With one burly woman holding her feet and the other hefting her shoulders, they struggled to get her dead-weight body up the stairs. The woman in charge of her feet grunted. "What's wrong with you, lady?"
"We know you're not unconscious," the second woman said.
Viv willed her body to sink lower. Make like a rock, she told herself. I'm not going to cooperate in my own abduction. That's for sure!
Once they were inside the Airstream, the tall woman dropped Viv's feet and slammed the door closed. The other woman shoved her onto a sofa.
With her nose thrust into a throw pillow, Viv couldn't breathe. She struggled to stand up, but the burly woman held her down.
"You don't have to treat her like a criminal," a familiar voice scolded.
Unable to turn face up, Viv struggled. Once the woman released her hold, Viv rolled over, gasping for breath. She planted her feet on the floor, her eyes focused on the exit door. Then she looked forward, finding a man sitting on another sofa opposite her.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
Rex Redondo folded one calf over his knee. He wore his usual walking attire and a worried expression.
"This Airstream, despite appearances, is a safe place," he said in a calm voice. "Casino employees use it to take quick naps and hang out when they have a break. Starsky and Hutch here were only helping me out.
Viv glowered at Rex. "Starsky and Hutch?"
"That's what I call the ladies. We go way back. They've been on the Pair-a-Dice payroll since I got here. It takes a lot of muscle to keep a casino safe."
"So they aren't holding me for card counting?"
"Naw, that was an excuse. To get you away from Baker. You do know he's not a nice guy, right?"
"I don't remember inviting you into my investigation. I'm not sharing the fee. Just so you know."
"So there's a fee?" Rex paused, appearing to consider the implication.
"We had to get you out of there in one piece," the taller woman explained. "I'm Starsky, by the way. Pleased to meet you."
Viv looked at her closely. Her short-cut hair only emphasized the largeness of her body. "Hello," Viv said curtly. She seems nice. For a bouncer.
Viv stood up. Overcome by dizziness, she felt her knees buckle. She fell back down into the cushion. Her head pounded. She opened and closed her eyes, but it didn't stop the pain.
"Are you okay?" Rex asked in a concerned voice.
"Have a terrible headache. Been quite the morning so far."
She put her hand on the side of her face. Before she could say any more, Hutch handed her a glass of water. "Probably dehydrated," she explained. Her voice had become soft, nothing like the woman who'd conspired to abduct her in the parking lot.
"Thank you." Viv took the glass. She slurped the water down. "I think you're right. Dehydration." Plus I haven't eaten since last night.
When she finished drinking, she looked at Rex. "I know you're responsible for this charade. But why? I can handle myself."
"I'm sorry, but we didn't know what else to do," Rex explained. "I've had Sutton following you for the past couple of days. You went rogue and it worried us both."
"Could I have an aspirin at least? My head is pounding." She looked toward the small kitchen. "And a cracker or something so that I can take the aspirin without upsetting my stomach." The simple requests made Viv feel better. As if she were taking back some control.
Those three should be jumping at my beck and call after that treatment.
The motor home door opened, casting a light on the faded carpet. Sutton Drew called out, "You in here, boss?"
"With the lady in question," he answered.
"Can I come in?"
"You'd better. She's demanding an aspirin and some answers. Oh, do you have crackers? Viv wants those too." He grinned sheepishly.
Sutton stood between Rex and Viv. "How about some crackers and also some ice for the head? Starsky, get on that."
Starsky made her way to the kitchenette. She opened the freezer and pulled out an ice bag.
"Here you go." She wrapped a towel around the bag, holding it for Viv to take. Then she pulled saltines from a cupboard over the sink. "You can have these too."
"I can't believe you resisted so hard. A real wildcat." Rex's eyes shined with admiration. Then he leaned forward to stare more closely at Viv's face. "You okay?" he asked again.
She shifted the ice bag to her other temple. "I'm still mad at you," she said.
Viv wasn't really mad. What she felt, if she were to be truly honest, was relief. She'd known as soon as Joey Baker sat down at the blackjack table that she was in over her head. But she kept going along with her charade. And then when she'd invited him back to her house…as soon as the words left her mouth, she knew she'd made a mistake. So Starsky and Hutch may have actually rescued me. A clumsy bit of work, but still…
One glance of Rex in the trailer helped quell her fear immediately. Maybe it was the smell of his aftershave that made her feel very warm inside. Or maybe because as he spoke, she knew she'd be okay. No matter what, he'd make sense of things. She knew in her heart that just because Rex was unpredictable, that didn't mean he would deliberately hurt her. And that he did genuinely care about her.
"I'll be okay when I get another drink of water and that aspirin," she told him, eyes closed tight.
"Hutch, get another glass of water. Sutton, order us a light lunch to pick up at The Roadkill on our way out. And I'll be right back. I have aspirin in the SUV."
The sound of the trailer door shutting made Viv smile.
Now that's more like it.
Rex returned with two aspirin in the palm of his hand. He sat next to her on the sofa and watched as she held the glass to her lips. "Drink it down," he told her. "The whole glass. I'll refill."
Viv's forehead wrinkled.
"Honey, you always think the worst of me." He glowered.
She handed the empty glass back to him with a question. "So you had me picked up by your female thugs because you were worried about Joey. You and Sutton. How did you know I'd be at the casino?"
"Like I started to say, Sutton followed you."
"To Beverly's house?"
"On a first name basis with the widow now?" He glanced away, trying to hide his smirk.
"Oh, I even talked to her boyfriend face-to-face. Remember that HOA guy named Peter Langford? He was there too. Gave me a whopping check to do this job. The only stipulation being that I call them to pick up Joey once I bring him back to my house."
Viv continued to explain how she'd been hired. The more she talked, the better she felt.
"So Joey Baker looks like our main suspect," Rex concluded.
"And they wanted you to play dumb and pretend to go for one of his scams," Sutton added.
"They claim that Joey is a crook and bilks unsuspecting old ladies for their savings and retirement income. He did feel pretty sleazy to me." Viv rubbed her temple. The pounding had subsided, leaving a dull ache in its aftermath.
Feeling only slightly less grumpy, she sighed.
Rex and Sutton sat across from her, both of their arms folded over their chests.
"None of this would have happened if you'd not kicked me out of your house," Rex insisted. Then his bottom lip fell into a pout. Sutton elbowed him.
"I told you to stop doing that. No one wants to look at a sixty-year-old baby."
He shrugged. "Okay. It's a habit. Sorry." His lips forming a smile, Viv had to admit he sounded truly contrite.
"I did not kick you out of my house," Viv insisted. "I merely got angry with you treating me like I couldn't handle my own business. So I asked you to leave to avoid a scene."
He rolled his eyes. "I don't mind a scene. With you," he explained.
Viv felt confused. She'd spent most of her life avoiding undue emotional outbursts. To have a man tell her he wasn't afraid of her emotions, well that would take some getting used to.
And because she was Viv, a person who always wanted to improve, she told him in no uncertain terms, "It's your job to work on your own feelings. Believe me, I have a full-time job monitoring my own."
Something about her logic must have appealed to Rex. His body language shifted. He relaxed his arms and genuinely smiled. "That's an interesting philosophy and one that we can talk more about later. But for now, how are you feeling?"
He came closer to lift her wrist in his hand. Then he leaned his head down to gently kiss the bruise, before releasing it to pick up the other.
The second kiss brought a chill up her spine. "Better," she admitted, her face flushing. "But no more about me. I want to go home and change out of these clothes, if you don't mind."
He glanced over her red pants and stained peasant top. "Gotta admit you're looking kinda shabby chic in that getup."
Sutton spoke up. "I want to check in with The Roadkill and pick up our food. Be back in a few."
Once Sutton was gone, Viv felt less self-conscious. So she asked a question to clear the air. "After I clean up a bit, let's figure out what I'm going to tell the widow about my adventure. Since I didn't get Joey to come to my house, I suppose that I have to return the money?"
Viv stood slowly. She held her head with one hand, feeling slightly off-balance.
Rex took hold of both her shoulders. "Hold on there, let me steady you." When he didn't remove his hands, she tried to wriggle from his grasp. But then her shoe caught on the carpet. So she grasped his shirt with one hand to steady herself.
In a second he'd circled his arms around her body and pulled her close. She had to admit to herself, I'm so tired of pulling back. So she gave in and gladly buried her face in his chest.
She felt him duck his head to nestle his face in her neck. His warm breath hovered over her skin. She felt a tingle inside her body. A feeling she hadn't had in a long time.
She was unable to pull back, wondering at herself. Her lack of resolve. Her need for his warmth. For all of his oddness, Rex Redondo had gotten under her skin.
"Hey, boss," Sutton called through the window. Rex released her from the embrace. Viv was both disappointed and relieved.
"Sutton," he said calmly. "Viv is understandably a bit wobbly. I want you to drive her home. Leave her lunch with her. Then we can pick up her car later."
"Right," Sutton said in an agreeable voice.
Once Sutton left, Rex placed his hands back on Viv's shoulders. "Let's get you home. You can change and eat. We can talk by the pool later." He dropped his hands, a look of reluctance on his face.
"Sounds good." All her previous misgivings had been replaced with a new spirit of cooperation. "Bring Sutton with you. I want to hear her take on all of this."
To her surprise he didn't object. "Let me help you down the steps." He offered her a hand.