Maddy's Oasis (17 page)

“My head hurts. I need to lie down,” she
said.

“I think you know the way to my room.”

“You son of a bitch!” she muttered, pulling
away from him.

“What’d you do now, Jake?” Kitty accused as
she opened the door.

“Kitty, do you have a guest room where I
could lie down?” Madeleine asked, turning to her.

“No, but you can have Jake’s room. I’ll keep
him out.”

Madeleine glared at him before walking into
the house. Kitty winked at him, the only indication she was rooting
for him, and followed her in. Jake watched them ascend the stairs
and retreated to the kitchen. Kitty had made oatmeal chocolate chip
cookies earlier; the house still smelled of them. He helped himself
to two and sat at the kitchen table.

The phone in his pocket vibrated. He shifted
to pull Madeleine's BlackBerry free and looked at the number,
hesitating only a second before answering.

"Madeleine's phone."

"Does she have another personal assistant?"
came the voice of an amused woman.

"No, ma'am. She's had a rough day. I'm just
helping out."

"She has a lot of rough days lately," the
woman said with a sigh. "And I don't help her. And who is the man
kind enough to help my baby?"

"Jake. I'm working with her on a project in
Texas."

"I've always wanted to live in the
southwest."

Jake smiled. Madeleine's mom had a voice
similar to hers, only slightly worn and deeper.

"You can come visit," he offered. "Might
cheer her up."

"Maybe," she said. "I have surgery soon, but
maybe after."

"Are you very sick, ma'am?" he asked.

"Sometimes. I've been battling cancer for a
few years now. Thought I was winning, but I'm not so sure anymore,"
she said with a chuckle. "My poor baby is stuck taking care of me.
She's paid for everything so far and does it working for that
buffoon Nigel. Would like to give him a piece of my mind for all
the stuff he puts her through. She's all I got."

Jake was quiet, beginning to understand a
little more why Madeleine was so damn driven.

"I'm sorry to hear that, ma'am. Madeleine's a
good girl."

"The best. She's got the biggest heart of
anyone I know. And who are you, Jake?" she laughed. "Someone Maddy
would approve of me talking to?"

"Probably not," he admitted. "We have a
love-hate relationship right now."

"Sounds like a good start. Just don't back
down, son. She needs someone to take care of her but is too
stubborn to admit it."

Jake chuckled.

"I'm off to a doctor's appointment. Tell
Maddy I love her."

"I will, ma'am," he replied. "Take care."

"You take care, too, Jake."

He set down the phone and nibbled on a
cookie, dwelling as much on the discovery of Alex's body as on the
discussion with Maddy's mom. His thoughts turned to Mark, whom he
was pretty sure set up the lobby scene for failure. Madeleine
wouldn't have risked too many chairs, not after he explained the
whole building would fall down if she ignored him. Mark was the
only other one who knew.

Anger lit his insides. What kind of man would
set a woman like Madeleine up for failure? Mark dated her; he had
to know about her mother and how that was Madeleine's motivation
for driving herself into the ground as she did.

And then there was Alex, who probably got
what he deserved. Jake didn't like to think ill of anyone, but he'd
heard nothing good about Alex and saw the mess he left Madeleine
in.

Jake wiped his face and rose, seeking out his
uncle. Javier was in the greenhouse, dutifully spraying water on
Kitty's plants by hand, as she insisted.

"Kit's got you slaving away for her today?"
he asked with a smile.

"It was a trade-off for the cookies," Javier
said. "It's worth it."

Jake watched him for a long moment, until
Javier turned to him.

"I saw Madeleine come in with you," he said.
"What happened? Building fall down yet?"

"Not yet," Jake said with a grunt. "We found
Alex, the guy she replaced as the project manager."

"Found?"

"Killed and hung in a tarp under the
office."

Javier lowered the spray bottle, his dark
eyes sharpening. He studied Jake.

"You wanna make the phone
call, or should I,
tio
?" Jake asked.

"
Jesus Cristo.
"

"Hope your cousin wasn't involved in this
one. Rather high profile, not the kind of thing that dies down
fast."

"Give me your phone, son," Javier said,
holding out his beefy hand. "Give me a few minutes."

Jake obliged on both counts and left the
greenhouse, waiting patiently for his uncle to call his cousin, the
infamous Carlos Cortez who ran drugs through the area. The whole
family splintered when the cousins were young, and Jake asked once,
long ago, if Javier were involved in the criminal side of his
family. Javier swore to Jake his money came from construction and
not drugs. Jake believed him; he saw how hard his uncle worked and
how good his heart was.

"Wasn't him," Javier said, appearing after a
few brief minutes.

"Would he tell you if it was?" Jake
challenged. "He's not known for his charity work."

"He won't lie to his family, even if we
disagree on basically everything the other does," Javier replied.
"Said Alex owed money to everyone, including Perez, whose goons
dropped by the other night. Your girl paid Alex's debt to Cortez;
he likes her, same as I do. Won't give her any issues."

"He
likes
her?" Jake echoed. "She paid
him bribe money?"

"Alex borrowed money from him. Carlos found
out about a bypass they're building, a superhighway from the border
that'll put the Oasis in a profitable position. Carlos went
straight to Howard with the demand for a shit-ton of protection
money. Howard's paying him millions. Carlos didn't need to talk to
Howard's lackeys, but Alex sought him out for a loan. Guess he had
a gambling issue or something."

"What an idiot," Jake said, anger
stirring.

"Your girl's in the middle, but Carlos swears
he didn't do anything to Alex and won't do anything to her."

"How kind of the murdering bastard!" Jake
snapped. "If he's to be trusted, then that leaves Perez's
gang."

"I told him about Alex," Javier said. "You
know how this works. You pay the piso, you get the protection.
Carlos was pissed Perez has been sneaking around. Could sever his
income from Howard."

"Whoa,
tio¸
there's not gonna be some kind
of showdown over the Oasis, is there?" Jake asked,
alarmed.

"Carlos can outgun Perez any day of the week.
For once, I think my cousin will take care of the business he
should," Javier said, anger in his voice. "Besides, you can't have
your girl in that mess."

Jake studied him, uncertain of what to think.
Javier was the noblest man he knew; if he hadn't lived with him for
so long, he might find himself wondering how Javier could even talk
to Carlos. At the end of the day, Jake understood how strong family
bonds were, especially among his uncle's generation, and dismissed
his suspicion. Javier had always done things by the book. He'd
never hurt anyone, never even lied to anyone.

"Don't think she's my girl
anyway. Thanks,
tio,
I think," he said at last.

"She's lucky she paid Carlos," Javier said.
"Whether or not she meant to, she chose an important ally."

"I doubt she knew. She was trying to do
what's right, like she always does," Jake said, his thoughts going
to the woman's ill mother.

Nearly caught in the crossfire between two
drug gangs with a mother fighting cancer and soon, no job. He shook
his head, pitying the woman.

"If Howard’s anything like the idiots working
for him, he’s just another scumbag.” He bit off the words. "She
doesn’t deserve to get fired."

"Might be the best thing going for her,"
Javier offered.

Jake laughed.

"Might save her skin. She's
a good project manager,
mi
hijo
, resourceful and smart. We could use
one in the family business."

"Like she'd leave the big city to stay here,"
Jake said. As soon as the words left his mouth, he couldn't help
wondering if she would. Her mother would in a heartbeat. His gaze
went to the house.

"You both have things to think about," Javier
said wisely, and squeezed his shoulder. He set out spraying more
herbs with calm Jake envied.

Jake said nothing and retreated to the
kitchen for more cookies. He stared at the ceiling until certain
he'd do something stupid-- like bother the woman in his room.
Instead, he went out to the small gym Javier built him when he
returned from New York and worked out, his mind on getting the
Desert Oasis project out of his hair once and for all.

When he'd calmed his nerves and bathed, he
returned to the house, surprised to find Madeleine sitting in the
bay window holding a fragrant cup of Kitty's super special spiced
wine. He hesitated to intrude and then stepped into the formal
living room.

Madeleine looked from the fence line behind
the house to him.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks. Been a rough week."

"Yeah."

He waited for her to dismiss him as she was
wont to do. When she continued to look at him, he sat near her.

"You need anything?"

"I think I need a new job," she said
slowly.

Jake laughed.

"I'm serious, Jake."

"I think you're right, Madge."

"Oh, that idiot!" she grated.

"Not to bring up bad memories, but did you
see the look on Nigel's face when the lobby snapped in two?"

She looked at him, a small smile tugging
free. Jake made a horrified face, and she covered her mouth to keep
from laughing.

"Mr. Howard had too much Botox to look
surprised, but I think one of his eyebrows got stuck up like this,"
he continued, making another face.

At this, Madeleine laughed out loud.

"I shouldn't laugh at my bosses!" she said,
covering her mouth again.

"Yeah, you should. They set you up for
failure and made your life a living hell."

"Jake," she said thoughtfully. "I'm glad you
beat up Mark. I shouldn't say it, but I am."

"Me, too. I can kick his ass again, if you
want," he offered.

She shook her head.

"I think Eric might," he added.

"Eric? He's non-confrontational."

"He was pretty pissed about the lobby. Mark
wanted to make sure it failed."

A troubled look crossed her pretty features.
She frowned and sighed.

"I should finish the Oasis and find a new
job," she said. "But I can't stand the idea of setting foot in that
trailer after … after Alex."

Her voice trembled. He leaned forward and
took her hands as he had once before, after the vandals broke
in.

"Walk away," he said. "Don't go back. Javier
will hire you to manage his construction company."

"Jake, don't be ridiculous," she said. "You
know I can't do that."

"Why not? It can't be out of some misplaced
sense of loyalty to a bunch of idiots who have done nothing but
abuse you."

She looked down at her hands clasped in his,
her jaw tightening. He recognized the sign she was about to wall
him out again and squeezed her hands with one of his, then handed
her the BlackBerry.

"Your mama called earlier," he said. "I
answered in case it was important. She's a nice lady."

She looked at him, troubled, then took the
phone.

"Seems like you got a lot on your shoulders.
Whatever it is, I can help, if you let me," he whispered. "I mean
that, Madeleine."

He rose, unwilling to stay for either a
rejection or an excuse, and left her in peace to think.

She watched him, drained yet touched by his
concern. Her gaze dropped to her phone, and she flipped to the last
caller, her mama. Of all the thoughts running through her mind, one
kept returning.

Alex died for money.

The memory of Alex's mummified corpse made
her shudder. She couldn't help seeing her own face on his body. It
was where she was headed. They'd needed money for different
reasons, but at the end of the day, he'd ended up dead, and she
didn't feel too far off. She'd never thought she could identify
with Alex, but she found herself commiserating with him. He'd
borrowed money foolishly, yet he ended up staggering under the same
weight of the world and his debt as she did.

She wanted nothing to do with the Desert
Oasis project. She wanted to call Nigel and tell him what ring of
hell to go to, then punch Mark. She wanted to burn her accounting
book and leave them where they'd left her: guessing how the hell
they were going to fix things.

If she stayed, she'd at least have a paycheck
long enough to get Mama through more surgery.

If she stayed, she'd end up like Alex,
running herself into her own grave.

She'd be no use to Mama as a mummy. And Mama
was right: if the cancer didn't clear up soon, she'd spend the last
good months Mama had all the way across the country working for
self-serving people who used her and who she was now close to
hating.

She couldn't escape the memory of Alex's
body.

She fiddled with her phone, terrified she was
making the wrong choice, then dialed her mama.

"Hey baby," came her mother's worn but
chipper voice. "You doing okay?"

"I should be asking you that," she replied.
"Jake said you called."

"He's a nice man. Handsome?"

Madeleine's gaze went toward the kitchen,
where Jake and Javier’s low voices came from.

"Not at all," she said with a faint smile.
"Ugly as sin."