Brad picked up the phone and dialed an associate.
“Scott Paul speaking.”
“Scott, it’s Brad.”
“Brad, how are you going. I’m so sorry to hear about Tomas. How are you doing?”
“Sad, tired and drowning in paperwork. Scott, I need someone to take over Tomas’ work.”
Scott laughed. “You are just figuring that out now?”
“No,” admitted Brad. “I’ve always known it wasn’t a one-person job, but I didn’t want to get anyone else hurt.”
“This isn’t a babysitting service, Brad. People get hurt, even the ones we love. Tomas knew the risks and gladly accepted them He knew the value of what you do.”
“I know,” said Brad. “But it is hard for me to accept that the risk goes beyond Tomas. What if Erica gets hurt?”
“It was Tomas’s decision to keep her in the dark. She knows nothing and that will protect her,” said Scott.
“But what if they don’t care if she knows anything or not? What if they want to hurt her simply because she loved Tomas?”
“That is why you’ve been watching her like a hawk and spending an exorbitant amount of money on Italian furniture.”
“If my fears are correct, that Italian furniture will be worth every penny.”
“I know,” said Scott. “That is why I agreed to help. I am not complaining about the cost as much as I am trying to remind you that you are doing everything possible to make sure she is safe. Now, let’s talk about computers. That is an area where I can help.”
“You have someone in mind?” asked Brad.
“I’ve had a list for three months now. I’ve been waiting for your phone call. You are a stubborn bastard and I knew it would take you a while to get your head out of your arse.”
Brad chuckled. Scott Paul had never been one to mince words. And he was probably right. “What have you got for me?”
“I’m sending you one of the computer analysts that does contract work for me. Knows the score is more than capable of doing the job. In fact, you are going to owe me big time for this.”
“Thanks Scott, when can I expect this mystery person?”
“Day, maybe two. I need you up and running at full speed again asap. There is a lot of strange things going on right now.”
Brad frowned. “Is my client list getting bigger?”
“No. That is the problem. I have no one for you. It’s never been this quiet before. It feels like the calm before the storm.”
“Great. Like I don’t have enough problems as it is. Keep me posted.”
“Will do. Now get some sleep.”
Brad heard the click of the phone as Scott hung up on him. Get some sleep, thought Brad. Scott was a freaking comedian. Taking another look at the computer screen, he sighed. If Scott had someone coming that soon they could take care of this.
Grabbing his jacket and keys, he headed out the door. If he couldn’t be useful in the office he would go to the construction site and see how things were going there. It was amazing how much progress had been made in such a short time. But the sooner it was done the happier he would be.
4
ERICA
Dinner had been wonderful. The spicy chicken salad, a wickedly delicious chocolate mousse, a few glasses of wine and a lot of laughs had been exactly what Erica needed. Now she was on a dance floor shaking her ass with Sally, who after a few glasses of wine was much more fun than Erica had given her credit for. The rest of the girls had called it a night after only a few dances, but Sally had been more than willing to stay and dance the night away with Erica. Erica was grateful. This was fun, and she had seen more than one good looking guy watching the pair of them dance like there was no tomorrow. It was good to know she could still turn a head, even if she felt like slapping a head that got too close.
The club was now very busy. The dance floor had become a swaying sea of bodies. The deep bass of the dance music enticed Erica to keep dancing the night away, dancing away the tension that had been building and threatening to tie her up in knots. Suddenly, Erica felt a strong arm grab her, pinning her arms to her waist and start pulling her through the crowd. Sally had her back turned to Erica and hadn’t noticed at all! Erica opened her mouth to scream as a shot of electricity stunned her. The pain took her breath away. The sound she made was anything but attention grabbing. The sound she did make was muffled and drowned out by the loud club music. Panic flowed through her veins. Erica searched for a face to look at her as she was pulled towards the door, through the sea of oblivious dancers. She spotted a bouncer at the edge of the dance floor, she struggled with all her might, shook her head, and mouthed the word ‘help’ at the large muscular bouncer. Luckily, the observant man quickly assessed the situation. The burly bouncer rushed to her aid, pushing bodies aside as he tried to keep Erica in his line of sight.
As the bouncer confronted the person pulling Erica through the crowd, Erica found herself flung to the floor. The bouncer was knocked down by a punch he never saw coming. Erica looked up, getting a quick glimpse of her assailant. A narrow-faced, beady-eyed blond man, much too small to have manhandled her and downed the bouncer the way he had, glared at her with evil intent before slipping through the slowly dispersing crowd toward the door and off into the night.
Sally finally noticed Erica on the ground and came over to her, “Are you okay? What happened?” She yelled over the music.
“I was attacked! Right there on the dance floor. He was pulling me towards the door,” said Erica. “Thank God! The bouncer noticed.”
With a helping hand from Sally, Erica got up and went to check on the bouncer, who was groggily starting to get up. One of his co-workers had arrived to help him to his feet. “Thank you so much!” said Erica to the bouncer who saved her from the strange assailant.
“Did you know that guy? What was that about?” asked the bouncer.
Erica shook her head, the attacker’s face had a familiar look to it, but he was no one she knew. “I have no idea who he was, or why he attacked me. I think he fucking tasered me!” Indignation, anger, and adrenaline made Erica’s voice reach a higher than normal pitch.
The bouncer shook his head in disbelief. “Well, he certainly had a strong grip on you. Man that was strange! I have never seen someone move so fast. One second he was pulling you through the crowd. I went to grab him, you were on the ground, and he hit me all at the same time. That was one dangerous dude! I'll make a police report of an abduction attempt.”
Erica could only nod her head in agreement, until the bouncer mentioned police. She had felt the man’s strength with the vice-like grip he had had on her arms. The look on his face when he stared down at her before leaving had been one of sheer evil. She rubbed her arms, certain there would be bruises showing by morning. Erica turned to Sally, “I need to go home now.”
The bouncer interjected, “You need to stay if I call for the police, ma'am.”
Erica shook her head. “You can call them, but I am not staying one minute longer. The police are useless!” Erica did not want to give them another excuse to look at her again as a suspect. This would fuel their theories that she and Tomas were involved with a drug cartel or something equally dangerous and illegal. They had asked if she was an accountant for clients with offshore bank accounts. No, Erica wanted nothing more to do with the police.
Sally nodded her head in agreement with Erica. The glare in Erica’s eyes said it would be useless to argue. “We’ll share a cab. I am not letting you out of my sight until you are safely home.” Sally was fighting to be heard over the music. “I’ll get a bouncer to escort us to the cab, just in case that creep is still around.”
Still frightened, Erica wanted to go home. She had felt like she was being watched since Tomas’s death. She had tried to dismiss her suspicions. Wide-eyed she looked about her. There were a few curious faces from dancers close to them, but no predatory stares that made her feel as if she had a target on her forehead. Her eyes kept sweeping in every
direction as she and Sally were escorted to the street, where a cab waited for them. Even the cab driver was suspect, until she took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves.
As the cab took them home, Erica could hear Sally talking to her, “God, I can’t believe you were attacked in the middle of the club. Men are so fucked up sometimes.…” But Erica’s mind was racing a million miles an hour and she tuned out her friend’s voice. The attack had been real, not a figment of her imagination. Maybe all the other strange things that she had tried to convince herself were the product of a distraught and overactive imagination were also real. Maybe someone had been following her, had actually broken into her apartment and now had tried to abduct her right off the dance floor of a nightclub. It made no sense, but something strange and disturbing was going on. She reconsidered calling the police. She changed her mind quickly. They had looked at her with so much suspicion she did not trust them. Any fool would know she had no motive to kill her own husband. They were Idiots. Erica felt Sally’s hand on her shoulder; the touch brought her back to reality. “Sorry, what? I was lost in thought.”
“I said we’re at your apartment building. Do you want me to walk you up to your door?” said Sally, with a worried look on her face.
“No, it’s okay. I will have Brent, the doorman, walk me up. I’ll be fine. I’m sorry our night was ruined.”
Sally shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous! It certainly wasn’t your fault. I’ll talk to you at work tomorrow.”
The doorman escorted Erica up to her apartment. “Are you feeling okay, Ms. Erica? You look a little pale tonight.”
“I’m okay, it has been a trying day,” said Erica. Erica’s head was spinning. She was much more shaken up than she had let on to Sally. Erica wasn’t ready to try explaining to anyone from work, even her closest friend, about all the weird things going on lately. She felt alone. “Do you mind coming inside for two seconds? I thought I might have had a break in recently, and after tonight I’m not feeling comfortable,” Erica asked, as they reached the apartment door. There was a tremor in her voice. She handed her keys to her escort.
“Not a problem,” said Brent. After Erica opened the door, he walked through the apartment checking the balcony and all of the windows. After what had happened in her apartment, he did not blame her for being nervous. Why she stayed after Mr. Tomas was found dead inside was a mystery. She certainly had guts. Whatever shook her up tonight must have been serious. “All clear Ms. Erica.”
Everything was secure, and the apartment was empty. No Boogey men were waiting in the closets tonight. Erica felt relieved and a little silly for asking Brent to check out the apartment for her. “Thank you, Brent,” she said as she handed him a fifty.
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” said Brent with a smile.
“Trust me, you darling man, after the night I’ve had, having you come up and check my place was worth every penny. I may even get some sleep tonight,” said Erica as she refused to take back the tip.
“Thank you, and if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. That is what we’re here for,” said Brent as he headed back to the elevator. He shook his head as he left. He had a very soft spot for the young widow. How the police could have even suspected her as a murderer was beyond his comprehension. Anyone who observed the couple together would have seen they were madly in love. He wondered about all the mystery surrounding Ms. Erica’s husband’s death. The doorman’s protective instincts had kicked into high gear. He often discussed with his wife, the worries he had for the young widow.
Erica closed the door behind him and locked the deadbolt. She thought back to the nightclub and the way the man had grabbed her, and knocked down the very large and muscular bouncer with ease. Brent the doorman was a kindly man, handy for bringing in groceries and was always polite and friendly. She considered him a good doorman, but he would be useless, if her assailant had actually been in the apartment. But having someone besides herself going through the apartment and declaring it empty had been good for her peace of mind.
Finally able to relax and ignore the night’s drama, Erica’s thoughts drifted back to Tomas. She missed him. She missed sharing her day with him. She missed having him to turn to for advice. The habit of unconsciously turning to Tomas for advice was going to be a habit difficult to break. Something was bugging her. She took out the elastic band holding her hair up and shook her shoulder-length blonde hair loose. She rubbed her grey eyes, and then massaged her temples.
She missed how Tomas would massage her shoulders; easing the tension of a stressful day. More often than not the shoulder massage would lead to a more exciting massage and pleasurable tension release. She sighed and chose to bottle those memories. If she chose to remember those times she would inevitably cry. She had cried enough. Erica kicked off her pumps. What would Tomas tell me to do? Something was tugging at her memory.
Then, it hit her. Tomas had already given her the answer. She thought of Tomas’s business partner, Brad James. Tomas had told her a few months before he died that if anything strange ever happened while he was out of town on business to give Brad a call. Erica did not know Brad well, and found him a little weird, but Tomas insisted he was not weird, just eccentric and that Tomas trusted him with his life on many occasions. Erica had not known what to think about the cryptic comments, and had forgotten about them until now. Thinking back, had Brad literally saved Tomas’s life? Had she naively misinterpreted what had been said? Tomas had often said thank you for a cup of coffee, a reminder, some inconsequential thing in the big scheme of things and added “you saved my life.”
Erica tried to remember the last time she had seen Brad. The funeral came to mind. He had given her his condolences and said to call him about Tomas’s business arrangements when she was ready. She sighed. It was past time to deal with Tomas's business partner. But he seemed to have things in order and her bank account was receiving regular deposits in keeping with what had been deposited when Tomas was alive. She had felt no urgency to contact him. He had given her a card. Where did it go? She wondered. Looking through her desk she found the stack of cards and sympathy letters she received that sorrowful bleak day. She sorted through the pile until she found his card. It had his business number, and on the back he had written his private cell number. She would call him first thing in the morning.
5
JESS AND MANDY
A DULL THUMPING SOUND invaded Jess’s brain. Groggily, she opened her eyes and looked around. She saw that she was at home, in her own bed, not in a hospital bed or on the hard ground of an alley, as she had feared. Was last night just a bad dream?
The dull thumping continued. She realized it was not just her pounding headache, but that someone was at her door. Jess got out of bed with a grunt and was about to head to the door when she looked down and saw she was naked. Confused, she put on a robe and went to answer the door. Looking out the peephole, Jess could see Mandy, her neighbor and best friend.
“Open the door, Jess. Your coffee is getting cold and my knuckles are getting sore,” said Mandy.
Jess groaned and unlocked the door. Opening it, she reached for the coffee. “Thank you, I need this.”
“You look like shit,” said Mandy as she breezed past Jess, handing her the cup. Not waiting for an invitation, she walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa.
Jess took a sip of the strong, hot drink. “Thanks.” She grimaced, “I feel like shit. I’m not really sure what happened last night, but I do know that I fucking hurt.”
“Well, you came home in a little foreign sports car that looked like it cost a million bucks, and two of the hottest looking guys I have ever seen brought you into your apartment. Does that ring any bells?” replied Mandy.
“Fuck off, I’m in no mood for jokes.”
Silence ensued. Jess looked at Mandy over the brim of her cup. Surely she was joking, but the look on Mandy’s face said otherwise.
“Hottest guys ever. Gorgeous sports car. And you don’t
remember a thing? How does that even happen?” Mandy asked with a raised brow.
Jess moved to the sofa and sat next to Mandy, hugging a cushion to her chest. “Mandy, I think I was drugged last night.”
“Seriously? Those two fuckers drugged you? We need to call the cops,” Mandy said as she reached into her purse for her cell phone.
Jess reached out and stopped her. “No, not those two. At least I don’t think so. Were they wearing dark suits?”
“Yes, one had a red shirt, the other blue. That was about the only way I could really tell them apart. I’m pretty sure they were brothers, maybe even twins.”
“Then no. I think it was these two guys I met last night at the bar.” Jess racked her still foggy brain for their names. “Brad and Tom. They bought me a shot of tequila and a drink and then took me out into the alley.
“I was going to let them fuck me,” she choked, “but they started getting rough and I got scared. Things were getting hazy when the guy in the red shirt appeared. The Brad guy pulled a knife and that’s when the other one jumped down from the rooftop.” Jess paused to steady herself and take a sip of coffee before continuing. “I blacked out right about then. The whole thing was so strange. I’m sure it didn’t really happen that way but I can’t be certain. Everything is so hazy.”
Mandy reached out and rubbed Jess’s arm comfortingly. “Well, I wasn’t fucked up on any drugs last night, and you definitely came home with the hot brothers. The one with the red shirt carried you in, while the other one just kinda scowled. I was waiting up for you and saw them pull up from my balcony. They weren’t in your apartment for more than five minutes before they left again, so I just let you sleep.”
The Shadows Awaken (Guardians of the Night Book 1) Page 2