Body Shop Repair (gxg)

Chapter 11

               "I saw that! Holy crap! That bitch got what she deserved!" She was getting all worked up now and as gruff as her exterior was, I guess she had an excited little kid inside. "I'm Casey."

               "Nice to meet you, Casey. And I didn't do anything to cause it, I guess. She just fell overboard at the wrong time." I shrugged. Hell, I didn't even know she died until later.

               "Okay. So now the son wants revenge?" she confirmed.

               "I guess? Oh, or he's upset because I sued his mom's estate for the whole trying to kill me thing." I mean, it was a pretty airtight case. Max himself had laid the blame at his mom's feet to prevent himself from going to jail, so it wasn't like he could take it all back now. I was shocked he hadn't settled already.

               She looked at me with a calculating expression and nodded quickly. "Revenge and cash. Two big motivators. What are you looking to do?"

               "Keep him the hell away from me. Or make it so I can get away from him."

               Her grin turned as predatory as the great whites that I'd gotten all too close to. "That we can do. Do you care how bad it is?"

               I thought about how scared I'd been when I saw his truck up in San Francisco. I didn't want to feel that again! If she could make me feel a little more secure, then I was good with that! "Nope. If he's after me and violating his restraining order, I'll fuck him up. Tell me what you think would work the best!"

               "Okay, great! First thing, you mentioned pepper spray already. That is a great choice, and I would get several of them. One in your car, one in your purse, one in a pocket, and a couple in the house. Don't just have one, because you'll get complacent and forget one or lose it, and that is most likely when you'll need it. Keep them all over so you always have one handy," the woman explained.

               "How good does it work?" I wondered. "I mean, I know that it's supposed to be good, but will it give me a chance to get away?"

               "Fuck yeah! Unless he has glasses on or something, and even then, it will probably splash down into his eyes. But pepper spray will mess him up. He'll be in a lot of pain, and he'll have a hard time seeing. It gives you a lot of time to run if you need it."

               "Perfect! I'll take six!"

               "Great start! Now, do you think you can shoot and hit something?"

               "No, I don't want a gun!" I knew I was a klutz when it came to things like that, so knowing my luck I'd shoot my own foot.

               She shook her head quickly. "Nope, no gun. I was going to suggest a taser, because it keeps him from getting close. But we can stick with a stun gun instead." She took a pair of those and added them to the stack.

               "I have to touch him with that?"

               "Yeah, but it will put him on his ass," she stated with a grim smile.

               "I kinda want to try that on him!" I had an image of him laying on the ground and twitching, and just smiled.

               "Good! What do you think about knives?"

               I raised my eyebrow, and then lifted my right leg to the counter to show her my calf where the scar was. "He gave me that with a knife when I was surrounded by sharks in a cage. I would be fine returning the favor." Truthfully, I'd love to cut the fucker's balls up and feed them to him.

               "My kinda girl!"

               I had a feeling that was a little bit of flirting, and I blushed a little at the attention. I ended up leaving the shop with a larger credit card bill, several bags of anti-Max weapons, and her business card. I wasn't sure I'd want to date her, but I could see her being a blast to hang out with. She was scarily intense one minute, and then smiling and happy the next. It was hard to keep track of her varying attitudes!

               I texted Erin, just to let her know that I was back in town and in the apartment in case she was inviting Billie over, and she was quick to reply that she'd bring home pizza to celebrate our first night there together. She was just as sweet in text as she'd been the first time that I'd met her! I also noticed a surprising text from Izzy that I quickly replied to.

               Izzy – Are you ok?

               Me – I'm good, hbu?

               Izzy -  ok. Need to talk. Will you be back for the shoot?

               Me – Of course! I can't miss my favorite photographer

               She didn't reply right away, but the little bubbles appeared off and on for a bit before she replied. When she finally did reply, it made my heart start to pound in fear.

               Izzy – Are you safe?

               Me – Why do you ask?

               Izzy – I need to know. Are you safe?

               Me – I am. Are you?

               Izzy – I'm ok. Be careful.

               Me – Will you tell me what is happening?

               Izzy – Not now. I need to talk. Soon.

               Me – Ok

               Izzy – cu soon

               Me – Be safe! Good night.

               Izzy – Good night.

What the fuck was happening with Izzy? Why was she asking this? Did she know about Max? Fuck! That had to be it, right? And if she knew, then it was all about her father! How on earth could I talk to her if she was always with him?

One thing was for damned sure, it was a good thing that I'd stopped by the store for all that gear!