Chapter 14
Ranger
I didn’t mean to follow her home. Honest, we were just going the same way. It’s not my fault that I pulled over to check my phone and saw her doing something interesting. When her and Ginny got out of the car, I was watching her so closely I saw her freeze up for a minute before saying something to Ginny. She rushed across the street and turned to wave so Ginny would go inside. She never took a step closer to her porch. As soon as the light in Ginny’s place went out, Elle hightailed it to her Jeep and backed out of the driveway. She never went inside.
I don’t know what spooked her, but I’ll be back later to find out. I hunkered down in my seat so she wouldn’t see me and I tracked her down the street. She took a right, which is the way to the shop and her studio. I let her get a block up and follow, noting each of her turns before catching up. When I’m positive she’s going to her studio, I drive up a block and circle around, turning my lights off and parking a couple of buildings down. No, I’m not proud of it, but I’m committed now.
Elle parks behind the shop and gets out of her Jeep, looking around like she thinks someone might be watching her. If only she knew the truth. That it’s me. She books it up the stairs on the outside of the building and goes into the studio. I watch, waiting for her to turn on a light that never appears. I sit there for another ten minutes watching the dark room, but nothing. She might flip on her phone’s light once or twice, but that’s it. I don’t see any movement and she doesn’t leave.
When I’m certain she isn’t leaving again, I go back to her place and park on the street. I walk slowly up the driveway, observing anything I can. It’s dark, so I can only see so much, but her porch light is on and it doesn’t take a genius to see that something is laying on the porch. It looks like…flowers? No, flower petals, all plucked from their stems. Black? Interesting. I don’t see any notes, nothing really threatening about it, but who would leave these scattered on her porch and why would it freak her out so badly? I check her door, making sure it’s locked, and I return to my truck and drive home. I can’t get the look on her face as she practically raced for her Jeep out of my head, and my sleep is restless. Every time I close my eyes, I see a small, blonde woman running away from something, the lost look on her face changing to fear as she looks over her shoulder behind her. She reaches for me, like she’s asking me for help, but I can never quite reach her.
The next morning, I drag my ass and a big cup of coffee into the stop. Barbie is already there, checking the day’s schedule.
“Morning, boss. Wow, you look like shit.”
“Thanks, Babs. You, too.”
She laughs. “Oh, honey, I know I don’t look like shit.” She never does. “What’s going on?”
I shake my head and change the subject. “Have you seen Elle this morning?”
“Nope, but I think I heard her moving around upstairs. Why? Is everything alright?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? What did you do?”
“I swear, I didn’t do anything, but if you see her, will you make sure she’s okay?”
“Well, if you didn’t do anything to her, who did?”
“Wish I could tell you, but I don’t know.”
“Spill it, asshole.”
I give up and tell her what I saw. “I followed her home last night.”
Barbie raises her brow at me, and motioning for me to continue.
“When she got home, something freaked her out and she left and came here.”
“And then?”
“I went back to her place to see what was there. There were black flower petals on her porch.”
“That’s it?” Barbie asks, and I nod. “Was there a note? Did you look?”
“Of course I looked. And no, there wasn’t a note. This isn’t my first rodeo.”
“It is with someone you care about.”
“Who says I care about her?” I ask, my heart rate increasing at the thought.
“Oh, my God, boss. I don’t know what to do with you. Are you really that blind and stupid?”
Yes, yes, I am.
My face must betray me because Barbie laughs.
“I’ll see if I can find anything out, but there’s no guarantee she’ll talk to me, you know,” she points out.
“Yeah, I know.”
“You’re worried.”
“She’s Tiny’s sister.” That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
“Uh-huh. You know you’re full of shit, right?”
“Whatever. Don’t you have some work to do?”
I know she’s about to read me the riot act when the front door opens and my first client of the day walks in. It’s double duty, ink and a job. She’s getting a broken heart on her shoulder and wants me to find out if her husband is cheating on her. These jobs are easy. The answer is always yes, they are fucking around on you. If you suspect it, they’re doing it. But it’s easy money for me and goes a long way for them in divorce court.
It’s almost two in the afternoon when Elle comes down the back steps into the shop and goes to Barbie. She asks if she can use her charger, which Barbie offers and Elle plugs her phone in and sits beside her. At least they are talking. I don’t know what’s said, but Elle sits in Barbie’s chair and starts sketching. Everything in me wants to know what she’s drawing, but I don’t feel like I have any right to ask.
Barbie catches my eye and winks, the bitch, but it makes me chuckle. Elle seems lost in her own world, on the pages of her pad. But she has that look on her face again. The lost look that invaded my dreams last night. Honestly, she looks like she needs a friend, a fuck, and a good hug. I can only provide one of those. Hopefully, Barb will provide the other two.