Ride to Restoration (Ride Series Book 2) (26 page)

Chapter
49

I
turned the phone off and tossed it back into the bag, before picking up the
room key Vic graciously left for me at the front desk. Opening the door to the
room ever so slowly before carrying our bags inside, I heard Vic’s sweet and
tender voice echoing over the sound of rushing water coming from the tub.

“
What took you so long, D? I was lonely. I
’
m taking a bath. Would ask
you to join me, but
—”

“
I got it, I got it ... the tub is too small for the both of
us. Rub it in, girlfriend,
”
I
huffed.
“
You know what I
’
ve decided? You
’
re a little too feisty for
your own good
…
when
you don
’
t
get your way. Over the last few days you
’
ve been wined and dined,
pampered and probed, ridden and rode. Think of it like this, tonight you can go
back to being you.
”
Vic
didn
’
t
seem to appreciate that last statement by the abrupt slamming of the bathroom
door.
Oh well, that
’
s all I
’
ve got for now. My butt is
bone ass tired.

Unzipping
my leathers, I kicked off my boots, stretched out sideways on the bed and
flipped on the news. After twenty minutes of murders and political mayhem, CNN
finally got around to the lucky folks and their diamond dilemmas. Speculations
and postulations were rampant, featuring guest after wayward guest supporting
their individual hypothesis of who was behind the sudden windfalls and why.
Little
do they know ... they
’
re all wrong
. I switched to Andy
Griffith and zoned out.
Ah, those were the days ... Mayberry, Aunt Bee,
Barney and Opie. Life was simpler then. Wonder where in the world today I could
find myself another Mayberry? Surely, there is a town, a village, a community
that has insulated itself from the envy and greed that
’
s befallen humanity of late.
That
’
s worth a Google,
I surmised.
Now where in
the world is Vic
’
s iPad? Of course I could
get up and rummage through her stuff,
but being the southern gentleman that I am, I thought
better of it. I did what most men are prone to do when they
’
re relaxed and comfortable,
I yelled,
“
Yo, Vic! Where is your iPad?
”

Yo?
Did he just say,
‘
Yo, Vic?’
“
I have it, D. I
’
m catching up on emails and
current events in the tub. Let me rephrase that,
”
I shouted through the closed door,
“
I
’
m catching up on you.
”
How one man
’
s unselfish quest for redemption
could stir up so much shit is beyond me. Why couldn
’
t these blessed few keep
their investment healing treasures to themselves like D asked them to? Humanity
at its finest. Geez! Moving on, where was I?
“
D, I
’
ll be out in a few minutes.
Can you wait? What
’
s for dinner?
”

My
body relaxed, my brain in slow-mo, I struggled to correlate her string of
questions into an appropriate reply.
“
I can wait. You can assist
me in my quest for Mayberry. I
’
m surprised, why didn
’
t you just say I
’
m hungry?
”

“
Duh
!
I inferred it didn
’
t I?
”
This
yelling back and forth through the door has to stop. Rising from the tub, I
towel dried quickly and made an orchestrated entrance, tossing my iPad to him
with my glorious naked self attached.
“
Here you go, D, for your
viewing pleasure...
”

“
Girlfriend, it
’
s gonna be hard
—
”
I hesitated,
“
looking up something on your
iPad while my Googling eyes are drooling over you in your current state of
attire.
”

I
grasped the slowly rising bulge in his shorts and quipped,
“
I
’
m counting on it.
”

“
Victoria, would you believe me if I told you I
’
m mentally and physically
worn out?
”

“
I would, especially after all the miles we
’
ve covered today. He,
”
I continued, proudly massaging D
’
s tented masculinity,
“
conveys quite the opposite.
”

So
much for looking up Mayberry. I purposely redirected her gaze with a push of my
hand.
“
Turn
a deaf ear to the one-eyed monster, Victoria. Remember he
’
s a notorious slut. Besides,
mind you, I
’
m taking liberties here.
I
thought you were hungry.
”

D
’
s valid argument caused me to
release my death grip, but not before speaking pointedly to his little brain,
“
I am hungry. What
’
s ... for ... dinner?
”

“
That
’
s my girl! You know who
’
s in charge. Get dressed in
your finest jeans. I
’
ll call us a cab. We
’
re going to Dempsie
’
s downtown. We
’
ll eat, get drunk, and
—”

My
eyes lit up, I jiggled my booty in his face,
“
Screw?
”

“
I didn
’
t say screw, I said sleep. You weren
’
t listening!
”
Vic pounded me with one of the signature pillows while her
breasts, bouncing off my chest, reawakened the little fella, now positioning
for a full frontal attack.
“
Stop it!
... Please?
”
I whined.
“
Let
’
s get through the first two. If there
’
s anything left in my tank,
you
’
re
welcome to it.
”

I
relented.
D, makes almost saying yes but
not really seem sufficient, even when I don
’
t want him to.
Following his lead, I
dressed.

Chapter
50

T
en
minutes later and twenty bucks lighter, compliments of the Lake Cab Company, we
found ourselves nestled into a corner booth in Dempsie’s, courtesy of Milly our
most accommodating hostess. The walls were adorned with pictures of the Old
West and saddles and cowboy hats reflecting the hard times long passed.

“
In celebration of our last night together, Victoria, will
you share a bottle or two of wine with me?
”
Nodding her head to the affirmative, I ordered the first
bottle of Pinot noir to kick off our evenings
’
festivities.

“
To us,
”
I
toasted, raising my glass to D
’
s.

“
To many more tomorrows,
”
I replied, clinking my glass with hers.
“
This vintage Pinot is only
fitting, this, being our last night together for a while. I remember serving
you this very same wine, sans the crystal, the first night we met.
”

“
Red solo cup. How could I forget the night I undressed
before your lust filled eyes ... and all you wanted to do was cuddle? Of course
I remember, you rejected me asshole ... my first!
”

“
I didn
’
t reject you, Vic, I rejected the thought of me betraying
Candi. We had something
…
Something
wonderful in the works.
”

“
And you still might,
”
I countered, knowing in my heart until D knew for sure
where he stood with her, I was the odd man
—
woman
—
out. Raising my glass again,
“
to Candi, wherever she may be.
”
Biting my tongue, I still could think it
…
or on whomever she may be.

“
Thank you, Victoria. To Candi, may she be safe as well.
”

Vic, me thinks you
’
re lucky your
mouth didn
’
t
overload your ass with that one-liner.

“
Speaking of safe, it may not be the best time to bring this
up, but I
’
m gonna need you to disappear for a while as soon as we get
back tomorrow.
”
Knowing
I
’
d
immediately struck a nerve, I continued briefing her as best I could on the
possible threat Jim and Candi conveyed to me.

“
What do you mean leave? I
’
m going to be home tomorrow
for the first time in almost two weeks. I have a slew of things to do. So much
to catch up on.
”
His
eyes, his beautiful brown eyes, projected grave concern for my safety.
Damn,
I
’
m not going to win this
argument.
As
ludicrous as it seemed I wasn
’
t sure I wanted to.
Exhaling, I relented,
“
where would you like me to
go?
”
There were
numerous places I could safely retreat to, none of which would make me feel as
safe as I am right now.
“
Can I go back to Tennessee with you?
”

“
I
’
m trying to protect you, Vic. Getting you out of my
immediate circle is my goal. Do you have any relatives or friends far away that
you could go visit for a few days?
”

Too
much to process ...
Wait! Wait! I need to think
.
“
You
’
re wanting me to go
somewhere far, far away aren
’
t you? Hard to reach, harder still to find?
”

“
You got it. It
’
s been confirmed from two
reliable sources that someone is hell bent on finding me
—
us. I don
’
t need to be worrying about protecting you. Remember, I
didn
’
t
do so well the last time. I need to be proactive, protecting me.
”

“
Damn straight, you
’
re my best client. Can
’
t have anything happen to
you.
”

“
Vic, I
’
m your
only
client.
”
I grinned ...
“
Thanks, anyway.
”

“
Hush ... I
’
m thinking ... Um, I forgot to tell you, I
—
we
—
got an email from Semper Fi, Frank. Read it in the tub.
Wanted me to tell you he
’
s in Copenhagen, Denmark staying at some hotel ... whose
name escapes me at the moment, but I do remember something about it
’
s across the street from
Tivoli Gardens.
”
D
nodded like he knew exactly what I was talking about.
“
You been there?
”

I
nodded yes,
“
A long time ago.
”

“
Worst case, I could go hang out with him.
”
I threw that out to gauge his knee jerk reaction, before I
swapped my seduction panties for my business suit, and began my rebuttal as his
twice tried and thrice tested attorney.
“
Too far, never mind. I
’
m your counsel. By the looks
of things you
’
re going to need me, sooner, rather than later. Best I stay
in the country. Got it?
”

“
Yes, counselor, loud and clear. Still doesn
’
t answer my question, where
can you go?
”

“
Non siblings I gather? In that case, I have a cousin in
Jasper, Georgia, about an hour north of Atlanta. Her husband is a ranger and he
carries a big gun,
”
I
said, holding up my hands about twelve inches apart. I smiled,
“
big, D, big
—
at least twice the size of yours. Will that work?
”

Humor,
that
’
s what we need right now
.
“
I
’
m not going to touch that last
statement. Bound to be TMI forthcoming. Thank you Victoria for bringing levity
into the room, even if it was
…
at
my expense,
”
I
chuckled, taking her hands in mine, pushing them seven inches apart ...
possibly ... eight. We laughed.

Still
I had to get her on a plane to Atlanta before I could breathe easier.
“
After all that, yes, it will
work! But, I
’
m not leaving you until you
’
re wheels up, no arguments,
”
I blasted, pounding my fist on the table hard enough to
rattle the silverware.

He
does care. Hell, I care
.
“
Don
’
t take this the wrong way,
D, but suddenly I
’
m not very hungry. Can we split an appetizer and possibly
another bottle of wine?
”

“
Your wish is my command.
”
I ordered the Grand Sampler which featured a generous
selection of their best sellers, along with another bottle of Pinot noir.
“
Drink up girlfriend, the
night is closing fast.
”
And
we did, sipping slowing through the second bottle, feasting on the platter and
talking about our broken dreams, as well as the demons buried in our past.

“
D, why were you looking for Mayberry? Is there really such
a place in this great big world?
”
I
asked, hoping he would answer my last question with a resounding yes.

“
Surely there is, I
’
ll just have to find it,
idyllic, though it may be. I
’
m sorry; I
’
m running on empty here, Victoria. My friends are few, my
family nonexistent. After all we
’
ve tried to do to repair a horrible wrong, I feel like I
’
ve been relegated to victim
status. Working my way up from the bottom, I adhered to the principle if you
treated people the way you wanted to be treated, good things would come your
way. That, I
’
m sad to say, has turned out to be more false, than truth.
Most people, I
’
ve come to realize are your friends because of what you can
do for them. It
’
s only when your endless supply of giving is exhausted do
you wake up one day in a cold sweat to discover you have none. What once was in
the hundreds, I now count on two hands. Jim, from WITSEC, said
‘
it was time
’
... I could barely bring myself to utter the next words ...
‘
to
relocate.
’
At
first the idea repulsed me, but the more I
’
ve thought about it, the
more I
’
ve
warmed to it. Do you realize I
’
ve struck out building a life from the ground up three
times so far? Somewhere on this planet there has to be a simpler life, lived by
genuine people without self-serving agendas
—
people who are the real deal, respecting you for you, not
just for what you bring to the table. If I can find it, you
’
ll find me on the next
plane.
”

He
’
s losing me
.
“
What if this utopia you
dream of doesn
’
t exist as you imagine it, then what?
”

“
There has to be, doesn
’
t there? But, God forbid, if
there isn
’
t, to answer your question when that dream stops so will my
breathing.
”

No
you don
’
t. I am
not
throwing you a pity
party right now, damn you!
“
You
have value, you have worth. One billion dollars in diamonds you
’
ve given back to the people
who could ill afford to lose their life savings. You
’
ve helped me, Frank, and now
Missy and who knows how many others. You
’
re a rare breed, Jon David,
”
I assured him, clasping my hands around his as he
subconsciously twirled the stem on the wine goblet with his fingers.

I
’
d had my say. I was done
talking.
“
Drink up, Vic, it
’
s been a long day.
”
Calling the cab driver, who dropped us off earlier, I asked
for a pick-up in fifteen.
“
My, what a depressing last night together this has turned
out to be. I
’
m sorry.
”

“
There
’
s nothing to be sorry for, D. I wish there was more I could
do. You manage brokenness well, except when you don
’
t
—
by drinking too much, that is.
”

I
laughed.
“
I
’
ve surely exposed you to a few of those episodes here
lately, haven
’
t I girlfriend? Honestly, what did it get me?
”

“
Laid. It got you laid,
”
I replied somberly.
“
I shared in your pain, your
hurt, your grieving. I commiserated with you the only way I knew how. I gave you
my best, I gave you my all
—
I gave you me.
”