Chapter 8 Casey
CASEY
I lay in Dallas’s arms for a little longer than necessary, but when I know he’s completely out, I crawl out of bed and tiptoe backward to the door. I watch with every step to make sure he didn’t move.
I curse the hallway light for being on when I open the door and sneak out as fast as possible while also making sure the door doesn’t make much noise as I close it.
My room is next door and I decide a change of clothes is probably for the best. I don’t want the guys from Steve’s Flower Shop to realize they saw me at Jim’s.
I find my dark leggings and a black, long-sleeved shirt.
The combo keeps me mostly hidden in shadows when I wear my balaclava.
Usually, I smear black shadow across my eyes so my pale ass skin doesn’t make me glow like a damn lightning bug, but today I’m a bit lazy.
I’ll just be extra careful. Also, can’t forget combat boots.
I’d rather wear my sparkly pink ones, but those would absolutely stand out in the dark.
I pout as I lace up my black boots. At least I have cute socks on.
“Got a job?” Kendra asks when I walk by the couch in my ass kicking gear.
“Yep. Jim asked me to look into something around his neighborhood. I tossed my phone in the bad guys’s truck so I gotta go rescue it.
” I plop down next to her and use my laptop to find my phone.
“Gotcha.” I do feel really naked without my phone, though.
Like what the fuck do I do if my car breaks down in the middle of the road and I don’t have my phone?
Not that I’m worried about it. My car is only like two years old and still under warranty.
“Before you head out, I’ve got some eyes on Charles. And so far there’s nothing on the cams in Dallas’s place. His stalker must have seen you sometime.”
I nod. “The stalker is more professional than I thought. I also wonder if they’re connected to the flower shop I’m about to investigate.”
When Kendra gives me a look, I give her the deets on Dallas’s and my date at Jim’s. I don’t tell her it was a date, though.
“Interesting.” She taps her bottom lip and goes back to her laptop. “Do you have the address for the flower shop?”
“I have where my phone is, dunno if it’s the flower shop. But searching for the shop right now, nothing pulls up. So I don’t know if it exists or if it’s a cover for something else.”
“Have fun investigating. Kisses.” Kendra pats my knee before I push to my feet.
I press a kiss to her cheek. “If he wakes up, tell him I went for a swim without him.”
“Will do.” She drops her gaze back to her screen. “Be safe.”
“I plan on it.”
The moment I step out of the building I realize that without my phone I’m also without my hype songs, which means it takes me a ridiculous amount of time to find a radio station that plays music more than talks or runs ads.
Finally, finding something satisfying, I set onto the road, remembering the address.
There’s something about maps I can just give one a glance and remember where the heck I’m going.
If someone tells me an address, I can pretty much find where I’m going without consulting a map if I’m familiar with the area.
And I’m familiar with the area my phone’s located.
Unless the flower shop guys moved. Then I might be fucked unless I can borrow someone’s phone to call Kendra to locate my phone again, so let’s hope my phone hasn’t moved.
I turn off my lights and turn down my music as I creep onto the street the app had indicated my phone is at.
“There is a flower shop!” I whisper to myself, then slap a hand over my mouth when a dog barks. It’s probably just coincidence, but who knows?
The other businesses and houses around look well kept. There’s commotion at the flower shop and I park in an open spot in front of a paint shop a block away. If the guys are paying attention, they’ll probably notice me.
I exit my car and gently close my door. I sneak over to the other side of the street.
Imagine Jim Carrey’s The Grinch and that’s the exact gremlin type energy I used to get there.
I go down the alley so the flower shop guys won’t see me coming head on.
I startle a gaggle of geese and shush them as I dodge goose shit on my way through the back alley. Ew.
I really hope I get to murder someone tonight because if not and I have to pick goose shit from the treads of these soles, I’m gonna be hella pissed.
“Hey!” someone hollers, and I let out a breath when I realize it’s not directed at me.
I’m close enough to the shop I can hear their conversation.
“The hydrangeas haven’t gotten in yet. Or the azaleas. Or the damn tulips.” One of the twins practically squeezes his phone to the point of breaking. “They were supposed to get here twenty minutes ago. Where are they?”
Oh, this is interesting. Are they waiting on actual flowers? People? Drugs? Something else I hadn’t thought of?
I look around to find a place in the shadows where I can wait them out.
My balaclava goes over my face, and I rub a bit of soot from a burn barrel next to me over my face to dim the brightness of my pale skin.
The curse of the redhead. Thank goodness it’s a new moon, or close to it, not much light anywhere except a few dim street lamps.
I settle into a squat and wait.
And wait.
And mother fucking wait.
The guys are just shooting the shit, so I being the fabulous investigator that I am, go looking for the truck I left my phone in.
The guys stand in front of the damn garage door, so I test the side door to the building and it’s unlocked. The shop’s dark and a little creepy. There’s all the things I expect to find in a flower shop, but the smell is a way off. There’s a hint of rotting flesh under the scent of fresh flowers.
I know flower shops usually have refrigeration units and I cross my fingers and toes hoping I find something to make my reason to murder them. Aside from harassing Cindy’s kid, anyway.
I tiptoe to the upright fridge unit and crack it open. Nothing but flowers which makes me pout. I want a dead body damnit. Or body parts. I’d even take an animal, but rather not.
I check the next unit and the next only to find more flowers. Where the fuck is the smell coming from? I wander the shop a little longer until I find what appears to be a break room with a chest freezer.
I look around before running over. The scent is stronger here. I lift the lid, only to smash it back down and fight a gag. A bad freezer and processed meat. Why the fuck do they have a broken freezer of rotten meat?
I back away slowly and rush from the room, hoping for fresh air. They have an entire showroom full of roses, so I check what I’m hoping is the final refrigeration unit.
Half a dozen single blue roses with different notes. All for Dallas.
My heart pounds. Are they stalking him, or are they just the delivery for someone else?
I look around for a computer. Register. Anything to try and find the order and who the hell made it. I want to give them a piece of my mind.
“I told you,” One of the guys yell, “The fridge in the pink room you have to press hard to make it shut.” There’s a slam of a door and I assume it’s one of them shutting it.
“We know,” says another voice.
“In fact, I know I shut it exactly how you told us,” a third voice says.
Everything goes silent. The lights go on in the entire shop.
“Come out, come out little mouse,” a new voice singsongs.
Oh, this could be super fun. Or super annoying. I make sure my balaclava is in place and step right out in front of them.
The guy on the right bursts out laughing. “Just some kid. What do you want?”
“Excuse me?” I stand taller. “Kid? I’m twenty-four. Probably.”
“Probably?”
“The birth year’s a little fuzzy, but that’s unimportant.” I grin, showing as many teeth as possible, not that they can see that. I take a step forward. One of them takes a step back, while the other three stand their ground.
“So, this is what’s going down,” I say, but the guy in the middle, well, the inside guy on the right anyway, snorts. He fucking snorts at me! Who the hell does he think he’s dealing with? I take another step forward. “Pay attention.”
Headlights brighten the far wall.
“Shit. They’re finally here. Doug, deal with him.” Middle guy from the left waves towards me and the guy that had stepped back shakes his head.
“It’s always the little guys that are the freakiest. Tony can take him. I’ll get the delivery.” Doug follows the other two.
“Tony?” I wiggle my brows, but I’m sure he can barely see the action.
“Anthony, but everyone always calls me Tony. And you?”
“Are we really doing intros or do you wanna fight?” I rush him and slide right between his legs. See, that’s the problem when you take a wide stance.
“Hey! Get back here!”
I tap his shoulder. “Tag you’re it!” And race to the next room.
“Sonofabitch.”
“Don’t remember her much, to be honest. She gave me up to a cult when I was like two.”
“What?” Tony stops and just looks at me.
“Come at me.” I fake towards him and he holds his ground.
“What the fuck do you want, kid?”
“Not a kid!” It takes everything in me not to physically lash out.
“You’re acting like one. We should call the cops.”
I stop from executing my next move. “Wait. What is going on here? Drugs? Trafficking? Something more sinister?”
Tony snorts. Doug and the other guys grunt as they bring in wagons full of flowers.
“You’re still dealing with this punk?” One of them says.
I scratch my head. “Hold up. Hold the fuck up.” I’m tempted to remove my balaclava, but don’t want them seeing my face. “I have on good authority you’ve been bugging a few people around here. That you’re up to something nefarious.”
“Nefarious? Bugging them?” Tony says. “I asked a few guys if they were interested in summer work and they blew me off. Once they said no, we didn’t ask again.”
I blink back. “Then why do you have an entire fridge full dedicated to some guy named Dallas?”