“All right, fine. I’ll let you go, then.”
“Hurry back to me, baby.”
I smile. “Always.”
We say good-bye and I shove open the door to the store as I hang up and slip the phone back in my pocket. The bell above the door rings and Richard, the shop owner, glances up with a wide smile.
“Mr. LeBlanc! Welcome back.”
I shake his hand. “How are you doing, Richard?”
“Just great,” he says before setting some paperwork down and taking his glasses off. “Just let me go and get your order from the back room.”
I nod and he disappears through one of the doors as I turn to look at the glass cases full of some serious bling. Shit. A guy could spend a whole lot of money in here. It makes me kind of glad I’m not still in the doghouse with Kady because when I was, I contemplated showing her how sorry I was with a diamond or two.
“Here we are,” Richard calls, walking out of the back room with a little square box in his hand. I first contacted Richard a few days after Kady told me the truth about why she never came to see me in jail and asked him to recreate the ring I gave her the first time I proposed to her. Later, I found out that Oliver took the original ring from her when he took her but at the time, I wanted to give her something new that didn’t have all the bad memories associated with it.
Richard sets the box down on the top of the glass case and pulls it open to reveal the ring and I lean down, inspecting it. It is a princess cut three carat diamond ring with intertwining bands lined with smaller diamonds. The first time I gave it to her, she screamed and jumped into my arms so I can only assume that she’s going to lose her shit when I get the chance to show this one to her. I glance back up at him.
“And the engraving?”
He nods, pulling the ring out of the box and showing me the surprise I had written on the inside.
“It’s perfect, Richard. Thank you.”
“No, sir. Thank you. This was a joy to work on and I think your lady is going to be very happy with it.”
“That’s the hope anyway,” I quip, chuckling, as I hand him a stack of cash. I had to dig into my old drug money to pay for this but I don’t give a damn. Kady’s worth every penny and then some. He hands me a receipt and checks the ring again before snapping the box closed.
“You want a bag?”
I shake my head. “Naw. I’ll just take it.”
Richard hands me the box with a smile. “Good luck, son.”
I grin. “Thanks, but I’m pretty confident that she’ll say yes.”
“Oh, I’ve heard that before but I suppose you don’t need to be hearing all the horror stories at a time like this,” he retorts and I chuckle as I shake my head.
“No, probably not. But this isn’t the first time I’ve proposed to her.”
“Well, this sounds like a damn good story.” He pulls up a stool and sits down on it before giving me an expectant look. I laugh as I start explaining Kady and my story to him and when I finish, his eyes are wide as he shakes his head.
“You told me she lost her ring but my goodness…”
I nod. “Yeah, we’ve been through some shit but we’ve come out stronger each time.”
“Love like that is the reason I got into this business.”
“Yeah?”
He nods. “Oh, yeah. My parents had it and I always longed for it myself.”
“You never found it?”
“Once,” he answers, sadness creeping into his eyes. “But she died before we could ever get married and start a family of our own.”
“I’m so sorry.” I imagine what my life would look like right now if Oliver had hurt her instead of holding her captive and it’s too painful to even think about. He waves his hand through the air, brushing me off as he stands and begins wiping down the glass case in front of him.
“You should probably get going so you can go get down on one knee for a second time.”
“You’re right.” I shove the box into my pocket before shaking his hand. I’m anxious to get back to my girl. Leaving her with Oliver still on the loose is so damn hard but sometimes it just can’t be avoided. “Thanks for all your help.”
“Thank you for allowing me to work on it and I hope to see you back in here when it’s time to buy your wedding bands,” he says with a wink and I laugh.
“I wouldn’t go to anyone else, Richard.” I walk to the door and turn back to wave at him before I duck outside and stick my hand in my pocket. The sun is starting to go down and there’s a chill in the air that makes me want to be back at the cabin even more, sitting in front of the fireplace with my girl in my lap. Maybe tonight, after dinner, we can cuddle up and I’ll pop the question again. I think about her reaction to seeing her ring again and smile as I stop by the truck, pulling the door open before climbing in.
My phone rings as I start the truck and Streak’s name flashes on the screen when I pull it out of my pocket.
“Stalkers anonymous. How can we help you fight your demons today?” I answer and he starts laughing.
“Fuck. That was a good one. I might have to steal it.”
I shake my head. “Get your own jokes, asshole. Now, what’s up?”
“Um… maybe nothing but isn’t Storm at the cabin with Kady right now?”
“Yeah. Why?” I ask, my heart sinking like a stone as I pull out of my parking space and press down on the gas.
“Well, it’s just that her phone is on the move. And moving fast…”
I can’t breathe as my heart thunders in my chest and my skin goes cold. “Did you call Storm?”
“Yeah, and he’s not picking up.”
Fuck.
I press the gas pedal to the floor and the tires squeal as I race through the red light, barely missing a van that rolls through the intersection just after I do.
“Dude, you want me to send people over there?”
I shake my head. “No, send someone after her phone. If Biche has her, we have to get her back before he gets her somewhere secure or he decides to ditch the phone and we lose her for good.”
“Okay… but wouldn’t he know to ditch her phone in the first place?”
I glance in my rearview mirror as I merge lanes. “What’s your point?”
“Do you think he’s leading us on a wild goose chase?”
“I don’t know, Streak!” I scream, slamming my fist into the steering wheel as my stomach clenches.
Oh, god.
This can’t be happening again.
My mind races and fear pulses through my bloodstream as I race to the cabin, driving as fast as my old beat up truck will let me and praying that I find her there, safe and sound. All the stories she’s told me about her time there flick through my head and it gets harder and harder to breathe as each second passes. I can’t lose her… I just can’t.
“Where is Storm’s phone, Streak?” I ask, needing something to distract me from the fact that my heart feels like it’s exploding in my chest.
“Um…” he murmurs. “Still at the cabin.”
Fuck.
If Biche came for her, Storm wouldn’t have gone down without a fight and he’s got a wife and kid to think about now.