Mercy for the Fallen (43 page)

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

Cady fell back against the couch, hugging her elbows.  “I’m not waiting for a perfect guy,” she muttered.  “I’m just tired of going out with guys who are only after one thing.”

“I know what you need.”  Kelli’s blue eyes widened, and Cady’s stomach sank, fearing the blonde’s passion for whatever it was.

“Please don’t say makeover…”

“Oh, that would be super fun, but not what I was going for.”  Kelli waved the thought away.  “I was thinking more along the lines of you taking a break from picking out guys since your judgment is obviously flawed.”

That didn’t sound so bad, especially since it already went with what she had in mind.

“Instead you should let us pick out your next guy!”

Because her judgment was so much better?  “That’s crazy.  All you know how to pick is guys to hook up with.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t know how to pick the super boring guys you’re into,” Kelli insisted, earning a frown from Cady. 

“I don’t like boring guys.”

Kelli continued, undeterred.  “Besides, Penny knows how to pick guys that want to wait, look at Justin.  He’s almost not even a man.”

“He’s a man…” Penny ventured in a small voice, and the pair debated that for a few minutes while Cady watched, until they both turned to her with expectant faces.

“This is stupid,” Cady insisted, refusing to even consider it.

“No, really.  Just for tonight, either you pick a guy or we’ll pick for you.”  The bubbly girl stuck out her hand.  “Deal?” 

“Why would I make a dumb deal like that?”  Cady kept her hand firmly in her lap.  “I don’t want to go out with
anybody
.”

“That’s because you haven’t met our guy yet,” Penny nodded brightly, her dark eyes already searching.  “Let’s see… who do we have to work with?”  They made a big show of scanning the crowd, but Cady sat back, already having lost interest in the game.  As if it was that easy.  Pick a guy out like a book on the shelf.  Didn’t they realize you couldn’t judge a book by its cover?  Otherwise Rico Suave from across the room with his dark, smoldering looks (and probable venereal warts) would be the answer to all her dreams. 

While she went up to the bar to buy another round of drinks they continued their search, squabbling between themselves over what type of guy Cady needed.  Kelli insisted Cady needed a hottie to make her forget about her stupid standards and have a bit of fun for a change, while Penny seemed to take the exercise very seriously, carefully assessing the possible suitors.   

She made it back to the table with the drinks in time to see Kelli throw her hands up in disgust.  “I give up, how about that homeless guy over there?” she gestured, not even caring if he heard her or not.

Cady’s head swiveled, unable to keep from looking.  He sat alone in the corner, elbows resting against the table, watching the crowd with an unshakable intensity.  Wearing a blue hoodie under a faded army jacket, everything about him appeared rumpled and frayed, prompting the homeless crack, but she didn’t think he actually lived on the streets, he was too clean. 

An unshaven jaw, not the kind Rico Suave over there cultivated to perfection, but rough, as if he’d forgotten to shave for a week.  The straight blonde hair was a little shaggy on top too, but trimmed close on the sides in an almost military cut.  His nose was too flat to be conventionally handsome and had obviously been broken before, but the eyes were a clear, cornflower blue, free from the glassy stare of drugs or too much drink. 

“Hey, I know that guy,” Cady realized suddenly.  “He’s not homeless, he’s my neighbor.”

“He’s not that bad,” Penny allowed, taking a deeper look.  “His eyes are pretty.”

“He needs a makeover, STAT,” Kelli speculated, taking a long drink.  “I think you should be the one to give it to him, Cady.”

“I don’t think he’s interested in a makeover,” she snorted, continuing to watch the man.  His gaze slid over to their table and then quickly flicked away.  Had he heard them?  Not a chance over the din of the music, Cady decided. 

“You should go talk to him,” Penny nodded encouragingly.  “He’s your neighbor, that makes him safe.”

Cady wasn’t sure she followed the logic in that, but before she could reply, Kelli laid a hand on her arm. 

“No, hold everything, take a look at
this
guy.”  Kelli smiled over the rim of her glass at a guy on the dance floor, wildly gyrating his hips in her direction.  “That is the kind of guy who could curl your toes.  Go talk to him instead.” 

Ick
.  “You know what, I think you’re right.”  Cady pushed herself up from the table.  “I should go talk to him.”

“Really?” They blinked in unison. 

“Sure, it would be the neighborly thing to do.”

Chapter Three

In general, Cady didn’t have trouble talking to guys.  Outgoing by nature, she figured the worst that could happen was he could tell her to F off, and she could at least say she’d tried.  Still, she hadn’t approached a total stranger like this before, usually there was some other pretense that had her offering the first words.  Something like…
I love your jacket, do you ride a motorcycle?
  But what could she say to this guy?  He looked like he was dressed from Salvation Army castoffs. 

“Hi, I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before,” Cady approached, smiling past the inner cringe at the lamest pick up line ever.

“No, thank you.”

Not what she’d expected to hear.  “I wasn’t offering anything.”  A furrow appeared on her brow, he hadn’t even looked at her. 

“It’s just a general no, thank you.”  He offered the barest of smiles before returning his eyes to the crowd.  “I’m not here to pick up girls.”

“Oh, are you into guys?”  Cady sat beside him, the brief smile and oddly polite rejection piquing her curiosity.  He didn’t outwardly object to her taking a seat, but he didn’t look thrilled about it either. 

“I’m not here to pick up
anybody
,” he growled, letting out a sigh that could have meant anything from a deep heartache to indigestion.  “Go try someone else.”

Cady’s eyes darted back to her table to get a thumbs up and an encouraging grin from Penny.  Kelli was already making eyes at the mad dancer she’d spotted before.  “I’m not trying to pick you up either.”

That earned her the first look from him that lasted longer than half a second, and it came with a raised brow.  “You’re not?”

“Okay, maybe I did say hello under false pretenses,” she allowed with a flap of the hand.  “Do you see my two friends over there?”

His gaze never shifted, but he described them well enough.  “Petite brunette, dressed like a widow, and the bottle blonde, five six, her ass hanging out on the dance floor?”

Her head craned back in time to see that Kelli was indeed out on the dance floor, shaking her booty.  “Then you
were
checking us out.”

“Not particularly.”  He shrugged a single shoulder.

“Um…”  Not quite sure what to make of that, she plunged ahead.  “Anyway, I sort of promised I’d try to pick you up, but I’m not really.  It’s just to get them off my back, and Penny thinks you’re safe because we’re neighbors.”

“That’s the most ridiculous argument I’ve ever heard.”  He didn’t bother to keep the scorn from his voice and it earned her another look.  “Why would I be safe because we live in the same building?”

Even though she’d expressed the same doubt not two minutes before, she couldn’t help but try and defend her friend’s position.  “Well, because… if you tried anything I could always tell the cops where you live.”

“And that would make whatever sicko attack I could dream up okay?”

“No, but you wouldn’t attack me, knowing I could turn you in.  It’s a natural deterrent, see?”  Her winsome smile didn’t appear to have any effect on him.

“Only if you survived it.”

“My friends know you’re my neighbor, they’d report me missing if I didn’t turn up for work tomorrow.”

“Big comfort that would be to your friends and family after I murdered you in cold blood.”

Her head canted to one side as she wondered how they’d strayed to that particular topic.  “Do you often kill girls who pick you up in clubs?” 

“Not usually, but I’m beginning to understand the appeal,” he muttered, shaking his head.  He looked over at her and she got the feeling he was truly seeing her for the first time, his eyes giving her as frank an appraisal as she’d given him before lingering on the delicate gold cross that hung around her neck.  His face softened, and when he met her eyes again, his tone was earnest.  “Look, whatever this is, no thank you.  The safest thing you can do is take your girlfriends out of here and go home.  In a group, together.  In fact, you shouldn’t be out in a place like this at all.” 

He was starting to sound like her brother.  “I can take care of myself.”  Before he could reply with what she was sure would be a cutting remark, she changed the subject.  “What are you doing in here anyway?  Besides not picking up girls or guys?”

“I’m… working,” he replied after a moment’s hesitation.

All at once the reason for his protective disinterest hit her.  “Are you a cop?”

“Something like that.”

“Why didn’t you say so?” Cady relaxed beside him.  It made perfect sense to her, a cop would find the neighborhood dangerous for a girl her age, and it explained his hyper-vigilance.  “You know, it actually helps with your stakeout in a club if you’re seen talking to a girl.  Otherwise you stick out like a sore thumb.”

“You think so?”  A half smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.  “Been on many stakeouts have you?”

“Oh yeah, I’m an old hand at them.  My dad was a cop back in the day.  He used to take my brother and I with him plenty of times.”

“I’ll bet.”  His eyes narrowed, but at least they were focused on her for a change.  “What kind of a cop takes his kids into a dangerous situation like that?”

“The kind who can’t afford a babysitter?” she grinned, and he shook his head in amusement. 

“Let me guess, you saw the back seat of a cop car a few times and now you think you know all about surveillance?”

“I know the trick is to blend in, to not look like you’re there just to watch.  Which you are failing at, by the way.  You look like you belong in the alley behind the club, not inside it.”

He frowned down at his jacket.  “I’m not trying to blend in, I’m here to make sure nothing bad happens.  There’s something to be said for a visible deterrent, you know.”

“Then why not show up in your uniform and flash your badge around?  Besides, what are you expecting to stop from here?  Everybody knows the drugs go down by the bathrooms.”

“I’m not here because of the drugs, I’m here…” he stopped, eyes darting back to the crowd.  “Shit… I’m here letting myself getting distracted by a pretty girl instead of doing my job.” 

“You think I’m pretty?”  Cady’s smile returned at the backhanded compliment, but he didn’t seem to realize he’d given it.  His attention was fixated on something else and she turned to see if she could spot it, but everything looked normal to her.  There was no sign of Kelli anywhere, and Cady realized she’d been gone longer than she intended.  Penny must be… sitting with Rico Suave, chatting up a storm and… flirting? 

“You should get back to your friend before she makes a serious mistake.”  He seemed to echo her thoughts.  But how did he know Penny wasn’t free to flirt in a club with a sexy stranger?

“She’ll be alright, trust me.  She’s just being friendly.” 

“Very friendly,” he replied in a flat tone and Cady had to agree.  Penny was being uncharacteristically touchy feely, laying her hand on the guy’s arm, leaning in close while she talked to him.  It was like she and Kelli had switched bodies.  

“Okay, but she’s engaged,” Cady insisted, not sure who she was trying to convince more, him or herself.  “There’s no way she’s about to leave with that guy.”  Except that they both rose from the table together.  “I’d better go.”

“Be careful, he isn’t what he seems.”

Cady spared him a last look, trying to figure out the meaning behind that enigmatic statement before she hurried after Penny, eager to catch them before she slipped away with the guy.  Could he somehow tell with his cop-vision that the guy was a baddie?  She managed to hook an arm through Penny’s elbow as they reached the end of the bar. 

“Hey, where are you headed?”

“We’re going to a party,” Penny smiled brightly, her eyes wide and shiny.  Had he dosed her with something?  Cady thought she saw a flicker of annoyance shadow the man’s handsome face but it was gone in an instant, replaced by an engaging smile.

“You are welcome to join us if you wish.”

“No, thanks.  In fact, I think it’s time we called it a night.  Don’t you think so, Penny?”  Cady nodded encouragingly at Penny who ignored her, her eyes trained on the man’s face. 

“We’re going to a party,” she insisted vacantly.

“What happened to Kelli?”  Cady did her best to command her friend’s attention, giving her arm a shake.  “Where’s Kelli?”