Rock Chick 02 Rescue (32 page)

How did
this
happen?

I just stopped myself from checking to see if my hair and eyebrows had burned off considering our relationship was progressing at the speed of light.

He watched me and then his face came closer to mine. “I hate to say this, but part of me likes that you’re forced in a corner, that way you can’t retreat and I can see you real y want to.”

It was my turn to watch him.

“What happens when I’m out of that corner and I don’t need you to rescue me anymore?”

It was the six mil ion dol ar question and I held my breath waiting for the answer.

“One thing at a time,” he said.

Not the right answer.

“No, I real y want to know. What happens when I’m not getting shot at and I’m not interesting anymore?” His eyes changed and he looked at me as if I’d asked him if I could spend the afternoon painting his house in shades of Pepto-Bismol and adorning the front yard with plastic flamingos.

Then he said, “You think I’m a little scary? I think you’re a little crazy.”

Okay, so it was time to let it al hang out.

“I’m not crazy, I’m anything but crazy, I’m so not crazy that I’m anti-crazy. Eddie, I hate to tel you this, but I’m boring.” He waited a beat, watching me, and then burst out laughing.

My mouth fel open.

Then his head dropped and he nuzzled my neck.

“Definitely crazy,” he muttered against my neck and then lifted his head and looked at me, “and total y ful of shit. You couldn’t be boring if you tried. And if this is your next tactic to try to get me to give up, go for it. It’l be amusing to watch
you
try to be boring. Almost as amusing as it was to watch you pretend to be normal.”

Wel , what could you say to that?

Except, I’m
so… very… sure
.

He didn’t read my look of supreme unhappiness, or more likely, ignored it. Instead, he touched his lips to mine and he was gone.

Yeesh.

Even the truth didn’t work.

* * * * *

“How’re you doing?” she asked when she got to me, her eyes concerned.

“After work, Eddie and I are going shopping… for a
coffee maker
,” I answered, thinking she’d understand my plight.

She blinked.

“No, I mean with the guy who’s threatening to rape you.” I waved my hand and went back to steaming milk.

“Oh that. I’m over that,” I said.

Her mouth dropped open.

She snapped it shut and said, “Last night, with that phone to your ear, you looked like you were going to have a coronary.”

“That was last night, I was taken off guard. Now I feel like throwin’ down, kickin’ butt and takin’ names and…

whatever,” I petered out, not having any more macho-speak at the ready, “I’m done with being scared.”

“Right on, Loopy Loo!” Tex encouraged, pul ing a portafilter off the espresso machine with brute force, even though he didn’t need to, and slamming the grounds out of it.

“What are you going to do?” Indy asked.

I looked at her. “I have no idea, but I’l think of something.

The only thing I know I’m
not
going to do is nothing.” She looked at me for a beat, then she smiled.

* * * * *

“Great, Tex, here she is,” I said to Tex, “Now you can meet my Mom.”

Tex looked up and across the store.

Then his face froze. “Un-unh,” he muttered.

“Hey, dol face,” Mom cal ed.

I smiled and waved at Mom and Blanca but turned to Tex.

“What do you mean, ‘un-unh’?” I whispered frantical y.

Tex was stil frozen.

Mom made it to the coffee counter and she gave him her majorette smile.

“You must be Tex,” she said.

He made a kind of guttural noise, grabbed my arm and marched me out from behind the counter. He frog-legged me to Indy, who he also grabbed by the arm and he shoved us down the aisle of books turning into fiction, the M-N-O

section. Then he stopped and glared at me.

“You didn’t tel me she was pretty,” he said.

I looked at Indy, Indy looked at me.

“Give me your phone, woman,” Tex said to Indy.

She handed over her phone, he flipped it open and started to push buttons at random.

started to push buttons at random.

Indy snatched the phone out of his hand.

“Who do you want to cal ?” she asked.

“Chavez. Get me Chavez.”

Indy scrol ed down her phone book and hit Eddie’s number. Tex seized the phone from her hand and put it to her ear.

“Chavez?” Pause, “We got a problem.”

He walked down the aisle and muttered something.

I looked to Indy, she was smiling. I smiled back.

“Uh-huh,” he said, nodding, “Uh-huh,” he said again, stil nodding. There was a pause, “Fuck no!” This was an explosion and I jumped. Then, “Right.” Then he threw the phone back at Indy who caught it and flipped it shut.

He looked at me.

“Al right, Loopy Loo. Let’s go meet your mother.” We walked back to the front of the store and, I couldn’t help it, I was near to laughing.

Tex thought my Mom was pretty.

Mom and Blanca were looking concerned.

“Let’s try this again,” I said when we approached them.

“Tex, Nancy and Blanca. Nancy and Blanca, Tex.”

“You like cats?” Tex boomed to my mother.

Mom jumped, stared up at Tex and nodded.

Anyone would nod, even if they hated cats.

“Then this’l work. I’m goin’ home at one, can you wait that long?”

“Sure?” Mom asked and answered, not certain which way to go.

Everyone stood around and looked at each other.

Everyone stood around and looked at each other.

“Maybe you can make them a coffee?” I suggested.

Tex turned to me, blank faced.

I felt a little sorry for him, I mean, I knew how he felt.

“What’l it be?” Indy asked, “Tex is the best barista in the Rocky Mountains, whatever you want, it’l be fantastic.”

“Latte?” Mom said.

“Just coffee for me,” Blanca said.

Tex lumbered behind the counter.

“He’s a little strange, isn’t he?” Mom leaned in and whispered to me.

“He’l lay down his life for you, or, more to the point, for Jet,” Indy answered in a voice that said she meant it.

Mom and Blanca looked at each other.

That was enough for them.

* * * * *

“Blanca!
Qué pasa
? How’s it going, Nancy?” Kitty Sue peeled off and went to sit with them and Al y came to me.

She handed me a shiny, new, very expensive, cel ular phone.

“Mom and I got you that. I already programmed everyone’s numbers in it and it’s charged. You should text everyone so they’l have your number,” Al y said.

I looked at the phone, I looked at her. I opened my mouth to speak but she got there ahead of me.

“Think of it as a Christmas present,” she said, waylaying my denial.

“It’s October,” I told her.

She shrugged.

“I don’t know what to say,” I said quietly.

“How about, ‘thank you’?” Mom yel ed from across the room, using The Voice.

Tex let out a guffaw of laughter, then snapped his mouth shut and I could swear his cheeks got a little pink.

I looked at Al y and swal owed.

“Thank you,” I said.

Crinkles came to the corners of Al y’s eyes, “My pleasure.”

I texted everyone Al y’d programmed into my phone, including Indy, Al y, Tod, Stevie, Daisy and yes, even Eddie, with my new number.

Kitty Sue left and then so did Blanca. Tex loaded Mom’s chair and bag in the back of the El Camino, loaded Mom in the front, and roared off with Carlos Santana’s “Winning” blaring from the eight-track.

Duke showed up just before Tex left and fifteen minutes after, the bel over the door went and Vance walked in.

I held my breath. Any girl who sees Vance holds her breath, be she five or one hundred and five.

He was just that fine.

He was wearing a pair of army green cargo pants that had seen a lot of wear, a skintight burgundy t-shirt that looked in danger of cutting off his circulation at his muscular biceps and a pair of dusty brown cowboy boots that looked like they’d actual y been put into a pair of stirrups (more than once). His shiny black hair was pul ed back into a ponytail and his dark eyes were fringed with a set of lashes so lush, you could almost cal them girlie, if you had a death wish.

“Good! You came,” Indy cried immediately and I looked at her.

She grabbed my arm and pul ed me toward Vance.

He shook his head when we arrived at him.

“Thought I’d tel you to your face, this isn’t gonna happen,” Vance said to Indy.

Indy narrowed her eyes.

“What isn’t going to happen?” I asked.

Vance turned to me, “When we talked about you at the staff meeting, I voted to lock you in the safe room.” My mouth dropped open.

I didn’t even know what the safe room was but I knew I didn’t want anything to do with it. And I didn’t want to think about being an agenda item at a Nightingale Investigations staff meeting at al .

“Pardon?” I asked.

“Eddie’d have a shit fit, you wanderin’ around during day hours, hangin’ with the guys. Lee thought you’d be a distraction. The guys voted with me.” His eyes did a body scan and the look in them changed to something that made me feel like swaying toward him, like he had a powerful sexual tractor beam reeling me in.

“Sometimes, distractions are good,” he said softly, “In your case, it’d be job satisfaction.”

Dear Lord.

My mouth went dry.

What the hel was
this
about?

“Lee vetoed,” Vance finished and the tractor beam disconnected.

Thank God.

I pul ed myself together.

“You don’t help us, we’l go alone,” Indy threatened, completely ignoring the strange, sexual y-charged byplay.

“You try to go alone, I grab her and take her to the office.

Eddie can pick her up there. Lee’l deal with you,” Vance returned.

Eek!

That didn’t sound good. I didn’t want Vance grabbing me (at least not
that
way… what was I saying, I was sleeping with Eddie, not
any
way) and I certainly didn’t want Lee

“dealing with” Indy. Lee was Scary with a capital S.

“What are you two talking about?” I cut in.

Indy turned to me.

“You want to find your Dad, Vance is real y, real y good at finding people. I asked him to help.”

I looked to Vance.

Vance was watching Indy talk but when I spoke, he looked to me.

“It’d be nice if you could help,” I said, not real y wanting to but also wanting to find my father enough to ask. “I’l pay you,” I added as an afterthought. I also couldn’t pay him but maybe he’d take instal ments.

His body turned ful y to me and the tractor beam switched on again. “I’l find your father, but you aren’t gonna switched on again. “I’l find your father, but you aren’t gonna help and you aren’t gonna pay me. Though, it won’t be free.

You’l owe me.”

Dear Lord.

In debt to another hot guy. I didn’t know if I could hack it.

No, I
knew
I couldn’t hack it.

I looked him in the eye and had to wonder what form his favor would come in.

It didn’t take a mind reader to get the gist.

While he waited for my answer, his eyes went weird, as in
sexy
weird.

“Mild mannered coffee girl by day,” he muttered, “But I’ve seen you in your Smithie’s uniform.”

Sweet Jesus.

That fucking Smithie’s uniform.

It was like Superman’s leotard. No one paid attention to Superman when he was Clark Kent; put on the leotard and al the women were fal ing at his feet. Smithie’s uniform had the same power.

“I’m not working at Smithie’s anymore,” I told him.

His eyes dropped to my scarlet-red tee. “That’s a shame.”

I forced myself to breathe and looked to Indy.

She was bugging her eyes out at me like we were in fifth grade and the cutest boy in school came up to me during recess.

I looked back to Vance.

“I think I’l go it alone,” I said.

He stared at me a second then said, “Can’t let you do that either.”

Um… what?

“What?” I asked.

“You don’t know what your dealin’ with and you don’t know what you’re doin’.”

Okay, so, I was getting a little fed up with guys tel ing me what I could and couldn’t do. Even hot guys.

“I’m not sure you have a choice.”

I was proud of myself, it came out with attitude and conviction. Enough to make his dark eyes flare. I thought he was angry, for a second, then he got over it and his lips twitched.

“Chavez is fucked.”

I didn’t know what that meant and I didn’t ask.

Vance looked at Indy. “We’re goin’ to Zip’s.” Immediately, Indy clapped and cried, “Yippee!”

“Zip’s?” I asked.

“It’s a gun shop,” Indy said.

“
What
?” I kind of yel ed.

Why on earth did we need a gun shop?

Vance answered my unasked question. “I’m not gonna help, but I’m not lettin’ you two loose in Denver without protection. We’re goin’ to get you some gear.” He turned to Indy, “You take your car, Jet’s on the Harley with me.” Harley?

As in, Harley Davidson motorcycle?

With Vance?

No.

No, no, no and real y,
no
.

“I’l go with Indy,” I said.

“You aren’t out of sight on my watch,” Vance announced in a Tough Guy therefore No Discussion Voice.

Wonderful.

* * * * *