Doing It Over
Page 74

“I paid you to check in, check out.”
Liar! The man knew his priors, knew his propensity for the company of little girls. The part about being a smart criminal . . . is the intelligence part. The man paying the bills might have the money to pay him, but he had the intelligence of an ex-con on skid row. “Have you ever played chess?”
“What the hell are you asking?”
“Chess . . . you know, the king, the queen . . . all those pesky minions?”
“I know the fucking game, what’s your point?”
He paused, thought of the moment his hand touched Hope’s shoulder. Thought of the moment he didn’t give in to his need. “Your minion put you in check. Her trip down the bloody hill put you in check. My fee triples daily until I see it.”
“I need time to think.”
“You might consider doing that promptly.”
“Fuck you.”
He wasn’t fazed. “No, thank you . . . I prefer . . . well, you know what I prefer.”
“You’re sick.”
“Recovering, actually. I’m starting to think picking on someone my size is a more respectable occupation. Triple, mate. You have my account information.”
“You son of a bit—”
He didn’t give the man time to finish before hanging up.
Jo called an emergency meeting the day after American Fugitive aired. They met at the inn, to avoid anyone strange being around Hope. Melanie had tucked Hope into her room with her TV and a DVD of a cartoon.
“The phone is ringing off the hook.” Even though the number on the program suggested people call the Feds, many of them went straight for River Bend, and Jo had been inundated with tips and threats. “I was told to expect it, but this is out of control.”
“Anything worth pursuing?” Melanie couldn’t help but think they’d find out something within a few days of the airing of the television show.
“There isn’t one lead we’re not following up on.” Jo had let the ass go one time too many. She wasn’t about to let him slip through her fingers again.
“So why did you call us all together?” Luke asked.
Luke and his father, Wyatt, Melanie, and Miss Gina all sat around the sitting room in rapt attention. “I’m going to be busy with Agent Burton for however long it takes to exhaust this search. I have Emery running patrols.”
“You’re going to have to sleep sometime, Jo,” Melanie told her.
“I can sleep when I’m dead.” Jo leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. “I brought you together because I need your help.”
“What kind of help?”
Jo stared at Melanie for a moment, then tilted her head. A pit formed in the bottom of Melanie’s stomach. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
Jo offered one curt shake of her head. “A handful of threats, Mel.”
Wyatt tensed beside her.
“I think they’re all a bunch of crap. I really do, but we have to take them seriously.”
“What kind of threats?” Miss Gina asked.
Jo pinched her lips together, and when she opened them, Melanie knew she didn’t tell the entire truth. “Someone called, said he was Mr. Lewis, and he was coming back to fix things.”
“Fix things?” Mr. Miller asked.
“Finish things . . .” Jo corrected herself.
“A woman called, said her son was Mr. Lewis, and none of us know what really happened. That she wouldn’t see her son in jail again.”
“Sounds like a statement, not a threat.” Wyatt reached over and held Melanie’s hand as he spoke.
“What she said next was definitely a threat.”
Melanie released a long breath. “And what was that, Jo?”
She shook her head, nudged closer to the edge of her seat. “Doesn’t matter. You just need to know there have been a few of these types of calls and I want to take some precautions.”
“And that’s where we come in?” Luke asked.
“Yeah. I need an extra set of hands here at the inn. Not that I think Melanie and Miss Gina can’t handle themselves, but more help if something does go down is better.”
Melanie wasn’t so far up her ass, thinking I’m a woman, I can do fine without a man, that she didn’t see the wisdom in what Jo suggested. “A deterrent, if nothing else,” she said under her breath.
“Exactly. I was hoping between the three of you, you can work out a schedule.”
“I can put my side jobs on hold,” Wyatt said.
Melanie squeezed his hand. “You’ll have to work eventually.”
“She’s right, bud. I can bring some of my work here, so long as Miss Gina doesn’t mind a little oil in the gravel.”
Miss Gina pointed a finger at Luke. “Long as you clean it up.”
“Might not be a bad idea to park the tow truck in the drive. Make people believe you have a full house,” Mr. Miller added.
“Perfect. Another thing, Mel . . . I need you and Hope to have company when you’re driving into town.”
“You’re really worried,” Mel said.
“No, I’m being safe.”
“So Wyatt and I will tag team it during the day, Dad, you can keep the shop going, and if I need you to bring me parts . . .”
“I’ll bring you parts.” Mr. Miller winked.
“And I’ll set up in one of your rooms,” Wyatt rounded out the plan.
Melanie offered a sly smile and Jo chuckled.
“However you guys make it work,” Jo said.