Sweet Dreams Boxed Set (196 page)

Kade grinned, unrepentant.

The valet pulled up a two-door purple Scion. Neither man paid attention…until Mannie hurried forward to the driver’s side.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” Blane growled. How they were going to get two grown men and a dead body into the car, he had no idea.

“I call shotgun,” Kade said.

Fuck.

***

Blane shoved Ray’s leg further onto his side. They were squeezed so tight in the back seat, that Ray’s position would have been anatomically impossible had he been alive rather than dead. Blane felt slightly guilty for being glad that Ray’s body wasn’t yet fully suffering from rigor mortis. He could tell it was happening though. They didn’t have much longer before he’d be stiff as a board.

So to speak.

“Where are we going?” he asked.
Please don’t say the Elvis Chapel. Please don’t say the Elvis Chapel. Please don’t—

“Little Church of the West,” Kade said.

Thank God.

“I’m starving. Let’s run through a drive-thru.”

Blane stared at Kade. “Tell me you’re not serious. Don’t we have more important things to worry about?”

“It’ll only take a minute,” Kade said, pointing Mannie toward a McDonalds. “You don’t want to meet your bride on an empty stomach, do you?”

Blane grunted, grudgingly admitting that he was hungry, too. Thirty bucks, six burgers, super-size fries, and mega Cokes later, he felt better.

“How can you guys eat with a dead guy in the car?” Mannie asked, wrinkling his nose at them in disgust. “He stinks.”

Ray was starting to smell, but it didn’t really bother Blane, or Kade, it seemed. He thought it was probably because they’d both been around dead bodies before. Blane when he was in the Navy and deployed to the front lines of Afghanistan, and Kade…well, Kade usually had a hand in the dead bodies he came across.

They pulled up to a little wooden church and Mannie parked. Blane climbed out after Kade, stretching his back and the crick in his neck.

Heading up the walkway, they stopped in their tracks when the doors opened and a bride and groom came out. The bride dressed in a white gown with a billowing skirt, the groom in a suit and tie. She carried a bouquet of pink roses and they were holding hands, grins on both their faces. The groom pulled her to a stop for a long kiss.

“Aw, look at that,” Kade sneered. “So sweet, I may vomit.”

Blane led the way around the still-kissing couple and headed inside.

It was small, but nice, for what it was. A woman was standing by a small desk in the corner, going through some papers. She glanced up when they walked in.

“Sorry, gentlemen,” she said brusquely. “We don’t perform same sex marriages here, but I can give you a list of places that do.” She turned away and began rummaging through a drawer in the desk.

Mannie snorted and Kade just looked appalled. Blane stepped up.

“Actually, we’re not looking to get married,” he said. “I was here last night.”

The woman stopped and glanced at him, then her eyes narrowed. “You’re right. I remember you. Last wedding of the night, and a big tipper. Much appreciated.”

Blane smiled tightly. “You’re welcome. I was wondering…” How did someone say this tactfully and without sounding like a total douche? You didn’t, so he just blurted it out. “Do you know who I married?”

A sentence he never thought he’d say.

To his relief, the woman laughed. “You’d be surprised how often we get that,” she said. “Hold on, let me dig out your paperwork. I remember her, though. Sweet little thing. Think she’d had a few too many glasses of champagne though. Ya’ll seemed pretty enamored of each other. Could barely keep your hands off long enough to say your vows.”

Blane winced at the mental picture she was painting. “I don’t seem to recall.”

Pulling out a sheaf of papers, she handed them to him. “Her name was Amy,” she said.

“Who’s Amy?” Kade asked him. Blane shot him a look. Hell if he knew.

“If you’re having second thoughts,” she continued, “we have a 24-hour buyer’s remorse policy. For an additional two hundred and fifty dollars, we’ll destroy the paperwork and not file it with the state, effectively annulling the marriage.”

“How convenient,” Kade said, but Blane was already pulling out his wallet.

“Here you go,” he said, handing over the cash.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” she said. “You can keep the papers, if you’d like.”

Blane turned to go, but she stopped him.

“Oh wait, you forgot this last night.” She handed him a photograph. “It was complimentary with your package.”

“Was there a prenup, too?” Kade asked. Blane grabbed his arm, propelling him out the door as Mannie followed.

“Hey, man, I’m just looking out for you,” Kade said, snatching the picture from him. “Holy shit.” Kade froze and Blane nearly ran into him.

“What?” Blane asked, grabbing the photo back. He took a good look at it, his entire body going rigid in shock.

The girl was a tiny blonde, a tentative smile on her face as Blane’s arm rested on her shoulders and hers around his waist.

And she was obviously very pregnant.

“Whoa, dude,” Mannie breathed.

“A wife
and
a kid. That’s like, two birds, right?”

Blane didn’t even hear Kade, his gaze fixed on the photo. What the hell had he been thinking? Who was this girl and why had he married her?

He slid the photo into his pocket, noting that it must have been taken before whatever fight he’d gotten into, because he still wore his jacket and his face was unscathed.

Mannie unlocked the car and when they opened the doors, the smell had them all taking a step back.

“Why the hell did you lock up the car?” Kade asked. “No one wants to steal a crappy purple Scion.”

“It’s a very popular color,” Mannie retorted, holding his nose.

Kade muttered something under his breath, then waited for Blane to climb in.

“Start saving now for my Christmas present, little bro,” Blane said. “I’ve got a helluva list.”

For once, Kade kept his mouth shut. Probably because he suspected Blane would stuff
him
in the back seat with little provocation. He knew how far to push Blane…and when to shut the fuck up before he got his ass kicked.

Flipping through the papers, Blane found the address the girl Amy had written. To his relief, she lived right here in Las Vegas. He read the address to Manny. “Go here.”

“Why are we visiting your ex?” Kade asked.

Blane ground his teeth. “Because,” he said, “I should probably meet the woman I just divorced, don’t you think? The
pregnant
woman?”

No one replied. A wise move, considering Blane’s mood.

“Have you gotten my audition yet?” Mannie piped up as he drove. “Because you promised.”

“Yeah, about that,” Kade began, and Blane grimaced. He knew that tone. Kade was going to try and squirm out of it. “I may have…exaggerated a little when I said I knew a guy.”

“I knew it!” Mannie yelled, slamming a hand on the steering wheel. “I knew I couldn’t trust you, that you were lying to me! That’s what my mom always tells me. She says ‘Mannie, you can’t just believe what people tell you. You gotta think for yourself.’ But do I listen? No! And now I’m hauling your asses around along with a dead body stinkin’ up my car—”

“Stop already! Enough!” Kade’s yell cut through Mannie’s diatribe. “Jesus H. Christ, Mannie. If I’d known you’d have such a tantrum, I’d have waited until we stopped.”

“Is that a short joke?” Mannie demanded. “Only little kids throw tantrums? Because that’s
totally
offensive—”

“It wasn’t a joke! I was just saying!”

Blane rested his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands, rubbing his throbbing head. Kade and Mannie’s yelling at each other was making him want to throw himself from the car. Unfortunately, he’d have to squeeze through a six-inch opening to do it.

“Shut up!” he exploded when he couldn’t take any more. “Just Shut. Up. Both of you.”

They clammed up, thank God, just as Mannie pulled into a little subdivision. He drove slowly, reading the numbers on the rows of tightly spaced ranch-style homes, until he stopped in front of one.

“This is it,” he said.

“Let me out,” Blane told Kade, who obliged. Once he was out of the stifling back seat, Blane headed for the door. Kade followed.

“Pretty sure I can handle this on my own,” Blane said over his shoulder. Kade kept walking.

“Yeah, probably. But considering the surprises we’ve already had today, it’s not a bad idea for me to come along. Just in case.”

Blane wasn’t going to argue. He had a point.

The doorbell was a melodious chime and Blane waited, pushing his fingers through his hair and belatedly wishing he’d changed his shirt. It would’ve been nice to feel more put together to greet his…ex-wife. Shit.

The door swung open and he steeled himself, feeling Kade at his back and standing slightly to the side.

There was a split second where Blane saw the gun leveled at him, then Kade tackled him to the ground.

Chapter Four

In seconds, Kade was up and launching himself through the doorway. Blane heard someone grunt and the sound of bodies crashing to the floor.

Adrenaline iced his veins as he jumped to his feet. If Kade was hurt…

But Kade had the weapon in his hand and was pointing it at someone. The sunlight blinded Blane to the dimness inside the house as he stepped inside.

“You’d better talk fast on what the fuck that was for,” Kade snarled. “I’ve had a real shitty morning and you just pointed a gun at my brother.”

He was talking to a guy who was about his height but slighter in build. A little on the thin side, the guy had on jeans and a faded T-shirt and he was gazing malevolently at Kade as he swiped blood from his lip.

Behind him stood the girl, Amy, looking scared. Her face was pale and her eyes wide with fear.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” she stammered.

“I thought you said it was over with this guy,” the unknown man growled.

“It is, Tommy, I swear. I don’t know why he’d come here.” She shot Blane a look, as if he was supposed to know what that meant.

“You usually just point a gun at whoever comes to your door?” Kade asked.

“When it’s some dude who wants to take away my woman and my baby, yeah,” Tommy retorted.

Blane was utterly confused. He held up his hands. “Okay, everyone, just…stop. Kade, put down the gun.” Their gazes met for a moment. Together, they could handle Tommy if he decided to act like a dick.

“You don’t mind if I keep this, do you?” Kade sneered, lowering the weapon and thumbing the safety before tucking it into the back of his jeans. Tommy’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t reply. Perhaps he recognized the danger radiating from Kade, a hard edge that set off self-preservation instincts in those who were wise.

“Listen…Amy,” Blane said. Everyone looked at him, waiting, as he tried to figure out what the hell to say without giving away the fact that he remembered nothing. Finally, he said, “We got married last night.”

“It was a mistake,” Amy blurted. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re a great guy and all—”

Tommy snorted in derision. Blane ignored him.

“So you
didn’t
want to get married?” Blane asked. This was getting weirder by the minute.

Amy looked at Tommy. “Can we have a minute?” she asked, adding in an undertone, “I told you he was in love with me. I want to let him down easy.”

Blane’s brows shot up at that, but he kept his silence, waiting until Tommy had left the room, though not before sending a suspicious glare Blane’s way.

“What’re you doing here?” Amy hissed, the moment Tommy was out of earshot. “I told you that it worked. You didn’t have to come to my house!”

“Listen,” Blane said, deciding he’d have to come clean. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t remember anything about you, much less why I’d marry you.”

Amy stared at him, jaw agape. “For real?” she finally asked.

“For real.”

“Wow. Okay, well, then here’s the short version. You and your friend here were playing the slots and he was hitting it big. Like really big. But I guess you got bored or something because you went to the bar to have a drink. I was bartending and I was upset because Tommy and me were gonna get married, but he got cold feet and broke up with me. So I was crying and you asked me why and I told you the whole story.”

None of it was ringing a bell for Blane.

“And you got mad about it, said Tommy was an asshole to desert me and his kid and leave us high and dry. So you said you’d marry me instead.” She gave kind of a sheepish shrug, staring up at him, and apparently completely oblivious as to how insane that sounded.

“I know you’ve got a thing for being the hero to a damsel in distress,” Kade said, “but damn. That’s a bit much. Even for you.”

No shit.

“And you just decided to marry a complete stranger?” Blane asked. “You had no idea who I was. I could’ve been some serial killer for all you knew.”

“Really?
That’s
what you find objectionable about this?” Kade asked. Blane ignored him.

“I wasn’t going to
stay
married to you—” Amy said.

“Told you,” Kade muttered. “Shoulda got a prenup.”

“—I just thought that if Tommy saw me with another guy,
marrying
another guy, maybe he’d get jealous and decide we should be together after all.” She smiled brightly. “And it worked!” Her grin faded. “But he kinda got in a fight with you when he found out. So…sorry about that.”

Blane scrubbed a hand over his face. What a clusterfuck. “The marriage isn’t legal,” he said. “I wanted you to know I took care of the paperwork.”

Amy brightened. “Good! Then me and Tommy can get married right away!” She gave Blane a hug, her pregnant belly getting in the way, but she tried anyway. “Thank you,” she blurted. “If we have a boy, I’m going to name him after you.” Then she seemed to rethink that, glancing down the hallway where Tommy had gone. “Maybe not your first name, but I could use your last name—Kirk—and just tell Tommy it’s a
Star Trek
thing.”