Shifting Gears: The Complete Series (Sports Bad Boy Romance) (55 page)

“Typical woman,” he said, shaking his
head. “Worried about how things look or what people think. I don’t give a shit
if you’re his friend or his lover, neither or both. If you were worried about
it, you wouldn’t be sneaking over to his apartment midmorning for a quickie,”
he said in a lewd voice. “The only people in Paul’s life I’m interested in are
his sister and nephew.”

“Your son?” I suddenly wanted him to know
I wasn’t as ill-informed as he might think.

“Yes, my son,” he said.

“Why are you traipsing around like a
maniac scaring people and picking fights? Why not just go through the courts
with this? If you’re such an upstanding citizen…a cop…why wouldn’t they give
you custody?”

“I’m not worried about the custody
hearing. I’ll win that hands down. Marie is running with my kid because she
knows that she won’t. She’s been gone with him for a long time, and before she
left she was wanted on charges of child abuse and neglect. All I intend to do
is find her and take her in so she can stand trial for her charges. I also,
most of all, want to make sure that my son is safe.”

I didn’t believe him. I saw Victor…he
looked safe and comfortable, not neglected or abused. If Marie had been on the
run with him so that she could keep him and abuse him, why would she let him
stay with Paul? Wouldn’t Victor tell his uncle if he was being abused? I had
also watched this guy pick a fight with Paul and the next day our gym was
trashed. Too much coincidence for me. I didn’t buy that Paul went back after
his MMA match and trashed it to make Mitch look bad. I needed to try and stay
calm though. This guy was a live wire and who the hell knew what he was going
to do?

“I’ll tell Paul you came by if I see him,”
I told him in my calmest tone. I felt like I was talking down a bulldog that
had his jaws primed to attack. “I have no idea where his sister or his nephew
are. I don’t even know them. I’ve barely just met Paul.” Mitch raised an
eyebrow at that. I’m not sure what he thought he knew about me and Paul, but
the look on his face alone made me feel like I needed a shower. “I’d appreciate
it if you leave now.” Before I got the words out, the man had his massive frame
so close to me that I could feel the heat coming off his body. I could smell
what he had for breakfast on his breath as he lowered his voice and said
through gritted teeth, “You can get yourself arrested for withholding evidence
in an active police investigation…or you can be smart and just tell me where
Marie is hiding.”

I was shaking inwardly, but determined not
to let him see it. I hoped my voice was steady as I gritted my own teeth and
said, “I’ve already told you that I have no idea. Now, if you don’t leave, I’ll
report you for…your inappropriate police behavior!”

The bastard laughed, again. “Inappropriate
police behavior, huh? Oh please don’t report me for that! You’ll tarnish my
sterling reputation.” We had a staring contest, then. It may have lasted five
seconds, five minutes or five hours…I really didn’t know. He finally broke the
silence by saying, “Look, if you’re worried about Paul wanting revenge on you,
I’ll never tell him that you helped me out.”

“I don’t know where his sister and nephew
are,” I said again, this time, firmer. “You’re wasting your time here, and I’m
not afraid of Paul in the least.”

“Oh cut the crap. I know women. You’re
sleeping with him and that means you think you have a right to know his
business…” His tone was so disparaging that I wanted to punch him just for his
trampling of women’s dignity alone.

“You do have a low opinion of women, don’t
you?” I couldn’t help myself. I bet he had mommy issues. “I have a question for
you. If you’re such a good detective, why not just follow Paul?” Mitch didn’t
answer that, but I got the feeling from his silence that he’d been following
him, with no results. Obviously he followed us here, and obviously he knew I’d
just left Paul’s apartment. “You really need to go,” I told him again. I could
see the vein in his neck pulsating and he was opening and closing his fists
like he wanted to hit something. Since I was the only one in his path, it was
safe to say I was worried, but I still wasn’t going to give him the
satisfaction of seeing my fear. I’d never been hit in the face full-on with a
fist, but I didn’t imagine it felt too good.

“I don’t like your attitude. I think I’ll
take you down to the station and we can continue this conversation there.”

I felt like I was going to throw up. If I
did, I was going to aim for his ugly shoes and hoped that it splashed all over
him. My head was spinning. I didn’t want to believe this man, but when he
started threatening to take me in, it made me think maybe there was something
to it. Police couldn’t just go around hauling people down to the station if
they weren’t under arrest or at least suspected of something, could they?
Wouldn’t the other police have questions? Didn’t you have to check things like
that with the DA, or was that just my Law and Order law degree talking? I
wasn’t sure, but as much as he didn’t like my attitude, I didn’t like the look
on his face that told me I’d actually be lucky if he took me in. He looked like
he wanted to hurt me.

I tried to silence that part of me who
hated to be pushed around and in the nicest voice I could manage at that moment
I said, “Look. I honestly have no idea about any of this. Like I said, Paul and
I just met this week. This is all new to me. We only talked family because of
you, actually. We went for a run this morning after we found out the gym was
trashed. He of course thought you did it. I asked him who you were and why you
would do a thing like that and he said you’re his sister’s ex-boyfriend and
Victor’s father. That is all I know.”

He chuckled and said, “He didn’t mention
that I was a police detective, did he?”

“No, he didn’t mention that,” I said. “My
point, once again, is that I barely know Paul. I’ve never met his family. I
would have no reason to protect him and risk going to jail for it. I met him at
the gym and I’ve only seen him there and on our jog today…My washer is broken
and he let me use his to wash my clothes today…that’s it.”

Mitch eyed me suspiciously. I didn’t think
he believed me any more than I did him. At least not the part about me not
being any more involved with Paul than that. I had to admit that I was a little
bit more suspicious of Paul at this point. Why hadn’t he told me…or mentioned
to anyone at the gym after the break-in that Mitch was a cop…a detective no
less?

Mitch had once again changed his tactics.
Now he had his hands in his pockets and he was surveying my apartment. He
looked at a picture of me and my mom on the wall and said, “Pretty, happy
ladies.” I stayed silent and after a few seconds he said, “Your mother?” I
reluctantly nodded and he smiled at me. I I was worried about him seeing my
fear for no reason. He could actually already smell it. He really was like a
dog. “She’s really pretty. I like red hair,” he said with a creepy smile. “I
bet she’d be awfully disappointed if her little girl got into a bad situation
because she fell for the wrong guy.” I thought about my mother’s relationship
history and her entanglements in mine and I knew she’d be the last person with
a right to judge me. I stayed silent and continued to stand with my arms
crossed, looking at him. My stomach still felt sick and my head had begun to
pound. I didn’t know what I was going to have to do to get rid of this guy but
I wanted him out of my apartment, like ten minutes ago.
 
“Have you ever seen Paul fight?” He
blindsided me with the question. Where was he going with it?

“I’ve seen him fight once and I’ve watched
a few of his You Tube videos,” I told him.

Mitch nodded his head. Then he said in a
calm, controlled voice, “He’s good. He’s an angry kid. He learned to fight when
he was way too young…because of his father.”

Okay, was this suddenly a Paul history
lesson? What the hell was I supposed to say to that? I finally settled on,
“Hmm, interesting. I really have some things I need to do today…”

“His dad had a gambling addiction.” I
didn’t even give that one an “hmm.” What the hell was he trying to do? “He used
his own son, putting him in fights to win money for him.” He looked at me in
the eyes, then, and smiled. “I see you’re wondering what my point is.”

“Or if you had one,” I said, sounding a
lot braver and steadier than I felt.

“I have one. My point, my dear Jessie…may
I call you Jessie?” Again, all he got from me was an icy green stare. “My point
is, the apple never falls far from the tree. I met Marie under circumstances
that were…criminal, we’ll say. Paul bashes men’s heads in for a living because
that is what his father taught him to do. It’s the only way he knows to make
his way in the world. It’s not a good way…it’s dangerous to be that angry all
the time. These people should not be raising my son…anyone’s son. I will find
Marie and when I do, pretty girl, I hope that I don’t also find out that you
are helping her hide from the law. I also hope that it’s not too late for my
boy because that will definitely take this game to a whole new level.” He
turned and casually walked to the door. Before he got there he pulled a
business card out of his pocket and laid it on the table where I threw my purse
and keys when I came in the door. “That card has my work and cell numbers on
it. Think all this over, Jessie, and when you’re ready to both do your civic duty
and help a little boy who is in trouble, call me.”

I watched him leave and then rushed over
to lock the door behind him. Shaking all over now, I leaned up against the
door. I stood there for less than a minute before I had to make that trip to
the bathroom and relieve my stomach of the toast and coffee I’d put in there
hours ago. I sat on the bathroom floor and heaved a few more times before
dragging myself up to the sink and splashing cold water on my face and then
rinsing out my mouth with mouthwash. I stood there looking at myself in the
mirror wondering what I’d gotten myself into. I didn’t trust Mitch, and I
didn’t like him, at all. How did he even know my name? Was he watching me too?
He was a cop…but not any kind of cop that I’d ever met. He made me more than
just a little bit uncomfortable. But did that mean he was lying about
everything? What if there was some truth to what he said? I went back into the
living room and reached for my cell phone. I was going to call the gym and get
Paul’s number so I could call and tell him about Mitch’s visit. My hands were
still shaking as I started to dial the number and stopped myself halfway
through. What if Mitch was right? What if, by protecting Paul, a man I really
barely knew, I was inadvertently protecting a person who would hurt a child?

I pushed “End” and stopped the call before
it went through. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I had already
decided before Mitch showed up that I wasn’t going to keep seeing Paul. I had
priors when it came to believing the BS men liked to feed me and that had
worked out all bad. Paul might be a good guy, but “might” just wasn’t good
enough anymore. I’d wasted too much of my young life already trying to “save”
people. Paul would have to handle this one on his own. He was more than capable
as he had proved when Mitch showed up at the gym. I sat the phone down. I was
going to stay out of it. It wasn’t my business. The best I could do was say a
prayer for poor Victor and hope that whoever was the best parent would win.

CHAPTER
TWO

I made it through the rest of my day
without incident, thank you, God. The washing machine repairman had come by by
to fix the machine. I did have an issue with opening the door when he got
there, and very likely made him think I was a little crazy by having him slip
his ID under the door, but it turned out okay. All the washer needed was a
little part, and he was a nice, grandfatherly and non-threatening kind of man
that put me at ease. He talked to me while he fixed it and barely charged me
anything. The best part was that I was able to wash my clothes. The difference
between disheveled and clean and well-groomed did wonders for the soul. After
that, I walked the eight blocks to Madison Gym to pick up my car and didn’t
bother anyone for a ride. I was surprised to see the window had already been
replaced. Greg must have kicked it into high gear…good for him and damn whoever
would do this to such nice people as the Madisons. When I got home I tried to
get ahold of Greg and couldn’t, so I finally ended up calling Jeff.

“Hey, how are things going at the gym?
Should we be there for clean-up in the morning?”

“No, Greg hired someone to do it. He said
the insurance will reimburse him and he couldn’t afford to be closed more than
one day. I went by there a while ago. It looks good, minus the few pieces of
equipment they had stolen.”

“Fantastic, so then we’re on for work in
the morning?”

“Yep. You have clients scheduled?”

I laughed; I only had a few clients so
far…but Mark was my only current one. I went in every day, though, to help out
and get noticed. You never know… “Not yet, but I’m hopeful.”

Jeff laughed too and said, “I think you’re
one of the best we have. Business will pick up.”

“Thanks! I’ll see you in the morning.”

I went to bed that night feeling a lot
better than I had earlier in the day. I at least felt like some of the issues
I’d been facing were resolving. I just had to remember to use my head when I
saw Paul in the gym…Think with my brain and not my emotions. It wouldn’t be
easy, but I knew I could do it.