Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
ANGELO
I walk into Willow Creek Security and come to a halt when I'm greeted by my first name. "Hey, Angelo. What can we help you with?"
I've never been in the place before, and I certainly don't know the woman seated behind the desk, but she seems to know me.
"Uhhhh …"
Before I can say more, the woman interrupts me. "Oh, sorry. I'm Annalee."
Ah. Owen's significant other. It would make sense that Owen would know who I am and, in turn, so would Annalee.
"It's nice to meet you. I was wondering if I could speak to Owen."
"Of course. Follow me."
She stands up from the desk and walks over to a glass door not far from where she's sitting. I follow along like she asked with a mix of emotions. Nervous about meeting her brother, but too worried about Gracie to wait for a better time to introduce myself.
Once through the door, I get a glimpse of how big the place really is. This is one of the few businesses in town my company didn't have a hand in reconstructing. From what I’ve gathered, the entire build-out was done by the men who work here. I guess they preferred to keep things in-house.
"Owen." Annalee gets the attention of a silver-haired man. "Angelo came to speak with you."
"Well, it's about time."
I bristle at the man's gruff tone. And that’s the least of the intimidation factor I can tell he puts to good use. He’s easily fifteen years my senior, but looks like he could throw me around like a rag doll. And I'm no small man.
"Be nice," Annalee chides. "Gracie’ll be pissed if she found out you were mean the first time you met Angelo."
"She's going to be pissed anyway once she finds out why I'm here."
"Is she okay?" Owen is immediately on high alert, and I guess I can see why. My tone gives me away.
"What do you know about her ex, Jeremy."
It doesn't take a mind reader to know how Owen feels about the man. It’s written clear as day on his face. The snarl says it all. "I couldn't stand the guy. Another reason I was happy when she said she was moving here. Why? Is he bothering her?"
"You could say that. I don't know the exact number, but he's sent a few dozen text messages since yesterday, not to mention he’s called her multiple times.
Gracie hasn't told me what they say, but the one I managed to read wasn't nice.
He threatened there would be consequences if she kept ignoring him. "
Owen looks like he’s ready to commit murder, and for a brief second I wonder if I made a mistake telling him. If Gracie is right, and he kills the man, it's going to be my fault.
"I always knew he was a piece of shit. My sisters complained that he was alienating her, but Gracie insisted that wasn't the case. That they were overreacting."
"You didn't notice anything?"
Now Owen looks guilty. "I was deployed for a majority of their relationship. And the few times I was able to stop home, she always made time for me, so I believed her. Now I wish I’d pushed harder."
So Jeremy didn't separate her from the one person he had to know would cause a stink. The man was cunning.
"Thank you for telling me. I'll handle it."
I shake my head. I don't need Owen to fight my battles for me. I'm fully capable of doing it all on my own. And now that our relationship has progressed, I want to be the one who takes care of Gracie. Not her older brother.
"That's not why I came. I was wondering if you could get me his information. He's using different numbers to contact her after she blocks him. I would like to have a word with him myself."
"I say this as nicely as possible, but guys like him aren't just going to go away on their own. It's going to take some persuasion. And it just so happens my friends and I are good at that sort of thing."
I have no doubt about the accuracy of his statement. But it still doesn’t address Gracie’s concerns. If anything, it reinforces them. "Gracie purposely said she didn't want you to know. She's going to be mad enough I came here. She’ll be even more mad if you kill the guy like she thinks you’ll do."
Wrong thing to say apparently.
"The only reason she would think that is if he put his hands on her,” Owen seethes. “Are you telling me that's what happened?"
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Apparently I can’t lie to Owen, because before I know it, the words are popping out of my mouth. "She may have mentioned him grabbing her arm and leaving a bruise."
"The fucking bastard." Owen’s curse is loud enough to garner the attention of some of his coworkers. "I'm going to fucking kill him."
"Who are you going to kill?"
Now that’s a familiar voice and face. I recognize Maverick from the council meetings when he was trying to buy the building to start his business.
"Gracie's ex, Jeremy," Owen snaps.
"I knew I never liked that guy," another man who I don't recognize says. "Nolen." He’s kind enough to introduce himself, sticking his hand out for me to shake. "It's nice to meet you."
"Angelo. But people call me Ang." I'm guessing everyone in this building already knows who I am thanks to Owen, but I figure it's polite.
"You can't kill Jeremy, no matter how much you want to." Maverick continues the conversation with Owen. "That's not how we operate."
"He put his hands on Gracie,” her brother snaps.
"Then we find a way to legally deal with him."
I can tell even before Owen speaks that he doesn't like that suggestion in the slightest. And, honestly, now that it's been discussed, I'm on board with Owen's plan.
"Fuck legally. Last time I checked, I could kill him and make his body disappear. No one would even know."
Okay, that’s a bit scary. I'm not sure how I feel knowing that could also happen to me if one day Owen decides he no longer likes me.
Maverick doesn't back down. "I know you can, but that's not how we handle things. You agreed to that when I hired you."
"That was before I knew Jeremy bruised my sister and is now threatening her. He needs to be dealt with."
"And he will be, but not by killing him. I promise you, justice will be served."
Owen doesn't look like he agrees, but he doesn't argue either. I'm not sure what that means. And now their verbal tennis match seems to have morphed into some kind of silent conversation. More difficult to follow, sure, but no less terrifying.
Eventually, they break eye contact and Maverick looks back at me. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention."
I know a dismissal when I hear one, and that's certainly one.
"It was nice to finally meet you, Owen. I hope the next time is under better circumstances.
" I extend my hand and wait for Owen to take it.
It takes him a few moments, but he finally returns with a firm shake.
With a nod I turn around and head back out the way I came.
I also tell Annalee goodbye before leaving and get a friendly wave in return.
Then I head a couple of doors down and meet the third Baker sibling for the day.