by Unknown
“Chloe, don’t…” Simon cursed in a low growl, deciding his reaction time was definitely way off around this woman.
“Don’t? Someone is taking pictures of us!” Chloe darted between the cars, ignoring the two males cursing and running after her. “I saw this van at lunch, too. I want to know who and why…”
“Chloe, damn it!” Simon made a grab just as she came within arms distance of the van, tires peeled, her palm slapped solidly on the side of the paneled van and his hand caught her other hand with a sharp pull. He braced his feet solidly, his body ready for the impact when she landed hard against him, one booted foot out and swinging wildly at the van that sped away.
“Damnit, Simon, let me go!” Chloe struggled, the other booted foot sweeping out, a strong arm around her waist, holding her inches from the ground.
“You guys want to come out of the street,” Mark took control, waving off people around them and gesturing with hands and eyes to his brother.
“Lemmiego!!”
“Not until your brain is engaged and we’re back on the sidewalk!” Simon informed her with a loud growl, his arm tightening as he hauled her back toward the pavement. “What the hell were you going to do? Kick him to death?”
“That’s not the point,” she spit out struggling out of his grasp and straightening her tops. Blue eyes flashing with flame glared at him. “Why is someone following us, Simon?”
“Hell, I don’t know! Don’t look at me like I have an answer,” two hands were up, raking back his hair and settling to rub his neck tiredly.
“Someone’s following you?” Mark looked from one to the other.
“Something is not right,” Chloe pronounced, glaring at Simon and spinning to face them both. Her hands waved wildly as she spoke, her head tilted slightly, eyes staring into space and yet there was something there, something in the holograph.
“Stay away from the flying fingers,” Simon warned his brother with a tired sigh.
“I can not stand unknowns. I can not stand unanswered questions. I ask questions. I move pieces around and find answers,” Blue eyes flashed wildly from one male to the other, totally ignoring the stares from people passing them by. “I untie the knots; I unravel the cords…I get paid big bucks to – make – the – pieces – fit,” she stated succinctly, hands moving and condensing the ‘pieces’ of the puzzle.
“Did you see the license…” Mark began cautiously.
“No, I did not, because,” she gestured toward Simon. “Didn’t let me get close enough.”
“He was going to run you down, you little idiot!”
“I have really fast feet,” palms seemed to move over the imaginary hologram of pieces before her, shoving them wide and far with a sweep of both hands in the air.
“I think you need to take a step back and…”
Chloe spun on him, one sharp looking finger poked Simon in the chest.
“I don’t need to step back. I want answers!”
“You’re a little distraught, Chloe.”
“I am not distraught,” she stated in a low, even voice that showed signs of rising. “I am…” Hands flew about, fingers splayed. “I’m angry. Incredibly angry.” White, sharklike teeth were bared as she paced forward with another poke. “I am not a child. Do not make the mistake of treating me like a child, Simon Oliver.”
Mark leaned over and whispered hoarsely in his brothers ear. Simon sighed heavily. “Yeah…no kidding…couple arrested on domestic dispute, thanks Mark. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”
“I am going home,” Chloe announced firmly, taking her backpack from his loose fingers and stalking forward a few feet before spinning to glare at him. “Where’s your car parked?”
“Oh…you’d like a ride home?”
Pale lashes narrowed, her words clipped. “I would appreciate a ride home, please.”
“This way, Chloe,” Simon shook his head, gripped her palm and led her along the pavement to the parked car. Fingers clipped the lock with a loud chirp, but he stepped forward, blocking her hand from the door and backing her against the car. “For the record,” tanned, granite features leaned in very close to the woman struggling not to back up any further. “I do not think of you as a child. And there is nothing wrong with wanting to keep someone from doing something…regrettable,” he selected and pronounced the word carefully. “Friends look out for one another, Chloe.”
Chloe felt his breath on her forehead, pale lashes closed for a long minute. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re still angry,” Simon remarked, reaching for the door and pulling it wide for her, dropping her pack into the back.
“Aren’t you?”
Simon barely avoided a set of flying fingers, closing the door and crossing to slide into the driver’s seat. “I don’t know the why someone is following us, but I do know I haven’t done anything that would cause it to happen.”
“What? What the heck? Someone is violating our privacy, Simon! Someone…someone is following us!” She hissed furiously, buckling her seat belt and flinging herself against the seat, lips pursed and arms crossed over her chest. “Yes and for the record, I am beyond angry, I’m…I’m…”
“Breathe, Chloe,” he sighed thickly. “Still hungry?”
“No…yes…I don’t know,” was the grumbled response.
“Then I’ll take that as a yes, since I’m hungry,” Simon guided the car through the light traffic around them, heading back toward where he knew she lived. “And for the record, I do understand your anger. Do I like being followed, hell no. But until we have more information, there isn’t a whole hell of a lot we can do about it.”
“That’s the kind of thing that…that happens when someone is having a cheating spouse followed. Why in the world would anyone want photo’s of me? Or you? Or us?”
Unable to come up with an answer to that one, Simon shook his head. “I just don’t know, Chloe. There is no one in my personal life but you at the moment. Why someone would find that worth recording, I don’t know. Annoyed, yes. Irritated, incredibly.”
Chloe chewed on her lower lip, one fingernail up and tapping lightly. She had an idea; an idea that made her stomach ache. Why now? Why after four years, came the question. With a shudder of resolution, she pushed it to the back of her mind, waving her fingers off to the left.
“That’s a good place for a burger here. Yummy fries,” she said vaguely, well aware of the wild clutter of the past flooding into her head. “I think a strawberry milkshake would be good, too.” She decided as she slid into the padded booth.
Simon waited in the silence around as they ate, something in her eyes making him reach over and lift her chin.
“Chloe…” it took all he had to keep from allowing a frustrated sigh to break free when blue eyes angled up at him, one pale brow tilted expectantly. “Promise me you will not do anything rash.” Even though he chose his words carefully and spoke quietly, he wasn’t sure what to expect. This woman wasn’t fitting into any niche that he had previous knowledge of.
“I…do not do rash things,” she said thoughtfully, her chin lifted and head tilted with a frown.
“Really?” Simon leaned back in the booth, continuing to eat the fries before him when her hand waved past his face, fingers wiggling as she spoke.
“Yes, really. I function with deliberate, precise choices. Logic. I employ a great deal of logic before I act. Now to you it might seem like it’s happening very quickly, and therefore must be a rash act, but it is not. I have an incredibly fast processor.”
“Alright,” Simon managed to keep his laugh inside. “How do you explain us.”
“Us
? What about us?”
“How do – us – fit into a logical process.” For a brief moment, he swore he could actually see the processor digesting his question, head tilted a little more and pale lashes blinking, a tiny frown creasing her forehead. A small part of him, after almost a week, was finally coming to realize the best way to understand Chloe Applegate was to keep her thinking. It was safer for him, too, he decided, her hand dropping to the table, fingernails clicking thoughtfully on the wood surface.
“Human interaction,” she said slowly. “There is no logic to that.”
“So that means your previous statement goes out the mythical window.”
“No, no it does not. I had no conscious decision in…”
“You spoke to me first at the exhibition.”
“I felt you staring at me from the balcony,” she returned tartly. “And I had a wing loose and asked for your help.” Her hand came up slowly, one finger separated and wagging as a dawning smile tilted her full lips. “That was very clever, Simon. Very clever,” she acknowledged, lips pursed as she moved swiftly to her feet.
He wasn’t sure how what happened next happened, but he felt her palms on each side of his face, her mouth down and over his in a long, sensuous foray.
“I only live around the corner, Simon. Thanks for the lift home!” Chloe turned and was out of the building before his mouth had a chance to form words.
A long puff of breath eased from his lips, one palm rubbing his neck while the other reached for his blackberry. So much for the approach, his tired mind chided.
“Griss…I have a project for you.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be on a date, boss?” Came the deep chuckle.
“Yeah…a nice quiet date… You haven’t met the redhead yet. I’ll shoot you the address…get a rental car in the morning, something forgettable. I want you to watch the store where Chloe works, and if she goes off somewhere, keep her in your sight.”
“Problem, boss?”
“A plain white van with some guy inside taking photos.”
“I saw that van at the exhibition when I came to pick you up. Thought he was just one of the news shows pho-togging the event.”
“Yeah…Chloe saw him, too and thought the same thing. He’s turned up each time we’re out, so something’s not right,” Simon finished his drink and headed for his car, just in time to see Chloe head up some outside stairs to an apartment. “We don’t have anything going on that competition would be dogging me over and if Chloe knows why someone would be watching her, she hasn’t said…yet.”
“I’ll get on it first thing, boss.”
Chapter Four
With sleeves rolled to his elbows, Simon paced the office, glaring out at the sparkling water spreading to the west. He tossed a file into his briefcase and lifted the blackberry when it sounded.
“Griss?”
“I just shot you a video, boss, I’m guessing this is your redhead,” Griss said, waiting patiently.
“Let me check,” Simon opened his inbox on the larger monitor of his computer, an almost absent grin tilting his lips. Black, two inch chunky heels; black capri slacks; a crème colored tunic designed to be worn off the shoulder and a belt of what looked like large gold coins circling her hips. Very early sunlight sparkled off the top of her head, a braid of finely woven red hair just touching past her shoulders.
“You there, boss?”
“You just considerably brightened my morning, Griss. Yes, that’s my redhead.” His fingers moved deftly over the keyboard. “I’m headed for Everett probably for the rest of the day. I’ll give you a call later when I get some people squared away,” Simon promised.
“Nothing much happening out here. I have a good spot in an empty office. What kind of store does she work in?”
“You’d love it, Griss. Surveillance of all kinds connected with computers and micro stuff.”
“Huh…might just have to do some shopping. I’ll keep an eye on things, boss.”
There wasn’t a doubt in Simon’s mind that Chloe would be watched over, his thoughts and attention focused when he arrived at the office to the north. Several hours later, he was on the return trip to Seattle, when the light on his dash signaled a call.
“Afternoon, boss,” Griss wasn’t sure how he kept his laughter from bursting free. For that matter, he really wasn’t sure how he managed to stop laughing. “Are you almost back? Office or home?”
“Almost at the house. Something I should know about?” Simon knew his friend well enough to know something was off. His voice and tone betrayed his usually droll and dry delivery.
“Another video. I sent it to you but I strongly advise that you not view it until you’re sitting down…and preferably after a couple stiff drinks.” There was no way to stop the chuckle when he thought about what he’d just watched. And then rewatched several times.
“You know…I really don’t know why I’m surprised. I asked her to keep a low profile. Don’t do anything rash…” Simon pulled the sleek sports car into the drive and set the gates to closing behind him. “How about you tell me what happened before I go inside and look.”
“Oh, boss, you gotta see it to believe it, but I’ll give it a shot,” Griss cleared his throat, trying to sound professional. “Ok…mostly quiet day. Had lunch at the nice seafood place, nice lady, Tina. Good salmon. Chloe was there with a couple people from the store. Nothing special there. Then about an hour ago, the van repositioned itself to the parking lot of the drugstore. There’s a daycare on the same corner.”
Simon felt his neck start to stiffen up and leaned his head back against the bricks of the house.
“So…” Griss took a deep breath, seriously working hard to keep from laughing. “Chloe comes out of the store and walks to the drugstore. Five minutes later, she comes out with a plastic bag and goes into the daycare center. Meantime,” he took a long, slow breath. “The most incredible looking blonde pulls up in a really nice black Ferrari. Right behind the van. He’s trapped.”
“Damn.”
“Breathe, boss. Next thing, Chloe comes out of the daycare with eight kids, maybe about seven and eight years old. I could see her gesturing, pointing at the van as she handed out small canisters. The guy in the van sees, too and he’s frantic. Blowing his horn, yelling out the window for the blonde to move her car…then Chloe raises both hands and brings them down with fingers pointed at the van.”
Simon slid to the ground, his head shaking as the visual played out in his mind.
“All hell broke loose! Running, screaming kids squirting that sticky string all over the van. Chloe stood back, grinning and checking her watch. Two minutes went past and she blew a whistle that I didn’t see from around her neck. Kids scrambled back to her, dropped the cans into her bag and went back into the daycare center. That sticky stuff was everywhere ‘cause the guy wasn’t smart enough to close his windows! Add to that, I think he was pretty much in shock. The blonde tipped her fingers at him, got in her car and drove around the building.”
“Tell me she didn’t go up to him?”
“She’s smarter than that, boss. She just turned away and walked back into the store.”
His groan was loud as he climbed to his feet head shaking in amazement. “When she’s in her apartment, close down for the night.”
“That guy took out of here fast. Pretty sure he’s gone for the night.”
“Yeah, well until I find out the why part of, I’m not going to feel comfortable. You’re enjoying yourself too much, Griss,” Simon let the door swing closed behind him, long legs carrying him to his office on the second level.
“Gotta admit, this is one of
the more interesting projects, boss. See you later,” Griss broke the connection.
Simon worked at his desk for several hours before he finally glanced at the calendar, red letters marking the costume charity, music, for the next night. He tapped the speaker button, Ron’s voice coming through the line.
“It’s Simon Oliver, Ron. Has Chloe left yet?”
“No…she’s working on some last minute thing upstairs. Do you want me to patch you through?” He glanced at his computer and snapped his fingers.
“No, I was just wondering. I’m gonna take a wild guess you know about the events of the afternoon?”