5. 5
5
M alice had a hard time waiting for the woman to decide whether or not she could trust him enough to go somewhere to talk about keeping her safe. He didn’t know why he cared so much but somehow, he hated to see her hurt. And his gut told him if he did nothing, she would end up hurt.
When she agreed to go to the coffee shop, it took everything in him to keep himself from shouting. Instead, he walked with her over to the little local joint, opened the door for her then followed her inside.
After asking what she wanted, he went to the counter and ordered for them both, taking their drinks to the table she’d claimed in the corner and handing her the sweet, blended drink she’d ordered before sitting across the table from her.
“Let’s get to know each other a little bit first. I told you my name, what’s yours?” He did his best to set her at ease.
“I’m Bonnie.”
“I’m fairly new in town, Bonnie. Been here a few months. Are you from Gillette?”
“Not exactly, but not too far away. I came from a couple hours away to go to school.”
“Are you still in school?” He tilted his head as he watched her. He would have guessed she was closer to his age than what he would have expected from someone still in college. But maybe she had gotten a late start.
“No. Not for a while now, it’s just how I came to be in Gillette. I graduated a few years ago. Now I’m working, trying to make ends meet and figure out what I want to do with my life.”
“Aren’t we all?” That sounded cynical, even to Malice’s ears, but he’d felt exactly that way so many times over the last couple of years, since he’d separated from the Army. Before that he’d never questioned what he would do with his life. And admittedly he hadn’t asked it quite as often since that call from Ghost. “What do you do?”
She watched him for a moment with what he was learning was her wary look. She was wondering if she should tell him. “You want to know what I do to pay the bills or how I think of myself?”
Malice frowned. He took a sip of his coffee to hide his confusion and give himself a moment to think.
“How about both?” he said after a moment.
She pursed her lips and stared at him for a few seconds, then seemed to give in.
“I pay the bills by working the front desk at a hotel.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“It’s not. But it’s mostly boring. Occasionally, something different or exciting happens, but it’s usually the same thing day in and day out.”
“What about the other. Tell me how you think of yourself.”
This time a smile curved her lips, one that made something deep in his belly warm. He wanted to see her smile more often. He liked this soft, gentle smile but something told him if he managed to see her full, real smile then he’d be blown away. Now he needed to see that too, but how?
“I paint. I live to paint.”
That was different. Paint? Like what? His only experience painting was houses and somehow, he didn’t see Bonnie thinking of herself as a painter if that was what she was into, but maybe he was wrong. “What do you paint?”
“I prefer landscapes, but I’ll do people if I need to. I try to avoid portraits though, if I can. I don’t mind doing people, but I don’t want them to be the main or only focus of the piece. And I hate trying to paint someone as they see themselves.” Her nose crinkled as she paused, as if she was looking for the right word. “No one sees themselves as the rest of the world does, and it’s nearly impossible to find a good balance of their mental image and the truth. Then there’s the fact that I don’t feel like there’s enough personality to a piece that’s just people or just a face, unless you have something interesting in the background.” She turned and looked into the distance. “I’ve got a piece coming up that should be so much fun. It’s a big piece that I get to do pretty much anything I want as long as I include a couple of requested elements. I’m still thinking about it, but I think I’m going to do something with some Wyoming landmarks in the background.” She turned back to him and gave him a big smile. “It will be a lot of fun bringing what’s in my head to life.”
Malice felt like his heart stopped beating for an instant at the smile on her face. He’d been right. That little ghost of a smile that had warmed him earlier was nothing compared to this one. She was a stunner, and it wasn’t just her smile or the long curly dark hair that cascaded around her face, but as much of the personality that she couldn’t keep from shining through.
“I can see how much you love painting. I want to hear more about this piece you have coming up. But we came here for a reason, and we need to get down to it. Tell me about this guy. Everything you can think of about him.” He waved one hand toward the diner where they’d last seen the fuckwad who had tried to abduct her.
She frowned. “Why would you want to know about Phillip?”
“I need to know more, how he thinks, how he works, to try to figure out how his mind works and hopefully to anticipate his next move and outsmart him. And we’re going to have to do something to figure out how he’s tracking you, and how to stop it.” Malice sipped the black coffee he’d ordered for himself and waited, hoping she would tell him what he needed instead of arguing.
She looked down at the table and the drink she held cupped in both hands, then started talking. It took her thirty minutes to tell him everything she could think of, then Malice started asking questions. He wanted to get a handle on what kind of guy this asshole was. That way he could help her form a plan to make sure he was gone.