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Authors: Kathy LaMee

Tansy Taylor (29 page)

BOOK: Tansy Taylor
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“Well, Callie and I were being held in a room upstairs. I got Callie out and then I got stuck.” My brow wrinkled, “Oh, and I think there may be a body in the dumpster back there,” I gestured back from where I had come. “I’m pretty sure Sam is a Russian mobster who is using Big’s to sell stolen cars oversees and possibly guns or drugs or something too.”

Smith turned his attention to me, dazed by the onslaught of information I’d just threw at him. Another explosion rocked the warehouse, this time blowing a considerable hole in the roof.

“Geez. Are those cars exploding?” Parts of car flew through the air, a door landing just feet away from where we were crouched.

“Hmm, I’m thinking guns and ammo not drugs are what they are smuggling. Looks like someone is lighting it all off-the cars are just unfortunate victims. Although,” he paused, reflective for a moment, “I’m not exactly sure who or what would be setting them off.”

He pulled his phone out and hit a speed-dial. Sirens joined the madness and the scramble in front of us turned into a different sort of crazy dash.

“What the-Callie? Callie!” I yelled. She came running across the blacktop toward us with a huge grin on her animated face. She turned and watched another explosion rock a Mercedes parked out in front. I watched as the few remaining Russians threw their hands up in defeat, piled into a nondescript van and sped off in the opposite direction as the approaching sirens.

Smith stood and clicked the safety back on his gun, letting it relax down to his side. We stepped out from behind the container and Callie came to a grinding halt in front of us. She was covered in black powder and numerous scrapes and cuts. Blood was running down her shin from a gash above her knee. She was oblivious to it all.

“Oh my gosh! Did you see that? What a show! I sure took care of them, didn’t I?” She was absolutely radiating triumph and had a grin that stretched from ear to ear. I wasn’t sure about the gleam in her eyes; she looked a little crazed, to be honest. I gave her a huge hug.

“How in the world did you do that?” I hugged her again. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Oh, Tansy! It was great.” The gleam in her eyes shone even brighter. “I ran around the back side of the building when I heard those Russian guys coming.” It was her turn to give me a hug. “Sorry to ditch you, by the way.” I shrugged. “Anyway, when I got back around the building I found this pile of flares on a box. It was really weird you know?” She looked at Smith and I. “Anyway, I figured they might come in handy. I snuck back around to the front of the warehouse and saw all of the guns and ammo, and well, I used them.” She shrugged like it was no big deal. We both kept staring, so she kept going. “I started in the warehouse and worked my way around the lot. I think I got four or five. Anyway, all the Russians took off when they heard the sirens so I figured it was safe to stop. You do need some evidence left, right?” She glanced over at Smith and gave him a wink.

Smith shook his head. “You got it, great job! Now, I realize that this has all been pretty liberating for you, and maybe even a bit of a payback,” He reached out and put his arm around her shoulder. She giggled, but it came out more of a frenzied cackle. She covered her mouth, as if she were embarrassed to be laughing. Smith gave her a playful punch and laughed. “It’s okay! You did good little girl!” He enveloped her in a big bear hug. I could see her whole body trembling as her adrenaline wound down and her shakes turned into sobs.

“I just miss him so much.” She sobbed into his chest and pounded. “They had no right! No right to take him from me!” She pounded again and he simply rubbed her back and soothed her like a mother would an upset baby. “Damn them,” she said, her voice cracking with exhaustion.

“I know, I know.” I was touched at how tender he was with her. It was obvious that he’d some experience in comforting others. I supposed that it could be just due to the circumstances of his job. Nonetheless, I felt touched Smith would care enough about Callie to take such measures. After she had settled down a bit, he looked up at me; I knew without him saying a word that he needed me to take over so he could get back to work. The sirens had stopped and there were numerous emergency vehicles scattered across the warehouse site.

“Come here Callie, let’s get you over to the ambulance and see if we can’t get you cleaned up a little bit.” I put my arm around her and led her back in the direction she had come, but this time, it was toward an army of good, not evil. She nodded and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes.

 

Chapter Nineteen

 

It took about four hours to get Callie all stitched up and recount the entire story at least four times to various different law enforcement officers of a variety of agencies. I had some minor patching up done to me as well. By the time we were done, I was exhausted. Thankful to have been given a pair of scrubs and flip-flops, I changed out of my shredded clothes and found Detective Smith.

“So, do you think we’re all done here?” I asked. Callie was curled up asleep in the back of the ambulance.

“I think so. I’m sure you’re ready to get home and find your bed.” He came closer to me. Instinctively I crossed my arms tightly around myself in a big hug. He put his hands out on my arms and bent his head down, creating an intimate space amidst all the chaos surrounding us.

“You did a good job too, you know? You saved your friend and uncovered a huge operation.” He gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek. “I’m proud of you.” What could have sounded extremely condescending didn’t.

I grinned. “Thanks, dad,” I joked. He grimaced.

“I really hope you don’t think about me that way.” I could see the look in his eyes and I knew he was referencing our kiss earlier on. I unfolded my arms and took his hands in mine.

“Smith-ah, Alex, I,” I paused, unsure of where to go. I really liked him, and while I’d been shocked at my passionate response to his kiss, I didn’t think what I wanted or needed right now was a relationship with him. His body slumped a bit, and his eyes clouded up. “Alex, let me just get this out, okay?” I pled. “I really, really like you.” I smiled, trying to coax one out of him too. “I want to keep you a part of my circle, you know, as a friend? I’ve still got to figure out what happened with Sam-I feel like there is this unfinished business. My world is so upside down right now; I can’t get over how he blinded me to his true self-he totally read like such a good guy! I mean, I know I’ve been snowed before by guys, but I pretty much knew going in they were rotten; I just figured I could change them.” I threw my hands up in the air; somehow going from letting Smith down gently to whining about my history of bad romance. I let out a sigh. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to unload that on you.”

“No, no. I guess I hadn’t realized how much he’d impacted you. I should tell you though, he’s not here. The guys scoured the area, there were a couple of dead goons; some guy we haven’t indentified in the dumpster and a couple of uniforms picked up three of them on a routine traffic stop for speeding. They saw blood on one of the guys and well, they put two and two together. I’m hoping they decide to talk when we threaten deportation back to the mother country. Big and Ronnie both came clean. I think they’re hoping for a plea bargain. Anyway, Adams is no where to be found; it’s like he vanished. And now of course, the FBI has pretty much taken over the entire case, so I’ll most likely be locked out information wise unless it’s something I get on my own.” He ran his hand through his hair. Miraculously he was spotless; there was not a bit of dirt or grime on him anywhere.

“What?” He asked, looking down at his shirt and tie. “Do I have something on me?”

“No,” I laughed. “That is exactly it-you don’t have a spot, anywhere! It’s a little odd, don’t you think?” I raised my eyebrow at him.

He chuckled back. “Nope; my clothes know better than to let anything stick to them. I’m a little bit of a neat freak.” A grin spread across his face. At least he looked like he’d recovered from my pass on his advances. I glanced over at Callie who was still passed out in the back of the ambulance. One of the medics was walking toward us.

“Hey, which one of you is responsible for that one?” He gestured back at Callie. “We gotta get outa here and back on the grid.”

“I’ll take her,” I said, and then frowned. “Oh, I guess I don’t have a car either. Alex? You mind taking us home?” I turned, hopeful I’d be able to ride home with a familiar face and not just some random cop.

“Sure, not a problem,” he said. He grabbed my arm and looped his through mine and off we went toward Callie.

 

*****

 

I woke up sore and tired. I looked over at the clock and saw it was already noon. So much for this day, I thought.

I brushed my teeth and attempted to tame the pink curls, but without much luck. I wrapped myself in my robe, and sighed, missing my bunny slippers. I settled for a pair of fuzzy purple socks, and then headed downstairs.

“Hey there sleepyhead,” Jeni said. She was perched at the kitchen counter working on some sort of project. “Don’t look. It’s for you, for later. But first, I need to fill you in.” She swiveled around in her chair and wiped her frosting covered hands on a cute floral apron. With her hair pulled back into a ponytail she looked like she was straight out of the fifties.

I yawned and plopped down into a chair. “Okay, well, fill me in then. But first, is there coffee?”

Jeni stood and grabbed a large mug off the shelf. She poured the dark liquid into it and then topped it with some sugar and cream, just how I like it. I took the cup of heaven and inhaled deeply. She sat a huge croissant and a jar of Nutella down in front of me; perfection.

“Have I told you lately what an awesomely wonderful friend you are?” I spread a huge glob of the hazelnut creme onto my croissant and took a big bite. I rolled my eyes in ecstasy.

Jeni sat back down in her chair and took a drink of her own coffee. “So, I scheduled you a few hours at my mom’s favorite day spa. You’ll be getting a massage, a facial, and, of course, your hair.” She cringed and pointed to the pink disaster on top of my head. She shook her head and took another sip of coffee.

“You are the absolute best person ever! I am totally nominating you for the friend of the year-if there is one. There should be one! I am sure that there is-somewhere.” I trailed off, my mind already on the day ahead of me.

“Yes, well, you need to finish your breakfast and head on down there. The appointment is for one o’clock. So, get a move on!” She made a shoeing motion toward the door. I glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that she was right; it was getting close to half past twelve. I stuffed the rest of my croissant in my mouth, grabbed my coffee, and headed upstairs to change my clothes.

 

*****

 

Four hours later I was a new woman; relaxed, highlighted, and sporting a ‘normal’ hair color. I pulled up in front of the house and found it empty. At the kitchen door, I looked down, and saw a note stuck under the mat. My name was written on it. I recognized the writing; Sam.

The note was brief. It simply said he was sorry. Sorry? What was sorry? Sorry could not even begin to make up for what he had done.

I got back into Jeni’s car; she had gone back to her dad’s and gotten her high school car, just for me. I thanked her repeatedly; but I figured it was more to save her own precious Gert, than for me. I headed down to Big’s, to see if Sam was anywhere to be found. I couldn’t let him think that ‘sorry’ was in anyway acceptable.

I got to Big’s and there was no one in sight. I walked around; it was silent. Not a sound to greet me. I had never been here when it was absolutely quiet. Something was missing; but what?

It hit me all at once. Buster was gone. We hadn’t found his body though, so I was confused. If he couldn’t leave because we hadn’t found him, they why was he gone? I sank to the ground, my head swimming in confusion. Why had he gone? I was at a loss.

I sat there for a while, not sure what to think. There was no sign of Sam; no sign of Buster; and no sign any life at all at the dealership. The mystery with Buster plagued my brain. It wasn’t like I had a lot of experience in the paranormal arena though, so I figured I shouldn’t be too hard on myself. The only logical reason I could come up with was he’d stayed behind to finish what he’d started; to get the files to the police and stop Big and the Russians. Well, between me and Callie we’d accomplished it. I supposed this was as good as it got, but it sucked, not getting to say goodbye.

I stood up and headed back to the car. I put the key in the door of the antiquated Toyota. I caught movement on the other side of the park; I looked up and saw Alex Smith. A warm, but not unwelcome fluttery feeling spread across my tummy. I smiled, and walked over to meet him.

BOOK: Tansy Taylor
13.6Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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