Heaven and Hell (45 page)

“Yo!” Hap called, my body jolted again and I
saw he too was downstairs and grinning at me. “You’re in a
different time zone, babe, but you didn’t fly to China. You
okay?”

No.

I wasn’t.

My boyfriend was a Ranger and I didn’t
know.

My life was in danger and I had no clue what
was going on with that.

My mother was closing on my house in four
days and, after that, I’d be homeless.

I had no job and I had no idea what I was
going to do with the rest of my life.

And I’d just flown to North Carolina with my
boyfriend who I knew was a gentleman, he had a great sense of
humor, my family and friends liked him, he was loyal to his friends
and family, he was phenomenal in bed, he liked me and he also liked
my dog.

But other than that, although I’d spent a
month with the man nearly nonstop, I really didn’t know a thing
about him. Or, I should say, nowhere near what I should know,
nowhere near what he knew about me and not enough of what I knew
was important.

So no.

I wasn’t okay.

“Great!” I chirped my lie then asked, “After
I get Memphis a drink, can we take a walk on the beach?”

Hap approached, still grinning and answered,
“Yeah, but only if I go with you. It’ll be a hit to my street cred,
takin’ that rat for a walk on the beach but I’ll get in a bar fight
or something this week, make up for it.”

I smiled at him.

Yes. Hap was carrying. I didn’t know where
considering his dark gray t-shirt was skintight but he was wearing
black cargo pants and they had a bunch of pockets so maybe he had
his weapon skillfully hidden somewhere there.

Whatever.

That was his gig. My gig was getting my dog
some agua, finding her leash and clearing my thoughts by walking
the beach.

“Cool,” I grinned back. “Let’s go.”

* * * * *

“Drive safe,” Sam murmured, shaking Hap’s
hand. “Owe you,” he finished.

“You bought dinner and beer and think you
still got markers, dude,” Hap returned intriguingly, grinning up at
Sam then he turned to me and engulfed me in a bear hug.

I hugged him back saying, “Text Sam when you
get home.”

He pulled slightly away, didn’t drop his
arms but did give me a big smile. “Babe, I don’t check in.”

“Practice,” I replied. “You ever land a fine
piece of ass, she’ll expect that.”

His smile got bigger. “Killer. I get how to
take care of a hot chick lessons from Sam’s new pe… I mean, woman.
I like it.”

“Maybe you should take notes,” I suggested
on a head tilt and a grin.

His smile didn’t waver, his arms gave me a
squeeze then he let me go, turned away and flicked out two fingers
as he moved to his SUV.

Sam moved to me, sliding an arm around my
shoulders then curling me so my front was in his side.

Hap swung in, fired up his truck, backed out
of the drive and through this, Sam and I didn’t move. Sam also
didn’t wave but I did. Then when Hap was out the gate and on his
way, Sam’s arm came up, he pressed the button on the remote he was
carrying and the gate started to swing closed.

That was when Sam turned us and headed us to
the walkway. He kept his arm around my shoulders and we walked side
by side.

We made it to the deck and Sam muttered,
“Gonna drop this inside and get another beer. Want one?”

I looked up at Sam and shook my head. Sam
tipped up his chin slightly and let me go. He headed inside. I
headed to the railing of the deck.

The sun was beginning to set, it was late.
Sam had come back from the grocery store before we got back from
our walk on the beach. This was because Memphis loved the beach so
I let her have a lot of time there. This was also because I needed
that time to clear my head. I knew this because, even with that
amount of time, I still hadn’t cleared my head. Hap had walked with
Memphis and me but he did this mostly silent. I didn’t know what to
make of this, whether he was sensing my mood or whether he was
trying to take a read on me.

We arrived back and beers were opened. Hap
partook but sipped since he was going to be getting in a vehicle.
We sat on the deck and chatted or, I should say, Hap and I chatted
and at this juncture it was clear Hap was trying to get a read on
me mostly because our chatting consisted of Hap asking jovial,
amusing questions that were jovial and amusing to disguise that
they were nosy as all get out.

I didn’t have anything to hide so I answered
them.

This was clearly satisfactory to both Hap
and
Sam and I knew I’d earned Hap’s approval when the guard
he actually did disguise came crashing down and Hap, who seemingly
was as happy as his nickname, became seriously freaking happy.

We ordered takeout. Sam went to go get it.
We ate it with more beers and then Hap declared he had to go
home.

Which brought me to now.

I heard the screen door bang shut then I
heard Memphis’s claws clicking on the wood of the deck and I turned
to see Memphis and Sam approaching, Memphis a lot quicker.

I bent and she jumped into my arms.

As I straightened, I told Sam, “I don’t want
her out off her lead. Not until she gets used to her new space.
Your deck is open. She could take off and not know how to get
home.”

“She’s fine,” Sam replied, leaning into the
railing and giving Memphis’s head a rub before dropping his hand,
lifting his other and taking a drag off his beer.

Memphis began to struggle to get down and
really, she’d been there all of a few hours. I didn’t want her out
without a lead until she knew the lay of the land.

I started to the house. “I’m gonna take her
back in.”

Sam’s fingers curled around my arm, halting
my progress. “Baby, like I said, she’s fine.”

“She doesn’t know the lay of the land.”

“She knows your call, she knows mine. She’s
fine.”

“She’s
my
dog, Sam!”

Yes, that was what I said. And yes, it came
out with a lot more heat and volume than befitted our current
conversation. And I knew it surprised Sam because he let me go and
his chin jerked back.

I decided to go with it. Fuck it. I wasn’t
pissed about my dog but I was still pissed and so what? I had a hot
guy boyfriend. So he was rich. So he was great in bed. So he was
famous. So he was a lot nicer than my husband. That last, frankly,
was not hard to do.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t get pissed and
act like a bitch even when the situation at hand didn’t warrant it.
I was a woman. Women, as far as I could tell from my girlfriends’
conversations, did that all the time.

And anyway, the situation not at hand
definitely warranted it.

Therefore I turned and marched to the door
to the porch, through that and into the house where I let Memphis
down. She yapped then her head tilted to the side. She’d read my
tone and was doggie confused.

I didn’t think I could explain it to her in
a way she’d understand so I didn’t.

“You got a problem?” I heard Sam ask and I
turned to see he’d followed me.

He looked displeased, not exactly angry but
definitely not ready to break out into a smile.

I was suddenly uncertain of my commitment to
my tantrum. This was because Sam being displeased bothered me. Sam
was not moody. Sam was pretty laidback. This wasn’t to say he
didn’t have emotions or hesitate to show them but mostly he was
mellow.

And tonight, he’d been mellower than I’d
ever seen him.

Clearly, for Sam, it was good to be home,
down his private, homeowners only drive, behind his gate, in his
house with its kickass security system and spending time with his
friend. He had been relaxed to the point it could even be
completely relaxed, though I couldn’t know that but that was how it
seemed.

Now, I’d shattered that.

Shit.

“Kia, I asked you a question,” Sam prompted
when I stared at him and didn’t answer.

“She’s my dog, Sam,” I repeated.

“No argument from me on that, sweetheart,”
Sam returned.

Great. He was calling me sweetheart.

Yes, displeased.

He went on, “But she’s also smart and she’s
a people dog. She’s with you or me constantly when we’re in the
house. She didn’t wander all day yesterday when she was out in your
front yard during the sale. And she’s smart enough not to wander
now, especially not knowin’ the lay of the land.”

“You’re probably right but I’d rather not
take any chances. She was a puppy when we got her, except for
staying at Dad and Mom’s house she’s never been anywhere else so I
don’t know how she’ll behave in a new environment,” I replied.

“All right then why the fuck didn’t you say
that instead of biting my head off?” Sam asked.

“Because you stated in your ‘Sam Way’,” I
gave the last two words verbal quotation marks, “that she was fine.
In other words, she was fine, I should shut up and do as you
say.”

Uh-oh.

His brows drew together over narrowed eyes
and he asked, “My Sam Way?”

“You can be bossy,” I informed him.

He took in a breath and studied me. Then he
crossed his arms on his chest.

Then he invited, “Right, Kia, tell me what’s
really up your ass.”

Uh-oh again.

And not uh-oh that Sam was getting more
pissed.

Uh-oh because
I
was.

“What’s up my ass?” I asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Sam answered immediately.

“Were you a Ranger?” I returned and his
brows snapped together again, this time in confusion.

“Come again?”

“Were you a Ranger?” I repeated.

He looked to his right at the flag on the
wall then back at me and answered, “Uh… yeah.”

“I didn’t know that,” I told him.

“So?”

“You didn’t tell me.”

He studied me again then said, “Sweetheart,
you internet stalked me. How could you not know that?”

“Is it common knowledge?” I asked.

“Uh… yeah,” he said again.

Really? How on earth did I miss that?

“It is?” I queried, surprised.

“Yeah, Kia, Jesus. What’s the big fuckin’
deal?”

“It’s not in that book about you,” I
stated.

“No, it isn’t. There’s shit in that book
that’s true and very few people knew, until that book came out.
There’s shit in that book that’s missin’. And there’s shit in that
book that’s conjecture and all that
isn’t
true. Whoever
wrote that piece of trash missed me bein’ a Ranger. Don’t know how,
it’s one of the few things that isn’t a secret that they didn’t
include. I also don’t care. It was a hack job. They knew just
enough to get a payday and made up just enough to make that payday
big.”

“What parts were missing and what parts were
conjecture?” I asked.

“You don’t have the clearance to know the
first and I don’t have all night to explain the last. Now, what I’d
like to know is why you not knowin’ I was a Ranger made you turn
bitch?”

Oh man.

I didn’t like that.

“Don’t call me a bitch, Sam,” I
whispered.

“You got another way to describe how you’re
actin’?” he shot back.

“I didn’t know you were a Ranger.”

“And this is my problem because…?” He let
that hang.

“And it’s also over twenty-four hours since
you had your powwow with Lee and Tanner and I don’t know about that
either,” I retorted, finally bringing the matter in hand.

He took in another deep breath and on the
exhale murmured an annoyed, “I see.”

“Are you going to tell me about that
sometime in this century?” I asked sarcastically.

“Yeah, but, see, yesterday, sweetheart, you
let go of the physical manifestations of your life with that piece
of shit which I suspect was profound for you. It also took effort
and you were busy all day. Then you got a headache likely because
it took effort, you were busy all day and what you were doin’ was
profound for you. Then, since I know how tight you are with your
family and your posse and your stay here and away from them is
indefinite, I figured you’d want to enjoy your time with them so I
wanted you to have that and not burden you with outside shit.”

Damn. That made sense
and
it was
nice.

Still.

“Well, thanks for that Sam but I
did
ask twice to be told and I can see you not wanting to do it through
that and me having a headache but you’ve had all day today.”

“Yeah? Should we get in a discussion about
people wanting to whack you when we can be overheard in a departure
lounge or on a plane?”

Now
he
was being sarcastic.

But damn again because he was also
right.

He kept talking.

“And, you think maybe you can give me a
chance to relax and be home, which I haven’t been, Kia, a lot
longer than you, and spend some time with a buddy of mine without
that shit intruding for awhile?”

Oh man.

Now I was feeling like I
was
a bitch
and a worse one than I thought because he had valid reasons for his
decisions and I hadn’t asked nice. I’d been, well… a bitch.

“Okay, honey, maybe I was out of line –” I
started.

His brows went up. “Maybe?”

Now hang on a second.

As soon as I remembered, I forgot to stop
being a bitch.

“Okay, Sam, I can see you had your reasons
but it’s not like I asked you to tell me when you planned to take
out the trash. This shit
is
kind of important, it affects me
and you know, my Dad knows, my brother knows but the person it
affects,
me
, does
not
know. I’m sorry to cut into
your relaxed vibe but someone out there might be hunting me in
order to kill me. It’s kinda weighing on my mind.”

Sam’s jaw flexed.

I waited.

A muscle in Sam’s cheek jumped.

I waited.

Then I was done waiting and prompted,
“Well?”