by Tiffany Snow
I didn’t know what to do with the money. It wasn’t like I felt like I could leave it sitting out. Going back into the bedroom, I hesitated, then put it in the top drawer of the nightstand. That was probably the most appropriate place for it anyway, I thought somewhat bitterly.
Now I was really late for work. I drove my own car although I had the keys for Devon’s Porsche. He’d left them when he’d left the keys to his apartment and a directive to move out of my best friend Logan’s place and into his. But driving such an expensive car made me nervous, so my old sedan was preferable.
Marcia, another teller at the bank and one of my few close friends, was pouring herself a cup of coffee in the break room by the time I hurriedly clocked in and tossed my lunch into the communal refrigerator.
“Oh, pour me a cup, too, please,” I said, somewhat breathless from my dash into the building after I’d parked my car.
She obliged, pouring a second cup and eyeing me. “You look a little tired today,” she said. “Everything okay?”
“Devon came last night,” I said, taking the cup from her. We fell into step together as we walked to the front of the bank and our teller booths.
“That’s, what, the sixth time he’s been back since New Year’s?” she asked. “That should make you happy.” Her voice was carefully even. She didn’t really “get” my relationship with Devon, but wanted to support my decisions, which was more than I could say for Logan.
“I was,” I said, pausing outside my booth, “but then this morning, I saw he’d left money on the kitchen counter.”
Marcia raised her eyebrows. “Money?” I nodded. She frowned. “How much?”
I glanced around before answering, then lowered my voice. “Ten thousand dollars.”
Her eyes flew open wide. “Ten thousand—”
“Shh!” I shushed her, glancing around again, but no one had paid attention.
“Ten thousand dollars,” she said again, this time much more quietly, but no less astounded. “Are you kidding me right now?”
I shook my head. “I counted it.”
“Did he talk to you about it?”
“No. He just left a note.”
“And it said?” she prompted.
Pulling the scrap of paper from my pocket, I handed it to her and she read it, then handed it back.
“What do you think it means?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I have no idea, but you know I don’t understand how this relationship works anyway. Maybe it’s just what he says. Some money in case you need it.”
“But I’m already living in his apartment. He pays all the bills. Why would I need money?”
“Girl, if you think you’re going to get sympathy from me because your boyfriend gave you ten grand to spend on whatever you want, you’re looking in the wrong place.” Her dry comment prodded a grin out of me.
We had to stop there because customers had entered the building. I was busy all day and when I did stop to eat lunch and chat with Marcia, we didn’t talk about Devon or dissect the events of last night. Not that it stopped me from dwelling on it all day.
Was I making a big deal out of nothing? Ten thousand dollars was a lot of money. Maybe it was a goodbye gift? Maybe I wouldn’t see him again?
The thought made my stomach clench as anxiety struck. Surely he’d tell me if he wasn’t coming back? He wouldn’t just leave and not say a word?
But I wasn’t one hundred percent sure he wouldn’t do just that.
I had no way of reaching him. When he called, his number was always blocked, and he didn’t call that often anyway. There was no predictable pattern to it and he rarely stayed on the line for long.
Warm spring air greeted me when I stepped out of the building a little after six o’clock. I was tired. The lack of sleep last night and a long day at work had taken their toll and I couldn’t wait to get home and relax.
Home.
Was that how I thought of Devon’s apartment? Home?
It was the closest thing I’d had to a home since moving to St. Louis from Dodge City, Kansas last summer. I’d stayed with Logan for a while, but then Devon had swept into my life and one of his conditions for remaining in my life was that I move out of Logan’s place and into his. Since he was hardly ever home, I had the place to myself. A perk I’d gladly give up if it meant I’d get to see him more often. Six times over the past four months wasn’t enough, especially when the longest visit had been only ten hours.
I unlocked and climbed into my car, tossing my purse onto the passenger seat. I pulled my door shut with a slam just as the rear door opened and a man slid into the backseat.
Alarmed, I reached for my door handle. “Hey! What’re you—” But I was cut off when he reached over the seat and took a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back. I gasped in pain, and with my next breath, I felt the cold slide of a blade against my throat.
“Hallo, luv. Been a while, eh?”
I caught sight of the man in my rearview mirror.
Clive.
He used to work with Devon, if I used the term work loosely. The details were sketchy. What I did know was that he’d once betrayed Devon and left him for dead, and that Clive’s brand-new wife had been murdered by a poison that had also infected me. I, however, had survived.
I swallowed. “What do you want?” I asked, proud of my steady voice.
“I want Anna back, but that’s never going to happen,” he said, speaking of his dead wife. “So I’ll settle for the next best thing.”
He stopped and I thought he wanted me to ask. His fingers pulled harder at my hair and tears of pain burned at the corners of my eyes. My fingernails dug into my seat as I scrambled to think what to do.
“What’s that?” I managed.
“Revenge.”
About the Author
Photo © 2014 Karen Lynn
Tiffany Snow has been reading romance novels since she was too young to read romance novels. After many years of working in the information technology field, Tiffany now works her dream job of writing full-time.
Tiffany makes her home in the Midwest with her husband and two daughters. She can be reached at [email protected]. Visit her on her website, www.Tiffany-Snow.com, to keep up with her latest projects.
