Shame on Me

I’m sorry, what?

 

“You’re separated. And what the hell would I want with the creepy old guy that you’ve been screwing behind Matt’s back while trying to take his father’s company?” I fire back.

 

“You skanky tramp! How dare you talk to me like that!” Melanie shouts, getting up from her chair and throwing her nail file in Dallas’s direction.

 

“Did you seriously just call me a tramp, you home-wrecking whore?”

 

I don’t even realize we advanced on each other until our hands are in the air, smacking at each other like two cats playing patty-cake.

 

“LADIES! WHAT THE FUCK?”

 

We ignore Dallas’s shout and continue with our slapping match. One of my hands manages to make its way past hers and I grab a chunk of her hair, pulling as hard as I can.

 

“LET GO OF MY HAIR, YOU BITCH! THOSE EXTENSIONS WERE EXPENSIVE!”

 

“STAY AWAY FROM MATT AND HIS FATHER’S COMPANY, YOU SLUT!”

 

I pull harder on her hair and she lets out a yelp, taking a chunk of skin out of my arm with her fingernails.

 

I scream in pain just as strong arms wrap around my waist and yank me away from Melanie before I can throw any more insults at her, or finish pulling out the chunk of weave I had my fingers around. My arms and legs flail as Dallas moves me across the room and far away from Melanie.

 

“Jesus H. Christ. Why are chicks so batshit crazy?” Dallas asks in exasperation as he sets me down on my feet.

 

“Get her out of here before I kick her ass,” I tell him, shooting an angry look in Melanie’s direction.

 

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on with you two, but I just found out this morning that the guy Andy owes money to is this chick’s boyfriend. We need her, Paige.”

 

Whoa, what?

 

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

 

Dallas raises his eyebrow at me. “Why do I feel like I just got myself into a whole shitload of trouble by helping you out with this?”

 

“First, tell me something. How do you know for sure that she’s dating the guy Andy owes money to?” I question.

 

“A couple of calls that came through on your phone were from a number you didn’t have programmed in your contact list. I had my guy trace the number and it was hers,” Dallas explains, pointing his thumb over his shoulder in Melanie’s direction. “I stopped by her place this morning to question her, and she sang like a canary.”

 

I look over at Melanie and see her pull out a compact from her purse and check her reflection in the small, round mirror. She straightens her hair and adds some powder to her nose before glancing over at us.

 

“Can we hurry this along? I’ve got a yoga class in twenty minutes.”

 

Dallas sighs and puts his back to her. “She told me she and her boyfriend got into a fight because he was talking nonstop about some hot model, and how he kidnapped her husband to try and get money that was owed to him. He was showing a picture of you in a magazine to everyone, bragging about how he was going to nail you. Melanie found your number in Andy’s phone. She was going to tell you to stay away from her man, but her boyfriend snatched the phone away before she could leave a message. It seems little Miss Melanie over there is jealous of you.”

 

“Oh please. I am NOT jealous of her. You know what? I changed my mind. I’m not going to help you,” Melanie says. She turns and stalks toward the door.

 

Dallas runs up to her and grabs her by the arm, spinning her around. “Oh, no. I don’t think so. You see, you’re now an accomplice in kidnapping and extortion. You’re going to help us, or you’re getting a free ride straight to the women’s correctional facility.”

 

Melanie’s face pales as she stares up at Dallas. “Prison? I can’t go to prison. I’m too pretty for prison.”

 

“Well, then, you’re going to tell me everything you know about your boyfriend and where he’s holding Andy. We’ll see if we can work out a deal after that.”

 

I clear my throat and when Dallas turns to look at me, I jerk my head to get him to come over. He sighs and walks back to me.

 

“Um, you don’t know who Melanie’s boyfriend is?”

 

Dallas shakes his head. “I didn’t get that far with her yet. I wanted to wait until you got here to grill her more.”

 

Biting my lip, I look up at him sheepishly. “I know who Melanie’s boyfriend is. Now might be the time to call the police again.”

 

Dallas grits his teeth in an effort not to shout at me. I have to commend him. He’s holding it together fairly well considering he just had to break up a catfight.

 

“Who is he?” Dallas growls.

 

“Ever heard of Vinnie DeMarco?”

 

Dallas closes his eyes and shakes his head. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. The biggest crime boss this side of the Mason-Dixon Line? This is information that would have been useful, oh, say, YESTERDAY!”

 

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