Steal Me (Longshadows Book 1)

by Natalia Banks

  But Griffin swooped in under her, fast and graceful, scooping her up in his arms and riding his own flyboard back to the surface. Griffin soared up into the air above the reservoir, Lorraine’s body cradled in his powerful arms as he spun around. His posture was straight and true, holding her secure in his loving grip. Griffin spun on that board, Lorraine clinging to him, looking up at him and he down at her. Hovering above the water, spinning in that certain grip of the man of her dreams, she felt like a heroine in one of her favorite romances, in the arms of a man beyond any she’d ever met or would ever meet.

  An hour later, sitting on a bench overlooking the reservoir, Lorraine tried to smile, but it wasn’t easy. Ashe’s unending sadness was beginning to pull at Lorraine’s soul. “The world can be a pretty scary place, that’s for sure.” Griffin nodded, content to be silent and let her pursue her course. She went on, “That was…that was too close, I have to say.”

  Griffin said, “A lesser person would have given up.”

  Lorraine shrugged. “A smarter person probably would have stayed home. But I guess sometimes it’s okay to take a risk, even…even important to do it. I mean, I almost drowned here today! That zipline thing was pretty scary too. But I’m okay, we’re all okay. I can’t believe how good you two were on those things today.”

  Griffin smiled, and Ashe did too. Griffin said, “We’ve had a little experience with the flyboards…among other things.”

  Lorraine nodded. “What a fun life you gentlemen have. But I guess we all have our crosses to bear, right? Money can’t protect a person from sadness, can it?”

  “And it can’t buy happiness,” Griffin said, glancing at his wealthy, sorrowful son.

  “No, I guess that’s true,” Lorraine said.

  “But we’ll be happy again,” Griffin said, “someday.” He glanced at her. “Someday very, very soon.”

  Her shoulder arched up to her ear and she kept her focus on Ashe. “I-I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose your mother. I’m sorry to put it that way. But I know that’s what happened, and it’s just horrible. What an awful thing to have to experience, especially at such a young age. I can’t even imagine what that’s like. Both my parents are alive, thank God. If I lost one of them, I don’t know what I’d do.”

  Ashe just stared out, finally nodding, his blue eyes tearing up.

  “I did have a pretty bad experience once, not long ago actually. I was at a club nearby, place called Sables, with a friend, Jeremy. I met this man; he seemed like a pretty nice guy. Tony Gardner. It turns out, he…he wasn’t so nice. But I didn’t know that until we were out in the parking lot…” Lorraine started to tear up a little, the flashes of horror returning to her memory, haunting her waking hours as they so often did her fitful, sleepless nights.

  “Luckily, my friend Jeremy was there to chase the guy off,” she went on, “and I was okay. But it was so scary, so…I just…I didn’t want to meet any other guys after that. I hardly ever left the house. I’d always loved books, reading, and after that, I just decided, well, maybe it’d be better if I just kept reading instead of going out. And I was safe, Ashe; I’d protected myself. And I think that’s a good thing; it’s important. You need to do that to survive; we all do.”

  Griffin wore a look of sympathy on his face.

  Lorraine said, “But as the years went on, that just became too easy; it became a habit. But I wasn’t protecting myself as much as I was insulating myself, y’know? I wasn’t risking any of the bad things, that’s true. I wasn’t going to be attacked or hurt; I wasn’t going to feel betrayed or disappointed. But I also wasn’t going to be very happy, or have a very full life. I did take a bit of a risk writing that letter, and I took a risk by becoming friends with you and your father. After all, you might have left town, and then I’d have been sad, Ashe. I like you both so much. You’re such a brave young man, so courteous and well-mannered. I never knew your mother, obviously, but I’m sure she’d be very proud of you; anybody would be. And your father is just amazing; you’re so lucky to have a man like that raise you, love you. I…I’d consider myself lucky to have a man like that love me, and I’d be even luckier if, well, maybe if I could love you too, that would be…”

  Emotions welled up in her, clogging her throat, confusing her, almost smothering her from within. She sniffled, the tears unable to remain in the corners of her eyes. She couldn’t contain her feelings as the words kept pouring out, “But I don’t know if that’s going to happen, Ashe. And if it doesn’t, that… It’ll be hard. It’s not your responsibility, of course, I don’t mean that. There was some risk, some chance that I would be hurt. But there’s only one way to find out, and that’s for me to take that risk. Like the flyboards or the ziplines—that was scary, and it was risky. But it was fun, and thrilling, and I’m so glad we did it together. That was something we shared, something we lived. Life isn’t always that much fun, you don’t need me to tell you that. But it is life, and it’s all we’ve got, right?”

  Ashe’s face was red with tears, but he looked up and nodded, falling into Lorraine’s embrace; she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close.

  Chapter 8

  Lorraine strolled through the block-long shopping district Larimar Square with Griffin and Ashe, clinging to Griffin’s arm. She knew people were glancing at her, people who’d seen her for years, people she recognized. But there was something different about her, and nobody had any doubts about what that was. She almost felt a whiff of jealousy as they glanced at her, knowing the mousy little librarian’s life was taking a different course, one any of them would envy.

  But it was more than Griffin’s wealth, well-known to most of Denver’s citizens after his rescue of the library. He had a charisma, a personal power that his son shared, that Lorraine basked in, that she’d never known before and would never know again. She almost felt that she shared that strength, just a little bit.

  But she shut out her worries, her flashes of a long, sad future. There were other things to worry about.

  “I think we should stage a rally”—” Griffin said, “really bring some heat to the campaign. What do you think, son?” Ashe scratched his cheek, then nodded. Griffin turned to Lorraine. “What do you think?”

  “What do I think? That was my idea originally, but Albert Jenkins shut me down.”

  “Figures.” Griffen huffed.

  “That’s why I wrote the letter.”

  Griffin said, “Great minds think alike. Let’s do it.”

  “What about my petition? I’ve gotten five hundred signatures so far.”

  “And that’s a start. Now let’s finish it.”

  “Gee, a rally.” Lorraine gave it some thought, but she couldn’t imagine a reason why not to do it. But that wasn’t the only question. “How?”

  Griffin shrugged and pulled out his smartphone. “Just a few calls are all it’ll take. We’ll protest government cutbacks, get a few celebs to show up. I think David Crosby’s in town.” Ashe rolled his eyes and shook his head. Griffin said, “Fine, I’ll see if Springsteen’ll fly in. But I can’t keep calling in that favor. He’s not president yet.”

  “Bruce Springsteen?”

  Griffin shrugged. “I can’t promise. Y’know what we should do? Stage multiple rallies at libraries all over the nation, all on the same day. We’ll call it National Library Day or something, really guilt those rich sons of bitches into paying up.”

  “They’ve got a whole week for that.”

  “Then they’re dropping the ball,” Griffin said. “That’s not my style. We’ll make the rallies a yearly thing, make sure to keep those library doors open.”

  “Really? That’s… Griffin, that’s amazing,” Lorraine said in admiration.

  “Gotta give back sometime, am I right?”

  “Yes, you are,” she said, “you’re as right a man as I’ve ever known.”

  Griffin looked into Lorraine’s eyes, her own staring back at him. She could see her own reflection on those beautiful blue ey
es, and she hoped in that moment that those twin images of herself, imprisoned in Griffin’s incredible gaze, would be the last thing she’d ever see in this world.

  She had no way of knowing how likely and tragic and prophetic her fitful wish would be.

  Lorraine sat on her bed plotting in her notebook, buzzing with excitement. These plans were really materializing. She called her best friend, Jeremy, to ask if he would help out with the cause. “Of course I’ll spread the word,” Jeremy said, his voice looping and excited on the other end of the phone. “It’s this weekend? That isn’t much time.”

  “Yeah, I barely know where to begin.”

  “Didn’t Mr. Monopoly just make a few magic phone calls?”

  “He did, actually. I just feel like there’s more I can do to, y’know, contribute to the effort.”

  “Contribute? Lo’, this whole thing started because of you. You are the effort.”

  “No, Jeremy, I’m not, I’m just…I’m just lucky, I guess.”

  “For the first time in a long time. So sit back and enjoy it! You’ve earned it, Lo’, you really have.”

  “Well, I, y’know—”—”

  “No, not just well I y’know. You deserve it, Lo’; you deserve to be happy.”

  “I know I do, I know, but…sometimes it’s just hard to believe, especially with all this.”

  Lorraine couldn’t be sure, but she imagined Jeremy shaking his head, rolling his big, brown eyes. “Say it, that’ll make it easier.” Lorraine didn’t answer, and Jeremy repeated, “C’mon, Lo’, say it.”

  It was harder than Lorraine thought, harder than she would have imagined. “I-I deserve it.”

  “You deserve what?”

  “I deserve to be happy. There, I said it. I deserve to be happy, okay?”

  “Okay,” Jeremy said. “The next step is for you to believe it.” After a long, uncomfortable silence, Jeremy asked, “What about Donal? Did you break it off with him yet?”

  “Yeah, he, um, he wasn’t very happy. It was weird, because he’s such a nice guy, y’know? But he was a bit miffed, I guess you could say.”

  “Hard to blame him, Lo’. What man wouldn’t be disappointed? Still, I’m sure it’s no big deal. What about those library goons? They must be out of their minds about it—the rally and all that.”

  “I haven’t been back to the library. And they’re not goons, Jeremy. Albert and Carmen are good people, they’re social servants.”

  “They’re banging,” he blurted out.

  “Jeremy! What makes you say that?”

  Jeremy sighed with an exaggerated flourish. “You remember that company party I came to last year? They were staring at each other, disappearing together. Those two are mashin’ uglies, I’m tellin’ ya.”

  Lorraine gave it some thought. The notion did make some sense to her, but it raised as many questions as it answered. “I guess that’s why she was so unworried about the library closing. She did say something like Albert would take care of us; I guess she meant that he’d take care of her. And I guess it makes sense that she didn’t want me objecting, that she was sticking beside Albert Jenkins.”

  “They’re knockin’ boots, playing hide-the-salami,” he went on.

  “But wouldn’t it make her even more nervous that she’d lose her job and Albert? An end to the library could be the end of their affair, probably would be.”

  “Doesn’t matter, your bosses are bangin’.”

  “Jeremy, stop.”

  “The big nasty—”

  “I get it, Jeremy. Thanks for sharing.”

  “Sorry, Lo’. We’re not all virgins.”

  After a mischievous little pause, Lorraine heard herself say, “Neither am I…at least, not anymore.”

  “Lo’! Oh my God, tell me everything…”…”

  Griffin, Lorraine, and Ashe decided to pay her parents a visit in their home. For an instant she was shy and bashful about having Griffin to her parent’s house. She had never brought a guy home before to meet them, and she really wanted to keep things as casual and smooth as possible.

  “Welcome to our humble abode!” Larry Devonshire beamed as he opened the door. Griffin smiled and Lorraine gave her dad a big hug. “Oh, hi there!” Sally said sweetly when she saw Ashe pop out behind his dad. “Nice to meet you both,” she said warmly.

  They walked into the living room and sat down. “Are you sure a rally’s a good idea?” Sally Devonshire’s brows furrowed. “I mean, this is Denver, not Los Angeles. We don’t really do rallies, dear.”

  Griffin said, “It’s a form of pubic protest; that’s a great American tradition, like the libraries themselves. I’m trying to teach my boy to buck the system, to call others to action.”

  “Nice!” Larry brought two cold beers out from the kitchen, handing one to Griffin.

  Lorraine turned to her mother. “Griffin thinks it’s a good way to bring attention to the cause, and I think he’s right. And if we’re not ready to stand up and fight to protect these social services, who will be? And how can we claim to deserve them?”

  “Lorraine’s absolutely right,” Griffin said. “And it’s not just the libraries. They’ll be gutting social security soon enough—welfare. If the government won’t look out for its citizens, then its citizens have to look out for each other.”

  “And that’s a lovely sentiment,” Sally said, sipping a greyhound, ice cubes clinking in her glass. “If you can afford it.”

  “I’m not sure how we can afford anything else,” Griffin said. “I’m just glad Lorraine wrote that open letter. She’s got a lot of guts.”

  “That’s my girl!” Larry said proudly.

  Griffin and Ashe exchanged a knowing glance, and Sally said, “That’s all well and good, but there’s a lot to consider. You say you want to make this an annual event?”

  “That’s right,” Lorraine said, “in every big city in the country.”

  Griffin said, “I put calls in. Springsteen can’t make it out here, but he’s agreed to play at the New York rally. Ringo’s in Philly anyway, so that’s a done deal.”

  “Ringo!” Larry’s voice was loud with enthusiasm.

  Griffin offered a casual smile. “Yeah, you’ve heard of him?”

  Larry wore a smile ear to ear and they fist-bumped, Lorraine and Ashe chuckling. But Sally was as unimpressed as ever, and that wriggled in the back of Lorraine’s mind.

  Lorraine wondered, What’s her problem this time? She didn’t like that I was a shut-in, now she doesn’t like it that I’m getting out more?

  It wasn’t easy to find a good time and place to pull Sally out to the backyard, away from the others. “Mother, what’s up? Griffin’s a great guy; his rally’s a great idea.”

  “I don’t doubt that, dear, truly. He does seem like an impressive fellow, and his boy is just so dear.”

  “He really is. So what’s with all the looks?”

  Sally sighed, turning away. But she wouldn’t be rebuked, and leaned over to reconnect with her mother’s line of sight. “Mom, what?”

  “People are talking, Lorraine, that’s all.”

  “Well, I know that, Mom. My letter was a big hit, Griffin and I were on the news and everything. That’s kind of the whole point of the campaign—”

  “The campaign…to ruin your reputation.”

  That send a cold wave through Lorraine’s body and her mind. “How’s that now?”

  “I didn’t want to say anything but…somebody mentioned it at the grocery store. Everybody knows about you and Griffin, that you’re…involved.”

  Lorraine thought about it, but found only greater confusion. “Okay, first of all, that’s private and personal; it’s not anybody’s business.”

  “And I agree, dear, of course. But you said it yourself, your campaign is a public affair…and so are you and Griffin.”

  “And secondly, just because we’re working together to save the library doesn’t mean I’m…we’re automatically involved like that.”

  Sally shr
ugged. “But you are.”

  “Mom!”

  “You can lie to them, but a mother always knows.”

  “I’m not lying to anyone, Mom. It’s none of their business!”

  “It is if you make this whole thing some big public spectacle! Of course people are going to talk. And given your…unique personal history, it turns heads. What can I say?”

  “My unique history? Getting sexually assaulted isn’t that uncommon, Mom, and it wasn’t my fault.”

  “Of course not. But people talk, dear. They know your story.”

  “So if people want to gossip, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  Sally sighed, near exhaustion failing to push a smile onto her face. “But you’re creating it, you’re encouraging it. I just…I dunno, dear, I’m just not sure it’s a good idea.”

  Lorraine gave that a little reflection, sad assumptions creeping into the back of her mind. “Mom, this doesn’t have anything to do with your real estate office? These rumors aren’t casting any shade on you…professionally?”

  Sally’s half-smile was a bit more truthful. “I just don’t want you to be disappointed, dear.”

  Her blood felt a bit colder, a sneer on her own face as she looked her mother over. “Well I am, Mother; I’m very, very disappointed.”

  Lorraine sat in the driver’s seat of Griffin’s rented black Mercedes Benz sedan. “Where are we going?” But Griffin didn’t answer, and her stomach turned. She knew the neighborhood they were in. And though Griffin was a stranger to Denver, he could easily have researched the address.

  Sables.

  He pulled up behind the dance club, virtually empty at that time of the evening.

  “Griffin, what’s going on? I don’t understand.”

  “You will, Lorraine. At long last, you will.”

  He pulled to a stop and got out of the car. “Griffin? Grif?” But he closed the door without a word, crossed around the car, and opened Lorraine’s door. She hesitated, but he put out his hand.