelve years old, was looking at her as
if he were awaiting a response. “I'm sorry, what?”
I'm
cussing at children. Get it together, Morgan.
The boy smiled and
tried again.

“I
said, you're American, yes?” Morgan nodded, as did he. “That
man,” he pointed in the direction of the house that Julius
entered, “you want to know him, yes?” Morgan nodded, then
stopped and shook her head. He continued to smile. “I can
introduce...if you like.” His English was better than most
that she'd had interacted with up that point in Peru, but she still
made sure to pay close attention to each word.

Morgan's eyes shifted from the door to the house, and her new young
friend. Finally, she rested her eyes on his tanned smooth face, and
crossed her arms in front of her. With a smile of her own, she took
control of the conversation.

“If
I did want to meet him,” she narrowed her eyes as her head
tilted slightly to the side, “what would it take?” She
knew that he wanted something from the way he shifted his weight from
one leg to another. He looked down, surveyed his hand-me-down worn
out shoes, then reconnected.

“Twenty
dollars.” She knew immediately that he wasn't a seasoned
street salesman, and it made her smile even more wide.

“Hmm,”
she tapped her chin as she thought it over, “how about you tell
me his name, let's start there.” Morgan pulled a twenty from
her bag and held it between her index and middle fingers. The boy's
eyes went to the bill and his fidgeting slowed a bit.

“Julius.”
He reached for the bill and Morgan handed it over.