by Nia Arthurs
“Please,” I mouthed again.
Harley stopped a foot away from us. “What’s going on, Mo? I was waiting for you.”
I swung around and studied him. His blonde hair lay flat on his head. He was a foot shorter than me with scrawny arms that were swallowed by his Captain America T-shirt and scrawny legs hidden by thick jeans.
In a perfect world, nothing about this guy would make me jealous, and yet I was. His connection to Monique was special. They shared history, inside jokes, and special memories. The type of thing I could never compete with.
For as long as we were together, I could never see Harley and I getting along.
“Why’d you bring him?” Harley asked. “This is our place.”
I pointed to the door with the ‘open’ sign. “Far as I could see, this store is open to the public.”
“Wow.” Harley shook his head and pinned his cold blue eyes on me. “Never thought I’d see James Sawyer in a bookstore.”
“Looks like your dreams just came true.”
“Maybe I am dreaming. I thought you couldn’t read?”
“That’s enough,” Monique said, jumping between the two of us. “Can you guys not fight whenever you’re in the same room?”
I scoffed and glanced away.
A cat pranced by. It lifted its head, looked lazily at me and flicked it’s tail. I lowered my hand and gestured for it to stick around. It didn’t. With a lift of its chin, the cat promptly dismissed me and walked off.
The arrogance.
Harley nodded to the coffees on the counter. “Come on, Mo. Grab your drink and lets head back.”
“Why don’t we all sit front here and catch up?” Lauren asked.
I froze.
For my plan to work, I needed Lauren out of the way. It would be a challenge to sneak into her apartment if she was standing in full view of the hallway.
My eyes fell on Monique.
She looked at me, her jaw slack in indecision.
Lauren’s thick glasses slid further down her crooked nose. “Monique?”
“The nook,” Monique swallowed, “is… much better for chatting.”
“Okay. Well, you two go ahead.” Lauren stepped back as if she’d slip behind the counter again.
Monique grabbed her arm. “Wait. By chance, did you get any more of the book series I bought for Christmas? My friend Angie loved it and she wanted the rest.”
“Ah, I’m not sure. It was a while ago.”
“Can we check?” Monique took the cookies from Lauren and set them down. She nudged her away from the counter. “I also wanted to ask you a couple questions about starting a book club…”
“How delightful.”
I grinned, watching Monique at work. She had a bad side alright.
My girl wasn’t a half-bad liar.
When Lauren had taken a couple steps away, I hooked a finger over my shoulder. “Could I use the bathroom?”
“Yes. Its right behind the counter.” Lauren waved me away. “Door to the right.”
How convenient. Behind the counter was exactly where I wanted to go.
“Thanks!” I called.
“I need to use it too,” Harley said.
My triumphant grin shattered.
I swung around and pinned him with a hard stare. “What?”
He ignored me, walking right past much like the cat did.
I sighed and followed.
The bathroom was small and dark. A tiny sink was fitted into one corner while the other held a urinal and a bathroom stall. I rushed for the stall while Harley took the urinal. The sound of hissing echoed off the walls as he relieved himself.
I cringed at the sound. Thanks to Harley, my plan to head upstairs was postponed. I’d just have to find a way to shake him off. Hopefully, Lauren didn’t return to her station before I could sneak out.
The hissing stopped.
I heard a zipping sound.
Harley’s footsteps headed for the door. I craned my neck waiting for the sign that he’d left. My fingers poised over the lock.
Come on. Go away…
Harley’s voice echoed. “Look… I’ve been meaning to ask you something, but Monique is always around.” Harley paused. “What happened with Marissa?”
I stiffened.
“There was a weird rumor going around that she was sick or pregnant and then a few days later, she just dropped out of school and disappeared. No one’s heard from her since.”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s just strange.” Harley’s voice grew louder and so did his footsteps until I saw his shoes right under my stall. “Eric told me you were hooking up with her. And I don’t think that was common knowledge to the rest of the student body.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I just think it’s weird that right after Monique started tutoring you, people thought Marissa was pregnant and then she up and disappeared without telling anyone.”
“Are you accusing me of murder or something?”
“I’m just trying to figure things out.”
I checked my watch. This conversation was taking too much time. “Even if I told you the truth, you wouldn’t believe it.”
“Try me.”
I checked my watch again. Then my phone. No message from Monique.
How long would she be able to hold off Lauren?
“Alright,” I bit out. “I was hooking up with Marissa. It wasn’t anything serious on my part, but that wasn’t the same for her. A few weeks later, she told me she was pregnant.”
“I knew it!” Harley bawled out.
“But she wasn’t. It was all just a trick of her own mind.”
“How is that even possible?”
Sweat beaded on my temple. I urgently answered, “Placebo effect. That’s what they told me.”
“What about her moving?”
“Her mom was already planning to move out of town. Marissa wanted to stay. I don’t know why she didn’t tell anyone. She was sensitive at the time. It was hard to accept that she wasn’t pregnant when she really wanted to be.”
“So you’re just the innocent victim. Is that it?”
I stared at the back of the stall door. “Dude, I’m in the bathroom laying my heart out. Can you cut the sarcasm?”
“Fine.”
“Thank you.”
Harley sniffed. “Are you almost done?”
“Oh,” I pretended to moan, “I think I ate bad tuna for lunch. It’s all coming back.”
I heard a gagging noise. Harley’s voice was thin when he said, “Good luck with that. I’m out.”
A moment later, the door opened and slammed shut.
The bathroom went still.
He was gone.
I opened the door and peeked outside. The space was empty. I hustled to the stairs. On the way, I texted Monique to let her know I was in.
She texted back.
MONIQUE: You have five minutes.
I checked my watch and slipped into Lauren’s apartment on the second floor. The place was bursting with more cats. I jumped back when I saw them. They were crawling over the sofas, resting on little cushioned stairs and yawning from the top of cupboards.
I think Lauren has a problem.
“Nice kitty, kitty.” I held my hand out and walked gently through the swarm, stopping at the first door on the right.
Bathroom.
I closed that door and went to the next. It had a few more cats, which surprised me. A television hung on the wall. The vanity dresser held a variety of skin care products and perfumes. Unless Alex had an obsession with smelling like jasmine citrus, I doubted this was his room.
I moved to the last door.
It was locked.
Bingo.
I studied the lock. Should be easy enough to jimmy it open. Not that I’d ever done it before. Despite my bad reputation, this was my first time actually breaking the law.
For a moment, I paused and considered what I was about to do. Then I shrugg
ed. The only thing standing in the way of my answers was that lock. It seemed easy enough to manipulate in the movies.
I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out a paper clip. Monique liked to use those instead of staples. I’d have to thank her later, although I doubted she’d take it as a compliment.
Slowly, I straightened the pin and jimmied the lock. Half of me didn’t expect this to work so when I heard a pop and saw the door swing, I froze in shock.
Dude, you only have five minutes.
The reminder snapped me to life. I scrambled inside and locked the door behind me.
My phone buzzed.
I took it out and checked the screen.
MONIQUE: Still got Lauren.
I smiled and slid my phone back into my pocket. Turning around, I perused the room. It looked like any other. There was laundry abandoned on the floor and an unmade bed. My gaze landed on a small computer table where a stack of folders lay scattered over a laptop.
I walked over, intending to pry the laptop open when the folder plunked to the floor. It’s contents slid out and a newspaper heading peeked at me. I stooped and studied the heading that was partially revealed.
‘DARIUS SAWYER DONATES $100,000 TO VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES’
I picked up the folder and opened it, gasping when I saw the number of newspaper clippings and online articles about my father. Rushing to the table, I opened the other folders and saw they were all stuffed with the same.
“Why is this guy obsessed with my family?”
A clacking sound forced my head up.
The doorknob rattled.
Someone was trying to get in.
My head spun as I scrambled for somewhere to hide. Before I could find anywhere suitable, the door swung open and Alex walked in. He skidded to a halt when he saw me, brown eyes widening.
“What the hell?” he roared.
I thrust the newspapers in my grip. “I was just about to ask the same thing.”
His eyes slid to the clippings. His expression shifted from rage to unease.
I felt my own confidence rising.
Then Alex blinked and, in a second, his fear was gone. “Get out of my room.”
“Not until you explain why you were stalking us.”
“I wasn’t stalking.” He strode over and snatched the articles from me. “I was just curious.”
“About what? How much money he made?”
“That’s not it.” His eyes clattered into mine. “I wanted to know.”
“Know what?”
“What it would have been like if I’d met my father.”
Shock pinned me in place. His words rattled around my brain. I was faced with a sudden, frightening thought.
Was it possible that Alex had come to Pine Hill with pure intentions?
12
HIS SEXY ACCOMPLICE
Monique
MY NERVES WERE as thin as a clothespin line. I shot a glance behind me. The aisle between the bookshelves was empty. James still hadn’t come back.
“What do you think about this?” Lauren—beautiful, totally clueless Lauren—had been working her butt off to find a book for my non-existent book club. She presented a thick novel to me.
“Yeah,” I said absently, “I think that’s great, but I’m looking for something else.”
She slipped it back into the shelf. “You’re right. That one’s a little too explicit. We want a book club that high school kids can read without their parents getting upset. It did have a great plot though…”
I watched Lauren move on to a different shelf and stuck my finger in my mouth. Nail biting was a habit I’d given up in middle school, but it was a necessary coping mechanism now.
My boyfriend was currently prowling around my old boss’s apartment, searching for clues to prove his conspiracy theories.
Was Alex here with ulterior motives? Probably.
Did I want James going to jail because of those suspicions? Most definitely not.
“How about a book about Greek mythology?” Harley suggested from where he was perched in the nook. The sun pealed over his blonde hair, turning it into my favorite kind of gold. I always told Harley that his hair looked like a field of wheat at sunrise.
“Greek mythology?” I echoed.
His blue eyes danced. “It’s the stories of the gods. Who wouldn’t be interested?”
“That’s a bit too tedious for beginners,” Lauren said.
A phone chirped.
I scrambled into my pocket, desperate to see a message from James.
My screen was blank.
Lauren chuckled. “It’s mine.” She adjusted her glasses to read the contents of her text. “Looks like you and James will get your wish. Alex is back.”
“Where is he?” I craned my neck to see through the huge glass windows that looked into the street.
“He’s upstairs.”
Every nerve in my body skittered to a halt. I inhaled a deep, calming breath. “What do you mean he’s upstairs?”
Harley slipped his foot off the bench and half-rose. “Mo, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” I waved away his concern.
Lauren moved closer, her face close to mine. “No, he’s right. You do look a little ill.”
“Lauren, let’s talk about Alex. How’d he get upstairs?”
“He used the back entrance, probably.”
“There’s a back entrance?” I wheezed.
She nodded.
Pulling myself together so they couldn’t see my true horror, I asked daintily, “Would you give me a minute?”
Lauren hiked both eyebrows.
I spun and hunched over my phone, typing furiously. After sending a warning to James, I turned back around, fake smile firmly in place. “Where were we?”
“Uh…” Lauren shook her head. “What about an adventure story?”
“Lead the way.”
Lauren chattered on for another five minutes. There was no response from James. My knee became increasingly jittery. I licked my lips over and over. My fingers twitched. I checked my phone incessantly.
No messages.
“Monique?” Lauren stepped toward me and pressed a hand to my forehead. “Do you have a fever? You’re sweating.”
Harley slapped his book closed and approached us. “Maybe I should take you home.”
“Didn’t you come with James?” Lauren scrunched her nose. “By the way, where is he? I haven’t seen him since he left to use the bathroom.”
“He said he had a… problem, but you’re right. He should be done by now.” Harley slanted me a suspicious look.
I laughed uproariously. “Would you look at that? Suddenly, I am feeling kind of sick. I think it would be a good idea to sit down. Lauren, would you sit with me?”
The bell on the front door jangled.
“A customer.” Lauren’s head snapped up. “I should get that.”
“No!” I hollered.
Harley and Lauren stared at me.
While I searched for an excuse good enough to keep Lauren away from the counter, my gaze darted about and landed on a figure striding toward me. I recognized his confident lope and tall figure. Relief burned like fire in my veins.
James.
I popped up. “Thanks for the offer, Harley, but you should stay and finish reading. I’ll ask James to take me home.”
“Moni—”
“See yah, Lauren. Thanks for the cookies!” I sprinted ahead, grabbed James by the hand and pulled him toward the door.
He almost tripped, but managed to catch his balance and shuffled behind me. “Monique, what’s wrong?”
“You have a heck of a lot of explaining to do,” I snarled.
James kept quiet.
Smart man.
When we got to the car, I slammed my door shut and whirled on him. “What happened? Did you run into Alex?”
“Yeah.”
I gasped.
James rubbed the back of his neck. “We had a quick chat.”
<
br /> “What does that mean? Did you find anything in his room?”
James ranted about newspaper clippings and then added, “I thought it was solid proof against him.” He hesitated. “But now I’m wondering if there’s really a bad guy in this story? Alex said he just wanted to get to know his dad. It could explain why he’d been researching him.”
“It sounds like you want to believe that.”
“I don’t know what to believe. It could be just as likely that Alex found out his biological father was a rich guy and decided to exploit him.”
“So what if he did?” I prodded. “It’s not like you like your dad.”
“Yeah, but if he plans on hurting my family, then I want to know. My mom, for the time being, is attached to her husband. And if he gets hurt, she does too.”
“What are you going to do?”
He shrugged. “Alex asked me the same question. It’s all too complicated. I kind of wished he’d stayed away.”
“I mean, he can’t be that bad.”
James sent me an inquiring look.
“He didn’t rat you out after he found you sneaking around his room. That makes him an okay person in my books.”
“Or a master manipulator with an end-game none of us see coming.” James narrowed his eyes. “Don’t think I forgot the way he flirted with you. The guy’s not innocent.”
“You share the same blood. Maybe you share the same taste in women.”
“That’s not funny.”
I snorted. “It kinda is.”
“Anyway, Alex promised to stay out of my way. As long as he keeps his word and doesn’t do anything to destroy my family, I’ll pretend he doesn’t exist.”
“What if it’s not that easy?”
James glanced away. “It has to be.”
I thought about what he’d said long after he dropped me home. This problem with Alex was turning into a bigger issue than I’d expected. To be fair, there was no right way to react when a surprise child from a previous relationship suddenly showed up, but there had to be a better way than this.
The next day, I skipped my lunch with Angie and Harley to seek Alex out ‘downstairs’—the name Harley used to refer to the basement classroom where the school stored its dusty instruments.
I knocked on the door and cracked it open. “Hello?”
“Hey?” Alex spun and dusted his hands on his pants. “Monique, what a pleasant surprise.”
