G-Men: The Series (76 page)

I shook my head, smacking her rear end. “Come on, I better get you home.”

“You know, Mom’s going through some stuff now with her health, being worried about Grandma, and now me, so she hasn’t really been herself. She’s been kind of salty with me, especially. I’m sure in time she’ll get back to normal.”

“Yeah, and I’ll be happy when that day comes. Trust me, Slate’s no picnic to be around these days since he hasn’t been getting any pussy.”

“You
did not
just say that to me.” She was giving me the evil eye, her arms crossed in front of her.

“Sorry,” I said, grabbing her for a hug. “I keep forgetting that’s your mom I’m referring to there.”

I dropped her off at the house. There was a car in the driveway. Lindsey said it belong to Donna, the home healthcare nurse that was helping out.

“So what time do you want me back over?”

“How does 7 p.m. sound?”

“That works for me,” she said. “I’ll see you then.”

“Oh and Lindsey,” I called after her, “bring your appetite.”

“I’ll bring both of them,” she answered, giving me her sweet, sexy smile.

I watched her ass the whole way to the door.

Damn, she is hot.

^{chapter 39}

I phoned Darcy when I got upstairs to my room. Donna had everything under control and was scheduled to stay until Slate returned. I’d peeked in on Mom and she was napping, as was Bryce.

I stripped off my clothes and waited for Darcy to answer.

“Hey Linds, still wanna meet?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s why I’m calling, because obviously you weren’t going to do it.”

“Sorry, I fell back asleep. Darin and I had quite a fuck-a-thon last night,” she bragged.

“That’s nice,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

“You just rolled your fucking eyes.”

“How’d you know that?” I asked, laughing.

“Your voice tone. Whenever you use that particular tone of voice, it’s followed by an eye roll. I know you well.”

“So you do,” I replied, digging in my closet for a clean pair of jeans and a sweater.

“Want to meet around two at Applebee’s? I’m going to have to get on the road and head back to Charlottesville after that.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” I replied. “See you then.”

Right after I got off the phone with Darcy, my phone rang. I checked caller I.D. and was surprised to see it was Kyzer. Wow, it had been awhile.

“Hey, stranger,” I said when I answered.

“Hey, Lindsey.”

He sounded kind of down and out.

“Is everything okay, Kyzer? I’ve tried to call you.”

“My father passed away last week. I was in Miami for his funeral.”

“Oh my God! Why didn’t you call and let me know?”

“What difference would that have made? It wouldn’t have changed anything.”

“Well, yeah, but still, I would have liked to talk to you, offer whatever comfort I could. Are you still in Miami?”

“No, he said, “I’m on the road back to Charlottesville. I just wanted to check in with you, you know, to see if you needed any help with Physics.”

That was so damn thoughtful of him, thinking about me after the grief he was feeling.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better.”

I couldn’t imagine the grief that he was feeling right now. No brothers or sisters to share the pain, only a houseful of servants most likely. Yet he still cared about me and my problems with Physics.

“You know me, I live for science problems.”

An idea suddenly sparked. Maybe I could temporarily distract him from his grief. I thought about the piece of paper we had recovered from the locked metal box. I was certain that Kyzer could read the formula equation and figure it out more quickly than anyone else. He would probably love the distraction. He didn’t need to know the specifics around it.

“Hey, you know what?”

“What?”

“I came across something the other day kind of out of the ordinary. It was something I found in an old lockbox. It looks like some sort of chemical formula or equation. My stepfather scanned it and sent it off for interpretation. Too bad you weren’t around. I’ll bet you could have figured it out in no time.”

“A formula?”

“Yeah. It was something from Banion Pharmaceuticals. Probably nothing, but you know how anal my stepfather can be.”

“Yeah,” he said, “Well, it goes with the job, I suppose. Do you still have the paper?”

“Yeah, it’s around here somewhere.”

“Do you have plans this afternoon?”

I’m meeting Darcy for lunch at Applebee’s around two. It’s the one that’s just off the by-pass.”

“Do you care if I drive up to see you? I just feel so lonely and hate the idea of going back to that apartment and being alone.”

“Well, Kyzer, I’m seeing Taz at seven, so you know—”

“I’ll head out before then. Hey, bring the paper with the formula equation to Applebee’s with you. I guarantee you I’ll decipher it before I leave, and then you can impress your stepfather. I just need some company.”

How could I possibly refuse him? Hadn’t he been there for me when my family needed help?

“Okay, sure,” I reluctantly agreed. I knew Taz would not be pleased. I didn’t plan on telling him, though. Why start a war?

“Okay, then, I’ll see you in a bit at Applebee’s.”

“See you then.”

I let Donna know I was meeting a friend at Applebee’s and would be back between 4:30 or 5:00 p.m. I wasn’t sure how long Kyzer planned on sticking around. She said she would let Mom know when she woke up.

Darcy and I spent an hour catching up on everything: her relationship with Darin, my relationship with Taz, and Jill’s relationship with Gabe. I told her about my mother’s out of character behavior regarding Taz.

“You know, her hormones are probably all out of whack, plus with the stress and everything, I wouldn’t worry too much. She’ll get with the program. This has to be pretty tough on you, too. Are you keeping up okay with your online classes?”

“It’s been going okay. Speaking of that, Kyzer Stanfield should be here any time. He called earlier. His father passed away and he wanted to drive up to talk. He’s lonely.”

“You mean creepy,” Darcy replied.

I was taken aback by her comment.

“Since when do you think he is creepy?”

“Since forever,” she replied, stuffing a fried mushroom into her mouth.

“Why haven’t you said anything before now?”

“Hon, you were trying to get laid. Who cares if some “Norman Bates” type is the one to get your cherry? It doesn’t mean I thought you’d ever have a real romance with him. You’re too smart for that.”

“Geez, it’s nice knowing you have my best interest at heart.”

“Whatever,” she said, waving her hand at me. “Speak of the devil, Norman’s here.”

I turned and saw Kyzer looking around. I raised my hand up, waving to him. He smiled, immediately making his way over to us.

Darcy wasted no time in finishing up her fried mushrooms and getting her bill. She claimed she had to hit the road back to Charlottesville to study for an exam.

Yeah, right.

We said our goodbyes as she fled.

Kyzer and I sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments. The waitress came over and cleared off the empty dishes. He ordered an iced tea; I ordered a refill of Diet Coke.

“Kyzer, again, I’m so very sorry for your loss. Do you want to talk about it?”

“There’s really not much to say. It was imminent. It was just a matter of time, I knew that. But still, when it does happen, it takes you by surprise. If it hadn’t been for Sue Ellen being with him those last few hours, he would have only had a nurse. I was driving like mad, but didn’t make it back in time. Sue Ellen is inconsolable.”

“I’ll bet,” I replied. “What are her plans?”

“She’ll just continue running the businesses until I graduate. My father left 75% of his total estate to me and 25% to her. I don’t see a problem with continuing to let her draw a salary as CEO over Stanfield Group until I graduate. She will then assume a post at whatever entity she wishes. She has proven herself to me.”

“Well, at least there’s no squabbling or animosity. That must be a blessing.”

“It is. Have you heard anything from your father?”

“Nope.”

“How’s your mother doing?”

“She’s doing well. Still confined to bed rest, but coming along nicely.”

“Hey, did you bring that paper with the formula on it? I promised to crack that for you, remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” I said, laughing. “You know, I actually left the house without it? I’m sorry,” I lied.

After the comments that Darcy had just made, I had second thoughts about having Kyzer help interpret the formula. It just didn’t feel right.

“Well, no matter, I guess,” he said with a shrug.

“Hey, I’m going to make a trip to the restroom. I’ll be back in a couple. If the waitress comes by, will you ask her for my check?”

“Sure thing,” he said, scanning the menu.

When I returned to the table, our table had been cleared of everything but our drinks. I took a sip of my Diet Coke.

“So, are you going back to classes tomorrow?”

“No,” he replied with a smile. “There are some business complications that have arisen. I promised to help my step-mother with them, so it will be a few more days before I return to classes. I’d rather talk about what’s been going on with you, anyway.”

I filled him in on my recent problems with Physics. He assured me he would help me with the current units we were covering. He expected to be caught up by next week.

He asked me about Taz, which frankly surprised me.

“We’re doing, okay,” I said, “taking things slowly. How about you? Are there any girls on the horizon?”

“Not since you,” he replied with a shrug.

I finished my Diet Coke, suddenly aware of an overwhelming feeling of sleepiness seeping in. I yawned.

“Am I boring you, Lindsey?”

“No, not all. I’m just so sleepy all of a sudden.”

“Well, maybe you should head home and take a nap before your date with Taz.”

That was kind of an odd thing for him to say. I nodded.

“I paid your bill while you were in the restroom,” he advised. “We can go any time.”

“You didn’t need to do that,” I said, yawning again.

“Come on,” he said, “let’s get you to your car before you doze off. I seem to have that effect on women.”

By the time we got outside into the parking lot, Kyzer was practically holding me up.

“Did you drink alcohol in there before I arrived?”

“No,” I said, sleepily.

“Well, I’m driving you home. I’m not allowing you behind the wheel in your condition.”

I was in no state to argue as he opened the passenger side door of a car I didn’t recognize.

“Where’s your Benz?”

“Back in Georgia. I’m driving a rental.”

A rental? Why would he be driving a rental?

Kyzer got me fastened into the passenger seat, then circled around and got in, buckling his seat belt.

“I’m going to have to give you directions,” I slurred.

What the hell?

“Not necessary,” he replied, sounding as if he were miles away instead of just inches. My head flopped back against the headrest of the seat, my eyes closed. Right before I sunk into total blackness, I thought I heard him mumble, “Sweet dreams you lying, little bitch.”

^{chapter 40}

~ TAZ ~

Lindsey’s text message had come in right before 5:00 p.m. It had simply said:

Not feeling very well. Gonna lie down for a while. I’ll call you when I wake up. Sorry

I’d already started the preparations for our dinner, so I went ahead and finished, eating by myself. She’d probably gotten shit-faced with Darcy this afternoon, and was sleeping it off. I doubted very much if she would call me tonight.

I was stretched out on my bed going over the notes that Slate had composed after his meeting with Davey earlier. The chemist actually had the balls to try and negotiate with Slate to have his time shortened for providing him the interpretation of the chemical formula equation.