I was exhausted when I got back to my new place at close to 3am. I dragged my suitcase into the apartment as quietly as I could, then tiptoed into my room and crashed. My body was stiff and sore, and I didn't even change into pajamas. I just threw the blanket over me and prayed that Erin wasn't too noisy in the mornings. Hell, she didn't even know I was back, so hopefully she was!
Nope.
"Billie! Billie! Yes, Billie!" came the cries through the thin wall separating my room from Erin's and I was awake in a flash. I could hear the bed creaking, and occasionally bouncing against the wall and knew right away what was happening. I have no idea who Billie is, but evidently Erin likes him or her just fine. I pulled one of my pillows over my head and tried to get back to sleep. Thankfully, Billie didn't last too long, though he was very quiet, and Erin gave one final cry before I heard the shower going. Yeah, that didn't put me in a mood at all. It isn't like I haven't been with anyone in like nine damned months or anything.
Luckily, once her shower was done, Erin was nice and quiet, and so was Billie, since a short time later I heard Erin humming happily as she left the apartment. With a relieved sigh, I fell back into an exhausted slumber.
I awoke later, my body feeling much better. I was still a little sore, but it was manageable. I made my way to the attached bathroom and was happy to find good water pressure and a lot of hot water. With a nice hot shower, I was feeling much more human, and my belly decided it would be a good time for food.
I found myself at a local burger place with a nice bacon cheeseburger, strawberry shake and onion rings as my belly's grumbling finally subsided. I had a couple more days free where nobody would know where I was, and I wanted to make sure I was ready the next time that Max showed up, because I had little doubt that he would.
My best bet was to get some self defense items, so I started looking around for what might sell things like that. I settled on an Army/Navy surplus store, since they said they sold pepper spray. When I got there, it turned out they sold a lot more than that! Knives, camo gear, all kinds of things that would be useful if I wanted to play war games, and surplus uniforms were all over. There was also a muscular woman that looked like an ex-marine with blonde hair in a faux hawk manning the counter that I hoped could help.
"Excuse me!" I raised my hand shyly to get her attention, but fuck was she intimidating. "I was hoping to get some pepper spray, or other self-defense items. Can you recommend some?"
Her scary face quickly broke into a grin. "Self-defense? Sure thing! What kind of bitch is after you?"
I snorted, loving the idea of Max being a bitch. "Ex coworker. I have a restraining order, but he already followed me to San Fran, and I'd prefer not to be caught unprepared if he found me here too."
"Restraining order, pfft, nothing but toilet paper to some people," she scoffed. "You turned him down for a date or something?"
I shuddered at the thought of dating Max. That was too repulsive. "That was never an issue. He knew I didn't like dick before we ever worked together. But he and his mom tried to kill me, and his mom paid the price. I guess he wants revenge? I just want him to leave me alone."
"Damn, bad ass! You killed his mom?" her eyes were wide, and she had a huge grin on her face.
I shook my head rapidly, holding my hand up to stop her. "No, no! I never touched her. Sharks got her. They tried to get me eaten, but they got her instead."
Her mouth dropped open in shock. "Holy shit! You're the girl in the video thingy! In Australia, right? Trixie or something?"
I dropped my head, sighing a little in embarrassment. "It's Trish. But yep, that's me."
"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!