by Katlynn Rose
Ashley was in a world of wavering, red smoke. It weaved back and forth between intricate and nonsensical patterns, giving her a massive headache. Somewhere in the distance, in another world even, the tiniest pinprick of light formed. She watched through dancing fumes, and her mind's eye squinted to see it better. It was growing. Slowly at first, then faster and bigger until she could see... floor tile?
It came back then. The world opened up to her as consciousness seeped into her hazy dream. She lay still, waiting for it all to come back and ticking off the memories in her head like a grocery list.
Lance.
The storage building.
The take.
The jackass that had kicked her in the head.
That last thought had her moaning, but she stilled again quickly. She was conscious enough to realize she didn't want him to know she was awake. Footsteps shuffled around. Shadows flickered past her eyelids. Her other senses were telling her enough to know what was going on. As the shadow receded, she chanced to open her eyes.
She was still in the storage room. The jackass was still with her.
She closed her eyes again, processing what she had observed in that brief moment. The shuffling was him moving the boxes to the corridor, although he wasn't finished yet. She must have only been out for a minute, maybe two.
He was coming back to grab another box, and she remained motionless. The probability of him leaving her there after he took the boxes was high, but what if Lance saw him? Besides, she had come this far. She wasn't ready to lose this... Her head still woozy and throbbing, she found the determination for one last stand.
As he left the room, she stood quickly and steadied herself against the desk. Thankfully she was able to stay quiet, but the room continued to spin even after she was upright. She only had seconds to right her brain, so she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and envisioned completing a beautiful Twio Chagi.
She heard him turn, move back into the room, and she opened her eyes. Her focus wavered in front of her, and she forced herself to concentrate on the void. Surprise widened his features, but she didn't have the time to savor it. She stepped with her right foot, pulled her left leg up to swing it back down again, building her body's momentum.
She leaped.
Her foot kicked out and her body was airborne, just like she had envisioned in her mind. The heel of her foot plowed into his chest, and Ashley heard the whoosh as the air was expelled from his lungs. He never had a chance to brace for impact and was thrown backwards, stumbling all the way to the outside wall. Ashley almost smiled, but the dizziness raged through her head again, her body unhappy with her drastic movements. She crumpled to a heap on the floor.
The jackass only staggered for a moment, glaring at her as he regained his feet. He growled as he charged.
God, he looks pissed, she thought as she shuffled backwards to the desk. He was on her the next instant, and her feeble attempts to punch him were easily turned away. Her offense was used up in one attack, and the dizziness continued to overwhelm her.
A hand grabbed a handful of her hair and hauled her to her feet. Ashley screamed in outrage at being so easily manhandled, but there was little she could do against him at the moment. She resorted to the only tool she had left and brutally clawed at his face.
"You fucking bitch!" he roared and pulled his arm back for a blow that would finish her.
A blow that never came.
A hand tipped with perfectly manicured, blood-red nails materialize out of nowhere, clasping the attacker's arm. The hand in Ashley's hair loosened as his body contorted oddly, his chest puffing out as his head snapped back. Then she was free. He'd let her go so he could face this new menace, and Ashley collapsed against the desk, dread flooding through her.
Ashley saw her rescuer. The platinum blond hair, black leggings, and trademark, knee-high boots. Her mouth was suddenly bone dry, and she was in worse trouble being rescued than she was when the buffoon was about to beat her to a pulp.
Nikki!
Ashley tried to swallow as she watched the woman elegantly disable the man. It was effortless. He turned into an attack, the heel of Nikki's hand ramming his chin to slam his jaw shut while her other arm fluidly snapped her elbow into his collar bone. He staggered under the blow, unable to defend against her. Nikki's next attack was almost comical but disastrous for the jackass. She simultaneously slapped the palms of her hands against each of his ears.
He howled, oh how he howled, but Nikki was merciless. Stepping back, Nikki extended her leg so elegantly between them that she could have been executing a dance move instead of the fatal Nerio Chagi that sent him to the ground.
Nikki quickly pulled his gun from his holster and slipped it into the back of her pants, and Ashley stared, dumbfounded and defenseless. She didn't even notice Lance appear in the doorway she was so entranced by the blonde amazon in front of her. Nikki stood to her full height, dwarfing Ashley, and glared down at her slumped against the desk. Those deadly blue eyes roved over her, over everything, including the man crumpled and moaning on the floor.
"You didn't do so bad, I guess," her voice exuding distaste, as if she was lowering herself just to be there. God, why was she here? "Grab that box, we need to move," she commanded.
"How?" Ashley started to stammer before her brain could turn her mouth off. She knew it was a mistake.
One step and Nikki was nose to nose with her, her fingers tightly grasping her chin so she couldn't look away. "I said, grab that box. We need to move."
Ashley swallowed hard.
Lance was there then, wedging himself between them, and pulled Ashley to her feet. "Are you okay? Can you move?"
Ashley nodded, wanting to collapse against him, but she didn't dare show weakness in front of her. The thundering of blood in her ears and heart pounding in her chest made it difficult, but she straightened and stepped away from Lance. She grabbed the last box sitting in the corner and immediately wished she hadn't as her vision spun again. She leaned against the wall, glad Nikki didn't witness her stumble. It was harder to wave Lance off this time, so she stepped past him to the hallway, forcing him to follow.
Nikki was already leaving, toting one box down the corridor. Ashley panicked, motioning for Lance to grab the last two boxes as she scurried after Nikki. She glanced over her shoulder to see his brow furrowed in confusion, and she gave him an apologetic shrug. He sighed, finally grabbing the boxes and followed.
They took the elevator down using Nikki's code, and Ashley gathered what courage she could. Eventually, she was able to stammer out one word. "How?"
Nikki looked at her with cold blue eyes, and her red lips curved into a sly smile. The silence lingered after the question, and Ashley shifted on nervous feet. The elevator dinged as it hit the first floor, but before the doors opened Nikki responded, "I made a promise."
Not another word was said as Ashley and Lance followed Nikki to their rental car. They loaded the four boxes inside, two in the trunk and the other two in the backseat. Ashley wondered what was in them before Nikki interrupted her scattered thoughts.
"Did you see that little diner on 5th Street?" She was asking Lance, who's brow was furrowed in confusion. He merely nodded his reply. "You want answers, and I need to give them to you. Meet me there, and don't even think about standing me up or I will find you."
Ashley didn't doubt her.
Nikki turned on Ashley then, her tall, lithe body towering over Ashley's shorter frame. The amazon was intimidating, and Ashley clasped her hands behind her back so Nikki wouldn't see them shaking. She could smell Nikki's sweet vanilla musk as she stared up into those beautiful, icy eyes. Long fingers gently brushed Ashley's cheek in a deadly caress that turned her bare skin to gooseflesh.
"Let's make sure you never waste any more of my time again," Nikki purred sweetly, but Ashley heard the threat underneath it loud and clear. Nikki spun on the sharp heel of her boot and casually walked to a car that neither Lance nor Ashley had notice
d. It was parked behind one of the adjacent storage garages.
Ashley's dark eyes sought Lance's to see him staring down at her. She shook her head slightly and slipped around the car to crawl into the passenger seat, feeling like her head was going to explode.
As soon as Lance joined her in the car, his voice was gruff as he asked, "How do you know Colline?"
Ashley’s following laughter was nervous, threatening to collapse into sobs at any moment. "Is that what she told you? Her name is not Colline." She sobered as she meet his questioning gaze. "That is the great Nikki Sinclair."
Lance slumped in the seat as he stared unseeing at the steering wheel. He uttered one word. "Fuck."
"How do you know her?" Ashley asked. As he looked at her, his expression was a mask of utter confusion, and his answer left her speechless.
"I knew her as Colline Fitzgerald. She's the P.I. that helped me find you."
Chapter 14 – Diner
