Kai
I SHOULD PROBABLY DRIVE home; it’s eleven in the morning, and I work in about three hours.
But the bar opens at two, and that gives me enough time to check on Rachel’s door.
Leo did enough damage when he broke in. The asshole had to make a dramatic appearance; he couldn’t just ring the bell.
Then again, I guess I shouldn't have sent him that video. I wasn’t in danger, and it was a little dramatic of me, too, to summon him to her house that way.
Actions have consequences, though, and I like to take care of mine.
I drive to her house; I already have the address from yesterday.
I bet she has someone working on the door.
I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t leave the house open, but then again, this woman doesn’t exactly make all the right decisions, especially since one of them was to kidnap me.
Either way, I’m going to drop off an envelope with some money for the damage or pay the repairman if he’s still there.
I had planned to do it while I was in the salon, but she didn’t seem like she would accept it, and I don’t think she would have wanted me to chat about this in front of her coworkers.
I could have done it when we were alone, I guess, but I had my mind set on a different type of conversation between us—the one that had her moaning as she came on my tongue.
When I arrive at her driveway, I see a man working on the door. I park my motorcycle and climb off. He immediately turns to look at me.
“Alex,” he says without looking up as he continues working. “There’s nothing to pay for.” What the hell? Who is he? Did she pay already?
“I understand,” I say, defeated, and turn to walk away, but the man speaks again.
“I’m her neighbor; she offered to cook for me in return.” He stands from the spot where he has been kneeling, fixing the bottom hinge. He moves the door, which is now back in place. “I’m guessing you’re the boyfriend my father mentioned yesterday.”
I smile, taking the opportunity to make sure dinner won’t turn into more.
“Yes, that’s correct. I don’t usually drink that much; please tell your father I apologize for the inconvenience and thank him for helping me up to Rachel’s bedroom.
” He nods, and I continue putting on my best boyfriend act.
“I was celebrating my promotion with my coworkers at the bar where I work before their shift started,” I lie.
In reality, I own the place, and my only coworkers are Leo, who owns half the bar, and a girl we call in to serve when it gets too busy.
“It happens to the best of us.” Alex smiles as he puts the key in the lock but stops before turning it. “Do you want to get inside? I can give you the key instead. Tell Rachel we can do dinner another time if you guys have plans.”
“If it wouldn’t be a problem, I would like that, yes,” I say with an innocent smile. “We can make sure to schedule dinner another time.”
“Of course. She doesn’t really need to cook for me, but to be honest with you, I’m here visiting, and my father is a terrible cook. I was just hoping for a better-cooked meal.” Poor guy.
“I’ll make sure to drop some off for you.
” It’s not a lie. I am going to deliver food for this man; it’s the least I can do.
It won’t be home-cooked or cooked by Rachel, but it will be good enough.
I know the best place, owned by an old Italian lady who cooks every dish as if it were for her own family, with all the love and care anyone could ask for in the preparation of their food.
I make a mental note to take Rachel there.
She’ll probably love it, and my woman deserves a first date.
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” Alex smiles.
“Thank you for fixing the door,” I say as I enter Rachel’s house.
I take out my phone and snap a selfie once the door is closed behind me. I send it to Rachel.
Me: Hey, little criminal, Alex says hi.
Three dots appear a moment later but stop and are then replaced by new ones until a message appears.
Little Criminal: What the hell are you doing in my house?
I smirk and type a response as I walk into the living room. I sit in the big rocking chair by the window next to a little library and snap another selfie. I send it to Rachel with my response.
Me: [photo attachment]
Me: Come on now, Rachel, is this how you treat your guests?
I abandon the comfy chair and start exploring the house. I find my way up to her bedroom when another message appears.
Little Criminal: I will call the cops. Get the fuck out of my house.
Little Criminal: Hey Kai, it’s Noah. Rachel is about to have a stroke, so if you could kindly leave the house, I promise she won’t call the police.
Little Criminal: Yes, I will! -R
I type another response as I enter her bedroom. I go to her closet and start exploring. I snap a picture of her underwear drawer to go with my new message.
Me: Hey Noah, don’t worry, I’ll be gone before she gets back. Thanks for the haircut, man; it looks really good.
I switch tabs to my contacts, find Leo’s number, and press call. I hit the speaker button while I go through her things. Leo’s voice comes through the speaker on the third ring.
“Hey. Where the fuck are you? I woke up, and you were gone.” I left before he had a chance to wake up to be on time for the salon’s opening. If I had known the naughty criminal would be late for work, I would have stayed for breakfast.
“Hey, buddy. I’m at Rachel’s.” The sound of breaking glass echoes through the speaker, filling the room.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” Oh buddy, glad to know you approve of my actions.
“Sure, sure. That’s cool with me,” I say as I open the drawer of her nightstand.
A little pink vibrator greets me the moment it’s open.
I take it and press the button. The little fella starts buzzing.
It’s one of those that connects to your phone and can be controlled from a distance.
I turn on the Bluetooth on my phone and start downloading the app that controls the toy while Leo continues talking.
“What was that?” Leo questions.
“The little criminal’s vibrating boyfriend,” I joke.
“Anyway, now that I have you on the phone, can you send me the information for your friend who has that security company?” I ask as I open the app that has already fully downloaded to my phone.
I make an account and search for the toy.
The toy appears on the list of available Bluetooth devices to connect to, and I hit the pink button that says ‘add toy’.
The toy connects successfully. It will be useful for later.
“Sure, why do you need it?” Leo asks, but I ignore his question.
“Trust me when I say you don’t want to know,” I say, and I can hear him curse under his breath, so I add, “Message me the info. I’ll be late for work. See you at the bar.” I end the call before he can say anything.
The message with the number of the owner of the security company appears immediately after the call has ended, and I press call, putting it on speaker again.
“Hello.” A man’s voice comes through the speaker.
“Hey. This is Kai, Leo’s friend. I need some security cameras installed at my girlfriend’s house.
She’s a little paranoid and doesn’t want to have any security systems installed, but someone kicked her door down a day ago.
The neighbor fixed it, but as you know, it would be better to add some extra safety measures.
Could we place them somewhere that won’t be too visible to her to ease her paranoia? ”
The man talks to someone while I wait on the phone, then he speaks to me again. “Yes, we can do that, but I will need a signature from a resident. Do you live in the house?”
“Yes, I do. We moved in together recently,” I lie.
“Great. You’re in luck; I have an opening. I can be there in an hour,” the man tells me.
“Perfect. I’ll send you a pin with the location.” I end the call and send him the pin, then open my browser and search for the salon’s number. I hit call again and bring the phone to my ear as I walk back to the living room.
“Danielle’s Beauty Corner, this is Charlotte speaking. How may I help you today?” Charlotte’s familiar voice comes through the phone.
“Hey. I know this will sound weird, but my girlfriend has an appointment with Rachel later today, and I was wondering how long it will take. She told me she booked the latest appointment available.” I try to change my voice as much as possible, but I doubt Charlotte has a good memory for voices.
Even if she does, I’m sure she sees so many people in her day that she wouldn’t remember what I sound like.
“Just a moment, please. I will look it up in our system right now.” Charlotte is so eager to help that she didn’t even ask for my name. Good.
“The last appointment in Rachel’s agenda for today is for Raphaela. Is this Mark?” I assume Mark is Raphaela’s boyfriend. I take a leap of faith that Charlotte is not that familiar with Mark when I speak again.
“Yes, Charlotte. I’m Mark; I didn’t know if you would remember me.” I hope that if she does, she can’t tell the difference between Mark’s voice and mine.
“Hey, Mark, it’s lovely to hear your voice again.” Charlotte’s lie is clear, but in this case, I appreciate the professionalism this woman is showing. “Raph’s appointment ends at eight in the evening. May I ask what this is about?”
Charlotte likes to gossip, noted. “I want to surprise her. I would appreciate it if you didn’t say anything.”
“That’s so sweet of you. I promise my lips are sealed,” Charlotte says before she follows with what I assume is her usual way to end a call. “Thank you for calling Danielle’s Beauty Corner, Mark. I hope you have a wonderful day.”
“You too, Charlotte,” I say, but the call has already ended. I assume she either got bored of talking to Mark or she had to attend to a customer; either way, it works for me.
For now, I just need to wait until the cameras are installed, and then the criminal and I can play a little game.
I head to the living room and get comfy in the rocking chair, waiting for the security company.
With some luck, it won’t be long before I can leave for work with new entertainment on my phone.