The man across from me looked a lot like the guy Ritz had whomped when we botched the first burglary. You might even say he was one and the same. I stared at him. He nodded at me. Then he took a swig from his beer bottle.
That freaked me out even more.
I swung my gaze back to Ritz. “This had better be good, Ritz,” I said.
She gestured at the counter.
I looked down on the black granite in front of me. Particularly at the gun resting nicely on it.
“Walther,” I said absently. “Not one of ours.” In the family, we own Glocks. A much superior weapon.
“Nope,” said Ritz. “So here’s the thing. This is Canada, not Jersey. Give it a thought. Why would this dude be carrying?”
“I’m all ears,” I said. “Why don’t you ask him? He’s sitting to the left of you, for some unfathomable reason.”
Why wasn’t anyone telling me what was going on?
“Call me Mac,” he said.
“Is that your name? Or do you just like to be called that?”
A thin grin stretched across his face. It didn’t reach his hard brown eyes. “Short for MacQuarrie. Like you don’t already know.” He leaned back and gave me the once-over. “You’re all grown up now, Red. It looks good on you.”
I frowned. “You really want to open with that line? ’Cause I’m still on good terms with my brother and cousins.”
Mac looked thoughtful. “So you do remember me.”
“You don’t forget your first clumsy grope,” I said.
He snorted. “I didn’t forget you either. Your brother gave me something to remember you by.” He pointed to his nose. Which wasn’t straight.
I repeated his words. “Looks good on you.”
Now he laughed. It was a deep, throaty laugh, far too attractive.
“I forgot about your sassy mouth, Red.”
My hair isn’t red. It’s auburn. No one has called me Red in years. It made me feel…sort of weird. Not sure if in a good way or bad.
“What’s with the cat-suit getup?” he said.
“Fundraiser. Ritz pulled me out of a gala I was running. And where I should be right now.”
He nodded. “Of course. The Black Cat Masquerade. I saw it advertised. You look good in a cat suit. Turn around.”
I gave him the finger.
He laughed out loud.
Ritz finally went to the fridge and came back with my beer. She handed it to me.
“Uh, Ritz…” I handed it back to her. She made a grunting sound as she twisted the screw cap off. She shoved it back at me.
“Thanks,” I said.
Mac watched this display. He seemed thoroughly amused.
“So I have tender hands,” I said. I took a swig, swallowed and continued. “Balances out my hard heart.”
Ritz snorted this time. “You, hard? You’re the one who had to save this dude from being eaten by coyotes.”
“Coyotes?” Mac said. “In the city?”
I cut in before this degenerated into something maudlin.
“Well, this has been lovely, but now I have to scream. Will someone please tell me why we’re all sitting around this kitchen?” This very nice kitchen. In a very nice but totally strange house.
“He’s okay, Del,” said Ritz. “He actually does work for Stella.”
Mom? I nearly dropped the bottle. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
“And he knows Uncle Vince.”
I took a swig from the bottle and kept going. I didn’t stop until it was half empty. Then I lowered the bottle and wiped my mouth with the side of my hand. “Explain,” I said hoarsely. “Before I go nuts.”
“This may take some time,” he said.
I stared at him until my eyes went blurry. “Are you security or something? What exactly were you doing next door that night we tried to burgle the place?”
Even more to the point, what was he doing here now? In fact, why were we in the house next door at all?
“Security,” said Mac. “Most definitely. But not the other night.”
“Crap,” I muttered. This wasn’t going to be good.
Ritz snorted like a pug. “Wait for it.”
Mac leaned back on the stool. “Simple, really. My parents live in this house. They’re up north for a week. I’m staying here to look after the place. I like to walk at night. I was just coming back when I saw you climb out of that window next door.”
I gave a low whistle. “So that’s why you were out front.”
Mac grinned again. It reminded me of a devilish kid. “Could have knocked me out with a marshmallow when you came climbing down that ivy. The woman next door has a loose reputation, according to my mother. Then I saw you. And you were most definitely a babe and a half. Were you visiting Cindy in the night? Is Cindy a lesbian? With her rep with men?”
Ritz made that pug sound again. “Too funny. Especially with your rep.”
“Can it,” I warned Ritz. Jeesh, that was all I needed right now. A regaling of my stupid relationships with men.
I glared at her. “So what did you tell him?”
“The truth,” she said. That didn’t help me. I didn’t know whether she was saying that to convince him or if she really had told him the truth.
Luckily, she continued. “I told him we were retrieving a necklace that belonged to the first wife. A necklace that had been given to her by her grandmother. This one, in fact.” She reached into her pocket and held up something that blinded me with sparkle.
Crap! Ritz had the necklace. And she had told Mac the truth. Which meant—
“I was waiting for her when she came out of the house tonight,” Mac explained. He seemed to be reading my mind.
All very nice, but where exactly did we stand now? Was Mac going to let us go scot-free?
“You know Stonehouse Security?” he said.
“I’ve heard of it,” I said. Of course I had. It was state of the art in the biz. My uncles used Stonehouse to secure our warehouses and other operations.
Ritz pointed a thumb at Mac. “That’s Stonehouse. In the flesh.”
My jaw dropped.
“My uncle started it. I recently took over when he retired,” said Mac.
“So your uncle’s name is Stonehouse?” I had to ask.
“No, it’s MacQuarrie, like mine. Quarry. Get it?”
I groaned. Stonehouse. Stones are mined from a quarry. Somebody had a wicked sense of humor.
“And I expect your little job tonight will garner me a new client tomorrow,” said Mac.
Ritz grinned. “Hey! You should hire us. We break into houses. You can sell the owners better security after.”
“Ritz,” I growled.
“We should get a commission,” said Ritz. She hooted like an asthmatic donkey.
“Out!” I said to her. “Now.” I put my beer bottle on the counter and stood up. I turned to Mac. “This has been very nice, but I really have to return to the gala I am running. Thank you for your hospitality. And your understanding. I hope we can return the favor someday.”
He lifted his bottle in salute.
I really hoped he was going to be understanding. I also hoped I didn’t have to return the favor. But what I really wanted was to get out of there before he called the police.
I turned tail and made fast tracks back to the gala.