Page 31 of Capturing Hearts

Chapter Twenty-Two

Annie

Pretty sure my feet are going to fall off. So, why am I happy?

Manny and I are on the sidewalk watching Barb wave to us from the safety of a cab. “You kids are open tomorrow right? Christmas Eve, but not Christmas, right?”

Amused by her asking me this question for the millionth time, I call over, locking the front door of Le Barré. “Yep! I’ll be here. Oh, but I forgot to tell you, Taryn is still out of town, and I gave Laura the night off to be with Dan.”

“I’m not so lucky,” Manny jokes. I smack his arm and he cries out “OW!” like I really hurt him, when I most certainly did not.

“Oh please.” I roll of my eyes.

“You two are my favorites, anyway,” Barb lies. She loves the girls, but she’s a charmer, to be sure, so she’ll promise you favoritism even if you just met her. Waving as the cab takes off, she sings, “See you mañana!”

With his eyes following the departing red taillights, Manny asks me, “Do you think she has somewhere to go on Christmas?”

Slipping the keys in my bag, I sling the strap over my shoulder and button up my thick coat, pulling up the faux-fur-lined hood over my head and tucking my hair inside. “Yes, her son is coming into town. She’s bringing him in with her tomorrow. That’s why she’s so excited.”

“Ah.” He reaches two fingers under his beanie hat to scratch an itch on his head. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Boss. Thanks for letting me come in. Gives me something to do.”

“Family still not speaking to you?”

His eyes cast downward and he scuffs the pavement with the tip of his rubber-soled shoe. “Nah. They’re still mad Mercedes is Jewish. I told them I’m not celebrating if they won’t let her come.”

“Manny…”

He looks up and stops me with a seriousness not normal for his personality. “Don’t say it.”

Crossing my arms against the coldness of his mother’s decision more than the cold, I quietly acquiesce, “Okay. I’m sorry. She’s just such a sweet girl…”

He shrugs. “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. My Mom is just being stubborn. You think God wants separation?”

The corners of my mouth turn up. “What do you think I think?” He smiles, and I reach out and hug him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Night, Boss.”

We head in opposite directions since my car is up the street toward Knockout, which seems silly now that there are so many empty parking spots closer. There sure weren’t earlier. The cold air coming in from the San Francisco Bay sends a small shiver through my skin, but its nothing compared to the shudder that hits me when I notice the fog. Because of the unusually warm afternoon we experienced earlier, it’s thick, ominously drifting in between and over buildings like it’s alive.

A solitary car drives up, its speed too slow. I glance to it nervously, the protective clenching of my blood sending adrenaline into my system. But the person driving is an older woman looking at the buildings with her face close to the windshield; just a tourist visiting for the holidays.

Shaking off my anxiety, I pull out my phone, holding it like a security blanket. “C’mon, Annie, don’t be a scaredy-cat,” I whisper to myself, walking faster. After three steps I notice for the first time a slight echo to my footsteps. Am I imagining that, or is someone behind me, almost matching my pace?

If I stop walking, I’ll know.

With eyes darting left and right, I stop. The footsteps fall twice more and then stop, too. There’s someone following me. Quickly I start moving, faster this time. The footsteps fall behind me more heavily now, less sneaky, picking up time. Everything I learned in Krav Maga dashes through my memory as I consider what I can possibly do to fight off an attacker that won’t harm my unborn son. Punches? Hammer fists? But then what? What if he wrestles me to the ground? What if he harms my child? Remembering what A.J. said–The best defense is to get away safely and if that means run, then you run–I drop my purse and my phone in case that’s what he wants, and leap forward between two parked cars, running diagonally up the street toward Knockout. My hands are holding up the baby weight and my hood flies off, my hair whipping free as I start to scream, “Bobby! BOBBY!” over and over as loud as I can, hoping to God he’s got the music off already, and he can hear me. “BOBBY!!!”

I don’t know how many times I’ve yelled it when I see the door to Knockout swing open. Bobby runs out urgently searching for the sound, and he spots me. He breaks into a run. “Annie?! Is it the baby? What’s going on?”

I finally dare a look behind me.

No one is there.

Gasping for air, I swing my head around just as Bobby makes it to me, worry etched into his features. “It’s not the baby. I was being chased,” I choke, finding it hard to breathe. I grab onto his arms and use them to steady myself. He grips me by the elbows and waits for me to speak. “I was being chased. Did you see him?”

“I didn’t see anyone.” He searches the street. Only fog is moving there now. “You saw him?”

I shake my head. “I heard heavy footsteps. He was big. He was… right there.” Tears spring to my eyes. “Was I just being crazy? I swear I heard someone.” Remembering, I look at him, “I dropped my purse and my phone! I dropped them! If they’re gone, there was someone there. A mugger or…”

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