First Love

by Amy Brent

  Unfortunately, that was the truth too. I knew it was only a matter of time before she left again. Just like she had last time. Just like she had all the times before. As soon as she had finished her case and caught her bounty, she would be gone.

  Just thinking about it had an ache filling me, as if someone had placed a lead weight on my chest until I couldn’t breathe. For a second I thought about calling Leo. He’d been there for me the last time Sabrina had shredded my heart to pieces. He knew what it had done to me. How it had destroyed me. But I already knew what he would say.

  He’d tell me to turn the other way and run as far as I could in the opposite direction. He’d tell to have fun while I could but don’t let it get too serious. The only problem was that it already was serious. It always had been.

  I tried to shake off the train of my thoughts, focusing on tracking Sabrina’s movements undetected as she moved around the dining room. Who the hell could she be looking for? I’d looked at the books, gone over everyone who’d checked and no one made sense. Not a one of them screamed criminal.

  Mr. and Mrs. Carter, the nature loving geriatric couple in room 201? I doubted it. Ginger hadn’t even been able to bring herself to kill the spider in her room and had called me to do it and her husband wasn’t any more threatening.

  Mrs. Markel, maybe? The thought had a small smile curling my lips despite the sick feeling that still swirled in my stomach. I wouldn’t want to be trapped in the same room with her but I couldn’t imagine her committing any sort of crime or having a bounty on her head.

  And the newly-wed couple staying in the tower suite had barely come out of their room long enough to have their complimentary breakfast. Not them either.

  I shook my head, tempted to pull the check in log one more time to see if there was someone else I might have overlooked but Sabrina suddenly disappeared. Curious and more than I little worried, I straightened, scanning the dining room, the rest of the hallway and the lobby before ending back up in the dining room. No sight of her.

  I was about to go on a search for her when I saw her head poke up from underneath one of the tables and I stared at her wide-eyed as I realized what she’d been up to.

  Sabrina tried to walk past me, her expression overly casual but I reached out, grasping her wrist and stopping her in her tracks.

  “Sabrina, please tell me you did not just plant bugs in the dining room.” It wasn’t a question. I knew first hand all the little tricks and tech gadgets she had up her sleeve, and I’d seen them in use more than once before.

  She just sent me a tiny shrug, the expression on her face far too innocent for anybody’s good.

  “What, do you really want to know what Ginger and Mrs. Markel gossip about?” I huffed on an irritated sigh. I hated that she was keeping things from me. I hated that she couldn’t trust me. Most of all, I hated that I couldn’t do anything to protect her, to keep her safe. It was like watching her put her head in a lion’s mouth and not being able to do a damn thing about it.

  “I already know what Ginger and Caroline gossip about,” Sabrina snorted, shooting me a small grin, “You better watch out for those old ladies. They’ve got their eyes on you. Of course, you won’t have to worry as long as they’re not wearing their glasses.”

  She gave as soft chuckle but I didn’t laugh. I tugged at her wrist, still held tightly in my grip.

  “I’m serious, Sabrina.”

  “So am I.”

  And suddenly, her expression was serious. That quicksilver smile gone as if it had never been there at all and she looked up at me with those dark eyes of her and I couldn’t read a damn thing in their depths.

  “I’m getting close, Jonah. I’ve almost got this guy.”

  “Just let me help you!” I pleaded, but I wasn’t really expecting the answer I wanted. I wasn’t disappointed.

  “No, Jonah. I can’t let you do that. I know what I’m doing. You just have to trust me.”

  “Why should I? You don’t trust me.”

  She opened her mouth to answer but after moment closed it again without saying another word. Sabrina yanked her arm away and I let her go without a fight, watching as she walked down the hallway until she disappeared around the corner and I couldn’t see her anymore. Gone, just like always.

  ***

  Sabrina

  I walked quickly down the hallway and up the stairs at the end, rubbing at my wrist where Jonah had held me. Not because he had hurt me, but because of the electric shock still running through my body from his touch.

  Jonah Moore was bad news for me. Major trouble. He had been from the very first time that I’d met him. The only problem was that I loved trouble. No, you love Jonah.

  I loved Jonah. Once. Maybe. I replied silently, emphasizing the past tense, arguing with own thoughts as my thumb brushed over the same spot his had been. I could still feel his touch there like an impression, or a brand that was burned into my skin.

  You sure you still aren’t in love him? Then why are you dragging your feet on this case. I shrugged, not even able to answer myself. I knew it was true. I had already pretty much narrowed down which room my mark was in, just by method of deducing the other guests. I knew what he looked like. It was just a matter of figuring out a way to lure him out of hiding safely. Then bag and tag him, drop him at the nearest booking station and collect my bounty. Should be no problem. I could have been done with the job and out of town already. But I wasn’t. I was still there, stuck in Coral Springs. With Jonah.

  I tried to shake off the thoughts, so distracted I nearly ran into one of the bed and breakfast’s guests walking in the opposite direction.

  “Sorry.” I mumbled, hastily stepping out of the way, and then I froze. I stood there for a moment, not moving a muscle and threw a hasty look over my shoulder. Shit! It was him. What is wrong with me! So worried about a guy that I miss my mark when he walks right passed me!

  Shit. Shit. Shit. The curse was an echo in my head as I forced myself to take a deep breath before turning and following him as silently as I could. I made sure to keep him far enough ahead of me so that I could stay out of sight but so that I wouldn’t lose him as we walked down the hallway.

  I waited to see what room he would stop at, but he didn’t. He kept going, past one room and then the next, not even stopping when he got to the end of the hall for a for a terrible moment I was afraid he would turn and spot me, reveal that he knew I was following him. I didn’t even have any of my tools on me. No handcuffs. No pepper spray or the Taser that I kept on me in case of an emergency.

  But he didn’t turn. Instead, he rounded a corner and headed up a narrow set of stairs that I had seen earlier but when I’d questioned Jonah about it he said it just led up to the tower suite, where a couple of newlyweds were staying. He’d laughed and said he hadn’t seen them since checking in.

  I cursed at myself once more as the realization settled over me. It was the perfect cover. Tell the manager that he’s here with his new wife and doesn’t want to be disturbed. He could hide away up there without suspicious for as long as he needed to before disappearing and no one would ever question it. Not even here.

  Ace detective, that’s me. I thought ruefully to myself as I stood there for a long moment, debating whether or not to follow him up.

  “I didn’t get this far playing is safe.” I whispered to myself before creeping up the stairs as quietly as I could. I paused when I got to the door. It was closed but I could hear a muffled voice coming from within the room. It was my guy. The mark I had been chasing.

  “…yeah, don’t worry about it. I told you not to fucking worry about it!” I missed a lot of what he was saying, the thick wood of the material blocking some of the words but as he raised his voice I could tell one thing. He was worried. And worried people did stupid things.

  I pressed my ear to the door as I heard him speaking again.

  “…I did the dirty work….The blood…on my hands, not yours…Don’t fucking tell me not to be scared. I’m
not safe here…Don’t worry. We’ve done too much…I’ll take care of her…”

  I took a hasty step back as the words registered. I was only catching half of the conversation, and not all of it at that but I’d heard enough. He was planning something. The only question was how to catch him before he could act on it.

  I would just have to figure out another way to draw him out. I knew where his hidey hole was now. I could set the trap and let him walk right in to it. And then I’d be done here. I could move on from Coral Springs.

  I turned and walked back down the stairs, not wanting to be caught now with his menacing words still echoing in my head, wondering all the while why the thought of leaving didn’t make me feel any better.

  Chapter 6

  Sabrina

  I paced the length of the bedroom for probably the hundredth time since leaving my marks door. I could try and bait him out with room service. Pretend to be a maid there to tidy up the suite and then surprise him?

  I shook my head at that thought. I didn’t want to end up trapped in a confined space alone with him. Too risky. There had to be another way to draw him out but it had been pure luck that I’d run into him in the first place and had been able to follow him back to his room. What were the odds of that happening a second time? I was lucky, but not that lucky.

  The toe of my boot caught on the corner of a rug, tripping me and I shot a glare at the damned thing as I continued to pace, kicking it out of my way as I went. I had glanced at the clock. It was around two in the afternoon that he’d left his room. I could camp out and see if it was a fluke or a repeat pattern.

  It was the only time during the day when there weren’t guests in the dining room as they switched out lunch service with dinner. Maybe that’s why he was going downstairs at that time. So what, you’re just going to hide and hope that he leaves the room? I shrugged, trying to think at the problem from different angles, but at the moment that was the best idea that I had.

  Finally, I threw my hands up with a sigh. This wasn’t getting me anywhere. I wasn’t going to figure this out on my own, and I knew exactly who to call to give me some words of wisdom.

  Words of bullshit, more likely. I nodded to myself. It was probably true, but if anyone knew a way to get this guy, it was Robbie Crenshaw. I pulled my cell phone from the back pocket of my jeans and dialed the number I knew by heart.

  There were a few moments of ringing as I waited impatiently, then the sound of someone answering.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, Robbie, this is Sabrina. You got a minute?”

  “For my number one girl? Always!” His gravelly voice hit me from the other end of the phone call and I snorted at his words. Robbie Crenshaw was sort of like a bookie. He had connections all over the place, had his finger on the pulse of any new job or bounty that came up.

  He was the one who had tossed me this job, which I had thought would be a soft ball, but had ended up throwing me a curve. He helped find the bounties, and provide background intel, all for a small cut of the profit, of course.

  “Your number one girl. Right.” I snorted again, just for good measure, continuing to pace as Robbie spoke again.

  “Of course you are. You’re the best in the biz, but you already know that.”

  “Damn right I am.” I just wished I could believe it as much as Robbie seemed to. The old coot was crazier than a rabid raccoon but he knew this business better than anyone. The good side, and the bad side. “How are you doing down there in St. Louis?”

  “Oh, I’m just fine. Just fine. Got a lead on a case that was coming down the antique market. Landed myself a whole bunch of gold necklaces and rings and all that,” He let out a wheezing laugh, attesting to the decades of habitual chain smoking, “I had old Frank take a look at it. Turns out it was all fake! The whole thing. A bunch of fool’s gold!”

  “That sucks, Robbie.”

  “Eh, you know how it is. I let those folks at the auction know that they were trying to sell a bunch of fakes and wouldn’t you know, they gave me a big reward for, what did they call it? Oh, yeah, shedding light on the situation.”

  “I’m sure they did.” I was also fairly sure that Robbie had planted the fake jewelry in the first place. Robbie saw a lot of grey area between what was legal and what was not. In fact, most of it was gray area, especially if it earned him an extra buck. But he really was the best in the business. No one knew more than him, or was craftier than him.

  “As charming as I am I’m sure you didn’t call jus to chat with an old man. What do you need Sabrina?” His voice grew slightly more serious, as serious as it ever really was and I took a deep breath, finally saying out loud what had been on my mind since the conversation I’d overheard.

  “Listen Robbie, are you sure you gave me the right intel for this bounty?”

  “The Iowa case, right?” he asked, and I could hear in the background as filing cabinet drawers were opened and closed. One thing about Robbie, he never stored anything on a computer. He said it was too vulnerable, too easy for other people to get their hands on and I supposed he would know better than anyone. He’d made it his life’s work to dig up dirt on people.

  “Yeah, that’s the one. Something feels off. Like there’s more going on than just some run of the mill corporate espionage. This guy doesn’t seem like a businessman.” I could still remember the tone in his voice when he talked about ‘taking her out’. Cold. Emotionless. “At least no businessman I’ve ever met before.”

  “Well, to be fair Sabrina, how many businessmen have you met.” Robbie asked and I could hear him shuffling through papers now. I could just picture him with his stacks of manila envelopes.

  “Not many.” I admitted with a shrug. But I had learned to trust my gut over the years, and my gut was telling me that something was wrong.

  “Alright, here we go,” Robbie paused for a minute, clicking his tongue, “Looks like he took some money under the table and got caught. Then he didn’t show up for his court date. Sorry, Sabrina. It all looks pretty standard to me.”

  “You sure there’s nothing else?” I couldn’t help but ask again, even though I knew there wouldn’t be a different answer. Robbie Crenshaw did his homework, and he was rarely wrong.

  “I can keep digging for you if you want. What is this about.”

  I fought for a moment, trying to decide how much to tell him. How much to reveal. “It’s nothing really. Probably just being paranoid. You know how it can be. I’m at the same bed and breakfast that the mark checked into. I should have him soon.”

  “Good. Hurry up and bag this bounty. I’ve got a big one for us down in Atlanta! Big banker case. Apparently he was laundering money with his girlfriend and filtering into off shore accounts. Lots of money. And then his wife found out and turned him in.” Robbie cackled on the other end of the phone and despite everything it drew a small smile of my own but it was tinged with sadness at the thought of leaving. Atlanta was a world away from this place. And from Jonah.

  “Where did you end up, anyway? Must be spotty reception out there because you haven’t tried to call and check in yet.”

  “You know I don’t need to check in,” I said with an irritated edge to my voice but I didn’t really mean it. “I’m in, uh, Coral Springs actually.”

  “Oh, I see.” He said after a long moment, as I was terribly afraid he really did see. He had sent me on the last case that had brought me to Coral Springs and then when I’d stayed on months after I should have he had called over and over to try and get me to move on to the next one.

  I never told him why I stayed, and he’d never asked, but a part of me knew. He’d known what was going on. And after I’d gotten back, heartsick and broken, he still hadn’t asked. But he’d given me softballs for a while until I’d gotten back on my feet.

  I thought I’d gotten over Jonah Moore. The past few days had proven to me just how wrong I’d been. So wrong.

  “Listen, I got to go.” I said hastily, not wanting to have to answe
r any questions Robbie might try and ask me now, “I’ll get the bounty and then we can talk about the next job.”

  “It’s gonna be a big one, Sabrina. I might just retire after this.”

  “You! Retire?” I laughed, shaking my head. He said that just before every job. And then there would another, and another. He wasn’t the type to retire. He lived for his work, and he was damn good at. But it had cost him two wives and any chance of a relationship with his daughter.

  A sudden thought struck me. An image of myself at Robbie’s age. Hell, he must be nearing sixty five. Maybe seventy. And all he had was his job. He loved it, don’t get me wrong, but that was his whole life. No family, the friends he did have were through work. He was basically alone.

  Sadness, and a pang of fear shot through me. I didn’t want to be alone. I had been alone basically my whole life, tossed from foster home to foster home, finally ending up in a shelter until I was old enough to find odd jobs to make enough money to get out of the system.

  It had been hard but it had led me to meet Robbie and he’d trained me, taught me everything I know. But I don’t want to be like him. I don’t want to live that life. I want more than that. I want more than this.

  “Alright, Sabrina, this old man has got to go too. Got a lead I have to follow up on.”

  “I’m sure you do.” I said, “Bye, Robbie.”

  “Bye, Sabrina. Watch your back.”

  “Always.” With a sigh, I hung up the phone and let my arm drop to my side.

  I stood there for a long time after Robbie had ended the call, just staring out of the bedroom window as his words echoed in my head. Watch your back.

  For a moment, I wondered what it would like to live a life where I wouldn’t have to live by that motto. I knew it was just wishful thinking. For a while, with Jonah, I’d had that life. And the whole time I knew. I knew I would end up hurting him in the end. I always did. So I’d chosen to leave sooner, before either of them had gotten in too deep. It was too late for that. You were already in the deep end. Hell, you still are.