Without Fear - Reese Knightley Page 0,2
lunch hour.” She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Bitch, please,” he pouted, poking out his bottom lip for all it was worth. “I opened at five-thirty this morning,” he reminded her of the favor he’d done her.
“Don’t ‘bitch, please’ me!” Ashley rolled her eyes, but she was trying not to grin as she waved him away.
“I won’t be long,” he promised, and hurried down the hallway.
Once out into the alley behind the café, he dialed the number and tucked the phone to his ear.
“Tony Siegel disappeared from Federal prison,” James Stanton growled.
“What?” Macy fell back against the brick wall, clutching the phone.
“I’m sorry.”
“How did he escape?” he asked through tight lips.
“Inside help. They think,” Stanton replied.
“What do you think?”
“Could be, they found a murdered prison guard.”
“What does Frank say?”
“Frank’s missing.”
“What?” Fear settled deep in his chest.
“Yeah. I haven’t been able to get ahold of him for three days.” Stanton sounded as worried as he felt.
“You think Tony went after Frank?”
“Maybe.”
“Fuck!” He couldn’t lose Frank. “I’m coming back.”
“It’s best not to,” Stanton disagreed.
“Yeah, you’re right. What was I thinking? You can’t protect me,” Macy muttered.
The breeze picked up and blew a chilly wind through the alley, sending a windchime swaying. The slight tinkling sound brought his head up and he surveyed both sides of the alley.
Frank! What the hell had happened? He wrapped one arm around his own waist.
“Macy?” the man’s quiet murmur drew him back from sinking into too much worry about Frank. Frank was a big boy, he reminded himself, but it didn’t lessen the worry one bit.
“Yeah?” He cleared his throat.
“I need a favor.”
Favor? He didn’t want to do a favor for Stanton. He wanted to rip apart the country city by city and find Frank. Then, and only then, would he be satisfied that Frank was okay.
“I’m supposed to be laying low,” he said through a suddenly tight throat.
Stanton sighed. “If I had anyone else with your qualifications up where you are, I’d ask them. But I don’t.”
A sense of resignation filled him and he squeezed the phone.
“What do you need?” It was damned difficult to keep a low profile when they kept asking him to do jobs.
“I need a welfare check on someone up in your neck of the woods.”
“Give me the details.”
Stanton recited an address and Macy memorized it without writing it down.
“And Macy?”
“Yeah?”
“Be nice.”
“When am I not nice?” He hitched a hip on the brick wall of the building.
“No comment,” Stanton’s voice rang dryly.
“I’ll be in touch,” he snapped.
“Watch your back.”
“If Siegel knew where I was, he’d already be here.”
“True,” Stanton’s sigh came heavy over the phone.
“And,” Macy paused, “if I see him first? Deal or no deal, he won’t make it back to prison.”
“Revenge doesn’t solve a damned thing,” Stanton growled.
Macy made a noncommittal sound in his throat and ended the call.
Fuck that! Counting up all the shit Tony Siegel had done, the guy was walking around on borrowed time as it was.
A car door closed in the distance and he whirled around, brushing escaped wisps of hair from his eyes.
Bailey Café’s newest waiter, Tinley Marigold, hit the key fob, locking his car, and walked toward him.
“All okay?” Tinley asked tentatively.
“Just some bad news,” he admitted and tucked his phone away.
“Oh, Macy, I’m so sorry.” Tinley hugged him, smelling of fresh soap and some type of fruity lotion. He returned the younger man’s hug and patted his back. Tinley didn’t ask what the news was and for that, he was grateful.
“Can you do me a favor and tell Ashley I had to take a personal day? Tell her I’ll cover all day tomorrow,” he promised.
“I will.” Tinley smiled. The man really was beautiful in a delicate way. He wore his hair a different shade of color every day and was more prone to wearing dark colors that gave him a gothic look. Beneath the timidness and shy exterior lurked a beautiful soul.
“Thank you. Go on, I’ll wait until you’re inside,” he offered. Even though Tinley had never told him, Macy knew the boy had been all kinds of traumatized by someone in his past. He recognized the signs.
Tinley gave him a grateful smile and darted through the back door.
When he heard the lock click, Macy hurried to his car. It was a short drive to the two-bedroom apartment he shared with Tinley.
He tossed his keys on the small table near the door and turned the deadbolt before making his way to a large picture frame on the wall. It moved easily beneath his hand