Heaven and Hell (50 page)

Sam’s lips twitched then he ordered gently,
“Baby, come here.”

“But I think it’s good to know that Memphis
won’t be friendly to unwelcome intruders.”

“Kia, honey, come here.”

“And we must make a mental note to patch
that bullet hole in your floor before your Mom gets here,” I
informed him.

Sam gave up on his order and told me
quietly, “He wasn’t here to hurt you. I hired the best. He was
running scared. He wanted assurances.”

“I got that.”

“Now he’s got his assurances and you’re
good.”

“What does he mean by Lee and his whack
jobs?” I asked.

Sam hesitated, studying me. Then, carefully,
he answered, “Lee owns a private investigations agency but he dips
his toe in a lotta shit. His crew has a variety of skills. They are
known to be very good at what they do and not to fuck around.
You’re smart; you don’t get on their bad side. He wasn’t smart. He
took a job to kill an innocent woman. That was strike one. And that
job he took was to kill a woman who’d been abused. That was strike
two. For Lee and his crew, you don’t get a strike two.”

Great.

In normal circumstances, I would find that
admirable.

Now, not so much.

“Will they step in, piss him off and make
him forget about his promise to stand down?”

Understanding hit Sam’s face and he kept
talking quietly when he replied, “They step in, he won’t get the
chance to forget his promise.”

“You’re sure of that?” I pushed.

“Sure as I’m standin’ here.”

“You were sure that Cal guy’s security
system was impenetrable too.”

It was a mean thing to say but, in my
defense, I was
freaking out.
A hit man in a golf shirt
made it to Sam’s bedroom.

Sam was clearly done with distance and I
knew this because he moved to me and when he got close enough to
lunge, he did so, grabbing my hand, pulling me around the bed and
into his arms.

Then he tipped his chin down and told me,
“That bitch didn’t hock a bunch of shit. She hocked a bunch of
heirlooms. She also didn’t take out a small second mortgage, she
took out one on all the equity they had in their place, which was a
lot.” His arms gave me a squeeze. “What I’m sayin’ is, I paid for
the best to cover you. She found the best she could find to do his
job. I was aware this man was a man to take seriously. That guy was
a ghost so we had no idea of his skills. We only knew he had them
considering his price tag. Now we know one of his skills. He came
up here, safety on, knowin’ who I was and that I also have skills.
He was wavin’ the white flag. I felt like bein’ safe and in any
uncertain situation, you gain the upper hand. That’s why I took him
to his knees. He gets me. He understands what I can do. He didn’t
come here to harm you. He came here to make sure his headaches were
done. He’s cautious and he’s thorough. Neither are a surprise but
both are a pain in the ass. But it no longer matters. He’s history.
That said, I got some calls to make for peace of mind and I need to
make them now. You okay for ten minutes while I do that? Then we’ll
keep talkin’.”

I looked up at him.

He had things to do for peace of mind which
meant my safety. He also knew I was freaking out and needed him. So
he was going to give me that if I needed it and his peace of mind
be damned.

Yep. Definitely. I was falling in love with
him.

I didn’t share that. I said, “I’m okay for
ten minutes while you do that.”

He gave me a squeeze, let me go with one
arm, reached out to the bed, snagged both guns then he moved us up
the bed. He put the guns on his nightstand, took the phone from me
and put it in its cradle. Then he maneuvered me and Memphis into
the bed and got in it with us. He sat back to the headboard, knees
bent and held Memphis and me tucked close to his side.

Then he called Deaver, briefed him quickly
and told him he wanted twenty-four hour coverage on the house
starting now. Then he called Lee, briefed him and explained the
situation. I didn’t get much about Lee’s replies due to Sam’s side
of the conversation being guarded. I decided to bury that in a part
of my brain I never intended to access again so I did that. Then
Sam called what apparently was Tanner’s voicemail at work and left
a message.

Then he flipped his phone shut, tossed it on
the nightstand, turned to me, both his arms came around me and
Memphis and he slid us up his chest.

“Right,” he whispered, “how you doin’?”

“I’m good,” I whispered back.

“Deaver and Aziz are stayin’ in a hotel in
town. He’s gonna make contact when he gets here. I gotta go down.
You wanna come with me or try to get back to sleep?”

There was no way in hell I was going to go
back to sleep.

Still, I also didn’t want to see a woken up
and called to duty in the middle of the night Deaver. He wasn’t
overly friendly by the light of day; I didn’t want to experience a
Deaver who’d had his beauty rest interrupted.

So I said, “I think Memphis proved she’s got
my back.”

Sam grinned. Then he shifted an arm from
around me, pulled Memphis out of my clutch and held her up, her
face close to his.

“Good girl,” he muttered.

Memphis aimed and missed a lick at Sam’s
nose.

Sam handed her back to me.

“I’ll be back soon,” he whispered.

“Okay,” I whispered back.

“You sure you’re okay?”

No.

But I was sure I’d eventually get that
way.

So I answered for the future, “Yeah, I’m
sure I’m okay.”

He leaned in and kissed my nose. Then he
gave Memphis a head scratch, disentangled from us, nabbed his gun
and moved to the door.

He stopped in it and looked back at me.

“I’ll be back soon,” he repeated.

God, Sam Cooper was a good man.

“I know,” I whispered.

He studied me a second, his face got soft
then he disappeared into the dark hall.

I moved Memphis and I under the downy cover
and into Sam’s soft sheets. Then I looked at Sam’s alarm clock and
saw it was twelve minutes after three o’clock in the morning.

At twenty past, Sam came back and Memphis
and I watched as he put his gun on the nightstand then he slid in
bed in his shorts and gathered me and my dog in his arms before he
twisted and turned the lamp off.

“Deaver on duty?” I asked.

“He did a perimeter check and yeah, he’s on
duty.”

I nodded, my cheek sliding against his
chest.

Sam’s arms got tight.

Then I whispered, “It’s over.”

Sam’s arms got tighter.

I felt tears sting my nose and my voice was
husky when I whispered, “Thank you, Sam Cooper.”

Sam rolled to facing me, Memphis jumped out
from between us and went to sprawl on her side and Sam pulled me
close. I shoved my face in his throat and wept, luckily silently
but with extreme relief.

As I did this, lips against the hair at the
top of my head, Sam whispered back, “My pleasure, baby.”

My breath hitched and I pressed closer.

Sam’s arms got even tighter.

And it was then I knew I was wrong.

I wasn’t falling in love with Sam.

I was already there.

I Did Not Raise a Stupid Man

Two days later…

“I should have brought flowers,” I mumbled,
staring down the wide terminal hall Sam and I were standing at the
end of and doing it like a stampede of bulls was heading my
way.

“Baby, relax,” Sam whispered, his arm wound
around my waist giving me an affectionate squeeze.

Right. Relax. Easy for him to say. He’d
known his mother since inception and it was her duty to like
him.

“Flowers say welcome,” I informed him. “And
they make a good impression.”

Sam curled his body into mine and wrapped
his other arm around me, saying softly, “Kia, honey, you got
flowers on the kitchen bar. You got flowers on the kitchen island.
You got flowers on the dining room table. And you got flowers
and
chocolates in her bedroom. I think you’ve got the
welcome and good impression down, baby.”

This was true. However, I had two plus hours
of airport, baggage claim and ride home to navigate before she even
saw the flowers and chocolates. And I had to navigate this without
doing something that made me seem like a freak, a dork, a slut or a
loser. I wasn’t certain I could do that. I was too young when
things started up with Cooter even to know I should care that his
mother liked me. By the time I learned, I didn’t even care if
Cooter liked me. I had no experience with this kind of thing.

Then what Sam said hit me and my panic
escalated. So much, I had to share it.

Therefore my hands fisted in his shirt, I
got up on my toes and whispered anxiously, “Oh my God, Sam, is that
too much?”

“Kia –” he tried (and failed) to break
in.

“Four bouquets of flowers
and
a box
of chocolates?”

Sam tried (and failed) again. “Kia, baby
–”

“I know!” I cried. “You detain her in the
garage; I’ll run upstairs, grab a couple of the bouquets and the
chocolate and throw them over your deck.”

His arms squeezed tight, his face dipped
close, his smile got so big it had to hurt and he clipped out a
trembling with amusement, “Kia, baby, fuckin’
relax.
She’s
gonna love you.”

I stared at him then totally ignored him and
noted, “I shouldn’t have worn high heels.”

He tipped his head back and looked at the
ceiling. However, he did this with his body shaking with silent
laughter.

I didn’t have the time or energy to deal
with Sam (again) thinking an unamusing situation was amusing.

I had to psych myself up.

Unfortunately, this took me through a mental
perusal of my outfit. I was thinking I should have gone shorts and
tank or maybe a cute little shirt with flip-flops. But no. I
decided to wear a dress I bought with Celeste. Navy blue, the
bodice going straight across the tops of my breasts with a
spaghetti strap that started at my armpits and went around the back
of my neck. It fit close down to my waist then flared out in a cute
little short skirt. I was wearing my strappy, silver, high-heeled
sandals with it. I certainly looked like I belonged on Sampson
Cooper’s arm and I knew this by the (many) approving looks we were
getting. But Sam wasn’t Sampson Cooper to his mother and I was
afraid I’d gone overboard.

Taking my mind off that, it decided to move
through yesterday which was good. This was because yesterday was
good. In my mission to break through with Sam, yesterday I felt I
didn’t do too badly.

The day started with the good news that Sam
felt pretty confident that the hit man was on his way to Bora Bora
never to return to darken our door again. Tanner Layne’s morning
call sharing he received a confirmation e-mail from the hit man
that he was standing down helped. I thought this was overkill and
might be his way of putting us off the scent. Sam (and Tanner and,
after Sam phoned him, Lee) disagreed. They all felt that Sam’s
point had been made
very
clearly as getting a pair of khakis
ruined by a bullet was wont to do. They felt the hit man just
wanted to make sure that all the players were aware of his
intention not to kill me. I saw the wisdom of believing them seeing
as I had enough on my plate trying to make Sam open up to me at the
same time fall in love with me and making a good impression with
his mother. Not to mention, they were experts in this crazy shit
and I was not.

After Sam took his run, I talked him into
hitting town to buy flowers, chocolates and vases (Sam’s kitchen
was kitted out but he was not a man who owned vases, this I
discovered during my search while he was running). We picked up
what we needed then Sam drove us out of town straight to a Jeep
dealership. He did not share that a visit to a Jeep dealership was
on our day’s agenda so I was a little surprised.

I became very surprised when we were met by
a salesman who was clearly beside himself with glee that he scored
Sampson Cooper but was still trying to act cool.

After his effusive (but trying to be cool)
greeting, Sam told him, “Need to lease my woman a Jeep Cherokee.
Thinkin’…” he trailed off, glanced through the lot then looked at
the man and finished, “green.”

I stopped breathing.

The man chirped excitedly, “Absolutely!
Let’s get you a test drive. I’ll go get some keys. Be right back!”
Then he sprinted (yes,
sprinted
) into the building.

“Uh… what’s going on?” I asked and Sam
looked down at me.

“Gettin’ you a ride,” Sam answered.

“Um, shouldn’t we go to a car rental place
or…” I looked around then back at him, “do they do day and week
rentals here?”

Sam’s head cocked slightly to the side and
he repeated, “Day and week rentals?”

“The threat is over, honey. I mean, I want
to meet your Mom so I’ll stay for that but then I have to go home
and sort out my life.”

“Right,” Sam agreed. “But what are you gonna
drive while you’re here?”

“A rental car and I don’t need anything
fancy. Just a compact from Avis or something.”

That was when Sam’s brows drew together and
he asked, “No, baby, I mean when you’re
here.
”

The emphasis on the final word didn’t mean
as much to me as it obviously meant to Sam so I wisely decided to
tread cautiously.

“Let’s back up,” I said quietly. “What’s
going on and this time maybe you should add some details to your
answer.”

Sam studied me a moment then did as I
requested. “You live in Indiana.”

I nodded.

“I live here.”

I nodded again.

“You need to go back there, family, friends,
whatever. When you’re there, you’ve already got a ride.”