Page 15 of Untraceable
“I shower and dress before dawn. I have no idea.” Her skin had been more sensitive, but she deliberately hadn’t looked closely. She would look after work.
Bailey kept up the chatter, and Val went through the daily tasks that kept the small bakery running.
When the final loaves went into the oven for the afternoon push, she walked to the front of the shop, grabbed a meat pie, and sat down with a cup of coffee for her break. Bailey and Becky were restocking the cooler, and Val sighed. “Work smarter, not harder.”
Bailey grinned. “That is getting really old.”
Becky stood and shrugged. She had just deep-throated another banana tart.
There were footsteps, but Val didn’t move from her long slump. She kept munching. This was the only break she took.
The peacekeepers from the beach showed up, and Val looked tiredly up at the shifter as he stopped in front of her. She took another bite of her pie. “Yes?”
“You are needed for additional questioning.”
She nodded. “Give me three minutes. I haven’t eaten all day.”
The peacekeeper sat on the chair across from her. The other ones started prowling the bakery. The officer next to her said, “We can wait.”
Val shrugged, set a timer, and continued eating the pie and drinking her coffee.
She mumbled, “I will change into street clothes. You can follow to make sure I don’t run.”
He nodded and got up, following her as she paused to pull the bread out and put it on the cooling racks.
“The burn scars are making sense.”
She chuckled and finished, turning the oven off. She didn’t trust Bailey to remember. Sure, it was her shop, but Val had been in charge for years.
Once that was taken care of, she headed back and removed her apron as she walked. She headed into the worker change area and said, “You stay here. There is no exit, no window, nothing behind this zone.”
He snorted and stepped past her, nodding. “Please be quick.”
She sighed. “I could have been changed already.” She darted to the back and removed the work clothing, pressing it into the hamper. Her sundress and sandals were waiting, and she was dressed in a minute. The hairnet and hat came off and hung up on her little hook. She grabbed her purse and walked out.
The peacekeeper blinked in surprise. “I didn’t expect... you look very nice.”
“Thanks. Shall we?”
He nodded and turned, his feet slipping on the floor. She laughed. “Don’t pick your feet up. If you have ever ice-skated, it is the same motion. Slightly bent knees and slide your feet forward.”
He nodded, and they made their way to the front.
She turned to Bailey. “The bread is out. Looks good. I will let you know if I will be back tomorrow.”
Bailey’s eyes went wide. “Why wouldn’t you?”
“Back home, interrogations could go for days.” She shrugged.
The peacekeeper turned to stare at her. “Where the hell did you grow up?”
She looked at him calmly. “Suura.”
He flinched. “Gods. Right. Come with us. You won’t be harmed.”
She shrugged. “Okay. We have to wait for them to check out, though. At least there will be snacks.”
Becky was tying up a stack of boxes with a sweet smile. She rang up the total, and the ogre-born in front of her paid with a smile. “Have a good day, little mother.”
