Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Valerie
"Ummm, what is that?" Vanessa—my sales associate—asked as soon as I walked into the back room of the store.
Vanessa only worked part-time for me and had been on vacation for the last week, so she missed out on all the excitement from the shooting.
"What's what?" I looked around the small storage space like whatever she was asking about would jump out and make itself known.
"That?" She pointed at my hand. "On your finger."
I glanced down at my engagement ring and smiled.
"I didn't even know you were in a relationship. Let alone one long enough to get engaged."
Vanessa had only recently started working for me about six months ago, basically around the time that I added the online store to my résumé.
"I wasn't," I told her sheepishly. "It's actually really complicated."
"Complicated just so happens to be my middle name," Vanessa said with just a tad too much excitement as she laced her fingers under her chin.
"Fine," I sighed. "I'm guessing you've heard about Aaron?"
Vanessa was new to town when I hired her, but I knew for a fact she gossiped with the old biddies. I had heard them a time or two talking while I was on the shop floor.
"You mean the hot silver fox who walks by the store a handful of times each day?"
There was that little green monster again just rearing its ugly head despite the fact that Vanessa was a solid fifteen years younger than Aaron and me.
"Yeah, that's the one."
"Of course I've heard about him, but from what Ms. Daisy has told me, you guys don't get along." I could see the confusion clear as day. I could also see when it clicked for Vanessa. "Shut up! Is this like an enemies-to-lovers story?"
I laughed at the trope reference. I happened to be a big reader and knew all about the different tropes authors used in their stories. I guess I had always favored enemies to lovers and now I knew why.
"Like I said." I shrugged. "Complicated."
"I'll say." Vanessa smiled. "But I'm super happy for you."
Since Vanessa had started working for me, I've considered her more than just an employee. Mostly because of her genuinely sweet demeanor. She seemed to not only care about the customers, but the shop and me as well.
"Thanks." I took another look at my engagement ring and just smiled. I had a feeling I would be doing that a lot throughout the day.
"On to other news. What the hell happened while I was gone? Someone said Ms. Daisy got shot?"
I spent the next ten minutes explaining how someone had fired one single bullet through the front glass window and it had grazed Ms. Daisy's arm. Luckily the old woman was fine, but then I had to go on and explain how all the inventory from the floor was essentially useless.
"Wow, that's crazy. What do you need me to do?"
"Finish tagging all the new items that I moved onto the shop floor yesterday."
"I'm on it!" Vanessa beamed at me. "Oh, look who's here." I spun around just in time to see Aaron and Nolen walk through the back door. "I hear congratulations are in order," she gushed.
"Thank you." Aaron snagged me around the waist and pulled me into his side. I welcomed the closeness and wrapped my arms around his middle, nuzzling into his chest.
"On that note, I'm going to get to work." Vanessa gave me a thumbs up before practically skipping out to the front of the shop.
"Well, she seems enthusiastic about her job," Aaron laughed at Vanessa's retreating back.
"She's always that happy. It's why I hired her."
"How have I never seen her before?" Nolen didn't take his eyes off where Vanessa disappeared to.
"She's only been in town for about six months and she tends to keep to herself." I looked at Aaron who was frowning at Nolen. I didn't quite understand what was happening at the moment but Aaron didn't seem pleased by the attention Nolen was giving Vanessa.
Aaron cleared his throat to get Nolen's attention.
"Right." Nolen cleared his own throat. "I'm just going to go make myself scarce somewhere else."
Nolen disappeared in the same direction as Vanessa, but Aaron didn't seem to mind. In fact, he looked to be nervous about something, so I turned and gave him my full attention.
"What's wrong?"
"There's been another incident."
My shoulders sagged with the weight of yet another person possibly being hurt. "Who now?"
"Someone attempted to snag Lucien on his way to school this morning."
Lucien was Kati and Easton's son. Last I had heard, he’d just turned fifteen and was enjoying his independence.
"Wasn't someone with him?"
Aaron shook his head. "Not exactly. It was while he was walking out to the bus. Thankfully Easton's been teaching Lucien martial arts, so he was able to fight off his abductor."
"Is Lucien able to identify him?"
"We're hoping so. He's working with Lyla now to get us a sketch. Hopefully this is the break we need."
"Doesn't this feel a little amateurish? I don't know anything about terrorists but I would think they would be more sophisticated than to break into your mother's house and punch her before running away. And now to attempt an abduction in broad daylight?"
"Idiot," Aaron hissed to himself. "We've been so focused on the data breach that we haven't even considered these might be two separate attacks."
Well, now I was confused. "What do you mean?"
"The sniper shot makes sense if the people behind it are associated with the last op my team ran."
"And the other two?" I asked.
"I need to run the suggestion by Maverick but I believe they might be completely separate incidents."
"So, two separate people are after your team?"
Aaron looked concerned when he answered. "It would appear so."