PassionsPoison (16 page)

A young man in police uniform gave her a nod. “May I help
you?”

“Yes, is Chris Ledoux here?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, he’s off today. Can I help you with
something?”

She curled her hands in frustration. She knew that. What had
she been thinking? “No, I’ll call him tomorrow.”

The young man looked concerned, but she waved him off.
“Thanks.”

Bea left the station and went to her apartment, her thoughts
circling her brain like mosquitoes hovering over water. She may be delayed in
slaying that dragon, but her mother was one monster she could tackle today.

She sat on her living room couch and opened her phone, but
before she could dial, it rang.

Zach. Or it could be Dr. Josh using Zach’s phone, which
could mean the worst. Either way, she couldn’t answer. After six rings, it went
to voice mail. It was for the best.

She had lied to Phillip. She had no control with Zach, which
meant she couldn’t be with him anymore. She’d have to make a clean break. It
meant going back to the one-night stands. The very thought caused her stomach
to roll over. But she had at least a week before she needed to contemplate
that, a little longer if she used her porous dildo.

Unable to stand the idea of having sex with anyone besides
Zach for one more minute, she dialed her mom’s number. “Hello, Andy?”

A man’s cultured voice answered her. “No, this is Tony. Your
mom’s outside chatting with the neighbor. What’s up, Bea?”

Bea ground her teeth in frustration. “I need to talk to Mom.
You’re not going to believe what she did. No wait. Tell her I’m on my way over
and I’m pissed.”

Her dad’s quiet voice didn’t help her nerves. “Now, Bea, you
know your mom, and she’s not going to change. What happened?”

“Let’s just say she told someone about our family secret,
and now I’ve got a man determined to make babies with me and it’s the wrong
man.” She hung up on her dad, unable to say another word until she had her
mother in her sights.

Her grandmother’s words came back to her.
It’s not her
fault, it’s her genes
. At this point, Bea didn’t care what excuse her mom
gave, the woman needed to take responsibility for her actions.

As Bea slipped into her Camry, she squinted. Grandma may
have been wrong about the insanity skipping generations because right now she
wasn’t quite sure what she might do when she confronted her mother.

“Relax, Bea, it’s not the end of the world.”

Bea turned back from her pace through the living room and
stared open-mouthed at her mother. “You don’t get it, do you? You’ve made a
mess of my life by telling Phillip. The man is insane. Are babies so important
to you that you’ll take psycho grandchildren just to have them?”

Her mom bowed her head as she sat next to Tony on the couch.
The man, chief operations officer of a national catalogue company, was smart
enough to stay out of it.

Her mother, however, was another matter. She was as clueless
as Phillip. No wonder they connected.

Her mother fidgeted. “I’m sure you’re exaggerating.”

She gripped her hands tight, aggravated beyond her limit.
Her throat constricted as she spoke through gritted teeth. “No. I’m not.”

Bea forced herself to unclamp her jaw. “This is the last
time you will mess around with my life. You better get used to life without me
because I’m not coming over and I’m not calling you. Quite frankly, I need a
break from you. If I could move, I’d leave the country.”

As she headed for the door, her mom stood, tears tracking
down her cheeks. “Bea, you can’t. I’m your mother.”

Bea stopped and stared into her mother’s fearful gaze. Anger
coupled with hopeless frustration boiled within her, causing her to sweat. Her
mother needed to learn a lesson and this might be the only way to teach her.
She strode to the door. “Goodbye, Mom.”

“Bea!”

She kept walking, ignoring her mother’s tearful crying until
she stepped into her car. She looked up before backing out and saw Tony take
her mother inside. That must be nice. Thanks to her mom, Bea doubted she’d ever
know what it was like to have someone care for her.

Though she had taken control, she didn’t feel any better. In
fact, her stomach was knotted up like a tangled fishing net and a slow burn had
started in its depths. She had to keep Zach out of her life and she’d kicked
her mom out too. Maybe she needed to wind down.

Passing her apartment, she stopped farther up the street at
Busy Body’s. It seemed appropriate.

She sat at the bar and ordered a Toasted Almond. As the
first sip warmed her, her body loosened. Finally, some temporary relief, but
her stomach growled. When had she last eaten? Waving down the bartender, she
ordered mozzarella sticks. She took another sip and let the calming effects of
the liquor soothe her frazzled nerves. Maybe she could kill a few brain cells
tonight and forget about her mom.

“Hi, beautiful.”

Zach? Hope speared her heart as she looked up at the man
who’d spoken to her. But it wasn’t Zach. This guy had to be a tourist with his
polo shirt and khaki pants. One of those suburban white-collar men who thought
they had the world by the tail. He screamed arrogance.

The guy leaned on the bar. “I know this may be bold, but you
have the most gorgeous eyes.”

Although he complimented her eyes, he stared at her breasts.
Great, just what she needed right now, an intoxicated tourist hitting on her.
“Thanks. Now go away.”

He leaned toward her, crowding her space with his Polo
aftershave. “Just ’cause you’re beautiful doesn’t mean you can be a bitch.”

She turned away and ignored him.

He wouldn’t take the hint. “Hey, I’m talking to you, Miss
Priss.”

She shook her head. Should she give in to the temptation to
spill her drink on the guy’s pants? It would be such a waste of money, but
maybe worth it.

Another male voice chimed in. “Excuse me, sir, but the
lady’s not interested.”

“And who the blazes are you?” The drunk sounded ready for a
fight.

“I’m a friend of the lady and suggest you move along.”

Bea turned around in time to see Chris flash his badge. The
drunk raised his hands. “I’m not breaking the law here, Officer. I was only
trying to have a friendly conversation.”

Chris motioned with his head. “I’d suggest you head back to
your hotel before I cite you for disorderly conduct.”

The guy mumbled beneath his breath, but she couldn’t hear
him. After he skulked away, Chris sat next to her.

More pleased to see him than usual, she tilted her head at
him. “I thought you were off-duty.”

He shrugged. “I am. But he’s too drunk to realize it.”

“Well, thanks. I really didn’t need that to end my day.” She
lifted her glass to him and took another sip of her creamy almond drink,
thankful she hadn’t had to waste it.

He waved for the bartender and ordered a bottled water. “I
thought you were working?”

She sighed. “My day was going so badly I took the afternoon
off, but it only got worse.”

He picked up his water and took a gulp before he fixed his
sympathetic gaze on her. “Anything I can do to help?”

She stopped in mid-bite of her cheese stick. “Actually,
there is.”

Opening her purse, she found two of the letters, but had no
clue which was which. The second one about killing Zach was still at home where
she’d stashed it. If Zach was who it referred to? She couldn’t be sure about
anything right now except that giving that particular letter to Chris would be
a huge mistake. She pulled out one of the envelopes. “I’ve been receiving these
strange letters at the Lakeside Inn. I don’t know which one this is. One of
them came today, in between my fight with Phillip and my fight with my mother.”

Chris threw her a look of understanding before he took the
envelope and studied it. “Did anyone see who dropped this off?”

She took another sip of her drink. “No, but I have everyone
watching.”

“Do you mind?” he asked, gesturing to the letter inside.

“No, please do.”

Bea ate one whole cheese stick before Chris finished with
his study of the paper. “Well, what do you think?”

He looked her in the eye. “I think this could be serious. ‘I
know your secret’ sounds as if this could escalate into blackmail. Would you
mind if I took this and talked with a detective friend of mine?”

She bit the inside of her lip. If the secret did refer to
her toxic nature, did she want the local police investigating? Probably not, but
then again, she’d had it with reacting to the mess her life was in at the
moment. She needed to take action. “That’s fine, but I don’t want to make a big
deal of this. That was the first one I received, and there has been no demand
for money or anything.”

He gave her a stern look. “Bea, you need to take this
seriously. Have you told the man you’re seeing about these?”

She avoided his gaze. “No, not yet.”

“Have you told your mother?”

She shook her head. “If I told my mom the world would know,
which means my dad Gerry would find out and then I wouldn’t be able to move
without some huge motorcycle dude shadowing me.”

She’d meant it as a joke, but Chris didn’t smile. “Tell your
boss and your dads at least. I don’t like this.”

She smiled inside at his avoidance of Zach, but that was
fine. She didn’t have Zach anymore anyway.

Chris slipped the envelope in the back pocket of his jeans
then gestured to the appetizers on her plate. “So, are you going to finish
those or just play with them?”

She looked at the remaining cheese sticks. She’d managed to
eat one, but there were seven cold pieces still on the plate. She pushed them
toward him. “No, they’re all yours. I think I’ll go home now. Maybe if I stay
there, nothing more will happen today.”

She finished her drink in a couple swallows and stood to
leave.

“Bea.” Chris caught her by the wrist.

Again? Why did men feel they had a right to hold her back?
Her grateful feelings toward Chris vanished in an instant as she pulled her
hand away rudely. “Yes?”

“Be careful. Lock your doors and if anything goes wrong,
call me. My personal cell is on the back of the card I gave you.”

She flushed at her defensive reaction and gave him a
deprecating smile. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

But as she walked away, she sensed Chris’ gaze on her, even
as she opened her car door. Glancing at the bar window, she found him still
watching her. She shivered, despite the warm air. Climbing into her car, she
closed the door and berated herself for being paranoid. Chris was harmless. He
was a cop for goodness sake. She needed to get a grip.

Back at her apartment she threw her purse on the table and
unhooked her phone from the outside pocket. The message light flashed at her
and reminded her to listen to Zach’s or Dr. Josh’s message. Did she really want
to know?

With a need far stronger than any decision process, she hit
her voice mail and listened.

“Hi, beautiful. It’s me, Zach. I know we were supposed to
have dinner tomorrow night, but Josh says I’m not well enough to go out. What
does he know? You’d think he was my mother or something. I’ll call you. Bye.”

She slumped into the chair at the kitchen table and started
to cry. Would her day never end?

* * * * *

Zach paced across the living room, cell phone in hand. “Come
on, Bea. Answer, damn it.”

Her voice mail message came on. “Bea, you can’t avoid me
forever. What’s going on? Call me.”

He hung up and threw the phone on the couch. What the hell?
He didn’t peg her for a game player. Something was wrong. She’d tell him if
she’d decided to call it quits, right?

He turned as Josh meandered into the living room, a plate
full of potato salad, cold spaghetti and Greek olives in his hand. “She still
hasn’t returned your calls?”

Zach gave his friend his best give-me-a-break face and stuck
his hands in his pockets. “What makes you think that?”

“Hey, don’t attack me because you got sick on your date.
It’s not my fault she’s not attracted to guys who groan in the morning.” Josh
threw his long body onto one of the couches.

Zach grabbed his phone and clipped it on his belt. “That’s
it. I’m going down there.”

Pulling his attention from the television remote, Josh set
it down hard. “Hey, I just arrived. What’s the rush? I only have a couple days
off. So it’s been a week since you last saw her. What happened to your rule of
three?”

“I’d decided to go four with her. She’s not the needy type.
But she needs to explain why she’s avoiding me. I want answers and I want them
now. Sorry, buddy.”

Zach pulled on his leather jacket and grabbing the keys to
his Harley, threw them at his friend. “Here, to make it up to you. Why don’t
you take the bike to Smokin’ Joe’s? They have a band on Friday nights. Lots of
girls go dancing there. I’m sure I’ll be back in a couple hours. If she’s not
at work or her place, then I’ll be longer because I’m not leaving until I find
out what’s going on.”

Josh shook his head. “Man, you’re all twisted up, but I’ll
be happy to take the hog for a spin. Maybe I can find a copilot.”

Zach hesitated at the top of the stairs. “Be good to her. If
you get drunk, ask for a ride, okay?”

Josh winked. “Maybe.”

“Smart-ass.” He picked a pillow off the nearest couch and
threw it at Josh.

“Hey.”

Not wanting to know if he’d hit the plate of food or not,
Zach ran down the stairs and jumped into his truck. He sent hunks of mud flying
into the air as he sped out of the driveway before he bumped onto the main
road.

The closer he drove to Meriden, the more confused he became.
Bea had been more than satisfied the night they were together. Maybe she wanted
more than sex. But she had initiated all of it. Well, maybe not all of it, but
she had certainly been willing. If she didn’t think anything was wrong with
taking their relationship at the speed of light and then slamming on the
breaks, he would have to give her a lesson in dumping people. She couldn’t just
stop taking his calls. She had to tell him it was over. Hell. He didn’t want it
to be over—yet.

He pulled into the Lakeside Inn and drove to the back
parking lot for employees. Good. Her Camry was there. The lady had some
questions to answer and he better like what he heard.

Zach strode up to the front desk where a pretty blonde with
short-cropped hair greeted him.

“Can I help you?” The invitation in her large round eyes was
so clear, it gave him an idea.

“Yes, I’d like a room for the night.”

“Did you want a double, king size, or a suite?”

Reading her name badge, he smiled. “Kayla, I think I’d like
a suite. Does it have a king-size bed?”

She batted her lashes. “Even better, it has a California
king.”

“Perfect.” He handed her his credit card.

She reached for the card, but held his hand as she asked,
“Is that just for one night?”

He smirked. “Yeah.”

She pouted as she pulled the card from him and slipped it
into the machine behind the counter. “Too bad. But if you decide to stay
longer, I see that the suite is available the rest of the week, Mr. Woodman.”

He shook his head. “Nope. If I don’t get everything done
tonight, I won’t be staying any longer.”

She gave him a puzzled look before she handed him his card
and a room key. “That’s room 223, go down this hall and take a left. At the end
is your room. It has a gorgeous view of the lake.”

He didn’t plan to enjoy the view. “Thanks.”

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Woodman?”

The invitation in her eyes remained, but Zach wasn’t interested.
Sure, if he was free he might have been, but he was taken at the moment. He may
keep his relationships short, but he never cheated. “No. I’m good. Thanks.”

He strode to his room. He would order a bottle of champagne
and take the seductive approach. That might be a better idea than a
confrontation. She seemed so clueless about dating. It could very well be that
she thought taking a week-long break after incredible sex was normal. He
grinned. He’d have to show her how much she’d been missing.

* * * * *

“Earth to Bea. Hello.” Kayla sat on the corner of the desk
and waved her hand in front of Bea’s face.