Chapter Nine
They threw a party for her, right on the premises of Jacko’s company. Lauren and Jacko walked in through the door and there they were, all of them. ASI employed ten rough guys, two of whom were the bosses, and they were all there. Plus Bud.
Plus Suzanne, Allegra and Claire. Smiling, laughing, hugging.
The girls made more noise than the men, who stood around looking slightly uncomfortable. It seemed celebrations were rare things in the security company.
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re safe!” Suzanne was the first to embrace her, soft and perfumed and happy. Suzanne held her at arm’s length and she actually had tears in her eyes. Lauren couldn’t imagine Suzanne, who despite her elegant looks was a tough cookie, crying. But there they were—tears.
And Allegra, too, crying and hugging her. Then Claire.
And there was Bud, who’d orchestrated her freedom.
Lauren tore herself from Claire’s hug and threw herself at Bud, holding him tightly. “Oh God, Bud, thank you! Thank you so much! How can I ever repay you for what you’ve done?”
She hugged Bud again. He was the one who’d set things in motion. Like the ASI guys, he was a doer and he was a good guy. Good guys were rare in this world. In fact, all the good guys she had ever met were right here in this room.
Bud shuffled his feet and patted her back awkwardly. “No problem. Glad to do it. And the cops there are really glad that justice has been done.”
“Thank you. I owe you a huge debt.” She squeezed him again, glancing up. Way up. Bud was really tall, just like John and Douglas. It occurred to her that Jacko was exactly the right height for her. Bud looked uncomfortable, glancing around the room for help, but his wife was too busy chatting and laughing and wiping away tears and the other men just shifted their weight from foot to foot.
“Uh,” he said. “Yeah.” He patted her back again. “But I didn’t really do anything. You should thank the Palm Beach PD and their SWAT guys.”
“No, if you hadn’t called them I would still be on the run,” Lauren said firmly. “Still be at risk.”
Suddenly Bud’s face tightened, shed that lost look. “I hate bad cops, and my friend in Palm Beach does, too. That bad cop is going to pay. And another biggie—we’ve got one more scumbag off the streets. And we have you to thank for that, not the other way around. You were supposed to be protected and you weren’t. Some heads are going to roll. Innocents shouldn’t be on the run—bad guys should be.”
Metal, Jacko’s friend, huge and scary-looking but always oddly gentle, lifted a bottle of beer. “Yeah.”
Suzanne put a glass of champagne in Lauren’s hand. “Here’s to bad guys on the run.”
“And in a cage.” Bud had opted for a beer, too, and drained his bottle.
Lauren walked over to Jacko, looked him in the eyes, clicked glasses. “Thank you, Jacko,” she said softly. He didn’t smile, but leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
Suzanne, Claire and Allegra lit up like Christmas trees. They descended on her, a perfumed cloud of buzzing bees, and spirited her away to a corner of the room where they went into a huddle. A real one, like football players, arms around each other’s shoulders. Lauren in the middle.
She was surrounded, trapped by these wonderful women who—yes—loved her but who were also intensely curious about her and Jacko and weren’t going to let her go until their curiosity was satisfied.
“So,” Claire said. She huffed out a breath. “Jacko.”
“We thought he’d never make his move,” Allegra said, bouncing on her feet with excitement. She rolled her eyes. “Guy’s a sniper, probably killed more bad guys than smallpox and he was so scared of you. Amazing. Jacko a wuss, who would have thought? Took a death threat to force him to make a move. We were really frustrated.”
“It was a lot of fun watching him suffer,” Suzanne said briskly, “but we’re really glad that stage is over. So—dish.” She curled her hand up in a gimmee gesture.
“Dish?” Lauren brought a hand to her mouth, knowing that she was blushing down to her breasts. Oh my God! Images of her and Jacko on her bed and on his filled her mind. “I can’t—I can’t do that!”
“Well, we don’t mean details,” Suzanne began.
“Yes we do. Lots and lots of details.” Claire’s eyes gleamed. She looked around. “What?”
Allegra narrowed her eyes. “Okay, no details. Or not many. For the moment. Just—is he good in bed? I mean all those muscles...but he doesn’t talk much.” Allegra shook her head. “Of course Douglas doesn’t talk much either and he’s dynamite in bed.”
“On a scale of one to ten,” Claire demanded. “How good?”
“A hundred,” Lauren blurted and covered her mouth again. Why did her girlfriends keep asking this question?
The three women sighed. “Do you think they teach that in SEAL school?” Allegra wondered.
“No.” Claire shook her head decisively. She’d recently cut her long dark hair to shoulder length and it swirled around her head. “Bud was a Marine and a cop. And he’s off the charts.”
“How would you know?” Allegra looked at her with a sly smile. “He was your first and last.”
“I just know.” Claire smiled smugly. “Any better and I’d pass out.”
“Girls, girls.” Suzanne frowned and put on her CEO scowl. “You’re not the point, Lauren is.” She turned to Lauren. “Come on, talk!”
“I—you can’t be—I can’t!” This was so embarrassing. Even her tongue was embarrassed. “It happened so quickly!”
“Quickly?” Allegra exclaimed indignantly. “You call that quick? Glaciers melt faster.”
“Allegra’s right.” Suzanne nodded. “I can’t believe it took you guys so long. Four whole months!”
“Though we had fun watching you two,” Claire said, and Allegra and Suzanne nodded. “Better than TV. Except for maybe Game of Thrones.”
“Douglas and I had sex the night we met.” Allegra smiled at the memory. “The night they tried to rob the Parks Foundation jewelry show. Gunfire and hot sex. Amazing combination.”
Claire nodded. “Same with Bud. We had sex right away. The night we met.”
Suzanne smirked. “John and I had sex the night we met, too, and three days later I was pregnant.”
Silence. That trumped everyone.
“So.” Suzanne took pride of place and leaned forward. “Does he talk?”
Lauren blinked. “Does he talk?”
Suzanne nodded. “In bed.”
Oh man. Lauren bit her lips.
“I’ll bet he doesn’t,” Allegra said judiciously. “I mean he doesn’t talk anywhere else—why should he talk in bed?”
“Has he told you he loves you yet?” Claire asked.
Lauren’s jaw dropped. “I—ah—no, ah—”
All three women laughed. Suzanne patted her shoulder. “He will. It’s just a matter of time. Guy’s cooked.”
“Ripe pear,” Allegra nodded. “Dropping at your feet. Be kind to him. It’s his first rodeo.”
“Don’t break his heart,” Suzanne ordered. “John and Douglas count on him. He and Metal are their top operatives.”
“Here.” Claire reached over and put a full glass of champagne in Lauren’s hand, taking the empty one. “Get smashed. Get drunk out of your mind, then go have wild monkey sex with Jacko. If anyone deserves to celebrate, it’s you.”
Allegra suddenly clutched her. Lauren spilled a little champagne onto the back of Allegra’s dress but nobody cared. “We’re so glad you’re safe, honey,” she whispered fiercely.
“And we’re so glad you’re with Jacko,” Claire said, eyes shiny. “He’s one of the good guys. He deserves some happiness and so do you.”
Now tears sprang to Lauren’s eyes.
Suzanne wiped under her eye with one manicured finger and turned when someone tapped on her shoulder. “Yes?”
Alison, the receptionist for ASI and for Suzanne’s interior decorating business smiled uncertainly. “Sorry to interrupt, Mrs. Huntington—your three p.m. is here. Mr. Paul Andrews.”
“Yes, of course.” Suzanne straightened her jacket. “Tell him I’ll be right there.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Alison turned and walked away.
“Okay, okay. Whew.” Suzanne wiped under her other eye. “I feel like I’ve been through the wringer. First we find out that killers are after you, then we find out the killers are dead and you’re safe. My head is whirling. I don’t know how I can talk estimates and materials after this, but I will.”
She sure would. Suzanne’s prowess in business was legendary. She advised her husband, who listened to her carefully. Allegra listened to her carefully when signing contracts for concerts and recordings. Everyone’s business was thriving, in no small part thanks to Suzanne.
And now... Whoa. It just now occurred to Lauren. She could continue her business! Maybe in the open now! And she’d ask Suzanne’s advice, just like everyone else.
She was going to have a life here. A real life. With a wonderful job and wonderful friends.
Jacko appeared by her side, her coat in his hand.
And a wonderful love, too, apparently.
A couple of days ago she’d been ready to abandon everything and leave, planning on living alone the rest of her days. And now she had an overabundance of great things in her life. From zero to hero. It was enough to give her the bends.
“Time to go, honey,” he said, helping her on with her coat. He rested his big hands on her shoulders afterward. It felt good, warm, grounding. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to do. Midnight said I still have the rest of the week off.”
They did have stuff to do. She did. No, they did. God, she was part of a couple now. She wasn’t going to be facing things alone any more. Someone by her side. It felt odd and wonderful and scary, all at the same time.
A couple. Doing things together. Counting on each other.
Who’d do the dishes?
Jacko would, she decided. He’d do them naked wearing only a tiny frilly apron. Heat came over her so fast it was as if she’d walked in front of a furnace. There was going to be a lot of naked Jacko in her future.
She smiled up at him. He didn’t wince and look away. He searched her face and gave a small smile back.
Wow.
Suzanne, Claire and Allegra kissed her, hugged her and dispersed. The guys from ASI had gone; only John and Douglas were left and they were checking something on a monitor, frowning.
The party was over.
Well, the party inside her wasn’t over; she still felt the champagne bubbling in her veins. Or maybe that was—happiness. Happiness. She turned the word over in her mind. A couple of days ago she’d been listening to Jacko’s plans to keep her safe essentially by keeping her locked indoors 24/7, which had been fine with her, since the alternative was a messy death. And before that she’d planned to disappear forever. Leaving all these wonderful people behind.
Happiness hadn’t even been a consideration; survival was. And now—now she was looking at a life that was more than survival. A life with a job she loved, friends she loved, a man she...loved?
He was standing next to her, his arm cocked at that peculiar angle. She slipped her hand into the warm space between massive forearm and brawny biceps, feeling his strength and feeling his solidity. This man who’d been willing to give his job up for her, this man who’d been willing to stand between her and danger. Forever, if necessary.
Happiness. Love? Well...just maybe.
They walked out of the building just as Suzanne’s three p.m. came in. He was unmistakably one of Suzanne’s clients. Tall, slender, exceedingly well dressed. And giving Jacko a slow up and down.
Lauren smiled to herself. Sorry, mister, but he’s all mine. And he swings my way.
Lauren leaned heavily into Jacko, squeezing his arm. He looked down at her and smiled again. Smiles looked odd on his face.
Maybe she’d get used to it, in time.