Page 29 of Covert Affections (Shadow Agents/PSI-Ops #5)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Lindy

The bell above the door chimed as Lindy entered Doughing Payne bakery.

The smell of fresh-baked goods wrapped around her like a warm hug—cinnamon, vanilla, and the yeasty aroma of rising dough—chasing away some of the unease of waking from a nightmare earlier.

She was thankful that Robert had made her some breakfast or hunger would have driven her to make impulse purchases while at the bakery, particularly the chocolate croissants displayed tantalizingly in the front case.

The cupcakes were more than enough in the way of indulgences.

The owner of the bakery stood behind the counter, boxing up what looked to be a very pink, very big birthday cake. He glanced up.

“Morning, Lindy,” Nicholas said, his blue eyes crinkling with mirth as he deftly tucked a corner of the cake box into place. He flashed a bad boy smile that would have sent half the women in town into a sexual frenzy and finished boxing up the pink cake.

Lindy’s darkness noticed him—it always did. It saw him as a suitable victim, or bed partner, depending on who you asked. She’d never acted on the impulse, and didn’t plan to start now. She’d gone too long between feedings and whoever she dared to sleep with next would pay the price.

She didn’t know Nicholas well, despite always feeling as if there was something familiar about him—something trustworthy—but he seemed like a nice guy, and he made fantastic baked goods.

Killing him by way of sex wasn’t an option.

She liked his cupcakes far too much to risk losing him. Plus, it was wrong.

The fact he was unfairly good-looking, even wearing an apron with a huge cupcake on it and had what she could only guess was pink icing on his scruffy cheek—a smudge that only added to his attractiveness.

Her darkness was normally an uncontrollable hussy, and a sight like Nicholas with frosting on him should have left her longing to lick it off him.

But that wasn’t what happened. Her darkness too notice—because it wasn’t stupid and he was hot—but it didn’t beat at her from within demanding she leap on him.

Weird.

“Morning,” she responded, approaching the register quickly, wanting to get the transaction over with sooner rather than later.

Every second she spent alone in the bakery with him put him at risk of her losing control over her darkness and unleashing it upon him.

“Was that a pink birthday cake I spotted?”

He nodded, his dark hair falling into his eyes partially.

“For a five-year old. She came in with her grandmother and put the request in herself. Told me she wanted it pink on the inside and the outside and that she wanted pink sunflowers all over it. I didn’t even try to explain sunflowers aren’t pink.

I just went with it. Seemed wise. She was tiny but fierce. ”

Lindy couldn’t help but smile. “I like her already and I don’t even know her. Thanks again for being cool with my last-minute order.”

Nicholas chuckled as he walked to a large temperature-controlled display case filled with an assortment of cupcakes, cookies and even brownies.

He withdrew a white box and returned to the register, moving with a grace that seemed at odds with his muscular frame.

“I tossed in a couple of extras. I spotted the job fair you posted about online. Figured you’d need these if they’re for who I think they are. ”

Lindy’s grin widened. “Do you think they’ll work to keep Charley from blowing a gasket?”

“I’m a baker, not a magician,” he responded, amusement dancing in his eyes. “She is not going to be happy in the least.”

“Maybe no one will show,” offered Lindy, second-guessing her decision for the first time. What if Charley really did hate it?

“Ha! More than one person was in here this morning talking about traffic this morning. Between the sudden road closures, traffic, and your job fair, it was gridlock for a minute there.”

Lindy cringed and pulled out her debit card. “Sorry.”

He shrugged, his broad shoulders moving under his black t-shirt and matching black apron. “Didn’t bother me any. My day started around three this morning. Had to get in early to get started on some baking.”

Lindy paid for her cupcakes and hurried toward her small hatchback, which was parked illegally in an area that didn’t allow parking at all. The last thing she needed was another ticket and a lecture from Robert about her parking habits.

She secured the cupcakes on the passenger seat as best she could and pulled out onto Main Street.

She was only a block away from the bakery when unease crept over her slowly at first. She slowed the vehicle, unsure what caused the sensation.

It was a bright, sunny morning. And the roads were oddly clear, even for the early hour, despite Nicholas telling her otherwise.

Lindy slowed the vehicle more, the urge to look left coming over her fast. She did, and for a second, she could have sworn she spotted a coyote rushing between buildings.

She shook her head and sped up, sure her eyes were playing tricks on her.

“It was a stray dog. I’m sure of it, and I really need to get into the eye doctor again. ”

She continued onward, heading out of town, in the direction of the bar.

She couldn’t help but keep an eye out for Fluffy, hopeful he hadn’t wandered into town and that he’d simply gone off into the wilderness.

She hated to admit that she’d miss having him near the house.

He was a large predator. She should have been happy he’d been gone when she woke.

She was half-tempted to roll her window down and start calling for him in hopes she could locate him.

“He’s not a pet,” she said with a groan, turning the car onto the road that led to her bar.

Though it was easy to picture herself hanging “Missing Cat” fliers around town.

“Charley is going to be mad enough as it is about the man-meat market. Me bringing home a cougar and trying to turn it into a house cat will send her over the edge.”

Lindy made it through two traffic lights before she saw what Nicholas had been talking about—the traffic issue.

There was a blinking sign next to the road with an arrow, notifying drivers that the road was closed ahead and apparently, none of the other drivers could read, or they didn’t believe it was true because they were all still lined up waiting, as if it wasn’t true.

Lindy pulled into the parking lot of a gas station and cut through to a side street she knew connected to an alternate route to the bar.

The road only had two lanes and a lower speed limit, the worn yellow center line barely visible in places, not to mention enough potholes to make her regret a number of life choices, but it would get her there.

The feeling of being watched increased, making the fine hairs on her arms stand on end.

She glanced over to the right in the direction of the dumpsters sitting behind the gas station.

She caught sight of a bushy tail disappearing behind a stack of wooden pallets and slammed on her brakes, nearly sending the box of cupcakes to the floor. Hope surged through her.

“Fluffy!” She put the car in park and grabbed her door handle, ready to rush out and toward the animal, her heart racing with excitement.

Reason kicked in, and she paused, thinking harder about it all.

Running toward a dangerous predator wasn’t the smartest move, and she had no plan for what to do once she got to him.

He’d seemed harmless enough when there was a window between them, and he was outside while she was safely inside.

Standing directly in front of him was an entirely different matter.

Just then, the unease she’d been feeling since getting in her car returned tenfold, like an electric current returning to her body.

Heat flared up her spine, making sweat bead up quickly, and the urge to flee was nearly all-consuming.

She’d not felt that with Fluffy. With him, she’d felt safe—protected even.

She pushed her glasses up more and stared in the direction the animal had gone.

A moment later, an animal stepped out from behind the dumpsters, but it wasn’t a mountain lion.

It was the biggest coyote she’d ever seen in her life.

It had a scar on its face, over one eye, leaving that eye a milk white color.

It locked gazes with her as if daring her to do it—to open the car door and come for it. Common sense had her shaking her head as she then locked the car doors as if the coyote might hurry over and try to let itself in for a ride.

So much for common sense, she huffed with a shaky laugh.

The laughter died as the coyote continued to watch her, lowering its head some, looking to almost sneer at her.

Its teeth were yellowed, something she didn’t know could happen.

Then again, she was no animal expert. The longer it stared at her, the more unease settled into the pit of her stomach.

The same level of unease she’d felt in the grocery store years ago while trying to check out with Cigarette-Man crowding her space.

Teresa’s words of warning about what the man really was flooded back to Lindy, echoing in her mind with uncomfortable clarity.

She stared harder at the giant animal, wondering if it was more than it appeared to be.

Was it a regular coyote who just so happened to be big or was it something else.

Something far more nefarious? It wasn’t wearing an eye patch, but it did have a damaged eye.

The odds of it being him—Cigarette-Man was slim to none. She hadn’t seen him again in all these years. Fate wouldn’t be cruel enough to put her in his path again, all these years later, would it?