Play It Safe(70)

Then his eyes came back to me.

“Heard about what happened to you in Vegas, Ivey,” he said softly.

I had no doubt.

“Ms. Larue is here to make a statement,” Lash put in and Lenny looked at him then back to me.

Then he stated, “Think the situation was covered by Gray.”

I felt Lash tense beside me then he requested, “Perhaps you’ll explain.”

Lenny sighed then looked at me. “I believe you informed Gray that Buddy paid you a visit.”

“I did,” I confirmed.

“Well, after you did that, Gray paid Buddy a visit. It was public, it was heated and there’s not a lotta people in three counties that don’t know Buddy’s an assclown but now there’s not a lotta people in seven counties who don’t know that seein’ as Gray was pissed and when Gray gets pissed it’s serious and he don’t care who’s around. Gray managed to keep his hands off Buddy which is good. He’s got enough problems without his ass bein’ in the tank. But his message was pretty clear.”

Lash took my hand but even though that felt nice, nothing could stop my heart from beating as hard as it was beating.

Lenny kept speaking.

“Anyway, Ivey, incident occurred in Vegas. That is way outta my jurisdiction. Nothin’ I can do.”

“I understand that, Lenny, but what he said to me, something is happening. Not only did he threaten me and I’d like that down in an official capacity somewhere, it was clear he had some machinations he was instigating or had already started against Gray. If my statement is on record somewhere, wherever that may be, something happens to me or Gray, then the breadcrumb trail has already been laid,” I told him.

Lenny was alert always but at my story he got more alert.

“He make threats against Gray as well as you?”

“Not directly.” I shook my head. “No. That isn’t true. To me, directly, to Gray, indirectly.”

Lenny rolled his tongue along his lower teeth behind his lips, his eyes working.

Then he stepped back, extended his arm down the hall and stated, “Let me introduce you to one of our officers who’ll take your statement.”

My heart eased.

Lash started moving me, Brutus behind but as I got abreast of Lenny, I stopped, they stopped with me and I caught Lenny’s eyes.

“Thank you, Lenny,” I whispered.

“My job, Ivey,” he said quietly.

He’d said that to me before and I remembered it like it happened yesterday. The memory hurt like a mother but I didn’t let it show, nodded then walked down the hall with my two best friends.

* * * * *

We were sitting at a fabulous restaurant in the middle of nowhere with expensive steak dinners sitting in front of us. They weren’t VFW delicious but they were nothing to sneeze at.

Leave it to Lash to sniff out elegance and extravagance in the mountain plains in Colorado. Not only the restaurant but the hotel spa, also in the middle of nowhere, where we were spending a couple of getaway days.

I was smiling at Lash who’d just said something Lash-like to make me smile; I’d grabbed my wineglass and was lifting it to my curved lips when Brutus spoke and Lash and I looked at him.

“Right, just gonna take this moment to say, not sure I get this, you two, what you’re doin’, dumpin’ a wad on this f**kin’ guy who broke Ivey’s heart.” He looked at me and his voice dropped soft. “What I do know, you doin’ this but I already knew it before, is that heart is made of pure gold, baby. That guy is f**kin’ whacked for losin’ hold ‘a you. What you did today, I would never do but I’m proud ‘a you that you had the strength to do it.”

My heart swelled, tears filled my eyes and I whispered, “Thank you, baby.”

“You’re welcome, baby,” Freddie whispered back.

Lash found my thigh under the table and squeezed it.

I breathed deep, got a lock on it and looked between the two of them.

Then I smiled.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Nothin’ Better Than You

Nine thirty the next morning…

I was returning from having breakfast with Lash, walking down the hall toward our room.

I’d lost Lash for the day. Gym, Jacuzzi, sauna, shower, haircut at the house salon, professional shave and manicure. Just his time at the gym would be over an hour. He had a popular club in Vegas that took a lot of his time but he liked to work on his body and he didn’t often have the time to get a good workout in. Rarely a sauna. Never a professional shave and manicure.

It was cool that after taking his time to deal with my business he was going to get something he liked out of it.

I’d also lost Brutus for the day. Even though he worked at his body too and Lash was footing the bill, Brutus’s activities didn’t involve long gym visits and salon services. They involved a smooth, mocha-skinned beauty who worked hotel reception that he eyed up, nailed down and with whom he was currently behind closed doors with a Do Not Disturb sign. Today was her day off so they had lots of time.

Brutus got his own treat.

As for me, I was at a loss for what to do. My life did include regular spa treatments. We had a pool at home I used often. I spent a lot of time shopping because I liked it and could afford it and my life was generally stress-free. That was, when the people of Mustang weren’t paying me threatening visits or firing at the defenses I built around my heart with bazookas.