Chapter 20
Peyton
It was just after nine in the morning on Friday.
Grace and Marci had gone into demo room two with a client, and I had a few moments to myself.
I grabbed the vase of roses off my desk and went to add some more water.
They were pretty, but what was even more beautiful was the sentiment they conveyed from the man I couldn’t get out of my mind.
He didn’t say anything flowery, except maybe naming me Angel, but it was obvious he cared—he cared more for me than anyone ever had.
With every day I spent around Zane March, I came closer to reconsidering my no-men rule.
After saving me one more time from those two terrible guys that he referred to as Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum, I certainly owed March more than I could repay.
What those two had said they planned for me still made me shudder.
Back at my desk, I considered calling him to see if he had gotten to talk to the two yet and learned who the mysterious man was, but I decided against it. He would call when they knew something.
Opening my drawer, I came face-to-face with my doodles regarding my escape plan. I hadn’t had time to research the best route from here to B-B Pawn, but that could wait until another day.
My heart skipped a beat when my phone rang. I had to learn to be less jumpy. Pulling the device from my little backpack purse, I found March’s name on the screen and answered eagerly. “Hello?” I felt like adding I miss you, but I didn’t.
Why the hell couldn’t I come out and say how I felt? Pete had said one lesson he’d learned overseas was to be more decisive, and I wanted to emulate that—maybe tomorrow.
“Hi, Angel.”
I breathed in, warmth filling my chest at those words. I needed a nickname for him, and Ruppie wouldn’t do. The first thing that came to mind was what Constance had called him. “Hi, Cowboy.”
“You do know I was in the Navy, not the Cavalry?”
“Do you want me to call you Swabbie or maybe Squid?” Those were the only sea-based slang terms I could come up with quickly. “You know, most women happen to think cowboys are sexy.”
“Does that include you, Angel?”
I swallowed my giggle. “Let me get back to you on that.”
“Hmm… That doesn’t sound like a no.”
“After careful consideration, yes, that includes me.” See? I could do a little light banter if I put my mind to it.
“Nice to know,” he answered. “The reason I called is that we followed up with your neighbor, Frankie, and I’m sorry to say…”
I braced for bad news.
“It’s confirmed. He didn’t have anything to do with your condo.”
“Oh.” That didn’t help me get my money back.
“It turns out he’s a professional burglar, just not your burglar.
He and his boss have been running a scheme where the manager gives him an alibi for burglaries he pulls off during his lunch break, in exchange for a slice of the money.
The cops are about to nail him for a job he pulled in Santa Monica on the day you got robbed.
Just wanted you to know what kind of guy he is. ”
I cut our conversation short when Grace and Marci emerged from the demo room with the client.
An hour later, Marci was back in front of my desk with her biggest grin yet. “He must really like you.” She held her hands behind her, just as she had when March had sent me flowers.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” But I sure could use a pick-me-up and hoped it was chocolate.
“Close your eyes,” she said playfully.
I complied with the silly request.
“Okay, you can look.” She’d placed another vase on my desk, this time with what had to be two dozen pink roses, slightly lighter blush than the first set March had sent me.
I smiled. “Very nice.” Inwardly, I sported a monster smile. “I was hoping for something edible this time,” I joked.
“If you don’t want them—”
“No. No. I like them.”
“What does the card say?” A hopeless romantic, she bounced from foot to foot.
I pulled out the card and froze when I saw the same crooked handwriting that had made me leave Boston.
Twice as many roses for our second meeting. It will be twice as sweet.
The card dropped from my fingers. These weren’t from March.
Breathe, dammit, breathe. My stomach roiled, but I wouldn’t freak out. That would be playing into his hands. I’d escaped him before, and I would do it again. Calm and logical. I had to be calm and logical.
Marci picked up the card and read it. “Second meeting?”
Improvise. I had to explain it away. Anything else would put poor sweet Marci at risk. “I think he means our second date, our second meal out. He was going to take me to dinner, but we had to postpone it when he got hurt.”
When I conked him on the head was more like it.
“Oooh,” she gushed. “That’s so romantic. You really lucked out with Zane.”
I had and I hadn’t. I needed to run. There was no other way. I had to leave him and all these wonderful people behind. The only thing worse was being dead, and that’s how I’d end up if I didn’t escape right now—today.
Shit. March had dropped me off, so I didn’t have my bike. He’d be watching for me on foot, on a bike, driving a car, or picking up a rideshare.
“I can get you some water for these.” Marci was so sweet.
“Would you? That would be great.” As soon as she left with the flowers, I looked up the bus schedule going north, since going south gave me only the option of San Diego, and I’d planned on getting farther away from here—somewhere like Portland.
My phone dinged the distinctive tone of an encrypted message arriving from Rhonda, which I definitely didn’t have time for now.
The news on the bus front wasn’t good. Time was short if I planned on making the bus to either Santa Barbara or Sacramento on my way north. I’d have to hurry. I quickly checked for businesses near B-B Pawn and found what I needed.
“Here you go,” bubbly Marci said as she set the new vase down next to the other one. “I wish I’d meet someone who would send me flowers.”
“Yeah. I’m lucky,” I agreed. Lucky with the sender of the first roses. More unlucky than anyone would believe with the second set. “Hey, you have a car downstairs, right?” If I didn’t start right now, today would be out of the question.
She smiled. “Uh-huh.”
“I could really use a ride,” I said, making a show of checking the time on my phone. “I need to get to the cleaners, and March drove me in, so I don’t have my bike.”
“Sure. Now?”
I nodded and picked up my purse. I was going to be leaving with only the clothes on my back, just like Atlanta.
We stopped by her desk, and just as the elevator doors opened, I gasped. “I forgot something. You get the car, and I’ll meet you at the back door.”
“I can wait,” she offered.
If she waited for me, it would mean going out the front door and that could be catastrophic.
“No. You go ahead, and I’ll meet you at the back door.”
She relented, and I made a quick trip to my desk and back, picking up a pen and notepad in case anyone was watching.
Downstairs, she was waiting outside the back door. Thankfully, she hadn’t asked why. “Which cleaners are you using?”
“Everbright.” I gave her the address two doors down from B-B Pawn. As soon as she approached the parking lot exit, I ducked down, fingering the carpet. I couldn’t take the chance that he was watching the building.
“What’s wrong? I can stop.”
“It’s just my earring. Keep going. I’ll find it in a second.” I didn’t sit up until we were a good two blocks away from work. “Got it.” I pretended to replace the earring in my right ear.
When she pulled up to the cleaners, she surprised me. “I’ll wait.”
Crap. I hadn’t planned for this wrinkle. “You don’t need to.”
“Go ahead. Pick up your stuff. I’ll drive you home.” She was too damned nice.
I got out of the car and marched into the cleaners where I talked to the lady behind the counter and asked about various prices before returning to Marci. “It’s not ready yet. You go on, and I’ll catch an Uber when it’s done.”
After a short argument, she disappeared around the corner.
Only then did I walk down the street and into B-B Pawn, where there were three people ahead of me waiting to talk to the pair behind the counter.
Judging by their interactions, I guessed the pair to be husband and wife. A pang of jealousy ran through me. I’d never had a relationship like that, and wouldn’t for as long as the Strangler was loose.
Pulling out my phone, I saw a missed call from March. To avoid playing the message, I opened the secure message from Rhonda. I hadn’t responded quickly to her last set of messages, and it was unlike me to cause her worry like that.
RHONDA: HE KILLED ANOTHER GIRL LAST WEEK. This time from Salem. It was in the news. I don’t think they’re any closer to catching him. I hope you’re staying safe.
I responded.
ME: I’m safe.
I didn’t need to worry her by including that I had to move again.
The proprietors finished with a man who wanted to buy a ring, and I moved forward in the line.
The girl ahead of me introduced herself to the couple as Iris.
She wanted to pawn a watch, which only reminded me of the watch Cassie had given me, the only thing I had left from her.
I’d had to leave behind the charm bracelet she gave me when I ran from Atlanta.
Now I’d have to leave the watch behind as well.
She had been such a sweet soul. It was so cruel and unfair that she’d become one of his victims, but then that had to be true of all of them.
A man came in the door and got in line behind me.
Iris, ahead of me, accepted their offer, and left with a tear in her eye. The watch had meant something to her.
I moved up to the counter.
“Hi. Welcome to B-B Pawn. I’m Beth,” the woman said.
“And I’m Blake,” the man added.
“I’m Peyton. I have these.” I unscrewed the first of my earrings and set it on the felt they had on the glass counter. “They belonged to my grandmother,” I said as I took off the second.
Blake picked up the first one and examined it with a jeweler’s loop. “These are real and very nice.”
I nodded.