“I love you, too. I’ve got your man card in my pocket. You can retrieve it whenever you wish”, Kresley giggled, loving when she and Cade could flirt and banter back and forth. It gave her all those butterflies and mushy feelings that she thought only teenagers felt.
“I’ll make sure to get it back tonight”, Cade silkily stated, heated intent heavy in his voice. “How far away are you now, baby? I seriously cannot wait until I can give your lips a proper kiss.”
“I’m about 30 minutes away from Mercy Springs. I need to stop at Fiona’s Fabrics on my way in to town. She got in those tablecloths that I ordered weeks ago. I have to make sure they’re the right color before she begins alterations. After that, I’ll be coming straight to your house. Will you be there by then?”
“I’m already here. I took off a few hours early so I could spend time with you.”
“That makes my day, Cade. I can’t wait to see you. Love you baby.”
“Love you more Kres. Be safe. See you in about an hour.”
Kresley ended the call, thankful that she met a man like Cade. He not only cared about her, but he cared about her sisters and Grace. He knew they were a package deal when he declared his love. And it hadn’t scared him away like it would other men. Cade was definitely a keeper and she intended to keep him for a very long time.
Kresley took the exit towards Mercy Springs and was soon pulling up in the parking lot for Fiona’s Fabrics. Kresley could see business was slow today, as there weren’t many cars in the parking lot. She turned off her ignition and got out of the car, locking the doors behind her. She walked through the entrance doors, only to find the shop quiet and empty at the front. Fiona or a store helper usually greeted her or any customer when they arrived, so the heavy quiet that was greeting Kresley now was a bit unnerving.
“Hello? Fiona? Anyone here?”, Kresley hesitantly asked.
The store was so still. Almost eerily so. Kresley’s fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up, as if fine-tuned to some sort of danger. Her eyes darted around, finding shadows everywhere. Tall rolls of fabrics stood in aisles, hiding other things from Kresley’s view. That only made her more nervous.
With much trepidation, Kres advanced into the store, trying to disregard the negative feelings she had, calling herself an idiot and silly. Fiona’s store was always welcoming. She’s never had an issue here before. But there were usually more people in here and a greeting was almost always thrown her way as soon as she stepped over the threshold. What in the world was going on?
As she quietly advanced into the store, down the center aisle and walked by the front counter and cash register, Kres noticed a few drops of something next to the counter on the floor. Was that blood? No, probably not. Just something that spilled from lunch probably. Yeah that has to be it.
A noise turned Kresley’s head, as she heard a small squeak come from the back of the store. Everything within her was screaming for Kres to turn around and run. Don’t go any further. Call Cade. Call Cade. Call Cade! Run. Then call Cade. Did she mention that she’s hard headed? Yeah, for sure Kresley James Anderson was stubborn enough to think that she could handle what was beyond the stock room door. Her concern for Fiona and her workers was outweighing her concern for herself. And that was part of the problem. Kresley tended to ignore her own needs when anyone else was around. If Kres took time to analyze things, she would discover that she felt that way due to not being able to save her parents. The guilt drove her to rescue all that she could, hoping one day that she could absolve herself from feeling at fault.
As she eased closer to the stock room door, Kresley’s anxiety increased tremendously. She quietly pushed against the door, hoping it wouldn’t make any noise as it opened in front of her. She could see that the store room was dark, with a dim light coming from the back, far right corner of the room.
“Hello? Fiona? Gina? Anyone back here?”
A small scraping sound came from the very back of the room. Kresley could make out a dark shadow as it was easing out the back door. There wasn’t much light coming through the door since it was late afternoon. She couldn’t make out the size or shape. Hell, she couldn’t even tell if the shadow was even a human. Ignoring her racing heart, Kresley followed a path toward the dim light. As she neared it, she truly questioned her sanity. She should turn around now, go back out to her car and leave. But her curiosity was getting the best of her judgement. As she walked to the door opening, she could make out someone lying on the break room floor.
Kresley went utterly still, disbelieving what she was seeing. Fiona. Dear God, Fiona. Sweet Fiona was laying on the floor, naked. Her eyes were open, glazed over and unseeing. Her wrists were awkwardly behind her back and cinched together with a zip tie, so tight that Kresley could see drops of blood where it was cutting into her skin.
She took a step toward Fiona’s body and reached down to feel at her neck and pulled her hand back quickly. She could now see a cut across Fiona’s throat and a large amount of blood pooling under her body. Kresley gingerly reached down to feel for a pulse. When she felt nothing, Kresley began to hyperventilate. Oh my God. Think, Kres. Think!
“Oh my gah, oh my gah, oh my gah. What do I do?”
Cade! Call Cade. She should have done that way before now. Kresley rooted in the pocket of her purse for her
