Rock Chick 06 Reckoning (64 page)

“Oh… okay,” Chloe stammered, her voice trembling.

Mace started to move from the room but stopped at the door and looked back. Then he smiled at his “Moms”.

They smiled back.

He walked out of the room and back up the stairs.

In the darkened room he was sharing with Stel a, he silently accepted Juno’s soft, welcome back woof, took off his clothes, stood by the side of the bed and repeated the actions he’d done once that day. He lifted his arms, undid the chain at his neck, brought it down, upended it and Tiny’s ring Indy had returned to him with a kiss to his cheek before getting into Lee’s Crossfire dropped into his hand. He set the chain on the nightstand, pul ed back the covers and slid in behind Stel a.

His arms moved around her heavy, sleeping body, his fingers found her right hand, he lifted it and the fingers of his other hand slid Tiny’s ring on her pinkie.

When he did, she moved, nuzzling back into him and muttering groggily, “Grenades. Jeez, babe, Swen and Ulrika are gonna be pissed.”

Then her body settled and Mace knew she was again asleep.

And he lay in the dark listening to her breathe.

It was the most beautiful sound he ever heard.

Then her words hit him.

And he couldn’t help it, his arms closed tight around her, he buried his face in her hair, smel ed mint, decided he seriously fucking loved that smel and he burst out laughing.

* * * * *

I woke and blinked at the tight hold of the arms around me and the sound of Mace laughing into the back of my hair.

That’s weird, has he cracked up?
My brain asked me.

I listened to his laugh, felt his warm strength curled al around me and considered this for a mil isecond.

Then I decided, if my man had gone insane and Mace’s brand of insanity meant he was holding me close and laughing, I didn’t give an ef.

And on that thought, I went back to sleep.

Jane

One week later…

Jane slid through the shelves of Fortnum’s unnoticed by customers. Then she slid behind the front counter unnoticed by Rock Chicks, unnoticed by Hot Bunch, unnoticed by Tex and unnoticed by Duke.

“It has to be
somebody,
” Al y stated and Jane looked to the couch faced by two armchairs al of which sat in front of the huge front window.

Mace was sitting on the arm of the couch, Stel a held close in front of him between his legs. Daisy and Shirleen were in the sofa. Hector was seated on the other arm of the sofa, unlike Mace, who had one foot in the sofa seat, one on the floor. Hector had both feet on the floor, his back slightly to the couch, slightly removed.

His mind was somewhere else.

Jane briefly wondered where it was.

Then her eyes moved to Al y who was in one of the armchairs across from the couch. Stevie was in the other one, his dog Chowleena on her bel y beside his chair taking a snooze.

Tod was on a flight. Seeing as he was a flight attendant, that frequently happened which meant he often missed the action. This annoyed him and he let this be known as only Tod could do. Then again, he had drag queen outfits to buy and something had to pay for them so off he went, grumbling and/or throwing attitude al the way.

Jane found this amusing.

Then again, Jane found a lot that happened in Fortnum’s amusing.

Her eyes moved again and she saw Roam and Sniff sitting at a table, coffee cups in front of them. Roam was lounged back, one long leg bent, foot to floor, one long leg stretched out. He had his phone to his ear. Sniff was sitting across from him, shoving the contents of the bag of fast food he’d brought with him into his mouth.

Three girls around Roam’s age were at an arrangement of chairs two tables away from him. Al of the girls had been in before. Al of them frequently. Al of them were now staring at Roam which was what they did if they were lucky enough to time their visit when he was hanging. And al of them were doing it in a way that it was clear they wished it was the other way around.

Jane knew why. When she first saw Roam some months ago, she thought you had to be blind not to see the promise of good looks. They were stamped on him. In just months, this had grown with his confidence, the bulking out of his body along with his understanding of what it could do, his quick and acute awareness of his surroundings, his alert eyes that held a wealth of experience far beyond his age and just simply the fact that he was maturing into his looks.

It was plain to see he was going to be beautiful mostly because he was nearly there now.

It was also plain to see he was fol owing close in the footsteps of his Hot Bunch mentors. Jane knew this because he was oblivious to the looks he was getting.

Completely.

The girl who caught Roam’s eye and held it would not look. She would do the opposite and he would thril to the chase.

It was just the way of the Hot Bunch.

They didn’t do easy.

Wel , that wasn’t true. They did a lot of easy they just didn’t instal it in their bed for a lifetime.

Jane’s eyes continued to move and she saw Tex and Duke behind the espresso counter, bickering. About what, Jane couldn’t hear at that moment but, with practice, eyeing them for a moment, she knew everyone would hear it in approximately two point seven five minutes.

Jane continued to scan and she saw Eddie standing at the end of the espresso counter, Jet in his arms. Jane couldn’t see Jet’s face and only could see Eddie’s profile.

His head was bent and he was whispering in her ear. As he did, Jane watched observantly and noted Jet pressed closer then closer.

And Jane knew, for Eddie and Jet, the world had ceased to exist. There was Eddie and al there was for him was Jet.

Then there was Jet and al there was for her was Eddie.

Jane decided in that second that Eddie and Jet were going to be her favorites for the day. She changed them every day depending on what she witnessed. Sometimes it was Lee and Indy. Other times, Hank and Roxie. Others, Jules and Vance or Luke and Ava and now Mace and Stel a.

Today it was Jet and Eddie.

Jane’s eyes moved from them back to the couch, they fel on Stel a and Mace and she instantly changed her mind.

Stel a was leaned into Mace, her arms wrapped around the one he had at her stomach, her head had fal en back on his shoulder, turned slightly so her temple was pressed to the side of his throat.

Jane studied them.

Mace looked content.

Stel a looked wel beyond that.

This would be surprising for normal folk considering a week ago Stel a’s apartment and most of her belongings had been blown to smithereens and Mace’s Dad lost his life to save Stel a’s.

Then again, the two things most important in her life, both of which breathed, weren’t blown to bits so with the Rock Chicks at her back (
sans
Indy, who was stil in Barbados on her honeymoon and would be for another week), Stel a did what she could with what was left and was now living with Mace at his house.

That was to say, she was doing this in the short-term considering they were already searching for a new place and had arrived at Fortnum’s thirty minutes ago after spending the morning viewing three properties.

No matter what, life for the Rock Chicks and Hot Bunch always just went on.

As for Preston Mason dying, Jane had listened (as she always listened, avidly) and she knew, although it wasn’t nice to think, his life ending was not a big loss to the world.

And she knew from experience that whatever Stel a was enduring due to a man dying so she could live and Mace was enduring because he lost his father, they’d make it through and they’d do it because they had each other.

Preston Mason bequeathed his vast holdings to his son.

His son had turned them over to his mother and stepmother. They were in turn making enormous donations to a variety of charities.

Most of them having to do with the arts.

And most of those having to do with giving underprivileged children opportunities to learn to dance.

Jane, stil unnoticed, always unnoticed and liking it that way, continued to study them.

She had watched Kai Mason now for months and months. Jane had spent most of her life being quiet and watching. Therefore she saw things others didn’t. On the rare occasion, she had noted Mace showing humor but that was rare.

For months and months she saw only pain in Kai “Mace” Mason.

Today she saw no pain.

This made her smile a little, unnoticed smile.

Her eyes dropped to Stel a’s hand and, at her distance, she could just barely make out the gold ring on Stel a’s pinkie finger.

Just the other day, she overheard Jet tel ing Jules that Stel a never took that ring off.

Never.

Jane sighed.

So there it was; Stel a and Mace were now her favorites for the day.

She wasn’t fickle. No doubt Eddie or Jet would do something, and soon, to regain the title.

“Mystery for the ages,” Stevie replied with unconcern to Al y and Jane’s eyes moved to him.

“I think not,” Al y shot back. “It has to be part of the inner circle. No one knows al that shit. Someone spil ed. And that is
way
uncool.”

Jane didn’t think so but she wouldn’t considering she was the one who talked to the reporters and Jane knew Al y was talking about whoever talked to the reporters. She knew this because Al y had been talking about it a lot.

She felt no guilt. Jet and Tex’s tips had quadrupled. Tex had a nest egg but Nancy was moving in with him the next week and she wasn’t able to work but part-time and not at a job that paid very much.

Further, Jet wanted a KitchenAid and she’d wanted one awhile.

So Jane got it for her, kind of.

Not to mention, coffee sales had seen that increase too and even book sales.

Lee wasn’t hurting for money.

Now Indy wasn’t either.

No, Jane felt no guilt. None at al .

Anyway, it was a week ago and it had al already blown over.

Al of it but the increase in customers.

So there.

“No one is copping to it and, in this crowd, someone did it, they’d cop to it or they’l
never
cop to it,” Shirleen decreed and Jane looked to her thinking she was right.

Jane would
never
cop to it.

“We’l never know,” Shirleen finished.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Jane didn’t know if she was right about
that.

“It’s stil uncool,” Al y mumbled.

Whatever,
Jane thought.

Without a word but with a chin lift at Mace, Hector got up.

Jane tensed.

Then she watched as he moved toward the door, carrying his takeaway coffee cup.

Jane’s hand darted to the drawer where they kept their purses; she opened it, nabbed hers, grabbed it, shut the drawer and scurried after him.

No one noticed her go.

* * * * *

Hector sat in his beat-up, brown Bronco, head turned, eyes aimed into the art gal ery.

He did this awhile.

Jane watched awhile.

Final y, Hector put his Bronco in gear, pul ed out of the spot and drove away.

Jane switched off the ignition to her car, exited it, locked it, fed the meter and walked into the gal ery.

When she did, she smiled.

A petite, curvy, very wel -dressed, strikingly beautiful woman with a mass of golden-cream-strawberry blonde hair that was a riot of soft ringlets mixed with ful waves that floated down her back and al around her exquisite face and shoulders was standing behind the counter.

She looked like a fairy princess.

Jane especial y liked her hair. It was fabulous.

Jane suspected Hector Chavez liked her hair too.

But he probably liked her curves better.

“Hel o.” Her soft voice sounded as her pretty eyes smiled.

Mm-hmm.

This was good.

Jane approved.

“Just looking,” Jane muttered, the woman tilted her head welcomingly toward the gal ery then Jane spent the next fifteen minutes pretending to look as she surreptitiously watched the blonde doing whatever she was doing behind her counter.

Then Jane bought three postcards that had prints on the front of art displayed in the gal ery. Postcards she would never use.

Then she left.

* * * * *

Cotton flower.

Pretty and soothing.

Then she sat at her desk, moved her mouse and opened her word processing program.

Then she centered the cursor, turned on bold, set the font size at eighteen and typed.

Rock Chick
.

Then she hit control at the same time she hit return, starting a new page, changed the font size to fourteen and typed.

Chapter One.

She hit return, turned off bold, turned on italics and changed the font size to twelve and typed.

The Great Liam Chase
.

Then her eyes went fuzzy and her memory was swamped with the image of Liam Nightingale embracing his very soon-to-be wife in her angelic wedding dress prior to being declared man and wife.

Then Jane smiled.