Chapter 3

            Two days later . . .

            Aaron had given the members of BAAM a week to give him a decision on the FRB heist. Margo had a few friends in Tampa, but no family. It wouldn’t be that big of a hardship for her to leave the state. But never seeing or talking to Bobbi again pained her. They had shared a lot of good times. She had also shared some good times with Anthony and Aaron, but not like she did with Bobbi. They had girl talked about men and the latest fashions. Being friends with Bobbi had made Margo’s life less lonely. If they did the job and pulled it off, she would have all the money she would ever need, but she’d be alone.

            Her father had left her and her mother when she was six, never to be seen nor heard from again. Her mother was a drug addict who had contracted HIV from sharing needles and died from complications of the disease. Plus, Margo was an only child. She had been married twice, but neither one of those relationships had worked out.

            Margo continued her morning power walk on Sunset Boulevard, a plush neighborhood where material possessions were looked at with admiration and respect. A black SUV pulled up into the Peterson’s driveway. She had seen the vehicle at that residence before, and she knew who it belonged to.

            Bruce Styles hopped out of the SUV. He zeroed in on her immediately and grinned. Margo rolled her eyes and kept walking. Next thing she knew, he jogged up beside her.

            Oh God, just go away.

            “Margo, the least you can do is chat for a minute,” Bruce said.

            “I can talk and walk,” she stated.

            “I don’t have any problems with a brisk walk. I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m in great shape,” he bragged.

            “What do you want?”

            “I would like to take you out.”

            “Ha,” she scoffed. “The last time I was . . . involved with a date that you had a hand in, I got stiffed with a thirty-eight-hundred-dollar bill.” She was still somewhat mad about it, even though Alec had reimbursed her for half. “By the way, did you ever pay Alec back for giving me half the money?”

            “Okay, I’m not as flush as I pretended to be when Alec and I took you and Bobbi out, but I’m not a deadbeat either.”

            “That’s not an answer to my question,” she said as they continued to walk to the end of the cul-de-sac.

            “Yes, I paid him back. Why do you need to know?”

            “Alec is the husband of a very good friend of mine, and I want to make sure he’s not being taken advantage of.”

            “Hell,” Bruce said with indignation. “What the hell did Bobbi tell you about me? What kind of man do you think I am? Alec and I are practically brothers. We went to college and the federal academy together. And we are partners today.”

            “Bobbi didn’t need to tell me anything. When you stiffed me with that bill and ghosted Bobbi, I figured out what kind of guy you are.”

            “I didn’t stiff you with the country club bill last year. I made sure you and Bobbi were safely off the grounds before Alec and I left,” he explained defensively.

            “Yes, but you knew I was a member there. They figured out who was at that table. If I couldn’t cover it, they would have called the cops on me.”

            They were approaching her house. Margo stopped on the walkway.

            Bruce did, too. “At the very least, let me make it up to you. I can’t afford to take you to the country club, you know that. But I can take you to three-star places. Just dinner.”

            “No,” she said sternly. “And I can’t believe you have the nerve to ask me out after you pumped and dumped my best friend like an old rag that you just ejaculated into and threw away.”

            He snorted with amusement. “I have to say, you’ve got a way with words. I like that. And as far as Bobbi is concerned, I wasn’t that harsh. I just didn’t see the reason to string her along if nothing was going to come of it.”

            “Okay, but you could have at least returned her phone calls and let her know. Not act like she didn’t exist. A woman who is stupid enough to get involved with you is asking for heartache and trouble. Goodbye, Mr. Styles,” she said with strength and quickly strode to her front door.

                                                                              ****

            Margo St. John practically slammed the front door behind her, leaving Bruce outside of her house like a dog who had been shut out in the cold. It wasn’t often that a woman blew him off. When it happened, he would shrug and move to the next lady. Margo’s rejection was different because he took it personally. She had rejected him at the wedding reception and just now because she thought he was a jerk and a bum. No woman had ever questioned his character.

            Bruce started walking back to Alec and Lana’s house. He wasn’t a quitter, but he needed to back up and approach her in another way. He had to prove that he wasn’t the bastard that she thought he was.

            “Hey, why are you all the way down there!” Alec yelled.

            Bruce started jogging toward his partner.

            “Let’s go before we’re late to the office,” Alec said.

            “We’re not going to be late. We’ve got plenty of time.” Alec was riding with Bruce to the Tampa location of the FBI because his truck was in the shop.

            They got into the SUV, and Bruce pulled out.

            They rode in silence for a few minutes before Bruce spoke. “Alec, how well do you know Margo?”

            “No,” he said flatly.

            “No?”

            “No, I’m not giving you stats on Margo. Leave her alone, Bruce.”

            “I can’t. First of all, she’s a knockout. Second, she thinks I’m a complete jerk who did her friend wrong. I can’t have a fine-ass woman like that slip through my fingers.” Margo had long blonde hair that a man’s hands could get lost in. Her pouty mouth, voluptuous breasts, and curvy hips were calling Bruce’s name.

            “That’s what you said about Bobbi. It’s how you got me to participate in that disastrous double date.”

            “It wasn’t a disaster until we got the bill.”

            “Either way, I’m not hurdling another fence because of your overactive libido.”

             “Nothing like that is going to happen again. And besides, all I’m asking is for some extra information. Margo and Lana are friends. Close friends. She was a bridesmaid at your wedding.”

              “I don’t know any more than you do already. She’s an independent computer programmer and IT specialist, she’s been married and divorced twice, and she lives on my street. Period, the end.”

              “What do you know about the exes?”

              “Nothing. She’s never elaborated on them.”

              Bruce exhaled. He had to come up with a plan to get Margo to at least go out with him once.