“So how long have you been out?”
“Six weeks, Sir.”
“Not long at all. How are you adjusting to civilian life?”
“Just fine, Sir,” she said tightly. He could see she wasn’t interested in opening up to him, not that he could blame her.
“Took me a while, longer than some I guess.”
“I was back state-side for a few months before discharge.”
“Oh that helps.”
“Yes Sir.”
“You don’t have to call me Sir, Ethan is fine. So here at Reynolds Security we do a bit of everything. From basic sit behind a desk and watch a monitor security to body guard protection. We also do a lot of consulting with individuals and companies on how to make their lives and businesses safer and more secure. Where do you think you would fit into the company?”
They talked for about forty five minutes but she never loosened up at all. She offered a tight smile where appropriate but she was clearly just going through the motions.
Finally he leaned forward and put his elbows on the table. “Tell me why you think this interview is a waste of time.” She looked startled for a second but then the calm mask slid back into place.
“I don’t think you’re interested in hiring someone like me.”
“Someone like you?”
“A woman, Sir.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I was told that this was a boys club.”
“No more so than the US military.” He smiled, she didn’t. The look in her eye seemed to say he proved her point.
“Ah, it was like that, huh?”
“It was like that.” He looked at her directly for a moment, and then took a deep breath.
“I take back the comparison then. We are not a boys club. However, we are pretty tight knit; most of us are ex-military so we’ve naturally formed a unit. We have a few female employees, though I admit not many, but that is from a lack of applicants not a gender bias.” The door opened and Jace walked smoothly through. “This is my partner Jace Carpenter. We have a thirty day probationary period while we get a feel for whether or not you can handle the job and you get a feel for whether you want it. Jace here is going to give you a tour of the facility. My assistant will give you an overview packet for benefits. Offer of employment is conditional on passing a drug screen. We have a zero tolerance drug policy.” He stood and offered her his hand. “We look forward to having you on the team.”
She looked slightly stunned as she followed Jace out the door and he had to smile to himself. She would make it through the probationary period. She was tough. She would be a valuable addition to the company. Ethan stretched and rolled his shoulders. He stepped to the window. His eyes were drawn to the little coffee shop across the street several floors below. Too bad he couldn’t be as confident about her.
Ethan was surprised to see that Erica was no longer blond when he stepped into the shop at his usual time. He was so surprised that he just stood there and stared for a minute. Her hair was a warm honey brown now. He had never thought the platinum blond was natural but he hadn’t thought about what she might look like with a different color. She was beautiful. She was always beautiful but now there was something more approachable about her. Of course that didn’t help him. He still felt as if his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth when he looked at her. She smiled at him and called out ‘Boring Joe’, he knew it was his order but he still hated it. He knew it was his moniker now. He didn’t want her to see him as boring. No one who knew him would ever describe him that way.
He sat in his usual spot and looked up in time to see Jace come in the door. He groaned inwardly, the man was like a dog with a bone.
“Following me now?”
“I prefer the term surveillance.”
“I think surveillance 101 says that I am not supposed to know you’re watching.”
“Sometimes you have to break cover for the cause. So what’s up? What is special about this place?”
“Just having a cup of coffee.”
“Really? Something wrong with the fancy shit in your office?” Before Ethan could answer Erica approached and placed a tall white cup on the table.”
“I love the new color.” Ethan said, his tongue still feeling thick.
“Thanks.” Erica smiled and swapped the five on the table with his change. Ethan could see that Jace’s eyes were wide as saucers but he ignored him. Jace caught her before she left,
“’Scuse me Sugar, can I have one of those?”
“I am Honey,” Erica said tightly, “She is Sugar, and orders are placed at the counter.” Jace, not being as ignorant as he sometimes appeared, lifted his six foot frame out of the chair with feline grace and put his hand over his heart in a show of sincerity.
“I apologize. I am from the South, we call everyone Sugar.” He smiled pouring on the charm and Ethan was ready to spar again, with more enthusiasm this time. He watched Jace follow Erica to the counter where the other woman took his order. He flirted with her as well. Ethan glared, for the first time ever he hated that easy going charming personality.
“It’s the brunette isn’t it?” Jace grinned when he sat back down. Ethan continued to glare not confirming or denying. “Damn, this is good.” Jace nearly squirmed with delight at his friend’s unease.
“You’re such an ass. I changed my mind, you are fired.” Ethan grumbled. Jace laughed but before he could reply his cell phone rang.
“Carpenter.” He answered, Ethan listened to one side of the conversation. “Yeah… It’s early isn’t it? No problem, we’ll take care of it, congratulations.” He slipped the phone back in his pocket and leveled his gaze on Ethan. “Darren’s wife is in labor.”
“It’s early isn’t it?”
“He says only a couple of weeks, no big deal.”
“Who do we have on deck?”
“No one qualified.”
“Damn.” Ethan felt his eyes drawn back to Erica. She was restocking straws and napkins. He wasn’t making any progress anyway. “I’ll do it.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, no biggie.”
Erica was only slightly relieved when her Boring Joe came back the day after he threatened to find a new coffee shop so she was surprised by how much it bothered her when he didn’t show up the next day, or the day after that. Friday started out bad so it seemed fitting that he wasn’t there. She had no idea when he had become a significant part of her day but she didn’t like it. Friday on the whole was horrendous. Zoe had gotten a call that her dad was in the hospital so she had gone out of town. Erica had called in someone from the weekend shift but it wasn’t the same as working with Zoe. It was so busy she couldn’t get out at lunch to make the bank drop. Marco called and texted her so many times she shut her phone off, and then just as she was getting ready to leave she realized that Zoe wasn’t there to make the supply order. It took her longer than it would’ve taken Zoe so when she was finally leaving it was dark.
Carrying the money for the bank drop always made her edgy but doing it in the dark made her paranoid. She was jumping at shadows and her heart was pounding when she slid into the front seat of her Honda and locked the door. She took a deep breath and let her heart slow before she turned the key. All she heard was a hollow click. Suddenly her heart was racing again. She looked around out her window. It was dark and fairly deserted behind the building but she could see the lights of passing cars. There was no thick fog or ominous piano music.
“You are being ridiculous.” She said out loud and the sound made her feel a bit better. Deciding to call AAA from her office she got out of her car. Half way back to the building she thought she heard something and turned, before she could fully turn someone grabbed her from behind. She screamed but the sound was cut short by a hand clamping around her throat.
Ethan pulled his truck up in front of the building. It was late enough that the parking meters weren’t running so he didn’t bother with the garage and parked on the
street instead. Just as he reached the glass doors he heard a scream. He turned scanning the area. He didn’t see anyone and he didn’t hear any more screams but his gut told him not to ignore it. He jogged in the direction of the sound dodging through the light traffic and getting honked at for his efforts.
Erica tried frantically to remember what she had learned in the self-defense class she had taken in college. She remembered she could use her keys as a weapon but she had dropped her keys when she'd been grabbed. She clawed at the hand around her throat but the grip didn't lessen and her vision began to dim.
Suddenly her attacker was knocked to the side and lost his grip on her. She fell to the ground and began to cough violently as she tried to pull air into her burning lungs. She looked up but all she could see was two dark figures grappling with each other. It gave a whole new meaning to shadow boxing. The smaller figure took off running and the larger figure chased after him. Not sure which was the original attacker and which was her defender she began to search the ground for her keys even as she continued to cough.
"Erica? Are you all right?" She jumped at the sound of her name she hadn't heard anyone come back. She didn't recognize the voice. But when he knelt in front of her she did recognize the face.
"Joe?" she rasped and coughed.
"It's Ethan actually," he said gently. "Are you OK?" She started to say yes but the pain stopped her and she simply nodded.
"Keys?" she croaked. He reached back to his belt and retrieved a small flashlight. It was surprisingly bright for its size he swept it back and forth across the ground in search of keys. She finally noticed what he was wearing. He was wearing all black, black jeans, a black t-shirt, a black jacket. She saw a glint of light off metal under his jacket and stiffened.
"Is that a g-gun?" she asked in a whispered rasp.
"Yeah I just came from a job." He wasn't looking at her he was still looking for her keys. Her heart was pounding again she debated just running. Nothing felt real and she couldn't think straight. She stood up and immediately felt a rush to her head that caused her knees to buckle. She waited for the impact of the ground but never felt it. Instead a strong arm hauled her against a hard chest. Her nose was pressed to the center of his chest and he smelled amazing. The feel of his arms made her want to borrow in deeper and stay there forever.
"Easy, you've had quite an adrenaline rush it can have unpredictable results." He murmured close to her ear and it sent a rush of tingly warmth through her that had nothing to do with the adrenaline.
His hold around her waist gradually lessened as if he were testing her ability to stand on her own two feet. Even after she was holding her own he didn't completely release her. Reluctantly she pulled away.
"I think I am all right now," she said then coughed, "I should probably call the police."
"Yeah, you should. Can you get in without your keys?"
"Damn, no." She looked around, "I suppose he took my purse."
"Sorry, I tried to catch him but he jumped in a car parked on the street. I got a partial plate."
"It's not your fault. Thank you for helping. You didn't have to. Most people wouldn’t have." She looked at her car, but of course even if it was running it did her no good without keys. "No phone. No keys. No roommate," she mumbled and began walking away.
"Where are you going?"
"Find a phone. Thanks again," she rasped and waved over her shoulder.
"Wait." He caught up to her and casually put his hand on her back. "Why don't we go to my office? You can call from there."
"I don't usually go places with people whose last name I don't know."
"Reynolds."
"Huh?"
"My last name is Reynolds." She had to smile, she didn't want to but she couldn't help it.
"Reynolds... Reynolds Security across the street?”
"The same."
Erica took a deep breath and blew it out slowly despite the pain in her throat. She looked around at the dark alley way. She didn't know this man very well but the last thing she wanted was to be alone right now, and he made her feel safe. "All right."
He led her gently up the alley with his hand on her back. This time he waited for the light to cross. Neither spoke as he led her across the lobby of the building to the elevators. He waved at the guard at the desk but the man didn't seem to find his comings and goings strange. They took the elevator to the top. Common sense reared its ugly head and she started to get nervous. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. The building was deserted and the only person who now knew where she was probably worked for the man she was with.
"Relax, I don't bite," he said entirely too close to her ear.
"I wasn't worried about you biting. I was more concerned about death and dismemberment." He chuckled and the deep rich sound sent shivers up her arms. He led her into a large nicely decorated office. He indicated a sofa with a phone on a side table. You can make your calls there. He continued through a doorway near the window. She sighed and sat down on the sofa. Her first call was to Suzy but all she got was a voice mail. Not having a number to leave, she didn't bother to leave a message. Next she called to report the robbery. The dispatcher explained that the wait could be a couple of hours. She groaned and leaned back against the sofa and closed her eyes.
"Problem?" She jumped at the sound of his voice. She couldn't believe how quietly he moved for such a big guy.
"They are busy tonight. The dispatcher said it could be a couple of hours before someone could take my statement. She said I could go home and wait there. Problem is my roommate is out of town and the only other person with a key isn't answering her phone."
"Landlord?"
"Property management company. They have an emergency number on the weekend. Do you think 'I lost my keys' is an emergency?"
"In this case I think it qualifies." He offered her a cup and she frowned at it.
"What is it?"
"Tea."
"I hate tea." She wrinkled her nose.
"It has lots of lemon and honey. It will help your throat.”She took the cup and sipped it to humor him, and then set it on the table. He smiled.
"Bathroom?"
"Through there." He pointed at the door way he'd passed through.
"You made tea in the bathroom?" She wrinkled her nose again and he grinned.
"There is a kitchenette too." She smiled but didn't comment further.
What he called a kitchenette was bigger than the kitchen in her first apartment had been. But what drew her attention the most was a French press on the counter.
When she returned to the office she saw him slip his phone back into his pocket.
"You have a French press... in your office?" she said without preamble.
"I like good coffee."
"Why do you even come into the shop?"
"You make good coffee."
"Thank you, I work directly with a local company that roasts the beans. I have roasted my own and I have a press but I just can't do it on a large scale." She stopped abruptly when she realized she was rambling. He smiled.
"Do you know what was in your purse? You should probably cancel any credit cards." Erica groaned and rolled her eyes.
"You have been really great, thank you, but I don't want to keep you."
"You're not keeping me. Drink your tea. Cancel your credit cards. Someone should be here to take your statement soon."
Erica was soon very frustrated by the process, 'yes my card was stolen, no I don't have the account number, no I don't have a police report yet...’ over and over.
Ethan listened while she calmly went through the details repeatedly. He was impressed. He probably would have chucked the phone by now. She was on the phone with her bank when the police officers finally arrived. There were two of them. One of them walked directly to Ethan and they shook hands.
"Ethan, good to see you."
"Sean, great to see you too. Thanks for coming." He introduced him to Erica and stood quietly by while they interviewed her.
He was surprised to hear her say that she had her bank drop with her and that she normally made the drop earlier in the day. Even more surprised to hear her car wouldn't start. He gave his statement including a vague description and a partial plate on the getaway vehicle.
As soon as the door closed behind the officers her gaze narrowed on him.
"You called them didn't you?"
"I did."
"Why?"
"You didn't seem to want to wait."
"I'm not very patient," she smiled sheepishly. "‘Thank you’ seems inadequate but I don't know what else to say."
"You don't have to thank me. I haven't done anything extraordinary." It was extraordinary to her but she felt to say anything else at this point was gushing.
"I should get going."
"What are you going to do now?"
"I'll call my friend again."
"If she still doesn't answer?"
"I'll break in," she laughed. "It can't be that hard, right?" He smiled an indulgent smile and her stomach clenched.
"Call your friend, I'll drive you home. If nothing else I have some lock picking skills." Her brows rose and he grinned.
Suzy still didn't answer. When they went back downstairs Ethan led her to a big black truck parked on the street that she hadn't noticed before. He opened her door and her insides felt just a little gooey.
Following her directions they reached her apartment building in minutes. She didn't bother trying to get him to just drop her off; she knew he wasn't going to relent until he saw her safely home. The hallway felt small with the massive man walking steps behind her but it was a nice feeling to have something solid at your back even if it was only temporary.
Her door was at the end of the hall, she could see long before she got there that there was a big bouquet of red roses sitting on the door step. Her stomach clenched, she hated roses. Couldn't stand the sight or the smell. Roses reminded her of the worst day of her life. No one who knew her would ever send her roses. Unfortunately, they were probably from Marco. That should have been a clue a long time before she caught him in bed with another woman.
Morning After (A Reynolds Security Novel) Page 2