Chapter Twenty-Seven
This was why Trevor avoided Christmas shopping at all costs. Too damned many people and not nearly enough patience to go around. Four hours he and Gabe had canvassed the mall, zigzagging between stores and exercising Trevor’s credit card with a gift-giving enthusiasm only a woman could muster. What little calm he’d wrangled while curled around Natalie while she’d slept the night before was nearly gone, but he’d happily endure twice as much shopping torture if it brought a smile to his woman’s face.
He still hadn’t shaken the sound of her sobs from his head. The deep, gut-wrenching way her torso had shaken against his and the death grip she’d kept on his shirt. Wyatt might have won the battle, but he’d earned himself a full-scale war. “Sole custody my ass,” he muttered to himself.
Gabe glanced up from her perusal of a huge display of silk robes in every vibrant color imaginable and frowned. “I thought our mission was to wow Natalie with so many gifts she was too busy opening presents to cry, not rehashing all the ways you’re gonna gut her ex.”
“No, you’re on a mission. I want her to actually like her gifts, so I’m just handling the bankroll.”
“Oh, she’ll like them.” Pulling the coral option from the rack, she held it up high for Trevor to see and waggled her eyebrows. It was short enough it would barely cover her ass and the slick fabric would no doubt cling to her luscious curves. “I doubt she’ll be the only one.”
The minx. Gabe might have struggled with public places and social situations once upon a time, but with her new yet significantly extended family behind her and the way she’d tackled therapy, she had a lot fewer problems doing her female comrades proud at the mall. “Starting to think I might have been smarter to bring Viv with me and leave you to planning the party.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s a swell idea. Let the mechanic plan the surprise instead of the event planner who does it for a living.”
For a second, the niggling doubt he’d wrestled since the mothers and Vivienne had suggested tonight’s surprise party billowed up full force. “You sure this is a good idea?”
Gabe hesitated mid-grab for a sheer teddy made of ivory lace and glanced down at the pile of clothes draped over her arm. “You don’t think she’ll like it?”
“Not the robe. The party. I’m not sure distracting her like this is a good idea.”
“It’s a great idea.” A holiday flip, Viv had called it. New Year’s Eve first with all the adult perks, and Christmas a week later when Levi was back. “You’ll make it special for her and him. Trust me. It’ll work out.”
He hoped like hell she was right. One thing was for sure. If time, care and attention counted toward healing a woman’s heart, his brothers and the rest of their motley brood would have her fully recovered by the time the clock struck midnight. Even Frank and Maureen were committed to the mission, Maureen in particular taking on the task of prying her daughter out of the house if that’s what it took.
His phone vibrated in his back pocket. Worried it was Natalie, he dug it out so quickly he nearly fumbled it while juggling all the Christmas loot. “Yeah?”
Instead of Natalie, it was Knox’s smart-ass voice that greeted him. “Man, for a guy that demanded we kick our shit into high gear twenty-four hours ago, you’re awfully hard to reach with news.”
Trevor checked the side of his phone, scowled and flipped the ringer back to active. “I’ll be outside,” he murmured to Gabe. “Knock yourself out.”
The wicked grin she shot him said his bank account was about to take another serious hit, but in this store the payback would be more than worth it.
He ambled out of the fancy lingerie shop into the chaotic flow of people along the main hall. “What news?”
The tone in Knox’s voice shifted, the lowered pitch and the lack of background noise indicating his focus was squarely on the call instead of drawn between too many monitors. “Early this morning, Wyatt Jordan withdrew a rather sizable payment from one of his investment accounts. We’re talking three times what he paid the last time. About two hours ago, three boxes with our trackers ended up directly in his office...delivered in person.”
“My middleman?”
“Yep. Same guy that picked up the product when Beckett dropped it off in Fort Worth. Beck’s had a man on his tail ever since. How the guy stayed a shadow this long, I don’t get. He’s sloppy as hell.”
“And Wyatt paid him triple?”
“Yep.”
“So, my middleman’s the leak.”
“That’s what it looks like.”
“I want him.”
“How’d I know that was gonna be your first response?” Knox laughed and the muted taps from his keyboard sounded through the phone. “Beckett’s already contained him, but I’m not sure you’re gonna get first crack at him. You know how fired up Beck gets.”
“Don’t care. He’s mine.”
“Yep, I get it.”
Across the massive hallway was a jewelry store with only a quarter of the people milling in the other nearby stores. Not surprising really. The place looked pretty damned swank and probably had a high price tag to go with the décor. He ambled that direction. “Gia set up with the sting yet?”
“She didn’t have to. Someone from Wyatt’s office called about thirty minutes ago. She’s got an appointment on Tuesday.”
The second he stepped inside the fancy shop, the crowd’s roar dimmed to dull background noise, replaced with soft classical music designed to comfort patrons as they whipped out their Amex cards. “I want him loaded up. He put down three times the normal pay, so let’s make sure his inventory matches the payment.”
“Already on that, too. Beck and Danny are going in tonight, but they’re taking extra goods courtesy of Otter’s crew.”
“I thought Otter stuck to the lighter stuff. Not sure that’s gonna make sense in a plastic surgeon’s office.”
“He does. Doesn’t mean he can’t get access to the kind of designer dope Wyatt’s patients would be interested in. If we’re takin’ Wyatt down, we need to make sure standing up afterward’s not easy.”
It made sense, and the fact that he hadn’t been the one to think of it rubbed him all kinds of wrong. Then again, he’d been preoccupied with fantasies of smashing the fucker’s face.
The glass case in front of him sparkled with at least two dozen diamond rings in every shape and size. Soft spotlights shimmered off their many-faceted surfaces in a mesmerizing glimmer.
A masculine voice punched through his thoughts. “Is there something I can show you, sir?”
Trevor’s head snapped up and he took a huge step back. “Maybe in a minute.” Or in another month. Maybe a year. However long it took for him to get that close to the display again and be able to draw a steady breath.
“You still shopping?” Knox asked.
“Gabe’s shopping. I’m financing.”
“Man, you’re braver than me. I’m an online only guy. That many people makes me kitchy.” The rumble of Knox’s chair wheels against the tile floors echoed through the line and his voice shifted like he was mid-stretch. “You need anything else from me? I’ve got to dig through my contacts and find a decent hookup for tonight’s big shindig. No fun being alone on our modified New Year’s Eve.”
“You can tell me where my rat’s holed up. I’m thinking a little pre-party stress relief’s in order.”
“Already texted the address. Beckett and Danny are on standby to meet you.” He paused a second and his voice dropped. “Three more days, brother. Three days and you’ll have all the leverage you need to make sure Wyatt never hurts Natalie again.”
Translation: Keep his shit in check and don’t do anything stupid. “Yeah, I get it.”
Across the crowded mall thoroughfare, Gabe hustled out of the lingerie shop, scanned up and down the hall until she found him and strode his direction. The pink and white bag she’d added to her already hefty stash walloped her thigh with every purposeful step.
Trevor paced down the long row of glass cases. The shop really did have nice stuff. Classy like Natalie. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings...every bit of it looked top-notch. Not that he had a clue about jewelry outside of his platinum Tag Heuer and his Haven tags.
Rerouting back for another lap, he paused at the section singled out for engagement rings, then moseyed on to the next.
“See something you like?” Gabe said as she bustled into the store.
“Just looking. Quieter in here.”
The sales clerk kept his silence, but stayed poised and ready for action. No way the guy had missed the number of bags he and Gabe were carting, so he was probably too busy mentally calculating potential commissions.
Gabe sidled up to the case he’d paused beside and snickered. “Just looking, my ass. Come on back over here and look.”
A whole tray of pretty bracelets covered the section in front of him, the ivory felt beneath it accenting the rainbow of gems on display. “You think she’d like a bracelet? Something casual she could wear every day? Or are those annoying?”
“Trevor,” she said softly. “Come over here and look.”
He held his place and kept his focus in front of him.
“Sweetheart, they won’t bite. I promise.”
He shifted his weight and stuffed one hand in his pocket. She was right, really. Looking didn’t mean anything. And when would he have another chance to get a woman’s perspective on something like that? Still, not meeting her gaze, he eased that direction.
The diamonds winked up at him, but there was one that snagged his attention first. The oval stone in the middle was huge, not so big it was gaudy, but still large enough it said, “This is my woman and I can take care of her just fine, thank you very much.” Around it were lots of smaller diamonds, creating a classy yet traditional look.
He forced his gaze to the clerk, swallowed and pointed to the ring. “I want to see that one.”