Out of the Blue: Reed Security: Book Two Page 12

  “Still causing trouble, Mabes?” Douglass says from over my shoulder.

  Her face absolutely lights up, rivaling what happened to my entire body earlier from his touch.

  “Maybe I’m having Dugger withdrawals. Get over here and take your shirt off.”

  “No, ma’am,” I say, a little too sharply. “We don’t need you having a cardiac event on top of your other issues.”

  More like I don’t need to have one. Yeesh.

  He brushes past me, and I catch his scent, which is immediately followed by the now familiar vag-spasm. They grab hands, and amazingly, there’s no disturbance in the force like when he grabbed mine; it sure seemed so strong to me that at least those in this building had to have felt it, too. Alas, she seems happily unaffected. Weird. Maybe it’s her age? I mean I could think that, but it’s funny how the other nurses, even the aspiring ones, didn’t seem to be affected either. Hmm. Is it just me?

  Now, if I could just pry my tongue off the roof of my suddenly dry mouth, dry from seeing him be so tender with this special lady, all might be right with the world.

  Twelve

  Dugger

  “Why won’t you just let them run their tests?” I ask Mabel.

  “That’s how you greet me? Not ‘Hello, beautiful?’” She tisks her tongue at me. “You’re losing your charm, kid.”

  “My concern for you outweighs any need to remind you of what you already know. You’re obviously getting worse since I last saw you, and I’d kind of like to know why.”

  She grips my hand and pulls me closer. “I’m terrified of that machine,” she whispers. “I don’t want to ruin my street cred by admitting it to them.”

  I smile. “There’s ways around that, Mabel.”

  She shakes her head. “I’m eighty-three, Douglass. I have no desire to find out some obscure diagnosis that will just depress the hell out of me. I just want to have fun causing trouble on my way out.”

  “But there may be a treatment –”

  “Yeah, a treatment that’ll make me sicker than I need to be.” She smiles sadly and pats my cheek. “Where’ve you been, Dugger? I know you were going to your friend’s wedding in Houston to tell that girl you love her and ride off into the sunset together, but I’ve missed you.”

  The noise behind me reminds me that we’re not alone. Ember is keeping a close, watchful eye over Mabel’s monitors, and it sounds like she tripped over something. I turn to look over my shoulder and watch her fumbling with cords. She sees me looking and smiles tightly, mumbling a hushed, “Sorry,” and going back to looking busy.

  I use Ember’s distraction to think about what to do here. Do I tell Mabel what her son said to me, which I now realize was a complete lie, or do I lie, possibly making me just as bad as he is?

  I decide quickly to go for a version of the truth, one that will take the sting out of what really went down.

  “It didn’t quite work out like I wanted it to, Mabel.”

  Another noise behind me, and something that sounds like a whispered, “Donkey got,” makes me smile, which makes Mabel raise her eyebrow.

  “Well, then, since you’re single, I can set you up with my favorite nurse.” She looks around me. “C’mere, girly. I want you to meet Dugger.”

  Ember clears her throat and plasters on a smile. “Actually, we’ve met, Miss Mabel. He’s my –”

  “Boyfriend,” I blurt, winking at Mabel, our signal for a bluff in her poker games with her friends. Her smile is so cute, and she nods her understanding. “Yep, I met Ember right after Kaelyn broke my heart and ran off to live in Texas, of all places, with some Cajun computer nerd. The first time I saw her, I knew I had to make her fall for me.”

  Okay, I am a bad person. I really want to see how Ember will handle this, half expecting her to deny it right away… except she doesn’t. She just stands there, trying to smile around a stunned expression. I swallow my laugh.

  The doctor picks that very moment to come into the room. Once Mabel starts to stammer and flirt her way out of the scans he wants to perform, Ember grabs me by the arm and pulls me just outside the door.

  “What the fuck was that, Van Cleef?” she quietly yells.

  “A lie to make her happy.” I shrug. “What’s the harm? You saw how happy it made her.”

  She narrows her eyes. “I don’t know about you, but lies always have a way of biting me in the ass. Plus, I don’t think I can go along with it.”

  “Why? It’s not completely a lie. You really did fall for me when we met.”

  She bites her lips together. “Yes, but only in the literal sense, and I just fell, not necessarily for you.”

  Her use of the word “necessarily” makes me smile. This is going to be fun.

  “What? Is the thought of being my girlfriend really that repulsive?”

  I can’t quite hear what she mutters this time, but it sounds like “nerd ass needin’ tile.” I’m not sure if that’s a reference to the Cajun-nerd comment I made earlier or if maybe I misheard her.

  “What’d you say?” I ask.

  “Nothing, just some German,” she snarks, clasping her hands together, something I notice she does when she’s nervous. “You know, a normal second language to learn, unlike Latvian, which is super weird outside of Latvia.” Shrugging one shoulder, she adds, “Anyway, it’s not repulsive per se. It’s just that I’m a horrible actress. I get super awkward and rambly, and I talk about the lie until people figure out that it is a lie, and they either call me out on it or they play along, fooling me into admitting that I’m lying. Like that time Rachel and Phoebe try and get Chandler to admit that he is secretly sleeping with Monica, so Rachel and Phoebe come up with a plan for Phoebe to seduce him, but Chandler and Monica figure out it’s all a ruse and play along, and neither partnership wanted to admit they were on to the other, so they took it super far until Chandler finally cracked and admitted he was in love with Monica.” That was all amazingly said in one breath. She looks down, takes a deep breath, and blushes, wringing her hands, and waits to speak until her breathing is a little better controlled. Lowering her voice, she continues. “The point is she’ll never buy my performance. I’ll totally give it all away.”

  I place my hand on her shoulder, and she about jumps out of her skin. Weird.

  “You won’t have to do anything. I’ll do all the talking.”

  When she reaches up to grab the ends of her hair, my hand is forced from her shoulder. “Do you even know that woman?” Her feet start to take small steps back and forth as she still tugs her hair. “She’ll want to know everything about how we met and what we thought of each other. Hell, she’ll probably even ask our favorite sexual position or whether we like the same style of eggs.”

  She’s right. It’s all things Mabel would ask.

  I smile, and I can tell it’s a little evil. “I like you on top and scrambled.”

  Stopping her pacing, she glares at me for a minute, then throws her hands out to the side and shakes her head. “It’ll be like the fucking inquisition and I’ll crack, just like Chandler, and I’ll break that poor woman’s heart, and she’ll want to know what is so wrong with you that I can’t date you, and then she’ll hate me for the rest of her life.” She looks at me with pleading eyes. “And now, if we tell her the truth, she’s gonna wanna know why you lied, which is exactly what I want to know right now.”

  I make a move to grab both her hands, but she takes a step back and holds up her hands. “Please, I can’t handle spontaneously combusting right now and taking out everyone here.”

  Her eyes shoot to mine, widened, and she covers her mouth like she can’t believe what just came out of it.

  “Nurse Zills?” the doctor says, stopping my next question. “Ms. Bellamy has agreed to the CT scan. Can you contact radiology and ask them to get a wiggle on? And I’d like to admit her overnight for observation.”

  She nods and removes her hand from over her mouth, still looking at me. “I already talked to upstairs about the possi
bility of a room.” Turning to the doctor, she gives him a small smile. “I’ll call radiology right now.”

  Her eyes meet mine briefly before she hurries around me.

  I follow the doctor back into Mabel’s room. He gives her some encouraging words and promises to check on her later before he pats her knee and leaves.

  “Dang, that man is so handsome, he makes me swoon.”

  I sit on the stool next to the bed and grab her hand. “Why haven’t you had this checked out before now, Mabel?”

  “First, you tell me why you’re pranking that sweet nurse,” she demands, almost like she’s scolding me.

  I smirk and shrug. “I think it’ll be entertaining to watch her try to make you happy by letting you believe she and I are a couple.”

  She nods, furrowing her brow. “How do you know her?”

  “We actually met once a few months ago, but now, I’m protecting her from a stalker –”

  “She has a stalker?”

  I nod. “Yes, and the other day, he broke in and cleaned her apartment when she wasn’t there. It freaked her out.”

  “So if you only met once,” she raises an eyebrow at me, “how did you come to protect her?”

  “I got a job with a security company for a change.”

  “You left Tater?”

  “No, I still help him out, but when I met Ember, she actually gave me advice that a change is probably what I needed to get me out of my funk.” I close my eyes tightly, realizing what I just admitted.

  She grips my hand tighter and lowers her eyebrows. “You were in a funk?”

  Fuck.

  “Well, yeah,” I say sheepishly, looking away from her. “I just lost the love of my life.”

  “Boy, do not even try to lie to me.” She smacks my hand with her free one. “I know your tells.”

  I hang my head, shaking it slightly. When I look up, her expression is stern. I can’t get away with anything with this woman. I don’t know if Mabel’s just that good, or if it’s because I just can’t bring myself to use my normal emotional shielding around her.

  Sighing, I admit, “My father died.”

  “I thought –”

  “—my father didn’t know I existed? Yeah. So did I. Turns out he knew about me all along.” I swallow. “He didn’t want me, just like my mom didn’t.”

  “Oh, Dugger… that’s not –”

  “Yeah, and he was a rich bastard who could have thrown some money our way so my aunt and I didn’t have to live off of her measly salary of a part-time casino dealer, full-time burlesque dancer. Oh, but it’s all okay now. I got a hush-money check for five-hundred thousand and a fucking backhanded apology letter from him as part of his will, either written in an attempt to clear his conscience, which I doubt he had, or it was sent because he thought it would shut me up and leave his other kids and family alone.”

  She’s silent for a minute, but her bony hand grips mine tighter. “Did you read the letter?”

  I nod, knowing she won’t ask, probably because she knows I’ll eventually tell her.

  Although the rage wells deep within me, I easily keep it at bay. Mabel is a magical woman. After living next to her for almost two years, she has heard me admit things no other person on the planet knows, and for some reason, I can do it without an anger-filled meltdown, but only in front of her.

  But I still feel it… the rejection of thirty two years. It… hurts.

  “Boy, look at me.” I reluctantly turn my eyes her direction. “Whatever is going on in that head right now, stop it. You had some shitty creators, yeah, but that’s not because of you. It’s all on them. Everything that’s happened to you has made you into the fine young man you are. Remember, both my son and grandson were raised with all the money. Hell, my kid had me as a mother, and look at what an ungrateful brat he turned out to be. I’ve been here for at least two hours, and he hasn’t shown up yet.” She smiles and strokes my cheek. “But you, my sweet boy, are here, holding my hand, making sure I’m taken care of properly, and you aren’t even obligated to do so. You have so much love in your heart, Dugger, despite your parentage. That’s their loss, boy.” She pats me. “Definitely my gain.”

  I absolutely love how she looks at me right now. Even in a hospital bed, frail, with an unknown diagnosis, scared to death to know what is actually wrong, this woman is a force to be reckoned with. The love on her face makes my eyes sting, a feeling I haven’t experienced since I was a kid. When she notices, her face softens for a moment, but it’s quickly replaced with a devilish smile.

  “Now, take that shirt off.”

  I spit out a laugh before my eyes can fill and leak.

  “Mabel Bellamy,” Ember reprimands as she enters the room, tailed by a big guy in white scrubs.

  Fuck. I wonder if she overheard any of our conversation. I really hope not.

  “This is Ned,” she says, indicating white-scrub guy who is pushing a wheelchair, “and he’s here to take you to radiology. And I told you, no shirtless men. So quit sexually harassing my,” she pauses to glance at me, “meat stick long enough for me to prep you for transport to radiology.”

  Meat stick?

  “You’re just afraid I’ll steal him away,” Mabel jokes, allowing Ned to help her into the chair.

  “Nope, you actually can have him.” Ember looks at me pointedly and smirks. “His Slim Jim just doesn’t do it for me.”

  I feel Ned’s eyes shoot my direction, but he turns his head quickly, trying to hide his snicker.

  “Honey,” Mabel giggles. “Do not lie to me. I’ve seen the man in his underwear after losing at strip poker. Ain’t nothin’ slim about his Jim.”

  ~ ~ ~

  We walk to her car, both of us exhausted.

  “You are wonderful with her,” Ember says quietly. “It was nice of you to accompany her to the CT scan and help her get settled in her room.”

  I grind my teeth, hating to leave Mabel alone. “I just hope her son shows up.”

  “Yeah, in all the times she’s been here in the past few months, I’ve never met him.”

  “He’s a dick wad,” I spit out, not caring how I sound.

  She glances my direction. “You seem a little angry.”

  “Aren’t you? You’ve seen how amazing that woman is. If she was my mom, I’d always want her around.”

  “She is, but your anger against her son seems, I don’t know, a little personal, maybe?”

  I slow my pace and scratch the back of my neck. “Yeah, it is.”

  I feel her eyes on me, and it makes me uncomfortable.

  “Are you going to tell me why?”

  Again, I grind my jaw, not really wanting to admit what happened. I feel so dumb as it is. Saying it out loud? Then she’ll know how dumb I am.

  “He’s the reason I haven’t seen Mabel since January.”

  She nods, walking around her car, unlocking the doors. She looks over the car at me.

  “You’re not very forthcoming with the details of things, are you?” Her head shakes, then she opens her door and settles in the seat. While I get in, strapping my seatbelt across my chest, she adjusts and puts the key in the ignition, but turns to me before starting the car.

  “Sorry, it’s just that I noticed it the first night we met when you didn’t divulge what your friend got right about you. And right now, you didn’t tell me what the son said to keep you away from Mabel. You talk to her, though, which I guess is understandable, since you’ve known her a long time, but other than how you know Latvian, I really don’t know anything about you, like how does a tattoo artist become a bodyguard?”

  I smile. “That’s actually your fault.”

  Her eyebrows go higher on her forehead. “My fault?”

  Nodding, I smile bigger. “You told me that a change is what I needed to feel pretty again.”

  She chuckles and starts the car. “And how’s that working out for you, Slim?”

  When she turns to back out, I capture her eyes with mine and lower my voice. �
��Well, I’m really liking my new job… especially lately.”

  It’s weird how her face flashes an expression I don’t recognize, and if I’m not mistaken, I hear a tiny rumble from her throat. She recovers too quickly to be sure what it all means.

  My phone buzzes with an incoming text.

  “Noah says the sweep of your apartment came back clean.”

  “Well, I guess it’s nice to know he just broke in and violated my privacy in order to clean it then, huh?”

  We head back to the hotel in silence. However, silence seems to make her uncomfortable, so I know it won’t last long.

  “I’m guessing you’re not going to tell me the story surrounding Mabel’s son.”

  I smirk. “Yeah, well, I’m guessing you’re not going to tell me what your Beast is.”

  Her blush makes me turn my head to hide my smile.

  I know what a Beast is already. I looked it up last night after she passed out. It took a while to get the right thing, but I’m certain I found it. Based on her reaction when I asked about it, I knew it had to be something naughty, and sex toy was the obvious choice. There was even a demonstration video, one that was not pornographic, just instructional, but damn, that thing’s serious and definitely not for the faint at heart. The thought of her using it made me hard, so uncomfortably hard, I had to take care of myself, which is awkward in an unfamiliar place with the girl I’m fantasizing about a few feet away in the next room.

  “Fine,” she says quite confidently, despite her obvious embarrassment. “In an effort to obtain full disclosure from you,” she turns and looks me in the eyes, “the Beast is my missing, top-of-the-line, queen-mother of all vibrators,” looking back at the road, she adds, “presumed stolen by my unknown stalker.”

  I choke at her unexpected candor. Seriously, I never guessed she would admit it. Well, shit. Now I have to tell her… something.

  “Well?” she asks, rolling her hand to indicate I need to say something.

  I sigh. “Robert Bellamy was at the house when I returned from Houston.”