by Edwin Dasso
He knew that every second he stayed down here put him at greater risk of getting caught, but he couldn’t ignore the opportunity the phone presented. Placing his thumb on the top ridge of the cellphone’s screen, he dragged it down. A short list of icons appeared. He activated the Do Not Disturb feature, ensuring phone calls or texts from her idiot boyfriend or any of her other friends, for that matter, wouldn’t interrupt his plans.
Tossing the phone back into the heap, he continued to sift through the contents. Dimly, he heard Eden ask the customer how the items they had selected were fitting. Time was running out.
Frantically, Noah pawed through her things until he found what he was looking for. He palmed the small object and shoved the drawer closed. He stood up in time to find Eden walking toward him. At the sight of him behind the desk, Eden frowned.
A telling flush crept across his cheeks. His hands shook as he straightened a stack of flyers announcing the next sale and set them on the countertop beside the cash register.
Noah gave a nervous chuckle and raised his empty palms.
“Oh man, I’m such a klutz. I knocked a bunch of flyers over. I think I got them all, but…” he shrugged. “I may have missed a few.”
“Good thing the dragon lady didn’t catch you back there, otherwise we’d both be looking for new jobs.”
“Yeah, right,” Noah said, forcing a grin. “Well, I’m off to finish my rounds. See you in a few weeks.”
“A few weeks?”
“As of midnight, I’m officially on vacation.”
“Oh, are you taking Claire somewhere nice? Maybe you should buy her something for the trip.”
Eden gestured to the racks of lingerie.
He couldn’t believe Eden thought Claire was his girlfriend. He would never be attracted to someone like her. He remembered the night they had all gone to the karaoke bar together. The drunker Claire had gotten, the more she’d thrown herself at him. The way she’d glommed onto him made his skin crawl, but shoving her off would have made him look like an asshole, especially in front of Eden. So he’d put up with Claire. And her stupid friends.
The lengths he had to go to just to look like a nice guy.
Noah swept his gaze across all the pretty things and gave his head a regretful shake. “Above my pay grade, I’m afraid.”
“Have a good night, Noah. And if I don’t see you, have a great vacation.”
Oh, I will, Noah thought as he left the store.
10
Dex’s shift had finished, and the guard scheduled for the night shift, a particularly large and useless mammal named Matt, had arrived. Of course tonight would be the night that Matt the lump would decide to get off his fat ass and volunteer to do the exterior patrol. Noah swung by the office to announce that he was going on the post-close up perimeter check when Matt inexplicably rose from his chair and offered to do it.
“My doctor says I need to get some more steps in. Lose weight. Get ripped you know.”
Matt smacked his ample belly with both hands and gave a hearty laugh.
“Imagine,” Noah said with mock incredulity. “Here’s the thing. In fifteen minutes, I need you to escort the lady who’s working at Coach to the bank for the night deposit, then you’ll need to walk her to her car.”
Matt pursed his plump lips and emitted a whistle. “Oh, man. You mean the hot one with the dark hair and the long legs?”
“That’s her. I could do it, but she asked for you.”
“She did?”
Noah clapped Matt on the shoulder. “By name. I think she likes you.”
“In that case, you do the patrol. I can escort her and still get my steps in.”
“Okay, if you’re sure. I don’t care either way.”
“No, I got this.”
Crisis averted. Noah slid his hand into his pocket and fingered the object he’d taken from Eden’s purse. Now that things were back on track, he smiled.
“Good deal. I’ll check in after patrol.”
The gal from Coach didn’t need an escort tonight, and if she had, he wouldn’t have sent Matt. That shit would have resulted in a complaint, and his boss would have reamed Noah for not personally handling the request. There was a reason why Matt worked mid-week graveyards. He wasn’t sharp enough to work weekends and not presentable enough to work days. If it wasn’t so damned hard to fill the overnight shifts, Matt wouldn’t have a job, but luckily for him, unemployment was at an all-time low.
By the time Matt shuffled his fat ass to the other end of the mall, the gal from Coach would be long gone and Noah would pretend he’d screwed up the time. Tomorrow night, the episode would be long forgotten.
There would be much bigger things to worry about then.
Noah exited the mall through a door on the east side of the building, following the same route he took every night. Consistency was important, and the parking lots were virtually empty, with only a few cars left.
Summer was a memory. The cold breath of fall blew across the Cascade mountains into the valley, plunging the nighttime temperatures into the forties. Noah thrust his bare hands into his pockets, mindful of the surveillance cameras he passed. An electric current of excitement buzzed through him, and he felt more alive in this moment than he had ever felt before.
All the planning, all the waiting, and finally, everything was ready to go. He’d timed things out to the second. In addition to his regular patrol time, he allotted himself five extra minutes to get it done. In the greater scheme of things, five minutes was nothing. An anomaly easily explained if anyone cared to ask. Any longer, and people might start asking the kind of uncomfortable questions that could land him in jail.
Noah had a knack for remembering details, which made him an exceptional security guard. Like most long-time members of the team, he knew the names of the regular mall employees, but unlike them, Noah retained much more in-depth information on each—not just names, but hire dates, access badge numbers, the models, makes and license plate numbers of the cars they drove.
Eden drove a 2005 lime green Volkswagen Bug. In keeping with her utter cluelessness about security, she always parked in the northwest quadrant of the lot, which just happened to fall within the area monitored by the faulty camera.
At this point in the patrol, everything was going as scheduled. The first deviation from Noah’s routine occurred as he ducked into the parking garage. Today, on his way into work, he’d stashed a paper bag behind a pillar in one of the blind spots between cameras. The bag contained a nondescript black hoodie. As soon as he left the garage and passed out of camera range, Noah planned to strip off his security jacket and stow it beneath the hoodie, just in case he was spotted.
Noah peeked around the pillar into the narrow gap.
“Son of a bitch.”
He’d specifically chosen a place where the pillar abutted a wall, leaving a narrow gap of space to wedge it into, but the bag was gone. Someone had taken it. A stupid kid. A homeless dude. Dozens of people cut through this part of the garage every day. The hoodie was his insurance policy and without it... Without it they’d see a security guard on his patrol.
It didn’t matter. The detour into the parking garage had cost him more than the forty-five seconds he allotted. He couldn’t afford to waste more precious time.
Noah left the parking garage and rounded the far end of the mall. He paused, sweeping his gaze across the parking lot. Silver cones of light shone down on the cracked asphalt creating rivers of shadows between. He peered through the darkness toward the exit closest to Aphrodite’s where he expected Eden to emerge.
The parking lot was empty.
She should have left by now. Her car was still here. She could have stopped to use the restroom, or maybe… Or maybe Hayden had decided not to hang with the boys after all and swung by the mall to pick Eden up. Or maybe Claire had convinced Eden to go out with her. Why not? With Hayden busy, Eden was free. She could easily be talked into a girl’s night. And where would that leave him?
Noah’s gut churned. He checked his watch. Each second she failed to arrive ate into his buffer, which was already precariously thin. Beads of sweat broke across Noah’s forehead. His eyes locked on the exit, wondering how much longer he could afford to wait.
Another minute passed, and his five minutes were gone.
Dammit. Where was she? What could possibly be taking so long?
His hands began to tremble as he checked his watch for a third time. He was late. He had to go.
And then… And then the door to the exit opened. Eden emerged.
Noah’s chest expanded as he pulled in a breath. He could still do this.
He jogged across the parking lot. The sound of his heavy footsteps startled Eden, and she whirled. In the darkness, he hadn’t noticed the cellphone pressed to her ear.
Noah froze.
He’d placed her phone in airplane mode. If she noticed, if she’d fixed her connection problem, he’d have no choice but to bail.
“Oh, thank god it’s you,” Eden breathed, and sagged against the car. “I was about to call for help, but there’s something wrong with my phone.”
“The cell signal out here is horrible,” Noah said.
“Is it? I’ve never had a problem before, but then again, it hasn’t been my day. I’ve lost my—”
Before she could finish, Noah drew an object from his pocket, and dangled it in front of her face. His hands were shaking. He needed to get a grip. But Eden didn’t seem to notice his bout of nerves.
“My keys! But how—”
Noah forced a smile. “They must have fallen out of your purse. I saw them when I was out on patrol.”
“How did you know they were mine?”
“I didn’t, but I figured that whoever had lost them would be standing outside their car stranded. So when I saw you… Let’s just say the math wasn’t hard.”
Relief broke across Eden’s face and she laughed, taking the keys from his hand. The sudden brush of her fingers sent sparks of heat shooting up his arm. His breath caught. Eden pushed a button on the FOB and her car’s headlights flashed.
“God, Noah, you’re a lifesaver,” she said, turning toward him. “I was trying to call Hayden and—”
Noah lurched forward. In one swift movement, he clamped his elbow around her neck and squeezed hard in a choke hold designed to clamp down on the carotid arteries. It was a move used by the police to subdue a suspect. She thrashed in his arms, but he held her tight, hating himself for the pain he was causing her, but knowing there was no other choice. His heart pounded. His pulse raced. Sweat trickled down his forehead. Fifteen agonizing seconds later, she was out.
Eden’s knees gave way. Noah caught her before she fell. His car was parked beside hers. His keys. Noah should have had them at the ready, but they were still jammed in his pocket. Awkwardly, he balanced her on one knee as he dug for them.
Eden’s weight shifted. He stumbled, trying not to drop her, and dropped his keys instead. They fell onto the pavement with a clang, and Noah swore.
He didn’t have time for this. He’d already burned through his five minutes and at least two more. If Matt came looking for him now, he was fucked. Noah bent, still holding Eden, her weight throwing him off balance as he scooped the keys off the ground. He was sweating, chest heaving under the strain. He clicked the remote to unlock the trunk, but nothing happened. He tried again. Growled in frustration. The batteries were dead.
Dammit.
He struggled to get the key into the lock until finally, the trunk opened. With a grateful sigh, he gently lowered her inside. Noah grabbed a backpack he’d stowed in the trunk. Fumbling with the zipper, he opened it and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear liquid. Ketamine. The dose was premeasured. He stabbed the tip of the needle into Eden’s neck and depressed the plunger. Then, chest heaving, he grabbed her purse and keys, and placed them alongside her prone form. He ripped a short length of duct tape off the role he’d hidden in the backpack and carefully placed it over her mouth. Working quickly, he used zip ties to secure her hands and feet.
He was way over schedule. He knew damned well that this was when he was the most vulnerable. There was an unconscious woman bound and gagged in his trunk. If caught, there wasn’t a rational explanation in the world that would get him out of this. And there were two more hours left on his shift before he could get the hell out of here.
Breath ragged, Noah gripped the edge of the trunk and stared down at Eden. She had never looked more beautiful.
A sleeping angel.
He had done it.
11
Noah returned to the security office, a full ten minutes later than usual, which considering everything that had occurred within that time span, was a miracle. Predictably, Noah opened the door to find Matt’s fat ass already planted in the same chair he had vacated less than half an hour ago. So much for getting in extra steps.
“Bastard.”
Unlike Dex, Matt wasn’t the type to swear. Noah almost smiled. Who knew that soft, malleable Matt was capable of such venom?
“What are you talking about?”
“I know what you did.”
An irrational jolt of fear froze Noah to the spot. This was bad. If Matt really did know something, Noah’s whole life would come crashing down around him. Prison. Fifteen years. Maybe life. He would have to kill Matt. But that was something he hadn’t planned on, and without meticulous planning… No.
Calm down. He doesn’t know shit.
Noah released a breath. “How’d it go with the Coach lady?”
“You totally set me up and I fell for it. You know, Dex said you were an asshole, but I stood up for you. I told him that you’ve always treated me fine, but it turns out he was right. You really are an asshole.”
“She didn’t show?”
Like a pouting toddler, Matt crossed his pudgy arms and gave a snort. “Fuck off.”
“Matt. Mattie, I made a mistake, okay? I must have mixed up the dates, or maybe her boyfriend showed up before you got there. That’s happened to me before. Someone asks for an escort and then is too impatient to wait. I didn’t set you up. I swear.”
Matt pretended to ignore him, but Noah saw his expression soften slightly.
“And as for Dex, you know as well as I do that he’s full of shit. He said you’d never make it past the three-month probation mark, but here you are. You’re one of the best guards we’ve got. Those other guys, they spend their nights on the phone, playing games, surfing porn, but not you. You’re the real deal. At least that’s what I think.”
Noah clapped Matt on the shoulder and sat down in an empty chair. The anger drained from Matt’s face.
“You think I’ll make it through probation?”
“Yeah. Definitely.”
Matt’s head bobbed in a jerky nod. “Thanks, man.”
“Sure thing.
The rest of the shift was uneventful. Two minutes after midnight, Noah left the building. A thick fog settled over the parking lot, deepening the night’s chill. Though he was anxious to get the hell out of here, Noah took his time walking to the car. Hands shoved into his pockets, he strolled along the side of the building within sight of the surveillance cameras, looking as if he had all the time in the world. He knew that when the police poured over the footage, he had to appear relaxed. Innocent.
He had already rehearsed answers to the questions Noah knew they would ask.
Yes, I knew her. I can’t believe she’s missing. I dropped by her store that night. She seemed fine. She said that she was hooking up with her boyfriend after work. My shift was over at midnight. After that I went home. I don’t remember whether her car was there when I left. But I do know that her boyfriend would often pick her up after work, so if I had seen it, it wouldn’t have seemed unusual. Have you checked with him? With his friends? That’s not what Eden told me, but then, maybe I’m remembering it wrong.
Despite his relaxed demeanor, Noah’s insides were coiled as tight as a spring. He was almo
st there. All he had to do was to get in his car and drive out of the lot. And then he was home free.
Noah was a few strides away from his car when another set of headlights swung into the lot. They sliced through the fog. Cutting a path straight for him, the car slowed. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck as he squinted through the fog. The vehicle was too small to be Hayden’s jeep. It could belong to one of his buddies. Who else would be driving by this time of night?
The window rolled down and Noah tried to make out the person behind the wheel, but it was hard to see through the fog. Finally, the driver came into focus, and the tension inside Noah’s chest eased. It wasn’t Hayden or one of his friends. A woman sat behind the wheel. The window rolled down.
“Noah!” Claire’s voice hit him like a gut punch.
“Hey,” he called back, careful to keep the anger he felt from leaking into his voice.
“We’re heading out. Want to come?”
“Not tonight.”
The car door slammed, and Claire was out, weaving unsteadily toward him. In the dim light, her eyes looked bleary. Noah’s nose wrinkled. She reeked of pot.
“Come on,” she said, grabbing his hand as if he hadn’t already said no, and tugged him toward the car. “We had so much fun last time.”
“Claire, I’m leaving first thing in the morning. I’ve got to pack.”
“Want help?”
Noah tried to pull his hand from her grasp, but Claire refused to let go.
“No.”
“Come on, Noah. You’re always so serious. Have a little fun for once.”
She staggered toward him. Losing her balance, she fell against his chest. A thumping sound came from the trunk, drawing Claire’s gaze.
“What’s in there?” she asked.
“Nothing. Just nothing. You’re drunk.”
“Maybe a little,” she said.
Claire’s attempt at a seductive smile repulsed Noah. He shoved her away so hard that she almost fell. Angry tears glittered in her bloodshot eyes.
