Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Titus finished his meeting with his staff and strolled towards the bakery. The sun was breaking through the clouds, and it looked to be a fine day. He’d love to take Emelia out for some relaxation, but she was concerned about losing business after closing the bakery on Tuesday.
He first checked in with Ford, who gave him a rundown of the early morning events.
“Everything is quiet. Emelia got here around four thirty. The bread baker was already here, and several employees arrived shortly after.”
“Great. I’ll take over now.” Titus pushed open the door to the bakery and was immediately hit by the scent of warm, buttery pastry and saw that Emelia was making cinnamon buns, his favorite. She looked up and gave him a huge smile as she continued to frost the buns.
He was a little annoyed that she hadn’t woken him earlier so he could help her get the crate upstairs.
However, the extra sleep was welcome. Burning the candle on both ends and worrying about Emelia was taking its toll on his body and mind. Although he would do it all again, just to make sure she was safe.
Colt was busy delving deeper into the backgrounds of all employees, previous owners and contractors. He was also looking into bank statements for any suspicious activity. The bank was proving difficult to work with, and Chase hinted he might ask Tex to step in and help.
Of interest to them was the server Stacy whose brother had a criminal record. A background check of the brother showed he was a petty thief who had already served two times in prison. Florida had a three-strikes law. If the brother couldn’t keep his hands clean, he’d be facing serious jail time. However, Stacy lived in a small apartment and by all accounts didn’t flaunt receiving large amounts of cash.
“Titus, why don’t you get a cup of coffee and go sit by the window?” suggested Emelia. “Nothing’s happening in here, so you might as well relax.”
“Great idea. Then I have to get back to the gym.” He leaned over to kiss her. “I’ll be back later tonight.”
“Perfect.” She placed two cinnamon buns on a small plate and handed it to him. “Here you go, love.”
The bakery was open, and the kitchen was buzzing with activity. Titus ordered a coffee from Abby, found an open table by the window, and sat looking out. A few people walked past the bakery. Some stopped in. The bell tinkled with each door opening.
Josie, Abby, and Stacy were busy. It felt good to just sit and inhale the comforting scents of the bakery and the hissing of the espresso maker.
Stacy tried to stay away from the table Titus sat at. He was a large, intimidating man and very serious-looking. She felt him look her way a couple of times and gave him what she hoped was a friendly smile, even though her hands were trembling and she wanted to vomit.
What she wanted to do was run out of the bakery and hide in her apartment. That wasn’t on the agenda, unfortunately.
The man called her late last night just as she was about to fall asleep. Again, she wished she knew his name, although she never asked, and he never volunteered.
He told her things were winding down and in the next week, she’d be getting the rest of the money he promised. She only had one more thing to do.
Stacy’s heart was thumping so hard when he told her what that was. She was sure that the man could hear it through the phone, as well as her neighbors. She tried to protest, but he told her if she didn’t do it, the next call would be to the police about her twin.
At that minute, it was all Stacy could do not to call Steve and tell him what an ass he was for stealing again. Then she wished she were an only child.
But all the negative thoughts and wishing things were different couldn’t change what was going to happen next.