No Longer Lost: Secrets Of Stone: Book Nine Page 16

  When I wrote that letter to her—the letter I now know broke her heart—I said she needed to change things about herself. That she needed to live her life and stop paying penance for her mother’s mistakes. I knew, even when I was writing the words, that they were harsh. But I also knew she needed to hear them. Needed to move beyond that phase of her life. It was necessary, if the two of us had any hope of building a life of our own. So even though those times were so painful for both of us, I knew now that I’d still write that letter and let her go. All that agony had led us to this moment. She was growing, and therefore we were growing.

  I slept like the dead that night. The combination of the travel, the time difference, and having my sassy girl in my arms were a lethal blow to my consciousness. The alarm woke both Taylor and me in what seemed like minutes after our heads hit the pillows.

  While my master bathroom was enormous, sharing the space was going to take some getting accustomed to. We were both used to functioning on our own, so having to be considerate of someone else was something that took conscious effort. Nothing I minded, though, for the trade-off of being able to wrap my arms around her anytime it struck my fancy.

  Setting a second cup of coffee beside her on the countertop, I waited for her to turn off the hair dryer before I spoke. “I’m going to go call the detective and see what time he wants us to come down to the station. Since I still can’t go to the hospital, I can just drop you off at your office and then come back and get you. Then we can go to the station together. If that’s what you want?”

  She drank from the mug before answering, “This is so good. You could always be a barista if the brain doctor thing falls through.” She gave me a bratty wink before taking another sip. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind? That’s a lot of backtracking. We could just run by my apartment, and I could get my—”

  She froze midsentence, setting down the coffee with a hard thunk.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” The look on her face instantly made me worry.

  “Oh, my God. Do you think he—” All the color drained from her face, and her hands were trembling. “I—I didn’t even think of it until now. Oh, my God. Did he trash my car? Did he vandalize Sally too?”

  “Hey. Hey. Come here.” I pulled her against my chest and held her there. “It’s okay. We’ll find out. It’s okay,” I murmured.

  “It’s not okay!” Suddenly, she was shoving herself out of my arms. I mentally strapped myself in for her blowup. “I hate him, Mac. I hate him for doing this to me! If that loser even touched that car…” She looked up at me with tear-streaked cheeks, her bottom lip trembling.

  Fucking trembling.

  “I know she isn’t much, but I love her. Especially since you—I mean, since you love her too. So now I love her more.” She cut in on herself with a watery laugh. “That sounds silly, huh?”

  “That’s not silly at all.” I caught a couple of her tears with my thumbs before pulling her close again. When she sagged willingly against me, my world was complete. “I love hearing that. But baby, I really don’t think we should go near your apartment. Let’s talk to the detective first. We can ask him about Sally then.”

  I refrained from vocalizing my biggest fear about going anywhere near her place—the horror I’d been fighting since Killian first called us. Was John still lurking out there? If they’d nabbed the motherfucker, they would have told us, right? Or maybe not. I hadn’t had the chance to ask Kil if they’d taken John into custody, and the issue was nagging me constantly. Until I knew for sure, I didn’t dare let Taylor get anywhere near that place. I needed to keep her safe, above all things, until we knew exactly where that jackass was.

  I held her for as long as she would let me—which, of course, wasn’t nearly long enough—before she pulled away to finish with her hair. “I’m going to be late if I don’t get moving. I’ll be ready to go in about ten minutes. You should go get dressed so we can leave.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I gave a mock salute and headed off toward my closet.

  We met by the door that led to the garage, where I always did a quick run-through to make sure I had everything. I was going over my mental checklist, and Taylor stood and stared.

  “What are you doing?” she asked while laughing.

  “I always go through a checklist in my head to make sure I don’t forget anything. It’s a silly habit I started in grade school, and I still do it every day. But at least I never forget anything.”

  She stretched up on her toes to quickly kiss me. “Sometimes you are the most adorable clown in the entire circus.”

  I didn’t miss the chance to wrap my arms around her, holding her in place for another kiss. A much longer one. “Hmmmm. I really like starting my day this way. I’m adding kissing you to my checklist.”

  Her smile sobered. “Checklist or not, you know this day is going to suck, right?”

  “Pretty much.” My expression changed to match hers.

  “I’m glad I don’t have to face it alone. So, if I haven’t said it lately, thank you.”

  “I wouldn’t be anywhere else. And you’re welcome. I love you. Now let’s go. I hear your boss is a real asshole.”

  She smacked my arm as we went out to the car. I flashed a stern look in return. When I slid into one of my favorite places, behind the wheel of my M2, I looked over to Taylor. “Have you really not learned your lesson about striking me?”

  She grinned before answering. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  “Or maybe you just need a refresher lesson, Ms. Mathews.” I pressed the ignition button. The engine roared to life inside the garage, the sound bouncing off the concrete walls, making it seem exponentially louder. I couldn’t hold back the grin it brought about every time.

  “Like a little boy with a really loud toy,” she shouted around her own grin.

  “It appears to have the same effect on little girls as well.” I winked.

  “Yeah, I guess it does,” she conceded. “I’m getting very spoiled with these fancy cars you drive me around in, though. Poor Missy is getting an inferiority complex.”

  “Well, maybe we should look at something new for you. That old car, as much as we both love her, may not be reliable enough now that your commute is going to be twice as far.”

  She scowled. “Ugh. I hadn’t even thought of that. Shit. I can’t afford a new car. Well, technically, I can. I mean, I can get something sensible. Nothing like this, obviously.” She motioned around the inside of my little M2.

  “But you won’t have rent or utilities anymore. So that should free up quite a bit of your monthly budget.” I couldn’t help but play devil’s advocate.

  “True. But that isn’t very sensible to spend the majority of my salary on a car, Mac.”

  “And I’m guessing if you came unglued about me buying you a few new outfits, a car would—”

  “Absolutely not.” She cut me off before I could even finish my sentence. “Don’t even think about it. I’m serious. Don’t. You’ll be taking it back if you do.”

  “You can’t return a car, baby. It doesn’t work that way.” She could be so adorably naïve at times.

  “Well, you’d have to find a way. Or it would sit in your driveway and never be driven. I’m serious as a heart attack about this.”

  “All right, all right. No car. Got it.”

  “So, when are we meeting the detective? Did you contact him?” She changed the subject quickly, but my gears were still turning on the new car topic.

  “He wants us at the station at ten. I think I’ll just hang out at that little café around the corner from your office. No sense going too far. How about an SAV, then? A little X3?”

  “Clown, I said no.”

  “Technically, you said no car. I’m talking about an SAV. It’s different.”

  “No. Vehicle. Period. I swear we will not have sex in any way, shape, or form ever again if you buy me any sort of motorized vehicle. How’s that? Are we completely clear now?”

  “You wouldn’t…”
I gripped at my chest.

  “Oh, I would,” she assured. “It would be miserable, but I can be very stubborn when trying to prove a point.”

  “Good to know. Good to know.” But inside, my message was different. I already know, baby. I already know.

  And I wouldn’t change it about her for all the BMWs in Munich.

  We filled the rest of the drive with chitchat. Memories of our trip, sharing our favorite activities, our favorite meal, and how bummed we both were to have cut the trip short. We were downtown before I knew it, and I was pulling up at the impressive entrance to Stone Global Corporation. It was ripping me apart to say goodbye to her, but knowing I’d be back in less than three hours helped ease the disappointment.

  “Okay, I’ll meet you back here at nine forty-five?”

  “Sounds like a plan. See you soon. Try to stay out of trouble until then.” She kissed me quickly and hopped out, giving me a stellar view of her fine, fine ass as she walked through the front doors of her office. If it wasn’t for the jackass beeping his horn behind me, I would’ve stayed here and watched her until she disappeared from view altogether.

  A quick flip of the bird to the dick in the rearview and I pulled out into traffic again. I drove down the block, trying to find a parking space near the trendy little café. I’d hung out at the place a lot after Taylor and I separated, hoping to catch her on a break or lunch, but she never came in. After I saw how much thinner she had gotten when I ran into her at Drake and Fletcher’s place for the first time after our split, I realized she had probably skipped a lot of lunches altogether. That guilt was still a burden I carried. I hated that I’d done that to her. Her health had been compromised because her heart was ruling her head.

  That made me think about her car situation again. I needed to find a way to convince her to let me help her buy a new car. As much as I loved her 240sx, the best possible outcome of today’s appointment at the police station would be finding out that John-Boy had vandalized her car too. I knew how much she loved driving Sally, but the car was old and unsuitable for the miles required of a daily Oceanside-to-downtown commute.

  Lightning strike.

  Well, that was what my idea felt like. Why hadn’t I thought of it before? Part of what Taylor loved so much about Sally was driving her. If she got behind the wheel of something else—something like my M2—she’d fall hard and never look back. I was sure of it.

  It was brilliant.

  I was fucking brilliant.

  She wouldn’t need any more convincing. The car would do the selling on its own.

  I wanted to reach around and pat myself on the back. I almost did—but my ringing cell interrupted my self-appreciation fest.

  “Mac Stone.”

  “Hey, cousin. It’s Killian.”

  “Hey. How’s it going? Listen, man. Before we get into anything else, thank you again for the flight home yesterday and the car at the airport. It was all really appreciated. I don’t know how I can repay you.” I felt like an idiot after saying that, but what was proper protocol for thanking a guy for a ride in their private jet? A little note with flowers and butterflies?

  “No worries. Really, it’s all good. Remember when you helped me out with Fletcher? I didn’t know how to thank you for that. We just can help each other out when we can. Cool?”

  His relaxed tone made it all seem so damn normal. Hey, you fix my buddy’s brain; I’ll fly you across the world. No problem.

  “Definitely. Sure.” I was stammering, but this family-takes-care-of-each-other stuff was brand-new territory. “So what’s going on? Is Taylor okay?” I actually started to panic. I hadn’t even thought he might be calling because something was wrong at the office.

  “Uhhh, I guess so. I mean, I don’t work directly with her on a daily basis. I haven’t even seen her this morning.” He trailed off with a chuckle.

  “Sorry,” I muttered. “I’m a little edgy with this idiot still out there somewhere.”

  “And I don’t blame you. I’d be out of my mind if this kind of shit happened to Claire.”

  “Did they apprehend the whack job? I guess I should’ve asked that the other day from the DR. I didn’t even think of it until we got back into town. Somehow, being back is making all this worse.”

  Killian snorted. “You don’t say.”

  “Her safety is all I can concentrate on.”

  “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I know how your temper can run…shall we say…on the hotter side?”

  I laughed, knowing it was true. “Yeah, I’m feeling a little possessive these days, on top of everything else. I can’t help it. She’s—I don’t know how to say it—under my skin. Like in a big way. You know?”

  “You’re in love, idiot,” my barely older cousin answered with the sagacity of fucking Yoda.

  “Yeah. That.”

  He turned his snort into a laugh. “Like the song goes, it’s a ‘many-splendored thing.’ But it’s a serious bitch too. I feel you, man. Wait until you throw a kid into the mix.”

  “Oh, whoa there, chief. She won’t even let me buy her a damn car. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I laughed again, only this time it was forced.

  “Hmmm. Let’s come back to that,” he said thoughtfully.

  “Or not,” I added dryly.

  “Seriously though, the reason I called. The police didn’t pick that douche canoe, John, up yet.”

  “Are you kidding?” My volume climbed so hard and so fast, several café patrons turned to look in my direction. “Why the fuck not?”

  “And this is why I wanted to tell you before you got to the station. You need to keep your cool in there, Mac. More importantly, in front of Taylor. Apparently the asshole has an alibi.”

  “A—” I was too stunned to say anything else.

  “Yeah. Someone’s vouched for him, and they’ve already checked out. The only hope of tying him to the crime scene in her apartment is going to be the evidence they collect there.”

  “Fuck. Me,” I groaned, scrubbing my hand down my face.

  “Exactly. So we have to hope against all hope they don’t fuck anything up.”

  “So who is this police department, then?” I could focus on my rage or on attempting to gather as much information as I could before picking up Taylor. “Keystone Cops or the next CSI hopefuls?”

  Killian’s steady voice helped calm me. “Not sure. I haven’t had any dealings with them, but Margaux has. Michael’s mother was roughed up really badly a while back, and they’ve dealt with the police on some other events. I’m going to pick her brain and see if she remembers anyone at the station who was top-notch. We’ll see if we can get them on the case.”

  Curiosity got the better of me, even though I knew it would just add to the rage burning just under my surface. “So where does the fucker say he was?”

  Killian snickered. “You’re going to love this.”

  “Great. Let’s hear it.”

  “Cheetahs.”

  “What the hell is that? Sounds like a strip joint.”

  “Bingo. It’s up in Kearny Mesa. You’ve probably seen it off the freeway.” His landmark references helped me identify where I’d seen the seedy joint.

  “Oh, sort of by Miramar, right?”

  “That’s the one. And one of the dancers there says she gave him a lap dance and he gave her a huge tip. That’s why she remembers him being there.”

  “Did they pull security tapes? Can they prove he was there? I mean, he could’ve paid the stripper to say that. That’s not really an airtight alibi, in my opinion.” My voice was gaining volume again, and talking about strippers and alibis had a few stray eavesdroppers hanging on to my every comment. I decided to head outside to finish the conversation.

  “I thought the same thing,” Killian said, bringing my attention back to the phone. “Maybe we can have someone dig a little deeper into that if the police don’t give it the attention we think it deserves.”

  “Hey, Kil. Don’t take
this the wrong way, man. But why are you so invested in this? Again, I’m really grateful, believe me. But I just don’t get it.” I wasn’t used to someone having my back to the degree he was, and it was in my nature to question his motive. I wasn’t nearly as suspicious as Taylor would be, but he was really getting into the nitty-gritty of our situation.

  “Taylor is like family to Claire. They’ve been best friends for a long time. She’s been there for my wife repeatedly. So when my fairy said to help this girl, I jumped to it. And further, as I told you when you were in the DR, we’re family. Family helps each other out. Now stop giving me shit, or I’ll fuck you up like I used to when we were little.” His lighthearted finish made me laugh, and the whole speech made perfect sense. Killian and Claire were just good people. It was that simple.

  “Oh, you wish. I used to kick your ass, and you know it! On and off the basketball court.”

  “Now who’s dreaming?”

  We both laughed for a bit before his assistant, Brita, interrupted to remind him of a meeting he had scheduled for nine thirty. That gave me precisely fifteen minutes to kill before I needed to be back out front to pick up Taylor.

  With my cup of espresso in hand, I walked back to where I parked my car. I scrolled through my email on the way, deleting most of the messages as I went. One from the hospital needed attention, but it mostly reminded me that I needed to check with the detective to see if the hospital had been made aware of John’s involvement in the investigation. There was no way that sonofabitch wasn’t the guilty party. Proving it was going to be the sticky part.

  Strangely, I had missed a call while talking to my cousin. It was from a number in Chicago. I scrolled to the voicemail screen and played the message over the speaker on my car while letting the engine rumble to life.

  “Maclain, it’s your mother.”

  Fuck. Just the sound of her voice made the hairs on my neck prickle—and not in a fun, tingly, oh-goody way. I hadn’t spoken to her since the morning we had breakfast together. We had a monumental fight when she disrespected Taylor and I stood up to her. The only reason she would call now was that she needed something from me.