Chapter Three
STANDING BETWEEN THE counter and an aisle stood a disheveled-looking woman shielding a teenage boy from the shop owner and a couple of other customers.
“Please, don’t hurt him!” she was pleading. “We’ll just put this back and leave quietly. He was just hungry and didn’t have enough money to pay. Please, let us go! I promise you’ll never see us again.”
“Excuse me,” Jayden said as he stepped forward. “What seems to be the problem?”
The shop owner started explaining angrily that the boy had grabbed a box of crackers and a can of deviled ham and was racing toward the door without paying for it. Other customers also seemed to be pretty irate about the situation as they were being made to wait while the shop owner sorted it out. Jayden looked at the young woman and the boy.
Instantly, he knew he had found Cybele.
Taking his wallet from his jeans, he handed the shop owner a $20 bill.
“There, that should take care of what the boy owes you,” he said. “There’s no need to take this any further. He was only hungry. Now you’ve been paid and then some for your trouble. I’ll get them out of your shop.”
Turning to the young woman, he found her to be rather unkempt, wearing an oversized man’s shirt and what looked to be sweat pants of some sort. Her uncombed hair was shoved under a baseball hat and sticking out in tufts. Her dirty sneakers looked too big for her feet. He would never have realized that he was looking at an heiress if he hadn’t already known who she was.
She was looking at him with huge violet eyes. When she realized that he was actually going to pay for the food, she started to ease her way around him, still shielding the boy, and made her way toward the door. Jayden knew that if she made it outside, he would have one hell of a time catching her again, so as she tried to pass him, he gripped her arm and escorted her and the boy out of the shop.
“What are you doing?” she demanded as she tried to pull away from him. “Oh wait, I suppose you want some sort of repayment for bailing us out in there. Fine. Follow me.”
Looking at him with an expression that mixed disgust and defeat, she seemed resigned to the fact that he most likely wanted some sort of sexual favors from her.
He wanted to correct her immediately, but figured he would do better if he just followed her. Once they were at the destination she was leading them to, he could talk to her. So he let her lead the way.
She held onto the boy’s hand the entire way. Jayden thought it was odd that the boy hadn’t yet said a single word. But he didn’t find it odd that the girl kept looking at him in a way that said that any moment he looked elsewhere, brother and sister would be gone.
He hid a grin. Well, she would be very disappointed. He was a hundred percent sure he would find them, wherever they hide.
Finally, she stopped at the back of an old building.
It looked a lot like an abandoned warehouse. Jayden couldn’t figure out what she was doing until she pulled out a loose board revealing an opening that proved to be a way into the building.
She and the boy slipped inside and then she turned around and looked at him.
“Come on, then,” she said abruptly.
“What is this place?” Jayden asked as he squeezed himself in the opening.
“Home sweet home,” she said in a tone dripping with derision. “Sorry, it’s not the Taj Mahal.”
“Are you telling me that this is where you live?” he asked, stunned.
“More or less,” she said.
All Jayden could do was shake his head. He was also surprised to find that his eyes had tears in them. Rarely did things affect him so much anymore, but this... there were no words for this situation.
This poor woman and whoever this boy was should not have been forced to live this way. No one should be forced to live this way.
As he looked around the very large room, he saw a couple of bare mattresses lying on the floor along with an assortment of blankets. There was what looked to be a propane camping stove and some things that looked like a couple of eating utensils and plates. There were boxes and other things that he was unable to identify.
“Look,” she said, her voice hard but husky, trying with difficulty to show bravado, “let me get him settled and then I’ll settle up with you.”
She took the boy by the hand again and led him over to one of the mattresses. As Jayden watched, she put his crackers and deviled ham on a plate and spoke softly to him. But her face was cold and hard again when she turned around and walked back over to him.
“Okay, follow me.”
Jayden did follow her but not for the reasons she thought. When they were out of sight of the boy, she turned to face him with a determined look on her face.
She also looked very pale. And this time, she was not looking at him.
With trembling hands, she reached for the waist of his jeans.
Jayden just couldn’t let that go on. His hands reached and gripped her wrist, stopping her from touching him.
She jumped and wide eyes flew to his face.
He lived as an angel for what constituted like eternity to humans like this woman, and that should be enough for him to feel validated about where his stood.
But as she looked at him like that, he felt like he was really a very bad person.
“No. Look, you’ve got the wrong idea. It is true that I need to talk to you, but it’s not what you think. This isn’t what I need. I wanted to ask you something.”
“What is it?” she asked, not even hiding the fact about how relieved she was. Color had come back to her face, and she wanted to believe him so much that she was asking.
“What is your name?”
She frowned, and again, she looked defensive and very suspicious. “Why do you give a fuck what my name is?” she asked him crudely.
“Because I’m looking for someone and I think you may be that person. But before I can be sure, I need for you to tell me your name.”
She remained looking at him, her lips thinning, her eyes distrustful.
“Please. I promise you that you can trust me. My name is Jayden St. Paul and I’m a private investigator, not a cop. If you give me the right name, I’ve got a very wonderful surprise for you.” He made it sound as if he was going to give her money, and they both knew she needed it badly enough. “But you’ve got to tell me what your name is.”
But she wasn’t easily swayed. She still did not trust completely. “Seriously? Is game playing something that gets you off, man? What? I tell you my name and then your ‘wonderful surprise’ turns out to be you whipping your dick out of your pants and shouting ‘surprise’! I don’t think so. Now, let’s just get this over with or go the fuck away and leave us alone.”
“That’s some mouth you’ve got on you,” Jayden commented. “I wanted do this the nice way, but you’re obviously not going to let me do that. So, you really give me no choice.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” she demanded, still giving him a serious glare.
“I’m talking about the fact that all I need from you is your name. If you’ve got the right name, I’m going to change your life. Now, may I please have your name?”
“Fine,” she muttered, looking very tired suddenly. “My name’s Cybele.”
“Cybele,” Jayden repeated. “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it? That’s a beautiful name. May I have your last name?”
“I am Cybele Shannon,” she mumbled.
“Thank you, Cybele,” Jayden said. “It’s lovely to finally meet you. Who is that young man with you?”
“He’s my brother,” Cybele replied, still glaring at him.
“Ah, I see. I wasn’t aware that you had a younger brother. It doesn’t matter. I need for both of you to come with me, please. I’ve got some really wonderful and important information for you.”
“Why would I trust you? I don’t know you!” Cybele protested.
“Cybele, I totally unders
tand what you’re saying. Tell me what would make you feel more comfortable about coming with me and I’ll do it. I’ve also got a pretty great place for you and your brother to hang out until we’ve got everything sorted.”
Cybele continued to stare at him with those incredible eyes. She was no more than 5’3 to 5’4 and was a tiny bit on the too slender side. But she had such amazing energy coming off of her in waves. Suddenly, it seemed as if she simply caved in.
“Fine,” she said in a defeated tone. “We’ll come with you. I don’t suppose you can do anything worse to us than others have tried. You need to understand one thing, though. I’m not quite as fragile as I look and if you do anything to hurt my little brother, I will fuck you up! Do we understand each other?”
“I swear to you that I will not hurt you or your brother,” he said in a voice soft and sincere.
She shrugged and without preamble, walked away in the direction of where her brother sat shoveling the crackers and deviled ham into his mouth. It was obvious she did not give much value to promises, and for some reason, he could not blame her. Stooping down, she spoke quietly to the boy, who looked over at Jayden and stared the rest of the time that Cybele spoke to him. Finally, he nodded and got to his feet.
“Hey, do you mind if he brings his food?” Cybele called to Jayden.
“No, I don’t mind at all. When’s the last time you’ve eaten?”
“I don’t know. Sometime yesterday I think.”
Something squeezed his heart inside his chest. “Well, he’s welcome to bring his food,” he said, then had to clear his throat because it suddenly felt too tight. “But I can assure you that I’ve got all the food you could possibly want back at my place and eating is at the top of the priority list.”
Cybele took her brother’s hand and they all went back through the opening board out onto the sidewalk. They followed Jayden as he led them back to his car. Unlocking the doors, he invited them to get inside while he made a quick phone call.
Leaning against the driver’s side door, he flipped open his cell phone and hit a number.
He waited for an answer.
“Hey, Elys. It's Jayden,” he said. “Would it be possible for you to meet me at my house within about a half hour?”
“Jayden! How wonderful to hear from you! Well, Charlotte and I are just leaving the bridal shop for a fitting and were going to have lunch, but we can come to your house instead. You sound like it’s important.”
“It is, and I promise you the best lunch you’ve had in a while. I need some help that requires a woman’s touch. Oh, and please bring Charlotte with you, too.”
Knowing that he had reinforcements on the way, he felt much better. Getting into the car, he saw that Cybele was seat belted in the front passenger seat and her brother was in the back seat.
Putting the car into gear, he eased out of the parking space and made his way out of Moon Bay.
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