Page 39 of Wounded Fox
I was determined today to find out once and for all what was going on. So I flipped the sign to closed and locked the front door, effectively ensuring no one would interrupt us, then marched to the back room where Vanessa was taking inventory.
"Okay, spill."
Vanessa practically jumped ten feet in the air before spinning around and clutching her chest. Guilt ate at me that I had scared her but I quickly pushed it down.
"What?" Vanessa asked nervously.
"I know something is going on with you, sospill. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on."
"There's nothing to tell." Vanessa couldn't look me in the eye when she responded, which was a sure sign that she was lying.
I positioned my body so it was directly in front of her, giving Vanessa no choice but to look at me. "I know we haven't known each other that long, but I truly want to help."
I could see the tears begin to pool in her eyes, but to her credit, she didn't let them fall. "No one can help me, so, please, just drop it."
I was torn between doing as she asked and pushing her further. In the end I decided to ask just one more question.
"Are you tied up with whatever is happening here in Willow Creek?"
I needed to know if I could trust her or if maybe this whole time I was being blindsided by her charm.
"Please just drop it."
This time the tears did fall, just seconds before Vanessa pushed past me and ran out into the front of the store. I knew I had just lost an employee when the bell chimed over the front door, indicating she had left the store for good.
Barely a minute later, Nolen entered the back room. "Why did Vanessa run out of here crying?"
I debated what I should tell him. I didn't have to think about it for long though. My loyalty would always lie with Aaron and his friends.
"I think you need to check into Vanessa more."
It was all I was willing to say and thankfully Nolen didn't push the subject. He just nodded his head in understanding.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Aaron
I shifted from one foot to the other nervously in the back room of Sophisticated Sheen as I waited for Valerie to close up for the night. I had a big question to ask her and I didn't know which way she was going to answer.
"What happened?" Valerie's sudden sweet voice had me jolting. I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't heard her approach.
"Nothing happened but I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Okayyyyy."
I was going about this all wrong and putting her on edge before I even had the chance to present my question.
"It's not bad. Just hear me out." I cleared my throat. "You know how Trista deals in saving women and men from human trafficking and gives them second chances at life?"
Valerie nodded and looked at me like I was insane because of course she knew. Ever since Nancy had told Valerie about Tristaand Second Chances, she had been doing everything she could to either provide clothing or jobs to those women.
"Okay, well, last week they rescued three women and two children from a trafficking ring in Russia."
I could tell the moment Valerie realized where I was going with this because she threw her arms around my neck and screeched, "Yes!"
"I didn't even get to finish telling you all the details," I said while laughing.
"I don't care. The answer is yes, I want to help those kids any way that we can."
