Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Being home the past week with Titus in her bed was fantastic. Leo was also thrilled that Titus was there and curled up on his lap while they watched TV. Emelia could focus on experimenting with new recipes, managing the bakery’s social media, and finally relaxing—a little bit. Although the safety issue never went completely away.
Vanessa was a great help, occasionally taking Leo to the park. If she wasn’t available, one of Lilypad’s employees would accompany Emelia.
Emelia felt guilty asking other people to step in to help, but Titus still had a business and classes to run. Although he swore it was not an issue for him to miss so much time at the gym, Emelia didn’t believe that. She knew if she wasn’t at the bakery, morale would suffer.
Unfortunately, Emelia had to put her night classes at the high school on hold. It wasn’t fair to have Titus or another Brotherhood employee follow her around when they could be protecting someone who truly needed their services.
As much as she loved the bakery, her long-term goal was to establish a cooking school in her home, make YouTube videos, cater part-time and have fun while not working the hours she had to put into the bakery. And while she was thinking of goals, getting married and having kids was also on the list.
Those goals were a distant dream. First, she didn’t have any money to buy a house, plus she couldn’t plan anything for the future until the person harassing her was caught. Emelia let out a heavy sigh. She loved Lilypad Confections but knew someday her dream would become a reality. Hopefully.
It was still early morning and Emelia was hands-deep preparing tart dough to rest in the refrigerator when her phone rang.
“Josie, pull out my phone and see who it is, please.” Emelia was waiting for Vanessa to give her a time to walk Leo.
“It’s Vanessa,” said Josie, glancing at the screen. “Do you want me to answer it?”
“Please.”
Emelia heard a couple of uh-huhs from Josie before she hung up the phone.
“Vanessa can’t come over until noon.”
“Hmmm.” Emelia wiped her hands on a cloth. “That’s okay. I usually take Leo for a walk at this time of day. Can you walk with me?”
Josie shook her head. “I wish I could. Abby and I are the only ones here.”
A rush of warm air entered the kitchen as Stacy opened the door.
“Au contraire. I’m here. I would be happy to walk with you and Leo,” said Stacy. She looked at the clock. “I have some free time before my shift.”
“Perfect,” Emelia exclaimed. “I’ll wash up and grab Leo. We can head towards the park. He loves it there.”
Emelia washed her hands and left the kitchen. She could hear Leo’s nails scratching on the metal bottom of his crate. He must have pushed his blanket back, something he did when he got excited, and walks always got him excited.
“Hey, pup. Ready to go for your walk?” Leo yipped and lunged for her when she opened the crate, causing her to fall back and try to protect herself from puppy kisses.
“Okay. Okay,” she said, getting to her feet. Emelia grabbed Leo’s leash and clipped it to his collar.
They walked down the stairs. “I’m ready if you are,” Emelia said to Stacy, who was chatting with Josie.
“Great, let’s go.”
The park was a couple of blocks away. It was a warm, pleasant day, and the sun made everything brighter. Emelia recognized and smiled at several of Lilypad’s customers out and about. As they walked, Stacy was quiet, but that wasn’t unusual for her, although she kept glancing at her phone.
“Is everything okay?” Emelia finally asked.
Stacy glanced at her with a slight frown and let out a small sigh. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I’m just waiting for confirmation about an appointment.”
They chatted a little about the bakery as they approached the park. This time of day was usually quiet, so no dogs were around for Leo to play with. Later, it would fill up.
Stacy opened the gate to allow Leo to run in as soon as Emelia took off his leash. He eagerly ran to his favorite corner, sniffing around an oak tree. Stacy checked her phone again and then looked up and down the street. For what? Emelia grew uneasy.
“Why are you…?” she began to ask before being cut off by the skidding sound of tires. Turning to look, she saw a black van slamming to a stop.
A man leaped out of the driver’s side and opened the back doors. Her heart was pounding as she and Stacy stood there, frozen in fear.
Before Emelia could process what happened, the man reached over, forcibly grabbed her arm, and hurled her into the back of the van. She landed with a thud. Pain shot through her arm as she hit the metal floor.
Terror flooded through Emelia’s veins as she tried to crawl towards the door. The man leaned closer and injected something into her neck. Her muscles became weak, and her vision blurred. Where was Stacy? Stacy had to run for help.
Panic surged through her veins. Emelia tried to call out for help, but the only sound out of her mouth was a faint whisper. Then darkness enveloped her.