“What else do you know about Tony?’’
“He’s older than he looks, about five years younger than Dino, I think. A little shorter, but you can see the family resemblance easily. From what I remember, he was always trying to impress Dino, always trying to be a big-shot Benedetto. Made me sick. Who knows? Maybe he feels he has to take over where Dino left off.’’
“Hmm. That could be.” Which meant things could go either way. If Tony was just a wannabe, perhaps he could be scared straight. But if he felt a sense of power now that Dino was dead, he would be a formidable threat to deal with.
“I guess that’s all,” Sheldon said. “Thanks, Maria. I appreciate your help.’’
“Hey, no problem. Let me know if you need me to talk to the cops.’’
“Will do.’’
Hopefully, the police wouldn’t need to talk to her again—she’d been through enough already. But Sheldon was happy to know he had Maria on his side.
When Tyanna walked into the gym, Shirley instantly beamed at her from the reception desk. “Hey there, stranger,” she said.
Tyanna wasn’t in the mood to chat, but it wouldn’t be fair to take that out on Shirley. “Hi, Shirley.’’
“How was your day off?’’
“Good, actually,” Tyanna replied truthfully. “I went down to Key West. It was a nice change of pace.’’
“Key West.” Shirley rested her chin on both palms. “My favorite spot.’’
“I’ll bet.” No doubt Shirley went down to Key West for all the popular events. Including Fantasy Fest over Halloween, which was an outrageous show of costumes made of as little material as possible. Wherever there was a party, you could find Shirley.
“Any messages for me?” Tyanna asked.
“Not that I know of.’’
“All right.” Tyanna turned to head off.
“Yo, wait a second,” Shirley said, stopping Tyanna in her tracks. “There’s something I want to show you.’’
“What?”
“Something I saw in the paper yesterday.”
“
You
read the paper?” Tyanna joked. At least she was starting to feel better. “I didn’t think you had any interest in anything other than fashion magazines. And men.’’
“Shut up.” Shirley cut her eyes at her as she reached for a rolled-up newspaper beneath the counter. She unrolled the paper, then opened it to the second page. “Here,” she said, lying the paper on the counter in front of Tyanna. She pointed to the photo. “Isn’t this that hottie you’re always hanging with here?’’
Tyanna’s eyes went to the article. A large color picture was immediately beneath the headline:
NORTH MIAMI HOME BURNS TO THE GROUND
.
Her heart spasmed as her eyes focused on the picture. A crowd of onlookers stood to one side outside the burning house, but it was one figure in particular that caught her eye. One person the photograph seemed to focus on.
Sheldon.
He looked distraught as he watched flames lick at the home he shared with his mother.
Tyanna knew the house well, even though it was barely recognizable in the photo.
“Isn’t that him?’’
Shirley’s voice drew Tyanna from the horror of
the moment. “Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Yes, that looks like him.’’
“Holy…I thought so.” Shirley shook her head. “What a sad story. He and his mother lost everything.”
“When?” Tyanna managed the hoarse word out of a throat clogged with emotion.
“This is yesterday’s paper,” Shirley said. “You must have been out of town when it happened. They featured this on the news.’’
“Can I take this?” Tyanna was already closing the paper.
“Yeah. I saved it for you.’’
“Thanks.” Tyanna scooped up the paper and practically sprinted to her office. There, she opened up the newspaper once more and spread it on her desk.
So this was what Sheldon was dealing with. Tyanna couldn’t stop her heart from aching. And she couldn’t help feeling guilty for the way she had gotten angry with him on the phone hours earlier.
Lord have mercy. Was his mother okay? How were they holding up? Who was looking after them?
Why hadn’t he told her?
Did he think she couldn’t be compassionate enough, or did he think this was too much for her to deal with? No, for him to have pushed her away, there had to be more to this devastating story.
Even as Tyanna scanned the article and read that arson was suspected, she already knew that had to be the case. And she didn’t have to wonder who was behind this vicious attack on Sheldon: one of Dino’s friends. Maybe the very person who had pulled the trigger and ended Dwight’s life.
She released a shaky breath. Knowing that people this evil actually existed in the world caused a chill to snake down her spine. At least the article hadn’t reported any casualties. Apparently, Sheldon and his mother hadn’t been home at the time. That was a blessing.
Tyanna sat back in her chair, her mind racing. The fire must have happened after Sheldon left her place that last morning. Which would explain his phone call to her hours later, encouraging her to head to Los Angeles to “pursue her dream.’’
Sheldon had to be out of his mind with worry. But what was he going to do? The article said there were no suspects—yet.
Tyanna wanted to talk to Sheldon, to know how he was coping, where he was staying. But he didn’t have a cell phone, and because she’d hung up on him, she didn’t have a way to reach him.
Damn.
As much as she hated some of his decisions, she knew why he hadn’t told her. Once again, he was trying to protect her.
She was a silly fool, but her heart actually melted at the thought. A small smile crept onto her face. One minute, she was yelling at him for not having included her in what was going on. The next, she was appreciating his testosterone-driven gesture.
It was hard to stay mad at him—at least right now, under these circumstances. In the way that she understood everything about Sheldon, Tyanna understood the guilt he felt over losing his brother, and that he must feel even worse, now that the threat to his life had come right to his home. He was no doubt beating himself up over the fact that his mother lost everything—almost including her life. Not to mention the fact that Tyanna herself had been attacked outside the gym.
In Sheldon’s masculine way, he probably felt this was too much for her to handle and wouldn’t fill her in until it was resolved.
But Sheldon, after all this time, didn’t understand her. At least not fully. Because if he did, he would know that she wasn’t the type of woman to sit idly by and wait for a man to take care of things.
Besides, she was already involved. These jerks knew where she worked, and if they had burned down his house in order to get to him, what might they do to her?
“It’s your own fault,” she mumbled. None of this would be happening if she hadn’t gone to see
Leona in the first place. She had to take her share of the blame. And blame or no blame, she wasn’t going to sit around, waiting to find out what they would do next.
Perhaps she was wrong about Sheldon. Maybe he understood her all too well.
Wendy sensed Phil before she saw him. And when she turned and saw that she was right—that he was there beside her—her heart went berserk.
He flashed her a soft smile. The memory of their last time together soured Wendy’s excitement, and she quickly looked away.
“Hey,” he said, his deep voice washing over her.
Wendy swallowed uncomfortably. To her client, she said, “That was a great session, Lynn. You can hang out and do some more cardio if you want, or you can head to the showers. Regardless, I’ll see you next Monday.’’
“Thanks.”
Wendy smiled and gave Lynn an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder. Then, reluctantly, she turned back to Phil. “How can I help you, Phil?’’
“Wow.” His eyes bulged. “That’s not a very friendly greeting.”
“Sorry. I’m a little preoccupied.” Not half an hour ago, she had spoken with Tyanna about what was going on with Sheldon, and had learned that Tyanna was heading to her old workplace to put the fear of God in Leona. “And I’m surprised to see you here.” She fought a frown. “Did you come by to tell me what a fool I made of myself the last time you saw me?’’
“No.” He sounded truthful. “Why would you think that?’’
Wendy waved off the question. “It must be something pressing for you to come by my workplace.”
“Where have you been?” Phil asked. “You just disappeared.”
Wendy chuckled mirthlessly. “You were trying to reach me?’’
“Actually, I was.’’
Wendy started walking to the path at the side of the gym floor, and Phil did the same. “Oh, you wanted to give me the complete video footage, right?’’
“Well, I did want to talk to you about the video, but that’s not why I was trying to reach you.’’
Wendy paused, giving him a curious look. For the first time, she noticed the concern in his eyes. “You were…You were actually worried about me?’’
“Yeah, I was worried. I called your place a few times. The gym. I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
Goodness, he was actually telling the truth. “If
you weren’t trying to reach me about the video, then why were you calling?’’
Phil looked around, then back at her. “Maybe we can talk in private?’’
Wendy felt a fluttering in her stomach. What was going on? But she managed a cool, “Sure. Let’s head outside.’’
Several seconds later, they were standing near the front sidewalk. The sky was overcast, promising rain.
Wendy looked up at Phil, waiting for him to talk. He blew out a breath, then said, “I think…I think I gave you the wrong impression the last time we were together.”
God, not this. Wendy’s stomach plunged to her feet. “Phil, this really isn’t necessary.”
“Yes, it is. And I’m pretty sure I hurt you.’’
Wendy covered her face. She didn’t want to talk about this.
“But not in the way you obviously think.’’
She lowered her hands and met his eyes. “However I’m feeling, it isn’t your fault. I’m only sorry I let things get as far as they did, and I hope to God I didn’t offend you.’’
Phil shook his head. “You haven’t offended me.’’
“Phil, you don’t have to spare my feelings. I know that’s what you’ve been doing—’’
“You think so?” he asked, cutting her off.
“I really just want to forget—’’
Gripping her shoulders in his hands, he drew her to him and silenced her with a kiss. It was so
unexpected that Wendy’s back went ramrod straight.
Moments later, Phil pulled away. Before he could speak, Wendy did. “What was that?’’
“Long overdue.” Confusion passed over his face. “Either that or a mistake.’’
Wendy simply stared at him. “I don’t…I don’t get it.’’
“The way you’ve been acting around me recently…I kinda thought…I guess I assumed…” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Look, I’m sorry.’’
“For God’s sake, don’t apologize.” He’d finally kissed her, really kissed her, and Wendy wanted to know why. “I’m just trying to figure out why you…kissed me.” And oh, she wished she’d kissed him back, not reacted like a deer caught in the headlights. “Because you sure as hell haven’t been interested in any of
my
advances.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I
was
interested.
Am
interested. But I made myself hold back.’’
Wendy continued to stare at him, her eyes narrow slits. “Made yourself? It certainly didn’t seem like you were having a tough time of it.’’
Phil’s eyes flashed disbelief. “Do you actually think you’re easy to resist?’’
“You made it seem easy.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Someone even suggested you might be gay.’’
Phil threw his head back and laughed at that. “Oh, come on. You know me better than that.’’
“I didn’t know what to think. Except that one way or another, you weren’t interested.”
Phil reached for her face and gently cupped her cheek. It was now drizzling, but Wendy didn’t care. With Phil touching her, she felt warm all over.
“You know how hard a time I had with Laura. And what I regretted most about that was the fact that our relationship had started off as a great friendship, but I lost that friendship once we crossed the line to being lovers.” He trailed a finger over her mouth. “I let that regret come between what I was starting to feel for you. I forced myself to put aside any thoughts that you and I could have a relationship. When you were near me…it was torture not touching you. I could barely look at you, I wanted you so badly. Then you’d hug me, and I’d want to let go of all my reservations. If you only knew how many cold showers I took after spending time with you.’’
Wendy finally laughed. “Really?”
“Really.”
Sighing happily, she angled her face into Phil’s hand. She kissed the palm.
“When I look at you, I see so many different qualities than what I saw in Laura. Better qualities.”
“Laura was quite a number.’’
“I know. You called it, but I couldn’t see it. And when I look back, I can see how selfish she was. But I didn’t at the time. I know you’re not anything like her.’’
Phil trailed his fingers down her neck, and Wendy closed her eyes, savoring the glorious touch.
“After you left my place I felt really bad. I knew I’d been giving you mixed messages. The look of hurt and embarrassment in your eyes made me do a lot of thinking. And…and I guess I’m kind of thinking that if we got involved and it didn’t work out, that wouldn’t mean we’d lose the friendship. Not if we were both mature enough.’’
Wendy stepped toward him, slipping her arms around his neck. This was where she wanted to be for the rest of her life.
She looked into his eyes. “Worst-case scenario? I agree. I wouldn’t want to lose the friendship, either. And I’m with you—I think we’re mature enough that we wouldn’t let that happen.” Wendy pressed her body closer against his. “But that’s not something we have to worry about today…is it?’’
Phil slowly shook his head. A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “No. Today, I think we should worry about making up for lost time. How’s that for a plan?’’
“Sounds good to me,” Wendy replied, standing up on her tiptoe. But before he kissed her again, she giggled and said, “Wait.’’
Phil’s eyes narrowed. “What?’’
“You said you wanted to talk to me about the video.’’
“Oh, that’s right.’’
“Well?”
“Have you sent it to Ronnie Vaughn yet?’’
“Not yet.’’
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Well, I was thinking…maybe you shouldn’t send it to him.’’
Wendy’s eyes narrowed. “Come again?’’
“I’m a producer, with a legitimate production company. I’ve got a bit of experience in the areas of marketing and distribution. So I was thinking…Maybe I could market the video, under your
own
label—yours and Tyanna’s—which, ultimately, will give you both more control. It might be harder to get the project off the ground, but nothing worth having is ever easy.’’
Wendy smirked at him. “Ain’t that the truth.’’
“So, you’ll consider it?’’
“Absolutely. I think it’s a great idea.” She paused. “Now, where were we?’’
Phil’s eyes danced with his evident emotions for her, warming Wendy’s heart. Then he lowered his mouth to meet hers, and this time Wendy wasn’t stiff at all. She practically melted in his arms, finally knowing that Phil indeed was as attracted to her as she was to him.
Leona’s eyes grew wide with alarm when she saw Tyanna walk up to the juice bar. She tried to mask her surprise with a smile, but failed miserably.
“Tyanna. H—hi.’’
“You can spare the pleasantries, Leona.’’
Leona flashed her a shocked look. “Excuse me?’’
“I know what you’ve been up to. Ever since I came to see you weeks ago, my life has been filled with more drama than I care for. You know exactly what I’m talking about, so I won’t spell out the details.’’
Leona glanced nervously at the handful of patrons at the juice bar. She forced a chuckle. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.’’
“Really? So you have no idea who attacked me where I work—not too long after I talked to you about Sheldon. You have no idea who burned my boyfriend’s house to the ground just days ago? And let me guess, you have no idea who put two bullets in the back of his brother’s head?’’
A startled gasp erupted from the patrons. Leona narrowed her eyes at Tyanna in warning. “You should watch what you say, what you accuse people of—’’
“Are you going to deny knowledge of what I’ve said?’’
“Will you…” Leona unclenched her teeth. “Just wait a second. I’ll come around and talk to you.’’
The man Tyanna had seen behind the juice bar the last time strolled in from the back office. Arms crossed over his chest, he eyed her with the coldest expression she had ever seen.
Yet she didn’t flinch.
“You don’t scare me,” she told the man as Leona came around the end of the bar toward her. “But you should be afraid. The police know about you.” Her gaze wandered between Leona to Cold Eyes. “Who knows? Maybe you got sloppy and left some clue at the scene of the fire.” She gave a confident smile. “People like you always get what you deserve one day.’’
Leona’s eyes made a frantic movement between the man and Tyanna. “You—you’re way off base.’’
“Am I? We’ll see about that, won’t we?’’
“Why don’t we go somewhere to talk? Somewhere private.’’
“With you? I don’t think so. Just remember what I said. You’ve screwed with me and Sheldon for the last time.’’
Then, her heart pounding, Tyanna turned and marched out of the gym. She hoped to hell that her bluff worked. And if her bluff failed, then she hoped that the fact there had been an audience would deter Leona and Cold Eyes from doing more to hurt her or Sheldon.
It was raining softly outside, and Tyanna kept up a steady pace to her car. She’d had to park out of the way, around the far corner of the building, the only place she had found a spot. On her way, she whispered a silent prayer that this would be the last time she or Sheldon ever had to deal with anyone associated with Dino.
She was at her car door when she felt the blind
ing blow. Then her knees gave way and her world turned to darkness.
Sheldon’s uneasy feeling started around noon and got increasingly more intense. He wasn’t sure exactly what bothered him, only that something felt wrong.
Of course, it could be the unsettling conversation he’d had with Tyanna the day before. He couldn’t get it out of his mind, and it left him wondering if he’d lost her forever. Or it could be the frustrating “We’ll let our know if we find any hard evidence” comment he’d received from the detective at the police station when he’d gone in to talk about the threats to his life. Sure, the detective had started a file, but Sheldon doubted he’d do anything other than sit on it before there was “hard evidence.”
If he ever made it onto the force, he swore he would show more compassion than Detective Martin had.
Sheldon drove around, aimless, not sure what he should do. He knew what his heart wanted—what his mother wanted. And after about half an hour of going back and forth over the issue, he finally made a decision.
Tyanna wouldn’t like him showing up at the gym, but he had to make sure she was okay. As he was heading northbound on his I-don’t-know-where-the-heck-I’m-going drive, Sheldon took the first exit, then whipped around to head south on I-95 toward Jaguar Fitness.
The rain had picked up substantially since the time of Sheldon’s last visit to the police station, and already parts of the highway were pooling with water. Not exactly the best day to go for a leisurely drive, especially one that put him farther from the place he needed to be right now.
“Damn you, Ford. You’re always making the wrong decisions.”
There was nothing he could do but drive at a safe speed to the gym. Because of the weather and where he had started from, it took Sheldon another thirty-five minutes to arrive at Jaguar Fitness.
Shirley greeted him with a huge smile the moment he walked in the door. “Hey, stranger.”
“Hi.” Sheldon surveyed the gym floor.
“I read about the fire! My God, what a horrible thing for you to go through.’’
His eyes jerked to Shirley’s. “You read about it?’’
She frowned softly. “You and Tyanna. Yes, I read about it. Do I really look like the type to not care about the news?’’
“Tyanna?” he asked, ignoring everything else Shirley had said.
“Yeah, she made some sarcastic remark when I showed her the article. As if all I read are fashion magazines. Which is so untrue.’’
“You showed her the article about the fire?’’
Shirley shook her head at him. “I’m not talking about
Cosmo
’s hot dating tips. Of course the article about the fire.’’
That weird feeling, the one that said something was wrong, hit him stronger than ever. Again, he surveyed the gym floor. “Where is Tyanna?’’
“Beats me. She stopped by earlier to see Wendy, then said she was going to head to her old gym. But that was at least a few hours ago.’’
Sheldon’s head started to swim. “Her old gym?’’
“That’s what she said. But I expected her back here by now.’’
Her old gym. Shit!
Sheldon spun around on his heel and ran through the door.