“It’s 11:02. Get moving.” A digital beep sounded, and Kimmy was gone.
Only the incessant vibrations of the incoming call remained.
She looked to the entrance as the door opened. It arched wider this time and more bodies filed in. The skulking shadows under the canopy diminished and her view of the bouncer’s vantage point became clear. Shauna had a feeling if she stayed on the street much longer, jabbering on her phone, she’d end up the next contender on The Quiet Ride Game.
She looked to the phone just as it went dark. The unlisted number vanished.
Just as well.
Chapter Seven
She slid the phone back into her coat pocket, but after just a few steps, the phone buzzed to life again.
Shauna pushed out a sigh of frustration. She couldn’t get past the bouncer like this. Couldn’t kill the phone either, it served as her only tether to the outside world. But with it dancing away in her pocket…she retrieved the phone once more and jabbed at the call with her index finger. “Go away. I’m busy.”
“Where are you?”
Her lungs seized. The odds told her it would be Richard. What were the chances she’d hear the potent depth of Adrian Sands instead?
Pretty darn good, apparently. Looked like Shauna won the lottery.
“Are you in trouble?” he demanded.
She could hear the manual shift of his car as Adrian accelerated. Probably racing off to another chemistry convention.
“Trouble? Why Adrian, you sound concerned. You really must have the wrong number.”
Wow. That saucy-bitch sauce has quite a kick.
“How did you get my number anyway?” Who was stalking whom here?
Shauna caught her breath the moment she recognized its hollow sound playing back through the phone.
Why wasn’t he talking? Could he be
evaluating
her again? Shauna could picture that unnerving glare of his. The tiny creases that played near his eyes as he performed his microscopic calibration.
His tone remained even. Low, but even. “Your voice is slurred.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Clearly you’re outside.”
Yep, evaluating. She offered a congratulatory nod. “Excellent work, Sherlock.”
“So, where are you?”
Perfect opportunity to add a little “dummy” to the sauce. “Umm, I’m standing upright. Is that bad? Should I be on my back?” The giddy warmth of excitement had returned again. Oh, this was too much fun. Shauna could play this game all night. “Because I wouldn’t mind finding myself in that position right now.”
She’d had her doubts when she first arrived. Would her spine be strong enough to go through with it, or would she melt into a quivering puddle of cowardly muck?
Now she had her answer. She’d march in with a cast-iron spine and Adrian’s frown of disapproval fueling her pace.
Adrian’s words paused amid distraction. As if the numbers in his head, if only for a moment, didn’t compute. “Look. Sorry I couldn’t help you before. But you need to tell me where you are.”
“If you hadn’t kicked me out, I’d be with you. Maybe even…on my back.” Shauna waited for a response. “Legs spread…wet and achy….you know the drill.”
Nothing.
“Or maybe even wrapped around your waist? I guess it would have been your business
then
,” she continued. “But it’s not now.”
The accelerating roar of Adrian’s motor served as his only reply. Could it be? Did Shauna’s words actually have an impact on him? She didn’t bother to hold back the grin as she marched for the entrance. The mouth that wouldn’t quit was about to take a joy ride. She neared the entrance, and the bouncer motioned her to the front.
Shauna smiled in greeting to the pair of long-coated women. One frizzy head shook in disapproval, and then her attention fixed to Shauna’s phone.
Shauna’s mouth moved to silently frame the words “
I know
.” Her eye’s widened and rolled heavenward and she made a talking gesture with her other hand. “
He won’t shut up
!” It was a furtive ploy for sympathy.
Based on the synchronous scowl from the women, it didn’t work. They turned to each other with lips pursed in annoyance.
Shauna seized the momentary diversion and slipped ahead. She shrugged to a lanky man in a flannel shirt and windbreaker vest as she passed him too. Not an ounce of skin showing on anyone.
When Shauna approached, the bouncer frowned and held out one hand.
Shauna looked to the card in one hand, the phone in the other. No question. She handed him the card. He swiped it away and his hand jutted out again. “The phone too,” he growled.
Shauna held up one finger. A nice one, thank God. At this rate, she didn’t know who had control of this woman. Not Kimmy, Certainly not Adrian, and she had serious doubts about herself either.
The bouncer’s jaw tightened in irritation before turning away with her card.
Shauna returned her attention to the phone. “Besides, Adrian, you’ve already helped me out even more than you know.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I’m eating the
chocolate
I stole from you. It tastes really good.” Shauna moaned the last two words.
“You can’t have that here, ya know,” crowed one of long-coats. Which one, Shauna wasn’t sure. They still wore identical looks of disdain.
The frizzy-haired one turned to the bouncer. “What makes her so special?”
“Not a darn thing,” Shauna replied. She returned to the phone. “Look, I’ve got to go.”
The screech of tires tore through the fabric of silence on the street.
“What on earth?” The ornery women turned; their eyes wide with shock and Shauna long forgotten.
A sleek, cobalt-blue Camaro drifted sideways around the corner. It straightened with a jerk and raced straight for the front entrance.
Was that Adrian? Did those tires echo through the phone?
“It’s gonna ram us,” one woman squawked. She grabbed her friend, but neither of them moved apart from a few jittery hops of suspense.
The distant sound of Adrian’s voice came through the phone. “You’re teasing me with a little harmless chocolate?”
Shauna’s jaw fell slack. As the Camaro raced into focus, her mind whirred to measure every discernible detail behind the Camaro’s tinted windshield. It couldn’t be. The Adrian she knew probably drove a Volvo, a sedan of some sort. Not. That.
The silhouette of broad shoulders and close-cropped hair made her stomach leap for safety.
She cleared her throat to force the shakiness away. “It…It’s an aphrodisiac, you know.” Shauna had to keep him talking, just long enough to know for sure.
A sharp screech of brakes seemed to come right at her feet, and her blanket of fearlessness billowed around her. The crazed jitter-squirrel that hid beneath threatened to seize the opportunity and dive under the velvet rope, shove through the door, and lose him in the crowd.
The bouncer stood facing the nearby wall, his large hands still cradling her card. He nursed it back and forth, under a wall-mounted black light. A sloth could out-pace the guy. The attempted assault by vehicle didn’t seem to faze the bouncer, as if he’d seen it a million times. Shauna craned her neck to catch a glimpse of a faint inscription that glowed to life along the bottom edge of the paper, and inched closer to the door. Speed-reading. Not one of his strong points.
Shauna stole another glance behind.
Adrian’s left shoulder dipped, as he shoved open the car door.
“
Shit
,” Shauna peeped. The phone slipped from her hand as she made a panicked effort to end the call. She juggled the glossy plastic on its way to the ground. She managed to swipe it mere inches from crashing to the floor.
Shauna up-righted from her crouched stance inch-for-inch as Adrian unfolded himself from the car and straightened, only Adrian had several inches to spare—each one power and determination. His intense gaze of forewarning pierced through the handful of irritated patrons and hit her dead center.
He started forward.
Milliseconds ticking, Shauna spun back to the bouncer.
“Your phone?” It wasn’t a question.
“Billy,” Adrian called. A sharp jingle of metal sounded as Adrian tossed his keys to the bouncer.
Billy reached, and Shauna ducked under his arm. She finished-lined the velvet rope and the metal posts on either side crashed to the floor.
“Hey!” the frizzy one cried.
The bouncer rushed to quiet the toppling metal as Shauna stumbled over the clutter and body-slammed through the swinging door.
She blinked to take in her new surroundings and started moving.
No time to hesitate, but which way?
There’s no clear direction, no exit.
The store corralled her in each direction with countless card racks, shelves, and aged display cases. A landmine for broken hips in the daylight, for sure.
Her only greeter perched four feet above, in a haze of swirling dust and smoke. With wild, round eyes, the plastic owl looked about as startled as Shauna. But something much bigger hunted her.
Her focus darted from one wall to another as she picked her way deeper into the store. The stale warmth closed in as she wound from one aisle to the next. Each row stood about four and a half feet high. It wouldn’t take long for him to find her. Shauna’s ears tensed on the commotion behind, waiting for the firm plod of footsteps to cross the threshold and begin their pursuit.
Nothing looked odd, out of place, or even a slight sketchy. Where the hell was her portal to this so-called sexual underworld?
Her gaze caught on a mosaic of bird feeders, swings, and perches displayed on the far wall. She frowned. One seemed brighter than the others. Not in presentation or size, but something—yes, a nightingale. The same spread-winged profile from outside and her card had been stamped on the wall in glowing paint.
Shauna slipped her hand behind the dangling collection of wooden blocks and twine, and traced its outline looking for any hint of imperfection. There must be a secret button or switch. She pushed on the glowing stamp.
Smooth and cold as painted concrete.
The door she had come through flew open, accompanied by a chilled gust of autumn air. The entrance erupted. Splintering glass and clanging metal skittered across the floor as a nearby display of wind chimes toppled.
Shauna flinched and shrunk down to avoid being seen.
Billy muttered, “…damn son of a…” more growling than an audible words. Adrian’s deep reply interspersed the growling. “I’ll handle this.”
Something told Shauna he wasn’t talking about the mess either. He sounded unrushed and at complete ease. He would. This was his playground.
Adrian’s voice lowered beyond Shauna’s grasp. The reluctant
scrape, scrape
of the bouncer’s clean-up attempt didn’t help. She could only imagine what
else
Adrian was saying to calm that raging bull.
I’ll handle it?
Oh no, not this time he wouldn’t. Adrian had his chance to handle it.
The handles were coming off.
She slapped her palm against the wall. The display trembled and clinked. She hit harder, and her palm stung.
Still nothing.
Her cheeks heated with frustration. Stupid kindergarten knickknacks were getting the better of her. She lifted the offensive swing from its hook and her view of the stamp became clear. As well as the sharp arrow below that pointed to the east-side wall.
Seriously?
She let the swing slip from her fingertips. It hit the floor with a
clunk
.
Shauna’s attention whirred east, and then she craned her neck forward and looked again. An illusion. The wall wasn’t complete. From any other position in the store, she would have overlooked it. The thin slice of false wall obstructed a dark hallway, just wide enough to shoulder through. Beyond that, the faint luster of a brass doorknob and the outline of another door.
“Shauna—”
She stole a look in his direction.
“You’re not going in there.” Two aisles over, Adrian squared himself to full attention. The logoed cotton T-shirt that met her earlier still clung to his chiseled pecs.
She swallowed. Someone should really turn the heat down on his drier. Or confiscate it.
As if on cue, those proud pecs twitched as Adrian folded his arms. Massive shoulders lifted in a what-gives sort of shrug.
A new form of heat flared in her cheeks. She’d seen Adrian’s recipe for challenge before. The higher her gaze traveled, the more potent it got.
The thick cords of muscle at his neck channeled upward to an iron-set jaw. She couldn’t look past the dusting of stubble. She couldn’t meet his eyes. Adrian already held enough of an edge to stay her.
On a normal day.
But Shauna moved again for the door.
What could he do? Nothing. He played here all the time. If he could do it, so could she.
In her tender, teenage years, his anger and disapproval would have thrown a proverbial bucket of ice over her spirit. But it was about time she outgrew him. No more spirit shushies for her.
She shot him what she hoped was her most impish grin and rushed for the hall. “Sorry, but I just can’t help myself.”
“Damn you,” he muttered. Determined steps marched through the store, and echoed between the narrowed walls.
Adrian was gaining but not fast enough. Bubbles of delight chased around in her stomach when she reached the door. She didn’t fight the urge to giggle as the knob turned with minimal effort, and Shauna rushed inside.
Chapter Eight
The door slammed and the steel cage surrounding her shuddered in response. There went the tiny, bat-like cry of what used to be her victory, as it flapped away in an irregular path.
She spun around; the clang of her heels echoed through the structure.
Please let it be an elevator, not a…whatever the heck else it might be
. This wasn’t familiar territory, but not even Shauna could imagine this much security just for a broom closet.
Urgent sirens in her head blared,
Doorknob. Doorknob.
Any second, it would turn. She’d be face-to-face with that party-pooping Poindexter.
Within arm’s reach on the right, a small, black box with two buttons stood out from the wall. She jabbed the lower button with her index finger. A buzzer sounded. Shauna’s attention caught a slight movement through the door, as a metallic
click
sounded, and a bolt slid into place.