** Cover photo credit: VGstockstudio/Shutterstock.com
*Cover design: Barb VanderWagen
Edited by Melissa Jackson
© 2019 Annette Stephenson All Rights Reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Thank you
Thank you, reader, for picking up this book and giving it a try. Thank you to my friends and coworkers who got to hear my word counts, daily. Who also got to be sounding boards for ideas as they would pop in my head. Thank you, Kid, for your idea; he’s hilarious. Thank you to Grandma M for enjoying my books so far. Lastly, thank you, Keith, my wonderful husband. Your thoughts and ideas are always helpful. Your support and encouragement through it all was perfect. And bringing me my favorite sandwich is always appreciated. I love you.
Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Teaser
Other Titles By the Author
Chapter 1
Walker
It was a rainy spring Tuesday in Chicago. I walked down to the local movie theater. It only had four screens and they were playing a new zombie movie I wanted to see. I was always ready for a zombie movie. And it was only five dollars a show on Tuesday. I walked into the theater and instantly liked the place. It smelled like fresh popcorn. The carpet was red and gold patterned, freshly vacuumed, and free from litter. The walls were painted golden cream with ornate wood moldings around movie posters. It was set up so you could get your tickets and your concessions all at the same counter. I got in line and waited my turn.
“Hello. Welcome to The Greer. How can I help you?” She greeted me with a smile. Her long straight light brown hair flowed over her shoulders. Her blue eyes had flecks of gold and shone with happiness. Her smile made her glow.
“Hi, one for the Desolation of Mankind with a medium number one, please.” Popcorn and pop, a non-caffeinated one for me, were required for any movie.
“Sure, what kind of pop would like?” she asked.
“Seltzer Water is fine,” I said as she looked at me, studying me. I was hoping she would like what she saw. I’d trimmed up my beard, and my light brown hair had its golden highlights. It was medium length and slightly slicked back. I was over six foot and muscular; most ladies liked that. I wore a white T-shirt and a black leather jacket. I was channeling my inner James Dean.
She wheeled over to the popcorn and got my bag filled. She left it on the counter and got my pop. “That will be $12.50, please.”
I handed over my debit card. She ran it through. “Would you like your receipt?”
“No, I am good.” I extended my hand to take my card back.
“Thank you for coming today, Travis. Enjoy the show in theater three.” She had looked at my card.
“Thank you, Valerie.” Two could play at that game; I could read her name badge. I gave her my mega-kilowatt smile and took myself off to theater three. I walked from the lobby. To the left were theaters one and two. To the right were three and four. I headed to three. I walked in and was shocked at how nice it was. They had reclining seats; you could put your feet up and relax for the show. The walls were red with detailed gold-leaf moldings making a paneled look. The theater had quite a few patrons for a Tuesday before noon. I was surprised. I found a seat in the middle and settled in.
The movie was great. The makeup was very well done, and the special effects were highly detailed. Plot was so-so, but hey, they’re zombies—they want brains. I headed out when the credits started to roll. Valerie was there with another employee. I waved goodbye to both and held the door open for the elderly ladies walking out and the mom with two kids coming in. It always paid to be nice.
As I was walking in my door, I saw someone sitting on my couch. “Hey, Walker, nice of you to show up.”
“Trick, what are you doing here?” The guy wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t good. He did what benefited him at the time and got paid to do it: a mercenary. The guy also loved to play tricks on people. He was an enigma.
“Ah, need a little hand.” He shifted and I saw he had a gunshot wound in his upper arm. At least he was not bleeding all over my couch.
“Go to the bathroom and take off your shirt. Is it still in there?”
“Yeah.” He tried to get up. I helped him and got him in the bathroom. I laid him down on the shower floor. This way if he passed out, he couldn’t fall. I was thankful that the bathroom was designed with a huge walk-in shower. A wall separated it from the rest of the room, so no door or curtain needed.
“I need to get my medic bag and we will get this taken care of.” I rushed to my Jeep, grabbed my bag, and headed back upstairs. I took off his shirt. I felt around his arm and found the bullet. “I can get this out, but I don’t have anything to knock you out. Only stuff that will numb the area. You will feel it. You ready?”
“Just get it out.” He stuffed his shirt under his head and waited for me. I numbed the area as best I could, cleaning it while I waited for the meds to work. When I thought it would be numb enough, I dug in his arm with my forceps. I got ahold of it on the first try. Trick grunted. I pulled it out. He groaned. “Fuck that shit.”
“It’s out. I’ve got to clean it, then stitch it. Just a few minutes.” I started to squirt the saline in there. He was kicking the wall. I knew it was the worst part. “Okay, now the stitches. So, who shot you this time, the Russians, the Albanians, or some girl’s father?”
“Would you believe Colonel Mustard in the conservatory?” He was telling his jokes; it was a good sign. I rolled my eyes.
“All right, where are you staying while you recuperate?” He needed a few days’ rest before he tore up the wound.
“I called the only Jarhead I would call a friend.” Never a straight answer. “She even said I could have the whipped cream.” He smiled.
“Trick, you need to rest. Your body needs to heal and replace the blood you lost.” Ugh, this guy.
“All you think about is sex; I was talking about ice-cream sundaes. Jeez, you need to get laid.” He was one to talk.
“All right, all done. Did you call her already or do you want me to?”
“She should be waiting in the parking lot.” He lay there with his eyes closed, probably gearing up for the walk down the stairs. I went to look and sure enough, Amber was there. I waved to her, and she came up.
“How’s the idiot?” she asked.
“He’s fine. He needs rest for a few days, with good meals. Here are some antibiotics. If it looks infected, call me.” I handed her the pills.
“Sure will. Let’s get the idiot in my SUV and I will get him out of your hair.” She walked to the bathroom.
Trick was sitting up and looking all right. We helped him up and I helped him down the stairs
. Amber thanked me and took him to her place. I hoped he would let himself heal up.
I found myself at loose ends again on Tuesday, so I went to the theater. I was always up for a movie. Valerie was working the concessions counter again. “Hi, Valerie, how are you today?”
“I am good, Travis, how are you?” She remembered my name—good sign.
“Good. A number one with whatever you pick.” I wanted to see what she thought I would like.
She looked me over and punched it up. She got my popcorn and seltzer. “$12.50, please.”
I handed over my card.
“Here you go. Theater one.” She smiled and handed my card and ticket to me.
“Thank you, Valerie.” I smiled at her and went off to theater one. She had picked the kids’ movie that had just come out. I laughed; she was just too cute.
When the movie let out, I went back to the concessions counter. She was there with her employee. I walked up and caught her eye.
“Hey, did you enjoy the show?” She was smiling. I could tell she was trying not to laugh.
“It was funny. Though I was wondering if the one who picked it for me might want to get coffee sometime?” While I watched the movie, I had decided that she was someone I wanted to get to know better.
“Oh, that is very sweet, but no. I don’t date,” she said with a smile.
“Why not?” Now I was stumped. Why wouldn’t she date?
“Not my thing.” She smiled when she said it. I took that as encouragement.
“What can I do to make it your thing?” I was going to keep trying until she said yes, or flat out told me to take a hike.
She laughed. “Whatever, Travis, I have work to do.” She waved and took off towards theater three.
I looked at her employee. She was smirking and shaking her head. “Good luck. I’ve been trying to get her to date for years.”
“Well, the challenge is accepted. Hi, my name is Travis Larson. Everyone calls me Walker. Nice to meet you.” I held my hand out to her.
She shook it. “Gabby. One question for you: what do you see when you look at her?” She was watching me.
“I see a beautiful woman who makes me laugh, who I would like to get to know better,” I answered.
She smiled. “You will do. Do you live around here then?”
“Over by Forces.”
Her eyes lit up when I said that. “Oh, are you working there?”
“Yes.” Might as well be truthful.
“Excellent. Domino is good people, and since he hired you, you must be by extension. You have my vote; I will try to help your case. She is very stubborn. I wish you the best,” Gabby said.
“Thank you for your help.” I waved bye and started home. I had to figure out how to get the woman to go on a date with me. Typically, they fell over themselves trying to get my attention. Not Val, no. She’d turned me down. I liked it.
Chapter 2
Valerie
I went back to my office. I wanted to work on my paperwork. I had some invoices to log, and some license letters to write. It was the way I got to show the older movies. I wrote letters to get permission. Once I got it, the movie would go up into my projector room so I could play it on Tuesdays.
There was a knock on my door. “Come in.” I figured it was Gabby coming to give me an earful.
“So, what’s wrong with this one?” Gabby asked, sitting in a chair across the desk from me.
“I don’t know what you mean.” Ugh, I didn’t want to have this conversation again.
“Valerie, you are young, you are beautiful, you have so many accomplishments. You are a great catch. Why do you hold back? Do you not like men?” Gabby watched me for my response.
“No, they are fine. I just don’t want one for myself. I am happy being alone.”
“Really? From where I’m sitting, looks like you are just scared. I talked to him; he seems like a nice guy. Let him take you to coffee, have a little conversation. It will be nice.”
“No, I’m good with how things are.” I hoped she would drop this soon.
“Valerie, do you want to be alone forever?” Gabby asked, getting up and walking out.
Ugh, she was right. I didn’t want to be alone forever, but I also didn’t want to go through what had happened to me before. It was so humiliating and there was no reason to do it again.
I just didn’t want to go through all the pain again. I didn’t think the gains would outweigh the means. Not getting into a relationship kept me safe from getting hurt. It did make me lonely, and while I didn’t want to be alone, I didn’t want to risk the pain. I had too many losses already in my life. Why should I subject myself to more?
If I couldn’t have what my grandparents had then I didn’t want it anyway. They had a real love, a great romance, and were still very much in love. I would accept nothing less. And nowadays that was rare. I just figured it was better this way. I mean, who would want a paralyzed girl in a wheelchair anyway?
Chapter 3
Walker
It was now the third Tuesday I had walked over to the Greer to see a movie. There had been no new zombie movies, but I enjoyed going to the movies. It was Val that I wanted to see anyway. She was always nice and smiling. I enjoyed making her laugh. As the credits started to roll on this one, I walked out of the theater and heard yelling.
“I want my money back! The movie was terrible.” The patron who had sat in front of me was yelling at Val.
“Sir, I am sorry, but you watched the whole movie. I cannot refund your ticket,” she said.
“Yes. You will,” he said, pounding his fist on the counter.
“No, I will not. You watched the whole movie, so you do not get a refund.” She was standing firm.
“The movie sucked. I will not pay for it.”
“Sir, she said no. You laughed at it just as much as I did,” I said, stepping into the situation.
“You stay out. Now refund my money, you wheelchaired cripple.” He pointed at Val.
“Is that really all you can do?” Val looked just as calm as could be.
“I …” was all got out of his mouth.
She pulled out her phone and took a picture. “Nope, you are done. You are banned. You are not welcome back ever. I have your picture and no one will let you in. Now see yourself out,” she said.
“I still want my money!”
“Sir, the lady said leave. Please leave on your own,” I said.
“You think you’re gonna make me?” He laughed.
“I will ask you one more time, please leave on your own.” I knew I could make him. While he looked like he had muscle, he would be no match for me.
“I want the money back. The movie was terrible.” He got in my face.
“All right, we asked you nicely … here we go,” I said. I stepped behind him faster than he could respond, putting him in a rear wristlock. “This is absolutely the last time I will ask. Walk out on your own.”
He tried to squirm away. “I want my money.”
I took the lock higher on his back; he cried out. “All right, out you go.” I marched him out, pushing him out the door. He stumbled. “Do not come back,” I said. He got up, flipped me off, and walked off mumbling to himself. I closed the door and walked back over to Valerie.
“Are you okay? I am very sorry he said that to you.” I looked her over. She looked fine.
“I have heard a lot worse. He was not very creative. I am okay. Thank you for the help. I was going to call 911 and have police throw him out. But you saved me the call, thanks,” she said.
“Do you have problems like that often?” I was curious. I didn’t like the idea of anyone harassing her.
“No. In all the years I have owned this place, he is the third. My grandparents before me had five, I think. Most people love this little gem and are just happy to have somewhere local to go see movies. Do you want a tour, Travis?” she asked.
“I’ve never toured a movie theater, sure.”
“Great, can y
ou give me ten minutes and I can show you the theater?” she asked.
“No problem. I don’t have much going on today. I am going to use the restroom. I’ll be back,” I said, giving her a wink.
“Sounds good. I’ll be here until my assistant comes in.” She smiled.
I wandered over to the bathroom; it was just as ornate as the rest of the theater. I took care of my needs and wandered back out to look at the movie posters. I saw Gabby come in. They talked, and Val showed her the picture of the guy I threw out. I wandered closer so she could see me when she was done talking.
“You ready?” she called over to me.
“Sure.”
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