Page 56 of Mister Concierge

Once I made it to the storage unit, I texted Hosea to let him know I’d arrived. He said he was about to leave out too and that we could grab lunch or something if I wanted, which was cool. My shift at the lounge didn’t start until six tonight, so I had a little time to waste. Plus, with it being early November, Hosea’s schedule was about to get a little hectic. The Tower was fully booked for the holiday season already, and it had just begun. While he didn’t have to be as hands on as he was with it or his store, I loved that he never lost touch with his businesses. That proved it was more than just a money source for him. Hosea truly loved what he did, and I loved that for him.

I was the same way with waitressing and bartending, but that was more so about the engagement and fun. I knew that eventually, I would return to a more professional setting. While I wasn’t sure it would be academic advising, I had looked into what it would take for me to do what I originally wanted, which was high school guidance counseling.

Now that things were getting better between me and my mom and I’d heard her perspective, I felt more confident putting my degree to use and being a voice between parents and kids. The voice that I needed growing up. Maybe if I had a guidance counselor who was active beyond just helping with college planning, my mother and I could have fixed things sooner. Everything happened in its perfect timing, though, so I was at peace.

I also had to take my future with Hosea into consideration. I wouldn’t want to be waitressing and bartending thirty years from now. Wouldn’t want to put my body through that. And if Hosea and I were to start our family anytime soon, I’d need a slower-paced job. He wouldn’t want me to work at all, but I’d be too bored just sitting in the house all day, every day. I was trying this new thing where I thought of the future but lived for the day and learned from the past.

I knew I wasn’t truly happy advising and didn’t want to return to that. The lounge gave me joy for right now, but I could see myself settling into a more stable career in the future.

My phone rang as I pulled directly behind the truck. I looked down and it was Raven.

“I’m right behind you,” I said after answering.

“Aight, cool.”

I left my phone, keys, and purse in my car. Since I wasn’t sure how hands on Raven would allow me to be, I kept the car running in case I was able to quickly leave. At the sight of him, I genuinely smiled. He looked rougher around the edges, but it suited him. We weren’t following each other on social media, so I had no clue what was going on in his life. Hearing that he’d cheated on me would have made me crumble two months ago. Now, I didn’t care at all.

His cheating indicated his unhappiness with himself, not with me. That wasn’t something I was going to let make me question my worth or take personally. We were over now, and nothing Raven said or did would be able to change that.

“It’s good to see you, Car,” he spoke, holding me tightly.

“It’s good to see you, too. Thank you for doing this,” I replied as he released me.

“No problem. Carlos and I can put everything in the unit. Hop up and look at how I separated everything. You can let me know if there’s a particular order you want us to put it in the unit, too.”

“Okay, cool,” I agreed, placing my hand in his so I could hop into the truck.

I looked around at the neatly stacked boxes that were labeled with thick, black permanent marker and was impressed. Raven wasn’t organized for shit when we were together. Or maybe he was and just wanted me to handle those kinds of things. By the time I made it to the front of the truck, I turned to tell him everything looked good and there was no particular order that I wanted him to pack everything in. He’d put my photo albums, jewelry, and mementos in their own boxes, so I would just grab those before they got started.

“Everything looks go—hey!”

I raced toward the back of the truck as Raven and Carlos closed me inside, unsure what the hell was going on. As far as I was concerned, Raven had no reason to have ill feelings toward me. Panic struck me at my core immediately. The only thing that helped me kind of calm down was the fact that I knew Hosea was on his way. As the truck sped out of the lot, I lifted my Apple watch to send Hosea a quick message.

I tried to speak as quietly yet clearly as I could, letting him know I had no idea where Raven was taking me but that he’d kidnapped me. I’d gotten the watch when I started taking my fitness more seriously because of its health features, and now, I was glad I did.

Tracking the time, it took us about three minutes to get to wherever we were going. The truck cut off, and I sent Hosea a quick text letting him know we were about three minutes away from the storage unit.

I covered my wrist after casually hitting the microphone on my watch at the sound of footsteps nearing the back of the truck. When Raven pulled the door up, there was a gun in his hand. My eyes lifted over his head, and I noticed we were by the Mississippi River, but on the more secluded side by the old bridge. There wouldn’t be any traffic down here. No one to notice whatever the hell Raven planned to do to me.

“Get out,” he ordered.

Not wanting to rile him up, I stepped out. “Can you tell me what this is about?” I asked calmly, keeping my hand over the watch as I jumped out of the truck.

“Walk over to the edge by the water.”

“If you’re going to kill me, tell me why first.”

I needed to stall as much as I could to give Hosea time to meet us. Hopefully, he would be able to track my location through the watch or the Find My app. Carlos was standing at the front of the truck, keeping watch, and I just prayed Hosea saw him as he pulled up.

“I don’t want to do this. I did love you and care about you.”

“Then what changed?”

“You weren’t supposed to be there.”

Chuckling, I shook my head and took a step in his direction, but when he cocked the gun higher, I stopped walking.

“Bewhere, Raven?”

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