Finally, the barman gives this guy his change and I like that he leaves a good tip on the bar. Going out so much, I notice a lot of bad tipping going to the barmen and women, which I think is crap. They have to work in annoying conditions, trying to hear what drink is being ordered over loud music blaring, having to know what obscure cocktails someone wants because, let’s face it, there is always some jerk out there trying to stump them just for fun. Plus, they also have to deal with the drunken idiots who get angry over nothing. They deserve a good tip. That and, when you tip a barman well, they tend to go to you first the next time.
I take a sip and am impressed that he chooses a drink I like.
“Thanks.” I tip my martini to him and let the sweet tangs tease my taste buds.
“You look familiar,” the guy yells into my ear and this time, I try to take in his features closely. I also have a nagging feeling that I know him or at least, have seen his face around recently.
“Really?” I shrug at him, taking another sip of my drink.
We stand in silence for a moment longer before Anna comes crashing into us with her new male friend that she met on the dance floor earlier.
“Rose! There is a fight breaking out on the—Hello! Who is this?” As usual, her attention span goes only as far as to the next hot guy she sees.
I shrug, realizing I haven’t asked for his name yet.
“I’m Dean.”
“Anna.” She then winks at me.
“What drink do you want?” her mystery man asks and she whispers something in his ear. They both laugh and then he heads to the bar.
“This place is great!” Anna yells to both of us then starts dancing on the spot, grabbing my hands and dancing with me. I only just manage to keep my drink upwards.
Anna’s guy comes back holding two drinks. She takes one and then they’re both gone, heading back onto the dance floor.
“Interesting friend,” Dean says. I watch him carefully to see if he’s being mean to Anna or if maybe he wishes he were with her. Instead, he gazes openly at me and, when our eyes connect, I shiver in anticipation. I have never felt so attracted to someone so quickly.
“So what do you do?” Dean asks me, straightening me up when I bump into him.
“I work in a bank.”
“I just spent all day in a bank today.”
I grab Dean’s arm then and look at him closely. I had never seen Officer Johnson up close, but now I am sure this is him. What are the chances I’d bump into him here?
“Are you a cop?” I ask, staring at him intently.
“How did you—”
“You’re Officer Johnson!” I laugh at him when I realize Hugh is going to hate me on Monday. I can’t wait.
“How do you know my name? I didn’t arrest you or something did I?” Dean jokes.
“Don’t worry, that drug charge didn’t stick.” I wink at him and find myself laughing as he contemplates my words seriously.
“I work in that same bank you spent all day in. We all were wondering if you were gay or not.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I knew you weren’t!” I smile, wishing we could go somewhere quieter to talk.
“You got me.” Dean holds his hands up and I again notice his ring-less hand. It reminds me of my earlier observation of him being taken.
“Do you have a girlfriend somewhere?” I look around, hoping this guy isn’t a cheater.
“Single. You?”
“No, no girlfriend for me.” I wink and watch as he nearly spits out the gulp of beer he just took.
I finish my drink and place it down on a table close by.
“So, Rose, did you steal the money?” Dean’s words put me straight on edge, however I can tell he spoke them in jest.
“You caught me, officer. I did it.” I pout at him and hold my hands outwards, trying to calm my heart rate down.
“I knew it, I can always tell.” He lightly taps the top of his beer bottle to his head and smiles, leaving me to stop breathing all together. This time, it’s because his smile makes my knees weak and my head float.
“How come they need you to stay at the bank? Isn’t that a bit of a waste of your time?” I note, since he seems to be the only uniform cop that has constantly stayed. The rest came and went.
“I graduated top of my class at MIT. They find my knowledge useful.”
“Seriously? And then you decided to become a police officer?”
“Yeah, to serve and protect fit me better than numbers and computers.”
“And are you having any luck finding out what happened to the money?” I try to look nonchalant as I ask, but I fear he can see through me.
“Not really. Want another drink?” Dean finishes off his beer and points at the bar. I nod and watch him walk away. I take my time to notice him more. His short, dark hair gives him more of a military look, especially when you add in his athletic body that is solid. I would place him mid to late twenties and can tell instantly he is someone my mother would hate.
He comes back minutes later, handing me a drink and I smile my thanks as I take another sip. It’s time to stop worrying about the past and start enjoying myself with Dean. I, of course, have to have something juicy to talk to Hugh about on Monday.
Chapter Thirteen – The Close Call
Monday, April 9th
Monday at work, I’m nervous going in. I ended up having an incredibly fun night with Dean on Friday night and now I feel unsure of myself. Not only had I been underage while drinking with a cop, but I was out with someone who is investigating a crime I have committed. Not the smartest move I’ve ever made. So I ignored his calls over the rest of the weekend, feeling bad about doing so and dreading the fact that I would be seeing him Monday.
I find myself hoping he might not be there, but as my luck has it, he arrives just as I do. I walk in with Hugh, deciding I won’t mention Dean when Officer Johnson himself walks up to us and corners me.
“Rose…”
“I’ll talk to you later, Hugh,” I say dismissively. Hugh keeps walking, but as soon as he is behind Dean, he starts making smooching faces and other moves that make me instantly blush. I focus back on Dean’s face and try to act cool.
“Hey, sorry I didn’t find time to get back to you.” I give him a strained smile, hoping to look more carefree, yet knowing I look anything other than carefree. I need to pull myself together.
“That’s okay. I worried you didn’t get home all right.”
“Well, I did.” I smile again and avoid his eyes as I try to move past him, but he moves with me.
“Did I do something wrong?” Dean frowns and I feel my heart flutter again. What is wrong with me? Dean seems like an incredibly nice guy and he is hot enough to melt ice just by standing near it. What is the reason I’m pushing him away again?
“No, not at all.”
“Then what’s wrong?” Dean reaches out and touches my arm lightly and I notice a crowd has appeared by the copy machine. Dean follows my eyesight and he, too, sees the crowd.
“Can we talk about this later? I don’t want to be late for work.”
I don’t wait for an answer as I move past him.
I get to my desk and fear an ambush from Hugh and the others when I notice a note has been left on my computer.
I open it up to read it and all it says is ‘Storeroom now.’
Is this from Dean? Has he found something out about the case? Does he know I wouldn’t want to talk about this in front of everyone?
I look up and see his eyes are on me. My stomach drops, knowing I can’t escape this conversation. I watch him speak to my bank manager, Harry, and have the distinct impression that I might be the topic of conversation. I notice Hugh making a beeline to my desk and I quickly stand and move off towards the storeroom. I should at least hear Dean out and perhaps I can explain myself to him. I can make him realize that I’m not a bad person.
The back of the bank is empty as it’s still early morning. I walk into the storer
oom and turn the lights on since no one has gotten around to that yet. I rarely go into the storeroom. It’s mostly full of supplies like pens, paper, ink cartridges and things like that. It’s next to the break room and is equally as big. I don’t really have a reason to go in here, but I take a deep breath and wait for Dean to come in.
I don’t have to wait long. Less than a few seconds later, Dean walks in and moments after that, the door shuts behind him. The closed door makes me feel claustrophobic and I try to calm my breathing down.
“Dean—”
“Do you have any idea how much trouble I can get in because of what I know now?”
“I’m so sorry, Dean. Let me explain—”
“Explain what? That you let a police officer buy someone who is underage drinks all night?”
“I’m so—what?” I feel surprised; this is definitely a shift from where I thought the conversation was going.
“Did you think it was funny? Did you get a laugh about it with all your friends?” He glares at me.
“No—”
“I liked you, Rose, but I don’t like liars and I don’t like games.”
Dean turns around to leave, but the door has locked behind him. He pulls on it, but it won’t budge.
“You’re going to break it.” I move my hand to the door and watch as he quickly pulls his away. I jiggle the door knob with the same degree of success Dean had.
“Hello? We’re stuck in here!” I yell out, knowing it’s unlikely anyone will hear us. I think about picking the lock, yet I know it’s a long shot. The locks in here are more complicated than average. Besides, even attempting such a thing in front of a cop probably isn’t the smartest thing in the world.
“I’m sorry, Rose. I had to do this.” A voice filters through the locked door from the other side.
I let go of the knob and hold my breath. That voice sounds familiar.
“Who are you?” I yell back, feeling dread sitting in my stomach.
“I won’t leave your side, Rose. We’ll go through to the other side together. I love you.”
I take a step away from the door, feeling goose bumps roll over my body.
“Who is that? He sounds crazy,” Dean asks me. His anger seems to have subsided for now.
“I don’t know.” I shrug, but have a bad feeling welling up inside of me. Something is wrong.
“Is there anyway else out of this place?” Dean looks around us.
“No.” I feel uneasy, knowing we’re locked in here with the words of what that man said hanging in the air with us.
“Why were you even in here?” Dean huffed, annoyed that we’re stuck.
“What do you mean? You left me a note saying to come in here.”
“No, I didn’t. I was just having a discussion with your bank manager, who is very impressed with his nineteen-year-old newest employee, when I saw you walking out the back. I followed you and you came in here, so I did, too.”
“Well, if you didn’t leave me the note, then who did?” I again wonder about that voice.
A loud squeal rings out and I cover my ears to block the sound out. It’s the fire alarm.
“What the hell?” Dean yells over the loud noise, covering his ears, too.
“We need to get out of here.” I struggle with the door knob again, but it remains jammed shut.
“I’ll radio for help. It’ll be okay.” Dean holds my hand, which is now shaking.
What if we burn alive, stuck in here? We’re trapped and the only way out is locked. Doors in a bank are sturdy, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to barge our way through one.
“Radios don’t work in here and same for cell phones. This whole bank is pretty much a reception black hole.” My heart drops with that sudden awakening of knowledge. We’re going to die in this room.
Dean moves away from me and starts looking around the storeroom. There are no windows and no other doorways out of here. We’re trapped.
“What about up there?” Dean calls out to me over the alarm.
I look up to see a ventilation shaft for the air-conditioning positioned above us.
“And how do you propose we get into that?”
I look around us, not seeing any chairs or anything of use that we can use to lift up into it.
“Help me stack these up.” Dean points at a pile of boxes full of blank paper. I move over and help him stack them into a small pile. There isn’t enough to make a high pile, yet it is at least better than it had been.
Dean lightly steps on the top box and, while the lids crush down, they thankfully don’t move or collapse. Once both legs are on the small stack, he lifts his arms and grabs the vent above and tries to pull it out. No luck. He then looks to be trying to push it upwards and, after what feels like a lifetime of Dean grunting and struggling with the vent, he finally gets it to break off. He holds it diagonally and brings it down, steps off the boxes and leans it against the shelves.
“Come over here.”
I hesitantly walk over to him and look up at the shaft. It looks bigger now that I’m closer, however it will still be a tight squeeze for Dean.
“I don’t really feel comfortable doing this.” My nerves start in then and I realize how small it will be up in that shaft.
“You’ll be fine. I’ll be right behind you.” He holds out his hand and I hesitantly put my hand in his. “I’ll give you a boost.”
“Don’t look up my dress,” I lamely joke, trying to make the situation light.
“Oh darn, you caught me.” He rolls his eyes at me then leans down and wraps his arms around my hips. Within seconds, he stands straight up and I’m high in the air.
I grab the edges of the vent and try to lift myself into it, but my arms are already shaking under my weight.
“I don’t think I am strong enough for this.”
He holds me up higher and I feel his arms shaking lightly. I again try with all my might to pull myself into the shaft, however instead, I lose my balance and my hand slips from the shaft. I fall back into Dean and he only barely manages not to fall off the boxes holding us. We are breathing heavily by this point and don’t speak for a moment.
“Sorry,” I tell him once my breathing becomes less ragged.
“It’s okay. I’ll just go first and pull you up.”
I nod, realizing the alternative is to be potentially burned alive.
Dean jumps up, grabs hold of the ventilation shaft and hoists himself up into it. In a matter of seconds, he is up there. The only problem is that he doesn’t have enough room to turn around. Instead, he has to move backwards, past the hole and pull me up that way. Once he is into position, he leans half his body out of the shaft, picks me up by the arms and quickly pulls me up.
It hurts. I feel like his grip is bruising me and my shoulders protest immediately. Finally, though, I’m able to lean my arms on the shaft and Dean then moves down to grip my hips, which he uses to move me up without any effort at all. I slide further down the shaft and cough as I breathe in the dust, immediately making a promise to myself not to touch my face with my hands until washing them thoroughly.
“Move along to the next opening you see.”
I move up onto my knees and start crawling forward. Soon, the light fades from the storeroom and it’s pitch black. The only sound I hear is the booming fire alarm that appears to be even louder in this small area. I hold out my hands to feel my way forward, certain that I will either crawl into a solid wall or fall down an empty black hole. I try not to think about how small this space is and not get annoyed when I feel Dean constantly at my feet. I know I’m moving slowly, and I’m grateful he doesn’t complain, yet the constant feel of him at my feet is unnerving.
“Can you see anything up ahead?” Dean calls out.
“Yeah, I see more darkness.” However, even as I say it, I notice a light starting to form. I move faster towards it and look down the vents. It’s an office and there is no smoke or fire there. It’s on the opposite side of the building to the storeroom whi
ch surprises me because I had no idea we had travelled so far.
I move over it without even bothering to try to get it open and wait for Dean to use his muscles.
When I hear a loud clanging noise, I look back and see Dean holding the vent. He again holds it diagonally, slides it through the opening and, I assume, drops it, but I don’t hear the noise of it collapsing over the alarm.
“Move forward a bit more.”
Dean moves past the hole and then goes feet down into the office. He dangles for a moment before he drops himself. I move backwards and look down the hole to see Dean has landed safely on top of the desk in the office.
“Do what I just did with my legs and I’ll help you down the rest of the way.”
“Don’t forget what I said about looking up my dress!” I weakly call down to him, but the truth is, I’m starting to feel more panic trying to invade my thoughts than before. What if we’re trapped in this office? What if the fire is just outside the door?
I move backwards and lean down on my stomach. I let my legs dangle over and slowly push myself down. Dean securely wraps his arms around my legs and I continue to let myself fall down the vent slowly.
When I’m down to just holding on by my arms, Dean slides his own arms up to just below my hips. I feel cold at the bottom of my legs and know it’s because his grip is so tight that he is bringing up my dress as I get further down this vent.
“Just let go and I’ll have you.”
I close my eyes and let go. I slip down for another couple of seconds before my world stops. I’m in Dean’s arms, my dress is up around my hips and my underwear is probably showing.
“Thanks.” I move to get myself free so I can pull down my dress before Dean realizes how ridiculous I look, yet before I can, Dean leans down and kisses me. His arms wrap around me and my hands find their way to his chest before they start to pull at his uniform. His tongue enters my mouth eagerly and I open for him; I’m just as hungry for his taste as he appears to be for mine. We kissed several times Friday night, but somehow, this kiss feels more intense and better than any I have ever had before.
Taken By Surprise (Taken Trilogy Book 1) Page 12
