Grace Anne

chapter 8



Ginny watched the people leave the restaurant. She’d been at the big building when Grace Anne had left with the man and was surprised when they both got into the limo and left. She ranted for nearly twenty minutes before she realized she should have followed them to see where they were headed. Lucky for her, she saw the sleek limo parked right across the street from where she’d parked her car.

“You should just bring a gun and shoot her in the head. Then we could get out of this f*cking town. It’s too…too everything, and I hate it. I want to go back to the house we had in Ohio.”

Ginny had gotten better at controlling the others. And they no longer needed a mirror to converse. She could simply hear them now, both Guinevere and Verrie. But Verrie was getting stronger as well. There were times, like last night, when Ginny had no idea what she’d done. It wasn’t until she came back that she’d realized that Verrie had killed someone.

“I don’t have a gun and, even if I did, don’t you think that the other dozen or so people might notice a woman waving one around shooting at her? Guinevere, do you ever think things through or are you forever flying by the seat of your pants? F*ck off and leave me alone.” Ginny waited for her to comment again, but she simply faded away. Seconds later she knew why.

“I know damn good and well we have a gun,” Verrie said. “I brought it with me when we left. But you’re right about shooting her here. Too many witnesses. If we get caught here Cain would probably leave us here to rot.”

Ginny didn’t comment. All she could think about was Cain. She wanted that man, and badly. She’d gone to him the day before they’d left to get him to give them money to leave and she’d taken one of his shirts. She’d also gotten the private number of Grace Anne.

Ginny had cut the shirt up into small strips and carried pieces of him with her wherever she went. Pulling out the small rectangle now, she buried her nose in it and inhaled. Christ, but the man smelled like sex. She smiled when she thought of what she’d done with a few of the pieces last night. Best climax she’d had in a while.

“Pay attention,” Verrie told her with a snap. “See that one over there? The younger one?” Ginny nodded. “He’s a looking at them like he wants to kill them. Think we could use him? I mean, it would be easier to get to the little cunt if we could get into that f*cking building of hers.”

The system that Grace Anne had on her building was tight. And no matter how many times they’d tried to sneak in, someone would catch them and run them off. And that guy with the funny voice had told them that the camera had her picture now so, if anything came up missing, he’d give it to the police. Ginny had left and not returned.

“I know that one. His name is…let me see…Thomas. He’s the younger brother of the man. I’m not sure about him. When I was watching the older man the other day, Michael, I could see that that one is a little shit. He goes out of his way to be a prick and he’d be hard to control. And money wouldn’t work on him.”

Ginny had had Guinevere go to the big building downtown where Michael Cunningham worked and apply for a job. Ginny had seen the way the man had looked at Grace Anne and wondered about it. After they’d gone shopping together and then left for the day Ginny decided to get to Grace Anne through him. Now that they had a little more information on Michael she thought maybe he was going to be more of a problem than any of the other men that had attached themselves to the other girls. Ginny closed her eyes against the frustration of not getting any one of them.

“We just need to kill one of them. And this one seems to be our best bet. She lives here all alone and far enough away from the others that they won’t come in and start making our life more difficult.” Ginny agreed with Verrie. “Besides, she seems to have done all right for herself. Maybe we could kill this one off and live in her big building before anyone could notice.”

That, too, had its merits. The hotel they were staying in was expensive and eating out every day was killing her. She hated that she couldn’t just go somewhere and eat; she had to fight with the other two on every choice.

They were quickly running out of funds and she needed to get to her guy in Atlanta soon. He’d been slacking in the money part of their deal. She pulled out her cell phone to call him now, but was distracted watching Michael pull Grace Anne into the limo. Christ, but the man looked at her like she was his last meal and he planned to get his fill. The kid, Trace, was getting into another limo that the older couple got into.

“Looks like someone is going to get lucky tonight,” Verrie said sardonically. “I just think there is no accounting for taste for these women. Give me a big man with a lot of push behind his f*ck and I’ll be a happy woman. Unlike you, who can get off with a couple of fingers and a piece of cotton.”

Ginny’s anger boiled over the top and she forced pain into Verrie’s head. She knew that it would hurt her too. She’d learned that a couple of days ago when she’d tried it on Guinevere. Blood trickled from her nose and she knew that she’d have to pay for this. Verrie was the meanest and the most vindictive of the three of them. She was also quickly becoming the most unstable.

When she was gone Ginny pulled out her phone and called Shawn in Atlanta. He answered on the first ring and he sounded strung out. Great, Ginny thought. He was extremely difficult to try and deal with when he was only just high; this way, he’d be paranoid and mean.

“I need more money. Send me what you have.” She didn’t like his laughter at her demand. “You think this is funny, dope boy? Well, it’s not. How much and how soon?”

“I got myself a little need myself here. And just so’s you know, I think I’m not making enough on my cut. I want you to send me more stuff. And the good kind, not that bullshit you sent me the last time either.” Ginny nearly hung up and thought about calling him later, but knew that the five thousand they had left wasn’t going to last much longer.

“Tell me how much you have and I’ll send you the stuff accordingly. And you’ll send it today, not when you get the stuff either.” She heard him laugh, maniacal and loud. “Are you paying attention to me? I asked you how much?”

“I got you fifty grand. Pretty boy up north is really working hard on trying to impress his new missus. He’s got that project, the Madison one, almost finished. We’ll have to…” He laughed again and Ginny felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. “We’ll have to find us another cow to milk.”

This time his laughter was long. She was ready to go to Atlanta and kill the son of a bitch and would have if she had the time. But she needed the little piss ant and knew that, as soon as this was over, she was going to let Verrie have her way with him. She chilled when she heard the other woman agree.

“I’ll send it out today,” he sang at her. “Today, I’ll send it out today. And when I do, you’ll send me my drugs, my drugs you’ll send to me.”

She closed her phone knowing that he’d have to be called back in a few hours to be reminded to send it out again. She hated using such an unreliable source, but in this thing she needed money and he was her easiest source.

~~~

“The money is moving. Daniel got a hit on it about an hour ago and now it’s in the system.”

Alyssa looked up from her desk as Nathan came into her office.

“It looks like it’s our boy Shawn Nicholson. He’s been in the program several times over the past five years, all on your tab.”

“So, now what? Do you know where the money is going?” She had little knowledge about how this worked and was glad that several months ago her brother had brought Daniel Steward in to talk to her. She’d been both impressed and terrified about what he could do with a computer.

“Daniel said that the tracer he has on the money will lead us to wherever the money goes. Once it stops it’ll be up to someone on the other end to figure out where and who picks it up. It will more than likely go to some post office box and, from there, we’ll have to sit tight until it’s picked up again. Could be soon, but maybe as much as a few weeks; it’s hard to tell right now.” He pulled her a bottle of water out of the small refrigerator and opened his while she went through the ritual of checking hers for pin holes.

She hated to wait. She wanted this person now. They had taken well over a million dollars over the past eight months and she wanted them caught. But if they wanted to just catch the thief, she’d been told that it could have ended already, but she wanted the one at the other end, the one getting the actual cash.

“Are we paying Daniel for this? I don’t want him doing this for us without repaying him. He has spent a great deal of time helping us out.” And Alyssa was more than grateful for his discretion too. “Tell him he’ll have a job if he wants it when this is over.”

Nathan smiled. “He is having a blast, but I’ll tell him you insist that he take payment. He told me last week that he’d never had so much fun playing with so much money.”

Alyssa looked at her brother sharply and he laughed again.

“No, he’s not playing with your money like just ran through your head. He said the only money he likes stealing is his family’s. Not other peoples.”

Alyssa leaned back in her chair and looked at her brother. He was happy, anyone could see that, but there was more. A lot more. She grinned when he flushed. “Married life must be treating you well, big brother. Is there anything you want to tell me? Something about…I don’t know, a baby?” He flushed again. “Oh my God, you are, aren’t you?” She stood up and walked around the desk to him. He stood and hugged her to him. Another baby in the family. How wonderful for them all.

“She wants to tell everyone next weekend,” he told her softly. “I’ve never been so terrified in my life. What if the baby wants to know about me? I mean, I don’t exactly have a very good life to tell him about.”

“You’ll tell him everything. And he’ll love you all the more for it. Besides, you turned out just fine. And you’re my brother, so you are just perfect the way you are.” He laughed and hugged her again. “Does Cain know?”

“No. Just Grace. Jasmine called her first before she even told me. They really are close, aren’t they?” Alyssa sat in the chair next to him as he continued. “Grace and Jasmine talk almost daily. I wondered why, but she told me that it was because they were the only singles and they had simply depended on each other when the twins had each other. Weird, if you ask me.”

Alyssa had heard Jazzie say that before. That her and Grace had formed their own “twinship” when they’d needed each other. Alyssa guessed that growing up like the Waite children had they would depend on each other more than most children. She knew that Cain felt responsible for all of them all the time.

They talked for a few more minutes before Nathan was called away for another meeting. Alyssa was sitting behind her desk again when a sharp knock at her door was the only thing that warned her she had company. Her son was across the room and into her arms before she had a chance to toss her pen on the desk.

“I thought I’d come here and seduce you, but he insisted on coming to give you a kiss.”

She looked up at Cain, her wonderful husband, as he flopped into the chair that Nathan had just left.

“I don’t think we’re paying the nanny enough. I’ve been with him for just over two hours and I’m exhausted. I don’t know how she does it for the eight hours she has him.”

“She makes him mind; you don’t. If you’d make him listen to you instead of the other way around, then you’d have more control.”

Cain snorted, a nice habit she’d taught him.

“And I know what you’re thinking and it isn’t the same with me. I let him have his way on some things and you do on everything.”

He snorted again. “Yeah, that’s why he has every toy known to man and more clothes than he could wear in three childhoods.”

“Connor want to have lunch. Connor is hungry.”

Alyssa smiled at her son. He’d just picked up the habit of talking about himself in the third person.

“Connor want french fires and catups.”

“Okay, but you have to have a sandwich too. How about a grilled cheese with pickles? Or a burger? And if you eat all of the sandwich, I’ll let you have a sundae too.”

Connor put his finger to his chin and looked like he was thinking it over. Cain laughed, got up, picked him up, and put him on his shoulders. They both seemed to enjoy the trip to the elevator like that. Alyssa was just telling her assistant they were going to the cafeteria when Cain’s cell went off. She knew that ring tone and was happy that he didn’t answer. His mother could be a real fun-sucker when she called.

“She’ll leave a message and, if she doesn’t, then that’s fine too.” He kissed her on the mouth as the doors closed and he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “If I can get Connor to stay with his uncle and aunt tonight, want to have a little fun with the toys I just got?”

Her body reacted like he’d touched her. She could feel her p-ssy get wet and swell. She nodded at him, afraid she’d be begging him to take her right now rather than wait until they got home. She leaned back against the wall of the elevator and looked at him.

His growl made her shudder. “You keep looking at me like that and I’ll stop the first person I see and ask them to watch our son while I take you back up to your office and ravage you.”

“Okay,” she told him, and laughed when he growled again. “I think that the aunt and uncle thing is a great idea. We have that charity thing to go to tonight, but I’m pretty sure that between the time we get home and when we have to leave I can make you very…relaxed.”

“Deal. I’ll see if I can drop Connor off after lunch, then I’ll come back here and we’ll get a start on that plan.” He adjusted his cock and made her body heat. “Maybe I could skip lunch and just have you.”

“No. Connor hungry. Want grilled cheese and french fries then Connor want to play on swinger.”

“Its swing, little buddy,” Drew said as the doors opened on the ground floor. He ruffled Connor’s hair as he looked at them “I’m glad to see you two. There’s a problem with one of the buildings on Tenth. We have a few people wanting us to change the venue for the building and they are sick of me telling them no. Wanna handle this one?”

He grinned at her and she knew she wasn’t going to like this. “What exactly are we using the building for that has them all up in arms? And don’t we already own that entire block?”

He nodded.

“So what the hell are they bitching about now?”

“We’re using it for storage at the moment. And they don’t like the fact that you’re making the other blocks surrounding you look bad because of the improvements you’re making on that one. They seemed to think you’re trying to outdo them.”

Alyssa rolled her eyes. “Of all the stupid… Set up some sort of improvement loans program. Make the interest low, but not stupidly. Have Nathan work with you on it; he’s been working on something similar on the Madison Project. Oh, by the way, there was movement on the money. Nathan came by just before Connor and Cain did.”

They were being seated in the large cafeteria and Drew joined them. “I know. I was tied up with the committee on ‘let’s be ignorant’ when the call came in. These people who are bitching, most of them are the same ones you bought the building from in the first place. Are you sure you want to lend them money now? They didn’t strike me as all that good with their money in the first place.”

“They have to put their buildings up for collateral. That way, it’s a win-win for us if they fail again.” Cain said this as he buckled Connor in the seat. She was laughing when he turned to them. “What? I think it’s a good idea.”

“It is. I just didn’t think you were that ruthless.” She turned to Drew again. “Put that in the loan agreement. Now, no more business. I’m hungry too.”