There was a breeze in the afternoon sky, and even though the sun was bright, its rays of heat didn’t reach the city of Chicago. Being born and raised here, Octavia was accustomed to the windy city, but some days seemed gustier than others. She zipped her jacket as she and Jonathon strolled down the street in the opposite direction of the park. On this end were more single-family homes separated by property fences on all sides. Octavia didn’t live in the wealthiest part of town, but her neighborhood was a family friendly one. With playgrounds, bus stops, and the public park nearby, the area was a good place to reside when wanting to grow your household. The home she lived in had been passed down from her great-grandmother. Octavia had been in possession of the house since her parents’ passing. During her therapy sessions, Dr. Cooper had asked if she thought about selling it, but for Octavia, selling the house wasn’t an option.

Quietly walking down the street, Octavia used her feet to brush fallen leaves from her path. Jonathon reached over, laying his arm across her shoulder. Their feet moved in sync as they breathed in the October air.

“It’s funny—this morning when I went for a run the breeze was refreshing, and now it’s just plain cold.”

“Hmm,” Jonathon said. “If anything, the breeze has gotten better since this morning.”

“So, what changed then?” Octavia responded.

Jonathon glanced down at her, and their movements stopped. “It must have been you.”

Octavia thought about it.

“Why were you running so early this morning, O?”

Octavia dropped her head and blew out a deep breath. When she raised to look back at him, she was met with Jonathon’s probing gaze. She took her eyes across the street and grabbed his hand as she turned down a side street.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said.

“What’s keeping you awake?”

“Just been busy a lot lately. With Claudia working between S & M and Caregiver’s Organization, I’ve picked up a few of her clients to help shift the workload.” Octavia continued to talk as they strolled. “Then Santana’s wedding threw off my week, and I’m trying to find my rhythm again.” She offered up a slight smile. “I have to be back in the office Monday, and it looks like my days will get longer with the business we have. Besides, taking over a boatload of Claudia’s clients since her fundraiser, business at S & M has picked up significantly. Samiyah is talking about possibly hiring two more people.”

“How do you feel about that?”

Octavia shrugged. “I think she should hire about five more.”

They chuckled.

“The thing is,” Octavia continued, “being a small business keeps things in perspective, you know? When a company grows, sometimes things are knocked off balance, issues arise, and it doesn’t get much better from there.”

“You sound as if you’re speaking from experience.”

Octavia thought about her last employer. “In a way, I guess I am. Things are just kind of perfect at the job. How many people do you know can say they love their job?” Octavia glanced at him, and Jonathon smirked.

“In my line of work, I’d like to think the men who work for Rose Security Group enjoy what they do.”

“Well of course,” Octavia agreed. “Who wouldn’t want to work for you?”

They stopped walking, and Jonathon tugged at their enclosed fingers bringing Octavia in his space. “I’m quite different when I’m the boss,” he said.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“So, if I decided to change my career and come work for you, then our relationship would change?”

A sexy rumble fled from him. “That would never happen.”

Octavia pulled off of him and placed her hands on her hips. “And why not, you don’t think I have what it takes to be in your group?”

Jonathon reached back for her, and Octavia stepped out of his grasp. He chuckled. “That’s not what I’m saying. You’re putting words in my mouth.”

“Okay,” she folded her arms, defiantly, “then what are you saying?”

“Numero uno, there’s a series of training you would need to go through that would test your strength, endurance, and accuracy. There’s also a weight limit you have to meet to even be considered.” Jonathon ran a wicked eye over Octavia’s womanly curves, appreciation in the gleam that sparked through them.

Octavia shifted her weight and leaned into a hip. “What’s the requirement?”

“I would never hire you.”

Octavia’s eyes bucked. “What a minute. How did you go from telling me the application process to directly refusing to hire me?”

Jonathon laughed, amused by Octavia’s attitude. “Because you’re too precious to me, O, and I would never let you endure the type of training my men go through under any circumstances. Moreover, you wouldn’t quit your job because you love it. You’re good with numbers. It’s your passion. Your intelligence is beautiful, and your presence would be better served in the white house, not Rose Security Group.”

Octavia’s brows rose. “Mmm,” she said. “That’s what you better say,” she mumbled. Jonathon laughed and grabbed her shoulders to pull her in.

“Consider it the absolute truth,” he said, kissing her forehead.

Octavia struggled to keep her attention on their easy conversation and not the succulence of his lips. Lately, Octavia had found herself swept into his embrace so often she was beginning to feel like she belonged there. What she really needed to do was move past the hurdles that kept her prisoner some nights. It hadn’t been easy to give Jonathon a half-truth. The extra workload at S & M had been a significant weight for Octavia, but her nightmares were worse. Until this very moment, Octavia would talk to Jonathon about anything. Sharing herself with him had become her favorite pastime. Be that as it may, Octavia knew sharing her current situation with Jonathon would only make him worry. And there was nothing he could do to help her. What would be the point in telling him? Octavia decided against it, but she promised if things ever got too bad she would confide in him. That’s what friends were for.

Hand in hand, Jonathon and Octavia continued down the street. It wasn’t long before they ran into volunteers who were a part of the search party. Wearing jackets that were privy to the group, Octavia was approached by another volunteer.

“Did you hear?” the tall baldhead older gentleman asked.

“No, what happened?” Octavia responded.

“Someone found her book bag.” Octavia’s mouth dropped. “It had her school books inside. It’s been taken back to the station for further analysis.” The man nodded as he spoke.

“We should get back to your house,” Jonathon said.

“Come on, let’s go.”  

 

“I tried to call your cell, but you didn’t have it on you,” Selena said to Octavia as soon as they strolled through the door.

“I left it here and didn’t think anything of it.”

“Yeah, I found that out when it started to ring when I called it.”

“I’m sorry, it felt like we were gone ten minutes before we ran into someone that said Ayana Bradwell’s school bag was found.”

“Yeah, and Chicago PD is going to hold a press conference in the next hour.”

“That must have been breaking news, don’t you think?” Octavia looked at Jonathon.

“It’s possible,” he said. “I doubt they’ll reveal their findings, so I’m also interested in what they have to say.”

The phone rang, and Selena skipped over to the table and answered it. “Yes, sir,” Selena said. “Just a minute.” She reached for a pen and jotted some information down. When Jonathon’s phone rang, he pulled it out and opened his screen.

“Rose Security Group,” he answered.

“This is Officer Davis. I wanted to give you a heads-up. It looks like the search is about to garner national attention. There will be more traffic headed in your direction.”

Octavia watched Jonathon’s neutral expression as he listened to Officer Davis speak.

“I can’t talk about an ongoing investigation, but if you sign your company up officially, I can clue you in on more details. Besides that, I’d like to keep you in the loop.”

Jonathon’s gaze dropped slightly to Octavia’s.

“Signing Rose Security Group up officially will most likely gain the attention of the media. I’m not so sure that’s the best thing to do.”

Octavia moved closer to him, and Jonathon loved it when she invaded his space. Jonathon reached out and hung his arm around her shoulder as he spoke with Officer Davis.

“It’s up to you, son. I think we could keep it quiet. We’ve done well with keeping everything else on the hush. Anyway, think about it. If you decide to sign up, just dial me back. I already have your information, so I’ll log it into our system.”

“Will do.”

Jonathon disconnected the line and dropped the cell in his back pocket.

“Something’s up,” Jonathon offered.

“He wants to add your company officially?” Octavia asked.

“Yeah, so he can clue me in on the current discoveries with the search.”

“Do you think you’ll do it?”

Jonathon rubbed his chin. “I kept the company’s name off official documents to maintain the focus on Ayana Bradwell. It’s one of the reasons I had the men pull up in the hummers instead of the company vehicles. I’d hate for it to get out because the media will come, and if they find out we’re stationed here, they will descend on your property shoving their cameras everywhere trying to get information. What do you think I should do?”

“What did Officer Davis say?”

“He thinks they can keep it under the rug.”

“But you don’t.”

“Anything’s possible, but I’ve seen it get out of hand.”

“Then I would just leave it the way it is. If it’s something detrimental to the search and rescue, he would tell you anyway, right? I mean how else could you be efficient with your team?”

“I think the press conference is coming on,” Selena interrupted, turning the plasma TV up with the remote control. Jonathon and Octavia crowded around Selena along with Adam and a few others who were taking a quick break.

A female anchor from a local news station sat behind a desk, shuffling papers before looking to the camera. “We’re going live to the press conference,” she said.

The recording cut from the news floor to Officer Davis who stepped to a podium, just as his mic cracked while he adjusted it.

“Chicago Police Department arranged this press conference to give an update on Ayana Bradwell’s disappearance. At this time, Ayana is still considered missing. The investigation is still ongoing. However, we have been able to pinpoint the area she may have been taken, and we’re now focusing our efforts in a new direction.”

Reporters in the crowd shot questions at the officer one after the other, but none of their queries were answered as Officer Davis waved his hands to calm the media.

“This was just a briefing; we’re not taking questions or comments at this time. Monday morning at our designated press conference, we will resume and take questions from the audience.”

As if he hadn’t said it, the reporters threw more questions at him to which the officer waved them off again.

“Thank you for your time. That is all.”

The camera cut back to the newsroom and then a montage of pictures from Ayana’s life, narrated by the female news anchor:

“Ayana Bradwell, an African American sixteen-year-old girl, has been missing for two days. She was the only child to her late parents Traci and Peter Monroe, who died this past August from smoke inhalation while they were sleep during a house fire. Since the tragic accident, Ayana has been in the care of her grandmother Tessa Monroe of Bellsouth County. Friends and family call Ayana a sweet girl who would give up whatever she had to help another.

The segment cut to two of Ayana’s high school classmates. Both female teens held tears in their eyes as they spoke about how Ayana had helped them out at school.

“There were a few times my mom didn’t have any money, and I would come to school with whatever we had—sometimes a banana, a pack of peanut butter cookies. Cassidy,” the sniffling teen said in reference to the girl standing beside her, “usually didn’t have money either. By the time lunch came around, we’d been starving. Every time, Ayana gave up her money, and we would pile as much food on a lunch tray as we could and share it.” The teen’s tears fell heavily. “I hope nothing happens to her.”

As the segment cut back to the newsroom, the anchor spoke of Ayana’s beautiful spirit—while Octavia’s spirit fell. An insurmountable grief washed over her.

“How awful for Ayana to lose her parents then get kidnapped,” Selena said, shaking her head.

Octavia glanced at Jonathon. “I hope she’s all right.” Her jaw locked and her chest tightened as she worried about what finding the deserted school bag could mean for Ayana.

She knew all too well about how Ayana must have felt with the tragic memories of her parents’ death, that feeling of being lost inwardly. However, Octavia could hardly place her mind in the space of knowing what it must be like to also be lost outwardly.

When Jonathon pulled her in, Octavia rested her head on his shoulder and sent up a silent prayer for Ayana Bradwell.