Mercy: Second Chance Military Romance (15 page)

Then, near the end, she would pop out and point a finger at him. We would both laugh our asses off at him then leave
. Easy as pancakes!
I smiled, happy with the diversion.

Tyler still hadn’t called me, and there was no way I would break down and call him first. I didn’t even remember why we had gotten into an argument, but that didn’t matter.

He would call me first or we would never talk again. End of story. My mind went back to the prank on Roger to teach him a lesson. I had already written up a fake story about him being a loser.

After we showed it to him online, he would freak out. We would film him freaking out and have some leverage to get him to leave us alone while teaching him a valuable lesson – don’t fuck with women.

I arrived at address he had given me. The neighborhood was nice. How the hell was he going to afford an office in this part of the city? Did he have secret money or something?

Jennifer walked up, out of breath, and put her hand on my shoulder.

“You okay?” I asked.

“I had to run the last few blocks because I left so late.”

“You have to quit smoking so much weed,” I teased.

“I’m fine. Give me a minute.”

“I’m going inside, so I’m not late. You can follow me in a few minutes. Remember, stay back until the end. I’ll give you the sign.”

“Yeah, yeah, you call him a small-penis-mother-fucker, and I come rushing out to show him the fake website and story.”

“This is the best plan ever,” I said, giggling.

“I feel like we’re in college again?”

“Right?” I smiled. “I’ll see you in a few.”

As she waited outside, still catching her breath, I went into the ten story building. The top floor was supposedly where he was opening up his security company.

None of his story made sense to me. That was one of the reasons I didn’t feel too bad about pranking him with Jennifer. He had to be taught a lesson.

When I reached the top floor, I stepped out of the elevator and glanced to the left and right, looking for him. He was to the right, standing near the floor to ceiling windows at the other end of a big, open area.

I took a deep breath then walked over, putting a smile on my face as I walked.
Jennifer is coming soon. Just keep it cool.
What if he gets angry and hits me? Would he do that? Fuck. This is a bad idea.

He spun around and smiled, stretching out his arms as if he wanted a hug. I stopped a good twenty-feet away from him, keeping the smile on at full intensity.

“Damn, you’re looking good,” he said, checking out my body.

The little black dress I had on was always a favorite with men because of the way it accentuated all my curves in just the right way.

“You’re looking fit too,” I said.

“About yesterday…”

“Don’t worry about it,” I interrupted, waving my hand through the air. “Water under the bridge. You ready to do this?”

I walked over to the only desk and set my laptop on it.

“Yeah,” he said. “Sorry I don’t have it furnished yet, but I thought it would help you write the story.”

Oh, it’s going to help me.

“Okay,” I said, pulling up a blank Word file. “First question.”

“Hold on. Can I say something first?”

I glanced over at the elevators then to him.

“Sure. Yeah. Go ahead.”

“Why are you doing this story? Is this some type of trick?”

Damn, is he smarter than I thought?

“Trick? Not at all. A story on a military vet doing good in the big city will get my journalism career back in gear. I want to do this story. Trust me.”

“Alright, I’ll trust you.”

He stared at me warily.

“Okay,” I said, my fingers on the keyboard. “What is the name of your business?”

“We’ve not decided yet, right Roger?” Tyler asked from behind me.

What the hell?

I spun around and saw him staring at me with his massive arms crossed over his chest.

“Tyler? What are you doing here?”

“I’d like to ask you the same question.”

“Now, now,” Roger said.

Tyler and I both turned to him and said, “Shut up!” at the same time before looking back at each other.

“Why don’t you tell him the truth, Mercy?” Roger asked. “We’re here to fuck.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, whipping my head around toward him.

“You know, baby. My cock.”

He grabbed his nuts and lifted them. Tyler rushed forward, ready to punch him. I stepped in between the two of them.

“Hold on,” I said. “Let’s not let this get out of hand.”

“She wanted to put her hands all over me, bro, but I said no.”

“What the hell are you smoking, Roger?” I turned to Tyler. “You don’t believe this asshole, do you?”

“Who served with you in the Stan, man? It was fucking me.”

Tyler turned his attention from Roger back to me.

I pleaded to him with my eyes – please understand and believe me.

“I’m leaving,” he said, taking a step back.

“Wait, bro.” Roger stepped forward. “Fuck her. Let’s do this business deal. Once you’re in, you can’t get out. Remember?”

“Um, no. Don’t fuck me,” I said then realized I made no sense.

Both of the men looked at me with confusion on their faces.

“You know what I mean.”

“I’m leaving,” Tyler said, spinning around and walking toward the elevator.

Jennifer spilled out, pointing at Roger, “She show you the article, mother fucker?”

Tyler walked around her and into the elevator. I rushed over, but the door closed just as I arrived.

“What’s wrong?” Jennifer asked, as clueless as ever.

“Ugh,” I sighed, stomping my foot as if that would help.

“You two crazy bitches need to get out of here,” Roger said, walking over.

“Come on.”

I grabbed her hand and headed for the stairwell. We went down two flights before getting out and hopping on another elevator. He stopped in the hallway just as the doors closed.

“You bitches!” he yelled, his voice cut-off as we descended.

“What the hell was that all about?” Jennifer asked. “What happened?”

“Tyler showed up.”

“The other guy from Afghanistan?”

“Yeah,” I said, staring straight ahead.

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Why did he…?”

“I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter. We don’t need either of them.”

“Tyler didn’t sound so bad,” she said, still staring at me.

I took a deep breath, lightening up a bit.

“Yeah, I guess. He doesn’t seem crazy about me.”

“Well, he doesn’t know you as well as I do.”

Jennifer put her arm around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder a moment. We returned to my apartment to enjoy the last of the weekend before we had to return to work.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Tyler

I left the office building with my mind going a million miles a second. When I got to the corner and turned, I noticed the man who had followed me earlier. He didn’t have the beard, but it was him.

What the fuck does he want?
I wondered as I increased my pace, ready to lose him. If I slipped into a bar for a few drinks, he would never find me. My heart beat faster as I sped up even more.

At the next alley, I turned sharply and took off running. When I reached the end, an unmarked four-door sedan pulled out and slammed on the brakes, almost hitting me. Two men jumped out.

I craned my neck to peer behind me. The man who had been following was at the opposite end of the alley, heading toward me.
Fuck
. I looked back at the other two who had guns drawn.

“What the fuck do you guys want?” I shouted. “Didn’t Roger tell you I was out for good?”

The two men looked at each other briefly then back to me.

“Talk to me, mother fuckers.”

“Be careful what you say right now,” the man walking up behind me said.

I turned to face him, ready to bolt at the first available opportunity.

“Take it easy. We just want to ask some questions.”

“About what?” I asked, flexing my muscles.

“Afghanistan,” he said then turned to the other two men. “Get back in the car, you two.”

They obeyed immediately without a word.

“What about Afghanistan? That was a long time ago.”

“Relax. We don’t have enough proof to take you down in a court of law, at least not here in the States, but we know you were involved with the smuggling. Do you realize how much help you gave the Chinese?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that all before. Believe me. We’re after Roger. He’s working with someone posing as a journalist.”

“A woman?”

“Yeah, why?”

“She’s not involved,” I said.

“How do you know?”

“I just do, okay?”

“Ah, a love interest?”

“It’s not like that. Keep her out of this, okay?”

“Relax, big guy. I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

We locked eyes, neither of us backing down or looking away.

“We want you to help us take down Roger. Your name will be cleared of any wrongdoing. Hell, we might even throw in a sizable reward for your trouble.”

“I’ll consider it.”

“You better do it fast. We don’t have a lot of time.”

“Can I go now?”

He stepped aside and waved with his arms. I walked by him and back to the main street. After walking around for half-an-hour to make sure they weren’t following me, I headed back to Mercy’s apartment.

We needed to talk.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Tyler

I stood outside her door and took a deep breath. She answered after the first knock. We stared at each other a moment.

“Why did you walk out like that?” she asked.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah, sure.”

She stepped aside. I walked in and closed the door behind me.

“Come and have a seat.”

I followed her across the living room to her brown suede couch. We took seats at opposite ends. She put her hands in her lap.

“Well?”

“Seeing you with Roger upset me.”

“Okay, that’s a good start.”

“Don’t patronize me, please.”

“I’m not. Geez. Give a girl a break, would you?”

“I got jealous, okay? Are you interested in him?”

“No, not at all. He asked me to a story on his security company.”

“You mean our security company.”

She tilted her head to the side.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m investing in the company with him.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Something isn’t right. I talked to the real estate agent, and no one is supposed to be in that office. It’s been rented already.”

“What? Why and when did you do that?”

“Um, I’m a journalist. I can multitask. Well, I was a journalist.”

“A damn good one.”

She smiled.

“Flattery will get you everywhere.”

“Good to know.”

“It sounds like he’s trying to start up the smuggling operation again, and he’s starting the security firm as a front operation.”

“That mother fucker lied again,” I said, getting more upset.

“Calm down, baby. We should go talk to the FBI. I’ll tell them everything I know.”

“No, I don’t want you involved in this any more than you are already.”

“That’s bullshit,” she said defiantly.

I loved when she stood up for herself.

“Yeah?”

“Um, yeah. We’re a team now. Don’t you forget it.”

She poked me on the chest with her finger.

“There’s a lot of things I won’t forget about you?”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Like this.”

I scooted over and planted a wet kiss on her lips, insatiable for her physical affection. She kissed me back, her hands on my body, moving here and there, squeezing and rubbing.