Forever My Angel (14 page)

I clear my throat loudly. “Um, anyway, Dad, have you checked your fax machine recently? I had Eva Fitzsimmons send over the paperwork for the property I’ve selected. It’s perfect, but we aren’t the only ones who think so. I’d like to proceed quickly.”

Dad nods, and I think I see a bit of relief on his face. Business is what he knows best, and he’s clearly more eager to deal with it than with the two women currently complicating his life. He stands. “Let’s go into my office. Tess, will you be joining us?”

I answer before she can. “Yes. She’s going to be a part of this as well, so I’d like her with us.” I tuck her hand in mine as we rise to our feet, pushing in our chairs.

We’re almost out of the kitchen when Mom calls my name. I turn, suspended in the middle of the doorway. “Do you think we could have dinner next week?”

“I don’t know.”

Her face falls for a moment, and I almost feel bad. Then she surprises me. “What if I offer you something you want in exchange? I’ll tell you why Warren and I are really here.”

—-♥—-

C
learly, playing dirty to get what I want is not a trait I inherited solely from my father. But I guess it’s like Angel always says: If you’re going to play, win. My mother has apparently decided to get in the game, but I’m not sure what the prize is. My forgiveness? I’m not sure if that’s something I can offer.

Still, Mom’s words play through my head on repeat for the rest of the day, like a hot new song. You’re excited about the first twenty times you hear it, but then you’re so tired of it you immediately change the station when it comes on, only to find it playing on another channel. No matter how I try to distract myself, I can’t seem to escape my thoughts.

Why are they here? Why is she willing to tell me? What’s Ware’s secret? I guess I’ll find out on Monday when we have dinner with Mom. I don’t know much, but I know it has something to do with him. I can just feel it. Speaking of Ware; he seems to be settling in here at Tuck’s Tap well enough, I have to grudgingly admit.

I would have stayed home with Angel tonight, but I knew he was coming in. Plus, I think she’s had enough of my hovering since her accident. She insisted that I come to work like normal and let her stay home and hang out in game for a little while. I relented, but damn I wish she was here with me. I do know she gets bored just sitting here at the bar without much to do, though.

And I didn’t want Chelsea to have to handle taking care of acclimatizing Ware all on her own. She’s been taking on a lot of extra responsibility lately–as my wallet can attest–but I think training Ware would be too much to ask her to do. He’s got zero bar experience, and a chip on his shoulder. Hmm. Maybe I should let her handle him after all. Maybe she’d use her rusty spoon to take him down a peg or two.

As it is, I’ve got him working in the kitchen with Vince, who I know can definitely handle him. Dad wants Ware trained up to be my right hand here at work, like he thought Dougie was. But what Dad doesn’t realize is that while yeah, Dougie was helpful because he could fill any role, my real right hand here is Chelsea. I just wish she wanted to put her people skills to use, for something other than this. She's got so much talent, but so little ambition. I swear, I couldn’t run this place without her help. She’s so good with the front-of-house staff that all I have to worry about is the back end.

And security. I sigh.

Ian has a chair pulled up to the corner of my desk, and we’re going over security concerns for the new location. We’re running full speed ahead with Angel’s idea about making it into a fondue bar, and we’ve also decided we’d like to create some very cozy couples’ seating in one section of the upper level. The problem is that if we give couples privacy, they might take significant advantage of it. Also, I want the property covered by cameras everywhere other than inside the bathrooms. But I don’t want to give people a false sense of privacy and then record them on camera. Ian and I are trying to come up with a solution.

“What about posting a sign, simply stating that the area is under video surveillance? Post it near the door, so that everyone sees it when they first come in. I get that you don’t want to be in their face in every area, constantly reminding them that they’re being watched, but if it’s posted they can’t claim they didn’t know.”

Hmm, sometimes simple is best. I don’t want to scare my clients away, making them think I believe the area is so unsafe that I need to monitor every moment, so maybe the simple solution is the right one.

There’s a sharp knock on my door before it’s flung open.

I jerk my attention upward, ready to lay into someone for breaching my office uninvited, then stop when I see the look on Chelsea’s face.

I’m already surging to my feet, and so is Ian beside me.

“Jordan needs you. He said there’s trouble in the side parking lot.” Chelsea darts away before I can order her to stay.

My mind is whirling through one worst case scenario after another as I bolt through the bar with long strides. The night Angel was drugged here and nearly abducted is still all too fresh in my mind. I’ve got a photo of the bastard who did it up behind the bar, and every member of my staff knows to call the police if he sets foot in here again. But what if he nabbed someone from the parking lot?

Icy dread stabs into my spine, making it hard for me to breathe.

It’s quiet chaos when I reach the parking lot.

Ware is staring in horror at his truck. The driver’s side window has been viciously smashed in, and glass is fanned out around the truck like snowflakes, shimmering under the streetlights. Two other cars also have smashed windows. I think they belong to two of my waitresses, Carla and Denise.

Jordan, our bouncer, heads toward me from the far side of one of the cars. “Did you check thoroughly to make sure there’s no one out there? Look in and under every vehicle,” I tell him. Jordan’s been on my shit list lately, and I think he knows this is one more strike against him. I understand he can’t control everything that happens here, but dammit, I pay him to keep trouble out. Yet trouble keeps finding its way into my bar. I turn my attention to Ian, who’s at my side. “Ian, call Kevin, then start reviewing tonight’s tapes.”

“I didn’t see anyone, boss.” Why the hell is Jordan still standing in front of me? I harden my gaze, and he turns back to the cars to give things another look.

I nearly jump when Chelsea touches my arm. “Call me if you need me. I’m going to go keep the bar going.”

Thank God I have at least one competent person here. She knows what her job is, and does it well, rather than trying to do everyone else’s or making excuses for what happened. Shit I love that girl.

I’m sort of glad Angel didn’t come with me tonight after all. She’s safe at home. Except...what if this is like last week, and they hit the bar and our house as well? “Chel?”

“Hmm?”

“Call Tess. Just to put my mind at ease. I’m sure she’s fine, but I need to know it.” I’d call her myself, but she’d just accuse me of hovering. Plus, I need to call the police department, and then our insurance company.

“Of course.”

Nearby, Ware slams his truck door closed after searching inside the cab. “Nothing’s missing.” He looks as furious as I feel. Someone is fucking with my home turf, and it’s going to stop.

It takes me nearly fifteen minutes to get a rep on the phone at the insurance company. I understand it's after hours, but I still need this handled. When I finally do get someone on the line, it takes them less than two minutes to tell me to take photos, have the police document everything, and they'll have someone contact me soon. I’m pacing the parking lot, feeling a bit like a caged cat, waiting for the police to show up. I hate waiting. And I hate not being able to control this situation. I'm at the mercy of several people who don't value my time and property the way I do. The police seem to be taking their sweet-ass time arriving, and I’m about to call again and ask for an update when I see Angel’s new Mustang glide into her normal parking space. Even under the circumstances, I can’t help smiling.

Her face is dark with worry as she climbs out of the car, her long legs encased in a slim-fitting pair of jeans and her hair in a messy bun. “Are you okay?” She rushes to my side.

“Better now that you’re here.” I press a kiss to the top of her head. All thoughts of being in a hurry for the police to arrive evaporate as I hold my Angel tightly in my arms. She makes everything better just by being here. “Just waiting on the cops now so we can start cleaning this mess up.” It's been nearly twenty-five minutes since I called them.

Angel looks around at the destruction in dismay. “Any idea who did it?”

My jaw hardens. “No. I’ve got Ian reviewing the tapes now.” I catch her confused look. “An associate of Kevin’s. He sent Ian to represent him here so he can keep playing house with Lexi down in Chancellorsville.” I can’t help the growl to my words as I think about Lexi and Kevin together. Angel laughs. She thinks those two make a great couple. Clearly she has no sense, but I already knew that, since for some reason she picked me to be hers. “Not that I mind, but what are you doing here?”

She smiles shyly, her cheeks coloring. “I thought you’d feel better if I was close.”

I catch her face in my hands, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Always.”

The police finally decide to show up, and Angel heads inside to grab a seat at the bar. “I’ll be hanging out with Chelsea if you need me.”

I briefly consider telling her she can come into the office with me if she wants, but if it turns out this is somehow connected to Nick, it would probably be better she not see it on the tape. I wonder if we’ll be suspecting he’s somehow involved in every bad thing that happens for the rest of our lives, always looking over our shoulder. I hope not.

After the officers assess the damage, I lead them into my office, where Ian is waiting. I wonder briefly if I should be worried about having Ian in the same room as the police. I don’t know much about him, except obviously that his name isn’t really Ian. I don’t know what he’s hiding from. Still, he doesn’t seem concerned, so I put the worry aside. “Found something,” he announces triumphantly. “Although we can’t really see much.”

Ware knocks on the open door. “Anything I can do to help?”

“If you want you can come watch the tapes with us.” I figure since his truck was one of the vehicles damaged, I can throw him a bone.

The tapes don’t show much that will be useful, but at least it’s something. Apparently we’re looking for a guy a bit shorter than me, but still what I could consider tall, wearing a dark hoodie. He kept his hood up and his face tucked down the entire time, though, as if he knew there were cameras there. We never get a look at his face, but something about him nags at me; he seems familiar. Maybe he’s one of the waitresses’ boyfriends that I’ve seen around? I’ll have to think about it.

Notepads in hand, the officers leave, reminding me to call them if I think of anything else. Right, so it can take them several hours to get out there and then do nothing useful. Pretty sure that Kevin will be doing more about this than the police department will.

When only Ware and I are left, I beckon him to my side with two fingers. If I can’t count on the police to make sure the things and people I love are safe, then I’ll take matters into my own hands. I wait for Ware to get closer, not wanting what I have to say to be overheard by prying ears outside my thin office door. “You want to earn some trust around here, and some extra cash too?”

Ware nods, like I knew he would. He came here for money, and I intend to use that to my advantage.

“Stay close to Chelsea until you go home on Monday.” Chelsea would kill me if she knew I was asking him this. I’m sure Ware drives her as batty as he drives me, but Ian is going to be busy, and since Ware’s staying at the apartment with her, he’s the logical choice.

Ware looks like he wants to refuse, and I’m tempted to smack him upside the back of his thick head. I know Chelsea can be a handful, but damn, he doesn’t have to look so reluctant. She’s pretty awesome once you actually get to know her.

“Have you asked her how she feels about that?”

Now I see the problem. He must have had a taste of Chelsea’s wrath. Maybe he's even met her rusty spoon. I smirk. “I don’t have to.”

Ware cocks an eyebrow at me skeptically, causing me to sigh.

“Chelsea isn’t going to like it if she knows you’re staying close because I want her protected. She likes to think she can take care of herself. But she won’t mind if she thinks you’re staying close because you’re new in the area and don’t know what else to do.”

“Which is why you’re trusting me with this, instead of Ian or Kevin.”

I’ll let him think that, rather than telling him he was just the most convenient. There’s something about Ware that tempts me to like him, as much as I don’t want to. I clap him on the shoulder. “If something happens to her, I won’t take it well.” More like I'll be homicidal.

“I’ve got to go have dinner with Tucker Sunday night.”

“Take her with you, tell her you’re nervous about going alone. I’ll adjust her shifts.”

“She won’t like it if she finds out.”

He’s not telling me anything I don’t know. “Then hope she doesn’t, but if you want the two thousand dollars a week I’m offering, you’ll keep close to her. Also, make sure the rest of the staff knows I don’t want any of our girls walking to their cars alone until further notice. I don’t know what the fuck is going on around here lately, but I’ll be damned if I’m letting someone else get hurt.”

Hook, line, sinker. Ware is nearly salivating at the mention of the money. I almost feel bad for using something I know he so desperately wants to manipulate him, but I need Chelsea safe. And Ware obviously needs money. If I can help them both out at once, and make Ware feel grateful to me, that can only be good for all of us. “Just so I understand, that’s on top of the wage for working here? Or combined?”

I smile. “On top of.”

His hand darts out without any lingering hesitation, and we shake on it. “Done.”