Page 28 of Hart of Darkness
“What’s up, boss?” Rafe asked.
“Nadine took off.”
“Norma told me. Actually, I’ve been driving around the neighborhoods, looking for her. That’s why I’m not back yet.”
“I’ll call Maggie. She might have some intel from her cop friend. Or maybe Nadine contacted Maggie.”
When Rafe and I hung up, Norma grasped my hand. “Be careful. I mean with your heart. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Where did that come from?” I felt as if I’d been hit from behind and had gotten whiplash.
She stood then set her coffee cup in the sink. “Your voice hitched when you said Maggie’s name. Seems to me that you’ve had a thing for her since you were a kid.” She wiped her hands on a dish towel. “I’ve got work to do.”
When she passed me, I latched on to her arm. “Thank you for being a big sister.”
She rested a hand on my scruffy face. “I would do anything for you, even beat anyone who had the nerve to break your heart.” She kissed me on the cheek. “Now go release some steam. I don’t want you to get an ulcer before you’re thirty.”
I already felt older than my twenty-six years.
“Kelton Maxwell is supposed to stop by, and I called the Guardian. They’re sending Hunt Thompson over. He’ll be working with us for a while. Oh, and you should have Hunt’s contract in your email.”
She gave me a cute smile. “It’s on your desk.” Then she sashayed through the living room and over to her computer.
I grabbed my phone and headed to the basement. Once at the bottom of the stairs, I flicked on the light. The entire basement was a workout room. Mats were scattered around on one side, and weights and a treadmill on the other side. I had big plans for the shelter, and one of those plans was to show women how to protect themselves, which was why I’d moved all my workout equipment from my house to the shelter. Plus, expending energy was a great stress reliever for the women as well.
I tore off my shirt and shoes then parked myself on the weight bench. I checked my messages before I called Maggie.
The first voice mail was from Norma, so I deleted that. The next voice mail was car horns and heavy breathing for about ten seconds until the honeyed voice I had embedded in my brain from last night said, “Seriously? I couldn’t be excited from a voice on the phone.” Then the message ended.
I listened to it again. I couldn’t make out if Maggie was talking to herself and didn’t realize the line had connected to my voice mail or if she was talking to someone else who had been with her.
Nevertheless, I smiled as if I’d gotten the biggest Christmas present in the family.Talk about a voice to get me excited.My fingers were primed to punch in her number, when heavy footsteps shook the ceiling above me. Voices droned, Norma’s and Kelton’s.
Then Kelton charged down the steps. “Hart, I hope I’m interrupting something with a woman down here.”
I rolled my eyes.
The sharp-dressed Maxwell triplet emerged with his infamous cocky grin, while his blue eyes searched every nook and cranny. “No woman?”
“Why is your mind always on the opposite sex? Wait. Don’t answer that.” That was a dumb question on my part. Kelton Maxwell, former playboy, was now tied at the hip to Lizzie Reardon. She was beautiful and smart, the one girl who knew how to tame Kelton. She deserved an Academy Award for roping him in.
He tucked his hands in the pockets of his navy-blue pants. “You need to find a piece of ass or asses.”
“Says the man who is almost married.”
He scowled. “One, I’m not married. Two, I need to live vicariously through you now.”
I snorted. “You’ll be waiting a long time. So how goes the lawyer business?”
Kelton was working full time for a law firm in the city while law school was out for summer break.
He propped a shoulder against a support beam. “They got me working on simple cases when I’m not studying for the law exam. So what’s up? You said something about your brother, Denim.”
“He needs a good lawyer. I thought of you.”
He slapped a hand over his heart. “I’m touched. You think I’m good. Aw.”
“I know you’re not out of law school yet. But can someone in your firm take a look at the case?”
