Troubled Temptations

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

I haven't had the chance to talk to Anthony, since apparently he had some out-of-town business, yet again. I know he lives an hour away, he told me so on our first unofficial date. Maybe he doesn't want to take that trip every day just to see me for a couple of hours?

That would be an easy answer to why he's always missing and then shows up unexpectedly. But I know something is going on, and it must be something bad, illegal even. Today is the day I'm confronting him. He either tells me everything about his past or I will shut my heart forever. I need to know, even if in the end it hurts me in the deepest way possible.

He told me he would pick me up after work so we could get Benji from daycare. He even promised that he'd rent a child safety seat for my boy. I couldn't say no, partially because I don't have a car myself right now, and partially because I want him to bond with Benjamin.
I still have three hours of work left. It has been a busy morning, but so far everything has been the usual, no signs of Blake or his gang. Emily will be coming in an hour or so. She texted me several times just to check if everything seemed normal at Lesh.

"Vicky, is everything all right?" Alexi asks me as soon as I enter the kitchen.

"Yes, why?"

"One of the girls told me you and Emily were hanging out in the break room for a while the other day." He studies my reaction to this but I try hard to not give it to him. "Anyway, she told me Emily wasn't looking that well after that. Is everything alright between you two?"

Damn, these gossip girls. Seems like Lesh has hired all the biggest mouths of the city.

"Couldn't be better," I lie and plaster a fake smile across my face.

I don't think Alexi knowing about the threat would do any good. It would give Emily even more reasons to skip work. He must be thinking that I'm lying because he frowns and keeps staring at me.

I sigh.

"We did have a misunderstanding, but we talked and everything is okay now," I lie yet again. This time seems to do the trick, though.

"I hope you're being honest," he says after a moment.

I can't even look into his eyes anymore, so I just nod, take the plates filled with food and leave the kitchen. I think he's suspecting that something is going on, but since there are no obvious signs or leads, he has to let it go.

After attending many more tables and running around with plates and checks, I finally get my fifteen minutes of rest. I love that Alexi has placed a coffee maker in the break room for everyone to use. I make myself a cup and sit down at the tiny table next to the counter. I inhale the very welcome aroma of fresh ground coffee, and when I open my eyes, I see it.

Another note.

Suddenly the smell of coffee seems less than irrelevant. Who gets in here that none of the staff notices? Why is there another note?
I gather myself, stand up, and head for the note. I have to remove it before Emily gets here. I have to know what it says before I show it to her.

It's only when I hold the piece of paper in my hands I realize they're shaking. And it's not just a little tremble, but a full-on spasm. My body starts itching everywhere, nerves overwhelming me, as I read:

Soon.
Blame yourselves.
X.

These notes don't even make sense. They are just threats of something about to happen. But what? When? Why? And what bugs me the most is what's with the mind games of adding "Blame" in each note. He likes to be called Blame for fucked-up reasons of his own, like Anthony said to me.

I stand there, the piece of paper in my hands when the door opens. Emily walks in, smiling, only for her smile to be replaced by horror the second she notices me.