13. Stampede of Turtles
Chapter 13
Stampede of Turtles
LETTIE
I nhale. Exhale.
Rinse. Repeat.
Fifteen minutes of this damn breathing, and I’m still a wreck inside and out. From the stomach ready to wretch to the nails I can’t stop nibbling on.
Not because of whatever is happening downstairs with the interrogation or torture or whatever the hell it is. It’s officially time for me to video chat with Stella. And Freya. But mostly Stella.
In fact, I’m five minutes late. No big thing. I can blame my ADHD time blindness. She’s used to it.
Peggy left a half hour ago, heading home to pack and get out of town on the first flight in the morning. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be to take over for her until she returns. Which is to say, minimally. At least I have her phone number and can call her when shit inevitably goes wrong.
How hard can it be, right?
I crack myself up.
Propping my phone up on the table, I stare at it for a month of Sundays.
“Oh fuck it,” I huff out loud, despite being alone in the conference room.
Tapping the three buttons on the screen, I place the call.My camera turns on, and I primp my hair and pluck my cheeks so they look less ashen.
Hmph . What’s my thought process with that?
If I look a certain way, she won’t want to rage at me for taking back a man who lied to me for a year?
Dang it all to heck . It sounds horrible when I say it that way. Not sure how I could word it to make it sound better, though.
“Lettie bear!” Stella trills gleefully as soon as the call connects.
Despite my mounting anxiety, a genuine smile overtakes my entire face.“Hey, Stella Bella.”
“Is that her?” Freya yells from somewhere in the background.
She comes running from behind the back of the couch in our apartment and plops down beside Stella. The motion causes Stella’s positioning of the phone to wobble, giving me yet another bout of nausea at watching it bob and weave while they get settled.
I blink to clear my vision. When I refocus, Freya’s beaming at me. “Hey, girl.”
For some unexplained reason of dorky origins, I bring my hand up for a shoulder-height wave.
We make pleasant chit-chat for the first few minutes before they start asking questions that I can’t answer without lying.
“What room are you in?” Stella squints, bringing her face obnoxiously close to her phone screen.
Rip it like a bandage. Here we go.
Channeling a hand model, I gesture around the room in a grand motion as if displaying a prize on a game show. “This, my friends, is a conference room.” I force a swallow. “At Redleg Security.”
“ Yay ,” Freya exclaims with unbridled enthusiasm swirling through her voice.
At the same time, Stella’s reaction is the opposite. “Oh no.”
Freya throws a side eye at Stella before asking me, “Are you getting to know your father?”
Stick to the truth, Lettie. You got this.
“Sort of.” My damn voice cracks like a twelve-year-old boy. “I will be spending more time with him. I’m working here. Temporarily.”
“Beggin’ your pardon?” Stella’s accent makes its appearance.
I’m fucked.
I fold my hands on the table in front of me and lay it out there, hoping that stupid adage about the truth setting you free isn’t a bunch of hooey.
“A lot has happened since we last spoke.”
Pausing for a breath turns into pausing for three breaths. And a burp.
Terrific.
“Well, whatever it is, you look happy.” Freya nudges Stella in the side. “Doesn’t she look happy?”
Not waiting for an answer, I march on, belches and bullshit behind me. “Right, so as you know, I marched in here two weeks ago. In fact, this is the very room where I made a donkey’s rear end out of myself.” I do the stupid hand-model gesture again, stalling for time that I really shouldn’t be stalling for. “After that, as you recall, I spent some time chatting with my birth father and then spoke with Tomer.”
Gulp .
Stella’s frustration starts to bleed through. “Well this conversation is off like a herd of turtles after they had a big meal. Especially since you haven’t told us anything we don’t already know.”
The jig is up.
I flutter my lips with a forceful exhale. “Fine. Here goes. I know you ain’t gonna like it, but I moved out of the women’s shelter. I’m living with Tomer. Permanently. We’re back together. While not everything is forgiven, I understand why he did what he did. In his way, he was trying to protect his Boss. And then it got away from him, and he was afraid to lose me. It’s complicated. On the bright side, he’s agreed to go to therapy. And I’m also still doing outpatient therapy through the shelter. For now, it’s virtual because of all the craziness.”
Herd of turtles? That came out more like a stampede of horses.
“Uh-wah-pah-shaw-whatinthe,” Stella jabbers nonsense, waving her open hand at the screen like she’s having some kind of episode.
I hold out my palm to let her know I’m not finished. “Speaking of that shit. Sincethe mafia is after everyone and their brother, I’m spending my days here at Redleg, where I’m nice and safe. At night, we crash in a bunk room downstairs or go to his place. On the nights we go home, his detective friend sends an off-duty cop to hang out in front of the house since all the guards here are spread thin. So we’re being incredibly safe.” My hands fall to the table. “Let’s see. What else?”
“The job?” Freya asks, nose wrinkled and neck cricked to the side.
She’s precious.
“That’s your question?” Stella gasps, sucking in a huge swell of oxygen. “Seriously, Freya?”
Ignoring Stella temporarily, I answer Freya. “Right, so since I’m hanging out here every day, Boss Dad asked if I wanted to fill in for his assistant. She’s leaving town to stay with family until this all blows over.”
My mind rattles through everything I dumped on them, wondering if I missed anything.
“Is that a collar?” Stella asks flatly.
No clue what her reaction is, which is so odd for Stella. As long as I’ve known her, she’s been transparent as plastic wrap. And only as clingy as the generic kind.
Freya squints and leans closer. When she sees it, her eyes dance with joy.
My hand caresses the choker on reflex.
“Holy crap. It is . Look at her face. She’s smitten.”
At least one of them is happy for me. Too bad it’s not the one I’ve known since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
Running my fingertips over the lock, I reveal a bit more. “It’s actually a pre -proposal collar.”
The urge to stomp my feet and screech with excitement and girlie delight is strong, but Stella’s vibe isn’t right for that. She’ll come around eventually.
I hope.
Freya’s reaction seems genuine, only it’s muted because of the stone-cold serious goth chick beside her.
Who is no longer serious but about to . . . cry.
“Stella, say something,” I urge, my pulse pounding in my throat.
She manages to keep her composure, forcing away her brewing emotion. “How are you doing with your healing?”
“Honestly, I’m way better than I expected.”
The corner of Stella’s mouth wobbles with a budding smile. “Yeah?”
“Mm-hmm.” My nods grow more emphatic, tears pooling. Not of sadness or regret. Happy tears. “I can eat and drink pretty much anything if I know who gives it to me. I’m not having any nightmares. Panic attacks are few and far between.” I motion around the room again, embracing my inner hand model since I’m powerless to stop it. “And as you might could tell, I can be alone in a room now.”
“Oh, Lettie,” Freya gushes, no longer stifling her reaction. “I’m so proud of you. I wish I could give you a big fat hug.”
“That’s great, Lettie.” Stella fights through a grimace. “I am not commenting on the other thing, but I will say you do look happy. And I’m proud of you.” She looks at me from under her brow. “For the healing.”
“Stella, he loves me, and I know you haven’t seen it yet, but he treats me like I’m his entire world. He’s my person, and I love him so damn much. With my whole heart.”
“And all three nipples?” Freya quips.
We break out in a mini giggle fit.
Even Stella cracks a little.Then she tosses her head back with a groan. “Damn it, Lettie. I want to hug your face and beat your ass.”
“Well, maybe you can come here and do that.”
They share a knowing look.
Stella smiles— actually smiles at me. “Like now? We could have Reacher bring us up there.”
Oh yeah. Jonesy is watching them today. That would be perfect. I’ll tell Tomer when he gets done with...
Damn, damn, double damn.
Catching myself before I agree, I whine, “Dang it. Can’t tonight. Tomorrow would be better. There’s a whole thing happening downstairs.”
“A thing? What thing?” Freya needles, the nosy nelly.
“You remember the tall Russian guy from the club? The one who...” I let my words trail off.
With a solemn air, she dips her chin in a slow nod.
“Well, Tomer and his Redleg hot guy gang caught him today. I watched it on their chest cams. It was pretty forking cool.”
Pride? Is that you filling my chest? Nice.
“Anyhow, they’ve got him here, and they’re getting all his horrid secrets about the mafia out of him by whatever means necessary. I opted not to watch that part.”
As soon as the words are out, I throw my hands over my mouth to stop myself from saying more than I already have. Probably shouldn’t be casually talking about that like it’s no big deal. I’ll have to swear them to secrecy.
Freya’s face takes on a maniacal glow. “James... err Tomer has gone full Liam Hemsworth again, huh?”
Stella’s neck twists at an achingly slow pace until she’s throwing her knife eyes at Freya. “ Neeson ! For the last time, his name is Liam Neeson. Daddy Neeson is also acceptable.”
Freya thrusts her thumb over her shoulder in Stella’s direction three times. “I’ve been fucking with her about that for two weeks.” The snort that comes out of her is positively contagious. I snort my laugh right along with her.
And when Stella joins in, we’re essentially a bunch of hogs cutting up in a conference room.
The classiest of ladies.