Maggie

 

“What are you doing?” I hissed as I caught up with Blade at the door.

 

“I’m taking the toys we picked out,” he said nonchalantly, looking at me like I was the crazy one for questioning him. He was the one pushing a shopping cart loaded down with toys straight for the door like he was trying to steal them.

 

And what was crazier, no one was trying to stop him! He was right in view of the cashiers, and instead of calling for help or yelling out to him, they just stood by and watched as he pushed hundreds of dollars of toys toward the automatic doors.

 

“You can’t take these without paying for them,” I tried to convince him.

 

“Who’s going to stop me?” he asked with a self-satisfied look on his face, like he had me backed into a corner, knowing no one was going to do anything about it.

 

That was when the manager approached. I sighed, and my body relaxed, relieved someone was finally coming up to stop this madman from stealing all these toys from the store. Of course, since I was with him, I was probably going to be in trouble, too.

 

They shook hands, and Blade patted him on the shoulder like they were old friends. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Who was this man? He had everyone under his spell. Either that or they were all afraid of him.

 

“Well, I’m glad you were able to find everything you needed,” the manager told him, eyeing the overflowing shopping cart.

 

“I definitely was, especially with my assistant here.” He put his arm across my shoulders and pulled me in.

 

“That’s great! I’m glad you had someone here to help. Just make sure these toys go to kids who really can use them,” the manager added.

 

“Don’t worry,” Blade assured him. They shook hands again, and the manager stepped aside to let us out of the store.

 

We were walking outside with a cart full of toys we hadn’t even paid for, and the manager was totally on board with that. I was so confused. I wondered what kind of power Blade had over these people.

 

“Help me get this stuff in the car,” he said as he pushed the shopping cart up behind his trunk.

 

I just stood there dumbfounded, staring at him while he raised the trunk of his shiny black sports car. There wasn’t much space in the back, and the thing barely had a backseat. I didn’t see where the toys were going to go, but he started piling them in, sorting and stacking as he went to make sure they all fit.

 

“Okay, at least take the cart back,” he said as he finished. He pushed the shopping cart over to me and shut the trunk. “I’ll meet you at the door.”

 

I turned and walked the cart back up to the building. To put things in perspective, it was still dark out. The sky was just starting to show the first signs of light. The parking lot was still empty except for a couple of employees’ cars. I parked the shopping cart inside the front door, where we got it when we walked in, and on my way out, Blade was parked at the curb, waiting for me.

 

The scene was so surreal. I still didn’t know what to make of it all. Shopping with him had started to change my opinion of Blade a little. He’d shown me a caring side that couldn’t have been denied. Plus, he showed me that everything wasn’t always serious with him. He had a fun side, a childlike humor and joy hidden underneath that rough exterior. He wasn’t just muscles and leather. But then he walked out like he did, and that ruined it for me. I really had no idea what to think of him.

 

“So, you don’t like Christmas, huh?” he asked as I got back into the car.

 

“Not a big fan,” I repeated.

 

“I imagine shopping at Christmastime is a bit of a challenge for you, then,” he added.

 

“It is. Everywhere you go, all the decorations and music, I can’t handle it. It makes me cringe.”

 

“Well, you did all right in there,” he argued.

 

“I was distracted.” I felt my face blushing. I was, indeed, distracted by him.

 

“I love Christmas. It gives me a chance to give back to others,” he explained to me.

 

“By taking from stores like that one?” I cocked an eyebrow.

 

He just laughed and shook his head. There was something I wasn’t getting, something he wasn’t telling me. I decided not to say anything else about it so he couldn’t make me look stupid with what he wasn’t saying.

 

“We’ll just have to get you back in the Christmas spirit,” he said as we drove away.

 

I was impressed he didn’t ask me a bunch of questions about why I didn’t like Christmas. That seemed to be his thing – always trying to get to the bottom of every little thing, especially with me.

 

I sat back and kept my remarks to myself, though. I had actually been thinking that he wasn’t all that bad, and that I could have allowed myself to open up to him, but whatever he had going on with the manager didn’t seem legit to me. I’d had enough bad boys in my life. I had just left a bad guy. I couldn’t afford to let myself get mixed up with another.

 

At the same time, I couldn’t deny how sexy it was to see that other side of him, the care he’d put into finding the perfect gifts for the kids, whatever kids those happened to be. It was all so confusing and frustrating. And all I wanted to do was get some sleep and finally call it a night. I wanted to put all this nonsense behind me.

 

Then, in case running out of the toy store with a shopping cart full of toys wasn’t crazy enough, we found ourselves back in a run-down section of town, and Blade was backing his car down a dark alley to where a seedy-looking man stood in a doorway on the back of one of the buildings. I just couldn’t take it anymore.

 

“What the hell are we doing?” I asked him.

 

“Don’t worry about it. Everything’s cool,” he told me, still using that nonchalant tone that made me feel stupid for missing whatever it was he hadn’t told me yet.

 

“Are you selling these toys you bought?” I asked.

 

He laughed. “No, not quite selling.”

 

He stopped the car and cut the engine. He pocketed his keys as he got out and shook the man’s hand. Who didn’t he know? Who wasn’t friends with him? And what the hell was I about to witness back behind this building?

 

I decided not to get out with him. Instead, I sat and watched in the mirror on the passenger side door of the car. He popped the trunk and started pulling out toys and games to hand to the guy.

 

“Hey, you mind giving us a hand?” he called into the car.

 

I unbuckled my seatbelt and grabbed a few things from the backseat, carrying them up the stairs and following Blade’s partner inside. We walked into a small room that looked like a storage room, where he was stacking up the toys as we brought them in. I still wasn’t completely sure of what was going on, but I helped anyway. I didn’t want to find out what happened to people who told Blade no and refused to go along with his plans.

 

I stepped outside once we finished. Blade was shutting the trunk of the car and locking up.

 

“So, what now?” I asked.

 

“Now we get to go inside,” he said as he walked back up the steps to the door.

 

I touched his arm to stop him. I felt the shape of the muscles under his skin. There was so much strength there. I didn’t want to let go, not for any reason. I almost forgot what I was going to say. “Please tell me this is legit,” I said in a low voice.

 

“I’m not telling you anything,” Blade said to me. “Not until you start talking. Until then, you can just enjoy figuring it all out on your own.”

 

He flashed me his smile and started walking again. Of course, I followed. I had no idea what was going on, but I didn’t want him to leave me behind. Whatever it was, I knew I had to be part of it.

 

Once we were back in the storage closet, the man we’d met there closed the door behind us and locked it. “Never can be too safe,” he said with a nervous laugh.

 

“Not at all,” I agreed.

 

“Hi, I’m Connor,” the man said, offering me his hand.

 

I glanced over at Blade before shaking his hand and introducing myself. He nodded, letting me know it was okay.

 

Connor caught the look on my face and turned just in time to catch Blade giving me the okay to talk to him. He laughed. “Don’t worry, honey, I don’t bite,” Connor said.

 

“Connor’s harmless,” Blade added.

 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” I told Connor, taking his hand finally.

 

“You, too. It’s always good to make new friends, isn’t it, Blade?”

 

“You know it is,” Blade agreed.

 

“So, what now?” I asked the two men. I didn’t know if we were expecting money or what, but I was curious. I was ready for it to be over. I ready for my life to go back to normal, and that meant no more clandestine operations. That meant no more secrets.

 

“Well, now we go inside,” Connor said, and he disappeared through a door opposite the one we came in.

 

“Inside?” I asked Blade as his associate disappeared.

 

“Yeah, come on,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me with him.

 

How the hell was I was getting roped into these adventures? I was still wearing the button-down shirt from the closet back at the warehouse and the oversized coat he’d given me as we left. I knew I looked like a hot mess. I hadn’t even had a chance to fix my hair since waking up chained to whatever the hell it was they used to display me back at the auction.

 

It was not my morning, but I had to remind myself it was still better than waking up among the dumpsters in the alley, underneath a crusty blanket provided by someone who called himself Major Ralph. Maybe instead of reaching out to old friends and hoping everyone hadn’t run off while I had been shacking up with Axel, this was going to be my new life, running around doing outlaw things with my new buddy Blade.

 

I took a deep breath. He’d given me every opportunity to leave earlier. Apparently, there were no more of those left. I had to suck it up and go with the flow since I hadn’t walked away when given the chance.

 

I followed Blade through the door into a large, round room. It looked like some sort of foyer. I could see the entryway leading to the street. There was a great staircase in the middle of the room, and wooden benches, set up like bleachers, lined the walls.

 

“Where are we?” I asked Blade as he led me to a section of bleachers behind the staircase.

 

“You’ll see,” he said quietly, patting my hand.

 

“You two just have a seat, and I’ll bring the kids right down,” Connor said. He walked around the front of the staircase and started up to the floors above.

 

“The kids?”

 

“Don’t worry about everything so much. You’re too nervous, too wound up. Just relax and everything will be clear in a few minutes. Besides, I told you we were getting toys for the kids. Well, you’re about to meet the kids.”

 

I was beginning to think I’d slipped into another dimension when I fell sleep behind Major Ralph and his cardboard fort.