Page 14 of Allegiance
Lena
After thirty minutesof going over the details for what seemed like the hundredth time, the sheriff reclined back in his leather chair and shook his head.
“I’m glad you came in tonight, but I’m afraid I’ve got bad news, Miss Labay. Unfortunately, what you say happened to you tonight can’t be corroborated. You told me there were no witnesses, and no one even passed by your establishment the entire time this incident took place. So far, what we have is your word against theirs, whoever these men are, so we can’t bring anything to the table right now. But, what I can do is promise you we’ll do our best to look into the matter. Does that sound good?”
“Have you had any other complaints from anyone else in the neighborhood about being shaken down?”
“Nope—you’re the first. We’ve never had anything like this in Santa Teresita. I’m thinking these two men saw a pretty lady and wanted to tease you a bit.”
“Breaking my thousand-dollar display case, manhandling and threatening me are not what I’d considerteasing.” The sheriff frowned, his lips pressing into a straight line of annoyance. “I just don’t want you to take this lightly. These men are demanding money from me, and I know they’ll be back. I was scared to death that they were going to do something horrible to me.”
“You’re a newcomer, so you don’t know the townspeople like I do. I’m not saying we won’t investigate the case. We’ll talk to the other businesses in the building to see if these two characters paid any of them a visit. Some macho-type guys like to scare pretty women.” He lifted his hands in the air. “I have no idea why. I guess it makes them feel more manly, but they’re really harmless.”
“These two didn’t seem like they were out to bolster their manhood. They meant what they said. I don’t know what to do.”
“Youdon’t have to do anything—we’ll do all the work. Every case that comes into this office is important. You gave me their descriptions, so that helps. I’ll make sure we get to the bottom of this. ”
Clutching her purse in her lap, Lena let out a long breath.
“Thank you. That’s all I needed to know.”
“Of course.” The slightly chubby man linked his hands together over his chest, staring at her across the expansive wooden desk. “We take things seriously, and anything we can do to rectify the matter will be done. You have my word.”
A wave of relief jolted through her system. Her shoulders relaxed, and she tucked her hair back into a messy bun with a sigh. It felt like a load of bricks had been shoved off her chest.
“Is there anything else?”
“No, that’s it.” Lena rose to her feet. “I hope you have a good night.” Turning, she walked out of the office and made her way outside.
The warm night breeze caressed her face, and the gentle rhythm of breaking waves echoed through the quiet streets. Standing under the star-filled sky, with the perfumed scent of blooming night plants, made the earlier incident at the eatery feel like it didn’t happen. It was like she’d fallen asleep and had a nightmare, and now she was awake and all was good. But it wasn’t.
Santa Teresita had been her slice of heaven ever since she’d been a small girl. And after the death of her parents, it had become her refuge and haven. Now, the picture-perfect life she’d been building in the town for the past few years had been marred by two psychopaths who would make good on their promise.
Lena opened the car door and slipped inside. At least Sheriff Windsor would look into it, and he seemed dedicated to taking care of the injustice.
On the way home, she put Felicia on speakerphone and relived the ordeal, but it made her feel a lot better. In this case, being strong wasn’t enough. She knew that as she stuck the key into the front door of her beachfront condo. Felicia was ranting about a coworker who had made her job harder for over a week straight, and Lena took a second to look into her darkened home before she crossed the threshold.
She loved the place, but nothing felt safe right now. Turning on the flashlight from her phone, she shined it into the condo. Once she was satisfied there wasn’t anything in the immediate vicinity, she flipped on the front hallway light switch and went inside. A small part of her felt ridiculously stupid, but after what she went through a few hours before, she wasn’t taking any chances, nor assuming there weren’t any risks.
“Are you okay? You’ve been quiet for a while now,” Felicia questioned.
“I’m good.” Lena shut the door with her foot, leaned up against the wall, and put her tote bag on the floor. “Sorry. I was just checking the house for monsters.”
“I don’t blame you. Maybe if you’d hooked up with Tank, you wouldn’t be so freaked. He could’ve been your big, bad protector, and then you wouldn’t have to worry.”
“Aren’t you ever going to let that go?” Lena laughed despite herself, and the release was more than welcome. “Besides, I don’t need some big, strong man hanging around me. I got it all taken care of, and it’ll be fine.” She’d be damned if she admitted to Fe that Tank had been on her mind earlier that night.
“Says the woman checking her place for errant bikers ready to kick her ass.”
Lena rolled her eyes. A quick canvas of the rest of the condo proved everything was the same as when she’d left the house for the restaurant that morning. The condo was small, and the open floor plan eliminated any places for a couple of bikers to hide. And there was no way anyone could fit into the closet in her bedroom. The walk-in was filled to the brim with different chef uniforms, fancy dresses for her catering business, and enough shoes to open a footwear museum.
Walking out of the bedroom, she opened the French doors and stepped out onto the balcony. She stared out at the ocean, letting the darkness of the night envelope her. The lights along the coastline glittered under the moonlight, and she caught a few people walking hand-in-hand along the boardwalk. The waves rolled in with their soothing sound, and the tension that had had a stranglehold on her since the two men entered the bistro fell away. She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Since she was a little girl, she’d always loved the ocean. Salty air, lacy waves washing ashore, squawking seagulls, breakers crashing against the pillars of the piers, and the seeming endlessness of the Pacific hugged and comforted her every time.
Felicia’s voice pulled her out of her musings. “Hey, have you eaten anything?”
“Not since this morning.”
Felicia clucked her tongue. It was something she did when she disapproved of a behavior.
