Page 16 of In Her Own Way
The resounding answer in her head was, “No.” And since she was learning to listen to her instincts, she headed for the lockers to get her keys and phone, then headed to her car. Of course, she’d Google coffee shops in Denton Heights before getting on the highway and then drive by all of them before going home. Hopefully, she’d figure out which one was Mistress Rikki’s. She laughed. It wasn’t going to say “Mistress Rikki’s Coffee Shop” right on the door, so finding it might be a challenge. But it would be a good reconnaissance mission to get the lay of the land for her field trip the next day. If she were brave enough, that is.
Chapter 5
Victoria
When Victoria worked security at Denton Heights Elementary School before moving to Indianapolis, she also had twelve-hour shifts. So, although she was used to long shifts, getting her body to adjust to the night rhythm was proving a bit challenging. She’d only slept a few hours after coming home that morning after Friday night’s job. Erin and her not-a-skinhead boyfriend did their best to stay quiet as they got ready for work that morning but sleeping on the couch in the living room wasn’t exactly ideal for privacy or uninterrupted sleep.
Once they left, she had her usual cup of black coffee and tried to get in some exercise. Doing jumping jacks, burpees, crunches, squats, and anything else she could think of must have annoyed the downstairs neighbors to no end, but no one pounded on the ceiling. Still, she hated to bother them, whoever they were, but yeesh, she needed a good workout. Joining a gym was out of the question. She couldn’t afford one yet, and besides, she didn’t know where she was going to end up. And that was something she needed to figure out soon. After her workout, she scoured various apartment-for-rent websites on her phone. The rents these people wanted were astronomical. She’d done the roommate thing in Denton Heights with Mac, a friend she’d metthrough Seamus when she’d first migrated there. It had been fine at first, but then communication dried up, and he turned manic with all the boy toys he brought home. She didn’t feel safe there anymore, not with the constant flow of strange guys in the apartment. So, no, a roommate was not what she wanted. She wanted a place of her own.
She pulled into the security parking spot at Addison Storage and vowed to drive around looking at neighborhoods the next day. Sunday was one of her days off, so she would make good use of the time. So much had changed in Indy since she’d moved away almost nineteen years ago, if you count her four years in the Reserves.
Erin met her at the locked gate. “Hope we didn’t wake you this morning.”
“You did,” Victoria said, “but it couldn’t be helped. No harm.”
“Ahh, shit,” Erin said and patted Victoria’s arm.
“Seriously, no foul. You guys were very quiet. I’m just used to being on alert.”
“I get that.” Erin took a step toward the parking lot. “Oh, Kimo’s still here. Give him another hour or so, okay?”
“Will do,” Victoria said. “You have a big heart.”
“Aww, you’re sweet.” And with that, Erin said goodbye and left nighttime security in Victoria’s more than capable hands.
Victoria walked back to the office, unlocked the door, and signed in on the security log notebook. Erin was a little old-school that way. She liked paper trails. Victoria kept her coat on as she checked Erin’s notes for the day. “Wow, busy.” It seemed like there had been a lot of action at the storage facility with people moving stuff in and others moving stuff out. It was Saturday, so that figured. Other than new units rented and a few units emptied, there had been no incidents requiring follow-up except for Kimo.
Speaking of Kimo, she checked camera twelve near his unit and was instantly annoyed to see that it was offline again. A flash of anger went through her. “C’mon, Erin,” Victoria muttered. “Check the fucking cameras.” And Miguel, had he bothered to check them? She took a breath. She’d put a note in the logs later. She was going to recheck them tonight anyway, so there you go.
She locked up the office and, as quietly as she could, walked to Kimo’s unit at the far end of the facility. The door to his unit was only halfway up, but the light was on, and she heard him moving around.
“Open the door,” Victoria said. It came out harsher than she’d meant. Lack of sleep and annoyance at the non-working camera had her impatient and irritable.
“Vic?”
“Yeah. Open it.”
The door slowly opened, and Kimo’s big smile greeted her. “I’ve got a few more sets. Leg day. Come join.”
She ignored him. “You have about fifty more minutes, and then I’m walking your ass out.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he said and saluted.
She turned to walk away, but he said, “Hey, Victoria, seriously. Come get a workout in. Erin says you used to work out all the time, and she feels bad that she doesn’t have any weights at her apartment.”
Victoria hesitated. She could use some shoulder work. “Door fully open.” She was not going to be caught inside a storage unit with a complete stranger.
“If that’s all it takes,” Kimo said with a laugh, “then open it is.”
She walked over to his very impressive rack of hand weights. “Nice rack,” she joked and threw him a grin.
“I was going to say the same to you,” he joked back.
“Shut up,” she said and grabbed a twenty-pounder. It felt good in her hand. She put it back and took off her jacket, revealing her belt holding the taser and pepper spray. These she wouldnottake off under any circumstances. She reached for two twenty-pounders and brought them over to one of the two workout benches. She hadn’t noticed last night that all his equipment looked brand new. She chuckled, but silently to herself. He’d probably spent a lot of money on this shit, and that’s why his girlfriend threw him out.
She sat down and got to work on her arms and shoulders workout. Meanwhile, Kimo positioned himself under an equally new-looking standing rack, placed the barbell on the traps, and began a series of squats. He had good form and seemed used to the motion, so she turned her focus on her own workout.
It really wasn’t safe to work out alone. One slip or one momentary bout of muscle fatigue, and the weights could ruin your day. Maybe she’d take him up on his offer to work out. It would only be a short time at the beginning of the shift, right?
