Always and Forever Read online

  “I know you do.”

  “So what’d you get Brody for Valentine’s?” Greer asks.

  “Shit! I left it in my store! Damn it. I need to run and get it.”

  I walk down to where Brody’s talking to his parents.

  “Hey, baby. What’s up?” He puts his arm across my shoulders and bends to give me a sweet kiss.

  “Hey. I need to run to the store for a minute. Can I have my keys, please?”

  He frowns. “Why?”

  “It’s a surprise.” I flash him a naughty smile as he fishes my keys from his pocket.

  His mouth goes to my ear. “I like surprises. Like how surprised you’re gonna be when I fuck you against the wall when we get back to your house.”

  A shiver races through me. “I can’t wait.”

  He kisses the side of my head. “Hurry back.”

  “I will, baby,” I say and take off.

  I pass Dad on my way out. “Where’re you going?” he asks and I chuckle because he’s got a beer in one hand and a drink for Mom in the other that’s got a stick in it with all kinds of fruit slices on it.

  “To my store. I forgot Brody’s Valentine’s gift. I’ll be right back!” I inform him and take off out the door.

  It’s a bit chilly out but my store’s only a few doors to the north, so I go as quickly as I can in the ridiculously high heels I’m wearing. I cut between two buildings then walk up the alley to the back door of my store unlocking it and going inside disarming the alarm. I walk to my office reaching inside the doorway to turn on the light then go to my desk to retrieve the huge box I’ve wrapped both gifts in. The tickets are at the very bottom under layers of confetti and the boxer briefs are closer to the top under confetti too. I want him to dig then think all I got him was the boxers then really surprise him with the tickets.

  I pick up the box and am just about to hit the light switch when the back door to my store opens then closes. “Hello?” I call out sticking my head out into the dark hallway. I can see two shapes but don’t know who it is. “Who’s there?”

  I hear a woman hiss, “Go!” then the shadows start walking toward me.

  What in the world?

  “Can I help you?” I ask wondering what’s going on.

  “Yeah, you can help me,” I hear a woman say with a snort then suddenly it looks like the shadowy figure behind puts a foot into the back of the shadowy figure in front and launches them toward me. Whoever the front figure is falls at my feet with an Oomph! I throw Brody’s present behind me and kneel down by whoever it is and ask, “Are you okay?”

  A swollen and tear-streaked face meets mine and I cry out, “Peyton? Wh-what happened?”

  “I’m what happened,” the woman answers, coming into the light.

  I’m puzzled and shocked at the same time when I recognize her. “Hannah?”

  She seems pleased that I know who she is. “I see she been talkin’ ‘bout me.”

  “What on earth is going on?” I inquire.

  “Well, here’s the deal, Red,” Hannah begins and it’s then that I notice she has a freaking gun and I notice it because she waves it around as she talks. What in the name of fuck is going on?

  At that point in time, I’m honestly waiting for a film crew to come in to say I’m being Punk’d or some shit because this has to be the most ridiculous scenario I’ve ever been in.

  “See, Peyton here forgot to send me my check this month and I can’t be havin’ that happen.” She walks around in front of Peyton. “Can I, bitch?” She kicks Peyton in the side and I yell out a “Hey!” because no one, not even Peyton, should be treated this way.

  “What’s going on? What’re you talking about, check?” I ask trying to get to the bottom of this.

  Hannah’s flat eyes hit mine. “Like you don’t know. Bitch here told me you knew everything and that you’d give me money too.”

  Peyton curls up in a ball in front of me and I hear her softly crying. Good God.

  “Why don’t we go have a seat and you can tell me what’s going on because I really have no idea.”

  I watch as Hannah considers it and notice that Ryan would really be having a fit right now because her roots have really grown out.

  “Tell you what, here’s what’s gonna happen,” Hannah instructs. “You’re gonna give me all the money you have here then I’m gonna put a bullet in her head,” she points the gun at Peyton, “then I’m gonna put a bullet in your head. Then we’re even.”

  I stand and she points the gun at me. I put my hands up to my sides. I’m shaking so hard but proud of myself for not acting as if I’m scared. “I’m just going to turn on the lights to the store, okay? There’s a small loveseat inside and a couple chairs and we can talk about this.” I open the panel to turn on the lights (it’s an old store). “I also need to make sure the alarm is disarmed, okay?”

  Hannah narrows her eyes at me and I can tell she’s not as tough as she wants me to believe because I’m pretty sure I see a little fear in them. At her nod, I go to the alarm and push some buttons that turn on the silent alarm thanking God that Clay’s so damned smart because he’s the one who’d told me to have it put in.

  “I can make us some tea or get you a soda or whatever you need,” I offer.

  “Yeah, okay. That sounds good.” She looks down at Peyton. “Bitch, you better get yo’ ass up now and get inside.” Damn. She really doesn’t like Peyton… along with the rest of us.

  Peyton whimpers but crawls to her feet then walks painfully inside the store and sits on the loveseat. Hannah follows her but stays standing keeping her eyes on me (and the gun pointed at me) as I plug in my little single burner, put water into a kettle and place it on the burner. I turn and look at her.

  “So tell me what’s happened.”

  Her eyes go hard. “My old man was picked up and now he bein’ charged with murder. And it’s all her fault.” She jerks her head toward Peyton.

  I shake my head. “I don’t get it.”

  She rolls her eyes. “See, he not who he say he is. I might as well tell you everythin’ ‘cause you ain’t gonna live to tell anyone about it anyway.” She doesn’t even flinch when she says this, like killing someone’s just another item on her agenda for the day. “Anyway, he did kill a man about six years ago then he took his name. But because she had to open her big fuckin’ mouth, it all went to shit.” By “she” she’s meaning Peyton again.

  “Wait. How do you know Peyton?” I ask.

  “Her and some dumbass blond dude came to Atlanta one weekend to party. I was workin’ the street that night and they pulled up to me lookin’ for a hookup.”

  I frown. “Hookup?”

  “You know, some amp.”

  “Amp?”

  She snorts. “Man, you some Pollyanna all up in here. Crank.” Again at my bewildered look she lets out a breath. “Jesus, lady. Meth.”

  “Oh! Okay!” I answer. Then I get a shocked look. “She and this guy wanted to do meth?”

  She shakes her head looking disgustedly at me like she can’t believe I’m so innocent. “Yeah. So I called my man and told him what they wanted. That was after her man flashed his cash at me. I figured we’d just rob ‘em when we got there, but we got so fucked, we forgot. Anyway, I tell ‘em I’d take ‘em to where they could get some. Got in their car and took ‘em to the house where Darius’s partner would give ‘em the hookup. We partied all weekend long and this dude she was with paid for it all. Bitch here gives me her number, tells me where she lives and all and say to come up and visit any time. So little over a year ago, I showed up here to party. We go to the bar and she’s all pissy ‘cause some dude won’t pay attention to her. I’ve got some rocks on me…”

  “Rocks?”

  “Rocks. You’d probably know it by Liquid X.” At my nod, she continues. “So she makes this plan to drug him so he’ll fuck her ‘cept he still didn’t wanna bang her ha
ppy ass even all drugged and shit.” She snorts again.

  Oh, God, she’s talking about Brody but I don’t think she’s made the connection that he’s my boyfriend or fiancé now, I guess. I decide to keep her talking as I’m waiting for Dwight to show up. He’s the sheriff and he’s from Serenity Point but I guess there’s gobs more crime going on in the county.

  “So she call me over and I grab the dude and take him out to the floor to dance. And I’m tellin’ you, he was hot, grindin’ his dick all up on me. Thought he was gonna rip my clothes off me right then and there in front of everyone and fuck me on the floor. Boy was packin’ large, too.”

  I clench my teeth as the teapot starts whistling so I pull it off the burner and start preparing things. If she didn’t have a gun, I’d have picked up the burner and smashed the red-hot son of a bitch into her face.

  “We go to her house and I’m all good and primed to fuck him ‘cause we’re all up on each other in her car, me straddlin’ him in the backseat grindin’ on his hard cock, my pussy creamin’ all over his jeans, him jammin’ his tongue down my throat, hand all up on my tits, his other hand up my dress on my clit makin’ me almost fuckin’ come. Damn.”

  Jesus Christ. I’m going to kill him. Swear to God, if I make it out of this alive, I’m going to murder his ass then I’ll kill him again.

  “Bad thing was, we get to her house and he passes the fuck out. I tried gettin’ him hard so I could take a little ride but he was out.”

  I bring the tea over on a tray and set it on the table and pour the tea into the teacups. “Do you take sugar?” Cyanide, maybe?

  “I’ll get it,” she says, coming over to the table. She looks at the tray. “My momma used to have a service just like this one.”

  This surprises me. “Oh, yeah? This one’s pretty old. If your mom still has it, worth quite a bit of money.”

  Her eyes lift to mine and I realize my mistake. Shit. I’m going to be killed over a fucking tea service.

  “Hm. Ain’t seen my momma in almost twenty years. She kicked me out when I was fourteen ‘cause I kept runnin’ away anyway. Then I started stealin’ shit to get by but kept bein’ picked up by the police and brought back home. Reason I was runnin’ in the first place was ‘cause I was angry ‘bout my stepdad rapin’ me and she didn’t believe me.”

  Oh, my God. No wonder her life’s so screwed up. How sad.

  I watch as she uses the tongs to pick up several cubes of sugar then puts them in her cup. She stirs it then puts the spoon on the saucer and picks up the teacup bringing it to her mouth and drinks.

  “Earl Grey?” she asks.

  I smile. “Yes.” Honest to God, I’m amazed that I’m not more jittery around her. This is kind of weirding me out. Maybe it’s because of the champagne I had earlier that I’m so relaxed.

  We drink in silence and I glance at Peyton who’s staring at me out of her scary face.

  “So why’d you make the trip, Hannah?” I ask casually.

  “I called her wantin’ to know why my check didn’t come. She’s been sendin’ me a thousand a month ever since Darius, Jr. was born. Five hundred from her, five hundred from the dude who wanted to fuck me ‘cause we tell him the baby his. At first, she just sendin’ me the five hundred then I find out I’m pregnant. So I talked to Darius and we came up with a way to scam the dude. After Jr. was born, I call her and tell her I’m comin’ here and I want the guy to meet us at her house. I came up here gave him some fake test. Month later have her tell him he the daddy and then I’m gettin’ a thousand a month, easy money. Then last week, no check. I called and she tell me she don’t have it and I laughed at her ‘cause only reason she been sendin’ is ‘cause I threatened her. Told her Darius and I’d come up here and take all she had then leave her body in a ditch on the way outta town.”

  I’ve decided that Hannah White must have a lonely existence because she’s talking my leg off. This is so unreal, believe me, I know it is, but I think no one listens to her at home, she probably doesn’t have very many friends and she’s right now enjoying that she has my attention.

  “So we plan to follow through on our threat then Darius gets charged and all then the State come in and take Jr. from me sayin’ I’m unfit and all and I got nothin’. So had to come here and set shit straight.” She takes another sip of tea as she looks around my store. “You gotta lotta shit in here.”

  “Yeah. I like it, though. Keeps me busy.”

  She nods. “It’s nice.”

  We sit in silence for a moment until I urge her on. “So you came up here to give Peyton a visit.”

  “Yeah. I get here and I’m waitin’ on her in her house tonight and she screams her fool head off, so I had to pistol whip a bitch.”

  Damn. So that’s what happened to Peyton’s face. Ouch.

  “Told her I want my money and she tell me she don’t have it. Made her go to the bank and get out all her money. Know what she had in her account? Twenty-five dollars. Told me she had to call her daddy to get more and I asked where he was but she didn’t wanna say so I beat her ass some more. Then she say she got friends who can gimme money, so she tells me to come here and see you ‘cept you weren’t here. So then she say to go down the street to some garage and the lady there would gimme money but she gone too. Got lucky when we came back this way and seen the light on in here.”

  I nod. Okay. So she’s going to rob me then I’m going to die with Peyton Capps or Stalls or whatever she goes by. Super.

  “You gotta bathroom here?” she asks.

  I hear one of the floorboards squeak and look up to see Dwight creeping down the hallway toward me with his gun drawn telling me with his eyes to be cool.

  At the squeak, she starts to turn but I say, “Yeah, the bathroom’s this way. Come on, I’ll show you.” I start walking toward the front where the customers’ restroom is.

  We’re almost to it when Dwight yells out, “Drop, Piper!” and I fall to the floor and scurry off on my knees to hide behind an antique highboy as a gunshot goes off and I scream.

  There’s a scuffle and I look out from behind the chest of drawers and see Hannah on the ground being handcuffed by one of Dwight’s deputies, his knee in her back and I know it has to hurt. Her gaze is on me watching as I stand and she looks so sad that I actually feel sorry for her. The deputy pulls her up roughly but her eyes don’t leave mine as he leads her toward the back of my store. She even turns her head to keep watching me until she can’t twist her head that much any longer.

  Brody comes running in then in a panic. “Piper! Are you okay?” When he gets to me, he pulls me into his arms. “I was so scared. Fuck!”

  “I’m okay,” I say against his chest where I hear his heart beating a hundred miles an hour.

  Mom, Dad, Greer and Clay come in then followed by Brody’s family and Amelia and Jeremy then Ryan and Drew. Everybody hugs me telling me how scared they were and wants to make sure I’m okay. I assure them I’m fine but tell them I want to know where that damned bullet went when either Hannah’s or Dwight’s or the deputy’s gun went off and they laugh but I know they do it grudgingly because they genuinely were scared for me.

  The ambulance then comes for Peyton and they take her away.

  Everyone except Brody finally leaves so Dwight can take my statement. I really don’t want to tell him about Peyton’s knowing about everything and have her be charged with extortion or whatever because she was a victim too, but I know I have to tell him, so I do. I also tell him about Hannah’s background hoping she might get some leniency when she’s charged. Afterward, he explains that when his deputy tackled Hannah that her gun discharged and that he’s collected the shell casing but really needs to find the bullet to use as evidence to charge her with unlawful discharge of a weapon or he says he could probably get her on attempted murder. We look around and end up finding that the bullet went through the ceiling. I take him to the back and show him how to get into th
e attic so he can find it.

  I ask if I can leave and he tells me he’ll lock up. Brody takes his suit jacket off and throws it around my shoulders and I have him get his present from my office.

  As we walk down the alley toward Jen’s, his arm is around me and I lean my head against him.

  “I’m exhausted,” I tell him. “What time is it anyway?”

  “Two-thirty. Pipe, I’m sorry I wasn’t there to save you.”

  “I’m tired and don’t wanna talk, okay?”

  “Okay, baby.”

  Then I add, “But I do wanna talk tomorrow because I’m thoroughly pissed at you because of what Hannah told me.”

  I hear him swear quietly and I wrap my arm across his stomach as we walk.

  I might be pissed but I still love my fiancé.

  Chapter 20

  The next morning I come awake to bacon frying which is one of the best smells there is.

  I roll over on my back and stare up at the fabric that’s draped on my canopy. As I lie there, I think about Hannah and wonder why life’s so unfair to some people. It sounded like she didn’t stand a chance for a decent life from the get go.

  I think about her children and hope they’re faring better than she did but I doubt they are because it seems as if the system caters to those who abuse it but fails those who need it the most.

  I also think about Peyton and wonder what’ll happen to her. She’ll probably bat her eyes at the judge who’ll want to date her and she’ll get off with a slap to the wrist. Whatever.

  Then I think about Brody who’s this very moment in my kitchen making me breakfast and who almost fucked another woman on Jen’s dance floor.

  I grab my phone and Google “Liquid X” and read that it heightens the sex drive. I know Brody’s sex drive is out the roof normally, so I decide to cut him a break about his actions, but I will tell him what Hannah said and make damned good and sure he doesn’t remember any of it because if he does, I might go back to wanting to murder him.

  I hold my hand up and look at the beautiful ring he gave me. My God, he did a great job with it. I’ll have to ask Cassie if she helped pick it out.