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“It’s been a few months, but in New York that was more than half of my work. Why?”
“I’m an event planner, mostly weddings, but this one is personal. I’d love a truly awesome wedding cake for my sister from another mister. Shit,” I patted my pockets. “My bag is inside, but please don’t leave without exchanging contact info.”
“I won’t,” she promised and handed me the joint again. “Tate, isn’t he the one who—" her eyes widened and I took a step back. “Sorry, but you’re Teddy Q, the model, right? My god, I was so obsessed with you back in the day. Your long legs and that ass wore jeans perfectly. Shit, I loved and hated you for those legs.”
“Well, they’re still long but one is damn near useless,” I told her.
She frowned. “What? They look fine to me, and I have to tell you that, yeah, right now I’m still kind of hating on your long legs.”
I laughed, not bothering to fill her in on the missing pieces of the story. “I’m used to it, but that still doesn’t tell me why you’re here.”
She rolled her eyes before answering. “Bossy. My brother was part of the club. He joined young because we needed money after our parents died. Anyway, he joined the military and...long story short, his friend Savior, that’s who I’m here to see.”
She seemed nervous and reluctant to talk and I respected her wishes. “I met him once, at the shooting range. Anyway, they’re in a meeting right now and the women in there have turned staring into an art form.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
I shrugged, suddenly feeling way too relaxed to worry about anything that I should be, like work, an increasingly unstable stalker and my vandalized house. “Women always hate me,” I blurted out.
“We treat each other worse than men ever could,” she said, totally commiserating with me.
“Amen, sister.”
The door pushed open, startling us both, but it was just Tate and his trademark smile. “I thought maybe you got antsy.”
“I did, but someone stole my keys.” I rolled my eyes and he laughed as he stepped out, the man they called Savior with him as both sets of eyes took in the blonde pixie.
“Mandy? Is that you?” The smile Savior had worn faltered, shifted into an uncomfortable glare. “What are you doing here?”
She flashed a shy smile. “I came to see you, Savior. I’d like to talk to you, if you have a minute.”
He gave a sharp nod and held the door open. She ducked inside and he followed with a somber expression his face. “Damn that was tense. Oh crap,” I remembered and ran inside, grabbing a card from my purse and pushing it into her hands. “Call me. Even if you just want to talk.”
“Thanks.”
“What was that about,” Tate asked with a frown.
“Business and girl talk. We done here?”
His nod was terse, and he grabbed my elbow, standing guard while I packed up my belongings and we went back out into the sunny Nevada day. “Everything go okay?” he asked, a little more protective than earlier.
I looked over my shoulder with approval. “Aside from all the bitchy, evil looks, everything went fine. Actually, I was thinking we could—” my words were cut off by Mrs. Welliver’s ring tone. “Mrs. Welliver, are you all right?”
“Honey, I’m sorry to tell you but someone set your house on fire.”
I felt my knees buckle.
“I’ve already called 911, dear, but I thought you’d want to know. I’m so sorry,” she said again.
“Thank you for letting me know, Mrs. Welliver. Stay safe, okay?”
“I will. See you soon, Teddy.”
I disconnected the call and stared into space to get my thoughts together. Whoever this was, whatever they had against me, it was getting worse. They had gone from small gifts and threatening words to destroying my house. But I couldn’t break down. I wouldn’t.
“Is everything okay?” Tate asked, breaking my concentration.
“No. Let’s go. Someone set the house on fire.”
