Page 17 of Deception and New Direction

I assumedVincehad had them delivered forCatbut put them in my name soIcould sign for them in caseCatwasn’t around.Thosetwo love birds were sickeningly sweet sometimes, butIalso loved it for them.Iwas about to yell for her to come take a look, but she was already walking over to my desk.

“Who are those for?” she asked.

“I’m guessing you,”Itold her asIhanded her the card that came with them.

She was smiling as she opened the card but then quickly looked confused. “Thesearen’t for me.Whodid the delivery man say these were for?Ithink they got the address wrong, and this isn’t exactly a romantic message for this poor woman namedRose.”

She made a weird face and handed me the card.AsIread it over, it suddenly became hard to breathe.

Beautiful roses for my beautifulRose.Ifound you, andI’mnever letting you out of my sight again. —M

An invisible cage around my chest started to tighten, and everything around me started to spin.Ivaguely heardCatnext to me talking, butIcouldn’t focus.He’dfound me.Malhad found me.Howhad he found me?

What wasIgoing to do?I’dworked so hard to hide and get away.

My brain was trying to focus, but my fear took over.Ifelt anxiety building, soIsat on the ground to calm my breaths.Isat with my back against my desk, trying to take deep breaths, butIcouldn’t.Itfelt likeIhad an elephant on my chest, andIcouldn’t breathe at all.

Cat’s face came into my view. “Ruthie, are you okay?What’swrong?”

I knewIcouldn’t let anyone see me like this, but every timeItried to get words out, nothing happened.

Put your game face on,Ruthie.

I felt sick to my stomach.Then,Ifelt the gentle nudge ofDash’swet nose against my face.Hepressed closer, his massive body plopping down in my lap.Helet out a small whine, shifting his weight closer, like he was trying to protect me or calm me down.

The weight of him was oddly grounding.Myfingers slid across his short, soft fur automatically, the sensation familiar—something real, somethingIcould hold onto.

“Ruthie?”Cat’svoice was stronger now, andIcould see her staring at me, worried.

Feeling slightly better and able to make words,Ifinally responded. “CallArcher.”

7

JACK

I was sitting inVince’soffice withArcherandDane, trying to figure out a few logistics for a new client.Theywanted all the bells and whistles but didn’t want to pay the price for it.Thiswas the one thing about owning a businessIdidn’t like dealing with.ArcherandWadehad the personality for these things, soIwould always defer to them on how to handle problems like this.

The desk phone rang, and it said front desk.Vincehit a button to putRuthieon speakerphone.

“Hey,Ruthie, what’s up?” he asked.

“Vince,”Cat’spanicked voice said through the phone.Isaw all the guys tense and become more alert as she kept speaking. “Somethinghappened…Ruthie…Ithink she’s having a panic attack.”

The four of us were up and running toward the stairs and down to the front lobby as fast as we could.

When we got there,Ruthiewas on the floor sitting upright with her back up against the side of her desk, her hands on her chest as she struggled to breathe.Dashwas sitting next to her whining, clearly knowing his owner was in distress.

I’d never seen her like this, andIhated it.Itried to reach out to her, as didArcher, which slightly pissed me off, but she slapped both of us away.

“Don’t touch me!” she shrieked.

“Who.Hurt.You?”Iasked her, looking straight into her eyes.

My voice was calm, but inside,Iwas anything but.

“What happened,Cat?”Archersaid to the right of me.

“I don’t know,”Catstarted to say, andIcould see tears in her eyes along with fear.

---