Loving a Bad Boy (7 page)

Pam sat blindly on her bed staring at the
words, as if that alone would change them. Change into something
that made some kind of sense. Sixteen years ago she’d left her mom
on Cat Island and no one would tell her why, or where her mom
was.

Inhaling, she released a breath and typed a
reply. “Let me sleep on it. I’ll get back with you tomorrow.” She’d
hoped the investigator she’d hired two months ago would provide
more information than the one she’d hired six months ago. And he’d
be better than the one before him. Each of them had one thing in
common, besides taking her money, they all hit dead ends. And that
scared her shitless. She moved to the closet and pulled down a box
she held in the back. Eagerly she ripped off the top, rifled
through the contents until her hand wrapped around an old locket.
It was the last thing her mama had pressed into her hand as she
kissed her goodnight.

Gingerly she opened it. The pads of her
fingertips traced the face of the smiling woman in the faded color
photo. This image taunted her dreams. She often saw it in the faces
of her clients.

Her dying clients.

The need for answers robbed her energy.
Exhausted she rubbed her eyes knowing sleep was a luxury that often
evaded her. One way or another she needed closure. What had
happened to her mother? Was she still alive somewhere? Showered and
dressed, Pam pushed aside the bad news on her mom and set out to
purchase her groceries. After locking up, she waited at the
elevator, her thoughts split between the best traffic route and
what to do about her mom. The doors opened, and with her eyes glued
to her shopping list, she stepped inside and bumped into the hard
back of someone.

“
Oh, I’m sorry,” she said,
stepping back. She looked up. Being five foot four had its
drawbacks at times. Two men she had never seen before stood in
front of her. One was shorter than the other. Both wore jeans and
short sleeve shirts.

“
Damn it’s raining men,”
she said before she realized her thoughts had slipped through her
lips. Her face warmed in embarrassment.

The shorter one smiled and it changed the
entire landscape of his face. His even white teeth softened an
otherwise harsh and scarred visage. The tall man threw his head
back and laughed revealing a scar that ran from the front of his
ear and down his neck to beneath his shirt. “Could be, gorgeous,”
he said with a slight Spanish accent as he moved to allow her more
room. Despite their casual dress, Pam had the feeling the two men
were uncomfortable. A glimpse at the panel showed they were all
headed for the parking garage.

Gorgeous
? Not really, but she
appreciated the compliment. “You guys moved in with Tex or are you
a separate bunch?” she asked proud her voice remained
steady.

The men glanced at each other before giving
her a more thorough look. She could only imagine they weren’t
impressed with her flip-flops, gray shorts, and tee. It was too hot
to do much more than clip her hair up off her neck.

“
Why? You like him or
something?” The tall one asked as the elevator moved
downward.

“
I’ll take or something,”
she smiled remembering the player. “I just met him this morning.
Since there are few men in this building under fifty, he was hard
to miss.”

Shifting her bag in one hand and her
collapsible cart in the other, she stared resolutely at the lighted
number panel as they passed each floor. Once they reached the
garage, she stepped out the elevator and waved. “Have a good day,
guys.”

They nodded. “Same to you.”

There wasn’t any one thing she could put her
finger on, but something about those two struck her as odd. It was
as if they were misplaced or something.

A quick glance over her shoulder showed them
getting into a black Hummer. They sat for a moment without cranking
the vehicle. The taller man looked at her. Embarrassed at being
caught staring, she whirled around. Humidity smacked her in the
face as she moved at a precise clip toward her silver Lexus GS 450.
Her aunt and father had given her the car as a surprise earlier
this year, replacing her older model. In her opinion, there had
been nothing wrong with her previous car. When she’d asked why a
new car, her aunt had simply told her to say thank you and leave it
at that.

Pam placed the cart in the trunk, ignored
the Hummer, got in her car and started it up, and headed out. She
wanted island cuisine. If the seafood store had fresh conch, she
planned to make some fritters; and if she was lucky enough to find
fresh grouper, she’d bake it in a coconut and mango sauce. Her
stomach growled as she added a nice pot of peas and rice to her
growing menu. It had been ages since she’d had a serious home
cooked meal. Since she was off for the next five days, she’d
indulge and cook all her favorites. She’d freeze the leftovers and
take them with her the following week when she returned to
work.

****

Loaded cart in one hand and purse in the
other, Pam moved quickly toward the elevator. “Please hold!” she
yelled as the door closed. Her heart sank when she realized the
elevator must have been empty. Her phone beeped.

“
Hello,” she answered. A
lightly tanned hand shot out between the doors, causing them to
reopen.

“
No, I’m not changing my
days off.” She sped up. Smile firmly in place, she stepped into the
elevator. “Thanks,” she mouthed as she settled her
bounty.

“
No problem.”

Surprised by the slight accent, she looked
up and blinked. What the hell had happened while she'd been away?
Another fine male specimen met her gaze. That made two, no make
that four, men under the age of thirty, okay, maybe forty, she
amended, thinking of the two men she'd met earlier on her way to
the garage.

“
I hear you, Marge. Death
is something I have on speed-dial, life is the bonus. Neither of
those things will change my mind.” She hated when the owner of the
hospice care company called her. The woman was over-dramatic,
everything was life altering. What the hell did Marge think hospice
care meant anyway. Death was usually the outcome.

“
Your floor?”

“
Oh, yeah.” She pressed
the number five button as heat rushed to her face. The doors closed
and she hugged her purse tight while trying to block the image of
the Latin hunk with the smoky voice from her mind. It was a wasted
effort. His husky voice teased her imagination, making it
impossible for her thoughts to move forward. Latin men were her
weakness. There was just something so raw and earthy about
them.

“
Nope, not even for Oscar.
I told you the last time I pulled a six day sweep, I needed a
break. You need to hire more people,” she said. The door opened on
the lobby floor and Pam pulled her grocery cart out of the way
wondering why the hell her cell phone worked in the
elevators.

“
Hi Pam.” Two of her
elderly neighbors piled in, waving. She smiled and nodded in
return. Just as the door was closing, Mrs. Ollie stuck her arm
inside.

“
Hold the damn-blasted
thing, Sophie. You saw me coming,” she huffed.

Pam glanced at the red-faced lady standing
near her and answered Marge in a lowered voice. “Look, I’m not
changing my mind. This is not about money, I already have plans.
Call someone else.” Crossing her arms she gave Sophie and her
friend the evil eye for the way they treated Mrs. Ollie. Everyone
in the building knew the woman had problems, but for years they’d
looked after one another.

“
Ha, Pam,” Mrs. Ollie said
forgetting they were in an enclosed box and her husky voice took on
a booming quality.

“
Hey, Mrs. O. How you
doing?” She gave the woman a one armed hug and stepped back. This
time her hips contacted with the hunky Latino’s leg. Pam jerked
forward. As she tried to spin around to offer an apology, her cart
toppled and the two bags on the top fell out.

“
Shit,” she cried out
while trying to gather her food from the floor.

The elevator had stopped.

“
Well don’t just stand
there looking at her ass, help her pick up her food. In my day, a
man always came to a woman’s aide. Ya didn’t have to ask. It’s all
part of being a man. Guess they don’t teach you young bucks that
anymore.”

“
It’s okay,” Pam said,
embarrassed by her friend’s comments as she hustled her items back
into the plastic bag.

“
No, she’s right, I should
help you.” He righted the cart and placed a bag inside as she put
the other beside it. “Especially since I
was
looking at your ass,” he said
softly.

The three women exited the elevator with
grins.

Pam laughed. It was either that or be
mortified. She’d had enough embarrassment for a while. “You just
made their day. They’ll be talking about this all week. Thanks for
your help.”

He nodded. “I wasn’t sure how to take her
comments on my manhood. Is she always like that?”

Her phone beeped. It was her investigator.
She had to take this call. The elevator stopped at the second
floor. Two women and a man stepped on. The younger woman of the
two, Pam would’ve placed her in her late forties, early fifties,
smiled broadly at the Latin hunk.

“
Well damn, Jeffrey, you
never mentioned y’all had young men in the building.” She sidled up
to him and introduced herself.

Pam scooted in the opposite direction so she
could talk. “Mike?”

“
Yeah. I got your text. I
know you want to wait. But I don’t feel right taking your money by
staying here any longer.” He paused.

There was nothing left to say. She had no
more clues. No leads. Nothing. It was as if her mother never
existed outside her memories.

“
I know,” she whispered.
The elevator emptied again. “I…thanks. You’ve been great. Let me
know when you get back.” Her throat tightened with unshed tears.
Perhaps it was time to accept all of the investigator’s reports.
Lenora Burrows was nowhere on the face of the earth. The thought of
mama being somewhere had been a blanket of comfort growing up. Not
once did she ever believe her mama had left her permanently. When
she’d been younger, she harbored the hope that any day now, mama
and daddy would come pick her up. She’d been wrong.

Yet that hope never faded.

There were days she doubted her own mind and
then she’d remember a song her mom sang, or a sage comment would
float to the surface of her consciousness and she’d know with true
conviction her mom had been real. Was real, she corrected
herself.

The door opened on the fourth floor and no
one entered. Pulling her cart closer, she wrapped her memories
around her tight. Tonight she’d spend time in the land of what if’s
and mulling over the possibilities. The elevator stopped.

“
Are you okay?”

Her head snapped up. How had she forgotten
his presence? He stood around six two, with a wide chest. Slightly
larger than a swimmers frame. However, it was his face that made
her lose her train of thought. Full lips slanted in a mocking twist
across his face. Thick dark brown hair was combed back from a
widow’s peak. Small curls teased the tops of his ears and brushed
against his shoulder in defiance. His face wasn’t quite square,
more triangular with nice cheekbones.

Was it possible for a man to appear cold and
indifferent, yet warm and sexy at the same time? Any other time she
would say no, but he exuded all of that, plus an aura of strength.
This was a man accustomed to having his way.

“
Yeah, just…” she waved
the phone in her hand before putting it in her purse. “Just not
what I wanted to hear.”

He stared at her a moment longer and pointed
to her cart just as the bell rang for the door to be closed. “Need
help?”

Swallowing hard, she shook her head. “Uh…no.
Thanks though.” She moved toward the door and looked back. “It was
nice meeting you, have a good day.”

“
It’s much better now.” He
nodded as the door closed.

Once the doors closed, she
released a pent-up breath and walked away, forcing herself not to
look back. The word,
predator,
slid through her mind. She stopped, gazed back at
the elevator and inhaled noisily. His eyes had been covered by
sunglasses. No question the man was a delicious dish, but who
wanted their main course served cold?
Not
her
. Turning, she headed to her unit fully
determined to place the disturbing encounter out of her
mind.

Chapter 5