19. Janie
Chapter 19
Janie
I parked my car and walked into the factory. All the men that worked with Rick kept a few feet back from me. It was like I was a pariah. I glanced back at them and they turned their heads away from me. One tripped over nothing. A shadow tentacle retreated back into the shadows. It took a lot not to react with a giggle and I rolled my eyes as I stepped into our dressing area. As I was about to step over the clean line with my slipper covered foot, the door burst open.
“Janie!” Tana screamed.
As I tried to regain my balance, I fell into one chair inside the unclean area. The metal legs clanked on the floor loudly as my weight hit it. I stuck my slippered foot over the line as I looked at the door. “What? You almost made me fall!” I said.
“Sorry. I…I just got done talking to my cousin. He has a friend with the cops.”
“Okay? Why did you barge in here like a bat from hell?”
Tana sighed. Her shoulders fell as her eyes filled with pity. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news. This sucks. There was a report of a burglary on the other side of town. They realized it was Rick’s place. He…” She bit her lip. “…had tons of evidence there. Trophies. Pictures. It was bad, Janie. Is that what he did to you?”
My eyes widened. Did Meical plant evidence? All of the sudden, it felt hard to breath. What if I wasn’t the first? What if he saved my life? I placed my hands on my knees as I struggled to breath. I looked to the side looking for something to ground me. Instead, I locked on a shadow vibrating under the metal shelf. A few seconds of staring at that and a calmness settled in me. “It’s complicated. A neighbor saw us going to my apartment. He heard my shouts. He saved me.”
She leaned forward and whispered, “Do you think that’s why he went crazy yesterday? Cause he didn’t get to finish the job?”
I opened my mouth and shut it. More possibilities ran through my head as I struggled with everything she was telling me. Meical saved my life completely. Unlike his other victims, I had suffered damage, but it was not as severe. I tried to act indifferent and shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t really know. The last few days have been stressful. I’m trying to process.”
She nodded. “I’m sorry I convinced you to do that,” she whispered.
I stood up on my covered foot over the line. I balanced on that foot as I put the slipper on my other foot. “Well, the guy that saved me asked me on a date. So either I am being a fool, or he is my knight in shining armor.” I had to hold back the smirk. I don’t think a shadow monster could exactly shine. It was like the shadows clung to his body when he was in his monster form.
“Wow. That’s amazin’,” she said. Her eyes were filled with adoration as she slipped on her lab coat. She pointed it at a box by the door. “Hey, can you take those to the back hall? I forgot to put them in the back.”
I nodded and grabbed the box. As I stepped into the dark hallway, a cold appendage grabbed my waist and pulled me into the darkness. A tentacle caught the box that I dropped. The tentacle placed it on the stack with the other boxes. I twisted in the arms of the tentacle. His form didn’t emerge from the shadows. I glanced at the door.
“Did you plant evidence at Rick’s house?” I whispered.
“No. Those were all things that were already there. You were not the first. You were the last, though. I ensured that. This is what my people have done for eons. Punishing the worst of man,” he said. More tentacles wrapped around my torso. I sucked in a breath, trying to tamp down the rising surge of lust. I’m so broken with my attraction to tentacles and shadows. Fuck.
“Really?” I whispered.
“Why would I lie to you?”
“It’s probably going to be in the news later. I don’t know. The police may try to find me after yesterday.”
“Don’t worry, my little mate,” he said. “I can go investigate, if you would like,” he said.
“I don’t want to put you out.” I wasn’t sure why I cared, but it seemed I did now.
“I live in the shadows. It will be simple reconnaissance.” The tendrils unwrapped from my body. One single tentacle brushed my cheek. As the tentacle slipped back into the shadows, I blinked in surprise. I was by myself again. I stepped out of the shadows and back into the light of the main lab.
Tana glanced at me as I sat at my microscope. “You okay? You look a bit flushed.”
I nodded my head. “Yeah, I am perfectly fine. Do you have any plans this weekend?”
Tana smiled. She glanced at our manager, who was in the jar room. “I’m going on a date. You probably forgot with yesterday.”
I smiled politely. Oh, now I remembered what she said . Guilt rushed through me as I realized how selfish I was. “I hope it works out well for you. And if you ever need help, you can always call me.”
Tana’s eyes drifted past me to the bright window behind me. “Yeah, yeah. Most definitely. I’ll keep that in mind.” Her eyes snapped back to mine. “It can be scary out there for us girls.”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt. I was lucky. Not everyone is as lucky.”
Tana nodded and turned back to her microscope. The rest of the day was filled with small chatter and staring into my microscope. Another boring day.