Page 15

Joey

“I’ve been thinking of changing majors.”

At the sound of my voice, Erin looked up from her phone and raised her eyebrows in question. We were standing in line at the crowded pharmacy waiting to get a new EpiPen and neither of us had been talking, so I could see why my sudden announcement might throw her off balance.

“You’re not enjoying it anymore?” she asked, stepping to the side to let another customer through before stepping back into line next to me. She still held her phone up in her hand, but she wasn’t focused on it.

I shrugged. “I don’t think I ever wanted to do it in the first place, but Amelia wanted to, so…”

“So, you thought doing the same major as her was better than not doing one at all?”

“Yeah, when you say it like that, it makes me sound like an idiot,” I said, grumbling at her well-made point.

Thankfully, she laughed and finally dumped her phone in the handbag she held with a death-grip so it wouldn’t be wrenched off her in the throng of people. “Nah. At least your foot is in the door. Is there something else that’s caught your interest? Something that you can transfer your credits to?”

Frowning, I shrugged again. It frustrated me that I couldn’t really answer that. “I don’t know. This is my third semester, so I shouldn’t have too much trouble transferring my credits, but I have no clue on what major to change to.”

Erin chewed her bottom lip in thought. “Well, you still need to get through this semester’s exams, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So, that gives you a bit of time to sit down and really think about what you’d like to do.” She eyed me carefully. “Or would you prefer to drop out and find a job, or go to trade school instead?”

God, I appreciated her. She wasn’t upset at all about me not having a clue, but she was offering me alternatives with no judgment whatsoever. I knew not everybody had that, and it made my heart happy that I was one of the lucky few who did. “I’m honestly not sure. All I know is that I don’t want to do this one anymore.” I shuffled in place and dumped my hands in my pockets, anxious enough that I could feel my shoulders up around my ears. “Does that make me a bad person?”

“Oh, honey, no,” she said, bumping her shoulder against mine. “If business management isn’t exciting you, find something else that does.” Wrapping her hand gently around my elbow, she drew closer. “Remember, whatever you’re studying now is designed to help get you into a career. Hopefully, you enjoy it enough to work in that industry for the rest of your working life, but sometimes it’s okay to bounce from one career to another. And to tell the truth? Hardly anyone gets it right their first time through. The important thing is to keep trying and not give up.”

Nodding, we took a couple of steps forward when the line moved.

“You should talk to Callum about this,” Erin said once the line settled. “He had a similar study crisis in his first year. He should be able to give you some tips on what to do.”

I had to swallow the grin that threatened to break free, as I knew exactly what he would say. If George was right, and all current evidence pointed to the fact that he was, then I’d be working with Callum soon enough. Obviously, I needed to find out a lot more about what George and his team did, but I couldn’t deny that the idea of working for an alphabet agency intrigued me.

Working alongside Callum intrigued me even more.

Helping that guy in the restaurant the other night had my adrenaline running more than anything else I’d done in years, and to know that we were the ones who had solely saved his life? Was there a non-chemical high that could even compare to that feeling? The memory of it made me giddy every time I thought about it. If I worked with Callum, that could be what I did almost every day.

Maybe that’s where my answer lay. Even if the job prospect with Callum and George fizzled into nothing, maybe I should look into working in the emergency services field. Working in a team environment, helping those in need, being the person who saved another person’s life… All of that sounded wonderfully brilliant, and right now, I was the perfect age to explore it more and decide if that was something I could do.

Erin was right. I had time to think about what I wanted. For the next few short weeks, my focus needed to be on my upcoming end of semester exams but researching different emergency service jobs and how to get into them could be a great distraction when I needed to get away from my books for a few minutes.

With my plan tentatively in place, I refocused on Erin, who was still holding onto my elbow, waiting patiently for the line to move.

She was much calmer today than she had been yesterday at lunch. Callum had talked with her for about an hour, and when they’d emerged from our parent’s bedroom, they were quietly laughing with each other.

We’d all lounged in front of the TV before we ate leftovers for dinner, and then we’d watched a movie together; Erin and Dad snuggled against each other on one sofa, Callum and I huddled together on the other. Erin and Dad both seemed delighted to see us like this and had quietly withdrawn about halfway through the movie to leave us be.

Which, of course, had led to us making out on the sofa while the movie played forgotten in the background. Neither of us were comfortable in getting up to anything more than that with our parents so close by.

I’d stayed home, considering that was where I’d left my bag. Callum had invited me to go back to his place, but he admitted he needed to finish his report for George and didn’t know how long that was going to take, and he didn’t want to leave me alone for however long it might be. After I walked him to his car, I kissed him goodnight and, knowing that he’d have work tomorrow, we made tentative plans on catching up for dinner somewhere. I wondered whether I should ask him if he was interested in having our folks over at his place for dinner, but then selfishly discarded the idea, because I wanted to hoard all his available spare time for myself. Either way, after the chat he’d had with Erin, I didn’t think it would be too much longer before Dad and Erin paid a visit to Callum directly.

“How are you doing with everything, Erin?” I asked her, curious to hear her thoughts about what had happened yesterday. “I know Callum and I kind of shocked you when we arrived together.”

She chuckled, dancing a little in place with happiness. “I’m doing well now.” She was quiet for a moment before she bobbled her head from side to side a little. “In comparison, at least.”

Worried, I looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“Your father told me he’d talked with you. Said you knew about Callum’s vision,” she said as quietly as she could in such a crowded area. Leaning towards me, she continued, “We were on tenterhooks waiting for when it would happen. I’m sorry that I spoiled the surprise by reading you.”

Even though the embarrassment still lingered over what she’d seen in my head, I couldn’t stop the wry grin that lingered on my face as I shook my head. “Serves you right for reading me without my permission.”

“Yeah, pretty sure I won’t be doing that again,” she said, her cheeks flushing slightly.

That was interesting. Erin didn’t seem to have any issues yesterday about what she’d seen, but now she was embarrassed? Maybe she got caught up in her excitement yesterday, and didn’t stop to think about exactly what she’d seen until later. “I’m guessing you got a bit of an eyeful. Sorry about that.”

Honestly? I wasn’t sorry at all, and if she looked at me when I said that, she’d know immediately. If anything, it served her right, but this was one of those times where I needed to play the adult that I presumably was and be nice.

Laughing, Erin smacked me on the arm. “No, you’re not, you cheeky thing. But yeah, I could have done without the play-by-play. I’m just happy that you two are happy.” We took another couple of steps forward. “You’ll tell me if he does anything stupid, okay? He may be my son, but I can still give him the shovel talk if I need to.”

Chuckling to myself, I promised I would. “Only as long as you promise you won’t go digging around in my head again without asking. I mean… Do you really want to get another front-row seat to what I get up to with Callum?” I asked, pumping my eyebrows in a playful, but suggestive, manner.

Tipping her head back, she groaned almost theatrically. “Yeah, let’s not do that again. Once was more than enough.”

I laughed, even though I was pumping my fist mentally at finding something that was guaranteed to stop her digging for things she shouldn’t. No more times tables for me!

Finally, we made it to the counter, and it was a relatively straightforward process to get what we came for.

“What are you going to do now? Window shop?” Erin asked me once we’d paid up, and she was putting away the paperwork she’d needed to show the pharmacist. “I shouldn’t be too long. There are only a couple of things I want to grab.”

Looking pointedly at the crowded thoroughfare, I muttered, “Grabbing a couple of things is going to take you a couple of hours.”

She hummed in agreement as she followed my eyes. “You’re not wrong. You could get an Uber and go home if you want. Save you waiting for me.”

“And miss seeing what you bought before Dad?” I asked, aghast. “No chance. It’s rare when I can taunt him with knowledge ahead of time.” I popped my phone from my pocket. “Let me check the movie times. Callum and I watched an old Ruben Steele movie the other night and I think he’s got a new one out. If I can get a decent show time, I can meet you afterwards?”

Erin hovered over the phone as I searched. “That one could work,” she said, pointing at the screen. “Message me when you’re done, and I’ll meet you at the car.”

“Done.” I put my phone back in my pocket and hugged her. “Thanks for getting me a new EpiPen. Good luck with the crowd. See you soon.”

“You’re welcome, Joey. Stay safe!” She tightened the hug briefly before she let go and cast a critical eye over the mob of people everywhere, then sighed in resignation. “ Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more …”

I laughed at her quoting Shakespeare, but it did seem wildly apt. I waited for a moment to watch her before she was swallowed by the crowd, then I turned around and headed in the direction of the cinema. There was a Ruben Steele movie I needed to watch.

A couple of hours later, I sat in the tired and well-worn cinema seat, waiting for everyone to leave before I joined them. It was always a mad dash to get out once the credits started rolling, but I preferred to sit and wait, because you never knew if there would be an end credit sequence waiting.

Plus, it didn’t hurt that I didn’t need to fight my way through a throng of people. Always a benefit.

I texted Erin to let her know the movie was done, and I’d wait for her at the car. There was no immediate response, so I assumed she was caught up with whatever shiny thing had caught her eye.

Slowly making my way through the center, I realized that there were even more people around than before I’d gone into the cinema. Were the Black Friday deals really that attractive? Good lord.

It took what felt like forever to reach the parking lot, and I took a moment to breathe exhaust laden air in and relax after feeling somewhat crushed on all sides for so long. Eventually, I got my bearings and headed for Erin’s car, parked somewhere out in the boonies on the very edge of the lot. There had still been a fair few places free when we arrived, but now every spot was filled.

Walking down the aisle I needed, I heard a car behind me slow down, no doubt following me to nab an easy-to-get spot. I turned my head and shook it apologetically, to which the female driver cursed but thanked me anyway for letting me know. She sped up a little faster and passed me easily, off to search for whatever free spot she could find.

Once I got to Erin’s car, I leaned against the chain wire fence behind it and got my phone out, heading straight for my Kindle app. Who knew how long it would take Erin to get back here? I wasn’t going to waste my data on gaming while I waited, when I knew I could read something offline easily enough.

Plus, I was only part of the way through Lily Mayne’s latest Monstrous story and was mighty eager to continue reading it whenever I could grab a few minutes spare.

I was well into the fifth chapter when I felt someone approach. There had been a couple of times when a car would slowly pull to a stop in front of Erin’s car, and just like I’d done with the first woman, I shook my head and apologized to the driver that this spot wasn’t going to be for them. I expected this to be something similar, but it wasn’t a car this time; it was a man on foot.

Clear, icy-blue eyes pierced mine, peering out from underneath a heavily furrowed brow. I couldn’t say that I could blame him. Wandering through a crowded shopping complex on Black Friday would make anyone frazzled.

Pausing in his stride, he raised an eyebrow, lifted something from his pocket and shook it. “Hey, man. Got a light?”

My eyes focused on what I could now tell was a pack of cigarettes in his hand. I shook my head. “Sorry mister, I don’t smoke.” With my duty now done, I bent my head forward again to keep reading.

I barely got two sentences in before I realized the guy was still standing there in front of me. Slowly, I raised my head to look at him with a confused squint. “Do you need something else?”

He scratched his clean-shaven chin before pointing at me. “I think I know you.”

That was going to be highly unlikely, as the man standing in front of me was a middle-aged business person in a soft gray suit. “I don’t think so.” I purposely looked down at my phone again to keep reading, trying to emanate please fuck off now vibes.

They didn’t work.

“Yeah, yeah. I do know you.”

Sighing, I looked up again to take him in. Dark, but graying hair that was trimmed short at the back and sides. Neat eyebrows, average nose, straight lips that were neither too thick nor too thin. No age or laugh lines around the corners of his eyes or mouth. Plain white shirt with a light blue tie. His suit was neatly pressed and matched with a pair of black leather dress shoes.

This was very definitely not someone I would know. Even though he gave off completely average vibes, there was enough wealth to what he was wearing and how he was wearing it that I knew he was far and away out of my league financially. There would be no reason for either of us to know the other.

“Sorry, mister. I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else,” I said, trying again to be dismissive but polite.

“No, I’m sure it’s you.” He narrowed his eyes as he studied my face. “Joey Miller, right?”

Okay, those fuck off vibes I was putting off before morphed violently into freak out vibes. With a frown, I looked down at my phone and exited out of my book and locked my phone so I could click on a new emergency call if things got any more fucked up and weird. “Who wants to know?”

“I thought it was!” He smiled at my response, but it didn’t reach his eyes, which only ratcheted my worry higher. Without a care in the world, he wandered over and leaned on the fence beside me. “How are you going, man?”

Immediately, I stood up from the fence and took a step away from him. How the fuck do I play this? “Uh, fine?”

“George saw you get approached by a US agent…” Callum’s words from the other night appeared in my mind. Could this be what George was referring to? The guy standing in front of me certainly gave off government worker vibes. The tight tension I was feeling eased just the tiniest amount from the thought that this was nothing to worry about, but it didn’t disappear altogether because why on earth would someone approach me like this ?

“Aw, you don’t remember me. That’s a shame.” Sticking his bottom lip out ever so slightly, he pouted at me.

The slight unease I was feeling was still simmering, because the emotions playing on this guy’s face felt entirely forced. There was absolutely nothing natural about it, like he was playacting at being friendly.

It was honestly rather unnerving.

“We met through Amelia,” he added confidently.

Yeah, but no. I wasn’t buying that at all. And if we did meet through Amelia, that was a strike against his nature, as far as I was concerned. “Sorry, mister. I can’t say that I remember. When was that?”

“Oh, you know,” he said, like I was being ridiculous and should have known exactly what he was talking about. “That thing, at that place. It’s a pity you two broke up. You were good together.”

Okay, clearly, he knew enough to ring alarm bells, but not enough to know that Amelia and I were horrible together. Superficial knowledge at best if he’d gathered info recently, as almost everyone who currently knew either of us could see that we were far better off apart than together. Maybe he’d done research by Amelia’s old social media posts.

“Yeah. Pity,” I said vaguely, taking another step away from him, shifting my stance to turn away from him and run for the proverbial hills. “Sorry, man. I gotta go.”

He tilted his head to the side, shrewd eyes staring at me as he carefully and very obviously put his hands into his pockets. “No, Joey. We still have so much to talk about, and you’re going to leave your stepmom’s car sitting here unprotected?”

Stopping in my tracks, I slowly turned back to face him, my jaw clenched and the grip on my phone fit to breaking.

“And on Black Friday, too. Anyone could damage it, you know. Or get it towed.” He let his eyes slide lazily over the silver car in question that was sitting innocently in front of us both. “Such a fine car for a fine-looking woman. You wouldn’t let anything happen to it now, would you?”

I narrowed my eyes at him as I slowly and purposefully raised my phone and typed 911, hitting connect just before I lifted it to my ear. “Whatever, stranger danger. It’s just a car.” I turned away and started walking back to the center as I waited for the call to connect.

When I finally realized that I couldn’t hear any ringing, I slowed my pace enough to look at the screen to find that the call wasn’t connecting for some reason. I tried again, looking to my left and right before I picked up the pace again.

A cough from behind me brought my attention back to the creepy, smiling guy with dead, shark-like eyes, wiggling the pack of cigarettes in his hand. “This is a signal jammer, Joey. Not cigarettes.”

Still not hearing any ringing, I frowned and pocketed my phone as I picked up the pace even more, deciding to ignore the creeper following me. That didn’t stop him from yammering though.

“Your stepbrother, Callum.”

At the sound of Callum’s name, my steps faltered as terror instantly filled me. I recovered quickly enough, but not before he gained on me with an evil chuckle.

“Oh, yes. Callum. I want you to tell me who he sees, where he goes, what he does. That sort of thing.”

I paused to stare at him with a befuddled look. ““Dude, I don’t even know him.” Not totally a lie, but far, far from the truth.

Pulling to a stop, he hummed as he rocked back and forth on his heels, his hands loose in his pockets. Was he trying to hypnotize me? “True, but now that he’s back from New York—” I widened my eyes in shock before cursing myself when he grinned knowingly at me. “—you’ll no doubt be seeing more of him, what with your little family all back together again. All I want is for you to get to know him, and then simply tell me what you find out. Easy.”

“And why on earth would I do that? If you want him, approach him yourself.” I sucked at my teeth to buy myself some time. I needed to tell Callum all of this. Every single moment of this interaction. I could feel my fingers twitch from the adrenaline roaring through my system, so I crossed my arms in front of me to keep them steady. Longingly, I looked off into the distance, way off in the distance, to where I could now see Erin exiting the center. Without a second thought, I automatically started towards her.

“Joey, Joey, Joey…” Not to be dissuaded, the creepy fucker calmly stepped up beside me and casually kept his pace in line with mine. Sighing like he was disappointed, he shook his head and tsked at me. “It’d be such a shame for Erin to become a widow so soon after she got married, wouldn’t it?”

Immediately, I stumbled to a stop and stared at him in horror. Now he was threatening my dad?? A terrifying spike of fear ran up my spine, but I swallowed it down as best as I could and narrowed my eyes to glare at him. Any hint of weakness and this fuckwit would jump on it like the apex predator he was.

He took two more steps before he realized I’d stopped. Turning around, he continued, “Here’s how things are going to go. You’re going to get to know Callum. Then you’re going to report back to me everything you learn. It shouldn’t even be that hard. You went out on that date with him only a couple of days ago, right?”

The blood drained from my face. How much did this fucker know about me? About my family? I started hustling towards Erin again. The sooner I was clear of this creepy, dead-eyed motherfucker, the better.

As before, he dogged my every step. “Just continue doing that. It’s not like you need to do anything extra. Just date him. Today’s Friday. You’ve already seen one movie today. Why not ask him to see another one tonight? Then all you need to do is to come back here this time tomorrow and tell me what you two talked about. See? That’s not so hard, right?”

He was right. What he wanted wasn’t hard to get. But did I want to do it just to give that information back to him? Fuck no. And how the fuck did he know I’d already been to the movies today? How long had he been fucking following me for? “And if I don’t?” I gritted out.

“Then bye-bye Daddy dearest.” He shrugged nonchalantly as he stepped around in front of me to stop me in my tracks. His eyes twinkled with excitement, showing the first true sign of emotion during our interaction. “It’s simple, Joey. I honestly don’t know why you’re fighting me about doing such an easy thing. Like you said, it’s not like you even know him. It’s only been, what? A few days? What’s it going to hurt if you tell me what he gets up to? It’s only information.”

Over his shoulder, I could see Erin approaching, her hands laden with multiple bags. I gritted my teeth and snarled, “And you want me back here this time tomorrow?”

“Now you’re getting it.” The shark-like grin was back. “Good man, Joey.” He removed a hand and was about to pat me on the shoulder before he stopped himself short. He chuckled to himself before he shook his head. Instead, he lifted the cigarette packet signal jammer from the same pocket and waved it over his shoulder as he turned around and walked away, at a right angle to Erin. “See you tomorrow!”

I stared after him and listened to his whistling fade away the further that he got from me. It wasn’t until Erin caught up to me that I broke out of my daze.

“Who’s your friend, Joey?”

“No-one. Just someone asking for a light.” Swallowing nervously, I shook my head, turned to face her, and grimly smiled, adrenaline still rushing through my veins at his threats. “Here, let me take some of these bags from you. Let’s go home.”