“You are?” he asked, surprised.
“Well, of course!” I continued. “It was so great seeing you the other night and I never had a chance to say thank you for dinner.”
“But what about the other girl?” he asked, clearly confused. “I was just trying to make it look like old habits die hard. I wasn’t actually interested. She was a little young for me. But I could tell all the way to dinner that you still saw me that way- like the guy who stole your virginity in the back of a beat-up car. But Marian, the only one I was interested in that night was you.”
He looked so sincere that I had to fight my overwhelming urge to believe him in order to focus. “Oh, something about having a near-death experience just makes you forget silly things like that,” I said, pulling my feet up into the chair, even as I shuddered internally with just how easy I must seem. “Let’s just start over. Hi, I’m Marian,” I said, holding out my hand for him to shake.
He smiled and took it, shaking firmly. “I’m James,” he responded eagerly.
“So, tell me about yourself James.”
For the next hour, we talked about everything except what we each did for a living. I didn’t push him to share any details that he wasn’t willing to disclose and by the time I stood to leave, just under an hour later, I was positive that on some level, I’d made him care about me. At least a little bit. “Great catching up with you,” I said, stretching. “I have to be off.”
“Another hot date?” he asked teasingly.
“Who told you that you were hot?” I teased back.
He smiled. “Is it with that other guy?” he asked.
My smile froze. “What other guy?”
“The guy from your studio Friday night.”
Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I struggled to find a response that didn’t sound ridiculous. “Why would you care?” I finally stammered.
I saw a flash of something in his eyes, but then it was gone. “Have fun,” he said. “Just be careful.”
“Why would I need to-” but he gently brushed past me and made his way through the front door. The room suddenly felt very cold. I shivered involuntarily, despite the heat that prickled my skin from the roaring fireplace.
Collecting my coat and purse, I, too, made my way out the door and down the block, to where Rory was waiting, hunched down in his SUV. “Any idea where he was headed?” he asked as I slid into the front seat.
“Nope,” I told him. “But close your eyes for a second.” He complied and, as swiftly as possible, I tugged the recorder free and slid it out for inspection. “Okay, you can open them,” I said as I pressed the pause and rewind button. “But listen to this.” With that, I played back the last part of my conversation with James.
“What did he mean by that?” Rory asked.
I shrugged. Just then, Addie stumbled up to the window, her face hidden beneath the hood of an enormous parka. “Anything good?” she asked eagerly. I rewound the tape and played the last part of the conversation for her. Her eyes brightened and she let out a low whistle. “We can use that.”
“He could just be jealous,” Rory suggested. “Telling Marian to be careful because Mika is a player.”
Addie smiled at him, amused. “I like that you always see the potential best in people,” she told him.
“Somebody has to in this relationship,” he muttered, starting the car.
Addie handed me a fresh set of batteries through the open window. “Get that sucker back on,” she said with a wink. Then she was gone, huddled in the wind, clacking her way back to her car on her red heels, made brighter against the muddied ice and snow that lined the sidewalk. She really was ridiculous. I loved her.
A few minutes later, we pulled just around the corner from where I was set to meet Mika. All patched up and ready to go, I smiled at Rory with a confidence I didn’t actually have.
“Don’t let what James said bother you too much,” he told me, placing a hand over mine. “Addison and I are right outside if you need us. Besides, he’s not going to try anything drastic in public.”
I nodded and stepped from the car, striding towards the entrance. Mika was nowhere in sight. Checking my watch, I noted that I was a few minutes early. Again, the coffee shop was nearly empty and I had my pick of tables. As such, I decided to go ahead and order my own drink.
No sooner had I settled into a table with my mug, than Mika walked in the door. You know how in movies when someone really beautiful walks into a room, the whole present crowd just stops whatever they’re doing to stare? That’s pretty much what happened. The men eyed him enviously as the woman looked on, unashamed by their brashness. I could feel all eyes turn to me as he sat down at my table. Slowly conversations around us started up again, but the two of us sat there, looking at one another and not speaking for what seemed like hours. “I’m going to go grab a drink,” he told me finally.
I nodded and looked about the room as I waited for him to return. He did, just moments later, with a steaming cup of plain black coffee. His eyes hadn’t met with anyone but me his entire absence. I felt an inner glow, no matter how hard I tried to squash it. “No frills,” I teased, nodding at his drink.
“I like to get to the point,” he said, his eyes growing dark with interest as they scanned my neck and collarbone. I swallowed and nervously sipped my coffee. He leaned back in his chair and did the same. “I was planning on calling you tomorrow morning to ask you out for dinner tomorrow night.”
“I guess I just didn’t feel like waiting,” I responded nervously.
“I liked it,” he said. “I don’t mind being old-fashioned, but something about a woman taking control of a situation. Any situation. Is, well- hot,” he said, blowing on his drink.
I was momentarily hypnotized by his lips. Through my daze, I somehow remembered the entire meaning of our meeting. It was possible he was working in cahoots with the killer. Heck, it was possible that he WAS the killer. I needed to make Mika see me as human, not as lunch. “Well I’m glad you see it that way,” I said, taking back control of the conversation, shaking off my daydreams. “I had fun the other night. I’d be interested in learning more about you.”
“And I you,” he said with a grin.
Something in his smile sparked an angry fire inside of me. I hated myself for finding him so attractive. I hated myself more for the feelings I was trying to wrestle down. Unfortunately, they weren’t simply lust-fueled. We’d had a real connection last night. Or at least, I had. Still, he was content to treat me like a business transaction and I was just going to have to figure out how to do the same. My life depended on it. I swallowed away the anger and gave him a small smile. “Well, let’s get started.”
The next hour zipped by. Even though I didn’t have anywhere else I needed to be that evening, I imagined that Rory and Addie would be going out of their minds with worry if I didn’t come out for air soon. And thus far, Mika had offered nothing to incriminate himself as the individual who had ordered the flowers. Still, I was out of time. I began to gather my things. “Leaving so soon?” he asked, surprised.
“Yeah,” I responded, brushing my hair back behind my ear. “I’ve got an early day tomorrow at the studio. It has been kind of a long weekend. I should get some shut eye.”
“Oh, okay,” he said, standing too. He stepped around the table and picked up my coat, holding it open for me. Smiling, I slipped my arms into the sleeves and allowed him to come in closer than was necessary as he closed it tightly around me. I felt his hot breath on my ear and closed my eyes, hating myself for feeling turned on in that moment. Still, our conversation today had given away no hints that he was out to kill me. Everything had been curious and flirtatious. A real conversation. I was sickened by how easy it had come to us. And yet—
His breath was still hot against my ear. I could feel curious eyes taking us in. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one feeling the searing heat between the two of us. It was evident to the entire room. Mika slowly brushed a lock of my hair forward and
quickly, stealthily, gave my ear an almost indiscernible lick and bite. I gasped involuntarily and my eyes shot open.
I was in such a state that I almost didn’t hear the words he whispered next. “Did you like your flowers, Marian?”
My mind went completely blank and I stood, frozen in fear. “Wh- what did you just say?” I asked, not flinching.
“The flowers,” he asked again. Was it my imagination, or had his voice suddenly taken on a dangerous, mocking tone? “I know I shouldn’t say anything. It’s rude to ask, but you haven’t mentioned them.”
I pulled myself away, tripping over my chair. People were staring. I was blind with terror, not caring what was going through their heads. I had to get out of there. I whirled around to stare down Mika, blinking back the tears that were stinging my eyes. How could I have been so stupid? I let my guard down for one second and he’d moved in for the kill. Clearly, the entire attraction was just in my head. I’d been dumb enough to believe that someone that looked like him could actually be attracted to me without some twisted end game in mind.
“Marian?” he asked, his eyes darkening with concern. “What’s wrong?”
“What could you possibly mean?” I hissed quietly. He started to say something else but I cut him off. “Don’t bother.” With that, I turned and hurried out of the cafe with what little dignity I had left. Outside, I looked left and right, searching for Rory’s car. It was snowing again and I squinted through the whiteness but didn’t see him.
“Marian!” Mika shouted, stumbling out into the snow after me.
“Leave me alone!” I cried, clutching my purse and walking hurriedly towards the back of the building. Surely, Addie would be sitting back there, waiting.
“Marian! Stop! Please!”
The strain in his voice made me hesitate, but I didn’t stop. “I know what you’re trying to do,” I called back to him. “And it isn’t going to work. I’m not interested in your sick game of cat and mouse.” There! I could see Addie’s car, exhaust lazily rising from her tailpipe in the cold snow. Strengthened by just how close I was to escape, I whirled around to face Mika and drew myself up to look as large and angry as possible.
Mika paused. “Woah,” he muttered, holding up his hands and taking a step back.
“I’m finished with your sick mind games. And James’s too, if that’s who you’re working with.”
“The guy from your studio?”
“Don’t play stupid,” I spat. “You just gave yourself away and there’s no taking that back. Tell James that I’ll be ready for him.”
I heard a car door slam shut and turned to see Addison, bundled up in her parka, hands shoved deep into her pockets. “You okay?” she called, eyeing Mika suspiciously.
“Fine,” I called back. Turning back to Mika, I leveled him with a stare. “Remember what I told you. Oh, and I never, ever want to see you again.” Spinning around quickly, I ran the last few steps to Addie’s car. “Get in,” I barked to her, opening the passenger door with a snap. Once we were both inside, I turned to look at her darkly. “Go.” She shifted the car into gear and slowly we rolled past Mika, who was nothing more than a dark shadow against the heavy snow.
“What happened?” she asked me a few minutes later, once we were a safe distance from the coffee shop with no signs of a tail.
I was digging through my purse, looking for my cell. “First, I need to find Rory,” I muttered. “I’ll tell you both back at his apartment.”
She nodded and aimed her car that direction.
When Rory frantically answered my call, I had half a mind to chew him out, but resisted. “Where were you?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“I’d been parked in that spot for an hour. Someone from the city knocked on my window. Said I had to move or I was going to get a ticket. I was just driving around the block! When I drove back by, you weren’t inside. Are you okay?”
I sighed. It was impossible to stay mad at him for that one. “I’m fine,” I murmured. “Addie and I are headed back towards your apartment. Can you meet us?”
“Yes, I’ll see you there.”
“Great,” I said, clicking off. Leaning back into my seat, I felt my body go slack. Laying my head against the cool glass, I struggled to rein in my tears. I was sick of crying. I was sick of feeling helpless. I drew in a breath and focused on the angry fire that was nothing more than a dull ember in my stomach, trapped below the roaring flames of fear and uncertainty.
Addison and I arrived back at Rory’s apartment first. When we got upstairs, she reached up to the light that was hanging just outside his door. After feeling around for a few seconds, she grasped a key and used it to unlock the front door. Replacing the key, she followed me inside. “I’m going to make us some tea,” she told me, making a beeline for the kitchen.
Saying nothing, I made my way over to the reclining leather chair and all but collapsed into it, forcing it to rock violently back and forth for a few seconds. I couldn’t be bothered to care. A few minutes later, the teapot was whistling away on the stove and the front door swung open to reveal a very panicked and disheveled looking Rory. When he saw that both Addison and I were safely inside the apartment, he relaxed considerably and began removing his gloves and jacket. Addison brought each of us a steaming mug of a very musky smelling substance before going back to some for herself. She and Rory each took a seat on one of the armrests of my chair. We all sat in silence for a few moments with only the occasional slurp to distract us from our thoughts. Finally, Addison broke the quiet. “Tell us what happened.”
Not even caring about Rory’s presence, I lifted my shirt and gently removed the recorder, which was still taped between my breasts. Gentleman that he is, he blushed slightly and turned away. I hit the rewind button and waited for a few seconds before hitting play. However, the last piece of conversation that was crystal clear was just before Mika helped me into my coat. His menacing inquiry about the flowers was completely indiscernible. “Damn it!” I screamed, lifting my arm to fling the recorder across the room.
“Don’t!” Addison cried, catching my hand mid-hurl, wrenching the recorder from my grasp. “That still has everything from your meeting with James on it. Just tell us what happened.”
I took a sip from my tea, drew a shaky breath and filled them in. When I finished, I took another sip of tea and waited for their reactions. Suffice to say there wasn’t much. They were both stunned into relative silence. Eventually, Rory cleared his throat. “So we know that on some level, he’s involved.”
“It sure does seem that way,” I answered.
“What was he saying to you when you were walking towards me?” Addison asked, curiously.
“He was confused about why I was upset. Acted like he had no idea what his connection might be to James.”
“So just playing head games,” she surmised. “Unless they’re not working together at all.”
“Unfortunate,” Rory piped in.
We stayed just as we were, sipping our tea and not speaking for a very long time. Finally, I looked to Addison. “I need to go home.”
“You can’t go back there,” she told me alarmed. “It was obvious that whoever broke in last night had been interrupted. What if they come back?”
I shrugged “I’ll deal with that if it happens. Fred needs food.” I stood and went to place my empty mug in the sink. “And frankly, I could use some fresh underwear and a pair of my own clothes.”
“I’ll stay with you then,” Addie said, coming to stand next to me as I gathered my things.
“Addison, I don’t need a babysitter.” I reached into my handbag and pulled out the fuzzy sock I’d stored in there, shaking the gun free from it and into my hand. “Besides, I have a gun.” It was a lot larger and heavier than I remembered.
“Jesus!” Rory cried, nearly dropping his mug. “How long have you been carting that beast around in your purse?”
“Just since yesterday,” I told him. “After it turned out that Alec was murdered, p
eople kept encouraging me to buy a gun. So I did.” I tucked it back into its sock and slid it into the front pocket of my purse.
Addie eyeballed the pocket suspiciously. “Any idea how to shoot that thing?” she asked.
“Not exactly.”
“I need a vodka,” Rory told us tiredly as he stood and walked to the kitchen.
“Not so fast!” Addison told him. “You need to come with us to check out Marian’s apartment.”
“That gun is going to blow a hole the size of London into anything that so much as looks at you.” Rory said. “Which is more than I can say for what I’d be capable of.”
“Please?” I asked pleadingly. “I know I come off as tough and controlled, but there’s just nothing quite like a strapping young gentleman such as yourself to check things out for me.”
Rory rolled his eyes. “Bullocks. Fine.”
I’ve never been afraid to go home before. Take it from me, it’s not a great feeling. Home is supposed to be where you feel safe. The one place that makes sense when everything is falling apart. Where the heart is and all that crap. While I still saw it as my haven, I also had to admit that being away had enhanced my fear of returning. Still, when we finally stepped inside, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. “There’s no one here,” I said, turning to Rory and Addison.
“I haven’t even checked out the scene. How do you know?” Rory asked.
“I just know,” I told him. “You guys can go home.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Addison said before Rory could walk out the door. “We’re going to stay with you for a little bit. Make sure you don’t need anything.”
“No, really,” I promised. “I just would like some time alone.”
“If you’re sure,” she told me.
“Yes.”
“Very well then,” Rory told us, stepping over and handing me the keys to his SUV. “We will just take Addison’s car back to my place.”
“You sure?” I asked.
Allison Janda - Marian Moyer 01 - Sex, Murder & Killer Cupcakes Page 13