Mayhem & Mistletoe, стр. 34
“He did run with powerful friends,” I pressed. “At one time, he was sleeping with influential women. What would happen if he managed to convince one of those women to intervene on his behalf?”
“I guess anything is possible, but that’s not what happened to Beau,” he replied. “He just took off because he got sick of the rules.”
“How long ago was that?” Eliot asked.
“About three weeks. It might’ve been a month. I filled out the proper paperwork, packed up the stuff he left behind, and then I filled the bed. Places like this are at a premium because if you don’t end up in a smaller environment you end up in a bigger one ... and that’s like being back in prison.”
“People like the freedom associated with your place,” Eliot mused. “It makes sense.”
“That’s the only reason people enjoy putting up with this dump,” Shepperly agreed, his eyes landing on me. “Is that all? I have to get back to my show.”
“Not quite.” Something occurred to me. “You said Beau left some things behind. I don’t suppose we could go through it?”
“Then I’ll definitely miss my show, so no.”
“Unless you watch your show and leave us alone to do our business.”
“Um ... I’m pretty sure that’s against the rules.”
“We won’t tell if you don’t.”
Shepperly sighed. “Fine. If this comes back to bite me, I’m going to be really mad.”
“I don’t blame you.” Eliot dug in his wallet and came back with a thin stack of twenties. “It’s our little secret.”
Shepperly brightened considerably. “You’re on.”
And just like that, we were in.
12 Twelve
“You didn’t have to bribe him.” I waited until Eliot and I were alone with Beau’s abandoned items to let my disdain be known. “I didn’t ask you to do that.”
Eliot reached into the box. “I figured it would make things easier.”
“But ... it was a waste. He was going to let us in here anyway.”
“He was. He was also likely to report us if he suddenly got uncomfortable. That won’t happen now because we’ve made him complicit in this.”
I rolled back on my haunches and regarded him, impressed. “That was diabolical.”
“I learned from the best.”
“I’m sad I didn’t come up with that idea.”
“That makes two of us.”
I hesitated and plowed forward. “I’ll pay you back when we get home. I mean ... that was your money.”
The look he pinned me with promised retribution if I kept on this path. “You know, when we’re married, it’ll be our money.”
I bit back a sigh. The statement was pointed and hit its target ... hard. “I just meant that you went above and beyond.”
“That’s not what you meant.” He went back to digging in the box. “There’s not much here. Clothes, what looks to be a Bible with some notes in the margins, and some playing cards. That’s it.”
I snagged the Bible from him. “Maybe there’s something in the notes.” I kept my voice low. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just ... you’re always going out of your way to help me.”
“That’s how a relationship works.” He didn’t sound particularly angry, but his tone was prickly. “I love you, so I want you to have the things you need. You’re supposed to feel the same way for me.”
“I do, but you do everything for yourself. I never help you.”
“That’s not true. You help in your own way. I don’t tend to need help at work all that often, but I seem to remember a time or two where you volunteered and ran the register because I was having staffing issues.”
“That’s not the same thing as paying off a source.”
He smirked. “Probably not in your head, but it is in mine. Listen, I insisted on being part of this adventure. I want to be with you when you do things like this. You’re an interesting woman who sticks your nose into dangerous business. I’m fine bribing him.”
“But ....”
His voice took on an edge as he wagged his finger in my face. “I don’t want to hear anything about my money. We’re getting married. We’ll be mixing finances even more than we already have. We already own a house together. The rest is simply a natural progression.”
I studied him for a beat. “We have to talk about that further at some point. I’m not used to spending anybody’s money but my own.”
“Okay.”
His easygoing response threw me. “Okay? You’re okay with it?”
“I am. You asked like an adult, stated your opinion, and you have a legitimate problem with it. I still maintain we’ll be sharing household funds, but we can talk about it.”
I was naturally suspicious. “That seems far too easy.”
“Well, that’s how I feel.”
“Okay.” I flipped through the Bible, frowning as I tried to read some of the notes. “A lot of this is nonsense, but some of it might be useful. I’m taking it.” I shoved the book into my pocket. “You’re right about the rest of this being useless.”
“Does that mean we can get out of here?” He looked hopeful.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Good.” He leaned in and gave me a short, hard kiss. “I know this is hard for you, but it’ll be okay. You might not think you’re built for this, but I know better.”
“You know better, huh?”
He grinned. “When it comes to you, I know it all.”
“That’s going to get annoying at some point.”
“You’ll live.” He gave me another kiss and then pulled me to a standing position. “Let’s find Cal and tell him we’re heading out. I don’t want to leave him hanging or searching this place for us. I’m pretty sure this is a thankless job.”
I was certain he was right. I let him lead the way back through the house. We didn’t have to find Shepperly’s living quarters, though, because the sound of raised voices on the front lawn tipped us off that the house monitor was already engaged ... and it didn’t sound like he was happy.
“There are rules, Van,” he announced as