Blood orange colored the horizon in the distance.
Riley’s off-the-shoulder blouse was starting to stick to her as sweat trickled down her back and stomach. It was time to go back into the air-conditioned building while she decided on her next move.
Once inside, the aroma of coffee hit her, and her taste buds perked up. Suddenly, her body was starting to feel the three-hour time change.
Her phone rang, as Riley was about to get in line for some much-needed caffeine. She answered it without looking at the screen. “Liza, where are you?”
“Sis,” her brother, Ross, said. “You sound panicked. What’s going on?”
Her twin brother knew Riley sometimes better than she knew herself, although it wasn’t hard to detect the hitch in her voice.
She slid over to a quiet spot near the elevator. “I can’t get ahold of Liza. She’s late. Like thirty minutes late now.”
“I knew I should’ve come with you,” he said.
“I’m a big girl.” She tried to fill her tone with confidence, but with the panic coursing through her, she was failing badly.
One of her flaws was that she jumped to conclusions too quickly and immediately thought the worst. She couldn’t help it, though. Riley had grown up in a rough neighborhood, with a cheating dad, then a single mom after she had kicked out said cheating dad. Plus their house had been robbed several times. Looking over her shoulder had become Riley’s norm, especially when Ross wasn’t with her.
“Besides, I’m on a girls’ trip with my bestie. No men allowed.”
“What are you going to do, then?” Ross asked.
“I’m going to call her office first, and if I strike out, then her cousin Josh.”
“You mean the ex-Navy SEAL?” Ross asked a little excitedly.
Her brother was into military and war movies. He even loved to watch those programs on how Navy SEALs train. He’d wanted to go into the military but had decided against it when Mom and Dad had gotten a divorce. Ross hadn’t wanted to leave Mom and Riley alone.
Riley’s phone alerted her to an incoming call from a number she didn’t recognize. “Hold on. This might be Liza now.” She switched over to answer.
“Hi, Riley. I’m Taylor, Liza’s assistant. She’s stuck in a meeting with an important client. Is there any way you can rent a car and head to her cousin’s bed and breakfast in Redwood Cove? I’ll text you the address. She also said she would call as soon as she can.”
It seemed Riley was renting a car after all. “I’m supposed to stay with her at her apartment. I can meet her there.”
“No. She insisted that you head to Redwood Cove Inn. It’s going to be a late night for her.”
A bed and breakfast sounded so much better than an apartment in the city anyway. “Okay, but have her call me as soon as she can, though.”
“I will.” Then the line went dead.
Riley switched back to Ross. “Liza got stuck at work. I’m going to rent a car and make my way to Josh’s in Redwood Cove. I’ll check in with you when I get there.”
“You better. Or I’m taking the next flight out.”
Riley laughed, even though he was serious. He’d always been so protective of her and Mom.
“I have my mace if that makes you feel better.” Mace wouldn’t completely stop an attacker, but it would slow someone down, allowing Riley time to get away.
“Call me as soon as you get there,” he said. “Do you hear me?”
“Loud and clear.” She hung up before he could give Riley his speech on “Make sure you look at what’s around you. Don’t forget to use the mace and knee them in the groin if you have to.”
While she was a confident woman, Riley was a little leery about finding her way to Redwood Cove. Not because of getting attacked, but because darkness would set in soon, and she wasn’t a great nighttime driver.
