CHAPTER 4

 

 

Another long day of solid work awaited her. Aisanna made it to the shop with hardly a minute to spare, freshly showered and—if not smelling like a rose—at least marginally cleaner. The shower helped. In the light of day, her apartment didn’t look spooky at all. Safe enough she managed to rush through a shower without incident.

The second cup of coffee she got from the shop around the corner worked miracles. They knew her by name there. How sad.

She could almost forget about what happened the night before.

The cold winter air was invigorating and she drew it down into her lungs until her throat stung. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she stared into a cloudless sky the rich blue of a robin’s egg. It was a new day and she intended to make the best of it.

She had enough time to unlock the door and sigh before Elon burst inside with a flurry of activity and color. Today, he’d decided on primary colors: red pants, blue shirt, yellow bow tie. The look shouldn’t have worked, but somehow it did.

“There you are,” he called out to her, juggling his car keys and lunchbox.

“Here I am,” she responded semi-sarcastically. “Opening the shop right on time. You know me.” She took a sip of coffee. “Always on time.”

“You didn’t answer your phone.”

Before she uttered a protest, Elon moved behind the glass countertop and gathered her close, wrapping his arms around her slight frame and drawing her against his chest. His lunchbox dug into her hip.

“Do you know how frustrated it made me? To know you were alone and I couldn’t get in touch with you? Call me crazy—”

“You’re crazy.”

“—but I was concerned.”

“I left my phone at home when I went to visit my sister,” Aisanna told him, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt. “See? I wasn’t alone. I had company.” She pushed away, although it took several tries to get him to release her. His scent overwhelmed her—clean soap and a hint of male sweat.

It wasn’t unpleasant.

“Good. I’m glad to hear it,” he said softly.

“Come on, Elon, that’s enough.” Aisanna stepped back and took a moment to collect herself. His nearness set her teeth on edge, but not in a bad way. Yikes.

“I get it. I care too much.” He fixed her with a look. “It’s a family trait. Passed down in my DNA. I can’t help it. So sue me.”

Passed down like her magic, but more inconvenient. “Try to help it, will you? You need to stop worrying all the time. The stress will kill you.” She felt like death warmed over and tried not to think about it.

He was standing too close.

Just make it through the day and go from there, she decided. Work your little tush off and the rest will fall into place.

Then Elon flashed her a sweet smile and she forgot what she was thinking. “I’m used to the stress,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Then how about you take the initiative and grab the roses for the Peterman wedding.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be—”

“Elon!”

He held up his hands, side shuffling toward the walk-in refrigerator. Aisanna shook her head and allowed herself a tiny grin. There were too many balls up in the air for her to deal with Elon and his concern. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she hated working alone more than she hated his cheery optimism keeping her attention swayed. Well, hate was a strong word.

Yeah, she had issues. More than she’d thought before.

It didn’t help matters when Johan phoned to say he wouldn’t be in because of some personal business he must attend to. Short-staffed again…and Valentine’s Day looming. Aisanna operated on autopilot and watched the clock. At one point, she glanced up and noted the time. An hour later, she peeked again and only five minutes had gone by. Her head sagged to the desk, eyes closing and a groan beating at her.

“Are you okay?”

She was getting sick of hearing the question. “Yes, I’m fine. You have the flowers done for the library luncheon?”

He shot her a quick salute. “I’m on it.”  

“Good. I appreciate it.” She couldn’t help chuckling when he scurried off. Maybe it was the bow tie. It was a pretty snazzy accessory.

She spared another glance at the clock and blew out a breath. After that, she stopped checking the time. It made the work go faster.

Sure, she had enough in the bank to last her the rest of her life. Opening her business hadn’t been out of necessity, but passion. If she wanted to kick up her feet and live a life of leisure, it was well within her means.

Aisanna worked for the principle. For the pleasure.

She worked for her own self-respect, her pride, her sense of accomplishment. A small, local flower boutique may seem like nothing to someone in her parents’ social circle. To her, it was the only thing in her life with meaning. She’d made it herself, from conception to execution. She’d endured the hard times where she thought about giving up and the first few months when everyone told her to give up. Five years passed, and she was now a respected member of the community with a large pool of repeat customers.

Besides, if she closed her doors, who would Elon have to boss him around? It would take the enjoyment out of life for both of them.

Funny, she actually was enjoying herself. Working with him, while frustrating in some ways, did wonders for her foul mood. She forgot about her nightmares and the faceless shadow pushing its way into her car the other night. She forgot that the Claddium still had her brother and they were on a countdown to the eclipse.

She flipped the sign to closed and happily slipped her arms through the armholes of her jacket. “You ready to get out of here?”

“Ready. Let’s go.”

Keys jingled on her ring as she locked the back door behind them. Elon stood with his hands in his pockets. “Can I please give you a ride? Wherever you want to go.”

Aisanna ducked to hide her grin. “No, thank you. I’m fine. We did good work today for being short-staffed.”

He held his hand up for a high five. “Hell yeah, we did. Hey, maybe we can get dinner together—”

“No.” She swung around in time to see him glance in the opposite direction. “Elon, I’m sorry. Boss.” She pointed to her chest, then his. “Employee. Get it?”

He sighed. “Yes.”

The downcast look on his face was so dramatic, she couldn’t help but laugh. “What? You want a raise?”

“I wouldn’t refuse,” he said, brightening.

“I’ll think about it. You worked hard today.” Before he had a chance to say more, she unlocked her car, sliding into the driver’s seat and shutting the door between them.

She waited until Elon’s taillights merged into traffic before letting out a breath. What was she going to do with that boy? You’d think years of being gently let down in the nicest of ways would dissuade him. Instead, he’d asked her out to dinner again. He would never learn.

The mechanics of her car ground together when she thrust it into gear. She pulled into traffic without checking twice and almost caused a collision with three other vehicles.

She needed to relax. To let go of her worries and the tension keeping her back as straight as an iron rod.

Aisanna drove onto the freeway. Cars clogged each lane and chugged along, with steam rising from their tailpipes. She merged, careful to keep distance between herself and the horde.

Damn traffic, she mused, pushing frustration aside. At least the flow of congestion moved along quickly. Her foot pressed down on the pedal at a steady clip. At that rate, she would be right on time for dinner with the family. Their fifteen thousand texts during the day said they were looking forward to her company and couldn’t wait to discuss some new theories on the Harbinger.

Great, more shop talk.

A glance in her rearview mirror suddenly had her blood running cold. The shadow sat in the middle of the back seat, its vague outline female and menacing.

The figure lifted its head and Aisanna caught the hint of a smile.

We meet again.

A deafening scream tore out of her lungs. Fear, unmerciful and real, rose to choke her, and her hands rose of their own accord to cover her ears. If luck had been on her side, she would have been on her way to her quiet apartment and a steaming hot cup of tea. Instead, she was frozen solid, strapped down to the front seat of her car, and trying to muster enough wherewithal to stop the car without dying.

The wheel turned sharply to the left on tires that desperately needed balancing. With a boom, her car slammed into the SUV in the next lane.