Stone Cold Fox (56)

But nobody should have been more embarrassed than Gale Wallace-Leicester, who was empty-handed. She remained quiet. Either she did not realize she was supposed to get me a gift for this party, or she was boycotting the notion entirely, falsely believing Chloe and Calliope would have elected to do the same. Either way, now she was the only one, the maid of honor no less, who didn’t come bearing a gift for the bride. What on earth was she going to say for herself?

“Gale?” Calliope asked her, taking on the role I could not in front of everyone. “What did you bring for our Bea?” Our Bea. There it was again, this time from Calliope. I liked it.

“It’s fine,” I said. “You guys didn’t have to bring gifts. Your presence is gift enough. Don’t worry about it, Gale.” Oh, I wanted her to worry about it.

Her gaze met mine. “Still early. My gift comes later,” she said. What could she possibly mean by that?

“Well, open ours now!” Wren commanded, but I was too distracted by Gale’s proclamation to fully enjoy the moment, though I did what was asked of me. The gift cards were sizable sums from Chloe and Calliope. Syl’s contribution was a hot-pink teddy with a matching robe, something she would wear, which endeared it to me. Wren’s was an all-black garter ensemble. No creativity but good enough. I’d look great in all of it.

Being on the receiving end of gifts from sunup to sundown, from women no less, was a new sensation. I knew that they all had to do it, but it felt important. It felt real. Like this life couldn’t be taken away from me somehow. I had to stop thinking that way. It was too naive. Anything could happen, particularly with Gale still circling.

I couldn’t rest until the wedding was over.

Then and only then would it all be over.

“Want to pop out for a li’l smoke? It’s your bachelorette party,” Syl whispered in my ear, the thought simply marvelous, just a few innocent drags to take the edge off with a friend.

She was really so good at taking care of people. Taking care of me.



* * *



? ? ?

THE NEXT MYSTERY location wasn’t mysterious at all. We went to a club. Pick one, they’re all the same, who cares, but we had the VIP table and the bottle service and we danced and we laughed and did a skosh of coke courtesy of Calliope’s dealer. Syl looked at me first for permission and I promised I wouldn’t tell Collin. This was an official GNO. Syl fit right in and noticeably kept her distance from Gale. Good girl. She was loyal.

But Gale couldn’t keep me away; I wanted to play. “So what did you get me?” I shout-whispered to her, the bass throbbing around us. I was feeling bold, like I could push her off the railing into the hoi polloi below us. If only.

“You’ll see.” She grinned. “Night’s not over yet.”

“Getting there,” I shouted, but Gale shook her head at me.

“You’ll never guess.”

“Don’t make it too naughty. I tell Collin everything,” I threatened.

“We both know that’s not true,” she said, the strobe lights flashing against her face.



* * *



? ? ?

SOON, GALE ANNOUNCED it was time to go to the next location. Based on the reactions from Chloe and Calliope, they weren’t in on this plan at all. As for Wren, she had completely overshot her tolerance and wouldn’t be able to go anywhere else, except potentially the emergency room. “Someone has to get her home,” I said.

“I can do it,” Syl offered kindly.

“Great idea,” Gale said. Did she want Syl gone? That was unnerving. She must have picked up on our burgeoning camaraderie and Gale wanted me all to herself, no allies present. I was on high alert.

“Can’t you meet us back out? Wren doesn’t live far,” I said to Syl.

“We can’t. I’m not allowed to give out the address and everyone has to be with us when we arrive at the location,” Gale said, upping the suspicious factor by about 1,000 percent. My heart was racing. Where the hell were we off to?

“I gotta get back to John anyway,” Syl said. “He’ll get pissed if I’m out much later. He always suspects the worst. ‘Nothing good happens after two a.m.’ and all that.”

“He’s right, though,” Chloe said. “Where are we even going, Gale?”

“Let’s get them in a cab,” Gale said, motioning to Syl and a barely coherent Wren Daly. An amiable bouncer assisted us, and it was easy to have full faith in Syl for her mission ahead. She was so reliable. After Wren was essentially laid to rest in the taxi, Syl popped back out and gave me a giant good-night hug.

“Happy bachelorette, Bea. I had a great time. Have fun, and thanks for inviting me.”

“Text me when you get home, okay?” Words I had never uttered to another woman before with any sort of sincerity, but with Syl, I meant it.

As they drove off in the cab, a black SUV arrived at Gale’s behest. “Get in.” She smiled at Chloe, Calliope and me.

The last ones standing.



* * *



? ? ?

THE CAR TOOK us from Chelsea to the Upper East Side. Very peculiar indeed. There were no bachelorette festivities to be had in that part of town. At least none that immediately came to mind, but I had to remind myself that Gale was a total weirdo and it was anyone’s guess what she was planning. She was bubbly, which was a sight. One leg crossed over the other, her foot bobbing up and down, unable to sit still. The behavior didn’t suit her, made her look like a child. My alarm bells were ringing, but I couldn’t let on anything in front of my future sisters-in-law. Gale had me in her clutches for now.