Bad Cop Read online

  Genevra beamed over at Vance.

  Christ, she looks too much like Lolly.

  Vance ducked his head. “Go ahead and call Annabelle directly,” he told Davis. “In fact, why don’t you remind her that you two met Saturday night and tell her she can bring her plus one…or not.” Vance snickered. “Duncan was not on my side of the Lolly issue, so as far as I’m concerned, you are welcome to mess with his mind.”

  “You’re the boss,” Davis said grinning. He glanced back at the phone. “Let’s see, Grace Devine and Tess Devine. Holy Shit! Annabelle has sisters?”

  Vance grinned at the enthusiasm of youth. “Tess is my age, an actress, and dates Johnny Wilder so she’ll bring him. Great body—likes to show off her cleavage, so whatever she decides to wear to a pool party should be extremely entertaining.”

  Genevra covered a smile with her napkin.

  “Grace is a couple years younger than I am,” Vance went on, smiling at Genevra. “Hot, but in a totally covered-up way. Totally kick-ass FBI. Her scary spy-guy boyfriend is probably still in town, so hit on Grace at your own peril. Annabelle, whom you already met, is the baby. However, don’t get on her bad side. She totally ripped me a new one over the whole tennis incident.”

  “You mean where you kissed Lolly in front of the entire Club,” Davis said. “Kissed her so hard and so long that the grapevine crept all the way to Raleigh with the news. Had me dragging my sorry ass up here to try to talk some sense into her.”

  Vance shot Davis a look. “Big words for somebody who then hit on Annabelle.”

  Davis shrugged. “I was trying out my new move.”

  “And how’d that work out for you?”

  “It could use some fine-tuning.” Davis admitted, before saying, “Okay, back to the list. Mrs. Genevra DuVal,” Davis said, looking up from the phone and grinning at Genevra. “That is a beautiful name. Should I put you down for a plus one?” he teased.

  Vance looked over at her sincerely. “You will attend, right? All three of you are a part of this deal,” Vance insisted, his gaze expanding to include his father and grandmother.

  “I wouldn’t dream of missing it, dear boy.” The Spanish accent lilted over the table. “I have the perfect attire. Trust me. I’ll be there with bells on.”

  “A little nervous about that, Abuela, I am not gonna lie.”

  Davis grinned before looking back at the phone. “Next up…hmm, Lolly Duval.”

  “Yeah,” Vance moaned, rubbing his face hard with both hands. “Go ahead and delete that contact. For the time being, it’s probably best that any communication between Lolly and me go through Brooks or her mother,” Vance said, shooting a glance at Genevra.

  “In fact, give me your phone.” Vance took Davis’ phone from the table and started playing Pac Man with it. “I’m deleting her from your contacts, too.”

  “Is that really necessary?” Davis whined. His face contorted as he watched Vance abuse his phone.

  “Just giving us a little space from the forbidden fruit,” Vance said. “Besides, twisting you into knots is going to be so much fun that neither of us is going to have time to worry about Lolly.”

  “If by knots you mean manning a pool party filled with hot babes, twist away,” Davis said, winking at Emelina before ducking his head and going back to the list. “Hale Evans.” He gave Hale a grin. “Check. And, uh,” he glanced down and then back up, “Mrs. Flores.” He smiled at Emelina again. “I am very much looking forward to your wardrobe choice for the afternoon.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Vance muttered.

  “Okay, down to Duncan James,” Davis went on. “Can I just delete him from your contacts as well?”

  “You gettin’ a little full of yourself?”

  “I’m the first employee of EEI, Inc. I am feeling the power,” Davis proclaimed looking back down at the phone. “Okay, uh, here we are at Mr. Lewis Kampmueller, President and CEO of the current Fortune 100 Company KampsApps. I will definitely call him. There is only one more name. Or sort of name. You’ve got a Harry The Bartender listed.”

  “Let me see that,” Vance said pulling his phone out of Davis’ hand. “I do not fucking believe this,” he breathed. “Oops, sorry, Genevra.”

  “Who is Harry The Bartender?” Genevra asked.

  “That guy. That bartender guy at the Club last night. The one with the zany-ass powers and cure-all tequila shots. He’s got mad waiter skills. He knows what you want before you do. I’ve run into him three times, but I never asked him for his number. Lolly thinks he’s cute, by the way,” he said as an aside to Davis. “I have no idea why he’s listed in my favorites, but I’m telling you, if this number works, the guy will probably wiggle his nose and have beer, burgers, and tequila shots appear out of thin air.”

  “Call him,” Hale said. “This party is on me. If he can do it on such short notice, tell him I’ll double his fee.”

  Vance stood and walked a few feet away as the call went through. One ring and then—

  “Mr. Evans, how are you sir?”

  “Harry? How did you know who was calling?”

  “Your picture came up on my phone, of course.”

  “How the hell—never mind,” Vance said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “Harry, I need a big favor. I’m throwing a pool party this afternoon for about twenty-five guests. We need beer and food. Anything you can do to help me out? I’ll make it worth your while.”

  “Loading the truck now, sir.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Evan & Evans Investments—caught wind of it last night, sir. I figured there might be some celebrating. I’ll be there in an hour to set up.”

  Vance’s mouth moved, but no sound came out.

  “It’s all right, sir. No need to say anything.” And with that, Harry disconnected the call.

  Vance wandered back to the table, unable to say any more than, “He’ll do it,” as he sat down.

  “Perfect,” Hale said as he kissed Genevra’s hand once more. “Start the party at two and it can rage on as long as you want. But at some point, Genevra and I would like to speak with you and Lolly privately.”

  “Fine,” Vance said, “but you don’t need to give me another lecture on friendship versus true love.”

  Hale laughed. “No. I trust we’re done with all that. This is about another matter entirely.”

  Vance looked from his father to Genevra, curious. “Is this about setting a date for your wedding?”

  “It is,” his father answered with a grin. “We want to do it as soon as possible.”

  “You do know this is probably going to make Lolly’s head explode.”

  Hale’s smile went broad as he stood up and started collecting empty plates. “I’m counting on it.”

  While Genevra, Emelina, and Hale cleared the table and took themselves elsewhere, Vance listened in while Davis made the calls. When that was done, Vance said, “Okay, now just to amuse ourselves, let’s go through and invite everyone’s exes. Start with Tansy Langford. She can’t stand me and I feel the same about her, but it will be amusing to watch Brooks and Lolly have to deal with her.”

  “So she’s…”

  “Brooks’ ex,” Vance supplied.

  Davis’ dimples grew deep. “I like where your head is at,” he said.

  “Right? And just to piss off Duncan a little more, invite Stubs McKenna, Archibald Reynolds, and Tucker Davenport. During Duncan and Annabelle’s first date, Brooks and I kept sending those guys in to interrupt.”

  “Practical jokes on your best friends. I am your man.”

  “And, to make it really interesting, go ahead and call everybody listed under Jail Bait.”

  Just then Hale stuck his head out of the French doors and hollered, “Walk the boy down to the garage and have him pick out a car to use while he’s on official company business.”

  “I’ve got a car, sir,” Davis hollered back. “Thanks, anyway.”

  “Oh, so you’re not interested in driving a vintage Corvette, a
n Aston Martin One-77, or a 2013 Jaguar convertible, red with white interior?” Vance chided.

  “On second thought,” Davis shouted back to Hale. “That’d be great.” He hopped up from his seat. “Come on, man. Before he changes his mind.”

  Vance laughed as he stumbled away from the table, having to sprint to catch up to Davis. “Damn, boy, you can run. What position did you play?”

  Davis slowed to a jog. “Midfielder.”

  “Outfielder?” Vance stopped him with a hand out, his insides tightening with concern.

  “Noooo, midfield. As in lacrosse—the fastest game on two feet. In fact, since I’m going to be hanging around Henderson this summer, maybe I should offer a lacrosse clinic on the weekends. Seems about time somebody should bring this town into the twenty-first century.”

  “Dude!” Vance stomped around in pained anguish. “There is so much wrong with what you just said, I don’t know where to begin.”

  Davis laughed. “Just because you and Brooks played baseball a hundred years ago—wait! What the hell am I looking at?” Davis stared at the sight of the long, white immaculate stable. He sounded a little bit dazed as he said, “Your dad doesn’t keep horses in there does he?”

  “Only horsepower. Come on.”

  The two of them were like kids at Christmas going over Hale Evans’ fleet. The large silver Rolls Royce, the sleek lapis blue Gran Turismo Maserati. Davis didn’t understand the nostalgia of the black 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, having never seen the movie Smokey and the Bandit, but he sure fell in love with the 1934 Cadillac with the rumble seat.

  In the end, Davis figured the vintage Caddy wouldn’t be as much of a chick-magnet as the white One-77 with the red interior. Smart move.

  “Is your father serious about this?” Davis asked as he sat in the leather seat and caressed the steering wheel.

  “I assume. He needs them driven and he’s only one man.”

  “Yeah, and he’s probably always in the Batmobile. What do you drive?”

  “My truck, generally. Though I’m fond of the ’Vette. It’s got a stick, so it’s fun to drive.”

  “I never learned.”

  “That so?” Vance asked. “Lolly likes the ’Vette.”

  Davis rolled his head in Vance’s direction and gave him a long, hard stare.

  “What?” Vance asked. He watched the kid take in a deep breath, like he was getting ready to spill some deep, dark secret. Shit.

  “I didn’t come here for the business internship,” Davis admitted, getting out of the car. “Although I’m happy to have it, and I’ll do a good job. But, at the risk of sounding ridiculous, the truth is I came here to learn how to…embrace my inner Vance Evans.”

  Vance cracked a grin. “Your inner who da what?”

  “You heard me. Don’t make me repeat it. Though that’s exactly how your buddy Brooks put it the other night. He pointed out all the pretty girls in the room and told me to channel you. Worked so well I figured he was on to something. Something I needed to learn.”

  “Where the hell did you run into Brooks?”

  “I had Lolly backed up against a wall at The Situation, right before the wet T-shirt contest.”

  “You? Mr. Nice, Safe, and Boring had Lolly backed up into a wall?”

  “I was desperate. I know what a freaking player you are, so I was trying to talk some sense into her—which Brooks actually appreciated. Of course, I didn’t realize at the time that he was Lolly’s new boyfriend.”

  Amused, Vance rubbed his chin. “Sucks for you.”

  “Really? You want to compare who this sucks for the most?”

  “No, I do not. So let’s just get this conversation out of the way, shall we? You,” Vance said, poking Davis in the chest, “are done with Lolly. I,” he said, poking at his own chest, “am done with Lolly. Lolly chose the better man. She chose Brooks. No one is winning Lolly back. We are both done with Lolly.”

  “You trying to convince me or yourself?”

  Vance pushed Davis out of the garage and up the path to the pool. “So what exactly did Brooks mean by channeling your inner me?”

  “If I knew, I wouldn’t be here, would I? I mean, he clued me in on the whole nice, safe, and boring routine—”

  “Lolly’s words, not ours."

  Davis’ face contorted with a grimace. He shook it off and kept walking. “Brooks said the backing-Lolly-against-the-wall move was priceless, and that was all I needed to know in order to pick up any girl in the room—any girl but Lolly. He made that tidbit abundantly clear.”

  “Well, that’s the only move Brooks needed, but he’s the superhero good cop, so one move worked for him. You, my friend, are going to need a few more moves,” Vance said as they reached the stone patio.

  “Which is the real reason I have landed on your doorstep. To learn from the Great Seducer himself.”

  “Okay, stop right there, because that’s the old me. The new me….” The new me what? “Oh, fuck it. Never mind. I helped Brooks over the minefield of Nice, Safe, and Boring, and since I desperately need a distraction, I guess I’m willing to help you, too.” Vance looked his protégé up and down. “Tell me about that belt.”

  “What’s wrong with my belt?”

  “I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it, goddamn it. I just asked you to tell me about it.”

  “Oh, okay.” Davis looked down and patted the brown leather attached to the buckle and then spread his fingers onto the khaki colored background of the needlework that made up the rest. “My mom made it for me as a high school graduation present. It’s got my initials, the Maryland flag, NC State’s mascot, lacrosse sticks, a lobster, a crab, and a race horse.”

  “Why the lobster?”

  “My family summers on Nantucket.”

  “You’re a rich kid.”

  “Says the pot to the kettle.”

  Vance grinned. “How long did it take your mom to make that belt?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Next time you talk to her, ask her. Tell her I like it.”

  “All right.”

  “Is your mom the one who dresses you like this?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like you’ve attended prep schools since you were five.”

  Davis swallowed.

  “Really?” Vance’s grin broadened. “Since you were five?”

  “What is wrong with a private education?”

  “Nothing, except that you dress like you’ve got one. And you play lacrosse. And I’m not sure how I feel about you being smarter than I am.”

  “Not smarter than you when it comes to women.”

  “Only when it comes to getting laid.” He again looked Davis up and down. “I think if we get you a decent haircut and a pair of bad-ass shades this preppy-prep, color-my-world thing you’ve got going on could actually work to your advantage. Nice and Safe with an edge. Reel them in with a smile and then back their little fannies right up against the wall.” Vance hesitated, his eyes searching Davis’ face intently. “I don’t know…I’m just thinkin’… there has got to be more to you than meets the eye.”

  “Oh! You mean like this?”

  In a Ninja blur, Vance felt his legs go out from under him. But before he hit the ground, he was lifted and tossed like a fucking beanbag over Davis’ back, and completed a full somersault before splashdown in the center of the pool. He came up sputtering “What the fuck” in protest and awe at the same time.

  “Double black belt,” Davis said, hands on hips.

  “Shit,” Vance said, treading water, “I knew there had to be something. The Lollypop know about this black belt thing?”

  “Lollypop?”

  “Lolly. Did she know you were a black belt?”

  Davis shrugged. “I certainly wasn’t gonna pull any of that shit on Lolly.”

  “See,” Vance told him, “that was your big mistake.”

  Chapter Four

  By three o’clock, the shallow end of the Evans’ pool was loaded w
ith happy, boisterous bikini-clad and board-shorts-sporting guests playing a fierce game with a beach ball over a net Davis had stretched across the pool. How he’d managed to rig that up so quick Vance would never know, but it sure added to the fun. Even Genevra and his father had been tempted to join in. The prepped-out Ninja continued to be full of surprises.

  When the tribe of giggling young bathing beauties arrived in a pack and gathered at the end of the pool, Vance turned Davis in their direction. “See that right there?” Vance said, pointing to all the ponytails and tan lines. “That is your signing bonus.”

  Davis’ tongue fell out of his mouth. He wiped his lips to put it back in. “Jail Bait?”

  “At one time they were, and I had to remember that. Now, they're all grown up and ready to play. See the brunette with the long braid? That’s Lacy Ray—but some of the guys around town refer to her as Racy Lay. And the platinum blonde? I swear to God I only know her as Titty Titty Bang Bang.” Vance prodded Davis forward. “They all need a drink, a place to store their loot, and probably some help rubbing suntan lotion on those hard-to-reach spots. You think you can handle that?”

  “Handle all that and then some.” Davis headed off.

  “Figured as much,” Vance murmured after him. He saw Brooks then, coming up from the garage all long bodied and broad shouldered. His short copper curls glistening in the sun, his mirrored shades reflecting the light, and his shit-eating grin telling the world that he was now one happy S.O.B.

  He ought to be, Vance thought. Not every day you’ve got the girl of your dreams waking up in your bed for the first time.

  Vance had expected the thought to sting, and maybe there was a twinge. But the twinge was short lived when a whole lot of what-the-fuck started stomping through his brain. Because Brooks didn’t just recognize Davis. Brooks was over there fist-bumping the guy like the two of them were tight.

  Vance watched them exchange words. Davis pointed in Vance’s direction. Brooks looked up, surprised, and then offered a few more words before he patted Davis on the back. Brooks proceeded toward Vance.