Page 4 of Deception and New Direction

Two hours and almost four million dollars’ worth of dog supplies later, we were finally back at my apartment to drop everything off.Iwasn’t going to set everything up yet, butIat least wanted to bring it all inside beforeIwent to work.Iwould takeDashwith me so he could get used to the place.I’deven bought him a second bed to keep by my desk at work.Afterthe last item was in,Iturned and thankedJack.

“You want me to take anything of his over to the office?I’mheaded there now.”

“No,I’llget it, but thanks,”Itold him.

Dash came over toJackand dropped his brand-new tennis ball in front of his feet.Jackpicked it up and chucked it down my short hall, andDashsprinted off to get it.

“Have dinner with me tomorrow night,”Jacksaid to me.

I blinked in response, caught off guard, soIdidn’t have my usual response ready to go.

He must have mistaken my silence for concern though.

“We can eat here if you don’t want to leaveDashalone,” he added.

I appreciated that he would considerDash, but there was no wayIwas havingJackin my apartment for a prolonged period of time.Definitelynot for a date.

“I’m flattered,Jack, butI’mnot looking to date right now,”Itried to explain.

“Okay, maybe some other time,” he replied, undeterred by my response. “Seeyou at work later.”

He turned and walked out the door, andIdidn’t know whether to feel relieved or sad by his departure.Dash, however, knew exactly how he felt.Hewent to the door, dropped the ball, and whined as though his best friend just left him for good.

* * *

PresentDay

It was a week beforeChristmas, but many of us were all gathered atVince’sparents’ house.Theywere leaving on a cruise, so they were hostingChristmasdinner early.Hismom had invited everyone from the security business to host a holiday meal.DiegoandDanehad other plans tonight, but everyone else had made it.Inaddition to eating,Ellieinsisted we do a white elephant secretSantagift exchange so that there was no need to get gifts for everyone.We’dkept it simple and pulled names out of a hat three weeks before.

Cat—Vince’sgirlfriend—was there with her sister,Val.Vince’ssecretSantawas actuallyVal, and she had gotten him one of those portraits where people look like royalty.ItwasVincepainted to look like a king, with a crown and everything.Oh, and it had their hairless cat,Harry, sitting in his lap.Andit was huge.Sobig,Ihad been keeping it at my place for nearly two weeks so it wouldn’t ruin the surprise.Ihad it in my trunk, soCatwent out with me to retrieve it from the back of my car to bring in.

Cat went to the trunk of my car, andIopened the rear driver’s side door and reached in to slide the protective blanket off so we could each grab a side of the frame.Justas we were about to slide it out,Iheard tires screech in the distance.Iturned in the direction of the noise to see a dark-colored van racing toward us.

BeforeIeven registered what was happening, the vehicle stopped right next to us, and two men jumped out.Theone who came out the back door lunged and grabbedCat.Theother came right for me.Allthe self-defense classesIhad been taking flashed before me, and my fight-or-flight response kicked in.Istarted to kick out, aiming for his kneecaps, but he blocked it, soIreached out and attempted to punch his throat, but he shifted.Myfist ended up connecting with the edge of his jawline instead.Myknuckles stung from the pain, but it gave me the brief openingIneeded for an advantage.Icontinued to kick and punch with all the strengthIhad in me.

“Stop fighting me, bitch,”Iheard the man attacking me say. “Staystill, andIwon’t fucking shoot you.”

In class they tell you to fight hard, but also be loud.Makepeople nearby hear you, notice you, soIscreamed as loud asIcould.Iheard voices around me, butIcouldn’t make out what they were saying over my screams.ThenIheard gunshots.

The man who had grabbed me, suddenly dropped me.Iturned to look over and saw them loadCatinto the van.Ijumped up to try to grab her, and more shots rang out.Sharppain exploded through my foot and ankle, andIfell to the ground.Tiresscreeched behind me asIcrouched down between my back rear tire and the curb of the sidewalk.Ilooked down at my right foot, where the pain was now excruciating, and noticed blood.

A lot of blood.

2

JACK

I stared down at the gift my secretSanta,Axel, had gotten me—a naughtySwedishdictionary filled only with curse words and inappropriate phrases.Therewere also a few bags ofDalahorse gummy candies, which were a traditionalSwedishholiday gift.Theman didn’t talk much, but he had a great sense of humor.

Pop.Pop.

The hell was that?

“Were those gunshots?”Ellieasked from across the room.

Three more pops filled the air, andIknew those were, indeed, gunshots.

I was on my feet, gun in hand, before the third shot sounded.Vince,Archer,Axel, andIall raced to the door.

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