Flirting with Deception Read online

I couldn’t decide whether to play dumb or own up to knowing about Gia’s real identity. “What’s up?”

  “Our damn supplier screwed up. The material won’t get here for another week,” he vented. “This is the second time this has happened. It’s pushed our timeframe back.”

  I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until I forced the trapped air out of my lungs. “Do you want me to mock up specs for the house on Elm? That one’s practically a tear down. And if there’s mold, we’re talking about taking it down to the studs. I can line up the dumpsters for the clean out.”

  “Yeah, sure, since work is on hold here. I need better suppliers. I’m going to have to tell Barbara. Brad is going to be pissed. He likes a fast turnaround.” Ryder shook his head.

  “Okay, I’m out. I’ll get the numbers and start the process for Elm. Let me know if you need a hand with anything. Otherwise, I’ll catch you later.”

  Ryder noted the cup of coffee in my hand. “Breakfast again?”

  I knew what he was getting at. “It’s not like that, bro. Gia and I are just friends. Besides, Tiffany gets back tonight; that’s where my loyalties are parked.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, and you might start to believe it.” Ryder’s phone rang. “I’ve got to get this. See you later.”

  I made a mental note to pick up flowers and wine. A night at home, naked in bed with my girl, was just what the doctor ordered to wash away all my worries.

  I drove to Elm to get a closer look at our next project. It was a mess. That house had been vacant for way too long and there was a good chance of mold, but the location offered a nice view. It would be worth the flip. I sized up the job and jotted notes. A quick call would get the dumpsters on site when we were ready.

  The day dragged. Funny how suddenly I was anxious for Tiffany to get home. We weren’t perfect together all the time, but in bed we had chemistry. That was all I needed. I whistled a tune and headed to the market for roses, and then I’d hit the liquor store. It was right next door to the grocery store. When I lived in California, I could pick it up there, but New Jersey was still tight on the law and controlled the booze.

  My phone rang. I went to dig it out of my pocket and glanced at the caller ID. “Hey, Ryder, what’s up?”

  “Great news, we just heard Tony was promoted to Sergeant! We’re going to celebrate at Lucky’s tonight. Meet us over there around six.”

  “Good for Tony,” I started. “Congratulate him for me and tell him I’ll buy him a drink another night.” Ryder groaned. “Hey, I told you Tiffany is due home tonight, and we have plans.”

  “Come on, man. You’ve known Tony for ages. Let’s help him celebrate. I told him I’d get the gang together.” Ryder urged me to reconsider. “Can’t you wait a few more hours to get laid?”

  I laughed when I realized he was right. I was just looking to get laid. I could wait another couple hours. “Sure, yeah, I’ll pick her up and then we’ll drop by on our way home. Count me in for a couple of beers.”

  “That’s better,” Ryder said. “Hey, can you give Johnny a ring? I’m going to call Frankie. I left a message for Charlie already.”

  “I’m on it.” It was the least I could do. Tony had been a part of my life since we were kids. Being promoted in this crap-ass little town might not be a huge deal in other parts of the world, but for Ocean Crest, it meant one of the good ole boys was climbing ranks.

  * * *

  The bar was dim, but it was easy to find the gang. Their laughter carried over. The long oval shaped bar was stacked with black pleather bar stools along both sides, while the curve was a cut out for waitresses to serve the few tables off to the side.

  “Hunter,” Tony called out. “Glad you could make it.”

  “Way to go, Tony. Glad you’ve got Ocean Crest under control,” I shot back.

  Gia and Barbara were there, as were Ryder, Dad, Tony, and a few of the friends we’d accumulated over the years. It looked like everybody had made it. Only Charlie was missing. Maybe a fire call came through.

  “Tiffany,” the gang called out, “good to see you.”

  She gave a small wave and leaned in close to me. “How long do we have to stay?” she whispered in my ear.

  “An hour or two, then we’ll head out.” I appeased her with a kiss to the forehead and a cold beer.

  We’d just settled down when Charlie finally found his way in. Something was off.

  “Where is she, you lying bastard?” he asked in the direction of our table.

  Everybody turned around to look at him. It was obvious Charlie was already drunk. It looked as if he’d got a good head start without us.

  Tony got up. “Charlie, what’s going on, buddy?” he asked with a conciliatory tone that did nothing to calm down our friend.

  “I know about you,” he growled. “I know about you fucking my wife.”

  “What? Charlie, you’re out of your mind!” Tony realized he wasn’t dealing with a peaceful man but still he was adamant. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I found your handcuffs, you Judas,” he said, swinging at Tony and missing.

  Tony tried to make light of it, “Come on, bro. If your wife has cuffs in her bedside table, she’s sending you a message.”

  Charlie frowned, trying to process what his friend was telling him.

  “Seriously, Charlie,” Barbara added. “I can confirm cuffs are the rage with all the ladies!”

  Tiffany got up and sighed. “I’m not sticking around for this drama. I’m going to use the bathroom, and then I want to leave. Don’t let them ruin our night.”

  I nodded and watched her walk away. That was a mistake because in the blink of an eye, Charlie went from ranting and yelling to waving a gun.

  “Get down,” somebody yelled. With his cuffs in hand – probably to demonstrate that if it was another man, it had to be someone else who had forgotten their cuffs at Charlie’s home, Tony lunged forward in an attempt to defuse the situation before anybody got hurt.

  A loud shot rang through the air. People screamed and scattered, ducking for cover. In the blink of an eye, I could only respond. Reactions were automatic. I dove over Gia, covering her body with mine. I could feel her shaking beneath me. Ryder did the same, offering his body as armor to Barbara.

  When I looked up again, Tony was on the floor. Charlie seemed to have suddenly sobered, realizing what he’d just done. He stared at us in total state of panic. The gun fell from his hands as he mumbled, “Fuck, I shot him.”

  “Call 9-1-1,” Ryder yelled. In slow motion, Ryder, Gia and I rushed to Tony. I tore his shirt away, but before I had time to even look at the extent of the shoulder wound, Gia slapped her hand over it to stop the blood and apply pressure.

  Ryder pulled his shirt over his head and handed it to me. “Tie it off with that.”

  Tony was awake, but stunned. Shock painted his face. He grew paler as the minutes ticked away.

  Charlie was shaking. He didn’t run or try to get away. He kneeled at Tony’s side. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think it would go off. I just wanted to scare you.”

  “Fucking idiot, I’m not screwing your wife,” he said wincing with pain.

  Finally, we heard the ambulance siren wailing in the distance.

  “Where’s Tiffany?” Barbara asked, looking around and checking on everyone, making sure nobody else was hurt.

  “Bathroom,” I called out.

  “She probably heard the shots and stayed there. It was a smart move. Let me check on her,” she said. “I’ll feel better if everyone is accounted for.”

  * * *

  4

  Gia

  “You can let him go now. We’ve got him.”

  The voice of the EMT brought me back to earth. I shook my head and pulled my hands away to let them look at Tony’s shoulder. I would probably have stayed there, kneeling on the floor and in the guy’s way if Hunter hadn’t gently but firmly nudged me away.

  “Come on, Gia,”
he said softly. “Let’s get you to the bathroom and cleaned up.”

  I nodded and followed him. The shooting left me unsettled. My body betrayed me. I started to shake like a leaf again.

  Acts of violence took me back in time and stirred up memories, the very memories I fought so hard to forget. Despite what I told my mother at the tender age of twelve to make her stop questioning me, the image of the first gun that waved in my face was seared into my brain. It would never go away. By the time I was eighteen, I’d been the witness to so many family incidents that I knew enough to remain cool and provide basic first aid. That, and the fact I had graduated at the top of my self-defense classes, made my father proud.

  What no one ever saw was the mess I was afterwards. I would fight sleep for weeks to avoid the nightmares that had me sitting in cold sweat and out of breath in the middle of my bed.

  Hunter opened the ladies bathroom door for me.

  “Are you going to be all right?” he asked his eyes filled with concern.

  I nodded, not finding the courage to lie in words. I wanted to run into his arms and beg him to take me away. A man like Hunter would always know how to make me feel safe. But he wasn’t mine so I kept my distance.

  “Why wouldn’t she be?” a shrill voice asked behind me.

  I cringed.

  Tiffany’s voice had the same effect on me that nails on a blackboard did. I turned to look at her. She was perfect. From the roots of her bleach blond hair to the tip of her manicured claws, everything about her was impeccable. The tip of her stiletto pumps clicked on the floor as she took a step back not even trying to hide the expression of disgust on her face.

  I moved toward the sink keeping enough distance between us to make sure the blood drying on my hand wouldn’t mar her perfect silk shirt or the skinny jeans that made her legs look a mile long.

  Shaking her mane, she scolded Hunter. “I told you I wanted to stay home tonight but nooooo, you couldn’t miss such a lovely reunion with your buddies.” Without waiting for an answer she strutted by, ordering him to follow.

  Hunter’s gaze darted between us, unsure what to do. Tiffany had been away for a few days and I knew he had been looking forward to spending quality time with her. I shooed him away. “Go get your girl. I’ll clean up and go home.”

  I turned the water on and let it run over my hands. I watched in fascination as the flow washed away the traces of Tony’s blood. When the water ran clear again, I looked into the mirror and passed my wet hands over my face. “You’re going to be all right,” I said out loud to myself.

  “Yes, you are.” Barbara’s voice startled me.

  “Are you okay?” I asked watching Barbara’s round figure emerge laboriously from one of the stalls. She was getting close to term and suddenly I wondered if so much excitement was bad for the baby.

  “Of course,” she said winking at me. “You see, I had this thing orchestrated to get some action.”

  I frowned unsure of what she meant.

  “I’m teasing. Ryder is so afraid to harm the baby that he hasn’t touched me in weeks, so having him jump on me like that was refreshing.”

  I laughed. Barbara had a way of casting a positive light on things that always amazed me. Not much seemed to faze her. She said it was one of the positive side effects of being brought up by a single alcoholic parent. Since the unexpected had been the rule, she claimed she’d had no choice but to learn to accept it and search for the bright side.

  When she was done washing her hands, we both returned to the bar. Dane Halstead, Tony’s assistant, was taking Ryder’s statement on one side of the room while another police officer I had never met was asking Hunter questions. Tiffany was standing by his side looking pretty and bored.

  Dane signaled to Barbara that he would be with us in a moment. We both sat in an empty booth. Taking advantage of the fact we were out of earshot from everyone else, I asked, “Did you tell Ryder about me?”

  She shook her head. “No, I decided against it. We’re all happy with the way you do your job and as far as I’m concerned, that’s all that matters.” She raised a hand to silence my protest while she continued. “If at some point it becomes an issue, we’ll deal with it.”

  “But what about Hunter?”

  “What about him?” she asked as if she genuinely had no clue what was worrying me.

  “Well, he knows,” I answered letting my exasperation show more than I wanted. “He saw a picture of my father and me on the news, and he figured it out.”

  She shrugged and smiled mischievously, “Yeah, okay, so now he does, but I’m pretty sure your secret’s safe with him.” Answering the incredulous expression on my face she explained, “Did you notice what he did when the gun went off?”

  I shook my head to indicate that I had no idea where she was going with this.

  “Well, he didn’t take a second to check if Tiffany was safe, he jumped on you.”

  I was about to protest that he knew Tiffany had gone to the bathroom and that Hunter was well aware of it so that his protecting me was not a tale of his unconscious preference, but Dane arrived and asked for our statements.

  “I’m not really sure what happened,” Barbara lied with an innocent smile. “Gia and I were talking, Ryder jumped all over me, and then Tony was on the floor bleeding.”

  Dane looked amused and turned to me. “And you didn’t see nothing either?”

  I resisted the urge to rephrase his sentence in proper English and answered politely, “No, like Barbara said, we were talking and then there was a shot.”

  “I see,” he said sounding somehow discouraged. “It has to be something in the air then, because no one seems to have seen anything.”

  “I’m sorry, Officer. I wish I could be more help, but maybe Tony’s the best person to ask,” I told him. “Maybe he saw where the shot came from.”

  “Somehow I think his memory is going to be defective as well.” Dane sighed.

  “Can I take these ladies home now?” asked Ryder coming closer to our booth.

  “Sure thing,” Dane said.

  “Let’s go then,” I said jumping out of my seat. I couldn’t wait to go home. Maybe I’d be lucky and find an old sleeping pill in my vanity case. If not, the night was going to be very, very long.

  * * *

  5

  Hunter

  Tiffany stood waiting for me. “Can we leave now?”

  I glanced around the room, still in shock. Everything happened so fast. Tiffany nudged my arm trying to get my attention. I must have been in a daze. “Huh, what?”

  “Earth to Hunter,” she said. “I want to go home.”

  “Right,” I said shaking out of it. “Let me make sure they don’t need more information from us.”

  Tiffany huffed and sighed. “Fine, just make it quick. This is the last place I want to be.”

  My shoulders tensed. Was she always this cold? Had I overlooked it? Our friend had been shot by another friend, and most of us were still reeling, trying to take it all in. Agitated, I brushed her off and went to Dane. “Do you have everything you need from us? Tiffany wants to head home.”

  “Yeah, you should be good. I’ll give you a call if I need anything. Though, I do find it interesting that not a single person saw anything. Imagine that,” he snipped.

  I didn’t say anything. Tiffany was waiting. I glanced across the room, doing a mental check of everyone. Things had calmed down, and thankfully Tony’s injuries weren’t life threatening. The medics said so before they took him to the hospital.

  Barbara was ready to give birth any day now. Ryder’s arm was wrapped protectively over her shoulder. He’d be a father. Hell, I’d be an uncle. And then there was Gia. She stood beside Barbara, looking lost. I should check on her, make sure she’s okay. We could drop her off. I started to walk over, but Tiffany stood in my path.

  “I’m ready, let’s go.” She pulled me toward the door.

  My gaze drifted back to Gia. “I should…”

  “Th
ey’re fine. They have each other to talk to. Besides, didn’t you miss me?” Her voice went up an octave. “Let’s go home and climb into bed. We can make up for lost time.”

  Didn’t she get it? Did she honestly think I’d have sex at a time like this? “A man was just shot.”

  “And he’s okay,” she added.

  I sucked in my frustration and walked to the truck. “We’ll need to make a rain check. I need a little time to myself.”

  Tiffany let her head fall to the side. She groaned and turned to face me. “Well, I guess I’m not your priority after all. Just like in the past, your buddies will always come first.”

  I tried to pacify her, but my heart wasn’t in it. “Tiffany, I need some time. I’m still in shock over the whole thing. Don’t be a…”

  “What? A bitch? Is that what you were going to say? Because, I’ll be honest, I don’t appreciate that connotation. Maybe I was a little freaked out too. Did you ever think of that? And wanting my boyfriend to hold me. That’s some kind of crime?” She twisted a strand of blond hair around her finger.

  “I’m sorry,” I answered. Maybe I wasn’t being fair. She was there. She had a right to be upset and worried. We all reacted differently.

  “So, you’ll take me home to your place? I just want to be next to you in bed. You always make me feel safe and secure,” she cooed, trying to soothe things over.

  I gave in. It was easier. I didn’t have the energy to argue with her.

  I kept repeating myself that Tiffany was the one. She was a pistol in bed, hot to trot, and oh so pretty. It was easy to fall for her all over again. Only, the more time I spent with her, the more questions I had. Had I settled? Had we hooked back up because we were happy to relive our past?

  The care free high-school days had indeed been a blast. I kept repeating to myself that I wanted what Barbara and Ryder had. It seemed to come easy to them. They radiated joy around each other. Tiffany and I didn’t click that way. Maybe this was a mistake. Some days I wondered if I loved her. Was there some tiny piece of the puzzle missing? Maybe we needed to find it.