Of course I’m still angry. After everything I told you, you were conspiring with the enemy,” Shay said as she brought Roxy’s booties to Cherry as ordered. This was the third bathroom break since Michael’s phone call this morning.
Which might explain the intrigued gleam in Cherry’s eyes. She obviously felt Shay’s fit of temper should be over by now. “FYI, your false eyelashes are still stuck to your forehead,” she said in an attempt to distract her friend.
Great. Cherry looked even more intrigued. As though Shay were some kind of ice queen who never experienced emotion of any kind. Which in and of itself was annoying. She was no different than anyone else.
Cherry had her over-the-top emotions on display practically every day. It wasn’t like Shay didn’t experience those same wide range of emotions. It’s just that she’d trained herself to never let them show, unwilling to let anyone read her and gain the upper hand. It was safer that way.
She should’ve reminded herself of that last night. Admittedly, it probably wouldn’t have made a difference. She’d reached her breaking point thanks to the close call in Vegas, lack of sleep, and worry over Charlie. She was only human after all.
A switch had been tripped when she found out that Michael’s great-grandmother was the reason she’d lost her sisters. She’d been swamped by emotions so fierce she’d been unable to contain them. They’d spewed out of her like a volcano erupting after lying dormant for years. Everything she’d thought she’d buried long ago. And Cherry had been there to bear witness to it all. Shay had totally overshared.
Which may have been why her heart pumped an extra beat when the intrigued gleam in Cherry’s eyes was replaced with a knowing smile. “You’re in love.”
“With who? Michael?” She didn’t wait for Cherry to answer and vehemently shook her head. “Nooo, no, I told you. We were nothing more than friends with benefits. Anyway, how did you get that I love”—she kind of choked on the word and cleared her throat—“loved Michael out of conspiring with the enemy?”
“Everyone knows there’s a fine line between love and hate. Besides, I read your tea leaves this morning, and there’s definitely love in your immediate fu—”
“I didn’t drink tea this morning.”
Cherry’s eyes went wide. “Then…they were my tea leaves I read. I’m the one who has a lover in her immediate future.” She put a hand to her head and shot a panicked look around the cul-de-sac. “He could be anywhere. I can’t let him see me like this.” She whipped around and headed into the house.
“Wait, you forgot Roxy.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Go tinkle for Auntie Shay, Roxy Roo. Don’t look at her,” she ordered before tossing the booties to Shay and slamming the door.
“Don’t lock…” Shay bowed her head at the sound of the lock engaging and caught a glimpse of her bare feet. She was about to turn and bang on the door when a blue Ford beater pulled in front of the Wests’.
A tall man in a black bomber jacket got out of the car and placed his arms on the roof to play with his phone. His dirty-blond hair and gaunt face reminded her of Eric Stewart, a man she’d once run cons with and helped put away fourteen months before.
With everything going on, it was a reminder she didn’t need. She’d have to call Aidan Gallagher and find out what story the DEA had put out about her and if her cover had been blown. As far as she knew, the players were all still in jail, so that should make things easier.
The guy looked up from his phone and glanced her way. Obviously uncomfortable with having an audience, he straightened and gave her a hard-eyed stare.
There’d been a time when Shay would’ve taken that as a challenge to show him why she couldn’t be intimidated. Now she just rolled her eyes and walked to get Roxy and…“Dammit, oh God, that’s cold,” she whined as her bare feet hit the frozen lawn.
Eric’s look-alike snorted a contempt-filled laugh and then walked around the hood of the car as a woman rushed out the front door.
Shay knew this because she’d turned to give him a hard-eyed stare. Instead her gaze narrowed on the woman who was obviously Teddy’s mother. Shay wondered what it was with women running around half naked this morning. Teddy’s mom wore a ratty white robe over stretchy black boy shorts and a matching tank top. Unlike Shay, she’d thought to slip on a pair of fur-trimmed winter boots.
If not for her sallow skin, raccoon eyes, and smeared red lipstick, the woman would be attractive. She had dark, curly hair like Gabby and light blue eyes like Teddy, only the woman’s were tired. She had an air about her that said she was in a fight with life and life was winning.
And maybe that explained her attraction to the man she raced across the front lawn toward. Shay knew down to her bones the guy was bad news. It had nothing to do with the beater car and the grungy clothes or the ’tude; some of the best people she knew had next to nothing. No, her instinct about this man came from years of running with the wrong crowd and from her time in prison.
Not your monkey, not your circus, she told herself. Then her conscience kicked her butt by flashing an image of Teddy kneeling on the kitchen floor last night with her baby sister in her arms. Shay swore under her breath and picked up Roxy.
Boots first and then an intervention with Teddy’s mother, she decided, certain she’d either stick to the ground or lose a toe if she didn’t get inside pronto. She sprinted to the door, trying to keep the whimpering to a minimum, and leaned on the bell.
“You better pray your mother hasn’t moved on to fixing her hair or we’ll be out here for two hours,” she said to the shivering dog. Thinking in all likelihood that’s exactly what Cherry was up to, Shay patted the pockets of her jeans for something to pick the lock. It was too bad she’d decided to fix the patio door last night instead of this morning.
“What the hell is this? This isn’t the amount we agreed on.”
Shay turned at the man’s raised and angry voice to see him shove what looked like a fistful of bills at Teddy’s mom and grab her hand. Shay put Roxy on the stoop and took off across the lawn.
“Let her go. Now,” she called out in a voice she’d used in the prison’s exercise yard, a little surprised it didn’t work on him like it’d worked on the women in the pen. Then again, he didn’t know her. He was about to, she thought when he twisted the woman’s hand to get the bag of pills, making her cry out.
“Yeah, and what are you gonna do if I don’t?” He rolled his eyes like Shay was as laughable as the threat in her voice and flipped her off. “Get lost and mind your own business. She's got my product."
His eyes narrowed as she kept coming, and he released Teddy’s mom to turn and face Shay. He widened his stance, his expression cocky.
“It’s okay. I’m fine.” The woman gave Shay a nervous smile, closing her fingers over the baggy in her hand. “Gerry, just go. I’ll square up with—”
“She’s right, Gerry. You need to leave. And word of advice, don’t come back,” Shay said upon reaching them.
He moved into her, bumping against her with his chest, forcing her back a step.
“You heard me warn him to leave, didn’t you?” she said to Teddy’s mom, who gave a small, worried nod. “Good. I thought I made it clear. But just in case you didn’t completely understand me…” She put her hands between them and shoved Gerry back three steps. “Consider this your last warning. Get in your car, drive away, and don’t come around here again.”
“Make me.” He smirked as he once again got in her face.
“It’ll be my pleasure.” Shay smiled when he telegraphed his move. Just in case the neighbors were watching, she let him get in a punch, moving at the last minute so that it glanced off her jaw. “My two-year-old niece punches harder than you,” she said, her smile fading at the nugget of truth in the statement.
She did have a niece. Only her sister had ensured Shay would never know her. It was too bad for Gerry that she’d mentioned the little girl. It reminded her of the meeting with her sister and served to feed Shay’s temper.
Her movements contained and quick, she curved her right foot behind his ankles, jerking his feet out from under him at the same time she smashed him in the face with her forearm, ensuring that he fell backward and toppled like a tree, emitting a cry and a resounding thud when he hit the ground.
“Well, that was fun. Should we do it again?” she asked, looking down at him while inwardly praying he got up and went on his merry way. As far as fights go, it wasn’t much of one, but it had served to take the edge off her temper, and the accompanying adrenaline rush was fading fast. Which meant the excruciating burn from her frozen feet was finally able to penetrate her senses. She gritted her teeth to hold back a moan of pain. If she didn’t move this along, she’d be down there beside Gerry writhing and whimpering.
She turned to Teddy’s mom, who was looking from Gerry groaning on the ground to Shay. Noting the movement of the curtain in the West’s front window, Shay said, “We have an audience. Hand me the baggie and then get inside to your girls.”
Clutching the pills to her chest, Teddy’s mom stared at her. “No, you don’t understand. I need them. Gerry, I promise, I’ll find a way to get the rest of the money to you. I’ll”—she averted her gaze from Shay and took a step toward the man working his way into a sitting position—“you know, like last time. Maybe we can work something out.”
“You and Gerry aren’t doing business anymore, lady. So unless you want me to take them from you, hand over the pills.”
“Who do you think you are? You can’t tell me—”
“Yeah, I can, and you know why?” She wrapped her fingers around the woman’s wrist, exerting enough pressure to ensure she released the baggie. “Because you have two little girls who depend on you to be there for them, and if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll lose your kids.”
“It’s so easy for you to judge. You have no idea how hard my life is. No idea at all,” she shouted tearfully at Shay before storming toward the house.
“Getting high isn’t going to make it any easier, now, is it?” she said to the woman’s retreating back and got a finger in response.
Okay, so really, who was Shay to judge? She had no idea what the woman was going through. But come on, you don’t buy drugs out in the open for your kids and all the neighbors to see. And you don’t bring trouble to your door.
Her uncle Charlie’s middle name was trouble. He didn’t do drugs, but booze and gambling brought a similar element to their door, not to mention the cons they ran. No doubt Colleen Gallagher’s concerns about the Angel family had been similar to the ones Shay had for the Wests.
She didn’t know where the thought had come from and immediately pushed it away. Just because she might understand the dead woman’s motives didn’t mean Colleen Gallagher had a right to do what she did.
Shay turned to Gerry, who was using the car’s rusted fender to pull himself to his feet, and stuffed the baggie in his jacket pocket. “Next time I won’t be so gentle. Stay away from her, Gerry.”
* * *
Shay sat on the edge of the bathtub warming her feet in four inches of water. Standing at the sink in the small, bright white bathroom, Cherry heated towels with a blow-dryer. She’d Googled the best ways to warm up frozen feet. The towels were for Roxy, not Shay.
“Don’t you worry, Roxy Roo. Mommy won’t let Auntie Shay look after you again.” Cherry addressed the shivering poodle in a voice that hurt Shay’s teeth. High-pitched and childlike, Cherry saved it for special occasions, namely when both she and the dog felt Shay had messed up and put the animal in mortal jeopardy. Cherry and Roxy cast Shay the side-eye at almost the same time.
She held up her hands. “I’ve apologized five times, so the two of you need to get over it. And just FYI, I wasn’t the one who locked the door.” She didn’t add that she’d been a little busy rescuing a woman from her slimeball drug dealer to worry about Roxy.
Making a fish face, Cherry leaned into the mirror and fluffed her now perfectly coiffed blond locks. “You don’t have to remind me. I feel terrible as it is. But you understand, don’t you, Roxy Roo? Poor Mommy hasn’t gotten herself somethin’ somethin’ in”—Cherry faked sobbed, at least Shay thought she was faking—“five years. Five, Shaybae. Do you know how…” She winced. “Sorry, it’s been what? Like ten for you? I don’t know how you do it. Vibrators are great, but sometimes you just need a—”
“TMI.”
Cherry angled her head to the side. “What do you mean, TMI?”
“My safe word, remember? I say TMI, and you stop talking. Immediately. No questions asked.”
“Okay, okay, I forgot. It’s just that you haven’t used it in months.”
“Well, I wasn’t hanging with you twenty-four-seven like I am now.”
“Believe me, I know, and you’ve just reminded me why you’ve got that whole bite-me attitude going on. For all our sakes, you need to get laid. And I’m going to get working on that as soon as we get to the Shaggy Dog.”
“Salty Dog, and no…” She held up her hand to get Cherry’s attention, gesturing for her to turn off the blow-dryer. She was almost positive someone was in the house. The air had cooled slightly, and she heard what sounded like the door being closed carefully and quietly.
Slowly removing her feet from the bathtub, Shay stood and wiped them dry on the bathmat, pressing a finger to her lips as she walked from the bathroom down the hall…“What do you think you’re doing, kid? I could’ve shot you,” she half yelled at Teddy, angry that she’d gotten this far before Shay became aware of her presence. If it had been one of Costello’s hit men, she, Cherry, and Roxy would be dead by now.
Women three times Teddy’s age had been known to quake in fear at the voice Shay had just used on the teenager, a couple of men too. But the kid didn’t even blink. She stood two feet from Shay wearing the same black-on-black outfit as last night: sneakers, jeans, and a sweatshirt. The only difference this morning was that she’d added a camel-colored padded vest with a fur-lined hood and carried a canvas backpack. But she wore that same surly look on her face, her upper lip rolled into a sneer.
Shay gave Teddy props for being able to pull it off. The kid wasn’t as unfazed as she wanted her to believe. It took time and effort to get rid of a tell, and Teddy probably wasn’t even aware she had one. The way the teenager was rubbing her thumb against the side of her forefinger told Shay she was nervous.
Seeing her trying so hard to act tough and cool broke Shay’s heart. She couldn’t help but see herself in Teddy at that age, not that she’d ever admit it to Cherry or Michael, who she knew had seen the resemblance too.
Cherry, who’d been peeking out into the hall with Roxy in her arms, made a kid’s got cajones face, and ducked back in the bathroom, turning the blow-dryer setting to low. Presumably to give them the pretense of privacy while still being able to hear their conversation.
Relaxing her stance and losing the scared-straight tactics, Shay asked, “How did you get in? Did you pick the lock?” She’d been picking locks since she was twelve, so it wouldn’t surprise her if the answer was yes.
“No. Charlie gave me a key.”
Shay held out her hand. Until she knew what was going on with her uncle, she didn’t want Teddy coming in and out whenever she pleased.
“It’s not your house. It’s Charlie’s. I’ll give him the key when he comes back. If he wants it. But he won’t.”
“You’re real close to my uncle, aren’t you?” Shay hoped to God Charlie hadn’t recruited Teddy for his cons. He’d told Shay he stopped the day she went to jail.
“Yeah, and I know all about you. You were in prison. You’re a con.”
She felt it, not a stab or the sharp twist of a knife, just a small pinch near her heart. Still, it hurt. Which surprised her. She thought she was tougher than that, her skin thicker. Maybe it was the sentiment she heard beneath the words—you’re worthless, no good, dirty—that were responsible for the pain. “Ex.”
The blow-dryer went quiet just before the sound of it being slammed on the counter echoed in the hall. Cherry stomped out of the bathroom, her face flushed. “Don’t you ever let me hear you speak to her like that again, you got that, kid?”
Shay sighed. “Cherry, it’s—”
“Oh no, she doesn’t get to come in here talking to you like that after you froze your feet to protect her mother.” She narrowed her eyes at Teddy while stabbing a finger in Shay’s direction. “She’s better than everyone in this town, and that includes you and me. You have no idea who she is; how much good she’s done, the people she’s saved, how many times she’s risked her own life to help someone else.”
She whirled on Shay. “You are one of the best people I know. You’re my angel, Shaybae. Don’t you listen to her. She’s just a smartass kid who’s taking the crap her mother doles out on her out on you.” Cherry sniffed, making a flustered wipe at the tears tracking down her cheeks. “Now look what you’ve done, you, you little wannabe gangster. I have to redo my makeup.”
Shay and Teddy stared after Cherry, who slammed the bathroom door. Teddy found her voice first. Lip curled, she snarled, “She’s a real—”
“Good friend. Yeah, she is. One of the best. So do yourself a favor and don’t say another word about my friend, unless it’s—”
The bathroom door opened, and Cherry stood there with her hands pressed to her chest and a watery smile on her face. “Aww, Shaybae, I knew you loved me.”
Shay rolled her eyes and waved her back into the bathroom. “Hurry up. I have to get to the pub. And you have to go to school.” She practically felt the kid biting her tongue as she followed Shay to the front door. “So, what was so important that you walked into my home uninvited?”
And it was her home, though she’d never stake her claim to her uncle. Charlie had remortgaged the house to cover his gambling debts and had come close to losing it last year. Shay had used her savings to pay off his mortgage.
“My mom, she’s not a druggie. She hurt her back at work, and she needs the pills, but the ones the doctor prescribes don’t work anymore. They’re too expensive.”
“If she hurt her back on the job, she should be receiving compensation to help pay for her painkillers, Teddy.”
“Yeah, right. I told you her boss is a tool. And no one at those compensation places care about people like her anyway.”
“People like her?”
Teddy fidgeted with the strap of her backpack. “She’s a stripper.” She glanced at Shay as though gauging her reaction to the news.
“So, she has the same right to compensation as anyone else. Tell her to talk to Cherry.”
“Why?”
“She was an exotic dancer too.” Knowing Charlie, he’d probably offered already, but Shay thought it couldn’t hurt to try again. “I’ll have a better idea once I spend some time at the pub today, but we might have an opening for your mom at the Salty Dog.”
“Charlie already offered, and she turned him down. The money’s too good at the club.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that too. But you’re a smart kid, Teddy, so I’ll give it to you straight. Something has to change, and change soon. Your mom keeps going the way that she is, the neighbors see the things that I’m pretty sure they do, your teachers at school too, and your family will end up on social services’ radar. Trust me, Teddy, you don’t want that to happen.”
“I thought…You’re not going to social services or the cops?”
“No. But you have to talk to your mom…” What was she doing? More than anyone, Shay knew what it was like to carry that kind of responsibility at such a young age. “Never mind. I’ll talk to your mom, and we’ll come up with a plan that works for all of you.”
“Why would you do that? Why would you want to help us?”
“Maybe I don’t want you to turn out like me, Teddy.”