Steel Justice (A Romantic Suspense) (17 page)

It was Jesse.

It had to be him. Nothing else makes any sense.

He must have swiped my phone during our ride along the coast. I think back to when he would have had a chance to do it. Since I noticed the phone was missing in the restaurant, he would have taken it before.

I remember his impulsive gift and the spontaneous hug at the art festival in Seaside when he bought the earrings for me. How easy it must have been to slip a hand inside my purse and pull out my phone without me noticing. 

Blood rushes to my face and I want to throw up.

Everything is a big lie.

Every word Jesse said to me, every sweet whisper in my ear, every soft caress on my hair. All lies of one form or the other.

He’s been playing me the entire time. He is still playing me even now. Acting all concerned about my welfare, and about my brother, who I know for a fact he hates.

I wonder if he knew who I was the first time he walked up to me at the bar and ordered a beer.

Who am I kidding? Of course he did.

Why else would he have stepped in with Ty to take up for me? It was all part of some big Steel Infidels vs. Liberators revenge plan. Everything else was probably just icing on the cake to him. A big game. No wonder he never mentioned a relationship beyond this week.

God! I feel so stupid and naïve. And most of all used.

The things we did together and the intimate sexual moments we shared. Thinking about it now makes me want to crawl away into a hole and hide. And to think I really cared about him and desperately wanted something more. I knew better than to get my hopes up, and I did it anyway.

“Here’s your hot chocolate,” Jesse says suddenly, settling back down beside me on the sofa.

I’m so upset that I didn’t even notice when he walked back into the waiting room. I take the cup from him without speaking.

“Any news?” he asks. “You look upset. I’m sorry it took so long. The damn machine kept spitting back out my dollar bills.”

“Can I have my cell phone back now?”

He glances over at me sharply, and I can tell from the surprised look on his face that he knows he is caught. His gaze drops to Ty’s cell phone in my hand. I hold up the phone for him to read the message he sent to Ty while pretending to be me.

“Trish...” he begins before I hold up my hand to interrupt him.

“I don’t want to hear whatever lie it is you’re getting ready to tell me right now,” I say. “All I want is for you to give me my cell phone back and for you to get the hell out of my sight.”

“Fuck!” He runs a hand through his black hair. “Trish, let me explain.”

“What can you possibly say that will make me feel better? Let’s lay out the facts here.”

I hold up my fingers to count off his bad deeds.

“You lied to me, you stole my phone, you set up my brother, and the end result is that you almost got him killed. And if that’s not bad enough, you let me think it was all my fault.”

“No, I didn’t! I told you it wasn’t your fault.”

“Yeah, but you sure as hell didn’t say it was yours. I realized after reading the text message that you purposely lured Ty to the bar. He went there thinking he was supposed to meet me. You made him believe that I needed him. And he showed up. And as a result, he got shot. How am I supposed to forgive that, Jesse? You tell me.”

He leans back and rubs his tired eyes.

“You’re right, okay. Yes, I stole your phone and I lied to you. I’m sorry. And I sent him a text asking him to meet you. Only so we could put a tail on him back to Big Roy and the rest of the Liberators. This was always about more than your brother. I never meant for you to get hurt.”

He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out my cell phone. Without saying a word, he hands it back to me. I take the phone and drop it into my purse.

“So you admit it then?”

“I’ll admit what I did, and that’s all I’m admitting to. If you’ll read the text again, the meet up was supposed to be for last night, not tonight. Ty didn’t come to the bar to see you. Not unless he normally runs a full twenty-four hours late. The only reason he was there tonight was to create mayhem with the Liberators.”

Jesse is still lying to me. I shake my head in disbelief.

“Why do you think the security guards shot him?” he says. “Because he was the one who threw the damn Molotov cocktails through the window! Your brother doesn’t give a shit about you and the sooner you realize that, the better off you will be.”

“I would like you to leave now.”

“Damn it, Trish! You’re not giving me a chance here. When it comes to your brother, you are so fucking blind. Why is that? Help me understand. I can’t get through to you, and it’s driving me insane. You’re throwing everything away for nothing. He’s not worth it.”

“If you don’t stand up and walk out that door right now, I’m calling security.”

He gives me a shocked look.

“And say what?”

“That you’re threatening me. Don’t think for one second that I won’t do it.”

He reaches for my hand and I jerk it out of his reach.

“This isn’t over,” he says quietly.

“You’re right. It isn’t over, because nothing real ever started in the first place. Now please, just go!”

I bury my face in Ty’s leather jacket and will myself not to cry.

“I’ll drop your stuff off at the bar unless you want me to bring it here,” he says.

“I don’t.”

“Fuck!” Jesse swears one last time before standing up and walking out of the hospital. 

I don’t look up because I can’t bear to watch him walk out of my life for good.

––––––––

T
wo weeks later back in Georgia...

I pull up to Flint and Kendra’s driveway and cut the engine. Every time I visit their home sitting high on top of a steep mountain, my mind flashes back to the days we used it as a safe house. 

Now they’re planning to hold their wedding here in the very same spot. A chance to make better memories, they said. I’m all for it because this family could sure use some good memories. We’ve had enough fucking bad ones to last a lifetime.

Flint walks out the front door and motions for me to sit down in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch.

“Have you heard anything from Trish?” he asks when I take a seat.

“No, and I don’t think I’m going to,” I reply. “She hasn’t responded to a single one of my voice mails or texts. I doubt she’ll ever forgive me. I’m sure by this time her brother has poisoned any feelings she might have had for me anyway.”

“That’s too bad,” Flint says. “I thought there might be a real chance for you two. I know you cared about her.”

I shake my head. “There was never a chance for us. Not really. All just wishful thinking on my part. It’s probably for the best. She’s too sweet to be tangled up in my shit.”

“Hate to hear it. Anyway, I called my contact at the Panama City police department today. I thought I might have a better chance of finding out what is going on from them than the Feds.”

I raise my eyebrows. “What did they say?”

“Ty still refuses to take the deal being offered to him. He isn’t willing to turn on Big Roy, even if it means a lesser prison sentence for himself. They’re going to pay him a visit one more time at the hospital and then they’re taking the deal off the table. Either way, as soon as he gets out of the hospital, he’s going into police custody. From what I hear, they have one of his hands handcuffed to the hospital bed now. ”

I prop my boots up on the wooden banister.

“I’m not sure how I feel about that. While I would love to see one of Big Roy’s own men turn on him, I don’t like the thought of Ty being back in Trish’s life someday either. I can’t imagine what she’s going through, knowing he’s headed off to jail. She must be freaking out.”

“How on earth did she not realize all the illegal activities her brother was involved in?” Flint asks.

I shrug. “Hell if I know. She has a blind side where her brother is concerned. That’s my only explanation. She knew the Liberators and Big Roy were on the run from the Feds. Somehow she convinced herself that even though Ty was VP of the Liberators, he wasn’t involved in anything bad. According to Trish, everything is Big Roy’s fault and Ty shits rainbows. It still makes me see red every time I think about Ty trying to set the bar on fire with Trish inside.”

“Me too,” Flint says. “What kind of a brother does something like that? Do you think Trish realizes he did it even now?”

“I doubt it. Roger told me she’s staying with Ty at the hospital. I’m just thankful Roger agreed to let her keep her job. I cashed in a bunch of favors with him for that. The only thing I can’t figure out is how Ty ended up being the one who got shot. It’s almost as if the other Liberators intentionally left him behind.”

“Knowing how Big Roy operates, it might have been part of his plan,” he says. “He couldn’t have been happy about Ty outing the club to you. Maybe he set him up. Between arson and all the other charges the Feds already have on him, Ty might be going away for a long time.”

“I sure hope so. He is one evil son-of-a-bitch. The sooner Trish gets away from him, the better off she’ll be.”

The screen door slams behind us on the porch.

“Too bad about Flint’s little bachelor party being cut short,” Kendra says sarcastically as she comes out the door with a glass of sweet tea.

She hands it to me and puts her hand on her hip.

“What?” she says at my surprised expression. “I bet you thought Flint wouldn’t tell me about that, didn’t you? You are in big trouble with me now, Jesse. Big trouble with a capital T. Strippers, for heaven’s sake! I swear, sometimes you’re every bit as bad as Sam, and we all know he is beyond help.”

I glare at Flint over her shoulder, and he gives me a ‘don’t blame me, I have to live with her’ look.

“Kendra, I swear to you that Flint didn’t do anything disrespectful,” I say, hoping she isn’t mad enough to call off the wedding. “Nothing at all. He acted like a true gentleman the entire trip to Panama City. Scout’s honor. And he didn’t even like the strippers. He said they were disgusting and...”

“Ugly,” Flint interrupts. “Disgusting and ugly strippers. The worst you could ever imagine. They were at least sixty with baggy tits hanging down to their knees.” He demonstrates with his hands how low their tits were hanging. 

“That’s right,” I say. “We couldn’t afford the younger ones so we had to go with the budget strippers.”

Kendra rolls her eyes. “You two are ridiculous,” she says. “Besides, why would Flint need naked strippers dancing around when he can have all this?” She waves a hand down her curvy body then bursts out giggling.

“I’m messing with you, Jesse,” she says, playfully slapping me on the back. “I know you boys just wanted to have some fun. We can use more of that around here. And when were you ever a Boy Scout anyway?”

She whirls around to wag a finger at Flint. “And you are the worst liar ever. How you ever made it as a lawyer, I don’t know. Sixty-year-old strippers, my ass.” She points to a motorcycle roaring up the road. “Here comes your brother now. I’ll go set the table for dinner.”

She opens the screen door, then stops and turns around. “Oh, Jesse, I forgot to mention one last thing.”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“Next year I’m going with you boys to the bike rally. So plan accordingly.”

She laughs as the door slams shut behind her.

Flint looks at me and shrugs. “I had to tell her.”

I just shake my head.

***

“K
endra, you outdid yourself on the pecan pie,” Sam says, sliding the pie plate over and helping himself to a third slice.

She beams back at him from across the table.

“Compliments won’t get you anywhere, Sam. Except maybe your own pie. I made an extra one for you and Jesse to take back to your house.”

“Yes!” Sam says, pumping his fist in the air. “We’re hurting for home cooking down at the bachelor pad. Why don’t you two come live with us after you get married?”

“Oh no,” she says. “I’m not taking care of all three of you brothers. One Mason brother is enough, believe me. I have my hands full trying to keep Flint straight.”

“So what’s the big announcement you called us up here for?” I ask. “The wedding is next weekend, so I hope you haven’t decided to cancel it. There will be some very disappointed people if you do. Even the crew is looking forward to being there.”

Kendra glances over at Flint and raises her eyebrows. He slides his chair back from the table and stands up to place his hands on her shoulders.

“Don’t you boys think Kendra looks beautiful these days?” he asks.

“Kendra always looks pretty,” Sam mumbles with a mouthful of pie without looking up.

“I mean unusually radiant,” Flint coaxes. “Take a look at her. Don’t tell me you can’t see the glow on her face.”

I start grinning. Sam hasn’t caught on yet.

Kendra bangs her spoon on the table. “Sam, are you even paying attention or are you just dense?” she says in exasperation. “I’m pregnant! That’s what we’re trying to tell you. We’re going to have a baby.”

Sam stops chewing and puts down his fork. “You’re pregnant? I’m going to be an uncle? For real?”

Kendra laughs. “That’s right, so you had better start cleaning up your lover boy act. The baby doesn’t need any bad influences growing up.”

I reach across the table to shake Flint’s hand. “Congratulations, brother,” I say, gripping his hand firmly. “You’re going to make a terrific father.”

I walk around the table and lean down to kiss Kendra on the cheek. “How far along are you, little Mama?”

“Not quite three months,” she says. “Since I’m normally a little chunky around the middle, nobody has even noticed.” She pats her stomach for emphasis.

“You look great,” I say. “I can’t believe there’s going to be a baby in the family. This is terrific news. Maybe there’s hope for me and Sam after all.”

Kendra squeezes my arm and grows serious for a moment. “There’s hope, Jesse. You just have to believe in it.  Your problem is, you don’t think you deserve love. That’s the only thing standing in your way.”