Covert Exposure (8 page)

She shut the refrigerator door and then
reached up into the cupboard to retrieve two glasses, again,
causing her little dress to rise up.

She poured a glass of milk for Spinelli and
one for herself then she took a seat alongside him and grabbed a
cookie.

Spinelli took a swig of his milk to chase
down the cookie and then set the glass back on the counter top. He
shifted his stool a bit in order to face Shannon. “What do you know
about this card game? Did Hudson and Reed play?”

Shannon set the remainder of her cookie down
on her plate and took a drink of her milk. She ran her tongue
across her lips clearing away the remaining cookie crumbs and milk
from them. The maneuver sent Spinelli’s heart into overdrive. He
willed her to do it again only this time he imagined himself
capturing her tongue with his mouth. He imagined his tongue in a
long slow dance with hers.

She answered his question, interrupting his
fantasy. “I don’t really know anything about the game. I’ve heard
the college kids, you know, the elves, and the security guards talk
about how they play cards in the Greek restaurant after the mall
closes. I think they play poker. I would imagine that Aaron Reed
played but I don’t think Roland Hudson played.”

“Do they play every night and do they play
for money?”

Shannon thought for a moment. “I’m not sure
if they play every night. I only work on the weekends and I know
they play on the weekends and I definitely know they play for
money. I’ve heard some of the elves talk about how they need to
work for Loukas at times to pay off their debt. So here they are
trying to earn extra cash for school and they need to work off
their gambling debts.”

“Do you know what they do to work off their
gambling debts?”

Shannon responded with a slight shrug. “I
just assumed they worked in the restaurant or something. I never
really thought about it.”

Spinelli finished his cookies and downed the
last of his milk. He’d hoped it would take longer so he could spend
more time with Shannon but the cookies were so good he just
couldn’t help but gobble them up—like he wanted to gobble her up
but knew she wasn’t ready for that yet. He figured her for the kind
of woman that planned out every move in her life. She would take
her time when it came to letting a man into it. As much as he
wanted her right now he didn’t mind the wait. She would be worth
it.

He slid his stool back from the counter and
stood. He pulled his coat from the back of the stool and flung it
over his shoulders. “Well, it’s getting late. Are you working at
the mall tomorrow?” he asked, knowing the answer because he’d
already checked the work schedule which hung in the employee break
room.

“Yes, I work from five to nine,” she replied
as she rose from her stool and stood in front of Spinelli, staring
up at him with her big green eyes.

“So I’ll pick you up at about 4:30 then?” he
asked hoping not to get any grief from her. Not only did he just
desire to be with her he also wanted to keep an eye on her. He
didn’t know what was going on yet or why Hudson and Reed were both
murdered at the mall and he feared for her safety.

Spinelli kept his eyes fixed on hers, as she
appeared to debate her answer to his question. She blinked
flirtatiously as a soft smile drew across her face. “So you’re
going to stick out the Santa thing at least another day?”

Spinelli returned her smile. “What are you
saying? You don’t think I make a good Santa?”

Shannon’s soft sweet chuckle rang through his
ears. “Oh, you’re a natural, all right. I don’t recall ever seeing
a man look so horrified at the sight of children.”

Her chuckle turned to full-blown laughter.
“And when that little girl had an accident on your lap you looked
like you were going to die right there on the spot.”

Spinelli laughed deeply. He knew she was
right. He had very little experience with children.

“Hopefully the drycleaners can do a rush job
on my uniform tomorrow morning.”

Shannon smiled. “I’m sure they’ll give a
little extra effort for Santa.”

Shannon saw Spinelli to the door. He stepped
through the doorway and turned toward her, his eyes fixed on hers.
“I’ll pick you up at 4:30 tomorrow.”

“Okay. Goodnight.”

Chapter
Twelve

The next afternoon, Spinelli headed to
Shannon’s apartment to pick her up for work. By the time he parked
his truck in the one available visitor parking spot he could see
her already walking down the snow dusted sidewalk toward his truck.
He quickly put the truck in park and slid out so he could open the
passenger door for her. She smiled at him. Her plump red lips
almost an invitation.

Spinelli kept his eyes on her as she climbed
up into his truck so he could catch a glimpse of those great legs.
He shut the door behind her, walked around the truck, and hopped
onto the driver’s seat.

As he drove toward the mall, he made small
talk and inquired about her neighbors, Mrs. Finch and Mrs. Knight.
Shannon explained that both ladies were widows and that they’d
lived together in the apartment across the hall since way before
she moved into the complex. Neither of them drove because Mrs.
Finch is almost completely blind, she can only see shadows, and
Mrs. Knight’s vision is beginning to diminish as well. So, when
they need to go grocery shopping, or anywhere else, she usually
takes them. Unfortunately, they both outlived their children but
they do have a few grandchildren scattered about the country.

Spinelli glanced over at Shannon as she
talked about her neighbors. He’d never met anyone like her before.
Never in his life did he ever meet anyone so kind and thoughtful,
as well as, beautiful, smart, and sexy. The longer she spoke the
faster his heart beat. He made up his mind right then and there he
needed to make her his.

A Sunday, two weeks before Christmas, proved
to be quite busy at the mall. So busy, in fact, that Spinelli
couldn’t find a parking spot. He dropped Shannon off at the
entrance to Kohl’s and he continued on driving around in the
parking structure looking for an available spot. His second pass
proved lucky.

Spinelli hurried to the employee locker room,
strapped on his fat suit and buried it under his Santa suit and
then hustled to the North Pole display where he found a line of
children at least a mile long waiting for his arrival. He dreaded
the next four hours. He hoped it wouldn’t be as bad as the previous
day. He took his seat in the velvet chair and nodded in the
direction of the two elves. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw
his little Santa helper appear from behind the candy cane field.
Just like the day before, the sight of her in her short little red
dress sucked the air right out of his lungs and no matter how hard
he tried he couldn’t seem to fill them.

Shannon walked up to Spinelli, smiled softly,
and placed her hand lightly on his shoulder to get his attention.
“Are you ready Santa?”

The touch of her hand sent a ripple of warmth
flowing throughout his body. He worked hard to find a controlled
voice. “Yes, I’m ready.”

Like the day before, she strolled over to the
eager children and began moving them toward him.

Spinelli glanced over the line. There were so
many kids. Where did they all come from? A familiar face caught his
attention. It was Lesha Washington. Her brother Darius stood next
to her. The tall dark-haired woman he’d met two days earlier at the
foster home held baby Christina on her hip. A young boy he didn’t
recognize stood next to her. Was that her child or another foster
child as well?

Shannon plopped a little boy on Spinelli’s
lap. The enthusiastic little fellow rattled off his wish list
before Santa even had a chance to ask for it.

Children came and went. With each passing
child, Spinelli felt a bit more comfortable in this new role. It
wasn’t so bad. All he really had to do to make the kids happy was
let out an occasional mighty “Ho, ho, ho” followed by a belly
jiggling laugh, and the kids did the rest.

The Washington kids drew closer. They were
laughing, all of them, even the foster mom. They seemed happy.
Spinelli wondered if those kids had ever been truly happy in their
short lives. If not, now maybe they stood a chance. The foster mom
crouched down in front of Lesha. Lesha whispered something into her
ear. The woman smiled, kissed her on the cheek, and hugged her
before she stood up again. Lesha reached out and took the woman’s
hand. Darius held Lesha’s other hand. They’d only been in foster
care for a couple of days, yet something already seemed different
about them.

A few more kids passed by Spinelli. Now it
was the Washington kid’s turn.

As they approached, Lesha zeroed in on
Shannon. “Hi Ms. O’Hara.”

Shannon smiled. “Well hello there Le…”

Spinelli cut her off, “Don’t tell me. Is that
Lesha Washington?”

Lesha’s eyes widened and she flashed him a
humungous smile. Darius slid behind her.

“Where did that little brother of yours go?”
Santa asked as he leaned over and peeked around Lesha. He caught
Darius’ gaze. “Come on over here Darius and tell Santa what you
want for Christmas.

“Go on, go tell Santa what you want,” Lesha
urged her little brother.

Darius walked up to Santa. Shannon lifted him
up and placed him on Santa’s lap. Spinelli caught and held his
gaze. The fear in Darius’ eyes faded. He smiled and asked for a
fire truck before he slid off Santa’s lap and ran back to his
foster mom.

Spinelli looked at Lesha. She pointed at the
other little boy with them. “Samuel can go next. He’s been so
excited all day to see you.”

Was this how it was? Already the little
mother hen at only seven years old. Spinelli’s heart went out to
her. He hoped she would get a childhood, the normal kind, where
kids laugh and play, and where parents take care of their kids and
love them. Something he never knew.

Samuel darted over to Santa and hopped up
onto his lap and offered his Christmas list. Samuel finished
quickly and scooted back down.

Spinelli looked at Lesha. She seemed to be
studying him. She shifted her gaze to Shannon. Shannon stepped
toward her, took her hand, and led her to Santa. Spinelli pulled
her up onto his lap. Shannon stood by their side.

Lesha caught his gaze and held it, her eyes
inquisitive. Did she know who he really was? How could she?

Spinelli softened his voice, “Well Lesha,
I’ve had my eye you. It seems you’ve had a pretty tough year and
through it all you’ve been a very good girl. And you’ve kept an eye
on your little brother and sister, and took care of them. I’m very
proud of you. Now tell me, what do you want for Christmas?”

She looked up at him with her big brown eyes.
He decided in this instant that whatever this little girl wanted
she was going to get. He’d run out tomorrow and buy it and make
sure it made under her tree on Christmas morning.

Lesha brushed his hair back and whispered
into his ear. A lump formed in his throat. He wasn’t sure how to
respond. He glanced at Shannon and caught her curious gaze. He’d
tell her what Lesha asked for later, she’d need to know. He turned
back to Lesha, “I’ll see what I can do, Sweetheart.”

She kissed him on the cheek and slid off his
lap.

Spinelli stared after the foster family as
they walked away. He’d give anything to make good on her Christmas
wish; he knew how she felt. He’d been there himself in the
past.

Four hours later, he wished for toothpicks to
prop his eyelids open. He rose from his chair and sauntered toward
the elves that stood by the display’s Christmas tree as they ogled
Shannon and made small talk with her. Spinelli’s pure exhaustion
did not prevent his jealous juices from finding their way to the
surface.

Loukas, the Greek’s muscleman, nudged his way
between Spinelli and Shannon, scowled at Spinelli, then grunted in
the direction of the elves. “You guys have fifteen minutes.”

The elves’ moods instantly turned somber and
they ended their conversation and headed toward the employee locker
room. Spinelli and Shannon followed close behind. Shannon slipped
into the ladies locker room and Spinelli into the men’s. He sat on
the bench and began the difficult task of removing his black boots,
considering the extreme gut roll of the fat suit he wore. He
groaned during the maneuver drawing the attention of the elves.

“What the hell is muscleman’s problem, cranky
bastard?” Spinelli asked the elves.

The elves shifted their eyes from Spinelli to
each other and looked as if urging each other to answer him. One of
the elves shrugged his shoulders but neither said a word.

“You know, I could use a little extra cash
for the holidays. How do you get into this nightly poker game I
keep hearing about?” Spinelli continued.

He kept his eyes fixed on both elves and
waited for a reply. Without a word, the smaller of the two elves
hung his elf suit on a hook in his locker, shut the door, and
pinched the padlock shut with his trembling fingers. The larger of
the two elves stowed his elf suit in his locker, locked it, and
then turned to face Spinelli. “I don’t know what you’re talking
about.”

He motioned for his fellow elf to follow and
they left the locker room without looking back.

Spinelli finished shrugging out of his Santa
suit and stuffed it into his duffel bag. He left the locker room to
find Shannon waiting outside the door. “What did you say to those
boys?” she asked.

“Nothing. Why? What happened?”

“Well they looked pretty frantic when they
came out of the locker room and I heard one tell the other to just
keep his mouth shut and that he’d figure a way out of it.”

“What is ‘It’?” Spinelli asked.