“Remi, when you fixed your walls, did you build them with me inside or outside?” Not that it mattered, because he was damned serious about taking them down; her answer would just indicate how hard he was going to have to work.
“I might have left a door for you…” She smiled and walked backward until their fingers broke apart.
“Yo, Greer!” Max shouted from the hallway outside the dining room. “You coming? Or do you need an engraved invitation?”
Greer watched Remi disappear around the corner, then went back into the dining room. “Geez, Max. When did you take up caterwauling?”
Max grimaced. “When you stuffed your balls in your ears, I guess.”
Greer grinned and walked past him. It wasn’t going to be an easy siege, his fight for Remi, but it wasn’t going to be a long one either, and that left him feeling optimistic.
*
Val stepped out of the diner, into the stairwell that led up to the apartments above Ivy’s restaurant and down to her storage area. The downstairs light was on. The basement was dark, despite the fact that it was still midmorning.
“Ivy?” he called, though he wasn’t there for Kit’s wife. He’d come to talk to Ace again. “Yo, Ivs. You there?” he asked, halfway down the basement stairs.
Ace came to the door of the storeroom. “She’s not here. Hi, Val.”
“Hey, Ace.” He went down the stairs. “She took her car into the shop and needed a ride. What’re you doin’?” Val went down the remaining steps.
“Laundry. Ivy said I could use her machines.”
“Oh. That’s nice.”
Ace shrugged. “Better than the laundromat.” She lifted a full hamper, leaving another behind.
“Want a hand with that?”
She looked at the hamper, then at Val, hesitating longer than such a decision should take. Finally she shrugged. “Sure.”
Val grabbed the second hamper and followed her up the stairs to the second floor. “Didn’t know you lived here.”
“Yeah. Ivy’s been a lifesaver. The job. The apartment.”
“The washing machines.”
Ace gave him a reluctant smile over her shoulder. At the door to her apartment, she dug into her pocket for her keys, though why she’d locked her door when only she and Ivy’s employees had access to the stairwell, he didn’t know.
She pushed the door open and shoved her basket inside, then grabbed the one he’d carried. He looked into her apartment, seeing its Spartan furnishings. A couple of folding camp chairs, a blowup mattress, and a few boxes comprised the sum total of her furniture.
Val looked at Ace. Pain. He rubbed his chest. Who was she? Who had done this to her? “Talk to me.”
“What for?”
“I can help you.”
“I don’t need your help.”
He pushed the door open, exposing her austere circumstances to his full vision. “Don’t you?”
“Look, I don’t even know who you are.” She turned from the door and walked into her apartment. “I’m poor. So what? You think rich people are waitresses?”
Jesus. The vibe coming from her was clawing at his heart. He walked over to look out the front bow window.
“It’s not a big deal. I travel lightly,” she said behind him. “This shit fits in my car.”
He turned slightly from the window, looking at her. “Who are you running from, Ace?”
“Who says I’m running?”
“You did. You said you ‘travel light.’ Only people who need to move fast travel light.”
She went back to the still open door. “I think you should go.”
Val didn’t move. “Are you bringing trouble to my friend’s restaurant?” He could have sworn he saw her chin tremble.
“Please leave.”
“It’s a simple question.”
Ace folded her arms and buried her gaze in the shadows of the stairwell. Val crossed the room to stand in front of her. “Let me help you.”
“No. You can’t.” She huffed a little laugh, flashing her crooked fangs that were so sexy to him. “No one can.”
He handed her one of his cards. “Call me. Please. We’ll talk it through.”
She took the card but didn’t look at it. She didn’t look at him, either. “Later.”
When Val left, Ace shut the door and stared at his card through vision that wavered. “Special Consultant to the Department of Homeland Security,” the card read. She blinked her tears away. Taking out her phone, she dialed a number she rarely used. When the call connected, she didn’t waste words.
“I think I found them…”
*
Mandy used the house phone in the kitchen to call down to Greer. “S’up, M?” he answered.
“Is Rocco in the house? I can’t find him.”
There was a brief hesitation on the other end, then, “Yep. He’s in the spare bedroom in your wing. Everything cool?”
Mandy wasn’t sure how to answer that. She spent a lot of time standing between Rocco and his team when he was at his weakest. She didn’t know how else to assist him, except to help shield the worst of his dark moments from the guys. The team was a lifeline to him. Without them, she feared he’d completely spiral downward. This latest bend was bad.
She wondered if she should talk to her brother. But she didn’t, because she didn’t want to jeopardize Rocco’s place on the team. Maybe she should go see the shrink in town. Maybe he could give her pointers. Or maybe even help her find a way to get Rocco in to see him.
“Yeah. It’s fine. I just couldn’t find him. Thanks a bunch, Greer.” She could find his body, but God alone knew where his mind had gone.