Mitch gave me a half-smile and then noted, “You know, that doesn’t mean shit to me.”
“What I’m saying is, we never sell a lot of Spring Deluxe so that’s a huge fuck up. Even on sale, they’re hard to move. The others, on sale, they’re awesome bargains and affordable for a lot of people. So if you’re going to over-order something, it would never be the Spring Deluxe.” Mitch stared at me and I finished on a mutter, “Just trust me. You know mattresses, you know what I’m talking about.”
“Right, baby, how ‘bout I just trust you. I’ll also look into this Otis Pierson. I’ll also be sendin’ someone in to have a closer look at him and keep an eye on him. And I’ll also be makin’ certain my woman does not get within ten feet of him. You have reason to go to the warehouse?”
I shook my head.
Mitch nodded his once. “Good. Don’t change that. He gets near you, you get away from him. You are never around him in a place that’s not public and that includes the break room. You see him in the parking lot, you get in the car, lock the doors, get your car in motion and call me as soon as you can. I’ll talk to Bill.”
Oh great.
That wasn’t going to work and Mitch knew it. We knew this because Mitch already tried it after Billie had her bad night. Bill didn’t give up anything.
Still, I reminded him of this fact.
“I’m not sure that’s going to work, honey.”
“It doesn’t then Slim will talk to him. He doesn’t talk to Slim, Eddie’ll talk to him. Eddie doesn’t work, Hank will. Hank doesn’t work, I’ll call Tack.”
I blinked at a name I didn’t know.
Then I asked, “Tack?”
He nodded. “Tack, that’s his club name. He was born Kane Allen. He’s the president of the Chaos Motorcycle Club and I know he’s got a boy in lockdown right now. Tack gets a word to his boy, his boy corners Bill in lockdown, I get the info I need.”
I stared at him.
Then I whispered, “You know the president of a biker gang?”
His arms gave me a squeeze. “Baby, I’m a cop. I know a lotta people and a lot of the lotta people I know aren’t one hundred percent solid citizens.”
“Um…” I started hesitantly, “does this president of a biker gang perhaps owe you a favor?”
“No,” Mitch answered which meant if he did this, he’d owe the president of a biker gang a favor.
“Is that a good idea?” I asked quietly.
“No, owin’ Tack is not good. But I also got a woman and two kids who sleep on three almost brand new Spring Deluxes. Since she got them delivered, my ass, most nights, has been in her bed and the kids have been off school so my Mom’s been here watchin’ ‘em if you and me aren’t. The windows for another break-in have been rare and he probably knows your boyfriend is a cop so if he’s lookin’ for a chance, he’s probably bein’ cautious. I can’t know if he’s found what he was lookin’ for and I’m not takin’ any chances. Even if he has, I wanna know why he destroyed everything you owned, how he’s connected to your cousin and I want to ascertain you, Bud and Billie are under no threat. And I’ll do what I gotta do to ascertain that. Even owe a favor to the president of a biker gang.”
Well, one could say he had a point there.
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Okay,” Mitch replied.
“I have to say,” I started to inform him, “this has kind of freaked and bummed me out and put me off a night of cosmos and women I don’t know giving me the third degree to make sure I’m good enough for you.”
Mitch smiled.
Then his arms got tight around me and he returned, “And I have to say pretty much nothing puts me off a night that’s gonna end with you drunk on cosmos and still in that dress and those shoes considering the sex was seriously fuckin’ hot when you weren’t drunk so I’m lookin’ forward to how much hotter it could get when you are.”
Suddenly, I was back in the mood for a night of cosmos and women I didn’t know giving me the third degree to make sure I was good enough for Mitch.
“Right,” I said firmly, “off we go. Time for me to commence Operation Drunk Sex Later.”
Mitch burst out laughing.
I smiled as he did it.
When he was done, still grinning, he assured me, “I’m gonna make it okay.”
And, still smiling, I assured him instantly, “I know.”
He stopped grinning and I knew he liked that I trusted him, just how deeply and just how immediately, when he whispered, “Fuck, Mara, I love you.”
I didn’t stop smiling when I whispered back, “I know.”
But whispering that made Mitch grin again.
Then he kissed me.
Then he let me go, moved through the house to turn out the lights as I moved to the door and waited for him.
Then he took me to Club where I commenced Operation Drunk Sex Later but only after he walked me in, greeted the already at least one sheet to the wind girl gang and laid a hot, wet, heavy one on me.
I sat down, got introduced, ordered my cosmo and heard the gorgeous, blonde Gwen say to the equally gorgeous, African-American Camille, “Sex hair. Mitch got the business before going to work. She’ll do.”
Third degree over.
I passed.
It was time to get drunk.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chestnut
I was three sips away from the end of cosmo number four. Kenny had already picked up Roberta. A handsome black man introduced as Leo had picked up Cam and Tracy. Brock had come to get Tess. Mitch had texted that things were going to go later than he expected so I should catch a ride with Hawk, he would get home as soon as he could and I was not to take off my dress or shoes (it was a long text and a bossy one, a sexy bossy one). And Elvira, Gwen, LaTanya and I were waiting for Hawk to show to take us home.
I was also giggling myself sick, the kind of giggles that are silent but your whole body shakes and your stomach muscles hurt. Although I was giggling myself sick, I didn’t exactly know why. And I didn’t know why because Gwen was relating the story of the aftermath of her man Cabe “Hawk” Delgado getting kidnapped and her story was kind of scary. If that happened to Mitch, I would be beside myself.
But the way she was telling it was hysterical. Because Hawk got kidnapped, he pretty much rescued himself then, after they were reunited and everything was okay, he lectured Gwen on how to be a commando’s woman. And although his rules were as scary as the story, I couldn’t help it, they were also scary funny.
“Then,” Gwen kept going, wiping under her eye, “he said, ‘Confirm you get me, babe.’”
Elvira, LaTanya and I burst into gales of laughter. Why? Again, I didn’t know. Possibly because I was three sips away from the end of cosmo number four and therefore significantly beyond tipsy.
Then Gwen affected a super-deep man’s voice and said, “Confirm…you…get…me.”
Hearing her talk like that, the hilarity was too much. I found I couldn’t hold my head up anymore so it crashed down onto my hand on the table and I left it there as my shoulders shook with my laughter.
I was close to pulling myself together when I heard an immensely attractive, deep man’s voice say, “Jesus, babe. How drunk are you?”
My torso shot to straight, my head tipped back and my mouth dropped right open.
Holy cow.
“Hey, baby,” Gwen said to the tall, built, gorgeous man looming over our table but I couldn’t tear my eyes from him and he was just so…damn…hot. I didn’t have it in me even to close my mouth.