Page 21 of Resist Me Not
I guess that makes me a little inhuman, but it keeps me from getting caught.
“Why don’t we ignore him and whatever vile behavior he’s up to today and take in one of the real reasons I chose this spot.” I stop us a good several paces down the path out of the canopy of trees to turn Walker around and look at the backdrop we have left behind.
It really is one of the reasons I wanted to come here. That archway of trees we left is like a magical entrance into a fairy world, mixing shades of green and different types of foliage and flowers with the juxtaposition of the tallest buildings in the city framed behind it.
“Landscape meets cityscape. Worthy of the hero image for my article.” I retrieve the camera from my messenger bag—the good one off its tripod, not just my phone.
“Wow.” Walker takes it all in beside me. “I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated this part of the park before. This time of year, it’s breathtaking. I bet when the leaves change, it’s even cooler.”
“An excuse for me to make sure I am back here in the fall.” I grin at him around the camera. As he bashfully looks away, I back up a few steps to better get Walker into some of the shots.
“Whoa, no, don’t get me in them!” he protests, hiding his face.
“But people are what make a location real.”
“Okay, but if you use any with me for the article, don’t show my face. I’ll end up looking stupid or phony.”
“If you insist, although you are doing a huge disservice to my audience.”
He laughs.
As I am rotating around Walker to get different angles, he keeps his face turned away, like he is focused on something in the distance. Artistically, it does make for a better balance in the shots, but my favorite is definitely going to be the one I snap just as he shyly glances at me to check if I am still shooting.
I have also rotated around him enough to get Wayfair and his mistress in that final shot. I don’t need photos for blackmail or for any personal collection I keep. They’ll be destroyed or at least cropped once Wayfair is dealt with, but everything helps paint the picture of who he is, what he deserves, and when and where to best rid the world of him.
I jot a few things down on my notepad as well, both for the article and coded notes about Wayfair, while Walker drinks in the scenery and makes a better view of it by being part of it. When I am ready to move on, I slip up behind him and steal a snapshot over his shoulder.
“Jesus!” He laughs again. “Are you a ninja? And hey, what if that shot goes straight up my nose?” He pushes me in the shoulder.
“It won’t. Stealth is not exclusive to ninjas either.”
“Ah, so you’re just stealthy. You know, sometimes you give off Bond vibes more than… I don’t actually know any famous travel writers. Does Anthony Bourdain count?” he chortles.
That prompts a hearty laugh from me too, and I slip the camera back into my bag. “Maybe I am a secret agent in disguise.”
“So, if I found out the truth for sure, you’d have to kill me?” He bats his eyes.
The expression, our surroundings, it is all so beautiful to me that I wish I still had my camera out to capture it. I capture Walker instead with a hand on his cheek. “No. You, I would spare.”
Unless I have no choice.
We are not as secluded as we were in the tree tunnel, but I steal a chaste kiss.
We decide we will get that early dinner together, and I inquire about what we might do for our third date.
“Does mister ‘occasionally business casual’ dance?” Walker asks.
“Oh, terribly.”
“Perfect. We’ll go dancing.”
For Walker, I was willing.
In the meantime, later tonight and throughout the next week, I will continue to watch Wayfair and solidify my plan to make the world better by no longer having him in it.
Chapter eight
WALKER
