Please Don't Feed the Mayor by Sue Pethick

Author:Sue Pethick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-12-14T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Bryce had been sleeping off and on for the better part of the day before he finally got out of bed. He’d been only vaguely aware of Melanie’s leaving that morning, but her visit around noon was still etched in his memory. In spite of his recent debility, he felt stronger, more optimistic about the future, than he had in years; even his recent victory at work paled in comparison. It felt as if he and Melanie were on the cusp of building a newer, more honest relationship.

Shep was stretched out on the bed beside him. When Bryce stirred, the collie lifted his head and thumped his tail in a cautious greeting. Bryce reached out and stroked the dog’s head.

“You still here? I thought you’d be at work with Mel.”

Shep wriggled forward and nuzzled his cheek.

“Aw, you weren’t worried about me, were you? You should know I’m not that easy to get rid of.”

Bryce threw back the covers and sat up, feeling his head swim, then licked his lips with a sticky tongue; his mouth tasted like something had died in it. He walked into the bathroom, gargled a mouthful of water, spit it out, and drank three full glasses in rapid succession. When he was finished, he set the glass back down and stared at himself in the mirror.

His face was pale, his hair a tangled mess of greasy strands, his eyes a bit glassy. As bad as the hornet’s sting had been, the aftermath had almost been worse: a dream—the same one, over and over—in which Jesse Lee Colton had appeared, blade in hand, his wild eyes glittering with excitement, poised to cut and stab and slice through his flesh. Bryce looked, he thought, exactly the way he felt: like a man who had just cheated death.

He heard his phone ring and immediately recognized the ringtone: it was his office. As Bryce walked back into the bedroom, he felt his stomach clench. No doubt, he’d be in some sort of trouble. When he took off on Friday night, he hadn’t known how long he’d be gone; putting as much distance as possible between himself and Jesse Lee Colton had been the only consideration. Now, he realized, he should have given his admin an ETA. Having to cover for his unexplained absence would no doubt have put her in an unforgiving mood. As he picked up, he was prepared for a tongue-lashing.

Gemma’s voice was tense.

“Where are you?”

“Out-of-town emergency,” he said. “I thought I’d be back by now or I would have called. Sorry.”

He heard her deep intake of breath and hoped it wouldn’t be the prelude to something worse.

“Well, you’d better get back here pronto,” she said. “Daniels has called an all-hands for tomorrow morning at nine. Unless you’re on death’s doorstep, missing it isn’t an option.”

Bryce grumbled silently. He hated meetings on principle, but all-hands were the worst. The name lent them a sense of urgency that required everyone’s attendance, but without an agenda, any actual crisis was impossible to prepare for.

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