Unfinished Business Read online

  “No.”

  She stopped. “No?”

  “No.” Determined.

  She turned around. “You sure, Mikey?” she asked, forgetting or not caring that he didn’t like the nickname, and that people were looking at her talking to seemingly no one. But then, it was a hospital. All kinds of things happened in hospitals.

  “I’m sure, Daphne.”

  “Why, Mike?”

  He sucked in a shuddering breath, quite certain he might cry again. Him. Who before all this happened hadn’t cried in… well, he couldn’t remember when. “Because I’ve done almost everything I’m supposed to do. I’ve told Lori I know she’s having an affair and that I’m happy for her—I wish her the best. She can take my money and not only be the killer in business she is, but she can also have someone who loves her.”

  Mike stepped closer to Brookhart. To Daphne. A woman he felt, strangely, was his friend. “I finally told Joel that I love him. Now the only thing else I want him to know is that he needs to move on. Find love. Find someone who will shout their love for him from the rooftops. Can you—will you tell him that?”

  She wiped at her eyes. “Y-Yes, Mike.”

  “And now there’s only one last thing.”

  “Okay. What’s that, Mike? Tell me.”

  24

  MIKE SAW it all. It couldn’t have gone better. Not for anything. He thought later that if it had happened in a book, people would have said it was too happy an ending. Corny, maybe. But hell, that didn’t mean things like that didn’t happen in real life, right?

  Brookhart’s partner went along. She wanted to make sure she didn’t do anything wrong—anything that could get her into trouble. Townsend would make sure of that. He liked to get the bad guy. And he wanted to make sure the bad guy didn’t get away because of some stupid, bumbling mistake.

  They didn’t have a search warrant, of course. How would they have gotten one? Excuse me, judge, but a ghost told me that one Wayne Jeffries has killed at least a dozen people—one of them a seventeen-year-old girl who he buried in his back yard? Sure!

  But they could ask questions.

  Mike was right there.

  Brookhart knocked on the door of the old brownstone. There was no doorbell, just a hole where one had once been. A moment later, it was answered by someone right out of a George Romero movie. Or maybe that guy who played Lurch in the early nineties movie remake of The Addams Family instead.

  He was tall, balding, with stringy, greasy hair on the sides. He had deep circles under his eyes. He looked like he was sixty if he was a day. And even through the dirty screen door, Mike could see that there was something wrong with him. Something besides the fact that he was a killer that is. A jaundiced color to his skin.

  He’s sick, thought Mike. Really sick. Disease sick.

  He turned to Siouxsie-and-the-Banshees-Girl (who turned out to have the very real name Kelly). “You went home with him?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Mikey, baby….”

  “Don’t call me that!”

  “You let her call you that,” she barked.

  “She’s tougher than you.”

  “Please! I could….”

  “Would you two shut the fuck up,” Brookhart growled.

  Two? Mike thought. She can hear us both now?

  “Two? What are you talking about,” Townsend asked, looking meaner than ever.

  That was when the guy from The Addams Family had answered the door.

  “Mr. Jeffries?” Brookhart said.

  He stood there, not saying a word.

  “Is that your name?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said in a gravelly voice.

  “I was wondering if I might ask you a question about a girl named Kelly McCarthy—”

  He ran. He threw the contents of his mug of beer at them and ran into the apartment. And then he shot at them. There was a bang and then a hole in the screen door. Which, of course, gave them probable cause.

  Detectives Brookhart and Townsend entered, guns raised. Wayne Jeffries again shot first.

  Thankfully, he missed. He apparently wasn’t a very good shot. Mike wasn’t sure what he would have done had Daphne been hit. It wasn’t clear who shot Jeffries first. Both Brookhart and Townsend fired, and by the time they were done, he wasn’t going anywhere.

  They found the fingers.

  And seconds later, a girl named Kelly McCarthy, who was a very big fan of Siouxsie and the Banshees (thank goodness—she’d had to wear that T-shirt for a very long time) began to fade.

  She smiled. She leaped at Mike and she kissed his cheek and then she was gone….

  His heart leaped as well, and he turned to Brookhart (who couldn’t see him) and he didn’t even try to stop the tears.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  That’s when he saw the light.

  “Oh God…. Brookhart!” he called.

  “Mikey?”

  He could only smile. “The light. I see it!”

  “Mikey?” Brookhart said again.

  “Who are you talking to?” her partner asked.

  “You’ll tell him?” Mike asked. “You’ll tell Joel?”

  She smiled a grim and determined smile. No tears. “I will.”

  “Who the fuck are you talking to?” Townsend growled.

  Mike smiled. He’d done it. He’d done all he was supposed to. He’d told his wife to love Greg. He’d told his lover that he loved him. He’d helped a lot of people. He’d helped a girl named Kelly McCarthy leave the world after who knows how long. He had taken care of a hell of a lot of unfinished business.

  He found he had only one regret: that he didn’t get to hold Joel in his arms one more time.

  But still… he moved into the light.

  25

  MIKE ELLSWORTH wasn’t the only one who was surprised when he awoke with a huge, hurting gasp in the bed of a hospital just as the doctors turned off the machines that had been keeping him alive.

  26

  SIX MONTHS later, Mike was standing on the roof of One Southwest Tower off 39th Street, not far from downtown Kansas City. It used to belong to a business associates’ organization that had been around for years. Since then it had been converted to high-quality condos. They were gorgeous.

  Mike walked to the edge of the roof.

  “What are you doing?” Joel, his fiancé, asked.

  He grinned, then turned and shouted out over the city. “I am in love with Joel Kauffman!” His voice echoed. It was a wonderful sound.

  Joel laughed and threw his arms around Mike. “Me too.”

  Mike stuck out his lower lip. “Say it.”

  Joel laughed again. “I love you, Mike Ellsworth!”

  Mike smiled.

  “Lori and Greg will be here soon,” Joel said.

  Mike nodded. “Yeah. But they’ll call first.” They had to. The building had security out the ass. They wouldn’t even get through the gate, let alone into the building, without calling up first.

  Funny. Who would have imagined dinner with his soon-to-be ex-wife and her fiancé? Who would have thought Greg would turn out to have a mind for business himself?

  How stupid would it be to break up such a team?

  “Well, I’m going downstairs,” Joel said and planted a kiss square on Mike’s lips.

  “I’ll be down in a minute,” Mike said. “I have… something to do first.”

  He was looking at a man in a three-piece business suit standing about twenty feet away. The man was climbing up onto the building’s ledge.

  Joel turned in the direction Mike was looking. He cocked his head and then gave Mike a knowing look. “A minute?”

  “Ten at the most,” Mike assured. “Believe me. I got this.”

  “I believe you,” Joel said, and left Mike to his real business.

  More from B.G. Thomas

  When a hot tip leads Kansas City reporter Taylor Dunton to a series of grisly murders, his investigation points to Myles Parry and his vodou shop. Myles wants
nothing more than to practice his religion in peace, and he hopes Taylor can help him show the community they have nothing to fear. The problem is all the clues point to Myles as the suspect and only Taylor can help him prove his innocence. However, this case has also caught the attention of the vodou spirits of the Lwa… and they’ve taken an interest in Taylor as well.

  Originally published as part of Bones (Gothika #2).

  A Small-Town Dreams Story

  Prince Charming is the man next door.

  Small-town business owner Jason Brewster has big dreams: world travel, adventure, and most of all, a passionate romance worthy of a fairy tale. But he doesn’t believe fantasies can come true….

  Until Adam moves in next door.

  He’s handsome, cultured, European, and best of all, interested in Jason. It’s like something out of the stories Jason loves.

  But Adam—whose real name is Amadeo Montefalcone—has a secret. He’s royalty, prince of the small country of Monterosia. Only he doesn’t want to rule, and especially doesn’t want the loveless marriage waiting for him at home. So he ran away in search of true love. With a man. And with Jason, he finds it.

  But Adam can’t run forever. The truth will come out. If Jason can forgive Adam’s deception, they might find their happily ever after.

  Frank Sinclair believes only in the visceral, the real, what he can touch and taste. After all, his mother left him when he was five years old, so how can love exist? His next sexual conquest is what makes his world go around, not romance and happily ever after. The hot guy he sees working along the highway in an orange jumpsuit fuels his bad-boy fantasies. Coincidentally, the guy shows up at the gas station across the street from his apartment building, and you can bet he’s going to take his shot.

  Roy Ingalls is his bad-boy parolee in orange, and he’s ready and oh-so-willing to be Frank’s next conquest. But Roy isn’t quite the bad boy he seems—deep down he’s sweet, naïve… and the most intoxicating man Frank has ever met.

  The sex is the best of their lives, but can a man who mistrusts love and another who isn’t ready to admit he’s actually gay ever move beyond friends with benefits?

  Ned Balding used to be a decent man—until the stress of seemingly countless responsibilities changes him, and he becomes cold and driven—the kind of man who considers firing an employee days before Christmas. The kind of man who kicks a dog…. But Ned’s transgressions haven’t gone unseen. A Salvation Army Santa witnesses his misdeeds and decides Ned needs to be taught a lesson.

  When Ned wakes up the next morning, he’s stunned to discover he’s been transformed into a dog.

  In the past year, Jake Carrara has lost his mother, a lover… even his dog. His boss came close to firing him just before the holidays. He isn’t sure he’s ready for another pet when he’s asked to foster a dog, but Jake’s good heart won’t let him refuse. Little does he know, this isn’t just any dog.

  Through a twist of fate, two people with little reason to be friends might teach each other to rediscover the good—and the love—in life.

  Getting His Man

  A love story worthy of an old movie… with a new twist.

  Artie needs a hero, a man like those he’s always revered in Golden Age films. His drug-dealing jerk of a roommate got him arrested, and since his savior isn’t likely to sweep in and save the day, Artie calls a bail bondsman.

  August has always imagined himself a hero from a black-and-white movie, but he’s never found a man willing to let him play that role—at least not until he gets the call from Artie.

  Both of their dreams might come true, but not before August must use his skills as a bounty hunter as well as a bondsman. Artie is on the run for his life, and August must protect him and help him clear his name. Only then can they both finally get their man.

  B.G. THOMAS lives in Kansas City with his two husbands—which yes, is different, but amazingly rewarding and wonderfully romantic. They have two sweet rescue dogs named Oliver (who the breed name Dorkie applies perfectly) and Frodo (who is just learning to be a dog). He is missing his soul dog Sarah Jane very much, but she will live on forever in several of his books and in his heart. He is also blessed to have a lovely daughter and they love to hang out.

  B.G. loves to read romance, comedy, fantasy, thrillers, mystery, science fiction, and even horror—as far as he is concerned, as long as the stories are character driven and entertaining, it doesn’t matter the genre. He has gone to literature conventions his entire adult life, where he’s been lucky enough to meet many of his favorite writers. He has made up stories since he was a child; it’s where he finds his joy.

  In the nineties, he wrote for gay adult magazines but stopped because the editors wanted all sex without plot, and edited his setups right out. “The sex is never as important as the characters,” he says. “Who cares what they are doing if we don’t care about them?” Excited about the growing male/male romance market—where setup and cute meets is where it’s at—he began writing again. He submitted a novella and was thrilled when it was accepted in four days. Since then the romantic tales have poured out of him. “It’s like I’m somehow making up for a lifetime’s worth of story-telling!”

  “Leap, and the net will appear” is his personal philosophy and his message. “It is never too late,” he testifies. “Pursue your dreams. They will come true!”

  You can read about what ever he’s working on right now or whatever he’s rambling on about at his website/blog at: bthomaswriter.wordpress.com

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/bgthomaswriter

  Twitter: twitter.com/BGThomasBooks

  He is always happy to hear from his readers!

  By B.G. THOMAS

  All Alone in a Sea of Romance

  All Snug

  The Beary Best Holiday Party Ever

  Bianca’s Plan

  Blue

  The Boy Who Came In From the Cold • Anything Could Happen

  Christmas Cole

  Christmas Wish

  Derek

  Desert Crossing • A Different Perspective

  Do You Trust Me?

  Grumble Monkey and the Department Store Elf

  Hound Dog and Bean

  How Could Love Be Wrong?

  It Had to Be You

  Just Guys

  With Noah Willoughby: Mele Kilikimaka

  A More Perfect Union

  New Lease

  Orange

  The Real Thing

  Red

  A Secret Valentine

  Setting for Eight, Dinner for Two

  Sometimes the Best Presents Can’t Be Wrapped

  Soul of the Mummy

  Unfinished Business

  Uninvited

  DREAMSPUN DESIRES

  GETTING HIS MAN

  Getting His Man

  SMALL-TOWN DREAMS

  The Nerd and the Prince

  SEASONS OF LOVE

  Spring Affair

  Summer Lover

  Autumn Changes

  Winter Heart

  Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS

  www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  Published by

  DREAMSPINNER PRESS

  5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA

  www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Unfinished Business

  © 2020 B.G. Thomas

  Cover Art

  © 2020 Paul Richmond

  http://www.paulrichmondstudio.com

  Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.

  All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright l
aw, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.

  Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-868-8

  Digital eBook published July 2020

  v. 1.0

  Previously published in the Stitch anthology, October 2015.

  Printed in the United States of America