Page 24 of Destined for Shadows
Chapter 8
Cori
Cori finished closing out the register and locking the cash in the store safe. It was almost ten o’clock. Her friends would be pissed if they knew she hadn’t left before dark, but she couldn’t help it. Asher had called in sick, leaving her to run the shop alone, and of course a flood of customers had come in wanting work done. She couldn’t turn all of them away, not when the extra money would mean she was one step closer to paying off her house.
After doing one last sweep to be sure she didn't forget anything, she set the alarm, locked the door, and stepped outside. Though it was nighttime, streetlights kept the parking lot well lit. Cori didn’t see anyone lurking in the shadows ready to get her. Still, she had that feeling of being watched and goose bumps ran up her arms. Could Griff be out there somewhere waiting for his chance?
“Leavin’ late, aren’t ya?” a gruff female voice said.
Cori turned to look at the troll who ran the herb shop a few doors down. “It was a busy day. Shouldn’t you have closed a while ago?”
Bambi shrugged. “Melena asked me to keep an eye on ya, and I had some stuff to do in me shop anyhow.”
The female troll stood about four feet tall with the shoulders of a linebacker, full breasts, orange-red hair that couldn’t be tamed, and a pudgy nose that could smell fresh meat from a mile away. She also stunk to high heaven, though her natural noxious odor wasn’t as strong as it used to be. Bambi had finally figured out she was scaring her customers away with her lack of hygiene, so she’d started bathing twice a week. Cori was guessing the troll was about due for her next shower. She considered pointing that out, but Bambi had a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, and her race wasn’t above taking a chunk out of a human—or possibly eating them whole if the rumors were true. Cori couldn’t help taking a quick glance at her purse where she’d put her revolver within easy reach. To her relief, it was still right where she left it.
She turned her attention back to the troll. “What do you mean Mel told you to watch me?”
“She said if I happened ta see a man botherin’ ya, then I was free ta do whatever I wanted with him.” Bambi licked her lips. “Not too often the sensor says somethin’ like that.”
Cori couldn’t help but wonder what a fight between a vampire and a troll would look like. Bambi was one of those people that if she liked you, then you were probably safe around her, but God help you if you made her your enemy. For some reason, she’d taken a liking to Melena, and by extension Cori as well.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“Well, if it’s all the same, I’ll walk ya to yer truck,” Bambi replied.
Cori had parked at the back of the parking lot, preferring to leave the front open for customers. There were almost a dozen shops in the plaza, and each of the businesses tried to be considerate of the others. She wasn’t too keen on having to walk with the stinky troll, but she wasn’t dumb enough to turn her down, either.
“Thanks.” She gestured ahead. “I’m parked down that way.”
“Of course, ya are,” Bambi groused. She kept her little yellow Beetle a lot closer to her store so she wouldn’t have to go that far. The troll didn’t move too fast, and it was entirely possible a snail would beat her in a race.
One tiny step at a time, they crossed the parking lot. It wasn’t until they were halfway there that Cori noticed something wrong. “Does it look like my tires are flat?”
The streetlight didn’t quite illuminate the truck enough to tell. She should have parked closer to the lamps, but she hadn’t planned to stay late enough for it to matter.
“Yep, they’re flat alright, and some of yer windows are broken, too.” The troll sped up her pace, moving almost as fast as a normal person.
“How can you tell?” Cori asked.
“I see better at night.”
Of course, she did. Trolls were nocturnal hunters after all.
They reached Cori’s truck and circled the vehicle, taking in all the damage. All of the tires had been slashed, the windshield was broken, hood and roof dented, and the word “bitch” had been spray painted in yellow on the passenger side. There could only be one person who’d do that.
“My ex was here,” Cori said, a slight tremble in her voice.
It had been dark less than two hours, which meant it couldn’t have been long ago, especially if she counted however much time it took for him to get from wherever he slept during the day. He’d been this close, and she’d had no idea. Memories of him breaking their furniture and hitting her over and over until she passed out surfaced in her mind. Griff wanted Cori to think about that and what he planned to do to her next. Her stomach clenched. She’d thought she put him behind her, but she’d been wrong—so very wrong. Would she be able to face him again when he made his final move? Had she built her defenses up enough to do whatever it took to survive him again? She didn’t know, and that scared her.
Bambi sniffed the air, scowling after a few whiffs. “It was a vampire fer sure.”
“Can you tell how long ago?” Cori asked.
“Half an hour or so,” the troll said, waddling around the truck. “Musta came while I was in the bathroom since I woulda noticed him out here otherwise. I was watchin’.”
Cori had been finishing up a tattoo at the time and wouldn’t have seen or heard anything then, either. She stared at her truck and all the damage, her chest tightening. She’d stayed late to make extra cash, and now she’d be out more than she’d earned. What if Griff had decided to come into her shop? He could have killed her and her customer without them being able to do a thing to stop him. She had her gun in her purse, but that would barely slow him down. How could she have thought she’d be safe just because she was at work? Stupid, she’d been so stupid.
Until Griff was caught, she’d close early even if it did mean losing money as a result. Paying off her house wouldn’t mean much if she and her employee were dead. She couldn’t risk Asher’s life either, especially with him expecting a baby soon.
