Page 10 of The Finder

She looked up at him and saw a myriad of emotions cross his face for a moment before it became stormy again. “You will wear the coat when you’re outside,” he said in a low, intimidating voice that reeked of power. Emma had a feeling a lot of people jumped at will to that voice.

“Why? You don’t even know me. I don’t know you,” she said, desperately trying to understand him. He didn’t say anything; he just stared her down. Emma knew when she was beaten. She needed to get back to work, so she finally gave in. “Okay,” she said simply.

Garrett looked down at her and narrowed his gaze, but he didn’t say anything. He held it out to her, and she took the coat. “Now can I get back to work?” Garrett didn’t say anything; he just nodded. Emma stepped past him and moved in the direction of the shop. He stepped ahead of her and opened the door for her. On her way through the door, she stopped and looked up at him. He looked down at her. “I’m not sure why you did that, but thank you,” she said softly.

He only nodded again, and Emma breezed past him. “Emma,” he said from behind her. Emma turned back to face him and he came close to her. He bent towards her slightly and said in a low voice that nobody else but she could hear, “There’s money in the pocket. Buy some clothes.” Then he turned and left. Emma was left staring after him, speechless.

She turned and walked back behind the counter to the back room. Curious, she put both hands in the pockets. One hand closed around cash. She pulled it out of the pocket and her eyes widened. It was all hundred-dollar bills. She started counting before she heard Helen coming. She quickly shoved the money back in the pocket. She hung the coat up carefully, admiring it for a moment. It really was the most beautiful coat she had ever seen, let alone owned. It must have cost a small fortune. Emma’s mind was whirling as she pulled her apron on and went back out front.

“Hi, Emma,” she heard before she reached the counter. She looked up to see Kevin, the police officer from the other day.

“Hi, Officer,” she said. “What can I get for you today?”

“It’s Kevin,” he corrected. He looked at her and waited.

“Kevin,” she said, relenting. “What can I get for you?”

He placed his order and paid, and Emma went to make his drink. Helen spent a few minutes talking to him. Emma took a few orders and finished making drinks. When she was free, she heard her name called. She turned in surprise to see Kevin was still there. “So, are you new to this shop or new to the area?” he asked.

Emma tried to keep a neutral expression on her face. “I’m new to the area,” she said.

“How do you like our city?” he asked.

“It’s great,” Emma said with a real smile.

“Where do you live?” he asked.

Emma was saved from having to reply when the door opened and a few customers came in. She’d never been so grateful for the interruption. “Welcome to Sip and Drip,” she called out. “Excuse me,” she said, turning to Kevin with what she hoped was a natural smile.

“Catch you later,” he said with a smile and a wave.

Emma breathed out a sigh of relief when he left the store. She jumped back into her work. The time passed quickly. After work, she made her way to the library. Using the paper from the printer and a pencil from the lady at the library desk, she sat down at a table to put her plan on paper. She couldn’t wait to talk to Helen about what she was thinking. She had no idea if Helen would go for it, but she wanted to give it a try. When she finished, she folded up her paper with a smile on her face. She couldn’t wait to talk to Helen tomorrow. She walked through the library towards the front door and was shocked to see Liam standing against the wall, looking at a magazine. When she got closer, he straightened and put the magazine down.

“Cat girl,” he called out by way of greeting.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Can’t I just come to the library to catch up on my reading?” he asked innocently.

“No. You’re not the type to spend time in a library. When was the last time you were in a library before today?” she asked as she crossed her arms.

“Fine,” Liam said with a frown. “I’m here to walk you to your car.”

“Why?” Emma asked in confusion.

“Can’t a guy just walk a girl to her car? It’s called being gentleman-like,” he said. Emma wasn’t buying it. She just stared at him. “Fine,” he finally caved. “Garrett told me to do it.”

“Why?” Emma asked again. It made no sense. Why were these guys so worried about her? Her mind started whirling. She didn’t know how she was going to get out of this. First of all, she had no car; and there was no way she was letting Liam walk her to Hope House. Not only was it humiliating, but it was also a long walk. He was wearing a designer suit and shoes, not clothes suitable for walking. “Um, I just need to go to the bathroom. Then I’ll be ready,” Emma said, hoping he would believe her.

He nodded. “I’ll wait right here for you,” he said. Emma turned away with a grin on her face. He was way too trusting. She made her way back into the library in the direction of the bathrooms. Then she zigzagged her way through the shelves in the library until she came to the back exit she had discovered the last time she evaded Liam at the coffee shop.

She opened the door and peeked out. She didn’t see him anywhere. She slipped down the sidewalk and walked down the street that Sip and Drip exited to. She made it all the way to Hope House without being discovered. She was cold by the time she got there and wished she could have worn her new coat, but she had left it at the shop. There was no way she was taking a chance of it being stolen. The coat and the money inside would be too much of a temptation to her roommate. She wasn’t planning on spending the money, but she also couldn’t allow it to be stolen. She needed all of it when she returned it to Garrett.

Emma made her way into Hope House and straight to the dining area. Her stomach growled hungrily when she entered the room. She got in line and waited her turn, grimacing when she saw tonight’s dinner. She wasn’t really sure what it was. Some kind of casserole and lima beans. She couldn’t stand lima beans.

She took her plate to the table and sat down to eat. The meals up to this point had been really good, but this one was really struggling. She tried gagging down a few bites because she was so hungry, but it was pretty bad. Thankfully she saw a fruit bowl on the counter. She grabbed an apple and sat and ate that. When she was just about finished, Amy and Olivia showed up at her table. Emma smiled at them.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Emma asked.

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