Rock Chick 07 Regret (62 page)

“Hector,” Detective Marker greeted then his eyes came to me. “Sadie.”

“Detective Marker,” I replied and looked back at my gallery.

My heart sunk at the same time my body sagged despondently into Hector’s side. In response, his arm curled around my neck and tightened.

“Donny Balducci’s a firebug,” Detective Marker remarked, his gaze never leaving the building.

“Yeah,” Hector agreed, his eyes also locked on what was left of Art.

My head tilted back to look at Hector.

His face was stony.

My gaze drifted to Detective Marker.

He looked a weird mixture of angry and resigned. In other words, he had what could only be called a Cop Look.

Then Hector started talking again.

“Jack’s sending the tapes by courier to the Station. We got them on the cameras, Jack saw ‘em break in and called it in. Said he saw Donny with the gasoline either Marty or Ricky with him, he didn’t get a good look at the second guy but he knew it was a Balducci. They made fast work of it. The place was ablaze and they were gone before anyone got here.”

“I hope its Ricky,” Detective Marker replied, fishing his phone out of his suit jacket.

“Yeah,” Hector said. “I’m thinkin’ arson is probably a violation of his bond.”

I was no longer listening. A thin film of red had descended over my eyes and there was a buzzing in my ears.

My sagging body went tight and I put my hand on Hector’s stomach, pulled slightly away and looked up at him.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Hector’s chin dipped and his eyes came to mine.

“Parceling out the bad news,
mamita
,” he said softly. “You can only take so much at once.”

I blinked at him and then took in both Hector and Detective Marker.

“Let me get this straight,” I said, my voice trembling, something strange happening to me.

It was
not
my weird, warm, happy glow (not even fucking
close
).

It was
not
that hot, hard, painful knot in my chest.

It was something else altogether.

When I had both their attention, I kept talking. “First, for weeks, all the fucking Balduccis call me, stop by the gallery only when I’m alone, show up at my apartment day and night, doing crazy shit, saying crazy things and freaking me out. Then Ricky fucking Balducci breaks in, beats me up and rapes me. Then Harvey fucking Balducci assaults me and tries to kidnap me.
Then
Marty fucking Balducci threatens me over the phone and calls me the c-word,
twice
.
Now
, Donny fucking Balducci has burned down my gallery?”

I was shouting, people were looking at me and I didn’t care.

“You have
got
to be
shitting
me!” I yelled.

Hector got in my line of sight.

“
Mamita
, calm down,” he muttered.

I looked up at him and grabbed onto his tee, fisting it in my fingers and giving him a shake (well, trying to, but he didn’t move, just his tee did).

“
You
be calm! I’m pissed right, the fuck,
off!
” I screamed.

“This is gonna end, soon, Sadie, trust me.”

“Yeah, it’s going to end soon. I’m gonna hunt those motherfuckers down and –”

Hector’s hand came over my mouth and I finished my shouted threat so it sounded like, “
Kff
thff
.”

 
Hector shuffled me back, arm still tight around my neck, hand over my mouth until we were away from Detective Marker and everyone.

Then his head came close. “
Mamita
, he knows you’re emotional and don’t mean it. Still, not good to threaten homicide in front of a cop.”

I just glared at him over his hand on my mouth.

“You in control?” he asked.

“No!” I said under his hand but it came out, “
Nff
!”

His body started to shake and I knew he was laughing.

My head prepared to explode.

Now, really, seriously, there was
nothing
fucking funny about
this
.

“This is not fucking funny,” I said under his hand but, again, it came out, “
Thff
if
nf
ffing
ffny
.”

I knew he was about to burst out laughing which would mean I’d have to kill
him
right in front of Detective Marker (or not kill him because I liked him but at least do him some bodily harm) when we heard, “We’re with them.”

Hector and my heads turned to the side and we saw Ralphie and Buddy with YoYo on a leash trying to get by a uniformed officer.

Hector dropped his arms, letting me go and called, “Joe, it’s all right.”

“Joe” looked at Hector, nodded and stepped aside. Ralphie and Buddy forged through, both of them walking slowly, their heads turned to the side staring at Art. YoYo strained at her lead, tongue lolling, bugged out eyes on me and Ralphie let her go. She scampered across the space; I leaned down and picked her up. She decided she needed to bathe my neck and jaw with her tongue so this was what she did, squiggling in my arms, all happy puppy.

“Stop,” Hector suddenly clipped at the pug, YoYo went still immediately and stared at him.

At his tone, so did I.

“She’s just happy to see me,” I explained to Hector.

“Only tongue on your neck is mine,” he returned.

My eyes bugged out as far as
YoYo’s
.

“You’re jealous of a dog?”

“Fuck no,” he answered, staring at me like I had a screw loose. “But I might have a mind to put my mouth on you and I don’t want to do it after a dog.”

Well.

Had to admit, he had a point.

And it was an interesting point.

And the thought of his mouth on me made me forget all about the crazy, mean, fucking, Balduccis.

Ralphie and Buddy made it to us and they gave chin lifts to Hector, (Ralphie’s came with a, “Hey, Double H”) and hugs and cheek kisses to me (Ralphie’s hug was tighter than normal, longer and after, he looked into my eyes until I smiled at him, only then did he move away).

“
Lisette
is gonna freak. She’d been working on that collection for over a year,” Ralphie said, his eyes now on the blackened building and my thoughts went right back to the crazy, mean, fucking Balduccis.

“Hector said it was Donny Balducci,” I informed them and, in unison, they looked at me. “I know. But you aren’t allowed to threaten his life, not in front of the police, or so Hector says.”

“Can I threaten to beat the crap out of him?” Buddy asked.

I looked at Hector to assess his response to this.

He was fighting a grin but he shook his head at me.

“Probably not,” I told Buddy.

“Well!” Ralphie cried (loudly). “Life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. We’re insured against loss of income, this means vacation. This means shopping. This means trips to the spa. This means learning how to make that complicated lemon soufflé.”

“You don’t cook,” Buddy cut in.

“Well, I’m gonna learn,” Ralphie shot back. “And that means Sur La Table, Cherry Creek Mall, after breakfast. Maybe Williams Sonoma. I’m calling the Rock Chicks. I’m thinking Mercury Café.” He turned to me. “You call
Lisette
and after I’m done calling Daisy, I’ll call the insurance people. We eat then we’re shopping for kitchen implements.”

“We don’t need any kitchen implements,” Buddy cut in again.

“One
always
needs kitchen implements,” Ralphie returned.

“No shopping and no breakfast with the Rock Chicks. Unless I can get a man on Sadie, she’s staying at the offices today,” Hector entered the conversation.

“That’s all right, Double H, I’m on the case,” Ralphie assured him.

Hector’s face went a weird mixture of hard and soft and I realized why when he started speaking in a voice that was the same as his face.

“No. I want a trained man on her. Buildings are burning. The Balduccis are
feelin
’ pressure. I want her covered by a professional.”

I stared at Hector, cuddling YoYo closer to the warm, happy glow in my chest because at that point it hit me not a lot of macho,
badasses
would hang out with Ralphie (maybe Buddy but never Ralphie). They wouldn’t watch TV with him. They wouldn’t have dinner with him. They certainly wouldn’t be nice to him when they knew what they said could hurt his feelings.

And that’s when I knew.

Right then and there, watching Hector be careful with Ralphie’s feelings, I knew.

It had happened.

I
was
living the dream.

The dream of a good man who would save me. The dream of a man who would sweep away my bad life and take me to a jumbled bungalow (though Hector’s house wasn’t a bungalow but still) and make me safe. Make me happy. Make me so warm, I’d never feel cold again.

The force of this realization caused me to take a step back as if it was a colossal weight that landed on me and I had to hold it up but couldn’t quite manage it.

Hector, Buddy and Ralphie’s eyes all snapped to me.

“Sadie?” Buddy asked but Hector got close.

“
Mamita?
” His hands came to my neck.

I looked up at him. “I’m okay.”

He scanned my face and his brows drew together.

“You’re
shuttin
’ down,” he said but, immediately, so he wouldn’t think that, I shook my head and got closer, a lot closer, crushing YoYo (who didn’t seem to mind) between us.

I tilted my head back further.

“You don’t get it,” I whispered to him. “I’m okay.”

He stared at me and I went on.

“My gallery is burned beyond recognition. I’m estranged from my father. Crazy men are after me. I had the freak out to end all freak outs in front of friends and most of my clients last night but… I’m okay.”

 
I felt his fingers squeeze my neck as I watched his eyes grow warm and I knew mine were the same.

“Finally!” Ralphie cried, Hector and I lost the moment and turned to look at him. “Told her to enjoy the ride, Double H,
ages
ago. She didn’t listen. Finally, she’s learning to enjoy the fucking ride!”

I shifted and pressed my side against Hector’s front.

His arm curled around my neck.

Then I felt his lips kiss the top of my head.

I mentally pried my hands off the safety bar that was tucked, tight and secure, across my lap and lifted them straight in the air.

* * * * *

“Do you ever file a thing?” Kitty Sue asked Shirleen from her hands and knees on the floor.

Daisy and I were with her, alphabetizing a mountain of paperwork in twenty-six piles across the Nightingale Investigation’s reception area.

“It’s not in my job description,” Shirleen replied from her seat behind the reception desk, currently engaged in the difficult task of painting her nails a frosty grape.

Kitty Sue sat up so she was on her knees, she planted her hands on her hips, twisted to Shirleen and glared.

“You’re the receptionist!”

“Yeah? So?” Shirleen asked, not taking her eyes from her nails.

“Receptionists file,” Kitty Sue retorted.

“Filing people file. Receptionists answer phones and guard the door,” Shirleen returned.

Daisy looked at me and giggled. I pulled my lips between my teeth and tried not to laugh. Kitty Sue didn’t look like she thought anything was funny.

“This is my son’s livelihood,” Kitty Sue said as she got to her feet. “What if he needed something urgently and couldn’t find it?”