Page 68 of Hidden Monsters
“Thank you.” It was all Caden could muster at the moment without letting his tongue run loose and straight up ask her if she would go on a date with him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually been on a real date. Where did women like to go these days? Dinner? A movie? No, he wouldn’t take her to a movie. The last thing he wanted to do was sit in a dark theater where he couldn’t see her or talk to her. Dinner sounded nice though. Maybe a museum or a long walk in one of the parks.
“So, what do you think?” Hallie asked, pulling him from his thoughts. She gestured at the items she’d pulled off the shelves, but he’d been so distracted he wasn’t sure if she’d said anything before that.
Not wanting to make an even bigger fool of himself, Caden simply turned his attention to the items and looked over everything. He liked the seagrass photo album the most, but there was something off about it. “Do you have this in another style or pattern?” He asked.
“I did, but they’ve been selling like hotcakes. I placed an order with the company last week, so a new shipment should be coming in the next few days.”
Caden was already thinking about his schedule. There were several open cases he needed to wrap up by the weekend, but before he could think better of it, he said, “I could come back.” It was the perfect excuse to see her again, not to mention she might actually be able to help him with his predicament.
“That would be great. I’m thinking maybe two or three days at most. They’re usually pretty quick in sending me orders.”
“Sounds good.” Caden left the store with every intention of returning in two or three days, but work got busy, and he wasn’t able to come back until the following week after a crazy weekend of working non-stop to close a case the District Attorney was putting pressure on his boss to wrap up with a nice bow.
Caden pulled up to the curb in front of The Mystic Cow and sat in his car for a moment, letting himself unwind before heading inside. He’d been looking forward to seeing Hallie again, but he was nervous now because he’d made the decision to bite the bullet and ask her out today.
Her smile had stayed with him, and the sound of her melodic voice still played over in his mind, sometimes even invading his dreams. The woman had an uncanny hold on him, and he wanted to explore this newfound attraction. He kept trying to convince himself it was silly to pursue it, but after watching his best friend fall in love, Caden found himself wanting a woman of his own.
Outside of his career, and the few times a month when he hung out with his close friends, Caden’s life was mundane, and even empty. Having someone to come home to wasn’t something he let himself yearn for given the inherent dangers of his chosen profession. But he wasn’t getting any younger, and besides, it wasn’t like he was asking Hallie to marry him. It was only a date.
When he finally psyched himself up enough to get out of his car, a black FBI issue SUV pulled up in front of him. Agent Paul Danfield, whom Caden had just finished working a case with, and another agent got out and went into The Mystic Cow, their badges at the ready.
Caden wasn’t sure what was going on, but the robin’s egg blue door was wide open today, so he had a direct view inside the store. It was a hot day and the shop likely didn’t have air conditioning since the building was older.
He stayed in his vehicle, watching as the two agents made their way to the counter. They approached an unsuspecting Hallie who had her back to them.
Caden couldn’t imagine what the FBI wanted with her. The only thing that came to mind was that she was somehow connected to the drug cartel case he worked on last week involving the laundromat across the street. But Hallie’s name had never come up.
Through his tinted windows, Caden watched Hallie turn to face the agents and take a step back, obviously put off by their dominating presence. The fear and hesitancy in her posture made every protective instinct in Caden’s body come to life. He wanted to step in on her behalf, but before he could get out of his car, she was being escorted out of the store to their SUV. They’d hardly given her time to grab her purse and lock the door.
When he’d met Hallie, Caden didn’t peg her for a criminal, but the job had long since taught him that a pretty face and a sweet demeanor didn’t equate to innocence. Not by a long shot. Had his attraction for her clouded his judgment?
He was still sitting in his parked vehicle when his cell phone buzzed to life on the seat next to him with an incoming text message from his boss, Special Agent Sean Avery. Caden looked down to read it just as the black SUV with the agents and Hallie Owens pulled into traffic.
Avery: Agent Blake O’Connell down. Return to HQ ASAP.
Sweat broke out on Caden’s brow as he reread the text message in horror. He wanted to demand more information, but instead tossed the phone onto the seat next to him, threw the gear in drive, and peeled away from the curb. He’d learn everything in the briefing Agent Avery was likely preparing.
Weaving through traffic like a mad man, Caden white knuckled the steering wheel. Blake O’Connell wasn’t just a colleague or an agent Caden helped train. He was a close friend. A confidant. If Blake didn’t survive, this wouldn’t just affect Caden. Their friends Garrett, Tanner, and Martin would be devastated. And Caden didn’t even want to imagine greeting Luke and Orly after their honeymoon with that kind of news. They’d already been through so much. This was the last thing any of them needed.
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