TAMMY
FIVE
I looked up to see Ruthie, Cat, and Axel walk in the front door to the pub. We technically weren’t open for another ten minutes, but with these three, I would make an exception.
Ruthie and Cat came over a lot on their lunch break, as did Axel. Despite both women being more than a decade younger than me, we’d become good friends, and I enjoyed having them come over to chat while I worked.
“Kitchen doesn’t open for another ten minutes, but I can get you a drink for now,” I told them as I continued to stack glasses behind the bar.
“We’re not here for food. We have news to share!” Ruthie said excitedly, clapping her hands. “Okay, remember how you told us if the guys ever hired someone older, closer to your age, and super-hot to let you know?”
My brows lifted. “I’m listening.”
“I took some handsome man in to meet the guys for a super-secret meeting,” Ruthie stage-whispered as she explained. “He’s a friend of Vince’s dad and is here to help figure out who is behind the theft.”
“Ladies, maybe we should…” Axel started to say but was cut off.
Ruthie’s hand shot out in front of his face. “Zip it, Axel. It’s my story to tell.”
“Well, don’t stop there! Give me the good stuff!” I demanded. “Age? Height? What does he look like? When you say hot, do you mean like he’s cute, or his body was made for giving me orgasms?”
Cat giggled, and Axel just wiped his hand over his face. He was clearly not happy to be a part of this conversation, but he also knew these women well enough to know this was normal.
Ruthie’s words tumbled out swiftly and energetically.
“I don’t know exactly how old, but he looked like he was maybe late forties or early fifties.
He had a little bit of salt and pepper hair, but his face didn’t have too many wrinkles, so maybe he just got gray hair early…
I don’t know,” Ruthie said, not taking the time to breathe between sentences.
“He’s muscular and toned from top to bottom.
He’s got a beard—not like a mountain man, but more like a short, clean-cut beard.
Tall, about the same height as Vince, so just above six feet.
He looks a little scary, but more like the broody kind, not like the serial killer kind. ”
I laughed. “Girl, your descriptions are crazy.”
The description—as wild and multifaceted as it was—reminded me a little bit of Ray.
He also had a beard just like that. A beard that had done wonderful things as it scraped over my body last night.
The salt and pepper hair sounded the same as the strands of hair I had sifted my fingers through as Ray sucked on my nipples and made me feverish with need.
Damn, was it getting hot in here?
I knew it had been a while since I’d had sex, but I was no spring chicken, and I knew that man was very talented in bed.
Probably other places too, but we hadn’t gotten around to those.
I found myself a little sad that I may not get to see him again, because I really wouldn’t mind having another go with him.
“You get to go meet him!” Cat said, bringing me out of my daze.
“What?” I asked, feeling like I’d missed something.
“Axel is here to take over the bar for a bit so you can go meet him,” Ruthie said.
I chuckled a little but then realized she was serious. I also noticed Axel had moved behind the bar.
“They want you to meet him since he is going to help out with finding the person who stole the money from this place,” Cat explained.
Oh, so they didn’t want me to go over and meet him because he was sexy.
They needed me to meet him to probably go over the burglary details again. That made more sense.
“Tammy, when you meet him, please don’t get too upset.” Axel’s words were cautious, and his tone definitely gave off a placating vibe.
“Why would I get upset?” I asked, not understanding.
“Yeah, why would she get upset?” Cat echoed.
Ruthie gasped. “Oh my God! Is he married, Axel? I didn’t think to check for a ring. Is that why?”
She and Cat both looked at Axel expectantly, but he just shook his head.
“I’m just saying to be open to what the guys need to talk to you about, and understand that this is the best plan,” Axel said, and now I was starting to get a little anxious.
Why would the guys think I would fight them on a plan for finding the suspect? They knew I was on board with whatever they wanted to do.
“Come on, let’s go!” Ruthie said, shoving Axel farther behind the bar as she reached for me.
“What is left on the checklist?” Axel asked, clearly ready to take over duties until I returned.
I yelled out a few tasks as I followed Ruthie and Cat to the entrance of the pub and over to the office.
I had a strange feeling about this—mostly because of Axel’s cryptic words and edgy demeanor—but one of my specialties was staying calm under pressure.
I just wish I’d known how important that skill would be over the next hour so I could have channeled it even more.
There were no words for the emotions that rolled through me the moment I stepped into that office.
I saw Wade, Archer, Jack, Vince, and Frank, whom I’d met many times at the bar. Everyone except Frank had worried looks on their faces. His had been half worried and half amused, which seemed odd.
I had no idea why until I saw the other man on the left. The same man who, not twelve hours before, had been inside me.
Deep inside me.
Vince spoke first. “Ray and my dad were in the Army together, and we asked him to come help us with the money thief.”
It took me a moment to register, but I realized there was no introduction. No “Tammy I’d like you to meet Ray. Ray, this is Tammy.” That—combined with their weird energy when I walked in—meant they knew.
They knew we’d already met, and not just in a casual friendly way.
I wasn’t usually the type to get embarrassed, but not knowing what all Ray had divulged left me in an uncomfortable state.
My brain did a quick memory scan of what Axel, Ruthie, and Cat had mentioned. Axel knew too and had tried to warn me. He thought I might blow a gasket, and clearly the other men did too. But why?
Oh my God.
“You think I had something to do with this?” I said out loud, my words leaving my mouth before I could think better of it.
“Tammy, we know you didn’t rob the place,” Archer said gently, clearly trying to either placate me or calm me down.
“Gentlemen, do you mind if Tammy and I speak alone for a few minutes first?” Ray said to the room, though his eyes were on me the entire time.
None of them said a word, but I watched as they all quickly got up and exited the conference room.
The tidal wave of emotions rolling through me right now was sky high.
Breathe.
Just keep breathing.
I let loose the instant we were alone. “Was your goal to get in my pants the whole time, or was that just a happy bonus for your investigation?”
I needed to know that answer more than any other that I had swirling in my brain.
“Frank told me his son’s business was robbed,” Ray said in a neutral tone.
“I assumed he meant the security company. I had no idea they also owned the pub. I did a scan of the building last night and then came into the bar for a bite to eat and a drink, just like I told you last night. I didn’t know the pub was the place that was robbed until an hour ago.
Going home with you last night was luck shining brightly on me and something I never would have done had I known we would be working together like this. ”
I snorted instead of using words, which was probably the smart choice.
His response was quick and emphatic. “I don’t mean I regret last night. I don’t. Not even a little bit. I just mean I don’t usually date people I work with. I’m glad it happened, and I woke up this morning with plans to come back to see you again in hopes you’d give me the honor of another night.”
Choosing to ignore the loose question he left hanging there, I chose to ask another burning question in my mind. “So, you told all of them.”
It was more of a statement rather than a question, but he still nodded.
“I needed them to know since they want us to work together in a capacity that may be a bit complicated, given what happened last night.”
“What capacity is that?” I asked, happy to have had my military training to keep my voice neutral and calm, even though on the inside, I was feeling anything but.
He paused before answering, but his gaze never left mine. “Let’s bring the guys back in and have them explain.”
I had a feeling I may not like what their plan was if he wasn’t willing to share on his own.
I wasn’t ready for them to come back in yet. I had more questions I needed answered, but I also knew I needed to have something to focus my emotions on right now other than Ray.
I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him a curt nod, letting him know to bring the others back in but that this conversation wasn’t over.
As they all funneled back in, I watched as each one of their gazes scanned Ray and me up and down as though they were checking for injuries. I knew they wouldn’t have left me alone with him if they thought he might have hurt me, which meant they were more worried about me hurting him.
Good.
Let them worry. And let them think I was upset.
When everyone took their seats, it did not go unnoticed that Frank chose to sit between Ray and me. On the outside, I remained stoic, but on the inside, I chuckled a little at his move. I wasn’t sure if it was to protect his friend Ray or because he wanted a front-row seat in case I went apeshit.
Archer spoke first and laid out their plan step by step.
“You want me to what?” I asked, making sure I’d heard correctly and giving them a chance to change their answer.
“We want you and Ray to pretend to be dating so that he can come in and hang out with you every night you’re on shift at the bar,” Archer repeated. “Tammy, I know this is weird, but I’d like you to be the bigger person here,” he urged, his tone polite but firm.
“Be the bigger person? I’m five foot three, Archer. I think you need to manage your expectations here. The only thing bigger about me is my attitude.”
I watched as Archer tried extremely hard to keep a straight face, and I saw the tick in Vince’s jaw, followed by the little twitch in Ray’s lip. Good. I needed to keep these men on their toes if I had any chance of surviving this crazy plan they had come up with.
“Ray is going to sit at the far corner of the bar so he can have eyes on most of the restaurant,” Vince explained. “However, most people don’t sit at the bar for hours on end, so his excuse will be to see you.”
“You really think someone would buy that?” I asked.
“Stella sat with me for hours on end when we first started seeing each other,” Axel mentioned.
He was right. Stella—his now fiancée—used to come by the bar to teach him random English phrases to help him improve his language skills.
“You really don’t think this was random, do you?” It was more of a rhetorical question, because all of this extra security wasn’t really necessary if it was a random burglar.
“It seems too much of a coincidence that they knew where all the outside cameras were and even several inside—save for the secret one you put behind the bar,” Wade explained.
“And the alarm system wasn’t tampered with,” Jack added. “This person is either insanely amazing at just guessing the code, or they already knew it before the break-in.”
“Which increases the odds of it happening again,” I surmised.
Archer nodded in response. “We’re going to change the alarm codes every few days for a while. Only the people opening and closing that day will know them.”
That meant they also hadn’t ruled out an employee being behind this. I knew they probably suspected Corey, but I just simply didn’t get that vibe from him.
In addition to his bar shifts, he was also a successful personal trainer at the gym down the street. Hell, he only worked one to two shifts at the pub per week because the gym kept him busy. He’d told me he liked working the bar, though, because it was how he often found new clients.
“What do ya say?” Vince asked.
I took a deep breath. I could do this.
I’d faked my way through an unhappy marriage for nearly two years. This should be a piece of cake.
“Fine,” I replied. “Let’s get this show on the road.”