“My son can fix it for you.” Mr. Jones doesn’t wait for an answer; he shouts for his son instead, “Alex, come here, son.”
A man in his thirties, whom I have seen twice in the four years I have lived here, appears from inside Mr. Jones’s house.
“What do you need, Dad?” Alex looks like he had a rougher night than I did, and for a moment, I consider any other option than having him fix the door.
“We’re late,” Noah whispers, low enough for only me to hear.
I can’t afford to leave the house open, so I muster my best flirty tone and smile as I walk to the fence. “Hey, Alex. I’m notsure we’ve met. I’m Rachel.” I smile and offer my hand for him to shake, which he does with a nod. “It’s very nice to meet you,” I continue. “I wouldn’t usually do this without notice, but as you can see, I ran into a little problem with my door.”
“It’s hard not to see,” Alex murmurs, looking at the door.
I ignore his snarky comment and continue with my smile and flirtation.Eyes on the prize, Rachel; we need that door fixed.“Would it be too much trouble to fix it?” I smile wider and flutter my eyelashes. “I’ll pay you.” I can’t afford to pay him, but I don’t seem to have any other options unless I can glue the door with builder gel, which I’m pretty sure won’t work anyway.
“How about you cook me dinner when you get back from work?” he offers, and I should have known this would go in that direction from the way he’s looking at me. I take a second look at him. He’s good-looking and doesn’t seem to talk much. I guess paying him with dinner isn’t the worst thing that could happen, and it’s not like I have anyone better to entertain.
I smile. “Deal.” I toss him the keys to the door. “Your father has my phone number. Lock the door when you’re done and text me what you would like for dinner.” I turn to my friend. “Let’s go, Noah.” I toss the car keys his way and move toward the passenger side. “See you tonight, Alex,” I say as I open the door to get inside. “Thank you, Mr. Jones. I truly appreciate the help,” I add, even though the old man probably caused me more trouble. But at this point, it’s not like I have other options. I need to get to work, and I can’t just leave with my door wide open.
“You’re a terrible cook,” Noah says loud enough for both Mr. Jones and Alex to hear him.
I smile politely, trying to dismiss the asshole I call my best friend. “Don’t listen to him. I’m a great cook. He’s just a little upset today; didn’t sleep well, you see.” I lie through my teeth, and Noah looks ready to burst into laughter, barely holdinghimself together. “I’ll see you tonight. Thank you again,” I call out one last time.
“You’re driving,” I tell Noah, who’s standing next to the driver’s seat with the door open, looking like he saw a ghost. I bet he’s wondering why I have the van in my driveway. It’s the salon van. We use it when we have to get inventory, and yesterday was my turn to do that. I never returned it, so now it’s our only option.
“I figured as much.”
Did you now, Noah?He doesn’t move, and I stare at him from the passenger seat.
“Please tell me this isn’t the white van Biker Boy was talking about.”That’s what he’s thinking.
I lower the window to allow air into the car. “The very same. Now get inside. We’re going to be late.”
“Who the fuck uses a car with their work logo to kidnap someone?” he murmurs as he gets in the driver’s seat.
“I think we established that I didn’t think things through before I decided to catch him,” I point out, but he shakes his head in disappointment.
“You mean before you decided to kidnap him,” Noah points out. “Rachel, how are you going to explain to Danielle when the cops come asking what you’ve been doing with her van?” he questions, but that’s not something I worry about. This guy won’t go to the police; that’s for sure. He wouldn’t text me if he were going to report me. Besides, he truly doesn’t seem like someone the cops would be fans of. He probably has his own issues to worry about that have nothing to do with me or my criminal activity.
“I’m sure we won’t see him again, and he will most definitely not be going to report me to the cops,” I say with confidence. “So, stop worrying and start driving.” He doesn’t argue. Instead, thevan starts to move, and I close my eyes, finally having a moment of silence.
Kai
IT’S THIRTY MINUTESafter the salon’s opening hour when the white van Rachel drove yesterday arrives in the parking lot. I watch from my spot next to the salon’s door as the vehicle parks and Rachel exits with her friend. They start walking my way when I see her freeze midway. I chuckle at the sight of the girl who kidnapped me yesterday frozen in the middle of the parking lot, clearly panicking. She is having a mental breakdown right there in the parking lot while her friend says something, but I am too far away to hear. Finally, it looks like she has decided there is nothing else to do but walk, as she starts moving again.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she yells the moment they reach me, but I ignore her question. Instead, I offer her the coffee cup I’m holding, the dark liquid already getting cold since she is clearly late for work and I have been standing here since before the salon was supposed to open.We need to work on your timing, little criminal.
“Coffee?” I ask with a smile, but she pushes my hand. The cup slips from my grip and lands in front of my feet, spilling perfectly good coffee on the ground.
“What did you say earlier?” Noah asks her as they enter the salon. “Oh, yeah. ‘We won’t be seeing him again.’ That’s what you said.”
“Shut up, Noah,” Rachel spits back as she closes the door in my face before I can walk inside.Rude.
I open it with a smirk and walk inside. “Is this how you treat customers, little criminal?” I whisper in her ear as she stands there watching me, frozen in place again. It looks like that’s an effect I have on her. Making her freeze. Losing her words too. Imagine how badly I can make her lose her mind once I get to play with her the way I want to.
“How can I help you, sir?” a blonde woman calls from the reception counter. I turn to her, smiling. I was fully planning to give my little criminal her coffee and leave. Now that I’ve seen how she reacts to my presence, I want nothing more than to stay and see how far I can push her.
“Do you have time for a haircut?” I ask, but my eyes are locked on Rachel. She walks slowly to a nail station and puts her stuff under the desk before she sits in the nail technician’s seat. I guess that’s her role here. I am considering asking for a nail appointment instead, but then I notice Noah as he sets up his station in area designated for hair and decide it would be a better use of my time to try to get some information from her friend. My little criminal is not going to talk to me now. I have to earn her trust first. Her friend, on the other hand, seems easy to get along with and also appears to like Leo. Leo definitely likes Noah; I know that much. I could use that to my advantage. Maybe pimping out my best friend isn’t the best idea, but right now, it seems like the best way to go about it. Besides, you never know. They might hit it off. I would be making their lives better if they do.
“Sure, Noah has an opening if you can wait for him to set up,” the blonde woman, whose name tag says her name is Charlotte, tells me. She is polite, but even her voice makes me bored.