When I looked over his way, I could feel my bottom lip trembling. Grant typed something into my phone and then cleared the message from my phone and hung it up, holding it out for me to take.
“It’s okay, Becca. It was only a message.”
“Ha, easy for you to say. Did you hear him? He sounded crazy, Grant.”
“Yes, exactly, and this is why I put those rules in place. Please, just do whatever I tell you okay?”
I sat there looking straight ahead and then turned to meet Grant’s eyes. “Okay, I promise.” I felt his hand on mine, and then he interwove his fingers with mine, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.
“It’s going to be okay, I promise you. I will not let him hurt you.”
“I know,” I muttered, still not sure how safe I really felt.
Grant wasted no more time. He pulled out onto the road and continued on his way, while I slid my phone back into my purse.
We finally pulled up out front of the resort. I knew he was waiting for me to get out, but I couldn’t move. I felt literally tied to the front seat.
“Becca? We are here.”
“I know. It’s just, what if he is in my—”
“Then you leave immediately and call security.”
Grant glanced at his watch. “Becca, I am going to be late.” If there was one thing I knew about Grant, he hated being late.
“What are you going to do today?”
“I have a little digging I want to do. I want to find out as much as I can about Jace. So, if you need me, I will be available by phone. Otherwise, I will pick you up at what... four?” he said, glancing at his watch again.
“Okay, yes, four.” I could barely comprehend what he was saying, I was so scared. I knew I didn’t finish work until five, but at this moment, I didn’t want to go in at all and just agreed with whatever it was he said.
“All right, I will see you then.”
I opened the car door first, looking in the mirror to make sure no one was around, and then grabbed my bag and ran to the front of the building. I didn’t bother to look back to see if Grant was sitting there waiting until he knew I was inside or if he had already pulled away. It was going to be a long day, and I couldn’t wait until I was back home in my apartment.
Grant
I drove to the closest coffee shop after dropping Becca off. I pulled into the drive thru, placed my order, and now I sat here waiting. I dialed into my voicemail and listened once again to the messages I had forwarded from Becca’s phone. I hoped that maybe I could hear something in the background, but there was nothing but a crazed Jace on the other end. I hung up the phone and leaned back into my seat, inching my car up to the window.
“Sir, your coffee and bagel.”
I smiled. Perfect timing, I thought to myself as I reached out and took the cup and bag from her. Once everything was situated, I pulled through and headed to the office.
It had taken me a half hour to hand out the assignments. I sat in my office debating what my next move was going to be. I once again dialed into my voice mail and listened to the messages again.
Irritated, I blew out a breath. Becca had said he worked at The Wine Cellar as a bartender. I figured perhaps I’d have lunch there, that way I could scope him out. See exactly what this guy was like.
The Wine Cellar was a busy place. I pulled into the parking lot and looked for a place to park. After finding one, I went inside and was directed to the bar. I had just placed my order when one bartender asked for my drink order.
“I’ll just take a soda please.”
“Sure thing,” she said, winking at me.
I rolled my eyes as she walked away and checked my messages.
“Here you are,” she said, setting the glass down in front of me. “You new to these parts?” She crossed her arms and leaned onto the bar.
“Nope, grew up here.”
“Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”
I said nothing regarding that. I wasn’t here to make small talk or to have some chick hit on me. “Actually, I was wondering, is Jace in today. I’m an old friend and thought I’d stop in and see him.”
A funny look came over her face, and she held up her finger at me, signaling for me to hold on. I thought perhaps someone was asking for a drink, but as I watched her, she walked over and whispered something to another staff member, then they both turned and looked my way.
A couple of minutes later, she disappeared and the woman she had told approached me. “Can I help you with something?” she asked.
“Yeah, I am an old friend of Jace, and I thought I’d come by and see him. I was wondering if he was working today?”
“I’m sorry, but Jace no longer works here.”
“Oh. That’s odd. I was just speaking to him the other day.”
“Jace was fired a week ago.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “He was the one who told me to stop by. Mind me asking you what happened?”
“I shouldn’t tell you, but you look trustworthy enough. He’d come into work fine, but as his shift went on, he appeared to get highly agitated. He’d be on the phone, sneaking away to make calls while working the bar, and leave in the middle of his shifts. I can’t have that. As you can see the place is packed.”
I nodded in understanding. “I’m sorry if I upset the young lady,” I said.
“It’s all right. She will be fine. Most of the female staff here were the ones who reported him. He didn’t take to kindly to any of them. He was terrible at managing his anger as well. Some of them felt his wrath.”
It was then that the young lady returned with my burger and fries, setting the plate down in front of me. “Thank you,” I mumbled.
“Well, enjoy your lunch.”
Both women walked away to leave me in peace while I at;, only I wasn’t in peace. The thought of this lunatic now running around gave me new cause to worry. At least before, if I knew he was here, we knew where he was. Now I didn’t have a damn clue.
The second I finished eating, I paid my bill and headed out to my car. I started the engine and sat there with my hands on the wheel. The next stop would be his apartment over on Champagne Trail.
I looked around at the buildings as I pulled into the rundown area. I drove halfway down the road and parked the car out front of the address Becca had given me. I glanced up and saw a “for rent” sign on one of the front windows. Perfect, I thought to myself as I cut the engine. I now had an excuse why I was here, I thought as I climbed out of my truck and walked towards the front of the building where two men sat out front. They both eyed me as I approached the front of the building. It was no secret I didn’t belong here, but I needed to play it up.
“Hey, friend, how can we help you?” one guy who sat on the steps asked as he stood up.
“I’m here to see about the apartment for rent.”
“For that, you’d need Jimmy.” The other one shrugged.
“Is Jimmy here?”
“Nope, he’s never around ‘cept to collect the monthly rent.”
“I see.”
“It’s a nice place, though. The one that’s for rent. We can’t believe the guy who had it gave it up. Two bedrooms for only fifty dollars more than what I pay a month.”