Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
TEDDIE
I winced at the grinding my car’s engine made as I pulled into the parking lot and chose an empty space. I was going to have to her seen to, but it couldn’t be a priority at the moment. Loams was more important. In the meantime, I really should look into that bicycle.
I killed the engine before it died of its own accord and glanced through the windshield in the direction of the park.
The sound of children shouting and calling out to each other, came through my half-open window. Laughing in that carefree, effortless way kids had. Not a care in the world apart from what game they were going to play next.
I smiled to myself.
Nothing brought life back into perspective better than the sound of kids having fun, playing and learning about their world. I could watch them all day.
Instead, I scanned the park for three men.
They'd stand out in a place like this just by being here.
Recognizing them should be easy enough. Of course, they'd recognized me; they'd seen my face.
I might look a little different in person, without a backdrop of a resort in the Bahamas, but they'd know it was me.
I couldn’t see any sign of them, but I opened the door and stepped out, lowering my sunglasses onto my face against the midday glare. The air held a hint of spring warmth. Before long, it was going to be unbearably hot, except for the breeze off the ocean. I couldn't wait.
Fortunately for everyone concerned, I didn't spot a film crew. No one peered out from between the trees, ready to laugh at me. No one so much as glanced my way as I approached the picnic tables on the beach side of the park.
Faded wood, decorated here and there with graffiti, hadn't changed since I was a kid.
I used to spend summer afternoons here, eating a hurried lunch before running off to jump in and out of the ocean.
Both of my fathers constantly reminded me to put on more sunscreen, and to keep my hat on, even when the wind kept blowing it off.
I could almost see them sitting on the bench opposite me, sharing sandwiches and bottles of water, sneaking smiles at each other and me. Grateful to be our own, little family.
I slipped onto a bench and watched the waves crash against the sand, lulled by the rhythmic sounds of nature. Seabirds wheeled overhead. One dove in, coming back up a moment later with its catch; some kind of fish I couldn't identify from here.
The tang of salt was as heavy in the air as the nostalgia. I'd spent a lot of time in the last couple of weeks thinking back over my whole life and how lucky I was. How much I didn't want to lose any part of it.
I took in a deep breath, inhaling the smell of my childhood. If I could bottle it, I'd carry it with me everywhere.
I let my gaze wander down the beach and back up to the high-rise apartments that lined the shoreline further down.
A hundred years ago, this was little more than a fishing village.
Now, it was a thriving city. Busy even when it wasn't the height of tourist season.
I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
Didn't want to imagine it. Saltgrave wasn't perfect, but it was home.
“Theodora." A voice spoke behind me before three men stepped around, into my line of sight, jostling for space on the bench opposite me.
"Teddie," I said automatically, before I caught sight of their masked faces.
They were taking this whole keeping-their-identities-a-secret thing seriously, weren't they? Once again, I wondered if I should have brought my mask. Of course, that would have been pointless. They already knew who I was.
Still, if masks were what we were doing, shouldn't I be wearing one too? Not that I'd ever cared about being on trend. I had my own style, including being maskless in broad daylight.
Like the other night, they sat with Blondie on the left, Mr. Bored on the right, and the intense man in the middle. The one I'd come to think of as the spokesman of the group. It was him I concentrated my attention on. If I was going to get any straight answers, they'd come from him.
"For a minute, I thought you weren't coming," I said lightly.
The breeze blew their scent in my direction. I recognized Blondie's black cherry and leather. Sandalwood and musk must be coming from the other two, mixed with the ocean. The combination was intoxicating.
Shhh, I told my clit.
"Why wouldn't we be coming?" Mr. Bored said. He liked his innuendos, didn't he? That one in particular. Honestly, it was a favorite of mine too, but coming from him, it hit different. Hotter. He was trying to get to me and it was working.
Don't let him get to you, I told myself. They'll take full advantage of you if you do. I couldn't afford for that to happen. I needed to be focused and in control. Of myself if not of the situation.
"You might have changed your mind," I said.
"Why would we do that when coming here is so much fun?" Mr. Bored asked, stretching out a hand toward me, palm up.
I eyed his hand, then back up to his masked face, still trying to place his voice.
Was he in any of my classes? Did I work with him?
He might be a customer of the bar. We could have met while I was helping out there.
Wherever it was, I couldn't pin it down.
Not right now. I pushed it to the back of my mind to let it simmer. At some point, I'd figure it out.
I ignored his comment and said, "This whole situation is weird. I'm sure you understand I might think it's some kind of setup." They wouldn't be surprised by that, surely? People had pulled lesser pranks than this.
"It's not a setup," Mr. Middle said as he ran a hand over the back of his neck. "We have…reasons for wanting to maintain our privacy." There was no apology in his tone, no compromise. We were doing this his way, or not at all.
I didn't know what brand his clothes were, but they looked expensive. A hint of a tattoo showed in the neckline of his dark blue button down. The seams were too well sewn to burst, although his biceps were putting pressure on them.
He was big, solid. His build like a quarterback.
Was he a professional athlete? That might be why he wanted to maintain his privacy.
People got weird about sports stars. I'd been known to swoon over them a time or two myself.
A few of them owned holiday homes in Saltgrave that they frequented every summer.
Occasionally, they'd come into Loams for a drink.
Of course, I was always professional, keeping my swooning to myself. Or leaving it to my fathers.
If Mr. Middle was an athlete, what did that make the other two then? His bodyguards? They were both almost as big as he was. Ink peered out from the sleeve of Mr. Bored's shirt. I couldn't make out what it was but I suspected he had a full sleeve under there.
That was more information than I got from our zoom call, but not enough to identify them with their faces covered. Would I recognize them without their masks on? I had no idea.
"Are you going to elaborate on those reasons?
" I propped my elbows on the table, my gaze going from one to the other.
Electricity crackled around us. Even with masks on—okay, because of them—they threatened to make me ruin my panties.
What can I say? I was a sucker for a mystery man as much as the next woman.
This was like something straight out of a dark romance novel.
Should I be running right now? Would they chase me?
Should I be thinking along these lines? Probably not, but the idea of ducking and weaving through the trunks of the trees, them hot on my heels, made the palms of my hands break out in a sweat. Which one of them would catch me? Would they fuck me up against the trunk of a tree?
I sucked in a deep breath through my nose and hoped like hell they didn't realize why I needed to calm my racing heart. If they could read my mind right now, they'd see moaning and bodily fluids.
"In time," Mr. Middle said. "First, we need to know if you're serious about saving your father's bar."
That was like a cold bucket of water tossed over me. What the hell kind of question was it? Why would I be here if I wasn't serious? Honestly, I should be asking them that question. That and a bunch more.
I sat back and crossed my arms. "I'm not sure this is fair.
You know more about me than I do about you.
" I didn't like being messed with and I hated people wasting my time.
If that's all this was, then I should get up right now and leave.
Not run, just walk away slowly toward my car as if I hadn't been thinking filthy thoughts a couple of moments ago.
"Do we care if you think it's fair or not?" Mr. Bored asked.
I gaped at him for a moment before placing my hands on the table, ready to push myself to my feet.
"Fuck this."
I shouldn't have come here in the first place. This whole situation was beyond ridiculous. These guys were doing nothing but screwing with me. Figuratively, that was. Literal screwing was absolutely not going to happen.
I ignored the sting in the corners of my eyes. It was bad enough they were messing with me but they were also messing with my dads, and that was not right. Thank fuck I hadn't told them about any of this. They would have gotten their hopes up, only to have them ripped to shreds.
"Wait," Blondie said quickly. "We care. Yeah, this is weird as fuck. It's because—" He glanced at the other two men. “We don’t usually do…stuff like this.”
I hesitated for a moment before crossing my arms again and sitting back.
“I don't usually do…stuff like this either," I said evenly "Meeting with three masked men out in the park? This is not a daily basis thing."
Especially not with kids so close. Could these three even be trusted around them? I wouldn't be surprised if someone called the cops on them. I wouldn't rule out doing it myself. I should have insisted we meet somewhere else. Somewhere more private. With thicker, sturdy trees. Then we could…
I shoved the thought away. This wasn't a romance novel. This was… I don't even know what this was.
"Just fucking random guys in a parking lot," Mr. Bored said, half under his breath.
My gaze swiveled to him. How had he known that was me? Did he know or was he guessing?
I looked back at Blondie, but I couldn't read anything past his mask. His eyes only gave away uncertainty. Concern that I might still get up and leave. That concern was well-founded.
"I'm serious about wanting to save Loams," I said finally. "I don't want to play games."
They had approximately thirty seconds to explain what the hell was going on here or I really was out of here.
"This is a waste of time," Mr. Bored said. "She's not going to bite."
Mr. Middle didn't move. He kept his intense gaze on me the entire time.
"She's going to play," he said, sounding very certain. "We have what she needs, and she has what we want."
"What is that?" I asked after a moment's frantic thought.
What the hell could I possibly have that these guys wanted?
Even if they hadn't said they had money, it was obvious they did.
They could buy anything they wanted and have it delivered the same day.
And if they couldn't, they could go and pick it up themselves.
I was just a kindergarten teacher taking some time to upgrade her qualifications.
I drove a car that barely went at the best of times.
I couldn't think of one thing I had to give them.
Mr. Middle sat forward as far as the table between us would allow. Out of his pocket, he drew a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote on the piece of paper before sliding it over to me, somehow managing to avoid getting splinters in his fingers from the worn wood.
"This is how much I'm proposing to give you," he said.
He sat back and put the pen away, watching me while I tentatively picked up the piece of paper and glanced at it.
My eyes widened.
"Holy shit," I said without thinking. "You're willing to give this much to save the bar?"
I squinted. Did I imagine the last couple of zeros? I didn't. They were right there, on the page.
"What do you want in return for this?" My head was spinning with the possibilities.
My fathers could completely renovate the bar for this much money.
They could buy a bigger house, a better car.
They'd never have to worry about money again.
Neither would I. The things I could do with that much. My mind might literally blow.
"That's very simple," Mr. Middle said. "We want you."