paint. “I swear I had the fan on in the bathroom. It was only a little joint, I didn’t think it’d make enough smoke to do this,” she said, flapping her hands at the noise-filled air.
Shit. Not a door alarm, but the goddamn fire alarm. In an industrial plaza where the units were joined in a row, the alarm might’ve triggered an automatic 9-1-1 call. Emergency vehicles were probably already on their way.
Insults flew as the women scrambled in multiple directions. The boss woman went for the phone on the desk and the massage attendants took off toward the rear portion of the building.
Much as he hated to exit via the front in this scenario, it was the surest and fastest way to get the hell out of this mess. Had to be done. He cut around the privacy jag and pushed open the dark-tinted door. No fire trucks on scene yet, thankfully. Still, he had to clear out before the sirens in the distance got any closer.
He hopped into his Cherokee and hightailed it out of the lot, putting as much distance as possible between him and what could’ve been the biggest mistake of his life.
Candace
That pothead twit had triggered the fire alarm? Seriously? This was so not what Candace needed today. She ignored her coworkers’ frantic rambling and raced to the locker room, grabbed her bag and headed for the back door. An emergency exit only, it’d set off an alarm the instant she pushed the handle. Another alarm. Too damn bad.
Sure enough, a siren sounded when she opened the door. Candace did a quick perusal of the rear parking lot. No people, no activity whatsoever, just parked vehicles. She hurried to her little Hyundai and took refuge inside, locking the doors and releasing a cleansing breath. The shitty day was over. There’d be fallout to deal with tomorrow, but for now, it was done. She could move on to happier things.
She pulled the sweatshirt from her bag and slipped it on. There hadn’t been time to shower and change into her street clothes—her usual routine before leaving for the day—but at least her top half was covered. She put her boobs on display six hours a day. Off the job, her girls were nobody’s business. Hadn’t been for a long time.
She sighed, started the engine and headed out of the parking lot. Hard to believe it’d been almost five years since she’d been romantically involved with anybody. After Ken had walked out on her and the baby, she’d been overwhelmed with responsibilities. She hadn’t had the time or energy to think about meeting somebody new. Not to mention the expense of dating. Clothes, babysitters, spending money—those things required cash she hadn’t had. Not with rent, food, diapers, and every other necessity to pay for on her own.
The job at Lucky’s had solved her cash-flow woes. However, that financial security had come at a price. As her savings grew, her libido shrank. The few times she’d met an interesting guy outside of work, the inevitable “What line of work are you in?” conversation had snuffed the spark of possibility. She refused to lie. She also refused to apologize for her choices or allow anybody to judge her for them. Her path wasn’t ideal, but it had purpose.
She slowed as she approached the Montessori school, indicating her turn into the driveway. The sight of the red-brick building always lifted the weight of the workday and dissolved any personal regrets. She didn’t need a boyfriend. The only person she needed waited inside the walls ahead.
Chapter 2
Jake
“That was some scary shit at the university yesterday,” Jake said, as he and Curtis headed toward the gym’s free-weights area.
“Yeah.”
Jake nodded. Enough said. While he’d been at Lucky’s, Curtis had been on duty, part of a team of cops sweeping the university campus in search of an active shooter. One thing Jake had learned in his years of law enforcement—no amount of training or drills prepared you for the real thing. Especially not when a gun-wielding nutcase who’d happily shoot you could be hiding around any corner.
“How about I tell you some good news?” Jake asked.
“Sure.” Another minimalist answer. Even for a man of few words, something seemed off with Curtis today. The guy had barely spoken since they stepped out of their vehicles in the parking lot.
Jake’s news ought to help. “It’s about that favor you wanted, and our plan. I paid a visit to your girlfriend’s place of employment yesterday. Really put