Tara Sivec - Shame on Me

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!”

With my hands on my hips, I glare at him. “How was I supposed to know Matt’s case and Andy’s stupid gambling problem would collide like this? You’re a PI too, and last time I checked, you’ve been at it a lot longer than I have. Why the hell didn’t YOU put two and two together, you pompous ass?”

Dallas stares at me for a few beats before a laugh bursts out of his mouth. “Well played, Paige. Well played. You might be beating Kennedy in the ball-busting department.”

I lose the attitude, but keep my chin high. “So, are we going to kick a little Mob ass now or what?”

This is not a good idea. Can you please get your hands off her boobs?”

Matt stares angrily at Ted as he finishes up attaching a bug to the front clasp of my bra. Ted quickly puts his hands up in surrender and backs away from me while I button my shirt back up.

“I know this isn’t an ideal situation, but it’s our best option right now,” Ted explains to Matt calmly. “We’ve been trying to catch Vinnie DeMarco for years. The last call that came in stated that Paige was the only one they would allow to bring in the money in exchange for Andy.”

To say Matt hasn’t been too thrilled about the events that unfolded in Dallas’s office the other day is putting it mildly. Not only was he pissed that Melanie’s Mob-boss boyfriend is the one who kidnapped Andy, he was also really mad he wasn’t there to see me attempt to pull her hair out by the roots. He kissed the scratch she left on my arm and told me next time I should stomp on her foot with my Guccis. And he even knew they were Guccis. If I didn’t think so before, I’m now certain he’s a keeper.

Matt places his hands on either side of my face and stares directly into my eyes. “You don’t have to do this. It’s too dangerous.”

I reach my hands up and place them over the top of his. “I’ll be fine. The place will be surrounded by cops. I’m just going to walk in, hand over the money, grab Andy, and get out.”

“We’re not going to have her out of our sight for one minute, Matt. I promise,” Ted assures him.

The door to Fool Me Once flies open and I cringe as Kennedy comes running inside, storming right over to me with a pissed-off look on her face.

I don’t know what I’m more afraid of right now—walking into a den of mobsters or dealing with Kennedy’s wrath.

“Sorry, Paige. I had to call her,” Ted apologizes.

“What. The. Fuck?” Kennedy stutters as she stands in front of me with her hands on her hips.

“Is now a bad time to ask you if I can get a promotion?”

Right when I think Kennedy is going to punch me in the face, she wraps her arms around me and pulls me against her.

“If you wanted more work, all you had to do was ask. You didn’t need to go hunt down a fucking mobster,” she whispers against my hair.

“I just wanted you to see I could do something other than sit there and look pretty,” I admit.

My friends know the whole story about the way Andy used to parade me around. I’ve never really admitted to them how deep it hurt me, though. Until now.

Kennedy lets go of me and pulls back to stare at my face. “Is that seriously what you think? Paige, I trust you. I know how smart and courageous you are. I would have never asked you to be part of this business when we met in that self-defense class if I didn’t believe in you. I just wanted you to get your feet wet with easy stuff before I let you kick some real ass. I never once doubted your abilities.”

It’s very rare to hear Kennedy say something so heartfelt. She never wears her emotions on her sleeve. I feel a tear slide down my cheek before I can stop it. I should have trusted my friend to have faith in me.

“Oh, fuck. Don’t cry. You know I don’t do crying. It gives me hives. Where the hell is Lorelei?” Kennedy complains, looking around the room.

“She’s in court, most likely cutting off another set of balls to store in her purse,” Dallas replies sarcastically.