by C. L. Stone
He shook his head and then motioned. “Let’s go. Don’t bring your phone.”
I pulled it out from my bra and thought where to put it. Then I moved around North through the tiny space between the two rooms and went over to Victor.
Victor had his laptop open, but he turned it slightly when I approached. “Be careful out there,” he said.
I passed him my phone. “Hang on to this for me.”
He nodded and slipped it into his back pocket. “The one time you hand it to me not yet broken.”
I smirked. “Not yet.”
“I give it two more days,” he said with a chuckle.
I did have a bad habit of losing or breaking them.
North held open the door for me and peeked out. “Time to move.”
North and I dashed over to the Jeep between people going in and out of the diner. Once I was in, I quickly put on my seatbelt.
North put a flip phone on the dash above the radio and then started the engine.
“I thought you said no...” I paused and then shook my head. “Oh wait, emergency.” It was something that Luke did once when we were going to do something dangerous. I hadn’t expected this to be a similar situation.
He nodded shortly and threw the Jeep into reverse. Soon we were on the road and taking a detour route back to Ashley Waters. Traffic had all but cleared out. Neighborhoods were mostly dark and quiet.
I breathed in sharply, feeling excitement creeping up through me. It didn’t sound dangerous, just monitoring a delivery and figuring out why it was happening at night.
Or perhaps it was that it had been a while since I’d spent time alone with North. His dark musk scent and the way he was unshaven and dangerous looking did something to my insides.
North made a turn onto a road and then gazed at me, giving me the same odd expression he had when he’d witnessed me putting on the clothing I was wearing now.
“What?” I asked him.
He returned his attention to his driving. “You don’t look right.”
“I look weird?”
“No,” he said. “I think it’s all the black. It doesn’t look right on you.”
“You wear all black,” I said, but he’d said something like this to me before. “We match.”
We parked not far from the school, at a small shopping center with a central grocery store. The grocery was open twenty-four hours and a fast food place nearby was open late, so we still blended in at this hour. There were a few cars in the lot, but he parked in the back of the grocery store where there was a smaller lot for employees.
He parked and then checked the dash for the time. “We’ve got a few minutes.” He gazed out the window, checking the building in front of us. There were yellowed lights in the back, although not as many as there were in customer parking. Most of the cars were in darkness. “Victor should have taken care of the cameras.”
I checked where he was looking, at a camera angled toward the employee cars.
“Unless he forgot that, too,” North said with a grumble.
“What do you think he’s doing?” I asked. “I’d been there most of the afternoon before you came over. He seemed pretty busy. I was trying to leave him alone. He couldn’t watch the movie with me and Luke, and I thought he was working on whatever was happening tonight.”
“I think he’s buying you a house,” North said.
“He wouldn’t dare.”
He scanned the parking lot once more and then looked over at me and smirked. “Bet you a dollar.”
I didn’t think it was possible. Despite now knowing he had his own portfolio and he was using Mr. Blackbourne’s card more than his own, it still didn’t seem like he could just buy one.
He put a hand on the back of my seat near my head and turned to look at me. “If you ask us anything, we’ll do it. You know that.”
“I don’t know if I want to get accustomed to that,” I said.
“Why not?”
“I want to help, too.”
“You are,” he said. He leaned toward me and a thick, dark eyebrow lifted over one eye. “You’re helping me tonight. You were great today at the school.”
“I feel like I can do more.”
“You will,” he said. “And because of it, not a damn one of us is going to think you spoiled or lazy for wanting a house big enough to fit all of us in. You didn’t come to us asking for a three-story mansion in Hawaii or some other bullshit. You said house. And not just for you. For Victor and Gabriel and whoever else. So let Victor find a house he might want to live in.” He smirked. “But I’ll tell him we all need to approve. That’s a big decision to make alone.”
I crossed my arms over my stomach and relaxed against the seatback. “Don’t let him put it on the credit card.” I wasn’t sure that was possible, but Victor often bought things on a whim. I thought he’d do it if he could.
North chuckled. It was deep and rumbly, and with the way the dark hair on his cheeks and chin were grown out, it was downright frightening sound coming from his scary face.
He captured my chin and drew me toward him, until we were nose to nose. “You think I’d stop him?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head, his nose rubbing against mine shortly. A rough thumb traced along my jawline. “If he won’t, I will.”
My breath shortened. My pulse raced. I didn’t dare move. He was too close in the dark for my eyes to focus. I could only feel his touch, sense him close to me.
“I got you something,” he said softly.
Surprised, his comment made me pull back. “Don’t tell me it’s a house.”
He chuckled again and then reached behind my seat, into a small paper shopping bag that I hadn’t noticed.
I held my breath as he pulled out a small slim box. He took off the top, showing me a necklace.
It was a silver chain, with a long slim glass container attached. The glass had sand crystals inside.
On the surface was etched some numbers. I realized they were latitude and longitude coordinates.
“Where...” I asked without being able to finish the question as I was breathless.
“The beach. The North Shore on Folly,” he said.
I picked up the glass jar, looking closer. I couldn’t help but remember the night we’d sat on the beach. I fell into the water and he pulled me back out. We spent the night in the hotel.
“I love it,” I said.
He captured my hand that was holding the vial. He clutched at my fingers and focused intently on me.
“I’ll take you back,” he said.
“When we’ve got time.”
“Tonight. I want to go tonight.”
My heart raced, and I tried to work out some reason why we shouldn’t. It felt like I wasn’t supposed to.
But where was I going to go after this any way? Back to the trailer?
Did it matter?
“Come with me?” he asked.
I nodded. He knew if we could go, and if he said we could, I’d go. “Yes.” I rubbed the jar of sand between my fingers. “I want to wear this...but not right now. When we get back.”
“I know.” He pulled back and motioned to me. “It’s time. Let’s go.”
We put the necklace back, and he stuck the box back into the bag and underneath the seat. I hated to leave it.
I put on a hat similar to his dark cotton one and tucked my hair into it. I still wore the clip, and the hat pressed around it, but the important thing was my hair was contained.
North attached a few things to his belt, a flashlight, a small camera, and something else I wasn’t sure of but it looked like a stun gun. He carried a small backpack as well with other gear.
He passed me the flip phone.
“All you have to do is open it, and it dials out,” he said. He leaned into me and looked me directly in the eyes. “Don’t open it unless we get separated and you can’t make it back to the Jeep.”
“What if you can’t make it back?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll get back.”
We went to the back of the lot behind the grocery store. The back of the lot had a hill and trees, which separated the space between the shopping center and the school. I skirted around that tree line behind North, following him, which was difficult with him wearing all black and his dark skin blending in with the shadows.
Despite the air being cool, the humidity was high. I couldn’t see stars and suspected it would rain tonight.
Before we got to the very edge of the shopping center, North darted into the trees, creating a path and weaving around low hanging limbs and bramble. I followed, feeling brush and bramble scratching at my clothes and boots. I tucked my arms tight into my body.
I didn’t dare talk. I became his shadow as we entered into dangerous territory. There would be no excuse if we were caught.
When we broke from the trees, we were near the lot that the busses parked in during the day. Dim lights were on over a couple of doorways but otherwise, everything looked quiet. The building blocked our view of the student lot on the other side. Nathan was waiting somewhere over there. Luke was inside the school already, probably in a ceiling somewhere in the cafeteria.
We walked the long way around the bus lot, sticking near the trees.
North stopped suddenly and ducked back into the trees once more, kneeling in the grass. I did the same. He motioned out toward the school.
There were two doors on this side I hadn’t noticed before. Wide doors that had previously blended into the brickwork. Two people pushed the doors opened. One was a woman, and I didn’t recognize her. The other was Mr. Morris.
“What’s he doing here?” I whispered.
North didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. I realized immediately if Hendricks trusted Ms. Johnson to watch the student lot, he’d have other teachers preparing for the delivery.
What was being delivered?
North suddenly started moving, but keeping inside the trees, making our progress slow. He waited until we circled an exterior building, what seemed to be a maintenance shed or storage. We crossed over, going behind it just as a loud, large rental truck pulled into the drive for busses.
North hurried from that point. The trailers were close by. We sidled up to the closest one. He took off his backpack, pushed it ahead of him and started crawling on his stomach underneath.
Ick.
I swallowed my fear of bugs and other creeping things and followed. Underneath of the trailer was mostly dry dirt. It clung to my clothes.
When he was positioned not far from the edge, he stopped, putting the pack beside himself. I crawled next to him. He passed me a pair of binoculars and kept a set for himself.
“Just watch,” he whispered.
I looked through the binoculars, checking in on the open doors. I spotted Mr. Morris right away. He monitored as the truck rolled in, backing up close to the doors. The woman had disappeared into the building, but soon returned with what looked like a large wagon that she tugged behind herself. I studied her features, but I still didn't recognize her. A teacher I didn't have?
“Who is she?” I asked.
“One of the cafeteria crew.”
The truck stopped when Mr. Morris waved to it. Two men got out, also people I didn't know. They went to the rear of the truck and rolled the back open all the way. From where they stood, they started pulling out cardboard boxes and plastic containers.
They were all marked, but I couldn't read what the labels said from where we were.
It made me wonder why we were picked to be here, instead of relying on the video cameras, which would have been less of a risk. Why did we need people on the ground?
Moments passed as we lay in the dark together, side by side. I got a little cold and pushed myself closer to him but kept watching.
North didn't move or seem to notice that I had shifted. He kept vigilant.
The men from the truck continued to load the wagon the woman had brought out. After it was full, the woman tugged it into the school with Mr. Morris following her. The men from the truck continued to unload boxes, setting them aside.
It took a good while before Mr. Morris returned alone with the wagon.
The wagon, however, was full of boxes. They were different than when they had entered but appeared similar.
“Damn it,” North muttered. “I want to know what's in those boxes going out.”
“How do we find out?”
He didn't answer but continued to observe.
I kept watch as well. The boxes the men had pulled out of the truck continued to go into the school via the wagon with Mr. Morris and the woman assisting. The men kept to the truck.
Mr. Morris and the woman returned again, this time with different boxes. I considered it was possible they were empty boxes, maybe they recycled them.
But with the way they lifted them into the truck, it seemed those boxes were full. The men bent at the knees to pick them up and put them one at a time into the truck, replacing the ones they'd delivered.
This went on for a while, with the men trading boxes and Mr. Morris wheeling them in. They worked quietly. It felt like they’d all done this before.
The men took longer to get boxes out of the truck. I imagined they were getting to the back and were out. The men finished loading the wagon. Mr. Morris said something that I couldn’t hear. The men followed Mr. Morris inside the building this time. One of the large doors closed. The other remained open.
North shoved the backpack aside instantly, dropped his binoculars. He grabbed at the material at my turtleneck and pulled me close. The move left me breathless.
“Wait until the truck clears,” he said, his voice deep and his breath warm on my face. “Follow the tree line the way we came and go back to the Jeep. My keys are in the bag. Wait for me.”
He leaned in and he kissed me. Hard.
I closed my eyes, confused by the kiss and what he’d been saying. The kiss distracted me, with the coarse hairs on his face scratching at my cheeks and chin. His tongue darted out for one second, and he nipped once at my bottom lip.
He released me quickly.
I didn't have time to question him before he was crawling forward. Once he was out from under the trailer, he bolted for the truck.
He kept himself low. My heart raced with him as he dove at the back of the truck, through the opening. Within moments, he'd disappeared from my view.
He left me! What was he doing? He was going to get caught. Was it worth it to take a peek at what was inside the boxes? Did he assume he'd get caught and then he'd have to talk his way out?
I stayed where I was, too terrified to do anything other than what he said. But...what he said was...
Mr. Morris and the men returned. The men went to the truck, lowering the door completely and blocking any chance for North to escape.
My heart was in my throat and remained there as the men checked in with each other and headed to the cab to get in. Mr. Morris remained by the open doorway, watching as the men got into the truck and drove off. The truck followed the bus lane back out to the road and took a left.
Mr. Morris scanned the perimeter. After a minute, he closed the door.
I breathed slowly. North. He's gone.
How was he going to get back?
The truck was gone for a few minutes and I still waited, because I wasn't sure Mr. Morris wouldn’t come back out while I was on the move.
Eventually, I turned underneath the trailer and crawled back out, dragging North's pack with me. I shoved our binoculars into it as I moved. I considered a flashlight, but at this point, I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. Mr. Morris and possibly someone else could be nearby.
I carried the pack over my shoulders on my return trek. I went the same way he'd brought me, taking the long way around the brick outer building until I could get to the trees. And because someone could be watching, I slipped into the trees further, keeping an eye on the school.
When I returned to the b
ack of the shopping center lot, I stopped for the first time to catch my breath. I gripped the straps of the book bag, gazing back into the woods, hoping North would appear behind me.
Was this all worth it? Was it worth jumping in and risking a lot of trouble to find out what was inside?
Rain started to come down in a drizzle, more like mist falling from the sky.
It still wetted my skin and clothes, and my nerves started to shake.
“Don’t flip out,” I whispered to myself. My heart was racing, but I did my best to focus. I couldn’t faint here.
I lowered the hat more and stepped into the trees for some protection. I shifted the pack to cover my head.
I blinked rapidly, fighting the urge to run to a building. I needed the Jeep. Get inside. Get out of the rain.
Don’t faint. Don’t stress out so much that it happened. Calm down.
I bit the inside of my cheek but then started to move again, keeping to the tree line to follow it back around the lot. My clothes were dirty. My hair was falling out of the hat. The parking lot was dark and quiet.
I still tasted North on my lips.
I was going to get after him about doing something so dangerous. I was pretty sure Mr. Blackbourne wouldn’t have approved of it.
It was probably why he kissed me. To distract me from protesting.
I was wary of the possibility of cars as I moved around the lot. It made sense to me to park here now when we could have parked in the front. Coming back so dirty did look suspicious.
With the rain now, I needed to do what North said, get to the Jeep and wait.
I went to the edge of the lot, and for a moment, I wondered if I’d somehow walked past the Jeep in my anxiousness. I slowed down, stepped into the lot, checking the cars nearby and scanning through them.
North's Jeep wasn't among them.
Line of Sight
Nathan
Nathan was in Victor's BMW, watching Ms. Johnson sit in her own car. She’d been early, and he’d been parked for hours now waiting for her, just in case.
She was parked just off the entryway of the teacher and student lot entrance. It was a single lane, so she easily blocked access, although one could easily go through the exit lane to get around. Her car was dark, but there were parking lot lights behind her, casting the yellowed glow that let Nathan know she was there.