Chapter 22 Back On Tour #7
“I concur with those assessments,” Danny said as he entered the room followed by Brick. “We don’t have the assets to protect everyone spread apart.”
“Nor do we,” Brick confirmed. “So, I hear there’s some really good evidence?”
“Check this out,” Keith said as he brought up the video files. “It’s all stored on the cloud and at Pimico for redundancy. Nobody is going to be able to debate the authenticity of this,” he said pointing at the tablet as the video started playing.
“I’ve got you now, asshole. You aren’t worming out of this one!” Brick declared.
“Greg,” Veronica said softly.
“I want you safe, but I have to warn you that moving in with me also puts us both at risk.”
“We’re already at risk,” she started then saw the look in Greg’s eyes and watched as they traced her body from face to feet and back up. “Oh,” she said looking into his eyes. “That risk.” She kissed him deeply. “I told you Greg, I’ll cross that line if you need that.”
“I want that,” he said softly so their conversation was as private as possible. “But if I do, that’s full commitment. What if I’m still unsure because of Carry?”
“What are you saying, Greg?”
“I’m risking losing her to Billy already, but I don’t want to be the one who cheats.”
“Greg,” she softly whispered, then kissed him again. “I love you, and I’m willing to risk everything for you right now.”
“We can’t have a ghost in our relationship. I’ve already been shattered by Erica. I know I can’t handle that again and hurting Carry by doing this would then ruin us and I’d be shattered again.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I wouldn’t survive a second time.”
“Then we’ll just have to acknowledge the risk and exercise restraint.” She looked at him. “You can restrain yourself for a week, can’t you?”
“I don’t think I have any choice.” He blew out an exasperated breath. “Just don’t let me get started, Veronica.” She looked at him and nodded. “Because if I start there won’t be any stopping until we’ve finished in the bed.”
“I’ll do what I have to,” she said somberly. “I’ll stop you before you get started.” She looked intently at him thinking to herself, ‘how the hell am I going to stop him from doing what I want him to do right now?’
“GREG! Earth to Greg!” Keith called. “They’ve just reported that Millard entered the compound of the Matriarch.”
“CARRY?” he nearly yelled.
“So far, our sound devices have confirmed she’s safe and sound with Cassie and the girls. They appear to be celebrating together with food.”
“So, she’s safe,” he said softly as the panic subsided.
“That’s good, Keith,” Veronica said and moved over beside him. “Can I see this Enforcer guy?” Keith pulled up the video and showed it to Veronica. “Would you promise me something?”
“If I can,” Keith replied cautiously.
“Don’t bother arresting him. Take him out and make sure he never hurts another soul again,” she said through gritted teeth. “He’s too dangerous to remain on the loose.”
“We’ve all agreed. If we get a shot on Millard, we take it!” the trio vowed.
Carry, Cassie, Wendy and Katie were sitting at a six person table, enjoying the welcome home feast that had been prepared.
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, biscuits, steak tips, hot yeast rolls, and five different bottles of wine.
Carry leaned over to Cassie and whispered in her ear, which got a reaction out of Katie.
She tapped Wendy on the shoulder rapidly trying to get her out of her love affair with the chicken breast she was devouring.
When Wendy finally looked, she saw Carry whispering to Cassie again.
“HEY! No secrets on the other side of the table. Share!” Wendy demanded.
“Sorry, Wen,” Cassie said. “It’s just that Carry was comparing this to the meal she had at Billy’s house.”
“And?” Katie prodded, clearly wanting a more thorough explanation.
“She was telling me how this was kind of like that. It made her feel like she belonged, but the only thing missing is Billy.”
“Billy?” Katie said in confusion.
“Billy!” Wendy said, slapping Katie on the back of the head. “You know, the guy who kissed Carry in Alabama.”
“Oh,” she replied, rubbing the back of her head. “You didn’t have to hit me that hard, did you?”
“You didn’t have to be so dense, did you? DUH!” Wendy taunted.
“Calm down,” Carry said. “It’s just that this makes me think that Greg just isn’t worth the hassle what with him seeing Veronica and all that.” She looked over at Wendy. “You were the one who first said that Billy’s got a nice ass.”
“Yeah, and those shoulders are pretty nice too,” Katie said dreamboating.
“Hey, Katie. Let Carry have first dibs,” Wendy objected.
“Well, to be honest and fair,” Carry said, “I’m really curious now about how Billy might feel about me.”
“She was asking me if I thought Billy would want to date her,” Cassie added.
“OF COURSE HE WOULD! Are you BLIND!” Wendy stated.
“No, I’m not blind,” Carry fired back. “But with me having been with Greg all this time, I don’t know if Billy would even look at me.”
“He was definitely looking at you at the barbeque,” Katie said in a swooning motion. “That’s where he kissed you.”
“And then you kissed him back,” Wendy added quickly. “And from what I saw, that man was not struggling to push you away.”
“Definitely not, cousin. Billy just needs the right push to realize that he’s really into you,” Cassie encouraged.
“Then we need to help her get her man,” Wendy said. “Since Greg is a traitor, we should shift gears and help Carry land Billy.”
“I’m down for that,” Katie chimed in.
“Same goes for me, cousin,” Cassie added. “We’re all in this together.”
“Then,” she started and let out an exasperated breath. “How do we start?”
“You just need to do your walk away move around Billy a few times and you’ll have him panting like a dog on a hot day,” Wendy said.
“It worked on Greg, so it’s definitely going to work on Billy.
” Wendy was smiling then she went ashen.
Her eyes were fixed on the doorway. Carry and Cassie turned to see what had Wendy frozen in place. Katie gasped.
Standing in the doorway was Millard Calput.
His nearly six-foot four-inch frame was ruggedly built with dark brown hair and steely blue eyes.
He was just standing there looking at Wendy, smiling through the burned left side of his face from the air bag explosion he wasn’t ready for.
The slightly bloodied face belied that something had gone terribly wrong.
Wendy jumped up from the table and flew around to her father.
“Wendy,” he said with open arms. “I’ve missed you my baby-girl. How was Alabama?”
“It was a good trip, daddy. And we finished our assignment,” she said pointing over to Carry. “She’s finally come home.” Wendy led Millard by the hand over to Carry. “Carry, this is my dad, Millard Calput. He’s the number one man around here.”
“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Carry said as she extended her hand slowly.
“David!” Tessa called as she walked out of the kitchen. “Are you about ready to go?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to follow up with Keith again,” David confirmed with a furrowed brow.
“Still no news on ‘The Enforcer’ since he went underground?” Tessa asked.
“Keith’s guys have watched the mansion day and night. NOTHING! A BIG FAT NOTHING!” David yelled in frustration. “You’d think he’d have sought some medical attention for his face,” he complained.
“They probably keep a doctor on site,” Tessa offered. “At least he’s not out where he can cause us problems. You know that Greg’s going to be here any minute now to pick us up. Harry’s got the new Mini-Limo finally ordered, which leaves us in the big one.”
“That thing guzzles gas faster than Noboko can produce it,” David complained. “Even Steve Dankard doesn’t like working on it.”
“I still can’t believe you just gave Brick the Mini-Limo as evidence so the Judge would believe him and issue the arrest warrant.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” David bragged. “Are you still going to try to organize the baby showers from Denver?”
“Of course I am.” She smiled as she walked over and hugged him tightly then kissed him softly. “Ours is the first one coming you know.”
“And I can’t wait,” David said. “Tessa, I thought marrying you was the greatest day of my life, but now, there are so many other days with you that tie for that honor. I didn’t know how much I was missing without you here every day.”
“Neither did I. But I know that there’s a hot tub in our suite in Denver,” she said with a mischievous smile. “I’ll bet we can have some fun in there.”
“If you are suggesting what I think, honey. You’re on.” He smiled then kissed her. “I love you, so, I better go get our bags before your gloomy gus of a brother shows up.”
“Give Greg a break, David. He’s missing Carry and worried sick about her.”
“Girls!” Veronica called and they all fell in at the Veronique HQ in Kansas City, Kansas.
“I’m glad to see that everyone is packed and ready to go.
” She looked over them one by one, then stopped and glanced off to the right.
“Mark, thank you for ensuring Tina was here on time all week long. It was comforting to know that Pimico takes such care of their VIP clients that they assign a mentor to help a new member get adjusted to our city.”
“It’s been my pleasure, Miss LaFayette,” Mark replied with a smile.