Chapter 8 – Ki

 

“Finally.” I trudged up the twenty-some steps to the top row and walked to the middle. I didn’t bring my camera with me to the movies, but I did have a pocket full of suckers. Some of them were even popcorn flavored. I found them online when I got my braces. It’s not the same, but it did the job.

“Less than two weeks ‘til these are gone.” I ran my finger over them. I would never miss these damn things.

I sat down, put my feet up on the chair in front of me, and was happy to see that the theater was completely empty. As a rule, I always come to the earliest show time. Fewer people. Less chatter. Less eating and slurping noises.

I checked our email account while the infomercials ran in the background. No new business, just a bunch of junk mail. I put my phone on silent and opened my Kindle app to sneak in a few pages before the preview trailers started. I was reading a new book called, One. It was about an amputee girl and a football player. It was hilarious, cute, and very well written. I’ve read all of the books by Jewel E. Ann, and I couldn’t wait to see what she wrote next.

A few pages in and I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Someone was walking up the stairs, holding a bag of popcorn. It looked like a man, and he kept walking up the stairs, passing perfectly good empty rows. I hated it when people sat right in front of me when clearly, there were tons of open seats.

The lights were slightly dimmed, and he was wearing a hat so I couldn’t make out his facial features at this distance. He kept walking until he hit the top step.

Crap.

I was prepared to move over a few seats because I hated people sitting next to me.

He walked right up to me, and I dropped my feet. “The theater is empty, dude, go sit somewhere else.”

He sat down next to me, and I let out a frustrated sigh. The nerve of this man sitting next to me in an empty theatre!

“We meet again.”

I looked at him, Lucas Hills, while he took his hat off after setting his popcorn on the other seat. He ran his hand through his hair and got comfortable.

“Why are you following me?” I asked watching his mouth curl up in a smile.

“You’re following me, Ki.”

I sat back in my seat. “We hit a dead end.”

“Not what I heard.”

“Then you heard wrong.”

“You didn’t give my mom the message.”

“We haven’t found you.”

He put his arms out wide. “Here I am.”

“You found me, or followed me or whatever this is so no, technically I didn’t find you per your mother’s request.”

He dropped his arms and sat forward in his chair. “You haven’t worked many cases that involve risky things.”

“How do you know?”

He continued, “You mainly catch people cheating on each other or serve papers.”

“Again, how do you know?”

“Your website says it all.”

My jaw dropped and clenched my hands. “It was a free website. We couldn’t afford anything fancy.”

“You’re in over your head. Stop now before things get . . . complicated.”
I gasped and gripped the armrest, my heart pounding. “Are you . . . are you threatening me, Lucas?”

“Look, my point is, I’m trying to protect you.”

“From what?”

“From me. From the bad guys. From the world.”

I sat back in my chair and tried to relax. Nothing he said made sense. He was protecting me, from him? I just couldn’t figure out why. I needed to know why. I noticed the infomercials were still playing and figured now was the time to try to get some answers.

“You’re rich. Why are you hiding?”

“No comment.”

“Fine. Why are you protecting me?”

He shrugged a shoulder and grabbed his popcorn. “I like you.”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“How long have you been following me?”

“Long enough.”

What the hell is going on?

“I’m so confused,” I muttered watching him put a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

He jerked his chin to the screen. “It’s starting.”

I glanced at the screen and saw the lights start to dim, and blackness drawled throughout the theatre, making everything disappear.

“You can’t stay.”

“I paid for the ticket,” he shook the popcorn bag, “and this. I’d offer you some, but I know you can’t eat any.”

“Now you’re making fun of me?”

“No.” He chuckled. “Now pull out a popcorn sucker and shut up.”

My eyes went wide.

“The previews are starting,” he added, grabbing more popcorn. “I never miss the previews; they’re truly my favorite part.”

This was wrong on so many levels but what was I going to do?

Have him kicked out?

Leave?

I’ve been waiting for this movie to come out for over a year. They already moved the release date once, and I was devastated so I wouldn’t leave either. “We’re talking after the movie.”

“No, we aren’t.”

“It’s not fair.”

“Nothing in life is fair, and we leave separately.”

“This is so messed up!”

I glared at him, and he smiled. “Then stop looking for me.”

 

###

 

Two hours later and without a word, he got up and left. His clothes looked like he’d worn them for days, but he didn’t stink. He had a light wood smell that kept tickling my nose during the movie. I said nothing, but I pulled my phone out and tried to take a picture of him walking away, which turned out dark and blurry. I called Alexa and waited a few minutes before I left.

While I waited for her to answer, I started to collect my sucker wrappers and sticks, placing them inside my empty drink cup. She answered after the third ring, breathless. I didn’t bother saying hello, instead, I got right to the point. “I found Lucas again.”

“I thought you went to see a movie?”

“I did.”

“Where did you see him?”

“He watched the movie with me.”

“You went on a date with Lucas Hills?”

“No, Alexa.”

“You sure? Anyway, I’m listening.”

I heard the theater door open and waited a second to see who was coming in. An employee of the theater strolled in, carrying a broom and dustpan, and pulled a trash can behind him. He glanced up at me and made his way to the front of the theater. I lowered my voice when I answered, “He came to the movies after I was already here. He bought popcorn and sat right next to me. He said he was protecting me.”

“Protecting you?”

“Yes, but he wouldn’t say why.”

“What else did he say?”

“He told me to shut up and watch the movie.”

Her laughter pissed me off, and I started to walk down the steps so I could use the restroom and get out of here. “Well . . . did you?”

“Of course I did. I’ve wanted to see this movie since the first time I watched the trailer for it.”

“Then it was totally a date.”

“Shut up, Alexa!”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I served the envelopes; I’m headed back to the office.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

The movie theater lobby was starting to fill up a bit for the next showings, but thankfully, the restroom was empty. As I left, I nearly ran into a group of teenagers who snickered as one almost dropped their popcorn and soda combo. I tried my best to get out before anything else could happen. Too many people in too small of a space. This is why I always come to the earliest showing.

It was cooler today, so I had on a light sweater over my tank top and started to walk back toward the office. After my disappointing performance with the stairs yesterday, I figured I should try and get some more exercise. I wouldn’t necessarily be joining the gym anytime soon, but I promised myself to make a conscious effort to walk more than I had.

It was mid-afternoon, and the foot traffic was starting to pick up. The city was always so busy and crowded that I didn’t notice the crowds as much as I did when we first moved here. I used to try to avoid them at all costs, but now I just do what I do best—blend in.

I waited at a light with a bunch of other people and noticed a guy next to me, who was rather large, wearing all black.

The light changed, and we all rushed to get to the other side. The man with the black T-shirt was only a few steps behind me. I glanced back at him while I stood waiting for the next light to change, and he quickly looked away. I pulled out my cell phone, turned the video on, and cradled it in my hand, facing him. I slowly dropped it to my side, hoping no one would notice. I had no idea what I was recording, but I tilted the phone up, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. I’ve done this before and caught enough on the tape to prove that a client’s husband was cheating on her.

The light changed and people started shoving again. I put my phone back into my pocket and went with the flow because that’s what you do in New York City; you go with the flow.

I walked as fast as I could and glanced over my shoulder.

He was still there.

Shit.

Was he following me, or am I paranoid?

And if he was following me, did that mean Lucas sent him?

Were they working together, or was this someone different?

I didn’t want to look over my shoulder again, but I did.

I shouldn’t have.

I didn’t want to lead him back to Alexa, even though he probably already knew about that. I couldn’t go home since we lived where we worked, so I did the only thing I could think of.

I turned around and went to see a lawyer.