Easy This Time - JH Croix Page 0,31
Brett’s kind of savvy, but not as savvy as my guy,” I said grimly.
“I’m in Alaska right now. Harlow and I just got back from a trip, but I can be on a plane tomorrow if you need me to help with this in person,” Max said.
“I think you can help from where you are. I can make sure Mari is safe. If I have to, I’ll bring her to my place. I’m guessing she might not appreciate that. I don’t think she’d have taken me up on the offer of a place to stay if she hadn’t been flat broke.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, my sister is stubborn as hell. She refuses to take any help from me,” Max said dryly.
I laughed. “I’ve got a sister, so I get it. Look, you stay put in Alaska. We can coordinate from a distance. Let me get you the investigator’s number so y’all can chat. I’ll ask Mari about her phone this afternoon. She didn’t say much about it, but it’s clear Brett showing up last night shook her up.”
After I recited Trent’s number, Max commented, “Do me a favor, and promise you’ll call me if anything else weird happens.”
“You didn’t need to ask, and it’s not a favor—I’ll call you. In the meantime, I’ll make sure Trent knows who you are.”
“Where are we going?” Mari asked as I hooked a left along on an old country highway.
“I’m taking you to a special spot along the Mississippi River.”
“So, you grew up around here?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, don’t call me ma’am.”
“Okay, darlin’.”
When I stole a glance sideways at Mari, her cheeks flushed slightly, and a throaty laugh escaped.
Fuck me. Mari was too damn sexy. She could recite the alphabet in that raspy voice of hers, and it would turn me on. Hell, she turned me on just by breathing in my presence.
“Let’s get specific. Did you grow up right in New Orleans?”
“Not downtown, but on the outskirts. As I mentioned, my daddy was a shrimp fisherman. He worked his tail off, back when you could make decent money off of it. I might have money now, but don’t go thinking I grew up with it. We got by, but that was about it. He worked seasonally doing construction in between shrimp season, while my mama was a preschool teacher. She loved those little kids.”
“Are they retired?”
“I practically had to beat them into retirement, but they finally did. My mom still does a little daycare on the side for friends and family because she can’t help herself. But my daddy, well, his body is damn near worn out. He’s worked hard his whole life. I’m glad to be able to support them. I bought them a nice place, but they would only let me get it so nice. Anyway, tell me about you. I know Max, but all I know about him is he kicks butt at security and makes a ton of money.”
Mari laughed softly. “Yeah, Max is the moneymaker in our family. Like you, we didn’t grow up with much money. Our father has his own business as a mechanic in a garage right beside the house where we grew up. My mom was also a teacher. She finally retired a few years back, but she still does substitute teaching whenever they need it.”
“And how’d you get into your job?”
I felt her shrug. “Sort of by accident, although I do like it. I had a crush on a guy in college.” When I looked sideways, I saw her roll her eyes. “He was all right, but not worth sticking around. I got paid for doing stories at the university paper. He quit, and I stayed there. I got another job and ended up in grad school. Here I am now. I don’t make a ton of money, but it pays the bills, and it’s flexible.”
“What’s your plan? Anything keeping you in San Francisco?”
Mari was quiet for a moment. I slowed as I turned down a narrow road and stole another look at her. She looked tense, with her shoulders held up and lines bracketing her mouth. “I don’t know,” she finally said. “Brett screwed me over on my lease. Fucking asshole. Max and Harlow live in San Francisco part-time, but he’s in Alaska a lot too. It’s not like he needs to be in one place for his business. I’ve already picked up some jobs, including one here. It’s a fluffy piece on local inns, but people love those kinds