Secret Admirer

Chapter 1

"No! No! I'm allergic!" She announced, spinning around and waving her hands, trying to get the bees away from her. 

Her hand turned red instantly. There's red bumps on her face and neck. Georgia called out for Jake and Grace. The swelling began immediately. Her hands, arms, and face were covered with angry red welts. When Mia began to wheeze, I knew this was worse than we thought.

She isn't just allergic, she's deathly allergic. Scooping Mia into my arms, I took the stairs two at a time up to safety and into a bedroom. It didn't matter which room as long as there were no more bees.

Grace rushed in behind me and moved me away from Mia's side. Reaching into the bag she brought with her, she pulled out an epi pen and shot it into Mia's leg. Jake nudged me out, and with Grace's help, they took care of Mia.

I paced the hall with Brynn standing on one end and Aubrey at the other. I've never seen someone have such a bad reaction to anything like this. It happened so quickly, I don't want to think what could have happened if Jake and Grace hadn't been right here.

"She's stronger than she looks, Cole. She'll get through this." Brynn assured me.

"You saw how fast it hit her." Tugging my fingers through my hair, I felt horrible for Mia. "How did all those bees get in those flowers?"

"I don't think it was an accident." Beckett came up the stairs joining Aubrey. Giving his wife a kiss, he continued. "I took a look through the wrappings. There was a baggie in the middle of the bouquet, it still had a few bees in it."

"Thanks! I appreciate it." Blake finished his call and walked down the hall. "Todd said he was watching the counter at the flower shop. A strange man came in with the flowers, asked him to deliver it and gave him $50. The kid didn't think twice about it and brought them over. He feels like shit."

"I'm sure he does. And it's not the poor boys fault. Was he able to give you a description?" Brynn asked, hoping for some good news.

"Not really. Dark sunglasses, short guy in a ball cap. Baggie blue jacket, jeans. Could have been anybody." Blake shrugged the information off.

It's not enough to even get the cops involved. There's not even a way to prove that it was done on purpose other than the baggie. So the person just walks away with no consequences. I hate this shit!

"We'll sort this out. You can believe that." Aubrey rubs her hand down my arm. Beckett walks away with Blake. Their heads together talking quietly about how they are going to find the person responsible.

It was taking too much time. I was about to go in when Grace finally came out. "Mia will be fine. She's resting and swollen, and very lucky. It could have been much worse."

If Grace and Jake weren't here, she could have died. I barely know her but she seems like a nice girl. I even thought about asking her out. Now... I don't want to think about that.

But I am thinking about it.

Todd delivered the flowers. The kid isn't the kind who would do practical jokes or intentionally hurt someone. He's a good kid. He delivered the flowers for someone. Todd works for Mia part-time now that Mia is working for Georgia too. She has the only florist shop in town and Todd said the person brought the bouquet to the shop for Mia.

Who would do this?

I headed down the stairs thinking about this. I can't shake the feeling that Mia is still in danger. Who would do this to her? Mia wouldn't hurt a fly. She's quiet and yeah, she's been short with several people from the press but that's her job.

And she could have died.

"The bees are gone. The boys took care of it and Emma helped me clean up the mess." Georgia informed me when she walked into the library with two glasses in her hands. "Here, you need this."