Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
“What are you doing here?” he asks after peering into the car and seeing I’m alone.
Looking around, I note the man sitting in his sedan with its tinted windows across the street. When I turn back to Georgie, his eyebrows are raised.
“They’re about as subtle as a UFO,” he says.
After I glance up and down the street once more, I gesture to go in. “I need to talk to you two.”
His expression grows serious, and we enter the shop where Solana is finishing up with a customer. She falters when she sees me, then smiles at the woman and locks the door behind her once she’s gone.
“Is Mercedes okay?” she asks.
“Mercedes is fine.” I see her as Douglas would for a moment. She’s petite and would be easy to overpower. Georgie very clearly works out. And he has a toughness to him. He isn’t a stranger to the streets. “Can we sit down?”
“Sure. Do you want coffee or something?”
I shake my head. “Mercedes doesn’t know I’m here. I’d like to keep it that way.” We sit at the same table as last time, and I remember that day. The terrible moments of powerlessness as her throat closed up.
“Judge? What the fuck is going on?” Georgie asks.
“The man who delivered those beignets, he thinks he knows Mercedes.”
“What?” Solana asks.
“It was on purpose?” Georgie asks. “Someone hurt her on purpose?”
“You can’t talk to her about this, do you understand? I don’t want her scared.”
“She has a right to know if she’s in danger.”
“She knows enough, and she’s safe at the house. Outside of it, I won’t let her out of my sight. But I’m here because of you.” I look at Solana.
“Me?”
“In an effort to draw Mercedes out, I’m afraid this man may target you.”
“Solana?” Georgie asks.
“I have men at your house now. We’re taking a look around.”
“What? He was at my house?”
“You’re staying with me tonight and for the foreseeable future,” Georgie says.
“I think that’s a good idea,” I tell Georgie.
“But—”
“I’ve increased security. I think it will be good for him to see the guards, so I’m sending more.”
“More guards?” Solana says, and I have to remember she’s not part of our world. She lives in a bubble of perceived safety.
Georgie, though, he just nods. He’s not as carefree as he appears when the three of them are together.
“My house is alarmed,” he says. “She’ll be safe there.”
“I’m not hiding away.”
“You shouldn’t. You should go on with your lives. It’s Mercedes he wants. But I’d rather be on the safe side.”
“Well, that’s a first,” Georgie says.
“What is?”
“I agree with you.”
I smirk at him and turn to her. “Solana, if I can have a key to your house. I’ll make sure the locks are good.”
“What?”
“Here,” Georgie takes a ring of keys out of his pocket. “This is Solana’s. Her locks are shit. I’ve been telling her to change them for years.”
I take the key.
“Who is he?” Solana asks.
“Just someone who thinks he can get something from her.” They see the lie. But when Solana opens her mouth, Georgie puts an arm around her and tugs her close.
“He’s been to my house?” she says again.
“Don’t worry. Judge is right. Creeps like that guy are cowards. I’m sure he said it to get exactly this reaction,” he says, but I know he is only doing it to reassure her, and I give him an infinitesimal nod.
I set two cards on the table. “This is my personal cell phone. You call if you see anything strange or need anything.” I stand. “Not a word to Mercedes. Are we in agreement on that?”
They both nod.
“When can we see her?” Solana asks.
“We’ll see.” My phone rings. It’s Ezra. “Call if you need anything. I will bring you the new keys myself later today.”
“Thank you,” Solana says. “I’m glad she has you to take care of her.”
“I’m glad she has you for friends,” I say before I can think about what I’m saying. They’re as surprised as I am as I walk out the door and take Ezra’s call.
14
Judge
When I get home that evening, Mercedes is dressed in a little black dress that she looks like she was poured into, along with five-inch heels. Her hair is twisted elegantly to one side and rests in thick waves over her shoulder.
For a moment, I'm confused about why she’s dressed the way she is, but then I remember. The cocktail party. Vivien’s birthday. I’d forgotten.
She turns to me. “You’re late.”
“I had some things I needed to take care of.” We had to change the locks on both doors, repair two windows and update the locks on those too. There wasn’t any evidence of a break-in, but it all took much longer than I expected.
“What things?”
“Business.”
“What business?”
“Nothing. I'd better change.”
“Nothing. Of course.” She turns her back on me, her attention on the portrait of my grandparents and my father, and I wonder if she sees the similarities between my grandfather and me.