8

I could wring her pretty little neck.

She could have broken her leg climbing out of the bathroom window. How did she even get up there?

I wouldn't dare ask her and make her think I admired her tenacity. No, no. She wasn't tenacious; she was stubborn, that was what she was.

I dialed Will's number, and he picked up after the second ring.

"Hey, Jake. What's going on?"

"That woman is driving me crazy! That's what!" I shouted.

I followed closely behind her, so close I could see her staring back at me in the rearview mirror.

"She jumped out of a window today just to get away from me."

Will chuckled, "Well, now. I wish I could say I blame her."

"This isn't funny, Will. She is going to hurt herself or make it easy for someone to hurt her. And I won't let that happen."

"Of course, not. Just be patient with her."

"I am patient!" I shouted again and closed my eyes at the irony.

"This woman has gotten under your skin, hasn't she?" he made a funny noise, like a ‘huh' sound. "Is she attractive?"

"Jesus, Will. What does that have to do with any of this?"

"Maybe nothing. Maybe something. Just answer the question."

"Yes, she's pretty. But she's also infuriating, stubborn, and reckless. Did I mention she jumped out of a window?"

"Yes, yes you did. Have you tried speaking to her about it? Showing her the email her mother received?"

"Of course, I did. We showed her on the first day. She doesn't think it's a big deal. I don't know. Maybe she's right. Maybe this was some prank or some dickwad getting his thrills by scaring the governor."

"I don't think so."

I didn't like his tone. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't Jager update you?"

"I didn't answer when he called earlier. I was sort of busy busting through a woman's washroom."

"Well, a courier delivered a package to the governor's office yesterday. Christian checked the package first, of course, and after he found no trace of powder on it, he opened it."

"And what was inside?"

"Nothing."

"So, Nikole may be right. There's nothing to worry about."

"No, I meant the package was empty."

My head spun, and I strained to concentrate on the road. "Why would someone send an empty box to the governor?"

"Exactly," said Will.

"Unless the purpose of the package was to get inside the building to map it out."

"Or send us a message."

I didn't like this at all. Something about this guy made my skin crawl. He was patient and methodical.

"You should explain this all to Nikole," said Will.

I stared at the woman in the car in front of me. She had gone to great lengths to prove she didn't need me. I would need to do the same to get through to her. "I don't think talking is going to cut it, Will. I need to do something else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. But I may need your help."

"As long as it's not illegal."

I pursed my lips. I wasn't going to make any promises.

***

I followed Nikole up the steps to her second-floor office. Ideas swirled in my head, but I kept losing my train of thought. First, it was the scent of her perfume, a light floral fragrance. Then, it was her hair. She had messed it up when she dragged herself through a window and rolled in the grass. Ironically, the grittiness made her more appealing. And the image of her rolling in the grass was one I couldn't get out of my head.

Fortunately, she shut the door when she reached her office, and I was spared the image for the remainder of the afternoon.

At that time, I formulated a plan. I called a rental company, then I called the concierge at my building to let him know not to expect me for a few days and to not let anyone into my apartment, not even my brothers.

I ordered a few supplies and groceries and had them delivered to my home. Everything was in place. I just had to sell the idea to Will.

"Absolutely not," he said when I told him the plan. "We're not doing that."

"It's the only way."

"Find another way."

"I've tried, but this is the only one that will work."

Will sighed on the phone, so I pressed. "You know there's no one better than me when it comes to executing a good plan."

"I know. I'm questioning whether it's a good one," he snapped.

"It is."

"All right, but if this goes sideways, you're taking the fall."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

He hung up, and I couldn't help smiling. This was going to work.

Still staring at my phone, my sister's face popped up on the screen. I swiped it to answer. "Hello?"

"Hey, Jake. What are you doing?"

"I'm working, Sarah. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, fine. Just wondering if Nikole told you about tonight."

I tried to recall Nikole saying anything to me after her stunt, but I don't think I was very approachable. "No, she didn't."

"I'll be bringing a lasagna for dinner tonight at her place."

"That's great. Stop by my truck and say hello."

"What do you mean? You're coming in, aren't you?"

"I haven't been invited. Besides, it could be awkward after today. She really pissed me off."

"Jake, what did you do now?"

"What did I do? Didn't you just hear me say that she pissed me off?"

"I did. And my question still stands. What did you do?"

I sighed and looked around the office. People milled downstairs, but upstairs was quiet. That was why I chose to move her upstairs. That and the first floor was way too easy to access through the courtyard window.

"I did my job, Sarah. That's all."

She groaned. "Why can't you see that using honey is better than vinegar?"

I rolled my eyes.

"I know you're rolling your eyes at me."

I chuckled. "Well, then you should know better than to say something like that to me. I'm not trying to be her friend, Sarah. I'm trying to protect her."

"Well, you can protect her and still be nice."

"Not with this one," I muttered.

"Well, I called to remind you to bring a bottle of wine, that's all."

"I'm not bringing wine. It's not a date, Sarah."

"Yeah, I'm aware. You messed that one up already."

I sighed. She was right, but I couldn't turn back the clock.

"I'll see you later, Sarah."

"Bye, Jake."

I ended the call and stood by Nikole's door until she came out thirty minutes later.

She had fixed her hair, and her clothes were straighter. The look was like a shield she put up. Hard and unapproachable. I liked it. It was much easier to do my job this way.

In truth, the job was relatively simple. Once I moved her to the second floor, I was able to control access to her. I'd run background checks on all employees at Simon and Feldstein, thanks to the governor, and other than a few small misdemeanors, no one had any priors that concerned me much. There was one girl, Christina. Her record was a lot more colorful than I'd expected, but after looking into the neighborhood she grew up in, I wasn't worried. I was glad she hadn't gotten into more trouble, and quite impressed she ended up here and not someplace else.

Nikole drove at a slower pace whenever she went home, whereas she was a speed demon in the mornings. I preferred the relaxing drive home, as she would often play with her hair or sing along to a song and I could see her lips move in the side view mirror. I imagined the songs to be slow ones since her mouth curved slowly and lips pouted at length, as though to hold an extended, ‘Ohhhh'. I would often change stations, trying to find the song she sang, but never could get the right one.

She pulled into her driveway and I jogged up the steps ahead of her, as I always did. I did a quick visual sweep of the area first. A large maple tree partially blocked her front entrance, and I checked around it to make sure there weren't any footsteps around the soil or any tracks on her mat. Her fragrance hit me as I turned to see her walking up the steps. The wind had picked up, and it blew her hair across her face, brown wisps caressed her cheeks and chin. Her cheeks were rosy from the crisp air and her lips were red. Her eyes had dark spots underneath, though, and I wondered if she hadn't gotten enough sleep last night. I blinked and turned away while she opened her front door.

She left it open for me, as was our new routine, and I proceeded to check the rooms. Everything appeared as it should. "I'll see you later," I said and closed the door behind me.

I sat in my car, with the engine turned off, and settled in for the night.

The weather had grown colder since I started this assignment a week ago. I usually stayed until I saw her bedroom light go off and then drove home. Jager had installed infrared cameras along the perimeter of her home and I knew that a squirrel couldn't get close to her without one of us being alerted. It helped me sleep at night.

My breath came out in white puffs, and I rubbed my hands together to stay warm. Winter would be here soon, and I hoped we would get the guy before then. I had blankets in my truck, but I rarely used them for myself.

While I contemplated turning the engine on for a few minutes to warm up, I spotted Sarah's blue hatchback from my side view mirror turn onto the road.

She honked twice as she pulled into the driveway and I raised my hand. After parking the car, Sarah opened the backseat door and pulled out a large pan. That must be her famous lasagna. My stomach protested as my mind recalled its delicious aroma.

To my regret, Sarah walked across the street to my window. "Hey, Jake."

"Hi, Sarah."

"You coming in?"

"You know I'm not."

She pinched her mouth, her lips tightening to a sour pout. It almost looked comical if I didn't know how deadly of a pinch she packed. I could still remember the bruises from when we were young.

"We'll see about that."

She turned around and marched toward the front steps.

With Sarah inside, I breathed a little easier. I'd taught my sister self-defense and a few lethal moves. I knew she could take care of herself.

I settled lower into my seat and closed my eyes for a few seconds, knowing she was inside with Nikole. I hadn't slept for more than a few hours since starting this job and I knew a full night's sleep would not come soon.

I spoke to Jager a little while ago, and he gave me a full briefing. They had a visual of the courier who delivered the package. He was a white male, probably in his late thirties or early forties. He wore a beanie, so we weren't sure if his hair had any gray in it, but the sides were all a light brown. There weren't any distinct scars or tattoos we could see from the video; he looked quite nondescript. Average. But he had an unusual gait, as though he had sustained a leg injury.

No other packages were delivered since yesterday, and still no more emails.

I wonder if—

I jumped at a bang on my window. Sarah stood with her arms crossed and white puffs of air streamed from her nose. "It's freezing out here, roll down the damn window," her muffled voice penetrated inside the truck.

"What's going on?" I asked, rolling down the window.

"Come inside."

I didn't even try to hide my eye roll. "Sarah, we talked about this. I'm fine where I am."

"No, you're not. It's cold tonight, and I have warm lasagna inside. I can't eat knowing you're sitting out here cold and starving."

"That's a little dramatic," I said, although not entirely wrong. My stomach had the bad grace to growl at that moment. She raised a pointed eyebrow at my weakness.

"Ok, you can bring me a piece."

She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not your server, Jake. Come inside and eat dinner with us."

"I wasn't exactly invited."

"Oh, did I forget to mention that she invited you?" she added sweetly.

"I highly doubt that."

"Well, come inside and prove me wrong."

I sighed. "Nice try, Sarah. I'll just stay where I am."

Sarah pursed her lips and tilted her head. "You're scared, aren't you?"

"Wh-what?" I sputtered. "Scared of what? A home-cooked meal? No, I'm just doing my job."

She shook her head. "You feel something and you don't want to come in. Is that it?"

"Why would you say that?"

"Because you haven't been in a relationship since Janine cheated on you, that's why. You can't be afraid—"

I gritted my teeth. "I'm not scared, Sarah."

Her face softened. "All right. All right. You're not scared. But you are hungry. Come inside," she said, and then added, "It's only dinner."

While there was no written rule, I rarely stayed inside a client's home unless it was necessary for the job, or I was invited in. Neither appeared to be the case here, so I was hesitant to walk into Nikole's home. Although, I wasn't sure if it was my professionalism or my pride talking.

As Sarah stood there, the wind picked up, and she shivered. "Get inside, Sarah. It's freezing out here."

"I'm not going in without you."

I sighed. I was making this a bigger deal than it needed to be. "Fine. But if I get one look or any indication that Nikole does not want me there. I'm out."

Sarah's eyes widened, and I nearly climbed back into the car. "Sarah…" I said, watching her face. She licked her lips. "Well, she didn't exactly voice the invitation. She sort of just shrugged her agreement."

I groaned loudly and turned to get back into the truck, but Sarah stopped me, pulling on my arm. "Please, for me. Just come inside for a little while. I'll get indigestion knowing you're out here all by yourself."

Her voice wavered, and I knew she was serious. Her eyes creased, and she even smiled. "Please."

"All right. But just for a little while."

She clapped her hands when I climbed out. I put my arm around the insistent pitbull and pulled her into my side.

A curtain in Nikole's front window moved, and a figure walked away.

Had she caught all that? Was she watching us? I smiled, knowing that she cared enough to know if I was coming in or not. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Sarah opened the front door and a blanket of warm air engulfed me as soon as I walked in. It felt like an embrace. Nikole's blank face and turned back weren't as welcoming, but I promised Sarah to give it a chance.

"Thank you for having me for dinner," I said, taking off my coat and hanging it on the rack at the entrance.

Nikole looked at Sarah, and I knew she had given in to my sister just as resistantly as I had. My lips twitched into a semblance of a smile and while Nikole's mouth stayed firm, her eyes shined a bit brighter. "Well, since your sister made dinner, I felt it was her place to invite whomever she liked."

"Sit, sit." Sarah pushed me towards the table and I took the first seat closest to me at the end. Sarah sat opposite me and when Nikole went to sit beside her, she stopped her. "Can you sit next to Jake?"

Nikole stared at my sister, with a wry look on her face.

"I'm left-handed," Sarah explained, and I don't want to bump elbows."

I narrowed my eyes on her. While she was left-handed, my sister never had a problem sitting next to someone who was right-handed before. What was she up to?

"No problem," Nikole said, and I pulled the seat next to me back for her.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You're welcome."

"See!" Sarah clasped her hands under her chin. "Look how quaint this is."

I cleared my throat and Nikole folded her arms next to me. Sarah's smile didn't falter. She grabbed the utensils on the table and then cut into the lasagna.