I move in beside Barbara and slide my arm around her waist.
“Yeah, I saw her come in. Is she still here or is she sneaking out the back again?”
“She’s in the storage room in the back.” I would have heard the alarm on that door go off if she had opened it, so I know she’s still back there.
“Shaw!” Barbara jabs an elbow in my side and I just smile down at her.
“We’re about to go to lunch. I’ll lock the door on the way out.”
“But, but—” Barbara protests as I take her by the hand and lead her toward the front door.
“Good luck!” I call out to him, lock the door behind us, and we make our way to the diner.
“I can’t believe you just let him go back there. What if he, I don’t know, tries to hurt her?”
I shake my head. “I’ve seen that look before. Kayla will be just fine.”
“And how do you know?”
I pull her close to me and wrap my arms around her waist as I look into her eyes. “Trust me.”
She smiles for a moment and then goes up on her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my lips.
We make our way down the sidewalk towards the diner, and Larry from the barber shop glares at us through his window.
“I used to think he only did that to me, but I think it’s just his face,” Barbara whispers as she speeds up her steps.
I laugh and then we end up talking about cats with grouchy faces and how cute they are. I hold her close as we go to the diner and we take our time with lunch. I end up ordering three different kinds of pies because she can’t make up her mind. Seeing her eyes light up when Amelia brings them over is worth it.
“I’m so stuffed. How am I supposed to go back to work?” Barbara moans when we start our walk back.
“Do you want me to carry you?” She shakes her head as I tuck her in beside me and I think about taking her home and getting into bed.
In the distance I see the chief getting into his cruiser and Missy at the side entrance of her shop looking mad as hell.
“What is she up to now?” Barbie asks, and I shrug.
“Don’t know, but she’s not happy with the result.” I watch as she looks around a few times but our view is blocked by a couple of trees. She looks both ways once more and then sneaks around to the back of her building. “I think we should follow her and see what the hell is going on.”
“Like, spy on her?” Barbara’s voice is barely above a whisper and I smile down at her. God, she’s cute as hell.
“Yeah, be cool and let’s sneak around.”
“Kayla was right. This is exciting.” She grabs ahold of my arm with both hands as we move closer and then cross the street.
When we get to the side of the building, I press my back against it and look down the small alley that leads to the rear of her shop. It’s also right beside the back entrance of Barbara’s book shop, so I want to make sure she doesn’t do anything fishy.
To my surprise, I see Missy walk over to a parked car at the back of her store and lean in. There’s someone behind the wheel and I want to see who it is she’s talking to.
“Come on, and stay close,” I whisper, and I feel Barbara give my arm a squeeze.
There are a few dumpsters out back and we sneak behind one and then another until we’re as close as we can get to them without getting caught. I turn around and put my finger over my lips to Barbara, and she nods.
“Chief said they had a security system installed, so you’re going to have to go in through her apartment fire escape. Think you can handle that?”
Barbara’s nails dig into my arm and my whole body tenses on red alert.
“Just make sure you get that guy she’s with out of the way. I want to take my time with that one.” The voice from the car sends a chill up my back and I hear Barbara gasp.
When I turn around she slaps a hand over her mouth and I hear something on the other side of the dumpster.
“What was that?” Missy says, and it sounds like she’s getting closer.
“You’re paranoid,” the guy says. “The cops already left and they said they don’t have any evidence.” I hear a car door open and then close but no movement toward us.
“Only because that little bitch Kayla is his daughter,” Missy sighs, and her footsteps move farther away. “And don’t worry about Shaw, I know exactly what to do about him tonight. The plan is to pretend my place got broken into and get him to come to the rescue. When we’re alone I know exactly how to get his attention.”