Rock Chick 04 Renegade (29 page)

“Is it one of the other kids?” I cut in.

She put her hand to my mouth. “Hush, girl. You gotta come with me.” Then she grabbed my wrist but stopped and stared down. “Ooo, look at that pretty bracelet!” she exclaimed.

“May! What’s going on?” I clipped.

She snapped to and said, “Right.” Then she dragged me through the rec room, turning around towards my posse.

“Hey ya’l ,” she said as if she wasn’t acting bizarre in the extreme.

“Hey May,” they said, almost in unison.

May took us down the hal into the shared office space.

When the nine of us burst through the door everyone in the room looked up and stared.

I wasn’t paying attention to anyone. On my desk was a beautiful bouquet of the most exquisite pale pink roses.

I smiled, May let go of my wrist and I walked forward.

“Holy crap,” Indy breathed.

“Good God,” Roxie whispered.

They al fol owed me to my desk and we stood staring in silent awe at the roses, such was their magnificence.

silent awe at the roses, such was their magnificence.

I dumped my purse on my desk breaking into the Rose Stupor and Jet said, “I would never have thought Vance was a flower type of guy.”

“Me either,” Al y put in, “more like, edible undies.”

“Al y!” Tod snapped. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“I’m just saying what everyone’s thinking,” Al y defended herself.

“They’re not from Vance,” I told them.

Everyone looked at me.

“They’re not?” May asked.

I reached for the card and shook my head. “They’re from my Uncle Nick. He knows pink roses are my favorites.” I was a little surprised. Nick was super generous but a special y designed bracelet must have set him back a whack. A dozen pink roses especial y roses like this, perfect, so pale pink they were blush, every bloom total perfection must have cost some serious cake. They weren’t even a traditional bouquet with al that baby’s breath in a heavily cut, glass vase. There were just the roses with thin spikes of green shooting out here and there bending around the blooms and a simple, cylindrical vase that was pure class. The bouquet was a work of art.

“Wel , that’s damned disappointing,” Daisy muttered from beside me as I gently touched a rose.

“Your uncle is feeling generous this year,” Indy smiled at me.

“Probably thinks she won’t see another birthday,” Stevie murmured.

“Shh, Stevie,” Jet shushed him.

“Shh, Stevie,” Jet shushed him.

I slid my fingernail under the heavy cream paper of the card’s envelope and pul ed it out.

Then I froze.

There was only one letter on the card, nothing else. In black, bold pen it said, “V”.

“Oh my God,” I breathed.

“What?” someone said (I was too freaked to distinguish voices).

“What is it?” someone else asked.

I swayed a bit, al of a sudden light-headed and someone else yel ed, “Grab her! She’s going down!” I was pressed into my office chair, my mind started clearing and I heard Roxie say, “Get her some water.” Tod picked up a manila folder from my desk and started fanning me with it. “Deep breaths, girlie. Deep breaths. Do you think she should put her head between her knees?” he asked Jet.

May swiped the card from my fingers. She looked at it and a slow smile spread on her face.

“These ain’t from her uncle. Praise be to Jesus.”

“Let me see that,” Daisy snatched the card out May’s hand. “It just says ‘V’,” she told everyone, her eyes big and happy. She looked around the gang. “How hot is that? That boy’s got
class
.”

They were al looking at me grinning like fools.

“I told him,” I whispered and then stopped talking.

“What’s that, Sugar?” Daisy asked.

I cleared my throat and looked up at them. “I told him about Nick giving me pink roses on my sixteenth birthday and how they were my favorites. It was a few months after my Auntie Reba died and how Nick and I had the first good night since she…” I stopped again and looked around them. “I told him,” I repeated.

“Righteous,” Al y said softly.

I felt something hit me then, something terrifying, a delayed reaction. I grabbed my purse, pul ed out my phone and shot out of the chair.

“Jules –” Indy said my name, her grin had gone uncertain.

“I need his number,” I announced.

“What?” Roxie asked.

“Give me his cel number!” I shouted. “Who’s got his number?”

Everyone started pul ing out their phones.

“I have his number,” Indy told me.

“I don’t have his number,” Daisy said, but she was stil digging through her purse as if she could help.

“I
wish
I had his number,” Tod put in.

“Here it is,” Indy said and recited the number.

I punched it in then walked out of the room, down the hal and saw the blue room’s blind was closed. I went to the yel ow room, it was free so I walked in, shut the blinds, closed the door and put my back to it. Then I hit the green button.

It rang, once.

“Yeah?”

“Vance?”

“You cal ed me, Princess, who else would it be?” he asked, his amused voice was silk.

“We have to stop seeing each other,” I told him.

Silence.

I waited. Then I waited some more.

My emotional Rottweiler had torn free of his chains and he was barking, snarling, drooling, jumping around and ready to attack.

When he stil didn’t say anything, I cal ed, “Vance?”

“Why?” he asked.

“What?”

“Why?” he repeated, this time there was impatience in his tone.

“This isn’t going to work,” I said, as if that was an explanation.

“Why?” he obviously realized it wasn’t an explanation.

Because I like you a lot. Because you’re beautiful and
strong and make me feel things I can’t allow myself to feel.

Because you listen to me in the moonlight like every word
I say forms a drop of nectar. Because you’ve lived a shit
life and come out the other side to be someone amazing.

Because now you live a dangerous life with a scar on your
back to prove it and I can’t afford to lose anyone else that
means something to me,
I thought.

“I can’t explain it,” I said.

“Try.” His voice was beyond impatience now, it was short and clipped.

“Okay then, I’m
not
going to explain it because I don’t have to. It just isn’t going to work.”

More silence and I could actual y feel the anger coming through the phone.

Then he said, “You’re mine tonight.”

My bel y fluttered. “Vance.”

“Tomorrow it’s over. Tonight you’re mine.”

“That isn’t smart.”

“I don’t give a fuck.”

“I real y don’t think –”

“I’l be at your house at five to eight. We’re on the Harley tonight. Pack a bag.”

“Real y, I think, after the party –”

“You’re in my bed tonight. I want your scent on my sheets.”

Oh my
God
.

“Vance,” I said again, this time it sounded like a plea.

“Five to eight,” he repeated.

Then he disconnected.

I stood there, back to the door and kept the dead phone to my ear.

Then I slid down the door, ass to the floor, knees pointed to the ceiling, hands on my knees and I stared into space, forcing my mind blank, tel ing myself I could do this and tomorrow it would be over and my life would be back to normal.

Myself didn’t real y believe I could do this and it didn’t much like the idea of normal.

I was on my back on the mat on the floor in the “down room” at the Nightingale Investigations office.

It was a big room with a couch, TV, treadmil , weights and an exercise bike and the guys used it for down time or when they were hanging around on cal (only the bad boys at Nightingale Investigations would cal a room with workout equipment the “down room”).

And of course the mat on the floor where Luke was kicking my ass.

“You’re not focused,” Luke said, standing over me, staring down at me, hands on his hips.

He was right, I wasn’t focused. My mind was everywhere but there. Heavy would be disappointed.

Luke was good. He knew far more moves than Heavy, was stronger, faster and constantly surprising me. Stil , even as a novice I knew more than I was showing.

“Get your head in the game,” Luke continued, bending and offering me his hand to help me up for about the twenty-fourth time.

I nodded mutely, locked my fingers around his wrist, put my other hand to his forearm and then I gave a solid jerk, hoping to take him by surprise and take him down just once for the sake of my pride.

His feet were planted. He stood strong only his arm and shoulder moving with my jerk which was disappointing. The corner of his lip went up on one side, he yanked me up and I found my feet. I immediately shifted my weight to one leg, threw my other calf around the backs of his and tagged him behind the knees. They buckled but he released my hand, his other arm went around my waist and he twisted.

We both went down, his arm tightened around my waist, the other hand went out to shield our fal . I landed in a poor strategic position on my back, him on top of me, his ful weight pressing me into the mat. My legs were incapacitated and if he hadn’t cushioned our fal my head would have slammed against the mat and his weight would have knocked the wind out of me.

His head came up and he gave me a half-grin. “Better,” he said.

“Thanks,” I said back.

“You’re stil fucked.”

“I kinda noticed that,” I told him.

“Don’t go out on the street with your mind on the mal .”

“My mind isn’t on the mal . I’ve already done the mal and my party outfit is bril iant.”

He just stared at me looking like he might laugh and I noticed his dark eyes weren’t brown or black like I thought.

They were a deep, dark blue.

Wow.

“You wanna get up?” I asked, pushing thoughts about his eyes to the very back recesses of my mind so as never to pul them up again and placing my hands on his biceps to push him.

“Not particularly,” he said casual y like he could lie on top of me al night which he probably could.

Hmm.

Not good.

“Wel , I want you to get up,” I said.

“It’s good to want things.”

“Luke, get off me.”

“How solid are you and Vance?” he asked.

It was my turn to stare. “Why?”

“Just answer the question.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause I’m thinkin’ not many men want their woman roaming the streets at night lookin’ for trouble, no matter if she can handle a gun and herself. I don’t see a good future for you two unless you get your ass back to that Shelter and your mind on what you real y can do to help those kids.” One thing you could say for that, it sure was honest.

“Wel , then you’l be pleased to know we broke up today.

We’re only going to the party together because we made a deal.”

I passed the torch and it was his turn to stare then for some strange reason he started to look a little angry.

“That didn’t take long,” he murmured as if to himself.

“Shit happens. Now, get off.”

The door opened and both of our heads twisted to it.

Vance was standing there. He stood frozen for a beat, hand on the door knob.

Then his arms crossed on his chest, his eyes went hard and his face got scary. “What… the… fuck?” His voice was low and as scary as his face.

Luke looked at Vance then he looked at me. Luke’s face was blank but his eyes were active and I could tel he was thinking about something.

I looked back at Vance. “He’s showing me some moves,” I told Vance.

“Yeah, I can see,” Vance replied.

Um.

Yikes.

Luke knifed off me and then grabbed my forearm and pul ed me up to stand close to him. I didn’t move away because there were crackling-not-happy vibes floating around the room and I didn’t want to do anything to set them off. And anyway, I was feeling very weird around Vance. I’d broken up with him, he’d kind of accepted it yet we weren’t through. I’d become used to him being around, getting in my space, descending into what had become a familiar banter. This was just weird. It felt foreign, uncomfortable,
wrong
.

We al stared at each other.

Then Luke said, “You two over after the party?” Vance’s eyes sliced to Luke. My lungs squeezed painful y, my eyes widened and moved to him too.

Vance didn’t answer. Neither did I.

“You’re through with Law then you won’t mind me movin’

in,” Luke said, clearly not worried about fanning the flames of the crackling-not-happy vibes.

Oh my God
.

I continued staring at Luke with wide eyes but my mouth had now dropped open.

“You move in, we have problems,” Vance returned softly.

“You move out, don’t seem like it’s much of your business.”

The crackling vibes got red-hot.

It was time for me to say something. “Excuse me but I
am
in the room,” I snapped. “I thought you said not many men like their women roaming the streets looking for trouble?” I pointed out to Luke.

“Yeah, I did. Though
I
think it’s kinda cute,” Luke replied.

Oh my
God
.

“Wel hurray for you but come tomorrow, you boys are off the job. I’m a single-act show again,” I returned.

“You’re in for trainin’ tomorrow, same time,” Luke shot back.

“No fucking way.”

“Only a girl would turn her back on a good deal just because she got fucked in the process.”