Cameron spotted him right away. Out of all the patrons in the upscale bar, Joey was the only one schmoozing the female bartender.
“Don’t listen to him,” Cameron joked with the waitress. “He’s full of shit.”
“About time you showed up,” said Joey, as he shook Cameron’s hand and patted his back. He ordered two shots and two beers from the waitress who’d moved on to a different guy.
“So who kicked you out of L.A.?” Cameron asked, once their drinks were in front of them.
“I’m here for a conference. You’ll have to put up with me for three more days.” Joey stared at Cameron and knitted his brow. “You don’t look so good.
“Stress. The CEO of my Detroit office embezzled a ton of money. Clients are now pulling out of deals, left and right, so yeah. I’ve done nothing but bust my ass eighteen hours a day, since my plane landed. And, my secretary walked out.” Cameron downed the shot and chased it with a swig of beer.
“Wow, that sucks! Is he locked up?” asked Joey, downing his shot.
“He’s behind bars, but his arrest only stopped him from doing it again.” Cameron’s phone began to vibrate. He pulled it out of pocket and stared at the screen. Jayden. “One sec, I have to get this.” He didn’t dare ignore her. “What do you want, Jayden?” he growled.
“I drove by Chastity’s apartment. The flowers aren’t by the door, so she must have gotten them.” He wished she’d lose his number.
“That’s terrific. Anything else?” Joey mouthed the word ‘asshole’ at him.
“I knocked on her door, but she wouldn’t answer. I’m worried something’s happened to her. There aren’t any lights on, and she doesn’t live in the best neighborhood.”
“She had to open the door to get the flowers.” Cameron looked at Joey and shook his head.
“You should come over here and try knocking. I really don’t want to get out of the car again, Cam, it’s not safe. I feel so bad for her. If something has happened, she has no family, and she never talked about friends—”
“No. Absolutely not.” He couldn’t believe how far she was taking this.
“If you drive over to her apartment and check on her, I’ll report for duty tomorrow morning.” He could hear the urgency in her voice.
“How far away does she live? And you better not be lying, Jayden. Promise me you’ll hand over all the information I need, and swear to God you won’t walk out again.” Chastity couldn’t live that far away from the office. He’d zoom there, knock on her door, and be gone before she could open it and kill him.
“…Not that far. I’ll text you the address, because I’m pretty sure you’ve deleted it by now.” The second I got to the office, thought Cameron.
“I’ll go right now. Keep your word, Jayden,” Cameron warned.
“Let me know what happens.”
“I’ll call you. Don’t start blowing up my phone.” He hung up, told Joey he had to go, and promised to meet up with him the next day.
Once Jayden’s text came through with the address, he started the engine of his rental SUV and headed towards the freeway. He couldn’t believe what she’d bribed him into doing. When he drove past his company, Jayden called again.
“Are you there yet?”
“Stop it! I said I’d call you,” he fumed. If he didn’t have to navigate the dark streets of Detroit, he’d throw his phone out the damn window.
Finally, he reached Chastity’s street. It was dark, and several of the homes in the area were boarded up. There was graffiti on every surface his headlights hit. She lives here? Cameron would have felt badly if he wasn’t so aggravated. He promised to check on how much the mailroom staff was getting paid. There was glass in the street, so Cameron carefully drove around it and pulled up to the curb. He checked his surroundings, got out of the SUV, and cut across the lawn; it was mostly weeds and litter. He used his phone to illuminate the number on her door, before knocking. Cameron listened for movement, but there was nothing. After knocking a second and third time, he returned to his SUV and started the engine, before calling Jayden.
“The place is pitch black. She isn’t here.” He wondered what she’d hold over his head now.
“…Don’t linger there, Cameron. You may as well go home, because I don’t know what else to do.” Cameron could hear sadness in her voice. She almost sounded like the old Jayden.
“Listen, if we can manage a lunch break tomorrow, we’ll drive here again, together. I’ll see you in the morning. Deal?”
“Thank you, Cameron. I’ll report to you bright and early.” Once she hung up, he sat there and stared at Chastity’s apartment. The place looked eerie. He wondered if he should knock one more time, but decided against it. Cameron waited out front for over an hour, before calling it quits. He still had work to do, but his brain was shutting off. He’d go back to his hotel room, and get some sleep.
Pulling away from the curb, he started looking for a place to turn around. Cameron didn’t want to risk driving through the glass and getting a flat tire out here. He drove down the block, but the next side street looked even more threatening. While trying to find a place where he could maneuver his large vehicle, he lowered his window a few inches to listen for glass crunching. But he didn’t hear anything, other than a blood-curding scream.
Chapter Six
Chastity, Rachel, and two stock boys were the only ones left in the store at ten o’clock on her first evening. Chastity was ready to cash out, and do whatever else was required, so she could be at the bus stop by ten-thirty. She looked around, but didn’t see Rachel. She’d told Chastity she was going outside for a quick cigarette break, but that was fifteen minutes ago. She waved at one of the stock boys and asked him if he could find Rachel. When he returned, he said she wasn’t outside, and that her car was gone.
“Gone? I have to be out of here by ten-thirty to catch the bus!” She shut off her register and rushed to the office. From the laminated list of emergency contacts, she called Mr. Melbourne, but he didn’t pick up.
Hurrying out of the office, she motioned for Charlie, one of the young stock guys.
“What’s up?” he asked, nonchalantly.
“Rachel’s not here, and I have no idea how to cash out. Do you?” she asked in a panic.
“Nope. I suppose you count the cash and drop it in the safe in the office.” He walked away, completely unfazed.
Chastity had seen the safe, but that was about it. It was now fifteen minutes after ten, leaving her very little time to count the money and get to the corner. She didn’t know much about the register, having only worked it for the past hour by herself, but she couldn’t leave the cash sitting in the drawer. When Bruce, the other stock boy, locked the doors, she pulled the cash out and began counting. Her drawer was full from the afternoon rush and it was going to take some time. Chastity didn’t want to just shove the money in the safe and risk losing her job on her first day. And if any of it came up missing, she could be blamed for theft.
At twenty-five after, she dropped the bag of money in the safe, then ran through the store to the backdoor. The guys came out behind her, locked the door, said goodnight, and hopped in the same car. They could have been nice and offered to walk her to the bus stop, or better yet, given her a ride.
Chastity’s leg hurt from standing all day, but she took off for the corner. She didn’t make it there by ten-thirty. Buses run late sometimes, she told herself. At ten-fifty, an old man walked by.
“The bus already left,” he said. “You missed it. I don’t think the next one comes this way until morning.” He walked off. Here she was, late at night, standing underneath a street light swarming with bugs. Cars drove by, and there were a couple of pedestrians, but no taxi or phone in sight. Chastity hoisted her purse over her shoulder and started to walk home.
Downtown was illuminated, but when she turned onto her street, it was black. She wished she could run the few blocks to her apartment, but the faster she tried to move, the worse her limp became. Ther
e were groups of kids hanging out on the stoops in front of houses and on the corners, which scared Chastity even more. They stared at her, even though she tried her best not to attract attention. Now, she was damning herself for buying the light colored sweater.
Her leg began cramping and burning so badly, she wanted to stop and rest. But she was only a block from home, so she clenched her jaws, trying not to make any sounds. At times, she could hear laughing and joking around, but that was it. Chastity wasn’t aware someone was behind her, until the back of her hair was grabbed, and she was thrown to the ground. She screamed repeatedly, while being punched and kicked. She was sure someone would hear her and come to help, but that didn’t happen. The assailant pulled her purse off her arm and fled. When Chastity heard tires squealing, she assumed the man had returned to finish her off. She’d be killed, thrown inside a trunk, driven to a remote location and dumped, like she’d seen on those crime shows. A car door opened and she heard someone run towards her. She struggled to stand, but her leg wouldn’t bend enough.
“Are you okay?” The man placed his hands on her shoulders, causing her to swing her arms in defense.
“Get away from me!” she yelled.
“Settle down, Miss. I’m not going to hurt you.” She saw the lit screen of a cellphone. “I’m calling 9-1-1.”
“No!” Chastity broke down in tears. He wasn’t the one who’d mugged her. She didn’t see her attacker’s face, but his body hadn’t been as big as this man’s.
“Can you stand?” he asked calmly.
“You’ll have to help me.” She allowed him to wrap his arms around her, while she grasped his shoulder and forearm. When she was on her feet, he held her for a moment before letting go.
“He stole my purse. I can’t get into my apartment.” Chastity had a stick in the window, plus it was too high to climb inside anyway.
“Is there a friend or family member I can call for you?” he kindly asked.
“There’s no one. Thank you for stopping, but I’ll be fine. I’m almost home.” But once she got there, what was she going to do? Her landlords traveled frequently, to visit their grandchildren, and right now they were in Maryland.
“You can’t stay in this neighborhood, obviously. What’s your name?” She hesitated for a minute before responding.
“Chastity,” What a way to meet someone, she thought. She would have laughed if her body didn’t hurt so badly. She reached up and felt her swollen cheek. Her ribs were sore where she’d been kicked, but they didn’t feel broken. Everything had happened so fast.
There was a long pause before he spoke again. “We can’t stay out here, Chastity. Come with me, and I’ll drive you someplace safe.” She had no money, I.D…nothing. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“I don’t think so. Thank you, though.” Chastity didn’t need to add any more bills to the stack. She had no idea what to do. The cops would take forever to arrive, and what if he couldn’t wait that long? It wasn’t like she had a choice.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Uh…J-Joey. Joey Duffy.” Chastity wondered if he had a speech impediment.
“Thank you, Joey. I promise not to be too much of a bother.”
*
Holy Shit! Cameron thought, as he escorted the woman to his SUV. Once he was behind the wheel, he turned to her. He had to make good and sure it was her.
“Newberry is my last name,” she offered, as if reading his mind. “I’m sorry we’re meeting like this.” Her hair was in disarray and there was a little blood in the corner of her mouth. When she reached up to tuck her hair behind her ears, she winced. “Where are you taking me?”
“You point and I’ll drive.” He tried to be as polite and caring as possible, so she wouldn’t panic and jump out of the car.
“I can’t go far, because I work at the market downtown, and I don’t have a car. Maybe there’s an all-night coffee shop open around. I can’t pay for a room, because the creep stole my purse.” He watched her eyes scan the street.
He couldn’t drop her off at a coffee shop without hating himself, or Jayden killing him if she ever found out. “Chastity, you can decline my offer if you want, but I have a suite about twenty minutes from here. I’m hardly ever there, so you’ll practically have the place to yourself.” Cameron had no idea where else he could take her. She stared at him suspiciously. “Seriously, I work all the time.”
“You must have an important job if you have to be there for the entire day.” He could hear sarcasm in her voice.
“A CEO stole a bunch of money, so I have to help figure it all out.” Satisfied with his answer, he merged onto the freeway.
“Barron National?! You work at Barron National…Take the next exit and drop me off.” Chastity wrapped her fingers around the door handle.
Why the hell did I tell her that? He didn’t know the news had traveled down eighteen floors to the mailroom. “I just started there yesterday. I’m an attorney.” If she found out he was Cameron Barron, she’d probably grab the wheel and make him run into the cement median. If his friend found out he was using his name, the same thing could happen.
“I used to work there. Cameron Barron is scum. He’s why I quit.” Chastity relaxed her hand, but she didn’t move it.
“I only met him once, and it was a brief encounter. Why do you dislike him?” Here it comes, thought Cameron. The answer he’d been looking for.
“I guess I didn’t look good enough or something. I won some stupid contest. The prize was a dance with the CEO at a big event the company holds every year, but he’d been replaced by Cameron Barron. It’s a long story. Anyway, when I walked into his office to meet him, he looked at me in disgust, and told me to get the hell out of there. Do you have any idea how much that hurts a woman who already has body image issues? I left immediately.” Cameron could see tears glistening on her face when he drove underneath the lights.
He remembered someone opening his office door, right before Jayden went haywire. She must have walked in on my conversation with Cecil. “I don’t know why he’d say something like that. You’re a very beautiful woman. Are you sure he was talking to you?”
“We were the only people in the room. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Please, swear on your life that you won’t say a word to anyone at Barron National about me. Don’t even whisper my name, especially not to Cameron Barron,” she said firmly.
“I won’t, I promise.” He drove to his hotel and pulled into a parking space. She looked nervous. “Is this okay? I have to go to the office and do some more work.” Cameron was exhausted, and wanted to lay down on the bed upstairs and sleep, but Mark Twiller’s sofa was going to have to do.
“I don’t have any place else to go. In the morning, I’ll have to call the market and speak with my boss. Do you know if there’s a bus stop close by here?” He couldn’t allow her to go into that neighborhood again. Whoever attacked her was still out there.
“We’ll figure it out. Maybe you can get your job back at Barron National. The building has eighteen floors. If you’ve only met him one time, you probably won’t run into him again.” Jayden would stay completely off his ass then. “You could ride into work with me.”
“I have a job at the market. That is, if I can get there. I hate to ask this, but do you think I could borrow a couple of dollars for bus or cab fare? I promise to give it right back to you.” Cameron pulled out his wallet and handed her two fifty-dollar bills.
“This is all I have on me. I can drive to an ATM if you need more.” She took the money, but he could tell how uncomfortable it made her. He hurried to get out of the SUV and open the passenger door. Cameron didn’t want to sit there in silence, making her feel even worse for taking the money.
Once they were inside his suite, he escorted Chastity to the spare bedroom. He looked at her soiled clothing, then reached out and pulled a leaf from her hair. “There are towels in the bathroom if you’d like to take a hot shower and relax.” He was furious th
at anyone would hurt her. If you want to steal someone’s purse, do it. But you don’t have to batter them. Under different circumstances, he’d hold her.
“Thank you,” she mumbled, looking down at her dirty sweater.
“Wait a second.” He went into his bedroom and returned with a t-shirt. “It’ll be long on you, so you’ll be covered. I’m going to write down my cellphone number, Chastity. Don’t hesitate to call me with whatever you need. I’ll arrange for some clothes to be delivered—”
“I have clothes at my apartment. Anyways, tomorrow I’ll give you your hundred dollars back and be out of your hair.” She tried to smile as much as she could with her swollen cheek and lip.
“If you have to go to your apartment, the bank, wherever, I’ll drive you. You’re not going by yourself.” He’s got a lot of work to take care of in the morning, with Jayden, if she keeps her word, but he’d figure out something.
“I’ve lived on my own since I was a teenager, and nothing has ever happened to me until tonight. I’ll be fine.” Chastity took the t-shirt and turned to go into the bathroom.
“I’ll take you. I’m being serious. What size do you wear?” Cameron would have Jayden go shopping. He was awful at picking things out for women, and he’d always delegated that task to his secretary. “I have to go, but I’ll be here in the morning to pick you up.” Her cheeks reddened, and she didn’t answer his question. He’d send Jayden to the store as soon as they opened.
“I’ll repay you for whatever you spend.” Her eyes started to water, and without thinking, Cameron leaned forward and gently hugged her. “You’re safe now, and everything is going to be okay.” He was tempted to sit in the SUV, to make sure she didn’t leave, but that would only cause her to feel like a hostage. Instead, he drove to the office, trying to figure out the best way to explain all this to Jayden. It was going to be hard to talk while being strangled.