Page 256 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
Back in the theater, I pulled out my phone and sent her a text. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
I kept glancing over my shoulder, keeping an eye on the theater entrances, half expecting her to appear in the theater. But she didn’t, and she didn’t respond to my text either. What game was Emma playing?
We’d only been sitting there for about ten minutes when Jansen stands up suddenly. “This movie fucking blows,” he announced, loud enough for several parents to pin him with dirty looks. “Let’s go.”
I followed Jansen out of the theater, keeping my eyes peeled for any signs of Emma in the lobby. The space behind the shark poster was empty. She wasn’t around the concessions, nor in the arcade that I could see. Emma had vanished.
I checked my phone again, but she still hadn’t responded to my text. A tiny tendril of anxiety began to work its way into my gut. In the parking lot, a gust of cold wind hits my face, followed by a few sprinkles of rain. The weather fits my mood perfectly.
On the way back to Jansen’s hotel, I considered how best to confront Emma. We needed to hash this out now. It couldn’t wait, not if her behavior had escalated to stalking. Still, she didn’t seem the type. Perhaps there was another explanation, as unlikely as that might be.
I followed Jansen to his hotel suite, wondering if I would find Emma waiting inside somewhere to jump out like some absurd jack-in-the-box. His rooms were clean, however, and soon I was headed back to my vehicle. I pulled out my phone, annoyed to see that she still hadn’t responded.
“Meet me at the office in 15 minutes,” I texted her, anger and worry fighting it out in my stomach. This was all my fault. I’d given in to the greatest temptation of my life, and now it had created chaos. Emma was a beautiful, wonderful girl, one who didn’t deserve what I’d done to her.
But I couldn’t allow her to harbor any hopes about a future with me. And I couldn’t allow her to follow me around like a lost puppy. Sooner or later, her dad and brother would find out, and things would go from SNAFU to FUBAR.
Gunning the engine, I sped out of the hotel parking lot in the direction of the Shadow Security office. It was time to make Emma understand, once and for all, that she and I weren’t going to happen.
The thought opened a black hole in my stomach that sucked out any joy that lingered after the ecstasy of last night. It started to rain, fat droplets that turned the world gray. How appropriate.
CHAPTER 14
EMMA
Fuck. He saw me.
Jack’s face had shown only a momentary flash of surprise before it had hardened and he’d turned away, but it was enough for me to know that he’d seen me crouched behind the poster.
As soon as he was out of sight, I stepped out from behind the poster. My only thought was getting the hell out of Dodge before Jack could come back and find me. I knew I was in for a lecture, at minimum, and I didn’t want to have to face him.
Then I caught sight of the familiar faced man, heading towards the theater exit. He pushed through the door and back out into the mall. Without hesitating, I followed. This was the reason I’d stuck around. Regardless of what Jack thought, I was onto something important. This guy being here at the same time as Jansen had to mean something.
I started after him, picking up the pace but being sure to remain far enough behind that he wouldn’t get suspicious. The man walked at a brisk pace through the mall but didn’t stop at any of the shops or kiosks along his path. He made a beeline for the main exit, and so I followed him, keeping my head on a swivel for any sign of Jack and Jansen. I didn’t want to be taken off guard during my pursuit.
The parking lot was cold and wet, and I treaded with care as I followed behind my target. I was still a row away when I saw him hit his key fob, causing a black sedan to flash its lights in acknowledgment. I snuck a quick peek at his license plate, making out BKK as the first letters, then turned and sped off in the direction of my own car.
What are you doing, Emma? Are you really thinking about tailing this guy?
My heart was beating a mile a minute as a jogged to my car. I threw my bags in the back and jumped in behind the wheel, my hands shaking as I put the key in the ignition. Taking a deep breath, I turned on the car and backed out of the space, heading towards the exit and keeping my eyes peeled for the black sedan.
I caught sight of his car, and when it turned left out of the lot, I followed, two cars between him and me. I was committed to seeing where the familiar face led. Although Jack had given up on our investigation, I hadn’t.
I couldn’t, not now. Finding out what secret Jansen was hiding had come to represent something important to me. It was tied to the backbone I was growing, to the strength inside me that I’d often failed to utilize. My dad and big brother had always done an excellent job of keeping me secure, but the flipside to that security had resulted in me being too sheltered, too avoidant of conflict and confrontation.
Now was the time to change all that. And if it just happened to show Jack that I could handle myself without anyone’s help, then so be it.
My phone buzzed in my purse and I fumbled it out, glancing at the notifications. There was another text from Jack. The message was simple enough: “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
I’m proving myself, you big jerk. I’m getting the job done.
I didn’t text back, too involved in my trailing of the familiar faced guy. I followed the sedan as it headed east. The going was slow, as the weather was miserable. Southerners aren’t great fans of driving when there is any hint of ice or snow on the roads. Although it wasn’t cold enough to freeze, drivers were still taking things easy. It didn’t help that it was getting close to the holiday, which meant there were plenty of other people out shopping today.
I heard my phone buzz again, but I ignored it. The black sedan had its blinker on, and I was only a car length behind it now. I had to stay far enough behind that he didn’t see me, but the car in front of me was about to change lanes to go around the stopped car. Luckily the sedan turned left before the car in front of me revealed my presence. As I drove slowly by, I saw it pull behind a building with an old sign out front that labeled it “Benedetti’s Deli.”
I turned left on the next street, then circled around. There was an alley halfway down the block, so I pulled into it and crept slowly down until I saw the parking lot behind the deli. The sedan had parked there, and the familiar faced guy was just headed into the deli’s back door.
I realized then that the deli’s façade was brick. The drive that the sedan had pulled down was familiar as well. I grabbed my phone and pulled up the picture of the alleyway with the group of men standing in it. It seemed to be a match.
