Page 36 of Wounded Fox
Nolen merely nodded in response.
I kept my head down on the way over to Aaron's work and nearly ran into someone in the process. I picked my head up just in time to be met with an ugly scowl.
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
"You should really watch your surroundings better," the creepy guy said before pushing past me and continuing on down the street.
I didn't recognize the man and that alone was strange because I knew everyone in a town this small. It was hard not to unless they were a complete recluse, and that wasn't something Bee would allow.
I shook off the interaction and continued into the security building and found Annalee sitting behind the receptionist desk.
"I'm so sorry you had to open that package," I said as soon as Annalee looked up at me.
The woman was nice enough to wave it off. "Not your fault. I'm just glad they got rid of the things quickly. I hate rats." Annalee shuddered. "Even dead ones."
I couldn't say I blamed her. I didn't like rats either and I probably wouldn't have handled opening up that package very well.
"Is Aaron here?"
I was surprised he didn't walk out as soon as he saw me walk through the door considering the guys in the back could see everything that happened out here.
"He should be in the back, talking with Maverick."
That made sense, then. Work would be the only thing that would keep him from coming to say hello.
"Who's this?" I stopped dead when I saw the drawing of a man sitting on Annalee's desk. I picked up the sketch and immediately thought of the man I had just run into outside on the sidewalk.
"That's the person who attempted to abduct Lucien. Lyla just finished with the sketch and dropped it off."
The paper slipped out of my hands and fell back onto the desk before I spun on my heel and raced back out the front door. I skidded to a stop and looked in the direction of my store but I couldn't see the man who just minutes before I had crashed into.
Taking off down the sidewalk, I ran as fast as my heels would allow, straight for Sophisticated Sheen and crashed through the door, nearly breathless.
"What happened?" Nolen was immediately on guard as Vanessa looked over from where she was hanging clothes on the rack.
"Did a man come in here?" I asked between taking gulps of air. A rather ridiculous notion considering I barely ran that far.
"Not since you left. Why?" I could see the way Nolen's eyes didn't stop moving like there was possibly a threat amiss.
A fact that was yet to be determined.
Before I could answer, Aaron and Maverick both came hauling ass through the front door.
"Why did you take off like that?" Aaron came right to my side and immediately wrapped me up in his arms.
"I saw him." Everyone looked at me like I had horns growing out of my head, so I elaborated. "The man who tried to abduct Lucien. I saw him on the sidewalk. I bumped into him by accident because I had my head down. He told me I needed to watch where I was going."
Maverick, Nolen, and Aaron all cursed under their breaths.
"So, you figured you would just go after him?" Aaron didn't sound the least bit pleased.
"Well, no," I tried to explain. "Not exactly."
"Then what?"
Yep, it was safe to say Aaron wasn't happy at all.
"I had to make sure he wasn't coming into my store, or God forbid, to hurt Vanessa."
