The Private Serials Box Set(56)

"Lay it out for me, Eddie," I acquiesced.

"Simple. I need you to find Derrek, and I need you to kill him."

My heart stopped. Instantly. My jaw muscles tensed as I ground my teeth.

"I'm not a hit man. I'm a fucking private investigator. I don't kill people. You've got the wrong guy."

"Funny. I seem to remember the reason you were even brought to me was  because you beat the living shit out of someone in New York. He was  minutes from death, or at least that was what I was told."

My foot started bouncing, jumping with irritation. "That wasn't a job. That was just me doing what I had to do."

"Well, consider this something you just have to do."

"I'm cleared with you, Edgar. I paid my debt. I'm free and clear."

"You may be free and clear, but Derrek isn't. And if I'm not mistaken, you're involved with his wife."

Whatever fear I'd been feeling before, it hardened in my veins and ran  cold through me at the mention of Lena. My eyes darted to where she was  still swaying her hips to and fro, laughing with Sam and Piper. "Leave  her out of it," I spat, immediately feeling the protective urge to keep  her as far away from this mess as possible.

"Listen, I don't want to hurt anyone besides Derrek. He knew what he was  doing when he took off with my money. I just need you to find him, kill  him, and get me what's mine. That's all. Then I'll forgive every debt  against you and your new love."         

     



 

I wanted to argue with him, wanted to point out that neither one of us  was indebted to him, but I knew it was pointless. If I didn't do what he  wanted, he'd just come after me or, worse yet, Lena. The best course of  action I could take in that moment was to let him believe I was on his  side, to stay in his pocket.

"What's the timeframe?"

"You know, I'm not in a huge hurry. If I had to choose between having  the job done fast or the job done right, I'd pick right. So, bring me my  money and Derrek Bellows' death certificate, within a reasonable amount  of time, and everything will be kosher."

"And how much money does Derrek owe you?"

"Five million."

"Five million dollars?" I asked, half shocked anyone had that kind of  money to loan to someone, and half impressed Derrek had managed to  weasel that much money out of someone.

"If it were less, I'd probably let him disappear and write the whole  thing off as a bad investment. But Derrek knew what he owed me and  decided to stiff me anyway. He'll pay for that and it'll cost him his  life."

"And you don't have anyone in your band of criminals who'd be better  suited for murder?" My tone was probably more sarcastic than it should  have been, but I couldn't help myself. It was bizarre that he was asking  for my help with something I knew very little about.

"Preston, the man with the most at stake is the right man for the job.  And that's you. I expect to hear from you when you've gotten my money  and Derrek Bellows is no longer breathing."

The click on the line indicated that Edgar had hung up, and I was left  in a somewhat shocked state. I put my phone back in my pocket and tried  to force a look of disinterest on my face, wanting to come off as  anything but worried. After a few minutes of my brain zipping through a  million scenarios in my mind, all of which ended badly, the girls  appeared at the table, startling me. Lena took the chair closest to me,  sitting down so that our shoulders brushed, and then placed her hand on  my thigh, gently squeezing. It did little to calm me, but did offer some  relief from the thoughts running amok in my mind.

"Who was on the phone?" she asked, innocently curious, smiling at me as if I were the brightest light in her life.

"Parker," I lied. Her eyes lit up, her smile growing even wider, making  my lie sink even more heavily in my gut. I never wanted to lie to Lena  again, not after everything we'd been through, not after all the lies  I'd already told her.

"How is he?"

"He's doing fine; just wanted my opinion on a case he's working."

"Well, the next time you talk to him, be sure to tell him hi for me."

"Will do, sweetheart." I leaned in and pressed a kiss against her lips,  hoping she couldn't sense my unease, hoping it was just the same as any  other small and gentle kiss I'd given her. I could feel the difference,  feel the desperation in my body, but hoped she couldn't.

We stayed through the luau, the girls enjoying the show, the food, the  dancers, the fire, the whole experience. But I was winding tighter and  tighter, my eyes darting around the darkness looking for any signs of  imminent danger. I was, perhaps, being paranoid, but Edgar had  threatened Lena and I was on high alert. I knew, realistically, I had  some time before Edgar would go after her, but just the thought of her  in danger awoke some dormant animal inside of me that had been sleeping  for the last week.

The only thing that kept me grounded and a little bit sane was knowing  this time I was here to protect her. She wasn't hundreds of miles away  trying her damnedest to keep away from me, she was sitting next to me,  her fingers entwined with mine. I had her, and I wasn't going to let  anything happen to her.





Chapter Four

The girls were laughing as we walked down the beach on the way back to  our apartments. Sam and Piper were commenting on the bulging muscles  most of the men in the luau possessed, while Lena was laughing along,  all the while holding my hand as we made our way home. They'd had more  than a few drinks with dinner and were all smiles for the evening, but  with one question, their moods all deflated.

"When do you think you'll go home?" Lena asked Sam.

Sam let out a big breath, sighing into the night. "I bought my plane ticket this morning. I leave in a week."

With the moon as her backlight I could see Lena nodding, her bottom lip  trapped by her teeth. Then I heard her take in a breath. "So, we've got  one more week to spend together in paradise."

"I'm going to fly back with her," Piper added, and Lena's hand tightened around mine.

"Really?" Lena asked, her voice shaky and weak.

"Yeah. I think it's time for me to go and figure out what to do with my  life. Hawaii is nice, it's beautiful, but it isn't home. I've got to go  home. I've got to get my head on straight and life figured out."

"I understand," Lena whispered. "I'm just going to miss you both."

"Preston will be here to keep you company," Sam said, her voice teasing. "I'm sure he won't let you get lonely."

Lena let out a small bubble of laughter. "I guess that's true, but it's  just not the same. I'm going to miss my girls." At that point, Lena's  hand left mine and I watched as the three slightly drunk girls wrapped  their arms around each other in a group hug, swaying and stumbling in  the sand, but ultimately staying upright as they embraced each other. I  stood back and let them have their moment, smiling at how much they  seemed to genuinely care about each other. Women seem to form bonds,  strong bonds, quickly. They could become best friends with someone  almost instantaneously, and remain loyal for a lifetime. But, they could  also turn on you even quicker. Men were much more reserved and cautious  when it came to trust and friendship. I gave my friendship to very few  people, and even then, they were men I'd known for years.

When the girls dispersed, Lena made her way back to me, her eyes a  little sadder than before. The three of them were quiet until we'd made  it back to the apartments, then they made plans to lie on the beach the  next afternoon, all three agreeing that a morning run wasn't on their  to-do list.

We walked into our apartment and I flipped on the lights, heading  directly to the kitchen to bring Lena a tall glass of water and some  pain pills. She quietly sank into one of the chairs around the table.

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked as I grabbed a glass from the cupboard.

She looked back at me and gave me another sad smile. "I'm just going to  really miss the girls. I've never been far from Sam, besides the first  two months here. And I love Piper, but I'll be honest, it makes me a  little jealous that the two of them will be living together while I'm  all the way across the ocean." She dropped her face into her hands and  groaned. "Ugh. I sound like an annoying child." She took another deep  breath and her eyes met mine once more. "I'm mostly just sad." She  paused again. "Sam's always been around, and when she wasn't I had  Piper." Her face turned into an adorable pout and her eyebrows scrunched  up in the middle. "Now I won't have either of them."

"Babe, come here," I said, trying not to laugh at how adorably drunk she  was. She stood and wasted no time ambling into my open arms. I ran my  hand down the back of her head, loving the feel of her silken hair  against my skin. "Everything's going to be all right." I let her lean in  to me for a while before prodding further. "You know I'll support you  in whatever decision you make, sweetheart. And if you want to stay in  Hawaii I will, gladly. But I'll follow you anywhere." I felt her tense a  little in my arms and I knew what was going through her mind. "Do you  have any friends or relatives anywhere else? Do you have any place else  you can go where there would be people you could rely on?" She shook her  head against my chest.