Silver Shield Security Box Set

by Dee Bridgnorth

  “Oh wow,” she said as she gazed into the mirror.

  “Yes, wow,” Alicia said with a smile. “You are so beautiful, Amelia.”

  For a brief moment, Janey’s eyes clouded with confusion as she wondered who Amelia was. Then she remembered that it was the name she’d given to Christine. She smiled quickly, trying to cover up her moment of lapse.

  “I can’t wait to see what else you do.”

  “Hmmm,” Alicia said, eyeing her speculatively. Then she smiled brightly. “Do you have a specific color in mind, or would you let me do the choosing?”

  For Janey, it was a no-brainer. “You do the choosing.”

  Alicia rubbed her hands together in delight. “Perfecto. Come this way.”

  She applied the dye unto Janey’s hair, telling her that the color was a surprise. While they waited for the dye to set, the chatted a bit.

  “I’m not originally from Tampa,” Alicia confided. “I left New York and moved here.”

  “Why would anybody want to leave New York for Tampa?” Janey asked in surprise.

  “Right?” Alicia said with a smile. Then she turned serious, “An abusive relationship can do that to you.”

  Janey looked at the other woman. She was so full of life. So happy. It would have been difficult to imagine that she had her own share of sorrows. Life did not discriminate in handing out troubles, it seemed.

  “I guess everyone has a story to tell,” she said softly, lost in thought.

  “What’s your story, honey?”

  Janey’s eyes jerked up and met with the other woman’s. “Story?” she hedged.

  “We each of us have a story and your eyes tell a lot about yours.”

  Intrigued, Janey asked, “What do my eyes say?”

  Alicia smiled, but said nothing. She motioned for Janey to follow her to the washing bowl, where she began to wash off the excess of the dye.

  “Your eyes say that you are in love with someone, but you’re running away. Whatever you’re running from terrifies you.”

  Janey went still at her analysis. She felt her chest tighten and she began to breathe hard.

  “Relax, Amelia. Breathe,” Alicia said in a firm, but gentle voice.

  It did the trick because Janey’s chest immediately eased off.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Janey said at last.

  “Well, you can answer a few questions for me,” she said, drying off the hair.

  Janey nodded.

  “First, did you do anything illegal?”

  Janey shook her head vigorously. “No. I can assure you that I did not do anything that is against the law.”

  “Okay. Next, are you on drugs?”

  Janey opened her mouth in shock as she stood up to follow Alicia to the styling area. She forgot herself for a moment when she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. Alicia had dyed her hair a beautiful orangey-red color.

  “No, I am not on drugs!”

  Alicia began to rub in all sorts of hair products into Janey’s hair. “Good. One final question. Would you like a place to stay while you figure things out?”

  At Janey’s startled look she shrugged. “I have a two-bedroom and I won’t mind sharing the rent. I can collect weekly.”

  “I paid for three nights at Elliot’s Place…”

  “Oh nevermind that,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “Christine and Roman are friends. They’ll refund your money.”

  She picked up the hand drier and turned it on. It was impossible to hold a conversation over the noise, so Janey remained quiet.

  Alicia used her fingers to tease Janey’s hair, bringing out the curls. Janey loved her newly discovered curls. She loved how soft her hair felt, and she was sure she would love the new color.

  She thought of the cash she had in her purse and knew that Alicia’s offer would save her a lot. However, she did not want to bring trouble to the woman and trouble seemed to follow Janey everywhere.

  “I don’t know…”

  “I’ll let you in on a secret,” she said after a pause. “My real name is not Alicia. I changed my name when I came to Florida. If my ex finds out where I am today, I’ve no doubt that he would come here and try to kill me.”

  Janey thought about what she said. It seemed they both had stuff they were hiding. She really did not want trouble to Alicia-not-her-real-name. She had been so good to her. Too good actually. She thought back to the cash in her bag. If she wanted to survive this, then she had to watch her expenses carefully.

  Her current accommodation cost a little over a hundred bucks for room and breakfast. It was only a matter of time before she ran out.

  So against her better judgment, she took the risk and agreed.

  “Okay.”

  “Awesome!” Alicia sounded truly happy. “What did you do before you hit the road?”

  Janey was conscious of revealing too much about her past. She knew that all it took was one slip-up. She considered her answer and decided there was no harm in that.

  “I was a florist.”

  Alicia’s eyes widened in admiration, “Wow. Well, you definitely can’t work with flowers here. I worked in real estate before now.” She laughed at the surprise in Janey’s face. “Well, Amelia baby, when you decide to change your personality, you need to go all the way.”

  She spun Janey’s chair to face her. “Now it’s time for the makeup and I don’t want you to take a peek till I’m done.”

  She brought out some brushes and tubes and more makeup than Janey had ever seen in her life. Diane had always been a makeup freak, but this was taking the art to a whole other level.

  Janey pushed away thoughts of Diane. She did not have the luxury or the energy to mourn all she’d left behind. She made a decision then to stop thinking about her sister, her family… and Drew.

  Alicia worked quickly, keeping up a steady stream of conversation as she worked. Janey was grateful she didn’t have to reply, since she had to keep her facial muscles still.

  After what seemed like a really long time to her, Alicia slowly turned the chair to face the mirror.

  “Well, what do you think?”

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Janey stared at the woman in the mirror. She opened her mouth and no words came. She sat staring for many minutes, her eyes blurring.

  “So? Do you like it?” Alicia sounded worried.

  Janey managed to speak through the giant-sized lump in her throat. “I’m beautiful.”

  “Absolutely, honey!”

  Janey wanted to explain, but words failed her as she stared at the stunning woman gazing back at her. She looked like Emma Watson, only with a different hair color and smoky eyes.

  Her hair fell around her face in different wavy layers. It was fuller than she’d ever had it before and there was nothing limp about it now. It was vibrant. The hair color picked up the color of her eyes, a weird mix of light blue and gray.

  Her eyes had always seemed to just fade into obscurity, but now they seemed to pop with hidden secrets. They looked so sultry, like that of a woman who was confident in her femininity.

  She really liked her eyes now and considered ditching the idea of contacts. No, she needed to get contacts. As unrecognizable as she was, she still needed to mask any sign of Janey Moore.

  Anyone who went in search of Janey Moore would have a hard time identifying her. She did not feel like Janey Moore. She was now Amelia Jones.

  “I need new clothes.”

  Clothes that were daring. She needed a pushup bra that created the appearance of a full cleavage and then a couple of clothes that showed it off to advantage. Tight, cleavage baring clothing, the sort of clothing the old Janey would never have worn.

  “That’s the spirit, girly. We can go shopping later. I know a place where you can get good stuff at rock bottom prices.”

  Janey stood up and turned to face Alicia. Then on impulse, she threw her arms around her in a heartfelt hug.

  “I don’t know how to thank you,”
she said, stepping back with tears in her eyes.

  “You can start by meeting me here at the close of work today. Then we’ll go over to my apartment.”

  Janey smiled. “Sure, I can do that.”

  She left Alicia’s Beauty Parlor feeling like a million bucks. Sure, her life sucked at that moment. She was forced to stay away from her family and from the man she loved. She had no idea how long she would be in Florida. For all she knew, she might have to pack up and hit the road in the next forty-eight hours.

  Nothing was guaranteed anymore. All the things she’d always taken for granted suddenly seemed transient. She could no longer count on anything or anyone, except herself and the goodness of strangers.

  However, she would take each day as it came. She was alive today, and that would have to be enough for her.

  That evening, she moved into Alicia’s cute little two-bedroom apartment and settled down quickly. Alicia offered her a job in her beauty salon at minimum wage. Since Janey was already quite creative and good with her hands, it didn’t take very long before she caught on to the basics.

  Even though the pay was nothing like what she’d earned running her own business, she appreciated it because Alicia paid in cash.

  Despite the fact that Alicia was a lively extrovert who liked to party, and Janey was an introvert who would rather just curl up with a good book, some things never changed apparently, they got along just fine.

  For three months, she found a way to survive. It was not easy, but after a while, there were days when she was almost happy. Alicia was funny and spunky. She had such a dry sense of humor and Janey would find herself laughing at something, then her chest would begin to hurt and she would have to excuse herself so she didn’t burst into tears.

  Since she loved to cook and Alicia didn’t, Janey did most of the cooking. In return, Alicia insisted on buying the groceries.

  Janey had figured out a strategy for survival. Apart from the apartment and the beauty parlor, she did not visit any place more than twice. She never went back to the coffee shop she’d visited on her first day in town, nor did she stop by Eliot’s Place. Not even once.

  She did not form a routine either, keeping everything as random as possible. She had parked Lydia’s truck in the underground parking of Alicia’s apartment and she never took it out. She made sure to turn on the engine every few days so that it was ready to go if she ever needed a quick escape.

  For movement around town, she relied on public transport and Alicia.

  Which is why when Alicia suggested on the way to work that they stop for a coffee, she was not worried.

  They often had coffee at a coffee shop. And just like Janey, Alicia kept it random as well.

  They stopped at a coffee shop Janey instantly recognized. It was the one she’d gone to when she first arrived in town. She hesitated.

  Sensing her discomfort, Alicia turned to her with a concerned look. “What’s up, girl?”

  “The first day I came to town, I came here.”

  Alicia smiled, “Flynn, that’s the guy that owns this place, has a memory like a steel trap. He remembers every face that walks into his place.”

  “Then we should look elsewhere for our coffee,” Janey said anxiously.

  “On the contrary,” Alicia said, taking off her seatbelt.

  “Wait. What are you doing?”

  “We need to see if your new look fools anyone. If he does not remember you, then you know you’re good.”

  Janey thought about it. She was right. That didn’t mean that she liked the idea. But she knew Alicia had a point. Besides, she hadn’t been back here in three months. It was not likely anyone would recognize her.

  She nodded and without another word, got out of the car.

  As she walked into the cool interior of the coffee shop, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She caught her reflection in the glass and could hardly recognize herself. She was wearing four-inch platform heels and a tight bandage dress that stopped several inches above her knees.

  When this is all over, I will need to see a shrink.

  She had no idea when it would be over, or if it would ever be over. But she entertained herself by thinking when-it-would-be-over thoughts.

  They got in line until it was their turn.

  “Hi, what can I get for you two ladies?” Flynn said with a friendly smile. He gave Janey a once-over and slanted his eyes towards Alicia. “Introduce me to your friend, Alicia.”

  Alicia chuckled and winked at Janey. “Amelia, this is Flynn Peyton. And Flynn, this is my friend, Amelia Jones.”

  “Hi,” Janey said with a half-smile. She did not like the interest in his eyes. She was not interested in any kind of male attention. The thought of it twisted her stomach into knots.

  “Have dinner with me?” he asked with a hopeful smile.

  Janey smiled. “I’m sorry, but I’m in a relationship.”

  His smile fell, then brightened again. “That’s okay. If he messes up, you know where to find me.”

  Flynn Peyton was a charmer, that was for sure. There was nothing wrong with him and Janey would have gone on a date with him, but he was not Drew.

  She missed him terribly. She’d learned to keep her tears for late at night. Then, in the privacy of her room, she wet her pillow each night. Missing him. Craving his touch. Needing to hear his voice.

  In those moments, she almost gave in and called him. She bought a cell phone with a burner number, then downloaded a VPN app that made her phone untrackable. For added measure, she disabled the GPS.

  Yes, she’d become tech savvy when it came to protecting herself. She had gone online, using the computers in the library, and spent several hours reading up on ways she could protect herself from what had happened before.

  She never logged into her email or social media accounts. She did not do any online banking. She made sure she left no footprints that could be used to find her location.

  “Your coffee.”

  Flynn’s voice brought her out of her reverie. She took it from him with a smile.

  “Thanks.”

  Just then, she felt the air in the coffee shop shift. Afraid to turn around, she held herself stiff, wondering what had suddenly changed.

  “Janey?”

  She heard the voice and thought that she was hallucinating at first. She’d missed him so much that she was imagining his voice. But then she heard it again.

  “Janey.” This time with certainty.

  Schooling her features into a blank mask and doing her best to prepare herself for the impact, she turned around.

  Nothing she could have done would have prepared her for the effect of seeing Drew. He was standing right there, larger than life, and it took everything she had to keep her expression passive.

  He stared at her, his piercing gray eyes searching hers intently. He frowned, but still kept staring at her, like he was willing her to show some sign of recognition.

  Janey scrunched a puzzled look onto her face then turned back to pay Flynn for her coffee. Picking up her cup, she gave Drew a blank smile, murmured “excuse me,” and walked out of the coffee shop with Alicia close behind her.

  Inside Alicia’s car, she began to shake. She was shaking so badly that the other woman whipped the cup of coffee from her and placed it into a cup holder.

  “Just hold on, girl, I’ll get you out of here,” she said.

  She reached over and snapped on Janey’s seatbelt, then after securing hers, pulled out of the parking spot and drove off.

  They wandered aimlessly around the city for a couple of hours, neither saying anything. Eventually, they ended back at the apartment.

  Coffee forgotten, they got back inside and Janey sat down staring at nothing. She could not believe that she’d seen him. He’d been so close, she could have reached out and touched him.

  Oh Drew. She could feel her heart breaking all over again.

  Would she ever get over him?

  “You’re in love with him, a
ren’t you?” Alicia asked quietly.

  Janey lifted her gaze to her friend’s and nodded.

  “It was easy to see. Even with all the changes, he took one look at you and knew who you were.”

  Janey knew that if the tables were turned, she would have recognized him too. It was not just the face or the body. Their souls had recognized each other.

  Janey wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes tight. She wanted Drew so much that she was going crazy.

  I can’t take much more of this.

  She could feel the agony in her soul and it was eating her up. She began to rock, trying unsuccessfully to comfort herself.

  “Are you afraid of him?” Alicia asked.

  Janey shook her head. “No.”

  “So you trust him?”

  She nodded.

  “Then why did you not reach out to him? He looks big and tough. Like he can protect you.”

  She tried very hard to hold them in, but she felt the tears slip past her tightly shut lids and spill onto her face.

  She felt Alicia’s arms go around her body, offering her comfort.

  “What’s the matter, Amelia? Why are you so afraid?”

  “They said they would kill him,” Janey said. A sob escaped her mouth. “If anything happened to him, I would die.”

  She just knew it. She would shrivel up and die. Oh, not immediately, but she knew with bone-deep certainty that her life would be over.

  After a brief pause, Alicia said, “I think you should call him.”

  Janey shook her head vigorously.

  Alicia sat back, her arms dropping to her side. “Just hear me out. The look on his face when he saw you…it was like a drowning man gasping for air. I think you should give him the chance to protect you, he looks badass enough. What you’re doing…it’s not helping either of you.”

  Janey knew she was right. Alicia was always right, dammit. Her mind flashed back to the coffee shop when she’d seen Drew. He looked haggard. His beard had grown and he’d lost weight.