The next morning, I was already dressed and heading to my truck when Jack arrived.
He looked exhausted but his face lit up when he saw me.
I felt a pang of guilt.
“Hey,” he said as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me on the cheek. “I’m so glad to see you’re okay. You are okay, aren’t you?”
I nodded and smiled weakly. “Yes, I’m fine. How was your pack meeting?”
He shrugged. “Not as productive as I’d hoped. There’s been too many otherworldly creatures trickling through the portal. It’s not unexpected but it makes it harder to figure out who’s here for what. Don’t worry about it though. We’re on it.”
He finally focused his gaze on me and studied me for a moment.
“You look like you have something on your mind,” he finally said, concern drawing his brows together. “What’s going on?”
I didn’t plan on talking to Jack about our situation after he just came off of a long graveyard shift but it had to come out and I don’t think he’d appreciate me delaying the inevitable.
I gestured to the house. “Come on. I’ll make you breakfast. You must be starving.”
After I put down a plate of waffles, bacon and eggs in front of him, I sat down and fidgeted with the edge of the placemat in front of me.
He speared a strip of bacon and eyed me as he gobbled it up. “Ollie. Talk. You obviously look like you want to.”
I gave him a pained smile. “Jack. You’re a great guy. You’re an awesome guy. I always have a good time with you.”
His brows rose meaningfully. “Fattening me up for the slaughter, aren’t you?”
My cheeks flamed. “You’re going to hate me and I totally understand but I don’t think I can do this. I wanted it to work, believe me, but I’m not sure this is what I’m looking for with you.”
He sighed and put his fork down. “I don’t hate you, Ollie. I do care about you a great deal and it stings a lot but I’ll admit I didn’t think there was any real hope. I’m glad you gave us a chance but if this isn’t what you want, I’m not going to force you into it.”
My chin quivered as I held back tears. “I really don’t deserve you, Jack. I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” he assured me, smiling a little. Then he furrowed his brows thoughtfully. “Is this because of Tristan?”
I bit my lip. “No. Yes. Does it matter?”
“Well, I can understand if you don’t feel that way about me but I’m not crazy about the idea that you have your heart pinned on someone like Tristan,” he said slowly as if picking his words. “I’m just not sure that you can trust him with it.”
“And you’re most likely right,” I said with a little sniffle. “That’s why I’ve stayed away and will continue to do so. You can say it’s been a real eye-opener for me.”
He raised a brow curiously. “Is there anyone else?”
Devon’s face flashed in my mind. “I’m not really sure at this point. I think I’m going to take my time with this.”
Jack grinned. “Well, I’m sure going to miss your cooking.”
I laughed and swatted his arm playfully. “Don’t be silly. I’m still your friend. You haven’t quite escaped the task of testing my recipes.”
That went surprisingly better than I expected.
We talked while he finished breakfast and we went for a walk by the lake.
Things were as casual as they have always been and I couldn’t be more relieved inside. I guess this was what Jack and I always had—a great friendship.
After he left, I headed out to the bakeshop.
It’s named Belle’s Bakeshop after my mother who had a sweet tooth and time to spare after she and my father moved to Willow. I grew up helping out and falling in love with it and I had no second thoughts when the responsibility fell into my hands after Jesse declared he wanted a different life for himself—a life outside of Willow. I love my twin brother and I know he beat himself up for thinking he escaped and left me behind but I never took it against him. We loved different things and it was natural we led different paths in life. I just wish he came home more often to visit but with the things going on in Willow right now, he was probably best to keep away.
It was just around lunch time when I arrived and it wasn’t surprising to find it so busy but I immediately picked up on what everyone was talking about.
Cam’s Quick Shop, a small convenience store, was robbed early this morning by two armed men who were wearing very realistic-looking, ugly-looking masks.
I felt an uneasy knot in my stomach as I listened to people’s descriptions of the armed robbers—bulging eyes, leathery skin, sharp teeth—they didn’t sound like masks to me but only because I knew better. Only a couple of witnesses saw and I know the story’s passed through a dozen mouths but it sounded very much otherworldly.
A movie-rental place had also been robbed just the night before by men with similar descriptions.
To my relief, no one got hurt but they were gone long before the police arrived.
I was mulling over the idea of calling Tristan about it even if I didn’t want to talk to him but I got too busy with the lunch orders that it was about two when the crowd finally cleared up and I finally had time to go through my cellphone.
I was just staring at Tristan’s number when the door opened and in came Stigger bearing an easy-going smile.
I sighed in relief. At least I didn’t have to dial Tristan anymore.
“Hey, how’s it going?” I asked him as he walked up to the counter, shyly observing the attention a handful of people left in the bakeshop was giving him. He’s deeply tanned, his shoulder-length dark hair in a ponytail and both arms covered in tattoos which he bared today with a sleeveless shirt and cargo shorts.
“Good. How are you, Miss Ollie?” he asked with a polite nod at me and Patrick who said hi through the kitchen doorway. “Are you feeling much better after yesterday?”
I was wearing jeans today but I nodded and answered him in a lower voice so no one else could hear, “Not a scratch on me now, Stig. It was so rude of me but I forgot to thank you yesterday for saving my life. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you didn’t come along.”
He shook his head solemnly. “It was nothing, Miss Ollie. You saved my life once too, remember? I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you.”
He was referring to that evening I ran out from my date with Jack to go after Tristan and discovered Stigger bleeding from a serious stab wound on a dark back alley beside a dumpster.
I smiled gratefully. “It must’ve been some stroke of luck but how did you know I jumped into the water?”
He shrugged. “Tristan. I was walking towards the dock when I saw your friend’s boat pass but I didn’t think anything of it. Tristan got alerted when you were in trouble and told me to find you as I was closer and you were running out of time.”
My smile thinned but my heart skipped a beat. “I see he was reading my mind again. I didn’t think he saw me on the boat. He was, um, busy, with his two lady friends up in one of the balconies.”
Stigger pressed his lips tight awkwardly. “Yes. But you must’ve reached him somehow. Maybe you were thinking of him or something.”
His name probably crossed my mind and my smile shifted to a pained one. “Probably, even though I shouldn’t. All the same, I still want to thank you for jumping in and getting me out. And for coming in to see me today.”
Stigger scratched his head, looking guilty. “Yeah, I also came here to get some pastries. We had some delivered to the Mansion yesterday and um, the twins, er, you know, they liked them and wanted more. I thought I’d come get them myself so I could also see how you’re doing.”
I laughed dryly. “The twins, huh? Sure, what do you they want?”
I was putting together a box of a dozen variety for him when the windows shattered all of a sudden and several people screamed as shards of glass rained inside the bakeshop.
“Get back!” a loud male voice commanded and I saw three figures dash into the bakeshop wearing black jackets and jeans and matching black ski caps.
They were each holding a pistol.
“Miss Ollie,” Stigger whispered to me and I could feel him tensing like an animal. I put a hand on his arm to calm him down. The last thing I wanted was for him to morph into something and have a bloody riot with these three creatures who without question were otherworldly—their brows were thick and scraggly, their skin leathery brown and rough, their eyes bulging and an inhuman yellow color, their mouths large with flabby lips.
“You, woman.” One of them pointed at me with his gun and threw an empty, black drawstring bag at me, hitting me on the face before it landed on the counter. “Dump all of your cash in it. Hurry!”
“Ollie,” a nervous Patrick said from the kitchen behind me and I gasped when the creature swerved the gun in his direction.
“Shut up and don’t do nothing stupid!” he barked just as his two other companions kicked a couple of tables around, sending some dishes crashing to the floor.
I caught sight of two of my staff, Sonny and Gretchen, who were by the dining area, standing still in shock and fear, huddled with their customers, and I gave them a tight, reassuring smile as I opened the till and started taking out the divider.
“We don’t...” I started, steadying my voice as much as I could. “We don’t have a lot of cash.”
And it was true. Some people paid with credit and debit cards, especially the tourists.
One of the creatures came up to the counter and smashed a hand through the glass display. “We’ll have just to take them in kind, then!”
They roared in laughter and I flinched as they swept an arm through the racks and shoved all the food trays off of them. Metal trays fell to the floor with a loud clang and pastries and cookies rolled around the aisle. Then they went on to kick the coolers ruthlessly until the light in them burnt out, all the while almost giggling with pleasure.
“Hurry!” one of them shouted at me, prompting me to pour all the contents of the divider tray into the bag, coins jingling and paper bills rustling.
Before I could set the tray down, they grabbed the bag from me.
“Thank you, sweetie pie,” the ringleader said as he leaned forward and grinned at me, baring ugly, yellow teeth. Stigger cleared his throat and I threw him a warning look to stay put. If he fought them, he’d have to morph and reveal his identity to everyone watching who’s going to quickly realize these robbers were coming in bare-faced and not in some type of theatrical masks.
The creature’s eyes narrowed and he leaned closer, sniffing the air.
“Well, don’t you just smell wonderful,” he said before grabbing a fistful of my left breast and leaping up the counter to lock his mouth with mine.
A rancid taste flooded my mouth and before I realized what I was doing, I grabbed the pen lying on the counter and stabbed him.
He staggered back screaming in pain and I stumbled away from the counter, nauseated, but I caught sight of the pen sticking out of his right eye.
I winced as he plucked it out, blood oozing down his face but he straightened and growled at my direction.
Stigger stepped in but the creature’s two friends grabbed him by the sleeve and hauled him out.
“Call the cops!” one of the customers screamed after they were gone. It was a teenage girl and she got up and looked around at the mess in the bakeshop and burst into tears.
“I’m on it!” Patrick yelled back from the kitchen and I glanced at him and saw him clutching the phone clumsily. He caught my eye and asked, “Are you okay? Ollie? Did you get hurt?”
I shook my head and slumped against the counter.
“Miss Ollie. You should’ve let me,” Stigger said in a strained voice, his expression dark and furious.
I shook my head again. “No, it’s alright. This mess I can fix. Everyone finding out about you, I can’t.”
I took a deep breath and looked around the bakeshop, at the fearful faces of my customers and staff, remembered the awful taste in my mouth, and I turned around and ran to the bathroom where I threw up.
Ten minutes later, I stepped out and the bakeshop was a flurry of activity with the police, witnesses and onlookers all thrown into the mix.
I was in a daze as I went through the questioning with Officer Amelia Ruck. Stigger had also been questioned and he nodded at me grimly before he left.
When all the questioning was done and everyone was allowed to go home, I stayed with Patrick and Mary Anne who came in from her day off, inspecting the damage and calling our insurance company.
All the windows were shattered—something which the police couldn’t explain yet and would probably never be able to explain. The display coolers were wrecked, a few tables and chairs were damaged, broken glass was everywhere and food littered on the floor.
“Personally, this looks more like an act of terrorism than a robbery,” Amelia had told me in private as she gazed at the scene of the crime. “They’re coming in declaring to rob, leaving with little cash but too much damage. It’s not typical behavior of robbers. They usually want to leave as little trace as possible and get out as quickly as they can.”
I had nothing much to tell her.
She’d given me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder after I explained to her the kiss, the boob-grabbing and eye-stabbing part of the incident. They were going to send up the blood to a lab in Greyhart in case it turned up any file but I knew it wasn’t going to help other than possibly confuse them all the more when the blood didn’t show up as normal human.
I was standing by the sidewalk as Mary Anne fought with someone from the insurance company on the phone and Patrick and the other remaining staff started cleaning up.
My cellphone rang.
I hadn’t even bothered looking at the screen before answering it.
“Are you okay?” Tristan’s voice came on the line.
I sighed. “I’ve been asked that question about twenty times now since yesterday and I’m starting to get sick and tired of answering it.”
“You’re talking back with your usual endearing manner so I’m going to assume you’re not in too bad a shape,” he replied dully. “Come to the Mansion tonight. We have to talk.”
I snorted. “In case you didn’t get the 411, my bakeshop just got trashed and I got sexually harassed by a sour-breathed, lecherous ogre so I neither have the time nor the energy to deal with you as well.”
Before he could answer, I ended the call and shoved the phone back into my small shoulder bag.
“Ollie, you should probably go home,” Patrick said as he came out of the bakeshop. “You’re all shaken up and there’s not much to do here really than wait for the cleaning company to come in. I called Joe and he’s coming down with a couple of guys to board up the windows. They’re just on their way to pick up some plywood.”
I shook my head. “No, I should stay. I can help clean up and—”
“Honey, listen to me,” Patrick said, taking me by shoulders and peering down at me as if I were a stubborn child. “We’ve got this. There’s not much to do here. We’ll have to give it a few days to get the windows fixed and the new coolers won’t be delivered until a week from now. Mary Anne’s working on getting the money for us—”
“I have the money,” I interrupted irritably. “We don’t have to wait a goddamned week for those coolers—”
Patrick sighed. “It’s not the money. That’s about how long it’ll take for them to custom-fit it and everything. Mary Anne’s got all the paperwork so don’t worry about it.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s give everyone the next couple of days off while we work all of this out. Everyone gets paid. I’ll make damn sure of it. I’m not going to let anyone suffer because of this.”
“I think you’ll be the one suffering through this the most,” Patrick said gently.
I smiled tightly. “I’ll be fine. You know what? Remember those plans we came up with two years ago about changing the lay out by the booth section and adding that wall-to-ceiling cooler to display our custom-order cakes?”
Patrick nodded warily. “Yeah. Why?”
I brightened up. “Tell Mary Anne to go ahead with them. She can apply for the permits, put in the order for those coolers and she can talk to Joe when he gets here and see what cost and timeline they’d need. It’s the perfect chance to do it and at least when we re-open, it’ll be with a pleasant surprise and everyone would forget about what happened today.”
Patrick still didn’t look too sure. “That’s not going to be cheap and that could set us back a week or two or possibly longer even if the contractors work on it on a full schedule. It’s the middle of summer. We could lose a lot of business.”
I shrugged. “It’ll pinch the numbers, I’m sure, but I have the money for the remodeling and the crowds will double right after we open as they did the last time we had to close for refurnishing. We’ll make some of the money back. It’s an opportunity to turn this thing around. I’m sure Mary Anne will agree. We’ve talked about it a few times but we just couldn’t find the timing.”
Patrick just sighed and went back in, promising to call if they need me.
I was walking to my truck parked in the back when I spotted a familiar white Mercedes SUV park across the street.
I waited by the empty side and back parking lot as Devon stepped out and walked across the street, his eyes locked in with mine and never straying once.
He just collected me in his arms the moment he got to me, not uttering a single word.
I closed my eyes and let him hold me, the tension slowly draining away from me.
“This feels really good,” I murmured with a smile. “Are you doing something to me?”
He gently pulled away. “Just soothing you. I’m glad it’s working.”
“Thanks. I really needed that. I had a hell of a day,” I said with a sigh.
His face was grim. “I know. I’m starting to get annoyed that I seem to be never here when these things happen. I make a lousy guardian angel.”
I laughed. “Well, you must be looking after a bunch of people. I don’t expect to get exclusive services.”
“I was in New York for another assignment when I found out,” he said with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. We didn’t think things were going to escalate around here this quickly. We’ve deployed a permanent team to keep an eye around here.”
My eyes widened. “If you were in New York then how did you—”
The amused expression on his face stopped me from finishing my question.
He leaned down and looked like he was going to kiss me but was debating it.
“You’re not going to make me ask, are you?” I joked even though I blushed.
The conflict was obvious in his eyes. “What about Jack?”
I exhaled sharply. “I talked to him this morning. We’re still great friends and he didn’t seem too torn about it. He’ll survive just fine, I think.”
Devon swallowed. “That’s good to hear. And Tristan?”
I raised a brow. “What about Tristan? Are we going to go through the list of guys I’ve been involved with because the list is short and unexciting.”
“No, it’s not that,” Devon said, his expression showing a lot more agitation than he probably wanted me to see.
I groaned and shook my head. “Forget it, Devon. Thanks for seeing me but I had a long day. I don’t have time for this.”
I turned around and started for my truck again.
“Ollie, wait!”
I ignored him and kept walking but I was quickly yanked back and in a matter of seconds, I was pressed against Devon as he kissed me hard, his usual tenderness taken over by a sense of urgency.
He eventually gentled and released me a little, his arms still encircled around my waist.
“I shouldn’t be doing this,” he whispered before pressing another kiss on my mouth. “I shouldn’t want you for myself. I...”
“What?” I managed a raspy whisper of my own as I struggled to catch my breath.
His blue-green eyes glimmered with... regret?
“I didn’t mean to feel this way about you, Ollie,” he admitted, his forehead touching mine. “But I do and that... complicates things.”
I took a step back and shook my head in confusion. “You know what, Devon? I really like you in a way that I couldn’t like Jack. But the last thing I want is some type of complicated relationship because I got burned by that the last time.”
He looked stricken.
“If you don’t want, or can’t, have this, then let’s not get started because I’d like to keep you as a friend and that’s going to be challenging if we make a mess of this, okay?” I went on, my voice trembling with tears that were quickly rising in my chest.
He took a step closer and picked up my hand. “I’m sorry. I wish I could make you understand but you’re right. We’ll make a mess of this and ruin everything else. It’s best that I let you be on your own, Ollie, even if I want more than your friendship. It’s better than not having you at all.”
A tear rolled down my cheek and I quickly brushed it away.
“I have to go,” was all I said before I walked to my truck and drove away, leaving Devon alone in the parking lot, watching me leave.
Well, let’s hope the worst was over for the day.