Quot;Hello?" he said, bringing the small phone to her ear.

Quot;Are you near a TV?" Blake asked, his voice quiet and filled with fear.

"No, I'm at the office. What's wrong, Blake? You sound like you're about to cry."

Quot;You might want to get home, Canton. It's mom," he urged.

***

Randi was deeply shaken, left alone in the coffee shop with Shannon. She couldn't take her eyes off the 9mm that sat in his lap. He'd allowed the rest of the co-workers to leave, which she was grateful for, but now it was just the two of them, the walls of the shop swirling with the red and blue lights of the police cars that filled the parking lot. She garnered her courage, finally meeting his gaze.

Quot;What do you want with me, Shannon?" she asked, her voice forcibly soft.

Shannon sat at one of the tables, away from the large plate-glass windows. He sipped the caramel breve Randi had made for him. "This is really good," he complimented.

Randi said nothing, just stared at her hands, which fidgeted with a cardboard sleeve that slipped onto cups to help keep customers from getting burned. Her heart was pounding and she wasn't sure what to do. Two hours before, Shannon had entered the shop like any other customer. Once he'd reached the register, he'd asked for Randi, who'd been called to wait on him. He would have been her last customer before leaving to go meet Canton at her new offices.

"What can I get you, Shannon?" she asked, waiting impatiently for his order. He'd given her the order for his caramel breve and then had brandished his gun, something she had no idea he owned.

Within an hour's time, he'd allowed the other employees and customers to leave, the cops already arrived on scene. In truth, he wasn't sure what he planned to do, other than the fact that he just couldn't face the fact that they'd be meeting in court within a few days, and at that point, all ties to her would be gone and things would be put into motion for the final outcome of divorce. It just wasn't something he could face.

Shannon knew there was a question on the table for him to answer and instead of voicing his response, he held the paper cup in his hands, swirling the liquid inside around and around. "Randi," he said, voice soft as he was lost in memory. "Do you remember that old café I used to work in at school?"

"Yes Shannon, I do."

Shannon smiled at the memory bouncing around in his mind. "Remember that 'special blend' coffee old Ray used to pawn off? I tried to get you to drink that forever but you wouldn't. It wasn't until you got pregnant with Blake that you started to crave the smell of coffee." He smiled, leaning back in his chair. "I remember you yelling down from the loft in that piece of crap apartment we lived in for awhile:Shannon, make me some coffee to snort!"

Date: 2015-02-28; view: 543