by Bliss Carter
Using her shoulder as a force, Kresley was finally able to use the door to shove the heavy bulk away. She could hear whatever it was scrape the pavement a foot or so, then come to a stop. As she pushed the door open another few inches, she could see part of the bulk that had stopped her at first. Rather, she saw the shoes. They were men’s shoes, basic leather loafers. White socks could be seen from the shining light coming through the wide crack in the door. Dark blue jeans with well-worn hems were next. But that’s all Kresley could see without venturing out further. What in the world? Did someone pass out in the alley, a drunk looking for a place to rest? Kresley paused for a moment to listen to what Grace was saying.
“Lord have mercy Kresley, aren’t you out there yet? You are taking forever, and I’ve got the Bachelor ready to play on my DVR. I’ve got to find out who he chooses so I can rub it in Francie’s face tomorrow”, Grace stated.
“Well just hang on a second. Something is blocking my door, or rather someone.”
“Someone? What are you talking about? Who’s out there at this time of night? Don’t you go out there Kresley, not knowing who’s beyond that door. Do you hear me? Kresley. Kresley Anderson, I know you hear me”, Grace stated in her best mothering voice, becoming shriller by the moment.
“I hear you Grace, but if it’s someone who’s hurt, then I can’t just shut the door. I need to see what’s going on. Just stay on the phone with me a little bit longer. You have DVR for a reason, so you can watch something when you want to. Right Grace?”, Kresley smirked sarcastically.
Grace only gave an audible “pfffttttt” and then was quiet.
Kresley nervously ran her hands through her long ponytail that sat high on her head and backed up several feet. She grabbed her high-powered flashlight that her daddy gave to her many Christmases ago. He always loved giving practical gifts at Christmas to his girls. He said he left the frivolous gifts up to their mother to buy. Kresley moved back to the open door and shined the light through the opening. Seeing nothing, she told Grace she was moving outside and to stay on the line. Once she got past the door, she aimed the light on the man’s shoes again and began working her way up. The light bounced over the white socks and blue jeans, up over a tucked-in polo shirt and light weight jacket. It came to rest on broad shoulders and the back of the man’s head. His hair was black, wavy and freshly combed. Kresley saw something shine on the side of his head and a puddle on the pavement. Moving her light closer, she saw the shiny substance was dark with a tint of red against the pavement in her flashlight’s beam. It was blood. Confusion and fear gripped her. Nausea rolled through her stomach. Was he hurt? Knocked out? Unconscious and bleeding? Was whoever that did this to him still here?
Kresley began waving her light around frantically, shining on everything that she could. Grace was talking to her over the speakerphone, but she couldn’t understand what she was saying. Something about calling 911. There was a slight buzzing in her ears and suddenly she felt woozy. Down the alley Kresley could see a vintage ’69 Mustang. She knew the owner of that car, knew who was lying at her feet, whose blood was puddled on the ground. But why?
Suddenly the air felt heavy with fear and Kresley’s hair stood up at the back of her neck. She started to turn around to see what could be lurking behind her, but before she could take a step to turn, she felt herself being pushed on her left side. Kresley wasn’t sure if it was hands or what, but the momentum caused Kresley to lose her grip on her flashlight and her phone and stumble awkwardly into the brick wall of the warehouse building. Her head crashed against the hard bricks at her temple and cheek bone. She saw stars and only heard buzzing in her ears as her vision faded. And with Grace’s voice screeching over the speakerphone, Kresley Anderson fell to the ground for the second time that day, but this time everything went totally black.
∞∞∞
The dark shadow bent down to take a long look at Kresley laying there. She was just one of four women in this town that stood out with that hair. Red hair, curves to gain any man’s interest. Piece of trash. All of them, including that mouthy blonde friend. Just as the shadow raised a hand to handle this situation more, they heard the shrill voice over the speakerphone near Kresley’s hand. Grace, that was her name. She was talking to 911 from another phone while trying to get Kresley’s attention on this one. Good luck with that, blondie. But the shadow knew the PD was nearby, so an officer would be close by or here soon. Debating on what to do, the shadow decided to melt back into the darkness. Time was drawing near to finish this. Soon. Taking out the note that had been premade, the shadow slipped it inside the cracked back door and flung it up the hall, not worried about where it landed. Someone would see it soon enough. Let the games begin.
Chapter Two
Cade Grantham had only been in Mercy Springs for two days and already he loved it here. It was just what he needed; the necessary change that was going to help him get back on track. His Aunt Mae was instrumental in getting him here. When he heard there was an opening for lead detective at the Mercy Springs Police Department, he grabbed the chance to get out of Nashville. Mercy Springs was going to be a fresh start. Less crime, smaller neighborhoods and more normalcy. The perfect way to leave all the past stresses and negativity behind.
Once he made the decision to totally change his life, things started happening. New job, new town, and moving boxes covering the floors of his new house. Cade needed a slower pace, a calmer life and this was his chance to have it. He was done with excitement for a while. He longed for days like today where he woke up, ate breakfast, got in his morning run, then went off to work. He was able to quickly build some beginning relationships with his fellow law enforcement brothers and sisters, especially Officer Boomer Collins. Cade hoped they stayed on track to become stronger friends because he knew having a good friend or two would help him settle in that much faster. Cade just wanted to be one of the “guys”, no more, no less.
On second thought, there was a bit of excitement earlier today that threw him off balance and made his mind and heart jump to attention. It happened when his Aunt Mae decided to introduce him to what she called “the blazing fire of Mercy Springs”. Cade didn’t pay much attention to labels and didn’t think much about his aunt’s words until he was standing in front of Ms. Kresley Anderson at the post office.
Cade didn’t get as long of a lingering look at Kresley that she did of him when they were introduced, but he was able to form a first thought, and it was…wow. He tried to be a gentleman and not stare at her too long so it wouldn’t make her uncomfortable or get him a head slap from his Aunt Mae for gawking at a woman. From the red hair flaming down her back like silk rivers of fire, to the peaches and cream on her cheeks, Cade took notice. But what he imagined could have been an electric spark when their hands touched quickly turned into a Three Stooges movie. Cade was a chivalrous person. He opened doors for those around him, pulled out chairs for his dates and always used his manners in the company of women. Oh, he could be devilish when it was called for. Cade was a 6’3, well-muscled package of sexy sweetness. Dark brown hair that was mostly styled short for convenience, light blue eyes that turned darker with his mood, and chiseled facial features that spoke of his small percentage of Native American ancestry, were all packaged together and ready to be shared with a woman. Not just any woman, but the right woman. He wasn’t a romantic per say. He didn’t believe in angels singing and birds flying overhead with heart emojis for when he met the woman that was supposed to be his to cherish. But Cade did believe in meeting someone and just knowing they were created for him. Call him an alpha male if you want to. That was fine with him. Cade just didn’t believe in wasting time when he saw something he wanted and needed.
And although he was a true gentleman, he also had a wicked sense of humor. When he saw that red-haired beauty fall from grace, off the sidewalk, and onto her shapely butt, Cade lost it. It was the funniest thing he had seen in quite some time. And he really needed that laugh. It was probably the first time
he had really laughed at anything in months. And all thanks to a red-haired southern woman. He could recall the look on Kresley’s face as she fell. One minute she had been staring at Cade’s hand as it held hers, a look of wonder and fear on her face, and the next she was sprawled out in front of him, looking confused, hurt and then the beginnings of a fiery temper appeared. Cade knew it was bad manners and felt the pinch that his Aunt Mae gave him for laughing at a lady in distress. A head slap was one thing, but if Aunt Mae ever pinched you, you knew she was pissed. But he couldn’t help it and even Aunt Mae started laughing at the sight. Kresley soon joined in on the hilarity, but Cade could tell the laugh was forced. That sobered him up quickly. His chest ached a little at seeing the quickly veiled sadness on Kresley’s face as she sat in water.
Cade didn’t get a chance to apologize either because for the first time in his life, he was outsmarted. By a red-haired beauty with slick ninja skills. He didn’t see it coming when her foot and leg swept his feet out from underneath him. He can still feel the hard landing on the sidewalk now. He was surprised to hear the mumbled word asshole that his red-haired ninja chose to call him as she got up gracefully, fake-laughing at herself, and quickly ran down the street to her car. She never once looked up to meet his eyes. Oh, how he wished he could have seen her eyes again to know what color green they were at that moment. He imagined fire would be evident in them. He didn’t even get to see much of her face. But he remembered that laugh and husky tone of voice and the way it made his gut tighten and his blood pressure increase. His mission was to meet her for real tomorrow and apologize for being less than a gentleman. After the post office fiasco, he took his aunt back to her house and went on with his day, with thoughts of Kresley Anderson creeping in sporadically.
Cade was just leaving the department building for the night after finishing up some HR paperwork when he got the call of suspicious activity over at Whimsy Events on Bradford Avenue. He knew where that was and had driven by it several times in learning his way around Mercy Springs. He knew it was a warehouse building with a back alley, front parking lot and small employee count inside. As Cade sped up his unmarked vehicle, his mind wandered back again to Red, as he was choosing to call her now. He remembered her name. Kresley. The sound of it was lilting, like music spilling off the pages of a piece of sheet music. Cade snorted at that. When did he become so poetic? He didn’t even know what Red looked like totally. He had paid more attention to her hair and eyes when they met, but hadn’t gotten a great look at the rest of her before she fell on her ass in the street. Looks aren’t what he used to figure out if a woman is worth his time or not anyway. He wasn’t shallow. Personality, feistiness, intelligence and humor were largely important to him. But he definitely had a thing for freckles, so he was hoping that Red would wind up having them to look at and count, up close and personal.
Cade grinned at that thought and shifted in his seat. He quickly sobered as he eased down the entrance to the back alley, the noise of gravel shifting under tires the only sound. The 911 call that came in about the address in question was from a frantic woman named Grace. She said she worked at the business and her boss had gone outside after finding something blocking the door. When her boss said someone was blocking the door and wasn’t moving, Grace told the 911 operator that her “female antenna” went up and she knew something hinky was going down. After that she heard her boss’ voice become faint and she heard a thud, then dead silence on the line, even after screaming her boss’ name over and over. That’s when she dialed 911 on her house phone and kept her cell phone line open, just in case. As of just a few seconds ago, the line was still open and quiet with no communication. Cade relayed over the radio that he and two waiting officers were first responding and were about to investigate the situation. He had noticed two patrol vehicles parked in an empty parking lot across the street from the back alley with officers waiting beside them, guns drawn.
Cade quietly got out of his car with his weapon in his hand and silently motioned for the officers to follow him. He silently indicated with hand signals for them to work their way up the alley on the opposite side of him, weapons ready, since they didn’t know if the assailant was still in the area or not. A vintage ’69 Mustang sat near the back door. Cade could see light coming through a wide cracked door at the back of Whimsy Events. The light shone down on a pair of men’s shoes and pants. It also caused a river of red hair to shine brightly in the darkness. Red hair? He hadn’t seen that color of red on a person before this morning. His heart caught in his throat. Red. No, damn it!
Cade took off quickly, running and scouring the surrounding darkness for any persons or shadows moving. He didn’t see anything and was quickly beside Red, kneeling beside her upper body. She was crumpled on the pavement, laying on her side. Arms and legs at folded angles as if she buckled and dropped where she stood. A trickle of blood fell from her temple and scrapes were evident on her cheek bone. Cade ran his hand over her neck, finding a pulse, strong and pure. He let out a big breath that he didn’t even know he had been holding and tried to steady his shaky hands. This must be the boss from the 911 call then. So Red owns Whimsy Events. Interesting, but all of that can wait for a future conversation with Kresley. Cade looked up to see the two officers coming back up from the other end of the alley and indicated with his head for them to check out the body next to him. Officers Sloan Smith and Boomer Collins quickly took point and began assessing the other victim.
“Is there a pulse?”, Cade gruffly asked, continuously looking around at the alley and bouncing back to Red, who still had a strong pulse in her neck. Cade could see her shirt moving up and down, indicating that she was breathing. “Smith? Collins? Did you see anything suspicious?”, Cade asked the two officers.
“No. And no pulse. Looks to be head trauma at the back of the skull. I can see some brain matter”, said Officer Smith, placing his gun back in his holster and radioing for an ambulance and also the medical examiner to be dispatched quickly to the address. “Nothing seen or heard in the area by me.” Cade observed Officer Smith and how his eyes never quit moving, looking around for any changes or danger. “Isn’t that Kresley Anderson?”, Smith asked, indicating the woman laying on the pavement. “I haven’t seen her in a while, but she nor her sisters are hard to forget.”
Cade looked up at the man and scowled. “Not the time or place Smith”, he stated gruffly. He waited for Smith’s eyes to connect with his and Cade was surprised by the anger he saw there, just for a moment, then it disappeared. Smith quickly agreed with a nod and stated, “you’re right, Grantham. Not the time or place. Sorry about that.”
Officer Boomer Collins answered Cade’s question as well, his deep voice bouncing off the alley. “No activity that I can tell, Cade. No tire marks from down at this end, except for the ones made by the Mustang”, Boomer stated as he knelt beside the jean clad body, careful not to disturb anything so evidence wouldn’t be questioned down the line. Cade stated for him and Smith to make their way up and down the back alley and look for any evidence or possible witnesses, though Cade doubted they would find any witnesses back here at this time of night. After giving those requests, he turned his attention back to Kresley. Both officers immediately began slowly walking up the alley and separated from each other to cover more area.
Cade brushed hair away from Red’s face, taking inventory of her fine, delicate features. A cute button nose, light, arched brows in a gentler shade of red, and damnit if she didn’t have a scattering of freckles across her cheeks and bridge of her nose. Dark, long lashes lay against her peach skin like crescent moons. Her lips were plump and wickedly upturned at the corners naturally. Cade could just imagine what her mouth would look like when she was truly laughing or maybe giving a sarcastic smirk or grinning up at him before he would place his mouth on hers for a deep kiss. Woah, slow down slick, Cade thought to himself. Not the time or place for day dreaming.
Just then, Kresley began to stir. Her cute nose scrunched up and frown lines
dented between her eye brows. Her eyelashes fluttered and her eyes opened and closed several times before finally staying open. A glazed look, as she looked around her, came first, with awareness creeping in as she noticed the vehicle there. The two police officers in the background were talking quietly to each other. Kresley then shifted her green eyes to Cade and frowned again in confusion, not understanding why she was seeing him kneeling over her, face over hers. Cade didn’t think twice about his reaction, he just went with what he was feeling, which was relief, concern and a good amount of desire. He leaned down until his face was a few inches above her own and looked into her beautiful green eyes.
“Hey baby, how are you feeling?”, Cade asked gruffly. He could see the glazed look in Kresley’s eyes evaporate a little as she took in his words.
“My head hurts like a bitch”, she mumbled quietly, as anything louder than that would have made her headache that much worse. “What’s going on? And why are you calling me baby? Where’s Mr. Asshole?”
Cade smiled devilishly at Kresley and stated, “I’m not sure what’s going on, only that I found you laying on the pavement outside your business and it scared me to death. First, I’m not an asshole. I laughed at your predicament earlier today. Get over it. Second, me calling you baby is the least of your concerns right now. I won’t apologize for saying it. I tend to say what I’m thinking and feeling, so just get used to it”, Cade’s deep voice stated clearly, but softly, as he ran his fingers over Kresley’s uninjured cheekbone and neck. Cade could hear the distant sound of the ambulance and saw out of the corner of his eye the two police officers walking around, away from where he was with Red, looking for any clues. He looked back at Kresley and found her staring up at him with wide, green eyes. But what floored him was the trust he saw there, even though they didn’t know each other and she had just called him an asshole for the second time today. He knew she was still confused and in pain. Yet she trusted him enough to stay still, and focus only him. It was an odd, but good feeling.