Her Kind of Man (26 page)

He barked out a laugh. “You're way ahead of yourself.”

“Well?” she prodded. “Are you going to answer my question, son?”

“What question?” he joked. “Just kidding. I care about her.” A big understatement, but he didn't want Mama to go off and start buying wedding invitations.

“You love her, don't you?”

“I have to go, Mama.” He stood up. “I'll stop by after work, okay?” He gave her a hug and headed to her bedroom door. Before he walked out, though, he stopped and turned around. “I do, Mama.”

She grinned widely and nodded.

“But don't start thinking about weddings and babies,” he added. “Let's let Morgan and Syd have their time.” Then he left.

Strolling into the Ice Box, Allina hollered for Syd. The bar was scheduled to open mid-afternoon. There were contractors in the building working on the bathrooms. She grinned at the huge bouquet of flowers sitting on the bar. She eyed the red vase and ran a finger over one of the daisies. It was full of her favorites—red roses, daisies, Peruvian lilies, and lush greenery. It even had a few mini carnations. She sniffed one of the big roses.

“Hi,” Syd said, coming from the back. Her friend walked behind the bar and scribbled something in a binder. “I'm sorry. It's hectic around here this afternoon.”

“No need to apologize.” Allina glanced at her watch, then back at her friend. She noted the way Syd pinched her lips together as she groaned, and she wondered what was wrong with her friend. “What's up, Syd?”

Without looking at her, Syd shrugged, “Frustrated. Mama is sick, Den is gone to God knows where, and Morgan has clammed up.”

“Well, I'm sure Morgan is just on edge because of everything that's happened. He'll come around.”

Syd scrunched her face, then relaxed. “I know. It's just hard to concentrate today. I came in this morning and some guy was waiting in the parking lot; he asked if we opened for breakfast.”

Curious, Allina asked, “What did he look like?”

“Regular. Like he'd just hopped out of bed and decided to go for breakfast. But then he started asking me questions. And you know how I am with strange men.”

Allina nodded. Because of Syd's experience, she didn't take to new men well. Most of the men she allowed in her life, she'd known for years. Allina could relate to that because she was the same way, except it applied to strange men
and
women. She didn't like new people, period. She had her friends and that was that.

“Well, what kinds of questions did he ask?”

“If I was the owner, if I knew the owner. Those types of questions. For a minute, it sounded like he was a detective or someone who had a vested interest in the answers. Anyway, I thought we said we were meeting a little later?”

Allina flipped open her book, prepared to show off her masterpiece. “I was just so excited to show you what I came up with.”

Syd bit down on her pencil, a deep frown on her face. “I can't wait to see it,” she mumbled. “Give me a second.”

Her attention drawn to the bouquet of flowers, she leaned in, taking another whiff. Allina loved the smell of fresh flowers. Humming, she said, “Beautiful flowers. Is Morgan buttering you up for something?”

If he was, Allina had half a mind to call Morgan and tell him he needed to step his game up. There were no Gerbera daisies, which were Syd's favorite. In fact, Syd didn't care for carnations either. She said they reminded her of high school Valentine's Day celebrations.

Syd looked up. “Hm? Oh, those aren't mine. They came this morning—for you.”

Frowning, Allina asked, “For me? Did you see who they came from?”

Syd twisted her mouth, obviously focusing on the paper in front of her. “Um, no. I just set them up here because I knew you were coming.”

Allina twisted the vase, searching for a hint of the sender. “No card.” There was nothing, not even a sticker on the vase with the name of the florist.

“It was probably Kent,” Syd mumbled. “Did he know you were coming here?”

“No. I just told him this morning.” Maybe Syd was right, though. Kent had probably wanted to surprise her.

“Call him,” Syd ordered. “I'll be right back.” Her friend disappeared in the back.

Dialing Kent, she waited for him to pick up. When the low timbre of his voice carried to her ear, she smiled. The sound of his smooth voice made her stomach flutter in excitement. “Hey, babe,” she greeted him.

“Hey,” he said, his voice muffled.

“Are you busy?” she asked.

“A little. Is everything okay?”

“Well, I won't keep you long. I just wanted to thank you for the flowers.”

“What flowers?” he asked.

She froze, feeling rooted to her spot. If Kent hadn't sent the flowers, then who… “Stop playing, Kent,” she said, her voice shaky. “You know you got me this beautiful bouquet. It has all of my favorite flowers in it.”

“I'm not playing. I didn't buy you flowers, baby,” he insisted. “But I'm interested to know who bought my girl flowers. Did you check the card?”

Blinking rapidly, she picked up some papers lying on the counter. She scanned the immediate area, checking under the stools and on the floor. Allina hoped the card had simply fallen out of the vase. When she didn't see it, she talked back into the receiver. “I have to go. I'll call you back, okay?”

She ended the call. There was only one other possibility.

“What's wrong?” Syd asked, approaching her. “Your face lost all its color. Did you call Kent? What did he say?”

Allina jumped at the sound of Syd's voice. Her gaze flitted around the room. “Nothing,” she said. “He was saying, uh, he told me, um…He didn't buy the flowers,” she stammered, grabbing her phone. “Has anyone strange been in here?” she asked Syd. “Other than that man you saw.”

Syd walked around the bar to stand in front of her. Her friend gripped her shoulders. “Allina, what's going on?”

Holding her stomach, she leaned against a chair. Just as she started dialing her father, his picture flashed across her phone. He was calling her. Allina's stomach rolled. She held up one finger, signaling to Syd to hold on a minute. “Daddy?” she said, answering the call.

Her father's voice came through the receiver, “Hello? Allina?”

“Yes, what's going on?”

“Isaac's gone.”

Allina clutched the phone, tried to not panic. Taking a deep breath, she asked, “What do you mean? You lost him?”

“My guy…he lost track of him. I think it was some time during the night.”

“Oh my God,” Allina whispered, shuddering at the thought of Isaac being somewhere out there watching her.

Her gaze flashed to the flowers. Breathing became difficult, and she slumped forward, leaning on a bar stool. Syd rushed to her side, sweeping her arm over her back.

“Where are you?” Judge asked.

“I'm at the bar with Syd.”

“Where's Kent?”

She told her father Kent was at work, in meetings all afternoon. “What if he…?”

“I'm coming up there now,” her father said. “I'm leaving now. If I can't catch a flight, I'll drive.”

Before Allina could protest, tell her father that she would be fine, he ended the call. Turning to Syd, she explained the situation. Her attention turned to the flowers again. “If Kent didn't buy me those flowers, there's one other person that could've: Isaac.”

Syd's eyes widened. “That would mean—”

“He must know where I am. He must have figured it out. I mean, it's not like I've been hiding. I let my guard down when I thought he was in jail. He could have had someone here all along watching me. Now that Judge doesn't have eyes on him…what if he comes here?”

Syd grabbed the vase and walked it to the back.

“What are you doing?” Allina scurried after her. “Where are you taking those?”

“I'm throwing this shit in the trash,” Syd said. She kicked the kitchen door open and tossed the flower-filled vase in the huge bin by the back door. “I'm calling Morgan.”

“No,” Allina blurted out. “Please, don't. He'll tell Kent and I want to be the one to tell him.”

A
llina raced back to the condo and hurried up to the front door, fumbling around in her purse for her key. Rolling her eyes, she muttered a curse to herself for not connecting the house key to the car keys. An envelope fell out from between the doors when she opened the screen. Bending down, she picked it up. It was for her. Tucking it under her arm, she shook her purse. When she found the keys, she pulled them out and rushed into the house, closing the door and locking the dead bolt.

Allina paced back and forth, stopping at the window every few seconds. Peering outside, she wondered if he was out there, watching. If he was, then he knew about Kent. He probably knew about her and Kent, too.

Earlier, Syd had convinced her that Isaac might have sent the flowers to the Ice Box as a scare tactic. He knew Syd worked there, after all. There really was no good reason to panic yet. So she'd left Syd at work, promising she was going straight home and that she would tell Kent everything.

Allina glanced around the empty condo. Kent probably wouldn't be home for another couple of hours. She dropped her purse on the table next to the door, pushed her hat off, and headed to check her e-mail. Red had said he would forward her any information he received. Along the way, she made sure all the windows were closed and every door was locked.

Her phone rang as she neared the office door. Without looking at the caller id, she answered. “Hello?”

“Did you get the flowers?” Isaac growled.

She froze with her hand hovering over the office doorknob. Allina gripped her phone. Her first reaction, fear, was quickly replaced with anger. With her chin held high, she said, “I figured they were from you. I threw them out.”

“Don't make me hurt you, Allina,” he threatened. “I just want you to come home with me so we can work this out.”

“How did you get this number?”

“Don't worry about that,” he said.

Frowning, she yelled, “What is wrong with you, Isaac? By now, something should have clicked in your head that I don't want to make anything work with you. I left you for a reason. What do you want?” she growled.

“Did you get my letter?” he asked.

Remembering the small envelope in the door, she hurried back to the front table where she'd dropped it, picked it up, and ripped it open. Gasping, she pulled out the pictures. They were grainy, but definitely of her—walking into the Ice Box with Kent the other night, the same night she found out he'd been released.

There was another one, and this one made her legs weak. It was a picture of her mother, walking with some friends. Her heartbeat thrashed in her ears.

“Are you there?” he said. “You must really think I'm stupid. I realized your father had someone following me, so I decided to bide my time. I figured you'd go back to Michigan, so I had a friend start at the Ice Box. It didn't take long to figure out where you were staying, once he spotted you. You weren't very discreet.”

“Stop playing games with me!” she screamed. “If you hurt my mother, I swear to God—”

“Who is he, Allina?” he questioned. “Who is the man you're with?”

With trembling fingers, she twisted the door handle and burst into the office, immediately turning the computer on. “None of your business,” she fired back. She went to the side window, peeked out, and closed the blinds.

“I have to admit, I wasn't going to let you know quite so soon that I knew where you were. But when I saw that picture of you with that man, I knew I had to step up my plan.”

“So why send flowers to the Ice Box? Huh? If you knew where I was, why not just send them here?”

“I just wanted to make it very clear that I can get to you, your friends, and your mother any time I want. Did you really think you were done with me?” he said.

She double-clicked on the Internet icon. “What do you want, Isaac?”

“You,” he sneered. “I'm coming for you.”

A loud beep sounded in her ear and she jerked the phone away from her and looked at the screen. He'd hung up on her. She called Kent. No answer. She tried her father. Voicemail. Frantic, she dialed her mother. Busy signal. Frustrated, she chucked the phone across the room.

He killed my mother
.

She clenched her jaw as a sharp pain shot through her chest. Carla's words taunted her now. What if he had done something to her mother? Wouldn't her father have called her by now?
Unless he did something to him, too
. Eyeing the door, she jumped up and ran to it, slamming it shut and locking it.
On second thought
…He could be right outside, ready to barge in and do something. She wasn't ready.

Sucking in a deep breath, she unlocked the door and ran toward the front of the house. The shrill sound of her phone ringing made her whip around and go back into the office. She picked it up, relieved when she saw it was her father.

“Daddy, thank God.”

“Allina?” Her father's shaky voice came over the receiver. “There's been an accident.”

No
.

“But everything is fine. Your mother was on her way to meet me when someone sideswiped her car and ran her off the road.”

Oh God, no
. Exhaling deeply, her lower lip trembled and her eyes flooded with tears.

“She's fine, though. Not hurt, just shaken up.”

“I'm coming there right now.”

“No,” her father ordered. “Stay put. I brought her to the hospital for a quick checkup just to be sure. Soon as we're out of here, we're coming to you.”

“Okay. Okay,” she muttered to herself, as well as her father. “I'll stay here.”

For all she knew, Isaac could still be in Ohio. He did say he hired someone to watch her and torment her. After all, he was out on bail. If the authorities knew he'd stepped over the state line, he'd be picked up in a heartbeat.

Shaking her mind free, she opened the closet and dropped down to her knees. She punched in the code, opened the safe, and pulled out the tiny box that held Kent's small gun. Looking inside the big safe, she noted there was another pistol, a bigger one. She considered taking it, but decided against it.

“Allina? Baby, are you still there?” her father said.

Nodding as if he could see her, she said, “I'm here.”

“Your mother wants to speak to you.”

A beat later, she heard her mother's voice. “Hi, baby.”

“Mom?”

“I'm okay, babe. Soon as we get out of here, we'll head up there. Just…don't worry. It's going to be okay. Isaac doesn't know where you are, so you'll be fine.”

Allina didn't have the heart to tell her parents that Isaac knew exactly where she was. It would only worry them more.

“I love you, Mom,” she said, brushing her face against her sleeve to wipe the tears that had fallen. “Please, be safe.”

“Aw, I love you, too. You be careful, sweetie.” She heard her mother telling someone in the background that she needed a towel. “Owen…wait…okay. Allina, baby, I have to go. The doctor's here. We'll call you when we leave here.”

Once Allina ended the call, she pushed the heavy safe door closed, made sure it was secure, and stood up. She opened the box and pulled out the gun and the ammunition. Allina made quick work of loading it. Turning it in her hand, she prayed she wouldn't have to use it.

Massaging her temples, she walked to the bathroom and set the gun on the countertop. She turned on the faucet, let the water get cold, and splashed it on her face a few times. Peering up at her reflection, she cringed at her pale skin, droopy eyes, and overall crazy-looking appearance.

She needed to talk to Kent. But when she grabbed her phone to dial him, another call came through.

She clicked on the answer button, but didn't say anything.

“Allina?”

Isaac's gruff voice made her skin crawl, but she remained silent.

“I'm going to give you one more chance to come to me willingly. I don't want to have to hurt your mother.”

She was so tired of him saying the same thing over and over again. Same threat, different day. Only he didn't know that she had already talked to her parents. They were safe, and would be there soon.

“Didn't you try to hurt her already?” she asked. “Didn't you try to have someone run her off the road earlier?”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” he told her. But Allina knew better. She might not be able to prove it, but she was sure he had something to do with her mother's accident. It wasn't a coincidence.

“You don't, huh? What makes you think I'm going to come to you willingly?”

“I'm staying at the Westin Hotel at the airport, room 434.” When she didn't respond, he continued, “Don't bring that black bastard you've been hanging out with. Come alone. Just me and you. We have something to settle.”

Like hell
. Allina held her breath. The only sound in the room was the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.

“Oh,” he said. “No games. I do know what really happened to your aunt. And what your father, the judge, did to cover it up.”