“I’d like to hear that part again about Mace helping you disappear.”
I didn’t actually think he’d like to hear it again so I decided not to say it again.
“Tell me about Mace,” he persisted.
“No,” I said.
“I think I missed something, maybe we should go back over that kiss you shared,” he suggested and I could feel the negative vibes rolling off him in waves, pounding against me.
“Eddie.”
“For fuck’s sake, Jet!” he exploded and I’d never heard him talk so loudly. I mean, I’d heard him yell but this was a roar. “You were shot last night.”
“Believe me, I know!” I yelled back (but mine wasn’t as good).
“You are not puttin’ yourself out there and you are not goin’ anywhere near Mace again,” he shouted.
“You can’t tell me what to do!”
His eyes narrowed.
“You better fucking believe I can.”
I felt my temple throb and I chose to drop back to the pillows instead of having another staring contest, I never won those anyway.
I closed my eyes and put my hand to my head.
He was right, of course and that totally pissed me off. I had no business putting myself out there; I didn’t know what I was doing. He tried to tell me with the pepper spray incident, but did I listen? No. So I ended up on the floor of a dirty, smoky room, shielding my sister from bullets, my friends in the line of fire, Shirleen, who I barely even knew, lying unconscious out in the hall and finally with a gun to my head. A gun that went off in front of Mace, making him relive a nightmare.
Damn, shit, fuck, hell and back again.
“All right,” I snapped, opening my eyes, “I’ll be cool but you have to promise me you won’t tell Mace I told you all this.”
He dropped to his side and rolled over me, pinning me to the bed.
“No fuckin’ way, Mace and I are gonna have a talk.”
“No! You have to promise.”
“You just chose door number one, which means you chose me, which means you stayin’ in my life and my bed. I know you aren’t gonna like it, Chiquita, because you look like you’re preparin’ to bolt any time anything looks or sounds serious about us, but that also means you are now officially my woman and as such, Mace and I are gonna have words.”
I didn’t have time to freak out about being Eddie’s woman. That was worse than his girlfriend. Far worse. A thousand times worse. The w-word was to the g-word what the f-word was to the c-word. I couldn’t even say the c-word in my head!
I had to let the w-word go and tackle one thing at a time.
“He said if I told you, we were going to disappear in Mexico! You can’t tell him. It’ll break it, whatever it was, for him. He wasn’t there, he’d slid into another moment, I saw it, I felt it. It just happened that I was there when he did, it could have been anyone. But it was me and that connects us but not in a bad way. You can’t understand it, you weren’t there. But I told you what happened. I didn’t lie and I didn’t hide. Don’t make me sorry I didn’t.”
He did a jaw clench and stared at me.
“Eddie, promise me.”
“Jet, you aren’t just anyone to those boys. Lee’s got cameras and bugs in Fortnum’s. They’ve been watchin’ you for months and likin’ what they see, I know, I heard ‘em say it. When Lee told me he’d got word that Slick was on the move and he was asking for volunteers to run protection for your crew, every fuckin’ guy on his payroll volunteered. He got to hand pick a team of his best men, all of ‘em puttin’ themselves on the line for you for free.”
Sweet Jesus.
He had to be joking.
“You’re joking,” I whispered.
He shook his head.
I found I was having trouble breathing. I would never process this, this was beyond processing.
“Why?” I asked.
“I’m thinkin’ it’s because they’d like to be where I am right now. Lucky for me, I got there first and made it clear I was interested. That is, I made it clear to everyone but you.” He stopped and watched me closely, “Jesus, Jet, you don’t have a clue, do you?”
I found I didn’t want to chat anymore, I was done chatting.
I needed to get up, get to work, go check on Shirleen, make sure my Mom and Lottie were okay and process the fact that I was now “officially” Eddie’s w-word. I did not want to be having this discussion.
To communicate all of this to Eddie, I said, “I need coffee.”
He kept looking at me for awhile then something changed in his eyes, the glitter went out and the warmth went back in, warmth and tenderness. I was beginning to miss the terror of having a gun held to my head.
“Chiquita, women spend a lot of time sittin’ around bitchin’ that there are no good men out there. I hate to tell you this, but there aren’t a lot of good women either. The difference is, when a man sees one, he knows it. Then, he goes after her and wears her down until she’s his. Then, if he’s any man at all, he won’t let her go.”
Eek!
This just got worse and worse.
“I really need coffee,” I said.
His eyelids lowered a bit and the dimple came out but his lips didn’t form a smile.
“I see you’re in ready-to-bolt mode so I’ll let you off the hook. Just to finish this, I hope you can understand now why I’m gonna get things straight with Mace.”
I sighed, knowing that this was another argument I wasn’t going to win and deciding to save my energy for one I could win.
Whenever that would be, likely when I was ninety-eight and wearing black flats.
Then I said, “If he grabs me and we disappear in Mexico, you’ll only have yourself to blame.”
The smile came out, “I’ll take that chance.”
I used the best word a woman had in her argument arsenal, undoubtedly its own special kind of f-word for men.
“Fine,” I clipped, meaning anything but. “Can I have coffee now?”
Somehow, it seemed Eddie found my “fine” amusing. I could tell by the warmth and tenderness being joined by an affectionate gleam in his eye.
Wonderful.
So much for me putting on the brakes. It seemed instead I somehow shifted us up from relationship overdrive straight to relationship hyperdrive.
His lips touched mine, then he said, “Yeah, you can have coffee.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
One of My Girls
Late morning, Eddie and I walked into Fortnum’s, my arm was around Eddie’s waist, my other hand on his abs. Eddie’s arm was curled around my neck, his hand hanging loose in front of me, which meant I was tucked super-close to his side.
This I’d decided to call the Eddie’s Woman Hold and even though the w-word was seriously flipping me out, I had to admit, The Hold wasn’t so bad.
The minute we entered, my musings on The Hold ceased and I wanted to turn around and run.
I wasn’t a big fan of being the center of attention, I much preferred to fly below radar. That, obviously, was not going to happen the morning after I’d been grazed by a bullet.
I’d looked in the mirror that morning and I thought I looked like I normally looked, I just had a white dressing taped to my temple. It wasn’t that bad, certainly not as bad as the looks on everyone’s faces made it out to be.
Duke and Tex were behind the espresso counter. Jane and Ally behind the book counter. Mom, Trixie, Ada, Blanca and Lottie formed one huddle in the seating area, Eddie’s sister Gloria, Tod, Stevie and Indy in another and the Wild Bunch plus Hank the last.
When we walked in, everyone stared at us.
Eddie and I stopped.
I did a store sweep.
Then I did a vague hand wave.
Then I said, “Hey.”
No one moved.
I sighed. “I’m perfectly fine,” I told them.
This prompted action, but only from Duke.
He walked from behind the espresso counter,
grabbed a broom that was against the wall and stormed outside. He swung the broom like it was a baseball bat against a telephone pole. He did this with such force, it split in half, the broom portion flying out into Broadway, where luckily the cars were stopped across the intersection at a light. Then he did an under arm toss, throwing the remaining portion into the street and stormed back in.
Everyone watched this, therefore, everyone was watching Duke when he came back. He pointed to me, brows drawn under his trademark rolled, red bandana that was tied around his forehead.
“You’re done,” he said, his gravelly voice low and barely controlled.
I nodded. I was too scared to do anything else.
Then he pointed to Eddie.
“You got two days to sort this shit out. You don’t, Jet and her Mom are disappearing. Got boys everywhere who owe me favors. She stays in this kind of danger, I’m putting her on the back of a hog and she’s gone. Got me?”
This outburst took me by surprise.
First, I didn’t know Duke liked me so much. Duke was kinda surly so I figured mostly he put up with me, not that he liked me. Not enough to break a broom and definitely not enough to go head-to-head with Eddie. Second, I was flipping out because Duke was going head-to-head with Eddie. I didn’t think Eddie would like that.
“Calm down, hombre,” Eddie said in a warning tone.
I was right, Eddie didn’t like that.
“I’ll calm down when I don’t hafta jump on my bike in the middle of the night to make sure one of my girls didn’t get her head blown off.”
“Duke, it’s just a graze,” I put in, feeling the words “one of my girls” slide through me like silk.
His eyes cut to me. “I don’t fuckin’ give a shit, do you see where it is? An inch and half your head would have been gone. Jesus fucking Christ!” he exploded.
I had no chance to defuse the situation I felt hands on me then. I was shifted outside of Eddie’s arm and then engulfed in a hug. I felt Tex’s flannel shirt against my cheek and then I felt his beard press against my forehead.
“Fuckin’ A, Loopy Loo,” he said, absolutely no boom to his voice.
I couldn’t withstand it. Tex always had a boom to his voice. Tears hit my eyes and I couldn’t control them.
“I’m okay,” I whispered.
“World would be a poorer place, without you in it,” he whispered back, actually whispered.
“I’m okay,” I repeated, putting my arms around his waist, or trying to, he was a big guy they didn’t fit all the way around.
If you told me two weeks ago I’d be hugging Tex, I would have laughed in your face. But there you go.
His arms loosened and he turned me towards Mom who was standing there. She pulled me to her, one-armed and this started the rounds of hugs, cheek-kisses (except for Blanca, who laid one right on my lips) and a lot of me saying, “I’m okay.”
I had to admit, this brought it all home to me. You get caught up in your chaos, you don’t realize just how much you’re dragging everyone along with you.
In the end, I was slouched, exhausted, on a couch between Mom and Trixie, my head on Mom’s shoulder, her head resting against mine. Ada’s handkerchief with most of my mascara on it was clutched in my hand.
“I’m sorry,” I told Mom, “I just wanted to fix things.”
Her head came up and she looked down at me.
“Can you do me a favor, doll face?”
I nodded.
“This time, can you let someone else fix things?”
I looked to Eddie, who was the someone else who was going to fix things. He was talking low-voiced to Mace. They broke off and stepped outside.
Damn.
I sighed.
As Eddie would say, one thing at a time.
“Sure,” I said to Mom.
Mom relaxed into me. “That makes me feel a whole lot better.”
Blanca, sitting across from us, said something in Spanish. I looked at her.
“Pardon?” I asked.
She shook her head but Gloria answered.
“She said you were worth the wait.”
I clutched the handkerchief tighter.
Yeesh.
Was I in trouble or what?
“Thank you,” was all I could think to say.
It was then Ada shuffled up, her eyes gleaming and she pointed to Vance.
“That boy over there is a bounty hunter and he’s got a motorcycle and he said he’d take me for a ride.”
Dear Lord.
I visualized Ada on the back of Vance’s Harley and I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing.
Mace disappeared, but Eddie came back and I wasn’t certain I could read his face, except for the fact that whatever he was thinking was not good.
I got up and went to him. The minute I came within reach, he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer, sliding an arm low around my waist, he drew me into his body and touched his lips to mine.
“Gotta get to work,” he said when he was done.
Hmm. He was trying an avoidance tactic.
“How’d it go with Mace?” I asked, not letting him get away with it.
His eyes flickered, not a good sign.
“He’s clear where I stand.”
This wasn’t a lot of information.
“Eddie…”
The hand not around my waist went to my neck and his eyes locked on mine.
“Stay away from Mace,” he said.
Uh-oh.
“What’s that mean?” I asked.
“It means stay away from Mace,” he said.
“Eddie.”
He pulled me deeper.
“Mace knows where I stand, I know where Mace stands. Now that I know, I’m asking you, stay away from Mace.”
My eyes bugged out.
What did that mean?
No, I didn’t want to know.
I tried for assurance.
“I never see Mace, he’s a night time person.”
“Good.” He did another lip touch, so I guess he was assured, then he said, “I talked to Lee, you got protection anytime you aren’t with me. First up is Matt.”
No.
No, no, no.
“Eddie! I can’t…”
“I’m not arguing about this Chiquita. I’ve been a party to scenes like we just had when we walked in here, but I’ve always been the man removed. Don’t like bein’ part of the scene or people I respect breaking brooms and gettin’ in my face. You’re not with me, you got a bodyguard. End of discussion.”
I pulled out The Glare, it was really just for show and Eddie knew it, which had to be why he smiled.
“You’re adorable,” he said.
“Am not,” I returned.
He did another lip touch, this one was a new one. It lasted longer and included a tongue touch.
It was yum.
I hit a full-on Eddie Daze, he tucked my hair behind my ear then he was gone.
* * * * *
Ten minutes after Eddie left, Daisy strolled in.
It was bad timing. Things were beginning to calm down.
Trixie went back to her salon and Gloria took Blanca home. Ada was spending the day at the coffee house with Mom while Tex and I worked. Lottie and Indy had gone down the street to Walgreen’s to get a newspaper so Lottie could look for apartments. Tod and Stevie both had flights so they went home. The Wild Bunch and Hank disbursed, leaving Matt behind.
Daisy took one look at me and skidded to a halt on her platform, denim-covered boot that had shiny rivets and rhinestones up the sides.
“Well, ain’t that just peachy!” she snapped in a tone that said she felt it was anything but peachy, “You get a scar, Sugar, I’m rippin’ Vince Fratelli’s face off with my goddamned fingernails!”
Um… eek!
“Daisy, I’m okay,” I said for the millionth time that day.
She put up The Hand.
“This is all Marcus’s fault. I gave him what for last night and don’t think I
didn’t. He’s promised to fix it. He don’t, I’m cuttin’ off his water, you know what I’m sayin’?”
Actually, I didn’t, but she was on a roll so I didn’t have to wait for an explanation.
“He don’t get a piece of me until I make sure no more pieces of you come flying off. Comprende? You and me just got to set a meeting between Marcus and Eddie and we’ll get this shit sorted.”
This was not good. I didn’t think Eddie was going to be jumping for joy at the idea of a sit down with Marcus.
Of course, Daisy, who knew everything, already had it figured out.
“Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing, darlin’. I know our boys aren’t the best of friends. We just need to get them both seconds. Keep the peace. Marcus has picked Smithie, I figure Lee’ll sit in for Eddie.”
“Daisy…”
Up came The Hand again.
“Too late, Marcus has already got the ball rollin’. He likes his water, he ain’t messin’ around. I figure Eddie should be gettin’ a call just about now. You just got to talk him into it.”
Wonderful.
I had no more chance to argue, Daisy was finished and glancing around. Her eyes locked on Mom. “Is this your Mama?” she squealed, in an abrupt change of mood and marched over to Mom, leaned over and gave her a big hug, “Ooowee, been lookin’ forward to meeting you.”
Ada was staring at Daisy with huge eyes. Mom looked dumbstruck or perhaps her face had been frozen in place after coming into contact with Daisy’s super-hold hairspray.
“I like your boots,” Ada said.
Daisy turned blue eyes to Ada, “Well, ain’t you sweet? I’m Daisy.”
I left them to introductions and retreated to the espresso counter.
“I feel like I’m standing on quicksand,” I told Duke, Tex and Jane.
“That’s ‘cause you are,” Duke shot back, scowling at Daisy. He stomped into the bookshelves and disappeared.
Shit and damn.
My cell was in my back pocket and I heard it ring. I pulled it out and the display said “Eddie calling”.
I sighed, then I flipped it open and said, “It wasn’t my idea, I didn’t have anything to do with it, I swear.”
“Chiquita…” Eddie said.
“You don’t have to do it,” I whispered so Daisy wouldn’t hear me, “I’ll think of something, I’ll get you out of it.”