Harley's Choice (6 page)

Then Carson continued. “We did that for four
years and decided it was time to come home and do something else.
At first we weren’t sure what to do. I thought about becoming a
cop, but it didn’t hold my attention. Then Kyle had a wonderful
idea of becoming an author.”

“It was a good idea!” Kyle huffed at
Carson’s sarcastic sound. “I did it. I set out to write a mystery
book, I took the time we spent in the military and added a mystery
and now I’ve done it six times over.”

“Wow!” I was rather impressed. “But I’m
missing something…how did you go from Marine to author to the scene
in the bar?”

“Well that was my fault Hars; I decided to
go into acting. In three years I went from stunt double to
supporting actor to ‘A’ list actor and that’s when it became clear
I was getting too much attention and suddenly pulled out and backed
away. I decided to move to a little town in the middle of the
country and Kyle, against my wishes came with me. If there is one
thing the populous loves more than a good scandal story, it’s a
disappearance. I was famous, they said I had a great future ahead
of me and then one day I was gone.”

“Why?” I asked while playing back any and
all information that I could think of about the disappearance of
Kit Carson.

“One day I woke up and decided I hated where
my life was going. I was constantly surrounded by people who wanted
things from me and the media always getting in my way, I could
never escape. Then I was checking my email one day and along the
bottom of the screen was an article about how my girlfriend at the
time was pregnant and I was the father. Needless to say I was
pissed. I mean we’d had but one date, with no sex. So I asked her
if she heard about and she just said ‘sit back and enjoy the
publicity, isn’t that what your manager wants?’ I hung up on her
and changed all my numbers and found an obscene amount of land in
North Carolina and commissioned a house built.”

“When I heard what he was doing I knew I had
to go with him. There was no way he was leaving me in LA to face
the vultures by myself. They knew we were best friends and they
were already starting to divulge into my back ground and everyday
getting closer to the truth.” Kyle smiled at me and let Carson
finish the story. I could see there was more to his story, but I
waited for Carson to finish his.

“So I had a house built. I used my real name
on all the documents, because the one thing I was able to do was
keep my real self out of the lime light. It seemed to work, for a
while. But then I had to get my possessions out. The media started
speculating about the movers I first hired. So I fired them and
Kyle and I devised a plan.

I went out and bought a new car, well a
truck really and we started, under the cover of darkness, moving my
things into a series of PODS parked at his house. It took a full
month before I had what I wanted to take loaded, and then we
cleared out Kyle’s house. It took another week to get everything
together.

I sold my truck, and didn’t buy another one.
The media had a field day with this tidbit. I simply rented a car
for the few days I had left in this town. Then one day I drove it
into the return lot and got into Kyle’s car and we drove straight
through to North Carolina.” I watched as he stretched out longer on
the bed causing saliva to fill my mouth. I swallowed.

“Finally I called my manager somewhere in
New Mexico and told him he was fired and that I quit the business
and I would send his final payment.” He leveled a look at me. “So
you see until this weekend neither one of us have been back, that’s
why they call him a recluse and I’ve tried very hard not to be
spotted. I’ve done alright, there were a few time when we first got
to North Carolina, before my appearance changed but other than that
we haven’t been spotted.”

“Oh my belladonna! You mean you two came out
of hiding to see me?” I kicked him off the bed with my feet and
jumped up and stood accusingly. Hands on hips and feet planted
shoulder width apart. I was moved, touched, and angry at the same
time. “Oh, why would you do that? You should have just sent a
note.” That way I wouldn’t have come at all. I thought it but
didn’t say it.

“Hars calm down!” Carson had jumped up off
the floor not even a second after I had kicked him off the bed,
letting me know he’s had plenty of training in self-defense. I
watched him glance at Kyle with a bit of confusion in his eyes and
approached me cautiously and wrapped me in his arms. “We made a
promise Hars and we stood by it.”

Kyle snuggled up to my back. “He’s right
kitten…we wouldn’t have left you here to fend off the bitch without
proper back-up.” His arms came around my waist and I was suddenly
very content and felt I was where I belonged, and all anger fled by
the way side. We stood like this for a few minutes before my phone
rang out ‘Hells Bells’. We all jumped apart accusingly and I jumped
for my phone.

“What!” I was still angry after Carson’s
confession, but more so over the interruption to the ‘me’ sandwich
that was warming me to my toes.

“Now, now, be nice.”

“That was,” I looked back to the guys and
took a deep breath as I watched them get settled on the bed again.
“I’m sorry what?” I said when I realized my brother was talking to
me.

“I said dad is on his way back from New
York, but we are heading to Cali tomorrow.”

“Um, hold on.” I turned to face the guys and
covered the phone. “Mind if I, uh?” I nodded towards Carson’s room.
I walked into his room on his nod. I shut the door then very calmly
said “WHAT! Why?”

“Well that’s what the trip was about; the
New York office had a problem with a missing contractor.”

“What happened?” concern filled my voice.
This is the first time something like this has happened since I’ve
been working for the company.

“Well they found him.” His voice morose

“Who and where?”

“It was Charley and they found him in his
apartment…”

“Oh no. But if it happened there, why are
you guys coming here?”

“Delta reported a rogue.”

A funny feeling came over me. “Who?” My
voice broke.

“Marcus.” I fell on to the bed.

Marcus Ortiz.

He and I were hot and heavy a few months
back and had been that way for almost two years. Then about four
months ago he asked me to marry him. It was perfectly coordinated
and well thought out. The only problem was I didn’t want to get
married. When I said no, he snapped. I mean I was nice about it,
never once did either one of us speak of marriage, so the proposal
came out of nowhere.

I asked him ‘Why do you want to get married
to me?’

‘
Because I love you Harley.’ He said to
me in a way that reminded me of talking to a child that has the
same question over and over.

‘
Marcus I love you too, but I decided
years ago that I never wanted to get married. Why can’t we continue
the way we are?’

‘
Because I WANT you as MY wife.’ He
yelled in my face.

My response was to frown and I looked at
him. ‘I’m sorry Marcus but I can’t marry you or anyone.’ I turned
to walk out of his apartment and realized the moment he grabbed my
hair never to turn your back on anyone, even if they claim to love
you.

He transferred to L.A. about a month
later.

“Is she sure?”

“Yes…the last intel we got was that a Marvin
Lovebreed caught a flight to LA out of New York.” I knew that name,
it was one of Marcus’ aliases.

“So he’s coming here to what?”

“We are not sure, but I don’t think it’s to
go home and relax.”

“Ok, got that but why did he take out
Charley.”

“Best guess, Charley’s the company’s
accountant, he deals with all credit card invoices…”

“But what’s that got to do with anything? I
paid for this trip with my personal card.” I was confused as to
what Charley could have told him.

“Yes, but the car mods were done on company
dime.”

“My car?” I felt a little faint.

“He should now know the model, make and
color of your car, if not everything else.”

“My car?”

“Sis! It’s just a damn car! I’m more worried
about you!”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll stay on the hotel
grounds and if I go out I’ll make sure to be with people. Not that
I want innocent bystanders getting hurt, but unless he’s flipped
his wig completely, he was best at hand to hand and didn’t like
crowds.”

“Is that a risk you’re willing to take?”

“No, look I’ll send Delta an email when we
hang up and let her know that I’m going to need a half package and
have her meet me away from the hotel.”

“Better yet, why don’t I meet you at the
hotel tomorrow at 1400 with a full package?”

“Wanna tell me how my range of poisons is
going to help me?”

“One never knows.”

“Fine. Thanks for the heads up, I’ll see you
tomorrow.” I disconnected and sat a second before I got up and went
into my room. “Sorry I was-” I went silent at the sight on my bed.
Kyle was sleeping sitting up against my head board and Carson was
sleeping along the foot of the bed, with his feet hanging off the
edge.

I looked at my phone and realized it was a
good hour into Friday. I wondered briefly where the day went but
decided I could use sleep too. I didn’t want to presume that they
would want me in bed with them, or that they wanted to be in bed
together, but there was nothing I could do about that, so I got the
comforter off Carson’s bed and covered them up and then crawled
into Carson’s bed. I wiggled out of my bottoms and turned to my
side and hugged a pillow and promptly fell asleep.

My eyes snapped open and I stretched in bed.
Never in ten years have I slept much past five. Today was no
different, but then I realized where I was and who I was with and
smiled to myself. “Do you always wake up with a smile on your
face?”

“Eek!” I covered my head with the blanket.
“What are you doing up this early?” my muffled voice called
out.

“I fell off the edge of the bed and decided
to come in here to get some more sleep when I found a Goldilocks in
my bed”

“Does that make you a bear?”

“Not at the moment but that could change if
I don’t get coffee soon, care to join me?”

“Sure” I stuck my arm out of the bed and
reached for the floor.

“Looking for these?” I peeked out from under
the covers and nodded when I saw Carson holding up my pants. “So is
this why your clothes were inside out last night?” I nodded again.
“So now I’m curious as to what your shirt says.”

I think I squeaked as the covers were thrown
back, but I recovered quickly and jumped up. “I don’t think I’m
going to tell you.” I crossed my arms over my chest and went to
jump off the bed but was caught by the shirt.

“I don’t think so…tell me.” His voice
lowered and deepened. I think my knees turned to jelly.

“Why?”

“Because you were wearing pants that have
Kyle’s character all over them…I’m jealous.” I was speechless. He
was jealous of Kyle. “I want to know if you have anything with me
on it.”

I stepped down off the bed and walked toward
my room and looked at Kyle still sleeping on my bed, and then
turned to look at Carson. I removed my shirt, wrapped my arm across
my breasts and threw the shirt at him and walked my panty cladded
ass into the bathroom, grabbing clothes along the way.

I showered and brushed my teeth and stepped
out of the steamy room fully dressed and ready to go. I ran a brush
through my hair and applied a curl controller and I was ready to
go.

I stepped back into Carson’s room “I’m
ready.”

“Good. Me too.” I looked at him and him at
me and we both laughed. He had gotten dressed in beach shorts, my
pajama top and pair of black framed glasses.

“Really?” I said still laughing.

“What? Too much?” he lifted his arms and the
shirt lifted and showed off his lower stomach. Oh this was going to
be good.

“No it’s perfect!” The exact likeness of his
face was printed on the shirt with ‘WWKCD’ written underneath and
stretched very tightly over his chest. “Um, it looks a bit
tight…”

“Nope it’s fine so let’s go.” He held the
door open as I walked out.

“So how did you sleep?”

“Oh fine, really, until I fell off the edge
of the bed.”

“Yeah, I should I have woken you up and made
you move.”

“Nah it was no biggie, we had driven for the
last 36 hours straight, we wanted to be here first for, well you
know.”

“I get it.” I pushed the button on the
elevator. “So tell me, how’s life been treating you, I mean
really?”

“It’s had its moments. I have a few good
times and some bad. The time in the Marines was actually some of
the best times. Time in front of the camera wasn’t so bad, until
the media took an interest in me. The last couple of years have
been a reprieve.”

“That’s good to know, so last night you
spoke of a girlfriend, still have one?”

“Nope, both Kyle and I are single and have
been for a while, but what about you, any one to call at
night?”

I thought of Marcus. “There was but it ended
badly about four months ago.”

“Sorry to hear that. Could I ask you
why?”

“He wanted to get married I didn’t.” I
turned back to the ding of the elevator and stepped in.

“Well…I really don’t know what to say. I
haven’t had any get that close yet, but I thought that’s what women
wanted?”

I laughed. “Now why would you think such a
barbaric idea? Sure some women, but not this woman, I told myself
some years ago that unless an offer so amazing so perfect that I
would never be able to pass it up came along, I was never going to
get married. I just couldn’t think of bringing someone I love into
my life.”