“Dad! The door. The door,” Sarah called out from the living room. My little munchkin was never far away.
“Check the peephole, it’s probably your Aunt Teresa. Go ahead and check,” I called out back to her then I brushed my teeth. She knew not to open the door to strangers. My daughter was independent and liked to do things for herself, including climbing things, so I put her climbing to something productive for us both. I heard the chair scraping as she put it in front of the door. I chuckled. “Who is it?”
“Dad, there’s a man outside. There’s a man! Dadddd! He’s near the front with a bike.”
I dropped the toothbrush mid stroke without even wiping my mouth as my adrenaline and protective mode struck. “Get away from the door now! Get down and get behind me,” I commanded as I swept her behind my body to shield. My chest was thumping with blood thundering through my ears. I flung the wooden chair out of the way, peeping through the hole. I only caught the back of a bike moving away from the curb. I saw the matte black helmet and the all-black bike.
Sarah was tapping on my thigh. “Dad, Dad who was it? Was that your friend?”
My daughter. So innocent. So naive.
I vowed to keep her safe from harm as long as blood was running through my system. I dropped down on a knee and held her tiny shoulders. “You did good. Always check the door. That was not Daddy’s friend, maybe it was the postman and he forgot to deliver the mail. And that’s why we always check the door first.” I hugged her in close, I didn’t want to scare her any more than necessary, but I wanted to let her know that whoever the hell that was, had been no friend of mine.
Devil Rider? The cartel? Road Warriors? The enemies were stacking up, so it was hard to make an assessment. My brain got to working as I thought through how to protect the house and making sure I was strapped until this madness was over.
“Come back here with me and you can talk to me about school while I brush my teeth. I didn’t finish.” I smiled at her, but my pulse was still beating hard.
I continued to brush my teeth as Sarah started humming as if nothing had happened.
Another knock came at the door and I saw her turn, but I tugged at her shirt. “Let me handle it. Go to my bedroom for a minute,” I directed, pointing in the direction of my room.
“Why, Dad? Why?”
“Just do it.” I didn’t want to snap, but I also didn’t have time to argue.
She went to my room and threw herself onto the bed.
I moved to the door in stillness. I was three paces away, my heart racing. More pounding on the door, this time with a flat palm until…
“Yoo-hoo! Are you guys playing dead in there or what?”
Relief flooded my system. My sister was at the door. My eyes closed for a moment.
Sarah flew past me. “Aunty! Coming! I can let you in,” she cried out as I let her open the door.
Teresa’s beaming face was on the other side of the door.
I looked around her to see if there was anyone else out there and the street was clear. I didn’t want her worrying either so I tried to tune my face to neutral.
“Hi sweetie. How are you?” Teresa asked Sarah.
I got back to getting ready and shrugged on my jacket over the top of my collared shirt. I turned my wrist up to check the time. I had promised Lucy I would be there in ten minutes, so I had to make tracks. “Hey sister, sister. I have to run. I promised Lucy I would be there about now. If you see anything, I want you to call me, okay?” I rushed my goodbye with her, still distracted about what I’d seen.
“Why would I need to call you if I saw something?” Teresa asked with a confused expression.
Sarah was already playing near the couch, and I had to keep my comments light, so I didn’t alarm my sister. “I saw something…a sketchy bike outside hanging around. Call me ASAP if you see anyone around, that’s all. We got a few things going on at the club. Not trying to scare you, just call me if something is up.”
“Okay, I’ll keep a lookout.” Teresa’s face flashed with a look of confusion for a moment.
I knew she didn’t quite understand, but I had no choice but to warn her. I kissed Sarah, gave her a quick hug and drove the short distance to Lucy’s house. I honked the horn, waiting for her to come out, and my nerves went right back to being fraught.
A couple of minutes later, Lucy stepped out looking breathtakingly gorgeous.
I coughed because her adorable girl-next-door look combined with a touch of sensuality was knocking me out.
She wore blue jeans fitted to her slim legs, a white linen collared top with lace flowers around the edges of the sleeves, and comfy boots. Her silky black hair shone almost blue black. She opened the car door and immediately flooded it with her soft, floral scent.
“Hi.” I beamed as I let her know with my eyes I appreciated her.