Hardheaded Brunette (22 page)

Gilda narrowed her eyes. Once her shoulder was better, she'd get back to karate class and teach that little know-it-all…

"Don't even think about it." Mick pointed his index finger at her then paused in the doorway of the dojo. "Stop letting Mena get to you. She's all hot air."

Gilda wasn't so sure.

Kane barked for all the students in the room to turn toward Mick then said, "
Sensei ni tachte.
" The command for everyone to bow toward their sensei. As he bowed, Kane's gaze met Gilda's. "
Rei
."

She narrowed her eyes. Did Kane help Mena set up the new store last night too? If he'd been at the shop, he wasn't in any of the five pictures Mick sent.

"
Naotte
." Kane called to end the bow. "Line up."

The handful of students stood upright then lined up in belt order. Black belts at one end, white belts at the other, and everyone else in between. After opening bows, Mick paced the front of the room, his gaze darting toward Gilda before he faced his students. "I have been informed by our local police force that some of my students and instructors are not cooperating with their investigation into Charlie Hunt's murder."

When everyone in the line shifted and fidgeted, Gilda sagged back against the wall. She knew from the other students' reactions Mick's accusation was true.

"I see." Mick kept his back to Gilda. "As of today, I'm asking each of you to rethink your silence and your loyalties. If you've seen, heard, or know anything, I suggest you talk to Fabio or Thayer immediately. Hindering a police investigation is a punishable offence, both in the real world and here in my school."

Beads of sweat emerged on several students' foreheads. The shifting continued like a nervous dance to inaudible music. Fear and tension were as palpable as their sweat. Even Gilda became uncomfortably warm.

"I don't expect anyone to step forward in class." Mick paced again. "I do expect all of you who know anything to walk across the street either today or tomorrow and take a seat in an interrogation room."

One of the brown belts cleared his throat. "In other words, you want us to betray our fellow students."

As the back of Mick's neck reddened, Gilda was convinced he'd either start to yell soon or storm out of the dojo. Instead, he drew in a deep breath. "We strive for honor, integrity, and loyalty. If you feel you're betraying someone, then you must have a good reason to fear reprisal, which means you're friends with a murderer."

Any smugness on the students' faces faded and was quickly replaced by alarm.

Mick had hit a nerve. Rather than playing on their fears, all he said was, "Start running."

As the class warmed up, furtive whispers filled the air and wary looks shot Gilda's way. She closed her eyes and wished she'd remained behind the front desk, out of the line of fire. Or better yet, in Mick's condo.

"Well, that was fun," Mick stood next to Gilda and muttered. "Got any chores you want them to do? They're either ready to kiss my butt or tie me to a big rock before they drop me in Lake Erie."

She smiled. "I think you're safe for now. They need time to digest things. You might want to watch your back after class though."

"That's why I have you." He nudged her leg. "Thanks for your support. I think we'll do a cardio class today so I don't have to worry about anyone sneaking up behind me later. They'll be too busy trying to breathe."

Gilda opened her notebook, surprised as a tear splattered on the empty page. "I wish I could join in."

"Not today you don't, babe."

As she sat back and tried to focus, Mena narrowed her eyes and nudged another student's arm. Unfortunately for Mena, the student she chose to chat with was Marion, who nudged back. Mena went flying and landed in the middle of the mats with a dull thud and a loud squawk. Gilda winced.

Marion gasped. "Oh no! Are you okay? Honey, you must have two left feet. You should watch where you're going and who you're bumping into."

Mick bowed his head and smirked but was quick to wipe the amusement off his face. "Great idea. Since Mena's on the floor anyway, you can all drop and give me ten pushups."

As a chorus of groans filled the air, Mena glared at Marion then rolled onto her stomach to count out ten pushups. The entire time, Marion grinned wider and wider as sweat rolled down her red face. It took her several seconds to struggle back to her feet, but she caught up to Mena quickly and nudged her again.

Gilda was glad she couldn't participate in this particular class. Her injured shoulder would be the least of her worries. Mena would give her enough grief after class, let alone shoot her hostile looks during.

Kane ran past, lapping everyone. His long legs gave him an edge, but most people kept their heads bowed and eyes averted while they ran anyway. "Hey, love, do me a favor."

"What?" She had to wait until he circled around the room again.

"Call my next of kin."

"Why?" Gilda asked.

When he came around the next time, he grinned. "I have a feeling most of us won't survive this class."

Considering Kane was in far better shape than ninety percent of the other students, that thought wasn't reassuring. Gilda winced. Marion would be upset she'd ever bothered to join class and give up on trying to get in shape.

Another loud thud shook Gilda out of her thoughts. Mena lay sprawled on the mats again. On second thought, maybe Marion would enjoy karate class far more than Gilda suspected. Despite the sweat and physical exertion, neither of which Marion was used to, she seemed to be having a great time.

"Ten more pushups and ten sit ups," Mick instructed, trying to hide his smile.

Mena cursed and rolled onto her flat belly once more.

Razi's gaze met Gilda's. He raised one eyebrow then smirked. While this wasn't how Marion planned to get Razi's attention, oddly enough, it seemed to be working. He got to his feet and ran, this time alongside Marion, who became even redder.

Mena snorted and kept her distance from them both.

What started out as a tense class soon had students wheezing while doing team-building exercises. Mick made them work in pairs and swap partners with each new exercise. By the end of class, Marion still seemed happy to be there. Her smile grew even wider when Razi stopped to give her both pointers and a pat on the back.

Gilda returned to her desk to do a few last minute chores before she and Marion went out for lunch. She'd just hung up the phone from calling a student about their membership when Kane, still in his uniform, eased into the chair next to her and gave a long, drawn out sigh.

"So. How's your day going, love?" he asked.

"Far better than yours apparently." She hesitated. "Are you okay?"

"Honey, I think I've done something to seriously piss off the Universe." He put his feet up on her desk. "Two speeding tickets, a parking ticket, a broken finger from doing bloody yoga, of all things, then some little old lady tried to bean me with an umbrella this morning while I was helping Mick take that other desk out of the old karate school."

Gilda stifled a laugh. "Mrs. Watson. She owns the consignment store next door. At least you know the day can't get much worse."

He snorted. "Let's hope."

From the changing rooms came the sound of two women arguing. Marion and Mena hadn't left their adversity in the dojo. No way Gilda planned to get in the middle of that one. Refereeing those two would be entirely up to Mick.

When Kane's phone whistled, he checked his screen and groaned. "So much for things not getting worse."

"Uh-oh." She raised her eyebrows. "Now what?"

"Looks like Mena sent me a text before class to say I got a letter from the IRS this morning. That can only be bad news." Kane dropped his head back. "I don't dare ask what else life wants to throw at me today."

"You and me both. My week's not going much better." Gilda chuckled and checked the calendar. "There is a full moon this week."

"Oh joy, then Mena should be a real treat," he groaned. "I'd go train and stay out of her way, but I'd probably hack off a hand with a dull blade. You don't happen to have a huge roll of bubble wrap on you, do you, love? You could just roll me up and stick me in a closet somewhere."

"Nope, sorry. Can I ask you something?"

"Fire away, I've got no secrets. I'm sure everything you want to know is on the Internet anyway." He bowed his head as Mena stomped around the corner, slipped on her shoes, and stormed out of the school.

"How long have you and Mena been together?" she asked.

Once the door closed, they only had a minute before the other students changed and paraded out to their regular lives.

Kane snorted. "
Her
again. I knew this day wouldn't get any better."

She bowed her head as her face grew warm. "Sorry, I'm just curious."

"No worries, love. We met when we were twelve and we've loved and hated each other ever since." He smirked. "We're like you and Thayer, except there's sex involved. A lot of sex."

Gilda faced him wide-eyed. "What? I'm not with Thayer in any way whatsoever."

He waved her off. "Come on. Mick told me all about what happened with you guys. I still really like the part about you throwing Thayer into a bag of coffee beans, love. You're my kind of lady."

"Oh great." She grimaced.

Kane laughed. "You don't need to be embarrassed. I like seeing ladies able to defend themselves, love. That's why I got into the martial arts to begin with."

Gilda couldn't help herself. "You were a lady?"

"Brat." He tapped her thigh. "Actually, I wanted to help my mom."

She met his gaze. "Was she being abused?"

Kane frowned and the Australian accent disappeared. "My stepdad beat her every night until… he died."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be. He deserved what he got." He shifted and reached for a black pen then drew on his arm while he continued. "My real dad was a felon. He and an accomplice robbed a bank here in town one afternoon. My dad got shot and went to prison along with his partner who killed a cop."

Her stomach lurched as she thought about her dad, shot in the line of duty by a bank robber in Sandstone Cove. "When did that happen?"

"About ten years ago."

Gilda's breath stuck in her chest. That would fit with when her dad was shot down by one of del Garda's accomplices during a robbery. Her dislike of Kane Garrick dissolved further.

Kane didn't seem to notice her discomfort. "My mom couldn't live alone, not with four kids and no family to help her. She settled for the next guy who came along, an alcoholic who beat both her and me, as well as molested my older sister."

"That's awful." Suddenly Gilda's week didn't seem so bad anymore.

"Yeah. It was bloody awful." He rolled his left arm over to show her the tattoo on the inside. A cross wound with roses and "Mom" across the top. Beneath the tattoo, a jagged scar ran from his elbow to his wrist. His voice softened. "My mom died protecting my sister. I've got a lot of scars from protecting them both. I was twelve."

Gilda stared, mesmerized by both the tattoo and the scar. "What happened to him?"

"He died." Kane's nostrils flared and his jaw tightened. "And I got five years in juvie for protecting my family."

Goose bumps raised on every inch of her skin. "Oh, Kane, I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't all bad." He met her gaze. "I spent my time finishing school and learning karate to protect what family I had left."

"So then what's with the Australian obsession?"

Kane flashed a twisted smile. "One of the guards took me under his wing. He was from Perth and told me stories about his homeland. It sounded like heaven after everything I'd been through. Eventually, I even started to walk and talk like him."

Gilda nodded, thinking of Gary. "He became your father figure. That makes sense after all you'd been through."

"I got lucky," he said. "Even though I was a string bean of a kid, he saw the fire in my eyes. He was the one who taught me how to box and focus on the positives. When I got out, he introduced me to Charlie, who took me in and set me up as a fighter. With Charlie's help, I learned to 'break necks and cash checks' as he used to say."

"Which explains why the cops are hounding you. They've dug into your past and you have a record for…" She averted her gaze.

"Murder. You can say it, love. I'm not ashamed. He had it coming."

"And on that note." Fabio stood in the doorway. "Kane Garrick, I need you to come with me. I'd like to ask you a few more questions."

"Again?" Kane's shoulders sagged and the accent and bravado returned. "Look, mate, why don't you just take whatever body fluids you need from me and run them through your chemistry set then come back when you have some proof I've done something wrong."

Fabio sighed. "We've been over that. You had an interesting past with Charlie and can fill in a lot of gaps that come up in our investigation."

"Then maybe you should just keep me in a cage behind your desk like a parrot." Kane chuckled.

"Or a stool pigeon." Thayer walked in and handed Fabio a coffee. "Good thinking. That way all of Charlie's friends will know who to blame for all their darkest secrets becoming public knowledge."

When Kane's upper body tensed, Gilda dropped a hand on his forearm. "Don't do anything stupid. Trust me, he's not worth it."

He met her gaze. "No worries, love. I'm learning to pick my battles wisely."

She wasn't so sure. "What happened with the black bag? Was it a bomb?"

Kane stiffened next to her. "What black bag?"

"It was Charlie Hunt's luggage." Thayer snorted. "Socks, underwear, clothes, and a large amount of cash. Several thousand dollars, actually."

"Cash?" Kane exchanged glances with Gilda.

She raised her eyebrows. "I'd think they'd want that. What was the bag doing in my backyard? Who put it there?"

Fabio shrugged. "We're still trying to figure that out. Maybe it's a clue as to what whoever keeps breaking into your house is looking for."

Kane cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "Then it sounds like you need to talk to her, not me, mate. I have some things to do if you don't really need me."