Designing Woman (The Sloan Brothers Book 2) (16 page)

“You realize that everyone thinks you did it, right?  Austin doesn’t have any enemies to speak of, and it’s understood that you’re holding a grudge for him taking her away and keeping her safe.  It would also stand to reason that you’d try to take out Pierce and the rest of the Sloans, since he’s her boyfriend and they’re his brothers.  Any of this ringing any bells?”

He paused and I could hear him breathing deeply and rapidly.  If he was getting pissed, I had to defuse this now.

“Tony, don’t be pissed at me for telling you the truth.  That’s how it looks to the family and Ayla.  The one time you made contact, you ended up with a broken nose and I ended up with a broken foot and a threat from you.  You can’t blame them for thinking you need a shorter leash bud’.  I mean, come on.”

“I understand.  It’s a false assumption, but I understand why they’d think it was me I guess.  Every time one of you trips while stepping off a curb, I’ll get the blame for that as well.  I know it, but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept.  I didn’t set the fire Melody.  No matter what they believe or think they know, I did not set that fire.  I was at home in Boston with my family.  That’s easy enough to check on, my folks throw a New Year’s Eve party every year and the whole damn family attends.  I wasn’t even near the city.  They’d better start looking for the real culprit in case Austin has an enemy he doesn’t realize he’s got, or someone could get seriously hurt, if they haven’t already...”

“No one got seriously hurt, relax.  The only injuries were from flying glass and those folks were released from the hospital shortly after it happened.”

“Flying glass?  The report said it was a fire.  They didn’t say anything about flying glass.”

“Whoever did it, threw a flaming bottle of something through the front window.  It exploded on contact.”

“Holy shit!  How much damage was done?”

“Enough.  Austin’s been working on the place and it should reopen soon.  They had a good sprinkler system and the fire department arrived pretty quick.  He was lucky.”

“I’ll say.  That’s awful.  They don’t have the kind of money it takes to rebuild more than once.  I hope they catch the guy quickly.”

Stumped.  That was the only word I could come up with to describe where my head was at.  I believed him.  I was thoroughly convinced he had nothing to do with it.  I still didn’t trust him, but I believed he didn’t start the fire.  So who did?

“Melody?  Are you still there?”

“Yeah Ton’, I’m here.  Are we done?”

“Only if you wanna be.”

“Explain.”

“No one but you has had the balls to talk to me face to face.  You’re one tough bitch and I like that about you.  Most women are intimidated by me, but not you.  I respect that.  You don’t owe me a thing, but I’d like to ask a favor.”

“You can ask.  I can always say no.”

“Yes you can.  After we hang up, I’m throwing this phone away.  I’ll text you the number of another phone you can use to reach me.  I’d like to stay in touch with you if that’s alright.  It’ll be our way of keeping the lines of communication open.”

“Will you be calling me?”

“If you’ll allow it, and I’ll always use the number I texted you so that you’ll know it’s me.”

“You need to know something.  You can call and text all you want, but Ayla’s with Pierce now and I like him.  I like them as a couple.  I’m not going to help you try and win her back.”

“I like your honesty Melody, I hope we can eventually be friends.  I think we got off on the wrong foot and under a misunderstanding to boot.  I don’t want her back.  I want to talk to her about why she left.  I thought she and I had an understanding.  Had I known that things were happening that she wasn’t one hundred percent behind, I’d have stopped them.  Mel’, she never used her safeword.  Not once.  She was a willing participant in everything we did up until the wedding.  Then she disappeared without an explanation.  That’s all I want.”

“You broke into their apartment and wrote ‘Mine’ in bright red lipstick on the bathroom mirror Tony.”

“The hell I did.  I’ve never broken in anywhere in my life.  I’ve never had to.  I admit I’ve been watching her, but that’s because I’m hoping for an opportunity to talk to her.”

“You didn’t break into the apartment?”

“No ma’am.”

“When you came here, you told me that she was yours.”

“Sorry about that, it was a slip of the tongue.  I was still pissed about her and Sloan and I saw you as a member of that family.  I took it out on you and I’m sorry.”

“And now?”

“Now I’m not certain that you belong to anybody other than yourself.  You, Melody Lincoln, might be Switzerland in this whole mess.  Of course I could be wrong, I was wrong about Ayla and I thought I knew her better than anyone.”

This was surreal.  Talking to him on the phone, I almost liked the guy.  He still beat the shit out of my best friend and whether he thought they were playing a rough game by mutual consent or not, I didn’t agree with that shit.  He was too rough with her.  We were never gonna be besties or go out on a date together, but having a conversation or two didn’t seem like a bad idea.  At least until I determined whether not not he was blowing smoke up my skirt.

“I don’t see any harm in talking to you Mr. Marconi.  If you want to call me, that’ll be fine.  I’ll keep the lines of communication open for now.  But if I find out you’ve lied or ever lie to me, that’s it.  I’m outa here.”

“That sounds fair.  Thanks for giving me a chance Melody.  I’m not a bad guy once you get to know me.  I swear it.”

“You would swear it.  What else are you gonna say?”

“There’s that honesty again.  Keep an open mind.  That’s all I ask.”

“I’ll keep an open phone line.  How’s that?”

“Agreed.  I’ll talk to you soon.  Bye for now.”

“Bye.”

I sat back and felt drained.  Adrenaline takes a lot out of you.  He was surprisingly easy to talk to when he wasn’t hulking over you like a three hundred pound gargoyle.  He was pleasant and forthright.

I rolled my eyes and stood, making my way back inside.  Look at me, liking the guy.  I couldn’t go there.  Not even if I wanted to.  He was a dangerous man, everybody knew that.

I believed him though.  At least about the bar, that alibi could be easily checked out.  The jury was still out about the apartment, but that wasn’t what I worried about most.  If he didn’t try to burn down the bar, then who the hell did?  And there was a bigger question that went right along with that one.  Why?

I ordered enough Chinese to feed a small army because I was expecting one.  The guys left work around five-thirty, six if they were busy.  I timed dinner for seven.  As if on cue, the doorbell rang and they followed the delivery guy in.  I had a stack of plates on the table, along with a couple of six packs of Corona and three bottles of wine.  If they were going to yell, they could at least do it on a full stomach with a drink in their hands.

Everyone came except for Chase and Austin.  I silently gave a prayer of thanks, because there was something about Chase being a detective that made me cave.  I had nothing to confess before, but now things were different and I wanted to keep my secret for awhile longer.  At least until I had a handle on the situation.

Anton shot me daggers as he walked in and I smiled sweetly, making him run his hands through his hair in frustration.

“You’ve got explaining to do crazy woman.”

I closed the door before mumbling, “I don’t explain myself to anyone Sloan.  Get over yourself.”

He slapped me on the ass and I squealed, making him chuckle.

“That had better not become a habit Anton.  I’ve broken bones over less.”

When we got to the dining room, everyone stood staring at me.

“Well don’t just stand there, I ordered enough food for everyone.  Dig in.”

Disgruntled murmurs came as Dor’ handed out plates and Ayla began opening containers.  Once plates were filled and beverages were poured, everyone meandered into the living room.

The food was excellent and that kept them busy for a few minutes, but I knew what was coming so I headed it off at the pass.

I stood up and handed Ayla a key.  Then I gave one to Dor’.  They looked at them as if they were waiting for them to explode and I rolled my eyes.

“I had my locks changed today.  Sean has one too.  I’m assuming that since Ayla and Dor’ have one, that also grants access to Deke and Pierce.  I’m tightening security, just like you asked me to do.  I placed a grocery order and had it delivered.  I have no reason to leave this place unless I’m with one of you for a specific reason.”

Pierce smiled and bit into an egg roll.  I knew he’d get it, just like I knew that Deacon and Anton wouldn’t.  Deacon looked suspicious.  Anton looked offended.

“Where’s mine?”

I looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“I wasn’t aware you needed one.  You made your position perfectly clear over Christmas.  I’m honoring your decision.”

While I let him mull that one over, I turned to Deke.

“Look, I know you worry about all of us but you don’t need to worry about me.  I’ll be fine.  Security knows about Tony and they’ve been told to buzz me before allowing anyone access to the penthouse elevator.  The locks have been changed and a deadbolt was added besides.  In case you didn’t notice, I disarmed the alarm system when I opened the door to let you in.  I appreciate the concern, but I’m not leaving again.  If you want, I’ll buy a gun.”

Anton raked his hand down over his face.

“For god’s sake woman.  With your smart mouth and short fuse, a gun is the last thing you need.”

I flicked a water chestnut at him and it hit him in the face.

“That key is getting farther and farther out of your grasp numb nuts.  I’d shut up if I were you.”

Deacon had turned to Dor’ and they were discussing something in low tones.  I was watching them and didn’t notice that Anton had stood up and was walking towards me.  He took my plate and placed it on the coffee table.  Then he took my arm and lifted me to my feet.

“Eep!”

It was the best I could do.  I was surprised.

He started dragging me towards the entryway so that we’d have a bit of privacy.

“I’ve had just about enough of your bullshit Mel’.”

He turned to the rest of the group who’d stopped eating, their forks suspended in midair.

“We’ll be back in a sec’, carry on.”

He half dragged, half carried me and I was too shocked to put up much of a fight.  He hadn’t touched me since before Christmas and I wasn’t sure if I should bite him or climb him.

When we got to the front door, he pushed my back against the wall next to the little table with the bowl of keys in it.  The one that contained the one extra door key.

I looked up at him defiantly and he growled.  I growled right back.  I poked him in the chest because it seemed like the thing to do.

“You don’t get to drag me around and tell me what to do anymore asshat.  You chucked that right when you decided that you didn’t trust me anymore.”

“So that’s why I no longer have a key?  Because I don’t trust you?  It seems you’re making my point for me.  Why should I trust you if you’re not willing to try?  You’re not even fighting for us!”

“Fighting for us?!  That’s all I’ve ever done and you’ve fought against me every damned step of the way!  The days of your easy piece of ass are over Mister.  If I’m nothing to you, then start treating me that way so that I can get over this.  Quit breaking my heart Anton.  I can’t fucking take it anymore!”

He stared at me, his blue eyes getting darker.  He was mulling something over and I was getting flustered waiting.  My eyes darted quickly to the bowl and I cursed myself for it.  Just as I was thinking he didn’t catch it, he lowered his head and completely covered my mouth with his.  Damn him all to hell.

I opened my mouth and he moaned.  I put my hands in his hair pulling him closer and he put one arm around me, pulling me tightly into his body.  He took his other hand and reached into the bowl, feeling around.  I knew the minute he found the one lone key, because his lips smiled against mine and I felt his hand go into his pocket.  I hissed and broke the kiss.

In the most menacing tone I could muster, I growled at him.

“Give me back my fucking key Anton.”

He kissed me quickly and put both arms around me.  His hands landed firmly on my ass and he lifted me until my feet were dangling.  Then he started to sway back and forth.

“Why would I do that?  Tell you what I’ll do.  I’ll have one made, then I’ll give you back the original.”

He ran his tongue lightly from my earlobe down my neck and I tilted my head back.  God I’d missed this.  He was getting to me and he knew it.  He nipped my collarbone and squeezed my ass.

“I don’t want you to have a key Anton.  We have to stop this pseudo-relationship.  It’s killing me.”

“How is it killing you baby?  You want me, I know you do.  Lie to me and say it’s not true.”