Control (12 page)

I
dragged myself up the three flights of stairs and threw open the door to my
apartment.  Annie and David sat in the living room and I managed to grunt
in their direction as I moved toward the kitchen.  David raised an eyebrow
at me when I passed but I couldn’t attempt actual words without caffeine. 
I made it to the kitchen and scooped out the last of the coffee grounds into
the machine.  I poured in the water and hit the power button.  My fingers
were tapping out their normal rhythm as I watched the machine spew steam and
sputter.  A funny tingle happened in my spine when I realized I didn’t
hear coffee dripping into the pot. I looked at the empty pot and then up at the
reservoir.  The water appeared to be moving, yet coffee was not magically
appearing.  I tapped on the top of the machine to encourage it along.

Nothing.

I
tapped on the machine again, but then hit it with my fist to move it along.

Still
nothing.

I
panicked and must have resembled a gorilla with all the jumping and grunting
and slapping at the machine.  I had developed my own little coffee dance
as I tried everything to make just one drop come out.  I felt a hand land
on my shoulder and I spun around to find David behind me.

“Paige. 
I have bad news.”

My eyes
widened and I looked back at the machine. 
NO
! I quickly looked
back and forth between the machine and David, silently willing him to tell me
he was joking.  He wasn’t.  My mouth opened like something resembling
English was going to come out but my voice wasn’t responding and I just stood
there with my mouth hanging open.  David gave me a sympathetic look and
patted me on the head.

“Annie
discovered it this morning.  I believe she’s been traumatized.  I had
to stay home from work to console her.”

I
looked over at the machine again and then ran my hand over its smooth top
surface.  We’ve shared so many good times over the years.  Sure, most
of that time was spent with me urging it to hurry along, but it always
eventually gave me what I needed.  I wasn’t sure what to do at this moment
and my head dropped down as I held back a tear.  I walked out of the
kitchen and made my way over to my bedroom.  I turned to close my door and
David walked into the living room to rejoin Annie and continue their mourning.

I
closed my door and tossed myself on my bed.  Hugging my pillow to me, I
turned my face into the cool cotton and thought about what to do with our
current situation.  Obviously a trip to the store was warranted, but I
couldn’t help but feel like it was too soon to replace my good friend.  A
sense of loyalty had suddenly come over me and I was shocked to discover I had
developed such an attachment to an inanimate object. 

The
lack of caffeine must have gotten to me because I fell asleep for a few
hours.  I woke up slightly confused and my alarm clock indicated it was
three in the afternoon.  I stumbled out into the living room to find that
Annie and David had left.  A note was on the table telling me that they
had run to the store to purchase a new machine.  I was pleased that they
had the situation under control, so I grabbed my laptop and sat down on the
couch.

I
booted up the machine and decided to research the person I would be meeting up
with shortly.  I typed Daemon’s name into Google and waited for a
response.  There weren’t too many hits and I selected the link to the
Florida corporation website.  My jaw hit the keyboard when the corporate
filings for Tomb appeared on my screen.

Daemon
wasn’t just a
bouncer
at Tomb, Daemon
owned
Tomb.  And not
only Tomb.  He also owned three smaller bars in the surrounding
area.  I ran through the listings of his business ventures and discovered
that he was the sole proprietor of all four establishments.  It appeared
that he first obtained one of the smaller bars five years ago and built up from
there. 

I typed
the property appraiser’s website into the browser and entered Daemon’s name
into the search bar.  His address popped up and confirmed that Daemon
owned the apartment where David and I had seen him on Sunday.  My emotions
were all over the place and at first I was angry when I realized that Daemon
had lied to me about being a bouncer.  I stewed for a moment before
remembering that it was Logan who had told me that Daemon was a bouncer, and
that, technically, I had never asked Daemon directly.

I
continued my quest into Daemon’s background but wasn’t able to find any other
information through public records.  Pulling out my big guns, I used my
company log in to request a background report from a subscription service
available to investigators and law enforcement.  I entered in Daemon’s
information, watched the little hourglass spin around for a moment, and then a
link popped up to a .pdf copy of the report.  I opened the link and read
through the information it gathered.

Most of
the information was your standard statistics of a normal member of
society.  I scrolled through his history of vehicle registrations, which
included a few motorcycles, his phone numbers, addresses and business listings and
licenses.  I was pleased to discover that he didn’t have a criminal
record, but it occurred to me that his background didn’t contain information
older than five years.  I skipped to the section of the report which would
detail members of his family and there was nothing.

It
wasn’t unusual for information regarding his youth to not be included, but
usually there was
some
information about a person’s family contained in
these reports. I flipped back to his driver’s license history and that only
went back five years as well.  I looked at his birth date and found that
he was twenty-four years old.  His history should go back at least eight
years, but there was nothing beyond that five year mark.

Very
strange indeed.

While I
was scratching my head trying to determine what planet Daemon may have come
from, my phone chimed.

Logan:      Hey
Beautiful.  Doing anything tonight?  Thought I’d take you up on your
offer and meet your friend.

Me:     Perfect
timing.  She just broke it off with her boyfriend last night.

Logan:      
Uh…should I be worried?

Me:     Trust
me.  It’s not her, it’s them.

Logan:      Ok,
I’ll trust you on that.  What time should I come by?

Me:     You can
head over now, but I have to leave at 5:30.  No worries, David will be
here so it shouldn’t be awkward.

Logan:      Is
David the guy who got knocked out in the pit that one night?

I
snickered.  David was never going to live that down.  I finished my
conversation with Logan and had just given him my address when David and Annie
returned.  They made their way into the kitchen cradling a large box and I
was intrigued.  I pushed myself up and padded into the kitchen behind
them.  David solemnly removed the old coffee maker and placed it aside
with a remorseful look.  We stood together and held each other in
remembrance.

David
broke free first and pulled the new machine from the box.  My eyebrows
narrowed when I gazed upon the shiny red machine that had more buttons and
dials than I had ever seen before.

Now,
how in the hell was I supposed to operate THAT in the morning??

David
must have noticed my concern because he turned to me and stood in such a way
that would make any game show hostess jealous.  “Paige, let me introduce
you to our new brewer.  She’s got a timer that we can set so the coffee is
ready when we get up.”  He turned excitedly to demonstrate the machine’s
features. “And if you turn this dial here, you can set it to make a single cup
for emergencies.”

His
explanation was starting to sink in to my caffeine-deprived mind.  “Hold
it.  So what you are saying is, no more waiting for coffee?”  He gave
me a bright smile and nodded.

Hallelujah!

We
played with the machine for a while and read over the instructions about all
the buttons and dials.  Once we felt satisfied that we knew how to work
the machine, it was time for the christening.  I bounced over to the
cabinet to the grab supplies and froze when I discovered we were out of coffee
grounds.

“What
the hell?!  It’s official, I’ve stepped into some alternate universe that
apparently is hell bent on denying me my tasty beverage!”

I
continued my rant and my phone chimed with a text from Logan alerting me that
he was on his way. “Oh crap!  Logan’s going to be here soon.  Quick
Annie, go make yourself presentable, he’s coming to meet you.”

Annie
cocked an eyebrow and was about to respond but David beat her to the punch.
“Logan?  As in hot surfer boy bartender from Tomb?  That
Logan?”  I nodded my head and David bounced up and down, clapping his
hands excitedly.  He grabbed Annie’s hand and started dragging her towards
her room.

“Come
on Annie, we need to hurry and get you ready.  This guy is major hot
factor.  I just know you’re going to love him.”  As David pulled
Annie into her room, he looked back over his shoulder and added, “Paige, you
are a genius!  Seriously, they should erect a statue in your honor.” 
The door slammed behind them.  I momentarily felt bad for Annie, having
been on the receiving end of David’s ‘beauty treatment’ myself a time or two.

I
giggled as I thought about all the tweezing and plucking Annie was currently
undergoing and looked at the clock.  Shit!  It was almost five and I
had to get ready to meet Daemon.  I hurried in my room to freshen up and
choose an outfit.  I picked out a royal blue bustier top to give myself
the illusion of cleavage and paired it with my favorite jeans and knee high
boots.  I braided my hair down the back of my head so that if I took it
down later, it would have some decent wave to it.  After slapping on a
layer of mascara, some eyeliner and a nude lip gloss, I was ready to go.

The
doorbell rang as I walked back into the living room.  I started for the
door but David flew past me and indicated in a melodic voice that he had
it.  I turned to see a very beautiful Annie emerging from her bedroom,
freshly shined and polished for her guest.  She looked radiant in her
emerald green top that accented her auburn hair and green eyes.

David threw
open the front door and practically yanked Logan inside.  Logan looked
very dapper in a pair of loose jeans and a fitted shirt that perfectly
complemented his tan skin tone.  David dragged poor Logan into the living
room to make the introductions.  Logan nodded in my direction and his eyes
widened upon sight of Annie.  I jumped up and down in my head when I
noticed his approval.

Annie
eyed Logan, but then smiled brightly when she finished her inspection. 
David deposited Logan by Annie and then walked over to stand next to me. 
He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Like I said, Paige, you are a
genius!”  He nudged me with his shoulder and wiggled his eyebrows up and
down.  I couldn’t help my grin.

After
everyone was settled and Logan and Annie started talking, I turned to David to
give him his babysitting instructions, which only included, “Don’t let her do
anything stupid.” 

David
saluted and said, “I’ve got this.  No worries.”  I glanced at the
clock and saw that I was now officially running late for my date.  David
looked at me in question and I answered his silent query.

“I’ve
got a date.  Don’t wait up.”  I started to turn to leave, but David
grabbed my arm to stop me.

“I need
details.”  He narrowed his eyes at me to indicate his dissatisfaction with
not being previously advised about my plans.

“Um…” I
looked away and perfected my innocent look before glancing back up at him.
“…I’m meeting Daemon.”

David’s
eyes widened and his jaw went slack. “You are meeting up with Mr. Gorgeous Man
God himself…” He paused but then raised his voice. “…And you didn’t tell me?!”

I waved
my hands to tell him to lower his voice and whispered my response. “Yes. 
I’m meeting ‘Mr. Gorgeous Man God’, but I don’t have time to explain. 
I’ll give you a full report when I get back.”

David
crossed his arms over his chest to show that he meant business. “I’d expect
nothing less.  Now go get him girl!” He half pushed me out the door to
hurry me along.

I raced
down the stairs and stopped dead when my feet hit the parking lot below. 
My bag dropped from my shoulder and my helmet dropped from my hand.

What.
The Fuck?

My bike
was trashed.  I walked in circles around it to take in the damage. 
Both tires were not just slashed, but shredded.  The front headlight was
busted and the seat was torn apart.  All the paint was keyed and the word
‘whore’ was clearly carved into the gas tank.  The side mirrors hung
helplessly from the sides and the gas cap was missing.  I cringed at the
thought of what could have been poured down the tank.  Whoever did this
obviously meant business.

My legs
gave out and I slumped down to the ground.  Who could have done this and
why?  I reached in my bag to pull out my phone.

Me:    
Date’s cancelled.

Daemon:    
Cold feet?  Or have you gotten yourself in trouble again?

His
mockery wasn’t appreciated at that moment, however he caught me in a weakened
state and I let it go.  My fingers wouldn’t cooperate to type out what
happened so I took a quick picture of my bike and sent it him.

Daemon:    
Give me your address.  I’m coming over.

I
didn’t have it in me to argue or otherwise respond with my standard
sarcasm.  I gave him my address and dropped my phone back into the
bag.  By the time Daemon pulled into the parking lot, I was still sitting
in the same position gaping at my once beautiful bike.

Daemon
exited his large, black, military style truck and rushed to my side.  No
words were exchanged as he approached.  He walked a circle around my bike
to better assess the extent of the damage and I saw him physically tense when
he read what was carved into my tank.  He circled the bike one more time
before walking back to me.  Reaching down to grab my helmet and bag, he
whispered, “Paige, let’s go up to your apartment so we can talk about this.”

My head
nodded in silent agreement and I reached up for him to help me stand.  He
placed his hand on the small of my back and I led him up the three flights of
stairs to my front door.  Daemon reached around me to open the door and I
stumbled inside.

As soon
as they caught sight of my expression, David, Annie and Logan jumped up in
unison.  A small chuckle broke through my catatonic state when Logan saw
Daemon.  The look on his face was a mixture of surprise, concern and fear,
and I believe those emotions flashed through him in that order.  David and
Annie took a moment to openly gawk at Daemon but then sprang into action
wrapping me into a group hug.  We stood that way for a few moments before
I felt David mouthing a question over my shoulder.  Daemon must have
answered with a silent indication because David passed me over to him and then
walked outside.

The
obscenities being screamed from the parking lot were an excellent indication of
when David caught sight of the bike.  Annie and Logan must have also heard
him because they raced out the front door together.

Somehow
I managed to move over to the couch to sit down.  I couldn’t understand
why someone would do that to my bike.  What did my bike do to them? 
My poor baby would be in the shop for weeks, plus, what was I supposed to do in
the meantime? Drive a car?  I cringed at the thought.  I could handle
small doses of an enclosed vehicle for my job, but what would I do when I felt
a need to collide with the air?

Daemon
was pacing back and forth in front of me, his jaw visibly clinching in
anger.  David, Annie and Logan eventually returned and took seats around
me.  Annie started crying and dropped her head into her hands. “I’m so
sorry, Paige. I feel like this is all my fault.”

My head
snapped to Annie and I asked, “How is this your fault? I don’t know what you
are talking about.”  Annie started crying harder and David responded in
her stead.

“I
think she’s talking about Chris.  But I don’t think it could have been
him.  How would he have known it was your bike?”  David started
rubbing Annie’s back in an attempt to help Logan console her.

Chris!! 
Why hadn’t I considered Chris?!

My
hands balled into fists as I pictured that asshole touching my poor,
defenseless bike. “Actually, he would know it was my bike.  He saw me when
I stopped for coffee this morning and tried to attack me as I pulled out of the
parking lot.”

David’s
head snapped to me when he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?!  First the
date and now this?!  Paige, I’m really starting to get concerned that our
communication isn’t working properly…”

“WHO IS
CHRIS AND WHY IS HE ATTACKING PAIGE?!”  We all flinched at the sound of
Daemon’s booming voice.

As
usual, David was the first to recover.  “Simmer down, Big Guy.”  He
took a breath before he continued. “Chris is someone who Annie dated
briefly
. 
He is a total loser and apparently he and Paige got into it at Tomb.  My
badass female friend over there broke his finger when he tried to grope the
goods.”

Oh
crap.
 

I groaned
when David mentioned what happened at Tomb.

Daemon
and Logan quickly looked at each other and then back at me.  David was
oblivious to what he had just told them and I cringed at what I knew was
coming.

Daemon
took a moment to process the information and to compose himself. He spoke
slowly when he asked, “Paige, was Annie dating Chris when he attacked you at
the bar?”

I shook
my head and sighed. “No.” I shifted my position on the couch so I could look up
at Daemon without having to crane my neck.  “Annie met him at a store the
day after it happened.  She didn’t know who he was. She brought him over
here last night while I was at Tomb with Alex.”  I took a breath before
continuing as I was not looking forward to telling Daemon this part of the
story.  He already looked like a ticking time bomb.

“When
Alex and I got home, Chris was here and, well, basically, Alex had to put him
in a headlock to drag him out.” My voice quieted as I said that last part.

The room
became eerily quiet all of a sudden. 

David
spoke up to break the tension.  “You know, Daemon, you should stop working
your jaw like that.  Even though it’s probably one of the sexiest things
I’ve seen, I can hear the enamel being scraped off from where I’m sitting and
that’s bad.”  Daemon shot David a glare.  David held up his hands in
mock surrender and added, “What? I’m just looking out.  Lord knows
dentists are expensive.”

My face
met my palm.  Leave it to David to say something like that at a time like
this.

Daemon
wasn’t fazed by David’s comments and returned his stare to me.  “So tell
me what happened at the coffee shop, Paige.”

Damn. 
I was hoping David’s comments would have caused Daemon to forget that
part.  The fact that he was referring to me as Paige rather than using
that annoying pet name was an indication of his continued rage.

I
sighed. “I stopped at that little coffee shop on North and Vine and Chris
showed up.  I ran out to my bike and took off as he was running after me.”

“And,
when you spoke to me this morning, you didn’t mention being attacked hours
earlier, because…?”

His
calm demeanor was unnerving, and when he spoke, his voice was flat, but carried
an undertone of menace.  If this was a cat and mouse game, I was currently
the mouse and I had a sneaking suspicion I was being cornered.  He was
visibly angry and I wasn’t sure if that was due to Chris’ actions or
mine.  My only option at this point was to strike first, so that’s what I
did.

“Maybe
we should just call it a night?  Between my complete lack of caffeine and
an asshole destroying my bike, I’ve been through a lot today.  I’m just
going to grab a shower and crash.  Thanks for coming by and all.”

Daemon
clamped his hand down on my shoulder and turned me to look at him directly.
“Paige, I’m not letting that asshole ruin my night and I won’t let him ruin
yours either.  Let’s take my truck and go out like we planned.  We’ll
figure out what to do about your bike and everything else tomorrow.”

I shook
my head. “Don’t worry about it Daemon, I can get my bike fixed myself and…”

“Paige,”
Daemon interrupted, “please let’s just go.  We can talk about all of this
later.”

I
crossed my arms over my chest and said, “I’m not sure I want to go.”

“Why
not?”

“Because
you are calling me Paige.  If you are calling me that, I know you are
angry and I don’t really want to deal with your anger.”

His
eyebrows shot up and he let out an exasperated laugh, “Would you rather I call
you Damsel?!”

From
the corner of my eye I could see the heads of my friends looking between Daemon
and I.  They resembled spectators at a tennis match and I hated to have to
end their free entertainment.  But, because I wasn’t feeling like being
the center of attention at the moment, I decided I’d just go with Daemon to end
this conversation.

“Fine.”

I
reluctantly got up and said my goodbyes to everyone.  I walked out the
door and Daemon followed behind me.

We
walked to his truck in silence and Daemon moved to the passenger side to open
the door for me.  Once I was safely in the vehicle, Daemon closed the door
and climbed in on the driver’s side.  We were still silent as he started
the truck and pulled out of the lot.  I looked back at my bike as we drove
off.

While
in route to the coffee shop, Daemon began talking again. “Were you going to
tell me about Chris, or is that another situation you have
handled
?” 
He ground his teeth together as he said that last part.

My feet
suddenly became interesting as I tried to avoid this conversation.  I
didn’t feel like I should have to tell Daemon anything, but I knew he was just
concerned and didn’t mean any harm in wanting to know if I was in danger.
“Technically, I
did
tell you, but you just didn’t pick up on it. You
should try and be a little more perceptive in the future.”

Daemon
glanced at me and then back to the road. “I would have remembered you telling
me about a psychopath trying to kill you.  When exactly was it that you
told me about this?”

“Last
night.”  I held up my phone so he could see what I was talking about. “I
told you that my other white night saved me.” I shrugged.  “It’s not my
fault that you chose not to believe me.”

Daemon
let out a humorless laugh.  “We were joking around, Damsel.  Of
course I didn’t believe you.  You also left out some important details in
that text if you ask my opinion.”

He was
right.  The text wasn’t exactly a play by play of what had happened at my
apartment.  I didn’t know what else to say.  I needed coffee. 
My body was shutting down from the lack of caffeine and I was losing the will
to live, much less argue.

We
arrived to the coffee shop and Daemon came around the truck to open my door for
me.  He led me into the shop and we ordered our drinks.  When the
barista handed me my coffee I could have sworn a small light from Heaven shown
down upon it.  I carefully ran to the condiment area and poured in my
sugar and creamer.  Daemon’s face puckered when he saw the way I drank my
coffee.  I looked up at him and shrugged.  “What?  It’s good.”

Daemon
chuckled while he led us over to an overstuffed couch.  I looked around
the shop and I was impressed with this little place.  There were tables
scattered throughout the middle of the shop and the walls were lined with
overstuffed couches and chairs.  Paintings and photographs created by
local artists lined the walls and there was a stage area for open mike poetry
and folk music.  On the opposite wall from us, there were book shelves
with a wide assortment of reading material.  The floors were a deep
mahogany and the countertops were a rich black.  Large windows near the
machines allowed light to pour into the shop and light jazz played over the
speakers.  This place had a calming effect and I took a large swig from my
cup.

“Ow! 
It burns, it burns!”  I had apparently forgotten to let the liquid cool
and I was breathing quickly in and out of my mouth trying to stop the burning.
I realized I probably looked like the world’s biggest idiot at the moment.

Daemon
had an amused expression on his face and I was somewhat annoyed that he was
taking pleasure in my pain.  I narrowed my eyes and glared at him and that
only made him start laughing.  He took the cup from my hands and placed it
on the table in front of us.  He turned back and rubbed his thumb along my
jaw line.  “Do you realize how beautiful you are?”  He leaned over
and placed the lightest kiss on my lips. His cologne wrapped around me and his
masculine scent pulled at something inside of me.  My eyes fluttered as he
leaned back but kept looking in my eyes.  He was wearing a black fitted
shirt and the dark contrasted with the crystal blue of his eyes.  Now that
I saw him in better light I noticed that his eyelashes were thick and it made
me jealous.  The line of his jaw was speckled with shadow and his mouth
had a perfect pout.  I wanted nothing more than to lean over to him to
bite on that bottom lip.