A Risky
Christmas
Catrina WolfeDisclaimers: None. Feedback: Feel free to tell me what you think at trina_wolfe@yahoo.com This story, or parts thereof, may
not be reproduced in any format without the prior express permission of the
author. Copyright, December 2011. All
rights reserved. Kaylin “This is Christmas. The season of perpetual hope.” Kaylin said with
a cold smile. “Maybe
you’ll get lucky and the spirit of the season will make me just a
little more forgiving.” Greg and Kyle both grinned knowing
the odds of that were dismal. “Please, please, I have a
family. They need me,” Andrew
begged in fear. “I didn’t
tell the police anything I swear.” Kaylin strolled around him, running her
hands through his hair as she completed the circle coming to stand in front
of him. “Now Andy,” she
began mockingly, “can I call you Andy?” She gave a humorless laugh as he
nodded jerkily. “You know what I hate more
than you being a sniveling piece of trash?” “Please,” the man
whimpered as he attempted to rear back, away from the hand that had grabbed a
handful of his short graying hair. “I hate you being a lying
sniveling piece of trash.” Kaylin said with a
pout. “You see I know what you
said but just in case my hearing is a little off or maybe you have
amnesia?” the last part was said with an amused tilt of her head. Andrew struggled as she bent and
pulled his face to within an inch of hers. “You don’t have
amnesia do you Andy honey?” Greg pulled a chair to the middle
of the room and looked at Kaylin, waiting for a
command. Andrew shivered at the purely evil
smile she gave him. “We’re gonna listen to a tape now. You’re ok with that right?” “Can I just go home? My
wife’s expecting another baby in a few weeks. I didn’t say anything.” Andrew
rambled desperately as Kaylin, taller than him by
about five inches, pulled him by his hair to the chair. “Sit.” Andrew trembled at the commanding
tone, a far cry from the amusement in her voice mere seconds ago. Greg stood over him with his arms
folded, clearly ensuring there was no escape attempt. Despite the menacing aura of the burly man,
Andrew’s fear was for the model beautiful woman walking over to a
stereo at the back of the room. The
black wavy hair that reached just under her breasts framed a face a
photographer would weep at. Her eyes
were almost as dark as her hair. She
had a slim build that managed to showcase her muscles. Against her dark coloring that pointed to a
Latino heritage, she had on a black shirt and dark brown slacks. Andrew lost control of his bladder
as the sound of his interview with the police four hours ago playing on
surround sound filled the room. “I can explain. Please let me explain.” Andrew begged
terrified at what he knew would happen next. Kaylin shook her head sadly, clicking
her tongue as Andrew’s voice came over clearly on the speakers telling
the officers where they could find the evidence they needed to arrest her
uncle and father. “Well Andy, it looks like
your amnesia isn’t going to be your only problem is it?” she
asked with a menacing smile as she began walking towards him. Andrew scrambled from the chair
and tried to run knowing all the while that it was futile. The sound of Kaylin’s
delighted laughter filled the room mixing with his screams as Greg easily
caught and bound him to the soiled chair. *** Nicole I hummed along with the radio as I
tried to keep my balance on the tall ladder and put silver tinsel on the wall
at the same time. “No a little more to your left,”
Jessica said as she walked into the bookstore. “Hey, you’re right on
time to help me with the rest of this stuff,” I grinned without turning
around. Jessica held the ladder steady as
I made my way carefully to the floor. “What else do we have to
hang up?” “Tim should be finishing up
with the tree over there today,” I said pointing to the corner by the
cash register where a 6 foot tree stood, sparsely decorated. “Where is he?” “He went across the street
to get a few more things. Some of the
decorations from last year got broken.” “Ok so what’s next
boss?” Jessica asked mischievously. “You know I hate it when you
do that,” I said rolling my eyes as I moved the ladder to a different
spot. Jessica looked at what I had done
so far and getting the idea, went to the box of decorations and pulled some
more out for us to hang up. “Well you’re the
supervisor, I’m just the assistant.” Jessica pointed out
teasingly. “Don’t you think this
place is a little too small to have all those fancy titles attached? I mean there are only six employees
total. Why on earth do we need to
stick a label on everyone?” I said ready to launch into my usual rant
about the subject. “Do not start. It’s way too early in the morning for
that speech,” I laughed as I climbed the ladder
for what seemed like the hundredth time. “Hey Jess, when did you get
here?” Tim asked as he struggled through the door carrying bags full of
even more decorations as well as two cups of coffee. Jessica left me on the ladder and
went to help him. “What do you think
Tim?” I asked as I struggled to get the candy cane at the end of the
string to hide the double sided tape.
“Did I get it right this time?” “It’s definitely
better than what you were doing before I came but that set you’re
putting up there is wrong.” “How on earth can it be
wrong? Tinsel, random Christmas things, then hanging snowflakes, then tinsel
again…” I protested as I leaned back to point out the work I had
done so far. “Yeah but we’re going
to crisscross that part in the middle so you can’t use the candy canes
and bells there because then it’ll be too much.” I groaned in frustration and
yanked the string of ornaments from the tape attached to the wall but the
unnecessary force caused me to lose my balance and I came crashing to the
floor with the string still in my hand. “Oh my god,
Nicole are you ok?” “Don’t try to move in
case you’re paralyzed,” Tim said panicked. Jessica and Tim rushed over to me. “I’m not paralyzed, I can feel every single bone in my
body.” I said through gritted
teeth. “I think I hurt my wrist
when I fell on top of it.” “Let me see it,” an
authoritative voice said behind Jessica. If the fall hadn’t knocked
the breath right out of me, the gorgeous woman bending over me and gently
taking my wrist definitely did. “It looks like it could be a
sprain,” she said concerned as she helped me up. “You hurt anywhere else?” “Everywhere,” I said
mesmerized as we both stood. Catching
what I had just said I flushed in embarrassment. It figured that I would fall on my ass the
one day a beautiful customer walked in to Lakewood Bookstore. The stranger gave me a slow once
over and by the time she was through it felt like she had read my entire soul
in one look. “Who’s in charge
here?” she asked her face expressionless. “That would be me,” I
said sheepishly. “That makes you Nicole Woods?” I nodded,
surprised that she knew my name. “Ok and the two of you
are?” she arched one perfect eyebrow as she waited for a response. Jessica came out of her stupor
first. “I’m Jessica and
this is Tim,” “Thanks for showing up when
you did because I was ready to panic,” Tim
said with a small grin. “I’m tempted to ask
why both of you were over by a tree which was in no danger of falling rather
than holding the ladder so this type of thing wouldn’t happen, but,
since you’re supposed to be their supervisor what I’d love dearly
to know is why on earth would you go against safe practice in the first
place?” she demanded angrily. “Excuse me?” I said
incredulous at being chewed out by a stranger. “Who the hell died and made
you boss?” Tim muttered under his breath. She turned a cold glare first to
him and then folding her arms she glared at me. “You’re excused, you
should go to the hospital and get checked out anyway,” she said to me
dismissively. “As for who died? Well last time I checked I owned this place
from day one when we started construction on it so nobody had to die to make
me boss,” she said coolly to Tim. “Wait a minute, you’re
Kaylin Marcus?” I said in shock. “The one and only,” Kaylin said mockingly. I looked over at Tim and Jessica, Tim looked as white as a sheet. Kaylin stalked into the office in the
back as if, well as if she owned the place. She knew her way around so clearly she came
here often enough to know where everything was. Wondering why I had never met her before if
that was the case, I followed. “Look I’m really sorry
about not following the guidelines that I make the staff follow. I was just trying to hurry it along so I
could get back to my work.” I hesitantly apologized. Kaylin grabbed my purse and coat. “We’ll talk about it
on the way to the doctor’s office,” she said as she helped me
into the heavy coat and handed me my purse. “You would be the assistant
supervisor right?” she directed at Jessica as she made her way through
the scattered decorations by the counter. “Yes,” “Ok I’m going to carry
Nicole to get some medical attention so you and Tim are on your own. I suggest you call in one of the other
workers since I doubt she’ll be back today.” “Sure, no problem,”
Jessica stammered. “I’ll
call you later to check on you Nicky,” I gave them both a reassuring
smile as I followed Kaylin into the parking lot. She helped me into the passenger
side of the black suv and as she buckled me in I
felt the butterflies in my stomach become frantic at her nearness. Apparently my hormones didn’t care
that she was my boss, that she was currently furious with me or that she
scared me half to death. “You know instead of going
all the way to the hospital I could just go home and put some ice on it. If it still hurts after that I can always
go to the emergency room on my own.” “Don’t you think
you’ve broken enough employee guidelines for one day?” Kaylin glanced at her in annoyance. “I was just trying to save
you some trouble, there’s really no need to keep rubbing it in.”
I retorted. She said nothing as she navigated
us through the busy downtown area. “You know Mercer is in the
other direction right?” I asked confused as she turned off the freeway
and away from the closest hospital. “We’re not going to
Mercer.” I waited for her to say more but
she seemed content to simply leave it at that. “Are you going to tell me
where you’re taking me?” I finally caved in frustration. “To a doctor. Do you always ask so many questions?”
she looked slightly irritated. “When someone I’ve
never met before just shows up, claims to be the boss I’ve never seen,
bundles me in a car and takes off to places unknown I generally try to at
least find out where I’m going.” Her only response was an arched
eyebrow and a twitch of what could be a smile. “You know it’s rude……”
I began again. “We’re here,”
she announced as we pulled into a small parking lot that was packed with
cars. She pulled into a spot close to
the door and looked at me expectantly. “And here would be?” “Give it a rest Nicole, I
said I was taking you to a doctor and I did.
Does a name you won’t recognize really mean that much to
you?” I followed her inside to the busy
reception area. “Well when you put it like
that,” She shot me an amused glance and
turned to face the receptionist. “Hi, could you tell Ed I
brought someone to see him,” she said with a flirty smile. Miffed I watched the receptionist
respond to the charm and go off to fulfill the request. “I bet if you’d used
that same tone and smile and told her to strip she’d have done it just
as eagerly,” I muttered under my breath, irritated that I had yet to
get anything resembling a smile. Kaylin turned to me with a grin. “Somehow I don’t think
she’s that smitten just yet.” I blushed,
mortified that she had heard me. “Sorry,” “Don’t be, the look on
your face is priceless,” she teased with a wink. “Who knew redheads could turn that
shade of pink, it brings out those unusual eyes though.” “I’ll go sit over
there until he’s ready,” I stammered. I wasn’t charming or smooth
under normal circumstances but I was pretty sure that I had never fallen flat
on my ass and put my foot in my mouth in under an hour before. Of course with the way life works my less
than stellar day had to happen in front of the first woman I had even been
attracted to since my last breakup over a year ago. I took about two dejected steps
toward the bank of chairs where other patients sat waiting their turn before
I felt a hand grip my elbow and pull me back. “No need to sit. I’d only make you stand again in the
ten seconds it takes him to come over here.” “It might take ten seconds
to come out to see who’s next on the list but we’re damn sure not
the only people here,” I hissed. The hand she placed on my shoulder
literally made my skin tingle and the butterflies in my stomach started doing
a happy dance. “Ed, this is Nicole. She works in the bookstore.” Kaylin said
gesturing to me as a tall sandy haired man came up to us. “Pleasure to meet
you,” he said holding out his hand politely. I smiled as I offered my uninjured
hand. “Follow me,” Kaylin’s hand left my shoulder and a part
of me ached at the loss of contact, the rest of me wondered where the hell my
common sense had gotten to. The doctor closed the door to the
small examination room behind us.
“What can I do for you today?” the question was directed
at Kaylin. “She fell off the ladder at
work. I think her wrist is sprained
but I’ll leave you to do a complete check on her.” “Not a problem,” he
nodded with an efficient air. “You can change into a gown
right over there,” he said pointing to the partition in the corner of
the room. When I emerged again Kaylin was on her phone near the window speaking in a low
voice. She spent the entire exam there
talking with presumably the same person. “I’m going to send you
for an x-ray of that hand just to be sure,” the doctor said as he
calmly made notations in a file. I sighed. My wrist hurt but my pride was hurt a lot
more than the rest of me. I left Kaylin and Ed in the room together and followed his
assistant to the x-ray room. When I
got back Kaylin was off the phone and examining the
notes while the doctor pointed and explained in a quiet murmur. “Perfect timing,” Ed
said as he took the folder from the technician behind me and closed the door. “Ok it’s not broken or
fractured so we’ll wrap it and you can put some ice on as soon as you
get home.” Ed stated decisively.
“Other than that, you’re fine. You should put some ice on that goose egg
but you don’t have a concussion so it will go down on its own soon
enough. I recommend you take the rest
of the day off and you’ll probably be feeling sore by tonight into
tomorrow. Don’t lift anything
strenuous and take it easy for a couple days.” I flushed at how much of Kaylin’s time I had wasted over a few bruises. “Thanks doc,” Kaylin said with a wink as she firmly led me back to the
partition to change. “Nicole you
can meet me by the car as soon as you’re ready.” “Well that was relatively
painless,” Kaylin smirked as she drove us
back into town. “Are you
hungry?” “I’m fine. I’ve taken up enough of your time as
it is. You could just drop me by the
subway and I’ll go home.” “Where’s your
car?” “At home. It refused to start today.” “Where do you live?” “Somerset.” “Your car normally gives
trouble? How old is it?” “Going on eight years and
yeah it seems every time the mechanic gets it working again something else
goes wrong,” “I have to run a quick
errand and then I’ll take a look at your car for you.” Kaylin said as she pulled into a small driveway. I watched her lower the window and
punch in a few keys on the security keypad behind the wall. The wall of metal in front of us opened up
and she drove us down into what seemed like an underground parking
garage/mechanic shop. “Give me a sec, I’ll
be right back,” I watched her walk over to an elevator, she didn’t get in when the doors
opened. It closed again and when it
opened a minute later someone else was in it.
She got in in front of them, essentially
blocking my view and leaned over to where I assumed the buttons were closing
them in. I spent the next fifteen
minutes staring at the closed elevator and the few workers milling around in
dirty coveralls. Nobody seemed to be
doing much work. “Sorry, it took longer than
I expected.” Kaylin
said as she opened the back door and shoved a cardboard box in the
backseat. “So feel like
Mexican?” “You really don’t need
to get someone to look at my car.
I’ll call my mechanic a little later and you can just drop me
off on Queensway.” “Mexican it is,” Kaylin said with a smirk as she reversed in a squeal of
tires and sped off in a totally different direction than the one we had come
from, zigzagging over small ramps.
This time we came out in a yard where cars parked somewhat haphazardly
and more people in coveralls were actually working on some of them. I forgot about my wrist and I grabbed the
arm rest as Kaylin drove like a maniac through the
yard making what seemed like random twists and turns until suddenly we were
back out on the street. “Is someone chasing
us?” I asked in horror as I cradled my arm. My wrist felt like it was on fire and I was
worried that the fall from the ladder wasn’t nearly as dangerous as
being in a car with Kaylin and her mood swings. “Well if someone were
thinking about it they’ve probably changed their minds by now,”
she said with a mischievous grin. “So why have I never seen
you?” I asked curiously in between bites of the best chicken enchiladas
I’d ever had. “I mean Andrew
interviewed and hired me but he’s the manager and it’s a small
store so I don’t get why you didn’t sit in on any
interviews.” Kaylin shrugged as she licked melted
cheese off her fingers in obvious enjoyment.
Realizing I was staring I quickly averted my eyes to my plate blushing
furiously. “I always had more important
things to see about. Besides,
what’s the point of a manager if they can’t take care of things
like that?” “It’s just that now
that I’ve met you, you seem more like the hands-on type,” “Actually I quite like the
shadows,” Kaylin replied as she gestured to
the waitress. Surprisingly enough, despite our
rough first encounter, lunch went well.
It felt like I had known her all my life but
then she said something or there was a flicker in her eyes that reminded me I
really didn’t know her at all. “Ready to go or would you
like dessert?” Kaylin asked with a smile. “No thanks, I’m
stuffed.” Kaylin nodded at someone behind me and
our waitress came back with the check which she handed to Kaylin
and a black ice pack which she gave to me. “Oh I forgot about that,”
I exclaimed, amazed that she had been so thoughtful. “Wouldn’t want you to
be in pain by the time I dropped you off now would we,” she said in a
low murmur. I gave her a slow smile and wished
with every fiber of my being that instead of my wavy, mostly wild dark red
hair, freckles and slightly crooked nose, I looked like an exotic model. My best feature was my grey eyes. Other than that I was just a mildly
attractive woman with none of the charisma it would take to seduce someone
like Kaylin. “No I guess we
wouldn’t,” “You know I never would have
pegged you for a mechanic,” I said as I placed a steaming cup of hot
chocolate in front of Kaylin. “Yeah well it’s sort
of my papa’s place so I grew up there.
No sense spending all that time around cars and not picking up
anything,” Kaylin replied with a shrug. “So you like cars or books
more?” “Right now, I’m loving
this hot chocolate more than either of them,” I didn’t need a mirror to
see that I sported a bright red blush from the compliment. “You think I can entice you
away from your current job to work in a coffee shop?” Kaylin teased. Part of me wanted to say I was
already pretty enticed but the sensible part managed to smile and not respond
just in case the thoughts floating around in my head wound up being exactly
what I said. “It was nice finally getting
to meet you although I am sorry you had to fall for me to get to know you a
little bit.” Kaylin gestured to my wrist. “I actually forgot about
this,” I grinned. “Good. That means you’re not in pain,”
Kaylin smiled as she stood. “I have to get going, here’s my
card, if you need anything give me a call.” I took the small business card
from her feeling an acute sense of loss at the prospect of her leaving. I had spent only one morning with her but
it felt like we had known each other forever. “Thanks for fixing my car
for me, and for lunch, and the doctor’s visit,” Kaylin threw back the mane of dark hair
as she laughed, “I’ll make you a deal, I won’t mention this
morning if you don’t,” she winked at me. “Jess, I swear under the
attitude she’s so sweet and funny,” I said dreamily as I helped
Jessica tidy the shelves and restack books. “You sound like you have a
full blown crush and I can’t blame you, she’s gorgeous,” “Yeah and charming and
probably not interested either.
I’m betting that there’s some supermodel girlfriend stashed
away somewhere.” I said with a sigh. “You have a point. People like her always have someone,” “Maybe we should put a sprig
of mistletoe by the door to the office so if she comes back and I get her
under it….” I winked at Jessica. “With your luck you’d
have to kiss Andrew,” Jessica laughed. “So true and so very
depressing,” I groaned as I stood up. “Speaking of, where is
Andrew by the way? Shouldn’t he
be here by now?” Jessica asked curiously. “He should have been here an
hour ago. I called his cell yesterday
to let him know what had happened but he didn’t answer and he
didn’t call me back either.” “Weird,” “Yes and not at all like
him.” I said stopping to consider the situation. “I’ll go try his home
number, maybe he’s still there,” “Or maybe Shelly had the
baby,” Jessica said excitedly. “That’s right
she’s due soon. I’ll call
the house and if she’s not there then they’re probably both at
the hospital.” “While you do that
I’ll start working on the window display since it’s our down
time,” Jessica said as she headed to the corner of the store. The bell chimes to signal the door
opening sounded but I figured Jessica could handle it as I dialed
Andrew’s home number. No one answered and I gave up in
frustration. Where could he possibly
be that he couldn’t manage to answer any phones or call me back? I didn’t really want to waste the time
calling the three major hospitals because I had no idea where he would have
taken his wife to have the baby. “Nicole, there’s an
FBI agent here to see you,” Jessica whispered worriedly. “To see me?” I asked
in confusion. She nodded. “He was asking me questions about
Andrew,” Jessica looked pale and a sense of
foreboding came over me. The agent was
standing by the cash register, examining the bookmarks set up on the counter. “Hi, I’m Nicole Woods.”
I said as I held out my hand. His handshake was firm and brief. “Agent Crossfield,”
he said as he flashed his identification for me. “What can I do for
you?” I asked as I motioned for him to come closer towards the office
and away from the three women that came into the store. “When was the last time you
saw or spoke to Andrew Mitchell?” “Day before yesterday when
we were working out the schedule for the extended Christmas hours. Why has something happened to him?” I
asked worried. “What makes you think
something happened to him?” the agent asked, cocking his head slightly
to one side as he waited for my answer. “I tried to call him several
times after that but I haven’t managed to reach him,” “Was the owner of this
store,” he paused as he checked his notes, “Ms. Kaylin Marcus at the meeting as well?” “No she’s never in
meetings with us and most of the staff has never seen her.” “Most?” the agent asked
staring intently at me. Feeling uneasy I glanced around
the store, Jessica was helping the trio and none of them paid us any
attention. “What does that have to do
with Andrew? And why are you asking
about him anyway?” I hedged. “I take it you’re one
of those who has met your boss?” he pushed. “Yes I met her once. That’s about it.” “Did Andrew seem troubled at
all these last few days?” I shook my head no. “What was his relationship
with Ms. Marcus like?” “I wouldn’t know, I
told you I only met her once. I
assumed they got along fine and that she trusted his judgement
because he was the one who made most of the decisions from what I could
see.” “Thank you for your time Ms.
Woods, I’ll be in touch if I have any more questions for you.” “Wait!” I panicked. “He’s either dead or in big
trouble if the FBI is involved.
Please, he was a friend not just an employer,” I pleaded. Agent Crossfield
sighed as he looked at me. “Police located his body
early this morning.” “Oh my God,” I
whispered, numb from shock. “Why
would anyone want to kill him? He was
a nice family guy. Really
conservative. Was it a robbery gone bad?” “I can’t disclose more
information than that at this point.” “Wait, what about his
wife? She must be devastated and
she’s pregnant.” “She and her child are in
protective custody,” “But why? Do you think whoever killed Andrew would
hurt her too?” “I’ll be in
touch,” he said shortly. I practically ran to the office
and closed the door for privacy. I was
still too shocked to cry but I could already feel the pain welling up inside
me. Andrew couldn’t just be
gone. Why was the FBI involved? What the hell was going on? “Nic? Did he say what he wanted?” Jessica asked as she came into the office. “Andrew’s dead,”
I said so softly that I wondered if I had actually said it out loud. Jessica and I closed the store and
called the other employees. I went
home in a daze, unable to believe the events of the day and then I remembered
that I had a boss who would definitely want to know about Andrew. “Yeah,” an
authoritative silky voice answered. “Kaylin?” “Depends,” she said in
a low voice that made me shiver despite the grief. “It’s Nicole Woods,” “Oh sorry, hi” the
voice went up a few notches in terms of warmth. “I’m afraid I have
some bad news. It’s
Andrew,” “Yes I heard. I was going to call you but I got a little
tied up with some things,” “I closed the shop early and
called everyone already. The FBI came
to the bookstore and asked a bunch of questions,” “Did you get a name?” Kaylin interrupted. “I think it was Crossfield why?
Did they come talk to you too?” “Not yet but I’m sure
they will,” Kaylin muttered wryly. I waited but she didn’t seem
inclined to add anything to that. “Are you coming to work
tomorrow since…..” I swallowed hard as a
lump formed in my throat. “Since
Andrew….” The tears I had stopped from
falling earlier were now making an appearance to my mortification. “It’s just that there
are all these things he was supposed to deal with this week and now, now
he’s gone,” I knew I was rambling and yet for some reason I
couldn’t seem to stop myself. “Nicole are
you alone?” Kaylin asked gently. “I’m home. We closed the store as soon as we found
out.” “You and Andrew were close
then?” “He was a friend. He could be exasperating at times but he
loved his family and he was always really nice to all of us.” I said
quietly. “I don’t even
know where his wife is so I can call her.” I could hear voices in the
background and idly wondered where Kaylin was. “Give me a minute,”
she said to someone, “Nicole, I have something important that has to be
taken care of right now but sit tight and I’ll call you back in a
couple hours so we can talk ok?” “You don’t need to if
you’re busy,” I offered dejectedly. “I’ll talk to you in a
little while then,” she said and then hung up. I considered calling one of
friends or even Jessica to talk but thought better of it and turning on the
TV I curled up on my couch instead feeling incredibly lonely and depressed. *** Kaylin “Boss, I just talked to
Jerry,” Greg said as he handed her a file. Kaylin motioned for him to continue and
put her hand over the mouthpiece so Nicole couldn’t hear the
conversation clearly. “They’re in the
process of getting a search warrant, we need to move
everything now.” Kaylin nodded her understanding and quickly
debated her priorities. Nicole sounded
incredibly upset and she acknowledged the irony that she chose to unknowingly
call the cause of her pain. At the end
of the day though, no matter how beautiful or vulnerable she was the fact was
business and family came first. Knowing
her priorities played a huge part in why she was single she sighed and made a
quick decision and cut the call short feeling regret that it would make her
seem insensitive and cold, not exactly the feelings she wanted to inspire in
Nicole. For some reason, since she
first saw those gorgeous grey eyes she’d been intrigued and then later,
charmed. What she really wanted was a
chance to put her charms to good use and pursue something with the redhead
even though she could list at least five reasons why that would definitely
not be a good idea. Kaylin navigated the busy streets of the
down town area parking by the bakery on the street behind the bookstore. She dialed her father’s number as she
let herself into the dark store and went stealthily to the office without
turning on any lights. “Have you completed it
yet?” a steely voice answered. “I’m in the office now
actually,” “How much time did Jerry say
we have before they issue it?” “The judge should be signing
it as we speak. Remember though they
don’t need to have it in hand to park up right outside and wait so make
sure the garage is as clean as here is going to be in about five
minutes.” “This should never have been
allowed to get so far. Now they have a
confession, a basic layout of the operation and the death of the person who
gave them all that information.”
Carlos angrily reprimanded. “None of this would have
happened if he hadn’t developed that habit and hid it from me. He was never vulnerable to persuasion
before then papa.” Kaylin responded
distractedly as she replaced the physical ledgers with the clean dummies
placing the real ones in her messenger bag. “You should still have
noticed something Kaylin.” Sighing she took the screwdriver
out of her pocket. “I was a little busy closing
the casino deal for you and tio Ricardo. Look, papa, as much as I would love to play
the blame game I have to finish this like five minutes ago so you can yell at
me later.” Kaylin said exasperated. Pushing the end button she turned
on the flashlight function and began the process of replacing the motherboard
in the pc. She had just gotten the
small but damaging evidence out and in her bag when the flashlight went off
and a text message appeared. ‘They’re heading
straight for you. Get out
NOW!!!” She looked up at the security
monitor and watched as the police cars could be plainly seen driving into the
parking lot. Quickly securing the
dummy motherboard in place and pushing it back under the desk she grabbed the
bag. She pushed a button on the security
screen and found herself looking at even more police vehicles driving to the
back of the store. Her car was at the
end of the alley unobtrusively parked by the bakery but she couldn’t
take the same route back to it now. Kaylin switched her phone to silent so
no one would hear it vibrate, slipped it into her small bag and strapped the
bag tightly around her neck and shoulders so it would not fall off
accidentally. Sneaking out of the office
she made her way around to the small bathroom, peeping at the front store
which still had not been opened.
Closing the door behind her she went into the first stall and stood on
the toilet seat stretching her arms to the ceiling. She felt around determinedly for the edge
of the ceiling tile and pushed, turned and pulled it out. Using the screwdriver she quickly located
the small screw in the middle that most people would miss and unscrewed
it. She heard the iron grate on the
outside of the store go up and heard the sounds of the wooden door in the
back being smashed in. “Guess the DA got here with
that warrant,” she muttered to herself as she pushed at the small
door. Standing on her tip toes she
carefully put the loose tile on her toes, keeping them straight so it
wouldn’t fall off, and pulled herself into the small opening just as
the lights started to go on and the sound of a multitude of law enforcement
swarmed the small store more than likely heading for the office. Sitting in the narrow space she leaned back
down and grabbed the tile while she pulled the rest of her body in. Silently thanking her grandmother for all
those gymnastic classes she had insisted her only granddaughter attend she
fitted the tile back in and closed the trapdoor. It took her five minutes
slithering through the space to get to the steep shoot that led down to a
basement that did not exist on any blueprint or floor plan. Climbing down and then dropping to the
floor she looked around the spacious room that was currently cluttered with
large boxes. The officers upstairs
would never get access to here no matter how many people they managed to
bribe or how many warrants they obtained simply because only three people
knew of its existence. Kaylin, Carlos her father
and Ricardo her uncle. If they ever needed a safe place
to store everything or even to go to ground for a few days the idea was that
this place would be untouchable. The
wall on the far side had a small door that led to the bakery where Kaylin’s car was parked and she was a silent,
untraceable partner. Kaylin carefully placed the messenger
bag in the bottom drawer of her home office and made sure it was securely
locked away before taking a shower and putting on dark jeans, a thick navy
sweater and her warm black jacket. The
snow the weatherman had predicted had already begun to fall by the time she
pulled in front of Nicole’s apartment building. She dialed Nicole’s phone
but got no answer and for a minute wondered at the wisdom of just showing up
at her door an hour and a half after she had ended the call. ‘Well there’s only one way to
find out if she still needs to talk to me’ she thought as she followed
a resident into the building and went up to Nicole’s floor. “Hey,” she said when a
red eyed Nicole answered the door in sweats. On close inspection she could see
the streaks on her face where tears had traced a path down her cheeks. “I thought you were
busy,” Nicole said in obvious surprise. “Can I come in?” Nicole blushed and stepped back to
let her pass. *** Nicole I closed the door behind my
unexpected guest flustered and cursing my choice of attire. “I’m sorry about
earlier, I had a few things to take care of and I was going to call you when
I was done but you sounded so sad when you hung up that I figured I should
check on you in person instead.” I smiled my gratitude, the warmth
of her consideration chasing away the loneliness and grief of the past few
hours. “Can I get you something to
drink or eat?” I asked already moving towards the kitchen. “I’m fine,” she
said as she motioned me to over to sit next to her on the small couch. The butterflies from yesterday
came back with a vengeance as she put an arm around my shoulders pulling me
against her. She stayed like that, comforting
me while we talked about Andrew, work, our hobbies and my family. When I started dozing off nestled against
her around 2:00am she decided it was time to leave and part of me protested,
wishing she would stay and hold me all night. “You know you’re more
comfortable than a pillow,” I teased. “Really? Hmm, maybe I should switch professions
then,” she laughed.
“I’m only a phone call away ok?” she promised as she
pulled me into a hug. I inhaled her scent as I
nodded. It was more than an hour later
before I stopped tossing and turning in a bed that was suddenly not as
comfortable as my couch and finally fell asleep. I slapped my alarm repeatedly as I
groggily tried to shut it off.
Frustrated when the noise continued I opened one eye and glared at it
before my brain woke up and realized the ringing was coming from my phone
next to the quiet alarm clock. “Hello?” I croaked,
wincing at the dryness of my throat. “Did I wake you?” a
silky low voice asked. Instantly alert I sat up a slow
smile spreading across my face. “Yes, but that’s ok
though,” Kaylin laughed. “Do you know who was supposed to work
today?” “Andrew, Tim and
Celeste. I guess I’ll take
Andrew’s spot until we can work out a new schedule.” I offered. “That’s part of why
I’m calling actually, the store won’t be opened today. I already had someone put up a sign on the
door.” “Ok I’ll call Tim and
Celeste then,” I said reluctant to end the conversation to take care of
work. “What was the other part
by the way?” “I just wanted to check on
you, make sure you were ok.” The admission made my heart skip a
few beats. “That was sweet of you. Thanks for last night, I really appreciated
it.” “I’m glad I
helped.” “If you’re not busy
maybe I can take you out for a thank you dinner?” I cursed myself as
soon as I asked immediately dreading the inevitable turndown. “I’m sorry, I
can’t. I have plans for this
evening,” My heart took an instant dive to
the pit of my stomach. “How about breakfast
instead? I’m fairly close to
your neighborhood now. I could swing
by for you in twenty minutes,” she suggested. “Sure that’d be
great,” I exclaimed enthusiastically. I slapped my forehead as I pleaded
with my brain to quit the outbursts. “See you in a bit
then,” I could picture the cocky grin on her face I detected in her
voice. As soon as I hung up some of the
euphoria dissipated and panic set in.
What do you wear to a breakfast date? What should I do with my
hair? Twenty minutes suddenly
didn’t seem like a lot of time to get ready and I practically flew off
the bed and into the shower, mentally going through my wardrobe for something
that looked at least casually sexy. No
matter what anyone says it looks awkward if you’re dining with someone
who looks like a goddess even in sweats and you look like you just rolled out
of bed and threw something, anything, on. Finally settling on dark blue jeans
and a grey turtleneck that brought out my own grey eyes, I quickly ran a
brush through my wavy dark red hair.
Wanting to impress her didn’t win out over my distaste for
makeup so when she rang the doorbell I was ready. The brilliant smile she gave me when she
looked me over made my entire body tingle. I was definitely in trouble and
heading for the dangerous crush zone. “We talked about me last time,
tell me something about you,” I smiled. “I like hearing about you
and I’m a boring topic,” she teased. Underneath the teasing tone though
there was something in her eyes that said her refusal was not a joke. I pushed anyway. “Family seems like a safe
topic,” I suggested cautiously.
“Do you have any siblings?” She said nothing for a minute as
she watched me. I couldn’t read
her at all so I resisted the urge to fidget nervously. “I had an older
brother,” “As in past tense?” I
asked surprised and sorry I had brought it up when I saw the flash of pain in
her eyes before it was masked. “He,” she hesitated,
“he died when I was seven,” I’m sorry,” I said as
I gently placed my hand over hers for comfort. “I have my papa, my tio and tia and two cousins who
are around my age,” “Are you close?” She nodded but I could tell from
her shuttered expression that I was not going to get anymore than that. “What about your
family?” Kaylin asked. I accepted the change in topic and
we lingered over breakfast until after ten. Even though we spent most of the
morning together I was missing her by lunch time. ‘She’s busy and you’re
acting like a damn teenager instead of a mature, sensible 26 year old. Get a grip already.’ I berated
myself. What I needed was a
distraction. I didn’t have any
new books to read but I felt too restless to sit still anyway. I thought about cleaning then discarded the
idea; I wasn’t that desperate yet.
I could redo the schedule for work though. It needed to be changed immediately anyway
and since we were closed it would give me a chance to catch up on all the
paperwork. Book orders needed to be
sorted for the Christmas rush and while I was in town I could get some
Christmas shopping done as well. It
was better that pacing in my apartment and wondering what plans Kaylin had tonight. With only light traffic on the
road it took twenty minutes to get to ‘The bandits could still be
in there’ I thought panicked. “Ms. Woods, you saved me a
phone call,” I turned towards the voice. “Agent Crossfield,”
I said in surprise. “Since when
does the FBI investigate burglaries?” “You mean this?” he
asked gesturing to the store where on closer inspection I could see a few
officers close to the entrance to the back where the office was. I nodded as I continued into the
store horrified at the damage. “Can I use the phone? I need to tell the owner what’s
happened,” I said gesturing to the phone on the counter. “This isn’t a
burglary. We have a warrant to search
for evidence,” he said as he slapped and official looking document in
my hand. “Why?” I asked in
shock and not a small amount of confusion.
“We’re a bookstore we don’t engage in criminal
activity. Is this about Andrew? You said you have his wife but,” Agent Crossfield’s
hand went up silencing the rest of my argument. “How about we take a little
ride to the station?” The tone was conciliatory but I
held no illusions that it was anything less than an order. “Have a seat,” he said
as he pulled out a chair in a small freezing interrogation room. There was no table like on TV. The one way mirror was there but the small
quarters made me feel claustrophobic.
I sat on the only chair as directed.
It was hard and uncomfortable; one of the chair legs was shorter than
the other three making me feel off balance no matter how I sat. When I looked back at the door the
agent was no longer there. Grateful
that I had kept on my coat I stuck my hands in the pockets and tried to stay
warm. A tall man built like he could
easily have been a linebacker came in followed by another man holding a cup
of what smelt like coffee. “The heating gives a little
trouble at times,” the bulky man who introduced himself as Agent
Samuels said by way of explanation as he leaned casually against the wall to
the right of me so that I could only see him out of the corner of my eye. “Coffee?” the other
agent offered holding out the cup. I took it relishing the heat that
warmed my fingers and insides. Before
either of them could say another word a knock sounded at the door and they
both left. It felt like I was left
alone for hours even though I knew based on my watch it was actually just the
longest forty five minutes of my life so far. “How well do you know your
boss Ms. Marcus?” Samuels asked without any preamble as he made a slow
circle around me. “She wasn’t even
present for my interview,” I said exasperated. An inner caution stopped me from
mentioning that I had been spending time with her over the last few days. “So you expect us to believe
you don’t know your own employer,” the blond agent said
incredulously. Samuels stopped behind the chair
and leaned on the back of it making me shift forward slightly so it
wasn’t such an invasion of my personal space. “You know we could always
charge you with obstruction if we find out your lying,” he said
maliciously into my ear. I tried to swing around so I could
actually see his face but that only made it worse. “How’d you like to
write to Santa from a jail cell this year?” the blond agent grinned as
I whipped around to look at him in shock. “That letter would probably
say something like; dear Santa, please make big Martha and friends leave me
alone,” Samuels whispered in my ear. The coffee and my nerves chose
that moment to reassert their presence and I crossed my legs. “Can I use the
bathroom?” “Look at that McShine,” Samuels said in pretend surprise. “She’s already trained for big
Martha.” “Am I under arrest?” I
asked frightened and completely confused as I almost gave myself whiplash
trying to keep them both in my sights. “Depends,” McShine said speculatively. “How well do you know Kaylin Marcus?” “I just told you. Not well.
I met her for the first time a few days ago when she came into the
office.” “Do you know what happened
to Andrew?” Samuels asked in a low voice. “Agent Crossfield
said they found his body. I assume he
was murdered.” I swallowed. “Yeah it was found alright,
his head was missing a tongue and he was almost beaten to death before they
took pity on him and shot him.” I gasped, pained at the mental
image of a man who had been both an employer and friend and at my bladder
which was promising to humiliate me. “I don’t know anything
about it or whatever has you trashing the bookstore. Andrew never kept anything personal there
anyway so if you’re looking for drugs or whatever you should have
checked his house.” They both looked at me silently,
immovable as if I were a troublesome child in the principal’s office. “Can I please use the
bathroom now? I already told you I
don’t know anything.” “You know who killed
him?” McShine asked idly as he pushed himself
off the wall he was leaning on and walked casually to the door. “Kaylin,
your boss. He was about to roll on her
and expose their illegal activities,” Samuels answered. “No.” I shouted in
disbelief. “They were
friends. She wouldn’t do
that.” “Oh but she did. That little bookstore you work
in…..” McShine started in a regretful
tone as he opened the door. “That’s just a front,
a way to clean their dirty money and make it legit.” Samuels finished. “And you’re helping
them do it too.” “Even if you don’t
know.” “You’re wrong,”
I whispered. “You go take a little
bathroom break and reflect a little.” McShine
said as he led me to the bathroom. I didn’t feel all that better
when I came back out. I knew I was in
trouble. I personally didn’t
think we made enough to afford the number of workers we had. Were they right? Crime would explain the
FBI’s presence if it was serious enough and my mother always said where
there’s smoke there’s fire. I didn’t know much about Kaylin other than the fact that every time I even
pictured her my heart skipped a beat.
My brain was screaming at me that I was already being treated like a criminal, it might be time to ignore my heart. I was taken to a different room
this time. This one had a table with
pictures strewn across it. Once I got
close enough to recognize the subjects I felt nauseated. Pictures of Kaylin
and me getting into her car, her arm around me as she helped me in; we looked
cozy if you didn’t have the context of a sprained wrist and bruises
from my fall. Pictures of the two
occasions we ate out, of her in my apartment by the kitchen window and of her
leaving in the dark. “Nicole,” McShine started in a grave tone, “It’s never
good to lie,” “I didn’t. Am I under surveillance?” I asked
dreading the answer and cursing my traitorous heart. “Tell us again how you
don’t know her,” Samuels sneered. “I especially like this one
right here,” McShine said as he held up a
picture of Kaylin giving me that wonderful, small
kiss after breakfast this morning, back when I felt like I was walking on
air. My coat was no longer keeping me
warm. “I can explain all of
that. It’s not what it looks
like,” We all jumped and turned to the
front of the room, startled, as the door was flung open and a stylish tall
brunette stalked in. She was wearing
low heels and a black and white tailored suit that hugged her frame and still
managed to scream professional. Her
dark brown hair was swept up and away from her face in a bun and her
manicured hands held a briefcase in one hand and a blackberry in the other. “Melissa Slake, I’m
her lawyer and I demand to know why my client is being harassed,” she
announced defiantly. I looked at her thoroughly confused. I didn’t have a lawyer,
no one even knew where I was so they could hire one for me. “Who called you? Kaylin right?” Samuels asked sourly. “Is she under arrest for
something?” she asked completely ignoring his question. “No, we were just having a
friendly chat, right Nicole?” “I can leave now
then?” I asked hesitantly. “Of course you can. You’ve done nothing and if they even
hinted at infringing your rights we would retaliate immediately. How about it gentlemen? Who wants to tell their kids there’ll
be no presents from Santa this year because their dad lost his job,”
she threatened as she pulled me towards the door. “I think I’ll borrow that for
when I go to court today and file for police harassment and unlawful
spying,” she said grabbing the incriminating picture of the kiss still
in the agent’s hand. “That’s
evidence,” McShine protested as he tried to
grab it back. “Yes it is,
evidence against you. You don’t
have the authority for surveillance much less invasion of privacy.” The lawyer marched us out of the
precinct and straight to a familiar silver car. This morning I would have been thrilled to
see Kaylin, after what the agents said and the fact
that she seemed to have seen this whole thing coming and was able to send a
lawyer to my rescue, I was suspicious.
I couldn’t trust her completely at this point. “Are you ok?” Kaylin asked concerned as she gently pulled me to her. “Why didn’t you tell
me about the store?” I asked tonelessly. “They’re basically
done. A cleaning crew is coming to put
everything back the way it was.” “So if I hadn’t gone I
would never have known,” Kaylin nodded and looked over the top of
my head at Melissa. “Thanks Mel,” she said
with a smile as she studied the picture Melissa had confiscated and then
handed it back. “Anytime,” I didn’t turn around but I
knew when she walked away. “Nicky,” Kaylin raised my chin until I was looking at her,
“baby I’m sorry this happened but you’re out, you’re
safe and they won’t be allowed anywhere near you without a court order.” I pulled away from her furious
because that statement made it seem likely that those agents were right and
despite that the charming smile did actually make me feel better. “Your car is back at your
house,” she said quietly as she drove us away from the precinct. “I seem to remember leaving
it at “I moved it so they
wouldn’t get any ideas about damaging it like they did the shop,” I started debating the wisdom of
ignoring the accusations when I realized we were heading away from my place. “Where are we going?”
I asked warily. “We really gonna do this dance every time we’re in a car
together?” “They said you killed him
and cut out his tongue for talking and they seemed to think I might have
something to say too.” Kaylin took advantage of the red light
in front of us to look at me. “Do you think I would hurt
you?” My heart screamed no but my brain
reminded me that Andrew clearly hadn’t thought she would either and now
he was dead so I stayed quiet. A horn sounded behind us and I
breathed a sigh of relief when she stopped staring at me and concentrated on
the road instead. She pulled up in
front of my building fifteen minutes later.
I looked around in confusion unable to figure out where she had veered
back on track as I was sure we weren’t always heading here. “I won’t be available
for a couple weeks,” she said quietly as she reached under her seat and
pulled out a folder. “This is
your new schedule which you can tweak if you want, a list of the promotions
you need to run and a list of what you’re including in the Christmas
sale which absolutely must start next week Monday since it’s the first
week in December we’re already a little late.” I looked at her blankly wondering
how we got to this topic. “Are you sure you’re
allowed to just disappear?” Kaylin regarded me coolly and the pain
of seeing the usual warmth in her eyes disappear rendered me almost
speechless. “The contact information for
my second in command is in there too.
Consider him the interim manager and if you have questions call
him.” “I’m sorry,” I
finally said unable to leave things with Kaylin the
way they currently stood.
“It’s just that there’s so much you won’t tell
me and there must be a reason for what they’re saying.” Kaylin didn’t respond choosing to
stare at the windshield rather than even look at me. “Couldn’t you just try
to see this from my point of view?” I pleaded. “You think I killed Andrew
like they said which makes me a dangerous criminal who could also turn around
and kill you too. Am I getting close
to what’s in your head?” Kaylin asked
in a monotone. “When you put it like
that,” I winced. “These past few days clearly
don’t mean the same thing to you that it does to me. I at least thought if nothing else we could
be friends.” Kaylin said as she continued to
stare at the windshield. “I was
wrong to think it would mean you would trust me over the police. Now I need you to get out and go
inside.” “Kay, please don’t do
this. This means more to me than you
know and that’s why it hurts so much.
I just went through an interrogation and they threatened to throw me
in jail and I still have no idea why.”
I said as I struggled against the tears that threatened to fall. It had been so long since I felt this way
about anyone the last thing I wanted was for it to be ruined before it really
got off the ground. “I asked you if you thought
I would hurt you and you refused to answer me. Even if I can’t tell you everything
if there is going to be an us you have to trust me
and you clearly don’t.” “You have to earn that. You can’t just expect it to happen. My heart wants so badly to trust you but my
brain is saying I don’t know that much about you and what I do know
doesn’t make much sense.” I argued. “So you’re saying you
don’t trust me at all then.” Kaylin
laughed humorlessly. “You’re not even
trying to put yourself in my shoes,” I said exasperated. “You know right before I met
you I was wishing I could finally meet someone. Everything clicked with you right off and I
thought ‘Wow. Ask and it
shall be given to you.’” I lost my battle with my tears. “I feel the same way and we
could still have that if,” Kaylin shook her head to stop me. “You can’t trust me which means
I can’t trust you with the information you want to know. I can’t trust how you plan to use it
or how it will change how you view me.
A group of people who hardly ever get anything right feed you bullshit
about me and you’re instantly doubting
me. That’s not even a good basis
for friendship far less a relationship.” “Kay,” I whispered
brokenly. “Get out, ok.” *** Kaylin See this is why it’s so damn
hard to find someone,” Greg commiserated as they went over the final
plans to undo the damage Andrew and his death caused. Kaylin looked up at him in
gratitude. He wasn’t genetically
connected to her but he was more family to her than
her cousin Caleb. Greg had been her
best friend and right hand since freshman year in high school. They both heard the footsteps
outside the door before the knock came.
Due to the increased police activity Kaylin
had stopped carrying her gun on her person.
Even though it was legally registered to her and she had a license for
it the law was irritating about taking it anyway for ‘testing’
just to make sure it didn’t match any homicides. She was fairly certain they would
eventually get tired of this cat and mouse game and attempt to plant
something. Kaylin moved to the front door silently
out of the corner she could see Greg draw his gun and reach into a catch in
the light switch to retrieve hers.
Ensuring she wasn’t standing in front of the door where the
shadow of her footsteps could be seen outside she looked through the peephole. Caleb was outside. Operating on gut instinct and a touch of
paranoia she motioned Greg to switch the television station to surveillance. There were two other men further down the
hall watching Caleb. She only knew one
of them, Kyle, the other person who had been there for Andrew’s
lesson. Something was off about seeing
them together. Kyle was her
uncle’s man and Greg was hers, at no time should Kyle suddenly become
Caleb’s bodyguard. There was not much reason to be
concerned about her cousin except that Andrew couldn’t have gone so far
down this road so silently without a big shove and someone obscuring what was
happening until it was too late for the situation to be remedied. Andrew had been hooked on drugs at the very
end of his life, first dabbling in dealing and then once he started using
things went downhill fast. Kaylin’s family never touched drugs or
guns, drawing the line at the low level crime that only managed to destroy
people so Andrew had not been on their business when he started and he had
known he would need to keep it a secret or risk a showdown with her. The way he had been arrested stunk of a
setup and something on the interrogation tape kept nagging at her. Caleb knocked again, clearly able
to see the light on under the door and she quickly weighed her options as she
speed dialed her father’s number.
When it just kept ringing she backed away from the door as silently as
she had come. It could be nothing, she
was known for being a little paranoid.
Then again, her uncle and her father had trained her to listen to her
gut and follow her instincts. At the
moment they were screaming to get out. Picking up a duffel bag from her
office she emptied the contents of her safe into it along with the evidence
from She shimmied to the edge of the
space in the direction of the closet.
Once there she stood technically in the part of the wall that would
have also been closet space if not for some redecorating on her part. It was narrow enough that she could scale
the wall with her back sliding up the wall and her hands and feet in front of
her balancing her so she didn’t fall.
Once she got into crawl space on top of the closet Greg was finally
able to squeeze into a standing position.
She used sign language to ask for the headphones in the pocket of the
duffel and plugged them into her phone connecting to surveillance video in
the condo and outside the building. As she had suspected there were
men placed all around the perimeter of the building so even if they had left
through a different exit they would have been caught and possibly
killed. She watched quietly as Caleb
and his goons started looking through the apartment and guessed that he had
picked the lock. The three systematically searched
the whole place clearly looking for something in particular. “There’s a hot pot of
coffee on in the kitchen boss,” Kyle said as he entered the study where
Caleb as trying to unlock the safe. “Then she was still in here
when we came. The question is where
did she go?” “Should we start searching
the building for her or just plant the stuff and leave?” “Get everyone to report in
with their locations so we know we’re not down any men. She probably figured it out and used a
clever exit to get into another condo.
Focus on the building and outer perimeter, she’s around here
somewhere.” Caleb walked into the bedroom so
she no longer needed earphones to hear him. “Jake,” Caleb said
quietly into his phone. “Yeah, she wasn’t here
and knowing her she’s probably long gone and warning them. The girl still home alone? Good, grab her now before Kaylin gets a chance to stash her somewhere, we’re gonna use her as a bargaining chip to flush Kaylin out if it comes to that.” Confused, she tried to figure out
what girl he was talking about but his next words clarified and left her
cold. “They looked plenty cozy in
those pictures and that argument today is the most emotion I’ve ever
seen out of my cousin so the bitch must mean something to her.” ‘Don’t ask questions,
there’s no time. Get into the basement of your building or the back of
your car with a dark blanket over you.
Don’t try to leave and whatever you do, do NOT go outside. Kaylin,” she used her prepaid cell phone to text
Nicole and prayed she would read it in time and follow instructions for once. “Let me know when you have
her.” Caleb said as he ended the call. Taking a glock
out of his waistband he placed it on her dresser carefully wiping all his
fingerprints off with his shirt. “Let’s go,” he
bellowed to the other men inside. Kaylin waited impatiently as they took
their time leaving the premises almost half an hour after walking out of her
condo. “He just planted something
didn’t he?” Greg asked as soon as they were out of their hiding
place. Kaylin pointed to the gun on the dresser
and he picked it up. “What do you want to bet
this is the same gun Andrew was killed with?” he said grimly. “Call papa and if you still
can’t get him call tio Ricardo,” Greg handed her the phone. “Kaylin?” “Papa, what the hell is so
hard about answering your phone?” she demanded angrily. “I was talking to Emanuel,
seems the feds have decided to visit so I thought I’d take a drive and
leave them to it. Apparently they got
a warrant to search my place and Ric’s,” “Was Caleb in either of your
houses recently?” “No, why?” “You need to go to ground
for a bit just in case.” Kaylin advised
somberly as she related the events of the past hour. The call did not last long. Once the FBI found evidence they would
obtain a warrant to tap their phones.
No heads up had been received for the warrants today and that could
easily mean that either their connections had been compromised or they were
totally out of the loop. Neither
scenario boded well. “Where to?” Greg asked
as he drove them away from her building. They both watched as a line of
police cars passed them speeding to her home.
As much as she wanted to direct him to get Nicole she knew it was too
big a risk. If that Jake person
hadn’t already found her he might wait around on the chance that she
hadn’t gone far. Not enough time
had passed for him to know she had run. “Cabin,” “Your parents’?” “No, head onto the
Northbound 53 and I’ll direct you from there.” “You bought a cabin?” “An early present to
myself,” Kaylin made up the spare room for Greg
before emptying the contents of the duffel in her room. She put everything in the safe in the
headboard of her bed leaving out just $10,000.00 cash for now. Greg had already turned on the heat and set
up the two computers. “Make sure you connect to
the station so if they issue arrest warrants we will know,” Greg gave a curt nod. “Caleb will know my car so
we’ll park it around back and take the other one to use.” “You planned this,” he
said in surprise. “I didn’t really know
this would happen, especially not with Caleb at the helm,” she
shrugged. “I just like to have a
few backup plans just because.” It had taken close to two hours to
get to the cabin so she waited until close to midnight to leave. Parking a street away from Nicole’s
building she cautiously walked to the back entrance prepared for an
ambush. She checked the basement
first, if Nicole had hid in time she would be hungry, tired and furious but
the basement would have been less uncomfortable than being folded into a car
for hours. She was not there so next she
tried the car. Nothing. Racing up the stairs she found
Nicole’s door open but no signs of a struggle. She searched carefully for her phone. If she hadn’t read the message in
time it would not have been with her. Still nothing. Kaylin ran back to the parking garage
and called Nicole’s phone looking for a small sliver of light where
there should not be any. Nicole might
have been street savvy enough to turn the phone on silent but not enough to
remember that phones lit up and take precautions. Four car lengths down was her
reward; a faint glimmer under a car. *** Nicole My arms and legs were asleep and
my left leg was cramping up from my position curled under the car. I had originally been in the back of mine
but the muffled sound of someone in the garage spooked me enough that I left
that safe haven for somewhere Kaylin could still
find. I had planned to take a chance
and leave the garage but another man was by the only other exit so I slid
under the car making myself as small as possible. I watched in shock as someone popped the
trunk of my car and then searched inside. They looked around and then left
but afraid they would come back I stayed where I was. It felt like I had been here for
days rather than hours. I was
freezing, in pain and more afraid than I had ever been. It clearly was not the police I was hiding
from which meant that I was in danger and still had no clue as to why any of
this was happening. A pair of boots appeared in front
of my face and my heart stopped. A familiar face crouched in front
of me. “Let’s get you out of
there,” she said as she gently pulled me out. My calf muscles seized up the
moment I tried to straighten them out.
I tried to massage them but the pain was excruciating. I had no idea I was crying until she wiped
the tears away. “God Nic, I’m so
sorry,” I pushed her hand away from me
angrily. She stood and pulled off her black
sweater putting it over my tank and I almost sobbed at the warmth. Quietly she massaged the tension from my
calves, her fingers were like magic making me forget my anger and fright. “Can you walk now?”
she whispered. I nodded as I leaned into her,
burying my face in the crook of her neck.
It felt like heaven when she wrapped her arms tightly around me, like
nothing could harm me once she was holding me and I treasured that feeling
after the night I had had. “I’ll take you
upstairs to get a few things. I
don’t know if your place is bugged so we can’t talk or make any
noise that would alert them,” she said as she stroked my back in
soothing circles. “Who’s
them?” “My cousin and whatever
faction is with him.” “So they were going to kill
me?” She shook her head pulling me back
to her by a handful of sweater. “I would never let them lay
a hand on you,” she promised vehemently. We held hands as she took me up
the stairs. I lived on the tenth floor
and by the fifth, the remnants of the cramp made my legs ache. I figured we didn’t have enough time
for a break so I said nothing as we raced up the stairs. When I almost tripped she made us stop. “Are you still in
pain?” “I’m fine,” I
said through gritted teeth determined not to slow her down and increase the
odds of us getting killed. “Nic,” she growled. “I can make it. Going down will be much easier,” I
promised. The words had scarcely left my
mouth when I realized how dizzy and tired I was. “When was the last time you
ate?” “Breakfast?” I said as
I tried to remember if there had been any meals after that. “Nic, it’s after three
in the morning. If the last time you
ate was when I was with you then it’s no wonder you’re not doing
well.” “There’s food
upstairs.” “Not enough time. They’ll be back any minute or at
least in an hour or so. We need to be
gone long before they get back.” “I’m sorry,” I
whispered thinking of how I had hurt her the day before. She had more than proved how much I meant
to her today by risking her life to come get me. Kaylin led me onto the seventh floor. “Stay right against here, make yourself as small as possible. I’ll be back in seven minutes max
alright?” I timed her as I watched down the
well lit hallway. She was back in five
minutes with my overnight bag and a pair of boots. “Here, put these on
now,” We were back down the stairs in no
time, the descent worse as it made me even dizzier. At the ground floor she opened the side
door a crack and looked around before closing it back. “What?” “There’s a car that
wasn’t there before.” She led me down to the basement
and out to where the garbage was put out for the truck. Spinning me around she
stuffed my hair down the collar of the sweater and then pulled the black hood
up. The pathway was close to another
building and we climbed the fence and then went to the street behind
mine. Her car was parked two blocks
away and despite the sweater I was shivering by the time we got inside. “There’s a blanket in
the backseat, put it on,” she said as we drove off. Between the heater in the car and
the blanket I was toasty warm and drowsy in a few minutes and I had to
struggle to keep my eyes open. At some
point though I must have lost the battle because I woke to the sound of
voices. We had stopped at a drive
thru. Kaylin
handed me the first bag and a hot chocolate.
I gratefully dug in with a whole new appreciation for fast food and
hot salty fries. “Thanks Kay,” She grinned at me as she took us
out of the city. I went back to sleep
after I had eaten waking only when we finally got to a beautiful secluded
cabin surrounded by fir trees. I started to unbuckle my seatbelt
when Kaylin came back to the car. She said nothing as she made sure I was
securely wrapped in the blanket. “The flurries made it a
little slippery and you’re not feeling well so I’ll carry you in
ok?” she explained as she scooped me up into her arms and carried me
the short distance to the cabin. I
locked my arms around her neck and snuggled into her sleepily. A tall muscular man with light
blue eyes and blond curly hair was typing away on a computer in the spacious
living room. “Greg, Nicole. Nicole, Greg.” Kaylin
said by way of introduction. Greg nodded in acknowledgement and
I smiled back. I took off the sweater
in Kaylin’s bedroom and slipped between the
cool sheets. “You need anything?” I shook my head no and she turned
to leave. “Where are you going?” “To help Greg while you
catch up on some sleep.” I bit my lip, hesitating to ask
after essentially saying I didn’t trust her just yesterday. “What?” “Would you stay with me till
I fall asleep?” Kaylin smiled and undressed leaving on a
grey t-shirt and royal blue boxers. As
soon as she climbed in I rolled so I was sleeping almost on top of her, my
head cradled on her shoulder and my right arm hugging her to me. *** Kaylin Kaylin managed an hour nap holding
Nicole before she made herself leave the warmth and comfort of bed in favor
of work. She had gotten less than
three hours of sleep in the past twenty four hours but if she lay there much
longer reality would brutally reassert itself and she could easily wind up
taking a permanent nap. They could not allow Caleb to gain
even the semblance of an upper hand by going to ground for longer than a few
days. She gently extricated herself
and showered and dressed. “What did you get?”
she asked Greg who was in the kitchen pouring himself
a cup of coffee. The early morning sun coming
through the kitchen window felt great on her face and looked even better with
the sprinkling of white that had stuck to the ground. “They found a few crates of
goods in Mr. Carlos’ garage and they’re getting an arrest warrant
for him.” “Our stuff?” “From the description it
definitely sounds like it.” She skimmed the list of items as
she ran worried hands through her thick, long hair. “This was in the safe house
the minute Andrew started singing. No
way should it have gotten to papa’s house.” “They found more stuff at
Mr. Ricardo’s house as well.” “Well then I guess
he’s officially downgraded on my suspect list. He wouldn’t set himself up.” “You thought he and Caleb
were working together?” “Caleb is his son. You don’t just turn on your parent so
the thought definitely crossed my mind,” she shrugged unapologetically. “The only thing that
doesn’t add up is how Caleb knew where to find the shipment.” “He didn’t know about
the safe house?” “No, tio
Ricardo wasn’t supposed to say anything to him. At the time we had it done Caleb was being
a tad rebellious so we decided he was too loose a canon to trust with the
location.” “Well he obviously knows
about it from the looks of this.” On a hunch Kaylin
logged on to her computer and skyped her
father. Going to ground meant they all
split up so even if Ricardo was involved he should be fine. “Kaylin,
they just issued arrest warrants for Ric and
me.” “I know papa. Don’t go in just yet.” “We need to conference and
formulate a plan to handle Caleb discreetly and quickly.” “Did tio
tell him about the safehouse?” “We agreed not to
remember?” Carlos answered confused. “Well Caleb got the evidence
he planted from there so something is off.” “Kaylin,”
Carlos began sternly. “Ric would never betray us. Don’t even think it.” “Have you heard from
him?” Even with the poor picture quality
she could make out her father shaking his head. “Where did he go when you
called him?” “To secure the last of the
shipment and head to ground like we were doing.” Kaylin’s heart sank. If he were
innocent and tried to secure goods that had been confiscated by the police
there was no way he wouldn’t have run into Caleb. “Papa, I want you to stay
where you are. I’ll track him
down.” “I’ll kill that
bastard for this. His death will be
slow and painful,” Carlos swore vehemently. “We don’t know for
sure.” “Do not lie
to yourself mi hermana. We know.” Kaylin felt her chest constrict
painfully at the grief etched on her father’s face and the pain in her
own heart at losing the man who had been a second father to her. She shoved her emotions down where they
would not cloud her judgment and summoned cold focus. “You can’t check it
out on your own.” Greg warned when she signed off the computer. “I know. I need you to have my back but what about
Nicole?” “You take her with us and
she’ll slow us down and probably be traumatized to boot depending on what
we find.” “Not to mention we’ll
be walking into a trap. He knows
we’ll try to reach tio and he’s going
to hope we look there or at the hideout.” “Should we wait until
night?” “They won’t see us but
we won’t be able to make all of them either.” Kaylin said. “I’ll go call Randy, see if the
cleaning company is done yet. If
they’re still working we can borrow a couple uniforms and go through
the store. Once they’re not
actually in the hideout waiting we can get what we need and get out.” Greg nodded and handed her a
disposable cell phone. In less than
ten minutes they were out of the cabin and heading back into trouble. Kaylin knew that
regardless of whether they were spotted they would need to ditch their
current car and get a new one. She dropped Greg off at the rent a
car company with a fake I.D and a credit card in a phony name while she
picked up their uniforms. They dropped
off the rental at the mall and caught a ride with the cleaning company so
that they blended in with the other employees. “Looks like Caleb’s
man, over the street in the dark blue car.” Greg whispered as they
entered the store. There was no way to tell how
closely the store was being watched or how many other cars were there for
them. It took less than ten minutes to
get underground. Half the boxes that
had been there before were gone.
Ricardo and his bodyguards lay haphazardly around the room, scattered
like broken toys discarded by a child. “No,” Kaylin said in a strangled whisper. She knelt next to her uncle taking
in the neat bullet hole in his forehead, the dried blood by his mouth and on
his chest, his blank eyes staring at nothing.
She felt the walls of ice crack
under the weight of her anguish. “Kaylin
we need to go.” Greg said softly as he laid a comforting hand on her
shoulder. She nodded, turning her pain into
cold hatred. “This will be avenged mi tio,” she promised him as she gently rested his
head back on the ground and closed his eyes. Instead of going back out through
the bakery, they climbed back into the store.
The bakery was meant to be the exit so Caleb would know that and have
people watching for them there. They
stayed cleaning the store with everybody else righting shelves and putting
decorations back into place. At noon,
they left with the rest of the crew.
The light snow that had begun yesterday was beginning to stick to the
ground and the caution they took walking in the slippery company parking lot
slowed her down enough for her to realize that the man who had been in front
of Nicole’s apartment was there watching them now. “Company,” she
muttered to Greg. “Shit.” “You drive,
I’ll try to figure out who else is watching besides him.” Greg drove them out of the area as
quickly as possible, making last minute turns and weaving in and out of
downtown traffic despite the snow as Kaylin counted
the cars moving even more erratically behind them. “Three cars are following
us. Everyone has a partner so
we’re looking at three to one odds.” Greg nodded grimly. “Park on the other side from
where you parked the rental.” “Wanna
split them up and play hide and seek?” Kaylin grinned, “and this is why I
love you,” “Ditto.” “Ok let me out right
here,” she said pointing to the main entrance. “In ten minutes I’ll drive into
the basement lot, be on the north side of it.” “Got it,” he said as
he swerved to a stop at the entrance to the sounds of horns blaring. Kaylin jumped out and walked quickly
inside. Out of the corner of her eyes
she could see two of them get out and follow her. She ran through the mall weaving past shoppers
and running up the escalator to the second floor. She needed to lose them before she got
anywhere near the car. The second floor was too crowded
to even jog through and she ducked into a store and grabbing a shirt and hat
she headed into the changing room.
Counting a full minute while she cut off the tag from the hat with her
small utility knife she calmly put back the shirt and walked out of the store
in a red Santa hat. The two men were easy to spot and
she moved along with the crowd, keeping her head down as she walked past
them. The sudden ringing of bells to
announce Santa’s arrival at the mall sent the children into an
immediate frenzy and adults cheerfully went to the railing to catch a glimpse
of Santa and his elves walking on the first floor. The commotion created enough space for the
men to spot her and the chase was on once again. She ducked into a major shopping
store and wove her way through the aisles and into the back room that said
employees only. “Hey you can’t be back
here,” someone shouted but she was already running through the back
room to the back hallway they shared with another store. She kept going until she got almost to the
end of the floor. By the time she hit her eight
minute mark she had lost them and was in the parking lot. She ran crouched so that anyone coming in
would not be able to see her. Nine minutes passed before she was
driving quickly down to the basement parking lot. She slowed as if looking for a spot keeping
her eyes open for Greg. In the
rearview mirror she saw him dash out of the mall, duck between two cars four
car lengths behind her. She unlocked
the back door behind her and continued at a slow crawl. “Took you long
enough,” she smirked as he slipped in and immediately hunkered down so
that to anyone watching a lone woman was leaving the mall. “Hey I had to lose four, you
only had two.” Kaylin laughed. “I know that look. You’re gonna
hunt them all down aren’t you?” She shrugged in response and they
headed back to the cabin. *** Nicole I knew something was wrong the
minute Kaylin and Greg walked in. Her dark eyes were cold and distant, her
face and expressionless mask. There
was no trace of warmth when she saw me, she just
kept walking as if I was not even there.
Unsure whether following was a good idea I stayed in the living room
alone. After a few minutes however I
gave myself a stern pep talk and cautiously went to the master bedroom. Kaylin was on her cell phone, her back
turned to me. She glanced at me when I
closed the door behind me but gave no other form of acknowledgement other
than switching from English to Spanish.
If she had asked I would have told her I hadn’t been able to
make out much of what she had been saying anyway. “How long have you been
up?” she asked as she flipped the phone closed. “About an hour.” “Hungry?” “A little,” I said
hesitant at the tightly wound picture she presented. “I’ll ask Greg to take
you for something,” she said mechanically moving to the door. “No, I’m fine.”
I said hastily. “Are you afraid of
him?” Kaylin asked in confusion. “No, I’d just rather
stay with you.” “I’m not hungry and I
also don’t feel much like company.” I winced but figured since I was
already on this path that I may as well follow it through. “That’s ok, I’ll just sit here quietly in case you need a
sounding board or a shoulder.” If I had not been watching her
closely I would have missed the flash of pain in her eyes that was quickly
masked. She moved to sit next to me
and I remained as still as possible, afraid that in her skittish state she
would shut herself off from me if I moved even an inch. Moving by painfully slow degrees
she lay down on her side, her head pillowed on my lap. I stroked her hair, content to offer
wordless comfort until she was ready for more. Kaylin sat back up and gently pushed me
to the head of the bed so that I was reclining against the headboard with my
legs stretched out in front of me. She
lay back down next to me with her head now resting in the middle of my chest. “He killed tio, his own father.” She said in an agonized
whisper. “Caleb did?” She nodded. “I found his body this
morning.” I stroked her hair rhythmically as
the tears flowed silently down her cheeks wetting my shirt. Even in grief she was so controlled that I
could feel the effort it took her to hold back. Eventually the tears stopped and she
snuggled even closer to me. “Caleb murdered him and
started an internal war all because like a spoilt child he wanted something
and we all said no.” “Why did he need your
permission? Isn’t he an
adult?” I asked perplexed. “He wanted us to branch out
into drugs and guns because those fields make a hell of a lot of money. We don’t want anything to do with the
stuff.” Now I was completely confused. “I don’t understand, what exactly do you do that’s illegal?” “We bring in items, almost
anything really, for businesses who want to make a little more in profits and
pay a little less in taxes and we have our fingers in a lot of jars. We’ll bring in banned car parts for
underground drag racing,” “Is that why you have a
mechanic shop?” “Yes. We’ll bring in pretty much anything
that has a high import taxes on it. A
lot of the things you pay for really don’t cost that much, but when you
factor in all the people who have to be paid for it before it can go on a
shelf it becomes pricey.” “Of all the scenarios in my head that really wasn’t one of
them,” I said unable to hide my surprise. “I don’t think I want
to know what you thought I was doing,” she teased. Turning serious she sat up again
and looked at me, “I’m telling you all this because I trust
you.” I nodded at the unspoken message
in those words. “So Andrew was going to
expose the bookstore for the front it really was?” “That’s just it. He already had. The damage was done as soon as he got
caught with drugs. The first thing
they did was offer a deal.” “Which he took,” “He sang like a damn
canary.” Kaylin said in annoyance as she
leaned back against the headboard. “So you used him as an
example,” I stated not quite comfortable with the fact that she was a
killer. “No,” she said in a
barely audible whisper. “No?” I asked confused
all over again. “Nic, I beat the crap out of
him and I made sure not to leave any bruises.
Then I sent him back to the cops to feed them bullshit that would have
had them running in circles for weeks which would have discredited him as a
witness.” “Wait, you really
didn’t kill him?” I asked in shock. “Of course not. The dumbest thing in the world you can do
is kill a witness like Andrew after they had their evidence on tape. You would only bring even more heat your
way and that is when you’ll start losing business. If I had decided to kill Andrew as a
message no one would have ever found him.
No body, no murder. Her explanation made too much
sense not to be true and it definitely made more sense than what the feds
were insinuating. “So who killed him
then?” “Caleb. I think he used one of the men there that
day when we taught Andrew a lesson. I
left him for them to take home and ‘m guessing that instead of letting
him undo the damage, Caleb had him killed.” “So that you would take the
heat.” “Partly. But also because if Andrew was already
singing then he had no guarantee that he wouldn’t be given up
too.” “I know it sounds stupid
since you’ve more than likely done a lot of other stuff but I feel
better knowing you aren’t a murderer.” Kaylin shot me an irritated glare. “I do what needs to be
done.” My blood ran cold. “You just said…” “Just because I didn’t
kill him doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have.” “What?” “I couldn’t trust him
and he knew too much. He would have
disappeared after he cleaned up his mess, Caleb just beat me to it is
all.” I looked at her horrified even
though part of me knew logically that it wouldn’t have made sense for
Andrew to be left alive. In all the
movies the witnesses either die or the perps get
sent to jail. “Nic don’t make me
regret telling you anything.” “I need a minute,” I
said as I got off the bed in a daze. I barely got to the door before
she spun me around angrily. “Damn it Nic! You wanted to
know and had to figure it would be something like this. I trusted you more than I’ve ever
trusted anyone. Prove me right.” “Or what? You’ll kill me too?” I retorted
before I could stop myself. She looked at me as if I had
slapped her and I regretted saying it.
I knew she would never hurt me.
I watched her fight herself and find calm when she looked at me, her
face mere inches from mine. “Nicole, I’m not even
going to dignify that with an answer.
I will only take so much and no more and you’re on that line
right now. I’ll protect you
regardless but if you walk out on me now then I won’t open myself up to
you again.” Kaylin’s phone chose that moment to
ring. She shot me a warning glare as
she went to answer it and I used her distraction to slip into the living room
and think. Nothing had ever felt as
right as when I was with her. Did that
outweigh my feelings about what she did for a living? I knew from her face that I had exhausted
the amount of chances she would give me.
If I wanted us to work I needed to commit or lose her and I cursed
fate for not letting her just be a bookstore owner. I was still struggling with a
decision when she came in. “Pick a friend and
I’ll drop you off to stay by them for a few days.” “What?” I asked as I
felt the bottom of my stomach drop. “You heard me. I’ll take you this evening.” The thought of losing her hurt
more than it should. I had known her
for less than a week but it felt like leaving her would be the equivalent of
leaving the other half of my soul and I decided it was time to take a risk. “I don’t want to
leave.” “Nicole you can’t keep
doing this. You beg to know more, I
open up, you get self-righteous and look at me like
I’m some kind of monster. If who
I am is always going to be a problem then we shouldn’t even try for
anything more than a business relationship.” “Kay, we haven’t even
known each other for long. This is all
scary and new and complicated. Cut me
a little slack here.” “Every time you do this you
hurt me more than you can imagine.
Only a fool would set themselves up for more,” she whispered
resolutely. “You asked for a decision
now that I know everything and I’m giving you one. I’m staying.” I said stubbornly
refusing to let go of the happiness I knew I would have with her. Kaylin searched my face and found
whatever it was she was looking for because she pulled me into a hug, her
forehead resting against mine. “You sure? I meant what I said,
I’ll protect you either way.” “I want to be with you
regardless.” “Pick a friend,” she
whispered. My heart sank and I started to
protest again when she stopped me with a kiss. Her lips were soft and full bringing a
delicious heat into my belly as they moved over mine. Her tongue peeked out to lick my bottom lip
and I felt my insides turn to jelly. “I’m not sending you
away, or at least not for the reason you think. I need to end this before it gets worse and
I couldn’t concentrate like I need to if there was even a chance that
you would get caught in the crossfire,” she whispered still holding me
close. “Maybe I could help
you,” I suggested not happy at the prospect of leaving the warmth and
wholeness of being in her arms. “I’ll be too worried
about you. Please?” I sighed resting my cheek on her
shoulder inhaling her scent and committing it to memory. “Ok you can take me to
Jessica’s.” She cupped my chin, forcing me to
meet dark brown eyes. “When this is over
I’ll take you on an official date and make up for this past week
ok?” I smiled. The discounts Kaylin
had implemented for the season were working like a
charm and the majority of staff were out today to keep up with the rush. I could vaguely hear ‘Chestnuts
Roasting on an Open Fire’ playing on the overhead speakers over the din
of customers. Since the aggressive
advertising we had been busy restocking, selling and ordering the books we
didn’t have. “No worries boss the
craziness is at an end.” Tim grinned as he rang up a customer and
wrapped her books in shiny gold paper. I shook my head. Being busy had actually been a great
distraction. It was Christmas Eve, two
weeks had passed since Kaylin had dropped me off at
Jess’ and I had yet to hear from her.
Every day the possibility that she was hurt or had just decided a
relationship wasn’t worth it grew in my mind. I was not even going home for the holiday
this year. My family would know
something was wrong the minute they saw me and the last thing I needed was to
be around happy people while I felt broken inside. “Nicole,” Jessica said
bringing my attention back from my wanderings. “There’s a customer over there
asking for you.” I sighed, I could mope later. We closed at ten and I sent
everyone home, staying to finish some of the office work I had not managed to
get to in the past few weeks. I looked up at the sound of a door
opening I was sure I had locked the front door after Jessica left. The intruder was leaning casually against
the open office door and I felt my heart start thumping in my chest. The achingly familiar voice filled me with a tingling warmth, chasing away the emptiness of the past
two weeks. “Hello, gorgeous.”
*** |