Читать книгу About Last Night - Rhonda Leah - Страница 5

Chapter 1

When Tanner Theriot’s phone rang at three AM, the last thing he’d expected was Misty, calling from county jail. Her frantic tone had propelled him out of bed and on the road.

Now, he stepped away from the counter as the sheriff dumped a generic plastic bag holding her personal items. A watch, cellphone and small black satchel landed with a thud.

Misty calmly collected the items one by one. She looked like a vamped-up cat burglar. Her silky dark hair was pulled into a low ponytail, her black leggings and turtleneck rumpled.

Early morning sunlight peeked through the treetops as they exited the police station. She hadn’t spoken one syllable. He held the car door open. “About last night…”

“Look, I don’t want to talk about it.” Misty lowered herself into the passenger seat and pulled the door closed.

The car purred to life, but the heater couldn’t defrost the cold shoulder she gave him. He wanted answers. “Misty, you have to talk about it, especially if you’re not planning to tell your brother.”

She glared at him. “I am not telling Jake.”

“Tell me what happened or I’ll tell Jake his little sister called me in the middle of the night to bail her ass out of jail.”

“That’d go over great.” She turned away, stared out the window.

“I thought you and Josh broke up a long time ago?”

“We did.”

“Care to tell me why you were arrested for breaking into his apartment?”

“I knew he was out of town. He had something of mine. How was I supposed to know he changed the alarm code?” She shrugged.

“What was so important you’d risk getting arrested?”

“Something he took and refused to return.”

“What was so damned important?”

“My locket.” She reached for the door handle.

Tanner grabbed her arm. Tears welled in her eyes. “The locket…”

“Yes, the insignificant locket you gave me for my twenty-first birthday.”

Misty jerked her arm out of his grip and made an ordeal of buckling her seatbelt. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “Can we just leave?”

As the miles rolled by, Misty’s head gently rocked against the headrest. He thought about what she’d said. She still had the locket, or at least Josh the loser did. He’d seen her wear it at McNeil family gatherings but never thought it meant anything to her. It had been a peace offering of sorts, not that he’d ever told her. He felt as if he owed her something after one insanely hot night they’d spent together. He wanted to talk to her. But then she showed up at her birthday party with a lanky grad student wrapped around her. He changed his mind about talking. Ancient history.

An hour later he pulled off Frontage Road and rolled to a stop in front of the dreary two-story where she rented an apartment. She was home, and tomorrow he’d see what he could do about the mess she’d landed in.

“Misty, wake up.” Nothing. She didn’t budge.

“Misty,” he said, louder this time. Tanner walked around the car and opened the door. Her legs fell, causing her to stir.

“Misty, you’re home.”

She lifted her head and when her deep blue eyes met his, a longing jolted through him. Whoa. “Tanner?” she whispered. “Where are we?”

“You’re home, my little jailbird.”

She groaned and pushed herself upright and out of the car. “Look, I…”

“I know. Don’t tell Jake. Got it.”

“I, uh. Yeah, don’t tell Jake.” She started up the steps.

“You know I’d do anything I can for you?”

“Of course,” she said, fumbling in the black sack.

“I’ll see about the charges tomorrow.”

“Don’t bother. I didn’t even accomplish what I went there for.”

“So what?” he barked. “You planning another break-in?” Ridiculous. His pants were getting too tight watching Misty fiddle in the damned sack. Her rumpled cat burglar look set him on fire. He needed to put some fear in her and get the hell away. Lack of sleep equaled insane ideas.

“Of course not.” She rolled her eyes upward. Damn, even that turned him on.

“Just checking. You know those are serious charges?”

“Yes. I know. My brother’s a cop.” Her mouth curled in a half-hearted smile.

“I’d better get out of here. You have your keys?”

She nodded, unlocking the door. He started around the car.

“Tanner.”

He stopped, turned. Not a good idea. She looked like something from his fantasies. He needed a date. Hell, he needed a life. Lusting after Misty McNeil was not an option. “Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“Not a problem, sweetheart. You know I’ve always thought of you as a kid sister.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said, and slammed the door.

* * * *

It was noon before Tanner dropped into his Italian leather chair, one of the indulgences he enjoyed since moving into his new offices. His desk calendar showed two days ago. He reached over and pulled off the top couple of sheets, smiling at the goofy comic calendar that was his daily jolt of happiness. Misty kept him stocked with a new silly calendar each Christmas.

Misty. He’d spent the past couple of days digging her ass out of trouble. After leaving her at her apartment, he’d driven home and clocked a couple of hour’s sleep before heading back to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to try and fix things.

By chance he knew the owner of the apartment complex his jailbird had been breaking into. Good thing the guy owed him a favor. It had made retrieving the locket much simpler. Then he’d convinced the complex owner and the sheriff to drop the charges. Since Josh was unable to be reached for notification, and nothing was missing or broken, he’d been assured Josh would never be the wiser.

The intercom buzzed. “Mr. Theriot, line one.”

“Who is it, April?”

“Mr. McNeil.”

Tanner stiffened. He’d been avoiding Jake for the past couple of days. He’d wanted to make sure he was able to clear Misty before he talked to her brother. He grabbed the handset and put it to his ear. “Theriot speaking.”

“Hmph, you sound important, young man.”

He blew out a breath. The senior Mr. McNeil. One day April would learn the importance of actually identifying the caller. “You think?”

“Doesn’t matter what I think. It’s what the customer thinks that’s important, son.”

“Yes, sir, I guess it is.” Mr. McNeil was a great businessman and an inspiration to him over the years.

“Damn straight. Now, I’m calling because that son of mine has a birthday coming up.”

“What can I do?”

“Find him a house,” Mr. McNeil stated.

“A house? I’m… hmm, I don’t really do that, Mr. McNeil.”

“Tanner, my boy, I know you don’t mess around in residential properties, but I need your help. Since it’s for Jake, I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

“It’s not that I mind. I’d be happy to help, but I’m surprised Jake wants a house. He hasn’t mentioned it to me.”

“I didn’t say he wants a house. I said I’m buying him one for his birthday.”

He settled in his chair and propped his feet on his desk. This was interesting. Jake lived in the same two-bedroom apartment they had shared upon returning to Slidell from college years ago. While Tanner had long ago moved up and out, Jake remained right where he was. Jake could have moved on by now. He’d been with the Slidell Police Department a long time and had progressed through the ranks. But he seemed content.

“Well, that’s quite a gift, Mr. McNeil. Don’t you think Jake would want some say in picking out a house?”

“I’ve tried to talk him into moving a dozen times. He’s over thirty. About damn time he took some responsibility.”

“Mr. Mac, I think Jake shows a lot of responsibility.”

“That’s not exactly what I mean. He needs a house. Hell, he needs a wife and kids too.” Mr. McNeil chuckled. “Well, at least that’s my opinion.”

The statement made him sit up. He and Jake were both over thirty, but he had to admit he’d never given a wife and kids much thought himself. Not lately.

“Mr. Mac, I’ll do whatever I can to help, but I doubt Jake’s ready for that kind of responsibility.” He chuckled, but it seemed hollow to his own ears.

“You boys are not going to be young forever. You need to start thinking about settling down too, young man.”

“I’m much too busy,” he said quickly. “Now, what exactly are you thinking of for Jake?”

Mr. Mac gave him a hefty price range and a few of his specifics for the house. When he mentioned a big yard, the idea lightened his mood and made him laugh out loud. Jake hated cutting grass when they were teenagers, used to bribe him into doing it for him. He was sure Jake didn’t like yard work any better these days.

“And because I am paying for this house, Tanner, I want it to be something Jake can raise a family in, even if it takes him another ten years to settle down.”

“I understand. A family house. I’ll see what I can come up with and give you a call so we can go check out a few properties next week.”

“You don’t understand. I am not house hunting. Call Misty. She’ll know what a woman would want in a house.” Mr. Mac paused. “I’ve seen that bachelor pad of yours and know you don’t have a clue. You’ll need the help of a woman. And not a word to Jake. It’s a surprise.”

They said their goodbyes, and he pushed away from his desk. House hunting with Misty sounded intriguing. He grabbed his gym bag. A workout would help him concentrate on work. Not the woman who’d been invading his dreams for the past couple of nights.