Axe's Fall(49)

"Baylee, come on in. What's on your mind?"

"Gary's back in town."

"I know, I just saw him."

"Did he tell you about the meeting tonight?"

Slowly shaking his head, a frown crossed his brow. "No, he didn't mention any meeting. When did he tell you that?"

"Just a few minutes ago. That's strange."

"It is." Logan tapped his pen against the desk.

"Maybe he forgot to mention it to you. He seemed a little out of sorts," she offered.

"Yes, that's probably it. You're right, he didn't seem like his normal self."

Pushing up from the chair, she said, "I'll let you get back to work. I  was just checking. Are you excited to be going back to Denver?"

"Hell yes. Small-town living isn't for me. It's been a long summer."

Baylee ambled toward the door when she heard Logan call out.

"Baylee, thanks for the heads-up about the meeting. What time?"

"Seven-thirty."

"I'll be there. See you."

"Later."

Back in her office, dread pricked at her, and as hard as she tried to  shake it, it persisted. She chalked it up to her anxiety about leaving  Axe and going back to Denver. She was tired and over-anxious, and the  strange visit from Gary didn't help. Why hadn't he told Logan about the  meeting? Her hands shook as she brought her lukewarm coffee to her lips.

What if I'm going to be fired? I bet that's it. That's why Gary was so  weird, and didn't tell Logan. There is no strip mall meeting, the firm  is letting me go because I dated Axe-a client. It all made sense. Gary  probably felt guilty about the firm's decision to terminate her, so that  was why he was reminiscing about her mom.

Her eyes stung and her stomach churned. How could she have been that  stupid to think they would keep her after Gary warned her about getting  too friendly with Axe? She'd known she was taking a huge risk with her  job by seeing him, but she hadn't cared. But it was all coming crashing  down. She pulled out her phone and dialed Axe, needing to hear his  voice.

"The firm's letting me go because we went out," she blurted out when he answered.

"Whoa, babe. What the fuck? Who told you that?"

"Gary. He wants to meet with me tonight. I know he's going to fire me. He was acting so off this morning."

"Gary's in town? Good."

"Good? Why the hell is that good? He's going to can me. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"He's not going to do that. Why would he come all the way up here to do  that when you'll be back in Denver in a few days? It doesn't make sense,  babe."

"I know something's wrong. There're no loose ends with the strip mall  project. No reason for a meeting. Plus, I have this feeling … "         

     



 

"Calm down, sweetheart. Breathe deeply. No reason to get yourself all worked up until you know for sure what's going on."

"I do know. Gary's going to fire me. I'm not going to the meeting."

Baylee waited for Axe's response, but when it didn't come she thought her phone had disconnected.

"Axe? Are you there?"

After a long pause, she heard him breathe out forcefully.

"I'm here."

"Are you doing something else?"

"No. You have to go to the meeting tonight. You're jumping to conclusions. Maybe he's going to tell you that you made partner."

"From the way he talked earlier, I doubt it. At first, I thought he was  leaving the firm or that he'd been diagnosed with an illness, you know?  He definitely acted like he was indirectly saying goodbye to me. Now, I  get it. He's canning me."

"Go to the meeting."

"Why do you care if I go or not?"

"I know you. You'll obsess about it for weeks if you don't know for  sure. Just go, and we can talk about it when I pick you up after."

She sighed. "You're right. I'll go, but if I'm going to the  slaughterhouse, I'm going to treat myself to a helluva shopping spree."

Axe chuckled. "That's my woman. Call me when the meeting's done, and I'll come by."

"Thanks. Love you."

"Me, too."

The heaviness in her heart lifted after she'd spoken to Axe. He was her  elixir, and she couldn't imagine him out of her life. Don't go there,  Baylee. Stop it. Right now.

She grabbed her purse and sunglasses and headed down the hallway. When  she passed Tina's desk, she said, "I'll be out for a couple of hours. I  have something very important I have to do." With cash and credit cards  in her purse, Baylee left the building to do some serious shopping.

* * *

The green-eyed man stretched his arms over his head as he looked out the  window. In less than three hours, he'd do what he should've done  seventeen years before-kill Baylee Peters. He'd let his spineless cohort  talk him out of it too many times. He'd tried to do it again by saying  Baylee would never be able to positively identify the killer with the  green eyes, but as long as she lived, the green-eyed man had no peace.  Against his better judgment, the killer had left a mess for all these  years, but later that night, he'd rectify it once and for all.

He smiled as he watched the clear blue sky slowly take on tinges of  gold. Having the Insurgents involved in all this had given him some  anxiety, but he depended on their stupidity, and he wasn't disappointed.  Not able to figure out squat, they'd hired a private investigator to  track the murderer down. He laughed. The inept PI bungled his way around  town trying to track down clues, and all the while, he-the man of  Baylee's nightmares-sat back and watched, enjoying the farce.

The nice-looking man went over to his desk, opened the drawer, and  stared at his Glock 20 semi-automatic pistol. He loved the power of the  gun; it was a pistol on steroids, and it'd make his job a lot easier. He  closed the drawer then glanced at the clock. The man figured he'd have  time for a prime steak dinner before he met up with Baylee and his  partner. By the end of the night, the killer would have struck again,  but this time, there would be no loose ends.





Chapter Thirty





After dropping off numerous shopping bags at her hotel, Baylee drove  back to the office with a heavy heart. Not knowing for certain what the  meeting was about drove her crazy. Even though Axe thought it was about  making her partner, she'd seen how dejected Gary was, and her instincts  told her something was amiss. She'd known Gary since she was born, and  she'd never seen him as downhearted as he was that afternoon.

As she pulled into a parking space, she knew that if she did lose her  job over her relationship with Axe, so be it. If she had to do it over,  she would in a heartbeat. Falling in love with Axe had been one of the  few highlights in her life since her mother died.

When she got to the office, no one was there. It was eerie. Usually a  couple of the engineers worked late, but they were gone. Even the  cleaning crew had come and gone. She checked out Logan's office on the  off chance he may be there, but he was gone, as well. It was seven  o'clock-not enough time for her to run back to the hotel or even do an  errand. No, she'd pull up a game of Yahtzee on her computer to pass the  time before the chopping block fell.

When she caught a shadow in her doorway from the corner of her eye, her  breath hitched, her heartbeat pounding erratically until she recognized  Gary.         

     



 

"Oh, it's you. I didn't hear you come in. You startled me."

He lowered his head and walked in, his shoulders rounded. He fell into  the chair opposite her desk, rubbing his eyes. Gary sat quietly, staring  at the floor. Baylee shifted uncomfortably in her chair. He seems so  sad. I am totally getting canned.

She cleared her voice. "Gary, I know why you wanted to talk to me."

He lifted his head and gazed at her, his eyebrows raised. "You do?"

"Yes, and I know this is hard for you. I mean, you've known me since I was born."

His eyes glistened.

Oh, my God. It looks like he's going to cry. He must really not want to fire me.

"But it's okay. I understand."

Gary's eyes widened. "You do?"

She nodded. "I screwed up. I knew the firm's policy, and I got involved  with Axe anyway. I know you can't make an exception because you and my  mom went back a long way, and I wouldn't want you to. I take full  responsibility. I only ask that you, Bob, and Warner give me a good  recommendation."

Tilting his head to the side, Gary said uncertainly, "You think we're  firing you? That's crazy. You're one of our best employees. We decided  to make you partner." His smile faded. "Isn't it ironic?"

"Wait, you mean I still have my job and I'm a partner?"

He nodded. She squealed then jumped out of her chair, her thoughts scattered.

"This is awesome, Gary. Oh, thank you!"

She hugged his stiff body and gave him a peck on the cheek. Pulling back, she placed her hand on his wet cheek.

"You're crying. Why?"

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He lowered his head again.

"Gary, talk to me. Are you sick, or something?"

"I'm sorry," he choked out.