“She’s in the storage room in the back.” I would have heard the alarm on that door go off if she had opened it, so I know she’s still back there.
“Shaw!” Barbara jabs an elbow in my side and I just smile down at her.
“We’re about to go to lunch. I’ll lock the door on the way out.”
“But, but—” Barbara protests as I take her by the hand and lead her toward the front door.
“Good luck!” I call out to him, lock the door behind us, and we make our way to the diner.
“I can’t believe you just let him go back there. What if he, I don’t know, tries to hurt her?”
I shake my head. “I’ve seen that look before. Kayla will be just fine.”
“And how do you know?”
I pull her close to me and wrap my arms around her waist as I look into her eyes. “Trust me.”
She smiles for a moment and then goes up on her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my lips.
We make our way down the sidewalk towards the diner, and Larry from the barber shop glares at us through his window.
“I used to think he only did that to me, but I think it’s just his face,” Barbara whispers as she speeds up her steps.
I laugh and then we end up talking about cats with grouchy faces and how cute they are. I hold her close as we go to the diner and we take our time with lunch. I end up ordering three different kinds of pies because she can’t make up her mind. Seeing her eyes light up when Amelia brings them over is worth it.
“I’m so stuffed. How am I supposed to go back to work?” Barbara moans when we start our walk back.
“Do you want me to carry you?” She shakes her head as I tuck her in beside me and I think about taking her home and getting into bed.
In the distance I see the chief getting into his cruiser and Missy at the side entrance of her shop looking mad as hell.
“What is she up to now?” Barbie asks, and I shrug.
“Don’t know, but she’s not happy with the result.” I watch as she looks around a few times but our view is blocked by a couple of trees. She looks both ways once more and then sneaks around to the back of her building. “I think we should follow her and see what the hell is going on.”
“Like, spy on her?” Barbara’s voice is barely above a whisper and I smile down at her. God, she’s cute as hell.
“Yeah, be cool and let’s sneak around.”
“Kayla was right. This is exciting.” She grabs ahold of my arm with both hands as we move closer and then cross the street.
When we get to the side of the building, I press my back against it and look down the small alley that leads to the rear of her shop. It’s also right beside the back entrance of Barbara’s book shop, so I want to make sure she doesn’t do anything fishy.
To my surprise, I see Missy walk over to a parked car at the back of her store and lean in. There’s someone behind the wheel and I want to see who it is she’s talking to.
“Come on, and stay close,” I whisper, and I feel Barbara give my arm a squeeze.
There are a few dumpsters out back and we sneak behind one and then another until we’re as close as we can get to them without getting caught. I turn around and put my finger over my lips to Barbara, and she nods.
“Chief said they had a security system installed, so you’re going to have to go in through her apartment fire escape. Think you can handle that?”
Barbara’s nails dig into my arm and my whole body tenses on red alert.
“Just make sure you get that guy she’s with out of the way. I want to take my time with that one.” The voice from the car sends a chill up my back and I hear Barbara gasp.
When I turn around she slaps a hand over her mouth and I hear something on the other side of the dumpster.
“What was that?” Missy says, and it sounds like she’s getting closer.
“You’re paranoid,” the guy says. “The cops already left and they said they don’t have any evidence.” I hear a car door open and then close but no movement toward us.
“Only because that little bitch Kayla is his daughter,” Missy sighs, and her footsteps move farther away. “And don’t worry about Shaw, I know exactly what to do about him tonight. The plan is to pretend my place got broken into and get him to come to the rescue. When we’re alone I know exactly how to get his attention.”
Once again Barbara’s nails dig into my arm and I pull out my cell phone. She watches as I dial the number and then put it on silent before placing it on the ledge beside me.
“I don’t care what you have to do, I want some quality uninterrupted time with that little pussy. She played hard to get but I know how to handle someone like her.”
“And once you’ve had your fun, there’s no way she’s going to live here anymore, or be able to afford her store. I’m ready to see the back of that nosy bitch.”
When my body is shaking with rage, I know I can’t wait any longer, but I’ve got all the evidence I need. With one look at Barbara I tell her to stay put and she nods before she lets go of my arm.
“It’s a shame I didn’t put you six feet under the first time you tried to hit on my woman,” I say to the redheaded guy leaning up against his car. Barbara and I both recognized his voice and realized he was the pushy asshole from the day I first went into the bookstore.
“Oh Shaw, thank goodness you’re here! I—” Missy starts, but I hold my hand up.
I can hear the sounds of sirens in the distance and I know I don’t have much time.
“You idiots were told we had a security system put in. Did you not bother to look up and see the cameras?” With my words Missy pales and the redhead looks up to check. When he sees the cameras he swallows hard. “Oh, and funny thing about those cameras. I had those installed yesterday, so the voicemail I got when I was at lunch was probably them telling me they have the footage of who broke into the bookstore after I replaced the lock the first time.”
Missy takes a step backwards, but Redhead has nowhere to go. He’s the one I’m after right this second, because I can deal with Missy later.
“Relax, it’s not like we were actually going to do anything. It was all just to scare her.” He holds up his hands like he’s defending himself.
“You dumb fucker, the cameras record sound and I just heard your whole plan.”
He opens his mouth to say something else, but I don’t give him the chance. My right hook is up and coming across his face with a loud crack. Blood pours from his nose as I give him an jab with my left hand in the gut. He cries out and crumples to the ground just as the police come flying around to the back with their sirens blaring.
“The biggest mistake you ever made was trying to take what’s mine.” I kick him hard in the ribs just as the boys in blue come running up.
“We’ll take it from here, Shaw,” Clarence calls out as the other guys reads him his rights and cuffs him.
Barbara comes out from behind the dumpster just as they throw Redhead into the back of the squad car. She has my phone and I take it from her as I pull her into my side.
“Did you get all that?” I say.
“Yeah, and your security people have already sent me the digital copy of the break-in, and Missy’s involvement.”