"No idea. I know he was working on a clean water filtration system for third world countries until last year. Now he's doing something else; I'm not sure what. When he talks, I usually zone out, because it's way over my head. But he fell in love with an elementary school teacher last Christmas, and Grace has brought him down to earth. They're a great couple. They really balance each other out. Ian and Dylan are actually having a double wedding in February."
"That sounds fun. Are you in the wedding?"
"No. Because it's a double wedding, they decided to just have a best man and a maid of honor for each of them. Grace picked my cousin Emma. They've gotten close because they have an Ireland connection—long story. Tori picked a friend of hers from high school. Hunter is going to be Ian's best man, and my cousin Burke, who works with Dylan at the firehouse, is going to stand up for Dylan." She paused. "You should really tell me when you're completely bored with the conversation, because I do tend to run on."
"Your rambling conversations are growing on me," he said lightly.
"Probably because when I talk you don't have to."
"That's a fair point."
"Tell me something about your family, Griffin. How old were you when your mom died?"
"I was ten."
"That's really young. I'm sorry."
"It was a big loss for me."
"Was it an illness or something else?"
"She had an autoimmune disease. She'd had it for a long time, but it just went off the rails, and they couldn't save her."
"Off the rails sounds like a train analogy." She cocked her head to one side. "What's the deal with you and trains? Did you have a train set when you were a kid?"
"Actually, I did. It was my mom's train when she was a child, and then it was mine. She loved that train, and so did I." His gaze grew distant. "We'd spend hours playing with it. After she passed away, it was probably the only thing I did for a long time. It made me feel closer to her." He cleared his throat. "I'd forgotten about that."
"Do you still have the train?"
"I don't know where it ended up. I moved in with my grandparents when I was a teenager, and it did not go with me."
"Maybe your father has it."
"I doubt it. It doesn't matter."
She thought it mattered more than he was saying. In fact, the story about the train felt like the first thing he'd told her that was really true, really personal. Not that she thought he was lying about other stuff, but it always felt like he was choosing his words very carefully. With the train, he hadn't done that.
"We should go," he said, getting to his feet.
She wasn't surprised by the abrupt move. Whenever she got closer to him, Griffin tended to bail. But the day was moving on, and she still needed to work on the sketches for her interview.
As they walked back to the car, she couldn't help but try to get a bit more information before she lost him completely. "It sounds like you and your mom were close."
"That's the way I remember it. Are you close to your mom?"
"I am. She worked really hard to make sure each of us kids got our own time with her and also with my dad. It wasn't easy. There were a lot of us. Even though I am in the middle, I never felt neglected. I just sometimes didn't feel like I really impressed anyone. I wasn't following in the family business. I wasn't changing the world. It's hard to be an average achiever in a family of high achievers."
"You've said that before. I think you're being too hard on yourself, Annie. Frankly, most people don't change the world. You're lucky if you can change yourself or some small situation in a positive way."
"I suppose, but shouldn't I be striving to get to the high bar?"
"I'm not saying you shouldn't reach for the moon, but don't be surprised if you come up with a handful of air. That's reality."
"And that's why I prefer to create my own reality in my art. When my characters reach for the moon, they get there. They conquer demons. They save people. They make the world better. That's what makes them superheroes. And, yes, I know superheroes aren't real, but it's fun to think that they could be."
"As long as you know the difference between fantasy and reality."
"I do, but don't people ever surprise you by doing something good? Because you surprised me when I found out you were a bar owner helping people in trouble."
"That's hardly the work of a superhero. And practically speaking, I get cheap labor for the time that they're with me."
"Don't try to knock it down," she said as they climbed the stairs leading back to the restaurant parking lot. "Just let it be something good. Accept the compliment. And next time someone tries to thank you for saving her life, you might just say you're welcome, instead of how did you find me and what are you doing here."
"Point taken. But I'm beginning to think you could have held your own with those sharks. Maybe talked them into fleeing," he joked. "Conversation is your superhero power."
"Very funny," she said, as they got into the car.
She wasn't offended by his remark. In fact, she actually felt more connected to him when he was teasing her. And she did talk too much. But today she'd gotten Griffin to open up, too, and she was going to consider that her superhero power.
* * *
When they returned to the bar, Annie helped Griffin get the tree off the top of the car. They carried it into the back hallway and leaned it up against the wall as Vinnie came out of the kitchen.
"Glad you're back," he said, a serious note in his voice. "Can I talk to you a minute, Griffin?"
"Sure. Is there a problem?"
"Maybe. Maybe not."
She saw Vinnie give her a look and realized he wasn't going to explain his issue in front of her. Griffin came to the same conclusion.
"Are you taking off, Annie?" he asked her.
"Yes. I'm just going to use the restroom first."
"Good luck with your interview tomorrow."
"Thanks. Maybe I'll drop those ornaments off in the morning, unless you're going to decorate tonight."
"That will be tomorrow's job."
"Then I'll see you later."
As she entered the restroom, she heard Vinnie say, "I'm telling you some shit is going down with our bank account."
Curiosity made her leave the door slightly open, and while it appeared the men had moved down the hall to the office, their conversation was fairly loud.
"I'm sure it's just a glitch," Griffin said.
"You better hope so. Or we're not going to make it through the Christmas season."
She frowned at Vinnie's words. The bar was always crowded. How could they be short on money?
"And Shari was late again today," Vinnie continued. "Not only that, when I took the trash out, some dude in a van was yelling at her. It looked heated. He took off when he saw me."
"Did you ask her about it?"
"She said the guy followed her into the lot, saying she cut him off in traffic, that he was a crazy road rage driver. She told me not to worry. But after what happened the other day, I don't like it. And now with all this other banking shit—"
"Yeah, I get it," Griffin said. "We need to look into it—all of it."
As the office door closed on their discussion, she shut the restroom door and stared at herself in the mirror, questions swirling around in her head. Had some jerk really followed Shari into the parking lot because he was annoyed she'd cut him off? Could he have possibly been the same man who had tried to run her and Megan down? Vinnie had said the driver was in a van, not a sedan. That was different, but still…it seemed like a big coincidence.
Was Shari one of Griffin's protected people? Was that why they sounded so worried? There didn't seem to be a lot of love lost between Vinnie and Shari, so why did they keep her around if she was coming in late all the time?
As usual, she had more questions than answers about things that were really none of her business. It was time to head home and focus on her own life.
Fourteen
Annie staye
d up late Thursday night and into the early hours of Friday morning, working on her sketches. She'd completed drawings of Griffin, Vinnie, Justin, and Shari, and somewhere in the mix she'd added herself, or a faint version of herself—a female journalist who came to the bar to work on stories on her lunch hour and discovers that the bar is a front for an underground railroad for superheroes in training.
It was probably a crazy idea, but she hoped there was something there that the production company would like.
After grabbing a few hours of sleep, she got up at eight, had breakfast, and dressed for her interview in black jeans, black boots, a silky top and a cream-colored jacket. She left her hair long and flowing about her shoulders, put on the dangly earrings she'd gotten from Kate last Christmas and added a bit more gloss to her lips.
Ready to go, she checked her watch, realizing she still had time to spare before her interview at eleven thirty, but she was going to drive herself crazy pacing around her apartment, so she grabbed the box of ornaments she'd pulled out of the closet and took them down to her car.
Griffin had said he was going to put up the tree this morning, and she wanted him to have them. Plus, she needed a distraction. She didn't want to sit around her apartment, getting more nervous by the minute.
When she reached the Depot, she pulled into the customer parking lot out front, which was currently empty, took the box of ornaments out of the back of her car and walked up to the front door. The closed sign was on the door, and it was locked, so she knocked.
A moment later, Griffin opened the door. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked into his beautiful and somewhat surprised blue eyes. He looked deliciously sexy in dark-gray jeans and a long-sleeved white knit shirt. A bit of sexy scruff on his jaw sent her blood on another racing rush through her body. She really shouldn't have come here. Every time she saw him, she liked him more, wanted him more…
"Annie. I thought you'd be on your way to your interview," he said.
"It's not until eleven thirty. I brought you ornaments for the tree."
"Come in." He took the box out of her hands as she entered the bar. "This is heavy."
"I didn't go through it, so there might be some you don't want to use. These aren't my special ornaments, by the way, just ones I've bought over the years. They're not expensive, so if something happens to them, no big deal, but hopefully they'll add some color and fun."
Her gaze moved to the tree in the corner. It wasn't decorated yet, but Griffin had unwrapped the netting and the branches were falling and settling into their proper place. There was also a definite scent of pine in the air.
"It's starting to smell like Christmas," she added with a sniff. "And the tree looks good. It's the perfect height."
"I think so, too."
"I wish I could help you decorate it. It looks like a blank canvas to me, and I'm itching to do something with it."
"Why don't you come by after your interview? I doubt I'll be done by then. I keep getting interrupted with business problems."
His words reminded her of what she'd overheard yesterday. "Is everything all right? When I left yesterday, Vinnie seemed upset about something."
His lips drew into a hard line as his gaze filled with uneasiness. "Someone hacked into our bank account, which is also tied to our business credit card. We lost some money, but hopefully the bank will be able to get it back and figure out what happened."
"That's terrible." She was not only surprised by his words but also that he'd actually told her something personal. Maybe they were starting to be friends.
"It's not good." He ran a hand through his hair. "But we'll figure it out."
"I'm sure you will. I wish I could help."
"I think only the bank can help at the moment."
"Probably. I better go."
He put a hand on her arm as she turned to leave. She gave him a questioning look.
"For luck," he murmured, surprising her with a warm kiss.
She stared back at him as he lifted his head, trying not to show how much his simple kiss affected her. "Thanks," she said. Then she headed out to the parking lot.
She was still in a light-headed, happy daze from Griffin's kiss when she approached her car, so it took a moment for her to realize that something was wrong. Her gaze narrowed. What the hell…
Her back tire was flat. So was her front tire. Had she run over something? Both tires were flattened. She walked around the car and realized the other side looked exactly the same.
Lifting her head, her gaze swept the area. The Depot was across the street from a dry-cleaner, an electronics store, an office building, and a car dealership. It wasn't the kind of area where there was a lot of foot traffic. There was no one else around now, and no other cars in the lot besides hers.
But someone had deliberately flattened her tires. She took a closer look, seeing a slash on the front tire that made her feel a little sick at the thought of someone pulling out a knife. She straightened, uneasiness sending goose bumps down her arms.
She backed away from the car and then bolted for the door of the bar. She pounded on the frame, realizing that Griffin had locked it after she left.
When he opened it, she practically fell into his embrace.
He wrapped his arms around her to steady her. "What's wrong, Annie?"
She lifted her head to meet his gaze. "My car…the tires…they're flat…all of them." She stuttered out the words.
"What?"
"Someone slashed my tires."
"Stay here."
He strode out of the bar, and she moved into the doorway, wrapping her arms around herself, feeling cold and a little numb. Griffin made the same circle around her car that she'd taken, then gazed up and down the street.
When he returned to the bar, he pulled her inside and locked the door. "It's going to be okay," he assured her.
"Who would do that to my car?"
"I don't know, but we do have security cameras out front."
As he finished speaking, Vinnie walked into the room, giving them a questioning look.
"Annie, hello. Is something wrong?"
"Someone slashed my tires," she replied. "I was only inside a few minutes. How did it happen that fast?"
"We need to check the cameras," Griffin said, striding across the room.
They followed him into the small back office. As Griffin moved behind the desk, she and Vinnie crowded in behind him. Within minutes, he pulled up three screens, each showing different angles of the customer lot.
"I'll go back in time," Griffin muttered, moving through the camera clips until she saw herself driving into the lot.
They watched silently for the next few minutes. She watched herself get out of the car, grab the box from the backseat, walk to the front door. Then she disappeared inside.
Her pulse sped up as she waited to see what would come next.
It seemed to take forever. Finally, a hooded figure came into the frame. He wore black pants, a big overcoat with a hoodie coming up over his head, and dark glasses over his eyes.
She strained to see some identifying feature, but the man kept his face away from the camera as he squatted down next to the car. He pulled out a knife, the sunlight glinting off the blade, and her heart jumped into her throat.
He slashed the front tire, then moved to the back, keeping low to the ground as he moved around to the other side of the vehicle. It took only a few seconds for him to finish and then he walked out to the street, disappearing into an alley behind the dry cleaners.
"He never looked at the camera," Vinnie said in frustration.
"No, he doesn't," Griffin agreed. "He was very good at keeping his face out of view. That can't be an accident."
"I'll call the police." Vinnie pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked into the hall to make the call.
"I'm sorry, Annie," Griffin said, getting to his feet, a mix of anger and compassion in his eyes. "I'll have your car towed to the local shop and pay for new tires."
She suddenly realized that she had a bigger problem than flat tires. Checking her watch, she saw she only had twenty-five minutes to get to her interview, and it was at least twenty minutes away. "Oh, no, I have to go. I have to call for a car. I'm going to be late. I can't believe this. I've waited two weeks for this interview, and if I show up late…" She pulled out her phone, pushing the app for a car service. "I hope there's a car nearby." There wasn't. The nearest one was nine minutes away. "Damn. Maybe a taxi would be faster."
"I'll take you," Griffin said.
"But what about the police, my car?"
"Vinnie can handle everything until I get back. Do you need anything out of your car?"
She had her large tote bag over her shoulder with her sketches and resume inside. "I have everything I need."
They hurried down the hall. She heard Vinnie in the kitchen on the phone and felt a little bad for leaving him with everything to handle, but her interview was too important. "At least your car is fine," she said, as they went through the back door to the employee lot. She was happy to see the tires on his vehicle were intact.
"Yeah," he said somberly, keeping a hand on her arm as they walked to the car.
His protective stance made her feel both better and worse. The fact that he was being so cautious made her uneasy, and she was happy to have him by her side.
She gave Griffin directions to the interview and then settled back in her seat, trying to breathe deeply and calm her nerves. What had happened was upsetting, but she couldn't think about it. She had to pull herself together for her interview. She could not blow this meeting because she wasn't thinking clearly.
As the minutes passed, her pulse began to slow down, and she tried to focus on her pitch, going over in her head the points she wanted to make and the story she wanted to tell.
She should use the tire slashing in her pitch. It could happen to her character—the journalist. It could be part of some villainous plot, a way to get to the disguised superheroes, perhaps to make them drop their masks and show their true selves.
"Are you all right, Annie?" Griffin asked, interrupting her thoughts. "You haven't said a word in the last fifteen minutes, and that's not like you."
Cant Let Go GO PL Page 14
