Chasing Justice (10 page)

Piper opened her eyes wide as she brushed mascara across her lashes. It had been so long since she had gone through the entire process of getting herself made-up. She had to dig deep into her closet to find something edgy enough to wear on a date with Sean. This method of preparation even required a trip to the store for additional makeup supplies and perfume, two things she had almost completely stopped buying years ago. As the picture of her primped self started to come together in the mirror, Piper began feeling warm with excitement. The thought of a date with Sean was repulsive, but the act of getting ready for an evening that didn’t include sweatpants or flip-flops was a little enticing.

The problem was, as hard as she tried to force the memory of her kiss with Bobby out of her head, it continued to creep its way back in again and again. She spread her ruby red gloss across her lips and all she could think about was how nice it would have been for this date to be with Bobby tonight. How he would come to her door with flowers and be floored by how beautiful she looked. She wouldn’t need to wear this black cocktail dress, just something simple. She would feel his eyes on the curve of her hips and his hand on the small of her back as he walked her to his truck and opened the door. They’d have a romantic picnic under the stars somewhere so quiet it teetered on spooky, because Bobby knew her well enough to know that was what would make her happiest, not drinks in some overcrowded noisy bar.

When she was finally done getting ready, Piper stood in front of her full-length mirror and reviewed her handiwork. Her thick hair, which she usually let air dry, was silky and full of volume thanks to forty-five minutes of blow drying with a giant round brush. Her dress was cut low, and it hugged tight to her waist. Piper’s modesty would never allow her to admit it, but she did have the figure for perfectly showcasing a snug fitting dress.

As she walked the ten blocks to the restaurant in heels, she realized this would be daunting to most people in Edenville. People hardly walked anywhere in this town if they didn’t have to. For Piper, however, her whole life had been spent walking the streets of Brooklyn. Her parents never owned a car, and Piper avoided public transportation as often as possible. As a result, she frequently found herself walking miles to her destination. She thought it very funny that she had a car and a driver’s license now. It had all been included in her relocation. The fact that she never took a driving class, passed the necessary test, or had even been behind the wheel, didn’t seem to matter to anyone. Those types of details fall through the cracks when you’re handed a prefabricated new life. She had taught herself to drive in the parking lot of a closed supermarket. It took three weeks before she was willing to venture out onto the streets, but, even now, she walked whenever possible.

Walking in Edenville was so different than walking in Brooklyn. In Edenville, there were no herds of people moving like cattle. You didn’t have to jump to avoid oily puddles loaded with floating cigarette butts. There were no homeless people to step over and passively ignore. Edenville had charm, but Brooklyn had character, and Piper knew there was a big distinction. You could search all of Edenville and still probably not be able to find a group of people to represent every race, creed, and religion whereas in Brooklyn you could find it all walking down the street. No matter what time of night, you could get any type of food you wanted in Brooklyn. A Viennese deli, a food truck, an upscale restaurant—they were all just steps away from each other. For Piper, Brooklyn was full of toxic memories, but they were the only ones she had.

The contrast between New York and Edenville was most glaring in some of the simplest scenarios. Piper would watch a school bus stop every hundred feet in Edenville to gather up children of all ages. Back in Brooklyn once you reached middle school, there were no school buses to transport you. Students ventured out onto the subway, walked, or hopped three or four different bus routes to bravely make their way to school, unaccompanied and trying hard to appear unafraid.

The tallest building in Edenville was the bank, standing three stories high. In Manhattan, where Piper would escape to as often as possible, she’d get vertigo just by staring up at the enormous structures that towered over the busy streets. As a child, Piper’s favorite thing to do was ride the elevators up the highest buildings and stare out the large glass windows at the skyline of New York. There was no shortage of differences between the two places she had lived, but Edenville had one thing New York didn’t—Bobby. She let herself smile slightly at the thought of him, and replayed in her mind for the hundredth time, the kiss they had shared.

Pulling the door to the restaurant open Piper pushed out the thoughts of her past and Bobby. She took a seat at the bar and started to refocus on what her goal was tonight. She was going to attempt to determine through which avenue it would be best to annihilate the judge’s relationship with the Donavans. Would it be Christian’s wife? Would it be his family? She might not get everything she needed from Sean tonight, but even the most general conversation could open up a new door for her to explore.

It was now a full thirty minutes past the time Sean was supposed to arrive and Piper was getting annoyed as she sat looking quite pathetic at the bar. Finally, after telling herself she’d give him five more minutes, the door swung open and in walked Sean. He was wearing dark denim jeans that were a few sizes too big and hung low around his waist, not so low that he could be an extra in a rap video, but low enough to look ridiculous as far as Piper was concerned.

He had on the same green button-up shirt she had seen him in just days before, but now, thankfully, it was buttoned. His hair was combed back and greased in true mafia fashion. She hated that he was good-looking; that she had even the slightest attraction to him infuriated her. The muddled chatter around the bar subsided for a moment as patrons watched Sean approach. When he sidled up next to Piper, conversations quickly resumed, though Piper could now feel a dozen pair of eyes on her.

Sean leaned in toward her and kissed her cheek, lingering for a moment to smell her hair. He pulled out his stool and sat down beside her, looking her over from top to bottom. “Damn girl, you clean up nice.” As a true New Yorker herself, Piper was annoyed by Sean’s attempts to sound like anyone other than the Southern-born kid he was. He tried hard to hide his drawl and speak like one of the Italian tough guys you’d see outside of the bakeries in Brooklyn. He did a terrible job at it, and every word grated on her nerves.

He flagged the bartender down, which wasn’t hard as he seemed eager to serve in a moment’s notice. “Hey Chuck,” he said as the two shook hands across the bar. Piper could read an air of anxiety on the bartender’s face.

“Hey Sean, how’s things going?” Chuck asked, stumbling slightly on his words. “What can I get you two to drink tonight? On the house, of course.” He stood wringing his towel in his hands nervously.

“I’ll have the usual, and she’ll have a seven and ginger,” Sean said, not even looking at the bartender. His eyes were locked on Piper’s body, and he grinned like a child who had found an extra toy in his happy meal. Piper ignored the fact that he hadn’t actually asked her what she’d like to drink. That didn’t really matter, because if she’d had her choice it would have been a root beer. She hated the taste of alcohol and usually struggled to pick a drink for herself.

“Great guess. That’s one of my favorite drinks,” Piper giggled, batting her mascara-laden eyelashes.

“So since I guessed right, does that mean I get a prize? Maybe we should drink these fast and get out of here.” Sean put his cold, clammy hand on her thigh just under the hem line of her dress. It was incredible to her how two hands could feel so different. The night before, Bobby’s hands were warm and comforting, and tonight Sean’s hands felt intrusive and dirty.

“Maybe I gave you the wrong impression over at your house,” Piper explained, trying to slow the night down a bit. “I think you’re a cool guy, and I’m glad we’re out having drinks, but I don’t even really know you. Let’s at least talk a bit before we take this any further.”

Sean rolled his eyes and grabbed for his beer the bartender had just put down in front of him. “I knew you weren’t going to be as easy as I hoped.” He rolled his eyes and took a swig of his beer with his free hand, the other still planted on her leg. “Fine, what do you want to know about me? Bring on the stupid chitchat.”

“I guess my questions changed the minute you walked in here tonight, because originally I did want to ask you some dreary questions about your favorite movies, but not anymore.” Piper leaned in and looked into his eyes, talking barely above a whisper in an effort to seem more seductive. “Now what I really want to know is why the whole bar got quiet when you walked in, why everyone seems a little nervous you’re here, and why you drink for free in one of the only decent bars in this town. I could give a shit what your favorite movie is now; all I want to know is who the hell I’m sitting with here.” She knew what this would do to a man like Sean. She knew making him feel important and bolstering his ego would put him in the mood to talk.

“You’re a very observant girl, aren’t you? I’m guessing you’re not from Edenville because you’d already know plenty about me. If you were smart you’d’ve asked around before coming out tonight.” His finger danced in a circled on the top of her thigh and under her dress as he flashed a devilish grin.

“And what would I have heard, exactly? I don’t tend to listen to rumors much. I like to get my information right from the source.” She slowly reached across and fixed the corner of his collar that was sticking up slightly. She did this partially because she thought it would be a sexy gesture and partially because it was annoying the hell out of her.

“I come from a very important family in this town. We have a lot of history, here. My dad was a businessman until he died five years ago. My older brother and I, we’ve picked up where he left off. Don’t bother asking me what kind of business, you don’t want to know.” He threw his beer back, took another mouthful, and it reminded Piper she hadn’t even sipped her drink yet. She reached for it, pulled some up through the tiny straw and used all of her willpower not to wince.

“Very mysterious, I like that. So if you’re such an important businessman, what were you doing home in the middle of the day waiting to play video games?” She placed her drink back on the bar and tried to ignore the vibrating of her phone in her bag. The noise was loud enough to distract them and it was the third time it had gone off.

“I handle the family side of the business. Up until school started I watched my nephew every day. Now I have him every afternoon. My brother is very protective, and he doesn’t trust him with anyone but family. It sounds like a lame gig, but it pays well, that’s for sure.” Somehow Sean had already managed to finish his beer and before even thinking of waving down the bartender another had appeared before him.

“That sounds like a nice setup. How old is he? Doesn’t he have a mom who can watch him?” Piper didn’t want the questions to come too fast and sound like she was gathering information.

“Chris is eight. His mom didn’t exactly like the lifestyle that came along with the family business, so she took off a few years ago. She’s a real bitch.” Piper assumed Chris was short for Christian III. What a lucky kid, part of such a wonderful legacy.

“That is really cute. I think guys who get along well with kids are so hot.” She reached into her bag trying to get a glimpse of who was calling her while grabbing her lip gloss. No luck, she couldn’t see the caller ID without being more conspicuous, but luckily it had stopped vibrating. She smeared the lip gloss across her lips and puckered them together.

“So is that enough to get you to finish that drink and get out of here?” His hand moved another inch up her leg as he leaned in toward her ear whispering, “My car is right out front.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth? You prove it to me.” Her phone began vibrating again, and she could see Sean becoming irritated, either with the phone or her protests about leaving. “A good uncle would have picture of his nephew in his wallet.”

He huffed and finally released her leg, leaned over and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. He flipped it open and there was a school picture of a little boy. He was perched in front of a fake autumn scene wearing the uniform of a private school. Piper leaned in to get a good look at the crest on his shirt and cooed over how adorable he was.

She slid off her stool and whispered in his ear, “Let me go find out who is calling me and run to the ladies’ room. Then I’ll be right back, and we’ll talk about getting out of here.”

“I’m done talking,” he hissed back, half angrily half playfully as he grabbed a handful of her ass on her way by.

She looked over her shoulder at him and winked, “We’ll see.” As she rounded the corner of the restaurant and was out of sight she wrestled her stupid oversized bag for her phone. It rang again and the screen read
Michael
.

“Hello?” she said in an exasperated tone. There was no answer, she heard the phone click and disconnect.

“What the hell are you doing?” Michael’s voice called from behind her, sending her jumping. “Are you seriously on a date with Sean Donavan, or am I having some sort of stroke?”

“Michael, you scared the hell out of me. What are you doing here, and why are you calling me every five seconds?” She knew the answer to the latter question, but faking ignorance seemed like her only card to play.