Alveus (ABC's Inc. Romance #1) (16 page)

With
the gate now open, Lexi pressed her foot on the gas and turned onto the pike
leading to the police station.

“Ms.
Alberton, we can file a report on the stolen property and on your suspicion of embezzlement,
but without proof we can’t put a warrant out for your uncle,” the officer told
her. “Quite frankly, you’d be better off speaking with the FBI about your… eh,
alleged kidnapping.” Lexi tried to hold her temper. Deciding that the FBI
would
be the wiser option for complaints about Richard, she slammed a folder down on
the counter.

“Here’s
a list of the stolen items and as many pictures as I could find of the pieces,”
she said. “Perhaps that will facilitate your report!” Her tone was harsh. The
man had a preconceived prejudice against her; acting like she was some kind of
a pampered princess. And now that the word was out that Alberton Technologies
was closed down, they figured she had no clout. Guess money does talk, she determined,
but she still needed to file an official complaint on the stolen items from her
house. “Maybe you would prefer to assign someone else to fill out the report.
That would be fine with me, but I’d like it filed today!” She crossed her arms
in front of her chest and glared at him.

“Have
a seat,” he said, begrudgingly. Reaching for the folder, he cued up the
computer.

“Okay,
I’ve waited long enough,” Fani announced, plopping her miniature Chihuahua onto
Lexi’s lap. The precocious dog immediately attempted to climb onto the computer
keyboard Lexi was typing on. Rescuing her hard work from the effectuations of a
misplaced paw, she quickly pulled him back into her lap and swiveled the chair
to face her friend – away from canine temptation.

“I’m
sorry, did we make plans I seem to be unaware of?” Lexi asked, unconsciously
stroking a silky ear, to the groaning satisfaction of her little lap warmer.

“No,”
Fani reluctantly confessed. She slumped into the leather sofa and crossed her
long legs in front of her, Indian style. “It’s just that I’ve been here almost three
weeks and you still haven’t spoken about what happened to you. You’ve been
secluded in this office with your nose stuck in the computer. I think you’re
avoiding the issue.”

Lexi
smiled. “There is no more issue,” she stated. “I’m home, now, and need to focus
on more important things.”

“Well,
I think you need a girl’s night out,” her friend suggested. “Why don’t we hit
the streets of Georgetown and do some bar hopping?” When Lexi hesitated,
readying to decline, Fani hurriedly continued. “Remember how we always talked
about checking out the local artists playing there? Come on – you’ve got to
start living again, Lex.”

The
last line cinched the deal. Lexi hadn’t really lived since her mother’s
diagnosis – she’d merely existed, and sitting before her was the perfect person
to show her how. She swiveled her chair back to face the computer and began
closing it down.

“One
night shouldn’t hurt,” Lexi relented. Fani jumped up from the seat and began an
impromptu dance.

“Oh,
yeah… oh, yeah… we’re gonna knock Georgetown’s socks off!” she sang, and then
promptly tripped over the small table beside the couch. “I’m okay,” she
announced, not to be deterred from her jubilation. Her canine friend jumped
from Lexi’s lap and ran over to his mistress to join in the fun. “Cut it out,
Louis,” she laughed, as he licked her face and snatched at her ponytail.

“I
haven’t the slightest idea what to wear,” Lexi admitted, as she reached down to
help her nutty friend up off the floor. “I’m in dire need of your expertise.”

“The
pleasure is mine, my lady,” Fani said in a hoity-toity voice. She gave a low playful
bow and scooped Louis into her arms on her way back up.

Emerging
from the bathroom after a quick shower, Lexi found her friend digging through
her clothes.

“You
still do it,” Fani called out from deep within the walk-in closet. “Remember
how we used to go shopping with our mothers? We wanted to start our own fashion
trends and we’d look for stuff from new designers, rebuffing the sought after
labels.”

“What
did two pubescent girls know about fashion?” Lexi scoffed. “Besides, that
doesn’t mean I know what’s appropriate to wear for bar hopping – if that’s what
they still call it. Thank God my mom had Aunt Dru to dress her for business
functions, her scientific mind could never wrap around the idea of dressing to
make an impression. If she’d had her way, she would have worn jeans and a lab
coat to formal social gatherings. Heck, Dad was lucky to drag her out at all –
of course that was before…” There was a companionable silence as the two
reacquainted friends connected in the memories of their absent mothers.

“We
must have lost them around the same time,” Fani said quietly. “I mean, mine
through death and yours through Alzheimer’s.”

“Yes,”
Lexi agreed after another short pause, “well, it’s easy to see where you
acquired your love of fashion from.”

“And
look at these,” her friend announced, holding up hands laden with hangers.
“You’ve developed a good eye for great fashion from unknown designers.”

“Most
of that’s old, and actually I had no choice – had to buy locally. I couldn’t very
well bring anyone in, nor could I be away from the house for long, what with my
mother’s episodes… Quite frankly, I don’t know if the Lexi you knew still
exists,” she sighed. Her eyes slanted toward an old picture from their
childhood, prominently displayed on the bureau.

Fani
threw the clothes on the bed, startling Louis from his slumber, and picked up
the framed photo to examine it closer. A smile spread across her face even as
her eyes faded into fond memories.

The
picture must have been taken about twenty years ago. Greig smiled broadly into
the camera, his arms wrapped companionably over the shoulders of Dane and
Stefan, each on either side of him. Gretchen was glaring over her shoulder at
Stefan who had two fingers positioned behind her head “devil-horns” style. Fani
sweetly posed for the camera, holding Lexi’s hand possessively and oblivious to
her sibling’s antics, while Lexi shared a sideways glance with Dane, wearing a
matching smile, as if enjoying a secret joke.

“You
two were close, back then,” Fani observed, “you and Daney.”

“And,
you and I were always best friends,” Lexi responded, hoping to steer the
conversation away from the track it was heading.

“Yes,
we were inseparable,” Fani agreed fondly. “But, now that I think about it, the
two of you had kind of an invisible connection…” She floated off into her
thoughts. “Isn’t it interesting how fate brought you back together?”

“Fate?”
Lexi sneered, “You mean the Fates; those three evil witches in mythology who
take great pleasure in screwing around in human’s lives, simply to torture them
for their own amusement?”

“Um,
oh… kay…,” Fani replied cautiously. “I was just trying to say that after all
these years, it seems like it was fa…, I mean,
destiny
that you two
should get back together, again.”

“Only
there’s a flaw in your reasoning, Fan, we’re not back together,” Lexi said.
“Nor do I see
together
anytime in our future. Actually, I’d be surprised
if our paths ever crossed again. Now, are we going out tonight, or what?”

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«

“Ain’t
no love and it sho’ah is a pi―ty!”

“What
the hell is that?” Dane asked into the phone.

“That
would be a very drunk, very effusive, Lexi,”
Stephan said.
“It
seems she took a liking to the Bobby Bland song sung at a bar she and my sister
hung out in tonight. I’m thinking there ain’t no love within hearing distance
of her singing. Good God, she can murder a song.”

“No
love in the heart of the ci―ty!”
Dane couldn’t
keep from laughing at the sound of Lexi’s off-key rendition filtering through
the line.

“It
sounds loud enough to be heard in the heart of the city, too,” he said between
chuckles.

“Tell
me about it,”
grumbled Stephan.

“I
thought you guys were watching out for her. How in God’s name did she wind up
drunk in a bar?” Dane asked.

“I
can say with some certainty that it was my sister’s idea, but the reason she
got drunk was probably from the altercation she took part in outside the bar with
a pretty nasty piece of work. At least that’s what Dice got from his
conversation with the guy who interceded for her.”

“Was
the guy’s name, Jack Ferguson?” Dane heard Stefan repeat the question, before relaying
an affirmative answer. “Good, I’ll get hold of him for the details. It was most
likely one of her uncle’s cronies looking for the bastard. I don’t think I like
the idea them getting that close to her. Was she hurt?”

“Bruising
on her neck,”
Stefan admitted.
“And you’re
probably right, but before you go off on Ferguson, he said she was doing a good
job of holding her own with the guy; said she was in his face reading him the
riot act. He heard her say something about her uncle could burn in hell with
the rest of them. Guess that’s about when Ferguson stepped in, after the guy
grabbed her neck and pushed her against the wall.”

“Cause
you ain’t around in the ci―ty!”

“Fani,
could you please shut her up so I can hear what English is trying to say?”

“I
don’t like your peeing accents; Daney has an accent! Your peeing accents remind
me of Daney – I told those guys.”
Again it was Lexi’s boisterous
voice heard over the hum of a vehicle’s motor.

“What
is she saying about an accent?”

“I
don’t know – something about peeing – she’s not making much sense, dude.”

“
Eur-o-pe-an
accents!”
Fani shouted to her brother.
“The very cute guys
we had drinks with had very sophisticated, extremely sexy European accents, but
Pip refuses to be around anything that reminds her of her precious Daney.
That’s why she went outside for some fresh air.”

“I
do not!”
Lexi screamed.

“Look,
English, I’ve gotta get off. I just wanted you to know that the girls are okay.”

“Not
English! Daney is Brit―tish, Brit―tish!”

 “A
buddy of mine recognized Fani and called to give me a heads up about the guys
they were with,”
Stefan continued through the interruptions,
“said they’d seen them hanging around with some tough looking characters. Dice
was with me at the gym, so he and I dropped by the bar and escorted the girls
out of there. We’re pulling up into the Alberton’s driveway, now. We’ll talk
later.”

Dane
hung up and called Ferguson.

“I
just got off the phone with Stefan Carsten. He told me that there was an
incident outside of a bar this evening,” Dane skipped pleasantries, coming
straight to the point.

“Yeah,
I was getting a few details together before I called in,”
Jack Ferguson replied.
“Your girl’s okay, isn’t she? Sorry I had to break my
anonymity, but the guy was starting to get rough. I called one of my associates
in to take over the surveillance.”

  “Not
a problem, if she didn’t suspect anything. Who the hell was he?”

“Billy
Chen, himself,”
Ferguson spat out, as if the name put a
bad taste in his mouth.
“Usually he doesn’t dirty himself with the small
details, such as family members of those who cross him. And, it sure as hell
sounds like he has a vendetta against Richard Alberton – piece of crap,”
he
mumbled under his breath.
“Your girl is a real spitfire, though. She actually
laughed at his threats, got right in his face and started poking him in the
chest with her finger.”
He chuckled.
“Told him her uncle and he could
burn in hell together. The guy was as astonished as I was, until she started
calling him scum. Guess he doesn’t mind being grouped with the devil, but
thinks he’s better than everyone else on this planet. He grabbed her by the
neck and held her against the building. I stepped in real casual like, and
asked him for a light – pretended it was nothing unusual for a guy to
straighten out his woman. He took his hand away from her to light my cigarette
and she scurried back into the bar. I took a puff and asked him if he was Billy
Chen and then let him know that I recognized the Alberton girl. He got the
message, slithered back to a car parked a few feet away, and it took off down
the road. I put the cigarette out and followed her into the bar. She probably
just thought I was having a smoke before coming in for a drink.”

“That’s
pretty much what I was told,” Dane said. He didn’t know if he should be mad at
Lexi for almost getting herself in serious trouble, or to be proud of her for
standing up to the thug – both, he guessed.

“Your
girl started downing the drinks, so I stuck around until I saw her friends show
up. The big military-looking guy was perusing the room as if searching for
threats, so I motioned him over and told him my story.”

Dane
nodded his head, even though Ferguson couldn’t see him. He hadn’t been aware
that Dice was back in DC, but was glad of it.

“Anything
else?” he asked.

“Yeah,
Ms Alberton’s been seeing an accountant; a friend of a friend. Her business is
in big trouble and it seems weird to me that she’s keeping it on the down-low.”

“Not
really,” Dane interjected, “A large company like Al-Tech is big game for the
media as well as bait for a corporate take-over. She has to be careful about
who she can trust, especially after the shaft her uncle gave her. I’m sure
Bravanger has steered her to a responsible firm.”

“I
understand that, and you’re right,”
Ferguson agreed.
“I
had the guy checked out and he comes up squeaky clean, but he wasn’t
recommended by any of her father’s friends. Except for the Carsten girl staying
with her, Ms Alberton hasn’t had any contact with the others. Looks like she’s
doing things on her own, and according to some inside information, she’s
running out of liquid assets and the banks are not exactly standing in line to
offer her a loan. Her uncle has apparently sullied the Alberton name in record
time, but she still seems determined to get the company up and running again.
She’s gone through anything of value she found in her father’s safes and most
of her trust fund, and that was just to get the building reopened with as many
essential employees back as she could. Cost her big to persuade her top
scientists to return.”

“I
can appreciate that,” said Dane. “With her mother gone, the scientific staff is
Alberton Technology’s bread-and-butter. She probably had to top any other
offers they got, as well as convince them that her parent’s policies would be
adhered to.” Dane shook his head, why was she being so stubborn? Carsten
Enterprise made it their business to step in and turn around failing companies;
they had the assets and the knowhow. Hell, his grandmother would be happy to
help fund Lexi’s endeavors. He didn’t bother to question why she hadn’t
confided in him. Shit, things between them should have – could have been
different, he lamented.

“You
don’t know the half of it,”
the P.I. continued.
“She hasn’t
made a dent in paying off her creditors – she’s planning on putting her house
on the market.”

“How
do you know all of this?” Dane’s gut twisted at the thought of someone else
living in the house which held so many happy memories for him.

“I
have my sources,”
Ferguson smartly announced,
“by way
of a pretty little blonde who is much smarter than she lets people think. She’s
been cozying up to the boy genius accountant.”

“See
if she can get me a list of names and companies Lexi’s obligated to… Oh, and
the name of the realtor. I owe you for this one, Jack.”

“Consider
us even. I’ll get back to you with those names.”

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«

 “Wake
up, Lex! There’s someone here to see you – and he’s gorgeous!” Fani bounced
onto the bed, adding an energetic Chihuahua into the mix. Lexi pulled a pillow
over her head.

“I’m
pretty sure there are countries where they shoot people who are so happy this
early in the morning!” came her muffled admonition from under the feather
padding. A cold nose inched its way beneath the pillow, followed by a wet
tongue which promptly invaded Lexi’s face.
Ewww!
“For God’s sake, tell
them to go away and allow me to die in peace!” Her dour moans were met with
laughter.

“It’s
only a hangover! Here, sit up and drink this. You’re just dehydrated.”

Fani
plucked the pillow from Lexi’s head, giving Louis a clear shot at her face and
thus producing the desired results. Lexi shot up into a sitting position, a
reflex move to protect her face from being covered in doggie drool. 

“Would
you kindly get that overgrown rat off of my bed!”

“She
didn’t mean that, baby,” Fani cooed, but she did lift him off the covers. “It’s
just the pain talking.” She released the dog to the floor and picked up a glass
from the end table. Handing two tablets to her friend, she waited for her to
pop them into her mouth before holding out the liquid. Lexi grabbed the glass
and swiftly washed down the pills.

“Whoa,”
it even hurt when moving her head to swallow. “Remind me to never drink… What
was it I was drinking again, last night?” she moaned, caressing her forehead.

“Long
Island Iced Teas,” her friend eagerly provided. “You were really putting ‘em
away, and those things pack a delayed super wallop. I tried to warn you.”

“Yeah,
I think I’ll stick to wine from now on. Did Stef really see me drunk out of my
gourd, or did I imagine him taking us home?”

“Yep,
it was Stef, but at least you didn’t throw up on his favorite Italian loafers.”
Fani paused, watching for a reaction.

“Small
favors,” Lexi droned. “Wait…” She remembered getting out of the car and turning
to retch… “Boots, did I…?”

“Ding,
ding, ding! Right again,” Fani announced. “A direct hit to Dice’s combats!”

“Oh
no – I didn’t, poor Dice!” Lexi felt horrible. She couldn’t even remember Dice
being there. “Wait,” she said again, “I thought… I mean, wasn’t Stefan talking
to…?” Lexi clamped her mouth shut before she said his name.

“Dane?”
Fani teased.

“I
didn’t say that. I just thought I remembered him calling someone English.
Anyway, I didn’t realize Dice was back from overseas. I’ll have to invite him
over for dinner and an apology.”

“He
didn’t seem too upset about it, but then who can tell with Dice? He wears such
a poker face. I mean, has anyone ever seen him smile? I’m talking about a
let-your-happiness-shine, kind of smile.” Fani shook her head emphatically. “I
wonder if he’s one of those new military secrets, like a combat robot or
something.”

Lexi
laughed at that, and then grabbed her head from the pain it caused.

“I
don’t think so,” she said. “For one thing, he’s no longer in the service and I
think the government would want to keep such an expensive, not to mention
dangerous secret.”

“That’s
true,” Fani agreed. “Besides, I might have seen a slight smile last night when
you were serenading us in the car.”

“I
didn’t!”

“Yep,
and you were so loud that Stefan asked me to quiet you down so he could hear Dane
on the other end of the phone.”

“Oh,
my God,” Lexi put her face in her hands. “But then…” she looked up at Fani, “he
was
talking to Dane. Why was he talking to Dane?”

Fani
ignored the question, turning instead to pick up her little dog and give him a
kiss on his nose.

“Fani?”

“Your
company’s waiting for you, Lex. We can talk later.” She scuttled out the door.

“Fani!
Ouch.” It only made her head hurt to shout after her
ex
-friend. Lexi
rolled out of bed and stumbled to the shower.

“Reg,
I’m so sorry to keep you waiting.” Lexi said as she approached the tall
handsome man in her sitting room. “I see Edith has been taking good care of
you.” Reginald Mangus set his drink on the end table, rose, and returned Lexi’s
hug and kiss on the cheek.