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  I flipped it open. “Hey, Daisy.”

  “Hey Sugar, what’re you up to?” she asked.

  “Well, I think my Mom is on the longest date in history with a crazy ex-con, Vietnam vet who has a shotgun, grenades, tear gas and twenty-five cats. And I got in a wet-t-shirt, knock-down, drag-out fight on the floor in Fortnum’s with my sister who’s just in from LA. Oh, and we did it in front of most of the boys on Lee Nightingale’s payroll,” I said.

  Silence.

  “Darlin’, you know how to live,” Daisy finally said.

  “Normally, I’m really boring,” I told her.

  She laughed her tinkly-bell laugh. She didn’t believe me either.

  “What’s up with you?” I asked.

  “Got a call from Shirleen. Rumor has it, Ray’s hittin’ her table tonight.”

  I looked up at Indy, Tod and Lottie and my eyes grew wide.

  “You girls ready to ride again?” I heard Daisy say in my ear.

  “Just a second. Indy’s right here, let me ask.”

  I relayed the story to everyone. Indy and Tod smiled, Lottie looked angry.

  “Dad’s a shithead,” Lottie said.

  “You guys in?” I asked.

  Tod and Lottie nodded.

  “Ally’s got a shift at Brother’s tonight but I’m in,” Indy replied.

  Ally was a bartender at My Brother’s Bar. It’d be a bummer that she couldn’t come but I figured with Lottie and Tod in the mix, we could almost equal her attitude.

  “Ally’s working but Tod wants to come and so does my sister, is that okay?” I told Daisy.

  “Peachy, darlin’. Can’t wait to meet your sister,” Daisy answered.

  “You might know her, she’s Lottie Mac, Queen of the Corvette Calendar.”

  “No shit? ‘Course I know her, Sugar, she’s a celebrity.”

  I grinned at my sister.

  “Yeah,” I said, feeling proud.

  Then I hesitated.

  “Do you mind if we wear our own clothes?” I asked.

  More of the giggle.

  “Sure, just as long as you got a little sparkle on.”

  I figured I could do a little sparkle.

  “Tell her we’ll meet here,” Tod cut in.

  “Tod says to meet at his place.” I gave her directions, signed off and flipped my phone shut.

  “You ready for this?” I asked Lottie.

  “Ready to kick Dad’s ass? Fuck yeah,” Lottie replied.

  I rolled my eyes.

  Indy and Tod grinned at each other.

  Guess Lottie had the seal of approval.

  My phone rang again.

  It said, “Eddie calling.”

  “Uh-oh,” I muttered when I saw it.

  “Eddie?” Indy asked immediately.

  “Is that your new boyfriend?” Lottie asked.

  Tod nodded for me.

  I still wasn’t ready to fully commit to the boyfriend thing, I’d said it once and once was enough.

  “Who told on me now?” I asked, flipping open the phone.

  “Half a dozen you could choose from,” Indy said.

  My life sucked.

  “Hello?” I said into the phone.

  My opening was greeted with silence.

  “Eddie?” I asked when the silence went prolonged.

  “You sure you want to stick with this boring tactic? Gotta tell you, Chiquita, it seriously isn’t workin’.”

  Wonderful.

  “Lee phoned you,” I said.

  “Lee, Hank, Duke not to mention Mace and half a dozen cops who heard it on the grapevine and wanted to determine the commitment level of our relationship.”

  I blinked at the table. “Pardon?” I asked.

  “For the record, I made it clear our commitment level is in the red zone,” he said.

  Dear Lord.

  “We’ve only had one date,” I replied.

  Silence.

  Then some muttering in Spanish and finally, “We gotta have another chat?”

  No!

  No more chats.

  “I think I got it,” I told him.

  “I hope so Chiquita, if you don’t, you will,” he said quietly.

  Eek!

  “I got it.”

  “Shit, you’re killin’ me,” he sounded frustrated.

  I felt bad for him but I didn’t know how to help. Helping him would be putting myself out there and I felt plenty out there already.

  I decided to change the subject, “My sister’s in town.”

  “Yeah, heard that too. I’d like to meet her but I’m caught up in something and need to work late tonight. I’ll pick you up from Tex’s.”

  I looked around the table. Everyone was staring at me. “Actually, I’m going out tonight with Indy, Tod, Lottie and Daisy. I’ll probably be out late.”

  That’s all I shared, he could guess the rest.

  More silence.

  More Spanish.

  He guessed the rest.

  “Eddie…”

  Finally, he said, “I’ll ask Lee to tail you.”

  “No! We think we have a lock on Dad and Lee’ll scare him off.”

  Lee’d scare anyone off, one look at us with Lee in charge, word would spread like wildfire and Dad would be gone.

  “It’ll be okay,” Eddie said.

  “Anyone sees him with us…”

  Eddie laughed softly but it was a serious laugh. “If Lee tails you, no one will see him, not even you.”

  Somehow, that scared me more.

  “I don’t think—” I started.

  “Trust me, Chiquita.”

  “I’m not sure—” I tried again.

  “I want you to trust me and I’m askin’ you to do this for me. It’ll give me peace of mind. I might have some shit goin’ down tonight. I don’t need to be worried about you.”

  My breath froze in my lungs.

  This was a lot, trusting Eddie, doing something for Eddie and worrying about Eddie all at the same time.

  I made a split-second decision.

  “Call Lee,” I gave in.

  He talked in Spanish again, his voice now soft, I knew some of the words and they were sweet.

  Then he said, “When you’re done, you’re comin’ to my place.”

  He wasn’t asking.

  “Yeah,” I said, feeling the warmth curling in my belly, I couldn’t say anything else; I was in an Eddie Daze.

  “Leave your sister with Tex.”

  “Okay,” I was still in The Daze.

  “Be careful.”

  “You too,” I said quietly, meaning both words and meaning them a lot.

  He was silent for a beat and then he said, “This is the part that makes you worth it.”

  I blinked again, not keeping up with him.

  “Pardon?”

  “You got two kinds of sweet and I like both of ‘em.”

  Then he disconnected.

  Dear Lord.

  Chapter Twenty

  War

  The afternoon passed in a whir.

  We went back to Fortnum’s, then Duke took me to the bank (my second ride on a Harley) so I could deposit my tips and the (very generous) collection from the folks at Smithie’s.

  While I was gone, Lottie trailed Mom and Tex home in her rental in order to visit with Mom and get settled at Tex’s.

  Tex seemed surprisingly content with his house filling up with women. Indy explained Tex had been a loner and kinda hermit for years before he met her, so she figured he was making up for lost time.

  Duke and I went back to Fortnum’s. I helped close and then Lee and Indy took me to my apartment to find something sparkly to wear. I’d packed for Eddie’s during a mammoth flip out and thus, didn’t do it very well. I was going to use the opportunity to pack more (a girl’s gotta have options).

  Lee made Indy and I stand in the front hall while he did a walk-through of the apartment. I felt kinda stupid standing there, not to mention uncomfortable. The favors people were
doing for me were spreading far and wide, so far and so wide, I’d never be in a position of payback.

  “All clear,” Lee said with a chin jerk.

  Indy followed me into my bedroom while Lee hung out in the living room and flipped open his cell. Before going into my room, I glanced at him as he moved around my living room and a thrill went up my spine. He was just talking on the phone but he’d somehow completely claimed the space. In fact, his presence filled the entire apartment with a kind of dangerous, badass magnetism.

  “He kinda scares me,” I admitted to Indy when we’d entered my room.

  She threw herself on my bed to watch me pack.

  “He’s kinda scary,” she told me.

  I stopped digging through my closet and stared at her.

  “How do you get over it?” I asked, then immediately started digging again. It was a nosy question and really wasn’t my business.

  Then, I couldn’t help myself, I had to, so I decided to share.

  “I’m only asking because Eddie kinda scares me too. He’s a cop, he says something’s ‘going down’ tonight. I don’t know what but it doesn’t sound good. It flips me out. How do you take the worry?”

  Clearly not thinking I was nosy, she shrugged, “I love him.”

  Simple as that.

  Though, I guess that would do it.

  We went to Eddie’s to dump my bag, Lee doing the walk-through/all-clear thing again.

  I pulled out what I was going to wear that night and then we went to Indy and Lee’s.

  Indy and I got dolled up together in their bedroom. Lee silently brought us a spiced rum and Diet Coke, then disappeared. The way he did it, I was beginning to realize why she loved him (other than the fact he was hot). Not because he got her a drink (which was nice), but the way he got her a drink. He didn’t ask, he didn’t make a big deal about it and it was a sweet thing to do. It was tremendously cool and, deep down inside, I hoped for something like that for myself one day. A lot closer to the surface, I liked Indy and I was glad she already had it.

  While we got ready, we talked and giggled and I swear, it felt like I was back in high school getting ready to go to a dance in the gym.

  I didn’t have anything sparkly so Indy loaned me some glitter dust to put on my collarbone and some cream that made my cheekbones glisten. It wasn’t a lot of sparkle, but it would have to do.

  I wore a silky, deep-purply-gray tunic, with a low slash at the throat, which if I turned right could give a hint of cleavage. Other than that, it was kind of perfectly demure (I bought it myself), with long sleeves that got fuller down the length. The thing that made it kind of demure rather than totally demure was that it had two slits at the sides which were about two inches higher than they really needed to be and therefore, they showed some skin.

  This topped jeans and black flats (just in case I had to make a run for it). I went heavy on the makeup, not exactly Smithie’s but not my everyday look either and I did the deep part, sultry-thing with my hair.

  I thought I looked all right, though nothing to write home about. I felt safe in the jeans and hoped Daisy wouldn’t quibble.

  See, jeans were multi-purpose in Denver. An invitation could say “semi-formal” and there would be people at the party wearing jeans. It was just the way of the Rockies. A true Denverite would wear jeans to meet the Queen of England and somehow pull it off.

  Once we exited the bedroom, we found that Lee not only disappeared, Lee disappeared, leaving a note. So we headed over to Tod and Stevie’s and Daisy was already there having a cocktail, playing with Chowleena and you could only just barely see the black eye under her concealer.

  More proof that Daisy was the shit, I’d never be able to conceal a black eye and still look as good as she did.

  Stevie and Tod were both flight attendants and Stevie was out on a flight and not due back until the wee hours which meant Tod was stag.

  When I walked in, Tod’s eyes got huge.

  “Girlie, you are Queen Chameleon. Every time I see you, you look different.”

  I smiled. “Is that good?”

  “Fuck yeah, it’s good. You are workin’ that shirt and you’re only in my living room. The world will stop when you walk out the door.”

  Daisy smiled at me. “See?” she asked, as if Tod’s approval proved a point.

  “He’s gay,” I said.

  Tod looked between me and Daisy.

  “What’s my sexuality got to do with anything?” Tod asked.

  Daisy turned to him. “She doesn’t think she’s all that. Thinks she’s plain Jane and boring.”

  Tod swung his wide eyes to me, “Good. You’re workin’ that too and you don’t even know you’re workin’ it.”

  Daisy’s tinkly-bell laugh sounded. “Damn straight, Sugar!”

  Then they high-fived.

  Dear Lord.

  “Who’s designated driver?” Indy asked.

  “I’ve only had one rum and coke, it can be me.” I said.

  “I don’t think so,” Daisy said. “You need liquid courage for a face-down with your Daddy. This’ll be my last one, I’ll drive.”

  Lottie showed up. We introduced her to Daisy and Daisy and Lottie formed a deep bond in five minutes while sharing breast enhancement surgery stories.

  We ordered Chinese, we ate Chinese, we drank and we waited.

  We didn’t want to show up at the scene of our last crime too early and Shirleen told Daisy that Dad wasn’t normally early to the table.

  At eleven thirty, we started to roll out but then Tod stopped dead in the kitchen.

  “Un-unh, I tried, I really tried, but can’t do it. Be back.” Then he ran up the stairs.

  We all stood in the kitchen staring at each other. He came down with a pair of burnished silver stilettos with a pointed toe and a thin ankle strap that crossed at the back as well as a matching belt. He handed the belt to me and then knelt at my feet.

  “What are you doing?” I asked when he lifted a foot, took off my black flat and threw it into the living room.

  Chowleena was standing in the door to the kitchen, she watched my shoe fly over her head, gave a bark, then settled on her ass.

  Tod slipped the pump on in its place.

  “I do not worship at the altar of Sarah Jessica Parker and all things Sex and the City to go out with a hot-lookin’ girlie in black flats. You wear black flats when you’re eight and ninety-eight, not anytime in between.”

  “Tod…”

  “Huh!” he snapped, giving me The Hand.

  I knew better than to argue with The Hand.

  So, if something went down and I couldn’t run, at least I’d die dressed to the nines from top to toe.

  * * * * *

  We went straight to the bar when we got there and I scanned the crowd for any sign of Darius or angry black women.

  Luckily, the coast was clear.

  The bartender came right up to us. “Shirleen said to wait until she gives you the high sign,” he told Daisy and Daisy nodded.

  Then she turned to me. “You ready for this, Sugar?”

  No. I wasn’t ready for it. I had a lot of things to say to Dad but had no idea how to say them. And what would it matter anyway? Vince was still going to be after me. I was just going to have to go with the moment.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I told her

  She squeezed my arm. “That’s my girl.”

  The troop turned to the bar to order drinks and I stood just outside the clutch.

  “Buy you a drink?” I heard a man ask and I turned to look. My eyes hit a well-defined collarbone and muscular throat above a navy henley so I looked up.

  Mace was standing there.

  “Say yes and then look like you’re flirting with me,” he ordered in a soft voice.

  My stomach clutched and I ignored his instructions because I was in sort of a mini-freak out. Mace could put any girl in a mini-freak out, especially telling her to flirt with him and most especially using a soft voice.

&
nbsp; “What?” I asked, sounding stupid.

  His eyes shifted and he lifted a chin to the bartender. “Two beers,” he said.

  I shook off the freak out and leaned into him.

  “What are you doing here?” I whispered.

  He circled me, getting close, cutting me off from my posse and forcing my back to the room. He leaned against the bar, looking, for all the world, like a guy on the prowl with me being the prowlee.

  “Lee got word shit’s goin’ down tonight. He put together a team.”

  No.

  No, no, no.

  No shit going down and no team.

  I could just about handle my friends offering moral support when they were having fun while they were doing it. I didn’t need the Wild Bunch out there getting paid overtime on Lee’s nickel. That was one favor too far.

  The bartender deposited our beers on the bar and Mace slipped him a bill, then he ignored the drink and I did too.

  “If this is dangerous, we’ll leave,” I told him.

  He shook his head.

  “Finish what you start,” he said. “We have it covered.”

  “You have what covered?”

  “Don’t know, when we do, it’ll be covered.”

  Eek.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “You’re here to talk to your Dad. Lee’s out there, somewhere, and so are Vance and Matt. I’m assigned to you. Something happens, I grab you and we go to the safe point.”

  Safe point?

  Safe point?

  This did not sound good.

  In fact, it sounded really not good.

  I opened my mouth to speak but he wasn’t finished.

  “Something happens and I have to grab you, you come with me, no argument, no struggle, no worrying about your friends or I’ll neutralize you, no hesitation. Got me?”

  Oh… dear… Lord.

  I was pretty certain I didn’t want Mace to neutralize me. I didn’t know how he’d do that and I didn’t want to learn.

  I decided to pull out the attitude. “I’m calling it off. No neutralizing, no worrying about my friends and no owing Lee the overtime he’s paying you,” I said.

  He watched me for a beat and something happened to his expression. His face became hard but the look in his green eyes went soft. I watched, fascinated, and I felt the change throughout my entire system.

  “Get that out of your head and focus. This is voluntary overtime, for all of us.”

  I stared, trying to process his words but he didn’t give me a chance.