Chapter 12
Shannon
My apartment is a disaster. Whoever did this made a huge mess, overturning furniture, pulling down my curtains, dropping picture frames and even smashing a bottle of wine.
We called the police and it took hours for them to assess the situation, take statements, and write reports.
By the time they left, and Ace and I cleaned up the worst of the mess, it was nearly six in the morning.
I’m exhausted but determined to go in to work.
“Are you sure?” Ace asks at least a dozen times.
“I’m sure. I’m going to go in for at least a few hours, type out notes for my afternoon classes and see if we can either get a substitute or the other teachers can help out. Once they find out my apartment was broken into, I’m sure they’ll jump in. Then I can come home and take a nap.”
“I’m going to clean up while you’re gone,” Ace says softly, kissing my lips.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I want to. You get through the morning and by the time you get home, I’ll have a new plan.”
“You sure?”
“Come on. I’m walking you to work.”
I have to admit, having him hold my hand as we walk the six blocks to the school is kind of sweet and romantic, despite the circumstances.
When we pass Mr. Koelzig’s bakery, he stops us and gives us hot chocolate and pastries, on the house, his smile indicating his pleasure that there’s someone special in my life.
I tell him about the break-in, and he immediately offers to let us stay in his guest room, and though we politely decline, I realize just how much I’ve settled into my life here in Cologne.
The idea that someone is trying to ruin it infuriates me.
“I can’t believe someone broke into your apartment,” Sandra says, coming in to take over my next class as I get ready to leave. “But I also can’t believe there’s a man in your life and you didn’t tell me.”
“We knew each other years ago, when I was in college. Nothing ever happened between us, but we reconnected through social media and he called me when he got to town. He’s here on business.” I’m a better liar than I thought because Sandra looks intrigued.
“Wow. What’s his name?”
“A-Andrew,” I say. I don’t want to lie, but Ace’s warnings about keeping his identity as much of a secret as possible rings in my head.
“Andrew what?” she presses. “Geez, girlfriend. Since when are you so cagey?”
I laugh. “I’m a little shaken up about the break-in. I’m so glad he walked me home last night.”
“You two were going to get naked, weren’t you?” she teases, lowering her voice.
I’m probably blushing but shake my head. “He’s a gentleman. I don’t think so. But maybe.”
We giggle a little, which is a welcome relief since I’m exhausted, and she doesn’t ask about his last name again, for which I’m grateful.
“Well, you go home and get some rest,” she says. “I’ll handle your next two classes, and Mariana will take your last period.”
“Thank you.” I squeeze her arm. “See you Monday.”
“Call if you need me!” she calls after me.
* * *
Ace is waiting when I get outside, and he slides an arm around my shoulders as we head back to my apartment.
“You look tired,” he says.
“I am, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep. I’m pretty anxious about the whole thing.”
“I don’t know if you’re going to like it, but I had a thought.”
“Shoot.”
“Somehow, I got on the mailing list of one of those really nice cruise lines that does river cruises, CMA Waterways. They have a cruise leaving Amsterdam Sunday that stops in Cologne Monday. My friend, the king of Limaj, is friends with the owner of CMA. He called him and if we want to meet the boat on Monday, there’s a room waiting for us. ”
“But that’s three days from now.” I stare at him. “I can’t just get on a cruise the first day of finals.”
“What better way to get out of town? Chains is already in the air, flying to Germany to take over reconnaissance here in Cologne. He used to be with MI6 so he’ll be able to handle it and I trust him.”
“I can’t leave before Wednesday,” I repeat, because I can’t think of anything else to say.
“Shannon, my priority is protecting you. Since we can’t easily figure out who this is, what they want or what’s going on, the safest thing for you to do is leave town and let my people handle it.
Being on a cruise like that, where no one knows where you are, is perfect.
We’ll avoid social media and just disappear for six days.
We’ll disembark on Saturday in Basel, Switzerland.
From there, we can come back here or I can put you on a plane to the U.S. or whatever you want.”
“But I have a job!” I’m struggling to wrap my head around this, but the idea of being on a cruise ship with him is intriguing.
“Is your job going to keep you safe?” he asks softly, stopping to look into my eyes.
“No, but when this is over, I want to still have one.”
“We’ll work it out, I promise. Just say yes.”
“But… I have to call my boss.”
“We can tell her there’s been a credible threat to your life because of your father’s hand in politics before his death, and that your mother hired a private security firm to find out who it is.
Chains, the guy I keep talking about, will back up our story and I’ll have him talk to her if you need it.
You can spend the weekend finishing up your final exams and getting whatever papers you have graded.
Then you’ll go in Monday morning, tell her what’s going on, and we can be on the boat by afternoon.
Erik said they’re not leaving Cologne until later in the day, so you can work Monday morning. ”
“Ace, this is crazy.”
“Maybe, but it’s already arranged and I think it would give Chains and his team the best chance to catch this person without endangering you.”
“But what if they don’t?” I hate to sound like a scared little kid, but the more he talks about private security firms and a team of people trying to find my stalker, the more nervous I get.
“Honey, I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Which is why I need you to trust me and say you’ll do this.”
We hash out details the rest of the way home, stopping to order some takeout since neither of us had lunch. I don’t know how we can go on a freakin’ cruise in the middle of all this, not to mention how it will affect my job and a dozen other details.
I don’t like any of this and want to refuse, but I might never get another chance to go away with him.
The truth is that I’m not afraid when I’m with Ace, and while I hate letting my kids down, I can’t fathom saying no.
No matter how much I want this to be nothing and for it all to go away, I’m in danger and Ace is probably the only reason I’m still safe.
By the time we get home I’ve pretty much talked myself into it.
I’m about to tell him so, when I walk into my apartment and freeze.
Everything is back where it belongs, the floor was vacuumed and mopped, and there are fresh flowers on the coffee table.
The broken wine bottle is gone, of course, and one of my plants is missing, probably because it was destroyed, but anyone visiting for the first time wouldn’t even know there had been a problem.
“How did you do this in such a short time?” I whisper, turning to him.
“Your landlady is very sweet and money is a huge incentive when getting things done.”
“I should pay you,” I say automatically, reaching for my purse.
He stills my hands. “Honey, I have plenty of money.” He pauses. “You know who my father is, don’t you?”
I frown. “Your father? No... Should I?”
He laughs. “Well, I’m sure you know who he is, you just didn’t realize he was my father.”
“Who is it?” I’m curious as I kick off my shoes and put our food on the kitchen table.
“Andy Ross, the lead singer for Poison Tyrants.”
“The 80s hair band?” I chuckle. “How did I not know this?”
“I don’t know, but not only do I have a trust fund, I’ve been making a lot of money the last twelve years or so, with almost no expenses because I don’t even own a car. Eighty percent of my salary goes into savings.”
I wrinkle my nose. “You don’t have a…car? A home? Not even an efficiency apartment or something?”
“Nope. I have a storage space in Los Angeles, where my dad and stepmom live, where I keep my Harley. I drive it like twice a year. I have some furniture and a handful of mementos, but that’s it.
When I’m traveling for the agency, it’s all on their dime.
When I’m in the U.S., I stay with a handful of friends.
I have good friends in L.A. and Vegas, as well as Monte Carlo and Limaj.
Those are the four places I go when I’m not working. ”
“Well, now you have a place to stay in Cologne as well,” I say, turning to get a couple of plates and utensils.
He comes up behind me and slides his arms around my waist. “I’m really looking forward to coming for a visit that has nothing to do with stalkers.”
“Me too.” I turn to him and playfully hand him the plates. “Set the table.”
We dig into our food and I look up when I finally slow down. “Are we really going on some fancy river cruise while your friends handle my stalker?”
“If you want to. It’s a small room, that’s all they had available, but it has two twin beds, so you don’t have to worry about me taking advantage of you.”
“That’s pretty far down on the list of things I’m worried about,” I tell him.
He blows out a breath. “You’re making it tough to stay gentlemanly.”
“Whose idea is that?” I ask, taking another bite of food. “Certainly not mine.”
“Honey, I don’t want to start something I may not be able to finish.”
“That seems to be a common theme with you, but I’m not a twenty-one-year-old virgin anymore, Ace. I’m a grown woman perfectly capable of making adult decisions like whether or not I want to have sex with a man I like.”
He smiles at me. “I have to focus on keeping you safe, and getting you naked would be a huge distraction. Once this stalker thing is over, though, you can distract me all you want.”
“Promises, promises.” I’m not sure what else to say, so I focused on cleaning up. I don’t want to wait until this was over to get naked and I have to find a way to convince him of that.