Cursed by Love

by Jacie Floyd

  Tapping her fingers on the steering wheel and considering her options, she noticed someone slowly approaching the building. Someone in cargo pants and a turquoise-and-yellow aloha shirt with white flyaway hair. Molly groaned. While the situation looked bad for Gabe, she figured he could take care of himself, if need be. She was sure he’d want her to take care of his grandfather.

  She put the car in gear and drove until she pulled up beside him. His face wore a mix of expressions from shock to fear and worry.

  She eased the car window down. “Get in. Hurry.”

  He pointed toward the building. “I can’t leave.”

  “Just get in. We’ll exchange information and regroup.”

  He hopped in the backseat. Molly had the car rolling before the door closed. “I wanted you to know you weren’t here alone, and I want to know what’s happening. Should we call the police?”

  “If Gabe’s in trouble, certainly,” the old man said. “But not yet.”

  “You won’t be able to protect Harold and Gabe both, you know?” She turned the corner where they’d still have a view of the warehouse, but be far enough away from it to go unnoticed. “If you have to choose, I need to know if you’ll choose Gabe or Harold.

  “Gabe.” He leaned back, suddenly looking old and weary. “No contest.”

  “Okay, then, what’s going on?”

  “Someone broke into the business the other night and took everything.”

  “Took everything?” That sure wasn’t what she’d expected to hear. “Like what? Money? Equipment? Furniture?”

  “Yep, all that.”

  “My God, why? Who would do such a thing?”

  “Gabe thinks the easy money’s on Harold. He had the means and opportunity. He’s here with these thugs, and I guess this is where everything’s being stored while they search for the Lotus or clues to its whereabouts. A buddy of Harold’s has a connection to this place, but I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right to me.”

  Molly didn’t hide her skepticism. She only knew Harold from one brief meeting, and from things Gabe had told her, but she’d go with his instincts anytime.

  “I know, I know. He’s irresponsible, gambles money he doesn’t have, leaves us in the lurch, but he’s never done anything flat out illegal before. He knows he walks a fine line with Gabe. Gabe’s saved his butt lots of times, and a stunt like this would cut him off from family protection.”

  “You call this a stunt?”

  “Right, it’s more than that, but it’s way outside his normal boundaries. It’s the kind of scam Gabe’s father would have tried to pull, but Harold’s never had the balls.”

  “And Gabe’s dad did?”

  “It’s a hard thing for a father to admit, but let’s say he was born without a moral compass. He liked to think he lived on the other side of the law, but he wasn’t good at it. He screwed up and caused a lot of misery. Gabe looks at Harold and sees Daniel, but there’s no comparison. Harold’s a nuisance, but he’s not totally bent. Daniel was a flat-out menace. Always was.”

  “What’s this about the office furnishings? You think it’s about the Sleeping Lotus?”

  “Whoever took the furniture and equipment must’ve thought it would be easier to scoop up everything and go through it in their own time, instead of trashing everything and worrying about discovery like they did at your place. Maybe that was Harold’s way of keeping everything from being destroyed.”

  “But why does Gabe think Harold was behind it?”

  “The surveillance tapes at the business had been blocked, and it would’ve taken an insider to pull that off.”

  “But it doesn’t make sense.” Molly rubbed her temples. The day kept going downhill. “Even if they got Gabe’s half, they’d still need mine.”

  “And haven’t they been trying to get it, too?”

  “Yeah, they have.”

  “Any luck yet?”

  Molly shivered, thinking about the filched tote in the park. “Not yet, and they’re getting more obvious about it. But what good would it do them to steal it? They couldn’t sell it without admitting it was stolen, right?”

  “To a legitimate collector, sure, but that’s probably not the case. It’s probably some wacko buying into the myth and desperate to own it. At any cost.”

  “So they could be pretty dangerous, and Harold could be one of them?”

  “Well...” The old man’s shoulders slumped, but then he straightened and visibly rallied. “The big guy with Harold and Gabe is bad news. He breaks knees for a loan shark Harold owes. I guess they’re forcing him to help them get the Lotus to pay off the debt.”

  Her heart sank. “That can’t be good.”

  “It’s not all bad. Harold would never let anyone hurt Gabe.”

  “Right.” Molly nibbled her thumbnail. “I think I should go up and see what’s going on.”

  “Why you? If Harold knew I was out here, he’d let Gabe go.”

  “Since we don’t know who’s running the show in there, I’d prefer you to be the backup. If I don’t return in five minutes, call my cell phone. If I don’t answer, call the police.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to go in there, act all sweet and innocent, bat my eyes and pretend Gabe told me to meet him here.”

  The old man wanted to object to the plan, but he heaved a heavy sigh instead. “What’s the number?”

  Molly told him and he programmed it into his cell. She stepped out of the car and turned back. “I’ll leave the keys in the ignition, just in case.”

  His caterpillar eyebrows slammed together at the top of his nose. “In case of what?”

  “Who knows?” She tried not to imagine all the things that could happen. “Wait five minutes, then call for help.”

  “Got it,” he muttered. “Good luck.”

  Right. She’d need it. Stiffening her spine, she touched each of the charms on her bracelet for luck.

  She approached the warehouse the same way she approached her dentist’s office, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Actually, she was scared witless. It wasn’t really the dentist she feared as much as the sharp pointy objects he had at his disposal.

  Gabe had been onto Uncle Howard for years. He was irresponsible, maybe even crooked, but not deadly. And the guy who’d dragged Gabe here was big and brawny, but not too bright.

  If not for the guy in the corner cleaning his fingernails with a six-inch-long stiletto, sharp and lethal-looking, Gabe wouldn’t have been too worried.

  He recognized the guy dressed in black as a spectator at Your Grandma’s Attic. Maybe it was the six-inch stiletto, but he now appeared more menacing than he had that day. Due to the flinty look of his eyes and some seriously pointy ears, he looked like a jazz musician-slash-assassin.

  His disinterested expression told one story, but Gabe had the feeling there was a lot going on below the surface. And that nothing escaped his notice.

  At a glance, Gabe saw all of the office equipment and furnishings from Contract Communications spread out across the concrete floor of the warehouse. Clearly each piece had been examined, disassembled, and searched. Packing crates were lined up in fort-like structures around the edges of the space, boxing Gabe, Harold, and the other two in the center.

  Near the table where Blackie had escorted Gabe, a lime-green tote lay torn apart. Canned sodas, bottled water, snacks, and sunscreen were dumped out beside it. No matter where he looked, his gaze kept returning to the tote. It could represent nothing more than a picnic gone awry, but everything about it suggested Molly and her trip to the park.

  She wasn’t the only person in the world who carried canvas totes, but he worried that somehow she fit this scenario. Was she somewhere in the building? Hidden away, tied up, mistreated? He really sucked at detective work. He regretted not calling the police, despite Granddad’s objections. Even he wouldn’t sit still for Harold’s underhanded activities if they endangered Molly. Gabe’s stomach clenched with worry.
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br />   “I’m asking you one last time,” Blackie growled. “Where’s the Sleeping Lotus?”

  Stay calm, stay cool. Take a deep breath.

  The damned Lotus. He wished he’d never of the cursed thing. And less than comforted that the motivation for the robbery of his own furnishings and the ransacking of Molly’s house was one and the same. He would have sworn Uncle Harold had stripped the company because he was desperate for some quick cash. With maybe a twinge of revenge against Gabe for past slights. What his connection was with the Lotus, Gabe couldn’t fathom. And that increased his worries another notch. “You said I had until tomorrow to decide.”

  “My customer’s too anxious to wait.”

  “And you took all my equipment trying to locate it?”

  “I didn’t take anything.” Blackie glanced over at Harold.

  “Right. Someone made you a deal on some secondhand office furniture.”

  Blackie shrugged. “We heard something of value might be discovered. We weren’t too happy to go to all this trouble for nothing.”

  “Your timing was off,” Gabe said. “I had the Sleeping Lotus stashed at the office, but I moved it on Friday.”

  “Tell us where it is,” Harold said. “We’ll get it for you and keep it safe.”

  “At this point, you can have the freaking thing. The sale of the Lotus is a pie in the sky that might never happen, but you guys are infringing on my real business,” Gabe told them. “I’d give you the jade if I could, but it’s at the bank in a safe-deposit box. I can’t get it until tomorrow.”

  “Damn banks,” Blackie growled. “You have until tomorrow to get the girl to agree to sell her half too.”

  “I was working on that, but that relationship went bust. She’s pretty pissed at me about now.” Gabe just hoped this group of Bad News Bears didn’t have her stashed somewhere, working on her while Gabe sat here, sweating and pretending not to care.

  “We’ve seen you exerting plenty of ‘influence’ in the past week.” This from Uncle Harold, smirking.

  “Yeah, I was trying to charm her into finding a buyer for the Lotus ourselves, but she sees right through that. She’s been talking like she’d prefer to put our appraiser from the show in charge of selling the item. She’s uncomfortable with selling it to a private bidder and wants to go through a professional.”

  Blackie fixed him with a stare. “Who does she think’s running this deal? He’s the one with all the contacts.”

  Gabe spread his hands to show he didn’t have a clue about what was going on. He looked over at Harold, who seemed to be trying to back away from the scene. Odd though, Gabe noticed a feverish excitement in his eyes. “I just want the best price for the damn thing, but Molly’s not convinced.”

  Blackie stabbed the stiletto into the top of Gabe’s desk, marrying its perfect surface. “I guess you’d really hate to see another accident befall your sister. Or what’s your niece’s name? She’s a pretty little thing, isn’t she?”

  Okay, that threat registered high on the Chills-Down-The-Spine chart, but before Gabe could force a response out of his mouth, Uncle Harold chimed in. “Hey, we’re not going to hurt anyone. You promised.”

  “I promised?” Blackie smiled like he didn’t know the meaning of the word. “Well, we don’t want to.”

  “What is it you want exactly?” Whatever charade they’d been playing, the game was now over. Gabe wouldn’t risk any threats to Chloe or Sierra.

  Blackie leaned into Gabe’s space, letting his hot oniony breath hit him in the face. “Get the girl to sell the Sleeping Lotus, or I’ll find another way to get it.”

  “Hey, I’m doing my best,” Gabe said, relieved he didn’t break into a cold sweat. “I want the money. Need it, but I don’t have any leverage with Molly in getting the jade from her. I was trying to romance her into the sale.” He shrugged and lied. “But she dumped me. She said there were no sparks, you know?”

  Muscle Man had been standing with his arms crossed slightly behind and to the right of Gabe. A gigantic hand reached out, wrapped around his forearm and squeezed like a tourniquet.

  “Then you’ll have to appeal to her on a different level.” Blackie finger jabbed Gabe’s chest in punctuation of each word. “Don’t make any mistakes. My client wants the Lotus. He’ll pay top dollar for it, but we’re not opposed to… acquiring it the old fashioned way.”

  Out of nowhere, Gabe’s cell trilled its whimsical tune. He had the phone in his hand before he noticed it wasn’t ringing. And he didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, but he doubted if any of the other guys in the room were harboring a secret affection for Disney jingles.

  Which meant Molly was somewhere nearby.

  The realization hit him in the solar plexus. Her presence could only mean more trouble.

  “What the hell?” Molly heard he scariest of the three thugs ask when her phone started to ring.

  “It’s his cell.” Harold nodded toward Gabe.

  Jogging Suit patted Gabe down and found the phone. “It’s not ringing.” He dropped it into his own pocket. “But I’m gonna keep this nice phone with the girly ringtone.”

  Molly stepped into view with her phone to her ear and smiled brightly. Pretending her knees weren’t banging together as the man in black stepped toward her, she held up her finger like she’d be with them as soon as she finished her conversation.

  “Yeah, Mom,” she said, with her gaze fixed on Gabe. A serious, tense, worried Gabe, who was trying not to look like he was glad to see her. “I’m at a warehouse on Marshall with Gabe. We should be home for dinner soon.”

  The man in black took her phone from her hand and tossed it onto the concrete floor where he stomped it to bits. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation of a conversation Molly did not want to have. “Look who’s here. Just the lady I want to talk to.”

  She’d slipped inside the door more than the agreed to five minutes ago, but it took her about half that time to stiffen her quaking legs. After easing her way into the warehouse, she’d tried to eavesdrop before being discovered.

  Or maybe, just possibly, she’d delayed because she was chicken.

  She knew the past five minutes had seemed like five hours to Gabe’s Granddad. And she’d answered the call to let these thugs know that someone in the real world knew where to look for them.

  With her heart in her throat, she focused on Gabe. Even with tension hanging in the air, their usual electrical connection arced between them. Just being in the same room with him and seeing that he hadn’t been hurt centered her. She took strength and courage from his presence.

  Ignoring the man in black and his wicked-looking knife, she went straight to Gabe, put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Hi, honey. Sorry I’m late. What’s Harold doing here?”

  “Gabe said you dumped him.”

  She cleared her throat and tried for a carefree giggle that came out like a mouthwash gargle instead. She ruffled Gabe’s hair playfully. “We argued a bit earlier. I guess, he thought it was more serious than I did. You didn’t really think I was mad, did you, sweetie?”

  “I wasn’t sure, sweetie.” He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to send her some kind of message, but she didn’t know what. “You know I’m not good at reading between the lines.”

  The thug with the knife moved closer. The sharp pointy object gave her pause.

  “This isn’t the way I wanted this to go,” the man in black said, “but you blundered your way in here and this farce is over.”

  “What do you want?” Molly asked.

  “The Sleeping Lotus. Both halves. I’ll pay whatever I have to, but I want it, now. ‘No’ is not an option. Six-hundred-thousand dollars is the top offer.”

  “That’s fine,” Molly said, willing to agree to anything at this point. “But not possible. My half is in a safe-deposit box at the bank, and I won’t be able to get it for you until tomorrow. If you want to call me in the morning, we can work out the details of the sale then.”

  �
��Are you crazy? We can’t let you go anywhere.” Harold said. “Gabe told us you weren’t interested in selling.”

  “Just another misunderstanding, I guess,” Molly said. “You’ve convinced me. I didn’t realize there was any reason to hurry over the decision, but if you’re so eager to have it, I’m willing to sell.”

  “Are the two pieces in the same bank?”

  “I don’t know,” Molly said. “Where’s yours, Gabe?”

  “Fifth/Third on Reading. Yours?”

  “Fifth/Third on Edwards,”

  “When do they open?” the man in black demanded.

  “Nine AM, I think.”

  Jogging Suit scowled. “Then it’s going to be a long night for the two of you. You’re staying with us until we get the Lotus.”

  “Staying with us where?” Harold asked. “She just told someone on the phone where we are.”

  “That’s why we’re moving,” the man in black said. “Come on, Tony. Bring Shaw. Harold, you get the girl. I know somewhere we can lay low ‘til morning.”

  “We’ll need the keys to our safety deposit boxes,” Molly blurted out.

  “No you won’t.” Blackie’s smile turned sinister. “You’ll tell us where they are, and we’ll get them for you.”

  After Granddad’s call to Molly disconnected abruptly, he knew he had to call the police. But instead of waiting in the car like Molly had told him, he’d crept up to the warehouse to see what was going on. He could see Harold and some other guys questioning Gabe and Molly. And he could see all of Contract Communications office stuff strewn about the room. Just as he was ready to creep back to the car and call the police, Harold and the other two guys gathered Molly and Gabe up and hustled them out the door on the other side of the building

  Leaving all the office equipment behind.

  He hurried back to the car and got behind the wheel, ready to follow the gray sedan that was taking Gabe and Molly away. He’d call the police if there was trouble, but if he called them and they came to the warehouse, they wouldn’t find anyone. But, they would still look around and spot all the crap that belonged to Contract Communications. And they would take it into custody as evidence of a crime, holding it hostage for who knew how long.