Trapping Wasp (Dead Presidents Book 3) Read online

  “Well, in my big family, we revolved around the kids. Plans were made around sporting events and school functions. Us kids were included in everything. You’d think my parents would have been relieved to see us grow up and leave so they could do their own thing, but they’d build a giant house and make us all move in with them if we’d allow it.”

  “That sounds wonderful.” Her eyes were misty. “It must have been great, growing up in a big family like that.”

  “It was… crazy. But yeah, it was a good childhood.”

  “Am I going to meet your mom and dad?” Trent asked from the back seat, sounding almost as nervous as his mom.

  I couldn’t imagine being a kid without grandparents. Stopping for a light, I turned so I could see him. “Yeah, T-man, you are. I can’t wait to show them how awesome you are.”

  Carly gave my hand a squeeze.

  “What was that for?” I asked.

  Her eyes had gone soft again. “Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”

  Carly

  WASP’S PARENTS WERE waiting for us by the hostess desk. I knew it was them at first sight, because the family resemblance was striking. Wasp had gotten his dark blonde hair, grey eyes, and warm smile from his mom, but his height, build, and the shape of his face came from his father. They both hugged him, and then looked my way expectantly.

  Wasp made the introductions.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall,” I said, extending my hand to shake.

  “Elaine, please,” his mom corrected me with a welcoming smile. Ignoring my hand, she wrapped me in a hug. Her arms were warm and comforting and she smelled of roses and sunshine. I breathed the scent in deeply and felt myself relax. She released me and bent to talk to Trent. “And you can call us Grandma and Grandpa if you want, Trent. All the kids back home do.”

  “Mom…” Wasp growled.

  “What? Our names are difficult to say, and we are grandparents.” She gave him an innocent smile and held out her hands to Trent. He went straight to her without the slightest bit of hesitation. Yep, she was definitely a grandma. Trent’s expression curious, he watched her, making me worry about what sort of questions I’d be fielding later.

  “Stephen,” Wasp’s dad said, stepping forward to shake my hand. Then he bumped fists with Trent. “Hey there big guy. How are you?”

  “Good,” Trent said with a grin. “I’m five.”

  “You are?” Elaine asked, giving him a little squeeze. “Five-year-olds need to eat lots of good food so they can grow big and strong. Do you eat lots?”

  He nodded.

  “Good. They have our table ready, so let’s go sit down and get something yummy in your belly.” Elaine led us to a booth. She slid in and set Trent on a booster seat beside her, gesturing for me to join them. As I took my place, Stephen and Wasp sat across from us.

  The waiter brought us waters and took our drink orders, then I had no idea what to say. Elaine seemed so loving and kind, the type of mom I used to wish for. She was dressed modestly, in a mid-calf skirt, blouse, and pumps, looking every bit the good mid-western Catholic girl. My clothing felt inappropriate—almost trashy—beside her, making me want to stretch out my skirt and cover my shoulders.

  Desperate to compensate for my appearance by impressing her with my social skills, I floundered for something intelligent to say. “Did you have a nice flight?” I finally asked.

  “Yes, it was lovely, thank you. The view coming into Seattle is breathtaking with the mountains and the ocean. I can see why Andrew’s fallen in love with the area.”

  “We went kayaking in the ocean,” Trent said, obviously wanting to be included in the conversation.

  “I heard. Andrew told me you went really fast. He was proud of you because you didn’t get scared. Did you like kayaking?”

  Wasp had been talking to his mother about my kid? That knowledge warmed me way more than it should have. I glanced across the table to find him talking to his father about the weather. He gave me a bolstering smile before nodding to his dad.

  “Who’s Andrew?” Trent asked.

  “Me,” Wasp replied, putting the weather talk on hold. “Andrew’s my real name. Wasp’s my nickname, like T-man’s your nickname.”

  “Oh.” Trent leaned back in his seat. “And buddy.”

  Wasp grinned. “And buddy,” he confirmed.

  “Andrew was right, you are smart as a whip,” Elaine said, smiling at Trent.

  He gave her a big, toothy smile. “I know my alphabet and can count to a hundred.”

  He was so eager to impress them, it made my heart stutter. He was desperate for a connection, and I couldn’t help but see how it could hurt him. I wanted to wrap his heart in bubble wrap and keep him safe from the possibility of more pain. The possibility of more people leaving or dying.

  Elaine opened the kid’s menu the waiter had given us and leaned closer to Trent. “Look at all these amazing choices. Can I read them to you, so you can pick out something to eat?”

  He nodded. “Yes, please.”

  Just like Wasp, Elaine had anticipated Trent’s needs and was taking care of him. It was sweet and beautiful, and I had no idea what to do with myself. Again, I glanced across the table. Wasp gave me a crooked smile and a shrug.

  “Carly, Andrew tells us you’re a bartender and a barista,” Stephen said. “Working two jobs with a child… that’s a handful.”

  I expected Wasp’s good, wholesome parents to be disappointed in my bar job, but Stephen sounded impressed. “I do what I have to,” I replied.

  “Well, your work ethic is admirable.”

  My cheeks warmed at the unexpected compliment. “Thank you.”

  The waiter arrived with our drinks and took our food orders.

  “So… Trent, what kind of toys do you like to play with?” Stephen asked.

  Trent tapped his chin. “Uh… army men and dinosaurs and Legos and cars and superheroes.”

  Stephen nodded. “Excellent choices. Who’s your favorite superhero?”

  “Spiderman,” Trent replied.

  “Our grandkids went to see the new Spiderman movie when it came out. Did you see it?” Elaine asked.

  “Yes! Wasp watched it with me.” Trent bounced up from his seat, standing in his chair. Before I could tell him to sit down, he shouted, “I say Penis, you say Parker!”

  I gaped at my kid, hoping I’d misheard him.

  “Penis! Parker! Penis! Parker!”

  Nope, I’d heard him correctly. So had everyone else in the restaurant because they were all staring at us. One mom even had her hands over her daughter’s ears. My cheeks went from warm to on fire in a nanosecond. “Trent! Stop that. What do you think you’re doing? Where did you hear that?”

  His expression fell as he took in my face and let me help him back into his seat. “It was in the movie.”

  My gaze snapped to Wasp.

  The asshole was trying not to laugh. “I… Um… Yeah. It was in the movie.”

  Turning back to Trent, I asked, “Are you supposed to say penis in public?”

  “No, but—”

  “Apologize to the table for being rude.”

  “But it wasn’t rude, it was funny.”

  Ready to grab my kid and bolt for the door before I died of embarrassment, I glanced around the table. Elaine and Stephen were having as much trouble containing their laughter as Wasp was. They weren’t offended, or angry, or about to bring out their pitchforks and burn me at the stake for being a horrible mom.

  “Sound familiar, honey?” Stephen asked.

  Elaine’s chest bounced with a giggle, but she stifled it and nodded. “So familiar. I would swear he was Andrew’s. Carly, I cannot tell you the number of times that boy embarrassed us in public. Always trying to get a laugh.” She placed her hands on either side of Trent’s face and said, “You, my child, are a peach.”

  Trent’s brow furrowed. “I’m not a peach. I’m a boy.”

  Her smile widened. “Yes, you are. A
wonderful little boy at that.”

  And I was still appalled and humiliated, regardless of how they were trying to play it off like it was no big deal.

  Wasp stood, coming around to our side of the table, and held out his hands to Trent. “Come on, buddy. Grandma and Grandpa are about to tell stories about me, and I don’t think you need any ideas. Let’s go wash your hands and talk about why you shouldn’t say that word.”

  Trent frowned, but went to him. As they walked off, Elaine and Stephen both started snickering.

  “I’m sorry, Carly,” Elaine said, “But he reminds me so much of Andrew. Honey, remember when he was three and dropped his pants in your bank to water the tree?”

  Laughing, Stephen nodded. “Just stood there in the window, waving at the people walking by on the sidewalk as he peed into that pot. I was trying to move up at the time and thought for sure he’d ruined my chances. Thankfully, my manager had boys, too.”

  “And that one time when he was about six or seven, and he asked that nun if she still had boobies, or if God took them.” Elaine shook her head. “The nun was absolutely scandalized. She brought in Father Tucker. I think she wanted the father to do an exorcism.”

  “Ohmigosh,” I whispered.

  “Yep.” Stephen snorted. “Don’t forget about the two-hundred-dollar bill we received from that tampon company.”

  Elaine laughed so hard she had to wipe tears from her eyes. When she finally composed herself, she said, “Oh my, I had forgotten about that. Andrew decided to use his school’s payphone to prank the eight-hundred number of a tampon company.”

  “Prank them how?” I asked, knowing this was going to be good.

  Stephen’s belly laugh had the entire restaurant looking at our table again.

  “He disguised his voice to sound like a girl and spun some tale about having tampons stuck inside him.” Elaine shook her head, the slightest blush coloring her cheeks. “After several of those calls, the tampon company sent a bill to the school. The school pulled surveillance and then called us in for a meeting to pass the bill along to us.”

  “I learned a lot from that one,” Wasp said, rejoining us. He settled Trent back in his chair before rounding the table to retake his seat. “Like how to watch out for cameras and block my phone number.”

  His mother threw her hands in the air. “Of course. Far be it for you to stop your nefarious pranking activity.”

  I just stared at Wasp, shaking my head, appalled by the hell he’d put his family through. “You were a horrible child.”

  “Nope. I was a fun child.

  “I’m a fun child,” Trent said.

  Oh God. “Maybe a little less fun than Wasp was, though. I don’t think my mommy can handle that much fun.”

  The rest of dinner was spent in companionable conversation. Before I knew it, it was time to go and I was actually sad our time with Wasp’s parents had come to an end. They both hugged me and Trent before climbing into their rental car.

  “Next time, you three will have to fly out and see us,” Elaine said through her open window.

  “Mom…” Wasp said, another warning in his voice.

  She gave him another sweet smile. “Just letting them know they’re welcome, Andrew. You all are. It’s been too long since you’ve been home.”

  We climbed into Wasp’s Jeep and instead of starting the engine, he turned to face me. “My parents monopolized all your time, and I barely got to talk to you. I’m not ready to drop you guys off yet.”

  And I wasn’t ready to be dropped off. “This was fun, but I have to work in a couple of hours.”

  “Mind if I come over and hang out until you do? We could watch another movie.” I started to object, and he said, “One without Penis Parker, of course.” His eyes were smiling, and he gave me a panty-melting smirk.

  There were so many reasons Wasp in my apartment was a bad idea, but none of them seemed more compelling than the fact that I liked having him around. His presence made me feel less lonely and broken. It was like I had a good friend again… one who I wanted to kiss some more.

  “Then I can take you to work,” he said before turning to ask Trent, “What do you say, buddy? Want me to come over for a while?”

  “Yes!” Trent’s eyes were bright, and his grin was giant. “Can Wasp come to our house, Mom?”

  “Yeah, can I, Mom?” Wasp asked, turning his pleading gaze on me.

  “That was dirty, Andrew,” I replied.

  “I do what I have to. It’s my stellar work ethic. By the way, I think my parents like you more than they like me.”

  Grinning, I had to agree. “Yeah? Well, maybe if you weren’t such a rotten child they would like you more.”

  “By rotten, you mean creative and entertaining.” Wasp started up his Jeep.

  I laughed. “Or rottenly creative and entertaining.”

  “It’s practically the same thing.” We pulled out of the parking lot, and by the time we arrived at our building, Wasp had weaseled his way up to our apartment. He and Trent checked out our movie collection while I slipped into my bedroom to change into my work uniform.

  A few minutes later, there was a knock on my door. Wondering what the two trouble makers were up to, I opened it.

  Wasp stood on the other side. He looked me up and down, then muttered, “Damn, I missed the good part.”

  “Which good part would that be?”

  “The naked part.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t think you need to see that part.”

  “No offense, dove, but I don’t think you understand my needs. Can I at least come in?”

  My gaze did a sweep of the room, making sure there were no panties, bras, or other embarrassing articles of clothing laying around, but it was clean. Clues to all my secrets were in this room, though. Was I ready to let him see them? I couldn’t decide.

  “Where’s Trent?” I asked.

  “Completely absorbed in the movie I put in for him.”

  I could refuse to let Wasp in, but I didn’t want to. No matter how stupid it made me, I trusted him and wanted him to see this side of me. Stepping aside, I silently invited him in. He moseyed past me, looking around. “Pretty cramped in here.”

  My bed and the dresser had come with the furnished apartment, but I’d purchased Trent’s small dresser, toy box, and race car bed at a yard sale three blocks away. Then Jessica and I had carried it all the way to the apartment. I didn’t own much, but what I did own barely fit in the space.

  He plucked a framed picture from the top of my dresser and studied it. “Who are these two with you?”

  “Robbie and Becca. Trent’s dad and my best friend. No, my two best friends.”

  “Where’s Becca now?”

  “Dead. They’re both dead.”

  “What happened, Carly?”

  For the first time ever, I actually wanted to answer the question. I wanted to tell someone—no, I wanted to tell Wasp specifically—but I couldn’t. It sounded too bizarre, too unbelievable, and I didn’t want him to think I was crazy. “Soon,” I said, taking the picture from him and setting it back down. “I’m not quite ready to talk about it yet.”

  He quirked a smile at me. “We’ll call that progress.”

  I swallowed. “Or stupidity.”

  “Whatever happened… I’m here for you when you’re ready to talk about it. I’m not gonna push, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Of course. But that’s not the reason I came in here.” Something dangerous sparked in his eyes as he closed the distance between us. I tried to take a step back, but he wrapped an arm around my waist and held me there. “All night I’ve been watching you, thinking about that kiss we shared and wanting another. I’ve seen the way you look at me. The way you lick your lips. I know you’re thinking about the same damn thing.”

  My gaze drifted down to his lips. Yep. I had been fantasizing about another hot make out session. “Trent’s just in the other room. He could bar
ge in here at any time.”

  Wasp leaned closer, until our lips were almost touching. “I’m aware, and that’s the only reason I haven’t ripped your clothes off you. You have no idea how beautiful you are, and how hard it is to be around you without touching you. Especially now that I know what your lips taste like.”

  He was coming on so strong I should be pushing him away, but instead of rejecting him, my fingers tangled in his shirt as heat pooled between my legs.

  “You don’t work Monday night. Stay at my place with me,” he said.

  My pulse sped up at the possibility. “What? I can’t do that.”

  “Yes you can, hear me out. I can pick you up after I get off work tomorrow, and we can get dinner and maybe go bowling or go play miniature golf or something. Whatever you guys wanna do. Then we can go back to my place and hang out, watch cartoons or something. I have a spare bedroom with a comfortable queen-sized bed. You two can crash in there if you want, and we can take him to school Tuesday before I drop you off at the coffee shop.”

  Wow. He’d planned this all out. Surprised by the disappointment I felt at sleeping in his spare room, I said, “I don’t know—”

  “If it’s a good idea,” he interrupted, tucking a stray hair behind my ear. “Yeah, you say that a lot. But sometimes you just gotta take a chance, sweetheart, or you could miss out on something earth-shattering.”

  “You saying sex with you would be earth-shattering?” I asked.

  The corner of his mouth quirked up. “I didn’t say anything about sex.”

  I couldn’t think straight with him so close to me, smelling all wonderful while his grey eyes watched me like I was the most interesting person in the world. Breaking free of his hold, I took one giant step back. My legs hit the side of my bed, and I almost toppled over. Righting myself, I asked, “Why?”

  His eyebrows rose. “Why what? Why didn’t I say anything about sex?”

  My cheeks heated. “No. Why do you want us to stay with you?”

  He shrugged. “I like being around you guys. I’d kind of like to have you in my space… to see what that’s like. Never wanted to take a woman home before, but you… I don’t know. I’d like to try it out. It’s not about sex, Carly. It’s about you. No, it’s about you and Trent. I can’t explain it, but I want to try this. It’s important. Come stay with me.”