Off the Grid (12 page)

“You’re lucky I’m starving.”

Marnie smirked out a laugh.

Lucky didn’t begin to cover it. He listened to them quibble over what to order. He might have a handle on things tonight. Jason was unlikely to do anything else, satisfied with his warning. But tomorrow was a whole new day and he had some threats of his own to make.

****

Sophie sat cross-legged on the couch, Quinn tucked in front of her, Kellie in the shower, Marnie out. A truce called, at least for the time being. She leaned in and tickled Quinn’s tummy. So sweet, swaddled in a blanket, his innocence a reminder of how they all started out.

Her clinic was open half-days on Friday, the afternoon meant for paperwork and debriefing with her staff. To avoid burnout they gathered to rehash the week’s challenges and share victories. They tried very hard not to take their work home with them. Even Sophie. Her work had consumed her at the beginning. But after Liam left she’d reevaluated.

Somewhat.

She wrapped Quinn’s tiny fingers around one of hers. But this afternoon the rest of her staff were on their own. Sophie was at home. The clinic the least of her worries, Marnie her biggest, Jason Drummond a close second. Then there was Kellie and Quinn.

“Who could resist fussing over you? With your ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes.”

And Caleb.

It was dangerous to think of Caleb while playing with Quinn. Not the best way to keep things casual. Tying her want of a family to him. Hard not to do when he arranged for tow trucks, gifts, and helped deliver midnight babies on Christmas Eve. His armor might be Armani, but he continued to prove he could take a hit.

Quinn’s cheek was soft under her fingertip. She cooed at him. His little mouth opened wide and he yawned in response. It was enough to toast her marshmallow of a heart. She refused to apologize for wanting a baby in her womb. Or a man worthy of her yearnings. And screw anyone brave enough to judge.

She thought she’d found it once, her happily-ever-after. Then Liam had found Charity Owens, dog walker. They’d sent her a birth announcement twenty-one months later. Not to be mean. The announcement had gone out as a mass email, hers included. By mistake, she was sure. Neither of them smart enough to do it on purpose.

That’s right.

Meow.

Now her ovaries were thirty-two years old. Her finite number of eggs was dwindling. She’d always pictured kids in her future. Lots of them. Wanting to do the right thing, knowing she must, hadn’t stemmed those dreams.

Not at all.

She shook the maudlin thoughts off. She couldn’t afford to go there. Not when she had this little one and his mother to protect. She didn’t want Quinn’s life to be a battle for survival. His little arms flailed like he sensed her mood. He let out a whimper. She scooped him up and cuddled him close. Who could resist inhaling the scent of him? He was a tiny bundle of baby crack.

“You are so yummy. I could eat you up. Yes, I could. Beautiful boy.” She sang. She rocked. Then stopped. Thought, oh shit.

In over my head.

She was falling for two different guys and they both had bad idea written all over them. One was spoken for and the other one came with an expiration date. Choices. She settled back with a drowsy Quinn. Like she didn’t have her hands full with Marnie.

Kellie wondered back into the room. Pretty in a mint green T-shirt she was looking better every day, more color in her cheeks, less hollow. Sophie had lent her some clothes, but they were going to have to go shopping. With her hair in a ponytail, blue eyes alert, and her smile a little hesitant she sat down across from Sophie.

“I can take him if you want?”

“I don’t mind.” Sophie smiled at her, hoping to reassure. Kellie didn’t like to let Quinn out of her sight. Sophie understood her terror at losing him.

Which meant they needed to talk about the elephant in the room. Or the herd of elephants. “Kellie, I need to ask if there’s something you haven’t told me? About Marnie? About Jason Drummond?”

The timid smile disappeared. She folded her arms across her stomach like all of a sudden it ached. “I’ve told you everything.”

“I know it was Marnie who introduced you to Drummond.” It hurt so bad to go there. To know her sister pimped out girls like Kellie to a creep like Jason Drummond.

“She didn’t mean any harm.” Kellie jerked forward to perch at the very end of her seat. “We didn’t plan any of this. We didn’t. Please, don’t blame her.”

How could she not? “I believe you about the pregnancy. But are you sure there’s not something you’re leaving out. If Marnie is pushing—”

“No. She’s trying to protect us from him.”

She didn’t doubt it was true. The knowledge kept her up at night. “You have to know she’s in no shape to protect anyone. She’s ill, Kellie.”

“We’ll be fine.” She shifted, looked away. It was a lie. The last thing they were was fine and Kellie knew it.

“No, you won’t. As long as Marnie’s not thinking straight and you’re listening to her, things are going to get worse.”

“You’re wrong.”

“No, I’m not. She’s my sister. I know her. I know her history.”

“Yeah, I know.” For the first time condemnation harshened her words. “She told me all about
her family
. She told me everything. About how your parents kicked her out with nothing. They didn’t love her. They didn’t want her around. I know what that feels like, I understand her.”

Whereas Sophie never would because she’d been wanted, cherished. Protected.

Not her fault.

And it was time to let it go.

“Kellie, you’re only eighteen years old. Someone is supposed to be looking after you.”

“In birth years, not street years. I know she’s in trouble. I know she needs help. I’m not stupid. But I don’t want to lose her too.”

“You won’t lose her. She loves you. But you can love her back and still do what you know is best for you and Quinn.”

“I don’t want to be disloyal to Marnie.” Her sigh was soft, a puff of breath, then another, and another. She breathed deep, swallowed. “But…you’ve been so great to me. Caleb too. It’s so nice here. Calm. Clean. I can think straight here.”

Sophie put a hand on Kellie’s knee and squeezed. “Knowing what you want is nothing to apologize for. It’s a good thing. A good start.”

Kellie sniffed and grabbed a tissue from the box to wipe her nose and stop the tears. “I do want calm for Quinn. But I don’t know how to make it happen without hurting Marnie.”

“We’ll figure out a way. I promise. I’m here to help. So is Caleb. You can tell us anything and it will remain in confidence.”

Kellie’s eyes were full of the same thing she saw at night in the mirror. Loyalty. Love. Futility. “I want her to be okay.”

“So do I.”

She straightened her shoulders, stuck out her chin, her knuckles white. “And I’m not letting that sick bastard touch my kid. I don’t care what I have to do. Or say. It’s not happening.”

Sophie nodded and gave her knee another squeeze. She didn’t want to make promises she couldn’t keep. David didn’t always win. She was terrified this time life was going to swing in favor of Goliath.

****

Caleb had a thing about tyrants. He imagined most people did. He planned on making those feelings very clear to Jason Drummond. Playing by the rules wasn’t on the agenda. He walked in knowing the score. He’d weighed the possible cost to his career in coming, allowed for his growing feelings for Sophie. But in the end the future of a young mother and her tiny baby made his decision, and doing the wrong thing for the right reason, easy.

He charged past the receptionist and pushed his way into Jason’s ultramodern private office. Steel and glass. Sixteen stories off the pavement in the Shaw Tower where the Drummond Group owned an entire floor.

“Caleb.” Jason Drummond tapped his keyboard and sat back in his chair. Superior smeared across his face. Hell, it was woven into the fabric of his suit. A scent in the air. “What a surprise.”

“I doubt it.” He wouldn’t have gotten this far if Jason had wanted to keep him out. He straightened the sleeves of his own suit. Jason wasn’t the only one accomplished at aloof. Trained in the art of getting your own way. Expecting it.

“You wound me, Caleb. You really do.” He steepled his fingers, tapped them against his chin. “My door is always open to you.”

“A bill. For Dr. Monroe’s tires.” He tossed an envelope onto Jason’s desk. They weren’t alone in his chrome-plated tower. The hairy goon from the night before was with him. The other hustled in through the open door. Caleb barely spared them a glance.

“It’s all right, gentlemen, no threat here. You can leave.” Jason waved them off. They backed out of the room with heavy frowns and gritted teeth. Jason picked up the envelope, set it aside. “Let me pour you a drink. You look like you could use one.”

“No, thanks.” Jason got up and poured himself a couple of fingers of expensive scotch. Caleb remembered a time when he’d been impressed by the man’s easy confidence. Not anymore. “I’ll make this simple. You stay away from Dr. Monroe and her clinic. You stay away from my client and anyone involved with her. Are we clear?”

Jason adopted a look of confusion. “I seem to be missing something as I can assure you I want nothing to do with your client. Or the good doctor.”

“You’re intimidation tactics aren’t going to work.”

Another sip of scotch. Another brief smile. “Are you accusing me of something?”

Damn right he was. “Just making sure we both know the stakes.”

“You want to get a handle on the stakes? I care about this city. I’m willing to take it to the next level. We’re ready. The 2010 Olympics proved it. I can make it happen.”

Like his glass office, it was all about the show. “No matter who gets in your way?”

The other man ignored him. “This is bigger than any of that. Cleaning up the DTES is a huge part of the plan. Surely, after spending the last few days there you agree with me.”

“The plan?” Caleb didn’t know about a plan but he sure as hell was looking at the problem.

“Facts are facts.” Jason slung his arm across Caleb’s shoulders. It was an old familiar gesture of camaraderie. It took everything Caleb had not to shrug him off. To not give too much away. “The Downtown Eastside is an embarrassment.”

Drummond pointed to small table holding a 3-D model of an altered DTES. “That’s tomorrow’s reality. A revitalization plan benefitting the whole city. Work with me, Caleb. Join my campaign team and we can take this city to the next level. A global level.”

Join his—Caleb stepped away. “What about the people already living in the Downtown Eastside? How does your grand plan affect their community?”

“What community? Jesus Christ, Caleb, they’re talking about doling out liquor to the hard-core cases. Like ghetto-style missions and supervised safe injection sites aren’t bad enough? We need to draw the line.”

“You’re trying to gentrify the neighborhood. Push out people who have nowhere else to go.”

“Listen to yourself. When did you become a crusader for the downtrodden? With your taste for expensive cars, not to mention women, and your place in Yaletown.”

“After an addict lands in a neighborhood like the DTES, what do you think comes next?”

Drummond shrugged his shoulders like it wasn’t any of his concern. “How the hell should I know?”

“There is no next, Jason,” Caleb said. “There’s nowhere else to go. Nowhere to push them. This is the end of the line. Instead of luxury condos why not more low-income housing?”

“She’s getting to you, isn’t she? Too much thinking with your dick, my man. What do you think? Million-dollar condos are going to appear on the corner of Main and Hastings overnight?” He slapped a hand on Caleb’s shoulder, like he’d done many times in the past. Only this time the laughter was forced, uncomfortable. “Look, a lot has to happen before all roads leading to the DTES are paved with caramel macchiatos.”

“And while you’re out there playing the hardline advocate, the Drummond Group is buying up all the lovely, cheap property available in the Downtown Eastside.”

Jason didn’t deny it, but the warning was in his eyes and the thin line of his mouth.

“I checked.” Caleb strolled over to the miniature model, tapped the top of a teeny tiny building, and whistled. “Imagine my surprise at learning how much property you own down there. And how much you stand to make on this revitalization project of yours.”

A telltale red flush stained Jason’s cheeks. He gave his wedding ring a twist. “I’d be very interested in knowing how you came by your information.”

“It’s amazing what one learns when one knows how and who to ask.” Caleb turned the knife. “You’re not the only one with connections.”

Jason shrugged. “Acquisitions are kind of what I do as managing director of corporate development.”

Caleb made a cursory glance of the glossy office then he nodded. “True, but I was referring more to your personal portfolio.”

Jason offered a lot more teeth and grit than smile. “Be careful where you go with this, Caleb.”

Caleb got in his face. “I`ll go anywhere I like. Do whatever it takes to protect an eighteen-year-old girl from the likes of you. Not only that, I’m going to make sure it doesn’t happen again, with another girl too alone, too broke, and too desperate to say no. That means I’m going to start by finding out who your pimp is. Or you could make it easy and tell me who supplies the girls?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jason threw back the rest of his scotch. “But word of warning, I’d be careful while turning over all those stones. There’s no putting them back and covering up what you didn’t want to know.”

“Who
arranged
for you to meet Kellie?”

Jason didn’t move. “I thought we had an understanding.”

“And your son?”

“Don’t push me.”

Caleb changed tactics. “She’s terrified of you.”

“An unfortunate misunderstanding, I’m sure.”

He wanted to keep him off center enough to make a mistake. “So you’re going to forget you have a son?”

“What would you have me do? On second thought, don’t answer that.” He made his way back to the bottle of scotch, poured another couple of fingers, tossed back a mouthful.