Marc (16 page)

“I don’t want a reward for that scum
bag.” She then thought of something. “How much?”

He laughed. “I don’t know. Greedy are
you? All my money isn’t good enough, now you have to have more?”

“No. I was thinking of my mom and dad.
They could get it. I mean that would be a good way for them to retire if it’s
enough maybe. They don’t have to know it’s from me. Caitlynne can swing that,
can’t she?” He nodded. “If nothing else, it will be enough that he could find a
job later.”

“It’ll be enough. We’ll make sure of
it.” He kissed her. “I love you. Very much. But I have to get to the office.
I’ve been putting it off long enough. Want to come with me?”

She wanted to, but his mom had made
arrangements for her to help her interview a cook and housekeeper. She told him
that, and he smiled. She looked around the room and noticed that it was as
messy as the kitchen.

“I’ll work on this room before they get
here. I’m sorry I’m such a slob. I told you that I—” He put his hand over her
mouth.

“I’m just as sloppy as you. And most of
this mess is the stuff we bought yesterday.  You pick it up and we’ll get it
all washed tomorrow.” He got out of the bed. “Also, I forgot to tell you, I
bought you a car. It’s in the garage with mine.”

She sat there for several seconds before
she got up to run and see what he’d gotten her. She had to come back twice. Once
because she was naked, and the second time to find her shoes. It was pouring
rain.

The car was a bright cherry red. And it
was beautiful. She couldn’t believe he’d gotten her one, and when she ran her
fingers along the hood, she fell in love with it. She knew less about cars than
she did about cooking, but had a feeling she would have to learn to curb the
immediate desire to drive it really fast all the time. She was still looking at
it when he came out with his briefcase and coat.

“I thought you’d be long gone out,
trying to race unsuspecting cops on the road.” She giggled at him. “You like
it?”

“I love it. Oh my, it’s so pretty, isn’t
it?” He nodded and rolled his eyes. “I know you think I should be impressed
with the horse power or some such nonsense, but it’s so red.”

“Red. You like it because it’s red? Okay
then, you enjoy your red car. I’m going to work. What time is Mom supposed to
be here?” She told him ten. “Well, you’d better get to work then or you’ll
never be dressed in time.”

She looked at her watch and ran to the
house. She came back and threw her wet body against his. He was laughing when
she went to the house. She decided to tackle the kitchen first, then the
bedroom. It was nearly two hours later when she had the last dish put away. Jonny
decided that having someone do this for them would be better. She looked at the
mess she’d made when she’d dropped two of the plates. Yes, much better.

The living room looked better but not
great. Picking up his files, she took them to his office and laid them on the
chair so they couldn’t be seen from the doorway. Then she hit the bathroom down
there and made her way up the stairs. Sheesh, she was exhausted, and all she’d
done was spot clean. Moving to the bedroom, she stopped in the doorway.

He’d cleaned it up and made the bed. She
found a note on the counter in the bathroom. She kissed it and put it into her
pocket after reading it twice. “I made the bed and put your things in with mine
in the drawers. I will think of them having mad sex all day, then come back
there and jump your bones. I should be home around noon. Have fun with Mom, and
don’t growl at our new cook if you hire one. I love you, Marc.”

The man was simply romantic.

Chapter 16

The stage was set, so to speak. Marc
looked at his brother again and wished it would simply be over and done with. There
were so many things that could go wrong, and having his brothers there in harm’s
way was making him twice as nervous. Then there was his Jonny.

“She’s going to be fine, you know.” Marc
nodded at Khan. “She’s a lot stronger than any of us give her credit for.
Christ, she was in there talking to Caitlynne like she was in charge.”

Marc laughed. “She said if her ass was
on the line, she wanted details. I’m surprised that Caitlynne let her talk to
her that way. She was a little snippy even with Mom.”

“Yeah, but Mom gave as good as she got.
And you saw the way she looked at her. Mom loves her very much.” Marc nodded. “You
guys are great together.”

“I know.” He looked at Khan. “Can I tell
you something I’d never say to anyone else?”

“Of course. But I think I know what it
is. Reed and I were talking with Walker about you guys. You love her more than
you ever did Sonya, don’t you?”

“Yes. And I don’t think I would have…I
would have loved her, but I doubt that we would be having this much fun. Sonya
was…I feel really horrible saying this, but she was perfect for me at that
time. But now I need more, want more, and Jonny gives it to me. She’s amazing.”

A car pulled up the drive, and they
watched as a large man got out of the back of the limo. A voice cracked in his
ear, and Marc watched the man as Caitlynne told them who he was from her point
on the roof.

“That, my dear brothers, is the man
himself. Anthony Kidd. I had hoped he’d show and we were right. This is going
to be much better than just arresting a woman, we got the big guy.”

Marc thought of the reward for Jonny’s
parents and knew that it was going to be big enough for them to live very well
for the rest of their lives. He had told Caitlynne what Jonny wanted and she
said she’d help as well. This was going to make Jonny very happy, if everything
went as planned. Looking at his watch, he saw that Anita should arrive in about
forty minutes.

The crew that Kidd had placed on the
property was being taken out now. Her men, Caitlynne’s, had moved into position
yesterday, and they were to wait until Kidd came on site before they made their
move. There were eighteen men now on their side, and six others sitting in the
backs of cruisers.

He looked in the window where Jonny and Roy
were sitting. The little camera that had been installed while Roy had been with
them two days ago was working well. And the little laptop was something he’d
brought so he and Khan could keep an eye on things. Marc was leaving nothing to
chance.

“Hello. What are you doing here?” Anthony
stood in the doorway and glared at Roy. “You said nothing about others being
here. How did she come to be here before me?”

“Smarter?” Marc sighed and wondered if
she’d ever curb her tongue. Then realized that he was glad she didn’t. He loved
her mouth and what it did to him. Shifting on his feet, he tried to concentrate
on what was going on.

“You’ll not use that tone with me, young
lady. Do you have any idea who I am? I could have you killed in an instant.” She
nodded at him and patted the chair next to her.

“Before we get all shitty with each
other, perhaps we can have a little talk about your involvement with your daughter’s
murders.” Kidd had started forward, then stopped to look at Roy. “Oh, he didn’t
know about all of them. He does know about her attempt on my life. He was there,
you know.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking
about. If this is your idea of a joke, I’ll have you know that having one more
on my supposed list of crimes won’t bother me the least bit. And no one would
miss some little nobody like you anyway.” She tisked at him. “You think that I
came here unprepared? Think again. I never go anywhere that I don’t know the ins
and outs of everything going on.”

“Good for you. But you’ve changed the
subject. I was speaking about Clarence Shane and William Holbrook. The two men
that you had buried in the garage of your new building? Sloppy work, that. They
were both dug up this morning.” She looked down at the empty file in her hand. “Will
they find more, you think?”

The man who had shown Kidd into the
office was Dylan. He’d taken the man’s coat and had brushed against him. He was
feeding the information to Jonny and she pretending to know. This was the part
that scared Marc the most…a known killer in the same room with his smart-mouthed
mate. This could go very badly.

“You think you have something on me,
little girl? You have nothing. If you did, the police would be here and not
just you. What are you doing here anyway? I don’t believe you have any input in
this.”

“Oh, but there’s were you’re wrong. I
have plenty to say. Like the money you stole from the National Bank on Tenth a
week ago, and the five men you had killed when they failed to get out without
getting the safety deposit boxes open. Or the two men you have rotting in your
pool house.” She shook her head. “I have plenty more if you want to hear it,
but if you’re willing to shut up and sit down, I’ll tell you what I want in
exchange for the information your daughter gave to me.”

“Exchange? My daughter wouldn’t have
given you a damned thing.” Kidd looked over at Dawson and grinned. “Is this
your idea of a joke? It’s not terribly funny if it is. You should have told me
that you were going to waste my time like this.”

“I had no idea what she was…. You have
to know that I didn’t do this. She’s here because your daughter threatened her
too. She just wants to talk to Anita. This is the daughter of the woman who
killed your son.”

Crunching gravel had him turning. Marc
looked as a cab pulled up in front of the house and a woman got out. He almost
didn’t recognize her from her pictures they’d found on the Internet. Christ,
she looked like she was in her late fifties instead of her mid-twenties. Caitlynne
spoke in his ear.

“Is that Anita?” Her shock was evident. “Well,
she should be the poster child for doing alcohol and drugs and why not to do
them. She looks like she’s been rode hard and put away wet to rot. Good Christ,
she’s nasty looking.”

Khan laughed. Marc watched the woman
stagger to the front door, where Dylan was again. They watched from where they
were as he took her purse and laid it on a table and then walked away. Both he
and Khan moved toward the door to get into position on the inside. Caitlynne
said that she was moving as well.

The door to the office had been left
open just enough for them to go in when needed. Marc moved to just on the other
side so he could see in and watch for Khan. He was making his way to the other
entrance on the other side of the room. That door had been left open earlier by
Dylan. When he saw his brother, they both shifted and waited. They were as
ready as they could be. Christ, he hoped this went as planned, but had been on
enough of these to know they never did.

As soon as Anita walked in the room, he knew
for a fact this was going to end badly and tensed himself for whatever
happened. Dylan walked up behind him and touched his shoulder. He turned to
look.

He had her purse. Anita’s purse was in
one hand and a Glock in the other. Marc felt as if ten years had been taken off
him. Christ, he’d disarmed the mad woman. He nodded at his brother and watched
as he shifted too. He knew that Reed, Dylan, and Sebastian were just outside
the large window, and that Walker was in the room next door in the event that
they needed his medical help. His family was there for him.

He listened to the happenings in the
next room, feeling just a little better about how it might end.

~~~

Jonny watched the woman she’d considered
her friend walk in the room. She looked stoned. Not only that, but she also reeked
of liquor. A quick glance at the other two men in the room confirmed that they
were just as shocked as she was about Anita’s appearance.

Her clothes didn’t seem to fit her, and
her blouse was on inside out. The skirt she had on was a deep coral color, and
her blouse was a bright green. Jonny had no idea what she had done to her hair,
but it looked as if she was trying for something along the lines of a rats’
nest and had succeeded at it. Her shoes probably explained some of the reason
she was staggering; one was a nice-heeled pump, the other a tennis shoe.

“Daddy, I didn’t know you were going to
be here. I’m so glad to see you.” When she stepped forward to more than likely
give him a hug, he stepped back. “You’re not happy to see me? I can’t believe
you’re still mad at me for that little tiff, are you?”

“What the hell have you done to
yourself? You look…Christ, Anita, you look cheap. And drunk. Have you no shame
to go out looking like this?” She looked down at her clothes, then up at her father.
She didn’t seem to have a clue what he was talking about.

“I dressed up to impress Roy here into
taking me back. I think I look very nice.” She looked at her shoes when she
stumbled again. “Oops. I forget to change them both.”

Her laugh was maniacal and manic. She
looked over at Jonny, just noticing her, and glared. She reached for something
on her arm and turned in a full circle, nearly tumbling over in the process.

“Where is my gun?” She looked around and
mumbled something about her purse before her father spoke again.

“You brought a gun here? You can barely
walk. What the fuck were you planning to do with a gun in your possession? Shoot
yourself?” Anthony sat back down and looked at Roy. “I’ve changed my mind. You
can deal with her.”

Before Roy could say anything Jonny
stood up. “Hello, Anita. You’re supposed to be dead. But I guess that was a lie
as well.”

“I think you should remember your place,
little bitch.” Anita slipped to the couch and nearly fell over onto it. “I am
twice the woman you’ll ever be. And when I take care of business here, I’m
going to be rich too. Daddy will make sure of that for me.”

Jonny glanced in Anthony’s direction and
then back at Anita. “I don’t think your daddy is going to help you with
anything. But I did tell him what you told me about the bodies in the parking
garage.”

Anthony glared at her, then looked at
his daughter. She watched as Roy made his way to the side door. He wasn’t going
anywhere and she knew it. As soon as she heard the low growl, she watched him
stagger back into the room. When he looked at her, she winked.

“You told this woman about our business?
Personal business that you caused to happen?” He stood up and began walking
toward her. “I should have known better than to say a fucking word to you, Anita.
You’ve been nothing but a problem since your brother died.”

“She caused all this.” Anita pointed at
her. “This is all her fault because her mother was a whore and a slut.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking
about. Your brother was a stupid fool who thought robbing a bank would be a
blast. I paid those witnesses to say that he had helped them out. When he was
killed, he was raping a woman in the back room with a gun to her head. He
wasn’t the saint that you’ve made him out to be.”

“No. No, that’s not right. He saved
those people and she shot him.” Anthony was shaking his head. “You lie. You’ll
say whatever you need to say to get what you want. Stop this now.”

The gun was out and in Anthony’s hand
before Jonny could say anything. The first shot went off, then two more before
she realized that she was being taken to the floor by a large cat. Khan
commanded her to lay still.

He weighed her down, and she saw Marc
flash by her. More shots were fired, and she closed her eyes when she heard a
cat scream. Trying to get out from under Khan, he snarled. She shifted under
him and tossed him off her.

Marc was hurt, but she couldn’t tell how
badly. Reed was standing over him, and Roy was pointing a gun at both of them. 
She moved up in front of Roy and reached for Khan.

Get them out of here, please. I can’t
let anyone get hurt because of me.
Another shot was fired, but she didn’t
look to see who had been shot. She watched Roy. When he raised his weapon to
fire at one of the men behind her, she leapt at his throat.

The world seemed to fade and come back
to her. She saw Marc standing over her, cussing the air blue around him, and
then Walker. Walker was smiling, and she wasn’t sure why that made her feel
better, but it did. He said something low, and she nodded, not sure why.

Opening her eyes, she saw Marc again,
and he was holding her hand. She tried to talk to him, but her mouth refused to
work. He told her he loved her and that if she died he was going to kick her
ass, but she faded again. Things were fuzzing all the way around her.

She looked up the next time to see that
she was in a bed. Marc was sitting next to her in a big chair and he was
asleep. She turned her head when she heard someone clear their throat and saw
her mom sitting on the bed.

“He’s been there for two hours. Won’t
leave you because he said he’s going to beat your ass when you wake. He said
that if you shift you’ll heal faster. Is that true?” She nodded at her mom. “You
scared us all.”